Latest / The Tortured Fans Department / Ep. 35 - March Madness (NCAA Tournament Heartbreak, Being a Bubble Team on Selection Sunday, Playing in the First Four, Facing Kelvin Sampson and The Legend of Coach Dunphy)

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Ep. 35 - March Madness (NCAA Tournament Heartbreak, Being a Bubble Team on Selection Sunday, Playing in the First Four, Facing Kelvin Sampson and The Legend of Coach Dunphy) · The Tortured Fans Department

0:20
SPEAKER_00: Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of the Tortured Fans Department podcast.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: I am your host, Sean Boyle, and joining me today is a very special guest, our first ever professional, a man who was a first-team All-American conference player, a 1,500-point scorer, a man who once made 52 consecutive free throws, and most importantly, Philly's finest, Mr.
0:44
SPEAKER_00: Shiz Austin.
0:45
SPEAKER_00: Shiz, how are you?
0:46
SPEAKER_02: I'm doing good, bro.
0:47
SPEAKER_02: How you doing?
0:48
SPEAKER_00: I'm doing well.
0:49
SPEAKER_00: I'm doing well.
0:49
SPEAKER_00: Do you mind just giving the listeners some background about where you're from, where you've played, that kind of thing?
0:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I'm from North Philly, man.
0:55
SPEAKER_02: I went to Havenford High School, uh, out in Havenford PA.
0:59
SPEAKER_02: Um, I went to Temple four years.
1:02
SPEAKER_02: After Temple, I signed with the Indiana Pacers.
1:05
SPEAKER_02: I was with the Pacers for summer league and a little bit of uh like summer workouts, and um decided um I went to sign with the Sixers.
1:12
SPEAKER_02: So I was with the Sixers for training camp, a little bit of preseason, and then I went to the G League.
1:17
SPEAKER_02: And I was with the in the G League all the way through COVID.
1:21
SPEAKER_02: After COVID, I went overseas, I went to Greece.
1:24
SPEAKER_02: Um after Greece, I went to Belgium.
1:27
SPEAKER_02: After Belgium, I went to Japan.
1:30
SPEAKER_02: Um after Japan, I went to Serbia and then Israel.
1:33
SPEAKER_02: And then now I uh in Israel I had a son, and now I took a year off to be with my family, and now just watching temple basketball and being a dad.
1:44
SPEAKER_02: So that's that's awesome.
1:45
SPEAKER_00: I should have included World Traveler in my little introduction there because you've been all around.
1:49
SPEAKER_02: I've been everywhere.
1:49
SPEAKER_02: I've been in every continent.
1:52
SPEAKER_00: I think we're pretty loose with the rules now in college athletics and specifically college basketball.
1:57
SPEAKER_00: Do you think you have any eligibility left?
1:59
SPEAKER_00: Could we maybe work a year out?
2:00
SPEAKER_00: Our owls need you next year, and I think we could land a pretty big NIL deal.
2:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I talked to Dumpy and he didn't play me a lot my freshman year, and I was mad at him about him, but it might actually work out.
2:10
SPEAKER_02: I might got like 10 games uh of eligibility left.
2:14
SPEAKER_02: I might got to call Fisher to see if I can if I can use it.
2:17
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
2:17
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
2:18
SPEAKER_00: Before we get to some NCA tournament discussion, I wanted you to be a witness for the listeners of this podcast because a lot of times I get some feedback that, oh, you talk a lot about sports, but you're just a guy behind a microphone.
2:29
SPEAKER_00: Can you can you confirm with with the with the listeners that I was a dead eye shooter in college?
2:35
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'll say your comp, your comp is Jokic.
2:38
SPEAKER_02: You know, it wasn't laterally, latterly quickness wasn't your thing.
2:41
SPEAKER_02: Couldn't guard the pick and roll.
2:43
SPEAKER_02: But if you just pick and pop, we got we you can you can play with us.
2:46
SPEAKER_02: But if you if you need him to switch on the defensive end, not gonna happen.
2:50
SPEAKER_00: No, we're not switching.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: It's one through four switches.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: I'm at the five.
2:53
SPEAKER_00: One through four we switch.
2:55
SPEAKER_00: But I love that you said Jokic.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: If my first name was Nicola, I think I would have had a jersey on at practice instead of the stat sheet.
3:02
SPEAKER_00: But but I but I'm glad I'm glad that you could confirm that for the listeners.
3:07
SPEAKER_02: Right.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: All right, let's let's talk about some real athletes now.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: You've been in a couple of unique settings in the NCAA tournament.
3:14
SPEAKER_00: I want to start with your freshman year.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: So you were experiencing all of this for the first time.
3:19
SPEAKER_00: First, can you take me into what it feels like on Selection Sunday as a bubble team?
3:23
SPEAKER_00: What is that feeling throughout the day?
3:26
SPEAKER_00: Are you just nervous throughout?
3:27
SPEAKER_02: Well, so my freshman year, if you if you go back to what was that 2016, the year prior, 2015, if you guys remember, Temple had a great year and they got snuffed.
3:39
SPEAKER_02: They went like first seed in the NIT.
3:42
SPEAKER_02: But everyone thought they should have made the tournament.
3:44
SPEAKER_02: So that next year we had a lot of the same guys back.
3:46
SPEAKER_02: So the feeling around it was people were nervous.
3:50
SPEAKER_02: We we won the conference.
3:51
SPEAKER_02: Um, so we thought that we could get in because it was a pretty good conference, but you just never knew.
3:57
SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, over the course of that day, you know, it was nerve-wracking because you're watching a lot of the other conference games because we got these bid stealers, and yeah, you didn't want certain teams to win.
4:09
SPEAKER_02: So we were watching that, and we were pretty confident that year that we would get in and we felt that we did enough uh to get in.
4:16
SPEAKER_02: And we were just looking mainly to see where we'd be playing at.
4:20
SPEAKER_02: And we were hoping that we got the draw close to home, which we did, which was in Brooklyn.
4:25
SPEAKER_02: Um, so we we were pretty excited that day, but we kind of were we we kind of were known we were gonna get in that year, um, just because of we won the conference in the regular season.
4:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I remember that day pretty well, and I think you mentioned the 2015 year.
4:41
SPEAKER_00: I think that's where the inspiration for this podcast first started, like the inception in my brain of being a tortured fan, because there's nothing worse than being snubbed at the NCAA tournament.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: So we just kept all having flashbacks, like, no, we should be good this year, but there's a chance.
4:54
SPEAKER_00: And I remember Coach Dunfey was just pacing throughout the gym, I believe, when our name was actually called.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: So he couldn't even watch it.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: He was so nervous because he just didn't want to be left out again.
5:04
SPEAKER_00: How how about once you see your name called?
5:07
SPEAKER_00: You said we obviously got drawn in Brooklyn, we played Iowa.
5:11
SPEAKER_00: It's exciting to see your name on the bracket, but then how are those next couple days of preparation?
5:15
SPEAKER_00: Is it business as usual, or is there like a heightened sense of all right, we need to lock into the details?
5:20
SPEAKER_00: And does it even go up a level from the week before in the conference tournament?
5:24
SPEAKER_02: It goes up a number of levels because um we you figure if that can change everybody's lives, and everybody has that same approach, whether that's assistant coaches, whether that's players, you've seen players average eight points, they go 15 points in the tournament, now they're first round picks, or now they're you know, it it just it changes, and you've seen teams make a run, and you've seen assistant coaches get head coaching jobs.
5:51
SPEAKER_02: So it's it's everybody has that central level because the whole world's watching.
5:55
SPEAKER_02: And um we knew that that year we played, we lost to Villanova that year, but we knew that if we got them again, there's a chance that it could be a dog fight.
6:07
SPEAKER_02: And we had to play Iowa, but we knew that next game would be against Villanova and Barclay Center.
6:12
SPEAKER_02: So we we were we weren't looking past Iowa by any means, but we just knew what the opportunity that we had on our hands, and so everybody was super locked in, super focused, and um Dump was Dump was ready.
6:26
SPEAKER_02: I'll say Dump took it up a notch, and he was he was really honest.
6:29
SPEAKER_02: He was really honest, but he just knew what it could do for us and what it could do for the for the uh university.
6:36
SPEAKER_00: And you were a freshman on that team, so you mentioned before that Dump didn't play you as much as you thought you should have been getting minutes that year.
6:43
SPEAKER_00: So, how about through the course of the year?
6:45
SPEAKER_00: How how is it being a freshman, a guy who thinks maybe they should be playing a little bit more?
6:50
SPEAKER_00: Is it easy to get distracted and kind of think, well, I don't need to prepare as much as you know the next guy because they're they're gonna play 35 minutes.
6:58
SPEAKER_00: I might just get in for two or three, or are you trying to take advantage of every opportunity in practice?
7:01
SPEAKER_00: Are you going at it like every day is an audition for my job?
7:06
SPEAKER_02: Well, so I'll be honest, bro.
7:07
SPEAKER_02: I was like that in the beginning.
7:09
SPEAKER_02: So I I came out playing a lot, I came out playing about 15, 20 minutes a game.
7:13
SPEAKER_02: Then it was a little shift, and I I was like playing maybe five, ten minutes, five minutes, I wouldn't even say 10.
7:20
SPEAKER_02: But then one day, bro, I so I had the mindset of like, yeah, you know what, forget this, like, you know, I'm just gonna not even pay attention, really.
7:28
SPEAKER_02: And one day before we play UConn at UConn, no, scratch that.
7:32
SPEAKER_02: We're about to play Villanova.
7:35
SPEAKER_02: Josh Brown was late for some for some odd reason.
7:38
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and Dump brings me in.
7:40
SPEAKER_02: We played Nova at 7 o'clock.
7:42
SPEAKER_02: Nova's number one in the country.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:45
SPEAKER_02: She's just starting tonight.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: I remember this.
7:47
SPEAKER_02: And and there's no one team in the country.
7:50
SPEAKER_02: Um, it's 10,000 plus in Lead Core Center.
7:54
SPEAKER_02: I haven't played in two games, which could be a week or two.
7:57
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
7:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
7:58
SPEAKER_02: From that moment on, I was just like, yo, I gotta be ready.
8:01
SPEAKER_02: Because they were on my ass.
8:02
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if I can say ass on here, but they're all my ass.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: Oh, you oh uh shit.
8:05
SPEAKER_00: We curse, we we're loose with the rules here.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: You can say whatever you want.
8:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
8:08
SPEAKER_02: They're on my they're on my ass, bro.
8:10
SPEAKER_02: It's Ryan Archer Diagono, uh, Josh Hart, Daniel Chefu.
8:15
SPEAKER_02: It was that that team.
8:17
SPEAKER_02: Um, so you know, they're on my ass, and from from that moment on, I was like, you know what, I gotta be prepared because you never know when he's gonna call your name and expect to produce.
8:26
SPEAKER_02: And back then, I don't know now.
8:27
SPEAKER_02: We weren't we weren't too much on ESPN Plus back then.
8:30
SPEAKER_02: We had actual ESPN games.
8:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
8:32
SPEAKER_02: So so it was kind of I never wanted to be embarrassed on on ESPN or ESPN2, ESPN U, whatever.
8:39
SPEAKER_02: I never wanted to be embarrassed again.
8:40
SPEAKER_02: So from that point, I'll say like January on, I was ready to go.
8:45
SPEAKER_00: Coach would call that a teaching moment.
8:47
SPEAKER_00: And that is right.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: We used to play on the PN.
8:50
SPEAKER_00: That's how we used to refer to it.
8:51
SPEAKER_00: Was we were on the PN tonight.
8:53
SPEAKER_00: Instead, now we're now we're playing on the plus a lot of stuff.
8:56
SPEAKER_02: We gotta go to the plus.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately, unfortunately, that year, we ended up losing in the NC tournament to Iowa in that game we were just talking about.
9:06
SPEAKER_00: What do you remember from that game the most?
9:08
SPEAKER_00: It was kind of an iconic tournament game.
9:09
SPEAKER_00: There was a lot of moments that when you go back, a push off is right.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: I was about to refer to ESPN Plus as Mickey Mouse, but the push-off missed call by the referee was also Mickey Mouse.
9:20
SPEAKER_02: That's one of the craziest and most obvious calls.
9:25
SPEAKER_02: I'll put that in nobody else is gonna put that up there, but I'll put that up there with the Chris Weber timeout.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: Like those like that's how that's the Chris Weber timeout all over.
9:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
9:36
SPEAKER_02: For us, that's like the Chris Weber timeout thing because like that was that changes a lot of things, if if that calls made.
9:43
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
9:44
SPEAKER_02: We go on the win.
9:45
SPEAKER_02: Nova won the championship that year.
9:47
SPEAKER_02: Yes, they did.
9:48
SPEAKER_00: I was just I would go as far to say as Villanova, we could take a championship off of their record books.
9:53
SPEAKER_02: Really?
9:53
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
9:54
SPEAKER_02: I think we beat Villanova that next round.
9:56
SPEAKER_02: I think we have a chance.
9:57
SPEAKER_02: Like, I don't I mean, no one Nova's not gonna say that, and probably many people that are Temple fans are gonna say that, but I just think that that's a big that call changes a lot of things, and that's what I remember the most.
10:08
SPEAKER_02: I I played, I I got in prior for like three minutes, four minutes that game.
10:11
SPEAKER_02: Um, I just remember I've never witnessed, I've never been I played in with the sixes, I was in training training camp, I've been a part of some preseason games, but I've never been in an NBA arena that filled to the top.
10:25
SPEAKER_02: That loud, that atmosphere.
10:27
SPEAKER_02: Like the Barclays Center was sold out that game.
10:31
SPEAKER_02: And it was like I've never been a part of an atmosphere like that, bro.
10:35
SPEAKER_02: Even though I played probably five, ten minutes, that was the craziest atmosphere that I've ever been a part of in my entire basketball career.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I wanted to talk about that just a little bit because we just mentioned how in practice leading up to the NCAA tournament, everything goes up a level, and I think you just feel it in the arena at an NCAA tournament, too.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: There's something in the air during a especially a first-round matchup, too, because it's it's really the start of your journey.
10:59
SPEAKER_00: Like all that happened in the season got you to this point, but now it's go time.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: And there's something in the air.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: And then in this game in particular, I mean, we had Quentin DeCosey had to hit three consecutive free throws.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: We had Daniel Dingle with like a broken right hand having to shoot left-handed free throws.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: I still think, Dan, if you're listening, we we got to shoot those right-handed.
11:17
SPEAKER_00: We gotta find a way.
11:18
SPEAKER_00: Let's get one of those two around.
11:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
11:21
unknown: Yeah.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: So it was it was it was a wild tournament game that when you search on YouTube some highlights from the last 10-15 years of the NCAA tournament, you'll see a lot of those Temple Iowa flashbacks.
11:32
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was crazy too because uh Fran McCaffrey was the coach, he was a Philly guy.
11:37
SPEAKER_02: Um, so that that so like you know, he had a lot of his family and you know, Philly guys and the and the fans for I mean in the stands for that game.
11:46
SPEAKER_02: And then Dump, you know, and Temple, we had crazy crowd there.
11:50
SPEAKER_02: We had a big showing at that game.
11:52
SPEAKER_02: So it was but it just seems like everything that could happen was going to happen.
11:57
SPEAKER_02: Like, you know what I'm saying?
11:59
SPEAKER_02: Like the atmosphere, like crazy shots, like it just seems like everything that was going to happen was was was gonna have like could have happened that game.
12:07
SPEAKER_02: And I don't know, it was it that was one of the craziest games to be a part of.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: It was a proper sporting event.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: Even the neutral fans left there being like, well, we got our money's worth today.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: That was that was that was great.
12:19
SPEAKER_00: I will say though, on the flip side, before the game, during the game, it's all great.
12:23
SPEAKER_00: What is that feeling like losing on a buzzer beater in overtime in the tournament, knowing that that particular team is never gonna play together again?
12:30
SPEAKER_00: I know as a freshman, you're probably optimistic knowing that you still have three years left to kind of fix that, but I know that you're gonna lose some seniors from that group and that particular unit's not gonna be back as it was.
12:41
SPEAKER_02: It was tough, bro, because like I always say I I would have rather gone in there and got blown out by 25 than to lose like like that.
12:49
SPEAKER_02: Because at some point we thought we were gonna win.
12:51
SPEAKER_02: Like it was like it was going back and forth, and and then you you go back to the hotel, you go back, whatever, you turn on the tent, you turn on the TV, and they're showing highlights.
13:00
SPEAKER_02: Like the whole day, everybody's gonna show the highlight of the craziest game.
13:04
SPEAKER_02: So, like for that whole day and that whole first round, you just see you guys losing.
13:10
SPEAKER_02: Like, you just see everything, and everybody's talking about it.
13:13
SPEAKER_02: Um, you see on Twitter, it's crazy because you see people's, oh, I had Temple to win, I had Iowa to win.
13:19
SPEAKER_02: Like, I don't know, it's just crazy because it's like two evenly matched teams.
13:23
SPEAKER_02: So like it was crazy just to see how much of the world like was like focused on your game for that amount of time.
13:30
SPEAKER_02: Because I think around the same around that time, other games weren't as close.
13:34
SPEAKER_02: So everybody was watching our game.
13:36
SPEAKER_02: We had an overtime.
13:37
SPEAKER_02: So every for the last five minutes, now everybody's watching Temple Isle.
13:41
SPEAKER_02: So you just go and you just see you people are catching your face on the bench, like it's it's just so it's it's crazy.
13:48
SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, you just it it was a moment that I never forget.
13:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, everything is heightened, and those next 24 hours feel like two weeks.
13:57
SPEAKER_00: It's like you can't get through them enough because the tournament moves quickly.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: Like soon, they're showing highlights from the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight because it's all within a month.
14:04
SPEAKER_00: But when right after you lose, it feels like forever that you're just you're just the center of attention.
14:11
SPEAKER_00: I I suffered, I had to I had to take a final that morning at 8 a.m.
14:15
SPEAKER_00: I had an 8 a.m.
14:16
SPEAKER_00: class.
14:16
SPEAKER_00: Listen, I didn't do well.
14:18
SPEAKER_00: The final went horribly, and it's one of those where you know when you hand it in, like, oh shit, that's that's not good.
14:23
SPEAKER_00: But then immediately I walked out of the final and I was like, all right, my car's waiting for me.
14:27
SPEAKER_00: We're going up to Barclays.
14:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's game time, and everything was great.
14:31
SPEAKER_00: And then, like you mentioned, obviously the next two days felt like two years.
14:36
SPEAKER_02: And then you got a drive back.
14:38
SPEAKER_02: Uh the drive back too.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: I was with Mark Monera, who's a manager, you you know Mark Monero, manager Pip.
14:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: Oh, this guy.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: He's just asking questions, like hypothetical questions the whole way home.
14:47
SPEAKER_00: I don't think I said a word.
14:49
SPEAKER_00: I I wanted to steer him right off the road.
14:51
SPEAKER_02: I kind of wish the game, like after the game, I wish we were in like Colorado or something, you doing a fight or something.
14:57
SPEAKER_02: Like, you gotta drive back home.
14:59
SPEAKER_00: Like Bus back to Philly.
15:01
SPEAKER_02: Bus back to Philly, like quiet, like it's tough.
15:05
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, the over-under was probably two and a half words on the whole way home.
15:08
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
15:09
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
15:11
SPEAKER_00: Let's fast forward now to your senior year, where you once again made the tournament after an unbelievable individual season, I would say, and then obviously a great team season as well.
15:19
SPEAKER_00: This time it was to the first four in Dayton.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: So I wanted you to talk about what that experience is like, where you get in the tournament by the skin of our teeth.
15:29
SPEAKER_00: We're once again sweating it on the bubble.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: It was dumped last year.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: We felt like the committee could throw us one, like we deserved it.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: Dump dump his last season.
15:36
SPEAKER_00: He deserves another tournament.
15:37
SPEAKER_02: That was bullshit, bro.
15:38
SPEAKER_02: Like, like I'm gonna be honest.
15:40
SPEAKER_02: That that year, that year, I was kind of more in involved than like uh I was kind of more involved in the bracketology, the Joe Lennardi.
15:50
SPEAKER_02: I was Shiz Lenardi at that time.
15:52
SPEAKER_02: Like, bro, it wasn't even close.
15:54
SPEAKER_02: Like, it wasn't even like it shouldn't have been close.
15:57
SPEAKER_02: We beat Houston, who was top in the country, maybe the top 10 at the time.
16:01
SPEAKER_02: We UCF, who was top 25.
16:03
SPEAKER_02: We I think we beat another, we beat uh a couple other teams that were that were ranked pretty high that year, and it wasn't close.
16:11
SPEAKER_02: We were like 24 and 10, 23 and 9, because we finished 23 and 10.
16:14
SPEAKER_02: We're 23 and 9, and that was the first year of the new um system.
16:20
SPEAKER_02: Uh I forget what's it called.
16:22
SPEAKER_02: They like it wasn't RPI anymore.
16:24
SPEAKER_02: It was something.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
16:25
SPEAKER_00: The uh KPI or uh the net, the net, the net, the net, the net, yeah, the net.
16:31
SPEAKER_02: It was the first year of the net.
16:32
SPEAKER_02: So for in the RPI, we were like 35, which was safely in and safely in.
16:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
16:38
SPEAKER_02: In a net, we were like 66.
16:41
SPEAKER_00: Well, so it was like let me speak on that, Chiz, because I actually just heard recently that there's been some built-in bias to the net rankings towards power conference teams.
16:50
SPEAKER_00: That like it's come out that they the way they created the algorithm basically really factors in strength of schedule more so than it does actually winning games.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: We only lost nine times.
16:59
SPEAKER_00: We beat some really good teams, but those teams weren't appreciated as much because they played in the smaller league.
17:04
SPEAKER_02: That is crazy, bro.
17:05
SPEAKER_02: That makes that made no s it made no sense at all.
17:08
SPEAKER_02: So basically, like during that time, it was it was nerve-wracking, bro, because I felt that if we so we lost, we had a bye in the American Conference tournament.
17:19
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and we played Wichita State that next that next game, and everybody was saying like they beat Wichita State their end comfortably, like not even first four, you know what I'm saying?
17:30
SPEAKER_02: And we lost to Wichita State.
17:32
SPEAKER_02: I almost fought Mrs.
17:33
SPEAKER_00: Marshall, I almost fought the wife of Coach Greg Marshall in the stands.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: I was sitting behind her, I was so mad.
17:38
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, bro.
17:39
SPEAKER_02: So that that was that was a tough one because I was like, and if you remember, bro, we had to win, we won like probably like our last five or six games.
17:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
17:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was like a six or seven game winning streak, and then lost the first one in the conference tournament.
17:52
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we were grinding, like we had UConn on the road in front of a sold-out crowd.
17:57
SPEAKER_02: We had UCF after they just beat Houston and Cincinnati to be top 20 in the country.
18:02
SPEAKER_02: We had we had a lot of teams, bro.
18:04
SPEAKER_02: So we had to beat South Florida at on the road, and they were a good team that year.
18:08
SPEAKER_02: So that year it was tough, and I just remember um Coach Dump didn't even sit with us during the selection Sunday.
18:15
SPEAKER_02: Like he was he was on the court, like I don't know where he was at.
18:18
SPEAKER_00: He just wasn't with us, and yeah, just pacing around the street.
18:23
SPEAKER_02: My freshman year, bro, it was like I wasn't we could win, we can lose.
18:28
SPEAKER_02: It had nothing to do with shit.
18:29
SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, it had nothing, but senior year, bro, it was like I was like the face of the program.
18:34
SPEAKER_02: So we had ABC News, we had Fox News, we had CBS, we had all these cameras, bro, waiting outside the locker room and like interviewing me before it's election Sunday, like waiting to run in.
18:47
SPEAKER_02: We had um ESPN had their own cameras like sitting up so that like when they call our name, like we can go crazy.
18:54
SPEAKER_02: And I was just like, bro, if they don't call our name, uh you know how awkward this is gonna be.
19:00
SPEAKER_00: That's the that's the worst reality show ever, if they did that to you guys.
19:04
SPEAKER_02: And I was sitting in the front row, and then like we were thank god we were like, it was bullshit that it was the first four.
19:10
SPEAKER_02: It was best of the tournament.
19:12
SPEAKER_02: We shouldn't have been first four, and we played Belmont, who was number one offensive team in the fucking country.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: They they they were elite, they were just another team who was a mid-major and didn't get treated as with the with the respect that they should have.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: Like they should have been yeah, they had pros on their team.
19:28
SPEAKER_02: They were pros in the team.
19:30
SPEAKER_02: Like, like, there's no way that should have been our our first draw in that game, but just we we got we're like in the one of the first, you know, we got our name called very early on, so um we didn't have to sweat that much.
19:42
SPEAKER_02: And bro, we thought that we'll beat Belmont, we play Maryland.
19:45
SPEAKER_02: We thought that'd be a you know a good a good uh matchup for us.
19:49
SPEAKER_02: So like we're again, bro.
19:51
SPEAKER_02: I thought we had a chance, man.
19:52
SPEAKER_02: Like I thought I really thought we had a chance.
19:55
SPEAKER_02: We're up that game for a little bit, and then I don't know what the fuck happened, but yeah, it's it's tough.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: It's they're no losing in the NCAA tournament, even the first four, it still is the tournament because you often see a lot of teams from the first four go on to make runs because they kind of get that game under their belt early, and then next thing you know, they have momentum built in already.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: They're used to playing on the neutral court, they win on a Wednesday or Tuesday or Wednesday night, and then they're off to a new city, they go and win there, and we saw UCLA go to the final four from that spot just a few years ago.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: So I think the first four is very much a good launching pad in some cases, and it could have been for us as well.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: What's it like after the selection show?
20:34
SPEAKER_00: You said we were one of the first teams called.
20:36
SPEAKER_00: How quick is that turnaround to get ready for the first four?
20:38
SPEAKER_00: Because it's the game's literally like one day away.
20:41
SPEAKER_02: Same day, same day.
20:42
SPEAKER_02: Uh we we went to so selection Sunday, we do all this stuff.
20:47
SPEAKER_02: I do they call our name.
20:49
SPEAKER_02: I immediately have to do interviews, do interviews for like 10 minutes, bro.
20:54
SPEAKER_02: Uh go upstairs and lead course, do some interviews, and then walk directly to Pearson McGonagall and watch their game.
21:02
SPEAKER_02: They played against merch.
21:03
SPEAKER_02: They play against John Moran.
21:04
SPEAKER_02: We go we immediately go to watch their game versus how they played against John Moran and Merch State.
21:10
SPEAKER_02: We do the scout right then and there.
21:12
SPEAKER_02: We practice the next morning and then go to Dayton.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
21:16
SPEAKER_02: So Sunday, Monday, because Monday, we played Tuesday.
21:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
21:21
SPEAKER_02: So we immediately drive to Dayton.
21:23
SPEAKER_02: Did we no, we fly to Dayton.
21:24
SPEAKER_00: I hope they didn't.
21:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I hope they didn't drive.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
21:27
SPEAKER_02: I'm sorry.
21:28
SPEAKER_02: We flew to Dayton, private plane.
21:30
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
21:31
SPEAKER_02: Um private plane to Dayton.
21:33
SPEAKER_02: Bro, we get off the plane, it's like a carpet.
21:36
SPEAKER_02: Temple University, first four NCA tournament, carpet, there's cameras.
21:41
SPEAKER_02: Like it's it it was it was amazing.
21:43
SPEAKER_02: It was like I almost think, bro, like the first four game was better than the first round game because you're the only game.
21:50
SPEAKER_02: Like you're the first game.
21:51
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
21:52
SPEAKER_00: You you tip off the tournament.
21:53
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you're the only game on that time.
21:55
SPEAKER_02: Like, there's no other, there's no other games on like every like we're The first, you know, first game.
22:01
SPEAKER_02: So there was a game before it, but I mean like at that time.
22:04
SPEAKER_02: That was the first.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: And also that game was an individual game where that's the only game on.
22:07
SPEAKER_00: And then it's you guys.
22:08
SPEAKER_02: So exactly.
22:09
SPEAKER_02: And then they had a player.
22:11
SPEAKER_02: I was having a pretty good year, but they had a player that was mock draft first round.
22:15
SPEAKER_02: Dylan Wendler.
22:16
SPEAKER_02: Dylan Wendler.
22:16
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, Dylan Wendler.
22:18
SPEAKER_02: So that was big.
22:20
SPEAKER_02: So we had a lot of like NBA scouts there.
22:23
SPEAKER_02: The whole rollout, bro, was just crazy.
22:25
SPEAKER_02: I talked to I had to talk to Reggie Miller and what's the guy's name?
22:29
SPEAKER_02: He's from he's from PA.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: Raftery?
22:33
SPEAKER_02: Raftery.
22:33
SPEAKER_02: Bill Raftery and Bill Raftery.
22:35
SPEAKER_02: Oh, he's a legend, yeah.
22:36
SPEAKER_02: Bill Raftery and Reggie Miller before before the game.
22:39
SPEAKER_02: I talked to Wally Zerbiak before back.
22:42
SPEAKER_02: So bro, it was it was crazy, man.
22:44
SPEAKER_02: Like I'll say the the being the face of the team is definitely a different experience than when you're just on the team.
22:51
SPEAKER_02: Like my my first year, it was it was totally different, bro.
22:54
SPEAKER_02: It was it's amazing.
22:56
SPEAKER_02: It was like an amazing feeling.
22:57
SPEAKER_02: It's so much hype.
22:58
SPEAKER_02: And in Dayton's arena, it's like a it's not as big as you would think, but it's like on you.
23:04
SPEAKER_02: It's like right there.
23:05
SPEAKER_00: It's an intimate environment.
23:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's like you're it's like in a theater, bro.
23:09
SPEAKER_02: It's like everybody's around and you're you're like the show.
23:12
SPEAKER_02: So it's like so it was crazy.
23:14
SPEAKER_02: It's like the best place for a college basketball game, I think.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: I was just gonna ask you that.
23:18
SPEAKER_00: I wanted to talk about how Dayton is as a host for the first four because they get these games every year.
23:23
SPEAKER_00: And I think it's because they're fans.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's because, hey, not much goes on in Dayton, Ohio.
23:27
SPEAKER_00: Maybe they don't have a lot to do.
23:29
SPEAKER_00: But they show up, they show up to these games every year, no matter who's playing.
23:33
SPEAKER_00: You'll get about 50% of the crowds neutral, and then you'll have about 25-25 between the two teams that are playing.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: But I think it's a testament to just how good of a basketball city Dayton is.
23:41
SPEAKER_00: And I I agree with you, that arena is very intimate.
23:43
SPEAKER_00: It feels like you're on center stage.
23:46
SPEAKER_02: No, absolutely.
23:47
SPEAKER_02: And I think that with Temple being in the A-10 prior, I think some Dayton fans, older Dayton fans, were supporting us because just of that old A-10 matchup type of vibe in Belmont, but who knows where Belmont is.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: Um so somewhere in Tennessee, yeah.
24:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, somewhere.
24:03
SPEAKER_02: They actually had a strong little show crowd too, because their coach was actually like he was uh he was a big time coach as well, I think.
24:12
SPEAKER_02: Um he was an older guy.
24:13
SPEAKER_02: Yes, he was.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: It was one of his last years, too.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: I forget.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, one of his last years too.
24:16
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
24:17
SPEAKER_02: So they had a big following too.
24:19
SPEAKER_02: So but like Dayton, and everywhere you went in Dayton, they knew like, oh, Temple, like you like, oh, you have a game, like this and that.
24:26
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, it was real, it was it was big time, bro.
24:28
SPEAKER_02: And then like we had a lot of fan support, a lot of a lot of people come out to the hotel, and it was big, bro.
24:35
SPEAKER_02: It was that was a good that whole last month of the season was was was fun.
24:40
SPEAKER_00: I'm happy you touched on all that because it's I think it's cool for the listeners to be able to see inside the lens of somebody who started out as a freshman making the tournament, but really not feeling like they were a major part of the team, transitioning to your senior year where you were the face of the program, you were the leading scorer, you were the guy that other teams focused on.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: And I think that that's interesting just to hear you talk about that.
25:01
SPEAKER_00: Also, I wanted to get your opinion on now that era of being a four-year player at one school, that's kind of come and gone.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: There's very few and far between cases where a guy commits to a school out of high school, doesn't change his commitment, sticks with that school for all four years and graduates.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: And you are a testament to that at Temple.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: And now you've become kind of a representative of Temple because of that, because we all have that connection with you.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: You're from North Philly, we've known you your whole life, your dad played at Temple, you're just a temple guy through and through.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: So, why do you think that has helped you become the person you are today, toughing it out and not playing as much as you would have, and then fighting through and eventually becoming the face of the program?
25:39
SPEAKER_02: It's life, bro.
25:40
SPEAKER_02: It's it's it's life.
25:41
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I say it to kids all the time like life is up and down.
25:45
SPEAKER_02: Like, even my pro career has been up and down.
25:47
SPEAKER_02: I've been I've practiced with Joe L and B for pre you know at training camp, but then I played with uh European.
25:55
SPEAKER_02: Like no no no.
25:57
SPEAKER_02: So it's like, bro, it's up and down, and and like Dump and Temple really taught me, um, taught me that.
26:03
SPEAKER_02: And like I'm one of the best cases that you can ever like, that you can ever, you know, tell kids because I started playing five minutes, bro.
26:12
SPEAKER_02: I averaged two points.
26:13
SPEAKER_02: I went from two points as a freshman to 20 points as a senior.
26:16
SPEAKER_02: I went from NTA tournament to nothing my sophomore year to NIT back to tournament.
26:23
SPEAKER_02: So I I I felt every everything to feel, you know, everything, every emotion.
26:29
SPEAKER_02: And I think that a lot of these kids are gonna be hurt in life because you don't have to you don't have to battle through adversity anymore.
26:36
SPEAKER_02: You don't play, you just leave.
26:37
SPEAKER_02: You don't play there, you leave.
26:38
SPEAKER_02: You don't play there, you leave again.
26:40
SPEAKER_02: And then by the time you're a senior, you just you'll get a nice NIL package because you're a 23-year-old guy.
26:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and some some team will just pay you$100,000 because you're a veteran.
26:51
SPEAKER_02: But you've you've you've had a combined 300 points your whole college career.
26:55
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
26:56
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
26:57
SPEAKER_02: So it's exactly you don't have to fight, you don't have to fight through anything nowadays.
27:00
SPEAKER_02: And I had to fight through everything from from not playing to starting playing 35 minutes.
27:06
SPEAKER_02: So I think that that's what missing, that's what's missing now.
27:09
SPEAKER_02: The kids are gonna struggle in life because they haven't had to battle through any type of adversity.
27:15
SPEAKER_02: And now, bro, kids don't even have to take classes in person.
27:18
SPEAKER_02: Like we had 8 a.m.'s and I was checking, I was making sure you were there.
27:21
SPEAKER_00: You had to check our class.
27:23
SPEAKER_02: Like these guys are just going online classes and all this stuff now.
27:27
SPEAKER_02: It's not even like it's like you like some guys' degree, like credits don't even transfer to other guys aren't even graduating.
27:35
SPEAKER_02: Like, it's just it's you don't have to juggle, you know, we have to juggle being in practice and going to study halls and going to 8 a.m.
27:43
SPEAKER_02: or private playing back, getting back at 11, going to class at 8.
27:46
SPEAKER_02: Like these guys are just it's different now, bro.
27:49
SPEAKER_02: And I think that I think that these guys don't know how to battle through adversity anymore, and you just leave at the first sight of um adversity.
27:57
SPEAKER_02: And another thing, not to be long-winded, but it's you don't get to bond with a fan base anymore.
28:02
SPEAKER_02: Like these alumni and fans don't even know who you are.
28:05
SPEAKER_02: Like, like me and you grew up, we grew up together.
28:07
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
28:08
SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah, yeah.
28:08
SPEAKER_02: We were, you know what I'm saying?
28:10
SPEAKER_02: Like, you see me through a lot of different stages in my in my life.
28:13
SPEAKER_02: And there's not there's not managers or and players or alumni and players, you're not gonna see that anymore.
28:19
SPEAKER_02: No, you're not gonna see guys together, like I think my graduating, because you graduated the year before me.
28:25
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
28:26
SPEAKER_02: So I think my year, what who I'm I'm trying to, was Monera.
28:31
SPEAKER_02: Monero, Shane Douglas.
28:33
SPEAKER_02: I think Monera and Shane, I think they graduated with me.
28:35
SPEAKER_00: Gimbal.
28:36
SPEAKER_02: And like Gimbal, like we were all we were all from the beginning to the end with each other.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:41
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
28:42
SPEAKER_02: So it's like you don't even you don't even see you don't even see that anymore.
28:47
SPEAKER_02: So but even you, like, bro, you see me from not playing, and then my sophomore year at the leading score on the team averaging 14-15 points.
28:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
28:54
SPEAKER_02: So it's like you don't even see that anymore with with players because if this was today's society, I would have had to l out of left Temple.
29:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'll give you even a quick story.
29:03
SPEAKER_00: I remember when you were a high school senior and just visiting Temple and stuff, you were playing in the Donna Frio Classic, and I went with Jalen Bond and Devin Coleman.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: I drove them, we came and watched the play because we thought you were going to commit to Temple or you had just committed to Temple.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: And it was it was just little stuff like that that really made everybody feel like it was a family.
29:20
SPEAKER_00: And I think the point you brought up about the sense of belonging to a place, you don't get that when you transfer three times.
29:26
SPEAKER_00: When you're there for a year, fans will remember that year and they'll remember you as a nice player, but they don't get to know you.
29:32
SPEAKER_00: They don't get to know your story or what you went through to get to that point.
29:36
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's something that's definitely been lost in this era where it's very transactional.
29:41
SPEAKER_00: It's we're chasing checks, we're we're chasing the highest bag.
29:45
SPEAKER_00: And I don't think that long term in life that's going to be as fulfilling for these guys as it would be to have a story like yours.
29:52
SPEAKER_02: It is not at all, but I tell you, yeah, like I like I tell people like, of course, I don't wish I was making 800,000, 900,000 templates, and 500,000.
30:00
SPEAKER_02: That'd be cool.
30:01
SPEAKER_02: But like I can go back now, or I can make a tweet right now and they'll get 10,000 interactions, 15,000 interactions, and retweets, or I can go to Philly now and be with an alumni, and oh, you remember this, you remember that.
30:15
SPEAKER_02: So that love is like it's it's not it's not a dollar amount.
30:18
SPEAKER_02: That love that that money that these guys are making, if they're smarter, it can last a long time.
30:23
SPEAKER_02: But I guarantee you this money's not lasting more than three years with the way these guys are spending buying jewelry and stuff.
30:29
SPEAKER_02: So like that stuff, bro, is not I'll take the way I had it way more than what these guys are had it because it that'll last a lifetime.
30:37
SPEAKER_02: Like me and you, I graduated eight, seven years ago.
30:41
SPEAKER_02: We were we were together almost 10 years ago.
30:43
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
30:44
SPEAKER_02: That's when I first you know first got the temple.
30:46
SPEAKER_02: And we're still talking, you hit me up yesterday and we got it done today.
30:50
SPEAKER_02: Like things are like that, like, are like mean more more to me than than the dollar amount, and that's that's a lot of stuff that college basketball is missing now.
30:59
SPEAKER_00: I completely agree.
31:00
SPEAKER_00: I think that's very well said.
31:01
SPEAKER_00: I wanted to talk about one team as we kind of transition to this year's tournament.
31:06
SPEAKER_00: I want to talk about one team that you faced several times throughout your career and is still coached by the same man, and they play the same way, and that is Kelvin Sampson in Houston.
31:15
SPEAKER_00: What is it like playing against the Kelvin Sampson team?
31:18
SPEAKER_02: Hell hell on earth, bro.
31:22
SPEAKER_02: They play so hard.
31:24
SPEAKER_02: They they play so hard, they like they beat you up, like you get hit bumps and bruises.
31:31
SPEAKER_02: It hurts after the game.
31:33
SPEAKER_02: But he just has those guys play so hard, bro.
31:35
SPEAKER_02: It's like, I don't know if there's a better coach in any level that I've ever played against better than Samson.
31:43
SPEAKER_02: Like, his players know exactly no one does anything outside of themselves.
31:48
SPEAKER_02: Nobody, like, they rarely make mistakes.
31:50
SPEAKER_02: Their defensive assignment, they're always on point with their defensive assignment.
31:54
SPEAKER_02: They go after every rebound, every loose ball.
31:56
SPEAKER_02: Like, that's the hardest team that I've ever, you know, had to play against.
32:00
SPEAKER_02: And I mean, it shows like from I've but I've watched him grow that program.
32:05
SPEAKER_02: Like, yeah from the time I got there, they had Damian Dotson and those guys, and they were like fifth or sixth in the conference to them guys being undefeated year after year after year.
32:14
SPEAKER_02: Um Yeah.
32:15
SPEAKER_00: And they've gone to the Big 12 and done the same thing.
32:17
SPEAKER_02: And it went to the big how do you go like it's amazing.
32:20
SPEAKER_02: You go from the American conference, which was okay, but to the one of the arcably one of the best conferences in the country, and you still maintain that same dominance.
32:28
SPEAKER_00: So, like exactly.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: I think it's a test.
32:32
SPEAKER_02: Sorry to cut you off, besides Bill Nova, because Jay Wright's teams were they were tough too, but besides that, I'll say Calvin Calvin Sampson's teams were like the best teams I ever played against.
32:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think there was a slight difference between the two two, where Jay Wright's teams were just very disciplined and they were technically sound, they pivoted 20 times, probably a walk.
32:51
SPEAKER_00: We they never got called for it.
32:54
SPEAKER_00: They would get they would always post up guards, their guards were always good, playing with their back to the basket and passing out of the post.
32:59
SPEAKER_00: That was a J.
33:00
SPEAKER_00: Wright staple.
33:01
SPEAKER_00: Whereas Kelvin Sampson, it's a testament to him, like you said, because when you got to college, they were a good program, but he's elevated them, and it's this, and you know, 10 years later, it's the same thing.
33:11
SPEAKER_00: It's like nameless gray faces, no matter who's wearing that who's Houston jersey, they're going to play in the way Kelvin wants them to play.
33:18
SPEAKER_00: And you hear sometimes like, oh, a guy would run through a wall for the coach.
33:21
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: They would actually run through a wall for this guy.
33:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
33:24
SPEAKER_02: Because they're running through you, they're running through you for that coach.
33:28
SPEAKER_02: And like to say, like you were saying about Villanova and Houston, like those they had actual like NBA players on their team.
33:34
SPEAKER_02: Like uh Nova.
33:36
SPEAKER_02: They had Jalen Brunson, McKelbridge.
33:37
SPEAKER_02: They have guys getting hundreds to 200 million dollar contracts.
33:40
SPEAKER_02: I don't think there's anybody in Houston that has a hundred million dollar, let alone a$50 million NBA contract.
33:47
SPEAKER_02: There's no there's nobody like in correct, they're just used to their success.
33:51
SPEAKER_02: Like Nova guys are making, you got Divin Chenzo, Jalen Brunson, McHelbridges, Josh Hart, all are if you combine all their contracts, it's probably a billion dollars.
34:00
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
34:01
SPEAKER_02: Samson has just had, like you said, regular guys who are playing high-level overseas, or there's some guys that are, you know, role players in the NBA.
34:08
SPEAKER_02: Maybe they're just in the NBA because of Samson.
34:12
SPEAKER_02: They're not like special, you know what I'm saying?
34:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
34:14
SPEAKER_02: But they win at such a high level, and it's like, I don't know, it's unbelievable how he does it.
34:19
SPEAKER_00: And they learn to be excellent in their role, and that's something Dunf always talked about, too, was being like excelling in your role, know your role.
34:26
SPEAKER_00: And all of Samson's guys do that.
34:28
SPEAKER_00: And just now, I think the last two years was the first time they ever got a five-star commitment.
34:32
SPEAKER_00: So now he's starting to actually get those high-end talented guys as well, and they're doing the same thing.
34:37
SPEAKER_00: So when you can get five stars and two stars to play that hard on a nightly basis, watch out for sure.
34:42
SPEAKER_01: Watch out.
34:43
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I wanted to wrap up.
34:45
SPEAKER_00: I know you probably have two things for you.
34:46
SPEAKER_00: I know you probably haven't watched much college ball this year, but if you had to pick one team to win it all, would you go with Houston or would you go a different direction?
34:54
SPEAKER_02: No, I'm going a different direction.
34:55
SPEAKER_02: Uh I would say.
35:00
SPEAKER_02: I I I would say I would have said Duke before the point guard got hurt.
35:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
35:05
SPEAKER_02: Um, I think, but I think it's going to come down to like a Duke, Arizona type of Duke or Arizona.
35:10
SPEAKER_02: I think those are their two best teams in the in the conference.
35:14
SPEAKER_02: I don't think Houston's very good.
35:16
SPEAKER_02: They play hard.
35:17
SPEAKER_02: I think they lack a little bit of the scoring that it takes to really like make that deep run or to win it all.
35:24
SPEAKER_02: But uh yeah, I'm I I'm going with like a Duke Duke or Arizona this year.
35:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't think you could go wrong with either of those.
35:30
SPEAKER_00: They're both.
35:31
SPEAKER_02: But a sleep with Michigan.
35:32
SPEAKER_00: Michigan.
35:35
SPEAKER_00: I I I hope it's not Michigan because Dusty May's become very unlikable to me for some reason.
35:40
SPEAKER_00: I just uh he has like a punchable face.
35:42
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
35:44
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: So I'm kind of out on Dusty.
35:47
SPEAKER_00: But I'll the last question I have for you, and I'll go first so you have some time to think.
35:50
SPEAKER_00: I want one quick dumfy story.
35:52
SPEAKER_00: It could be funny, it could be it could be anything you want it to be, but I'll give mine first.
35:57
SPEAKER_00: One year we had the American Athletic Conference Media Days in Philadelphia.
36:02
SPEAKER_00: So that morning, I think it was Jalen Bond senior year.
36:05
SPEAKER_00: Dunf took himself and Jalen Bond to wherever it was, the convention center in Philly.
36:10
SPEAKER_00: Um they were doing interviews, and Dump was asked who his best defensive player is, who the leader of his team is, and he said, uh, it's Jalen Bond.
36:19
SPEAKER_00: He's he's the heart and soul of our team.
36:21
SPEAKER_00: He's he couldn't, he has a chance to be.
36:23
SPEAKER_00: His quote was, he has a chance to be one of the best defensive players in college basketball.
36:28
SPEAKER_00: And later on, we had practice that day back at Pearson McConaughey.
36:32
SPEAKER_00: And Jalen, I think he just had a long day, maybe didn't practice as hard as he should have, got beat a couple times, scored on Bond 15, and we get in that we get in that uh post uh post practice circle, and Dump says, uh, I was I was at American Conference Media Days today.
36:50
SPEAKER_00: And I'm talking of I'm singing the praises of one Jalen Bond.
36:56
SPEAKER_00: I said he has a chance to be the best defensive player in the country, and he's getting scored on by Ayan Nunez de Carvalho.
37:05
SPEAKER_00: I might as well they're gonna call me Dick Dumfy.
37:09
SPEAKER_00: It was it was the best, it's a perfect dry humor.
37:12
SPEAKER_00: Don't just walking you into the joke and then just hammering it home.
37:18
SPEAKER_02: So you think you think you you say you get crazy on this, on this, um yeah, yeah, yeah.
37:23
SPEAKER_00: As long as Dolph doesn't mind, I don't mind.
37:25
SPEAKER_02: Like this, he's gonna mind this, but like I gotta say it because like I didn't want to say this, this, this one because it's it's vulgar and it's it's it is crazy, but like I gotta say it because this is the only thing that keeps coming to my mind.
37:39
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
37:39
SPEAKER_02: So one day we're in practice, my senior year, and I probably rattled off about five or six straight 20-point games.
37:46
SPEAKER_02: I have a bad practice.
37:48
SPEAKER_02: Every day you don't feel like practicing.
37:50
SPEAKER_02: Like, it's just like, come on, coach, like, I need to play with the game.
37:53
SPEAKER_02: So get in the circle, and he says, shiz.
37:56
SPEAKER_02: ESPN calls me, CBS calls me, Fox calls me, I have NBA GMs call me, and I get on my knees and I perform Felatio.
38:10
SPEAKER_02: I just give you fellatio to all these guys, shit this, shit, that.
38:15
SPEAKER_02: Like I'm all my knees, give me fellatio, and you come out here and practice like that.
38:21
SPEAKER_02: You practice like a fucking candy ad.
38:25
SPEAKER_02: You practice like candy ad.
38:27
SPEAKER_02: And I go my room and I just do that, and I call everybody shit.
38:31
SPEAKER_02: What am I supposed to say?
38:32
SPEAKER_02: What am I supposed to do with that?
38:34
SPEAKER_02: And that's like my funny.
38:35
SPEAKER_02: And then sorry, and one more on that since I'm being vulgar.
38:38
SPEAKER_02: He's like, Mark Williams, you come in here and you just jerk around.
38:42
SPEAKER_02: You just jerking around.
38:45
SPEAKER_02: I'll never forget that.
38:47
SPEAKER_02: Now I have to go home to my wife and explain why I can't get hard.
38:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was jerked around all day by Mark Williams.
38:56
SPEAKER_02: I was jerking around all day.
38:59
SPEAKER_02: Oh my god.
39:00
SPEAKER_02: So, like, bro, like, yo, guys, like, Duffy's, it's just funny.
39:04
SPEAKER_02: So listeners, don't look at Duffy any other way.
39:07
SPEAKER_02: But I had to tell those stories, but because he's just he's hilarious.
39:11
SPEAKER_02: And it just it it like it goes all it goes on and on.
39:14
SPEAKER_02: I remember one time he told Mark Williams, like Mark was always saying, Oh, you know, God bless this, God bless that.
39:21
SPEAKER_02: And I remember one time he subbed him out and he said, Mark, what's where's all that Jesus shit?
39:29
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I love it.
39:30
SPEAKER_02: So man, but dump's a great guy, but he's one of my favorite people in the world, bro.
39:34
SPEAKER_02: Like, dump's doesn't it doesn't get any better than Coach Dunf.
39:37
SPEAKER_00: No, I I was just gonna say as we wrap up, we should tell everybody just how much we love Coach Dunfey.
39:42
SPEAKER_00: Like, we we talked about how guys would run through a wall for Kelvin Sampson.
39:46
SPEAKER_00: We're 10 years removed from Dunf, and we both would still run run through a wall for him.
39:50
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, absolutely, bro.
39:52
SPEAKER_02: Like, I I talked to him probably at least once, once or twice a month now.
39:55
SPEAKER_00: He's I I'm he I can thank him for much of my professional career just because of the opportunities he gave me and helped me out with.
40:03
SPEAKER_00: So he's as good as it gets, and he also is one of the funniest people in the world, too, because of stories like we just shared.
40:09
SPEAKER_02: And it's not even the basketball, like the man, the father, the you know, my husband I am now, like everything is a credit, you know, I guess to my family, but to coach Dunk, bro.
40:20
SPEAKER_02: Like it he teaches you how to be a man and he puts you through adverse situations and makes you figure out how to get out of them.
40:27
SPEAKER_02: And like that's life.
40:29
SPEAKER_02: And he doesn't prepare you for, I won't say he prepares you for the NBA or professional or whatever, he prepares you to be a man in life.
40:35
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's the credit to any coach you can have.
40:40
SPEAKER_02: I think that should be the ultimate goal is to prepare you for life.
40:43
SPEAKER_02: And there's I don't think that anybody does did it better than Coach Dunn.
40:47
SPEAKER_02: Everybody that he has coached are good men, and they started they haven't started off that way, you know what I'm saying?
40:53
SPEAKER_02: And he takes guys from different parts of the city, all walks of life, and he turns them into great men.
40:59
SPEAKER_02: And you know, that's what I say about coach.
41:02
SPEAKER_00: I think that's a perfect place to leave it.
41:03
SPEAKER_00: Shiz, I appreciate you joining me.
41:05
SPEAKER_00: Uh, we're gonna have you back on after the season.
41:08
SPEAKER_00: I want to dive more into your professional career, and uh, we're a big travel podcast, so I would love to get some tips and tricks for some of the places.
41:20
SPEAKER_02: I'm home right now, so I don't have much going on.
41:22
SPEAKER_02: So whenever you need me to come on, like I uh come on.
41:26
SPEAKER_00: We might need to rebrand this the Sean show, and uh, you might be a permanent chair.
41:30
SPEAKER_00: We might get you a permanent seat on the podcast.
41:32
SPEAKER_02: I would love that.
41:33
SPEAKER_00: Shiz, I appreciate it.
41:35
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, man.
41:36
SPEAKER_02: No problem, bro.