Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / David Kaplan talks Cubs & Bears/Packers, John Walters previews Iowa State/Baylor & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports

Transcript

David Kaplan talks Cubs & Bears/Packers, John Walters previews Iowa State/Baylor & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

0:06
Our number 2, Miller and Condon welcome back.
0:08
Iowa Sports Radio Network coming up this hour with Trent and I.
0:13
At the bottom of the hour, we'll head down to Waco where John
0:16
Walters getting set to call Baylor and Iowa State men's
0:19
basketball tonight. You can hear the game.
0:20
It can't be in front of your TV or your device because it's on
0:24
Peacock, but it's on the radio 100.3 the bus, the flagship of
0:28
the Iowa State Radio Network. Let's get to our buddy Cappy.
0:32
Lots to get to. Thought the Bears would be front
0:34
and centre, but there's a potentially cap and I don't
0:37
think it's a done deal yet. But it sounds as though the Cubs
0:40
are about to acquire some pitching.
0:42
And when you acquire a starting pitcher, it comes at a price.
0:46
And apparently Owen Casey may be part of that deal.
0:48
Cabrera for Casey and maybe others.
0:51
What can you tell us? What are you hearing?
0:52
What's the latest on the Cubs and their potential of a big
0:55
trade taking place? Yeah, they're exchanging
0:59
medicals right now. And so if he clears the
1:02
medicals, he's had a number of stents on the injury list, a lot
1:06
of it linked to blisters. It's not like he's got any
1:10
structural issues and he's got nasty, nasty stuff.
1:13
He. Does.
1:14
He's, I mean upper tier of Major League pitchers in terms of
1:18
velocity. His curveball, his slider are
1:21
just filthy command. It's got to be enhanced.
1:27
But this is a really good addition for them.
1:29
He may not be their number one, that's probably Kate Horton, but
1:32
he's clearly their number 2 starter.
1:34
And if Steel comes back and is who he was before he got hurt,
1:38
well now you've got 3 pop of the rotation guys.
1:42
Then you got Pione and you got Boyd and you got a Managa and
1:45
you got Colin Ray. I mean you've got some real
1:48
depth there. I don't know what the other
1:50
pieces would be going back if the medicals clear, but I like
1:54
the acquisition a lot. You have three years of control
1:58
A. Lot of risk, though, that comes
2:00
along with Cabrera injury concerns all over the place.
2:03
The velocity is real, but usually when the velocity is
2:05
real, it also means other things that have happened.
2:08
He's been banged up throughout the course of his career,
2:10
Shoulder, elbow, There's been a bunch of different things there.
2:13
That risk that goes along with making a move like this.
2:17
Does this signal something for you that the Cubs are now
2:20
looking at it? It's time to go out there.
2:22
It's win now mode. Yeah, you won 92 games and you
2:27
were one game from playing for a spot in the World Series.
2:31
You lost to the Brewers in game five.
2:33
You win that game, you're playing the Dodgers to go to the
2:36
series. So yes.
2:38
And they do nothing to print money over at that ATM that they
2:42
have for a ballpark. I mean, I said yesterday we did
2:46
a podcast, Gordon Whitmire and I on our YouTube and I said, look,
2:51
everyone's all up in arms. They haven't done anything.
2:54
I'm not going to pass judgement until they go to spring training
2:57
and go, this is the team. I cannot believe they won't do
3:01
anything more. Well, today we hear Cabrera, I
3:04
hear they're engaged again on Cody Bellinger here.
3:08
They're engaged on both a shit. They've been talking to Alex
3:13
Bregman, so they have to add another who's playing right
3:17
field. That's.
3:18
Just Casey's in this deal. Who's your right fielder?
3:21
You can't tell me you're playing in, but Suzuki every day you
3:25
can't. But by Esteros is ADH only and a
3:29
third string catcher. Good hitter.
3:32
So Cody Bellinger makes a ton of sense and I think I'd probably
3:37
rather take him and bring Tucker back.
3:40
There's something off with Tucker.
3:41
I know he's a talented dude, but something off there and he is
3:45
about as vanilla as they come. That's for sure.
3:47
No doubt about that. You mentioned Bichette and, and
3:50
the fact that they're still in on Bichette.
3:52
My question would be where would he play?
3:55
Because that would mean, and look, the Jays were going to
3:57
play him at second base whether he signs or not.
3:59
He's not going to be shortstop anymore.
4:01
They filled that void. You got Swanson.
4:03
You, you think you would play third.
4:05
So does that mean Shaw's out the door?
4:08
Well, Shaw could be out the door in another deal.
4:10
Shaw could go to second. You train Nico.
4:14
I mean you could use Shaw for another year.
4:17
Don't forget Nico's out of contract.
4:19
After this year, just one more. Year.
4:21
So maybe Shaw's your super utility guy.
4:24
The Shet's at 3rd, Nico's at 2nd, Dansby's at short Bush is
4:29
at first, Then you've got Carson Kelly and Amaya and BIA
4:34
Sparrow's Manning catching. And then let's say you Stein,
4:38
Bellinger, Bellinger and Wright with Suzuki, Ian Suzuki and by
4:44
esteros are your DHS. Bellinger can back up PCA.
4:49
And then you have Ian Hap one more year and then he's out of
4:52
contract in left field. And then your rotation, Cabrera,
4:57
Kate Horton, Justin Steele, Matthew Boyd, Imanaga, Jamison,
5:03
Tione. I mean, you got some dudes there
5:06
and Jack the Wiggins coming like pretty good team.
5:11
What about the bullpen? What about the back end of
5:14
things? Starting is plenty of just the
5:16
guy. He's going to be the closer full
5:17
time next season and and the rest of the bullpen.
5:19
I think I saw last week 20 of the top 25 guys that were rated
5:23
by Baseball America. We're off the board anything
5:26
bullpen wise. Well, they signed Hunter Harvey
5:30
to a one year deal that if he hits his incentives, which would
5:33
be a good thing because it means he pitched well, it'll be 7 and
5:37
a half million one year deal. He's got filthy stuff.
5:39
He can't stay healthy, but they seem to think that his medicals
5:44
have cleared and that their pitch lab can keep him
5:47
healthier. If they're right, that's a great
5:50
bet. Phil Maiton is a solid set up
5:53
guy. So they have some dudes there.
5:56
They got Palencia, they got Werhaus coming back.
6:01
Maybe they're not done adding in the bullpen, maybe there's a
6:03
deal out there. So we'll see.
6:06
They've got prospects to trade and they have a lot of salary
6:09
cap room. By getting Cabrera, who makes
6:11
literally no money, you can now be engaged on the chef
6:16
Bellinger. You could take another run at
6:18
Kyle Tucker, although I'm not sure they will.
6:22
Alex Bregman. There's a lot of you could go
6:24
get another starter if you wanted to trade for, I mean,
6:26
sign Ranger Suarez or Framer Valdez if you're putting someone
6:31
else into another deal there. The world's their oyster if this
6:35
deal gets dug. It's all well and good, but
6:37
who's going to organize the team dinners on the road?
6:39
Justin Turner's not going to be there this year or next year.
6:43
Anyway, who did they just sign to take that role?
6:46
Who was it? And they just then they just
6:48
signed then we just signed somebody, a veteran I.
6:51
Don't remember, did they? I'll take your word for it.
6:54
I think we did. That that drove Ken a little bit
6:56
crazy. He only brought it up 73 times.
6:58
I'll organize the team. I'll hear that.
7:01
Yeah, that did get under my skin, didn't it?
7:03
A little bit. All right, you done with the
7:05
Cubs TC? You want to get to your.
7:06
Bears, thank God, can we move on Cap I I mean, I've seen what,
7:09
six playoff games the last 30 years?
7:11
And here you are starting with the crappy Cubs.
7:13
Come on. I can't wait for the game.
7:15
I have no opinion cap. You could you could make the
7:17
case of the pack because you can make the case for the bears and
7:19
I'll buy either one. I just can't wait to watch it.
7:22
This got this got a chance to be terrific game.
7:25
So a give us. I know your, your, your Forte is
7:28
not weather, but what's what's Saturday night looked like?
7:31
And just how crazy is it with the Bears conversation as they
7:35
embark on a playoff run? Well I am, my Forte is weather.
7:40
1 of my closest friends is Tracy Butler. 3032 years at ABC7.
7:46
She's in with you once a week, right?
7:48
She has to be out with me tomorrow and I literally texted
7:51
her, I don't know, 10 minutes ago.
7:54
Hey my friend, what's the weather for Saturday night at
7:56
Soldier Field? She said I'll be on your radio
7:59
show tomorrow morning. However, we are looking at maybe
8:03
some light snow showers. I think the bulk of the snow
8:05
will fall during the afternoon. We're just looking at a slushy
8:09
inch of accumulation, kind of a wet, sloppy snow kick off.
8:13
I'm going with a temperature of 29, but I'm also going with some
8:17
strong wind gusts probably out of the northwest 20 to 30 mph to
8:22
kind of some pretty cold wind chills.
8:25
Sounds pretty good. Bears weather.
8:27
That sounds like bears weather but also.
8:29
Weather, baby. Yeah, also Packers weather,
8:31
they're they're used to it. Also, we go back to the two
8:34
games. Obviously the ridiculous
8:36
comeback in Soldier on that Saturday night a couple weeks
8:38
back and and the touchdown pass in overtime to DJ Moore that
8:42
capped it off and what a victory that was.
8:44
But it took a lot to get there, a lot of breaks to go their way.
8:48
We've seen this Green Bay team for long stretches against the
8:51
Bears, really outplay them for long stretches.
8:53
Why is this one going to be different?
8:54
And and how do the Bears put together a full 60 minutes on
8:58
Saturday night? Look, this.
9:03
I want to ask you guys a question, then I'll answer
9:05
yours. I said yesterday on the air that
9:07
if the Rams came in here Saturday night and beat us, it
9:11
would suck. But OK, it's a veteran team,
9:14
maybe the league MVP at quarterback.
9:17
If the Eagles rolled in here and beat us, it would suck.
9:21
They are the defending Super Bowl champs.
9:23
You can't lose to that team up north.
9:26
You can't. They have no Micah Parsons.
9:29
They have no Devante Wyatt. They got an incapacitated, but
9:33
he'll probably play. Josh Jacobs, banged up right
9:37
tackle in Tom, a banged up safety.
9:39
We'll go in Evan Williams. You're coming to my house where
9:43
it's going to be electric. I won the division.
9:46
You've lost four straight. Your quarterback hasn't played
9:50
since we knocked him out at Soldier Field and you come in
9:52
here and beat me. No shot not cannot happen.
9:57
That would be for, in my opinion, you might disagree.
10:01
That would be devastating failure.
10:05
Not for the season, because you know your coach is good and you
10:09
know your quarterback's the dude.
10:10
Devastating loss, unlike if you lost to the Eagles or the Rams.
10:15
And there's a pretty good chance that if they do beat the
10:17
Packers, they will see one of those teams, albeit at Soldier
10:20
Field in the divisional round. If you looked at if you looked
10:24
past this game cap to to the potential matchup the following
10:28
weekend in the divisional round. And I haven't because it's just
10:33
the old coach in me that I was always raised.
10:35
We worry about what I can control.
10:37
That's this weekend, That's it. Find a way to win.
10:41
That's it. Get up Saturday morning, grab a
10:45
cup of coffee and find. A way to win your third?
10:48
And then Sunday morning you'll wake up and go, wow, we're still
10:52
alive. That would be the coolest.
10:54
And we get to watch the Niners and the Eagles, and we'll go
10:58
from there. What about Caleb Williams?
10:59
How much pressure is he? Are you ready for this cup?
11:03
I think he absolutely is ready for this.
11:05
I do. I think Caleb Williams is going
11:07
to play a hell of a football game.
11:09
They just have to block better than they did last week at a
11:12
flat spot against Detroit. They were not great, but the
11:15
whole key is their offense has to be able to stay on the field
11:19
and sustain drives. That's it.
11:22
Because they've allowed Detroit last week, for example, even San
11:27
Francisco, they allowed them to have these 10121 drives, 15
11:33
plays. You got to get them off the
11:36
field and that means you have to keep the ball when you have it.
11:39
You cannot go 3 and out. They take 15 plays, 7 nothing
11:44
and now you go one first down, punt it again.
11:48
You, you will get, you will lose, you will get beat.
11:51
You have got to sustain drives. Want to go over to the injury
11:56
front, CJ Gardner Johnson concussion, certainly concerned
11:59
in that game against Detroit about his availability out there
12:03
in defensive backfield. What can you tell us about him,
12:05
the likelihood of him going? And then at the wide receivers,
12:08
Roma Dunze, possible return, DJ Bohr, Luther Burden, all those
12:12
guys have been banged up. Wide receiver and defensive back
12:15
with Gardner Johnson. I don't think Gardner Johnson
12:19
will play. I do think Kyler Gordon playing
12:22
OK, I think he's in, which is a huge, huge addition.
12:27
So if you get him and you lose Gardner Johnson, OK, it's a
12:31
massive upgrade for me. Wide receiver, I think all hands
12:35
on deck really, all playing good.
12:38
I do, yeah. Gordon's been out for how long?
12:40
He's been for the oh month of December.
12:43
Right, he's only played three games this year.
12:46
Yeah, Yeah, it was. That's right.
12:48
Good point. Good, good point on that.
12:51
What worries you about the Packers cap?
12:55
That team up north? That's right.
12:57
Yeah. The team up north.
12:58
I beg your pardon? Yeah, look, they're a good
13:01
franchise. They are.
13:02
They're a good football team. I just don't think they're all
13:05
that. I don't.
13:06
I never did. Now, if they had Micah Parsons,
13:09
that's a totally different team to play.
13:12
They don't. He's not playing.
13:14
Devante Wyatt not playing. So this is a game you should
13:19
win. It's in your building.
13:21
You have you're never going to get them more compromised than
13:24
you are right now. This is this is for me.
13:28
The 2015 Cubs, when they put down the Cardinals, they had to
13:32
beat their nemesis and they did it.
13:35
Now the Bears have to do that. May have coupled for you, Cap.
13:39
I asked you, I don't know, maybe 5-6 weeks into the season.
13:43
We saw at that time that there just wasn't a whole lot of
13:45
Colston Loveland involved in the game plan.
13:48
And then it coupled with what did I tell you what it coupled
13:51
with what was happening in Indianapolis and say, oh boy,
13:54
what a mistake this was. This is going to be another
13:56
flame out. Boy, was I dead wrong.
13:58
I know he had a big drop a couple weeks ago, but still this
14:01
dude has been catching everything thrown his way.
14:03
Talked about an emergence in him and Comet together in possibly
14:07
cold, cold weather there. Cold weather in the divisional
14:10
round. You get pretty excited about
14:11
that. Two tight end set with Loveland
14:13
at the front of it. Loveland's the star.
14:17
He's better than Tyler Warren. He is.
14:20
I told you that it was actually late September when you went, I
14:24
think we got a bad hit, blah, blah.
14:26
And I had interviewed Ben Johnson and I said, what did you
14:30
think about the Loveland pick? Warren's off to a good start, he
14:33
said. We quote, nailed that pick.
14:38
You'll see. We nailed that pick, and they
14:41
absolutely have. He's their leading receiver this
14:44
year. Yeah, I was with the multitudes.
14:47
They should have taken away. I was with TC, I thought they
14:51
should have taken Warren, but obviously it's worked out.
14:54
Cap, there's no coaching edge at the head coach position in this
14:57
football game, is there? I don't think, even though it's
14:59
Ben Johnson's first as a head coach, Lefleur has been there a
15:02
lot. Both obviously brilliant
15:04
offensive minds. I'm not sure either one has an
15:06
edge. Yeah, I think it's pretty even
15:09
now. The funny thing will be what
15:11
happens to Lafleur. He's got one year left on his
15:15
deal. The Packers have never wanted to
15:17
allow GM or head coach to go into a lame duck season.
15:22
So if the Bears beat them, I think.
15:23
He's done. And let's say the Bears beat
15:25
them convincingly. You know they beat them 2713.
15:31
Is he gone or do they go against what their principles are and
15:35
let him go through a lame duck year or do they extend the two
15:38
of them? You got a new team president,
15:40
Ned Policy, who Mark Murphy, who hired these guys, is gone.
15:45
So what do you do? It'll be really interesting
15:49
because I was in Wisconsin for eight days last week and
15:52
listening to all those people. Get these guys out of here.
15:55
We need the new coach and the new GM.
15:57
I'm like, wow, I think the roles have been reversed.
16:01
That was always the Bears. I think the big question about
16:06
that Bears get the win, Packers searching, did John Harbaugh
16:09
have a John job yet? Because feels like all seven
16:12
teams that are available right now, every one of them would
16:14
take John Harbaugh at this point, no doubt.
16:17
Who wouldn't? John Harbaugh is a Hall of
16:19
Famer. He's a hell of a coach, but I
16:22
don't know where he goes. I keep hearing the Giants that I
16:25
hear the Raiders could be in play there.
16:28
So what? What if I told you that there
16:31
are teams that have called that currently have coaches?
16:35
Heard that. There is.
16:37
I don't know who they are. I think 2 is yeah, one or one or
16:41
two. And he didn't, he didn't mention
16:43
who those teams are. But yeah, he's going to have.
16:45
What if I told you it was the Washington Commanders?
16:48
I could see that. I could see that, Quinn.
16:50
Fired both coordinators and if I remember correctly Trent a year
16:55
ago was saying wow, we should have hired Cliff Kingsbury,
16:58
drafted Jayden Daniels. My how a year.
17:01
I didn't say that. You.
17:03
No, no, no. I was never a Kingsbury guy.
17:05
No. Maybe his offensive coordinator.
17:07
Definitely not as a head coach, I thought.
17:08
That's what I'm saying as offensive coordinator.
17:12
Good stuff Capsule, give us a final score.
17:14
I mean it's a pick em everywhere.
17:16
You've got the Bears winning, I'm guessing. 2717.
17:20
Wow, Convincing win. Good stuff, Cap.
17:24
You're the best, my friend. I appreciate it.
17:26
Yeah, appreciate it. We'll obviously know the details
17:29
of that trade, if indeed it does come down at some point today.
17:32
Thank you, Capra. We'll talk to you in a week's
17:34
time. There he goes.
17:38
David Kaplan, sponsored by our friends at Centurion Stone.
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Centurion Stone of Iowa, 2717. You can see that TC.
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Cappy. All right, good, good stuff.
18:49
Off to Waco next. We'll catch up with the voice of
18:53
the Cyclones, John Walters. By the way, watching the
18:56
watching Rodgers build this football team, it's offensive
19:00
lineman one after another. It's defensive lineman 1 he is
19:04
worried about. And I love it.
19:05
Yes, building from the inside out.
19:07
I think this is going to be fascinating to see how it plays
19:10
out. You have your quarterback, Yep.
19:12
And you build your lines. They need a running back but I
19:14
agree. Do they?
19:15
I think. Like, I don't know.
19:18
But I love the fact, no, I'm not complaining.
19:20
I think I love the way. There's a ton of guys out there
19:22
that can run the football. I I would put that maybe at the
19:26
bottom of the list. I.
19:27
Like running back a little more than you, but I love the.
19:30
Today's age, day and age, I mean, Walter Payton's not
19:32
walking through that door. Pharrell Davis is not walking
19:34
through that door. You know you can get by with
19:37
fine, you know. How about David Montgomery?
19:39
Is he walking through that door? No, of course not.
19:41
Breece Hall walking through that door?
19:43
No, what door is Breece Hall going to walk through come April
19:47
to mini camp? Where we thought he was going
19:49
for about 5 minutes. Kansas City.
19:53
I'm still baffled that was more the most right, one of the most
19:56
baffling days because. Yeah, we'll give you 4, but
19:59
you're not getting a three. And we see the Chyra on the
20:03
screen, it was there in the studio, it was there.
20:06
I wish we had ADVR there so I could have rewound it and took
20:10
that picture. Because we mentioned it on the
20:11
air, it didn't happen. And it didn't happen, but it did
20:13
happen. We saw it.
20:15
It's right in front of our face. But we were wrong.
20:18
It was not speculation. It is not rumors.
20:22
They had it up there that it happened.
20:24
I hope it doesn't happen, Trent. I really and truly hope it
20:27
doesn't happen. Why are you so down in your
20:29
Broncos? They're.
20:30
The most fraudulent number one seed in the history of the
20:33
playoffs. Their offensive line stunk.
20:36
They have 0 receivers. Bo Nicks, he's checked down
20:40
Charlie. The running game since Dobbins
20:42
has been hurt has been non existent.
20:44
This team will not get past whoever they play next weekend
20:48
and you could bet with confidence I won't 'cause I
20:50
won't bet against my squad, I'll go down with the ship.
20:52
I have 0 confidence in this fraudulent Denver Broncos group.
20:57
Very pleased. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln,
20:59
how was the play? Miller Incontinent back with
21:01
John Walters. It's the Iowa Sports Radio
21:03
Network. I'm Hillary Condon, welcome
21:09
back. 1:30 on a Wednesday, the Iowa Sports Radio Network,
21:13
wherever you are listening in the state of Iowa, we're
21:15
certainly glad that you are coming up following us.
21:18
It's off the bench on Roberts and Lucas Strain.
21:21
Let's head down to Waco. He's the voice of Iowa State
21:24
football and men's basketball. He is John Walters. 7:00 tip
21:28
tonight it's Peacock for television, but the Iowa State
21:31
Radio Network Clearfield on the air at, I want to say 6:00 for
21:35
the 7:00 tip. John, am I right?
21:38
That is correct. Good stuff.
21:39
Well, away we go. We saw the Baylor women stop the
21:43
Iowa State women's winning streak.
21:45
I don't want to see lightning strike twice, but this is a
21:48
decent Baylor team, are they not?
21:50
That means it's Scott Drew, so you know he's going to have a
21:53
good team most years when you look at this Baylor outfit.
21:56
John, what have you seen as you've been prepared for this
21:59
game tonight? Yeah, very athletic team and all
22:03
new guys. You know, that's the craziness
22:05
about college basketball today. It's just, you know, even Scott
22:08
Drew, who's been there 23 years, can have to completely turn over
22:10
a roster at some point, and he did.
22:13
And so good players, though, very athletic.
22:18
A lot of guys in that 6/5 to 6/8 range that can really fly to the
22:21
offensive glass, and that's something they do exceptionally
22:23
well. They're very good offensive
22:26
rebounding team. So, you know, they've they've
22:29
had some very good moments this year.
22:32
Lost to TCU the other day to get conference play started.
22:35
Didn't shoot the ball well in that game.
22:37
But they're a team that shoots 51% from the floor on the season
22:40
and 37% from 3. So they're typically a pretty
22:42
good shooting team. And you know, I think it's going
22:45
to be a real test. And what you saw last night, how
22:47
hard it is to go win the road game in the Big 12.
22:50
I mean, it is just really hard to do it and it's, you know,
22:54
it's one thing to play well for 36 minutes and put yourself in
22:57
position to do it, but closing the deal is really, really hard.
23:00
And so, you know, that's what I was states up against tonight.
23:03
They got a big old target on their back going in there and
23:05
Baylor's going to be ready to play.
23:06
There's a guy on the other side with the target on his back as
23:09
James Nanji, who comes in from the NBA and the G League.
23:13
Now, it was one thing going on the road to Fort Worth and
23:15
hearing booze every time he touched the ball and every time
23:17
that his name was announced it it'll be a different, I'm sure
23:20
in Waco here tonight for that one.
23:22
But what have you seen? Just one game in here and
23:25
something that has created a whole lot of tumult in college
23:27
basketball. Non G playing with Baylor.
23:30
Yeah, You know, he's he's raw, obviously, but he did play four
23:33
years in the Euro League. So I mean, he's got some talent
23:36
and he's 7 feet and very athletic looking.
23:39
And, you know, 17 minutes against TCU, which is probably
23:42
more than I figured he would play.
23:43
But they're not a very deep team.
23:45
They really always been playing seven guys.
23:47
So he's the 8th and, you know, he had five points and four
23:50
rebounds in that game. Hangs around the rim a lot,
23:52
doesn't doesn't drift out onto the floor very far.
23:56
But you know, a true 7 footer with talent and athleticism that
24:00
over the long haul can end up. I mean, he's a freshman in terms
24:03
of eligibility, 6 around for couple of years.
24:06
I mean, my goodness, he could be a very, very good player.
24:08
But yeah, the flash he showed in 17 minutes at TCU, I thought he
24:13
played pretty well. What are we doing here, John, in
24:15
college athletics? I mean, it's just.
24:17
How much time do you? Have really right it's just why
24:20
good God, just when you think that you well, this has got to
24:23
be the end just something else and here we go.
24:25
Well, that aside, he's there and there's nothing you can do about
24:28
it and he's going to see him on the floor tonight.
24:30
John, as you go back to when this team began practice, you
24:33
were watching him in the summer and TJ's coming and and having
24:36
his press conferences. Boy, we're sure grateful for
24:38
that, that he did when you were when you were just, you know,
24:42
seeing this team maybe for the first time and obviously they
24:44
hadn't come together as of yet. When did you, when did it dawn
24:49
on you that when Tori got here, when you're seeing him?
24:52
Well, this might be something special here because I can't
24:55
believe that he the start that he has got it from a positive
24:59
perspective, obviously. Yeah, I mean, from the first
25:03
couple practices I watched, I really felt like, Oh my
25:06
goodness, Tayman looks he's going to get tired of this guy
25:09
because, you know, he's constantly ball pressuring
25:12
Tayman as he was bringing the ball up the floor and he picked
25:14
his pocket a couple times. You just don't do that to
25:16
Tayman, you know, and especially as a freshman coming in here and
25:19
doing that to a senior and but just such a physical defender.
25:24
And I thought, man, that is going to wear on Tayman.
25:26
He's going to get tired of that. Well, as Tayman has said, you
25:29
know that facing that this summer has really helped him and
25:33
learned to take better care of the ball and he's leading the
25:35
nation and assisted turnover ratio right now.
25:37
And I don't think that's an accident.
25:39
So that's one positive effect from Tory.
25:41
But I just think when, yes, it was I think better than anybody
25:47
thought defensively. And you know, I came out of the
25:51
first couple practices thinking, well, he's going to play.
25:54
I don't know how much he's probably going to get in some
25:56
foul trouble because he's very aggressive, but he has toned
25:59
that down and he's he's able to guard without fouling for the
26:02
most part. And he's a much better player
26:04
than I thought he would be. And, and the the skill part
26:07
offensive way, while still raw, he shows flashes that he scored
26:11
twenty against great and he scored 19 in another game out of
26:14
Vegas when they didn't even score.
26:15
He can score. But I think that between that
26:18
and Buchanan's, you know, the way he's come on.
26:22
Those were the the 2 missing pieces.
26:23
You know, you knew who the three starters were going to be for
26:26
the most part with mum chill with each and and Jefferson and
26:29
whoopsie, you knew those guys were the the the glue.
26:32
But how are the other pieces going to fit around?
26:34
And well, I don't think anybody anticipated Tory coming in and
26:37
moving ahead of everybody into the starting line up.
26:39
But then Buchanan, he's been playing at such a high level.
26:42
He's been awesome lately. He's averaging 14 points, 9
26:45
rebounds last four games. And so I I think those guys have
26:49
just added to that base that you already have and it makes Iowa
26:51
State really tough to play against because you kind of have
26:54
to pick your poison. Joshua Jefferson, you mentioned
26:58
him part of that core and maybe we just take it for granted.
27:02
I think we do. You know, this summer there was
27:04
the run that LSU made after him. He sticks around and we know
27:07
he's a good player, we know he's a good player at Saint Mary's
27:09
and what he was able to deer and do in year #1 but some of these
27:12
numbers that he's putting up in a national sense, this guy
27:15
should be considered for maybe national player of the year.
27:18
But it feels like we just we're not even having those types of
27:20
conversations. What have you seen the growth
27:22
out of Joshua Jefferson in his final season?
27:26
That's been tremendous. You know, last year he averaged
27:28
13 points a game. This year he's up to 17 1/2.
27:31
And much more assertive offensively.
27:33
He's added the three-point shot, which is really fun to see him
27:36
be able to step out and make that shot makes him even more
27:38
difficult to defend. But the thing that's just off
27:41
the charts ridiculous is his passing.
27:43
You know, he averaged 3 assists last year.
27:45
He's up about 5 1/2 assists this year.
27:47
He's among the Big 12 leaders and and does it with a better
27:51
than two to one assist to turnover ratio.
27:52
So even though he does turn it over a little, he doesn't turn
27:55
it over a ton. And he's he's just so good at
27:58
being calm when that double team arrives and understanding where
28:01
the play is. And as I mentioned with those
28:03
other guys around him, it's like, you know, I would say
28:06
doesn't have that one guy that you can say, well, we're not
28:08
going to worry about him offensively.
28:10
They can all score. And so Josh was going to find
28:12
the guy that can make a play, and Heisey's a really good
28:15
cutter. So he cuts and Joshua finds him.
28:18
And when Chilovich is a really good spot up guy, so he spots up
28:21
and Jefferson finds him, Whoopsie does his thing.
28:23
I mean, all those guys know their roles and Jefferson's just
28:26
gotten really comfortable playing with all of them.
28:28
And then I think he and Buchanan worked really well together.
28:31
They're both super intelligent and they're really good 1-2
28:36
punch down there on the block. You mentioned Manchilovich and
28:39
the team's leading scorer, and I go back to those July media
28:44
availabilities and TJ kept bringing Manchilovich up, but
28:47
his confidence is so much better.
28:48
You see different. Manchilovich.
28:50
I'm wondering, is he just trying to, you know, to build him up to
28:52
get his confidence to where it would be?
28:54
Well, he's backing that up. John Manchilovich is playing at
28:57
a high level, shooting the three right now.
28:59
If he continues to shoot the ball like this and everybody
29:02
else comes along as it's seemingly have, Manchilovich and
29:06
this team could go a long, long way.
29:09
Well, he's making himself some money right now, for sure is.
29:12
I mean, you can have a long career.
29:14
I mean, look at Kyle Korver or Doug McDermott.
29:16
You can go create a long NBA career for yourself and probably
29:20
make in the neighborhood of $100 million over the course of it by
29:24
being a guy that can consistently make threes.
29:26
And to be shooting 50, especially at 6-8, and you know,
29:30
to be shooting 56% with the volume that he's taking is just
29:33
incredible. I mean, a lot of guys don't
29:35
drift more than two or three feet away from the rim and can't
29:38
shoot 56%. He's doing that from three and
29:42
he just is got such a happy go lucky personality.
29:46
I love it. You know, he's just kind of got
29:47
this goofy personalities fun, but he doesn't take himself too
29:52
seriously. And I think when he's relaxed,
29:54
he plays really, really well and he's just looked relaxed the
29:57
whole time this year. And I think so much of it is
30:00
because of those guys around him.
30:01
He just knows that those guys are going to get him shots.
30:04
And so he's he's very confident in his teammates.
30:07
They all make each other better and I think he makes those other
30:10
guys better and they certainly. Jamarian Bateman, now, if he
30:13
knocks down 333 pointers, he's going to play a ton, Single
30:17
digit minutes against Purdue, Iowa, St.
30:20
John's, but double digits the rest of the games this season.
30:23
What is the role you anticipate? Is it going to be maybe that 15
30:26
minutes? And certainly shooting the ball
30:28
well, he's going to play more. Is that the role you're looking
30:30
at for Bateman coming forward? Well, I feel like TJ, usually by
30:34
conference play, likes to get it down to 8 guys and Plato is
30:38
clearly evolved into that guy. That's the backup big.
30:41
And then Heisey and Bateman are the other two.
30:43
They're going to come off that bench and most nights.
30:46
And they certainly have their roles.
30:48
And Jamarian, I think was really kind of a lost guy at the
30:51
beginning of the season. He just didn't seem comfortable
30:54
out there. He didn't feel like the game was
30:56
coming to him naturally. And he's a very intelligent guy,
30:59
a valedictorian in his class and actuarial science major.
31:02
But he just just the game wasn't coming with a float to it.
31:07
And I think what it was is in high school, they basically ran
31:10
a lot of set plays for Jamarian. And we had Eric Crawford on our
31:14
coaches show a couple weeks ago, and he mentioned that as TJ has
31:17
evolved over his five years at Iowa State, he's gotten away
31:20
from a lot of set plays. They still run set plays,
31:24
particularly on sideline out of bounds, baseline out of bounds,
31:27
But typically in their flow of their offense, they don't run
31:30
plays. They just have actions.
31:31
And so if a defender comes at you, you can do this.
31:35
You can. Here's a counter to that, and I
31:37
think that took a little while for Jamarian to kind of get and
31:40
to become comfortable doing it. But he's done that here lately.
31:43
We saw in the last game at 2 threes to really spark Iowa
31:46
State and then the next time he caught the ball, defender flew
31:49
Adam, he made the right play, he shot, faked and then drove
31:52
around him and found Heisey for a layup.
31:54
So I think some things are coming to him more naturally now
31:57
within that offense than they did at the beginning.
32:00
That's a testament to his hard work.
32:01
He is a very, very hard worker and I think he's just put a lot
32:05
of time into it to make sure that he is continuing to prove.
32:08
I think by the time he's done at Iowa State, he's going to be a
32:10
great, great player. Right now we're just kind of
32:13
scratching the surface of what he can be.
32:14
Yeah, I thought he provided a really big spark against West
32:17
Virginia's, a kind of a slow start.
32:19
And then then they just got going boom, they're up double
32:22
digits and, and the way they go, we've made it through this whole
32:25
conversation. I think we talked about
32:27
everybody except tame and Lipsy, which has gotten rare in and of
32:30
itself. Just just tame and Lipsy being
32:34
tame and Lipsy, right? He's just, he's just as
32:36
consistent, as consistent as being night in and night out.
32:41
He's had such a great career. I mean, it's just an amazing
32:43
thing to see a kid from Ames go on and have the kind of career
32:46
that he's had. He's already the school's career
32:49
steals leader. He's closing in on his 500th
32:51
assists. He's a guy that averages, you
32:54
know, 1415 points a game. He's just done so many things
32:58
well. But you know, at the heart of it
33:00
all, he's just a great competitor and it's a winner.
33:05
And so when he's out there, you just feel like there's a,
33:08
there's a comfort level. I, I, I know it's that way for
33:11
me. I guarantee you it's that way
33:12
for TJ Altelberger that you've got this certain sense of calm
33:16
about you entertainments out there.
33:17
And so thankfully this year they've been able to keep them
33:20
healthier. I think a big part of that is
33:22
Killian Torre. I think with Torre's on ball
33:25
pressure, that takes some of that away from Tayman having to
33:28
run into all those ball screens that are set out high.
33:30
It's Torre that's absorbing those blows right now, not
33:32
Tayman. And I think that's helped him to
33:34
stay a little bit healthier and he can stay health all the way
33:37
through the season. Then I think the Sky's really
33:40
the limit for the Cyber State team.
33:41
Wrap up with a little football with you, John.
33:43
And as you've seen, Jamie Rodgers is doing work in the
33:47
Portal 27 edition at latest count.
33:50
There has a whole lot of holes certainly to fill.
33:52
Watching this though from a distance what you've seen and
33:55
trying to piece this thing together after all the Tibalt
33:57
here these last couple weeks. Yeah, it's been amazing to watch
34:02
it all unfold and it seems like some of these guys are really
34:05
good players. Now we'll find out.
34:07
I mean, I, I, I can't imagine a season opening game in Iowa
34:11
State football history will be more curiosity than the fan base
34:15
from this coming year. I mean, everybody's including
34:17
myself and Eric, we're going to be so curious who's out there,
34:20
who's playing what roles, how much are they playing, what are
34:23
they doing? What can they bring to the team?
34:25
I mean, it's all up in the air. And, you know, when you think
34:28
about football and the competitive nature of the game,
34:31
you know, these guys in camp are going to be really battling for
34:33
spots because everybody's starting with a fresh slate.
34:35
So spring football is huge for Iowa State this year and
34:39
hopefully they can get a lot accomplished in the spring and
34:41
start to build some continuity. It still might take a little
34:44
while. You know, I mean, it's probably
34:45
unrealistic to think that they're just going to roll it
34:47
out there and, you know, and look great right away.
34:51
But I really like the way he's approaching it.
34:53
And I think that, you know, this is what you have to do this day
34:58
and age to adapt. And, and I also think that
35:02
you're starting to see some young players come in from lower
35:06
level programs that probably are a result of the transfer portal
35:11
era, you know, where you've got college programs, a lot of them
35:15
saying we're going to hold out 10/12/13 scholarships for
35:18
transfers. And so you don't have as many
35:20
high school kids getting that opportunity where they're going
35:22
to go play somewhere. And so they're going to NAIA or
35:26
Division Two or FCS, they're good football players and they
35:29
go prove themselves of that level.
35:31
And now they come up with this experience under their belt.
35:35
And those are some of the best transfers to get.
35:36
I mean, look at the Ole Miss quarterback, you know, And so I
35:40
think that you're starting to see more and more of that in
35:42
college football. And I think those are a lot of
35:44
guys that Jimmy is targeted. And so, you know, it's kind of a
35:49
weird effect of the portal, but I think it's almost become where
35:53
there is almost a minor league effect to it where guys to get
35:55
that experience and then they come up.
35:58
Yep, absolutely. And I love the fact he's
36:00
building from the inside. Win the trenches.
36:01
He's more offensive lineman, Defensive lineman.
36:04
We'll see. As you said, we haven't seen him
36:06
yet, but certainly excited to do so.
36:09
Last thing, John Cabrera, it looks like the Cubs have found
36:12
the starting pitcher. Gonna have to give up a lot,
36:14
maybe. Owen Casey, your thoughts?
36:17
Yeah, I hate the Casey part of that.
36:19
I do too. I really do.
36:20
But but pitching is a valuable commodity.
36:24
You got to have it and he throws hard.
36:26
And if he can stay healthy, it's a great pick up.
36:32
And maybe the Cubs have enough depth at some other places they
36:35
can absorb not having Casey. But man, I hate giving up on him
36:39
because he's just a really good young player.
36:40
But it's exciting. I mean, I think they're that's a
36:44
sign that they're intending to go contend this year.
36:46
And so I'll take that as a plus. Good stuff and good luck to your
36:51
Bears on Saturday. And we'll be listening tonight,
36:53
Baylor and Iowa State, 7:00 tips, 6:00 on the network.
36:58
Good stuff. John Walters, thanks for doing
36:59
this. We'll talk to you down the road.
37:00
John, have a good call. Yep.
37:02
Thank you guys. Good to talk.
37:03
To John Walters. So we check in on Iowa State and
37:05
they'll check in on Baylor at 7:00.
37:07
We'll check in on Trent's play of the day.
37:09
It's next. Circus Sports sponsors Iowa
37:11
State. Iowa Sports Radio Network My
37:16
final segment here on a Wednesday.
37:19
Time for Trent's Play of the Day.
37:21
Plays of the Day. Circa Sports sponsor those
37:24
college hoops tonight. Guessing you'll be front and
37:27
center there. Iowa State 4 at Circa 4 1/2.
37:30
Everywhere else is the number. Little Baylor.
37:33
Steam. Little Baylor steam coming in?
37:35
Yes, indeed. Do you have that on your slate
37:38
of games? I don't, but I am going to play
37:40
a couple of the in State Games and that involves of course the
37:43
MVC teams start things off and I'm going to lay the 6 1/2 with
37:48
Bradley tonight against Drake. Drake going on the road, they
37:51
got to prove it. Still need to see more out of
37:53
this team. M and Ecker mentioned earlier a
37:55
lot of close games, but Bradley's lost a couple of
37:57
games, maybe questionably. These first couple of games of
38:01
MVC play. I think they bounce back.
38:02
I'm going to grab the Braves and lay the 6 1/2.
38:05
I was going to lay it with you and I.
38:06
They've won four consecutive against Belmont since they've
38:09
joined the league in the MVC Short price -1 1/2.
38:12
We'll lay it with the Panthers in that spot.
38:15
That's an ESPN plus a fair at six O 1. 6 O clock for that one
38:19
and eight O clock for Drake Bradley and go back-to-back.
38:22
If you're looking to tonight in the MVC, one more of the MVC,
38:25
Murray states undefeated Evansville doesn't have a win.
38:29
Oh, oh, you're taking the winless squad.
38:31
You've done me too well. Plus 8 1/2 for the Purple Aces
38:34
in that 1-2 more plays. One in the ACC, Wake Forest,
38:37
Steve Forbes, Lone Tree, IA native, will grab the point with
38:41
them against Miami and I will lay it with Villanova against
38:44
Creighton. Oh boy, Buyer's remorse with
38:47
Owen Freeman over there. Yeah, you seen his numbers?
38:49
Well. He doesn't play.
38:51
Not good and they paid him a lot of money to play.
38:54
Couple mil, Yep. For 5 minutes a game?
38:56
Yep. Buyer's remorse is right.
38:57
It's is not gone well. Are you surprised by that?
39:00
No guy quit on his team. He did because he hurt his
39:04
finger. Yep.
39:05
Thought he was going to get paid.
39:06
He did get paid. He got paid, but the production
39:08
has been anything but that. Well, tomorrow we're going to
39:11
talk a lot about Obama. Bob's going to join us on the
39:14
first time I've got a playoff game tomorrow.
39:16
Yes, we do. And then what?
39:17
Again on Friday and then we'll get Dave Siddikan in here on the
39:20
Packers and the Bears. All it's going to be fun
39:22
tomorrow. Good stuff.
39:23
All right, that's going to do it for us.
39:24
Appreciate you being with us. Miller and Condon talk sports
39:27
with you every Monday through Friday from noon until 2 on the
39:30
Iowa Sports Radio Network. Coming up next off the bench on
39:33
Roberts and Lucas Strain. We will talk to you tomorrow at
39:37
noon Des Moines Sports Station One O 6.3 KXNO.