Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Gordie Chiesa on the Utah Jazz and NBA, OT road loss to Pelicans, Wemby's 50 point masterpiece + more

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Gordie Chiesa on the Utah Jazz and NBA, OT road loss to Pelicans, Wemby's 50 point masterpiece + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Peace out.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Let's get the latest on the Utah Jazz with former
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Jazz assistant coach Gordy Chiesa. He's forgotten more about the
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  Speaker 2: NBA than any of us will ever know.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Let's not get crazy.
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  Speaker 2: Come for the hoops talk. Stay for his list of
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  Speaker 2: the day.
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  Speaker 1: My list today.
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  Speaker 2: Here's OC with basketball savant Gordy Chiesa on the Sean
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  Speaker 2: O'Connell Show.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Gordy Chiesa time here on the Sean O'Connell Show. Gordy
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  Speaker 1: is brought to you by our friends at Aladdin Industries.
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  Speaker 1: Welcome to the show once again. Gordie, how are you, sir?
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  Speaker 3: Sean, I'm doing well. Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: One and seven now, this Utah Jazz team. A road
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  Speaker 1: loss to the Pelicans.
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  Speaker 3: 113-120.
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  Speaker 1: Keontae George with 39 points, but obviously defensive issues again
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  Speaker 1: causing the Jazz to give up more than they scored.
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  Speaker 1: What'd you see?
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  Speaker 3: I saw a whole bunch of fouling. So an overtime
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  Speaker 3: game The Jazz last night, we had a difficult time
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  Speaker 3: of ball containing. Usually it's the guys on the perimeter,
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  Speaker 3: but in this case, it was the perimeter guys who
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  Speaker 3: were the big guys. And so the Jazz, which means
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  Speaker 3: that you're one in the stance and that you didn't
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  Speaker 3: have a really sound technique. So I call it hacking
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  Speaker 3: and whacking. where you just body the guy and you
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  Speaker 3: whack down at the ball and you hack at it.
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  Speaker 3: So the Pelicans, Sean, they shoot 43 free throws and
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  Speaker 3: make 39 for 91% from the line. The Jazz shoot
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  Speaker 3: 23 throws and miss 10 to 67%. So the Jazz
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  Speaker 3: were outscored in last night's game by 19 points and
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  Speaker 3: a foul line in an overtime game. So that tells
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  Speaker 3: us that The defense was aggressive, but overly aggressive, and
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  Speaker 3: that awful word called lack of discipline as far as
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  Speaker 3: a technique. Magnify that. Jazz have 20 turnovers in an
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  Speaker 3: overtime game. So it was a winnable game. The Pelicans,
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  Speaker 3: to their credit, they fought back. The Pelicans outscored the Jazz.
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  Speaker 3: In the fourth quarter and the overtime, they really played well.
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  Speaker 3: They outscored the Jazz 50-33 for a 17-point differential. That's
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  Speaker 3: a mess. And so the ability to guard the ball
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  Speaker 3: and to have discipline and action, and that's what the
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  Speaker 3: Jazz lacked last night. It was a winnable game. Unfortunately,
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  Speaker 3: they lost.
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  Speaker 1: Tomorrow, it's the Dallas Mavericks. Again, a road game for
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  Speaker 1: this Utah Jazz team. What do you expect? Mavericks are young.
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  Speaker 1: but they're 4-4 to the Jazz's 1-7.
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  Speaker 3: And last night they lost an absolutely unbelievable killer game
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  Speaker 3: to San Antonio Spurs, 1-12, 1-11. So they've lost two
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  Speaker 3: in a row. Let's not forget they're coached by the
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  Speaker 3: winning NCAA championship coach, Dusty May. So it's kind of
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  Speaker 3: neat that he's there right now, and he's coaching an
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  Speaker 3: unbelievable talent, Cooper Flagg. So again... The Jazz have a
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  Speaker 3: lot of young players, but so do the other teams,
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  Speaker 3: including Kamar and his opponent, the Mavericks. Cooper turns 20
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  Speaker 3: years old on December 21st of this year. All right,
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  Speaker 3: so he's having 24.3 points per game. He always gets
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  Speaker 3: to the foul line. He only shoots in three-point range, 21.7%.
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  Speaker 3: He's 7-33 for the season. All right, so whoever's guarding
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  Speaker 3: him in a game, whether it's Okoji, whether it's switch defense,
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  Speaker 3: whether it's Larry Malkin, you've got to give him some space.
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  Speaker 3: In other words, make him be a doubt jump shooter
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  Speaker 3: versus get up into him and then make him a driver,
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  Speaker 3: and that's what he excels at. So you have to
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  Speaker 3: adjust your stance. You have to slightly adjust your mentality,
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  Speaker 3: and don't overreact if he makes two straight three-point shots
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  Speaker 3: on you because what you want to do is stick
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  Speaker 3: to your principles of playing. Next point about that, Kyrie Irving.
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  Speaker 3: He's a driver, so you've got to do the opposite then.
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  Speaker 3: You've got to play off him and, again, also make
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  Speaker 3: him shoot jump shots over the top, but it's discipline. Ironically, Sean,
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  Speaker 3: how amazing is this? Walter Clayton, who the Jazz traded
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  Speaker 3: at the trading deadline last season, went to the Grizzlies.
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  Speaker 3: The Grizzlies waived him. He goes to the Dallas Mavericks,
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  Speaker 3: and now he's on a two-way contract, but he's the
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  Speaker 3: backup point guard, and a lot of times they play
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  Speaker 3: him and Kyrie together in a game. So the jazz
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  Speaker 3: are going to see someone they played under a team and, um,
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  Speaker 3: Walter Clayton shooting from three point range, 52.6 from threes.
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  Speaker 3: So we sort of found a home, even though it
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  Speaker 3: bounced around. So how do you win this game tomorrow night?
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  Speaker 3: Less turnovers, less fouling, and just have that unbelievable grit.
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  Speaker 3: The jazz got to find some more scorers though. So
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  Speaker 3: the last night's game, they went into this, um, exclusive
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  Speaker 3: one was pick and roll, pick and pop Larry marketing. And, uh,
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  Speaker 3: and Keontae George, it was successful. Then they trapped the defense,
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  Speaker 3: trapped the Pelicans, and everyone else was not involved. So
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  Speaker 3: it's that sweet spot where you go to your star
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  Speaker 3: players or your standouts, but you have to have other
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  Speaker 3: scoring from other people to get a defense on it.
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  Speaker 3: It should be a good game.
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  Speaker 1: Gordy, Victor Wiminyama went off. Last night and post came,
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  Speaker 1: he said, yeah, there's going to be a lot more
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  Speaker 1: of this. When he said he could say anything he wants,
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  Speaker 1: he could say the cockiest thing in the world. And
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  Speaker 1: I'm just going to believe him. I don't think it
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  Speaker 1: came off as overly cocky, but you know, for someone
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  Speaker 1: like him to continue to reach new milestones in his
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  Speaker 1: own career, I guess we just have to expect it.
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  Speaker 1: What'd you think of his performance?
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  Speaker 3: Amazing. One for the ages, right? So let's listen to this. His,
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  Speaker 3: we did last night. He scored four, 52 points in
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  Speaker 3: the game, 52 points, career high, 24 rebounds, career high,
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  Speaker 3: eight blocks and two steals. But his thing about it,
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  Speaker 3: he had 29 points and 15 rebounds and five blocks
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  Speaker 3: at halftime. And it took his brilliance of all this
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  Speaker 3: thing to beat the Mavericks I mentioned earlier with the
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  Speaker 3: Mavericks point of view, 112-111. And so the last five games,
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  Speaker 3: Victor's averaging 34.4 points per game, 13.2 rebounds, and 4.8 blocks.
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  Speaker 3: And so that was the franchise best ever of a
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  Speaker 3: 50-point game and 20 rebounds in Spurs history. So we're
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  Speaker 3: talking David Robinson and Tim Duncan. So again, let's talk
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  Speaker 3: about age group. So as the Jazz fans always talk
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  Speaker 3: about their young, talented players, and yes, they are, meaning
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  Speaker 3: Darren Peterson and Ace Bailey, Victor Mbamba, he turns 23
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  Speaker 3: on January 4th, 2027. So in Jazz basketball, it's great
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  Speaker 3: that Jazz, more importantly, in Jazz basketball, that you have
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  Speaker 3: to figure out how to guard these guys for the
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  Speaker 3: next generation, whether it's by committee, whether it's one-on-one standout,
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  Speaker 3: whether it's by positional, whether it's zone defense, but you've
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  Speaker 3: got to figure out how to slow down the star players.
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  Speaker 3: So with Victor right now, he is a generational talent,
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  Speaker 3: and the Spurs are very fortunate to have him. The
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  Speaker 3: Spurs right now, they're 6-2, they're tied with the Thunder
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  Speaker 3: and the Grizzlies on top of the Western Conference team. Sean,
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  Speaker 3: it's a trailblazer. You know, it's interesting. I mentioned about
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  Speaker 3: baseball the other day, World Series, Milwaukee Brewers. If you
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  Speaker 3: would have said to us, including me, last summer, Sean,
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  Speaker 3: back in the dark days of July and early August,
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  Speaker 3: who beat first place, first place.
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  Speaker 3: In early November, we would never say why the trail
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  Speaker 3: base is 6-1. Good for them.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I asked you the question about, hey, which NBA
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  Speaker 1: team is most likely to win their first ever championship
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  Speaker 1: like the Brewers did? I don't know that Portland was
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  Speaker 1: on that list.
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  Speaker 3: Well, Portland won one back in 1977, Sean, when they
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  Speaker 3: had Bill Walton. That's right.
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  Speaker 1: That's why they're not on the list, ladies and gentlemen,
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  Speaker 1: because they already won one. That makes sense.
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  Speaker 3: But the point about it is that they haven't been recently,
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  Speaker 3: and they've been disarrayed. But again, to their credit, though,
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  Speaker 3: and remember, this is weird seeing it, that their coach
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  Speaker 3: has a one-year contract, Mike Onora. So it's like the
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  Speaker 3: whole thing is sort of bizarre. But to the players' credit,
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  Speaker 3: led by Dame Lillard and Denny Aviar, they're saying, who cares?
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  Speaker 3: We want to play. And we like our coach's one-year contract.
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  Speaker 3: How dare you do that to him? We're going to prove...
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  Speaker 3: that he's well worthy of it, et cetera, et cetera. So, again,
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  Speaker 3: it's almost like bending together by everybody because they respect
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  Speaker 3: their coach and they want to show everybody that they're
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  Speaker 3: as good as everyone else in the West. We're going
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  Speaker 3: to find out, so far, early results, very positive.
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  Speaker 1: Gordy, what's your list today?
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  Speaker 3: All right, so my list today is, Cooper Flagg, Duke University.
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  Speaker 3: Last night, Zion Williams, Duke University. So this is our
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  Speaker 3: annual list of former Duke University players that are currently
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  Speaker 3: in the NBA. So as of right now this morning,
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  Speaker 3: how many Dukies are in the NBA? They're tied with
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  Speaker 3: the Kentucky Wildcats. For the most players in the NBA
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  Speaker 3: roster this season, they're tied with 26 players from Duke
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  Speaker 3: are in the NBA and 26 from Kentucky. Quickly, Kentucky,
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  Speaker 3: John Calipari, the coach, Mark Pope, for the Duke Blue Devils,
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  Speaker 3: Coach K, and John Shire. Here we go. Here's the list.
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  Speaker 3: Charlotte Hornets, three players, Grayson Allen, Zion James, and Conn Knipple. Dallas,
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  Speaker 3: three players. Tomorrow night, Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving, and Derek Lively,
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  Speaker 3: who's hurt right now, hasn't played a minute this year
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  Speaker 3: so far. Phoenix Suns, three. Luke Cunard, Kalman Malawach, Mark Williams, Denver, two.
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  Speaker 3: Marvin Bagley, Tyus Jones, Orlando, two. Powell Bancaro and Wendell Carter.
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  Speaker 2: Atlanta, one.
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  Speaker 3: Jalen Johnson, Boston, one. Jason Tatum, Chicago, one. Trey Jones, Cleveland, one.
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  Speaker 3: Therese Proctor, Clippers, one. Brandon Ingram, Memphis, one. Cam Boozer, Milwaukee, one.
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  Speaker 3: Gary Trent, Minnesota, one. Isaiah Evans, New Orleans, one. Zion Williamson, Thunder, one.
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  Speaker 3: Jared McCain, San Antonio, one. Malik Brown, Toronto, one. R.J.
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  Speaker 3: Barrett and Utah, one. Kyle Filipowski. And Sean, did you
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  Speaker 3: know that Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, is
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  Speaker 3: also a Duke graduate, the class of 1984? And I know, Sean,
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  Speaker 3: that I know you're a political junkie, that all the
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  Speaker 3: Carolina fans, when they play against Duke, they keep reminding
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  Speaker 3: everybody that Richard Nixon was a graduate of Duke Law School,
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  Speaker 3: in case you're wondering.
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  Speaker 1: I did not wonder, but it makes sense.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, Duke Law School. What about the Utes? Forget about
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  Speaker 3: Duke University. There's four players from Utah, University of Utah,
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  Speaker 3: basketball that are in the NBA as we speak. Kyle
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  Speaker 3: Kuzma of the Bucs, Lawson Levering of the Lakers, Brandon
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  Speaker 3: Carlson of the Trailblazers, and Jaco Purtle of the Raptors.
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  Speaker 3: So you'd have four guys in the NBA, hopefully to
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  Speaker 3: get a one relatively soon. BYU, we know about those guys.
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  Speaker 3: They have two guys in the NBA as you speak.
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  Speaker 3: Jaeger Damon of the Nets and Adrian DeBatts of the Wizards.
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  Speaker 3: So it's a Duke basketball. They might have a few
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  Speaker 3: more guys this year in the draft. And they got
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  Speaker 3: it rolling based on superior coaching, great location, wonderful school,
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  Speaker 3: and also NIL money.
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  Speaker 1: Changing the landscape for everyone, but not for Duke. They've
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  Speaker 1: always been good.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, they've been good for the joint since 19. They
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: went to three final fours back in the 60s. So
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  Speaker 3: they've been good literally for, Matt's right, 60-something years. And
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  Speaker 3: they're a basketball power, and that's what you want to
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  Speaker 3: try to do is be consistent through all the ups
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  Speaker 3: and downs of all the different changes in college basketball,
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  Speaker 3: whether it's football, whether it's basketball, the ability to be consistent.
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  Speaker 3: And how do you do that? By recruiting very well.
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  Speaker 3: Recruiting an element of character, certainly, and also being really
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  Speaker 3: solid on both sides of the ball, having a combination
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  Speaker 3: of scorers and defenders, and also equals what? Chemistry. And
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  Speaker 3: that's showing a magical word in every team sport, whether
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  Speaker 3: it's Saturday's game, Utes versus BYU at 10 a.m., it's what?
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  Speaker 3: The ability to have talent, but also chemistry, and play
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  Speaker 3: up to your potential.
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  Speaker 1: That's Gordy Chiesa, our resident NBA guru. Thanks for your time, Gordy.
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  Speaker 2: Sean, peace out.
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: Stay well.
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: Great stuff from Gordy, as always. IFA Country Stores help
• 13:00
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• 13:03
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• 13:06
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• 13:10
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• 13:21
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