Episode 135: UConn Will NOT Join The Big 12 Right Now + Penny Hardaway & Memphis Basketball

2 months ago

Mark Titus | The Mark Titus Show

Transcript

00:00:00On today's episode of the Mark Titus Show, football is back, college football week one in the books, NFL starts tonight.

00:00:06We're recording this on Thursday. The whole country is jazzed up about football.

00:00:09So we are on this show going to talk about Penny Hardaway.

00:00:14Penny Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers have a situation on their hands. Now, if you have no idea what I'm talking about,

00:00:22great news. I'm not really sure I know what I'm talking about either, which is kind of a staple on this show, but

00:00:27allegations have been levied against the Memphis basketball program

00:00:32that Penny Hardaway is paying his players. Now,

00:00:36those of you that are privy to college basketball news might hear this news and say, why is that a big deal?

00:00:40Why does this matter? Isn't NIL a thing? Can't you pay players now? Yes, you can. You can do it through certain channels.

00:00:47Penny Hardaway allegedly did not do it through those channels,

00:00:51which would make this the dumbest scandal ever because paying players is now legal and

00:00:55somehow, some way, he has found a way to pay players illegally, allegedly is what they're saying. Also, allegations of

00:01:03tutor fraud, which we'll get into a little bit. This is a tale as old as time as

00:01:10basketball tutors are taking tests for players and

00:01:13whatever else. But the Memphis basketball program is in a

00:01:16little bit of hot water right now and Penny Hardaway is not a coach that I think has

00:01:21the full backing of Memphis, but maybe he does. I don't know. Interesting situation

00:01:26because you might remember,

00:01:28there was a coup formed against Tubby Smith to get him out of Memphis to supplant Penny Hardaway as the head coach of Memphis.

00:01:33This is the guy that this program wanted. This is all the fans wanted. He is the best player

00:01:38in program history in terms of notoriety, in terms of talent, everything.

00:01:42And now he is the head coach of Memphis and they're in a sticky situation where

00:01:46frankly, they're not winning enough and now there's some allegations against him.

00:01:51So talk about that a little bit. Also, huge news in college basketball is kind of a retread,

00:01:56but it's a story that's not going to go away until it happens. It's UConn to the Big 12.

00:01:59That's a rumor that's been swirling.

00:02:03I think today, right before we sat down to record, news broke that they have paused the talks

00:02:07that the Big 12 has said, we're not actually going to continue these talks for right now,

00:02:12which my read is that means we're done for the day. We'll pick it up.

00:02:17Let's all go home, have dinner, tuck our kids in and let's do it again tomorrow because this is not going to go away.

00:02:23Yeah, UConn to the Big 12 is a thing that I

00:02:26I'll save my thoughts on it.

00:02:28But we're going to talk about that because this is, you know,

00:02:30they sort of put a pin in it and it's like, oh, okay, so it's not going to happen.

00:02:34We don't need to address it.

00:02:34But I think we do because I don't think it's anything that's going away anytime soon.

00:02:38Also, North Carolina, speaking of seismic decisions in college basketball,

00:02:42reports come out that North Carolina is considering moving the Dean Dome

00:02:47off campus, which is a bozo idea.

00:02:49So yeah, there's some college basketball stuff to hit on that I want to talk about because

00:02:53sport never sleeps. It is football season, but

00:02:56I don't know, college basketball finds a way to keep some shit

00:03:00bubbling up and we're going to do our best to talk about. Tate is joining me today.

00:03:04All that is on the agenda. A little bit more. I got some fun things. I want to

00:03:08I'm fired up about this Maui Invitational. I just gotta say that. I just gotta say that. I'm fired up.

00:03:12I was looking at flights yesterday, Tate. I was looking at flights yesterday. They are outrageously expensive.

00:03:17I don't live in Los Angeles anymore. That flight is so fucking long.

00:03:20There's like five of them, but this field has me so excited.

00:03:24And I think honestly, this Memphis news has me even more excited.

00:03:28So, because Memphis will be there. Memphis will be in the Maui Invitational.

00:03:31They're going to play the two-time defending national champions, UConn, in the first game.

00:03:34Anyway, we'll talk about that maybe a little bit. Fun show lined up today. Let's get into it.

00:03:39All right, a handful of things to get to. It is still off-season college basketball.

00:03:43I understand it's football season. A lot of people are locked in on that and that's okay. That's okay.

00:03:47But there are people that,

00:03:48believe it or not, there are people that don't care about football that much. Or there are people that care about,

00:03:52there are people like me that care about football. I can still watch football,

00:03:55but that doesn't mean I'm turning my college basketball brain off. Always good to talk basketball.

00:03:59Yeah, I will watch the game tonight between the Chiefs and the Bill or the Chiefs.

00:04:04The Chiefs and the Ravens. Yeah, huge football fan. Between the Chiefs and the Ravens.

00:04:09But I'll also do so as I'm scrolling through

00:04:12Memphis basketball allegations. And there are times to joke and be like, it's the dead period of college basketball.

00:04:17I get that football has started. There's some good things going on in the world of college basketball.

00:04:21Yeah, there are. There's some juicy stories.

00:04:23All right, so this news comes out and I might need you to walk me through this because I am,

00:04:30one thing you'll learn about me if you haven't yet is I'm a dumbass when it comes to like,

00:04:35really everything, but mostly

00:04:38the

00:04:39some point in the last like four to five years in college basketball, all of college sports, but

00:04:43I'm specifically talking about college basketball.

00:04:45You need like a law degree to understand what's going on in this sport.

00:04:50And I have become so dumb because I've just like checked out on like all the

00:04:56the Board of Regents is voting this way for this and what they needed for can they get out of this conference and like

00:05:02now remember that there's a there's a lawsuit against the NCA for the the lawsuits have been a big thing.

00:05:07Challenging the NCA in court's been a thing, conventory line, all that.

00:05:11It's so far over my head that I've opted out on like trying to understand it.

00:05:15And I say that all as a precursor to say that like I saw the Penny Hardaway story.

00:05:20I started reading it and I realized that like five years ago, I would have dove into this.

00:05:26This would have been like like Sean Miller type shit in Arizona. I would have cracked my knuckles. I'd be like, I'm all about this.

00:05:31Let's go. Let's do it.

00:05:33But I have so much fatigue from like violations, especially stemming from that the FBI. I'm sure you remember Tate.

00:05:40The the guy gets in front of the camera. He's like we have your playbook.

00:05:43He says it announces the entire college basketball world and I'm like, holy shit the whole the whole sport's gonna collapse.

00:05:50Ever since then I have I've become a huge dumbass when I try to read this stuff. So I was reading and I'm like

00:05:57there's allegations of pain players

00:05:59Under the table, which like I didn't even know there was a table still there's there's allegations of tutors taking tests for players

00:06:06Which I read and I was like, yeah, no fucking shit. No fucking shit

00:06:09Like that's college basketball, baby

00:06:11um

00:06:12And Penny Hardaway the real news I think is Penny Hardaway's like fired all his assistants right before house

00:06:16Yeah, right before the season started. Well, the good news for you

00:06:19Titus is you may have a fatigue on on that i'm living on the message boards living. Okay, good

00:06:24That's what I was hoping you you'd say so i'll give you a quick rundown and then you just uh

00:06:29Okay, you go from there. So basically it started yesterday

00:06:32Penny Hardaway made a statement

00:06:34There would be some changes within the memphis basketball program. He fired three assistant coaches and

00:06:40Call back to when we talked about this the other day. Um the special advisor. Yeah program

00:06:45So he gets rid of four people now. You're asking why would you get rid of four people?

00:06:51Two months before the season, right? Yeah, what would you assume?

00:06:55I would assume that

00:06:56that all four people are culpable in like some sort of scandal in something right because

00:07:01And there's some people being like it's called cleaning house

00:07:03Like memphis isn't doing memphis missed the tournament last year memphis missed the you do that at right after the season

00:07:09You don't do that right now. You don't do it after you have a whole summer

00:07:12You've had your work, right? You have your fall and then he goes. Oh, by the way you four out

00:07:16So yeah, so where there's smoke there's fire something's right and if there's fire and you and your whole your whole game plan is that?

00:07:21uh these four guys

00:07:23Um knew or they facilitated whatever violations or whatever it is good's going on and I didn't know about it

00:07:30that that is an impossible case to make that like

00:07:34I had four assistants doing shit

00:07:35Yeah, and I and I didn't know about it

00:07:37Like that is it that would be the definition of like institutional or lack of institutional control it

00:07:42It reeks of a last ditch effort by penny hardaway to play the blame game on everyone else

00:07:48Yeah, except for himself, but the way the statement read

00:07:52memphis nor penny

00:07:54Talked about why?

00:07:56They were making it

00:07:57They just said it was the proper direction for the program to go and they're going to try and win the conference tournament

00:08:02Anyways, that is when the rest of the story started coming out

00:08:07And i'm choosing to believe it

00:08:09Uh hitman. Yeah, you always always choose to believe. Yeah, you have to believe what you want. Of course

00:08:13Um hitman hoops, which is a memphis basketball analyst. Okay, he's got thousands of followers

00:08:18So I I do believe what he's saying here

00:08:20He seems to be in tune with with memphis said that an anonymous letter was received by coach penny hardaway

00:08:27last week

00:08:30And now but hear me out this is why i'm believing it though memphis has confirmed that there was an anonymous letter

00:08:36That's crazy. So this is it reminds me of

00:08:41in jersey shore

00:08:43What was it did ronnie? Uh, uh, snooki wrote the the letter to

00:08:48Sammy, yeah that ronnie was was sucking face with someone with an ugly girl, right? Then she put in the

00:08:54But no one knew

00:08:57So basically sammy sweetheart is the is the athletic director of memphis right now

00:09:01Because the athletic director says they have been looking into it. Now. Here's what the allegations appear to be

00:09:07One is that penny hardaway authorized thirty to sixty thousand dollar payment to deandre williams

00:09:13Um with germaine johnson giving the payment who?

00:09:16Is yeah, yeah, so they're paying players but talk me through that. What is that?

00:09:21How uh, how is that illegal? I think

00:09:25So when nil was started, um

00:09:29everyone

00:09:30So i'm going to explain it as like the by the book way. It's supposed to work is uh nil is not the way

00:09:36The ncaa will explain it to you is that it's not a

00:09:39pay players scheme it is a

00:09:42You get the player to commit to the university because they love the the campus they love the the coaching staff

00:09:48They love the academic, uh

00:09:51Pursuits that they might be able to to entertain while they're there as they are

00:09:56Are advancing towards a degree. These are the reasons they're going to commit to your school. Um

00:10:01They they might love the co-eds whatever tate just your traditional like this is the reason I want to go to this school

00:10:06That's what they said then once they're there

00:10:09They can now use their image to do a car commercial and collect the check now everybody the second this passed was like

00:10:16why not

00:10:17leverage the opportunity to have these

00:10:20commercials and these nil opportunities

00:10:22As a recruiting tool to get the people here

00:10:25Which if so facto makes it a we're just going to pay you if you come here if you come here

00:10:29We will we will see to it that you get this much money in nil, right?

00:10:32So like the system we have is essentially pay players directly. It's just not directly

00:10:37It's indirectly directly payment pay them what penny hardaway my understanding is he what he is being accused of is

00:10:45Just not even like doing the bare minimum of like just funnel the money through like a local fucking

00:10:51Yeah car dealers car dealership car dealership pizza place. Whatever. Yes, you're gonna do three commercials for him. Yes

00:10:56Um, he didn't even bother doing that. He was just like here's a bag of cash which the ncaa still deems illegal now

00:11:03They it is confusing because they also just

00:11:05Passed something and this again. This is where i'm a dumbass and i'm the wrong guy to be

00:11:09Deleting the conversation on this but they just passed something where the schools can now pay the players directly

00:11:14because they because I think they realize that like this system is

00:11:17The the moment it passed it was corrupt. It didn't even take like the old system took

00:11:21It did take a few years for it to be corrupt now most most especially younger people. They know college sports is being corrupt

00:11:27Um their entire lives, but there was a time in like the 1930s

00:11:32When like you didn't have to worry about

00:11:34Guys getting paid five hundred thousand dollars to go play college basketball somewhere

00:11:39So it took a little bit of natural time for corruption to seep into college sports

00:11:44Then television contracts then shoe contracts come in the money explodes the the corruption

00:11:50Explodes with it. Um, but all that took time right the nil system. They passed it took negative time

00:11:56It took like like people were recruiting this way before the system even passed

00:12:00They were like when this passes in in july or whatever and it's like april

00:12:04They're like when july comes we're going to do this for you

00:12:06Like it took zero seconds for it to become corrupt

00:12:09So they they have now since changed the rules I think

00:12:12To where the the schools are going to be able to pay the players directly

00:12:15but all that is to say that there was a window where you had to go through nil channels and

00:12:20Apparently penny hardaway did not do that

00:12:22He was just paying players which would be a huge indictment on penny hardaway in general

00:12:26Would be like hey you're allowed to pay people if you can just get them to maybe tweet one time tweet one time

00:12:30Hey, I enjoyed my cheeseburger down at the diner, right?

00:12:33um

00:12:33but instead we're still doing the the bags of cash which is crazy because it and it's it's a

00:12:38it's a stupid scandal because like nobody cares like nobody nobody in the general public no matter even if you're

00:12:42even if you're like the most staunch like

00:12:45Conservative and I don't mean politically like conservative

00:12:48Your views are conservative towards like college sports and you're like I wish we'd go back to the days of like these guys

00:12:53Don't make any money. Um

00:12:55I think most people have given up the fight and they kind of realize what the sport is

00:12:58so

00:12:59No, nobody's gonna like hear this story and be like penny hardaway's a piece of shit for paying his players

00:13:03What a cheating scumbag and you know at the same time you're kind of cheap

00:13:07You're not cheating but you're like like how can you how can you be this just color inside the lines? Yeah

00:13:13But so that was one

00:13:15uh, the second one would be that they uh arranged for an apartment and sixty thousand dollars to another player now, do you have

00:13:22This apartment thing this seems to be something not just in college basketball

00:13:26I've seen it in college football as well lately where we've got these big-time, uh commits

00:13:31I'm, sorry big-time recruits committing to schools and then it coming out that the university of tennessee gave their family a house

00:13:38Yeah gave their family an apartment. Yeah

00:13:41Has that always been a thing? That's always been a thing. Yeah, uh design zion williamson's family. I think moved into marvin bagley's house

00:13:48Duke or vice versa. Who's first? Uh bagley was 18. Zion was 19. Yeah, so they just that's the story

00:13:54that's the story and durham was like

00:13:56Like marvin bagley's family's like moving out of the house. It's like zion

00:14:00It's like the same day just got the duke fraternity letters up there and it's just like uh, yeah

00:14:04It's like people that's what I heard at least that's I guess we should say allegedly. I don't know. Um, but I hear that

00:14:10Yeah, that that is that is kind of bit of thing. Um for a while

00:14:14None of this stuff is new right? Well, none of it's new. It's just like

00:14:17How can you get caught in 2024 doing this?

00:14:19That's what's confusing to me and and the other allegation which is by far my favorite allegation. Um, is that the academic counselor?

00:14:27Was appointed to do academic assignments for four players

00:14:31But here's the kicker because that happened you said it before the show you said that's the academic counselor's job, right?

00:14:37That's that's the job you take tests for the player. We hire you to to write essays. Yeah tale as old as time. Yeah

00:14:42She was fired

00:14:44Um academic counselor and her sister were doing the assignments

00:14:48so that'd be

00:14:50It's a it's a family business

00:14:52Essentially. Yeah, like yeah, what's that website chegg where you just is that the what the study this the study tool, you know

00:14:59We didn't have that, you know, it's like basically no dude

00:15:02We had wikipedia you had spark notes. We had spark. Yeah, we did have spark notes back in the day

00:15:07What's chegg chegg is an educational support services company aka check it out

00:15:12Chegg, no shit. Well, you're you're a teacher. Yeah

00:15:16Chegg

00:15:1724 7 homework help basically you pay for uh, what does that sound like a slur of some sort?

00:15:22Traded traded publicly on the new york stock exchange. Dude. What kind of word is that?

00:15:26Um, but yeah, my friends are fucking chegg dude. That sounds like so

00:15:30that sounds like a but but basically they you just you you pay them and then they do your assignments for you and

00:15:37And

00:15:38Apparently that's illegal now launched in 2006. So by the time this was popping off I was probably out of school

00:15:45Yeah as of uh

00:15:47Began trading publicly in 2013. Yeah, I missed chegg dude

00:15:51I missed chegg were you uh, were you like a spark notes type of guy or were you?

00:15:55Uh, yeah to the book. Yeah, I was I was I was a spark notes guy. We had

00:16:00We had tutors. Um, and I would uh, I would I I had too much pride to let them cheat for me

00:16:06Also, they they wouldn't they I wasn't good enough for them to cheat for me. They're like we're

00:16:10They weren't we're not we're not we're not putting the program at risk for you to to pass this class. Um

00:16:17Yeah, I don't know. I I I kind of

00:16:19Gave up on school after my first two years

00:16:22so, uh, you did I just did yeah, I graduated but I just did whatever I could to pass like I was

00:16:28I think my first year I was trying really hard to get a's and then like I got on the basketball team and I was

00:16:31Like fuck this is stupid. So you have experience you truly have experience with the best of the best most elite college basketball players

00:16:38Like you played with odin, right? Yes, turner. What do they have any interest in in the academic part? Um

00:16:46Because you you've been to college, right?

00:16:48It it it does vary there are I I would say more often than not

00:16:51No, I wouldn't say like no because that's that's not fair either to like just pretend like uh,

00:16:56Like they they don't find any value in it whatsoever

00:16:58But are they let's let's call a spade a spade like mike conley and greg oden

00:17:02Especially they knew they were going to the nba very quickly and they weren't there

00:17:05They they did not go to ohio state thinking i'm gonna get a four-year degree now. I will say both of those guys

00:17:10uh, they they declared for the draft and they um could have theoretically just stopped going to classes the

00:17:17Ohio state basketball program asked them as they prepared for the draft to keep

00:17:21Keep like faking it or whatever like just keep keep showing up like letting the tutor do their work

00:17:26Keep sending in assignments and they did do that

00:17:28and I think I think like both of them were like kind of interested in the college experience and like going to a classroom and

00:17:34like mingling with the

00:17:35the the

00:17:36Other students a little bit but like no like like greg wasn't in class

00:17:40Like I want to pursue an advanced degree, but no which is funny because he actually does have I think he has his master's

00:17:45Oh, really? Yeah. Well, no one's asking these guys to get a's and to get their mbas or anything like that

00:17:49So I guess that's my point here is

00:17:51I thought that these prime-time big-time division one schools. Everyone should be on the same page here

00:17:56Turn in an assignment just turn an assignment and then professor give them a freaking c-minus

00:18:00I remember daquan cook got a zero on a uh, I walked into the I think I wrote about this story in my book

00:18:05Daquan cook, uh

00:18:06I walked into their dorm one time and he had a paper laying on like the kitchen counter

00:18:10And I picked it up and it said like zero out of a hundred and he wrote like three pages

00:18:14And I was like, how the fuck do you get a zero on an essay? Like you got a yeah

00:18:18Like zero is like you didn't even do it correct

00:18:20and he got a zero out of a hundred and I was thumbing through the

00:18:23Notes, and there was like a note written on there that was like this isn't even the topic you were assigned

00:18:29Oh, no

00:18:30He had to write an essay on like the french revolution and he's writing about like apple stock or something

00:18:36That's not a good look. That's how you get a zero on a paper. Yeah

00:18:40But that was but they quote you know what?

00:18:42A couple months later daquan cook was in the league making millions of dollars won an nba three-point contest. So, um, yeah

00:18:47I don't have a problem with that at all

00:18:48Like I I I think like the understanding like this is what this is what makes this embarrassing to me is not that

00:18:54When I see this story, I don't think penny hardaway. What a scumbag cheating piece of shit. I think how can you?

00:19:01How can you like like these guys are doing stuff that everybody does but you have to have a you have to be able to

00:19:06Massage it a little bit like it's not that hard

00:19:09To get your your your your student athletes to pass

00:19:13Assignments but not make it so obvious that the the tutor's doing all the work play the game

00:19:18It's not that hard to pay your players, but do it through the proper channels

00:19:21None of this is that hard every single coach has figured out a way to do it

00:19:25And that to me is more the the indictment is like how can you not understand how this?

00:19:30System works and on top of it if we want to talk about the basketball

00:19:34memphis has been like

00:19:36Good enough for you to notice how not good they are basically like they've been last year

00:19:41I think they were ranked in the top 10 at one point missed the tournament

00:19:44Got to 10 in the ap pool started 15 and 2 last that was fraudulent

00:19:47I mean, I like I remember last year when they got they were they were never that good, but the team two years ago

00:19:51uh

00:19:52to their like

00:19:53There is an argument that that they got fucked against fau in the first round and like that

00:19:58what there is a what if argument and I am a little sensitive to that because

00:20:02um, that's a real thing that like if the ball back if the if the ball bounces a different way against fau and uh

00:20:08There were some questionable calls down the stretch

00:20:10It was the thinnest of margins fau goes on to the final four

00:20:13Memphis goes home in the first round. I do I I do believe like the butterfly effect sucks

00:20:17But the the reality is like you lost that game

00:20:20Two years before or the year before that now three years ago. I guess it would be uh

00:20:25They take gonzaga to the wire the the 1c gonzaga team

00:20:28They lose to gonzaga

00:20:29but that seems to be like

00:20:30That seems to be what memphis is stealing is under penny hardaway's like he gets like these these incredible players

00:20:35Um, he was I said this at the top. I remember vividly toby smith was a coach at memphis

00:20:40I didn't think toby was like killing it. But toby smith has won a national championship

00:20:43Toby smith is a pretty well respected guy in college basketball circles

00:20:48Now if you want to argue that like the game has passed him by he's old like it's there's so much changing in the sport

00:20:53He wasn't keeping up with it. I'm not here to say that that you're wrong

00:20:57I just remember sitting on the sidelines watching as james wiseman is coming up. Um

00:21:01in the the tennessee basketball system

00:21:04Penny hardaway has a personal relationship with him. The memphis fans literally formed a coup. I will never forget this

00:21:10there was like a there was a literal coup that was like

00:21:12We are going you must they told the school you must fire toby smith

00:21:16And we must hire penny hardaway so we can get james wiseman

00:21:19And it sort of checked out in that like james wiseman pretty highly rated recruit pretty good fucking player. Um,

00:21:26But that's how the guy kind of got the job in the first place and you're thinking like it's all

00:21:30The ends will justify the means if we can put penny in

00:21:32If we can install him as the coach kick toby to the curb and we get all these five stars

00:21:36And we sort of become like what john calipari is at kentucky

00:21:39And we're we're now in the mix for all the five stars and we're getting all the talented guys

00:21:42And uh penny's basically what deon sanders is at colorado what deon thinks he is in his mind. Um,

00:21:49And that's what the program becomes then fuck it. Yeah, we'll throw we'll throw toby smith's carcass in the gutter

00:21:54Who gives a shit this is all gonna be worth it. And now we're seven years in that's not the case at all

00:21:58That's the thing. He's zero sweet 16s got the job in a in a

00:22:02A dirty ish way you would say yeah

00:22:05And then it controversial only to outsiders like memphis people wasn't controversial at all

00:22:09They're like this is what needs to be done

00:22:10This is what we have to do but didn't sit well and then his entire time there

00:22:14I think through six seasons now have been plagued by allegations and controversy for that for what?

00:22:20For what for two tournament appearances one tournament win

00:22:23The remember the monty bates circus remember like it's just been on and on and on and I think like

00:22:29on the one hand, um

00:22:32So I made the like penny's the obvious. Uh, uh parallel to deon at colorado with colorado football because

00:22:39All sorts of reasons like it's a it's a just an electric player that has like the nostalgia factor you can recruit

00:22:44um

00:22:45but at the same time there's like a little bit of an off the field circus issue going on and you're you're kind of like

00:22:50you're torn on how

00:22:52How good of a coach he actually is and it's not fair to say. He's a dog shit coach

00:22:55He's not like as as far as I remember. I think memphis has won like 20 games every year under penny. Um,

00:23:01but at the same time

00:23:02You expected more and i'd say the biggest difference between penny and deon now one thing in penny's credit. I don't think penny is as as

00:23:10Braggadocious, is that the word i'm looking for as like like deon is rubbing people very honest look at me

00:23:16Let's put the social media on the back of the jersey like penny's not necessarily that bad begging for attention

00:23:22But his actions are gaining attention

00:23:25so I will give penny credit in that regard like I do think he he

00:23:29Is more traditional with his approach than deon is certainly

00:23:33Um, but the biggest difference to me is that deon sanders was inheriting a program that had won one football game

00:23:40That was at absolute rock bottom that badly that was in the worst conference in college football that was falling apart in the pack 12

00:23:47like this was

00:23:48Uh when he took the job, they were still in the pack 12 and then they immediately flipped to the big 12

00:23:52but um

00:23:53It was it was a dire situation in boulder for colorado football

00:23:56And they're like fuck it

00:23:57Let's roll the dice on deon sanders penny hardaway's not like memphis is one of the better programs in the country

00:24:02And to have a guy like that, which he's not as extreme as deon like it's but that is the parallel

00:24:08That's like the feeling you get is like you're there's always something off the court with penny

00:24:12There's the there's unbelievable amounts of talent. I mean like even this year memphis

00:24:16I'm going to talk myself into them. Maybe having a chance to like

00:24:19Make the tournament they won't they'll eight transfers and add it a top 100 freshmen. Yeah, they're going to be good

00:24:25They're going to have talent. Are they going to be able to pull that talent together? I don't like

00:24:30The he the the last year's team got the top 10. I felt like they were frauds of that

00:24:34Forget last year's team the two teams before that were legitimately good basketball teams

00:24:39I think he can coach a legitimately good basketball team

00:24:42The question is with all the off-court stuff if if these allegations are true

00:24:46Um, and even if they're not you fire four coaches

00:24:49Do you could can you fathom the idea?

00:24:52I don't understand why memphis seems to be letting him get away with this that these four people were the bad guys

00:24:58Yeah, like penny didn't know what was going on, but then they have no there's no there's no

00:25:02There's no argument to be made that like four guys were in on this undermining the head coach, but the head coach didn't know

00:25:08So they're all talking in there because even if that was the case

00:25:11Then the head coach is is way more in depth than we we realized so

00:25:15Like yeah, I don't know how he's gonna win that one. But beyond all that. It's just like I mean

00:25:21is is is all of this circus and the fact that memphis seems to always be in the news for

00:25:26for various reasons don't forget the uh

00:25:28There's a guy when when when memphis played tennessee, I think it was

00:25:32um

00:25:33Who shit in the this has nothing to do with penny hardaway is not his fault

00:25:36There's a I just i'm just like thinking about like all the memphis all the memphis basketball off

00:25:41uh off court headlines

00:25:43the guy who shit in the uh, uh at the concession stand at the

00:25:47Yeah, he shit on the arena floor shit on the arena titled

00:25:50Sometimes you just got to take a shit on the arena floor in the middle of a basket completely unfair to pin that on penny

00:25:54Has nothing to but it was just as an aside that did happen and that was a sold-out game

00:25:58they like memphis is reaching louisville levels were just like their headlines popping up as as

00:26:03But I don't know the point is like when when you're you're bringing the distractions

00:26:08You have to win basketball games and I think if penny hardaway was the coach at

00:26:12at a florida international say if he was the coach at a

00:26:16At an eastern kentucky not to belittle those programs

00:26:19But like they're not on the same level as memphis and he was the coach and he was he was having the success

00:26:24He's having and there was the off court. They'd be fine with it. They'd be like, this is awesome

00:26:28We have penny hardaway's memphis at a certain point has to look in the mirror and be like what are we as a program?

00:26:33Is is and this is the this is the issue that michigan had with jawan howard jawan howard struck a man as i'm sure you remember

00:26:39They bring him back because he's our guy. He's a michigan man

00:26:42um, which used to mean something and to those people now, we know it doesn't mean a goddamn thing being a michigan man's actually

00:26:47kind of an kind of an insult, um, they bring him back, but they're scared to fire him because

00:26:52uh, he's their guy like what like he's he's the tether to like our

00:26:57Our most famous team our most most impactful era of basketball if we sever that tie

00:27:03What happens to the program moving forward finally gets to a point where it's like we have to pull the trigger on this

00:27:07but that's the problem that memphis will have with penny moving forward is like

00:27:11Yeah, I mean like if if penny hardaway hadn't played here if penny hardaway wasn't a legend here

00:27:16um, yeah, we probably would have fired his ass, but

00:27:19He was and that's the whole reason

00:27:21We hired him in the first place and that does factor into it

00:27:24So my question then titus the one thing I don't think you've addressed yet who writes a letter like this

00:27:29That's a great question who delivers?

00:27:31A that's a great. Hey, I know every damn thing you guys have been doing wrong for the last couple years

00:27:36And i'm gonna drop it off without my name on it

00:27:39Is it snooki? I mean we have to ask the question

00:27:42Joey camasta, I think is friends with snooki

00:27:44We could get we could probably get snooki on the show next week

00:27:47D and joey just be like can you get snooki on the show?

00:27:49I want to move I want to see if she wrote a note to penny hardaway. Um

00:27:52No, i'm fascinated to see how it all plays out because I don't I don't think this is

00:27:57I don't I actually don't know. I don't I don't know

00:27:59I I don't I don't give a shit if the ncaa does anything about this to be honest with you

00:28:02It speaks more to me that like penny doesn't really have control over what's going on in this program

00:28:07That's really the the the headline to me. We know these things are going on everywhere, right penny. You got to be better. Yeah

00:28:14Quick break to talk about our friends at cars.com. We have the uh employee parking spot here at car at uh

00:28:20At the barstool chicago office I should say the cars.com

00:28:23Employee of the month parking spot who has that right now is a kb kb has the

00:28:27Kb kb has the spot. Um

00:28:30I don't know if kb drives. I think whoever wins the spot is uh

00:28:33It it's it's somehow worked out that like whoever has the spot doesn't actually have a car and they just

00:28:38Get to keep all of us that drive into work from having the spot

00:28:41Anyway, while the cars.com parking spot is so helpful to not have to battle for a spot

00:28:45I will hopefully one day get the cars.com employee of the month spot the cars.com

00:28:49Your garage feature is probably even better. I love how I can track my car's value and see how much it'll be worth in two months

00:28:55I've been thinking about getting something different and knowing my car's value is beyond helpful in making that decision

00:28:59Uh, since kb has the cars.com parking spot this week

00:29:02He'll have plenty of extra time to create an account with cars.com and track their car's value

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00:29:26I want to talk about this, uh before um

00:29:30Do you have anything else on penny?

00:29:31No, I think i'm exhausted on the I think we we said everything needs to be said

00:29:35I want to talk about yukon to the big 12 because I i've been chewing on this for a while. Um

00:29:40um

00:29:41First of all, I I guess I haven't addressed it on on my own show

00:29:44That we I haven't done a show in a few weeks because I got married. Um and went on a honeymoon

00:29:49Oh, yeah, shout out tice. How's that not in your intro?

00:29:52Yeah, I guess I just now realized it because I i'm talking about how this has been going on and I never addressed it on

00:29:58The show. Yeah, uh for those of you that listen

00:30:00First of all for the handful of you that only listen to this show and like nothing else that i'm on god

00:30:04Bless you. I love you their jaws just hit the ground. Yeah, they're like wait what?

00:30:08Like we were wondering where the show was last week

00:30:10Um, I I sometimes make that mistake of assuming that like if I announce something on the yak

00:30:15that you know it on here and I

00:30:17I think there are a handful of people. They're like I I

00:30:19You know, I like you on this show. I gotta be honest titus on mostly sports kind of a bitch

00:30:24Kind of a bozo. They just want to talk but I like but I like you I like you on your show

00:30:28Anyway, uh, I got married went on a honeymoon and uh, it's been i've been we haven't obviously done a show for a couple weeks

00:30:33um

00:30:34So yukon to the big 12 has been a story in that time

00:30:38Uh, the talks have ramped back up since then as we're recording this right now today

00:30:43News broke I guess I don't even know if it counts as breaking news

00:30:46It just like was was put out there that they've shelved the conversation. They've what's the language? So so essentially here's what we had

00:30:53um early on we had that

00:30:55There was confirmed discussions that you kind of be going to the big 12 in all sports

00:30:59It would start for all sports except for football

00:31:02Either once they can come to an agreement with the big east or after a 27 month waiting period so that's two years

00:31:09Yeah in two years, they'd be there. Um football in 2031

00:31:12However today the big 12 commissioner came out and said that since he is the commissioner

00:31:16It's his responsibility to explore a variety of uh value creating opportunities and at this time along with yukon's leadership

00:31:23We are going to pause pause. We're going to pause

00:31:27What is so you can unpause very easily that's just one button that is play you just push play and you're back unpaused

00:31:34That is the the softest

00:31:37Yeah, that's not like pause could be it's we've been meeting for the last three weeks and we're going to dinner

00:31:41That's exactly what I think

00:31:44It's like i'm hungry

00:31:45Should we go eat and then reconvene tomorrow morning in no way? Did they say they're not interested?

00:31:50We're not interested. This isn't happening. They said we're going to

00:31:54We're going to all going to watch the college football games just so we can come back together

00:31:57I have a piping hot spicy take that uh will shock my listeners because I have become a a curmudgeonly a crusty old man

00:32:04uh

00:32:05That does not want to get with the times

00:32:07It does not want to accept change and and really any form of life, but especially college basketball. Are you ready for this tape?

00:32:12Yeah, I don't know where this is going

00:32:14I want I want yukon in the big 12

00:32:17I had you as the exact opposite. I think most people probably would I think most people probably would and i'm going to explain

00:32:23With what reason I want this to happen and i'm gonna so when yukon went back to the big east

00:32:28I was so like everybody else. I was like, that's where they belong yukon belongs in the motherfucking big east

00:32:34You know, you're gonna be in the I know dream. I know I know I am. Let me let me let me lay this out for you

00:32:41um

00:32:42I think I I was so excited when you got went back to big east yukon playing big east tournament games in madison square garden

00:32:48I was i've been there for it when they've got

00:32:50Like i've gone to a couple big east tournaments since yukon came back

00:32:54The buzz and the place is un-fucking-believable. It is perfect. It is a perfect marriage. It's a perfect

00:32:59It's exactly where they belong no doubt about it. Here's the problem. Uh,

00:33:03Things have changed 2024

00:33:06College sports, uh, it's always been dominated by football, but now we're at a level where it's it's it's running everything

00:33:12It is the conference realignment has dictated everything. Um

00:33:17The big 12 from the big 12 point of view it makes total sense why they would want yukon because uh

00:33:22As much as football dominates everything yukon football is absolute dog shit

00:33:26Brett yormack who's a smart guy

00:33:29Identified very quickly that in the conference realignment shuffling. There are two mega powers. We we are trending towards there being

00:33:36Sec big 10 and everybody else and that's it. It's going to be just two. It's going to be afc nfc

00:33:41That's it. And the only way there's going to be a third option

00:33:46uh

00:33:47sticking around is if he can turn the big 12 into a basketball powerhouse because at the end of the day the one

00:33:54the one like uh

00:33:56strong leverage play

00:33:57That the non-football schools have is the ncaa tournament

00:34:01That's that's the one like as much as football runs everything the ncaa tournament is still billions of dollars and like fucking

00:34:08Makes a shit ton of money for everybody

00:34:10And if the big 12 can create a world where their basketball is so good

00:34:16That you cannot the acc in the big 10 cannot have a tournament without them and claim to be national

00:34:21It's just it's just a farce of an idea

00:34:23Then they they can survive they would have right kansas. Yes, arizona. Yes at yukon at yukon

00:34:29Baylor houston. Oh, yeah, but there's an argument. I mean those are three of the of the big but those three

00:34:34Yeah, those three are massive. So, um, so that that strategy makes sense from the big 12 where it's like

00:34:40Uh bring on yukon basketball will tolerate the football

00:34:43but what we have done is as the acc and

00:34:46and big 10 arms race unfolds and maybe maybe those two conferences are looking to go to like

00:34:5128 teams apiece or something and then they'll wipe their hands and be like fuck the rest of you

00:34:55We're done now. Let's just play each other and and this is the new college sports system

00:34:59They can't cut the big 12 out at this point

00:35:01If you add yukon they kind of can't already

00:35:04because like I think I think the big 12 is the best basketball league right now and like they they can't like you can't have

00:35:08A you can't have an ncaa tournament and be like it's just big 10 and sec schools. Yeah, there's there's too many

00:35:13There's too many good notables too many notables

00:35:15But that's the idea I think behind the big 12 is like that's our way to stay alive

00:35:19We're never going to be the big 10 or the sec

00:35:22But we can maintain our standing as like a viable conference if if we don't lean all the way into basketball

00:35:28But acknowledge that like basketball is a very strong card that we can play

00:35:31So you make a good point as to why the big 12 would be extremely welcoming of connecticut

00:35:37But you you said you think they should do it or you want them

00:35:40I think I think it's a win for everybody not so much the big east in the short term

00:35:44But maybe in the long term, um, hold on

00:35:49Hold on this is a win for the big east not in the short term

00:35:52Maybe not even the long term. I think the big it's it's a win

00:35:54It's not a win for money in the long term. It's a win for

00:35:57I think it's a win for the big east if

00:36:00Yeah, that's it's not a win for the big east except for this like having yukon

00:36:05Yukon is never going to stop using the leverage that they have one as a

00:36:10Their football program's dog shit, but their football program is fbs

00:36:13Is it not am I understanding that correctly or they're not fcs?

00:36:17Are they the only fbs school in in the big east in the big east? I think that's true, right?

00:36:21Yeah, so yukon is the only fbs team in in the big east

00:36:26And if there was a world where like would they say they paused the conversation if there's a world where they pause

00:36:32And then hit stop

00:36:34And now it's over

00:36:35Then yeah

00:36:36I probably want you kind of stay in the big east the reason I want them to probably just

00:36:39Just is like the writing's on the wall that they're this is never going to end. They're always going to look around

00:36:44They're going to say

00:36:45We have football is driving everything and we don't give a fuck about football

00:36:49But at the same time we give a fuck about money and we are the only school

00:36:52In this conference that has an fbs football team

00:36:55And on top of that we have won the last two national championships. We have the best basketball program

00:37:00I I think in in the snap of a finger yukon went from being desperate to get into the big east again

00:37:06To now they looked around and they're like we don't need the big east

00:37:09We don't need this and I think from the big east point of view

00:37:12That is going to be exhausting for the rest of the schools to deal with that that they that yukon has

00:37:17uh

00:37:17I'm, not even talking about because like that'll ebb and flow

00:37:19They're not going to win every national championship and they're not going to be the top dog in the big east every single year

00:37:24um

00:37:25But the football thing is not going to change anytime soon and that's going to be a card that they're going to have over

00:37:28Everybody and I think at some point the rest of the schools should just look around and be like

00:37:33Were we better off when it was just all a bunch of like catholic schools that like don't have football really?

00:37:38And we just fucking love basketball and we don't have to deal with

00:37:41The yukon part financially probably not but like as a as a culture as like a system of what you want your conference to be

00:37:47Where everybody's on level playing and everything makes equal amount of sense

00:37:52Maybe in the long term that makes more sense for the big east to kind of make it their brand where that's what they are

00:37:57Whereas yukon is playing like a different game than I think all the other schools

00:38:00Do you think the other schools in the big east sit around and make that point as well that yukon is kind of like the

00:38:05Big fish in a small pond where they are the only team bringing in football revenue

00:38:10Yeah, I I have to imagine that that's like that's that's and now that you can pay players

00:38:14I have to imagine that that's going to like factor into and that's actually

00:38:17When they were talking about the equity of the teams 100 and while they were talking about that they were confirmed talking

00:38:23Yukon's reasons were we want to improve our football revenue. We want to which will in turn improve our NIL. Yeah

00:38:29NIL for basketball, they're gonna correct. They're gonna cash. They're going there. They're gonna cash checks with football television contracts

00:38:36Take that money funnel it to basketball and bring on top 100 recruits. Yeah, I mean yukon right now

00:38:41There's only two independent football teams in the whole country yukon and notre dave

00:38:46But those two aren't aren't aligned. No, they're not aligned at all

00:38:49um, and then it makes sense for yukon for what you just said you just you just made the case for why you kind of

00:38:53want to do it is is

00:38:55um

00:38:55It's money. It's all money like big east would lose out on that money and I think that from that standpoint

00:38:59That's a loss, but I was just trying to like put lipstick on the pig and say

00:39:02When this does happen?

00:39:04I don't think it's the worst thing now

00:39:06of course

00:39:06When you have a team in your conference, it's one back-to-back national titles and i'm saying

00:39:10No, it's actually good if they're no longer in your conference

00:39:12I don't I think the conference is like what the fuck you're talking about

00:39:14I feel like the com I would love to the conference might all say hey

00:39:17we'll start football teams and but

00:39:19the the it

00:39:21If if the the scenario like I said was was stop it's uh, it's done. It's over

00:39:26Yukon is in the big east forever and they're happy then. Yeah, of course. I want that

00:39:30I just don't think this is ever going to go away. I think they're going to they're going to unpause the conversations

00:39:34They're going to keep yukon is going to always be just kind of looking around and being like

00:39:39Do we need to stay here?

00:39:41Do we need to stay and I think at a certain point if you're the rest of the schools

00:39:44You're like just fucking leave already then if you want to leave unpause

00:39:48Unpause if you want to go and they're probably not there yet

00:39:50And i'm sure right now as we sit here and they've won back-to-back titles. They're like, uh, no stay here

00:39:55We want we want to but maybe there will be a certain point

00:39:58I don't know if it's another month or three months or three years down the road. Um

00:40:02Where the big east might just be like fucking dude

00:40:04Just get out of here and we'll be go back to like everyone's sort of being on level

00:40:08Plainfield and I do think there's something to that and I think the big east will be fine

00:40:11And so far as passionate fan bases, uh, they still have a ton of money from like donors and stuff

00:40:16most of them not all of them, but they're still like

00:40:19They're still like a very cool

00:40:22Subculture and college bad like the big east is still carved out their niche

00:40:25That's like they they are a power conference, but even without yukon they they do matter

00:40:30They have the thing I said earlier with the big 12 or like you you will not be able to have an ncaa tournament without

00:40:34the big east

00:40:36Representation, um, and they'll survive and they'll be fine. Uh

00:40:39So I think like maybe that's ultimately where we're going to lead to but I I think

00:40:44Knowing all of that seeing all the writing on the wall. I'm like

00:40:47Fuck it, dude

00:40:47If this is if this is what college sports is and the conference realignment is happening

00:40:52Yukon and the big 12 would be I mean the big 12 is the best basketball conference already you're at in yukon

00:40:56That's going to be fucking bonkers. Yeah, i'll take the under 2031 on this one. Yeah, they're not sitting around for the next seven

00:41:01So i'm not I i'm not like a lot of things at conference realignment

00:41:04I think a lot of the conference realignment stuff. I was like actively fighting in my brain

00:41:07I know I have no power to change any of this but I was like this is so stupid. Why are we doing this?

00:41:12this one marks the first time where I was like

00:41:15I think they've won. Yeah, I think I think like I

00:41:17I've realized that like this is just what the world is and honestly

00:41:20I'm not going to sit here and lie to you and say that when I turn on my tv or the the yukon

00:41:26Basketball schedule comes out and they're like at houston home against arizona at kansas

00:41:31I'm not going to be like that's fucking awesome. Yeah, so

00:41:35That's where i'm at with yukon the big 12 and I think it'll eventually happen even though they've

00:41:38Currently paused the just on a dinner break. You know what? I don't want to have happen though

00:41:42You see this north carolina news. I I don't know how serious this I gotta reach out to other tate or see

00:41:49I gotta figure that out in my life too. Which one of you is other tate, but

00:41:54I gotta I gotta see how serious this is. I care. Is this like a leverage play?

00:41:57I have no it has to be a lever explain what's going on first

00:42:00Well carolina the the news is that carolina is like exploring

00:42:04building an arena

00:42:06In like six different places two of which are off campus. I looked it up

00:42:10I did my research. I put on my big j cap and did some journalism here. Um

00:42:14Two of them are like well over a mile walk from campus which like no student is you could theoretically do it

00:42:20but I think one of them was like

00:42:22You have like the only

00:42:23It looked like on the map like you're walking on like an interstate or some shit

00:42:26Yeah, it's it's it's a cluster like two of the two of the possible sites are

00:42:32For all intents and purposes not walkable from campus the term they used in the in the news was

00:42:37Non-safe walkable distance like you you you students are not making this walk

00:42:42You theoretically could do it

00:42:43But let's be honest like on game day our students gonna be like having a pre-game at their house and then walk over to the

00:42:48Game. No, that's not gonna happen because it's gonna be too far

00:42:51and that kills

00:42:53That's insane

00:42:55That's what i'm saying. Ask tate there. There is no way that they're throwing

00:42:59but what's the reason they put those two on there then because there's no way those two I have

00:43:04I have no I it the only thing I can think is they're trying to somehow get uh,

00:43:09A donor to step up to pay for renovations for i'm on the same

00:43:12That has to be what it is is that they they they realize the dean dome for what it's worth

00:43:18I like the dean dome i've gone to like five

00:43:20ish games i'd say five

00:43:22Five or six probably in my life to the dean dome the dean dome gets a lot of shit for a wine and cheese crowd

00:43:29For being kind of like a an old building but not old in a good way

00:43:32It's not like historic old like allen field house or like assembly halls. Some people call it a shithole

00:43:37It's a shithole. I don't think it's a shithole. I think it's a

00:43:40I think it's a um

00:43:43I think it's an empty garbage can oh, okay. It's like it's like a garbage can but it doesn't have trash in it right now

00:43:49So, okay, so here's my question it's like not it's not it's not that bad like you could you could I could actually

00:43:53You could use a guard. You could use an empty garbage can for a lot of things. Mm-hmm

00:43:57Caring things caring things. Yeah, I mean like it's got its uses but no

00:44:00So I know you're not uh an architect by trade

00:44:04Can't why can't they just renovate what they already have? People love I think that's that's what they should

00:44:09I have to believe that's what they're going to if they build

00:44:13If they build a an arena at the university of north carolina off campus, I will fucking

00:44:18Burn the campus to the ground personally. I thought you're about to say eat shit. I will eat dog shit

00:44:22I will eat dog shit on a live stream. Um, I will personally go to chapel hill and burn the campus to the ground. Uh,

00:44:29I I it I I it's just it i'm speaking on behalf of just

00:44:34All of college basketball like I I think the dean dome gets way too much shit for beat rep arena is the same way like i've

00:44:40Rep arena is not special. It's special because the kentucky wildcats play there

00:44:43but like if you go there and you're like if

00:44:45if I told you this is the home of the northwestern wildcats you'd be like

00:44:48I don't know. It's holds a lot of people. It's like nothing special about it. But having said all that

00:44:53It's still like a the how many legendary games have happened in there?

00:44:57Um, I do think the dean dome gets loud as fuck when it does get loud

00:45:01I think it's I think it's a fine

00:45:02The problem is like you stack it up against cameron and or the two programs in north carolina are most directly

00:45:08linked to

00:45:10Is the university of kansas, which is where dean smith comes from your number one arena?

00:45:15number one arena

00:45:16I think in college basketball and duke down the road and they have maybe the two best arenas in all of college basketball

00:45:22And I think when you stack caroline up against their rival and like they're kind of like sister program in kansas

00:45:27um, yeah, their arena kind of sucks, but

00:45:29I don't think it's that big of a deal and I think if they renovate it

00:45:32and do kind of what indiana did with assembly hall remember when assembly hall was like

00:45:36Fall literally falling apart. There's like a steel beam that fell like during a game or some shit. Um

00:45:41If they do that

00:45:43That has to be what they're doing that this has to be like a move to make some booster

00:45:47some richest fuck booster michael jordan, uh

00:45:50Realize is the roof sky's ceiling roof. The roof is the ceiling realize like like see the news story that they're considering moving

00:45:58This off campus. I like that. Fuck that dude

00:46:00What and then how much do I need to how much do I need to make sure we don't do this in in a perfect?

00:46:04Like if they were to move off campus, what are they trying to create?

00:46:08Are they trying to create an intimate like loud great?

00:46:11Yeah, but the students aren't gonna be able to they're not gonna be there. I don't know. I I the only

00:46:15I guess would be like I I don't know enough about the the the land they have there

00:46:19Is it just like they have a massive thing of land where they can build like the like how louisville built the kfc yum center?

00:46:24Where it's just mega fucking

00:46:26State of the yard there the other day. Yeah, like massive. They have one of them. Is that the idea?

00:46:31They're gonna take away a parking lot

00:46:33Yeah, those are so maybe the site maybe the reason they're considering is not like I don't think they want to move it off campus

00:46:38I think it's just like we have a lot of land there we could build like a plaza here

00:46:41we could put a fucking we put a bunch of statues and

00:46:44Have you ever uh, have you ever been to the rose bowl?

00:46:46But not have for the rose bowl or for a different for the rose bowl

00:46:50Okay, i've been there for a ucla game and it was a horrible experience

00:46:54I'm, not saying it's it's apples and oranges because it's much farther than a mile down the road

00:46:59but to get college students

00:47:01Off you drive from westwood. I did and it was an absolute. It's a nightmare. You've been to la i've been

00:47:07I used to live in l.a

00:47:08I don't like to talk about it much, but I used to live out there for uh for four years

00:47:11I lived out there. I bumped into jane lynch at a diner one time. Um didn't talk to her

00:47:15I was I was too nervous, but I was like god damn that's jane lynch, right?

00:47:18Yeah, I didn't say that to myself point being students make the make the choice not to go to their games because it's a hassle

00:47:23To not be able to walk right right miami had the same problem, right?

00:47:27Miami, uh, yeah, all the off-campus stuff never works. Depaul has this problem in chicago if you've been to

00:47:34That's one of the weirder things to me and I gotta I gotta I gotta figure this out for holt

00:47:38um

00:47:39because

00:47:40Depaul moving here. I've lived here for a year now

00:47:43I I live not too far from depaul's campus in lincoln park

00:47:48Dude beautiful fucking campus beautiful like the like the richest motherfuckers

00:47:54In chicago live all around that campus

00:47:56It's like the nicest part of chicago

00:47:57Like I would I want to I want to go to depaul just so I can live in lincoln park

00:48:01Just so I can afford like living in lincoln park

00:48:04Um, that's what their campus is like you go to their arena. Have you been to the arena? I've not I drive by the

00:48:09The campus it's great. Where's the arena? It might be a perfect arena. It is a it is like the perfect size

00:48:15I don't know how many it holds like nine thousand ten thousand something like that

00:48:18It is it is it feels like it's brand new

00:48:20We did the barstool classic there and that was the first time and then I went to watch butler play there

00:48:24Uh last season so i've been there a couple times. I was like this is this is an incredible arena

00:48:28The arena is like downtown though

00:48:30I think it's like sort of south-ish of downtown. Um, not walkable not close to walkable

00:48:36but the the the point is

00:48:38Depaul basketball has like depaul has

00:48:41The the campus and the arena but since they're not together

00:48:44It's like this doesn't work and that's more to the point is like all you can have the perfect thing

00:48:50But if it's off campus like none of this

00:48:52None of this matters students aren't going to those games. Yeah, they have to they have to take an uber

00:48:56Yeah to go to they can't walk from their dorm. What's

00:48:59You're not gonna I don't know so hopefully this is like a non-story and

00:49:03My hope is like a lot of a lot of carolina people that are listening

00:49:06To to this or watching this or are just like I can't believe you think this is a story

00:49:10This is a non-story. We're not going to do this. We're never going to do this

00:49:13You you're eating the trash like this was this was a fake leak

00:49:17To get a booster step up to renovate the dean dome

00:49:19but I just I don't take these things for granted anymore because I I

00:49:23I don't know. I don't know

00:49:24It would not be the most shocking thing in the world if I woke up one day and saw a headline that like carolina's building

00:49:29like a

00:49:301.2 billion dollar like basketball complex

00:49:34But it's like five miles from campus

00:49:37And I I would go crazy. I would I would absolutely go crazy. So

00:49:42Hopefully they don't do that. Um

00:49:45another thing I wanted to talk to you about was uh

00:49:48Did you see the john calipari tweet with pj washington because we talked about this on a show like a month ago

00:49:54I was wrong and you were right titus. Thank you. That's all I wanted to hear we can move on

00:49:58I still I still don't move on. That's all I wanted to hear

00:50:00No, I want to talk about coach cal for a second on that though

00:50:03So obviously pj washington played for coach cal 2017 2019 first round pick. That's why you go to kentucky, right?

00:50:09So you and you said look you choose your coach. You don't choose your school

00:50:12There's going to be kentucky players that go to arkansas. They've done that

00:50:16How about coach cal suiting him up and then tweeting? That's crazy. That is crazy like it's not just shirt

00:50:21He got shorts on too. It's one thing that was crazy

00:50:24Like i'm sure that you know former players are going to go to to paul to see holt or whatever that may be

00:50:30You go see your coach you go see fad motto whatever you want to do

00:50:33It's another thing for that coach to be like and I want you to put on the socks and the shorts and the shirt

00:50:37And then here pose for a picture. Well above all that like it's a conference rival. It's like a it's a

00:50:43Not just a conference rival. It's like

00:50:46No, not the conference it is it is a viable conference rival

00:50:49It is it's not like cal went to to like a vanderbilt or something

00:50:53It's like they're technically in our conference, but like we don't really

00:50:56Like it's it's arkansas. It's fucking arkansas, dude. So like yeah, this is like so thad going to butler

00:51:02I don't mind throwing a butler shirt on like what what what do ohio state having a butler?

00:51:07but

00:51:08Thad going to like michigan state or something and i'm like decked out and and again you can go there

00:51:13I agree with you. You've made your point that that you go you choose a coach you support your coach

00:51:18I have no problem with that

00:51:19You don't have to throw on the jumpsuit and pose for a picture, but I I I always be recruiting

00:51:25I'm telling you that that I don't think this is the end of this. I think we're gonna get

00:51:29If we get if we get former kentucky guys

00:51:33At kentucky arkansas game. What are they wearing?

00:51:36Are they all going to be? Oh my god, that would be an active that would actually be one time this year

00:51:41That would be a bridge too far february 1st at kentucky how many that's it

00:51:44They only play the one play once february 1st at kentucky. Everyone's going back, right?

00:51:50Dude if

00:51:52I didn't even think about that because in my mind I was picturing this at bud walton to have like a handful kentucky guy

00:51:56uh

00:51:57former kentucky players like behind the arkansas bench

00:52:01but that actually makes more sense that it'd be in lexington and

00:52:05like

00:52:06Former players would show up to support their guy now. It's like perfect for them. I wish they'd choose

00:52:12And they wear like a like a the the uh, a.j. Hawk brady

00:52:16That was brady. Yeah, a.j. Hawk and brady quinn

00:52:19sister a.j. Hawk's wife

00:52:21Or the split split split the split jersey. Yeah, like john wall's wearing like in arkansas anthony davis. Yeah

00:52:27All fucking boogie just can't decide drake's with him. He doesn't know which team to pick

00:52:32Yeah

00:52:35Yeah, dude, that was crazy

00:52:37quick break to talk about our friends at draft kings nfl week one is here and a new season means new ways to get

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00:53:30The crown is yours

00:53:32What else did you put together a sheet for me? This was this was impressive. What else did you put?

00:53:36Oh, I know you've been talking maui for a while. I have yeah, I mentioned this at the top. So this is my invitational. So, uh

00:53:43I uh

00:53:45I gotta I gotta get back to maui maui last year the fires happened. It was devastating

00:53:49It was it was awful for the community and and uh, I i'm not

00:53:53Privy to how much they've built it back and how welcoming they are now

00:53:56The maui invitational is happening in lahaina as far as I know and so I take that as like

00:54:01The island welcoming back the maui invitational. Um

00:54:04And everything everything especially in the early days after the fire. It felt like there was people were split where it's like

00:54:11Stop coming to our island. Like we have a real life crisis going on here

00:54:14We don't want you outsiders like fucking this up

00:54:17And then other half of people were like we need your dollars like come please come

00:54:22Yes, like give us a bunch of money like we need to revitalize this whole thing

00:54:26Uh, so I don't I I don't know where they fully land on that

00:54:28But I think as far as I know the maui invitational is happening this year again, um, and you've never been scheduled

00:54:35I've been twice. Oh you have you were talking about this like this is like your bucket list item. No tate. I've not only

00:54:41Cody we might need to cut that. I don't want to say i've been twice

00:54:44I there was a point in my life where I was proudly saying they can't have the maui invitational without me going

00:54:48Oh, wow, it's like I was trying to make it seem like i've been to like 30 in a row

00:54:52But then kovid between kovid and this fire. It's like really fuck the whole thing

00:54:57And so it is strictly who is going this year that has your it's it's it's the the tournament is returning to the eye

00:55:04so i'm gonna put on my serious hat for a second because like there are a few things that uh,

00:55:08There are a few there's chaps waving at us. Hi. Hi chaps

00:55:12Um, right as I put on my serious hat chef

00:55:16All right, straighten out the hat. All right. Hold on serious hat off. Hello chaps. All right hat back on. Um,

00:55:21there are a few things that can get me to be uh,

00:55:25extremely

00:55:27Earnest, I guess would be the word like why i'm i'm a very sarcastic guy

00:55:31I find humor and everything everything's a fucking joke to me and it's hard for me to take anything seriously. Um,

00:55:37The maui invitational after what that that tournament like I started work

00:55:42We started working with them directly where we we were at the uh, kansas staton game where ob toppin

00:55:48uh

00:55:48was playing the kansas team that probably would have gone on to win the national championship was an incredible game in the championship and um,

00:55:54That was an all-time maui invitation. Anthony edwards was it was a night in that in that tournament?

00:55:58It's a game. It's like a big shot against chaminade

00:56:01It was it was cassius winston michigan state was there it was it was a great tournament

00:56:06um, and then I went when ohio state went but when uh,

00:56:10when when I was there working the the the tournament I I got like the it was beyond just like

00:56:16It was beyond like the the scene of maui and I I got a serious appreciation for like what that tournament was and like how serious

00:56:24uh, the the teams took the basketball how how passionate the fans were how much the island like loved the tournament being there

00:56:31And then to have covet take away two of them, uh, they played one in ashville and then they played one in vegas

00:56:37Uh, they finally returned and then I went to the to the one where uh, ohio state played that was a couple years ago

00:56:44um

00:56:45Where we were we were in it. I think I won that one. Arizona. I think arizona won it

00:56:49I think I think arizona won it a few years ago

00:56:5220

00:56:53Is that 22?

00:56:5520 22. Yeah, the 22 won arizona won and then last year it gets it gets

00:57:02Fucked up, and I think it was moved to honolulu because of the the fires in lahaina. Um

00:57:08I think you pair that tate with like my I I grew an appreciation when they took it away

00:57:12That like you have to have this tournament in the lahaina civic center

00:57:16It belongs in maui. So like what that community went through

00:57:20I think i'm fired up for that like it's like we every time maui gets taken away and we get it back

00:57:25I'm going to celebrate that i'm going to be very excited about that

00:57:28number two

00:57:29Bill walton died

00:57:31Bill walton died i'm still like really not over it and I still sometimes like think about it

00:57:35I'm like I that's going to be such a fucking gut punch

00:57:38To when we turn on college basketball this year and realize bill walton's not here to to bless us with

00:57:43With being bill walton

00:57:45um

00:57:45so I think that's a huge thing for me that I want to go back to to maui and like keep

00:57:49Pumping those tires as much as possible and keep like I do I don't have the biggest platform in the world

00:57:53But I think I i've carved out a like big enough platform in the college basketball world. Um

00:57:58that I want to use whatever I have to like

00:58:00keep keep

00:58:02Shining a light on the maui invitational keep saying this is a fucking awesome thing that we have and number three

00:58:07And maybe this is the most important

00:58:09I think the field is absolutely stacked and it's going to be awesome

00:58:12And I think the basketball is going to be incredible and penny hardaway

00:58:15Dealing with the shit. He's dealing with right off the top makes it even better

00:58:17I mean we took the first two things we talked about were memphis and yukon

00:58:20Okay, that's your 11 30 game in the first round

00:58:22You've got memphis yukon colorado michigan state and then auburn iowa state dayton north carolina four games in a row starting at 2 30

00:58:29Last one tipping off at 11 30 p.m

00:58:31Colorado michigan state's interesting to me because I think both teams are are I have a lot of question marks about like I

00:58:37I think they're both could be good, but I don't know how good they're going to be. Um, they they seem like

00:58:42like

00:58:43they they both seem like

00:58:46I don't like they're going to take a step back

00:58:49but um

00:58:50I I honestly don't know

00:58:52what to expect from either one of those teams and yet I still sort of think that they're like the idea of them not making

00:58:56an NCAA tournament is

00:58:58It's crazy to me because I just i've associated both of those programs with being

00:59:02You know like right there. It's all works. Yeah. Um, so colorado michigan state's gonna be fascinating

00:59:08Uh yukon memphis as you said like that's that's fucking crazy two-time

00:59:12Champions first round auburn iowa state. I think are going to be two top 10 teams

00:59:17And dayton, I I have a prediction for this mali invitational because I saw it firsthand last time dayton was there

00:59:23The dayton will have the most fans at this tournament dayton fans at the mali invitational are fucking insane

00:59:28And now this dayton team isn't going to be half as good as I was going to say they're odd man out talent wise

00:59:32As as the last dayton team that was there was but this dayton team is going to be very very

00:59:37Or the dayton fans. I mean are going to show out

00:59:39Um, and that's going to make it awesome and carrie. I think carolina

00:59:43I think uh, I think carolina and yukon will probably be top five teams when we go out there

00:59:48I think

00:59:49Iowa state might be a top five. Iowa state brings back like their top four scorers and they were

00:59:54They were top 10 team like all year last year. Like maybe not this feels loaded

00:59:57Auburn's gonna be awesome. Um

01:00:00Michigan state I have questions about but it's still michigan state. It's still tom. Izzo like you can't

01:00:04You can't count them out

01:00:06They're and like I said with colorado too

01:00:08Like I think that game's going to be very interesting because you have two teams that are trying to

01:00:11Figure out what their identity is early in the season and having that as a first-round game is going to be awesome

01:00:16I'm, i'm very fired up. What is a what is a mark titus trip to the maui invitational?

01:00:20Oh, like are you I don't know dude

01:00:22I I was looking at flights and it dawned on me that that this is this is going to be an excruciating trek out there

01:00:27I miss the direct flights from la i'll be honest

01:00:30Yeah, you're in chicago two times the two times I went out there was just like a it's still a far flight

01:00:35it was like five hours from la but it's like

01:00:38It's going to be a trek. So, um, do you go out there for ball? Like do you watch all 12? Oh, yeah

01:00:42Yeah, yeah. Yeah, i'll go out for the ball. Yeah, that's what's so it's like it's a cocktease because you're like in paradise

01:00:47but you're just like

01:00:48But honestly, that's what when you get in the lahaina civic center

01:00:51You realize that this what's going on in here is better than anything going on anywhere else in the world

01:00:55I really believe that it was I will I will reference for the rest of my life the creighton arkansas game at the maui invitational

01:01:02Uh, the last one I went to what year was that? That was 22. Yeah, it has to be 20

01:01:06It was the 22 talking about so when the 22 23 season it was no member of arizona beat creighton in the arizona

01:01:11Be creative

01:01:12But the semi was the semi game between creighton and arkansas is the loudest i've ever heard a basketball arena in my entire life

01:01:19It was fucking crazy

01:01:21and uh

01:01:22I can't say enough great things about it

01:01:24If you're if you're a fan of one of these teams and you're on the fence about going you have to go

01:01:27um, and i'm gonna do whatever I I was

01:01:30I was looking up flights and hotels are not they're not cheap. It's not a cheap

01:01:34It's not cheap, but i'm gonna make it work

01:01:36I think I want to make it and it's and it's a bitch and it's and it's during like it's during ohio state

01:01:40Michigan, it's the it's the monday by the way. Um, that's the problem that you're gonna have is that uh,

01:01:46Maybe there was a world where I was like, hey, you should come to maui invitational with me

01:01:49You're never gonna be able to go you're never gonna prior obligations

01:01:51You're never ever gonna be able to like be like, yeah

01:01:54You know what? I should do during ohio state michigan week is fly halfway around the world. I may have a couple

01:02:00of

01:02:02But it's your loss dude because it's gonna be

01:02:04It's gonna be awesome. And then uh, and then I have thanksgiving on the island. Oh, is that what you do? Yeah

01:02:10Oh, wow, you have thanksgiving in maui and then friday you fly back

01:02:13And then saturday morning you wake up and you're ready for the game. That's awesome. It's perfect. What a week perfect

01:02:17It's a perfect week. So I the maui invitation this year is going to be awesome. Um,

01:02:21I don't know if there's anything else to really hit on cooper flag new bounce. Oh shit

01:02:25Yeah, I didn't talk about this was another thing that I lost in my honeymoon while I was gone

01:02:29um

01:02:30That feels like seismic news, doesn't it? Because like this was when when the uh, when nil first started

01:02:35This was the scenario that the the hypothetical that was thrown out a lot was like what if you go to a nike school?

01:02:40What if you don't want to wear nike shoes?

01:02:42And now here we are we have the number one recruit in the country signing with new balance at a nike school

01:02:46But they're saying he's going to wear nikes during the yeah

01:02:49So the games the way I understand it is your partnership of your school trumps your nil deals

01:02:55That's crazy. So nike is a or duke is a nike school. He will then be wearing duke on the court

01:03:00Trump's it for now

01:03:02For now, we'll see how we'll see how fast so the players start getting a piece of the pie

01:03:06So yeah, we'll see how fast that gets challenged

01:03:08um

01:03:09Are you I don't know if cooper flag is going to be the one to do it but somewhere along the line someone's going to be

01:03:12Like well, that's fucking stupid. Yeah, what happens?

01:03:15Goes out there in new bounce. Yeah, what are they gonna do? What's the ncaa gonna do?

01:03:20Yeah, I mean that's more of like a nike duke issue

01:03:23Like nike's gonna like nike's gonna be mad at duke and duke

01:03:26Oh, that's a good point. It's not an ncaa give a shit. It's gonna be nike and duke

01:03:31Nike's gonna be like dude

01:03:32We pay you a shit ton of money to rep our brand and you got your number one player wearing new balance

01:03:37and duke's gonna be like

01:03:39Like I don't I don't know what we're what are we supposed to tell them?

01:03:41I don't hate the move cooper flag though now gets the best of both worlds

01:03:44He gets to wear nike on the court and then he gets paid to wear. Yeah, it's true balance off the court. That's true

01:03:49yeah, I I think that's a massive story because it's like

01:03:52It's it's not really that big of a deal except for we see this is the start of like

01:03:57Like when then I I remember that happening those were the hypotheticals like oh my god

01:04:00So now players can sign shoe conscious, but what will happen if a player wants to wear this shoe and this?

01:04:05We're like, I don't know. I guess we'll see well now we're here and we don't we're seeing and apparently they have a a situation

01:04:11Uh in place, but if I was a new balance i'd push it a little bit. I'll say

01:04:15Push a little bit. I'd be like cooper. How about uh, you want another million dollars?

01:04:18I think it's I think it's carolina where these shoes I think it's gonna take a brand like that

01:04:23To push the end like is there a mutual respect between nike and adidas or do they play dirt?

01:04:27I don't know. I can't imagine there is just think about like nike being like hey

01:04:32Reaching out to a player at an adidas school. Yeah, I want you to wear your nikes. Yeah

01:04:36I don't know. It's gonna it's it's it's gonna happen at some point

01:04:40I have to imagine it'll happen at some point and the first person that does

01:04:43It's gonna break the news. Yeah. Oh, yeah. So one of these brands better be first who wants to be the pioneer

01:04:48I don't know if cooper flag wants that I think I don't know if cooper flag is trying to be a martyr

01:04:52No be a hero, but someone will someone will come along and be like fuck that dude

01:04:56I'm wearing the shoes. I want to wear I do they're paying me and even if it's not cooper flag

01:04:59That's what i'm saying. Like if i'm new balance i'm like

01:05:02I'm gonna i'm gonna sweeten the pot a little bit. I'm going to cooper flag. I'm like, hey big game gets the tarheels coming up

01:05:08How's an extra two million dollars now? It would be worth that marketing. Yeah, you should absolutely do it

01:05:13Um, unless unless your shoes gonna explode like zion williams did then at that at that point that would be bad marketing

01:05:19Uh, all right. Enjoy the football everybody. We will uh, we'll be back next week talking more. Uh,

01:05:24more hoops, um

01:05:25I don't know. It's it's sort of a weird period because like practice is about to about to get going

01:05:30Uh rosters are mostly set though

01:05:31I think uh

01:05:32I think maybe we I I can I can actually like dive in a little bit and figure out because I I do kind of

01:05:37In the summer I make new I make note of transfers and roster moves here and there

01:05:42but I don't really take the time to like

01:05:44Sit and look at the finished product per se

01:05:47Bosco's been in the office for the last couple days and he will not shut up about alabama's number should be number one over

01:05:52kansas, um

01:05:55I regret to I regret to inform my audience

01:05:57He might be making some good points. Like i'm starting to i'm starting to read the alabama literature. What's he already?

01:06:02It's one and two two and one. I know it doesn't really matter. I like I told him I was like you want the pressure

01:06:07Yeah, have at it like target on your back. Yeah, you're pre-season number one. That is

01:06:11That is a target. I don't think a program that's never won a national championship necessarily once but we'll see. Um, all right

01:06:16We'll be back next week. Thanks for watching. Thanks for listening to you guys

Episode 135: UConn Will NOT Join The Big 12 Right Now + Penny Hardaway & Memphis Basketball

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