Latest / Scene Projects Sports Network / Valkyries’ Title Run, NBA Injuries and College Basketball Contenders

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Valkyries’ Title Run, NBA Injuries and College Basketball Contenders · Scene Projects Sports Network

0:37
Welcome into the scene project sports network.
0:40
I am your host, Bubba Starts, and you are here tonight for the rim report.
0:44
I got my guy, Selly, with me.
0:46
We're gonna preview the NCAA men's and women's seasons, and we're also gonna talk about the
0:52
new WNBA champion, Golden State Valkyries.
0:55
But first, a word from our sponsors.
0:58
Let's talk about the other game nobody's scoring.
1:01
Every Friday night, there's somebody in the stands filming the touchdown.
1:05
Nobody else caught.
1:06
There's a kid in his basement cutting highlight reels at 2AM.
1:10
There's an athlete building a brand one post at a time.
1:14
There's a local show like this one covering the teams the big networks forgot existed.
1:19
That content goes viral.
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Millions of views and the payout, less than a penny of you if you're lucky.
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The platforms take the win, and the creators who built them ride the bench.
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That's why we're rolling with Galactic Federation.
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With a GFC account, you get paid for every byte of data streamed to you right after the view
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comes in.
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Your content, your audience, your money.
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Creators built sports media.
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It's time we got paid like the starters we are.
1:50
Galactic Federation, get in the game.
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You can go to galacticfederation.tech.
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Sign up for a free account there.
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If you're a creator like me, you can get paid.
2:00
Cha ching.
2:02
What's good, Sallie?
2:03
How you doing, brother?
2:05
What's up, Bubba?
2:05
How are you doing, man?
2:06
Doing well.
2:08
I am.
2:09
I'm excited, man.
2:11
Shout out to our sponsors, the Galactic Federation.
2:13
What's up, Casper?
2:15
Appreciate you guys tuning in with us tonight.
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Sponsoring the show.
2:20
You know I love you guys and being a part of this.
2:23
So really excited to have new sponsors on with the network and to continue having the
2:29
opportunity to grow.
2:30
And, you know, I think, Selle, you're kind of here at an opportune moment where we are
2:36
experiencing a a ton of growth in a short amount of time.
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For instance, this show didn't even exist just a few months ago.
2:43
It's kinda crazy that we're already, what, four or five episodes in, continuing to show up
2:49
every week, and, really excited to watch this one grow over the course of the season.
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Right?
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We, you know, started off WNBA playoffs and now the finals.
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Now they're over NBA seasons in swing.
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The, you know, the Emirates Cup is is going now after last weekend, and now the NCAA seasons
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are just getting started as well.
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So gonna be a lot of ball.
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We might have to start doing multiple episodes a week at some point just to cover it all.
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But I...
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I'm really excited, you know, not only to have you on board with us, but, to continue growing.
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We we we love it here.
3:28
Yeah.
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I'm excited to be here like always.
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Like you said, all this ball, it's it's a lot, man, and you have to sacrifice one.
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Can't watch them all at the same time.
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Sometimes you hear people like Bill Simmons.
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They said they got, like, multiple TVs.
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Hopefully, one day when this show reaches what we want it to be, I can get the multiple TVs
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watching all the stuff going at the same time.
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Look like a sports book in Selly's bedroom.
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Right.
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Yeah, man.
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It...
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It's gonna be really awesome, and and we're looking forward to that.
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And, being able to send you out to, some of this ball and and finding our way in here,
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covering the big leagues and talking about that is awesome, but my goal has always been to
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kinda shine a light where other people aren't aren't looking.
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So right now, because the the leagues are are in swing and we have the ability to provide
4:22
some of that coverage, the the...
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I think the big...
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The bigger vision, Selly, is to, provide that coverage maybe to certain teams or smaller
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leagues and to be their exclusive coverage.
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Right?
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A lot of people wanna talk about the NBA and the NCAA seasons, you know, especially at that
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division one level.
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What about the division three team that deserves it just as much?
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These other guys are out here and gals fighting for their team, and that's that's what empowers
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me.
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That's that's what, you know, fills my cup is to kinda bring that to the people who need it.
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Right?
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LeBron doesn't need us talking about him.
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Right?
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He's got plenty of people that want to do that.
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But player x that may be fighting to one day continue a career playing maybe overseas and
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having a little extra tape or highlights of something makes sense and help them advance
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their career.
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That's really what I'm about.
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And and I think that is where, you know, SPSN can be the most impactful in the future.
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And it's no different than what I was doing with the independent music world with the scene
5:33
projects.
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And and, really, that's where I met the Galactic Federation and, connected with them
5:40
was as a musician and being creators.
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And now we're just bringing that kind of mentality, the underdog mentality, if you will,
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to the sports world.
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So I see a a bright future for us.
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And right now, we're just building those reps, Selly, no different than the guys practicing in
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the gym.
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Yeah.
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There's a lot of talent, like you said, at all levels.
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If you pay attention to college basketball or even college football, there's people like
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Trinidad Chambliss at Ole Miss who was the QB of a was a QB of a d two school, and now he's
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leading an SEC school and could win a Heisman in the next month.
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You have basketball players and coaches like the coach at Iowa for the men's basketball
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team.
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He he was a national champion at a d two, then he moved to Drake, won a title there, and then
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he's now at Iowa, he's doing great things.
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So there's a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players doing a lot of great things at
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all levels, and they all deserve a a spotlight.
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No doubt.
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And that's not to even, you know, think about the stories that are in each one of these.
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Right?
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The interviews and the documentaries that we can do.
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And and now that I've found a way to edit a lot of this content down and to, kind of shortcut
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that process, there's really no telling what we can do.
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I'm really excited to keep digging in, to more and more of this, and it's gonna be really
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great what we're able to provide for the sports world, the, you know, the lifestyle world, and
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the, arts and entertainment world all at the same time.
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I'm really, really thrilled about the year that 2027 is already shaping up to be, and, I'm glad
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that you're a part of it, Selly.
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So thank you as always for being here and and really driving this show.
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I mean, you're the captain here, buddy.
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What are what are we talking about tonight?
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Tonight, we, like you said, we, we're gonna talk about the Valkyries and the historic game
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seven, the first one in WNBA history.
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The Valkyries winning their title in their second...
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Only their second year of of existence, becoming the fastest professional sport team to
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win a title in their years of existence.
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It's the shortest time, I believe.
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I think they beat the the Milwaukee Bucks from, like, the '72, '73.
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Don't quote me on the year.
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But it was those early Bucks those early Bucks teams, I I believe, with Oscar Robertson, I
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believe.
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It's celebrating them and just their historic amazing achievement.
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Then, talking some men in college, college basketball with, men and women, breaking down
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the season because the season started on Monday for the guys.
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I think...
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I believe the women's start tomorrow.
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So, like, just a whole bunch of basketball to just talk about and just break down.
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Yeah.
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Well, let's start with the champs.
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Shout out to the Golden State Valkyries on an amazing season, capping it off with an
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incredible win.
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Took it all the way.
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We got as much WNBA action as we could ask for this year.
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I love that the series went all the way.
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The Valkyries come out victorious.
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You called that one, as well.
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So a shout out to you for picking the right team.
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What did you see from this team just throughout the season and throughout these finals that
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really set them apart from every other team in the league?
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Well, I'm gonna be honest.
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The first time I watched them was my aunt's...
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My in my aunt's home in Maryland over the summer.
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They were playing the aces, and they actually lost.
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But I...
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And I didn't believe they could win the title then because I didn't think they had a go to
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person at the time.
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And gosh, was I wrong because I underestimated Gabby Williams and what she could do
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offensively and just the player she was.
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As I watched them more, I realized they were just a great defensive team.
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And if they would just have enough offense, they would win the title.
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Now they did struggle offensively throughout this entire postseason.
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But like I said, they found enough offense throughout their runs to just get it done.
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And players like Gabby Williams and Kia Stokes and Tiffany Hayes and Veronica Burton were the
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main catalyst along with, like, a strong bench with a great coach too.
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Shout out to their coach.
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She was unbelievable.
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But, like, they just played great team defense, holding teams to weigh under their averages for
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each playoff series.
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And I just felt as if if they could just put together enough offense that they were...
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If they could they could win the title.
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Yeah.
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The old adage that defense wins championships rings true again.
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Lots of teams during the regular season can put up a lot of points when people aren't maybe
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playing at a 110% effort all the time.
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But when you start to do that...
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And I will always hearken back to some of those, you know, nineties bowls teams that I
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had the pleasure of watching.
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Yes.
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Jordan could drop 50 on you at any point, but it was not just his defense, but the team as a
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total.
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Right?
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A a Dennis Rodman being pivotal in those...
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You know, especially in that last three peat of being a guy who could absolutely shut down your
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bigs and grab every single ball that's coming off of there.
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There's something to, you know, the...
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There's a reason it's a cliche.
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Right?
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And once again holds true this year in the WNBA.
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I think it's thrilling.
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Yeah.
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Like you said, like, those great Bulls teams, like the great Warriors teams with Steph and
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Klay Thompson and Draymond, this Valkyrie's team just played great defense, gritty defense
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the whole time, connected as a unit, multiple all defensive players on one team.
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They would mix it up to...
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Sometimes they play zone, sometimes they play man.
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So it wasn't always just straight man.
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They just...
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They had multiple defenders who could do multiple things on the perimeter so they could
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switch every position.
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Then you had Kia Stokes in in the paint who was able to just get every ball and get every block
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she could.
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So, like, it was just...
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They could be suffocating at times.
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And, like, teams, The Dream were a great offensive team.
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They averaged, I believe, 90 points a game in the regular season, and they were held way
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under their average.
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Now they did break out a couple games, but, like, for the most part, they were held to...
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These games were played in the sixties, the seventies, which is what the Valkyrie which is
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what the Valkyries wanted to play.
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They wanted a game in the sixties and seventies.
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Because if it was gonna be played in the nineties, even the hundreds, they weren't gonna
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be able to match.
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Like, just great effort all around, and I just wanna shout out Gabby Williams for her historic
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second half.
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Her...
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The spirit of Steph Curry and Clay Thompson being in the same building where they had
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historic games and just great three point performances.
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She she took the mantle from them and was making literally everything she was shooting on
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Saturday night.
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It was it was unbelievable.
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And I'm sure Steph was very, very happy to witness just her going off on Saturday night.
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Yeah.
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It just incredible.
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And in true Golden State fashion, what would it be, even though it's on the women's side
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without somebody raining three pointers down everywhere.
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So very cool to have those gentlemen in attendance and to be around watching and
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supporting this team.
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And I think it's really great what we've saw with the WNBA growing over the course of this
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season.
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I've been really happy with it.
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Right?
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As a father of a daughter, I I hope that this paves the way for her and many others.
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I don't know that my daughter...
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Yeah.
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She's 10.
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I don't know that she'll ever make the WNBA, but it gives her something to look up to and
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and really excited that the league as a whole got a lot of attention that it's really been
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lacking in, you know, for 20.
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You know, this league's been around for a long time, and we hoped it would be, come a lot
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sooner, but it's here now.
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And I hope that it continues to grow now from this as a foundation and being able to build
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from here.
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So really exciting stuff there, Selly.
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Thanks for, you know, kind of following along and tapping into all the games.
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Think it was really awesome.
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We got a question, NBA question for you, from our friend Casper here.
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It's MF and Casper, with the Texas flag on there.
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I like that too.
14:42
How do you all think Thunder will do this year?
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Let's go SGA.
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It's a very, very interesting question because, Bubba, I don't know if you paid attention.
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They've lost a lot of their team.
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Jalen Williams, unfortunately, suffered the horrible ankle injury, so he's most likely out
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for at least the regular season.
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There's some talk.
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Maybe he'll come back if they make it to the postseason.
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Kacen Wallace is out for a good amount of time with a torn labrum.
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And then Chet Holmgren is out eight to ten weeks.
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So that's, like, three or their four of their best players out.
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They lost a lot of depth in the offseason.
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Lou Dort, they traded away.
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Wiggins, they traded away.
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Isaiah Joe is no longer on the team.
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However, the...
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They have a great culture with coach, they still have a bunch of good players,
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Hartenstein, Jared McCain, and some of these rookies like Adeyemara.
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They've been showing up and playing really well.
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They had a big win on Monday against the Cavs.
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Really impressed me.
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And they still have SGA who's top three, top two players in the league.
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So I actually think they could stay afloat as long...
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And just as long as SGA plays great, hopefully, doesn't overexert himself.
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This is kinda what happens in these situations.
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They he might feel like he has to do more than he has to.
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So I I think...
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I still think they could be a top four seed, top three seed because they still have enough
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talent, and I think this is setting up for SGA to win another another award.
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And and if he does well, because you might not be able to deny it this year if he's able to
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lead this team to another 60 wins.
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Well...
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And we'll just pull up the standings real quick and share these from nba.com.
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Appreciate them letting us steal their stuff here.
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70 sixers top of the east, seven and one.
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The Pistons not far behind, though, at six and one.
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The Celtics are at five and two.
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Any of the Wizards, Raptors, and Cavaliers all at four and three, and then it starts to kinda
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even out going down the line.
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The Knicks starting out three and four, probably a little surprised by that.
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The returning champions going down there, my Bulls, one and six, hasn't really been
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watchable at all.
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When they lose, it's by 20.
17:14
They're not even close.
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But here, the Thunder are, you know, firmly in fifth, five and two on the season so far.
17:21
But this is going to be a very competitive group, especially in this, you know, the...
17:25
This top 10 of the thing.
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And it's obviously very early in the season yet here.
17:31
But even with all the injuries and the losses, you know, that they've suffered, finding a way
17:37
to hang in there, and I think that's a testament to the culture that you talked about,
17:40
Selly.
17:42
Yeah.
17:42
I I still think...
17:44
Because I I was wondering if, like, these injuries might not have much of impact on them
17:51
regular season wise.
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I still think they have enough talent to win a lot of games and, like, SGA is still there.
17:58
The injuries, if these guys don't come back in time, is more of a thing that I think will
18:04
affect them during the postseason when, obviously, the postseason is when you need,
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like, your big time players to step up.
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And the more you...
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The more players you have, the the better.
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I...
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Most people believe if Jaylen Williams was healthy last year that they would have made it
18:20
to the finals and they might have won the title.
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I don't know if I necessarily believe.
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I mean, I I I still think they obviously could've won, but I I think the Spurs were
18:31
playing great regardless.
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But, basically, I I don't think...
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I I don't think it'll have that much of an impact on them in the regular season.
18:40
I still think they'll win their share of games, and I think they'll be alright.
18:45
Yeah.
18:46
Just taking a quick look at the NBA Cup standings and, how things have shaped up
18:52
through most of these teams' first games.
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A few teams yet to play in the NBA cup, but, really fun.
18:59
We'll be taking a a pop back in on these, every Wednesday and getting a look at where everybody
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sits.
19:06
Once again, shout out to nba.com for letting us get in there.
19:10
Yes.
19:10
And I think everyone, around all of the Thunder fans around the world would, would say the
19:19
same.
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So...
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But I...
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That that could be any team.
19:23
A lot of these teams...
19:24
And and and a lot of this has to do, Sally, with kind of, a little bit with the second
19:28
apron, as you talked about as well earlier and, you know, the fact that you can't have as the
19:36
superstars.
19:37
Right?
19:37
You can't have teams loaded with superstars now.
19:40
So every team is on the verge of if your best player gets injured, everybody's in a lot of
19:45
trouble, and that's creating a lot of parody across the NBA right now.
19:49
Yeah.
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The NBA right now is in a historic amount of injury rate...
19:57
In historic injury rate right now.
19:59
A lot of the top players are hurt.
20:01
Halliburton, Anthony Edwards, Jaylen Williams, it's...
20:07
John Morant.
20:08
It's very weird.
20:09
Like, we've...
20:10
We're only, like, two weeks in, and these amount of players are hurt.
20:14
I was listening to Bill Simmons earlier today, and they were talking about, like...
20:19
Because everyone's trying to figure out, like, why why is this happening.
20:21
Is it is it the unit...
20:24
Is it the equipment that the guys are wearing?
20:26
Is it the pace of play?
20:29
Is it just a young man's game now, and it's just players are just gonna get hurt?
20:34
Because we're seeing a lot of soft tissue injuries like hamstrings, calves, Achilles.
20:40
So it's a...
20:41
And then like you said with the second apron, the thing now is that a lot of these good
20:47
teams, they're actually equipped a little bit more to deal with these injuries because they
20:50
have a lot more depth.
20:52
So they have a lot more players, a lot of...
20:54
Like like, when the Pacers made their finals run, they went, like, 10 deep.
20:58
So, like, they...
20:59
And, like, the Thunder two, like, they're, like, 10 deep, 11 deep.
21:03
So they can...
21:03
They're equipped to deal with these things.
21:05
It's just when they're happening to your elite players, it's, like, a real problem, and it's
21:11
unfortunate for the game because no one wants to see anybody get hurt, but especially your
21:17
top players.
21:18
Like, it's very unfortunate, especially this early in the season.
21:21
And I...
21:22
There could be a part of it where the games matter.
21:25
They they found a way to make these early season games matter more.
21:31
Guys are playing harder.
21:32
And when you're pushing yourself physically, injuries are going to happen.
21:35
So while it is unfortunate, it it it could be a...
21:39
Just a product of getting a better product on the court.
21:43
Right?
21:44
It could be a result of that guys trying a little bit harder and pushing themselves
21:50
instead of worrying about, you know, you know, load management and and kind of coasting
21:55
through the first three months of the season and then turning it on, you know, when we get
22:00
to February and March finally.
22:03
Yeah.
22:05
It...
22:06
It's it's a dilemma that, like, I feel like the league is gonna...
22:09
I mean, I'm sure they're looking into it because it's just been a problem the last
22:14
couple of years.
22:15
Injuries, it feels like has affected who's won the title, if we're being honest.
22:20
Like, Halliburton getting hurt in the finals, the one year.
22:23
Jaylen Williams getting hurt last year.
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It's it's a major problem, and, like, we don't...
22:31
People don't know.
22:32
Like, should he shorten the season, go to 70 games?
22:36
Like I said, is it the equipment?
22:38
Are players pushing themselves too hard in workouts?
22:42
Have they just been playing too much basketball from when they were kids, like, with this...
22:46
With AAU schedules?
22:48
Like, I'm sure there's a lot of data and, like, our people have their own theories.
22:54
I don't really have a theory one way or the other.
22:56
If I had to pick one, I'd probably think of the whole pacing space.
23:00
Like, these...
23:01
The the pace these players are going at with the amount of possessions.
23:06
It's the most it's ever been, and it's a lot of running and twisting and contorting their
23:11
bodies and putting a lot of pressure on their joints.
23:14
So that would be what I would pick, but it's just an unfortunate thing right now.
23:21
Yeah.
23:21
And I hadn't considered that as part of it when you're defending and guys are, you know,
23:28
running a shot clock down and maybe there's a little bit more to that, but that's not the way
23:33
the league is anymore.
23:34
A lot of times, it's, you know, one pass and jacking up a three pointer.
23:39
Games are going into the 150.
23:42
Like, you know, games are are regularly in the triple digits.
23:46
In fact, I think if it doesn't go into triple digits at this point, you're kinda like, oh,
23:50
everybody had an off night.
23:53
So it's...
23:54
I didn't think about the extra possessions and kind of the offensive exertion being a part of
24:00
that, but no doubt, Selly, and I think there's some probably data to back that up as well.
24:06
Yeah.
24:07
Like,
24:08
these games have never been...
24:10
Like you said, you you put on a game and it...
24:13
These games are being played in the hundreds regularly.
24:17
There's one guy I listen to on the radio, and he's always like, one day someone's gonna hit
24:21
200 points.
24:22
And he...
24:22
I honestly agree with him.
24:23
Like, the way, like, somebody's gonna hit Will to 101 day, like, the way...
24:28
With all these possessions and the way people can shoot now and all the talent we have, but,
24:34
like, at the same time, you're defending more space because of the threes.
24:37
Like, think about it with, like, Steph, where he shoots from, you have to defend out there.
24:42
There's a lot...
24:43
Like, there's just a lot more running, defending, just cutting, moving, and it's just
24:49
like...
24:50
I just put it...
24:51
I think it puts a lot of pressure on your joints.
24:53
Like, if you watch a...
24:55
If you go back and watch a game from, like, the nineties, like, if you watch, like, the ninety
25:00
eight finals, there was not a lot of possessions.
25:03
Like, it's a very...
25:04
It's a slower game.
25:05
It's a slower paced game.
25:07
I think the game was, like, game six.
25:10
I think the the final was, like, 75, 71.
25:14
Like, slower pace.
25:16
You're not...
25:17
There's not a lot of running.
25:18
And it is...
25:19
I I I think that's why a lot of players back in the nineties were able to play more because the
25:24
pace was just different.
25:25
Now the pace is just at an all time crazy level back to when it was even the seventies where
25:31
the seventies had a crazy pace.
25:33
So I I just think, like, the pace is probably a reason...
25:37
It's it's probably not the only reason, but it's it's probably the main reason to why we're
25:42
seeing all these injuries.
25:43
Well, it's like driving a race car.
25:45
Right?
25:45
You you keep a race car, pegged at the red line the entire time.
25:49
You're gonna start breaking shit.
25:51
So that's a...
25:52
This is this is no different.
25:54
And, yeah, a 80...
25:56
Or what are they?
25:57
Are they 82 games still?
25:59
Two, then we're probably gonna add two more teams in the next couple of years with the
26:05
Vegas team and then the team from Seattle.
26:08
So who knows?
26:09
They might...
26:10
I don't know if they're gonna add more.
26:11
They're probably not gonna add more games.
26:13
They're gonna figure out the schedule.
26:15
But, yeah, 82 games is a lot.
26:19
There's a lot of people who just believe it should be, like, 70 games maybe, but the owners
26:25
will never go back...
26:26
Will never go down because they don't wanna lose
26:29
No.
26:30
No.
26:31
That's one more sellout.
26:32
What are you talking about?
26:33
We're not we're not giving we're not giving money away.
26:35
You talk...
26:36
You wanna play less preseason games that we don't sell out?
26:39
Fine.
26:41
We'll play less of those, and we'll add more games to the schedule.
26:44
How do you like me now?
26:45
Like Well, would like turf versus grass.
26:49
It's like it's like, well, the players want grass, but it's a lot cheaper to get turf.
26:55
So I'm gonna just stay with the turf even though these own billions of dollars.
26:59
Oh.
27:02
Alright.
27:02
Well, NCAA season, the men are underway.
27:06
The women are coming soon.
27:08
What do you wanna start with here?
27:10
You wanna do the the women first since their season has yet to start, or you wanna start
27:15
with the men's season?
27:20
We'll do ladies first because it's a little bit easier.
27:22
There's typically, historically, less teams you, like, you have to worry about, I guess.
27:30
Not to throw shade at the other schools, but it's like, typically, you worry about your top
27:34
10, and your your title team is probably gonna come from the top five, top 10 historically.
27:41
So we could we could start there.
27:45
Awesome.
27:45
Well, I'm gonna get, yeah, some of the teams and rankings pulled up, and we can go through
27:51
them.
27:51
If you like here, I'll get a screen share going on.
27:55
And Yeah.
27:58
So we got South Carolina's the number one team, followed by Connecticut, USC, Duke, and
28:05
Michigan.
28:06
It's the top five for the women.
28:09
Really excited because Juju Watkins comes back.
28:11
It was a shame that she had to miss last year.
28:14
She's probably the best player in college basketball along with Sarah Strong.
28:19
It's a good debate to who you would pick.
28:23
Probably, if I had to pick, I'd go with Juju, give her a slight edge, but it's really excited
28:29
to have her back.
28:32
Shout out to Michigan too.
28:36
I I think Michigan, this could be their year.
28:39
They've been building for this for a for a couple years now with this recruiting class
28:44
they've had, Silas Schwartz and Olivia Olsen, who were big...
28:49
All big 10 honors, two great players.
28:54
And, like, they've...
28:56
Like I said, they've been building towards this for years since they've come in as freshmen,
28:59
and they were impacting the game as freshmen right away, which can be pretty rare for women.
29:05
Now the great ones come in early and play great right away, but it's not all the time.
29:09
And they both did it at a school like Michigan, which historically is not a basketball school,
29:14
especially for women.
29:15
So, like, the fact that they're turning this program around.
29:19
They actually have a big game, their first game of the season tomorrow versus Connecticut.
29:23
So the fun thing about the next two days is Michigan and Connecticut both play each other,
29:29
and men and women Both men and women are both playing the same team.
29:34
So Connecticut men are gonna be playing the Michigan men and vice versa for the women.
29:40
So it's actually gonna be a pretty fun two days for both schools.
29:44
For the women, it's gonna be pretty important for them to to beat UConn because UConn along
29:51
with South Carolina these past couple years, but especially UConn has been the standard for
29:55
women's college basketball.
29:57
And I'm sure that they wanna...
29:59
If...
29:59
I'm sure they all believe this is their year to win a title and make it to the final four.
30:03
So, like, this is probably gonna be a really big game for them.
30:06
It's at home too, so they're probably gonna be really ants.
30:11
So I I believe I can't wait to watch that game tomorrow.
30:15
And then, yeah, South Carolina, show some love to them.
30:19
They're a number one team.
30:21
Shout out shout out to all the players there, and shout out to coach Don Staley too.
30:27
Amazing coach.
30:30
They're gonna do their thing, but the SEC is a lot more tougher than it has always...
30:36
Than it's been in the past.
30:37
Texas is there, and shout out to my dark horse, Kentucky.
30:41
I I I saw...
30:43
I had...
30:43
I worked at tournament at American Dream Mall last year where I got to see two of their
30:49
recruits, Emily McDonald and a Sailor Sword sister, and they were amazing.
30:55
And they both they both played for Kentucky this year.
30:57
So I'm picking them as my dark horse sleeper because I believe those two girls are
31:03
unbelievable.
31:06
Yeah.
31:07
Awesome.
31:07
Great breakdown there.
31:09
Selly, looking forward to watching these ladies, go at it and, continuing to to grow the
31:17
game.
31:17
You know?
31:17
The reason that the WNBA is as strong as it is now is because this, the the NCAA women's,
31:27
continues to be, very strong and building these great programs, you know, South Carolina and
31:34
UConn both, but UCLA, have something to say as well.
31:40
Yeah.
31:40
Like, just...
31:42
There's a lot of talent, a lot of...
31:45
Especially now with the transfer portal, like we said, just a lot of schools spread out.
31:49
A lot of teams have a have a legitimate chance to win a title now.
31:54
When I was younger, it wasn't the case.
31:56
It was pretty much Connecticut was gonna win and who was gonna...
31:59
Who were they gonna be in the title game.
32:02
Now it's just spread out, and you have teams like USC, Michigan, Duke, who are fighting
32:10
to...
32:12
Fighting for their first chance to win a title in a long time.
32:16
And it's a very exciting time in basketball for women.
32:19
WNBA, like we talked about for the past couple of weeks and to start now because women's...
32:28
The women's game always has recognizable faces because, obviously, they come back.
32:31
They don't they don't jump after a year or two.
32:34
So they they come back, and you recognize the names.
32:37
And college basketball is always better when you can recognize faces, and schools and
32:42
rivalries pop up.
32:45
So, like, this is a really exciting time, and I can't wait for their season to tip tomorrow.
32:51
Awesome.
32:52
Well, moving on then to the men.
32:54
We got our AP rankings up here.
32:58
Florida, topping the list right now.
33:01
Duke, Illinois, Yukon, Arizona, Michigan State, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, and Houston
33:08
rounding out the top 10 there.
33:11
Selly, for your money, who do you think, is finishing towards the top of the list here?
33:16
Does it stay the same relatively with Florida and Duke, or are there some sleepers on this
33:22
list?
33:24
So I I believe Florida and Duke.
33:28
Florida has a lot of players coming back by Thomas Howe, who looks like he can be an all
33:34
American.
33:35
He's one of the few players, like we talked about in our very first pod, benefiting from
33:40
NIL.
33:42
He he and...
33:45
Along with players like Braylon Mullen and Tunde Yasufu, shout shout out St.
33:49
John's, players who ten years ago, if...
33:53
Without NIL probably jump and go to the draft because they don't have a choice because
33:58
they're gonna be a first round pick, but, like, they don't know they don't know where they're
34:04
gonna be drafted, but they don't have a choice because they can't turn out that kind of money.
34:07
Now with NIL, these guys are making an insane amount of money to come back and play in their
34:12
sophomore or Thomas Howe's case is junior year.
34:16
And Thomas Howe looks like he can be an all American at Florida.
34:20
Duke always...
34:21
John Chire, I feel like, has the perfect...
34:25
Every year, his teams are always the perfect blend of, like, transfers with talented
34:29
freshmen.
34:30
So he's always gonna have talented freshmen classes, and then he's always gonna bring in
34:34
some great transfers to blend in with his teams.
34:37
Then I'm biased, obviously, so I'm gonna say St.
34:40
John's.
34:41
Shout out to Rick Rick Patino.
34:43
Coach, I love you.
34:44
Thank you for making my life as a fan amazing for the last couple of years.
34:51
But in all serious
34:52
Wish you could've got there a little sooner while you're still going to school.
34:57
Yeah.
34:58
But at the same time, it's like, you don't...
35:01
I wouldn't have appreciated these last couple of years without those, like, rough years.
35:06
Like, they just kinda made these years all worth it and exciting, then I think the fan
35:11
base would agree with me.
35:13
But, yeah, I'm sure there are a lot of fans who wish he was there earlier.
35:18
Connecticut, I'm always gonna...
35:20
Even though they're, like, our rival, I'm always...
35:23
I'm a big supporter of Dan Hurley.
35:24
He's an amazing coach.
35:26
And like I said, they bring back Braylon Moans, and they bring back a lot of talent as well.
35:30
So they're they're always gonna be in the hunt as long as coach is there.
35:34
Illinois, same thing.
35:36
They have...
35:37
They've gone the international route, so they have a lot of international players.
35:41
So that's another thing that NIL has brought to the college game.
35:45
A lot of international players have now gone the college route too because they're making a
35:50
lot more money applying.
35:52
UCLA has a Serbian phenom right now who is in top...
35:57
Who's in talks of being the top pick in the drafts.
36:01
They signed him to an historic NIL deal, and he's making an insane amount of money.
36:07
And he looks like the real deal as well.
36:12
But, yeah, a lot of good teams.
36:15
UCLA, they they were ranked 22, but they just had a big win against Arizona on Monday.
36:20
So they're probably gonna jump in the top 10 by next week.
36:24
These rankings are weird, especially now because of all the transfers.
36:28
We don't really know how they're gonna fit, whatever.
36:31
So, like, the rankings, especially now, are always weird.
36:34
I mean, they're fun to talk about, but, like, we're not really even gonna know how good these
36:38
teams really are until they play each other in their own...
36:43
In the big twelve and the big east.
36:45
However, they do
36:47
There's really only three West Coast teams in the top 25.
36:53
Right?
36:53
And that's, you know, Gonzaga out in Spokane, USC, and UCLA at twenty one and twenty two.
37:01
This is all, I mean, a lot of big 10 teams, a lot of ACC, which is not surprising with, the
37:08
way that, this has been and where kids wanna play to get the best exposure for themselves as
37:14
well.
37:15
Yeah.
37:15
Exposure plus money, and a lot of big 10 schools have a lot of money.
37:20
So, like, a lot of their a lot of their schools and their teams are always gonna be loaded
37:25
because their their donors just have big pockets.
37:30
However, like, yeah, like, another team, I think, could make some noise.
37:36
We saw Texas Texas earlier.
37:40
Our guy shouted out Texas in the comments.
37:43
Marcus Spears junior actually is on Texas right now, so, like, I'm actually excited to watch
37:47
him play.
37:48
Marcus Spears just has, like, great athletic children.
37:52
His daughter is a great volleyball player at at Texas as well.
37:56
Sean Miller is a great coach.
37:58
Dealt with him in in the Big East for the last couple years at Xavier.
38:02
So I have no doubt he'll turn Texas around, and they're probably gonna have a big year.
38:07
Yeah.
38:07
And for the record, that's our gal, Casper.
38:10
So just so you know.
38:11
Oh, my
38:12
You're all good.
38:14
You're all good.
38:15
Yeah.
38:16
Yeah.
38:16
I...
38:16
You know what?
38:17
I just happen to know them personally.
38:19
So some great friends of mine.
38:23
So, yeah, I know they're excited.
38:25
I know I'm excited.
38:26
I'm a actually be, down in Texas planning to be down there in March.
38:31
So we'll see if, you know, the the horns are in there and making some noise.
38:38
Where everyone's tournaments are at would be awesome to go and take in, some tournament
38:42
action.
38:43
I think that's probably middle of the month is still, I I wanna say that's more championship
38:50
weekend territory and not necessarily, the tournament yet.
38:54
But Yeah.
38:57
I mean, championship weekend, though, is one of my favorite times of year as well.
39:02
Like, that...
39:03
Sometimes those games could be more exciting than March sometimes.
39:07
Like, because you just get all those top teams playing one another, and, like, it's just the
39:12
fun aspects.
39:13
And the rivalries.
39:14
Right?
39:15
They...
39:15
They've usually played each other a couple of times during the season already.
39:19
There's bad blood.
39:20
The fan bases, don't like each other, and these college kids get fired up watching the court
39:26
stormings.
39:27
Never gets old, even for guys my age.
39:32
Really great stuff there, Selly.
39:34
Love the breakdowns.
39:35
Looking forward to the NCAA seasons.
39:38
Really kicking off, and, more basketball for you to watch.
39:42
Yeah, man.
39:43
It's just exciting.
39:45
It could be overload at sometimes, it feels like, but, it's it's amazing for me.
39:51
I I have a fun time getting back into basketball and just even watching more
39:56
basketball than I have even these past couple of years, which is insane even for me.
40:01
Well, it's awesome, Selly.
40:03
I appreciate you doing all the watching so I don't have to.
40:06
Really excited.
40:07
Great show tonight.
40:08
Great breakdowns.
40:09
Can't wait to watch even more ball here.
40:12
Shout out to all of our fans in the chat.
40:14
Make sure you hit that like button and subscribe to the channel.
40:17
You can also download the SPSN app on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
40:24
Just search SP s n.
40:26
We hope you watch the replays on there, and eventually, we'll be doing more live
40:31
programming and broadcasting over on that channel as well.
40:35
So I am Bubba Starts for my cohost, Selly.
40:38
We bid you a good night, and we'll see you back next Wednesday at 7PM central for the rim
40:44
report.
40:44
We'll see you then.
40:45
Catch you guys later.