Latest / The Sooners On SI Podcast / Sooners On SI 327: New Arena, New Cornerback, New CBs Coach and Lots More

Transcript

Sooners On SI 327: New Arena, New Cornerback, New CBs Coach and Lots More · The Sooners On SI Podcast

0:12
[SPEAKER_02]: So, everybody, welcome on in that time and we get the sooner on SI Podcast here.
0:16
[SPEAKER_02]: And we got the whole squad per usual.
0:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Ray Trumpum, not the bunker this week.
0:21
[SPEAKER_02]: He's had a way across the world.
0:22
[SPEAKER_02]: We shipped him over to New Zealand to see if we could get us any football scoops, we'll see.
0:27
[SPEAKER_02]: But we got everybody ride Chapman here, hanging out in more America, which is now the traffic center of the world.
0:34
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't want to get into it.
0:35
[SPEAKER_02]: It took me an hour to get from South of campus to more yesterday at six o'clock, which was,
0:41
[SPEAKER_02]: But, sir, hopefully you are living a much better life up in the 9-1-8 John Hoover, the man of the legend.
0:47
[SPEAKER_02]: How are you doing?
0:48
[SPEAKER_03]: We have successfully dug up from all the snow, and we're looking forward to some spring weather, so come on weather man, don't let me down again.
1:00
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll try.
1:01
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll see, we'll see what the government cooks up for us over there.
1:05
[SPEAKER_02]: Spring weather, spring sports.
1:06
[SPEAKER_02]: We had our man Carson Field at Baseball Media Day, which we get to hear in a bit.
1:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Carson, how is life treating you this week?
1:13
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, a little bit stressful, big game for my NFL team on Sunday, so been a little bit nervous all week because of that, but all things considered pretty good.
1:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Like always got you covered with some good sooner stuff, so can't complain.
1:27
[SPEAKER_02]: In Clint Kubiak, we trust, for my money, the greatest offence of mine that has ever walked the world.
1:32
[SPEAKER_02]: Ryan Avery, Avery did you survive yesterday?
1:35
[SPEAKER_02]: We did a softball round table, which didn't seem like it was super extensive in the moment.
1:42
[SPEAKER_02]: And then I copy and paste it into our system and Ryan, we wrote 2200 words on Oklahoma softball.
1:48
[SPEAKER_02]: Why are we podcasting today?
1:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Hey, it's that time of the year, the people went softball and we're here to talk about it and write about it and everything so it was a nice little intro to the season here coming up today on suitors on SI.
2:06
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, be sure you go read that because otherwise Ryan and I just basically like yelled at the cloud to each other, which we do anyway, but yeah, wouldn't be the first time.
2:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, and actually, you know what, we could have just like turned on a microphone and just talked after media day.
2:21
[SPEAKER_02]: It was probably just transcribed on that.
2:22
[SPEAKER_02]: So we'll get that.
2:23
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll get to our big diamond sports preview here in a little bit.
2:26
[SPEAKER_02]: We got softball.
2:27
[SPEAKER_02]: We got baseball.
2:28
[SPEAKER_02]: We got men's and women's hoops like games that are happening that will get to, but before we get anywhere,
2:34
[SPEAKER_02]: on the Hoopsfront slash women's gym front for action actually happening in Norman America.
2:41
[SPEAKER_02]: The Oklahoma Supreme Court, I guess, helped push forward or remove some barriers for Oklahoma.
2:47
[SPEAKER_02]: It's been kind of a hard topic, frankly, to talk about when it comes to the arena district, to what Oklahoma wants to do in Norman, the University North Park district.
2:58
[SPEAKER_02]: What that would be as far as an arena for men's women's basketball women's gym, but guys It looks like the path has been cleared.
3:05
[SPEAKER_02]: The appeal was dismissed or denied or whatever Varbage.
3:08
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't do the law.
3:09
[SPEAKER_02]: I watch football you guys know this, but an arena that I know that the hope When it was announced and passed through it all that was maybe by the 2728 season it might be operational We actually talked with jokes, Italy on this morning on some radio life and
3:26
[SPEAKER_02]: Optimistically, if you go, that was a year ago, the 28, 29, push it back with all these delays, but the fact that they're building a new arena in Oklahoma City, there's going to be a, like jokingly, on said, if you go back to the west side expansion, when you're building a arena in Oklahoma City, there's also a contract labor in materials and all that stuff that's happening at the same time with the stadium project in Norman, Oklahoma City's building an
3:54
[SPEAKER_02]: I would say my guess 29, 30 season might be the realistic like target for that, but they're ready to move dirt, enorman, and john, Oklahoma by virtue of not really themselves doing it, but helping working with Norman all that stuff.
4:10
[SPEAKER_02]: It looks like whether you love it, hate it, whatever, they finally have an answer to maybe move away from the late noble center.
4:16
[SPEAKER_03]: Well that'll take care of all the Oklahoma Basketball's problems won't it that'll fix everything solve all the part of most of the problems This is this we've talked about this before.
4:26
[SPEAKER_03]: This is a little bit of a lipstick lipstick on a pig situation The pig needs some work the basketball program is a whole needs some work certainly the arena will breathe new life into new energy into the into the program into the fanbase So I look forward to that.
4:41
[SPEAKER_03]: I look forward to going to a game sitting down in an 8,000 cd arena and seeing it full
4:45
[SPEAKER_03]: Right.
4:45
[SPEAKER_03]: That's what we need to see.
4:47
[SPEAKER_03]: I hope it turns out that way.
4:48
[SPEAKER_03]: I hope it starts that way at least Because there's there's a lot of people that are saying this is going to be great.
4:54
[SPEAKER_03]: This is going to be great Well great.
4:56
[SPEAKER_03]: That's awesome in here.
4:56
[SPEAKER_03]: Now all you've got to do is get your butt to the game and not leave early Right.
5:01
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean that's what we've seen over the last 15 years or so of Oklahoma basketball
5:07
[SPEAKER_02]: We had those scene here recently, Carson.
5:10
[SPEAKER_02]: You think back to the Arkansas game, I know three admissions stuff like that, but a terrible basketball team, Oklahoma fans, showing out for it.
5:16
[SPEAKER_02]: You look at the Alabama game, I know that attendance was pretty well attended.
5:21
[SPEAKER_02]: Let's not talk about the Florida experience.
5:23
[SPEAKER_02]: That was a Tuesday night, going heads up with thunderstorms, Yaddi Adiata.
5:28
[SPEAKER_02]: We've seen on the women's side a sellout against Ella.
5:30
[SPEAKER_02]: Shew, a really good crowd came back against South Carolina, different product on the women's side of the Lloyd Noble Center.
5:37
[SPEAKER_02]: It's been a really weird year for just the discourse of Elie Baswell because we've talked about a bunch of times, there's a billion things, but I would put 0% of this year's blame on the fan base because despite getting sold the same week, despite having groundhog day for Porter Moser's program of how these games go, all that stuff.
5:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Famous has been out there and I thought they'd actually like, I think they've been more resilient as fans than I have as someone who authorizes or requests coverage from you of the team because
6:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no.
6:08
[SPEAKER_00]: That's definitely true.
6:09
[SPEAKER_00]: I think just getting a new building, getting somewhere shinier, newer, to watch a basketball game only helps.
6:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Like John said, there is plenty of work to be done to get this min's basketball program specifically back on its wheels.
6:24
[SPEAKER_00]: But I think a new shiny arena not having the league's worst gem anymore, I think that is big, especially you look at the basketball market around Oklahoma with the only professional team being the Oklahoma City Thunder.
6:37
[SPEAKER_00]: People are invested in basketball out here, and Oklahoma State and Oklahoma both are kind of in this purgatory of not being amazing.
6:45
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you could kind of get even just a little momentum, I think would draw a lot of
6:50
[SPEAKER_00]: already owe you fans slash alums back into the gym and maybe pulling some new fans too.
6:56
[SPEAKER_00]: So I mean, I think there's a lot to capitalize, but to whose point there's there's more than just the arena that needs to be fixed a little bit.
7:05
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's kind of widespread, Ryan.
7:08
[SPEAKER_02]: But if you go on a coaching search here shortly, or things like that, this is not, I think going to like move the needle with the crew.
7:14
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how much in the NIO layer like what your gym does does move the needle with the crew's anyway regardless, but this might be at least one selling point to like, hey man, there's a bunch of stuff that you got to figure out, but at least you got one moving in some direction off the top of the pile, because as you know, Ryan, you've covered this for a very long time.
7:33
[SPEAKER_02]: Uh, as long as all of us have been alive and uh, bounced around Norman for various things, the Lloyd Noble Center has kind of been this, uh, a nigma of like there's no real great answer.
7:45
[SPEAKER_02]: It's, I don't know if to tear it, like they've done enough to make it fine, a baseline, stuff like that, but it's hard not to watch Oklahoma and Texas, or Oklahoma, excuse me, the men's of women's teams who both made their way down to Texas.
7:58
[SPEAKER_02]: And you see Moody Center and you see, hey, that's,
8:01
[SPEAKER_02]: eight nine thousand for a basketball set up different for concerts and different stuff like that, but everybody's in the lower bowl.
8:07
[SPEAKER_02]: The sweet stuff is upstairs.
8:09
[SPEAKER_02]: It feels like a nice intimate atmosphere environment to watch a college basketball game, which certainly wouldn't hurt anything for either hoop squad or KJ Kinler's absolute just machine that is the women's gym program.
8:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, no doubt about it.
8:25
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is the direction that college sports is heading.
8:29
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not as much about the attendance numbers.
8:33
[SPEAKER_01]: It's about giving those that do come the best experience possible.
8:38
[SPEAKER_01]: And the fact is at Lloyd Noble Center.
8:40
[SPEAKER_01]: without a complete gutting that is very cost prohibitive, especially when compared to this, that was never going to be the case there.
8:50
[SPEAKER_01]: It is an arena that's built for a little bit of everything, so it does nothing well, and it does nothing worse, I think, than basketball.
9:00
[SPEAKER_01]: the fans that are should be the closest are, you know, really far away, you know, if you have a center court seats front row, you're still a long way away from the action at LNC and there's just no way they've tried some different things to try to mitigate that, but the fact is they haven't been able to and it's on campus in name only, so students have a
9:29
[SPEAKER_01]: being on the south side in Norman.
9:31
[SPEAKER_01]: It's really difficult for fans in Oklahoma city to get there for early games or want to hang out for late games.
9:40
[SPEAKER_01]: I think this fixes a little bit of that and sort of you know turns things you know to the right side a little bit as far as that goes.
9:51
[SPEAKER_01]: And
9:51
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't think, like you said, I don't know that it moves the needle much, recruiting wise, but it's at least one more barrier to success, remove from a stack of barriers that they've got to, you know, get to work on.
10:07
[SPEAKER_02]: I think more than anything like you're talking about, to move the fans closer, it's like, Carson, we were booked there for the Texas game release, I stayed for the first half while I was doing some softball, media day stuff, loud, great atmosphere, all that stuff.
10:19
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't think that that's ever the game that I'm thinking of.
10:21
[SPEAKER_02]: It's like, hey, that Tuesday night against Florida, when maybe you don't have,
10:26
[SPEAKER_02]: The whole squad come out, but if you have 6,000 people there and everyone's packed in really close to the action, it can still create an atmosphere of help fans create an atmosphere despite the fact that you don't need to have 12,000 people or stuff like that.
10:40
[SPEAKER_02]: And I think that when you look at the average attendance, certainly for all you know, she's since the thunder have moved in.
10:45
[SPEAKER_02]: getting to a place where there's maybe a bit more demand and the people that are getting in the building really want to be in the building.
10:51
[SPEAKER_02]: It's one of those things that I think we all know this 8,000 fans in the right setup can sound double 10,000 fans.
10:58
[SPEAKER_02]: If you get everybody there and so I think it benefits all of that and of course it did.
11:03
[SPEAKER_02]: I know you don't have tons of experience with this, but I'm also not a big warrior about the student conversation.
11:10
[SPEAKER_02]: If you ever go to that target that's over there, everyone from that lives on Shotakwa does all their shopping over there at that target.
11:18
[SPEAKER_02]: They seem to make it over there just fine when they need to grab some food or some Starbucks.
11:22
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't think it's going to matter much.
11:24
[SPEAKER_02]: There's not many people walking from sorority and fraternity row and walking from the dorms to the LNC anyway.
11:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no, that's 100%, right?
11:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Just getting somewhere that's a little bit more of an intimate setting like you mentioned, get it more compact.
11:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Because as you said, this atmosphere can be good.
11:41
[SPEAKER_00]: It's never going to be rubber peanuts.
11:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Never going to be the biggest venue the loudest venue in the SEC, like Arkansas, for example.
11:49
[SPEAKER_00]: But this program definitely, as far as that, and this fear has a much higher ceiling than it's at right now, removing a couple of thousand seats and getting this to be,
11:58
[SPEAKER_00]: A place to be again, I think that's huge, I mean, game against Texas, that's not really shocking with the rivalry, both teams being fairly even and you saw that in that game.
12:07
[SPEAKER_00]: So I mean, there was, there have been good atmospheres this year, but getting that more consistent, I think that'll be more consistent when they get a shine near place.
12:17
[SPEAKER_00]: Just somewhere where it feels like you're close to the action opposed to being pretty far out at the LNC.
12:24
[SPEAKER_03]: I have a follow-up question, if I may, uh, John Hoover, as soon as on that side, um, the, uh, the annual McCaslan game, is that gonna go away, you think?
12:33
[SPEAKER_03]: I bet they keep that.
12:36
[SPEAKER_02]: I wasn't.
12:37
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, depends on who they can get because it's a poor segmented before they think like a special waiver or maybe it's just special approval from the opponent because of some of the setup stuff like that.
12:47
[SPEAKER_02]: But it's like if if pine bluff wants to come in and keep doing that game and I don't think you're getting 8,000 fans for a pine bluff game anyway, so throw a bone to the students or stuff like that.
12:58
[SPEAKER_03]: the other question I would have is the 11,000 people that signed a petition to not to stop this thing stop the progress of this thing.
13:06
[SPEAKER_03]: There's 11,000 people are they now on some kind of shadow ban list where they don't they're not going to get season tickets and they're going to caught the door do not let this person in.
13:15
[SPEAKER_02]: You want the secret on that hoop is a almost life long-norn resident those people weren't going to the games anyway They just like to yell and maybe that's just selfish for me because This new arena would be literally like five minutes from where I live and the fact that I get a text from my mother who Mom knows best she works in okay see She is as die hard as it comes and every six p.m. tip-off for men's or women's basketball I get a raging text of I would just like to make tip-off once
13:44
[SPEAKER_02]: That's all I would just like to be able to have a shot at getting to my seat to get to tip off one time because she's like, I get off work at five.
13:53
[SPEAKER_02]: There's nothing else I can do and we'll see if my mom here in a couple years can finally fulfill her life long dream of getting back to a OU tip off at six p.m. because.
14:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Trust me.
14:05
[SPEAKER_02]: It's one of those things I was laughing.
14:06
[SPEAKER_02]: We get this on radio.
14:07
[SPEAKER_02]: My mom was part of the, uh, just absolute hoard of students that used to sell out like half of the Louis Noble Center.
14:14
[SPEAKER_02]: You just ain't that anymore.
14:15
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know what to say.
14:16
[SPEAKER_02]: My generation sucks of sports fans.
14:17
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know.
14:18
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm sorry.
14:19
[SPEAKER_02]: I guess to everyone, but
14:20
[SPEAKER_02]: I think that it'll be okay and you get a little entertainment district in there as well It's certainly something Norman wants to do and in the meantime I say they should just play at the Tray Young Center anyway because Who cares that the way this team plays that's where they belong currently least on the men's side of
14:37
[SPEAKER_02]: things.
14:38
[SPEAKER_02]: Somebody else who is into new stadiums, new arenas.
14:43
[SPEAKER_02]: That is now former Oklahoma Quarterbacks coach J. Voli.
14:48
[SPEAKER_02]: We were aware like some Notre Dame rumors.
14:51
[SPEAKER_02]: Some NFL team is poking around and he said, I'd like to go to the franchise opening up a new stadium this fall.
14:58
[SPEAKER_02]: He's headed over to Buffalo if you were on Twitter on Wednesday morning.
15:02
[SPEAKER_02]: He put out an official
15:05
[SPEAKER_02]: Tweet graphic situation with a big nice message to Oklahoma fans.
15:09
[SPEAKER_02]: I thought it was also really genuine because love talking to J.V.L.I.
15:14
[SPEAKER_02]: if you talk to J.V.L.I.
15:15
[SPEAKER_02]: he speaks about a thousand words a minute.
15:17
[SPEAKER_02]: He is a very, very fast talker and I thought it was fitting that they needed like six point font because he had so much to spit out there.
15:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Someone that has not spent much time in any one place and tell he landed on printmanable staff at Oklahoma.
15:30
[SPEAKER_02]: I do think this is a pretty considerable blow gentlemen when you look at even these late last couple years when Gentry Williams has been healthy his excellent play he like bow and coming along as a freshman being able to instantly get there and Not getting worse in year two the carry cook special.
15:45
[SPEAKER_02]: He was actually good in year two Cortland Gillery as well building depth behind those guys Abraham it seems like this will be
15:53
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know, we put together the big hotboard, you and Carson A were put your heads together, so I'll get Carson here after this, but I would say of all the names to look at the two that we probably just circle back to is if I'd depict the two for me leaders in the clubhouse, Zager Brewer, who's the assistant already on staff, and then Dom Frank, someone that Oklahoma fans are plenty of plenty of familiar with, who's currently balling out as a coach at Tulsa.
16:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and there are a lot of, you know, fairly obvious candidates for, for this job with preventables connections with OU connections with, uh, preventables at OU connections, but yeah, those, those two seem to be the, uh, two that have been, uh, percolating, uh, more than any, uh, Xavier Brewer actually, we'll talk about this, uh, later, already, you know, uh, had, uh,
16:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Presumably a recruiting win.
16:45
[SPEAKER_01]: As OU got a cornerback commit for 2026 already, even without J.V.
16:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Li there.
16:53
[SPEAKER_01]: And he's got the experience being with Brent Venables for quite a while.
16:58
[SPEAKER_01]: He's been around the OU staff for quite a while.
17:03
[SPEAKER_01]: We've seen brim venables do this.
17:05
[SPEAKER_01]: Obviously it didn't work out great with subtle trail, but there were circumstances beyond that where this one maybe makes a little bit more sense.
17:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Then that one did plus just the reality of the current landscape of coaching and the fact that you can have many more coaches than you could just a couple of years ago.
17:25
[SPEAKER_01]: So it'll be interesting to see what they do, but certainly the recruiting momentum hasn't slowed
17:31
[SPEAKER_01]: they are going to miss java lie because his his energy his uh... acumen it developing players like you mentioned it hasn't always been this way we've seen a lot of guys come in play quickly and then regress uh... that hasn't been the case under java lie i think he did a really good job at building up the the depth uh... in in that corner back room and getting it to produce at a much higher more consistent level uh... then it was before he arrived
18:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and it's one of those things that I'm curious about the impact of this on Oklahoma's, obviously, the coaching staff, but the recruiting classes, too.
18:13
[SPEAKER_00]: You see players like Michaela McCreary, Michael Davis, some of the cornerbacks committed in future classes, curious to see if those commitments hold firm.
18:22
[SPEAKER_00]: So part of me thinks that.
18:24
[SPEAKER_00]: It's it's really wise that these are the two candidates, but because of Frank's connections and Brewers connections to the athletic department Maybe some of that ripple effect from somebody like javelio leaving maybe it's a little bit more minimal Maybe they're able to have a very similar philosophy Keep kind of what this
18:45
[SPEAKER_00]: What the secondary leadership has looked like keeping with that with either of those guys.
18:49
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that's a big part too But that's a heck of a job that JVoli is getting going to the Buffalo Bills one of the more consistent franchises in the NFL So I mean that's a pretty hard job to turn down Yeah, I don't know the other side of the guest's ability.
19:06
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm really interested in this is kind of like
19:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Outside it, let's set Ted Roof and Zach Ali off to the side for a second because that was an internal disparate venibals want to call the plays, trust somebody else call the plays, linebackers.
19:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Outside of that, you've had Todd Bates, Miguel Shavis, J.V.I.
19:22
[SPEAKER_02]: and Brandon Hall,
19:36
[SPEAKER_02]: just defensive stab.
19:38
[SPEAKER_02]: It's kind of interesting to see at plays or just you want to try to trust Ted Rupert's act.
19:41
[SPEAKER_02]: Alley did you that?
19:42
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, once Brent Vittles has figured that out, this is the first actual, like, big piece of this defensive stab that's not been a, I think, uh, play collar slash line backwards, which you'll always do linebackers.
19:52
[SPEAKER_02]: We're going to perform under Brent Vittles.
19:58
[SPEAKER_03]: Bates and Chavis are two guys that have been anchors for his defense obviously and then on the back side You know, it's like the linebackers coach have been cycled through a couple times But on the backside you've had these two these other two anchors ran a haul and java lie java lie look at some of the work He's done man when you do back to back Freshman all Americans at a position like corner back in the SEC two years in the SEC two freshman all Americans
20:21
[SPEAKER_03]: that's extremely impressive.
20:22
[SPEAKER_03]: He coaches him up, he can identify him, he can recruit him, and he can coach him up and develop him.
20:29
[SPEAKER_03]: I think it's a pretty big loss.
20:30
[SPEAKER_03]: It's not going to set the program back years or anything, but it's a pretty big loss, Oklahoma.
20:35
[SPEAKER_02]: And it's two guys, too, that I don't want to Courtland and Eli Bowen were highly coveted guys, but it's not like they were the the ultra five star top 15 star recruited It's like, okay Any of these guys should have been a freshman all the way to her hat or had a clear pathway It's been that one name we didn't put on the hotboard and John I'm gonna come back to you here.
20:56
[SPEAKER_02]: Should we have included a former five star bread and Bradley Hiles as a potential Quarterback coach replacement for Oklahoma and bring this leg chamber out of the Swissers center
21:04
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm gonna say no.
21:05
[SPEAKER_03]: That would be my quick answer.
21:07
[SPEAKER_03]: No.
21:08
[SPEAKER_02]: There's still the stuff like chip mining who I know is around for that, but that's like a Lincoln guy, not a Brent guy, not the Brince opposed to other people though, you connections, but it's one of the things of like, hey, they weren't going on defense.
21:20
[SPEAKER_02]: Why not go ahead and grab someone out of your connection that knows your defense and knows what you kind of do there.
21:26
[SPEAKER_02]: And as you alluded to Carson, the decision part three went down on Wednesday morning.
21:32
[SPEAKER_02]: LeBron is coming to Norman America.
21:35
[SPEAKER_02]: That is
21:36
[SPEAKER_02]: LeBron Bauer corner back from Alan Texas three star both in 24 seven sports and rivals Abraham cars were on the on the prowl try to figure out is Jim naggy eludes earlier.
21:52
[SPEAKER_02]: I guess eludes to a Tuesday night that hey by the way signing days still a thing the late signing day that was old signing day
21:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Amber, just what was your quick impressions that you encouraged as well of the addition?
22:02
[SPEAKER_02]: The first thing that said that to me Ryan was regardless of who it was, I just thought back to Jim Nagy on signing day very clearly said we would have really loved to grab another corner happy with what we got but would have loved to get one.
22:13
[SPEAKER_02]: So this made sense numbers wise.
22:15
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it really did and you know, you knew that they were going to go after another guy got a couple of guys who can play corner out of the portal, but wanted a high school guy.
22:25
[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, if you're going to dip your toes back into the high school recruiting scene, why not do it at Alan Texas and Alan has been fantastic produced so many great players, you know, over the years.
22:37
[SPEAKER_01]: And he was a really good one.
22:38
[SPEAKER_01]: He had, well, I think it was a five interceptions last year, played a big role in their special teams.
22:45
[SPEAKER_01]: a really flashy guy as far as star rankings, things like that.
22:49
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a three-star guy, but a guy that when you needed to fill a hole there seems like a pretty solid get for the February signing day.
23:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think it's a really big get.
23:02
[SPEAKER_00]: Just adding one more corner, obviously they got Derek Johnson.
23:05
[SPEAKER_00]: The second is part of the class that they signed in December.
23:08
[SPEAKER_00]: So adding one more is just huge for the depth in a position that likely the reps will be dominated by a courtling military by an Eli Bowen in this upcoming season.
23:17
[SPEAKER_00]: But just adding one more to that, and then you look at McCail McCreeory, McCail Davis, some of the guys they have in the 2027 class, I think the secondary even without a coach
23:31
[SPEAKER_02]: Another thing too, these are unofficial stats listed by LeBronbauer himself on his Twitter account when it comes to his huddle.
23:39
[SPEAKER_02]: And I'm not saying this means that suddenly, like, oh my gosh, Doug Deacon has found the great secret weapon.
23:45
[SPEAKER_02]: But it is worth noting, I'm just going to read through these again, these are self-reported by LeBronbauer.
23:50
[SPEAKER_02]: 50 tackles, six interceptions, eight pass break ups, five tackles for last one sack.
23:54
[SPEAKER_02]: Great, good job, two thumbs up.
23:56
[SPEAKER_02]: Six block punts, four block field goals, three on side kicker cover.
24:01
[SPEAKER_02]: happen.
24:01
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know.
24:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Also two defensive touchdowns are listed.
24:05
[SPEAKER_02]: Again, these are unofficial stats listed by LeBron himself.
24:10
[SPEAKER_02]: I was able to pull this up on like a max prepped and frankly, nothing.
24:14
[SPEAKER_02]: It's max prepped.
24:14
[SPEAKER_02]: I just did look.
24:15
[SPEAKER_03]: They played the the school from was it was.
24:19
[SPEAKER_03]: Faith will spring, spring, go.
24:21
[SPEAKER_03]: They got it never pots never kicks off.
24:23
[SPEAKER_03]: He just kicks on side kicks all the time.
24:24
[SPEAKER_03]: They must play them at least once.
24:26
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, somewhere in central Arkansas believe you.
24:29
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, little
24:31
[SPEAKER_02]: It looks good on a stat sheet though.
24:34
[SPEAKER_02]: I'll say that.
24:35
[SPEAKER_03]: He's a stat stuff for his name.
24:37
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, he certainly is so not saying he's going to come in and be Quarterly gillery off the bat or something like that, but listen, we can't get through a mention of that without noting.
24:48
[SPEAKER_02]: Hey, that's something that's there as well.
24:50
[SPEAKER_02]: So
24:50
[SPEAKER_02]: elsewhere in the football world it is kind of slow right now um guys working themselves into one of workout seems like that we're still a little bit around the corner from spring football that doesn't mean however that we don't have tons of football content for you on the website the website is okomisionersonassai.com or if you want to go to the hardrightsci.com slash college slash Oklahoma uh we got two big series going right now the first one
25:14
[SPEAKER_02]: from our pal Brady Tranttham.
25:16
[SPEAKER_02]: It's his spring forward series.
25:17
[SPEAKER_02]: He's looking at a bunch of the guys not transfers, but either on the roster right now, or maybe a freshman who's enrolled early who if they could have a big winter, big spring, maybe they put themselves either A in a spot for some big time playing time, or B, maybe Oklahoma needs a guy like this.
25:35
[SPEAKER_02]: For instance,
25:36
[SPEAKER_02]: Yesterday, linebacker James Nesta was one that Brady was talking about.
25:40
[SPEAKER_02]: Hey, if he could really come on strong, help bolster that linebacker that that would be huge as well.
25:45
[SPEAKER_02]: We got that series going right now.
25:47
[SPEAKER_02]: One a day every day for the next couple of weeks.
25:49
[SPEAKER_02]: Carson also has a big series going on.
25:51
[SPEAKER_02]: It's our transfer talk series where Carson, you're reaching out trying to find some behind the scene stuff of basically, hey, you guys have covered Parker Livingston.
25:59
[SPEAKER_02]: What was Parker Livingston like?
26:01
[SPEAKER_02]: Or stuff like that, which is always I find a super important series when you tackle that Carson.
26:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's been fun to learn more about these players talking from the people that covered them the first couple that I've written like you said park or living stone and then tied in Hayden Hansen from Florida.
26:17
[SPEAKER_00]: Sounds like both of those guys from the people I talk to had a lot a lot to say about the untapped potential especially with Hayden Hansen.
26:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Florida offense wasn't very good for the last three years when Hansen was a primary player,
26:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Cam Parker of Florida Gators on SI thinks that he could be really good in a local home offense and then Noah Gross of KXA and told me that there's a lot of just spark that Parker Livingstone brings to the offense.
26:47
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe kind of lost his role because of Cam Coleman coming to UT Ryan Wingo coming back, but still thinks that he could be a good playmaker somewhere like Oklahoma.
26:56
[SPEAKER_00]: So just getting kind of
26:58
[SPEAKER_00]: behind the scenes look to your point.
27:00
[SPEAKER_00]: I think's fun.
27:01
[SPEAKER_00]: Should be informative.
27:03
[SPEAKER_00]: I know last you when we did this.
27:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Some players got some negative predictions about them like Marvin Jones, for example.
27:11
[SPEAKER_00]: A lot of people were down on him, but he turned out to be a really solid piece on the defense.
27:15
[SPEAKER_00]: So I mean, it's not perfect.
27:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Some players may live up.
27:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Some people might not reach their expectations, but it at least gives at least a little foresight in what Oklahoma could be getting.
27:26
[SPEAKER_02]: Abraham and I are about to be flooding the zone with a ton of softball content and baseball will get going next weekend down in Arlington at the Schrinner's Hilder-Inns Classic.
27:36
[SPEAKER_02]: Sorry, I beg of the way tickets for that all week and all the words have run together.
27:40
[SPEAKER_02]: More of the story, if you want these two series, if you missed any of them, just go to the website, click the football tab, scroll, they're all there, you can read both at the same time.
27:48
[SPEAKER_02]: It's really, really good, and like I said, we got that going here for a couple of weeks and as always,
27:53
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll get through signing day.
27:55
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll quickly turn our attention to not just 2027, but 2028 recruiting, and we've got all that info for you.
28:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Carson's on top of it all, Oklahoma Sooner's on si.com.
28:06
[SPEAKER_02]: It is Wednesday today.
28:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Tomorrow is Thursday that's usually how the calendar works.
28:12
[SPEAKER_02]: 715 PM ESPN plus Oklahoma and Arizona State will somehow get the 2026 softball season underway, which I think is an absolutely just mind-blowing statement and I'm not ready for it, but thankfully we brought in the big gun ABER to make sure that we can get through all of this
28:32
[SPEAKER_02]: uh... through softball season abre Carson and i we were at media day for patty gassel on saturday we talked to patty we talked to elliparker kassie pickering we also talked to gaby garsia and kirsten deal that's the fourth there we go uh... as local home up will have that issue contest and they've got a three-gameset against air zona shout out to howard and uta state for pulling out of the kandra classic which is just making it an oh you air zona series instead of an actual like
28:59
[SPEAKER_02]: Multi-team event, but Ryan, we did put 200 words on the website this afternoon or this morning previewing the softball season, but For this medium, what you're want to do thing is questions for the softball team coming in.
29:13
[SPEAKER_02]: I know Oh the humanity, how can they ever rebound after simply following two games short of a fifth straight national title three games technically a year ago But what you kind of looking at here, especially as we get to the early stages of this season
29:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think one of the things specific to early in the season because I think both of us feel pretty similar about it long term is what that catching rotation is going to look like how much is Isabelle emirling play, you know, how does Kendall Wells adjust even though she looked fantastic.
29:44
[SPEAKER_01]: in the the the full i think ultimately that's kind of well's job there just the bat is too good and too consistent uh to keep her out of the lineup and then you know what is what is the outfit look like first of all uh patty gaso sound alike high minor was the choice in center field the way she was talking uh the other day we've seen minor just be fantastic we talked about it last week her defense
30:14
[SPEAKER_01]: and making a lot of really difficult plays look really easy because of the jumps that she's able to get, but also making some spectacular ones as well.
30:23
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that changes the dynamic of this defense, not that Hannah Corin and Abby Dayton were bad defensive players last year, but they certainly weren't Jayda Coleman.
30:33
[SPEAKER_01]: And Kai Miner is in that same breath, a Jda Coleman type of defender, and that can change your defense.
30:39
[SPEAKER_01]: And then we expect Abby Dayton to be in one corner capacity pickering to be in the other.
30:44
[SPEAKER_01]: But, you know, what does first base look like?
30:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Is that a Sydney Barker?
30:49
[SPEAKER_01]: who came on strong late last year or does Pickering make that move into first and you put Barker in right where she's got more experience and feels more comfortable.
31:00
[SPEAKER_01]: I think these are obviously some really good problems to have, but I think there's going to be a lot of intrigue going on around this team over these first couple months as Patty Gasso feels out what that lineup ultimately looks like.
31:14
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, as you know Ryan and is anyone who's locked into a ton of softball coverage Patty has had this line a lot where she believes that if you want to come in and be like an elite play you got to be able to play more than one position that that's where the first base conversation really gets interesting because if Cassie Picker who hasn't played much in field since really her 18 you like travel ball days if she could bump into first base that gives Patty not that Cassie's
31:41
[SPEAKER_02]: Unathletic, she's actually super athletic, but if you're talking about an outfield of Abbey Dayton, Sidney Barker and Kai Miner, that is just like a massive, this is one of the most athletic outfields in the country, and I think that free one for your sooner fans, you can just run the 80% of the world's covered by water, the other 20% is covered by Kai Miner, just get that fired up immediately, because that is what it is there.
32:03
[SPEAKER_02]: So,
32:03
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm interested to see just how that goes early on because if you watch the fall ball stuff everyone kind of moves around a little bit But pickering was working at first a lot more than just the Hey, I need you to play it in any or two of first so I can see everybody else It looked like something that Oklahoma really would like and and then they can go match ups and things like that and then
32:24
[SPEAKER_02]: That opens the door.
32:25
[SPEAKER_02]: Can you get tea of the way in the outfield for some of these reps, things like that?
32:29
[SPEAKER_02]: Because I think when you look at Nelly at third, gabby at shore, and I lot of agbionic at second, that's pretty settled in.
32:35
[SPEAKER_02]: And then the other thing is just going to be, I can't wait to see how this pitching staff kind of works its way out Ryan.
32:40
[SPEAKER_02]: We saw the Sam Landry.
32:41
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a reversion back to like a true ace a year ago.
32:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Just Kearston Deal and
32:47
[SPEAKER_02]: Miley, Wachania, bringing enough to have a true three-headed rotation and then sprinkle the freshmen in.
32:53
[SPEAKER_02]: What's that look like?
32:54
[SPEAKER_02]: Which I think they're going to be like patient ramping Sydney Burzon up into the season, just kind of managing some, uh, injury stuff that Patty talked about, like, anytime you're a veteran pitcher, you just got to manage that health a little bit differently throughout the fall into the early stages of the season.
33:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and I think it's going to be interesting to see, you know, I expect at least to start that, you know, Burjan, Wachino, and Kirsten Diel will be sort of the top three guns out of that, but how does that pitching staff look beyond that?
33:27
[SPEAKER_01]: I asked Patty Gesso and a couple of the players about Audrey Lowre's development.
33:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Patty was really high on that, sounded like she's going to be a reliever coming in and in certain situations that are advantageous.
33:43
[SPEAKER_01]: to her, but I think certainly there's a lot of room for her to grow from what we saw last year, and then, you know, what do these, the freshman pitchers look like?
33:53
[SPEAKER_01]: What, what is a list of Parker's role period, because she can play pretty much everywhere, and certainly has the talent to do that.
34:01
[SPEAKER_01]: How much does she pitch, how much does she hit in the order, Berkeley, Zackie, how much
34:09
[SPEAKER_01]: there so it it's going to be fascinating to see how this pitching staff shakes out.
34:14
[SPEAKER_01]: I think by the end of the season that Burzon is the ace, but I think early you're right, they're going to manage her workload and try to, you know, keep her healthy for that stretch run, late in the season if they can do that.
34:29
[SPEAKER_01]: She's got a chance to be special because I got a chance to go to Athens last year for the SEC tournament.
34:35
[SPEAKER_01]: And Ella Parker talked about it the other day, but she was making owe you hitters look foolish quite a bit in that game.
34:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Obviously, you came back and won it, but still was a difficult matchup for the sooners and will be a difficult matchup for a lot of teams this year.
34:54
[SPEAKER_02]: Not sure, odd dynamics the right way, but it's like, bursons been so good at LSU and it's a team they just can't like get over the hump these last couple years.
35:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Then you have Miley, who nothing was really expected of Ole Miss in the NCAA tournament, and they end up in Oklahoma City.
35:06
[SPEAKER_02]: So you suddenly got a picture that has all the SEC experience in the world who just needs that extra push to get.
35:11
[SPEAKER_02]: into the biggest games of the year at the list called series then someone who's experienced it all and maybe just searches like a freshman hey what's happened now it's like hey all those people in red they're cheering for you now mirely so let's see what that they look like Carson uh... as you you were there obviously for us at media what kind of so that's you from talking with l.a. Parker gaby Garcia uh... here's to deal in casty pickering is that it's a group that it's so weird
35:35
[SPEAKER_02]: So many like sophomores or second-year players in the program yet it feels as veteran as any softball team in the country
35:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, what really stood out is just how they were talking about this team is going to be more powerful than it was last year and I mean last year's team was very powerful certainly had some just explosive performances, but having people like Gabby Garcia, Cassidy Pickering and then adding somebody like Kindle Wells this team's going to hit a lot of wrong balls and that's going to be very fun to watch.
36:06
[SPEAKER_00]: I know that Kiersten deal talked a little bit about.
36:08
[SPEAKER_00]: How it's not very fun to go against these OU hitters in practice, but getting that experience that's going to be huge for the pitching staff, having somebody like deal back, then adding the transfers, maybe some more depth than last year in the rotation, but it's going to be interesting.
36:26
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just really excited to see some of these new bats, these younger bats, and how people that cast the pickering, Gabby Garcia, might be even better this year compared to their
36:38
[SPEAKER_02]: it uh... should be a ton of fun uh... who doesn't know this yet but that's okay and i bought it and asked in this year four o u taxes we booked that stuff yesterday don't worry uh... who it's budget friendly will be good there uh... and it ends up being as good as they were last year i know that in the pre-season stuff they kind of were projected to take a step back but we'll see that's going to be the seared the regular season finale maybe i would like mark by way down to the greater college station area at the end of the year i hear i hear call stations lovely
37:07
[SPEAKER_02]: That time of year, who knows?
37:08
[SPEAKER_02]: I can promise you this, though.
37:09
[SPEAKER_02]: If you're hankering for some softball coverage, don't you worry, from now until the dust settles in Oklahoma City, at least one softball story, every single day will be on the website, Oklahoma Studios on S.I.com.
37:23
[SPEAKER_02]: As Abraham, I have a extensive calendar.
37:25
[SPEAKER_02]: We have many stuff planned for you guys this year.
37:27
[SPEAKER_02]: And here's the good news.
37:28
[SPEAKER_02]: Abraham, I have been spitting falling for years about different coverage stuff.
37:31
[SPEAKER_02]: And then we do it for our own individual outlets.
37:34
[SPEAKER_02]: Now,
37:35
[SPEAKER_02]: we're doing it together, which means that we get to make sure we're like, hey, we think it's too similarly, let's do something different.
37:41
[SPEAKER_02]: But it'll all be on the website, OklahomaSoonersonSi.com.
37:44
[SPEAKER_02]: Sopo, it's going this weekend.
37:47
[SPEAKER_02]: one week behind for baseball they'll get going next week in skip johnson and crew stage their media day on Tuesday man the day is ready to get it Tuesday Carson was there as well another year Carson I think this is the fourth time in seven years or seven seasons that skips had to
38:07
[SPEAKER_02]: totally reload his entire weekend rotation because that's what Skip Johnson does.
38:13
[SPEAKER_02]: He gets guys in.
38:15
[SPEAKER_02]: He gets them to the league basically.
38:17
[SPEAKER_02]: That's kind of what that's happened in there.
38:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Some new improvements coming out to the now newly minted Kimory family stadium instead of LDL out there should be fun to see there.
38:28
[SPEAKER_02]: What stood out to you from baseball media day is where a week away from getting that going.
38:32
[SPEAKER_02]: But it seems that really quietly around campus.
38:35
[SPEAKER_02]: skip shots and is stoked about the squad that he's about to put on the field starting next weekend.
38:40
[SPEAKER_00]: He certainly is and he talked a little bit about kind of relaunching a new team almost every year and this just modern era of college baseball and college sports is a whole, but he really likes the transfers that he brought in.
38:53
[SPEAKER_00]: He thinks his freshman class is going to be fantastic this year both the hitters and the pictures that they signed and then also both he said this and some of the players
39:03
[SPEAKER_00]: They agree that this team is going to have a lot more power than they did last year.
39:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Good season, but the power numbers weren't necessarily top of the league.
39:13
[SPEAKER_00]: But they expect to hit more home runs, get more extra base hits this year.
39:17
[SPEAKER_00]: So the biggest thing will be replacing Tyson with her spoon, Malachi with her spoon, a lot of the arms they left.
39:24
[SPEAKER_00]: They lost and then of course East and Carmichael at catcher.
39:28
[SPEAKER_00]: So some definite holes that will need to be filled.
39:31
[SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of putting it together.
39:33
[SPEAKER_00]: for a really tough opening where they will face Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, TCU.
39:39
[SPEAKER_00]: So they're getting good opponents out of the gate and it's just going to be interesting to see how long it takes to get all the pieces together, but that's just the reality of college baseball these days.
39:49
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's like we were talking about that show this morning.
39:51
[SPEAKER_02]: In many ways, baseball is kind of like a two-in-done sport at times at the college level.
39:55
[SPEAKER_02]: If you're getting that kind of guys you want to insert in the SEC that that's kind of the standard.
40:00
[SPEAKER_02]: They're a really interesting setup, I think, for Oklahoma's schedule, as you mentioned Carson, the orders what tech OSU, TCU, as far as the Friday Saturday Sunday out in Arlington.
40:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Then it's scheduled 18 straight home games, a massive home state, which includes opening up the SEC
40:18
[SPEAKER_02]: That first game might get moved around a little bit.
40:21
[SPEAKER_02]: Let's keep an eye on that just because I know the weather plus construction.
40:25
[SPEAKER_02]: That's a bad combo when it comes to trying to get things ready, especially as they knock down some fences out there.
40:31
[SPEAKER_02]: It can be completely stadium.
40:32
[SPEAKER_02]: But I think it'll be at the bare minimum.
40:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe four games in our only 10 and then 17 straight home games, but that should be a really, really solid platform car.
40:42
[SPEAKER_02]: Especially as you're fitting in new pieces to be super comfortable, not a ton of travel.
40:47
[SPEAKER_02]: You have a big weekend and then not that they're smaller weekends, but just a lot of time at home to not have to be on the road.
40:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Just really have to hone in on everything that skip Johnson once out of that group.
40:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and you've got to like the way that their schedules design, having that really tough opening weekend in Arlington, then playing a team like Cop and State, those should be a trio of easy wins.
41:06
[SPEAKER_00]: I think they also get New Mexico State though, that's a pretty respectable mid major program.
41:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Then teams like Arizona State, which is among the top and the big 12 Gonzaga is a pretty consistent West Coast conference team.
41:19
[SPEAKER_00]: So they did it make it easy for themselves, but there's also a few games that shouldn't be as challenging so it's a good balance, kind of opposite from what we've seen in sports say men's basketball where their games were against Stetson, Kansas City, St. Francis, you name it.
41:35
[SPEAKER_00]: So you've got to like the balance of getting good teams and some easier ones at home, get the fans a little bit more engaged with it, and maybe just
41:44
[SPEAKER_00]: some challenges and some easier stuff for like I said the newer look team that it's going to be this year.
41:51
[SPEAKER_02]: Plenty of midweek games which means plenty of opportunity for me to go execute a 999.
41:55
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean to get one done at some point there were a couple of efforts last year unsuccessful on well I made it through the 9 innings so I guess I got one third of the 999 which is just absolute failure.
42:07
[SPEAKER_02]: That's okay though maybe throughout the midweek so I'll just build a 999 just collectively maybe.
42:12
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll see if Abraham or the baseball police will allow me to count that, maybe not.
42:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Alright, let's dive into the hoops.
42:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, you can tuck you tonight.
42:25
[SPEAKER_02]: That's a Wednesday night, 8 p.m. Rupp Arena.
42:29
[SPEAKER_02]: And then the suitors will head out on the road to Vanderbilt.
42:34
[SPEAKER_02]: Carson, I want to give credit where credit is due.
42:37
[SPEAKER_02]: So let me sift through our Twitter DMs for a second.
42:40
[SPEAKER_02]: I believe it was Shane Magnus, who big OU fan tallyed some of this stuff up.
42:47
[SPEAKER_02]: Oklahoma, currently on an eight game losing streak.
42:50
[SPEAKER_02]: That's the longest since the 2010-2011 season.
42:53
[SPEAKER_02]: If they're unable to take down Kentucky tonight, who had a good show against Arkansas, which was good bounce back after they got slapped around by Bandy, we'll get to Bandy here in a second.
43:02
[SPEAKER_02]: They would match the 2009-2010 9-game losing streak.
43:08
[SPEAKER_02]: If they were to fall to Kentucky and Vanderbilt, you gotta go back to the 63-64 season to find a 10-game losing streak.
43:17
[SPEAKER_02]: This is not what you want set about your team if you're in the middle of the start of that, you worry?
43:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Yikes!
43:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's really not, and I mean, you look at it.
43:28
[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't really get any easier either.
43:30
[SPEAKER_00]: You get this week to rank teams, or I guess Kentucky's not ranked, but the way they've been playing, they're close to it.
43:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Six of the last seven games they've won, then you get games against teams that are probably, I'd say better than expected, like Georgia, Texas A&M.
43:45
[SPEAKER_00]: So I mean, there are no easy games in this conference.
43:48
[SPEAKER_00]: And the way that they've just dug themselves, a whole going to Rapa Arena, that's not a recipe for success, Vanderbilt, maybe not as hostile as Rup, but that's a good team former sooner Duke miles has been fantastic.
44:01
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's just, yeah, there's not a whole lot to say other than something's got to change quickly.
44:06
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like I've been writing the same takeaways from
44:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Most of the games recently, that Texas game certainly no exception, looked like it was going pretty well late in the game, Texas goes on the big run, groundhog day and Norman, so it's just seeing if there's going to be any deviation, it's just really, it's fascinating.
44:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Red Panda was fantastic.
44:26
[SPEAKER_02]: So we got that we got that on Saturday.
44:29
[SPEAKER_02]: There was some issue with one of the rough necks we're gonna pick on them.
44:33
[SPEAKER_02]: Get the balls into her hands.
44:35
[SPEAKER_02]: She's on a unicycle.
44:36
[SPEAKER_02]: She doesn't need to be extending to catch a bowl up here.
44:39
[SPEAKER_02]: She doesn't need to be leaning forward.
44:41
[SPEAKER_02]: Get the balls to her hands.
44:42
[SPEAKER_02]: What she does is hard enough already.
44:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Dear God.
44:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
44:47
[SPEAKER_02]: Rant over.
44:48
[SPEAKER_03]: Not necessarily two words.
44:50
[SPEAKER_03]: It's yours.
44:51
[SPEAKER_03]: I'll take a. Oh, wait.
44:54
[SPEAKER_02]: I got two more words for you, Brandon Garrison.
44:56
[SPEAKER_02]: Welcome, uh, go to the vocal home of past.
44:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Hey, honestly, this is how bad it's been guys.
45:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Losing a buzzer beater to a take it away would be progress over what a lot of these last eight games have been saved.
45:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe the Missouri game.
45:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Which 100% again.
45:13
[SPEAKER_02]: Not good.
45:14
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know what else to say.
45:15
[SPEAKER_02]: There on the women's side of things.
45:17
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a weird week.
45:17
[SPEAKER_02]: Aper SCC off week for Oklahoma, meaning they have no midweek game.
45:23
[SPEAKER_02]: Probably something they'll enjoy after an OU Texas game where basically the last three minutes the first quarter and the first two minutes the second quarter kind of doomed the whole thing Oklahoma tried their best to rally back, but it wasn't just that they were turned in the
45:40
[SPEAKER_02]: That's something we've seen from Genie Broncheck teams before and simply put you're not going to be the LSU's of the world the taxes of the world if they had done this against South Carolina it would have been the same.
45:50
[SPEAKER_02]: It's the kind of stuff you can't do against elite basketball teams.
45:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly and that's what we've been saying through that tough stretch before they beat South Carolina, but Texas is a tough matchup just the physicality especially in the front court is pretty unique in the SEC even and oh you didn't handle it well.
46:13
[SPEAKER_01]: and they've they bounce back.
46:16
[SPEAKER_01]: We saw some good things from Lea Chavez at the end.
46:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Peyton Verholst was fantastic, but uh, OU didn't, uh, wouldn't able to overcome that physicality early, and things don't get any easier.
46:29
[SPEAKER_01]: Even though they've got, uh, this week off, like you mentioned, they get Super Bowl Sunday off.
46:34
[SPEAKER_01]: But then you come back the next day on Monday in face of a vanity team that's been really, really good this year.
46:40
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't think it's as much of a matchup issue in that one as it was for Texas, but, you know, they, Jenny Baronchek need some more consistency out of this team, need some more consistency out of our guards.
46:55
[SPEAKER_01]: uh... you know alia chava shooting wise i've been just protecting the ball because a lot of those turnovers during that stretch that you mentioned uh... were by van although she uh... you know rebounded a little bit and i thought played a whole lot better uh... after that stretch but it was uh... a rough one uh... for sure down in Austin
47:14
[SPEAKER_02]: We talked with Reagan beers on Tuesday, radio and one thing that Reagan highlighted is that when he heard in Ginny Brontchek sat back down and did the film study, it was just some frustration of, in the moment it felt overwhelming, felt like, oh my gosh, how are we going to handle this pressure?
47:30
[SPEAKER_02]: And then you take a step back and watch the film and go.
47:33
[SPEAKER_02]: man, there were easy passes there to be made where it doesn't even result to points, but at least Texas isn't running a two on one break or things like that go in the other way.
47:40
[SPEAKER_02]: So we'll see if this week off has been a moment where they can exhale a little bit.
47:45
[SPEAKER_02]: The flip side of that though, as you mentioned, it's not just that you're playing Monday, a big road game at Vandy.
47:51
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going Monday, Thursday, Sunday.
47:53
[SPEAKER_02]: You get the week off and then suddenly it's three games action packed in there and don't look now, but
47:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Only three games left at the Lloyd Noble Center.
48:01
[SPEAKER_02]: Six games total if I did my math's correct And of those if we're talking about seeding at Vandy at Alabama then you got Tennessee coming into your place.
48:12
[SPEAKER_02]: It feels like they really got to have Maybe two of those three plus notch a win in Greenville at the SEC tournament just to make sure you hold on to your top four seed and then it becomes Ryan
48:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, for the longest time, there are projected as a two seed and you see a laser region going to Sacramento, so you're kind of squandering, having the fact that two of the regional sites are in Fort Worth, but as of right now, if you're to believe the brachatology, you're a four seed in Yukon's bracket, or the other option if you go to Fort Worth is to be a four seed in Texas's bracket, and I don't think Oklahoma wants either of those teams in the sweet 16.
48:52
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I don't think there's any question about that.
48:55
[SPEAKER_01]: They would much rather go to Sacramento and have to battle a team like UCLA.
49:00
[SPEAKER_01]: As good as UCLA is and they're really good, we saw that earlier this year that, oh, you certainly is capable of overcoming those things.
49:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Even though, they played UConn really well last year.
49:12
[SPEAKER_01]: During the tournament before falling, but I don't think they want any part of the Huskies this year.
49:18
[SPEAKER_01]: The biggest thing for them is just be able to build some momentum, get that top four seed, so you're able to play the first couple of rounds at home.
49:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And then you take your chances beyond that.
49:31
[SPEAKER_01]: But I'm with you.
49:32
[SPEAKER_01]: I think they've got to win, you know, two of those four key games.
49:35
[SPEAKER_01]: And then when the others don't have any, you know, anomalies in that schedule and then go to to Greenville and at least get one win.
49:45
[SPEAKER_01]: I think they're pretty good there.
49:47
[SPEAKER_01]: The South Carolina win will resonate.
49:50
[SPEAKER_01]: significantly when their resume is talked about, but the biggest thing for them is just playing within themselves, you know, figuring out some things internally to get to set them up for the best chance that they have to be successful in the tournament.
50:06
[SPEAKER_02]: Sounds like we saw last year too, and I don't get too much into this, but this is both on the mince basketball and the women's basketball side.
50:12
[SPEAKER_02]: With super conferences, it makes it that much harder.
50:14
[SPEAKER_02]: They had to kind of do away with the first and second round, no conference, rematches stuff like that rule.
50:20
[SPEAKER_02]: And now it's just the first round with the SEC having 16 teams, the big-ton expanding, the SEC having, oh, we were a number of teams all that stuff.
50:27
[SPEAKER_02]: As of right now, the five-seed and OU's region in Norman is a Kentucky team that they lost to in Lexington now.
50:36
[SPEAKER_02]: You put that game in Norman versus Lexington, certainly could be different stuff like that.
50:40
[SPEAKER_02]: But it's not like it's just a pencil yourself across to the sweet 16 and see what that goes.
50:44
[SPEAKER_02]: So as you said, stability, improvement, all that fun stuff and the sooner should be okay, but we will see here throughout the month of February, elsewhere boys.
50:54
[SPEAKER_02]: Did everyone enjoy the proble games?
50:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Question mark, I know that CD, the Dallas Cowboys clan that CD showed off the speed at a convention center in San Francisco, in Flag football.
51:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Congratulations to everyone there and
51:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Carses much as we're backing or at least I'm backing your Clint Kubiac led seahawks.
51:15
[SPEAKER_02]: It was cool to see Ramanjai Stevenson, he was at the opening night for Super Bowl Media Day contacted about being under the, you know, you guys headed to the Super Bowl and Carson, if the seahawks aren't able to prevail, it's not going to be any solace for you, but at least I guess Oklahoma's streak of having Super Bowl winners get extended, I suppose, that's something content from the website.
51:36
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll let Hoover write that story if he gets down to that.
51:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's one of those things that selfishly I'm not going to be pulling for a monetary Stevenson, but it is worth noting how instrumental he's been to this team's success, especially in the back half of the season, Trevi on Henderson, the rookie out of Ohio State.
51:54
[SPEAKER_00]: He got the brunt of the carries early, but
51:56
[SPEAKER_00]: They've kind of used more of a two-man backfield lately, some really clutch touchdowns late in the regular season, three good playoff games so far for Stevenson.
52:06
[SPEAKER_00]: This year, so he's consistently shown that he can still be a quality back in this league, obviously now in his fifth year in the NFL.
52:15
[SPEAKER_00]: He's been around for a little bit, but hasn't really shown signs of slowing down pretty comparable to his first four seasons.
52:21
[SPEAKER_00]: So just a big part in this team that you look at a lot of their pieces,
52:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, that guy's pretty old.
52:27
[SPEAKER_00]: That guy's too young, like, how are they good?
52:29
[SPEAKER_00]: They make it work, that offense has been really solid lately.
52:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, the exception being the snow-covered game against the Broncos and the AFC championship.
52:39
[SPEAKER_00]: But this team has been solid and Steven sends a big part of that, but ultimately, it's go 12's.
52:46
[SPEAKER_00]: Got to take home the first Super Bowl and about a decade.
52:50
[SPEAKER_02]: Go, Clint, go.
52:52
[SPEAKER_02]: I'll only other think, really.
52:53
[SPEAKER_02]: I can't remember how the timing all worked out on this.
52:57
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, and Hi-Niki had his waiver denied, Oklahoma appealing again.
53:01
[SPEAKER_02]: I, NCAA, NCAA, I don't think there's any new thoughts on that, but I think it's just going to be John the same.
53:10
[SPEAKER_02]: We've seen this with like Trinidad Chambley stuff like that.
53:13
[SPEAKER_02]: Of, we'll see how the appeal goes.
53:15
[SPEAKER_02]: It does not seem though that Owen Hi-Niki and his camp
53:20
[SPEAKER_02]: Super interested in suing for the extra years.
53:23
[SPEAKER_02]: He thinks things like that, but if you can that would be it.
53:28
[SPEAKER_03]: If you can be on an NBA G league roster and play in an actual NBA game and then go back to college, I don't understand why this, listen, I understand what the five year clock and that's, that's going to get changed coming soon anyway, going to have five years
53:49
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, so his five-year clock expired.
53:52
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, how many injuries did he have?
53:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Do we know that?
53:54
[SPEAKER_03]: What is the basis of his appeal?
53:56
[SPEAKER_03]: Do we know that?
53:57
[SPEAKER_03]: Was it a shoulder?
53:59
[SPEAKER_03]: Was it an ankle?
54:00
[SPEAKER_03]: Was it a hardship injury thing?
54:03
[SPEAKER_03]: I need to know a little bit more about this.
54:05
[SPEAKER_03]: But the NCAA is, you see it every day.
54:09
[SPEAKER_03]: He's getting his 60 year.
54:10
[SPEAKER_03]: This guy's getting his 70th year.
54:11
[SPEAKER_03]: That guy over there got an eighth year.
54:12
[SPEAKER_03]: It could hit my end.
54:13
[SPEAKER_03]: We've tied it in a minute.
54:14
[SPEAKER_03]: He got nine years.
54:15
[SPEAKER_03]: to play college football.
54:17
[SPEAKER_03]: So you got to miss me with the five-year clock window argument.
54:22
[SPEAKER_01]: And I don't know if y'all saw but Joey Aguilar from Tennessee got a restraining order today to keep him eligible for right now.
54:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
54:32
[SPEAKER_01]: To play college football next year.
54:34
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, there's part of the frustration too when you look at it.
54:37
[SPEAKER_02]: And this has been talked about by Oklahoma and it went over and over again.
54:41
[SPEAKER_02]: And he was a football player.
54:43
[SPEAKER_02]: The medical wrencher probably would have already been applied, granted all that stuff because it's lacrosse.
54:50
[SPEAKER_02]: We could sit here and probably rant all day about the NCAA, and we might all feel better at Oklahoma, so I feel better, but it's not going to change how dumb the NCAA is, which is the biggest layout, but I think that at the bare minimum between Kiplus coming back and Cole Sullivan, and what you've got from not a linebacker spot, but Reggie Powers at that Cheetah spot, and then I know Oklahoma's excited about some of their linebacker depth, but if Owen does it win that
55:20
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of attention this spring will be played on the live-accus and we'll have a ton of time to break that down It really dissect that here over the next month or so as we kind of lead in to spring football other than that La Crosse, I mean come on you're losing a whole year of eligibility because you played in three lacrosse games as a walk on It's it's it needs to be smarter
55:42
[SPEAKER_03]: about who they give um... these appeals to and who they grant these appeals to they need to be smarter about it at like everybody shouldn't get one but all on hi-niki is a kid who should get one you should look at that say three games as kind of a throw a different sport walked on let's go ahead and scratch that and start his clock here easy fix easy fix
56:00
[SPEAKER_02]: And it's everyone's frustration.
56:01
[SPEAKER_02]: I know Carson that you've been in probably plenty of Porter press counsely's talked about this.
56:06
[SPEAKER_02]: Skip talks about this every single year.
56:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Like I would love be able to throw my freshman pictures in the Tuesday midweek games, but instead for basketball, softball, baseball, you get out there and pitch one inning or play in one game and unless you medically red shirt, it's
56:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Done so, but for football, it's about to go to nine game red shirt, plus the post season, make that make sense, but again, that we could talk and we could go round and round and round and I think a lot of people would be nodding, being like, this is stupid and the insane is not going to change.
56:38
[SPEAKER_02]: So shout out to the NCAA.
56:40
[SPEAKER_02]: I left out lacrosse in that sport list, but yeah, sorry, my bad, and we'll have to, we'll have to see if the hockey rules are different, the club hockey, then look at it's a headache,
56:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I could go on a long thing about hockey, but that could be changing as well, and could be just as groundbreaking as what's happening with basketball.
57:07
[SPEAKER_02]: it's it's it's crazy but uh nothing we can do to fix it all we can do is carry on which we will do play more stuff this week obviously men's and women's basketball on softball gets underway anything in the football world will be on top of it and the place to be for that is Oklahoma sooners on s i dot com gentlemen before we break for the day anything else that we have missed out there in the world of Oklahoma athletics if not
57:33
[SPEAKER_02]: We inch closer and closer 11 more days till Roger Denny's officially on the clock.
57:37
[SPEAKER_02]: I suppose and we'll get going.
57:40
[SPEAKER_02]: I know the great Eddie Redassovich is out there with a shovel somewhere off 24th trying to get that dirt move for the entertainment district to get going.
57:48
[SPEAKER_02]: I will not be joining him there.
57:50
[SPEAKER_02]: Good luck though, Mr. Redoswich.
57:52
[SPEAKER_02]: But for us, that'll do it big things to who big things to able into Carson for taking some time to hear me rant generally apologies.
58:00
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll be back next Wednesday, Oklahoma sooners on s.i.com.
58:03
[SPEAKER_02]: This place will be the source of some of the podcast of the way to be, and if you're watching on the YouTube's
58:09
[SPEAKER_02]: Be sure you keep watching, play the more softball content, separate, apart, typical post-game press conference, podcast situations.
58:16
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh no, maybe I'll pivot to a vertical video, just like every other media company the last 20 years.
58:21
[SPEAKER_02]: We will see you stick it with who's into page John over.
58:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Media and TEDx Wednesday, though, on the podcast, we'll talk to you this.