Boomo Bugg Show 040626

[0:00] Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. New exclusive inside track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us your ride around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in. Where? The question is, Michigan or Connecticut? Which one can do what Auburn's already done in Indianapolis? And Lee Majors, move over. Time to say hello to the newest $6 million man in Tuscaloosa. Good afternoon. Welcome in and how are you?

Happy Monday, Championship Monday. Auburn blows a 21-point lead, as you alluded to, but holds on in overtime to beat Tulsa 92-86 to win the NIT. Nate Oates officially signs a contract extension to make him one of the top five compensated men's basketball coaches. UConn and Michigan meet tonight for the National Championship. And Adam is here right now to break down the game for us. Adam is Adam Spencer. Busy there Saturday down south. Adam, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing great, guys. How are you? Well, the question, Adam, which one would you rather have a national title or Nate Oates' new $6 million contract?

Well, I mean, I think you can assume that if I'm winning a national title, then I'm probably already making three or four dollars, but I'll make the national title. And then we'll figure out how to get my way up to a Nate Oates-level contract after I win. First things first, Adam. Obviously, everybody had Arizona pretty much the consensus. Yeah, Michigan's good, but Arizona's the complete team, blah, blah, blah. We saw what happened over the weekend. Michigan doing to Arizona, what they've done to everybody. Alabama, Tennessee, anybody in their way, they're just a snowplow and just rocking and rolling.

Your thoughts, being facetious, you're just going to have a chance tonight. Yeah, I mean, I was there on Saturday for the Final Four, and they took the energy out of that building. The Arizona fans never really got a chance to get into the game. It was over before it really started. I mean, that was incredible. And, you know, it was a 75% Illinois building in that first game, and they just never gave the crowd an opportunity to erupt. You know, they cut it within four a couple times in the second half.

If they would have made another shot to cut it to one or two, I mean, the roof may have blown off of Lucas Oil there. So UConn did a good job of, you know, you can't count this UConn team out. You know, everybody has tried. You know, they thought that they would lose to Duke. They were about to lose to Duke. And, you know, it's just this UConn team just keeps finding ways to win, and just they have a championship, you know, coolness about them. They know how to, you know, control the pace.

They're not afraid of these big moments, and, like, that's something that you can't really coach. You know, that's Alex Karaban leading the way there. He's been around forever. So, you know, I think Michigan will win. I just, you know, I'm not going to put it in Sharpie yet because Dan Hurley's magic could work one more night here. Adam, that's the point. If we've ever played sports, and some of us have been able to be with coaches who probably he looked at the roster and said, this roster stinks, but I'm a good coach.

They just have the ability to take an orange in a metaphorical sense and squeeze all the juice out of it. Is it safe to say that Hurley is one of those coaches? He just never, as you mentioned, never count this guy out. It's almost like a maze. He figures out that one little hole to get out of the maze. Yeah, I mean, I think you're absolutely right there. I mean, he's, you know, this team is not the most talented team that he's had during his time at UConn.

I mean, you know, they don't have the typical, you know, front court that they've had in years past where they've just been able to, you know, Sanongo was a guy that just, you know, beat up guys down low. Terrace Reed's a very good post player. He just doesn't have much help down low there. He's kind of a one-man show. So, you know, he's going to have a tough night, you know, if he can't get shots off over Ade Mara, who had his career-best game against Arizona.

But, you know, don't count him out. You know, they run a bunch of sets, those guards, Braylon Mullen, Alex Caravan, you know, their guards, Zillow Ball, Silas Demary, like, those guys never stop moving offensively. So, you know, watch for how they try to get the ball to Terrence Reed because they did a great job of it against Illinois where, you know, you have to kind of run something for them. You can't just lob a pass to them in the post because Illinois had similar size to Michigan.

[5:06] And when they tried to do that, they turned it over. So they have to move Reed around. They have to move the rest of the guys around to get them post touches and get them clean post touches. And, you know, like you said, Dan Hurley, you know, I'm sure he's drawn up several ways to do that. And it'll be fun to watch that sort of chess match with those three bigs and Reed down low. I'm delighted you got a chance to go to the Final Four.

That, I'm sure, was a tremendous environment. I was really surprised the Michigan guards played as well as they did. Elliot Cadeau, the transfer from North Carolina. Bradley, the Alabama transfer to Arizona, did not have a good night. Maura, as you mentioned, had a really good night. And even Lindenborg was nearly human because he had two early fouls and then had an ankle injury. But he gutted out 11 points. But you're right, Adam, love him, hate him, or whatever. The coach of UConn can coach. But I thought also Dusty May had a unique ideal.

They went to the big house, put a goal on the football field, and shot for doubt perception. Wasn't that interesting? Yeah, he's had some good ideas, too. I mean, this is going to be quite a coaching battle because, you know, Dan Hurley has all the answers. But, you know, Dusty May might figure out some tricky questions to ask. You know, they had, somebody pointed it out on Twitter. I don't know if it was Hoops Vision or somebody else. But somebody had this incredible compilation of, you know, Elliot Cadeau was like two for 14 shooting for his first like 14 shots or something against Arizona.

But if you look at it closely, it was almost like ways that they were trying to get the ball to Mara and more as Johnson. Because, like, some of these shots, like, weren't even close. But they bounced off the backboard right to a Michigan big. And, you know, if that's something that they drew up and if that's something that they practiced, then that is something really, really unique and special that Dusty May drew up. And, you know, we'll see if it works again tonight. But, I mean, I don't think they'll have as much trouble getting the ball down low against UConn as they did against Arizona.

But, I mean, Dusty May deserves his flowers, too. I mean, that guy can coach. And, you know, it's going to be one heck of a battle tonight. Adam Spencer against Saturday Downs South. If I echo Brett's sentiments there, congratulations being able to soak up that atmosphere. First of all, your thoughts about that. And what is it about Indianapolis? Is it Final Four Central? I mean, tonight, the big one. And coming off the other one, the NIT, where Auburn walks away with strings of the net that they've cut down.

They're the national champs. Everybody's going to take their shots at the NIT. But be that as it may, Auburn showed up and took care of business. Your thoughts about that, what it means as far as Auburn going forward. And, again, just your thoughts about the atmosphere there in Indy. Yeah, the atmosphere is great. You know, everything that they do downtown there is incredible. I almost wish they would just do it at the basketball arena. But I understand, you know, they sold plenty of tickets there because that stadium was full of Illinois fans.

And, you know, the Michigan fans and then Arizona fans. And UConn probably had the fewest fans. But I bet we'll see a few more of them tonight in the building there. But, you know, expect a Michigan crowd. You know, the downtown area that they have, everything is just walkable. It's a lot of fun. They had some great concerts there this weekend. So, yeah, I mean, they do a really good job with that. They've had plenty of experience. And, you know, it's always, you know, one of the ones that media like going to also because everything's laid out so well.

But, yeah, and then, yeah, Auburn. You know, there was a few Auburn fans that I ran into walking around downtown, you know, after brunch yesterday. And, you know, they were excited about the game. And, yeah, it's an NIT championship. I mean, you know, Alabama fans and other Auburn rivals, they'll, you know, troll Auburn for celebrating too much with that stuff. But it's always better if you enter a tournament. It's always better to win it than to not win it. And, you know, Auburn gets a trophy.

You know, their players get some confidence. You know, we'll see how many of them come back. But, you know, it's always better if you're entering a tournament and you just want to, you know, do well and not your goal isn't to win it all, then you shouldn't enter it. So I do give Auburn and Stephen Pearl a ton of credit for entering the NIT at all. And, you know, when you're in it, you might as well win it. And they did. They took care of business.

They, you know, showed that they are a good team, even if I agree with the decision not to put them into the NCAA tournament. But, hey, they won a tournament and they can put that trophy in their trophy case. Yeah. As we mentioned earlier, Nate Oates now officially official announced yesterday by Alabama. He signed a contract extension to make him one of the top five compensated men's basketball coaches in the country, which also means he's not going to North Carolina or Kansas, as we have discussed.

[10:15] Just your thoughts on extending Nate Oates, number one. And number two, what's the scuttlebutt? You were there this weekend. Who's going to North Carolina? Yeah, it seems like at this point, you know, if Dusty May loses tonight, maybe UNC tries one last big push to get him. But if not, then, I mean, they're going to have to write a blank check for Billy Donovan because you can't really let it go beyond that. And, I mean, Billy Donovan is still coaching the Bulls. They'll be wrapping up their season this coming Sunday, so, you know, the 12th.

So, I think that's when the NBA regular season is in. So, if Dusty May loses tonight, then you put the full court pressure on him and try to get him. But, you know, with Nate Oates in that contract, you know, I think that the worry there is the Kansas job. Bill Self's coming back for one more year. I would say, you know, he hasn't said that it's only for one more year, but my guess is that it's one more year and that he'll do his retirement tour.

So, extending Nate Oates, bumping his pay, it probably includes a heftier buyout. So, you're just trying to make it harder for him to go to Kansas next year if Kansas shows interest, which I would bet that they would. So, I think that's the play there, and, you know, we'll see. But, yeah, UNC, my guess is that Billy Donovan ends up there. John, your thoughts. I think now would be the time for him to come back because, let's face it, college now is the NBA from a business standpoint.

You've got to go negotiate with players, and you outbid the other guy. But your thoughts, kind of turn a little bit on that a little bit with John Calipari and his comments. He said one of the things that is a concern for him is these kids make a half million, a million dollars. They're 18, 19, 20 years old, and that's nice money, but the thing is, unless they have somebody responsible, they go through it, they blow it. They go through college. They don't get drafted. They go work for $30,000, $40,000 a year, and all of a sudden, they are a train wreck.

Your thoughts about Calipari, I mean, who's going to turn down a half million, million dollars or more? But I think he also has a point that at some point, the golden goose lays all their eggs, and now these kids out facing the real world, can they adjust to just being a run-of-the-mill Monday through Friday John Doe? Yeah, I mean, I think that that's the case. He's absolutely right. You know, this extends even into the NBA. You know, there's some data about NBA and NFL players. Like, 50% of them go bankrupt after their careers.

And that's the pro guys who play into their 30s generally. So, if you don't have the right people around you managing your money, yeah, I mean, you can have a few fun years if you make a million dollars a year. You know, that's a lot of fun when you're young. But if you're not putting some of that money away, investing it, saving it, you know, if you don't have the right people, you're trying to take care of a crew, you know, that's always going to end poorly, especially, like, when Calipari says, you know, if you end up in a 9-to-5 making $40,000 a year down the road.

So, you know, it's all about having the right people around you. I hope that these schools that are paying NIL money to these players, I hope that they have systems in place to, like, get players the financial help if they seek it. But, you know, these are adult guys and adult women who, you know, make this NIL money. So, I mean, you know, at the end of the day, it's their responsibility to seek out any help and get the right people around them. And, you know, you just hope that most of them end up doing it because there is a lot of money in college sports now.

Absolutely. Also, a discussion about extending the NCAA tournament to 76 teams. And the reaction on social media has been about 90% negative. Don't do it. We'll see where that goes. Listen, always great to begin the week with you to recount the weekend. Again, congratulations for getting the final four. Where can we get online and get your good stuff? Joe Cox has got the latest in the Wild SEC Baseball League. Where can we get all the stuff from you? Yeah, SaturdayDownSouth.com, SaturdayTradition.com. We've got some game preview stuff coming out here in the next hour or two.

And, yeah, we've got a newsletter coming today, too. So, keep an eye out on all that. And, yeah, then we'll shift to baseball. Adam, enjoy. They say it's a two-popcorn night. It's national championship time. Enjoy. And thanks so much for your time today. Yeah, guys. Thanks for having me. Always appreciate it. Thank you, bud. You, too. Adam Spencer, Saturday down south. Well, second scrimmage. And I believe the thing called A-Day is right around the corner in Tuscaloosa. But what do we say we go there next with Andrew Bones.

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Not available in all states or situations. The Score. We're now back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in road trip time. Busy days down in T-Town, says Andrew Bone. He's the flying columnist and recruiting editor for Bama Online, part of the On3.com family. And don't forget about the book. It's called The Road to Bama. Andrew Bone, welcome in. How are you? Hey, guys. Doing great. How y'all doing today? Hey, buddy. Man, we're doing all right. Long-time TV guys. Say, I remember when Lee Majors was the original $6 million man.

[21:06] What about the latest $6 million man by the name of Nate Oates, which is another way of saying what a bargain they got in that guy named Saban back in the day at a mere $4 million. Yeah, it was certainly deserved. I mean, obviously Nate Oates had an incredible run in Alabama. I think almost every year you kind of wonder what school or what other school or what potential NBA team is going to come after him and try to take him away from Alabama. But, you know, it looks like Greg Byrne has certainly made an investment into him.

And Coach Oates said it. You know, he said it last week that he felt like, you know, the deal was pretty much done. Just, you know, things hadn't been signed yet. But it felt like it was a done deal. So, you know, big to get him on board. You know, ready to see kind of the final numbers and everything. But, yeah, I mean, it's awesome to be able to keep him. And, yeah, I think that's certainly going to help on the recruiting front and on the transfer portal front.

The thing is, you've got to look at Greg Byrne. And this, to me, is crazy because it just shows how confident Nate Oates was. He was always transparent about it. He says, I make plenty of money. We'll see how it goes. A lot of people in his situation, when people are knocking down his door to come over there, would leverage that. But it also shows that Greg Byrne doesn't listen to that. He knows he probably, a lot of people said, well, you can get him cheaper than that.

But he's a smart man. He knows that, at the end of the day, Nate Oates, he can say those things. But if somebody comes in with some serious money, then you have to look at that twice. So, to me, can you imagine, Greg Byrne has to be as relieved as Nate Oates because he ain't got to go shopping for an X Factor now. Yeah, no doubt about it. I think the biggest thing with Coach Oates right now is, and obviously it's the biggest question that everybody has, is what's going to be the amount of money that they're going to be able to spend from an NIL perspective, from a financial end.

And, you know, you want to be competitive, and, you know, we're, you know, on the football side, it's a little bit different. You know, you're seeing some teams that are able to spend $35, $40 million on a roster, whereas Alabama, you know, probably in that, you know, $20 million, you know, price range. And then, you know, on the basketball front, you're having a lot of these teams that are, you know, in that, you know, $15, $20 million. And, you know, Alabama's been a little bit under 10. And so are they going to be able to get, you know, over that hump and be able to, you know, sign some.

And obviously they've done, you know, quite well on the recruiting front. But, you know, they would also like to, and they wouldn't mind probably if they had it, you know, but be able to be competitive for, you know, $4.5 to $6 million player that can potentially come in and win you a national championship. So, you know, it's like the kid from Michigan. What's his name? You know, I can't think of it off the top of my head. Lindenburg. Yeah. So he goes from UAB to Michigan and Alabama.

He even mentioned Alabama was a school that he was interested in, but didn't really hear much from him. Well, Alabama was certainly interested in him, but he was just too expensive. They were going to have to spend, you know, probably over, you know, well over half of their, you know, budget on one player. So they do good. And I think he, you know, I think Oates certainly wants to see, you know, a little bit more of an investment from a, from an NIL standpoint. And I think, you know, Greg Byrne and them are certainly, you know, trying to, you know, make that happen.

And I think Oates is happy and, you know, go from there. So now we're in the, we're in the pool season and see what, see what's about to happen. You had a good article by my online last week. You had some questions about Alabama going into the second scrimmage. And I certainly advocate our reader, our listeners get online and read that. Line of scrimmage is one of the biggest questions going into this year. Again, it appears from reports or insider reports, Alabama's done a pretty good job in the transfer portal.

One of your questions was, will Alabama remain with their current first unit, which had been Jackson Lloyd at left, Nick Brooks across the front, Rayson Delgado from Cal Poly, Michael Carroll inside at right guard, Jevin James, and according to reports, Evan Fields was at left guard in the scrimmage. And you also ask about the defensive front. I have heard a lot of good things about this defensive front. They're bigger. They got quick twitch. Devin Tompkins, Terrence Green, Desmond, you, and certainly there are others. And we'll get a little bit more of an idea on Saturday.

But your thoughts on the article and in particularly improving the line of scrimmage. Yeah, obviously that's been the biggest question over the course, not just heading into this week, but it seems like it's been the biggest question for the last few seasons. Who's going to end up being on the offensive front this week? And it was always kind of a musical tear aspect. So I think Alabama, and I said this early on, I think they really, and when we saw Jackson Lloyd being named as the starting left tackle after the second practice and they never even had a scrimmage or going in full pads, it kind of came to my attention.

[26:50] They want to have a starting five by the end of spring training this year. They don't want to go into the fall and, you know, who's going to start here? Who's going to start there? Are we going to continue to kind of rotate and try different people out, you know, heading into the season? Now, you know, there is one situation with, you know, Will Sanders at left guard who's missing all of spring, who I think can potentially still come in and compete for that starting job.

But I do think they're going to have at least four guys that they feel very confident in in terms of being starters. Now, was it a surprise that – I don't think it was a surprise to a lot of people in the media that Michael Carroll moved to right guard. I think a lot of people expected that he was going to, you know, get some reps there this spring. I think he was not expecting it was Michael Carroll. That was not – that was not the plan for him.

You know, from talking to different people, he did not – he fully expected to be at right tackle. But, you know, Alabama's trying to find the best five guys to be on their offensive front. And, you know, Javon James is a guy that they – the staff is really high on. But he's also not a – he's not an interior player. He's an outside guy. So, you know, he's a guy that, you know, started three years on the outside. You know, had left tackle. And, you know, they have Lloyd there.

But, you know, I feel like he can play right tackle as well. So, he's – you know, they've got him playing there. They like Michael Carroll as an interior guy because he's got the versatility. We saw him play some games at right guard last year. So, I think that he's a guy that they're extremely confident in that can be used in multiple roles and probably, you know, the best offensive lineman on the team. But I think, you know, right now you're trying to find who's that next wave of players.

You know, as far as your second team guys, who are going to be guys that you can trust if someone gets hurt, who can play winning football. And I think that's still probably a little bit of a work in progress. You know, who are your backups at, you know, every single position. So, I think that's why you're kind of seeing some different rotations as far as guys going in, being with the starting unit to see, you know, hey, can Ethan Fields – if Nick Brooks or Will Sanders goes down, can Ethan Fields come in and be a first-team guy?

So, you kind of see that way. But I think their biggest home run has been on the defensive front. You know, talking to just so many people. It's not just from people that, you know, that were at the last two scrimmages, but, you know, people on the inside, people who've been to a lot of the practices, who have seen this defensive front over the last few years, what they've had. And, you know, they're talking about the size, the speed, just the physicality that they've seen from these guys.

And, you know, London Simmons, going into his sophomore year, he's not even able to practice this spring. So, you're going to have London Simmons come back. Jeremiah Beeman's another guy that's still kind of recovering from his ACL injury from last season. So, you've got some more guys that are going to be really healthy in the fall to go along with these transfers. But, man, I have certainly heard so much positive things about Devin Tompkins, the defensive lineman from USC. You know, a guy that can play multiple roles, you know, whether it's playing on the inside, playing on the outside.

I think he's probably a really good replacement for, and I'm not saying he's better, but I think he was a good replacement for James Smith, who we saw being able to move around on the defensive front last year. You know, Desmond Umizua, coming from South Carolina, who just didn't have a chance to play a ton in Columbia because he's playing behind, you know, what's his name? I'm trying to think of it. A very good player. Yeah, a very good player. Dylan Stewart, that's the guy. So, he's playing behind Dylan Stewart, so now he comes in and getting some good reps.

And Terrence Green, the Oregon transfer. So, I think Alabama is extremely excited and happy and feel like they've certainly hit the nail on the head on the defensive front this year because we saw Coach DeBoer mention it the other day, how he felt like they did really good as far as getting some guys in that cost a lot cheaper that are better than some of the guys they end up losing. Yeah, I think he's directing that. I thought it was directed more on the defensive front.

As somebody said, you know, he's talking about overall. Well, that's probably the case, but I also think it had to do a little bit about the defensive front because they lost, I think they lost three or four guys on the defensive front that ended up transferring out. They end up bringing three or four guys in on the defensive front, and they have certainly generated the most buzz from spring camp so far. Andrew Bone, BamaOnline.com. Andrew, quickly, speaking of transfers, what about the hometown boy? Hearing good things about Adam Watford transferring out of UNA to Alabama to punt the ball.

[32:08] So far, at least from what we're hearing, so good. Yeah, I got a call. I guess it was on Friday evening from someone. I said, you know, one position I'm not worried about at all is punter. And that was a good thing to hear because there's a kid that, you know, he's an in-state guy. He played at North Alabama. So he's used to kicking in the state of Alabama, you know, punting the ball in the state. You know, where is he? You know, your punter last year, you know, transfers in from Colorado, gets a little bit of a boost there.

Thank you. Yeah, to get a little bit more, get a little bit more, you know, yardage. And, you know, I think that obviously he was okay. But I think when you can get a guy that can consistently boot the ball 47, 48 yards, but he's also got great hang time. You know, somebody told me, he said, you know, it looks like when he punched the ball that it's only going to go about 30 yards. But it's in the air for six seconds, and then all of a sudden it's 50 yards down the field.

So I think that there is a lot of excitement about Adam Watford, even though a lot of people, you know, they're not going to get too excited over a punter. But, you know, having someone who can completely flip the field for you is certainly a big asset. And I think the staff really feels like this was as big of a win as they could have had in the transfer portal. I think you're exactly right. You've got a list, or we'll have a list later this week.

A lot of folks coming in to see you a day. As far as recruiting, they had a good bit of folks there to watch the scrimmage the other day. That's going to be a new thing the last couple of years. A.B., where can we get online and get your columns, questions about spring practice, recruiting, the Vistro list, the whole nine yards? You know, come check us out at BamaOnline.com. You can buy your subscription right now for, I think it's $59.99, which obviously gets you through the entire season, gets you through portal season and all the way up to almost the end of spring practice next year.

So, you know, come check us out at BamaOnline.com. We've got a lot of great coverage right now, everything that's happening in the transfer portal front for basketball. It's about to be peak recruiting season. Peak recruiting season used to be in January, and now it's in June, May and June. So a lot of stuff happening on that front, but obviously spring practice and just a lot going on right now at BamaOnline.com. So if you're an Alabama fan, this is the absolute spot to be where you can read all of our content.

But most importantly, you can talk to us, live chat with us every single day, pretty much all hours of the day on BOL. So come check us out. Let's hope the weather this weekend is as good as your coverage, Andrew, for A-Day game. Thanks so much, and have a great week, okay? Appreciate it, guys. You do the same. Thank you, buddy. Benny B, Andrew Bone, hooking up with us at BamaOnline as part of the On3.com family. And again, his book is called The Road to Bama.

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Welcome back in. A pleasure for us on down to the plane. Say hello to Brian Matthews, senior editor at AuburnSports.com. Brian, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing great, guys. How are y'all? I'm surprised you guys are not over at Home Depot getting the tools to add some space to the trophy case. Your reaction to what Michigan and Connecticut would like to do tonight, and that's win a championship in Indianapolis. Yeah, and I don't think Auburn should apologize for winning an IT championship or having qualifiers.

It was, for this team, it was a terrific run. They stepped at their play in the postseason. They did it with a man short on a team that was already short as far as numbers and talent. And they did it in the final game in pretty dramatic fashion there at the end. And they had to win an overtime, but two of their top guys fouled out. So I thought it was impressive, and I think they all deserve all the credit in the world for what they've accomplished.

Let me ask you about, to me, the real side benefit for this. And it certainly helps Steven Pearl. There's a much more optimistic tone about him, his coaching ability, and we're getting into roster construction in a minute. But to me, the reals that Kevin Overton, Freeman, Sebastian Williams-Adams, Jovic, and some of these guys, and we'll see if anybody does move on. But the continued development of the young players, to me, may have been the biggest benefit. Yeah, I do. And I think there are a lot of benefits because I think it helps Steven Pearl build confidence in himself and have people within the program and fans and alumni feel more confident in him in this program moving forward under his leadership.

[43:19] So I think that's a big plus. I think, you know, having this team together for longer and having them play together longer and having certain players like Kevin Overton and Sebastian Williams-Adams and Elijah Freeman and Philip Jovic continue to get better as the season went on was a big boost to them. And, you know, I think you can see now that they've got some guys there that you can build a pretty good team around going in next year. And I think having them together during these three weeks instead of out on their own, talking to agents and talking to other schools also benefited Auburn.

Brian Matthews, Senior Head for AuburnSports.com, which leads us to this point. Basically, the pain doesn't dry on one season. The fans are already talking about next. And we know the portal is about to open up and get rocking and rolling. Let's kind of bring that down to Auburn. What does that mean for Auburn basketball as far as the comings and goings? I know you don't have that definitive answer in front of you. But what does your gut tell you about how this roster will shape up during the portal season heading into next season?

Well, I think, you know, step one. Well, they're already taking a step that they added the big man from, you know, international. Yeah. So that was a plus. They needed a rim protector. And I think he fills that role there. But I think the real first step is keeping the guys that you want to keep. And those four guys I mentioned are four of them. Elijah Freeman said after the game, told Justin Hokanson, that he was all in on return to Auburn. I believe him, but I also want to wait until the money starts flowing.

So, you know, I don't doubt that. But you still want to wait until that contract is signed. Maybe it is. And I just don't know. But I think it's important to try to keep that core there. And then to go out. And the second step is for this university and this athletic department to properly fund this team. So I'll have the resources to go out there and get good players. And I think that it's happening. I don't think Auburn's going to be the most expensive roster in the SEC.

But I think they'll be in the top half of the SEC. And then they've just got to go out there and make better decisions than they did a year ago. They've got to find guys who are going to fit Pearl better. I think he wants guys that can play defense more. I don't think he's going to take as many chances going after, you know, kids who are still a little immature or have character concerns. You know, character concerns could be from a 1 to a 10. And, you know, I don't think Auburn's taking 10s.

But, you know, they're taking some 6s and 7s, I feel like. And I think maybe they'll take, you know, more 4s and 5s, I guess, if that makes sense. So I think those are all things that we're going to look at here over the next few weeks. Always advocate to our listeners to get online and read Bundy Musings. And you have never been shy about your opinion. And the NCAA expanding to maybe 76 teams in the future. You had some rather candid comments about that. I mean, I think it's a terrible idea.

I think it's awful. The tournament does not need more average teams than Auburn with one of those teams. And I think Auburn showed you exactly what this tournament needs, which is another tournament that boosts it up with money and exposure for more teams to play in and to have more exciting games. You know, I think March Madness is awesome. Good put. Right? But, you know, stuffing more teams into an already bloated tournament that can't win, right? Auburn was not going to win the NCAA tournament. Not a chance, either with Indiana or Oklahoma.

All three of those teams would have had a chance to win, and Auburn did the NIT. So, no, I hate it. And I don't even like the first four. I think I should get rid of that and go back to the pure 64. There are 360-plus teams that would love to play in a postseason tournament. So, you know, put together another one that's not called the NIT because that's kind of boring, but call it the Wooden Cup or the Naysmith Cup. Right. And have 60 more teams going there to compete for that and make it exciting and make there be some, you know, some payoff there for those teams that join that so that, you know, it's not costing them money like some of these tournaments have in the past.

Well, point, Brad. I agree with you. It's got to be apples to apples because the bottom line is, what would Auburn do? The champion team of the NIT, what would they do against Michigan? A lot of teams call it Michigan, but you see the point if you want to go to that extreme. Well, I think they played the game right early on. It gives TV inventory. Yeah, they did. That's right. It gives also TV folks some inventory by your formula there. They have more inventory to sell.

So, you know, and TV runs a show. But let's switch gears. They say football also runs it. Talk to us about Auburn's scrimmage. At a goalie saying bring on the Iron Bowl, Dixieland delight. I understand that's the new hit, number one song on the plains. Brian, talk to us. Well, they do have the Iron Bowl period, you know, in every practice now, where it's just about, hey, we recognize that this is a big, important game for Auburn to play every year. And, you know, this year it's going away to Alabama, so you're going to hear this music every single practice so much that you hate it.

[48:46] And then when you show up there in November, you'll be ready to play. We'll see how that works, you know, on down the line. But, yeah, I think this is something that other coaches at Auburn have done in different ways. But to keep the focus on, you know, the important things for Auburn, and one of the most important things in this state is the Iron Bowl. So I think that's part of it. I think he gets that. He'll get it more after he plays in it, though.

He hasn't played in it, or coached him, I should say. So we'll see, you know, how he feels about it after that. You know, I think the scrimmage went pretty well. I think the defense, no surprise, had the upper hand. You know, I think there were some good plays on offense. I think it hurts the offense in the spring when, you know, you can stop Byron Brown with one-hand touch. Obviously, he's going to not be stopped with one hand most of the time, and that's going to be a big part of Auburn's offense.

It's his buddy to run the ball and scramble, you know, make something on nothing. So that's going to hold the offense back a little bit, plus having 14 new offensive linemen. That's going to be a work in progress, I think, throughout the spring, summer, going into fall camp. It's going to take them a while to get that settled and feel like you've got five guys plus three good backups that can all work together and be a functional unit. So that's still going on there. But, yeah, I think it was good that they had recruits here.

They had visitors here. They were on the lights at Jordan-Hare Stadium. So I think overall they're pretty pleased with everything. Yeah, I agree with you. I don't think they're going to come out of the spring game and say, Yeah, we've got five offensive linemen ready to go for the SEC. That's going to continue to be an ongoing experiment. Baseball bounces back and beats the Hogs, win the series. They won 8-3 on Saturday. As Harold mentioned, the basketball portal opens, heaven forbid, tomorrow. And a lot of your folks have already jumped in it today.

But you have the latest on the reconstruction of Auburn basketball roster, spring practice, baseball, recruiting, you name it. Your boys have got it. Where can we get online and get all the good stuff? Yeah, and we're going to have all that breaking news right there at AuburnSports.com. You can follow me on Twitter, such as X at BMETAU. And, yes, baseball, football recruiting, basketball portaling, and everything else, spring practice, all that and more. Check us out at AuburnSports.com. Got eyes on you, Brian. Listen, man, thanks so much and have a good week, okay?

I appreciate you guys. Thank you. Thank you, Brian. I'm Matthews, team. You're in AuburnSports.com. Baby, we didn't get a chance because it happened late last week. Your thoughts, what are you hearing about Alabama's scrimmage? I got mixed reviews. We talked early with Andrew Bone. He was positive. I've seen a lot of folks say, particularly the respective lines, still got a lot of work to do. What are you hearing? Well, they've got some work to do. But, Harold, I think there's more promise on both sides of the line, and particularly the defensive line.

Kevin Riley had a good scrimmage from what I hear. Ethan Fields, as we talked about, put him in left guard. Jaira Edwards, their secondary may be the best in the nation. We'll talk about it throughout the week leading up to A-Day, but I'm a little more optimistic, and particularly about the defensive front. And, James Spann, about some good weather as well. We'll check on that down the line. But in the meantime, speaking of Alabama, take you there with Brian Passick, also going to go to Tennessee and talk Big Orange with Vince Ferrara and Ben Thomas.

He's got everything else covered. The next hour, there'll be more Bug Shows. Stay with us. DQ presents the Blizzard Double Flip Deal. For a limited time, when you buy one Blizzard treat, you get a second for just 99 cents. That's two Blizzards, two spoons, two flavors, and two flips. So don't miss out on the Blizzard Double Flip Deal, available only for a limited time and happening now at DQ. Because the only thing better than a Blizzard treat is a second Blizzard treat for just 99 cents. It's a deal to flip for.

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Current curriculum is required by state law to include teaching the concept of abstinence when it comes to early sexual activity. The new bill, SB 209, would require that sex education curriculum and programs teach exclusively sexual risk avoidance and encourage abstinence from all sexual activity. This type of sex ed teaching would not occur at all for children within kindergarten up to fourth grade. The curriculum for the older students would prohibit any sexually explicit images or the promotion of contraceptives or information on how to get those contraceptives or an abortion.

Shelnut said that the bill is to get the curriculum to be scientifically based and that currently there are inappropriate things being taught to students. Shelnut stresses that sexual abstinence is the only way to avoid unwanted pregnancies and STDs. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Are you enjoying 1819 News? If so, consider joining 1819 News as a member. As a non-profit news organization, we depend on the support of Alabamians like you. Memberships start out as little as $5 a month and you'll get access to exclusive content only offered to our members.

You'll be supporting independent journalism done by people who cherish Alabama values. Become a member today by visiting 1819news.com and clicking Become a Member. That's 1819news.com and click Become a Member today. Emergency crews in Lawrence County were able to resuscitate a child who had drowned in waters at Kitchens Mill. The responders were able to regain a pulse and then airlift the child to Children's of Alabama in Birmingham. The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon during a family gathering. I'm Andrea Tice. For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.

And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter. Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shores, Sports Radio 93.9, The Score. Speed on the bases, power at the plate, gold glove defense across the diamond. The stars of Atlanta are ready to take the field. Michael Harris going to sprint back and he somehow makes the catch Willie Mays style and goes into the wall. Tonight, it's more West Coast baseball for Matt Olsen and the Braves as they roll into Angels Stadium to take on the Los Angeles Angels.

Tonight, it's the Braves and Angels from Anaheim. Joined in progress following the college basketball national championship game on 93.9, The Score. Brought to you locally by The Law Firm of Johnson Pasture, Medley & Birchel, J.C. Hammonson, First Metro Bank, Nationwide Insurance Agents, Michael Doe and Bill Cochran, Medford Jewelers, Certified Alarm, Lost Pizza, and Alabama Health Guidance. Atlanta Braves baseball. Tonight, following the college basketball national championship game on 93.9, The Score. 93.9, The Score weather. Today, mostly sunny with a high around 70. Tonight, mostly clear with a low near 45. Tomorrow, sunny with a high around 70.

[59:31] Tomorrow night, mostly clear with a low near 45. And for your Wednesday, mostly sunny with a high around 75. Your weather from 93.9, The Score. Now, get ready to roll, Jules, Decatur, Athens, and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the tie. Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score. Welcome back to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg, alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Baylor.

And are you ready for some action tonight that's going to put a ribbon on the college basketball season and for Ben Thomas to join our huddle from AL.com? Ben, welcome in. Are you ready to say goodbye to the college basketball season? How are you? I'm ready. Yeah, let's say goodbye to the college basketball season. I watched Auburn last night and I think it's time to move on and we're getting close to saying goodbye to the high school season finally. I'm going to crown Mr. and Miss basketball next week.

So, we're almost into the full spring sports mode. Ben, we're going to ask you about that, but first, a name that's familiar to our neck of the woods you had an encounter with. I won't steal your thunder. UNA fans, remember head football coach Mark Hutzpeth. Ben, 3-2-1, your story with Mark Hutzpeth over the past few days. Yeah, you know, I didn't even really know. I'm not sure I even knew April Fool's was even a thing anymore. I can't remember the last time I tried to play an April Fool's joke on somebody, but until last Wednesday, I get up and I'm not thinking about being April 1st or anything I made in that day I did, but I see I'm tagged in a tweet, which I often am from different high schools and I appreciate that, especially when they're truthful.

I'm tagged in a tweet from Gulf Shores Football that basically says, you know, it's all set, we're opening the season in Scotland against some team in Scotland. Special AHSA approval granted. Press conference to follow at 5 p.m. and I thought, you know, and looking back and I told Mark this himself, I'm like, I almost know in the program would I even believe this and not for Mark Huston just because, you know, he's a college coach, he's not afraid to try different things and so I thought, boy, this is crazy.

I even told my wife about it before she left for work and she's like, well, that's just ridiculous. And so I even actually sent the text to Mr. Heath Harmon and said, did y'all really grant approval for this? And then I called Mark and said, look, because they said there was going to be a press conference at 5 o'clock and so I said, well, it was Wednesday night we had church service. I said, look, I can't come to a press conference. You got to tell me what's going on here and he said, I got you, didn't I?

That was the first moment I'm like, oh my gosh, it's an April Fool joke and so he pulled one over on me. They're not going to Scotland. They didn't get special AHSA approval. You know, and they also search, you know, not a lot of people non-reasoned opponents want to play him down here. So they're always searching for somebody new to play. So because it was Coach Hutchins and because of that, I thought, well, maybe I guess it could be true, but no, it wasn't true. It goes back to the old saying, Harold and Brett, you guys have heard it myself, yourselves.

When you learn, when you start in Germany, you learn if your mom, if your mama tells you she loves you, check it out before you do anything with it. So fortunately, it's never made it to AL.com and later in the day, I saw some more outlandish April Fool stuff. Buckhorn releases, they're going to have their new turf field. It's going to be all yellow on their turf field and then South Alabama down here, Hancock-Whitney Stadium where we're going to hold the football finals this year, said that they've been directed to host the Iron Bowl in 2028.

Now, I was smart enough that that wasn't going to happen, but yeah, he made a fool out of me there at least, but at least it didn't get, I put it on AL.com in my column, but at least I didn't have a headline that says, Gold Shore's heading to Scotland to play a football game. Ben, I'm assuming on April Fool's Day that it was wrong about Nick Saban becoming the new outside director at Auburn. That was also an April Fool's joke, right? I think that's incorrect.

I don't think that was. Let me mention a little bit of breaking news before we get started. North Carolina intends to hire a long-time NBA coach. It's not Billy Donovan. It's Michael Malone from the Denver Nuggets who's won over 500 games in his career, so it's not Nate Oge, Tommy Lloyd, Dusty May, or Billy Donovan. It appears to be another NBA coach which is not going to set off the dominoes in college. Coaching BT back to a high school, the central board is meeting next week, April the 15th, Tanks Day, and they are looking to announce the private school playoff structure and the schedule for the state football championships.

[1:05:09] A lot of people may have forgotten they're moving to South Alabama, Hancock-Whitney Stadion for the first time in December, and according to some of the reports, eight padded football games, six public, two private, plus four flag football games. Now, BT, where they come out next week and say we're now the Super 10, the Super 12, the Super 8, your thoughts on what is going to be pretty important central board meeting next week. Well, first of all, I'm glad you didn't ask me about Michael Malone because I don't know much about Michael.

I've kind of always been a closet North Carolina fan. I wanted to go to North Carolina when I was younger, but I couldn't. I didn't get in there. But, yeah, I don't know much about Michael Malone, so maybe that's a good hire. But I do think, and as we've talked about last week, I believe, next week will be a big week overall for the High School Association. On Monday, we'll have the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Awards in Birmingham. That's always a big deal. Scott Myers and his group at the Hall of Fame do a great job of putting that on.

Wrote a story, in fact, on Sunday about one of our local regional winners, Samantha Kokoska from St. Michael. So we're going to have some more Josh Bean stories on that coming this week. Great, great awards program where they give out a lot of money for kids going to college, so that'll be great. Obviously, as I mentioned earlier, next Tuesday, the 14th, we'll crown our new Mr. and Ms. Basketball. I know that because Mr. and Ms. Basketball last year are graduated. That's Ace Austin, obviously, and Dwayne Brown from Hoover, so we'll have two new winners there.

And then, as you mentioned, Wednesday's the Central Board meeting. You know, I'm not sure what all they'll, they almost have to. I mean, I've been told they're going to at least release the fall playoff situation for the private school, which we need to know. I mean, I believe it's going to be 12 private schools in the playoffs. Like, for the bigger division, there's only 16 football-playing schools in that bigger private school division, so I think 12 of them are going to get in. I've heard that there are going to be some buys in the first round, much like the new 6A, 7A, now 6A format.

And, you know, I'm almost positive they're not going to play in the semifinal week, which will allow the private schools to play their championship game earlier in the week on either Tuesday or Wednesday for the finals. So I think that's what's going to happen. I don't know if they're going to announce, like, you know, I'm really interested in what happens with the final four. I mean, I'm assuming they're going to have to add another day or two to an already six-day event. So whether they do that on the back end or the front end or how that works out, we'll have to see what, you know, Legacy Arena, you know, what they can arrange there.

So I don't know if that'll be a part of what they announce next week. But there's still a lot of news and a lot of tees to cross and eyes to dot, you know, before we get to the 2026-2027 athletic season, which is, you know, really not that far away if you're looking at your calendar. In the huddle with Ben Thomas, AL.com, you mentioned Ace Austin and we talked recently about Jacksonville State hiring Ricky Austin out of the high school ranks. And you know where I'm going with this.

There's a scuttlebutt out there that maybe Ace would consider transferring from Alabama to Jack State, the reason being that was her old high school coach. What are you hearing about that? I saw where Coach Austin came out and said, no, Ace is right where she needs to be. He's saying all the right things, but she is a very promising young lady. What are you hearing there, Ben? He's saying that's where she needs to be, but I also think if she said, Dad, I'd like to come home and play, he'd probably say, yeah, that'd be fine.

This is where you need to be. First of all, I think it was an interesting and unique hire for Jacksonville State. Gave them some good publicity. Ricky Austin is a Jacksonville State graduate, multiple state champion at Spring Garden, well known in that area. A lot of ties in that family, obviously. His wife was a great player for Jacksonville State and was the head coach at Jacksonville State. He's going to hire his sister-in-law, Jana, who was a great player with her sister and was a long-time softball coach.

To answer your question, Harold, it would not surprise me if Ace ends up there, if not next year, maybe the next year. I think it depends on Alabama just hired a new women's basketball coach. The folks that recruited and signed Ace, Christy Curry left to go to South Florida. They made a hire, so what's that relationship going to be? I think it would be awesome for Jacksonville State if Ace came home and played with her dad there. I think it would be great publicity. We'll just have to see.

We've got to know that NIL on the women's basketball level, except for maybe at the top, top schools, is not where it is for the men. It just depends on what Ace wants to do. If she wants to play for her dad and wants to come home and play, that'll be the key. If she can get the WNBA quicker at Alabama, she'll probably stay there. But I'd like to see it. I'd love to see her come back and play for Jacksonville State. Give us an update on the AL.com People's Choice ranking.

[1:10:42] Again, as you mentioned, the big top honors for basketball are going to be next week. But you've been running this. It's a fun you did it for football. And boys, Diggy, what's the name? Diggy Cullen of Dothan, L.J. Williams of Sarah Land, and in the girls, Hoover's Chloe Ford and Kristen Johnson of Hazel Green. Again, those Miller guys. Kennedy Bowie, we've talked about quite a bit from Gunnersville and Alma Bryant's Mandy Marie Grayson. Is there still time to vote? How can we vote and tell us a little more about it?

Yeah, I think the girls semifinal is still open, although it should be closing pretty soon. And that is, you know, we have the interesting final there. We have Kristen Johnson and Chloe Ford, probably two of the frontrunners for Miss Basketball going head to head right now, Kristen Johnson from Hazel Green leading that. And then the other semifinal, as you mentioned, is Maddie Marie Grayson, one of the twins from Alma Bryant, and she's leading Kennedy Bowie from Gunnersville. And so the winners there, which probably will be closed pretty soon, we'll meet in the finals beginning tomorrow, and then you'll have three days to vote on that.

And then on Friday we'll announce the winner there. So that'll be interesting. The boys is already closed, so the final is going to be actually two South Alabama guys, Joseph Taylor from Jackson, and he was the number 13 seed going into the tournament, and L.J. Williams, the fantastic sophomore from Sierra Land. they'll be in the final. That's already submitted, and that voting will start I think at 1 o'clock tomorrow. You can go vote on those two guys, and then it'll close on Thursday. So it's been fun.

I enjoy doing it. It's tough to pick 16 players and seed them, but we found out that seeding really is not a big deal in these tournaments. We've had the 16 seed win before. we've had the 1 seed win before, so it's just a matter of what the fans get behind. And especially here lately, what you've done lately. Ben, we talked about Ricky Austin, Ace Austin. Let's talk about Austin High, who talked to us about their new girls head basketball coach, Mike Chase. Well, nobody thought he was going to be out of a job for long, right?

I mean, this is anytime you have multiple state titles on your resume like Coach Chase does at Spain Park, he was going to find another job. I think he found a good one in Austin. Although they've struggled in recent years, he has a propensity to turn teams around. I mean, this is the coach who coached Sarah Barker at Spain Park, and they, I guess, the last team other than Hoover to win a state title in the 7A ranks. And then he came to Orange Beach for three years, and really he was pretty successful at Orange Beach.

They weren't in the Final Four, but made the Elite 8 once, two sweet 16s, go another route. So he obviously made his opinion known on that on social media, but they found another job. I would expect Austin with him to start being a playoff contender now. I think it's a good hire, and Orange Beach, I think, is going to make a hire to replace him this week, and it's going to be a local coach in the Mobile area who's been at his school for about two decades, so I think they're going to have a good hire as well.

Boy, that Austin and Decatur girls rivalry just amped up quite a few. Decatur had an incredible year, got to the regionals at Wallace first time in 26 years, and then went on and got beat by who else? Asa Green, girls, BT, what else? Now, we know there's a lot more stuff going on this week that you and your team is going to tell us about during the course of the week. What else have you got going on and where can we get online to get it? Yeah, so obviously we'll have the soccer rankings out today.

The coaches soccer poll will be out later today. We're doing our, last week we did our all region boys teams in Mobile, Huntsville and Birmingham and we started that today with the Mobile girls. Huntsville will be on Wednesday. We'll have the all region teams and then obviously the baseball softball rankings on Thursday morning and then Randy Kennedy will be back out and you guys may need to get Randy back on the air. He's now retired from the radio so he should have plenty of time to talk to you.

You can tell him I said that. We will. on Thursday he'll have another one of his watch lists on the best high school recruits in Alabama and I think this time it's quarterbacks which is really going to be interesting because there's really good quarterbacks in the state of Alabama including Gunnar Rivers and Trent Seaborn and those guys. It'll be interesting to see who he has on his list. Plenty more to do and a lot of stuff leading up. Like I said look for some Josh Bean stories on the Bryant Jordan Award regional winners as we approach that banquet on Monday.

[1:15:46] Ben always a pleasure to hook up with you. Listen man thanks your time day and have a great week okay? All right appreciate you guys thank you. Thank you buddy. The BT Express Ben Thomas AL.com coming up Big Orange Talk with the B-man Vince Ferrara on deck stay with us. Since 1952 J.C. Hammond Sons has been keeping the shoals comfortable year round as the oldest family-owned heating and air business in the shoals area they've built a reputation for reliable service you can trust whether it's for your home or your business need installation repair or maintenance the experienced team at J.C.

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TrueGreen.com because nobody makes it easier to get a golf course quality lawn than True Green the official lawn care treatment provider of the PGA Tour My name is Christine and I'm a widow My husband Ryan was a healthy 34 year old and three months later he was gone Thankfully he had life insurance Ethos made it so easy You can get a quote in seconds apply in minutes and get same day coverage 100% online no medical exam Life insurance didn't take away the loss but it did give us the space to just grieve Get your free quote at ethos.com slash game ethos.com slash game Paid spokesperson Time spent on application may vary Online health questions required This is the story of the one As a procurement manager for a hospital system she keeps every facility in her network stocked and ready That's why she counts on Grainger to be her single source for thousands of products from disinfectants to lighting air filters and more and with fast dependable delivery Grainger helps her keep every facility stocked safe and running smoothly Call 1-800-GRAINGER click Grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done From the University of Alabama this is Crimson Tide today It's a daily update on Bama sports and it's brought to you by Guthrie's America's original chicken finger restaurant and a proud partner of the Alabama Crimson Tide For more information visit guthrie'schicken.com Hello again everybody I'm Roger Hoover Here are thoughts from baseball head coach Rob Vaughn after Alabama's series win over the weekend against Oklahoma It's just a gritty win man like Miles kind of same thing out of the gate you know just walk the leadoff guy after we score three which is not ideal but man like the umpire had the plate today we know him well as a good dude good umpire but it's a really tight zone I mean it is it's a really tight one and you would have had no idea watching his body length whether he was getting squeezed or not and just execute stuff goes and rolls his ankle on the first on the turf just gets caught in the turf and man just gutted it out it's such an easy time to tap out in a big game and that dude wants the ball in those moments and those innings he ate up were huge Ash outstanding you know that one run he did give up I think there was a combined exit below about 70 miles an hour on all those hits just great job by him This year we honor the most important anniversary ever an event that reshapes civilization as we know it a day that would lead to something so flawless that nothing could ever really compare people have tried to match it but have failed This year we celebrate the 60th anniversary of Guthrie's the home of the original chicken finger Just talking about it gets me all choked up And hungry for a chicken finger Guthrie's an original obsession for 60 years Crimson Tide Today is brought to you by Guthrie's Crimson Tide Today is a production of the Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield The Score Now back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score Welcome back in really appreciate you being right around the Tennessee Valley obviously ever didn't hook up with Vince Ferrara talking Tennessee but in the meantime BB something else that's about to take center stage it's been away for a while in Tuscaloosa and that's football I'm looking at the forecast for Saturday for the A-Day game and it's always a concern is it going to be too cold is it going to be too wet or in this case is it going to be too hot it's going to feel like September if they hit their numbers how about this 85 degrees with little chance of rain have you got the sunscreen ready well that's the issue this time of the year if it doesn't rain for a week it's going to warm up but as many spring games as I've been to over the years I haven't been to a lot of cold ones that's normally 75 to 85 your thoughts coming into this one is this in your opinion where do you rank it it seems like we have this question posed every year this is the most interesting one in a long time but when you are having a quarterback battle we're going to get the V-man here in a second but quickly your early thoughts on this year's 8-8 game well we discussed it earlier Harold what I'm really paying attention to and I know everybody's going to talk about the quarterbacks Austin Mack Keelan Russell they'll get plenty of reps but I want to see the line of scrimmage the offensive line I know they're going to mix and match some of these guys and we discussed it too about how much better this defensive front is looking but my number one goal Saturday is going to be looking at the line of scrimmage well Alabama fans overall want this team to have as much talent as Vince Ferrara he drives you to work mornings on 99.1 the sports animal up in Knoxville and ball radio network V-man would welcome in would you agree that you are just a five star modest talent how are you I am good guys just glad I wasn't driving anywhere this past weekend or driving back from somewhere so it was nice to be home for Easter weekend hope you guys had a great one hey we did while you were away Tennessee played second spring scrimmage V-man what I've found with fans nowadays because everywhere you look everybody's got a podcast everybody's got an expert opinion there's a million coaches out there much smarter than a coach at that school and usually it's divided you get a fan base saying well man we're going to win a national championship we won't lose until the year 30-20 and then you got the other side of the room saying oh my gosh this team absolutely is going to be terrible V-man what are you hearing about this Tennessee team post scrimmage number two well I think the best the best way is if it's a mixed bag because then that means there's there's some things happening maybe you have some balance on your team if it's one-sided then yeah that's great for one side it's alarming for the other I don't think that's championship football if both are getting some things done each side is getting some things done against the other then maybe they're both good or maybe they're both bad who knows but I still would rather have that than have it one-sided plus the coaches can manipulate in what they do in those scrimmage situationally so if they really want to work on pass rush situations they're going to reset and do third and 11 for you know seven straight plays and then yeah they scrimmaged but it's not like a game and that's this Saturday's orange and white game a bunch as typical a bunch of SEC teams will be going this Saturday for Tennessee will probably you know we don't know an exact format probably you know my guess would be it will be some situational stuff where sometimes they'll just start out at the 20-yard line all right let's see if you can get it in here in the red zone or some two-minute different things like that where probably keeping score I don't know why anyone bothers to do that anyway because the score doesn't matter but the point is to see these players give them experience not only without coaching on the field against good competition on the other side in live situations and in a stadium with people there watching to see how they handle a small sample of what it's going to be like when you get into the real games during the regular season against SEC players so to me I don't want to see these things go away I think there's tremendous value for players in college football to have these whatever the format is have them practice in front of a lot of people everybody wants to know about the quarterback and we'll get a little bit more of an ideal Saturday but defense to me Penn State transfer defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam came over Jim Knowles of course now is the new defensive coordinator I've heard a lot of good things about Gilliam and the new look secondary is go boss 247 coined it 15-15 new defensive backs seven transfers eight freshmen Ty Redman Faroak's been there TJ Metcalf John Lane Quay Moss just to mention a few and it takes a I think a year at least to learn Jim Knowles' system it's rather complicated but they've got some talent yes and that doesn't even count maybe you're right in kind of how you outlined it but that doesn't even count hey there's a bunch of players or a number of players that are returning young players that didn't really play much last year other than a little bit of special teams so they're also still new to play I mean really it's Ty Redman in terms of their returning secondary and he was a true freshman last year that played almost every game everybody else is different I think you'll see all those other starters the two safety spots the star nickel spot and then the other corner they're all going to be newcomers so you mentioned Xavier Gilliam he's been complimented a lot in creating pressure from the middle on that D-line they don't have Arian Carter in the linebacking core but it's still a very deep linebacking group headed by Amari Campbell Penn State transfer also Chaz Coleman as the Leo kind of rush hybrid defensive end linebacker he's gotten some praise although he's still pretty raw and young can't wait to see with him and the pass rush looks like on on Saturday because I think that's a big key but look you mentioned the transition and how that was really one of the big stories was hey it takes a couple of years with Jim Knowles the system it's complicated having players on every level of this defense come over from Penn State four of them in fact total plus a number of defensive assistants that have experience with Jim Knowles plus a number of GAs that are here as well all those things are helping the transition the defense actually has been really good in the first two scrimmages so I think the transition has gone smoother than anyone probably expected going in now we'll see once you get into the real games but I do think that the transition has been and court players have said it too has been pretty smooth and it hasn't overwhelmed them because of all those other guys that are familiar with Jim Knowles the system that are already in place that can kind of help everybody that's trying to learn it new V-Man on a million and a half platforms including driving to work on mornings on 99.1 the sports animal in Knoxville Tennessee LSU baseball is it safe to say spicy may be one of the words to describe this weekend series well I don't know Tennessee fans are using the term feisty they're a lot more upset than feisty right now they're not they're beyond feisty at their team at the program at Josh Elander at Danny White I mean yeah there's and then you add everything that's going on with Kim Caldwell on the Lady Balls program with everybody leaving zero returning players now and only one signee and that signee could very well go to where they don't have a single returning player or signee if their last one minor leaves I mean that's for a team that doesn't have a coaching change or two assistants are gone too so yeah between baseball starting out so slow and that a lot of people pretty upset at a lot of things right now Rick Barnes losing at least for now three players to the transfer portal this morning Kate Phillips who was injured a good bit of the season by the way he is the son of John David Phillips and yes that John David Phillips former Alabama quarterback Brady Crow there JP Estrella and I believe Boswell entered in the last hour I'll let you update us on that V and where can we get online to get all your great stuff yeah and Clarence Masamba who was a freshman from France as well so Boswell becomes the fourth so yeah they have a single player that had returning eligibility hit the portal last year they only had four returning players but all these guys were the ones that were three of the four that returned last year a couple of them were there for all of their Elite Eight appearances so some of these are strange in why they're hitting the portal but yeah it's for you can follow me on all the socials it's Vince Sports V-I-N-C-E Sports and then on Sports Source Digital Network on YouTube hey man please don't hit the portal I mean listen a million and a half is the best offer we can give you for now so please stay with us okay absolutely I'm not hitting the portal I'm all yours thank you here's your sign still and deliver the V-Man Vince for $199.1 the Esports Animal in Knoxville what about the portal in Tuscaloosa and more Brian on that stay with us on the BEMO Buck Show Spring is in the air and Aleve's long lasting pain relief is here to keep you moving the days the days are longer and the flowers are blooming whether it's gardening yard work or just spending more time outdoors spring is a way of getting us moving despite any body pain that's where Aleve can keep you going with just one dose Aleve gives you long lasting body pain relief for up to 12 hours from sun up to sun down Aleve's got your back try Aleve use as directed for minor aches and pains some days self-care starts with nature made gummy vitamins a deep breath and a little encouragement mom I'm really nervous me too honey but we've got this repeat after me I'm gonna have a good day I'm going to have a good day I choose joy no matter what comes my way I bring joy wherever I go quality gummy vitamins from nature made the number one pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand based on a survey of pharmacists who recommend branded vitamins and supplements hey it's Rich Eisen for Pella Windows and Doors sometimes teams take a time out to regroup and call the right play when it comes to your home Pella Windows and Doors always has the winning game plan they're not just window and door experts they're experts at taking care of you and your home at Pella they find the products that meet your needs and their experts install them they do it every day and that's why your neighbors trust them discover why Pella is a trusted choice for homeowners everywhere visit Pella.com slash Eisen 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they're here to help you make the most out of your money for life outside the box get started at H&RBlock.com you've said it before this will only take a second just a quick glance a fast reply but on the road seconds don't wait for you they decide everything who stops who doesn't who makes it home so next time your phone lights up ask yourself is this distraction worth a ticket or even a life put the phone away or pay paid for by NetSelf Evan Cohen here in life as in sports the pros make it look easy that's why pro golfers like Jason Day Ben Griffin and Patton Kazire trust the pros in lawn care True Green they have the experience and expertise to give you a lawn worthy of the PGA Tour and since True Green does the work for you you get more free time or more tea times so stop stressing over your lawn and start loving it sign up now at TrueGreen.com because nobody makes it easier to get a golf course quality lawn than True Green the official lawn care treatment provider of the PGA Tour you've said it before this will only take a second just a quick glance a fast reply but on the road seconds don't wait for you they decide everything who stops who doesn't who makes it home so next time your phone lights up ask yourself is this distraction worth a ticket or even a life put the phone away or pay paid for by Netson Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9 The Score in college baseball action this weekend the Auburn Tigers won the series over Arkansas winning the final game of the series Saturday 8-3 Auburn wins the series two games to one Alabama went on the road this weekend they beat Oklahoma two out of three games including the final game of the series on Saturday they beat the Sooners in Norman 3-2 also on Saturday South Alabama was edged at Coastal Carolina 8-7 Coastal Carolina takes two out of three against the Jaguars and Troy won two out of three against Arkansas State they finished it off Saturday with a 6-4 victory over the Red Wolves Auburn Mets basketball team and the NIT champions they beat Tulsa yesterday in overtime 92-86 bundle auto and home renters or condo and save with Progressive I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash presented by Progressive on 93.9 The Score The problem with radio is we can't show you our new box packed with a KFC snacker five nuggets fries and a drink for just seven dollars so you'll just have to trust us when we say the crispy golden fried breading will make your mouth water you'll have to trust us when we say this is a ridiculous amount of chicken for such a small price and you'll have to really trust us when we insist that yes it really is only seven dollars seven dollar box feast from KFC trust us it's finger licking good prices and participation may vary tax tips and fees extra The Score Now back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score The Score Welcome back again baby obviously the portal is rocking and rolling and in case you missed the latter part of the interview there with the events for Laura you might have missed it but I don't think I've ever seen anything like this the Tennessee women's basketball team the reason we bring this up is because if you want to spell unusual with a capital U this is it they have no players on their team right now the five star last year that came in the young lady she has announced she's entering the portal so have you ever seen anything like it if you don't see what the impact is the portal you might want to go to Tennessee these days they also lost two assistant coaches Alabama beat Tennessee in the SEC women's basketball tournament they have had a when you compare this to Pat Summitt boy they have taken a step down but no there's no question right now they do not have a roster I think they've got one lady they're trying to get back yeah and she's got to hire a couple more coaches other than that nothing else to do in Gotham maybe obviously we're after to hook up with Brian Pasek fine voice if you will color person on the Alabama Crimson Tide Network there with Chris Chris Stewart God Offending is going to be talking about not only the portal for Alabama we'll get to that in a second but what a weekend did NATOs have anything to do that you heard of this weekend well besides to my knowledge he was in Indianapolis yeah he also according to reports got engaged I'm sure he's talking with players general manager and yeah Nate had a lot to do yeah and a jeweler I'm sure you know when you get the news he got on the money front he can buy a big rock I guarantee I think Brian Pasek would agree with that he's the only other man that could go down that lane he's on the Alabama Crimson Tide Network Brian welcome in how are you he's speechless is what Brian Pasek in these days let's see if Brian's now with us Brian are you now with us we'll get to Brian here in a second before we do that maybe while we have to get the the wrinkles ironed out there with Brian obviously this is the day that coaches sit here and fret about it's called the portal and I it's already hit Bobo and it sounds like he has already announced that he is in the portal in Tuscaloosa he did announce that at least his agent announced it Harold again yeah I think Brian is with us now we can talk a little bit more about that let's see if Brian is with us there Brian passing now Brian are you with us now I am there you go there you go see you were just speechless that's the news you were as busy as Nate Ocho this weekend we understand he went out and got engaged and he also I think got him a six million dollar contract I think it's safe to say his ramen noodle days are over would you agree Brian yeah you know poor guy was starving to death making what was he making four million a year yeah so yeah I don't know the terms of his old or new contract I know this he's making more than he was as a math teacher at Rondula High School and I couldn't be happier than he is yeah what was it Latrell pretty well said back in the day when he was sitting here I mean just courting me he said look man I gotta feed my family I'm sure I'm sure you can feed your family in Tuscalo on six meal yeah that's an old teammate pretty well yeah he was trying to feed his family trying to feed his family you know instead yeah hey they were eating good I can tell you now literally I think 40 of 7 in this day and age yeah let's talk about the news what does this mean for the program we know what it means for Nate but what does this mean for the program Brian hey can you hear me I'm having trouble hearing you yeah well yeah we have some issues but I'll try to repeat it we understand you thought about the news six million dollar contract obviously this locks down Nate in concentrate we know that it's a dog eat dog world out there they're going to use everything they can on the recruiting trail the old he from around here just waiting for the right deal and he'll leave you high and dry it's safe to say at least right now you put that on the shelf your thoughts just what this does on the recruiting trail it's got a very good class coming in as far as the future of this program and taking it to the next level well first of all I think it's well deserved to be one of the top five highest paid coaches in the country is where he should be I mean when you look at the success that Nate Oates has had in his time in Tuscaloosa Alabama has become one of the top and most consistent programs in college basketball for this season to end up in the Sweet 16 to be one of what you and I say this jokingly in air quotes one of the worst finishes that Alabama has had in the last four or five years to be in the Sweet 16 is incredible and so to me it just means let's keep it rolling let's keep it going we'll see who's back in this day and age of college basketball you really you really don't know I don't have a good feel for it I heard you guys talking about it Taylor Bowen has put his name in the portal I would anticipate others just because that's the nature of college basketball I would also anticipate some of the best players in the country having Alabama very much on their radar I know Alabama's NIL budget is I'm guessing I don't know what it is but I'm guessing it's pretty good and I think you also have the fact that Alabama's had a ton of success the player development part of this is a big piece of it that I know we've talked about I don't think as many people do around the country I mean when you take a guy like LeBaron Phylon who decides to come back develops plays in the system and he's going to be a lottery pick I think that helps you with every other recruit so I'm excited about the portal season sometimes the portal take it away sometimes it give it and I look forward to Alabama having another great roster last year but you just don't know exactly what that's going to look like great recruiting class coming in hopefully we'll have some guys that are talented that have eligibility remaining come back and then get into the portal and get some of the best players in the country I anticipate Alabama being right back where they've been in recent years and that is in the mix as one of the best teams in the SEC with a chance to make a run in the NCAA tournament let let me let me ask you about those freshmen coming in and a couple of them put on a show last week Jackson Richardson who jumped over five people for a dunk in a McDonald's All-American game or it was absolutely his ceiling is incredible Quaden Samuels Terrace Bowie who I think scored 20 in one of the All-Star games we'll see as far as their development but man those guys potential coming in Brian's incredible it is another top 10 national recruiting class and I mean you look at some of the guys and where they were ranked in recent years I mean Brandon Miller was not a projected one and done and number two overall pick Noah Clowney was not projected as a one and done first round draft pick LeBaron Phylon was wondering if he was going to get playing time with the loaded backcourt last year obviously he was all freshman SEC now he's going prone probably going to be a lottery pick Amari Allen is one of those players that was highly recruited but not to the level that he should have been and I think a lot of it is evaluation of Nate and his staff but maybe more than that the development that what you get on campus these guys thrive in this system under Nate Oaks and all those guys have the potential to do what some of those guys I mentioned did you just you don't know because guys develop at different rates it needs to be sooner rather than later in today's college basketball and I know and I know the talent that's coming in has a chance to be really really good and I'm excited about seeing those young guys Brian Passick Alabama Crimson Tide Network Brian obviously it's safe to say what Alabama would love to get and that's that prize big guy you watch who's playing for all the marbles tonight you watch your final four and you got to have a big presence and you would like to have at least two here's the problem that every team out there wants the same thing the question is these guys are like a left guard in football or a quarterback they're going to sit here and demand a high price your thoughts about where Alabama is in the NIL market because you got some of these budgets that's just off the charts Alabama is not one of those teams at least from an image standpoint that's going to go out and oversell themselves and over price themselves out of a market but realistically where do you see Alabama in the big man market well I think you got one on your roster that you hope you can keep and Aiden Sherell we'll see how that goes I think he's potentially one of the best big guys in the country but whether it's players in the portal whether it's players on your own team you got good players it's going to cost a lot to keep them and so I like if he's able to come back I like that as a starting point and then you know you've got to have an NBA general manager's mentality and mindset and you know you've got a certain amount of money it's not unlimited it's really good it's probably not the best but it's really good and you've got to make decisions and you've got to make decisions where you put your resources and so you've got to be good you've got to be an attractive destination which Alabama is you've got to have a great coach which Alabama does you also have to be strategic and I have no reason to think that NATO and his staff won't do that but yes big guys are a priority that was one thing that this team was lacking I think that had to do more with injuries than anything else but regardless you look at some of the teams that have made deep runs into the final four in the national championship game and they got some pretty good big guys Alabama's guards were terrific but you've got to have both and so that will be a priority in the offseason Let me ask you about tonight before we let you go after Michigan rounded Arizona I'm thinking to myself Alabama's first half against Michigan looks even better after leading them 49 to 47 and I think had them off balance they come out and hit 7 out of 7 shots but boy that first half looks awfully good right now UConn Michigan tonight Brian passing who's going to win the national championship well after I saw Michigan up close and I saw Arizona up close but having seen them recently we played Arizona in December and Birmingham and they were great I thought the two best teams were Arizona and Michigan and I still think Michigan is the best team I thought that the way they've been playing they have they have it all I worry about you know they're a little banged up Yaxel Lindenburg didn't look 100% I mean he's going to play how effective he'll be how healthy he is I think he'll play a role in it and UConn has championship DNA Michigan's I think the better team the more well-rounded the more complete team but there's something about UConn it kind of kind of you know reminds you of a little bit of Alabama under Saban they're just figuring out ways to win when they're the better team they win and when they're not the better team they win just something about that championship DNA that UConn has if you ask me to pick I would say Michigan but I think it's going to be a great game I don't think you can underestimate the championship pedigree that UConn brings I'll tell you what like him or hate him Dan Hurley can coach and he's been that's a good analogy with Saban he just set the standard and kept winning well it's going to be a fascinating off season see these guys come in and develop who stays who goes again Tanner Bo Bowen at least his agent announcing he's going to enter the portal now doesn't necessarily mean he's going to leave we'll kind of see where that stands out we have thoroughly enjoyed the conversations young man have a great off season and we will make up excuse to call you to talk about something have a great off season let's do this again soon do it again I don't think we're going to need an excuse because college basketball never stops especially with the transfer portal and all this going on with it so I hope I get to join you guys again soon but always enjoy it appreciate you guys your wish is our command Brian Pastic on the Crimson Tide Network maybe quickly update on Ryan Weathers at a red old now with the New York Yankees he's often a good start two games started through eight innings he struck out 11 guys in eight innings so far for the Yankees 4-5-0 the ERA he'll take the man again Thursday against the Athletics but first CB are you ready for some national championship basketball tonight on the college hardwoods you can hear that in fact James mentioned it earlier you can hear it on 93 9 and after the national championship game is over with the Atlanta Braves will be joined in progress Braves split with the Diamondbacks hopefully they can have a winning road trip in a few days and it is a late date it's in the land of the angels but it's a late date for the Braves as well catch it all again on another busy night here at 93.9 the score going to take care of business for now on behalf of BB Greg James Blair the entire crew here Harold Buck thank you so much for your time today let's do it again tomorrow noon to 2 for the Boomwell Buck show back here on sports radio 93.9 the score