I've had the great honor, the great privilege of working with some really good people. Raphel Davis is one of those guys. He is was a leader at Purdue, was the leader in the Big Ten Conference, continues to be a leader with his camps as well and on the Big Ten Network as well as a basketball analyst both in studio and at games at various arenas, and he joins us here on ex'es and bros. How are you, my friend? Happy holidays to you and your family. What's going on?
I appreciate that. I appreciate that intro. I appreciate you mentioned in our camps. It's been great. I'm doing well. Glad to be talking with you. Happy holidays, see you guys as well.
Yeah, thanks so much. You were a Big Ten Player of the Year defensively, and you were on All Big Ten defensive teams twice. Sometimes there are certain sacrifices that certain stars have to make in basketball. How do you know when to do that? Because you were a talented player in high school, you could score too, right, I mean, you could score when you wanted, But there are certain things that you needed to do in order for your
team to compete for Big ten in national titles. How did you know when to do it?
Oh for sure, because I mean I came in from Matt Paynter for coach Payne as a score I mean, I scored over two thousand points in high school. I tell kids all the time that, I mean I averaged thirty a game in high school. And I tell kids that I got to Purdue and I just couldn't get off the bench. I mean, I just couldn't play. And it gets to a point where it's a little bit
of everything. It gets to a point where my freshman year for Due Louis is in the CBI to Santa Clara at mac Arena, and I don't even know if most people know what the CBI is. And then that next year as a sophomore, we finished last place in the Big ten. So we're at the bottom of the bottom. We had six guys transfer out, and this was before the portal. We only returned. We returned three scholarship guys and we brought in five freshmen, and then a transfer
in John Knakiz came in around October around Halloween. So it was a thing where that year our assistant would tell me, hey, Ray, like, who's going to guard DeAndre Russell, who's gonna guard Tramp Petway, who's gonna guard DJ Knuble, Who's gonna guard all these guys? And if we don't have anybody to guard them, we'll finish the last place again. So that was that was a little motivation. I could be embarrassed, I guess, being one of the only older guys on that wing. But then also I just didn't
play as much. I just didn't play a lot as a freshman. As a sophomore, our hand assistant coach Coach Owens, who's now a DePaul with coach Holtman. He and this was my guy. I knew Coach Owens as I was a little kid, so he looked me dead in my face after my sophomore year, said you're the worst defender I recruited, and if that doesn't change, you won't play here. But then he also set me down all summer and
watched film with me. So the thing where a little bit of pride, a little bit of want to play a little bit, but then also knowing where Purdue was at that point, I used to tell my teammates if we suck, nobody's gonna want to nobody's gonna remember us when we come back here fifteen years from now. So we figured that thing out.
So tough love from a coach, tough love from you as a teammate to other teammates as well, which I welcome. I think that's awesome. I think that's the way how you coach, and that's what good teammates are all about. As a guy who runs camps now and then we'll get into the big ten, do you feel that's the right way to teach campers or do you prepare them for that? And if sohow, Yeah?
Especially from my campus, Like I have a one of my guys, he grew up with me. He started with us in sixth grade. He's now a junior and he's at a Cocomo High school and he has offers from Eastern Michigan. He is he's getting looked at from a lot of high major D one schools. But I tell him all the time, if you he's a guard, he's a he's a point guard. He's about six to two. He's athletic, he could jump, he can finish at the realm. And that's fine for high school. That's great for high school.
You go get in the lane and make a play. But I tell him, if you can't make a stand still catching shoe jumper, if you can't make a fifteen foot off a ball screen when they're playing drop coverage, if you can't take care of the ball, you just won't play. Because for players like him, he's a little high level, he has a chance. So it's about for us, we got to prepare them. We got to prepare him to go play two minutes a game and be really effective in that two minutes, so he gets ten minutes
with rises and rises. So we're in the same way. But for our kids that we do have kids that are just there for fun, the kids that they may not make their high school team. So for those kids, we show them different ways how to stay in basketball. We may introduce them to a manager and produced staff. We may take them to Michigan State and let them talk to NEX or something like that and just learn a different role within the sports program where you don't have to be a player. So it just we meet
you where you are. But if you're a guy and we think you have a chance and we think you're going to go make some hay, we keep it real with you. We don't sugarcoat anything, even with the parents. And I tell the parents all the time, We're not babysitting. I'm not a guy that's trying to live through your kid. I'm just trying to get them to the next level, prepare them.
I love that. Man, what a great message. I wish more people would would take that role on in life, not just in basketball and not just in sports. Rofel Davis joining us here on Ex's and Bros. You watched the Michigan Arkansas game last night. It was a back and forth affair. Michigan and Michigan stay both bumping in of the top twenty five this week? How good do you think Michigan can be? And then we'll focus on the Spartans.
I don't want to overdo it, but I think Michigan. Michigan is talented enough to be a Final four team. I mean, you look last night. They had that defensive laps as part that second half where he was going to keep the ball out of the lane. But Michigan is going when they have when they have all of their players clicking on the same page, they're one of the best teams in the country. I mean, Danny Wolf
is just a hard guard. He's just a hardcover seventh foot I mean, I think he had nine tests this last night, and I just don't remember the last seven foot guy to have ten assists in the game. So I think with Danny leading the offense, I just wish, I wish at the end of that game he would have been able to make a play because they were kind of going through him a little bit. But I think with Roddy Gal, Danny Wolf Lad Golden, that gives
you one of the better trios in the country. And then you look at if Nabari Burnett can make shots, if Trade Donaldson continue to make shots, if you get Rubin Jones going a little bit, I mean, obviously Sam Watsons can shoot the ball from deep. So I think this Michigan team, as long as they committed defending like
they had been. They had their little lapse yesterday where they went to that zone to kind of struggle, but if they can rebound and defend, they could definitely run a table in a big ten to be one of those final teams standing in the tournament.
Yeah, it's amazing how different they are just from a year ago. Michigan a loser last night to Arkansas, but had won seven in a row. Michigan State is a team that's going to be off for a little bit now. They don't play again until Tuesday, I think against Oakland at LCA, where you and I called a game earlier this year for Big Ten Network. They're a team that they're back in the mold of what tom Izzo has built, toughness, rebounding defense. Right, they have to say they've fallen in
love is probably unfair. But they shoot a lot of threes, a little bit more than I thought they would, And I don't know if they have truly high skilled three point shooters. What do you think Michigan State is made of so far?
No, I agree with you, and I'm just happy they're back to that. I'm happy they're back to that that when I when I came into the Big Ten, even watching the game in high school college game and it's not like it's not like you're a punk or you're a chump or anything, but when you see Michigan State on the schedule, you you tense up a little bit. It was a thing where you were you weren't scared of Michigan State, but you were you were a little
worried about Michigan State. So I think so. I think it's one of those things where I think they're back to who they were just identity wise. It's physically toughness, rebounding the ball. I think they're running the transition extremely well. I mean, being able to get out on the run has been really impressive to me playing those two guards or Trey Hollerman and Jeremy Fear and I think they're back.
Once I saw I saw, I mean I saw Trey Holloman throw out of you to coin car from half court, and that's when I was kind of like, Okay, this Michigan State team is back. But I do think, like you said, they do shoot a bunch of jumpers sometimes I can kill you on the road. But this this team from compared to last season. Last year, when they shouted a bunch of jumpers and they missed them, they would lose those games. They had no chances, they had no chance to win games if they didn't shoot it well.
This year, they can beat you in different ways. They can beat you with the defense and get on the glass to get out the transition. I think that's gonna bogue well for them.
Look it's pretty early seven eight games, depending on which team you're following. But the Big Ten has six teams ranked in the top twenty five. I've never been a big believer in preseason top twenty fives or really you don't get there until you're at least into conference play because they just don't think we know what teams are
just yet. But when you gloss over the Big Ten and you see the depth of this conference, and it's always been deep when you played as well, what's your overall impression early on, maybe a third of the way through the season or not quite at the third way three cup point part of the season in the conference overall, man think.
I think it's gonna be one of the better Big Ten seasons that we've seen in a long time. I mean, you just the parody in the league. I think you look now you see these games on a row. Rather if it's Illinois going to Northwestern, or last night you have Penn State going to Rutgers. I mean Northwestern at Iowa. It's just I mean Perdue at Penn State. It's just so it's so tough to win on the road. The teams are so talented. I think this year in the
big team. When you look across the league, I think this is one of the more talented leagues that we've had in a while, especially this freshman class. I mean CA Spara and Jackie Shonas has just been special. Derrick Queen, he's just been special. I mean Dylan Harper's first overall draft pick in my opinion. So I think talent level. Talent level is special. I think the coaches in this
league this season are special. I just I think this is one of those years where you have a bunch of maybe two of the six seeds in the NCAA Tournament. The last few years we've had a bunch of eight to nine and ten seeds, if that makes sense. So I think this is going to be a really good year. I think we have a couple teams that can make a real deal shot to that final four. It reminds me of of that twenty fifteen season where you had Wisconstant make it all the way, but Michigan State was
really good. You had Maryland that was really good. We were really good. So I think this is one of those seasons where Big ten gets back to kind of that national dominance.
Yeah, that twenty fifteen season, you were the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Raphael Davis Joiners from Big Ten Network. You mentioned your alma mater, Perdue going into Penn State, and really that game wasn't close. I mean Penn State, how they got the energy and you know what it's like playing there, that's usually a dud of a place to play. Does that show you that on any given night or does it show you the depth
of this conference in general? And we saw it again last night Wisconsin losing their third straight game to Illinois. Do you think that's a good indication of the depth or is it just one of those situations where you're going to find some upsets once in a while.
Yeah, I think it's just the depth of the conference. And also just be given night, anybody can beat you, I think. I think when you look about you think about the twenty fifteen season, like we were just talking, I mean, I can remember going in that year. You just had to get to that Rutgers game. I don't know if you remember how good Rutgers was, and there was Eddie Jordan's years where Yeah, after that Rutgers game,
it was kind of that get right game. You know what I mean, or you could get you can get pinsed State, you get pinned State at home. It was kind of one of those get right games there. I think this year, you look across the league, there's not many of those. There's not many opportunities where you're going to go somewhere and expect to win. I mean, even if I know Minnesota isn't a great team this year,
but Dawston Garcia is a really good player. If you catch Dalston Garcia on a night where he can give you forty, Minnesota could beat some people. So I think this year the depth is serious. I think it's one of those years where if you want to compete to win the league, you really got to take care of your home court. If you can win all your home games, you can win half your road games. I think that there will be enough to win the league this season.
So I think the road beings are top. I think this year, and also you look back to when I play, I mean, Northwestern will be a home game for Purdue. At times, Penn State would be dead, Minnesota would be dead. But you look across the league now, Nope, Western has
a real home court advantage. I mean Nebraska's rocket. I think you look at these teams, and you look at the West Coast teams and you look at their crowdside this, I think with those teams coming to the come of East and come up playing the big can Arenas, that may throw them off. So I think it's going to be a lot of a lot of things going on this season. But I think the team that takes care of homes and sneaks someone away on the road, takes care.
Of business last thing for you before we let you go. And I appreciate the time. I want your opinion on the hardest places to play in the conference. I have had this conversation through my experiences in calling Big Ten basketball for fifteen to twenty years. My experience was that, and I don't say this because you're here, I mean
our producer Trent Pali can verify this. I always felt like Mackie Arena was the loudest place to deal with in your opinion, give me the top five or top three if you want loudest places in the Big Ten to play as a visitor, your barn Macki Arena. If we can agree, we would put in one who's close after that, Yeah, I put.
Mack Arena first for sure. I think mackiw When it gets going in there, man, it's tough to hear with that old skilled build, with that concrete behind the wall, that gets really loud. But then I think I put Michigan State right there. You get Michigan State on a noon tip on a Saturday, and the A zone is going crazy. They're they're not all white. I mean they
especially when they're good. When they have an exciting team like they have this season, they really get behind it and it's a lot of it's a fun brand of basketball. So I put Michigan State right there. I put when I played, when I was in the Big Ten, I would have put Maryland right there. And I think we could have a chance we put Maryland back into that mix,
just because they're good at getting this season. But you get to that under sixteen time out in that second half, when they bring down that flag over the student section, it gets it gets rockets in there. It hasn't been a great crowd the last couple of years, but I think they can get back. I think nowadays nowadays that when I played. When I played, it was more of a high school type of environment. But Rutgers is really
good now. Their environment is crazy. Rutgers has definitely one of the better home course advantages in this league, which is going to really help. It's really helped on freshmen because you see last night Penn State was on that run. They had a chance to win that game at the end, and the fans. The fans really got Rutgers over the top of my opinion. But I think those those three, you had Indiana in there. Where Indiana has it going this year, the fans seem to be a little upset
at coach Wilson, so it hasn't been great. But I think Indiana when they're they're really good, they're right there. But I put Nebraska. Nebraska's in that mix. I don't care what anybody says, whether they're good, whether they're not good. It's the best show in town that Pinnacle Bank Arena when Nebraska has a good team come to town and they fill that thing up. So I think those will
be that. I list Illinois maybe in there, but I think Perdue, Michigan State, Rutgers, Maryland when they're good in Nebraska, those would be mine. Because Nebraska, they start shooting off that cannon and that it gets met.
Yeah, yeah, those are good choices. My choices have always been Mackie and then MSU, you know, Breslin, and then I usually put Indiana in there. Maryland's a really good one because it's the largest I believe it's I think maybe North Carolina might be a little bit larger, but Maryland is the largest arena in the Big Ten and it's one of the largest in the country. So it's really good stuff. It's great information. Congratulations on the success, not just on the floor but with the camps and
on TV. Appreciate the friendship very much. Have a great holiday for you and your family. And thanks for the time today, Bud.
You guys have a happy holiday to enjoy it. We'll do man.
Thanks again.