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 Now, get ready to roll Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee.

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 It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.

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 The Boomo Bugg Show.

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 Your exclusive inside track to the Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC.

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 Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9.

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 The Score.

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 Good afternoon and welcome in to the Boomo Bugg Show.

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 I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird.

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 Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley.

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 Brett Beaird, welcome in and can you say what a dramatic way to put the final piece in the final four puzzle.

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 Good afternoon, welcome in and how are you?

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 Happy Monday to you and the listeners.

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 Yes, that was quite an ending yesterday.

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 We'll be talking about it throughout the course of the show.

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 Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne posted on social media Saturday night about Nate Oates' future.

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 He's not going anywhere.

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 Tennessee loses to Michigan Sunday, but head coach Rick Barnes says he's coming back for another year.

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 Adam is here right now to recap an eventful weekend for the SEC and the Sweet 16.

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 Adam is Adam Spencer.

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 He's busy there.

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 It's Saturday down south.

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 Adam, welcome in and now we know the final four.

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 Good afternoon, welcome in and how are you?

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 I'm doing great, guys.

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 How are you?

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 Man, we're doing all right.

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 Adam, let me give you some advice here.

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 If you get up by 19 points, do not take anything for granted.

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 Would you agree?

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 Yeah, I mean, I think we've seen that time and time again.

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 I mean, I'm also an NBA fan and that's just something that you see over and over again in the pro ranks these days.

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 Teams go up by 20 plus points and then, you know, next thing you know, the other team's up by 10.

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 So it just seems to be, you know, an indictment on players these days that just don't have that killer instinct.

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 But, I mean, yeah, my goodness, not a great look for Duke there for sure.

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 How much of this was on Connecticut's team, just having the will, and how much of it is on Hurley willing his team and pitching his classic, almost patent, hissy fits?

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 You can say what you want about the guy, but at the end of the day, he walks away with some Ws.

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 Yeah, I mean, I thought it was interesting because in the first half, I think they were like, you know, they've only made like one out of like 12 threes or something like that.

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 Like, they were miserable from three in the first half.

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 You can see, like, he wasn't, you know, for all the Dan Hurley, you know, all the antics that we see him get into, it's almost always at officials.

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 Like, you don't really see him screaming at his players.

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 And, you know, in that first half, he just kind of was shaking his head and just, you know, it was kind of a quiet performance because, you know, I think that he knew, like, if we get some of these shots to fall, they were getting good looks.

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 They just weren't making them, and sometimes that's tough when you go into a new arena like that.

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 I mean, at least for them, you know, they had the benefit of playing in the United Center, which is a basketball arena.

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 You know, sometimes in the final four, we see this when you go into this NFL stadium to play and the sight lines are off and all that, and it can take a little while to make shots.

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 But, you know, credit to UConn, they've been here before, they have guys that have been here before, like Caravan, and those guys just kept working, and they put the pressure on Duke to, you know, really close them out because they just started making some of those shots, and they kept it close, and they gave themselves a chance to win, and that's the sign of a really good coach and a really good set of players who have been around the block before.

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 Adam, I actually looked that stat up this morning.

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 They missed one.

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 They were one out of their first 18 from three.

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 And Hurley, of course, somebody told him that after the game, he put his hands over his face and winced.

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 The other one in the final four, 30 minutes after Illinois and UConn, are the two juggernauts, Arizona and Michigan.

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 The SEC certainly knows how good Michigan is.

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 Alabama led at halftime 49-47, but Michigan's size kind of took over in depth,

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 in the second half, and it was really a known contest yesterday with Tennessee.

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 Again, both teams getting far.

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 A lot of people thought Florida would be in the final four.

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 That didn't happen.

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 Your thoughts on Michigan versus Alabama and Tennessee?

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 Yeah, I mean, that's just, you know, the problem with those teams, they were just bad matchups.

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 Now, Michigan's a one seed.

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 Obviously, they're a bad matchup for everybody, but they just have so much size that Alabama can't match.

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 And that was a problem.

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 I mean, credit to Alabama for fighting like it did.

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 And then with Tennessee, it's just, Tennessee, you know, we've talked about this before,

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 about how woeful Rick Barnes' offenses tend to be at key moments.

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 And that was, again, like, you can't let a team go on a 21-0 run against you in the first half and just killed them.

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 Like, there was no way.

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 Like, you know, 21-0 is a lot different than, you know, they were down so much more than UConn was against Duke.

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 You know, they didn't even give themselves a chance to work themselves back into the game.

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 And it's just because the offense gets stagnant at these bad times against top-tier defensive teams.

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 And it's been the same story.

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 Now, you know, Tennessee's had some bad luck here.

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 You know, they've made it to three straight Elite Eights, which is incredible.

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 But they've always faced it once.

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 They haven't gotten any luck with any sort of madness happening to them before they get to the Elite Eight.

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 So, there's that one seed that's always waiting.

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 So, it's not like they're losing to inferior teams.

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 But, like, they're just not good enough.

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 They're not Final Four worthy yet.

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 And that's just been, you know, it's getting harder and harder not to say that the Elite Eight is the ceiling for this program under Rick Barnes,

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 which is still a great ceiling.

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 It's just, is it going to be enough?

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 Adam Spencer, Saturday, down south.

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 Let's talk a little bit about Alabama.

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 A lot of folks said this at the very first game of the year again.

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 This team is going to win 20-plus games because of guard play.

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 They're good.

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 But, and they're going to beat most teams.

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 But when they, the field levels out and they've got to play Elite Teams, there's no answer underneath.

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 And we see it almost every time.

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 Is the ceiling in Alabama, the Sweet 16, maybe the, I know they've been to the Final Four, but I'm talking about a consistent level.

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 You've got to believe Nate Oates is going to kick back and say, okay, I get it.

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 I've tried this system.

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 It's good enough to win a lot of ballgames.

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 It's good enough to be competitive in a lot of ballgames.

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 But to get to the Final Four and win it all, I've got to sit here and invest in not one, but two big quality guys.

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 Yeah.

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 And I mean, I think that, you know, you're going to be able to find some of these guys.

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 Like, I think he needs to, you know, just follow, you know, he needs to start stalking Brad Underwood whenever Brad Underwood goes.

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 You know, just find one of these, like, you know, you can have your physical bruiser.

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 This is a problem with Tennessee, too.

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 Maybe Rick Barnes needs to stalk Nate Oates while Nate Oates is stalking Brad Underwood.

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 But, like, they need to get over to Europe and find some of these seven-footers that can shoot the three because that's what they're missing now.

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 You know, Tennessee has these big guys like Akpara and Jalen Carey, and they've had these guys over the years that just beat you up physically.

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 But they can't do anything offensively.

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 You know, anything outside of five feet is just a complete zero for them.

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 So, like, that's the kind of player that you can't build around.

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 You can have one of those guys out there.

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 You can't have two or three of those guys out there in today's basketball.

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 So, you need a versatile seven-foot guy like Mirkovic or the Eva Fitches.

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 And, I mean, I know he had one of them.

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 But, you know, those are the types of guys that Nate Oates needs.

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 You need one of those guys to pair with a traditional big man who can, you know, be physical and grab.

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 So, the model is there for him to continue the offense that he wants to play,

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 which has been proven time and time again to be successful.

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 It's just about the personnel that he puts around the guards.

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 And we'll see if he is able to, you know, figure out a little bit better frontcourt roster construction this offseason.

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 I've heard all weekend about the Big Ten being 5-0 against the SEC.

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 Yes, they were.

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 But, let's add some – let's go beneath that a little bit.

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 Iowa beat Florida by one.

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 Nebraska beat Bandy by two.

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 Purdue beat Texas by two.

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 Michigan, of course, beat Alabama by 13 and then rounded Tennessee by 33.

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 But there were three losses there that were by two or fewer points.

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 Yeah, I mean, I think that this is just, you know, a situation because it was just – it's not like, you know, everybody wants to write off the SEC and basketball and football.

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 It's not like, you know, last year the SEC got 14 teams into the tournament and won the national title and had, like, you know, put up the same numbers of teams in the Elite Eight and the Final Four and all that sort of stuff.

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 So, I mean, if the Big Ten doesn't win the title, it's all for naught.

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 And, you know, Arizona and UConn are going to have something to say about that.

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 And, you know, these things are cyclical.

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 Next year we can see the SEC is the best league again because, you know, Florida has some key guys that will probably come back.

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 And, you know, Kentucky will do what it does.

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 Arkansas, you know, Darius Acuff's leaving.

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 But, you know, there's some talent that's coming into the league here and we don't even know where things will settle in the portal.

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 So, you know, I think it's just going to be this thing where it just bounces back year after year.

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 Big Ten, SEC, Big Ten, SEC, because the Big Ten is going to lose Brayden Smith, the all-time leading assist guy in the NCAA.

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 Illinois is going to lose some of its guys.

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 You know, Keaton Wagler is going to be gone after this year.

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 You know, Michigan is going to lose Lindeborg and some of these other big guys for the NBA.

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 So, it's just going to be cyclical.

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 And I wouldn't be surprised if the SEC was the dominant conference again this time next year.

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 Let me ask you this.

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 Just kind of looking at the business side of this thing called college sports overall.

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 I saw a number this morning.

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 LSU basically is just raising the bar to where a lot of schools are simply going to be priced out of being competitive.

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 They'll still show up.

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 They'll collect their checks and all that stuff.

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 But to be serious about winning championships, that's the point here.

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 I saw a number where this collective coaching staff is in excess of $200 million.

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 How in the world can these schools continue to pay that for coaches and that for players?

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 At what point do the guys who write the checks to pay the bills for fans' sake, you know, enough's enough?

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 Yeah, I mean, I think we're coming up on that because, you know, I just don't think that there's, you know,

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 no matter how much money you have to write, you know, $10 million, $20 million checks every year for a college sports team

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 is probably not a long-term sustainable goal.

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 So, I mean, I think that, you know, we'll see this some of these times.

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 You know, I think that there's a big push to get some championships down in Baton Rouge here in the next few years.

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 But then once they get those, I mean, you know, now the money might dry up a little bit.

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 You know, yes, you've won the title, but now it's like, okay, well, now I'm not – I've paid my money.

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 You know, what if Cody Campbell in Texas get the national title in basketball or football?

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 And then, you know, now is he going to keep spending $20 million a year?

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 Can he keep spending $20 million a year?

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 You know, who knows what his finances are going to be.

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 But, you know, guys like that, once you get the title, like maybe it becomes a little less palatable.

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 You've had your moment.

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 Now it's like, I'll still donate, but I'm not going to write blank checks for you every year.

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 No, I think we're going to find out in the next, like, five, seven years here just how sustainable this is.

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 And, you know, I think that there's going to be some programs in for some rude awakenings.

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 Adam, any time after the final season loss, coaches and players are going to be emotional.

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 A lot of the players come out and say, well, I really haven't thought about if I'm coming back

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 or I really want to come back.

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 One of the Alabama players, Amore Allen, said, well, I'll see what my agent says.

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 At least he was honest about it.

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 But there are some questions about coaches returning.

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 On one of the Vandy signs, Mark Byington, with an extension, Rick Barnes says 100,000 percent

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 coming back next year.

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 Drake Byrne, Alabama's athletic director, says Saturday night he's not going anywhere.

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 So, at least on the surface, we know three coaches who are in demand or maybe seeking retirement

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 are returning.

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 Yeah, I think that's good for the league.

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 I mean, I think that, you know, Nate Oates, I don't think, was ever super high on UNC's list,

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 maybe a little bit higher on Kansas' list.

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 But, I mean, you know, there's no movement at Kansas yet.

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 So, you know, I think that, you know, it's good for the league to have a guy like Rick Barnes

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 in the back league.

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 Yes, I know Tennessee fans are frustrated by not getting to a final four, but three straight

185
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 elite eights is something that 90% of teams out there would kill for.

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 So, you know, I think that he's good for the league.

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 I hope Byington stays at Vanderbilt and doesn't just, you know, leave after two years because

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 he's building something sustainable there.

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 And, you know, maybe that's something that, you know, he takes into account when, if and

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 when UNC comes calling is like, you know, do I really want to start over somewhere or do

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 I want to, you know, continue to do what I've been doing with the resources that are continuing

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 to increase at Vanderbilt, you know.

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 Tough decision there, but I hope he comes back to the SEC.

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 I agree with you.

195
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 Yeah, and you're right.

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 About 320 college teams will like to be in three consecutive elite eights.

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 You've got a good article on SDS this morning.

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 One player who needs to step up for each of the final four teams, Toby Owaka, is with Arizona.

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 Who do you used to play for?

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 Tennessee.

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 And he's one of these big dudes inside who I think will really help them.

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 Adam, I know you have got a lot of coverage of the final

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 four in the SEC postseason.

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 Joe Conk's got baseball.

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 Where can we get online to get all the good stuff?

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 Yeah, Saturday down south and Saturday tradition.

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 You know, tradition's our Big Ten site.

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 We've got plenty going on there.

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 Got some fun stuff coming on both sites this week as we build up towards what should be a

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 really exciting final four.

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00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:40,840
 Buckle up, Adam.

212
00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:41,740
 Going to need to listen, man.

213
00:14:41,820 --> 00:14:43,580
 Thanks for your time today and have a great week, okay?

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00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:45,100
 Thanks a lot.

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00:14:45,180 --> 00:14:45,860
 Thanks for having me, guys.

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00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:46,820
 All right.

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00:14:46,860 --> 00:14:47,280
 Thank you.

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00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:49,260
 Adam Spencer, Saturday down south.

219
00:14:49,340 --> 00:14:50,680
 Talking about Rick Barnes, BB.

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00:14:50,820 --> 00:14:55,260
 To me, not only is he proving he can get the job done on the court by Tennessee standards.

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00:14:55,260 --> 00:14:56,720
 They're not some of the big guys.

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00:14:56,780 --> 00:14:57,520
 I understand that.

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00:14:58,020 --> 00:15:01,720
 But he just seems to be a genuinely nice, well-rounded guy, guys.

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00:15:01,780 --> 00:15:06,200
 And sometimes people put Ws over class sometimes on the road, BB.

225
00:15:06,700 --> 00:15:09,160
 Well, he talked about his Christian faith.

226
00:15:09,300 --> 00:15:13,380
 And it's refreshing to see some of the coaches talk about this.

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00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:19,140
 But he spent a good bit of time today before in the media event talking about how important

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00:15:19,140 --> 00:15:21,540
 that is for him and his team.

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00:15:21,620 --> 00:15:23,100
 And I appreciate him doing that.

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 Talking about a well-rounded guy, Rick Barnes, Tennessee.

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00:15:25,660 --> 00:15:29,540
 Coming up, let's go the other way down to Florida and check in with John Ferrari on deck.

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 From the University of Alabama, this is Crimson Tide Today.

320
00:19:40,740 --> 00:19:44,360
 It's a daily update on Bama sports and it's brought to you by Guthrie's, America's original

321
00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:47,860
 chicken finger restaurant and a proud partner of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

322
00:19:47,860 --> 00:19:50,720
 For more information, visit Guthrie'sChicken.com.

323
00:19:51,020 --> 00:19:51,740
 Hello again, everybody.

324
00:19:51,900 --> 00:19:52,740
 I'm Roger Hoover.

325
00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:57,040
 Here are thoughts from baseball head coach Rob Vaughn after Alabama completed a sweep

326
00:19:57,040 --> 00:19:58,840
 against the Auburn Tigers on Sunday.

327
00:19:59,060 --> 00:19:59,760
 Awesome weekend.

328
00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:01,420
 Awesome way to finish the weekend.

329
00:20:01,900 --> 00:20:03,960
 Not the prettiest game of all time, right?

330
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,060
 Like I thought we put way too many guys on base and I told Miles that, you know, I think

331
00:20:07,060 --> 00:20:08,500
 he put seven on for free today.

332
00:20:09,100 --> 00:20:11,320
 But when he needed to make big pitches, he did.

333
00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:12,960
 He executed some big pitches.

334
00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:17,560
 I mean, there was, they got one hit off him, scored one there in the first and then just

335
00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:18,580
 executed when he needed to.

336
00:20:18,700 --> 00:20:20,180
 And then Heiberg, kind of the same thing.

337
00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:21,200
 Matty comes in there.

338
00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:25,340
 Yeah, he gets first guy, backs up a pitcher, hits one guy in the foot, backs up the other

339
00:20:25,340 --> 00:20:25,720
 slider.

340
00:20:26,140 --> 00:20:26,840
 Doesn't panic.

341
00:20:26,940 --> 00:20:28,980
 Just executes that two seam, double play ball.

342
00:20:29,100 --> 00:20:31,460
 Just executing big pitches in big spots.

343
00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:34,540
 I thought that Ashton Crowther was absolutely tremendous again today.

344
00:20:35,660 --> 00:20:38,520
 Banksy at the end, just nails just the dude you want, man.

345
00:20:40,100 --> 00:20:42,980
 This year we honor the most important anniversary ever.

346
00:20:43,500 --> 00:20:45,900
 An event that reshapes civilization as we know it.

347
00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,860
 A day that would lead to something so flawless that nothing could ever really compare.

348
00:20:50,540 --> 00:20:52,720
 People have tried to match it, but have failed.

349
00:20:53,360 --> 00:20:58,200
 This year we celebrate the 60th anniversary of Guthrie's, the home of the original chicken

350
00:20:58,200 --> 00:20:58,600
 finger.

351
00:20:59,340 --> 00:21:01,360
 Just talking about it gets me all choked up.

352
00:21:02,020 --> 00:21:03,480
 And hungry for a chicken finger.

353
00:21:04,660 --> 00:21:07,260
 Guthrie's, an original obsession for 60 years.

354
00:21:09,260 --> 00:21:11,640
 Crimson Tide Today is brought to you by Guthrie's.

355
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,740
 Crimson Tide Today is a production of the Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield.

356
00:21:16,620 --> 00:21:17,740
 The Score.

357
00:21:18,180 --> 00:21:22,960
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

358
00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:26,540
 I'll come back in just so you know the rest of the story.

359
00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:28,820
 After that, the baseball sweep in the Iron Bowl.

360
00:21:28,940 --> 00:21:30,700
 Alabama over Auburn over the weekend.

361
00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:32,380
 The fruit to the labor coming in.

362
00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:34,560
 Baseball, America's top 25 outs.

363
00:21:35,060 --> 00:21:38,420
 And Alabama leapfrogs Auburn into the top 10.

364
00:21:38,420 --> 00:21:41,100
 And the Crimson Tide now at number 10.

365
00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:43,420
 They replace Auburn now at number 11.

366
00:21:43,420 --> 00:21:46,320
 By the way, four top 10 teams from the SEC.

367
00:21:46,580 --> 00:21:47,340
 Texas 2.

368
00:21:47,980 --> 00:21:48,840
 Georgia 4th.

369
00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:49,680
 Mississippi State 5th.

370
00:21:49,740 --> 00:21:50,480
 And again, Bama 10.

371
00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,760
 UCLA leads the way there in the latest polls.

372
00:21:53,860 --> 00:21:57,880
 Well, that was say hello to the man who knows a thing or two about college baseball, college

373
00:21:57,880 --> 00:21:59,460
 football, you name it.

374
00:21:59,860 --> 00:22:01,740
 If it's got Florida Gators written on it.

375
00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:09,820
 John Ferrari is all over it there at CBS Sports Radio 1420 WAOC and 1240 WFOY down in St. Augustine, Florida.

376
00:22:10,420 --> 00:22:13,980
 Or check him out online at 965sports.com.

377
00:22:14,060 --> 00:22:14,720
 John, welcome in.

378
00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:15,260
 How are you?

379
00:22:16,260 --> 00:22:17,260
 The Herald doing great.

380
00:22:17,260 --> 00:22:24,420
 And to make Alabama look even better in baseball, they swept the Florida Gators a week ago.

381
00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:35,560
 The same Florida Gators that won four straight this week over then 10th ranked Florida State and swept 4th ranked Arkansas in Fayetteville.

382
00:22:36,260 --> 00:22:43,740
 I think the Alabama folks probably feel a lot better about that sweep over Florida now than even when they did it a week ago.

383
00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:47,280
 And by the way, to punch in a number, the Gators are at number 14.

384
00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:52,960
 That's what, to me, when it gets to the spring, a lot of folks fall off.

385
00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,400
 But college baseball in the SEC is pretty doggone good, isn't it, John?

386
00:22:57,240 --> 00:22:58,500
 Oh, it's fantastic.

387
00:22:58,900 --> 00:23:02,860
 I think right now it might be their biggest strength in the SEC.

388
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:09,140
 You normally would say football, basketball, with Florida won a national title last year.

389
00:23:09,220 --> 00:23:12,180
 But baseball is consistent year in and year out, guys.

390
00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:20,680
 So, no doubt, you look at Omaha, Devin O'Sullivan has been managing at Florida for 18 years.

391
00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,100
 The Florida Gators have been to Omaha 9 of the 18.

392
00:23:24,460 --> 00:23:26,420
 That's 50%.

393
00:23:26,420 --> 00:23:30,720
 And then Arkansas has been there 4 of the last 8 years.

394
00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:33,220
 And, of course, we don't even have to mention LSU.

395
00:23:33,700 --> 00:23:34,580
 And what they've done.

396
00:23:34,820 --> 00:23:36,540
 So, it's incredible.

397
00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:40,260
 And now Texas being part of the conference and what they do.

398
00:23:40,700 --> 00:23:43,840
 So, yeah, there's no issue with baseball in the SEC.

399
00:23:45,620 --> 00:23:50,720
 John, I just wanted to let you know the SEC athletics are on life support.

400
00:23:51,500 --> 00:23:55,120
 After Indiana won the national championship in football,

401
00:23:55,680 --> 00:24:00,820
 Big 10 has gone 5-0, John, against the SEC.

402
00:24:01,180 --> 00:24:04,100
 Oh, by the way, Iowa beat Florida by one.

403
00:24:04,180 --> 00:24:06,160
 And we want to talk about that game in a minute.

404
00:24:06,740 --> 00:24:08,320
 Nebraska beat Vanny by two.

405
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:11,700
 Purdue beat Texas by two points.

406
00:24:11,740 --> 00:24:13,820
 And then Michigan beat Tennessee and Alabama.

407
00:24:14,020 --> 00:24:20,880
 But, John, there may be – we may get a press release later this week that the SEC athletics is going out of business.

408
00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:23,840
 Well, I'll tell you what, Brett.

409
00:24:23,900 --> 00:24:28,220
 If we do, I want the money that the SEC athletics is bringing in.

410
00:24:28,220 --> 00:24:28,320
 Thank you.

411
00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:36,220
 Because the revenue they're getting in all those sports you just mentioned, and even baseball, is astronomical.

412
00:24:37,220 --> 00:24:44,360
 And one other thing, Duke obviously didn't watch the Florida-Iowa game because they didn't learn a thing from that,

413
00:24:44,460 --> 00:24:49,860
 looking at what they did against Connecticut yesterday, even though I know that has nothing to do with the SEC.

414
00:24:50,460 --> 00:24:58,060
 But to all those national pundits that think the SEC is dead, they're highly over-exaggerated,

415
00:24:58,260 --> 00:25:00,260
 and they're going to be just fine.

416
00:25:00,260 --> 00:25:06,520
 They're going to be right back in the contention for that national title in football this season, no doubt about it.

417
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:09,980
 John, 4965sports.com.

418
00:25:10,020 --> 00:25:16,020
 John, we can say that all we want, but the bottom line is the Big Ten, they figured out in the modern era how to do it.

419
00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:17,320
 Just go out and spend everybody.

420
00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:19,680
 The SEC has the history.

421
00:25:19,940 --> 00:25:20,940
 They have the brand.

422
00:25:21,660 --> 00:25:24,820
 But to be competitive, let's not kid ourselves and be naive.

423
00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:26,260
 You've got to come up with big bucks.

424
00:25:27,260 --> 00:25:30,880
 How is the rest of the SEC going to keep up with the Big Ten and LSU?

425
00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:32,580
 Because this ain't rocket science.

426
00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:34,620
 You usually get what you pay for.

427
00:25:35,140 --> 00:25:36,840
 Is LSU showing the way?

428
00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:41,980
 And how are these other teams, just in the SEC, going to keep up with LSU with its spending?

429
00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:45,920
 Or are they saying, let's just sit back and wait, let it stew a little bit.

430
00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:50,300
 If this thing blows up in your face, then the guys who are now writing the checks, they're going to deserve them.

431
00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:53,700
 Your thought is just about trying to be realistic about things going forward.

432
00:25:53,780 --> 00:25:57,720
 Because at the end of the day, you've got to write the big checks more time than not to be competitive.

433
00:25:59,220 --> 00:26:00,280
 Well, you're right.

434
00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:02,120
 I think it's a mixture of both, Harold.

435
00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:07,660
 Number one, before the NIL, a team like Indiana would have never won the national title.

436
00:26:07,660 --> 00:26:07,880
 That's right.

437
00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,120
 That's the poster child for it, right?

438
00:26:10,420 --> 00:26:11,420
 We know that.

439
00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:17,700
 And you've seen other examples of teams in college football that, while they haven't won the national title,

440
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:19,980
 they're much more competitive than they've been.

441
00:26:21,060 --> 00:26:25,460
 Mississippi, for instance, when Lane Kiffin was still there making the playoff.

442
00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:30,260
 I think it's going to be a mixture of you're going to have to be realistic.

443
00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,860
 And you're going to have to pay for players.

444
00:26:34,140 --> 00:26:37,000
 It's kind of more like the NFL, in a way.

445
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:41,880
 And I know traditionalists, even myself, don't like that.

446
00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:48,640
 But I think that's the era we're in until the NCAA, heavens forbid, if they ever step up

447
00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:51,880
 and actually do something meaningful as well as enforcement, guys.

448
00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:54,560
 But I don't think you can rely on that.

449
00:26:54,780 --> 00:27:00,100
 Now, I do think on the back end of it, Harold, I think it is going to play out a little bit.

450
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:01,980
 And I think it's going to backfire as well.

451
00:27:01,980 --> 00:27:07,900
 Because, for instance, look at Kentucky basketball and the amount they paid these players this year

452
00:27:07,900 --> 00:27:13,200
 to get to the round of 32, which is the same as Florida got to.

453
00:27:13,660 --> 00:27:17,640
 So, you know, in some ways it pays off.

454
00:27:17,700 --> 00:27:18,920
 In other ways it doesn't.

455
00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:25,960
 In fact, the great Nick Saban said, yeah, you can pay these players, but you've got to make sure you're paying the right ones.

456
00:27:26,540 --> 00:27:26,800
 Thank you.

457
00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:30,040
 And that's so – I think it's a mixture of both.

458
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:34,800
 But anybody that thinks that's not a reality is just kidding themselves.

459
00:27:34,980 --> 00:27:35,160
 Yeah.

460
00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:35,440
 Yeah.

461
00:27:35,860 --> 00:27:39,100
 This NIL and money, and you better be competitive in that.

462
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:43,980
 And that's something that Florida got behind in over the last few years, quite honestly.

463
00:27:43,980 --> 00:27:45,440
 They've started to catch up.

464
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:53,480
 But, yeah, you better have the right people managing that or else you're not going to be competing for championships in today's environment.

465
00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:58,520
 Yeah, I can't see LSU – I can't see that being sustainable.

466
00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:09,740
 Even Alabama is talking about going from $8 million to $12 million next year for basketball as far as the NIL budget.

467
00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:11,220
 We'll see where that goes.

468
00:28:11,740 --> 00:28:13,960
 John, what happened to Florida at the end?

469
00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:20,280
 I think everybody knows Florida should have beaten Iowa by 10 points.

470
00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:21,880
 Obviously, they did not.

471
00:28:22,380 --> 00:28:24,040
 They didn't execute whatsoever.

472
00:28:24,260 --> 00:28:29,620
 The last play of the game may have been the worst play I've seen in the tournament.

473
00:28:30,140 --> 00:28:35,900
 As far as lack of execution defensively, we all know how good this Gator team was.

474
00:28:35,900 --> 00:28:42,600
 I've heard even some Florida media and fans say, you know, did this team get the big hand in too much of themselves?

475
00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:45,740
 Your thoughts on how the season ended for the Gators?

476
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:52,080
 It was a microcosm, Brett, of the games they struggled in this year.

477
00:28:52,140 --> 00:28:55,940
 The one against Iowa last – a week ago last Sunday night.

478
00:28:55,940 --> 00:28:59,900
 And what I mean is they missed critical free throws.

479
00:29:00,660 --> 00:29:02,000
 They had turnovers.

480
00:29:03,060 --> 00:29:07,900
 And the thing that was shocking was the rebounds, though.

481
00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:09,360
 That was their bread and butter.

482
00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:17,540
 And to Iowa's credit, they rebounded basically one for one with Florida throughout the entire game.

483
00:29:17,540 --> 00:29:24,260
 And Ruben Chinulou, who had dominated the SEC in that category, had all one rebound that night.

484
00:29:24,340 --> 00:29:27,140
 That was the most shocking thing of all.

485
00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:31,760
 As far as the end, to me, it's inexcusable, the final 10 seconds.

486
00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:36,240
 First of all, the strategy Todd Golden came up with.

487
00:29:36,340 --> 00:29:41,860
 And it's hard to criticize Todd Golden after the last two years, but you're up by two.

488
00:29:42,380 --> 00:29:46,100
 The only thing that can beat you is the opposing team making a three.

489
00:29:46,980 --> 00:29:49,000
 And yet, they decided to press.

490
00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:52,240
 They got away, and they got the wide-open three.

491
00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:55,640
 There was still four and a half seconds left, but Iowa made that.

492
00:29:55,760 --> 00:30:01,920
 To me, you defend the arc, and if they tie you, the worst-case scenario is you're going to overtime.

493
00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:10,320
 That being said, with four and a half seconds left, the difference between Connecticut's Braylon Mullins,

494
00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:16,760
 who was a freshman last night, and Florida's Xavier Lee, not to pick on him, but who was a senior,

495
00:30:17,620 --> 00:30:20,080
 Mullins knew to pull up and get a shot off.

496
00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:21,180
 Lee didn't.

497
00:30:21,620 --> 00:30:25,700
 Lee dribbled, turned the corner, and once you do that, he's committed.

498
00:30:25,860 --> 00:30:32,740
 He's got to take that ball to the basket, and either force Iowa to foul him, make a shot, or he misses.

499
00:30:32,740 --> 00:30:37,620
 But to just not even get a shot off is just unexcusable.

500
00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:40,820
 So that was just a total meltdown.

501
00:30:40,980 --> 00:30:47,440
 The last 10 seconds for Florida this past year, and sadly, I think that's what most people are going to remember

502
00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:48,200
 from this season.

503
00:30:48,340 --> 00:30:49,580
 It was a great year for Florida.

504
00:30:49,740 --> 00:30:54,520
 They won the SEC regular season, but I think most people are going to walk away.

505
00:30:54,880 --> 00:31:00,100
 They were a one-seed that lost to a nine-seed in the second round and melted down late,

506
00:31:00,180 --> 00:31:02,660
 and I think that's going to be what most remember, sadly.

507
00:31:03,420 --> 00:31:05,260
 Yeah, you're exactly right, Bud.

508
00:31:05,260 --> 00:31:09,660
 Well, hopefully the NCC will keep going after this weekend, John.

509
00:31:09,740 --> 00:31:10,660
 I think they will.

510
00:31:11,460 --> 00:31:14,780
 Bud, where can we get online and listen to your great show?

511
00:31:15,340 --> 00:31:27,540
 Well, you can get online at 1021news.com or 102.1 or 1240 WFOY, and hopefully the SEC does continue

512
00:31:27,540 --> 00:31:32,140
 to keep going, guys, because I intend to be in Gainesville April 11th for an orange and blue

513
00:31:32,140 --> 00:31:33,020
 spring game.

514
00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:37,780
 But if they financially don't have the funds, we'll see what happens, but I think they'll

515
00:31:37,780 --> 00:31:38,220
 get through.

516
00:31:38,340 --> 00:31:40,920
 I think they'll scrape by between now and then.

517
00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:43,640
 We have some sources down there.

518
00:31:43,740 --> 00:31:45,260
 If that changes, we'll let you know, John.

519
00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:45,580
 Okay?

520
00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:47,240
 Otherwise, go ahead and make your plans, all right?

521
00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:49,680
 Always an honor and a pleasure, guys.

522
00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:50,600
 Have a great day.

523
00:31:50,660 --> 00:31:50,880
 Thank you, bud.

524
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:51,980
 Thank you so much.

525
00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:57,420
 John Farr hooking up with us amongst other places, 965sports.com online.

526
00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:01,700
 Coming up, he's all over the Tigers from Auburn, Brian Matthews on deck.

527
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562
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587
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588
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589
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591
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592
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594
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 The Score.

617
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 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

618
00:37:28,720 --> 00:37:29,040
 The Score.

619
00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:32,360
 Welcome back in time for a little road trip down to a place called Auburn.

620
00:37:32,460 --> 00:37:33,800
 Checking in with Brian Matthews.

621
00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:34,620
 Got it all covered there.

622
00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:37,260
 A senior editor for AuburnSports.com.

623
00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:38,200
 Brian, welcome in.

624
00:37:38,260 --> 00:37:38,960
 How are you?

625
00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:41,040
 I'm doing great, guys.

626
00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:41,820
 Thanks for having me in.

627
00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:43,860
 Appreciate you taking time out.

628
00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:47,840
 Brian, are you able to manage Final Four fever in your backyard?

629
00:37:49,180 --> 00:37:51,040
 I mean, back-to-back Final Fours.

630
00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:52,100
 What else could you ask for?

631
00:37:52,500 --> 00:37:53,180
 That's right!

632
00:37:58,180 --> 00:37:58,860
 Good thoughts, Brian.

633
00:37:58,940 --> 00:38:02,820
 Obviously, I mean, it depends on someone's sense of humor here.

634
00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:08,240
 You can say, who would have thought Auburn would be going to the Final Four ahead of Florida and Alabama, Kentucky?

635
00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:10,760
 Facts are facts, right?

636
00:38:11,100 --> 00:38:12,920
 Brian, your thoughts just realistically here.

637
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:13,560
 We have fun.

638
00:38:13,660 --> 00:38:14,080
 It's nothing.

639
00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:14,980
 Obviously, you attended here.

640
00:38:15,020 --> 00:38:15,960
 We're just having fun with it.

641
00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:22,500
 But your thoughts just realistically about where this Auburn program is, where they were a month ago, and where they are now.

642
00:38:22,500 --> 00:38:27,200
 Well, I think this little run has helped Auburn a little bit, right?

643
00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:31,620
 You know, it's allowed Stephen Pearl to have a couple extra weeks coaching his team.

644
00:38:32,180 --> 00:38:35,540
 It's allowed some players to develop and continue to get better.

645
00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:39,820
 And, you know, I think it's taken a little heat off Stephen now.

646
00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:41,400
 You know, they get to go to Indianapolis.

647
00:38:41,660 --> 00:38:44,640
 They get to play in Hinkle, where Hoosiers was filmed.

648
00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:47,040
 You know, they're in the mid-finals of the NIT.

649
00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:49,100
 I know, you know, it's not a big tournament.

650
00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:52,900
 Not a lot of people pay that much attention to it compared to the NCAA tournament.

651
00:38:53,180 --> 00:38:57,740
 But I think for Auburn at this moment in time, it's definitely a bit of positive.

652
00:38:58,980 --> 00:39:01,340
 B. Matt, why are they there?

653
00:39:02,020 --> 00:39:03,280
 What are they doing now?

654
00:39:03,400 --> 00:39:06,340
 Again, I know they're not playing an SEC competition.

655
00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:11,100
 Keyshawn Murphy no longer there.

656
00:39:11,980 --> 00:39:16,340
 But they seem to be playing better, shooting better, playing a little bit better defense.

657
00:39:16,340 --> 00:39:18,880
 Why has Auburn won three consecutive games?

658
00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:22,580
 Well, I think some guys have stepped up, right?

659
00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:26,320
 Because, you know, I thought losing Murphy was really going to be negative for this team.

660
00:39:26,420 --> 00:39:27,740
 Because they're short on bigs.

661
00:39:28,380 --> 00:39:32,080
 But I think Philip Jovic has really, really stepped up and played well.

662
00:39:33,220 --> 00:39:34,700
 Played consistent.

663
00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:36,500
 Been a scorer, rebounder.

664
00:39:37,140 --> 00:39:39,040
 Really played hard defensively.

665
00:39:39,580 --> 00:39:46,380
 Yeah, I think Sebastian Williams-Adams has continued to progress, you know, maybe taking a few steps offensively.

666
00:39:46,500 --> 00:39:49,800
 I think he can take some big steps offensively in the offseason, though.

667
00:39:50,500 --> 00:39:53,540
 And, you know, I just think everybody's settled into the goal.

668
00:39:53,800 --> 00:40:01,060
 And, you know, I would say the pressure is not as high, you know, playing in this tournament as it might be playing in the SEC.

669
00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:03,320
 So I think that's helped them a little bit, too.

670
00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:06,680
 Brian Matthews, AuburnSports.com.

671
00:40:06,740 --> 00:40:15,200
 Brian, to me, if I'm Auburn, any other team in the SEC, 10-went and all are going to be watching the Final Four from the same place, the couch.

672
00:40:15,860 --> 00:40:23,720
 If I'm a coach not telling them anything they don't know, the question is, will they take that knowledge and put it to action, is it seems like the formula is pretty simple.

673
00:40:23,860 --> 00:40:25,640
 You get some outstanding guard play.

674
00:40:26,180 --> 00:40:31,040
 You get a guy who has the potential to be a big, who can rebound and hit the three.

675
00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:34,540
 But we had Adam Spencer on earlier today from Saturday down south.

676
00:40:34,620 --> 00:40:35,520
 He brought up a good point.

677
00:40:35,940 --> 00:40:37,780
 You look at some of these teams who are advancing.

678
00:40:37,940 --> 00:40:38,620
 They go to Europe.

679
00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:43,280
 They get a seven-footer who's not going to score, but he's going to bruise the other team at the end of the game.

680
00:40:43,700 --> 00:40:44,940
 He's going to make them pay.

681
00:40:45,860 --> 00:40:53,440
 Your thoughts, if you could sit down and put this team together for Auburn next season, forget names, just as far as the formula, what would you plug in?

682
00:40:54,440 --> 00:40:55,820
 Well, I think you nailed it there.

683
00:40:55,940 --> 00:40:59,860
 I think Steven is going to want to have a more defensive-minded coach.

684
00:41:00,780 --> 00:41:05,260
 I think you're going to see similarities in the way he wants to build a team to what Houston does.

685
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:15,680
 And that's going to involve having a lot more bigs in the lineup and the rotation and certainly having a rim protector, a five that can block shots.

686
00:41:15,680 --> 00:41:23,360
 I think that will be a priority, although I think those are hard to find, good enough to play in the SEC, too.

687
00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:29,260
 So maybe they can't afford to pay $2 million or whatever one of those guys costs.

688
00:41:29,340 --> 00:41:30,140
 We'll see about that.

689
00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:37,100
 But I think finding some guys with some extra length on the perimeter to defend.

690
00:41:37,740 --> 00:41:47,420
 Auburn has struggled so much in defending three-point shooting for other teams, and I think a lot of that had to do with their guards and their lack of defense at that position, the small forward position.

691
00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:50,500
 But I think those will be priorities for them and the portal.

692
00:41:51,180 --> 00:41:56,780
 And I also think they're going to put a little bit more priority on character.

693
00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:06,040
 I'm not saying that Auburn has a lot of bad characters, but just put a little bit more into it, I think, to build a little bit more team chemistry than maybe they had this year.

694
00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:13,000
 Let me ask you about a new guy who is going to be constructing that roster is Brian Cloman.

695
00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:21,820
 He worked with Pat Kelsey for years, in fact, two places, but primarily at Louisville, has a tremendous reputation.

696
00:42:22,100 --> 00:42:29,240
 And again, coaches need to be coaching instead of worrying about the money and the finances and everything else.

697
00:42:29,240 --> 00:42:34,360
 They certainly have input, but having a general manager in today's game really helps.

698
00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:37,460
 I really agree.

699
00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:45,340
 And, you know, I think the really good thing, you know, with Cloman is, you know, he's already experienced there.

700
00:42:45,460 --> 00:42:53,740
 He's already, you know, a guy that's going to come in from Louisville really knowing, you know, what's going on in college basketball today, you know,

701
00:42:53,740 --> 00:42:57,540
 and who may or may not be available in the portal as Auburn gets ready for that.

702
00:42:57,540 --> 00:42:59,880
 And, of course, a lot of players are already declaring for that.

703
00:43:00,060 --> 00:43:01,900
 So that's happening now.

704
00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:11,460
 So very important addition, I feel like, a ton of experience and allows, you know, Stephen and his staff to do more coaching

705
00:43:11,460 --> 00:43:17,660
 and less, you know, staring at all the names that are jumping in the portal and trying to do all these valuations.

706
00:43:19,320 --> 00:43:23,180
 Brian Matthews, senior head of for AuburnSports.com, jumping outside.

707
00:43:23,180 --> 00:43:28,840
 I don't know it's March, but does Chris Murray feel like it's December and the Auburn coaching staff?

708
00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:31,320
 Chris Murray granted another year of eligibility.

709
00:43:32,660 --> 00:43:39,760
 Yeah, and I think that's really big for Auburn because, you know, if you look at this team returning, you know,

710
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:43,500
 they've lost some key players at defensive and an edge.

711
00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:47,300
 So getting him back is really, really big for this team.

712
00:43:47,380 --> 00:43:48,060
 It's really going to help.

713
00:43:48,180 --> 00:43:53,740
 I think he'll be right in the mix to be a starter next year at that edge position.

714
00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:56,660
 So I think this is a big pickup for Auburn.

715
00:43:56,760 --> 00:44:01,900
 It certainly helps out a whole lot, you know, as far as providing depth in the places they really needed.

716
00:44:02,140 --> 00:44:09,500
 So, you know, and I think Auburn's been very fortunate to have some guys over the last four or five years

717
00:44:09,500 --> 00:44:16,680
 that have maybe come in as undervalued or guys who weren't highly thought of or highly recruited,

718
00:44:17,020 --> 00:44:18,100
 and they've just developed.

719
00:44:18,300 --> 00:44:20,520
 I mean, Keron Crawford's a great example.

720
00:44:20,520 --> 00:44:24,120
 I think he had one and a half tackles for loss and have sacks last year,

721
00:44:24,260 --> 00:44:26,460
 and, you know, he had a terrific year this year,

722
00:44:26,540 --> 00:44:29,360
 and most people are projecting him as a draft pick now than the Bells.

723
00:44:29,420 --> 00:44:33,540
 So they've had a few guys do that, and we'll see if, you know,

724
00:44:33,640 --> 00:44:37,500
 Chris can, you know, take that same sort of step forward.

725
00:44:38,500 --> 00:44:43,520
 I always enjoy reading Monday Musings, and Alex Golidge,

726
00:44:44,140 --> 00:44:49,020
 Auburn's new football coach, had a comment that seemed to resonate with you,

727
00:44:49,020 --> 00:44:52,660
 and, quote, we talk about it all the time.

728
00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:56,020
 Leading by example is not actually leading.

729
00:44:56,480 --> 00:44:58,900
 You're just doing what you're supposed to be doing.

730
00:44:59,420 --> 00:45:03,700
 And you mentioned in nearly 25 years you'd never heard a coach say that.

731
00:45:04,400 --> 00:45:04,980
 I haven't.

732
00:45:05,080 --> 00:45:05,820
 I really haven't.

733
00:45:05,860 --> 00:45:06,720
 Maybe I just missed it.

734
00:45:07,380 --> 00:45:10,680
 But it kind of, like, popped a light bulb in my head.

735
00:45:10,740 --> 00:45:13,520
 I was like, huh, that's interesting because I think he's right.

736
00:45:13,520 --> 00:45:18,060
 And that's not saying that being a guy that, you know,

737
00:45:18,100 --> 00:45:21,080
 does all those things right on and off the field isn't really important,

738
00:45:21,300 --> 00:45:23,980
 and those guys aren't, you know, extremely important to a team.

739
00:45:24,080 --> 00:45:24,960
 You need a bunch of those guys.

740
00:45:25,160 --> 00:45:28,760
 But leadership, true leadership, is something a little bit more than that.

741
00:45:29,200 --> 00:45:32,000
 It's being able to do that while earning the respect of your teammates

742
00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:38,920
 and being able to lead them, right, to be able to, you know, keep them in line,

743
00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:43,380
 you know, push them to do maybe more than they think they can do,

744
00:45:43,500 --> 00:45:45,140
 take that extra step to speak up.

745
00:45:45,140 --> 00:45:50,960
 So I think it's a really important point by Golesh and maybe defines a little bit

746
00:45:50,960 --> 00:45:55,140
 about who he is, right, because I'm not saying he came up with that on his own.

747
00:45:55,740 --> 00:46:02,360
 But to me, that gives you sort of a look into how he really breaks down his team

748
00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:06,100
 and classifies them and puts importance on certain areas.

749
00:46:06,300 --> 00:46:08,420
 And I think leadership is going to be a big part of that for him.

750
00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:13,880
 A lot of soldiers back in World War II, but there was only one Patton and one Eisenhower,

751
00:46:13,880 --> 00:46:16,060
 so you've got to have leadership to prove it.

752
00:46:16,560 --> 00:46:18,720
 Brian Matthews, auburnsports.com.

753
00:46:18,780 --> 00:46:21,080
 Brian, you've been around this program a long time.

754
00:46:21,300 --> 00:46:25,640
 Where is your gut at this point in the spring drills compared to, say,

755
00:46:25,740 --> 00:46:27,140
 oh, a year ago under Hugh Freeze?

756
00:46:29,380 --> 00:46:33,100
 Well, it's definitely different.

757
00:46:34,040 --> 00:46:34,800
 But I can't.

758
00:46:34,840 --> 00:46:38,840
 It will be me being, you know, not being truthful if I said, you know,

759
00:46:38,840 --> 00:46:42,260
 a year ago I didn't think that team was going to be pretty good, right?

760
00:46:43,340 --> 00:46:48,700
 But sometimes as the year goes on, you learn more about it and what was really going on.

761
00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:53,360
 You know, some red flags that maybe we should have sent up a little higher, you know,

762
00:46:53,420 --> 00:46:59,300
 and this is, I think, after spring or late spring when you said that he had asked Durkin to take it easy.

763
00:46:59,440 --> 00:47:03,560
 I think he said this in the summer, you know, on Jackson Arnold during the spring.

764
00:47:04,620 --> 00:47:07,540
 So, and, you know, Golesh, and I didn't think he did this on purpose.

765
00:47:07,720 --> 00:47:11,880
 It wasn't a shot, but he almost did the exact opposite about, you know,

766
00:47:11,900 --> 00:47:14,660
 he wants the defense to really test his offense and really push them.

767
00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:21,040
 So I just thought that was a big contrast to, you know, a year ago.

768
00:47:21,040 --> 00:47:27,520
 And I just feel like, you know, Golesh is a guy that's just a coach-to-coach type guy.

769
00:47:27,740 --> 00:47:29,580
 So, you know, we'll see how that ends up.

770
00:47:29,640 --> 00:47:34,380
 I don't want to overhype, you know, a person or a coach or a program.

771
00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:36,440
 Auburn's had five consecutive losing seasons.

772
00:47:36,820 --> 00:47:41,020
 So, you know, I absolutely have to see it to believe it first.

773
00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:47,960
 I saw a stat this morning that kind of blew me away, and you're a baseball savant.

774
00:47:48,320 --> 00:47:54,920
 You covered four Auburn sports, and it said Auburn's played nine SEC games,

775
00:47:54,960 --> 00:48:02,360
 and in those nine games, the opposing starting pitcher has total pitched 50 innings against Auburn.

776
00:48:02,500 --> 00:48:07,240
 In those 50 innings, Auburn has scored a grand total of 12 runs.

777
00:48:07,840 --> 00:48:12,060
 Hey, man, I'm not real smart, but in baseball, that's not very good.

778
00:48:13,080 --> 00:48:15,260
 That is an understatement, right?

779
00:48:15,340 --> 00:48:16,800
 It's not very good at all.

780
00:48:17,280 --> 00:48:21,120
 Auburn is not playing good baseball lineup-wise.

781
00:48:21,600 --> 00:48:24,400
 At the same time, their pitching has been outstanding.

782
00:48:25,480 --> 00:48:28,840
 So, you know, it's kind of tough to balance those things out.

783
00:48:29,140 --> 00:48:33,140
 And if you go back to the preseason, I'm sure I've said on this show a couple times

784
00:48:33,140 --> 00:48:36,800
 that I thought this lineup was going to be really good, and I just wanted to see it.

785
00:48:37,100 --> 00:48:39,480
 You know, if the pitching tap was going to come together, I thought they had depth,

786
00:48:39,480 --> 00:48:43,340
 and it just has not worked out that way at all for Auburn.

787
00:48:44,660 --> 00:48:47,300
 You know, and it's kind of like a team-wide thing right now.

788
00:48:48,040 --> 00:48:49,800
 It's hard to put your finger on why.

789
00:48:49,960 --> 00:48:51,420
 You know, everybody wants to know why this is happening.

790
00:48:52,120 --> 00:48:54,140
 And, you know, I just don't have all the answers at the moment.

791
00:48:55,080 --> 00:48:56,840
 But they're definitely not playing well.

792
00:48:57,780 --> 00:48:59,200
 They're definitely not having approaches.

793
00:48:59,320 --> 00:49:00,740
 They're definitely striking out too much.

794
00:49:01,020 --> 00:49:02,300
 They're not hitting home runs.

795
00:49:02,400 --> 00:49:08,100
 They haven't had a home run in the SEC game since the second game of the Texas series.

796
00:49:08,240 --> 00:49:11,320
 So that's four games have gone in the SEC game, the home run.

797
00:49:12,460 --> 00:49:14,000
 Very few extra base hits, too.

798
00:49:14,260 --> 00:49:18,640
 And, you know, I know I totaled up their numbers after the game last night,

799
00:49:18,720 --> 00:49:22,820
 but their hitting with runners on and hitting the scoring position has been just awful.

800
00:49:23,140 --> 00:49:24,800
 So they've got a lot to work on.

801
00:49:25,180 --> 00:49:29,120
 I do recognize, though, that teams sometimes go through these moments during the season.

802
00:49:29,320 --> 00:49:29,920
 They have slumps.

803
00:49:30,340 --> 00:49:32,600
 So it is baseball, and we need to recognize that.

804
00:49:32,800 --> 00:49:34,360
 And we'll see if they can bounce back.

805
00:49:34,880 --> 00:49:35,960
 That's the question, Brad.

806
00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:36,960
 Where do they go from here?

807
00:49:37,000 --> 00:49:38,100
 And you hit the nail on the head.

808
00:49:38,160 --> 00:49:38,680
 It's baseball.

809
00:49:38,820 --> 00:49:44,200
 This is the same team in Tuscaloosa that was swept by Kentucky in the opening SEC series.

810
00:49:44,280 --> 00:49:44,780
 And what do they do?

811
00:49:44,820 --> 00:49:48,940
 They come back and sweep what now is the number 14 team in the country in Florida.

812
00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:51,060
 And then at the time, top 10 team in Auburn.

813
00:49:51,060 --> 00:49:54,480
 So in your opinion, obviously, it's easier said than done.

814
00:49:55,740 --> 00:50:00,020
 A lot has to do with the schedule of who you're playing and where you're playing and attitude.

815
00:50:00,240 --> 00:50:03,740
 Your thoughts, realistically, where this team goes from here after this past weekend.

816
00:50:04,600 --> 00:50:09,160
 And I think Florida coming off that being swept by Alabama swept their opponent this weekend, I believe.

817
00:50:09,160 --> 00:50:09,940
 It is, right.

818
00:50:10,120 --> 00:50:11,460
 It's just kind of wild, right?

819
00:50:11,740 --> 00:50:12,160
 It is.

820
00:50:12,160 --> 00:50:13,860
 It doesn't get any easier for Auburn.

821
00:50:14,200 --> 00:50:17,000
 I mean, they've got Georgia Tech, the number three team in the country.

822
00:50:17,560 --> 00:50:25,720
 Tuesday, they've got a top 15 now, but a top 10 team to be in Arkansas coming to Plains and Park this weekend.

823
00:50:26,520 --> 00:50:28,460
 So there's no breaks here for Auburn.

824
00:50:29,400 --> 00:50:30,920
 They're just going to have to start playing better.

825
00:50:31,040 --> 00:50:33,340
 They're getting the pitching to keep them at every single game.

826
00:50:33,880 --> 00:50:34,960
 They're having that opportunity.

827
00:50:35,640 --> 00:50:43,700
 They're just going to have to figure it out at the plate and have some guys really start stepping up and driving the ball and, you know, getting some clutch hits with runners on.

828
00:50:45,300 --> 00:50:53,240
 What is the schedule, football schedule leading up to the spring game, A-Day, which will be here next time we turn around.

829
00:50:53,340 --> 00:50:54,240
 It's hard to believe.

830
00:50:55,000 --> 00:50:57,100
 NIT schedule, young man.

831
00:50:58,100 --> 00:51:08,560
 As far as that is concerned, baseball, of course, you mentioned Georgia Tech and Arkansas, a lot of stuff going on, plus recruiting, et cetera.

832
00:51:09,000 --> 00:51:14,520
 Tell us the football in the basketball schedule for this week.

833
00:51:15,260 --> 00:51:15,740
 All right.

834
00:51:15,800 --> 00:51:18,400
 So we're up to practices seven and eight this week.

835
00:51:18,980 --> 00:51:20,120
 They'll go tomorrow morning.

836
00:51:20,220 --> 00:51:21,180
 We'll be out there.

837
00:51:21,680 --> 00:51:25,040
 Then they'll go Friday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

838
00:51:25,760 --> 00:51:27,300
 That'll be a closed scrimmage.

839
00:51:28,040 --> 00:51:29,100
 And then, oh, no, no, I'm sorry.

840
00:51:29,180 --> 00:51:30,200
 Thursday night they'll do that.

841
00:51:30,300 --> 00:51:35,360
 And then Friday we'll talk to Coach Colas, I guess, Friday afternoon about that scrimmage.

842
00:51:36,240 --> 00:51:38,420
 So that's football this week.

843
00:51:38,480 --> 00:51:44,200
 And, of course, the A-Day game will be the 18th of April, so still a few weeks away from that.

844
00:51:45,260 --> 00:51:49,680
 Basketball plays Thursday night against Illinois State.

845
00:51:50,240 --> 00:51:50,840
 Good team.

846
00:51:52,460 --> 00:51:54,980
 In Indianapolis, and, of course, we'll have coverage of that.

847
00:51:55,100 --> 00:51:57,380
 We'll talk to Stephen Pearl here in about an hour.

848
00:51:58,280 --> 00:52:01,600
 And, you know, we'll just roll out all the coverage.

849
00:52:01,840 --> 00:52:03,820
 And, plus, there's a lot of recruiting going on right now.

850
00:52:04,960 --> 00:52:08,080
 We're getting close to that May, June visit time.

851
00:52:08,080 --> 00:52:10,140
 But there are a lot of unofficial visits going on right now.

852
00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:12,480
 And Auburn continues bringing a bunch of top prospects.

853
00:52:12,780 --> 00:52:14,720
 So that's something to keep a close eye on.

854
00:52:15,960 --> 00:52:22,080
 And I guess we can find all of that and much, much, much more on auburnsports.com.

855
00:52:22,680 --> 00:52:23,400
 You sure can.

856
00:52:23,400 --> 00:52:26,920
 And I appreciate you talking about a wonderful side.

857
00:52:27,320 --> 00:52:34,020
 And there are wonderful sportswriters that put out a ton of content every day, as we're doing today.

858
00:52:34,160 --> 00:52:35,180
 And we will all week.

859
00:52:35,360 --> 00:52:37,300
 And you can check us out at auburnsports.com.

860
00:52:37,420 --> 00:52:38,460
 We're on a spring special.

861
00:52:38,860 --> 00:52:40,540
 I think it's 50% off right now.

862
00:52:41,020 --> 00:52:44,020
 And you can follow me on Twitter, just at bmatau.

863
00:52:44,880 --> 00:52:51,520
 And if you can come up with a cure for hay fever and pollen flying through the air, Brian, you're going to be one rich man in addition to all that coverage.

864
00:52:51,660 --> 00:52:51,880
 Okay?

865
00:52:52,920 --> 00:52:53,820
 Sounds great.

866
00:52:54,760 --> 00:52:55,920
 Brian Matthews.

867
00:52:56,300 --> 00:52:58,560
 He's a senior editor at auburnsports.com.

868
00:52:58,620 --> 00:52:59,940
 BB, quickly, the Braves.

869
00:53:00,100 --> 00:53:00,640
 Pretty good.

870
00:53:00,700 --> 00:53:02,140
 Pretty good opening weekend, my friend.

871
00:53:02,520 --> 00:53:03,360
 Two out of three.

872
00:53:03,520 --> 00:53:07,780
 Sale had shut out in the city at 6-0.

873
00:53:07,780 --> 00:53:14,840
 And then they had a dramatic Smith with a dramatic grand slam to win Saturday night.

874
00:53:15,140 --> 00:53:16,800
 And they just couldn't get the bats going.

875
00:53:16,940 --> 00:53:18,160
 Yes, they lost 4-1.

876
00:53:18,260 --> 00:53:19,460
 Oakland coming in.

877
00:53:19,520 --> 00:53:19,820
 Yeah.

878
00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:26,600
 But believe me, Harold, I'll take a record of 2-1 as opposed to 0-7.

879
00:53:27,080 --> 00:53:28,580
 Oh, they're still known as Oakland.

880
00:53:28,720 --> 00:53:29,900
 That's something to Google there.

881
00:53:30,020 --> 00:53:31,760
 It's the A's and Braves.

882
00:53:31,860 --> 00:53:32,040
 Yeah.

883
00:53:32,200 --> 00:53:35,020
 And they're going to play later on tonight, Roger, on 93.9, the score.

884
00:53:35,160 --> 00:53:46,480
 Same place to get the latest on Bama basketball with Brian Passick, Tennessee football and basketball with the V-Man, Ben Farah, and Ben Thomas from North Alabama to South Alabama and all points in between.

885
00:53:46,480 --> 00:53:47,180
 All straight ahead.

886
00:53:47,260 --> 00:53:47,800
 Stay with us.

887
00:53:50,000 --> 00:53:53,000
 Shoals drop everything.

888
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889
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890
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891
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892
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893
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894
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895
00:54:11,720 --> 00:54:12,080
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896
00:54:12,540 --> 00:54:14,620
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897
00:54:14,620 --> 00:54:18,740
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898
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899
00:54:22,020 --> 00:54:23,320
 It's game day.

900
00:54:23,320 --> 00:54:28,860
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907
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908
00:55:01,080 --> 00:55:05,700
 Liver problems leading to hospitalization may occur when treated for Crohn's or ulcerative colitis.

909
00:55:06,360 --> 00:55:09,520
 Control is everything to me.

910
00:55:09,880 --> 00:55:11,420
 Ask your doctor about Skyrizi.

911
00:55:11,640 --> 00:55:15,240
 The number one prescribed biologic in Crohn's and ulcerative colitis combined.

912
00:55:15,640 --> 00:55:18,940
 Learn more at skyrizi.com or 1-866-SKYRIZI.

913
00:55:21,420 --> 00:55:22,500
 I'm Boomer Esiason.

914
00:55:22,760 --> 00:55:24,100
 My mom died from cancer.

915
00:55:24,380 --> 00:55:26,100
 She was only 37 years old.

916
00:55:26,360 --> 00:55:29,760
 She didn't have life insurance, and that was devastating for my family.

917
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 That's why having life insurance is so important to me.

918
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919
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920
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 You can get up to $3 million in coverage with no medical exam.

921
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 Get your free quote at ethos.com slash play.

922
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923
00:55:47,920 --> 00:55:48,780
 Paid spokesperson.

924
00:55:49,040 --> 00:55:50,080
 Time span on application may vary.

925
00:55:50,200 --> 00:55:51,160
 Online health questions required.

926
00:55:51,420 --> 00:55:54,000
 Hey, it's Rich Eisen for Pella Windows and Doors.

927
00:55:54,200 --> 00:55:57,480
 Sometimes teams take a timeout to regroup and call the right play.

928
00:55:57,720 --> 00:56:01,560
 When it comes to your home, Pella Windows and Doors always has the winning game plan.

929
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 They're not just window and door experts.

930
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 They're experts at taking care of you and your home.

931
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 At Pella, they find the products that meet your needs, and their experts install them.

932
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933
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 Discover why Pella is a trusted choice for homeowners everywhere.

934
00:56:16,880 --> 00:56:19,040
 Visit Pella.com slash Eisen today.

935
00:56:19,280 --> 00:56:20,920
 That's Pella.com slash Eisen.

936
00:56:21,420 --> 00:56:22,560
 I'm Boomer Esiason.

937
00:56:22,820 --> 00:56:24,140
 My mom died from cancer.

938
00:56:24,420 --> 00:56:26,100
 She was only 37 years old.

939
00:56:26,360 --> 00:56:29,720
 She didn't have life insurance, and that was devastating for my family.

940
00:56:29,980 --> 00:56:32,160
 That's why having life insurance is so important to me.

941
00:56:32,440 --> 00:56:34,400
 Ethos makes it fast and easy.

942
00:56:34,640 --> 00:56:38,260
 Get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and get same-day coverage.

943
00:56:38,580 --> 00:56:41,780
 You can get up to $3 million in coverage with no medical exam.

944
00:56:42,200 --> 00:56:45,260
 Get your free quote at ethos.com slash play.

945
00:56:45,560 --> 00:56:47,540
 That's ethos.com slash play.

946
00:56:47,540 --> 00:56:48,380
 Paid spokesperson.

947
00:56:48,640 --> 00:56:49,680
 Time span on application may vary.

948
00:56:49,780 --> 00:56:50,760
 Online health questions required.

949
00:56:53,040 --> 00:56:54,200
 1819 News.

950
00:56:54,720 --> 00:56:59,960
 Funeral arrangements are now set for the University of Alabama student James Gracie, who died in the country of Spain.

951
00:57:00,200 --> 00:57:05,500
 While on spring break, Gracie drowned in the waters along Barcelona after leaving a nightclub in the downtown area.

952
00:57:05,660 --> 00:57:10,140
 These do not believe that foul play was involved in Gracie's death, but are calling it a tragic accident.

953
00:57:10,340 --> 00:57:11,780
 Gracie was from the state of Illinois.

954
00:57:12,020 --> 00:57:17,300
 The visitation for his family is happening today, with prayer service this coming evening that will be live-streamed.

955
00:57:17,340 --> 00:57:22,100
 On Tuesday, funeral services will happen in Illinois at Visitation Catholic Church in Hillside.

956
00:57:22,220 --> 00:57:24,760
 I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.

957
00:57:24,760 --> 00:57:27,260
 Are you enjoying 1819 News?

958
00:57:27,440 --> 00:57:30,580
 If so, consider joining 1819 News as a member.

959
00:57:30,940 --> 00:57:35,260
 As a nonprofit news organization, we depend on the support of Alabamians like you.

960
00:57:35,460 --> 00:57:41,220
 Memberships start out as little as $5 a month, and you'll get access to exclusive content only offered to our members.

961
00:57:41,620 --> 00:57:45,800
 You'll be supporting independent journalism done by people who cherish Alabama values.

962
00:57:45,800 --> 00:57:49,940
 Become a member today by visiting 1819news.com and clicking Become a Member.

963
00:57:50,140 --> 00:57:53,420
 That's 1819news.com and click Become a Member today.

964
00:57:54,240 --> 00:57:58,280
 This week, the Mobile City Council will consider an ordinance on consumable hemp products.

965
00:57:58,680 --> 00:58:03,080
 Local municipalities are allowed to make such changes regarding consumable hemp products,

966
00:58:03,180 --> 00:58:07,020
 while a state law prohibits the sale of smokable hemp products throughout Alabama.

967
00:58:07,380 --> 00:58:09,940
 The City Council will be voting on this issue on Tuesday,

968
00:58:09,940 --> 00:58:13,420
 and should that ordinance be approved, then the City of Mobile will begin working

969
00:58:13,420 --> 00:58:16,740
 on granting approval to applications coming from local businesses.

970
00:58:17,140 --> 00:58:21,160
 Mobile Mayor Spiro Chiri Ogata says he wants to see those who were selling this product legally

971
00:58:21,160 --> 00:58:23,820
 before the state law was passed get back into business.

972
00:58:24,080 --> 00:58:27,160
 Those businesses will have to comply with the City's operational regulations

973
00:58:27,160 --> 00:58:30,140
 and zoning requirements for the sale of these hemp products.

974
00:58:30,660 --> 00:58:34,840
 Police in Mobile are also searching for a suspect in two robberies that occurred this past Saturday.

975
00:58:34,840 --> 00:58:39,380
 The suspect bit an employee at one location and brandished a knife at another.

976
00:58:39,760 --> 00:58:41,340
 The robberies occurred on Chillinger Road.

977
00:58:41,960 --> 00:58:42,660
 I'm Andrea Theis.

978
00:58:42,960 --> 00:58:47,160
 For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.

979
00:58:47,360 --> 00:58:50,160
 And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.

980
00:58:52,640 --> 00:59:00,520
 Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shores, Sports Radio 93.9, The Score.

981
00:59:01,740 --> 00:59:03,820
 This season isn't a reset.

982
00:59:03,960 --> 00:59:04,960
 It's a reminder.

983
00:59:05,360 --> 00:59:07,140
 The champions don't disappear.

984
00:59:07,680 --> 00:59:08,640
 They reload.

985
00:59:08,960 --> 00:59:12,360
 And the 2026 Atlanta Braves are ready.

986
00:59:12,560 --> 00:59:14,720
 And Acuna swings a mighty bat.

987
00:59:14,920 --> 00:59:17,840
 That thing is way out of the ballpark.

988
00:59:17,840 --> 00:59:24,100
 Tonight, the season opening homestand rolls on for your Atlanta Braves as they take on the athletics.

989
00:59:24,440 --> 00:59:29,360
 Braves Radio goes on the air at 6 p.m. Central on the Braves Radio Network.

990
00:59:29,360 --> 00:59:41,820
 Brought to you locally by the law firm of Johnson Pasture, Medley & Virtual, J.C. Hammond Sons, First Metro Bank, Nationwide Insurance Agents, Michael Doe and Bill Cochran,

991
00:59:42,460 --> 00:59:49,360
 Mefford Jewelers, Certified Alarm, Lost Pizza, and Alabama Health Guidance.

992
00:59:50,020 --> 00:59:53,980
 Atlanta Braves baseball tonight versus the athletics on 93.9, The Score.

993
00:59:54,940 --> 00:59:56,520
 93.9, The Score, weather.

994
00:59:56,920 --> 01:00:00,060
 For today, cloudy to partly cloudy skies, high around 80.

995
01:00:00,200 --> 01:00:02,920
 Tonight, mainly clear skies, low near 60.

996
01:00:03,220 --> 01:00:08,040
 Tomorrow, a 20% chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms, high around 80.

997
01:00:08,400 --> 01:00:12,860
 Tomorrow night, a 20% chance of overnight showers and thunderstorms, low near 65.

998
01:00:12,860 --> 01:00:17,940
 And for Wednesday, a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, high around 85.

999
01:00:18,920 --> 01:00:21,180
 Your weather from 93.9, The Score.

1000
01:00:26,940 --> 01:00:35,640
 Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee.

1001
01:00:36,240 --> 01:00:39,620
 It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.

1002
01:00:42,620 --> 01:00:45,200
 The boom old bug show.

1003
01:00:45,520 --> 01:00:47,600
 Your exclusive inside track to the tide.

1004
01:00:47,760 --> 01:00:50,720
 Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.

1005
01:00:51,580 --> 01:00:56,940
 Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score.

1006
01:00:57,780 --> 01:01:01,520
 For the boom old bug show, I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird.

1007
01:01:01,620 --> 01:01:04,500
 Thank you so much for giving us the ride around the Tennessee Valley.

1008
01:01:04,640 --> 01:01:05,680
 With that, BB, what do you say?

1009
01:01:05,760 --> 01:01:11,500
 We open the door and say hello to the one, the only, Ben Thomas from AL.com.

1010
01:01:12,040 --> 01:01:13,000
 BT, welcome in.

1011
01:01:13,040 --> 01:01:14,040
 Happy Monday to you.

1012
01:01:14,080 --> 01:01:14,740
 How are you?

1013
01:01:15,520 --> 01:01:16,280
 Hey, guys.

1014
01:01:16,340 --> 01:01:17,320
 How are y'all doing this week?

1015
01:01:17,380 --> 01:01:17,640
 I'm good.

1016
01:01:17,740 --> 01:01:18,560
 We're doing all right.

1017
01:01:18,560 --> 01:01:20,220
 Ben, see if you agree with Brett.

1018
01:01:20,300 --> 01:01:27,740
 Brett, he said today that in the pre-tournament, he predicted that it would be Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan.

1019
01:01:28,140 --> 01:01:34,420
 And what was the other team, BB, that you, Arizona, do you agree that Brett predicted the final four?

1020
01:01:34,480 --> 01:01:37,760
 And how does that compare with your pre-tourney final four, Ben?

1021
01:01:38,760 --> 01:01:42,960
 I'm guessing Brett probably went 0 for 4 in the final four, Ben.

1022
01:01:43,880 --> 01:01:45,140
 How did you know that?

1023
01:01:45,780 --> 01:01:48,800
 I could see him picking Michigan and Arizona.

1024
01:01:49,160 --> 01:01:51,580
 I mean, I think that's going to be an unbelievable semifinal.

1025
01:01:51,820 --> 01:01:55,020
 I mean, those two top seeds, and that's going to be really good.

1026
01:01:55,120 --> 01:02:00,680
 The other two, I don't know if I could, I think most people probably had Duke, but what a game that was yesterday.

1027
01:02:00,880 --> 01:02:05,960
 I started to wonder, in fact, when they were up 15 points or whatever, I'm thinking,

1028
01:02:05,960 --> 01:02:08,720
 man, none of these Elite Eight games have been very good.

1029
01:02:09,160 --> 01:02:09,800
 That's right.

1030
01:02:09,960 --> 01:02:11,820
 And then all of a sudden that changes.

1031
01:02:12,220 --> 01:02:17,640
 But, yeah, I think I had Michigan and Arizona, but I definitely did not have those other two in my final four.

1032
01:02:17,640 --> 01:02:21,000
 I was listening to it on the radio riding around, and I heard the guy say,

1033
01:02:21,080 --> 01:02:24,000
 basically, in effect, what you were saying, Ben, why are we even here?

1034
01:02:24,540 --> 01:02:26,560
 Duke is making a mockery of this thing.

1035
01:02:26,600 --> 01:02:29,600
 And then I decided when I came home, all right, I'll watch it because I love sports.

1036
01:02:29,640 --> 01:02:31,540
 And then, boom, you get what you get.

1037
01:02:31,920 --> 01:02:37,320
 Let's switch gears and talk about maybe something that I think Nate Oates is going to be very, very proud of.

1038
01:02:37,360 --> 01:02:39,200
 And I think you may know where I'm going with this.

1039
01:02:39,980 --> 01:02:47,380
 Jack State hires the legendary Ricky Austin at a spring garden to lead the Gamecocks women's basketball program.

1040
01:02:47,500 --> 01:02:52,520
 You know that's got to make Nate Oates, who cut his teeth on high school basketball, very proud.

1041
01:02:52,620 --> 01:02:57,480
 Your thoughts about the news at a place that you know very well, that neck of the woods, Jack State.

1042
01:02:57,600 --> 01:02:58,780
 And you also know Spring Garden.

1043
01:02:58,880 --> 01:03:03,640
 But the news of Ricky Austin on his way to being a college basketball coach.

1044
01:03:04,180 --> 01:03:10,340
 Yeah, I don't want to date myself, but I saw his wife play at Jacksonville State.

1045
01:03:11,040 --> 01:03:11,880
 Oh, my goodness.

1046
01:03:12,240 --> 01:03:19,600
 And I was there when his wife was the coach at Jacksonville State, Dana Austin, a great player, along with her sister, the Bright Twins.

1047
01:03:19,940 --> 01:03:23,760
 So, Dana and Jana were great in my early days of sports journalism.

1048
01:03:24,320 --> 01:03:26,320
 It's interesting how it all comes around.

1049
01:03:26,480 --> 01:03:29,400
 I mean, I think it would be a good hire for Jacksonville State.

1050
01:03:29,580 --> 01:03:32,980
 I mean, like you said, Coach Oates cut his teeth on the high school level.

1051
01:03:33,180 --> 01:03:37,400
 And, look, I'm a firm believer that some of these high school coaches could coach at any level they want.

1052
01:03:37,400 --> 01:03:37,620
 That's right.

1053
01:03:38,220 --> 01:03:39,640
 I think they're that good.

1054
01:03:40,580 --> 01:03:41,880
 And Ricky Austin is one of those.

1055
01:03:41,960 --> 01:03:42,860
 I was actually just looking.

1056
01:03:43,000 --> 01:03:44,700
 I think he's got about 800 wins.

1057
01:03:45,600 --> 01:03:49,020
 According to AHSAA records, I think he's about third on the list.

1058
01:03:49,940 --> 01:03:53,140
 Jana Killen has like 955, I think, now.

1059
01:03:53,400 --> 01:03:53,700
 Wow.

1060
01:03:54,240 --> 01:03:55,380
 He is the leader.

1061
01:03:56,340 --> 01:04:00,440
 But I think it's an interesting hire for Greg Seitz in Jacksonville State.

1062
01:04:00,920 --> 01:04:05,940
 Thomas Ashworth reported on it for us this afternoon, this morning, for a lot of reasons.

1063
01:04:06,100 --> 01:04:12,360
 I mean, obviously, number one, he's been a great girls' basketball coach for, what, almost three decades and won nine state titles.

1064
01:04:13,280 --> 01:04:17,700
 Number two, his wife was a great player there and was the coach.

1065
01:04:17,700 --> 01:04:24,280
 And number three, the big question I think everybody's going to be asking, will Ace Austin end up back in Central State?

1066
01:04:24,480 --> 01:04:30,720
 You know, the only two-time Miss basketball winner in the state's history who played for Alabama this year.

1067
01:04:30,800 --> 01:04:35,120
 I think she scored 17 in their last game of the NCAA tournament.

1068
01:04:35,540 --> 01:04:41,460
 But as we found out last week, her coach, Christy Curry, left to take the South Florida job.

1069
01:04:42,420 --> 01:04:47,860
 You just wonder, with the transfer portal opening, you know, will Ace come home to play for her dad at Jacksonville State?

1070
01:04:48,020 --> 01:04:49,600
 We, you know, we'll just have to see, I guess.

1071
01:04:49,900 --> 01:04:55,720
 That'll be one, I bet that'll be a question tomorrow when they introduce Coach Austin at the press conference.

1072
01:04:56,480 --> 01:04:57,800
 Let me stay with that for a second.

1073
01:04:57,940 --> 01:05:01,880
 You brought up Greg's name, Greg Seitz, because he's got roots starting at the woods, UNA.

1074
01:05:01,880 --> 01:05:08,120
 Now, your thoughts about the job he's doing overall at Jack State as AD, Vice President for Athletes, actually.

1075
01:05:08,940 --> 01:05:11,100
 I think he's done a fantastic job.

1076
01:05:11,260 --> 01:05:18,400
 I mean, he, I've known Greg for a long time since he was assistant SID under Mike Galloway there at Jacksonville State.

1077
01:05:18,540 --> 01:05:24,120
 Obviously, he does have roots in the North Alabama area, but he's become a fixture at Jack.

1078
01:05:24,120 --> 01:05:28,260
 You know, he was just one of those guys that stuck it out and went up the ranks.

1079
01:05:28,460 --> 01:05:32,460
 And, I mean, I, you know, there's, how much controversy have we heard about Jacksonville State?

1080
01:05:32,580 --> 01:05:32,880
 None.

1081
01:05:33,340 --> 01:05:35,520
 Not very much at all, but I can remember.

1082
01:05:36,240 --> 01:05:40,100
 And that's a great testament to Greg, I think, and what he's done there.

1083
01:05:40,760 --> 01:05:47,260
 You know, obviously, he's, you know, they, because of our environment, they end up changing football coaches a lot recently.

1084
01:05:47,700 --> 01:05:49,080
 But look at the guys they've hired.

1085
01:05:49,240 --> 01:05:54,380
 I mean, Rich Rodriguez came in there, did a great job, and left for West Virginia.

1086
01:05:54,860 --> 01:05:57,620
 And they hired Charles Kelly, that I think was a great hire.

1087
01:05:57,840 --> 01:06:00,320
 Almost led him to another conference title last year.

1088
01:06:00,320 --> 01:06:07,840
 And, you know, the basketball, the men's basketball team went to the tournament with the hire he made there.

1089
01:06:08,160 --> 01:06:15,060
 So, Rick Petrie was there for a long time as a girls' basketball coach, a guy I know well from his time down in the Mobile area.

1090
01:06:15,220 --> 01:06:17,800
 And I think this is an interesting hire for Greg.

1091
01:06:18,080 --> 01:06:23,240
 You know, certainly, it interests me as a high school sports writer and a guy that knows Ricky Austin.

1092
01:06:23,380 --> 01:06:26,200
 But I think it'll be interesting to see how this works out.

1093
01:06:26,200 --> 01:06:34,980
 I think it'll be interesting to see if, you know, somebody was telling me, Thomas and I were joking this morning about, you know, he's probably already making phone calls for assistant coaches.

1094
01:06:35,120 --> 01:06:42,340
 And I said, well, hey, he can just put it in the family text thread, you know, try and get Dana and Jaina and all of them to join the family.

1095
01:06:42,560 --> 01:06:42,800
 We'll see.

1096
01:06:42,880 --> 01:06:46,320
 But it's going to be interesting in the next couple of weeks to see what happens there, I think.

1097
01:06:47,320 --> 01:06:59,720
 Speaking of Thomas Ashworth, he had an article about the survey conducted by AL.com, again, about a topic we've talked with you about what seems like five or six years.

1098
01:07:00,540 --> 01:07:09,900
 The January 23rd, 13-2 vote by the central board to split public and private in the playoffs.

1099
01:07:09,900 --> 01:07:14,940
 They can still play each other during the regular season, but the poll's interesting.

1100
01:07:15,200 --> 01:07:18,220
 49% love it, like it.

1101
01:07:18,740 --> 01:07:21,540
 45% still don't like it.

1102
01:07:22,060 --> 01:07:23,640
 They should play together.

1103
01:07:23,820 --> 01:07:27,400
 5% is a wait-and-see attitude, and I agree with that.

1104
01:07:28,200 --> 01:07:29,980
 Your thoughts on the poll.

1105
01:07:30,820 --> 01:07:34,120
 And in two weeks, the central board meets again.

1106
01:07:34,920 --> 01:07:44,800
 And I believe they're going to be announcing the playoff structure for the private schools and also the schedule for the Super 7.

1107
01:07:44,800 --> 01:07:49,080
 And I wonder if we're going from 3 to 4 now to 5.

1108
01:07:49,920 --> 01:07:55,840
 But yet, your thoughts on the poll and what the central board may come up with in two weeks.

1109
01:07:56,660 --> 01:08:04,040
 Yeah, we keep poking that bear about this public public school thing, and it's just so interesting, people's opinions on it.

1110
01:08:04,060 --> 01:08:10,000
 We've had a poll on our newsletter about it, and so we decided to say, you know, hey, we've had two months to think about this.

1111
01:08:10,140 --> 01:08:12,080
 Has any of the opinions changed?

1112
01:08:12,800 --> 01:08:17,540
 And to me, I mean, you look at different polls, but to me, it's always kind of been almost evenly split.

1113
01:08:17,540 --> 01:08:25,500
 A lot of people think, as you indicated, Brett, that 48%, almost 49% of the people that responded love it should have happened a long time ago.

1114
01:08:26,140 --> 01:08:28,820
 But 45% say don't like it.

1115
01:08:29,000 --> 01:08:29,820
 They should play together.

1116
01:08:30,160 --> 01:08:31,620
 And, of course, I've been in that camp.

1117
01:08:31,800 --> 01:08:34,060
 I wish they would play together.

1118
01:08:34,300 --> 01:08:36,740
 I don't think we're ever going back.

1119
01:08:37,700 --> 01:08:44,560
 I do think it's a possibility that some of the larger private schools may eventually go back in, the McGill-2-Luns, St. Falls.

1120
01:08:44,780 --> 01:08:49,900
 I think they could eventually go back in with a multiplier or something like that.

1121
01:08:49,980 --> 01:08:50,660
 That could happen.

1122
01:08:51,320 --> 01:09:04,920
 I don't think the smaller private schools will, and I think my guess is they're hoping that, you know, they can get more of these AISA schools and maybe divide those smaller schools into classifications to ease travel in that situation.

1123
01:09:04,920 --> 01:09:06,480
 So we'll see how all that works out.

1124
01:09:06,580 --> 01:09:08,320
 I mean, it's just going to be interesting.

1125
01:09:08,720 --> 01:09:12,380
 I think, like you, Brett, at this point, we just got, you know, what's done is done.

1126
01:09:12,500 --> 01:09:14,180
 We just got to take away the city attitude.

1127
01:09:14,400 --> 01:09:18,560
 I told somebody this morning, heck, two years down the road, I'm against it right now.

1128
01:09:18,580 --> 01:09:23,440
 But I may say, and I have a kid in private school, but I may say, boy, this was a good idea.

1129
01:09:23,520 --> 01:09:24,580
 It's all worked out as well.

1130
01:09:24,940 --> 01:09:25,260
 Who knows?

1131
01:09:26,400 --> 01:09:36,460
 And about the board meeting, I do think that whole week, that's going to be an interesting week.

1132
01:09:36,580 --> 01:09:39,660
 That's April 13th, 14th, and 15th.

1133
01:09:39,660 --> 01:09:44,420
 So the 13th, which is a Monday, is the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Award announcements in Birmingham.

1134
01:09:45,240 --> 01:09:51,560
 The 14th is Mr. and Ms. Basketball Awards in Montgomery, and then the 15th is the Central Board Meeting.

1135
01:09:51,680 --> 01:09:54,960
 So that'll be a newsy few days for us there.

1136
01:09:55,420 --> 01:09:56,640
 They have to come up with that.

1137
01:09:56,660 --> 01:09:59,120
 I mean, we have to know what the private school playoffs is going to look like.

1138
01:09:59,240 --> 01:10:04,380
 I think what I've heard is, you know, there's 16 teams in that larger private school division.

1139
01:10:04,480 --> 01:10:06,100
 I'm talking football-wise here.

1140
01:10:06,640 --> 01:10:08,800
 I think 12 of them will make the playoffs.

1141
01:10:09,720 --> 01:10:15,700
 What I've heard is the top seeds will have a bye that first round, and the others will play.

1142
01:10:15,920 --> 01:10:19,700
 And I've even heard they might do it at a neutral facility.

1143
01:10:19,920 --> 01:10:26,500
 Like, they may have all those first-round games at, say, Crampton Bowl and Montgomery to maybe kind of alleviate travel.

1144
01:10:26,820 --> 01:10:32,240
 And I do think that because of the low number, they will not play in the semifinal week,

1145
01:10:32,260 --> 01:10:39,920
 which will allow them to play the first or second day of the Super 7, or whatever we're going to call the football championships,

1146
01:10:39,920 --> 01:10:43,600
 now that we have, what, 12 games counting flag football.

1147
01:10:43,600 --> 01:10:50,360
 So, I think we still need to find out a lot, and I think we will find out a lot on April 15th at that board meeting.

1148
01:10:51,260 --> 01:10:56,540
 Ben Thomas, AL.com, you mentioned the Boys Basketball Player of the Year semifinals of your poll.

1149
01:10:56,660 --> 01:10:57,940
 Very interesting, is it not?

1150
01:10:58,020 --> 01:10:59,980
 Never sit here and pencil somebody in.

1151
01:11:00,560 --> 01:11:04,300
 Your thoughts about the situation there with Brendan Davis and some of the competition,

1152
01:11:04,300 --> 01:11:09,280
 and overall, how are things going with the vote for the Boys Basketball Player of the Year?

1153
01:11:09,980 --> 01:11:15,860
 Yeah, so we've done these now for a couple years in multiple sports, and it's always interesting to me.

1154
01:11:16,000 --> 01:11:23,100
 I mean, in football, I think, actually, you know, the top seed was in the finals this year.

1155
01:11:23,380 --> 01:11:24,900
 But in basketball, it's not that way.

1156
01:11:25,000 --> 01:11:26,740
 Jalen Alexander was our top seed.

1157
01:11:27,220 --> 01:11:30,160
 He got beat in the first round by the 16th seed, Brendan Davis.

1158
01:11:30,340 --> 01:11:35,200
 And, of course, this is all, you know, fan voting, so, you know, nothing but that.

1159
01:11:36,080 --> 01:11:42,000
 But we're actually in the quarterfinals for boys and girls, and that voting is ongoing now.

1160
01:11:42,460 --> 01:11:44,500
 I think this is the second day, third day, maybe.

1161
01:11:44,500 --> 01:11:46,980
 And so our boys' finals look like this.

1162
01:11:47,120 --> 01:11:51,400
 We've got a lot of the top seeds got beat, but we've got Brantley's Devin Melton,

1163
01:11:51,520 --> 01:11:53,160
 against Winona's Brendan Davis.

1164
01:11:53,380 --> 01:11:57,440
 We've got Tuscaloosa County's Ford Trawick against Joseph Taylor of Jackson.

1165
01:11:58,120 --> 01:12:02,080
 Gaston City's Jacoby Sharp against Diggy Coleman of Dothan.

1166
01:12:02,560 --> 01:12:05,520
 And Milton Jones against L.J. Williams of Sarah Lane.

1167
01:12:05,600 --> 01:12:08,600
 You can vote on those guys now, I think, through the end of the week.

1168
01:12:09,500 --> 01:12:10,940
 And the girls is up, too.

1169
01:12:10,940 --> 01:12:15,380
 So go online, go on ALICOM, and vote for who you think should move on into semifinals.

1170
01:12:15,540 --> 01:12:16,580
 It's been fun to follow.

1171
01:12:17,580 --> 01:12:22,380
 The Alabama Sportswriters, Boys Player of the Year finalists.

1172
01:12:22,500 --> 01:12:25,120
 I know you listed on AL.com.

1173
01:12:25,200 --> 01:12:27,560
 Class 7A, there are three from North Alabama.

1174
01:12:27,720 --> 01:12:32,080
 And Tukerley, Evan Toms, a junior from Huntsville, we've talked about.

1175
01:12:32,740 --> 01:12:39,920
 Class 4A, we've talked multiple times about Gary Breed, maybe the best three-sport athlete I've seen in North Alabama.

1176
01:12:41,220 --> 01:12:48,360
 And then the kid from Red Bay, Khalil Luster, who, once again, is a sophomore.

1177
01:12:49,080 --> 01:12:52,920
 And BT, when I look up and down this list, obviously, there are a lot of seniors.

1178
01:12:53,600 --> 01:13:00,360
 But the same thing we talked about last week with so many of the girls who are sophomores and freshmen.

1179
01:13:01,160 --> 01:13:09,860
 Same thing here, that repeatedly, there are three or four freshmen, there are two sophomores, and multiple juniors.

1180
01:13:10,160 --> 01:13:14,220
 There is a lot of talent in the state of Alabama the upcoming years.

1181
01:13:15,340 --> 01:13:16,200
 Yeah, there is.

1182
01:13:16,260 --> 01:13:19,680
 I mean, we talked about, like you said last week, we talked about most of the girls.

1183
01:13:20,280 --> 01:13:21,940
 I mean, Evan Toms is only a junior.

1184
01:13:22,840 --> 01:13:25,460
 For Christian Schreers at Dothan, he'll be back.

1185
01:13:26,000 --> 01:13:29,300
 All the 6A guys are seniors, so we'll see them go.

1186
01:13:29,580 --> 01:13:38,880
 But, you know, the guy from Winona, Brendan Davis, who I just mentioned in our poll, scored 42 points in that championship game, Waltz.

1187
01:13:39,120 --> 01:13:39,780
 He's back.

1188
01:13:39,840 --> 01:13:40,700
 He's only a junior.

1189
01:13:41,560 --> 01:13:47,960
 And then, you know, the guy, two guys I think you're going to hear so much about in the coming years, and more than that, really.

1190
01:13:47,960 --> 01:13:54,840
 But L.J. Williams, who I mentioned from Sierra Land, he is the big sophomore.

1191
01:13:55,140 --> 01:13:59,420
 He didn't make the finalist list for 6A boys, but keep an eye out for him.

1192
01:13:59,520 --> 01:14:06,740
 And then the other guy, Devin Melton, he's only a freshman at Brantley, a big guy, comes from good genes there in Brantley.

1193
01:14:06,920 --> 01:14:09,740
 That's a renowned high school basketball power.

1194
01:14:11,120 --> 01:14:22,460
 Basketball, you know, as long as we keep these guys in the state and they don't leave like, you know, Caleb did, and hopefully they will, that we'll be in good shape for years to come.

1195
01:14:23,220 --> 01:14:25,420
 That's exactly what I was about to say.

1196
01:14:25,460 --> 01:14:28,840
 If they stay in state, and I certainly selfishly hope they do.

1197
01:14:29,460 --> 01:14:31,660
 And I always ask you at this point, what else?

1198
01:14:31,660 --> 01:14:36,940
 I mean, you know, you just have got to have something going on here every day now.

1199
01:14:37,080 --> 01:14:40,120
 The baseball and sophomore are really getting cranked up.

1200
01:14:40,200 --> 01:14:42,200
 What else have you got in line this week?

1201
01:14:42,900 --> 01:14:43,480
 Oh, man.

1202
01:14:43,900 --> 01:14:48,640
 So, today, we're actually starting our all-region basketball awards as well.

1203
01:14:48,800 --> 01:14:53,780
 And so, today, we're doing the Mobile Boys, and I think we'll have Huntsville tomorrow and Birmingham the next day.

1204
01:14:53,840 --> 01:14:56,480
 And then we'll have the girls next week.

1205
01:14:56,540 --> 01:15:00,400
 So, we're still trying to finish up those basketball awards.

1206
01:15:00,540 --> 01:15:07,100
 We'll have the rankings, baseball and softball rankings now come out each Thursday morning, the Alabama Sports Writer Association.

1207
01:15:07,380 --> 01:15:09,740
 So, that's something we'll have on.

1208
01:15:09,920 --> 01:15:14,040
 And then I think Randy Kennedy is out this week with his best in Bama watch list.

1209
01:15:14,160 --> 01:15:17,540
 We had the wide receivers watch list last week.

1210
01:15:17,600 --> 01:15:19,560
 But next week, I think we'll be doing quarterbacks.

1211
01:15:19,740 --> 01:15:22,700
 So, we're still looking at that as well.

1212
01:15:22,920 --> 01:15:24,160
 So, a lot of news going on.

1213
01:15:24,220 --> 01:15:27,420
 Obviously, that Ricky Austin news was pretty big for us this morning.

1214
01:15:28,660 --> 01:15:30,420
 Ben Thomas got it all covered there.

1215
01:15:30,420 --> 01:15:33,480
 Keep up the good work, BT, and thanks so much for your time today, buddy.

1216
01:15:34,120 --> 01:15:34,460
 All right.

1217
01:15:34,500 --> 01:15:35,420
 Y'all have a good week now.

1218
01:15:35,860 --> 01:15:36,340
 You too, buddy.

1219
01:15:36,380 --> 01:15:36,860
 We'll do the same.

1220
01:15:36,940 --> 01:15:39,380
 BT, BenThomasAO.com.

1221
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 Coming up, the big story in Big Orange Country with the V-Men on deck.

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1269
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 Indeed presents Hires You Can't Afford to Get Wrong, like a warehouse operations manager.

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1279
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1280
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 So you expect us to move a two-ton pallet on a scooter?

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 Uh, where are the forklifts?

1291
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1292
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 So you expect us to move a two-ton pallet on a scooter?

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1339
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 Harold, when we get mad at the college football playoff selection committee in November, and some of our listeners do because their favorite team is not ranked higher, they have added three new members.

1340
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1341
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 Right.

1342
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 And are you ready for this?

1343
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 No.

1344
01:21:54,400 --> 01:22:00,540
 The third esteemed member of the new member of the college football playoff committee.

1345
01:22:00,880 --> 01:22:01,120
 Yeah.

1346
01:22:01,520 --> 01:22:03,180
 Gus Malzahn.

1347
01:22:03,760 --> 01:22:04,020
 Who?

1348
01:22:04,700 --> 01:22:06,360
 Gus Malzahn.

1349
01:22:06,500 --> 01:22:09,280
 So how's that tiebreaker going to go without Alabama fans?

1350
01:22:09,480 --> 01:22:11,060
 The three new members.

1351
01:22:11,280 --> 01:22:18,380
 Can you imagine the reaction on social media the rest of the afternoon about the addition of Gus Malzahn?

1352
01:22:18,640 --> 01:22:18,940
 Yeah.

1353
01:22:19,020 --> 01:22:20,700
 See, I thought she was going to say Vince Ferrara.

1354
01:22:20,880 --> 01:22:21,560
 Now, I...

1355
01:22:21,560 --> 01:22:22,540
 I wish.

1356
01:22:22,940 --> 01:22:23,960
 My gauge is empty.

1357
01:22:24,060 --> 01:22:24,560
 It's on the eve.

1358
01:22:24,620 --> 01:22:25,120
 But we'll try.

1359
01:22:25,220 --> 01:22:32,800
 Vince Ferrara, he's on the radio at 99.1, the sports animal, in Knoxville, Tennessee, and on the Vol Radio Network.

1360
01:22:32,940 --> 01:22:34,700
 VinceSports.net.

1361
01:22:35,220 --> 01:22:37,720
 V-Man, we were anticipating your name.

1362
01:22:38,260 --> 01:22:41,040
 And Brent spoils it by calling out Gus Malzahn.

1363
01:22:41,120 --> 01:22:41,660
 Your reaction.

1364
01:22:41,760 --> 01:22:42,460
 How are you?

1365
01:22:43,040 --> 01:22:44,320
 Hi, I'm great, guys.

1366
01:22:44,360 --> 01:22:45,040
 Great to be with you.

1367
01:22:45,040 --> 01:22:58,060
 You know, the way B.B. presented that and stretched it out, I was wondering if maybe I missed an email, and I was in there, and I just hadn't gotten the information yet.

1368
01:22:58,140 --> 01:23:00,180
 It would have been serious breaking news to me.

1369
01:23:00,440 --> 01:23:04,580
 But, no, I don't think they have a budget to afford me being on there.

1370
01:23:05,000 --> 01:23:05,580
 There you go.

1371
01:23:05,600 --> 01:23:09,780
 I'm not interested in that kind of craziness and criticism.

1372
01:23:09,980 --> 01:23:10,400
 I'm good.

1373
01:23:11,260 --> 01:23:19,020
 Vince, can you imagine, can you imagine, you know where I'm going with this, on a, whatever the day they announced this, I have a date in front of me.

1374
01:23:19,080 --> 01:23:25,960
 On that date, it's a tiebreaker, and Alabama misses by one vote.

1375
01:23:26,080 --> 01:23:30,280
 Can you imagine, it's a whole new meaning to Armageddon, would it not?

1376
01:23:32,100 --> 01:23:32,880
 For sure.

1377
01:23:33,000 --> 01:23:39,880
 The only thing is, hey, just, they don't put any of that publicly, like, publicly, you don't know how close the voting is.

1378
01:23:40,760 --> 01:23:59,940
 It is a collective, it is a collective, and look, if Auburn is in the equation, there's supposed to be some sort of, like, recusing, I don't know, if they actually do it in the committee, versus, in that committee, versus, like, the NCAA tournament committee, but you would think so.

1379
01:24:00,460 --> 01:24:05,680
 But, yeah, we won't know it, even though the conspiracy theories will be in four hours.

1380
01:24:07,060 --> 01:24:07,760
 They'll know it.

1381
01:24:07,800 --> 01:24:08,900
 They just won't know it for sure.

1382
01:24:08,980 --> 01:24:09,520
 They'll know it.

1383
01:24:10,340 --> 01:24:10,740
 Right.

1384
01:24:10,900 --> 01:24:16,940
 V-Man, obviously, where do you start talking about this Tennessee basketball program?

1385
01:24:17,380 --> 01:24:21,720
 Three straight elite eights, but Rick Barnes just can't get over the hurdle.

1386
01:24:21,820 --> 01:24:22,960
 Both things are true.

1387
01:24:23,080 --> 01:24:26,400
 V-Man, you're closer to the epicenter than we are there in K-Town.

1388
01:24:26,920 --> 01:24:29,640
 Where do you break it down in the Tennessee basketball program?

1389
01:24:30,640 --> 01:24:42,380
 Yeah, and just the weekend was the two extremes, and Tennessee accomplishing that, and Tennessee fans feeling really good about it, and then you're one win away from it.

1390
01:24:42,440 --> 01:24:50,140
 I mean, it could have been the biggest day in Tennessee college basketball, you know, history.

1391
01:24:51,200 --> 01:24:54,560
 It was that close, but then it wasn't.

1392
01:24:54,700 --> 01:24:58,900
 Once it was 16-14, and then Michigan went on the 21-0 run.

1393
01:24:58,900 --> 01:25:13,440
 So when you're that close, and you achieve that, when only Duke is the only other team to do that, if we can take their years currently, for Duke, then that's not good enough for them.

1394
01:25:14,000 --> 01:25:26,340
 For Duke, when they had very little success in their history, especially compared to the things Rick Barnes has accomplished, then you feel like it was a good season.

1395
01:25:26,340 --> 01:25:37,960
 Because when you reflect back, before the year, I think the expectation, I think Tennessee met the expectations for some before the year.

1396
01:25:38,300 --> 01:25:42,680
 Like, I thought this team, the way the roster is put together, could be a top-10 team.

1397
01:25:43,020 --> 01:25:44,620
 That was the Elite Eight-ish.

1398
01:25:45,060 --> 01:25:47,600
 So I think they lived up to that.

1399
01:25:48,080 --> 01:25:54,960
 But if you go based on what it was going into the NCAA tournament, I think Tennessee exceeded expectations.

1400
01:25:55,320 --> 01:26:04,380
 And for some far-exceeded expectations, they thought they were going to get eliminated in the second round of the tournament, you get to the Elite Eight.

1401
01:26:04,800 --> 01:26:09,200
 So everybody was in a different position, I think, in how they viewed them.

1402
01:26:09,540 --> 01:26:17,880
 And some are a prisoner of the moment where it gets, you know, of course we were supposed to get to the Elite Eight.

1403
01:26:17,960 --> 01:26:19,380
 We're supposed to be in the Final Four.

1404
01:26:19,960 --> 01:26:25,500
 We should have all the money, as much money as anyone or more money than anyone, to spend at NIL.

1405
01:26:26,180 --> 01:26:28,780
 It's just not the reality in every sport.

1406
01:26:29,400 --> 01:26:36,120
 So it just depends on the individual and how it's kind of digested.

1407
01:26:36,420 --> 01:26:37,880
 But it was a great accomplishment.

1408
01:26:38,060 --> 01:26:45,540
 And what they did against Iowa State in shutting down Monchilevich, the best airport shooter in the nation.

1409
01:26:46,200 --> 01:26:50,400
 And he couldn't even get any shots off once we made them.

1410
01:26:50,880 --> 01:26:52,240
 And he was so frustrated.

1411
01:26:52,520 --> 01:26:55,140
 He gave Tennessee a ton of credit, as he should.

1412
01:26:55,900 --> 01:27:00,320
 The individual and team defense they did on him was tremendous.

1413
01:27:00,640 --> 01:27:08,060
 And they did that, you know, all turn along until Michigan had so many more answers and so many more ways to beat you.

1414
01:27:08,520 --> 01:27:15,320
 And that's another part of it, too, is the reality is Michigan has been doing that to a lot of teams, a lot of really good teams.

1415
01:27:16,040 --> 01:27:26,780
 But the way it got away from Tennessee fans, even with that, that's what makes yesterday harder to accept, is how they got run out of the gym.

1416
01:27:27,080 --> 01:27:31,500
 Unlike anything else we've seen in the Elite Eight since like the late 80s.

1417
01:27:32,740 --> 01:27:37,960
 Yeah, Michigan's playing on another level, and particularly Linda Borg, who scored 27.

1418
01:27:38,260 --> 01:27:51,100
 When asked yesterday by media, Rick Barnes was asked, are you 100% committed to returning for a 12th season on Rocky Top?

1419
01:27:51,620 --> 01:27:54,040
 Rick Barnes said, yes, I am.

1420
01:27:55,920 --> 01:27:58,820
 Yeah, and that's a great thing on a lot of levels.

1421
01:27:59,020 --> 01:28:01,200
 Obviously, you get Rick Barnes back.

1422
01:28:02,180 --> 01:28:18,740
 Anyone that wants to move on from Rick Barnes, you know, I don't know what to tell you, but you just wait until you see what life without Rick Barnes is if you assume that it's going to be better.

1423
01:28:19,000 --> 01:28:21,200
 So that's one thing.

1424
01:28:21,200 --> 01:28:29,000
 Two, I think Tennessee is probably really happy that that question was asked, and Rick Barnes gave the answer that he did.

1425
01:28:29,100 --> 01:28:32,680
 And it was Trey Wallace, certainly, that asked that question.

1426
01:28:33,040 --> 01:28:40,540
 So, because you know, in recruiting, it was going to be used against Tennessee.

1427
01:28:40,860 --> 01:28:42,240
 Well, Rick Barnes is going to retire.

1428
01:28:42,520 --> 01:28:45,540
 You don't know where if he's going to retire in the offseason.

1429
01:28:46,100 --> 01:28:56,340
 So, I think it was a huge positive for Tennessee to get that answer, to get that question, to get that answer out there so they can move on and not have that be a distraction.

1430
01:28:57,160 --> 01:29:03,620
 You know, V-Man, something that I thought Rick said was refreshing, everybody's fussing about recruiting now, and Rick said, actually, I like it better.

1431
01:29:04,040 --> 01:29:08,780
 You call them up, you tell them what you can do for them, they say yes or no, and you move on to the next guy.

1432
01:29:09,300 --> 01:29:27,660
 Your thoughts about putting together the future roster, because let's face it down, the SEC is college football across the landscape, it's a year-to-year basis, and with the news today that the latest expensive puzzle done at LSU, the quiet Will Wade introduced as LSU's new men's basketball coach, how that affects the SEC.

1433
01:29:27,660 --> 01:29:48,840
 You see, they had 10 teams in the dance, that's one thing, but they can't, there's a ceiling that compared to the world right now, this NIL era, it's lower than the Big Ten and others, but your thoughts about where Rick goes going forward and how Will Wade and this overall coaching staff, what, $200 million is going to shake up the SEC going forward.

1434
01:29:49,980 --> 01:29:56,160
 Yeah, and look, you feel bad for Matt McMahon, who's an East Tennessee guy from Oak Ridge.

1435
01:29:57,220 --> 01:30:00,220
 He's probably like, all right, where was that investment when I was the coach?

1436
01:30:00,720 --> 01:30:14,080
 You know, I also lost my two best players for the year to the injury, and then one of them wasn't there with me last year, and I didn't have those kind of NIL funds and investment in the program.

1437
01:30:14,080 --> 01:30:19,460
 Like all the others, many of the other sportsmen at LSU, now with a new coach, he gets them.

1438
01:30:19,860 --> 01:30:26,220
 So, I mean, that's crazy, but they will be a factor, because it's for LSU and Georgia,

1439
01:30:26,780 --> 01:30:33,620
 to not be really good in all sports, to have sports where they're not consistently great, hard to comprehend.

1440
01:30:33,960 --> 01:30:37,280
 So, they should be able to be a factor for sure.

1441
01:30:37,580 --> 01:30:47,640
 But as far as Rick Barnes, I think the portal, he's almost known for bringing in an elite portal player,

1442
01:30:47,740 --> 01:30:52,040
 at least one every year, and having them take their game to another level.

1443
01:30:52,040 --> 01:31:00,020
 And I know there were turnover frustrations at times from Jacoby Gillespie, but he saved their backsides so many times.

1444
01:31:00,480 --> 01:31:02,540
 He had an awesome NCAA tournament.

1445
01:31:03,300 --> 01:31:10,500
 Even when, even in the Iowa State game, his numbers didn't just explode, but he still controlled the game.

1446
01:31:10,620 --> 01:31:20,400
 He still impacted winning by drawing the defense and making good decisions, and then his ability to handle the basketball with intense pressure.

1447
01:31:20,780 --> 01:31:23,780
 They actually took him off the ball a little bit so they could save his legs some.

1448
01:31:23,920 --> 01:31:26,960
 But he just draws defenders.

1449
01:31:27,400 --> 01:31:32,140
 So, the point is, the portal has been great to Rick Barnes.

1450
01:31:32,520 --> 01:31:39,340
 It's going to need to be again, because this roster turnover, you're going to lose up far, you're going to lose Gillespie, you're going to lose Nate Amen.

1451
01:31:39,500 --> 01:31:41,240
 Those are three of your starters right there.

1452
01:31:41,900 --> 01:31:44,280
 But they need more shooters, in my opinion.

1453
01:31:44,700 --> 01:31:53,120
 They bring in character, high-quality culture guys, and Nate Amen was a five-star that fit all those things.

1454
01:31:53,820 --> 01:31:59,940
 But it was stark the difference in some of the elite teams, like Michigan, you see them play in person, and Tennessee.

1455
01:32:00,460 --> 01:32:03,900
 Tennessee just did not have enough answers, but they didn't have enough answers with offense.

1456
01:32:04,080 --> 01:32:14,900
 You need guys that can be program guys, that can be culture guys, all those things, but can shoot the basketball at a really high level instead of needing to be developed.

1457
01:32:15,420 --> 01:32:19,980
 Maury Evans may become that kind of player, but he wasn't a great shooter out of the gate.

1458
01:32:20,420 --> 01:32:24,200
 And maybe you need to find more guys in the portal that just are elite shooters.

1459
01:32:24,540 --> 01:32:32,500
 I know everybody wants them, but the threat in so many positions, one through five, of shooters,

1460
01:32:33,140 --> 01:32:39,500
 that's what I think Tennessee needs to level up, while still not compromising what he wants in terms of defense.

1461
01:32:40,660 --> 01:32:41,140
 Absolutely.

1462
01:32:41,540 --> 01:32:48,280
 Listen, again, delighted you got a chance to go to Philadelphia to cover the Vols' run, and then to Chicago.

1463
01:32:48,580 --> 01:32:51,680
 You're headed back now as we speak.

1464
01:32:51,940 --> 01:32:52,780
 Safe travels.

1465
01:32:53,080 --> 01:32:56,160
 Enjoyed your recounts of every game.

1466
01:32:57,000 --> 01:33:00,640
 I'm glad you got a chance to go, but it couldn't happen to a better guy.

1467
01:33:00,880 --> 01:33:03,740
 Where can we get online to get all of these good stuff?

1468
01:33:04,600 --> 01:33:05,520
 Yeah, I appreciate it.

1469
01:33:05,580 --> 01:33:06,360
 It was fun.

1470
01:33:06,840 --> 01:33:15,840
 Honestly, there's a little bit of me and probably Daphty that is ready for a little bit of normalcy and get laid in our own bed, that kind of stuff.

1471
01:33:15,960 --> 01:33:19,380
 But I'll have to check the final four box another year.

1472
01:33:20,020 --> 01:33:29,540
 But tons of coverage, updates, all that kind of fun stuff on all the socials, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, slash, at VinceSports, V-I-N-C-E Sports.

1473
01:33:29,640 --> 01:33:33,300
 And then back to the SportsSource TV work this weekend.

1474
01:33:33,400 --> 01:33:35,940
 You can find SportsSource Digital Network on YouTube.

1475
01:33:37,100 --> 01:33:38,820
 Safe travels back home, V-Man.

1476
01:33:38,940 --> 01:33:41,360
 Sounds like you and Daphne had a doggone good time, my friend.

1477
01:33:42,920 --> 01:33:43,320
 Absolutely.

1478
01:33:43,620 --> 01:33:46,200
 She does great at hotels, but great to be on with you guys.

1479
01:33:46,660 --> 01:33:47,120
 See you, bud.

1480
01:33:47,160 --> 01:33:47,540
 You too.

1481
01:33:47,680 --> 01:33:51,680
 It's for all of the V-Man, 99.1, the Sports Animal Inn, Knoxville.

1482
01:33:51,820 --> 01:33:58,100
 Coming up, putting a ribbon on Alabama's round ball season with the one and the only Brian Pathak on deck.

1483
01:33:58,160 --> 01:33:58,500
 Stay with us.

1484
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 Hello, my name is Keith Medley, and I'm an attorney with a law firm of Johnson, Passeur, Medley & Burchill.

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 Hey, it's Rich Eisen for Pella Windows and Doors.

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1542
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 Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9.

1543
01:37:05,220 --> 01:37:05,880
 The score.

1544
01:37:06,280 --> 01:37:08,080
 College baseball action over the weekend.

1545
01:37:08,220 --> 01:37:11,360
 Alabama yesterday beat Auburn 3-1.

1546
01:37:11,660 --> 01:37:13,680
 The two teams combined for six hits.

1547
01:37:13,820 --> 01:37:17,320
 Alabama sweeps the weekend series with the Auburn Tigers.

1548
01:37:17,960 --> 01:37:20,520
 Alabama is now 22-7 on the season.

1549
01:37:20,680 --> 01:37:25,060
 6-3 in the SEC while Auburn drops to 4-5 in the SEC.

1550
01:37:25,680 --> 01:37:27,840
 20-7 on the season.

1551
01:37:28,400 --> 01:37:30,880
 South Alabama yesterday a winner over Old Dominion.

1552
01:37:30,980 --> 01:37:31,560
 12-1.

1553
01:37:31,640 --> 01:37:33,540
 They win the weekend series two games to one.

1554
01:37:33,880 --> 01:37:36,000
 South Alabama is 5-4 in the Sun Belt.

1555
01:37:36,400 --> 01:37:39,240
 Troy yesterday was a winner over Georgia Southern.

1556
01:37:39,340 --> 01:37:39,960
 11-5.

1557
01:37:40,040 --> 01:37:41,140
 They avoid the sweep.

1558
01:37:41,140 --> 01:37:44,500
 Troy is 4-5 in the Sun Belt.

1559
01:37:44,760 --> 01:37:46,920
 North Alabama fell to Bellarmine yesterday.

1560
01:37:47,100 --> 01:37:48,200
 12-9.

1561
01:37:48,440 --> 01:37:52,680
 Bundle auto and home, renters or condo, and save with Progressive.

1562
01:37:52,820 --> 01:37:58,240
 I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash presented by Progressive on 93.9 The Score.

1563
01:38:02,440 --> 01:38:09,500
 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 $7.

1564
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1565
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1566
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1567
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1568
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1569
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1570
01:38:30,660 --> 01:38:31,760
 Prices and participation may vary.

1571
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 Tax tips and fees extra.

1572
01:38:33,080 --> 01:38:35,100
 Staples presents That Was Easy.

1573
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1574
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1575
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1576
01:38:40,800 --> 01:38:41,480
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1577
01:38:41,700 --> 01:38:42,460
 They printed it all.

1578
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 They even suggested takeout menus.

1579
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1580
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1581
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1582
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1583
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1584
01:38:56,460 --> 01:38:57,320
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1585
01:38:57,420 --> 01:39:00,200
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1586
01:39:00,380 --> 01:39:01,080
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1587
01:39:01,200 --> 01:39:02,960
 Visit staples.com slash print for details.

1588
01:39:03,680 --> 01:39:04,860
 The score.

1589
01:39:05,380 --> 01:39:10,060
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

1590
01:39:10,580 --> 01:39:10,820
 The score.

1591
01:39:10,820 --> 01:39:11,420
 Welcome back in.

1592
01:39:11,460 --> 01:39:15,880
 It is a pleasure for us to welcome the man who knows all about the thing called Alabama

1593
01:39:15,880 --> 01:39:17,620
 basketball inside and out.

1594
01:39:17,680 --> 01:39:21,880
 That's because it comes out of your dashboard every time you tune in to Alabama basketball

1595
01:39:21,880 --> 01:39:22,800
 on the network there.

1596
01:39:23,240 --> 01:39:28,300
 Brian Patsy, sidekick of Chris Stewart and others when it comes to round ball for Alabama.

1597
01:39:28,460 --> 01:39:29,420
 Brian, welcome in today.

1598
01:39:29,520 --> 01:39:30,320
 How are you?

1599
01:39:32,380 --> 01:39:32,840
 Hey, guys.

1600
01:39:32,880 --> 01:39:33,340
 How are you all?

1601
01:39:33,900 --> 01:39:34,140
 Hey, man.

1602
01:39:34,140 --> 01:39:34,680
 All right.

1603
01:39:34,720 --> 01:39:35,620
 Are you okay?

1604
01:39:35,820 --> 01:39:38,580
 Are you having to undergo withdrawal medication, Brian?

1605
01:39:39,020 --> 01:39:40,500
 How are you doing these days?

1606
01:39:41,300 --> 01:39:42,680
 Well, I'm doing great.

1607
01:39:43,180 --> 01:39:45,360
 It was a great run for Alabama.

1608
01:39:45,720 --> 01:39:47,460
 Obviously, you never want it to end.

1609
01:39:48,120 --> 01:39:51,840
 I was hoping this team could go a little further.

1610
01:39:51,980 --> 01:39:58,780
 But after watching how good Michigan is in the game that I saw with my own two eyes and the

1611
01:39:58,780 --> 01:40:04,000
 game I watched on TV, I think the deserving team has moved on to the Final Four.

1612
01:40:04,380 --> 01:40:05,760
 I've said this for a few weeks.

1613
01:40:05,840 --> 01:40:10,680
 I thought that Michigan and Arizona are in a league of their own.

1614
01:40:11,200 --> 01:40:15,600
 And there's a little bit of a drop-off or pretty, maybe significant drop-off.

1615
01:40:15,720 --> 01:40:17,460
 And then there's some other teams.

1616
01:40:17,600 --> 01:40:18,940
 And I thought Duke was one of those.

1617
01:40:19,220 --> 01:40:20,860
 And I don't think they were.

1618
01:40:21,620 --> 01:40:26,040
 But, yeah, I think Arizona, Michigan, two best teams in the country.

1619
01:40:26,220 --> 01:40:31,040
 That doesn't mean that Illinois and UConn don't have a chance because it's March Madness.

1620
01:40:31,100 --> 01:40:32,460
 Anything can happen, as we've seen.

1621
01:40:33,100 --> 01:40:34,560
 So it should be a great Final Four.

1622
01:40:34,940 --> 01:40:37,740
 But, yeah, listen, I'm always sad when the year ends.

1623
01:40:39,080 --> 01:40:43,240
 It's been a great year and another great season for Alabama and Natives.

1624
01:40:44,140 --> 01:40:45,440
 Brian, I agree with you.

1625
01:40:45,500 --> 01:40:49,020
 When you looked at that ball game the other night, if you took the crimson glasses off and

1626
01:40:49,020 --> 01:40:54,080
 looked at it as objectively as possible, Michigan, that second half, they would have given a

1627
01:40:54,080 --> 01:40:56,660
 lot of semi-pro teams a run for the money.

1628
01:40:56,840 --> 01:40:59,100
 I mean, like Nate Oates said, they ran into a juggernaut.

1629
01:40:59,800 --> 01:41:03,780
 And when you have that kind of talent, that much talent, clicking all on the same

1630
01:41:03,780 --> 01:41:05,620
 cylinders at the same time, that's tough.

1631
01:41:06,020 --> 01:41:10,720
 But, Brian, be that as it may, if you are Coach Oates, and he's much smarter when it

1632
01:41:10,720 --> 01:41:13,640
 comes to basketball than any of us, what did he learn?

1633
01:41:13,720 --> 01:41:18,160
 When he looks at a team like Michigan and Arizona, you've got to believe going through

1634
01:41:18,160 --> 01:41:21,780
 his mind right now is, okay, that's what they're doing that maybe we're not.

1635
01:41:21,840 --> 01:41:27,060
 We've got a good team, but maybe for us to go to the next step, this is what we need and

1636
01:41:27,060 --> 01:41:30,200
 learn from teams like Michigan's roster and Arizona's roster.

1637
01:41:30,320 --> 01:41:31,440
 Would you agree with that?

1638
01:41:32,860 --> 01:41:37,980
 Yeah, I mean, and he's said a little bit of that, that he needs to get bigger.

1639
01:41:38,240 --> 01:41:43,600
 Now, you know, I would not argue with him, I agree, but part of the reason you weren't

1640
01:41:43,600 --> 01:41:46,720
 as big as you wanted to be is because of injuries.

1641
01:41:46,720 --> 01:41:51,900
 I mean, you had a couple guys that played power forward, center position that would have

1642
01:41:51,900 --> 01:41:56,220
 helped you and would have made you a bigger team and have more depth around the basket.

1643
01:41:57,080 --> 01:42:01,280
 But those guys, I think there were four guys that were out for the year.

1644
01:42:01,280 --> 01:42:05,560
 And so depth, especially in the frontcourt, wasn't there.

1645
01:42:05,560 --> 01:42:12,900
 But for this team to weather all of the storms and adversity and injuries that they did to

1646
01:42:12,900 --> 01:42:17,480
 get in the Sweet 16, finish second in the SEC was a major accomplishment.

1647
01:42:17,820 --> 01:42:22,500
 But the thing that I love about where this program is, is that's not the goal.

1648
01:42:22,640 --> 01:42:28,300
 The goal is to get back to the Final Four and play an extra game and win that game and win

1649
01:42:28,300 --> 01:42:29,220
 the national championship.

1650
01:42:30,060 --> 01:42:33,500
 And, you know, this year it was possible.

1651
01:42:33,500 --> 01:42:39,440
 It would have, you would have had to upset a few different, a few different schools to do

1652
01:42:39,440 --> 01:42:39,680
 it.

1653
01:42:40,120 --> 01:42:44,980
 Uh, but hopefully Alabama can be in the position that they've been the last four seasons going

1654
01:42:44,980 --> 01:42:49,400
 to four straight Sweet 16s or better, uh, an amazing accomplishment.

1655
01:42:49,400 --> 01:42:51,140
 It's never happened in school history.

1656
01:42:51,140 --> 01:42:54,520
 And I don't see this program slowing down anytime soon.

1657
01:42:55,400 --> 01:43:01,920
 Uh, now, uh, several of the Alabama beat writers had a story about this.

1658
01:43:02,160 --> 01:43:09,280
 I asked you two weeks ago about this, and I'm going to ask you again, uh, when you have

1659
01:43:09,280 --> 01:43:15,440
 the number one toughest schedule, or at least in the top three, all of the myriad of injuries,

1660
01:43:16,000 --> 01:43:21,660
 the off the court distractions, which they were, uh, and I thought Nadeau's handled that

1661
01:43:21,660 --> 01:43:22,440
 quite well.

1662
01:43:22,600 --> 01:43:27,540
 Unfortunately, he's had a lot of experience in the last three or four years doing that.

1663
01:43:27,540 --> 01:43:35,540
 Uh, but I'll ask you again, was this Nadeau's best coaching job when you take all of that

1664
01:43:35,540 --> 01:43:36,700
 into consideration?

1665
01:43:37,860 --> 01:43:40,720
 Yeah, it's definitely in the conversation.

1666
01:43:41,260 --> 01:43:46,660
 And the great thing is that you could make an argument for several of these years.

1667
01:43:46,820 --> 01:43:52,040
 Um, you know, it's hard to be two years ago, not just going to the final four for the first

1668
01:43:52,040 --> 01:43:52,980
 time in school history.

1669
01:43:52,980 --> 01:43:59,380
 But if you remember that off season before that, your entire staff, uh, left to become

1670
01:43:59,380 --> 01:44:00,060
 head coaches.

1671
01:44:00,760 --> 01:44:08,240
 Uh, and so there was a gosh, at least a month or two where the coaches offices were lonely

1672
01:44:08,240 --> 01:44:09,380
 for, for Nate.

1673
01:44:09,380 --> 01:44:16,500
 I mean, you, you lost that way to Kansas state, uh, Charlie Henry to Georgia Southern and Brian

1674
01:44:16,500 --> 01:44:19,360
 Hodgson, uh, to Arkansas state at the time.

1675
01:44:19,360 --> 01:44:22,260
 And it was, uh, just Nate.

1676
01:44:22,260 --> 01:44:25,860
 And he was able to bring in some high level assistance.

1677
01:44:26,380 --> 01:44:32,080
 And in the meantime, bring in some key contributors to that final four team.

1678
01:44:32,080 --> 01:44:33,600
 Just amazing what he did that year.

1679
01:44:33,600 --> 01:44:39,620
 But this year, when you start really digging into it and seeing all the guys that missed

1680
01:44:39,620 --> 01:44:41,940
 multiple games and practices.

1681
01:44:41,940 --> 01:44:47,120
 And I think Houston Millett was the only player on the team that didn't miss a game because

1682
01:44:47,120 --> 01:44:47,820
 of the injury.

1683
01:44:48,380 --> 01:44:54,280
 Uh, it's just amazing that they had the success that they did with the nation's toughest schedule

1684
01:44:54,280 --> 01:44:58,240
 second in the SEC, another sweet 16, just, just amazing.

1685
01:44:58,240 --> 01:45:03,820
 So if you wanted to, to argue with me that this was his best coaching job, I would, I would

1686
01:45:03,820 --> 01:45:07,380
 not, uh, I would, I would, I would, I would tell you, you got a pretty strong argument.

1687
01:45:08,160 --> 01:45:09,860
 I thought Nate said it best.

1688
01:45:09,920 --> 01:45:13,380
 He said, amongst the things sad about the outcome of this game, I won't get to coach

1689
01:45:13,380 --> 01:45:14,800
 these guys anymore.

1690
01:45:15,040 --> 01:45:19,960
 And these guys to me, epitomized in this day and time, I take every story with a grain

1691
01:45:19,960 --> 01:45:24,120
 of salt when I see it, but I, one of the, I'll see if you can verify this.

1692
01:45:24,120 --> 01:45:29,760
 I saw a picture of Millett leaving, uh, the gym, if you will, the arena, and he was not

1693
01:45:29,760 --> 01:45:30,780
 wearing his street clothes.

1694
01:45:30,840 --> 01:45:33,980
 He was wearing his uniform because it means that much to him.

1695
01:45:34,200 --> 01:45:35,700
 You can't measure heart, right?

1696
01:45:35,740 --> 01:45:38,960
 If you get a guy, if you get five guys, 12 guys with that kind of heart, you're going

1697
01:45:38,960 --> 01:45:39,980
 to win some ball games.

1698
01:45:41,000 --> 01:45:41,940
 No, no doubt.

1699
01:45:41,940 --> 01:45:49,220
 And we live in a time with a transfer portal and so many guys around the country that go

1700
01:45:49,220 --> 01:45:53,720
 to the school they go to based on money and to have, yeah.

1701
01:45:53,840 --> 01:46:01,240
 To have a guy like Houston, who clearly has loved being in Tuscaloosa and loves the university

1702
01:46:01,240 --> 01:46:05,280
 of Alabama and could not take the jersey off after the game.

1703
01:46:05,280 --> 01:46:12,420
 I saw him a couple of hours after, actually, I think it was closer to past midnight, 1 a.m.

1704
01:46:12,420 --> 01:46:17,080
 He was in a hotel lobby at the team hotel and he was sitting with his family.

1705
01:46:17,220 --> 01:46:23,260
 All of them had, you know, swollen red eyes from crying and he's sitting there in his jersey.

1706
01:46:23,660 --> 01:46:28,940
 And then, uh, you know, wake up the next morning, we're getting on the plane and, and he's still

1707
01:46:28,940 --> 01:46:37,160
 got his jersey on, uh, so I, I love the fact that it meant so much to him and he's one of those guys

1708
01:46:37,160 --> 01:46:43,860
 that even though he was only at Alabama for two years, he will go down as a legend because it was

1709
01:46:43,860 --> 01:46:48,920
 so clear with the way he played and the way he carried himself, how much he loved being a part

1710
01:46:48,920 --> 01:46:50,080
 of the university of Alabama.

1711
01:46:50,340 --> 01:46:56,380
 And that's just, unfortunately rare, not, not for Alabama, just in college athletics right now.

1712
01:46:56,460 --> 01:47:01,900
 So I think, uh, many fans, including myself, appreciate it that much more.

1713
01:47:01,900 --> 01:47:03,740
 And then Latrell Reitzel is right there.

1714
01:47:03,860 --> 01:47:09,940
 I mean, what he's battled through injuries last year, the torn Achilles and, and to come back

1715
01:47:09,940 --> 01:47:16,160
 and have the injuries that he's had this year, uh, for him to play the way he did and, and with the

1716
01:47:16,160 --> 01:47:21,860
 heart and, and, uh, the effort, um, man, those guys will be missed, but they, they made an impact

1717
01:47:21,860 --> 01:47:25,960
 on this program and, uh, certainly appreciate all that they did for Bama.

1718
01:47:26,960 --> 01:47:35,120
 Uh, late Saturday night, the Alabama athletic director sent out a tweet, uh, with, he was standing

1719
01:47:35,120 --> 01:47:42,600
 next to Nate Oates and the caption on the tweet said, we are good exclamation mark.

1720
01:47:42,780 --> 01:47:44,720
 He's not going anywhere.

1721
01:47:45,400 --> 01:47:46,760
 Explanation mark.

1722
01:47:47,100 --> 01:47:53,260
 Should Alabama fans and supporters feel very positive about that tweet?

1723
01:47:54,340 --> 01:47:56,180
 Well, I certainly do.

1724
01:47:56,540 --> 01:48:04,240
 Um, and listen, I'm thankful, uh, that seven years ago, uh, Greg Byrne went and found Nate

1725
01:48:04,240 --> 01:48:04,600
 Oates.

1726
01:48:04,600 --> 01:48:09,260
 I thought it was a great hire at the time and I had no idea how great it was.

1727
01:48:09,740 --> 01:48:14,720
 Uh, I'd still think, uh, that he is certainly without a doubt, one of the best coaches in

1728
01:48:14,720 --> 01:48:15,180
 the country.

1729
01:48:15,180 --> 01:48:20,200
 And I would make the argument that if you, if you picked a handful of guys who probably

1730
01:48:20,200 --> 01:48:25,860
 have a little better resume at this point, having won national championships, that those

1731
01:48:25,860 --> 01:48:32,960
 guys, and I'm talking about, you know, Dan Hurley, who's obviously great, uh, all these,

1732
01:48:32,960 --> 01:48:41,920
 all these great coaches, Thomas, could those guys, um, to Tuscaloosa, Alabama and do what

1733
01:48:41,920 --> 01:48:42,760
 Nate Oates has done?

1734
01:48:42,820 --> 01:48:44,220
 I don't know that they could.

1735
01:48:44,220 --> 01:48:52,820
 I just think the job he's done turned Alabama into a basketball powerhouse is just amazing.

1736
01:48:52,820 --> 01:48:57,340
 And as someone who loves the program, I couldn't be happier that he's our coach and that he's

1737
01:48:57,340 --> 01:48:59,480
 going to be our coach, uh, for a long time.

1738
01:49:00,260 --> 01:49:04,700
 Brian, are you qualified to talk about the power of having a daughter and a family, especially

1739
01:49:04,700 --> 01:49:05,880
 one of the tens, Alabama.

1740
01:49:06,220 --> 01:49:10,120
 And the, the, the reason I bring that up, I thought it was interesting the other day when

1741
01:49:10,120 --> 01:49:14,280
 the speculation was Nate, North Carolina, he's almost immediately.

1742
01:49:14,280 --> 01:49:15,280
 He said, blah, blah, blah.

1743
01:49:15,320 --> 01:49:17,180
 And he said, and my daughters are happy here to me.

1744
01:49:17,200 --> 01:49:21,500
 When I saw that, I said, that's locked down because the most important vote in the house

1745
01:49:21,500 --> 01:49:26,920
 is already in your thoughts just about the family as apart from the record on the court

1746
01:49:26,920 --> 01:49:28,520
 of, of them living in Tuscaloosa.

1747
01:49:29,440 --> 01:49:29,840
 Yeah.

1748
01:49:29,900 --> 01:49:36,180
 I mean, you know, when the North Carolina job opened, um, yeah, I always, when, when there

1749
01:49:36,180 --> 01:49:43,920
 are like the Kentucky, you know, North Carolina do those types of jobs open up, I just, I get

1750
01:49:43,920 --> 01:49:50,600
 a little, little nervous, but not, not overly nervous because I know how happy Nate is in

1751
01:49:50,600 --> 01:49:53,280
 Tuscaloosa and his family is, and his girls are younger.

1752
01:49:53,280 --> 01:49:58,620
 And, uh, I know that part, you know, part of being a coach is moving your family around

1753
01:49:58,620 --> 01:49:59,140
 the country.

1754
01:49:59,140 --> 01:50:01,000
 It's one of the reasons I didn't want to go into coaching.

1755
01:50:01,280 --> 01:50:05,500
 Uh, but I know that, that his daughters love Tuscaloosa.

1756
01:50:05,500 --> 01:50:12,020
 His oldest is a student at the university is younger, uh, girls are, and I think once in

1757
01:50:12,020 --> 01:50:13,920
 high school, once in middle school, I believe.

1758
01:50:14,140 --> 01:50:18,460
 Um, but I just didn't think that, that he would want to move them.

1759
01:50:18,460 --> 01:50:24,300
 Um, and also I know how much he personally loves it and feels like he can do at Alabama

1760
01:50:24,300 --> 01:50:30,620
 what they've done historically at North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, any of those, uh, blue blood

1761
01:50:30,620 --> 01:50:31,280
 programs.

1762
01:50:31,280 --> 01:50:36,440
 He, he believes that he can do it at the university of Alabama and he's proven it.

1763
01:50:36,440 --> 01:50:41,380
 I mean, the championships, the final four, multiple elite eight, sweet sixteens.

1764
01:50:41,380 --> 01:50:46,120
 I mean, if you put yourself in a position to do it, you're eventually going to break through

1765
01:50:46,120 --> 01:50:49,700
 and Alabama year in and year out is in a great position to do it.

1766
01:50:49,840 --> 01:50:55,800
 I would have loved our chances this year if this roster was ever healthy, uh, but it wasn't.

1767
01:50:55,800 --> 01:50:57,860
 And, and, and, and, you know, that's part of the game.

1768
01:50:57,940 --> 01:50:58,740
 That's part of it.

1769
01:50:58,740 --> 01:51:04,180
 Um, and which is why I was thrilled that this team ended up in the sweet 16.

1770
01:51:04,180 --> 01:51:08,180
 I thought they, uh, overachieved based on the circumstances.

1771
01:51:09,880 --> 01:51:10,400
 Absolutely.

1772
01:51:10,720 --> 01:51:15,340
 Well, we love talking to you and we don't need an excuse to talk to you.

1773
01:51:16,000 --> 01:51:22,400
 Uh, in fact, I may try to sit check your schedule next week, talk some final two, but as I've

1774
01:51:22,400 --> 01:51:27,040
 told you the last couple of weeks, um, y'all had some challenges this year.

1775
01:51:27,120 --> 01:51:33,000
 You've got the greatest broadcasting team in SEC basketball with you and Roger and Chris here

1776
01:51:33,000 --> 01:51:33,940
 at Tom state.

1777
01:51:33,940 --> 01:51:39,860
 Uh, they do not understand how fortunate they are to have, uh, those do.

1778
01:51:39,880 --> 01:51:44,480
 Calling Alabama basketball, uh, for, for the last couple of years.

1779
01:51:44,480 --> 01:51:49,400
 And hopefully it will last for many, many to come, but listen, have a great off season.

1780
01:51:49,400 --> 01:51:52,460
 And we will think of a reason to call you again very soon.

1781
01:51:53,180 --> 01:51:57,340
 Well, Hey, thank you so much for that, for having me on.

1782
01:51:57,340 --> 01:51:59,460
 And, uh, I would love to catch up.

1783
01:51:59,540 --> 01:52:02,820
 We could talk, uh, you know, college basketball.

1784
01:52:03,160 --> 01:52:07,500
 Uh, we could talk recruiting, um, anytime I'd love to do it.

1785
01:52:07,580 --> 01:52:09,320
 Always enjoy with you guys.

1786
01:52:09,860 --> 01:52:11,080
 We're going to save you a seat.

1787
01:52:11,160 --> 01:52:11,960
 I guarantee you.

1788
01:52:12,000 --> 01:52:12,860
 Thanks so much, Brian.

1789
01:52:12,920 --> 01:52:13,660
 Let's do it again soon.

1790
01:52:13,720 --> 01:52:14,040
 Okay.

1791
01:52:14,940 --> 01:52:15,520
 Sounds great.

1792
01:52:15,700 --> 01:52:16,220
 Thanks guys.

1793
01:52:16,640 --> 01:52:16,920
 Thank you.

1794
01:52:17,100 --> 01:52:19,020
 Passing on the Crimson Tide Sports Network.

1795
01:52:19,180 --> 01:52:22,360
 Speaking of networks, the Braves back on 93.9.

1796
01:52:22,420 --> 01:52:27,480
 The score tonight, the Braves and A's 615, the pregame BB.

1797
01:52:27,940 --> 01:52:28,320
 Yeah.

1798
01:52:28,360 --> 01:52:30,460
 I should have just said A's and Harold again.

1799
01:52:30,660 --> 01:52:34,380
 The, I still say the Cleveland Indians and the Oakland A's.

1800
01:52:34,420 --> 01:52:36,160
 I need to double check those.

1801
01:52:36,160 --> 01:52:38,180
 And you throw the Washington Redskins in there too.

1802
01:52:38,220 --> 01:52:39,380
 If you want to talk football, right?

1803
01:52:39,940 --> 01:52:41,180
 That's going to take care of business for now.

1804
01:52:41,240 --> 01:52:43,740
 On behalf of BB, Greg James Blair, the entire crew here.

1805
01:52:43,820 --> 01:52:45,820
 Parole Buck, thank you so much for your time today.

1806
01:52:45,900 --> 01:52:46,640
 Let's do it again tomorrow.

1807
01:52:46,800 --> 01:52:48,340
 Noon to two for the Bumbo Buck Show.

1808
01:52:48,420 --> 01:52:49,400
 Back here on Sports Radio.

1809
01:52:49,960 --> 01:52:51,020
 93.9, the score.