Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / Hawkeye talk with Tom Kakert, Cyclones with Eugene Rapay

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Hawkeye talk with Tom Kakert, Cyclones with Eugene Rapay · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

0:00
Power #2 Miller and Condon welcome back Iowa Sports Radio
0:03
Network with you until 2:00. Ben Hutchins, Lucas Strain 2
0:09
until 5:00 here today overtime Iowa 5 until 6 momentarily.
0:14
Tom Cake or hawkeyereport.com Eugene repay bottom of the hour.
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Trent will make some pick. Circus sports sponsor those
0:20
halftime at the Enterprise Center.
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Drake 48, Belmont 41 seven point lead for the Bulldogs. 20
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minutes to play. Let's get to Tom Cake or he
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joins us now as we look back and look ahead to Sunday.
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Tom Trenton, Ken, as always, thank you for doing this.
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Obviously, we'll get to the women's game tonight as the they
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will play Illinois just watching TV.
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Tom, it's been a long time since I heard Carver Hawkeye come to
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life the way that it did last night.
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You were in the building. You obviously could provide more
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color into that. It seemed loud.
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The fans were engaged. It was great to see and hear
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Tom. Yeah, it's been a kind of a
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revival of Carver hockey last month or so with, you know, the
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Nebraska game, too. And just the feeling that people
1:07
are into Iowa men's basketball again for the first time in a
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while and they're showing up in their chair and then they're
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they're involved in the game. I told a friend last night, I
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think they got to learn some things about cheering though
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sometimes because like they just like, for example, when like
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Michigan would score something, that'd be a big possession, then
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it'd just go dead silent, you know, And I'm like, no, the team
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still need you guys. They still need you to cheer
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you. You might want to get back on
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your feet. You just, you know, so they it's
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almost like they've got to relearn how to do this and I
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think they'll get there. But it's it was fun.
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It was a terrific basketball game.
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Boy, you know, just just yes, talk Iowa was I kept, I was
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sitting next to John Bowen camp and, and when they went down 10,
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I was like, boy, I don't know, because they've been kind of 20
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and like 5 or 6 points down. And, and I was just worried it
2:08
was going to get the 10 and then all of a sudden it would get to
2:10
15 and it would be over. And, and to their, to Iowa's
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credit, they fought back and, and, you know, almost pulled it
2:20
out. I mean, they almost got there.
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It's a night where you don't want to talk about moral
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victories, but definitely was a moral victory.
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It didn't feel like a great matchup going in Michigan
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outside of the turnovers, and they were plentiful and I was
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defensive. Something to say about that.
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But that was a team that you don't match up well and you
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competed right to the end. Now, can you take that momentum?
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I'm finally playing well after that just awful, pitiful
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performance against Penn State. Can you take that momentum and
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go to Nebraska and give yourself a shot here, Tom, I like this
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match up a whole lot more for Iowa.
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I think they match up with this or ask a team better can they do
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it and what's going to be a hornet's nest.
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Yeah, because it is going to be a hornet's nest because of the
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last game and just the bad feelings and the animosity
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that's going along with everything.
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And so you've got that going into it, but Nebraska just
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doesn't have a post game. They kind of live and die by the
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three ball and they've kind of regressed to the mean a little
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bit. Lawrence hasn't been shooting it
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very well. And you know, Price is Price.
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Sanford's been kind of carrying them in a lot of ways in the
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last last couple weeks. So it's an opportunity.
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It's it's their friable. But I think the question is, and
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Ben McCollum is going to have to get them to do it.
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If they play with the level of effort that they played last
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night, they'll go in and beat Nebraska.
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I don't have any question about that.
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They'll they'll, they'll, they'll beat them maybe by
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double digits. I mean, they just, they played
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so hard and so tough and, and they were, they were in it, but
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can they that's the, that's the $64,000 question with this team
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is that they have you go back to the Minnesota game.
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You go back to, you know, the, the even some of the games that
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they won, like the Northwestern game, it's just they kind of
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play with their food a little bit and just they almost played
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down. They almost played a level of
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their competition a lot. And the good team, if you're
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going to be a really great team, you just got to go out and just
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pulverize people all the time like Michigan has done most of
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the year. Senior day obviously over in
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Lincoln, Say Goodbye to Mast is really popular, but it's
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Hoyberg's kid who's going to get the probably the loudest cheer.
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And as you mentioned, all the other stuff at the end of the
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basketball game, the rivalry between the two schools, the
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fact that I would got him. Boy, it's it seems like a steep
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hill, Tom, but I'll take you where that the matchup isn't as
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daunting as perhaps as it was last night against Michigan.
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Yeah, there's just they don't have the the post guys.
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You know there's no Mara by the way Mara thrown in that to me
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the play garbage just 17 feet out and just line drive bang.
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After a travel. After he travelled and you
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wonder, you know, because the game's tied right then and I
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will get the ball with the chance to go ahead.
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Outcomes could be different. It could if that shot doesn't
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make it. Of course.
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I brought that up to Dusty. Dusty May after the game and he
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goes, remember Howard Banks went in that kind of bounced off the
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front of the rim and then well. There is that, yeah.
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There's and I said, you're right, Dusty, you're right.
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You got me there. He seems like a good guy, Tom.
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I know that they won and he's probably in a better mood after
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the win, but does he come across as pretty genuine coach?
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Oh, he's, he's great. Yeah, I've got some friends who
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cover Michigan and they just rave about how what a good dude
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he is and just, he's just so easy to deal with and there's no
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ego. And of course, they're coming
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off the Juan Howard experience, which was not good.
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So. So anything would be better than
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the Juan Howard experience up there.
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And Indiana, they are still kicking themselves.
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They could have got the alum. They chose another year of Mike
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Woodson. And now you look at those two
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programs and what could have been for the Hoosiers.
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But on that aside, now let's go the other way.
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Tom, you feel great about the matchup.
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I like the matchup too for try with Sunday, but doesn't
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necessarily mean they're going to win.
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They're going to be a 6-7 point underdog in the game.
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They fall in that one. Likely it's either going to be
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Oregon with Biddle or Maryland team that just beat you a couple
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weeks ago. You lose that one.
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How nervous are Hawkeye fans going to be come Selection
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Sunday? I think it depends what it looks
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like. I think they did some good for
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themselves by not getting blown out.
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Had they gotten beaten by 20 last night?
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And everybody be like, oh boy, you know, it's the perception is
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different because I mean, if you're that selection committee
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and you're watching that game last night, you're going, OK,
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Michigan is one of the probably four teams that you think might
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have a shot at winning the national title.
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And they may be at the top of the list when we get there and
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and you play granted on your home floor, but you played them
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to A1 possession game in the you know, and play them right to the
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wire. So those things I think matter
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at this time of year where you just, you got to look at the,
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you see these games and you go point they, that looks like it
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to to me. You watch that game, you go,
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that looks like an NCAA tournament team, dare I say,
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maybe a Sweet 16 team if they get the right match up.
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You know, they, they just, they played really, really well last
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night. It was Maybe they're one of
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their best games in the entire season.
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Was it Manual's best game of the entire season?
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I thought he played great. Absolutely, absolutely.
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But he but he was better. He was really, really good and
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he's played pretty well, I think in the last couple weeks.
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And I thought Tavion looked more like himself.
8:02
I think he's been kind of banged up, you know, like, you know,
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the guy that I'm just so kind of enamored with just about the
8:11
future is Tate Sage. I mean, he he doesn't there is
8:15
No Fear in that dude. He just like his guts of a
8:19
Catholic. I mean, he was he goes right up
8:21
in the seven foot 3 Mara and and and tries to, you know, guard at
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him and he and he scored over him.
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I mean, it was pretty impressive because I I saw some other
8:32
players who just kind of I don't want any anything to do with
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this guy. I'll just keep keep it moving,
8:38
keep the ball moving and but I really like the way Sage is
8:42
playing too. He went up right to Yaxel a
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couple of different times. I mean, he was defending him
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hard, giving up what, 3-4 inches of height and obviously the
8:50
thickness is much different between those two.
8:52
I'm with you at Tate Sage. But the big question is going to
8:54
become whenever the season concludes, when it comes to a
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close, you know, you have to find a replacement for Bennett
9:00
Sturtz. You have to find a high level
9:02
replacement. Centers cost a lot in the
9:04
portal. Point guards cost a lot in the
9:06
portal. How well equipped is?
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I would go out there and get a top flight point guard coupled
9:12
with the selling point for Ben McCollum, what he's going to
9:15
sell. How confident are you that
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they're not going to get a point guard?
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They'll find a point guard that they can get one of the best
9:20
point guards out there. Yeah.
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I think one of the things that we have to look at this year is
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that I don't know that they're going to have the amount of
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resources that they had last year.
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So the budgets going to be a little bit different.
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But you've got what you paid Bennett, what you played paid
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house and what you were paying Tavion that come off the books.
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So some of that will come off the books, but I think you're
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going to have the resources to to get good players.
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But you've got to, yeah, you got to get a point guard.
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And I don't know who that's going to be.
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I don't think any anybody who thinks they know would would
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just be guessing. So I don't know who it's going
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to be, but they've got to get a rim protector too.
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And I have been said said these things.
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I mean, everybody knows you got to get a point guard and he said
10:08
I got to get a guy that can protect the rim a little bit
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because that's been an issue with all those straight line
10:13
drives. They don't have anybody at the
10:15
back end of the defense to to do what Mara did a couple times in
10:18
this game where I, you know, the last night where I would get a
10:22
drive to the lane and he's just altering shots and, and that's
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got to be something that they've got to bring to the table too.
10:31
I know that there was some talk earlier, maybe real early in the
10:35
week or maybe over the weekend about Banks and his potential to
10:38
have another year. What are you hearing, if
10:40
anything there, Tom, and when will they ultimately get that
10:43
decision? I asked Ben about that.
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I asked Tavion about it. Sometimes I wonder if Tavion is
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even like super, super interested in it.
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I mean, he's just, he's such a low key guy.
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It's just hard. He's hard to read sometimes
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about what what really matters for him.
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But, but I brought it up to Ben and Ben like they're just,
11:04
they're monitoring those football cases where JUCO guys
11:07
are trying to get extra time and if they get the decisions and
11:12
and they're favorable, then they have something to discuss.
11:15
But otherwise, I don't think they're really spending a lot of
11:20
time on it other than just monitoring those cases.
11:23
They don't have their own case. They're just kind of monitoring
11:27
what what the other cases are telling them.
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Tom, yesterday, our friend Chad Leistekow, the Des Moines
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Register reported that Tom Brands will be back for the
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26th, 27th season with the wrestling program.
11:38
Definitely going to be difficult coming up this week and State
11:40
College as they're hosting big 10s this week.
11:43
You know, they just need another advantage on top of what they
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already have. That aside, though, from the
11:48
Iowa perspective, a lot of grumbling.
11:50
I see it on the message boards. I go over to the cesspool that
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is the wrestling board, as they affectionately call themselves
11:56
from time to time. I know how ugly it gets.
11:58
I see the comments all the time. The decision Beth gets, running
12:02
it back for another year. There's got to be changes
12:05
though, right? It can't just be.
12:06
And we're going to try again next season.
12:09
We got to do something to kind of alter the approach.
12:13
I liked Chad's analogy of 2014, Kirk Ference having to kind of
12:18
re examine himself as a person and what he was doing and how he
12:22
was operating. I think that's a fair analogy to
12:27
draw from what I was told it, it sounds like the the money
12:33
people, you know, like with Fran last year, there's no money
12:37
people behind Fran. And so it was an easy decision.
12:40
It's harder decision when your main guys in wrestling that that
12:46
have supported the wrestling program are still in Tom
12:48
Brands's corner. Been pretty firmly there right
12:51
now. So I, I think they wanted to
12:54
give him another year. But the other thing is that
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they're going to have to find a way to build a roster too,
13:02
because they're losing, you know, Caliendo and Ayala and and
13:07
so on and Patrick Kennedy. I mean, they're losing some of
13:11
their better wrestlers. And it's not like the, the
13:14
bullpen is stocked and ready to go with the next wave of guys.
13:17
So they're going to have to hit the portal, going to have to hit
13:20
some home runs there, but I think they're also kind of
13:25
realistic and resigned to the fact that everybody's kind of
13:28
going to continue to play for second place.
13:31
Tomcankerhawkerreport.com on three Media rivals joins us.
13:35
Let's talk about the women tonight.
13:36
They'll play Illinois as Iowa gets underway in the women's
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tournament over in Indianapolis. I was about a 6 1/2 point
13:43
favorite in that vicinity. What do you expect to see
13:46
tonight, Tom? I think the big question is, is
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Hannah Stalky playing? That's the big question tonight
13:54
because Jan Jensen did not sound overly optimistic the other day
13:59
when she met with the media. And it basically kind of sounded
14:03
like if they had to play a game that day, Anna would probably
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not play. So you wonder if she's going to
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be well enough to play. If not, it's an Illinois team
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that's tricky. I talked to Jan about that last
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week before the game that they played against Illinois and kind
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of just kind of ran into in the parking lot and just the way you
14:22
think Illinois and just like they're super tricky.
14:25
They're just a tough matchup for us.
14:26
And, and they were, I mean, they gave them fits and I will
14:30
finally pulled away and won, but it was it was a close, close
14:34
game at the end. So they're going, but Illinois
14:39
is also playing three and three. So it's, you know, that's part
14:43
of it. The jump shots are a little bit
14:45
tougher to make when you get to that point.
14:47
So that may be a factor. And I will be the fresher team.
14:50
So we'll see. But that's can be a good game.
14:56
There's been a little upsets, though.
14:57
I mean, Oregon beat Maryland and there's just been some some some
15:01
interesting results so far in the Big 10 tournament.
15:04
Yeah, no doubt about it. A win solidifies the number two
15:07
seed in the NCAA tournament. They lose this one.
15:10
Maybe we're talking back in between the two and three line.
15:12
Is that a fairway to look at it? Yeah, I think so.
15:16
I I would learn more towards them still being a 2, but it,
15:21
it's, it could go either way. But you know, we'll see what
15:25
happens. It depends.
15:26
It always kind of depends what it looks like.
15:28
But I think the fact that they were at six and not eight kind
15:32
of lends them to to sticking with being as the as a 2.
15:37
Any football news? Not really.
15:40
It's been pretty quiet there. You know, I think once football
15:44
gets going, we'll finally see some some things.
15:49
But every, you know, the one thing that I think all of us
15:52
need to kind of maybe rethink, I think the perception is this is
15:58
just going to be Jeremy Heckler's job.
16:01
And everything I've heard is that it is a much closer
16:04
competition and it's going to be a true, true competition and
16:08
spring ball to him and Hank Brown.
16:10
It's not like Picklinski's kind of got this job wrapped up.
16:13
It's just in this competition in name only.
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It's a genuine competition and they are very close right now.
16:20
Great for business. Yes, quarterback battles
16:22
definitely matter. Absolutely.
16:24
And I don't know if you saw the article over at CBS.
16:27
Tom Fornelli, an Illinois guy. Sadly for him, he ranked the 18
16:32
quarterbacks anticipated to be starters next year, and he had
16:35
hecklinski #18 on the list. Fair, Tom.
16:39
Shocking, shocking. I, I don't know who all the
16:42
coaches or who all the other quarterbacks are in the Big 10
16:45
right now, but it's just shocking that somebody who's a,
16:48
a huge Illinois fan would, would do that.
16:51
I I I don't see any bias at all. I love that rivalry.
16:54
It extends so many layers, does it not?
16:56
Anything else, TC. Yeah.
16:58
Great stuff, Tom. Thank you as always, Tom Caker,
17:00
appreciate what you do. We'll be over, obviously in
17:04
Chicago for the for the tournament gets underway.
17:07
When will I will play for the first time?
17:08
Is it Wednesday? Yeah, if Ohio State wins
17:13
tomorrow against Indiana, then we're basically we're locked in.
17:17
We're locked into the the 9:00. But if they lose, if Indiana
17:22
wins, then it opens the door for I would have climbed back up, I
17:25
think. So we'll see.
17:27
Good stuff. We'll talk to you next week,
17:28
Tom. Thank you.
17:29
Appreciate it, as always. See you, buddy.
17:30
Thanks, guys. Yep, Tom Cacart,
17:32
hockeyreport.com as we check in on Iowa and on Three on Three
17:38
and Rivals.com for Tom. Yeah, I would need to win
17:40
against Nebraska and a Buckeye lost.
17:42
They would then jump to the eighth seed.
17:44
And when will they tip? 11 AM on Wednesday as the ninth
17:48
seed and as the eighth seed also 11 AM on Thursday.
17:55
It's not working out well for us, is it?
17:57
It happens. I know, I know because I would
18:00
stay and play at the same time. It was 11. 30 half hour between
18:04
the two of them. Where was what are we going to
18:08
talk about? Let's do a feature on harness
18:10
racing. With it, if there was ever a
18:13
time to do it, that would be the moment.
18:16
We'll still be talking about. People will be looking for
18:17
reaction, we'll be hitting half time at different games, things
18:19
like that. There'll be plenty of to do.
18:21
Drake is up 10. Holy crap, I'm shocked.
18:25
I I really. Am too Belmont's the one seed in
18:28
this thing. They're the first media time out
18:30
of the second-half. 5848 yard Bulldogs trying to get the
18:34
Saturday. And Panther fans have to like
18:37
this, and Brave fans have to like this.
18:39
Everybody else in the conference is still alive.
18:41
Has to like, look, there's a long way to go. 1553 left, but
18:45
we're talking about a Drake Bulldog team who was just awful.
18:48
And a Drake Bulldog team that at one point this year had an 18
18:52
point lead against Belmont and coughed it up and lost it,
18:56
coughed it up. So don't be buying those tickets
18:58
for Saturday quite yet, doggy fans.
19:00
Looking for hotel rooms for Saturday night?
19:03
Just that's. Let me pump the brakes just a
19:05
little bit. Larson, Lawson Larson leads the
19:08
way with 18. Quinn 14.
19:11
My guy, Shuttler's got a handful at 5.
19:14
Federico's still blank, but yo-yo, yo-yo yo.
19:18
Eugene Repay on Iowa State next. Miller and Condon, Glad you're
19:22
with us on Des Moines Sports Station one O 6.3 KXNO.
19:27
Hi, Miller and Condon coming up on 1:30 here, Iowa Sports Radio
19:30
Network. I want to shout out to our
19:33
affiliates throughout the state of Iowa.
19:35
Grateful that you're listening wherever you're listening,
19:37
however you're listening. We'll take you until 2:00.
19:40
Lucas Strain and we'll be joined by Ben Hutchins from 2:00 until
19:43
5:00 here today. Overtime, Iowa 5 until 6.
19:47
Let's talk Iowa State, shall we? Senior day in Ames tomorrow.
19:51
Always an emotional day. Eugene Repay covers the Cyclones
19:54
for thedesmoinesregister.com. He is with us.
19:57
Eugene Trenton, Ken, thank you as always for coming on.
19:59
How are you, Eugene? Think they're already at the
20:04
last regular season game and last one at Hilton?
20:07
Indeed crazy gone so fast. So obviously it's going to be,
20:11
you know, emotional especially got to believably.
20:15
Everybody loves Jefferson. I get it.
20:16
Heisey's had a nice career, etcetera, etcetera, but Damon
20:20
lips, he's 1 of theirs right? He's a names kid and what he has
20:24
meant to this program and what he has played through to to be a
20:29
part of it, the sacrifices that he's made.
20:31
There's going to be a lot of tears.
20:32
I got a feeling with. Tame and Lipsey takes the floor
20:35
and is recognized on Senior day. Let's start there I.
20:40
Think right now it's he's kind of keeping it cool, but also I
20:43
think the moment hasn't fully sunk in yet.
20:45
Like I feel like once he actually walks onto the court,
20:48
holds his jersey up, is surrounded and serenaded by the
20:52
fans with tears and all that, that's when it will finally hit
20:56
him. But right now, it is a pretty
20:58
surreal moment. You don't really see four year
21:01
players anymore, which is crazy to think it was a different
21:03
story four or five years ago. And now Tim and Lipsy is only
21:07
one of a handful in the Big 12 to say that he stayed at the
21:10
same school for all four or five years if they redshirted.
21:13
But yeah, it's a it's a rare breed now.
21:15
And especially for a Lipsy as the hometown kid who's been a
21:17
Cyclone lifer, it's going to definitely be emotional.
21:20
Fran for Sheila talks about the the Lipsy plays right where he
21:23
just comes out and don't wear it, gets a rebound, gets a swat,
21:26
whatever it is, he is that kind of it's the effort that goes on
21:29
top of it. Ken mentioned and Ames kid, he
21:31
got that component too. There's not many guys that you
21:35
can think of. You just talk about playing hard
21:37
and coupled with the injuries that he's gone through, there's
21:39
just so much there. It is a guy that is pretty
21:42
reserved. One of my favorite moments is
21:45
back at Big 12 Media Day. You know, they do those video
21:47
clips and they play them throughout the year.
21:49
It was one of the games. A couple weeks ago, Taban was
21:51
asked about his favorite summer moment that he had.
21:55
Oh, I remember. Yeah.
21:56
Yeah, this is good. He didn't bring up his marriage,
21:58
his marriage, his wedding. And then, but he, that's who he
22:02
is. You know, he's just, he's a
22:03
reserved guy. He's easy to root for and he
22:05
plays so Dang hard. This is going to be an emotional
22:09
one I think for a lot of people. And a guy that he just sticks, I
22:12
think with Cyclone fans in a completely different way.
22:14
A local guy that plays at that level every time he's out there,
22:18
even as he's banged up throughout his whole career.
22:21
Yeah. You look at the values and the
22:22
things that I would say preaches that toughness, that grit, that
22:25
maximum effort, that all out attack, all out attitude.
22:28
That's tame. And let's see, like he embodies
22:30
what the Cyclone philosophy is, but also when you factor in all
22:35
the different injuries that he had and maybe some that he's
22:37
never disclosed that he's played through, it's really admirable.
22:41
And he's done that for all four years.
22:43
Like every year, there was always something he battled
22:45
through it and he continued to be a top contributor both ends
22:49
of the court to like just his value and what he brings to
22:52
winning. There's there's definitely the
22:54
stats, there are definitely the steals and things like that.
22:56
But just his presence alone, like when he's on the court, I
22:59
know Cyclone fans feel the type of way, his teammates feel the
23:02
type of way. And it's going to be weird next
23:05
year. Not seeing #3 came and let's see
23:07
or hearing from Ames, IA, things like that, that it's going to
23:11
feel a little real surreal when it happens next year.
23:15
I wonder if there'll be a gold medalist for an Olympic gold
23:18
medalist in the crowd tomorrow. I'm guessing Heisey's parents
23:21
will be there as a sister. Taylor, who won a gold medal
23:23
with the US women's hockey team, coming to, you know, tomorrow
23:26
for the event. Yeah, he hasn't said anything,
23:29
but I would imagine for for senior day, just him being able
23:32
to walk up there again. Like it feels like it's it would
23:35
be a perfect timing for her as well to be able to join his
23:38
parents and and kind of cheering Nate on and honoring him and
23:41
what he's done over the two years that Iowa State, but also
23:44
just his college career. Overall.
23:46
Another guy that's going to get a pop is Jefferson and a guy
23:49
that had a big decision this summer and it felt like for 2440
23:54
that. Was.
23:55
LSULSU yeah, LSU that was coming with a big time offer and I
23:59
don't know if I was state matched it, but they they made
24:02
it more comfortable. Certainly at the very least.
24:04
A guy like that, a guy that is so talented, multifaceted, you
24:07
look at the way that he plays, points, rebounds, assists, he
24:10
does a little bit of everything. Jefferson, looking back at his
24:13
career when he came in from Saint Mary's, I remember those
24:15
first couple games, he knew he's going to be good, didn't think
24:18
he was going to be this guy good.
24:20
And he's second still at the stats of Ken Pomp for national
24:23
player of the year. That's the level that he's
24:25
playing at. Your thoughts on senior Joshua
24:27
Jefferson? It's amazing to see his
24:29
trajectory over the last two seasons because when he did come
24:32
in, he was still a little bit of an unknown in the sense that he
24:34
was coming off of the injury. His summer was super limited.
24:38
They didn't really get a full look at him.
24:40
His preseason was still compromised a little bit.
24:43
Like you mentioned, he played well to start the year, but then
24:45
he became an all conference guy, super versatile, does it all.
24:49
And then going into this year, what was senior year Joshua
24:52
Jefferson going to look like? And across the board, I think he
24:55
multiplied his contributions. He multiplied his output and
24:59
he's just become even better. Like was there another level?
25:02
How is he going to reach it? And I think he did reach it.
25:04
He had the the tough game against Arizona.
25:06
But if you look at his body of work and what he's done
25:09
throughout the year, it's amazing.
25:10
And this is another silent assassin to a guy that doesn't
25:13
really say much. He's not flashy, he just kind of
25:16
plays hard and lets his play speak for itself.
25:18
He he's a very competitive guy and he's definitely become a fan
25:21
favorite. So I think he's going to also
25:23
get a a very nice reception for him too.
25:25
But just in two years, making Ames really feel like home for
25:28
him coming from Las Vegas, going to Saint Mary's to start his
25:32
college career, makes the jump for the power conference and
25:36
then becomes one of the top players in the conference but
25:38
also in the country. It's been a great two years for
25:40
Jefferson and that's going to be another guy that Cyclone fans
25:43
are going to miss next year. No question about it, a lot of
25:45
guys had tough games against Arizona.
25:47
As we go back to Monday, are we seeing 2 Rays minutes kind of go
25:53
go down at the expense of Bateman getting more of those
25:56
minutes based on his offensive production, the fact that, yeah,
25:59
he missed a lot of threes in the game, but he what?
26:01
He didn't make three in a row or something like he made four
26:03
overall, But there's 2 or 8 minutes starting to go away and
26:06
Bateman starting to pick up those minutes.
26:09
It feels like every time Bateman takes the court, he gives TJ
26:13
Altelberger and his staff a reason to keep him on.
26:15
I felt like they even had a slow start offensively in the in the
26:18
first half against Arizona, where I think he missed his
26:21
first five, but then he finished four for 10.
26:23
So he did the second-half, he he was shooting the ball well
26:26
there. But just Bateman his, his
26:28
intensity on both ends of the court has seemed to be apparent.
26:31
And each week it seems like he's getting better.
26:33
He's really hitting his stride tough for Torre right now.
26:36
He's been hitting a wall offensively.
26:38
He's still a great contributor defensively.
26:39
You could see that he's still just a just such a hard worker
26:43
on ball and things like that. But with Bateman playing well
26:47
and we're starting to see those minutes shift his way a little
26:49
bit and also Dom Nelson fading out of the rotation, it it's
26:53
hard to keep Bateman off the bat, off the court when he's
26:56
playing well. So right now, I think that's
26:58
just what we're saying. I think it's just Bateman being
27:00
on such a tear over the last month, month and 1/2.
27:03
Speaking of on a tear, well, it's two in a row, but Arizona
27:06
State is playing better, of course.
27:07
Beat Kansas on Tuesday night, got the victory in that one.
27:11
This is different, though. It's on the road, and this is a
27:13
place that the Sun Devils have struggled mightily.
27:16
Still watching most of that Kansas game.
27:18
They got some dudes, They got some guys that definitely can
27:20
fill it up from the outside. Odom's a good shooter, got a
27:23
couple of big bodies inside, including a Diapa freshman.
27:26
It's unbelievable. They, I mean, we're seeing Iowa
27:29
State. They look tired.
27:31
They certainly don't look like the team we saw back in November
27:34
and December and January. How concerned should you be in a
27:37
game where, yes, they are a big favorite?
27:39
A what, 13 1/2 point favorite in this game with this Arizona
27:42
State team coming in? One of the interesting ones
27:47
because they did come off with the big win, but when you look
27:49
at Arizona State, they have 3 starters that are 611 or taller
27:53
and Iowa State has had a hard time on the boards and recent
27:57
losses and just in every game where they have lost in the in
28:01
their six losses, they lost on the the rebounds.
28:04
So that's going to be a big area to watch.
28:07
And also like you mentioned MO Odom, he's just such a great
28:09
score. Anthony Johnson off the bench
28:12
coming from the NINAIA level and becoming a 13.9 points per game
28:17
type of guy, a six man. So I think this Arizona State
28:20
team is better than the record suggests right now.
28:22
They they seem to be coming in with momentum.
28:24
Unfortunately, though they've struggled on the road this year.
28:27
They're only two and eight in Rd. games.
28:29
So I, I think I would state should still be in good hands,
28:33
but you can't let Arizona State size get to them.
28:37
I think that they're going to have to really double down on
28:38
their effort on the glass. You can expect the Sun Devils to
28:41
probably try to defend them in a similar way as Arizona because
28:44
they have all that size up front.
28:46
They might not have the same talent level, but when you have,
28:49
you know, 2611 guys and and job who's 71, they're going to cause
28:54
the pain. So I would say it has to be
28:56
deliberate. They have to be purposeful in
28:57
their half court offense, but they definitely without the
29:01
doubt have to win on the glass. Blake Buchanan has been a
29:03
workhorse on that side. He's had 14 offensive rebounds
29:06
over the last two games. But I think as long as Irish
29:09
State is able to win on the boards and be patient and
29:13
deliver it with its offense, it should be able to break down the
29:16
Sun Devils. Eugene Repay, Des Moines
29:18
Register. I guess a couple more minutes
29:19
with Eugene. Eugene, do you know how TJ and
29:22
the coaching staff handled the rest of the week after they got
29:25
back from Tucson? Was there any chance they locked
29:28
the doors and told the guys to just stay away and get some
29:30
rest? How did they handle this week do
29:32
you know? I know that when they got back,
29:36
I think they got back Tuesday or yeah, Tuesday or Monday night,
29:40
whenever it was, I think Tuesday was off.
29:42
Wednesday I believe they were back in action.
29:46
But I think it was pretty much kind of kind of a similar speed
29:51
or at least that's what they reporting to us.
29:53
I I don't know if there was an actual change, but one thing
29:57
that they have mentioned is that everyone's kind of felt an
30:00
increased urgency that just naturally comes with this time
30:02
of year. Just because it you know, it's
30:04
March, you, you've suffered back-to-back losses now and all
30:08
of those all of a sudden you can't really stay next game or
30:10
next week anymore. Like this is the last regular
30:12
season game, Big 12 tournaments the next week and then after
30:16
that it's winner go home. So I, I think there was a little
30:18
bit of soul searching. I don't know if they pumped the
30:21
brakes on, on some preparation or, or, you know, gave some guys
30:24
time to rest exactly, but it definitely seems to be like
30:28
everyone's kind of feeling the gravity of, of what's ahead and,
30:31
and they're really trying to regroup and, and get back on
30:35
track here. Off your beat Tommy Birch has
30:37
got the women covered but down in Kansas City one and done for
30:40
them. Frustrating season pre season
30:43
top 10 for a lot of people and certainly going to fall short of
30:45
that. I saw one of the bubble
30:47
projections, Bracken projections had them as one of the last four
30:50
teams into the bracket and down. Nature of the big twelves this
30:54
season. A lot of frustration.
30:55
Eugene, I'm sure you're hearing the same thing from Cyclone fans
30:58
and a team that had a lot of promise and definitely didn't
31:01
deliver the season people expected on the women's side.
31:04
Yeah, that that soul crushing loss to Arizona State was just
31:08
an absolute shocker. Absolute.
31:09
Just took the words out of everyone's mouth.
31:12
I think that there was so much promise to start the year and
31:14
then unfortunately when those injuries started to hit, it
31:17
looked like things were dire. Then at some point Iowa State
31:19
started to figure things out again and then all of a sudden
31:22
it's been shaky down the stretch.
31:25
That loss to Arizona State was just absolutely just a
31:28
disappointing 1. I don't even think disappointing
31:30
fully encompasses it, but right now I, I, they're sweating it
31:34
for Selection Sunday. And it's just crazy to think of
31:37
where they were to what they had achieved at one point when they
31:40
were peaking. Like you think back to when they
31:42
won the side Hawk game and just kind of the vibes that were
31:45
surrounding during that unbeaten start.
31:47
And now all of a sudden, just such a sharp fall from grace.
31:50
We'll see what happens on Selection Sunday, but but
31:52
definitely a tough finish or a tough a tough last showing at
31:58
the Big 12 tournament for the women's team.
31:59
When do you and Travis Hines get to to Kansas City?
32:02
Begin coverage of the men's term and Tuesday or Wednesday.
32:06
Tuesday, Tuesday morning, early Tuesday morning is what it's
32:10
sounding like. Good stuff.
32:12
We'll read you as we always do. desmoinesregister.com.
32:14
desmoinesregister.com for Eugene Repay.
32:17
He joins us every Friday. Eugene, thanks for jumping on.
32:20
Appreciate it as always. We'll talk to you in a week's
32:23
time, if not before. Thanks, Eugene.
32:25
Thank you guys so much, have a good weekend.
32:26
Yeah, we do the same. Eugene Repay Des Moines Register
32:29
Drake by 16 22 left in the basketball.
32:34
Game. So before the last break, I took
32:36
a peek. Guess what?
32:37
You could have got Belmont. It was 12 at the time.
32:38
It was 6048 at the time that I looked.
32:41
What do you think he could have got the Bruins on the money line
32:44
to come back and win that game. There was what, 15 minutes much
32:48
plus 185? And I was like, that's it.
32:51
Yeah, it's Drake Belmont. Domination.
32:55
Hey, I want to take a minute before we go to break.
32:57
Bob Harlan, did you ever talk to Bob Harlan, the president of the
33:00
Green Bay Packers? No, grew up in Des Moines,
33:02
graduated from darling Kevin Harlan's father, Brian Harlan's
33:07
father. So Bob Dyer and I back at the
33:10
turn of the century. Sounds like 100 years ago,
33:13
right? But it was 2000, so we had Bob
33:16
Harlan's number. He would answer his own phone
33:20
with the Packers. This is a true story.
33:22
We had him on all the time. No secretary, no secretary.
33:25
Pick up Bob Harlan. But he was a Des Moines guy.
33:28
And I don't know how Dyer knew him, but he did know him.
33:31
And that led to a relationship with his son, Brian, who at the
33:34
time was the head of public relations with the Chicago
33:37
Bears. Oh, wow.
33:39
Do you know his story? I do not.
33:41
He got busted gambling. Oh, yeah, way before, uh huh,
33:47
gambling was even thought of. Well, maybe one day this will be
33:50
legal. And of course, he was, you know,
33:52
blackballed from the NFL. Very quickly, he opened up a, he
33:56
became an agent. And he's got some big, big
33:59
clients. John Harbaugh is one of his
34:00
clients. But.
34:01
But Bob Harlan, president of the Green Bay Packers, passed away
34:04
yesterday, age of 89. Born and raised in Des Moines,
34:07
went the Dowling Catholic. But yeah, he was a really nice
34:11
gentleman, really good dude. But I wanted to bring that up in
34:14
case anybody knew Bob Harlan in the listing on.
34:17
People certainly knew of him because, you know, other than
34:20
the kind of Super Bowl trophy's named after and the guy the
34:24
stadium's named after, they say that he is right there on the
34:29
list about the Big Three and Lambeau and Lombardi and Harlan,
34:33
what he meant to the Green Bay Packers.
34:35
So away from that, something that jumped out that I had in my
34:39
notes that I wanted to talk to you about is I don't know if you
34:43
invested with me when I was trying to tell you about North
34:46
Carolina and getting Caleb Wilson back and maybe a final.
34:50
Four. No, I did not.
34:51
And they were a big price, too. 20 to 1 is where I got him at
34:54
one point. Is he back?
34:56
Sources UNC Is Caleb Wilson out for the rest of the season after
35:01
the surgery? You know, I could see it coming
35:04
because he's a lottery pick. Oh yeah.
35:06
And I don't think North Carolina with him or without him is,
35:11
well, you could, you took a shot at 20 to 1 to get him there.
35:13
And when when he's in the line up there, a different basketball
35:16
team, there's no doubt about. That yes, he is so good.
35:18
But you don't like your ticket, now do you?
35:20
No, Tremble's a nice player. Yeah, but they.
35:24
They're going to need a bracket to open up for that.
35:25
So it's too bad because I look forward to this game, whether
35:28
it's in Chapel Hill or is it Hammond Indoor Arena on Saturday
35:32
night. And it's the final night of the
35:35
regular season most nights. And it's a major, major rivalry
35:38
game. Duke, North Carolina, play every
35:40
Saturday night before the curtain comes down.
35:43
And this could be a blow out. Yeah, there's not.
35:45
There's, I think it's 15 and a half, 16.
35:47
And boy, Janet Baransic's going crazy on her official right now.
35:51
Her team is down 6 to LSU watching it on the tube.
35:54
She was just lighting them up. Good for her.
35:57
Absolutely. Let them have it, Jenny, another
35:59
darling do. You remember her as a as a
36:01
player. Yes, yeah.
36:02
Oh, very well. Yep, Yep.
36:04
Jenny and I are the same age. Are you really?
36:06
Yes. I didn't know that.
36:07
Yep. Yeah.
36:10
I remember her brother Brian who went out to Albany, OK and had
36:14
Yukon as a 16 seed, the Albany Great Dane said.
36:17
Yukon on the ropes and sitting at the bar screaming at the TV
36:20
to see the 1st 16 go down. Alas, it didn't happen.
36:23
I have to wait a few more years. They had Lillis on that team and
36:26
they had a kid from Cedar Rapids also that were playing in
36:29
Albany, NY of all places. But apparently one of their
36:31
assistant coaches had ties to the state of Iowa.
36:34
Saw them AAU. And for guys back then, it was
36:36
something that always bothered me like growing up in the 90s
36:40
and seeing guys that and they go and play at Warburg.
36:43
They they go play at Koh and Simpson and, and I'm sorry, Iowa
36:45
Conference people don't get pissed off about that, but not
36:49
mid major basketball. OK, you're still not good enough
36:52
even for Drake or you and I, but low major basketball.
36:55
And how these guys, how they didn't even have offers from
36:58
places like this cuz you see some of these teams woof at the
37:02
bottom of the D1 level. But Albany, they figured it out.
37:05
Go out here to the state of Iowa.
37:07
That's under recruited. There was a kid from Cascade
37:09
that played at UNC Wilmington. That was another one.
37:12
They pulled an upset when he was on the squad.
37:14
There's been a bunch of those guys.
37:15
It's something that I will never be able to wrap my mind around.
37:18
Now. I know for some people, you
37:19
don't want to go that far away from college, too.
37:21
You don't want to go play and let's be honest, it's a crappy
37:24
league. Play in the Northeast Conference
37:25
or something like that and and play in front of hundreds of
37:28
people there. Yeah, where your whole family's
37:31
back in the Midwest. That makes sense for certain
37:33
people. But that was one thing that I
37:34
just always thought was interesting.
37:36
We see these guys that move on to these kind of weird locales
37:38
and have a ton of success. What is what's bail bond to come
37:42
back on the on the money line right now down 16722 left in the
37:46
basketball. Take a guess what the money line
37:48
price is as I. What, what, what was it before
37:50
and they were down plus one 85185.
37:52
Well, they got to be plugged, I mean with the plus 310.
37:57
Oh no, 15 to one. Are they now 12 to one?
38:03
They must have scored. They did though.
38:04
It's 786512 to 1 though. It just. 7860 so this is way
38:08
behind yes, absolutely. You're 78 six.
38:10
I'm 7357. How much time have you got left?
38:13
5:50 Left to play this is. 722, Come on, ESPN.
38:16
Let's go. They're behind.
38:18
I'm actually watching to hear too.
38:19
So we got a lot of things going on right.
38:21
Transplace it today. Their next Circus sports
38:23
sponsors Miller and Condon. 10 minutes before 2:00, Miller and
38:27
Condon, Iowa Sports Radio Network.
38:28
Down the stretch, they come at Enterprise Center.
38:31
What have you got for an update TC?
38:34
Give me one second I'm. Working on I think you said 7865
38:38
just under 6 minutes to play. Was your last update 7865?
38:44
Let's see if Drake is holding serve or Belmont starting to
38:47
come on in a little bit. Sphincters are getting a little
38:50
tight on the Drake bench and in the Drake fan section.
38:54
Oh boy. See Nate Bolton there.
38:56
Was he there? I didn't see him.
38:57
I'm sure he is. Drake is Drake.
38:59
Grad I talked to him about earlier the week and yes, so
39:01
every year doesn't matter how it's going going to be there.
39:04
Saw the Bolton family at the Drake you and I game as Jack and
39:08
his daughter Gwen were friends growing up.
39:10
How nice. In both preschool and before
39:13
that in daycare and they go to ninja class together.
39:15
Still ninja class 17 point lead. Oh, they're home free.
39:19
Home free, 458 left to go. Drake just knocked in a free
39:23
throw hit the front end of that one.
39:25
One seed is going down. They were Belmont was a 14 point
39:30
favorite. 13 point favorite is a big number.
39:32
I got it last night. I was.
39:33
I was. Who did you take?
39:35
Well, who do you think? The losing side?
39:37
I got 11 1/2 last night. 11 1/2 yes, you have 11 1/2 they're
39:41
getting beat 18. Because they don't have to pay
39:43
extra. Really.
39:45
So how many games you're betting today?
39:47
Let's see, we got Charleston Southern.
39:50
Well, that's already underway. What do we got?
39:52
Well, I'm going to jump on with Murray State the next game down
39:55
at Arch Ban is going to leave the 1 1/2 against UIC.
39:58
We've talked about UIC from 2. I just I don't get it.
40:01
I watch him. I'm like, this team's terrible.
40:03
And they, yeah, well, that's true too.
40:06
They didn't have a nine game losing streak in there.
40:08
So going to jump aboard with the Racers, going to play the Iowa
40:11
women tonight, going to lay it against Illinois.
40:12
I think the tired legs are going to show up. 6 1/2. 7 1/2 is what
40:16
I got it when I fired at that one last night.
40:18
Going to do the same with Michigan laying at 11 1/2
40:21
against Oregon. Playing that Angle team might be
40:24
a slow start, but eventually by the time we get to the
40:27
second-half and Illinois is not going to hit nine straight
40:29
threes against Iowa, are they? They can't do that back-to-back
40:32
games against the Hawkeyes. What's been a good defense and
40:36
finally can be Ohio against Miami of Ohio tonight, they're
40:40
getting 5 1/2 as the RedHawks try to finish the year
40:43
undefeated. Now, what are you rooting for?
40:47
That they just take care of business and just finish it off?
40:49
Or do you want to see? I want to see them.
40:52
I know it's terrible. I kind of want to see them have
40:54
to get to the tournament and win.
40:56
I want to see what happens. I want to see.
40:58
This would be 31 and O. 31 And OI want to see what happens if
41:04
they lose this one and then their first game there.
41:06
I want to see what happens if they only lose this game and
41:09
what they're seating is. I want to see all the scenarios
41:11
and obviously we can only get one.
41:13
Gotta get in. Don't I get their strength?
41:14
The schedule is awful. You know it's a bad luck.
41:17
Bruce Pearl, of course. Politicking for his kid.
41:20
Come on. Politics and politicking.
41:22
No, I know. I know.
41:23
It's just a bad luck. He is Bruce Pearl.
41:27
He's like Bruce Pearl, but when it's your son.
41:30
It just, I mean, I understand what he's doing.
41:32
Obviously he coached there and it's this kid that's there.
41:35
But come on, ESPN. Currently the net ranking for
41:39
Miami Ohio is 53. I'm bringing up their team
41:41
sheet. I want to see if it's been up to
41:44
yes. Still no games against quad 1A1
41:48
and O record against quad two. That is it. 16 and O against
41:52
quad 4. And what's the number tonight?
41:55
5 1/2. Is there T is that CBS Sports
41:58
Network? The Deuce?
41:59
It's the Deuce. The Deuce has it. 8:00 tip off
42:02
tonight. All right, so you got hockey in
42:04
your viewing this evening. I don't know what.
42:05
I've got. I don't think I do.
42:07
You're going to look for the Johnston girls to try to make it
42:10
79 in a row. Are you calling the game?
42:13
We'll have the game on 96.9 FM tonight with the Dragons against
42:17
Waukee Northwest. What would the record go to?
42:20
79 straight wins. Jesus be their third consecutive
42:22
state championship. Their last loss came back at the
42:25
championship game in 2023 against Pleasant Valley.
42:28
Last time that they lost to a team in the CIML was also that
42:32
seasons. They had two losses that year.
42:34
At 7:00. Tip 6:00.
42:35
Tip 6:00. Tip, 6:00 Tip and then they'll
42:38
be, I believe the 3A championship afterwards at 8:00.
42:41
Paul and the crew with IPTV will have the television broadcast of
42:45
that one and. Who's playing in that one?
42:47
Great question. DCG and no, that's that's 4A4A,
42:51
yeah. 3A's tonight. OK, I'd have to take a look.
42:54
I'm covering 5. You ask me too much.
42:56
As if I don't have. Enough I found the knowledge TC
42:59
I usually I can I can rely on you.
43:01
Can normally it's been a week I am busier than a mosquito.
43:05
Covering up, that's the expression I was a.
43:07
Cat as a mosquito at a nudist colony.
43:10
That was the one that I used to hear growing up.
43:11
I was busier when Bobby, you're busier than a cat covering up.
43:14
At the longest time I had no idea what it meant.
43:16
Still not sure I have a really. Little grasp I think I get.
43:19
It I think I get it too. You will get Lucas Strain and
43:22
Ben Hutchins there next. Miller and Condon weekdays, noon
43:25
to two. Thanks for being with us on the
43:27
Iowa Sports Radio Network, Iowa Sports Radio Network.