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One Leg Up At the Final Four With UH Daily Cougar Sports Editor Camryn Alberigo 4-5-25 · OneLegUpAlex Media

0:02
Speaker 1: Here's your host, Alex Derrek.
0:07
Speaker 2: All right, well here on the One That Up Network.
0:08
Speaker 2: About a month ago, I connected with someone at the
0:11
Speaker 2: University of Houston who was at the Intercollegiate Broadcast System conference.
0:16
Speaker 2: His name is Jake eu Ole. He's on Kuger Radio,
0:19
Speaker 2: which is at the home of University Houston, and I said, hey, Jake,
0:23
Speaker 2: you know great meeting you. Your team just made the
0:25
Speaker 2: final four like a week ago. How can I connect
0:29
Speaker 2: with Houston and get someone on the ground on a
0:33
Speaker 2: University of Houston and join up. You connect me with
0:36
Speaker 2: the sports editor of the Daily Cougar, Cameron and Alberrigo. Cameron,
0:41
Speaker 2: thanks for joining me.
0:43
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me, Alex. I'm really
0:45
Speaker 3: happy to be able to talk about the Cougars with
0:47
Speaker 3: you today.
0:48
Speaker 2: Isn't life funny like that? Like one minute you're in
0:51
Speaker 2: a conference, next minute you're talking to the University of Houston.
0:53
Speaker 2: So there you go. So, what's the vibe like? Firstly,
0:57
Speaker 2: because obviously this is something the University of you and
1:00
Speaker 2: students haven't experienced in this lifetime because happened in the eighties.
1:05
Speaker 2: What's the vibe like down at University of Houston right now?
1:09
Speaker 3: Well, The main thing that we have to remind ourselves of,
1:12
Speaker 3: Alex is the fact that during our last Final Four
1:15
Speaker 3: run in twenty twenty one that happened in the COVID bubble,
1:20
Speaker 3: the games were all played in Indianapolis, and fans weren't
1:23
Speaker 3: a big part of that because, you know, how could
1:26
Speaker 3: you be during the pandemic in that way.
1:28
Speaker 1: So this is a really big deal for you Age.
1:31
Speaker 3: It's been quite some time since we've been able to
1:34
Speaker 3: have the real Final Four experience, and I know that
1:37
Speaker 3: it's a really exciting thing for fans and the athletes.
1:41
Speaker 3: I mean, Calvin Sampson was just talking about in media
1:45
Speaker 3: yesterday how deserving Houston is of this opportunity, both the
1:49
Speaker 3: city and the athletes. So I just think the excitement
1:52
Speaker 3: is all there and been building for quite some time.
1:56
Speaker 2: I see that your coach has seven hundred and eighty
2:00
Speaker 2: seven hundred ninety eight wins. Is that right?
2:03
Speaker 1: Yes?
2:03
Speaker 3: I believe so he's approaching seven eighty if are not mistaken,
2:07
Speaker 3: or is that you said number?
2:09
Speaker 2: I think seven ninety eight is what I was reading,
2:11
Speaker 2: That he's about to get eight hundred wins.
2:12
Speaker 3: Yes, that's what I meant to say. He's approaching eight hundred, Alex, Yes.
2:17
Speaker 2: And so, and he's been there for a long time.
2:19
Speaker 2: So as your experience as the editor, have you noticed
2:23
Speaker 2: this team on the ascension since you became the sports editor?
2:27
Speaker 3: Well, yeah, I became the sports editor this season. Last year,
2:31
Speaker 3: I was the assistant in a freshman at UH but
2:34
Speaker 3: been following the Koops for quite some time. And I
2:37
Speaker 3: think the remarkable thing about this team is just how
2:42
Speaker 3: some people who go to u of H today, I
2:44
Speaker 3: don't think they have a full appreciation of how far
2:47
Speaker 3: coach Sampson has really taken this team from when he
2:50
Speaker 3: got here. I mean, even with the fans and the engagement.
2:54
Speaker 3: There's some videos going around right now back many years
2:57
Speaker 3: ago and he took over the job of him just
3:00
Speaker 3: walking into dining halls and pleading for people to come
3:03
Speaker 3: out and support the Cougars because at that time they
3:06
Speaker 3: really weren't that grade of a team. But the thing
3:09
Speaker 3: that I've noticed about this team is that they stay together.
3:13
Speaker 3: I mean, we have Jiwan Roberts, for example, who has
3:16
Speaker 3: been here for six years. Granted he did have a
3:18
Speaker 3: red shirt year and an extra year of COVID eligibility,
3:22
Speaker 3: but just to say someone's been here for six years,
3:25
Speaker 3: and that then the cast around him. People don't really
3:29
Speaker 3: want to transfer out of Houston. During coach Sampson's tenure here,
3:34
Speaker 3: I believe it's only three players in the top ten
3:37
Speaker 3: of any given rotation who have left you of h
3:41
Speaker 3: in the transfer portal, and I think that's something that's
3:43
Speaker 3: remarkable because the transfer portal is really heavily used today
3:48
Speaker 3: in the college, in college athletics across the board. But
3:52
Speaker 3: Cougars want to stay together and that's why we're so successful,
3:56
Speaker 3: I believe.
3:57
Speaker 2: By the way, I'm catching you before you get to
3:59
Speaker 2: the arena. So what's the energy been like at the
4:01
Speaker 2: arena itself? You know at the Alamo Dome. Have you
4:03
Speaker 2: been there? It sounds like you've been there a little
4:05
Speaker 2: bit for the media day and whatnot. What's the energy
4:08
Speaker 2: like at the arena?
4:10
Speaker 3: Well, I've been around the arena a lot, and I
4:13
Speaker 3: think that could be a testament kind of what.
4:15
Speaker 1: You're looking for.
4:16
Speaker 3: Today, they had a boat rally going down the river walk.
4:19
Speaker 3: All the teams were in the boats floating down, band
4:23
Speaker 3: and cheer.
4:24
Speaker 1: San Antonio. Great location for that. You don't get that.
4:27
Speaker 3: Anywhere else really, And then the concerts have been a
4:31
Speaker 3: big element as well. I haven't been out to those,
4:33
Speaker 3: but I do know a lot of Houston fans were
4:36
Speaker 3: excited for that. And then yesterday there was a welcome
4:39
Speaker 3: party at Rita's on the River Walk.
4:41
Speaker 1: I was there.
4:42
Speaker 3: Cougar fans were going crazy. Let me tell you the band.
4:46
Speaker 3: And this is.
4:47
Speaker 2: Sort of like a home game, isn't it, because they're
4:49
Speaker 2: in Texas. So I'm imagining it's gonna be almost like
4:51
Speaker 2: a home game at the Almodome tonight.
4:53
Speaker 1: I'm hoping.
4:54
Speaker 3: I'm hoping that's the case, Alex, because it does seem
4:59
Speaker 3: like there's a really really crowd, big crowd of Duke
5:02
Speaker 3: fans and Auburn fans from what I am seeing. However,
5:06
Speaker 3: we got to keep in mind that Houston fans. I
5:09
Speaker 3: believe they're making the drive in right now because it
5:12
Speaker 3: is so close. So I think once we actually get
5:15
Speaker 3: into the arena tonight, it'll be a true test to
5:19
Speaker 3: see if there's more red or blue.
5:22
Speaker 2: You know. And by the way, I had Houston going
5:23
Speaker 2: on the final four, So you guys made my bracket
5:26
Speaker 2: a day a little bit, So thank you for that,
5:28
Speaker 2: because Houston always seems to linger around like that. They're
5:31
Speaker 2: a team you you expect me in the final four
5:34
Speaker 2: in the NCAA Tournament. Every year they get there, Calvin
5:36
Speaker 2: Sentzem gets there and when they're there, they're pretty effective
5:39
Speaker 2: when they're in the tournament. So they're always that that
5:41
Speaker 2: team that always makes it.
5:43
Speaker 3: You know, Yes, I think that's something that Coach Sampson,
5:48
Speaker 3: like you're at testing to there.
5:50
Speaker 1: He holds his Cougars to.
5:52
Speaker 3: Such a high standard, you know if. And I feel
5:55
Speaker 3: like we're kind of spoiled in a bit as Cougar's
5:58
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm kind of spoiled to get covered this
6:00
Speaker 3: team just because of at the beginning of the year,
6:03
Speaker 3: you look at them and you know they're gonna go
6:05
Speaker 3: deep in the tournament. This is the deepest we've been
6:08
Speaker 3: since twenty twenty one, as I mentioned. But I think
6:12
Speaker 3: it's a great place to be and it just Coach
6:14
Speaker 3: Sampson's been putting in the work with these guys since
6:17
Speaker 3: they entered the program, whenever that may.
6:19
Speaker 1: Have been for them, and they have delivered this year.
6:22
Speaker 2: As a fan of Jim Nance and what he's done
6:24
Speaker 2: for college basketball over the years, he's also an alumnus.
6:27
Speaker 2: So do you got a chance to talk to him
6:29
Speaker 2: at all during this run.
6:31
Speaker 3: Yes, I actually got to talk to Jim in Indianapolis
6:36
Speaker 3: last weekend after the Cougars won. Joseph Duarte from the
6:41
Speaker 3: Houston Chronicle actually connected us and it was a great
6:44
Speaker 3: experience getting to talk to Jim, and he really shared
6:48
Speaker 3: a sentiment that I think I'll share here with you today.
6:51
Speaker 3: Biggest takeaway had to be that he thinks the Cougars
6:55
Speaker 3: are always underrated, underappreciated, maybe because they don't have the
7:00
Speaker 3: most flashy plays with the most vibrant offense, but defense
7:06
Speaker 3: and that intensity is something that he really hopes people
7:09
Speaker 3: are going to start taking notice of this weekend. And
7:12
Speaker 3: just like I said, the fact that Cougar stick together
7:15
Speaker 3: and he is just so proud of the Cougs. I
7:18
Speaker 3: know he's made some crazy trips in a short amount
7:21
Speaker 3: of time to like try to be at the different
7:24
Speaker 3: stops for the Kugs, but what he is a big
7:27
Speaker 3: fan and a big supporter and definitely proud of what
7:30
Speaker 3: he's been seeing.
7:33
Speaker 2: All Right, So let's say you're getting to the TV
7:36
Speaker 2: tonight and you might not have been able to watch
7:38
Speaker 2: Houston's full game because obviously the craziness of the first
7:42
Speaker 2: two days of the tournament, you're jumping all over the place,
7:44
Speaker 2: you're finally sitting in front of the TV. Who can
7:46
Speaker 2: we expect to stand out tonight from the University of Houston.
7:49
Speaker 3: Cougar's floor burns in this program and sliding across the
7:55
Speaker 3: floor is really the hallmark of Cougar basketball.
8:00
Speaker 1: So if you turn on your TV at any given moment,
8:03
Speaker 1: I think you're gonna see people sliding around and in
8:07
Speaker 1: what you may call a dog.
8:08
Speaker 3: Fight, because that's what the Cougars, That's how the Cougars play.
8:12
Speaker 3: And if you're not seeing that and you turn on
8:15
Speaker 3: your TV, I think you may see a couple glimpses
8:18
Speaker 3: of Coach Sampson, maybe not looking too happy. And don't
8:22
Speaker 3: let that tell you anything, because Coach Sampson holds the
8:26
Speaker 3: Kougs to the highest standard, whether they're winning by fifty
8:31
Speaker 3: or down by fifty. So don't let that have you
8:35
Speaker 3: help you predict the outcome. But if you turn on
8:38
Speaker 3: your TV, I think you'll get a good glimpse of
8:41
Speaker 3: coach and his truest self.
8:43
Speaker 2: Now, because I'm sure some of your newspaper might be
8:46
Speaker 2: listening to this when we post it, tell us how
8:48
Speaker 2: you got into this sports editing job and your love
8:51
Speaker 2: of sports, I mean, I feel like you must have
8:53
Speaker 2: gone into college in the University of Vision with his
8:55
Speaker 2: love of sports. I'm wanting to cover the sports scene
8:57
Speaker 2: at University of Houston.
9:00
Speaker 1: Yeah.
9:00
Speaker 3: So back in high school, started out doing yearbook and
9:03
Speaker 3: some reporting. There was sports editor before I became the
9:07
Speaker 3: editor in chief of my yearbook back at cy Ranch
9:10
Speaker 3: and CFISD. From there, I came over to Houston, and
9:14
Speaker 3: I am actually a political science major. I want to
9:17
Speaker 3: go into sports law, but journalism was something that I
9:20
Speaker 3: always had a passion for and I didn't want to
9:23
Speaker 3: get give up. So I came over here to Houston
9:26
Speaker 3: and I started writing for the paper as a staff
9:29
Speaker 3: writer my freshman year. By January of that year, I
9:33
Speaker 3: rose to be assistant sports editor under someone named Starnes Leland,
9:38
Speaker 3: who gave me a great opportunity.
9:40
Speaker 1: And from there now I became sports editor.
9:44
Speaker 3: In May of twenty twenty four, I'm about to be
9:47
Speaker 3: finishing my first complete year, and I mean, I just
9:50
Speaker 3: think it's an amazing opportunity. I never thought when I
9:54
Speaker 3: started this as a staff writer that i'd be talking
9:57
Speaker 3: to you, for example, at the Final four, but It's
10:00
Speaker 3: been a really amazing opportunity and just kind of shows
10:04
Speaker 3: I mean, even though I'm not necessarily going into journalism
10:08
Speaker 3: solely as a career, it's still an outlet that I
10:10
Speaker 3: really love to be.
10:11
Speaker 2: A part of it. Well, what is your major now,
10:14
Speaker 2: I'm curious.
10:15
Speaker 3: Well, I'm going into political science to do pre law.
10:19
Speaker 3: I'm in pre law at the moment. I plan to
10:21
Speaker 3: go to law school. And do you like sports law?
10:24
Speaker 3: So I think the sports journalism has helped me out
10:26
Speaker 3: there with the writing.
10:28
Speaker 2: So you totally have had on nil and the legalities
10:31
Speaker 2: of all that. I'm sure you're looking at all that too,
10:33
Speaker 2: the nil and whatnot.
10:35
Speaker 1: Yes, definitely.
10:36
Speaker 3: It is a complicated world and I hope to one
10:39
Speaker 3: day be a professional.
10:41
Speaker 2: And master hey speaking into existence, that can happen. When
10:45
Speaker 2: I was in college, I did this. I did radio
10:48
Speaker 2: life as a college kid, and now I'm in the
10:50
Speaker 2: radio world and a podcaster. So there you go. Just
10:53
Speaker 2: got to keep it. You know, I don't think you've
10:57
Speaker 2: been in the coaches room when he's doing his strategy
11:00
Speaker 2: and game planning. But if you have what's the strategy
11:02
Speaker 2: against Cooper flag tonight, do you.
11:04
Speaker 3: Think, Well, I haven't been in the coaches room during
11:09
Speaker 3: game planning, as you said. But here's the thing you
11:12
Speaker 3: should know, Alex. The Cougars never change their strategy. I
11:16
Speaker 3: mean they acknowledge like Cooper flag excellent player player of
11:20
Speaker 3: the year's status, They're obviously going to have to find
11:23
Speaker 3: outlets to cut him off.
11:26
Speaker 1: However, the thing you need to know about.
11:28
Speaker 3: The Cougars is, while they're going to attack a team's
11:32
Speaker 3: best player, they're never gonna leave anyone open. They're always
11:36
Speaker 3: gonna get back, get people covered, and they're just gonna
11:39
Speaker 3: play with the defensive intensity that has gotten them to
11:42
Speaker 3: this point. Talking to the players yesterday at media Day
11:46
Speaker 3: and about how they're balancing the bright lights of this
11:50
Speaker 3: event while still staying true to the game plan, and
11:54
Speaker 3: the message was pretty simple. It was, we know that
11:57
Speaker 3: this game's different, we know it's dupe, we know the
12:00
Speaker 3: lights are brighter everyone's watching. But at the end of
12:03
Speaker 3: the day, they got to this point by being fearless,
12:06
Speaker 3: as Juwan Roberts said, and that's what they're.
12:09
Speaker 1: Gonna do tonight.
12:10
Speaker 3: He said, he thinks these kind of games bring the
12:13
Speaker 3: best out of Houston basketball players.
12:16
Speaker 1: So I think the strategy is.
12:18
Speaker 3: Don't get distracted, cut off Cooper flag when you can,
12:22
Speaker 3: but don't let that take away from the defensive intensity.
12:26
Speaker 1: As a whole.
12:29
Speaker 2: I gotta ask you this because there's another story that's
12:31
Speaker 2: been part of the whole run for you guys, a
12:35
Speaker 2: twelve year old Jace Ebarca who's been dealing with some illnesses.
12:39
Speaker 2: He's he's a twelve year old that's been inspiring the
12:41
Speaker 2: Cougars along the runt. Oh. I'll send you a Lincoln.
12:44
Speaker 2: Maybe you can write about that after the tournament. That
12:45
Speaker 2: would be kind of cool. I gotta ask you this, Cameron,
12:48
Speaker 2: because this is the first time since you've been covering
12:51
Speaker 2: them to the final four. Are you are you expecting
12:56
Speaker 2: more of this down the road?
12:57
Speaker 3: Like?
12:57
Speaker 2: Are you hoping to get get here more with this
13:00
Speaker 2: as the years go on?
13:03
Speaker 1: Most definitely, Alex.
13:04
Speaker 3: The thing is next year is going to look different
13:07
Speaker 3: for us from the standpoint of we're bringing in a
13:09
Speaker 3: lot of talented recruits. I don't think we've ever brought
13:13
Speaker 3: in five star recruits to this extent, So that's gonna
13:16
Speaker 3: be some younger guys. Team's gonna get younger, and with
13:19
Speaker 3: youth does come a bit of inexperience. So I am
13:22
Speaker 3: going to acknowledge that. But I look across the aisle
13:25
Speaker 3: at a team like Duke, very young team, three freshmen
13:29
Speaker 3: in the starting lineup, and that inexperience doesn't seem to
13:32
Speaker 3: bother them. I think this year our team looked so
13:36
Speaker 3: similar to last year, and last year ended so horribly
13:41
Speaker 3: with Jamal Shed's ankle injury in the sweet sixteen against Duke,
13:45
Speaker 3: but I think it was easier to predict that this
13:48
Speaker 3: team was going to go far. Next year, We're gonna
13:51
Speaker 3: have to see if those freshmen are willing to adapt
13:54
Speaker 3: to Samson's culture. I think after one of the games
13:58
Speaker 3: in the Midwest Regional he was saying that our returners
14:02
Speaker 3: aren't going to ask the freshmen their opinion that he
14:05
Speaker 3: They're just gonna tell him how it is. So I
14:07
Speaker 3: think those freshmen are going to have to be able
14:10
Speaker 3: to be willing enough to embrace what their what the
14:14
Speaker 3: people before them have kind of put together, and embrace it.
14:18
Speaker 3: But I do think that with coach Sampson at the Helm,
14:21
Speaker 3: that there will be more March basketball to come.
14:26
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, and by the way, I love that we're talking.
14:28
Speaker 2: You just posted an article about Jaywoll just four hours
14:31
Speaker 2: ago on the Daily Cougar dot com, which brings me
14:33
Speaker 2: our next question real quick. But people can go to
14:36
Speaker 2: the Daily Cougar if they're Houston alumni, if they're current students,
14:40
Speaker 2: and you know, is Daily Cougar known on campus or
14:43
Speaker 2: is that a word of mouth thing? How do you
14:45
Speaker 2: guys promote yourselves on campus?
14:47
Speaker 1: Yeah, so that the Daily Cougar post daily on the web.
14:51
Speaker 3: We cover all different sports right now, primarily basketball coverage
14:55
Speaker 3: is going out just because of the magnitude of the event,
14:58
Speaker 3: but we post all different Houston sports on the web.
15:02
Speaker 3: The Cougar's ninety years old, so it does have a long,
15:05
Speaker 3: lengthy tradition. And to kind of keep with that tradition,
15:09
Speaker 3: bi weekly we publish in print, so every two weeks
15:14
Speaker 3: a print magazine, a print newspaper, I'm sorry. We deliver
15:17
Speaker 3: it around the campus and people pick it up from
15:21
Speaker 3: the news stands and big thing. We really put a
15:24
Speaker 3: lot of effort into it. But it's almost symbolic because
15:27
Speaker 3: The Cougar used to be delivered printed each and every
15:30
Speaker 3: day before the web, but now we're daily on the
15:33
Speaker 3: web and print every other week. And you know, it's
15:36
Speaker 3: funny because I still think there is some appreciation for
15:40
Speaker 3: printed material because just last last night, I brought a
15:44
Speaker 3: big stack of our prints to Rita's on the Riverwalk
15:47
Speaker 3: at the welcome party, and every single one of them
15:50
Speaker 3: was gone by the end of the night.
15:51
Speaker 1: And that was an alumni event. And since the Cougar print.
15:55
Speaker 3: Edition is only at the campus, alumni don't always get
15:58
Speaker 3: the opportunity to pick it.
16:00
Speaker 1: So I think there was still a real appreciation for it.
16:03
Speaker 1: But no matter where our.
16:04
Speaker 3: Alumni go, the Cougar's always on the web, which is
16:07
Speaker 3: a blessing.
16:09
Speaker 2: Now people know university using because of basketball, but how
16:12
Speaker 2: do you use the sports editor cover every sport while
16:14
Speaker 2: this big run's going on? Like, is there a division
16:17
Speaker 2: that you guys can sort of delegate different teams to.
16:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely.
16:21
Speaker 3: So I have a staff I believe it's at fifteen
16:25
Speaker 3: riders at the moment of one of them is an
16:28
Speaker 3: assistant editor to myself.
16:30
Speaker 1: I have two in my leadership committee.
16:32
Speaker 3: So those three people I could not do it without them, Ashton,
16:36
Speaker 3: Alejandro and Amira and just helping me delegate everything. And
16:40
Speaker 3: then outside of them, we have really committed staff writers,
16:43
Speaker 3: some of which you have been with the program throughout
16:46
Speaker 3: their college experience. Some are freshmen and just jumping into
16:50
Speaker 3: the world of journalism, but we try to break it
16:53
Speaker 3: up and delegate things.
16:55
Speaker 1: This time of year. It's kind of all hands.
16:57
Speaker 3: On deck with basketball because and I was just a freshman.
17:01
Speaker 3: I got the opportunity to cover basketball, and it's kind
17:05
Speaker 3: of overwhelming, I have to say. And without without that experience,
17:10
Speaker 3: I don't think I'd be able to be here covering
17:12
Speaker 3: the Final Four today. So even though I am the
17:15
Speaker 3: primary for basketball men's at least, I still try to
17:20
Speaker 3: spread the love and give other people opportunities. And if
17:23
Speaker 3: not basketball, there's other sports out there.
17:25
Speaker 1: They all need coverage and have super unique story.
17:29
Speaker 2: Talk about the energy the entire year, I mean, because
17:32
Speaker 2: I whenever my college teams at Queen's College were going great,
17:35
Speaker 2: The energy at the arena was great, at the gyven
17:38
Speaker 2: was great. But for you guys talk about that, I mean,
17:40
Speaker 2: I see it's a seventy one hundred seat arena, is
17:43
Speaker 2: that right? So talk about the energy in that pavilion
17:46
Speaker 2: every night when Houston was playing ball this year.
17:49
Speaker 1: So the energy was there kind of crazy.
17:52
Speaker 3: The fact that we have to remember Samson was going
17:56
Speaker 3: around with the megaphone say please come to the games,
17:59
Speaker 3: give me a fist bunk to solidify it. He doesn't
18:02
Speaker 3: do that anymore because it's a given that people are
18:05
Speaker 3: going to show out to the Fertida Center. Not a
18:09
Speaker 3: night goes by where the energy isn't there. The band,
18:12
Speaker 3: the cheerleaders, credit to them for really bringing it. The
18:16
Speaker 3: graphics that are shown on the court before the games
18:19
Speaker 3: and just all the music and lights, I think really
18:23
Speaker 3: just amps it up. And it's so fun to be
18:25
Speaker 3: able to cover a game in that environment. And you
18:28
Speaker 3: can tell that the Cougar fans really have embraced this team.
18:32
Speaker 3: I always hear people talking, Oh, how much I love
18:35
Speaker 3: LJ or J.
18:36
Speaker 1: One or whatever their favorite player may be.
18:39
Speaker 3: And in the college scene, I feel like there's a
18:41
Speaker 3: true connection because those athletes, at the end of the day,
18:45
Speaker 3: they're students too. They're going to the school, and I
18:48
Speaker 3: think there's a true connection there, which is really special.
18:53
Speaker 2: That's just awesome, And I know football also is good.
18:55
Speaker 2: But for you know, basketball to be the first in
18:57
Speaker 2: Big Twelve overall, that's a really big deal considering how
19:01
Speaker 2: big the Big Twelve is nowadays. You know, like it's
19:04
Speaker 2: just every conference is expanding real quick. Does that affect
19:08
Speaker 2: Houston down the road, or can they hold their own
19:10
Speaker 2: as these conferences continue to expand a captain, I.
19:14
Speaker 3: Think they can hold their own, Alex, because I think
19:17
Speaker 3: we're one of the people who made the jump from
19:20
Speaker 3: the smaller conference to the bigger conference, which I think
19:24
Speaker 3: helps us out because we've overcome that hurdle, like going
19:28
Speaker 3: from the American to the Big twelve and was a lot,
19:32
Speaker 3: but we've been successful at it.
19:34
Speaker 1: I mean, two time.
19:34
Speaker 3: Big twelve Tournament I'm sorry, two time Big twelve regular
19:38
Speaker 3: season champions and then this year we picked up the
19:41
Speaker 3: tournament championship, So I think we can hold our own.
19:45
Speaker 3: I know conferences are rapidly expanding. I think one thing
19:49
Speaker 3: that we have to keep in mind is that's definitely
19:51
Speaker 3: going to change scheduling quite a bit. I mean, this year,
19:55
Speaker 3: at least, we had a twenty game league schedule, which
19:58
Speaker 3: was very tough, very on to Kelvin Sampson, not a
20:02
Speaker 3: fan of the twenty game league schedule, and to his surprise,
20:06
Speaker 3: it's going to eighteen game league schedule next year, I believe.
20:10
Speaker 3: But scheduling will be the thing I think we got
20:12
Speaker 3: to keep an eye on and how they're going to
20:14
Speaker 3: manage making a plan for each team to face enough
20:19
Speaker 3: opponents in the strength of those opponents, so there might
20:22
Speaker 3: be some growing pains with that, if that makes sense.
20:26
Speaker 2: One hundred all right, I know you gotta get to
20:28
Speaker 2: the arena, but real quick. On the other side of
20:31
Speaker 2: it is Florida Auburn and I love. I don't know
20:33
Speaker 2: if you're covering them just as like, you know, just
20:35
Speaker 2: being around them as well with your press pass or not.
20:38
Speaker 2: But what do you think could it be a Houston
20:41
Speaker 2: Auburn met Like, what are you thinking is going to
20:42
Speaker 2: happen in the first game tonight?
20:45
Speaker 1: Definitely?
20:46
Speaker 3: So I think there's kind of some consensus that Florida
20:49
Speaker 3: is the weakest link of the final four teams. However,
20:53
Speaker 3: not gonna put that to them because underdogs surprise us
20:57
Speaker 3: all the time. This isn't the NBA where you have
21:00
Speaker 3: long series, you know, so one game anything can happen there.
21:04
Speaker 3: But I do think Auburn will have the edge in
21:07
Speaker 3: that first matchup. Houston did lose to Auburn at the
21:11
Speaker 3: beginning of the season. It was one of our three
21:14
Speaker 3: early season losses. It was our only loss that did
21:18
Speaker 3: not come in overtime. However, it was still a very
21:20
Speaker 3: close game, but I think Houston is a much different team.
21:25
Speaker 3: If Houston does go on to face Auburn, I think
21:27
Speaker 3: there's gonna be some talk about how the Cooves lost
21:31
Speaker 3: the first time, no way they can win this time.
21:34
Speaker 3: But we were integrating a brand new point guard, Milos Uzanne,
21:39
Speaker 3: into our culture and into our defensive intensity. And Uzanne
21:43
Speaker 3: has developed so far since that night way back at
21:47
Speaker 3: the Toyota Center when Houston faced Auburn. So I think
21:50
Speaker 3: it'll be a tough matchup Ifson were to face Auburn.
21:54
Speaker 3: But I think that the Coups could get the job
21:56
Speaker 3: done because of their growth.
21:58
Speaker 2: And you just mentioned three others in I have to
22:00
Speaker 2: imagine being in this role. You get to experience these teams,
22:04
Speaker 2: whether it's baseball, playing it, you know, it was mid
22:06
Speaker 2: May Park. And then you have the Reliant State, you know,
22:09
Speaker 2: the Texan State on shore. You get to go with
22:11
Speaker 2: these teams when they go to the bigger stages.
22:14
Speaker 1: Right, Yes, most definitely.
22:16
Speaker 3: So I've been traveling for basketball throughout March madness. Of course,
22:21
Speaker 3: the Toyota Center was right right by campus.
22:23
Speaker 1: It got to go over there for basketball.
22:27
Speaker 3: I made a trip to Lawrence Kansas to cover the
22:30
Speaker 3: Cougar's Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. That was an incredible environment
22:35
Speaker 3: and an even even better game double overtime over there.
22:39
Speaker 3: And then during football season I got to go to
22:42
Speaker 3: Lavelle Edwards Stadium to cover the Cougars and buy U.
22:46
Speaker 1: So the backdrop of the mountains was really cool.
22:49
Speaker 3: But the traveling I get to do with the with
22:52
Speaker 3: the Cougar, whether it's just down the street to Toyota
22:55
Speaker 3: or to the Space Cowboys Arena, the minor league team
22:59
Speaker 3: for the Astros where baseball plays each year, or across
23:02
Speaker 3: the country, it's a really cool experience.
23:06
Speaker 2: Well, on that note, please come back. Maybe we'll have
23:08
Speaker 2: you back on a quick TURNO. If that Houston does
23:10
Speaker 2: make the championship game. What do you think I would
23:13
Speaker 2: love to join you, Alex.
23:15
Speaker 3: I definitely have some more free time on Sunday, I
23:19
Speaker 3: guess it would be, so I'd love to join you.
23:21
Speaker 2: All right, we'll keep you posted, But Cameron, enjoy the
23:24
Speaker 2: game tonight. I don't know what you're a member of
23:26
Speaker 2: the meetings, So should I say good luck? I guess
23:28
Speaker 2: so because you're Houston suit and too, so good luck
23:30
Speaker 2: to the Cougar. T I think everybody would love to
23:32
Speaker 2: see Duke up ended, to be honest with you, that
23:34
Speaker 2: would be very interesting.
23:35
Speaker 1: You guys, well, yeah, it's one of those things.
23:38
Speaker 3: Good luck to me, right, even though I'm also media unbiased.
23:42
Speaker 2: No cheering in the post box. I was told that
23:44
Speaker 2: from a very young age, that's for sure.
23:46
Speaker 1: But yeah, I won't be.
23:48
Speaker 3: I won't be cheering tonight or wearing red. But I
23:51
Speaker 3: have the cougar spirit.
23:52
Speaker 1: Of my heart.
23:53
Speaker 2: Oh I love that, all right, Cameron Aboigo, thanks so much,
23:56
Speaker 2: and we're gonna post up your U your author archive
23:59
Speaker 2: on so people can get a look at what you've
24:01
Speaker 2: been writing about.
24:03
Speaker 1: I would love that.
24:03
Speaker 3: Alex, thank you so much, and good luck to you.
24:06
Speaker 3: I'd like happy to come on anytime.
24:08
Speaker 2: And thanks to Jake, Yule Jacobs and uwell for connecting us.
24:11
Speaker 2: Small world, isn't it.
24:14
Speaker 1: Yeah, that is crazy.
24:16
Speaker 3: And I'm I almost like passed by your email just
24:19
Speaker 3: because I get so much, you know, junk mail at
24:22
Speaker 3: the end of the day. And I'm glad I clicked
24:24
Speaker 3: on your email because when I saw that, I'm like,
24:27
Speaker 3: I'd love to go on the show.
24:29
Speaker 1: So I'm really glad.
24:30
Speaker 3: I found it.
24:31
Speaker 2: Cameron, have fun tonight. Enjoy it. And hey, you're covering
24:34
Speaker 2: the final four. Couldn't get any better than that, maybe
24:36
Speaker 2: unless you're in the championship game, so there's that too,
24:39
Speaker 2: So good luck tonight.
24:40
Speaker 1: All right, thank you, Alex, I'll talk to you later