Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / Hawkeye Talk with Tom Kakert, Cyclones with Eugene Rapay & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports

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Hawkeye Talk with Tom Kakert, Cyclones with Eugene Rapay & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

0:00
Welcome back. I was sports radio network Tom
0:03
Cacert momentarily hawkeyereport.com talk to Tom on
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I will relate to topics Big 10 etcetera.
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Then Eugene repay, he'll slide on in here at the bottom of the
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hour, little Iowa State conversation with Eugene.
0:18
And then Trenton will make some picks.
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Circa Sports sponsor those those coming up here.
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Oh, in about 10 minutes or so before the hour of 2:00, we'll
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make way for off the bench Sean Roberts and Ben Giselisson from
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the Iowa Wild as Lucas is spending the weekend in Chicago.
0:34
He's going to, what do they call it, Guaranteed Rate?
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Oh yes, Guaranteed Rate. Now no longer the sell to watch
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the Mariners and the Sox. Hopefully it doesn't get gained.
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Yeah, dangerous. No, it is.
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It can't be. It's not the best part of town.
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Remember taking that trip with in high school?
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Digital Sister was probably in fifth grade.
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To the original comiskey. It was, no, it was the new
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Comiskey. At that point we didn't know my,
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you know, my mom's a small town pumpkin as I was at the time,
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and I still AM. And we had no clue.
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And we had tickets, and then we parked and we walked a few
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blocks to get there. And it was something that
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somebody from Osage, IA, hadn't seen much of on the South Side
1:15
of Chicago. Yeah.
1:16
Good stuff. I've never been to the ballpark,
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one of the few that have escaped me and I wish I would have got
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to the original. Yes, there's two I missed.
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I miss Tiger Stadium, wish I would have got there in the
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worst way. I've been in their new Comerica
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and and the sell the Guaranteed Rate.
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Anyways, let's talk Hawks. Tom Keikert joins us in his
1:34
Friday spot hawkeyereport.com on three slash rivals.
1:38
Tom Trenton. Ken, you've had a busy morning.
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Tom Keikert, how are you? Yeah, so, you know, you expect a
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quiet Friday and all of a sudden we get all this news.
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By the way, one of the great experiences is going was going
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to the old Comiskey. Park I can only imagine.
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Just the the smell. Of yeah, nice.
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And urine and everything else, you know, it's just, it was a
2:02
special place. Yeah.
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And you say that in the terms of endearment, I'm guessing because
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yeah, there's. Something.
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Yeah. Beer, urine and weed.
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Oh. Beautiful.
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What a trifecta. Great.
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Absolutely. I wish I would have got there.
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Do you remember who you saw play?
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Yeah, I saw him play the Indian. Oh, did you OK, Cause a lot of
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times I, I've been there, I can't remember where I saw.
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Anyways, Yep, just real quick, 'cause I want to forget this.
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And yes, it's, it's not today's news yet.
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When's Psyhawk going to be announced as far as game time?
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Do you have any idea, Tom? When that's, I mean, it's
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normally like the middle of May, right?
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Or third week of May. We got to know soon, right?
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It's I think like third or fourth week of May is usually
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when we get it. So I think we're a couple of
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weeks away from it. Right around Memorial Day I
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think is generally when we've gotten that.
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But I'd have to look back and see.
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But yeah, that we'll get like the first three games, plus
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we'll get the start time for Nebraska and probably the
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homecoming game. I don't even know what
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homecoming game is this year. I don't even know.
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I don't even know. But yeah, some of the I'm glad I
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waited on my plane reservations for a while.
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No usually I would been flying in on a Friday, but I waited
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because I was probably leaning towards going in on Thursday to
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see some friends up there and spend an extra day or whatever
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and now I have to go in on Thursday.
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Homecoming would either be Wisconsin or Purdue.
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Purdue is probably too late. It's in November.
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Right. And that's usually the veterans
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game that they have there in Wisconsin.
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You're not going to do it for Ohio State.
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I wouldn't think so. You want to have it in
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Halloween. Halloween.
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Homecoming. Oh, that.
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'D be a fun one. Yeah, could be.
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Just the Wisconsin game, it's the it's the 31st.
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Wow, all's on that one. Well, the news of today, it is a
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Friday night affair for Iowa as they travel out to Washington.
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You have the most difficult part of your schedule all compacted
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together, your three most difficult games all in a row,
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Two of them on the road here and on top of it, your longest road
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trip of the season, Tom. And now you have to do it.
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Go out to Washington and do it on a short week, going up
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against one of the best teams in the country the week before in
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Ohio State. Who did Kirk Ference piss off?
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Yeah, somebody because and, and and I throw in that, you know,
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Iowa under Ference hasn't won a road game in the western time
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zone ever in his tenure. Well, he's new on the yeah, the
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Holiday Bowl, you know, doesn't really count because that was
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the neutral game. That was the final game in that
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stadium, right? The old Jack.
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Murphy and the old Jack Murphy the old Jack Murphy before they
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I don't think they played the game the next year I.
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Don't think they did. And then they tore, tore that
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thing down and point that was a relic that was like, I, I, I'll
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never forget the video board in that stadium.
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It was like like an Atari video game or something.
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It was, you know, it was just so ancient and out of date.
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And they just had the yeah, that place was not, not a great
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stadium. And, and but anyway, yeah, I'm
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my, I'll give you a preview of my fearless forecast, which will
5:21
come out July 4th. Again, I'm not picking Iowa to
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win at at Washington. Just I'm done.
5:27
I'm done picking them on the West Coast until they proved me
5:30
wrong. Tried to tell you that with the
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UCLA game a couple years ago, you wouldn't listen to me.
5:35
Tried to I. Know I didn't I I didn't listen
5:37
to Trent. Yep.
5:38
Well, I I every once in a while, you know?
5:40
You should. His pics are I mean every.
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Hey, the last two days you're on fire.
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The last two days have been good.
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They're. Blind squirrel finds an egg.
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Absolutely don't look back at the last 30 days before that.
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It doesn't paint a really good picture when we go back that
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far. Todd, we get to the basketball
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here in a moment. This team coming out of spring,
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we talked a lot with you after what you got to see in the open
6:01
practice. They're just so young.
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I think, what, 10 seniors on this team and I've never heard a
6:08
coach. Now, we've also been listening
6:09
to a coach for 27 years that talks more about leadership than
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Kirk Ference. It's not just coaching cliches.
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It is important for this program.
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Should that be a bigger concern? Just the lack of true experience
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and senior leadership on this squad coming into the season.
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And I didn't really realize that until recently, to be honest,
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because I just started diving into like, holy cow, they've got
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10 seniors and none of them are like, boy, you could look back
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like last year and think, yeah, Logan Jones and all these guys
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are Perket and Maxwell and and, and, you know, even Shire and
6:46
and Jaden Harrell, guys that have been programmed guys for
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for a long, long time. Wampa, all those guys, just the
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core core guys that have started multiple years and been in the
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program forever. And this year it's like who's
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the senior leader on this team? Well, I don't know.
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There's Deshawn Lee, you know, because lumber is a junior, you
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know, it's just there's just not a natural face of the program
7:15
guy in that senior class, you know, Addison Ostrenka, I don't
7:19
know, it's it's an interesting mix this year and they're going
7:24
to have to rely on some of these third year guys, 3rd and 4th
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year guys that are have bred shirted to to really become the
7:32
leaders of this team. And and and I think that's one
7:36
of the bigger challenges for this team this year is to
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develop that leadership. Plus you don't have like a
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multiple year starter at quarterback either, right?
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So you don't have that to lean on or Gronowski coming in who's
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just, you know, kind of this mature veteran guy that's been
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through the wars and been through the battles.
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You don't have that either. So it's it's really interesting
7:57
team. Really is, you know, 10 years
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from now, I can't wait to see the poll because I think it's
8:01
too soon to do now. Granowski or Sturtz, who would
8:04
you rather have for, you know, next an additional year?
8:07
You got to get past the basketball in the in the lead 8
8:10
And obviously what Granowski did and football rules, the rules.
8:14
It's a football state. But I mean, I'm not diminishing
8:17
the basketball fans by any means.
8:19
I just think it's football moves the needle a tad more.
8:22
But in 10 years to do that poll as to how people would remember
8:26
that one year for both, Tom. It's it's an interesting
8:30
question. Who had a better one year?
8:32
Was it Gronowski or was it Sturtz?
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I almost think you have to say Sturtz, just because they took
8:36
them to a place that they had been for 40 years or whatever
8:41
you. Know no doubt Ben McCollum who
8:44
took them there is going to get a six year deal.
8:46
I don't know if it's signed, sealed, delivered yet, but at
8:48
all accounts it's done. And it's just a matter of, you
8:52
know, putting a pen to paper. Apparently.
8:55
We, we talked about a time we thought it was going to happen
8:58
and then a couple of I think I asked you if there you've heard
9:00
of any movement on it because it hadn't been made official yet.
9:04
But by all accounts, it's all done and and Ben Mccollum's not
9:07
going anywhere. Well, hopefully.
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My sense is just not really talking to a total whole lot of
9:15
people, but just knowing what coaches are looking for now.
9:18
It's not even really about their own years and their own salary.
9:22
What coaches are looking for is assurances on NIL now.
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How much are you going to continue to give me because I
9:28
can't win? I can't win if I don't have $15
9:31
million or whatever it is for, for college basketball teams.
9:35
Now, what would we see like Goodman and Doster, we're
9:38
talking about like 20 to 25,000,000 a year for for, you
9:43
know, to compete. And at least I mean, Dusty May
9:46
was talking about more than 15,000,000 or something or 20
9:50
million. It's crazy, but you know, that's
9:55
the what you got to do to go out and get players.
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I can't imagine what Louisville spent.
10:00
You know, that's where Alvaro landed and just you know,
10:03
because you know, for the don't go was going to get 5 million
10:08
and I think Alvaro is over three probably from what I understand.
10:13
So I mean, that's eight right there on two players.
10:15
And I'm guessing Shelstead got three $4 million and Knox kid
10:21
got probably 3 to 4. I mean, that's incredible what
10:23
they're spending on their roster.
10:25
That's Kentucky kind of numbers. Big, big money out there.
10:29
Big, big money. We anticipate coming Ben
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Mccollum's way. Any idea?
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It's, I'm sure at this point just guesswork, but the buyout
10:37
was at a potential sticking point.
10:39
What because we knew this was going to happen as the season
10:41
finished up in the way, obviously the run that they made
10:43
in the NCAA Tournament. Any guess of maybe some of the
10:46
things that are most important to you when we actually get our
10:49
hands on this contract? Yeah, I'm, I'm curious if it
10:53
says anything about the NIL. I don't know that it will.
10:56
I don't know that it will. But the buyout because I mean,
10:59
you know, you look at PJ and Ames, I mean his buyouts really
11:03
low. You know, it's like $4 million.
11:06
That's, that's, you know, at A, at a power or school, one of the
11:12
power 2 conferences, that's money that probably falls out of
11:15
the pocket of that athletic department.
11:17
They lose it in the sofa. You know, they, they can pay
11:20
that pretty easily. It gives him some flexibility.
11:23
But that's, you know, with a coach like TJ and probably with
11:27
like with Ben, they can say, hey, just keep my buyout low.
11:31
You know, if I want to buy out, I can bounce.
11:34
Not that I think either of those guys want to bounce, but
11:37
especially Ben, because Ben was pretty honest about it.
11:40
Towards the end of the year. We're like, I'm not interested
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in leaving. My family's had to uproot itself
11:46
two years in a row and happy wife, happy life.
11:49
We all know this. Yeah.
11:51
Just don't want to move again, you know, You just don't.
11:55
So we kind of knew he was going to stay.
11:58
And I think he's pretty comfortable at Iowa.
12:01
And I think it puts pressure on both schools, Tom, because if
12:04
the biode is so low, it puts pressure on the school to live
12:07
up to the commitment that they've made pursuant to NIL.
12:10
Absolutely, absolutely. The other thing I wonder about
12:13
sometimes is, and I know some people have kind of from this
12:16
out there, Ben McCollum more next step like NBA more than
12:22
more than college maybe. I don't know.
12:27
Interesting one. Yeah, I hope he's in Iowa for.
12:29
Decade because, you know, Dusty May is getting.
12:32
Yeah, he is right now. Yep, Yep.
12:35
No doubt. How that style fits and we know
12:37
that guy. He is a different level
12:38
certainly of basketball. Speaking of basketball, we
12:41
anticipated this. We mentioned it last week.
12:43
Donovan Davis made his announcement to Iowa State, a
12:46
guy that Iowa had made the final five for his services.
12:50
That will not be the case. What can you tell us in high
12:52
school basketball recruiting? I know you've mentioned before
12:55
that Iowa feels like they're in good shape for some point guard
12:58
prospects. What's the latest on the
12:59
recruiting front? Yeah, we just got a story up.
13:03
Jamie Shaw from On Three Got had a story up today about Katie
13:07
Daughtry, who's really kind of down to four schools and just
13:12
had some incredible quotes about Iowa, just how much he, you
13:16
know, watching in their development of point guards and
13:19
mentioned Bennett and just the program and anything everything.
13:24
So he is he seems to be their top guy right now.
13:29
Jackson Davis is another kid to watch, but Daughtry #17 overall
13:34
player in the rivals rankings. 62 guard from Florida talk to an
13:41
in state kid who who plays in the YBL, the Nike league who
13:47
played against Kate and Daughtry and their first thing and he
13:50
just raved about the guy and he's like he just dominates the
13:54
game as a guard and just makes plays and this is so tough.
13:59
So I think that might be the guy that they feel like they've got
14:03
the best shot with. But he's also Miami's in there
14:07
and you know that Jai Lucas is doing a really good job
14:10
recruiting players there and Michigan right there.
14:14
So I'm in Florida State so it's got some good schools looking at
14:18
right now. Creighton and Iowa, downtown Des
14:21
Moines, middle of November. Do you know Tom?
14:23
Yes, great. Who, who, whose home game would
14:27
it be? And I guess where I'm going is
14:28
would that be a Big 10 network if I was the home game?
14:31
Do you have any any details on the TV that come with that game?
14:35
I don't. I haven't seen anything about
14:37
TV, but you know, that's a the good thing is it's a home
14:41
football weekend. So it's Purdue that weekend.
14:44
So you can just kind of zip over to Des Moines after the game and
14:49
and and get ready for or for some hoops the next day.
14:53
So they've got seems like Ben might be doing more of these
14:57
kind of one off neutral site games or I know they they owe
15:02
Xavier a road game. Believe they got to go to
15:05
Cincinnati and play and they'll have this game.
15:08
So, you know, I remember I talked to Ben last November when
15:14
we were out in Palm Springs about like their their MTE for
15:19
the next year. And he said they tried to get
15:22
into that, that players era tournament out in Vegas.
15:26
And the players there are people just tell them, yeah, we're not
15:29
interested in you, basically. And then I know it's wild.
15:32
They just like, hey, they weren't maybe they'd be
15:35
interested now, I would hope on a list of schools.
15:38
Yeah, they saw the list of schools and they're not on them,
15:40
but Rutgers is. Yeah.
15:41
So. And is UNLV on there just
15:44
because it's Yeah, it has to be, right?
15:46
Yeah, yeah, to throw them a bone.
15:48
Big date. Yeah, I don't think, I don't
15:51
think, I don't think every school gets the same amount of
15:55
money. No, Kansas gets the most.
15:57
I did see that Kansas comes away with more than than anybody,
16:01
which I mean there's some big name schools on there.
16:03
Some big name programs in Kansas get I get their basketball
16:06
school, but you know, nonetheless.
16:08
Yeah, they get the money and then they miss spend the money.
16:10
Apparently lately it's a lot easier when not everybody was
16:13
spending for the J. That trend how it works.
16:14
It's interesting, isn't it? SEC football kind of the same
16:17
way. Yeah, it's wild how this is
16:19
changing, isn't it? Hey Tom, I got one final thing
16:21
for you. Iowa baseball.
16:22
They wrap up the season on the road.
16:24
They go to Nebraska this week starting tonight against the top
16:27
25 Huskers and then back here in Des Moines next weekend with
16:30
Purdue coming to the capital city.
16:33
Still good opportunity for them obviously to get into the Big 10
16:37
tournament, but what's it going to take short of winning the Big
16:40
10 tournament for them to be an NCAA tournament team?
16:43
I think their RPI is 78 today. Like they got to win 5 out of 6
16:46
and get to the championship of the Big 10 tournament.
16:48
Is that kind of the hole that they've dug themselves into?
16:51
Yeah, I think they've got to make a tremendous run.
16:55
And to do that, you know, Nebraska is ranked 25th.
17:00
They've been scuffling a little bit lately.
17:02
Produce had a produce had a pretty good season, but I was
17:07
playing better baseball. You know, they won two, three
17:10
against Illinois. They they swept Indiana, you
17:15
know, two of three against Maryland.
17:17
So they've kind of rebounded from those that rough stretch
17:21
where the, you know, USCUCLA and and and such where they they
17:25
kind of got beaten up on. But honestly, it's kind of
17:30
remarkable that they're going to even make the big tournament
17:32
given all the injuries to the pitching staff this year.
17:35
With three other better pictures.
17:37
Either sounds like the Cubs or just.
17:40
A bunch of time, Yeah, it sounds like the Cubs.
17:42
I mean, you know, but look at what the Cubs are doing.
17:44
Holy cow, that's working. Yeah, great, though.
17:47
Good stuff. Crazy.
17:48
Tom, thanks for doing this. As always, brother.
17:50
Appreciate the Friday contribution, as we always do.
17:53
We'll talk to you in a week's time.
17:54
Thanks, Tom. OK.
17:56
Thanks, Katie. Yep, good to talk to you.
17:57
Tom Caikert, hawkeyereport.com. He just sent Sean a text.
18:00
I want he's going to ask Conley who the TV partner is for
18:03
Creighton in Iowa. If you want to stay home and
18:06
watch football and watch little basketball at the same time or
18:09
on a different channel, well, you will.
18:11
Hopefully Connolly will have that idea.
18:13
He's joining the boys at 4:00 today.
18:15
Speaking of television and basketball, that that Duke
18:18
situation, yeah. What's?
18:20
Going on, I know that who who was the the Big 10 is to fly in
18:23
the ointment. Right, yes, because.
18:25
ESPN wanted to give it up, right?
18:27
ACC Network obviously is ESPN. Because the crazy part that I
18:32
just never understood, So what the Big 10's contention is, this
18:36
is considered part of Big 10 territory where the game is
18:39
going to be played. That's Big 10 territory.
18:41
And last year Duke had the TV rights for the game in DC.
18:45
And so that's supposed to alternate and go back to the Big
18:47
10 where they get that. So Amazon would not have rights
18:50
to broadcast this game. The Big 10 would have the
18:53
opportunity to sell the. Did they jump the gun with the
18:55
announcement? The game's going to happen.
18:59
No, no, watch it. You jumped.
19:01
The game's going to happen. Duke will play somebody on
19:04
Amazon. I don't know if it's going to be
19:06
Michigan. I think well.
19:08
That loses sort of some appeal, we'll say the least.
19:10
The other component is the release that was handed out
19:14
about the game from Michigan. Not once in that press release
19:19
that was sent out Amazon. Amazon was not mentioned in
19:23
that. Just the fact that they're going
19:24
to play. Yes.
19:26
I also saw some questions and I kind of wondered the same kind
19:31
of thing is you look at where these games are going to be
19:34
played. Why are Duke and Yukon playing
19:38
in Las Vegas? OK, they're two national brands,
19:40
but still, why isn't that at MSG?
19:43
It goes back to those rights. That is considered territory.
19:47
And both the Big East and the ACC would say, hey, that's our
19:51
territory. You can't sell that off to
19:53
Amazon. Why?
19:55
If Duke's playing Gonzaga and Yukon, why is the Gonzaga game
19:59
being played in Detroit? That doesn't make sense.
20:02
Well, that is not PAC 12 territory in Detroit.
20:06
That is not ACC territory. Yes, folks, Gonzaga is now a
20:09
member of the PAC 12. That is why these games are
20:12
being played in the locales that they are to work around a little
20:16
bit. The reasoning behind.
20:18
That my God, the the magnitude of those games potentially
20:21
right? The Gonzaga games the end of
20:23
February too. That's February 20th.
20:25
That late. Yes, which obviously Gonzaga,
20:28
it's great for them to have an yeah.
20:30
That's because I agree with you. I remember so vividly when
20:33
Gonzaga and Memphis played those series when Memphis was still
20:36
within Conference USA at the time.
20:38
But it's when Cal had it up and running at the highest level
20:40
with Derrick Rose in that group and and how good they were.
20:43
And then we Gonzaga, how? Much did Memphis pay Derrick
20:45
Rose? Right.
20:47
That'd be bundle, right? Had to be.
20:50
A bundle? Well, of course they couldn't
20:52
pay. No, no station in theory.
20:54
In theory, right? We're not alleging.
20:56
Anything right, If they could have, I guess we should have
20:58
said Memphis. Yeah, that always made sense to
21:02
me. Interesting.
21:03
Well, good stuff. Always something isn't there.
21:07
We will head to break. Eugene Repay is coming up next.
21:10
But prior to doing so, Speaking of money, here's your chance to
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afternoon. Sean Roberts, Ben Giselson
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manning the ship for three hours this afternoon it's 125 Miller
21:42
and Condon. We'll be back with Eugene Repay
21:44
to talk Iowa State. Trent's plays of the day.
21:46
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It's the Iowa Sports Radio Network.
21:53
I'm Mary Congen. Welcome back.
21:55
Iowa Sports Radio Network 130 on a Friday, coming up in about 20
22:01
minutes or thereabouts. Trent's plays of the day.
22:03
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Trent will give us some plays. You can fade, you can follow,
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you can do what you want. But Circus sports sponsors those
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each and every day. Working on Eugene Repay from the
22:17
Des Moines Register. Talk a little Iowa State with
22:20
Eugene having trouble connecting with Eugene for the president.
22:23
So hopefully we'll be able to make that work in the in the
22:27
minutes to follow was as we mentioned early in the program,
22:32
I think word would describe it. I was not relieved, but I was
22:37
pleased, pleased to see that the Big 12 schools turned down the
22:41
opportunity to take that line of credit, if you will.
22:46
It seemed like a lose lose at the time.
22:48
Well, for the here and now it's good, but it's not like you're
22:52
going to get to keep that money. It's going to come, you know
22:55
that time to pay it back is going to be upon you at some
22:59
point. And the interest rates aren't
23:00
cheap by any means. I think it was 2031.
23:03
They had to pay it back when the new television contracts go into
23:07
effect. So I'm pleased to see that at
23:10
least. What have we got?
23:11
9? I think 9 of the schools are
23:14
waiting on a couple. But if everybody else is turning
23:16
it down, I'd be surprised of one school.
23:19
This is everybody else is wrong. This is a really good idea, yes.
23:21
Right. If you can.
23:24
And maybe it's just as simple as getting your head above water
23:26
and feeling if you get that kind of momentum and you can carry it
23:29
forward and it leads to a playoff bid in College Football
23:32
Playoff, it leads to a deep run in the NCAA tournament, that in
23:36
turn, you're going to take that investment and go a step
23:38
further. That'd be the theory.
23:40
I don't think I'd buy it. No, I'm with you.
23:42
All right, Eugene repay coming up, desmoinesregister.com, we
23:45
will speak with him. Obviously we'll get into the
23:48
signing from earlier this week. Boy, TJ, just I get these from
23:53
there, etcetera, but his roots run very deeply in the state of
23:56
Wisconsin is he seldom misses when he goes after somebody in
24:00
that state. Wisconsin has been very, very
24:02
good to Iowa State and to Ames, Eugene, Trenton, Ken, thanks for
24:06
giving us a few minutes here today.
24:08
Donovan Davis, the latest from the state of Wisconsin to commit
24:13
to play for the Cyclones. And by the sounds of things and
24:16
when you look at the schools that Iowa State beat, by the
24:19
sounds of things, they've got a good one potentially.
24:22
And Donovan Davis, what sealed the deal, do you you think
24:25
Eugene, do you have any, any clarity, any Intel on what
24:29
ultimately persuaded Donovan Davis was a TJ himself?
24:32
What persuaded Davis to become a Cyclone?
24:36
It's a combination of many different things.
24:38
You look at Iowa State success, but also just their development
24:41
and what they've been able to do with players coming from
24:43
Wisconsin keeping that pipeline alive.
24:46
And of course TJ success in recent years.
24:48
But also, I think one big thing was the continuity.
24:51
Of course you lose Jr. Blind and you lose Kyle Green,
24:54
two big recruiters, but this was something that TJ and his staff
24:57
had actually anticipated for. So Nate Schmidt, who is still on
25:01
staff, was started to get really involved with the recruitment
25:03
and then he met with Alan Hansen and and Tim Buckley, the new
25:07
assistant coaches. So they've been able to kind of
25:10
keep that connection going, keep that continuity going.
25:12
So even when those two key assistants left, there was still
25:15
that good connection with the program.
25:17
And of course, TJ also Burger at the helm.
25:19
And and I also think just that pipeline from Wisconsin to Iowa
25:22
State has been so huge. And like you mentioned, they
25:25
they got him against a good final five list, beat out Iowa,
25:29
beat out Marquette, beat out Wisconsin.
25:32
So that they did a good job of learning them out there and and
25:34
bring him to aims. You look at maybe the sweet spot
25:39
of high school recruiting for programs like Iowa State.
25:42
We know what the top ten guys in the country go for and the
25:46
amount of money that it's going to cost, probably not realistic,
25:48
but is there a sweet spot? Those players ranked, you know,
25:51
between 25 and 100, still really good players, maybe a touch more
25:55
development to them. And on top of it, maybe guys
25:58
that are going to stick around for a couple years on top of it
26:00
is, could this become the secret sauce for TJ Otzel Burger and
26:03
company? Yeah, I think also when you look
26:05
at back then we're pre nil, you know there was always that that
26:09
debate to like 1 and done versus the guys.
26:12
If you get multiple 4 star guys or guys that are still in the
26:15
top 100, top 50 quality players that you can still develop.
26:19
Of course you can never predict too much into the future
26:21
nowadays with the transfer portal and nil.
26:24
But I do agree with you that there is definitely, it feels
26:26
like that there is some sort of sweet spot there where you get
26:28
those four-star guys who are willing to buy in still quality
26:32
players still. I don't want to say I guess a
26:36
little more affordable than those blue chip five star guys.
26:39
But I also think it does help when you have that kind of that
26:43
blueprint there, that kind of archetype where you have those
26:45
players who you look at Iowa State's freshman class who are
26:48
now coming back as sophomores. A lot of those guys like Killian
26:51
Turay and Demarian Bateman and Dominican's played out.
26:54
They were all four-star guys and they're coming back.
26:56
So I think that that's all promising as well.
26:59
And you would hope, if you're an Iowa State fan, that Davis is
27:01
here for the long haul. Yeah, no doubt about it as they
27:05
hope T JS here for the long haul because a the recruiting, the
27:09
deals he's able to seal when when you get these recruits
27:13
etcetera and the teams that he's able to put on the floor.
27:16
Eugene, it seems like it would be a really bad year for
27:21
something to unfold that Iowa State's not in at least in
27:24
contention. And I might even go a step
27:26
further and say this for this. It's almost to the point now.
27:29
Were you expecting Iowa State to hear their name called on
27:34
Selection Sunday? That's where that program
27:35
seemingly is right now. Is that over the top?
27:39
No, I think that's that's 100% spot on.
27:41
I mean, when you make the Sweet 16 three times in the last five
27:44
years, you start getting accustomed to being in the NCAA
27:47
tournament. Especially for also Burger,
27:48
who's made it to the Big Dance every year since he's taken
27:51
over. He's the only coach in Iowa
27:53
State history to lead Iowa State there five years in a row.
27:57
Look, 6 is looking pretty good. And when you talk about
28:00
tournament expansion 2 to 76, that that feels a little bit
28:03
better and you tell you. So I, I think that the odds
28:06
right now for Iowa State to just continue making the big dance
28:09
are huge. But that is definitely the, the
28:11
new standard now. The expectation, of course, you
28:13
don't want to be entitled, but when you start winning that much
28:16
or when you start making it to the Sweet 16 that many times
28:19
they're getting to a second weekend, it starts becoming the
28:21
new standard and the new expectation.
28:23
What do you take a look forward to next season and new faces
28:26
that are there? We've seen guys that have
28:28
popped, we've seen others that happen.
28:30
It's 5 new guys coming in there out of the transfer portal.
28:32
Is there a name or two that you really like to think are going
28:35
to be a good fit and and are going to have to become big time
28:37
factors for the Cyclone team? Yeah, I think when you look at
28:41
those, but the transfers that they're bringing in, I think
28:44
each guy brings in a different skill set or a different need or
28:48
addresses a different need on the roster.
28:49
So I'm I'm pretty excited for all five of them.
28:51
I'm curious to see because we've seen TJ Altenberger take those
28:54
guys from mid major lower levels and really squeeze every last
28:58
ounce of them to to help them produce at a big power
29:01
conference level. But the the couple of guys that
29:03
I'm most curious about or most interested in or most excited
29:07
about is I think for a long term piece, Trey Singleton, he was a
29:11
four-star recruit coming out of high school and the transfer
29:13
portal. He was another four-star
29:14
prospect. I think he's another one of
29:16
those versatile big men seems to be kind of architect that Alta
29:20
Burger has been leaning towards to in the last couple of years.
29:22
And I think that he's a guy that has a really high ceiling.
29:25
And then you look at some of those red shirt seniors, like I
29:27
think Leon Bond is going to be 1 who's going to be great from
29:30
Northern Iowa, started his career at Virginia.
29:33
Just a versatile guy that that can bring that slasher element,
29:37
finish plays above a rim. He got a steady 3 point shot,
29:40
but he's just defensively a dog. And then I think Jaquan Johnson
29:43
is a guy that I'm intrigued to see 511 he's listed at, might
29:47
not be the biggest, but he was defensive player of the year in
29:49
his conference. Just a two way contributor
29:52
gives, I would state another playmaker.
29:54
You pair him with Toray in the backcourt, that's going to be
29:56
another frustrating backcourt defensive tandem for opponents
30:00
to deal with. He can shoot, he can score and
30:03
he's tough. So I'm curious to see how that
30:06
translates over to the Big 12 as well.
30:08
We know that they're going to end up in Vegas.
30:09
Have you and Heinz decided who's going to cover that for the
30:12
register? You got it last year.
30:14
Does that mean Travis is going to get the Vegas trip this year?
30:17
Are you going back? Do you know yet?
30:19
Travis and I have have had preliminary talks and you never
30:23
want to count your chickens yet, but it's looking like a return
30:27
trip potentially. Nice, nice, nice.
30:29
Good for you. It's it's a great tournament.
30:31
Like it's the it's really the who's who again this year.
30:35
And they've made some necessary tweaks to this event.
30:38
Event, right? We've got a bracket and said, I
30:40
mean, we, we were in the throes of it and we really did you have
30:44
a good field trend for how this thing was going to unfold as far
30:47
as what has to happen for Iowa State to get to that.
30:51
Well, and there wasn't a championship.
30:52
It was stupid and and it drove me absolutely crazy, as you
30:55
know. And you're talking about point
30:56
differentials and we're getting back now to a true bracket the
30:59
way it should be, but a 16 team bracket for Iowa State in the
31:03
side that they're on, which means is it a guaranteed 4 games
31:07
minimum? Do you know, Eugene, if it's
31:08
going to be 4 games or is it only going to be 4 games?
31:11
Say if you get to a Championship game, do you know the structure
31:14
of how the players there is going to look with that 16 team
31:16
bracket? Yeah, they haven't released the
31:19
schedule or the the official bracket yet.
31:21
So I'm, I'm curious about that as well.
31:23
I've heard preliminary rumors saying that everyone's
31:25
guaranteed at least three and then a fourth if you go all the
31:28
way far enough for the consolation.
31:31
But yeah, especially to with Mt ES, we've only really seen like
31:35
the 18 brackets. We've never seen a 16 team
31:38
bracket. And I know that the NCAA is
31:40
relaxed on a lot of those rules now where you can play a fourth
31:43
game. So I'm curious to see how that
31:45
works out. But I think that this will be
31:47
the first time that that has ever been sanctioned by the
31:50
NCAA. So, so this is going to be a new
31:52
experience for a lot of teams. But it'll definitely be a lot
31:54
better than point differentials, tiebreakers or being the odd man
31:59
out when you win your first couple of games in the group
32:01
stage and then unfortunately because you didn't make a layup
32:04
at the last second or maybe you missed a free throw, you don't
32:08
make the money matches. I'm with you.
32:10
Let's talk a little football is it?
32:12
It is up next. Prior to getting to basketball
32:14
season. Eugene, I saw a piece the the
32:16
ESPN they put out their their forecast for their post spring
32:22
forecast for all the schools in the Big 12.
32:25
They have Iowa State pick 16th and last.
32:29
I guess I mean, everybody's kind of in the same boat, right?
32:32
It's so new. These players you know very
32:34
little about is everybody's everybody left and then they got
32:38
a whole new group of of players. And we have no idea that, you
32:42
know, what's their strengths are going to be at least at this
32:45
point. Is that fair or is that taking
32:47
the easy way out? And I don't know anything about
32:48
them. I'll pick them last.
32:50
I thought that was kind of I'm not saying that they're going to
32:52
win the conference by any mean, but I don't think they're going
32:54
to finish last. Are you?
32:56
I personally don't think they'll finish last.
32:58
I think that they'll scrape for a couple wins there.
33:01
I know it's definitely not going to be an easy road for them, But
33:04
I I think that this might just be a, a product of, you know,
33:07
whether it's ESPN or the biggest odds makers.
33:09
Like for example, I saw Giraffe Kings had Iowa State finishing
33:12
second to last or the second to last odds for winning a Big 12
33:15
title. So I think it's just a byproduct
33:18
of the massive roster turnover. If you're a guy from the outside
33:22
looking in, you're going to be a little skeptical when you see
33:25
where a lot of these players are coming from, whether it's
33:27
division two FCS or a lower Division One.
33:32
There's not too many power conference transfers.
33:34
And especially in this day and age, I'm I'm sure if you're, you
33:37
know, not not in there or you're not familiar with Rogers, you're
33:41
probably going to be very low on them.
33:43
So I think that that's just a product of what we're seeing.
33:46
Of course, if you're an Iowa State fan or a ticket season
33:48
ticket holder, you're going to hope for a better result, but
33:51
right now there's just so many unknowns and that's definitely a
33:53
part of it too. But I also think that just
33:55
looking at where these players are coming from versus some of
33:58
the other incoming transfers at other schools, it's not exactly
34:02
apples, it's not exactly one-on-one or it's not exactly
34:05
the same. You mentioned season tickets,
34:08
any idea what the renewal rate is?
34:11
As far as football, Eugene is as Pollard or the university
34:14
released. Any ticket info here were in the
34:17
what early May? Yeah.
34:20
Nothing released officially yet, but Mr. Hines and I have
34:23
actually put in a couple of questions.
34:26
So we're very curious about that as well, keeping an eye on that.
34:30
And then also once the season on the folds as well.
34:34
You know, sometimes that they, I'm not saying this is an Iowa
34:37
State thing, but you look at other schools, they'll announce
34:40
a certain attendance, but you, your eyes when you're looking at
34:43
the stadium, it shows a different number.
34:46
So we're going to keep an eye on on not only ticket sales, but
34:48
also the actual physical tickets hands.
34:51
I wish more people what? For how many people are actually
34:53
coming? Yeah, I wish more people would.
34:55
That's awesome. A couple years ago with Iowa
34:57
basketball, that was definitely eye opening as opposed to the
35:00
ticket sold. This sellout streak in Nebraska
35:02
is legit and I don't want to hear anything about.
35:04
Oh, Husker, Kenny is back again. Thought we got rid of him and
35:07
now we're #1 he's back once again.
35:09
Eugene, last thing from me. No spring portal, obviously, as
35:13
we all know at this point. Washington State, though, did
35:15
have that with Jimmy Rodgers a year ago.
35:17
We saw what happened with the running back this week.
35:20
How impactful, How tough does that make getting everything
35:23
right going back to January and February when they're bringing
35:25
these guys in, not having what you had before with the spring
35:28
portal. It's kind of a double edged
35:31
sword because when you did have the spring portal, you have to
35:33
account for players who might be leaving or surprise exits at the
35:37
last second before you know it's the last chance to jump ship
35:39
before the season ends. But so when you look back at the
35:43
the December portal or when it was first open or now the only
35:46
portal. Period.
35:48
There's a little bit of relief there.
35:49
You already know what you're working with.
35:51
You know what you got. You're set.
35:53
You don't have to worry about who's staying, who's going.
35:55
These are the players you can go forward with offseason, no
35:58
pressure on or no worries or anxieties for who might leave
36:02
once May or April rolls around. But now here we are where you
36:06
did mention now the running backs are are thin, you lose
36:10
Jackson. You have a lot out for.
36:12
Whoever you know, an undetermined amount of time, but
36:15
it looks pretty serious by the looks of his knee scooter and
36:17
his cast. So you kind of wish you could
36:19
dip into a portal and have that second period.
36:22
I think there's just pros and cons and unfortunate for Iowa
36:24
State that they're unlucky this time around, but I'm very
36:26
curious to see how they manage that.
36:28
It sounds like it'll be more Aiden Floral be more Cameron pet
36:31
away and maybe hopefully they'll get a lot of sooner than later
36:36
and maybe they'll work them in as well.
36:37
But definitely very, very thin and I'm sure Jimmy Rogers would
36:41
love that second period, second transfer opportunity to to hit
36:44
on some running decks. Absolutely.
36:46
Eugene Repay from the Des Moines Register, desmoinesregister.com
36:50
for Iowa State, Eugene Repay and Travis Hines.
36:53
Thanks, Eugene. As always, we will track you
36:56
down in a week's time if your schedule allows.
36:58
Thanks, Eugene. Have a great weekend.
37:00
Same to you guys. Thank you very much.
37:01
Good to talk to you Eugene Repay putting in a FOIA request for
37:05
the season ticket numbers. That's great.
37:07
I wish more schools. I wish more people on the beat.
37:10
I would love to know actual attendance numbers.
37:12
Like you said, the Iowa number from a couple of years, didn't
37:15
you have a weren't you able to get that number for for the men?
37:21
It wasn't me. But you somebody funneled it to
37:23
you. Yes, yeah.
37:24
And I think The Gazette was the one that.
37:26
Happened that what it was. I think that's where it came
37:27
from initially. A few more people started
37:30
digging in and there were eye opening numbers.
37:32
Oh my gosh. Because he got your base back
37:34
then what, 7-8 thousand season ticket holders?
37:36
We know it's not that. But yeah, I don't know.
37:38
Maybe it's 45000 and there were a couple of dates it was like
37:41
2200 for men's basketball at the University of Iowa.
37:46
Think Cyclone fans will just renew?
37:49
I'm not. Sure, you know, or do they want
37:50
to see a year of what it's going to look like?
37:53
It's got to be. There were a lot of hurt
37:55
feelings. No, without a doubt.
37:57
And then did you see the piece on the Jim?
37:59
I think it was Jim Trotter from the the big
38:01
matt.campbellpiecethatpublished0earlierthisweekididntitsalongpiece@espn.com. And when it comes to Rocco
38:11
backed and him leaving one of the final people that he talked
38:15
to to and and listened to ultimately on his decision.
38:20
Do you know who it was? And this can't go over well.
38:23
Jimmy Rogers, No. I mean, one of the anointed Iowa
38:27
State athletes, one of the one of the most popular Iowa State
38:31
athletes ever, Brock Purdy and Rocco Bect had a conversation
38:38
and I I according to the article, Rocco seemed to take to
38:43
heart what Purdy had to say to follow Campbell.
38:46
Not saying which state of Iowa State, but I'm sure he had other
38:49
offers to other places. But I I I wondered how Brock
38:54
Purdy was seen in the eyes of Cyclone fans.
38:57
Because they hate Rocco. Yes and they do.
39:00
I get it. Not hate some.
39:03
Do some do. Yeah, some do.
39:04
Yeah, same way about Audie Crooks.
39:07
Yes, right. That's the fandom, yeah.
39:11
Certainly comes through. Thank God for him.
39:12
Yes, thank God for. Him.
39:14
We need them. Yeah, but I just wondered how
39:16
they felt when Brock Purdy apparently was, he's quoted in
39:19
the piece. Rocco reached out to him and
39:22
maybe the deciding factor push him out the door.
39:27
We'll come back and finish up the program.
39:28
Transplays of the day or next Circus sports sponsors those
39:32
it's the IO sports radio network minutes.
39:34
Miller and Condon welcome back Transplays of the day circus
39:38
sports sponsor those close coming up momentarily want to
39:41
read this from Zone close. Really good tweet.
39:44
Zero ill will toward Rocco graduated from Iowa State, gave
39:47
Iowa State a discount at least the last couple of years.
39:50
He was great for the community. Was he even heard wrote a check
39:53
for youth football. Didn't he do something for Boone
39:55
after the tragedies And I'm sure he did.
39:59
Rocco will always be a cyclone. Appreciate for what he did.
40:02
It's completely understanding him.
40:04
Understandable this transferring.
40:06
So there's certainly some that see it that way and good for
40:08
them. Zona clone.
40:09
Well done. Good tweet.
40:11
Appreciate you listening. All right, Trent.
40:13
Let's get to your plays of the day, Circa Sports sponsor.
40:16
Those, if you missed the announcement earlier, love to
40:19
have you at Circa with the crew from KX and OS.
40:22
We're heading out there in August.
40:25
Can't wait. Going to be a blast.
40:26
Details on the Miller and Condon page.
40:28
Absolutely. It's tweeted out there.
40:29
Grand prize winner at Air Fair, three nights hotel and a lot of
40:33
VIP experiences at Circa for our silver anniversary with KX and
40:38
O3 in one yesterday. Love it stacking them up.
40:42
Over the last week, that's two. We're still down 9 1/2 units.
40:46
I know. All right, here we go.
40:47
We got 5 plays a lot in the NBA tonight.
40:51
I'm playing both home teams. Just gonna take are you?
40:54
Gonna take the six blindly playing home.
40:56
Both home. Teams.
40:57
No. No.
40:58
OK, Zig Zag. The Sixers hung around without
41:01
him. Beat they did.
41:02
I think that if you're gonna shoot the ball well.
41:04
That is a beat back. Don't care, they play better
41:07
without him. Well.
41:09
And I'm taking the wolves. Oh, I hope you're right.
41:11
I believe in the toughness. And what's the home crowd?
41:13
5/4 and 1/2 I was looking for a 5 couldn't find one out was.
41:16
Earlier in the market. There was, Yep, but it was
41:19
gobbled up quickly. I did notice that what it did.
41:21
Pop also going to play. Nas read over tonight as we go
41:24
into the props. Unjuice dot bet is where I've
41:26
been finding these prop bets. Nas read over 11 1/2 points in
41:31
the ball game and then 2 baseball props.
41:33
For tonight, we're going to go Lopez for the A's over 4 1/2
41:37
strikeouts for him and Matt Olson over 1 1/2 total bases.
41:41
What a year he is having, Yes. Well, his team's pretty good,
41:43
too. Cover off the ball, no doubt
41:45
about it. No NHL plays, nothing.
41:47
OK. Should I play the Wild tomorrow
41:49
night? Oh, the house is just so damn
41:53
good. They really are.
41:56
That's gonna do it for us. We appreciate you being with us.
41:58
We'll do it again on Monday. Coming up next off the bench,
42:03
Chris Connelly from the Iowa Event Center at 4.
42:06
Miller and Condon talk sports with you every Monday through
42:09
Friday from noon until 2 on the Iowa Sports Radio Network.
42:13
Have a wonderful weekend.