Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - Miami Hurricanes' controversial win: Was the forward pass call right?

Episode Date: October 21, 2024

Miami Hurricanes' Controversial Win Sparks Debate: Did the Forward Pass Call Seal the Game?Dive into the Miami Hurricanes' thrilling 52-45 victory over Louisville, where a controversial forward pass r...uling took center stage. This episode dissects the implications of this call and its impact on the game. We also explore Florida State's shocking first-ever football loss to Duke, questioning the Seminoles' culture and player attitudes. Celebrate NC State's quarterback CJ Bailey as he leads his team to their first ACC win against Cal. Virginia Tech's Bhayshul Tuten shines with a dominant 266-yard, four-touchdown performance against Boston College. The episode also critiques the latest AP rankings, questioning why Pittsburgh is ranked lower than some two-loss SEC teams despite being undefeated.Tune in for an engaging analysis of these pivotal games and rankings, offering insights you won't want to miss.For your next listen, check out the Locked On College Football podcast! From NIL deals to never ending conference realignment rumors, Spencer McLaughlin gets you ready for an exciting season on the gridiron! Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!ROYDownload Roy for iOS or Android and enter referral code LOCKED ON and you’ll automatically be entered into a sweepstakes to win $5,000 cash. Visit JoinRoy.com for additional details. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited. Get off the sidelines and into the NIL game with Roy.ZBiotics Pre AlcoholGo to zbiotics.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGEto learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use LOCKEDONCOLLEGEat checkout. ZBiotics is backed with 100% money back guarantee so if you’re unsatisfied for any reason, they’ll refund your money, no questions asked.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE and get $50 instantly when you play $5! You don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONCOLLEGE LinkedInThese days every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business. That’s why LinkedIn Jobs helps find the right people for your team, faster and for free. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGE. Terms and conditions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - guaranteed ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Miami remained unbeaten. Oh, more controversy? What did you guys think? You are Locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Shout out to the Everydayers and thank you so much for making Locked on ACC your first listen and your first watch today. We're available free. Wherever you get your podcast, we're free on YouTube.
Starting point is 00:00:32 We're part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code locked on college for $20 off your first purchase. There were a lot of good games we're going to get into Kenton from week eight, including the Hokies reminding us they're still here. And we got to take them seriously. Duke gave Florida State their sixth loss in its mid-October. Woo! Now, Miami against Louisville, Kenton, was a shootout as I thought it might be. They nearly combined for 100 points in Miami's 52 to 45 win at Louisville. Defense optional on both sides. That's been a big problem for Miami. Louisville didn't really have any answers for Cam Ward and Damien Martinez and company, but there was another play, another review that went Miami's way.
Starting point is 00:01:31 That has been melting down the internet. And Kent, like, to a certain extent, I could understand the previous meltdowns, right? Because there were closer calls. And at the end of games, the Hail Mary against Virginia Tech, the non-targeting, was it targeting against Cal? But this one, so Cam Ward hit as he throws, but they actually on the field and, you know, ACC officials, they're a little confused. They allow to play to continue after it came out of Ward's hands. it was picked up and presumably returned for a touchdown.
Starting point is 00:02:06 But even watching the play live, I'm thinking, well, that's clearly a forward pass incomplete. They go over the replay. In my humble opinion, clearly a forward pass incomplete. Even the commentators who don't always, you know, agree with the calls that go Miami's way, thought that that was a pretty routine forward pass. They were going to rule back the touchdown. They did out overrule the touchdown. It was not the final play of the game, but Miami did end up winning the game by
Starting point is 00:02:32 seven points. And, you know, lo and behold, people are going to, what did you think, Kenton? Because, yeah, people are going to call me biased about it. Right. You have no bias towards Miami. What did you think about that play? I said on Twitter that this was the most clear of the now
Starting point is 00:02:48 three controversial calls that Miami were involved with, right? If I had to rank them from least obvious to most obvious, I'd say the targeting was the one where, like, depending on the angle, depending on what you root for, depending on your interpretation, of the rule,
Starting point is 00:03:03 desert does not go. The Virginia Tech one, the ambiguity around that rule, it's like, leaves a little gray area, but you did see movement with the ball. You did see the player out.
Starting point is 00:03:14 It's iffy, right? It's iffy on that one. This one to me, by the letter of the rule, it is clear. And I am a defender saying this. I am a guy who likes Louisville a lot more than most people
Starting point is 00:03:30 in Raleigh do. I specifically said coming into the season. Louisville is getting disrespected. How are they picked to finish second in the conference, and yet nobody's picking them to win it outright? I am telling you right now, if you can tell me, hey, Ken, I'm going to give you the power. You're the new Jordan Vaughn strangle of football rules.
Starting point is 00:03:52 You get to rewrite it. That's a fairly odd parent's reference for those of you who are a little too old to catch it. Right over my head. But anyway, if you told me, Kenyon, you have a magic wand, you can rewrite the game in your image so it captures more of the essence of football, then yes, that would have been rule to fumble by the essence of football, because that was somebody making a play, not like, oh, he's at the top of his release, and it just happens to get pushed forward.
Starting point is 00:04:16 However, the rule as is stated is if the hand starts any passing motion forward until that motion is completed, if at any point in time he's hit and the ball comes out, it is automatically ruled a incomplete pass if it hits the ground. That's the way the rule is written. Isn't one of the plethora rules that favors offense? Yes.
Starting point is 00:04:42 But that's just the rule. I didn't make it up. Don't take it up with me. I'm telling you, don't take it up with Dono and say, oh, you're seeing it with your orange and green glasses on. That is objectively the way the rule is written. And if you watch that play,
Starting point is 00:04:58 for those of you who have the ability and capability. Watch that play on YouTube. Go to it and watch it on a desktop preferably because desktops allow you to get 0.25 speed. Go to 0.25 speed. I didn't know that. And watch it frame by frame. You will see that for just the tinge, his arm goes forward with control of the ball. Now, for the majority of the motion, it was out of his control, but the rule is written in a way that it's not about whether or not you're 50% through the motion, whether or not you would release a ball back here, it's about, did the arm move forward at all? And per the rule, it's in a complete pass.
Starting point is 00:05:35 I don't know why this one is controversial at all. Yeah, I think it's honestly, it's just because, oh, here's another review that goes Miami. I think that's all it is. I think that it's like, if this one had happened three weeks ago, I don't think anyone would have even raised an eyebrow. It's just the fact that, you know, Miami has been fairly or unfairly. I think in this case, certainly fairly on the receiving end of positive. rules. I think that's what it is. We have a lot more games we're going to talk about here. We will talk about the new Associated Press rankings. Can Pittsburgh get a little respect here?
Starting point is 00:06:08 Can we get some respect? We're also later on in this episode, we're going to bring in Isaac Shade, who's not only from locked on tar heels, but he's also from locked on college basketball. Because, yeah, locked on college basketball, yes, because we've got to talk about the shocking, maybe not so shocking now that we've heard more about it. Retirement of Tony Bennett, the Virginia basketball coach, Isaac is going to help us break down the reasons why, because Bennett has come out and clarified. Isaac is going to help break that one down.
Starting point is 00:06:40 And, yeah, you know, Kenton, and, you know, obviously, yeah, I do, you know, I watch Miami games with orange and green colored glasses on, but on the flip side, I will admit that for as brilliant as Miami's offense is, best in the country, statistically, that defense, they've been, problematic. And, you know, the rest of Miami's games look winnable on paper, but if you do reach the ACC championship game, and Clemson's probably on the other side of that. And if you do make it to the college football playoff, if they can't fix that defensive secondary, it's going to be a real problem for Miami. And, you know, Miami coming up this weekend, Kent, and they've got, they've got
Starting point is 00:07:19 Florida State. And Florida State made history this past weekend, losing to Duke. for the first time ever. They were 22 and O in football against the Duke Blue Devils, 22 and 1 now as Mani Diaz's guys playing ferocious defense, had a pick six in the game. Brock Glenn had somehow the Florida State quarterback had three turnovers in three consecutive plays. I don't think I've ever seen that before. And the Seminoles are now looking for answers, Kenton.
Starting point is 00:07:50 I mean, what did you make of that on Friday night? DJ, you was chilling back smoking the Stogey, Oh, look, looks like I wasn't the problem, man. That's unfortunate what you boys got going on. Y'all be safe. I've already got my NIA back. I'm out. But in all seriousness, I look at this as a moment where, I mean,
Starting point is 00:08:09 this is a factual statement. Before Saturday night, if you would have said, do beat Florida State. That is a factual statement. You would have had to have been talking about basketball with Coach Kay and company, you know, women's basketball with their coaches, all the good things that are doing.
Starting point is 00:08:25 over there, one of the country clubs, okay? You would have to talk about an Olympic sport. Never in the history of Florida State, nor do, have these two teams ever combined to have this happen. And yet, you and I both knew this was going to happen. You and I both predicted.
Starting point is 00:08:41 I actually, I'll be honest, I thought Florida State would win the game. So I'll take myself, or maybe I was jinxing them. I don't know. But I didn't think, but you heard what I said when you asked me about this thing. I said, Jordan Travis said walking through the door, he was giving them boys the blues. And Lord forbid, if it wasn't the quarterback play,
Starting point is 00:08:58 that held Florida State back once again. And I told everybody, when everybody said, oh, Brock Lynn looks so much better to DJU, I said, Norville has won the equity to not have to play a quarterback just because they pay the money. He knows something that we don't. You saw what I saw out there. So it's not a DJU problem.
Starting point is 00:09:18 It is really legitimately a culture problem at Florida State. There is something in the water. There is something in that. culture that is breeding mediocrity at a level that Florida State has never dealt with. And let me take the step further. Not just breeding mediocrity, it's breeding entitled. I am watching players. I'm watching the body language.
Starting point is 00:09:39 I'm watching how they're acting during this game. And not just this game all season. It has felt like an entitled kid who thought, I should be getting this win. We should be receiving this. We should be one of the best defensive lines in the country. Not a group that's hungry. that Florida State group from last year played like they were hungry. You knew verse was hungry for something.
Starting point is 00:10:01 You knew Fis was hungry for something. You knew Lundy was hungry. Jordan Travis, Keon R. Goldman, Johnny Wilson, hungry, hunger. Out of that tight end as well, out of that back to. This year it just appears to be, we showed up. We did our part. That's enough. And that is what is most disappointing about this Florida State team so far.
Starting point is 00:10:21 I co-sign on that. When we come back, we got to talk about. about your Wolfpack getting their first ACC win. I know our guy Lawrence Ross is big mad at Justin Wilcox right now because they, they keep dropping these close games. But NC State gets their first ACC win. Tremendous final drive by C.J. Bailey, by the way, I think NC State has something there for the future.
Starting point is 00:10:44 We got to talk about the Hokies. We got to talk about the new AP top 25 rankings. My friends, we are only getting started. You want to keep it locked right here on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. I already know you're keeping it locked to Z biotics. Guys, Z biotics, pre-alcohol probiotic drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking.
Starting point is 00:11:12 Here's how it works. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. It's this byproduct, not dehydration that's to blame for your rough next day. We've all been there, right? Pre-alcohol makes an enzyme to break this byproduct down. Just remember to make Z biotics your first drink of the night. Drink responsibly. And then you'll feel at your best tomorrow.
Starting point is 00:11:33 Step one, drink pre-alcohol. For best results, make pre-alcohol your first drink of the night. Step two, drink responsibly. Pace yourself, hydrate, and get a good night's sleep. Step three, enjoy tomorrow. Guys, I'll be honest. I had a few last night and I'm enjoying today. Wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on that day.
Starting point is 00:11:51 Go to Zbiotics.com slash locked on college to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use Locked-on College at checkout. Zbiotics is backed with 100% money-back guarantee. So if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions asked. Remember to head to Zbiotics.com slash Locked-on College and use code Lockedon College at checkout for 15% off. Thank you so much for making this episode of Lockdown, ACC, your first listen and your first watch today. For your next listen, make sure you check out our other shows. Kenton and Grayson have a victorious edition of Locked on Wolfpack.
Starting point is 00:12:31 I host Lockdown Cains as well. You know, we talk about all the Miami wins, all the controversy, Cam Ward, the lack of defense, all that good stuff. We're all part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, Kenton, let's talk about the Wolfpack, come from behind victory against Cal, including a great final drive. You know, we've seen the freshman mistakes, but, you know, you thrust C.J. Bailey into a difficult spot in these past few games.
Starting point is 00:12:58 We're starting to see the development. We're starting to see the progress. First of all, I want everybody to know I did not demand that Dono put this on the rundown. I did not say, hey, Mr. Donno, this needs to be the opening of our second block here. No, with that in mind, you're damn right. We got something for the future. I love it.
Starting point is 00:13:17 I told people after the Wake Forest game, because people were really upset. He threw a really bad interception on the first play. And it wasn't about him making a bad read. It was just very inaccurate. And I said, hey, listen, there's a reason that I say, if you're going to lose, lose with the young guys, lose with the freshmen, instead of saying, hey, if you're losing with the old guys,
Starting point is 00:13:38 put whoever gives you the best chance to win in. Because it's not about that game. It's not about that moment. When you put in a true freshman, you are looking toward the future because that guy has a minimum, at minimum, two more years worth of games that he has to be in college football.
Starting point is 00:13:54 That's just the requirement. That's just how it works out. And oftentimes we see guys grow from those moments to become something better much sooner than a four year and some change. And we saw that with C.J. Bailey here because you talk about the last drive, but all game long, okay? He made, according to, I believe it's PFF, six big time throws, six in this one game. He had four in all of his games leading up to this one. Wow. Only two turnover worthy plays all game.
Starting point is 00:14:27 That is what I'm talking about in terms of that young man that's growing up in front of our eyes. And also, Robert and I, the offensive coordinator from NC State, finally throwing it to Justin Jolie. When you're before fourth down, what a novel idea. You thought to one of your best past catchers early in downs, and it works out well, Dono. Who could have thought? Who could have thought?
Starting point is 00:14:48 You know, maybe we need to bring in Miami's offensive coordinator because he doesn't wait until fourth down to target Xavier Restrepo. He don't do it. You know, it's a, oh, Cam's so good. Oh, Fletcher's so good. Man, Martinez is so good. We'll save X till fourth down. You know, so all in all, great win by the Wolfpack.
Starting point is 00:15:05 But also, Cal, what a damn calamity. All you had to do was hit a 28-yard or get right church and let's go on. And why, right? Who-wee. Lawrence, my heart goes out to you. You know, I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this. I know you're listening. We love your brother, but, you know.
Starting point is 00:15:25 We love Lawrence. It's so sad to see you down bad like that. If Wilcox's got to go, he got to go. But, man, thank you for the dub. I think we need to make a trophy of this thing, you know. Make a whole pack of bears. We can both thank him for the dub. There you go.
Starting point is 00:15:39 A whole pack of bears robbery trophy. Let's get it done. Well, Lawrence, well, whatever, whatever is your drink of choice will send you a case because I think Kenton and I, we both will be won. So we appreciate that. Virginia Tech on Thursday. night. And Kenton, that was that was such an important game for both Boston College and the Hokies, one and one in conference, each of them heading into that game. Like that, that was an
Starting point is 00:16:02 opportunity to stay in the ACC championship race and allow yourself to dream because we do have, you know, multiple teams, Miami, Clemson, who got a big win against Virginia, SMU and Pitt, who are still unbeaten in conference. So, you know, one loss doesn't guarantee anything, but two losses basically eliminates you from contention. So not only did Virginia Tech win, I think Baychal Tutin is still running for touchdowns, a four touchdown total day for the Hokies star running back, 18 carries for 266 yards. So the Hokies now, they're four and three overall, but two and one in the conference. So they can still dream and they look so much better than they did to start the year. Yeah. And I want to also point to something here in terms of Baichael,
Starting point is 00:16:51 of what he did in this game, right? 15 yards per carry. 15 yards per carry. Do you know how insane that is when you really break that down? Every time he touches the ball, a first down and a half is in essence what he was putting up there. And I know some people are going to say, well, you know, you're just looking at some really big plays there. And that's how that happened. And you take away a couple of big plays.
Starting point is 00:17:20 is you take away the 83 yard or and all of a sudden it doesn't look that good. Are you sure about that? Are you sure about that? Because even if you take away that, you still got another 20 plus yard touchdown through the air in terms of what he did there. So you're looking at a situation where Boston College's defense looked completely overwhelmed. I mean, there was an onslaught of Tudin to the point where they were just, they were in a state of disarray in essence.
Starting point is 00:17:50 In terms of, hey, how do we tackle this guy when he gets fast-land of scrimmage? The answer is you don't. You let the goal line have that because we just can't do it on this day. But, I mean, boy, he showed the hell out. Don't get me wrong. Your offensive line did their thing. And he did his thing in terms of running hard and breaking tackles. But Boston College, y'all do realize this was not a game of two-hand touch.
Starting point is 00:18:12 This is, in fact, still tackle football. You've got to be physical. Get your nose in there. Get a guy on the damn ground. And also take a decent angle. You play a Boston College. You know you're probably not going to be the fastest guy on the field. Take a good angle, buddy.
Starting point is 00:18:26 What are we doing here? All right, let's take a look at the new AP rankings. There's a couple of things. It's a couple of things I don't love here, all right? All right, so hold on. Let me pull this up. For those who are watching us on video, we're sharing the screen right now. For those listening, we'll describe it.
Starting point is 00:18:46 You know, no complaints. Good. Good for Oregon. Oregon moves into number one, because the previous number one, Texas Longhorns, got themselves beat by Georgia. Georgia moves up to number two after that big win. Georgia's six and one.
Starting point is 00:19:02 Penn State at number three at six and O'O. Ohio State, five and one at number four. Texas drops down to number five at six and one. Now, you know, Miami at seven and oh, I know that they've had some very close wins, but it's like if you're in the SEC, if you lose a game, and one of my listeners gave me this line,
Starting point is 00:19:21 if you lose a game in the SEC, they treat it like a buy week. Right. The ACC, in the ACC, they scrutinize your victories more than they scrutinize SEC losses. Miami, Miami at number six, but I wasn't expecting Miami to move up
Starting point is 00:19:35 unless Georgia lost. I think if Georgia, who was at number five, if they had lost to Texas, maybe Miami would have slid in to number five. That's not my big complaint here. My big complaint is we moved down the list. Tennessee at seven. LSU at 8.
Starting point is 00:19:51 Clemson deservedly moves up a spot to number 9. They deserve to me in the top 10. Maybe they probably deserve to be even higher than they are. Iowa State, it is another one. Iowa State's not in the ACC, but they win a game against UCF, and they get penalized by dropping a spot. That's how it goes when you're not in the SEC, I guess.
Starting point is 00:20:11 BYU 11, Notre Dame 12, Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama at 5 and 2, Kansas State, Boise, State, Ole Miss, five and two, and then you've got Pitt at six and oh. And this is my bone to pick Kenton, that the Pittsburgh Panthers, all they've done is beat all of the teams in front of them. I'm happy they're in the top 20. They deserve to be.
Starting point is 00:20:35 There's two lost teams. Multiple two lost teams are in front of them in the rankings. That listener of mine was right. You lose in the SEC. They treat it like a buy week. Absolutely. Not only is it the SEC, but it's about brands, which is what I was talking about. on the squad last week when everybody was saying,
Starting point is 00:20:52 well, Kenton, if these two teams played right now, who would be favorite about? I don't give a damn what Vegas got going on with all the respect. I'm not a degenerate. I'm joking, if you're a better, you're not a degenerate. You're not a bad person, but you get my point. I think there's a compliment when you say that, actually. I say less.
Starting point is 00:21:11 My favorite degenerate Alex Donno understands. So with that in mind, I don't give a damn who you think will win or what you think would happen. You're looking at two teams. I can understand saying, hey, this team's in the FCS, this team is group of five. They may not play the same types of teams. But at what point do the games match?
Starting point is 00:21:29 At what point and for whom? Because if that's the case, being a two-loss team in the SEC is okay and it puts you in that stratosphere, why is Vanderbilt just barely clinging on to the top 25? Didn't they beat one of those two-loss teams? So why are we doing this thing where it's about brands instead of, hey, This is what I saw. This is what this team has put on film because Bama has put a bunch of bad habits on film.
Starting point is 00:21:56 We have seen a plethora of bad habits on film. We have seen an inability to do multiple to get any type of surge or push through the middle of offense line multiple times on film. We have seen a reliance on church plays dead of damn New York Yankees of college football. If they can't hit the long ball, if it doesn't lead a yard, congratulations. You'll probably got to win. So I don't understand it. I don't get how Eli hosting and company are not getting more respect. Because again, all they've done is win.
Starting point is 00:22:30 All they've done is win football. Yeah, exactly. All right. Well, when we come back, there was a seismic change in ACC basketball. The timing was wild, but we're going to find out exactly why Virginia. Tony Bennett decided to step away and retire because our pal Isaac Shade from Lockedon College basketball and Locked on Tar Heels is going to join us next. You guys want to keep it locked right here because we are only getting started on this brand
Starting point is 00:22:58 new episode of Locked on ACCC. Folks, game time. It's the only ticket app that Kenton and I use because you're getting the best deals. And it's actually, I have this fun game on game time. I think a lot of you guys do this where I wait a little longer. Like, hey, I see this ticket is $40 today. might be $33 tomorrow. In fact, I've already watched the prices of Miami and Florida State this coming weekend. And in my area at Hard Rock Stadium, I was looking at $108 tickets last week.
Starting point is 00:23:30 Now I'm looking at tickets starting at $98 for this coming Saturday. So you guys want to check out the Game Time app. And it's not just the awesome prices. It's the awesome features like Game Time Picks is a new feature that makes getting tickets to see your favorite live event even easier because game time picks filters out all the fluff to show you only incredible deals on great seats so you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets. Guys, the all-in pricing feature is a game changer because don't you hate on the other ticket sites where it's like, oh, I think I'm buying $60 worth of tickets and oh, here's all the fees. You can see the total up front at game time without hidden fees getting tacked on at the end.
Starting point is 00:24:10 That really is a game changer as well. Get a panoramic view from your seat in the app before you buy. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app. Create an account and use code locked on college for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account, redeem code locked on college, and we're giving you $20 off your first purchase.
Starting point is 00:24:32 Download Game Time today. What time is it? It's game time. It is always game time when our guy, Isaac Shade, joins us. It's bringing that beautiful hair that is Isaac Shade. All right, so Isaac, viral late last week. I think it was last Thursday, Thursday afternoon when we found out national championship winner, multi-time coach of the year, ACC coach of the year, national coach of the year,
Starting point is 00:25:04 Tony Bennett was stepping away. We've gotten some clarity on that, Isaac. So why was it ultimately that 20 days before his season started, Tony Bennett decides to retire? Because he's not the man to do it anymore. doesn't like the way N IL and the transfer portal and everything else is shaping up. The other coaches that have done it recently have done it in a better time frame to help their programs. But the reason he does it in this time frame is the same reason that say Dean Smith did it back in the late 90s because specifically he wanted one of his assistants to take over as head coach.
Starting point is 00:25:41 And I mean like it wasn't like some veiled thing very specifically said. Let me find the quote. I've always wanted this to be taken over by one of my staff members, and that's exactly what's going to happen, at least for this year. I think that that's such an interesting thing because on the outside looking in, if you don't know that quote, it looks like he's leaving his team in the lurch, which is something that I very much sold. I'm not, you know, I didn't have the inside information there to UVA, so it looked like that.
Starting point is 00:26:08 But let me ask you, Isaac, in your personal opinion, is this the best way that he could have gone about it for that situation to come into fruition? Because in my opinion, and this is just my opinion, this is not something of this fact, in pure speculation, I think he's built up enough equity to say, hey, this is my successor. I'm going to step away immediately after the season. And UVA would do right by him to honor that and say, you know what? This guy may have a short leash. We're going to give him a raise, maybe not a raise that's on pace with what you were
Starting point is 00:26:37 making or what other ACC coaches are made. We'll give him the latitude, give him a couple years to prove himself. I'm right with you, Kent, on that. Like, ultimately, the equity is built up for him. And it doesn't have to be in the same way. Like, it doesn't have to be Mike Shoshiewski taking a year to bring him in. But I think this could have been handled better, both to give coach Ron Sanchez, who is the new head coach, at least interim,
Starting point is 00:27:04 and the players more time to wrap their brains around it and figure out what they're going to do. Now, I will say this, though. You know, I think the big question we ask is, are they still going to proceed at a glacial pace to where Coach Keats for you, Kenton or coach Laranaga for you, Dono or coach Davis for me at Carolina are like, oh, my goodness, we got to deal with this slow pace. And we got to deal with all the packline defense and the hard double on the post. Like, are we going to have to continue to deal with that? Let me tell you this. So Ron Sanchez, and this is on our emergency reaction show on Thursday, I predicted that, Coach Sanchez would actually be named the new head coach. And here's why. Both he and the other
Starting point is 00:27:47 associate head coach were Jason Williford, couldn't think he was named there for a second, have both been with Tony Bennett for a long time, over a decade at Virginia. But coach Sanchez from the 1819 season through the 22, 23 season had been the head coach at Charlotte. And so he's got that experience that then makes sense to plug him in here. Here's, here's what kind of leads me to believe that we're going to still see the glacial pace. That last year at Charlotte, they ranked 362nd in the nation in adjusted tempo. There were 363 teams in the Division I that year. I didn't know there were that many teams.
Starting point is 00:28:27 Yeah, Dono. And Virginia, they were slower than Virginia. Virginia was 360th. So Ron Sanchez played two slots slower than Tony Bennett did. So I think we're going to still see the yawning pace, the Charlottesville crowd at John Paul Jones, triumphing every shot clock violation known to man. So let me ask you this because so Tony Bennett, he steps away citing this new era of college athletics that are, you know, a lot of people don't like.
Starting point is 00:28:58 Some people do like it. It also, it kind of depends on where you are because certain programs, certain programs thrive in this new environment if they have, you know, great NIL collectives behind them. So what, because you would know certainly better than me, has the situation in Virginia, have they been behind in that stuff? Like, is this a case where Tony Bennett just didn't like it regardless? Or is Virginia lagging behind a lot of other programs in that regard? It's a great question, Dono.
Starting point is 00:29:25 As to if they actually are lacking behind, there's nothing that are lagging behind. There's nothing that has come out now or prior to suggest to that. I think this is more just about Tony Bennett realizing that it's not what he signed up for and not what he wanted to be a part of. Like one of the other quotes from his press conference, I looked at myself and I realized I'm no longer the best coach to lead this program, here this phrase, in this current environment.
Starting point is 00:29:51 And if you're going to do it, you got to be all in. And if you do it half-hearted, it's not fair to the university or these young men. And so, you know, we do have coaches and programs who are like, cool,
Starting point is 00:30:02 I'll get on board, I'll lean into this, I'll do it. you've got other coaches who are getting into the head coaching profession and signing up for this. Tony Bennett is caught in between those where he's like, this isn't what I signed up for and it's just not me. So I'm out. Now, the problem in his press conference is I kind of wish he had stopped there and just put it solely on himself.
Starting point is 00:30:20 But then he put it back on the landscape. And I wish he hadn't done that. But I know he was emotional and he's dealing with it. And I get it. But I think it's more about Bennett than Virginia's ability to do what they need to do to get the guys they need. You know, in terms of looking at, you know, how the story of a program Virginia is and how the regular season success was always there, but the postseason success outside of one national championship run had eluded him to some extent. Do you kind of look at this and say, you know what,
Starting point is 00:30:51 Virginia is set up in a situation to sustain the success that they had with Bennett there? Do you expect them to hit another level in terms of positively? Or are you like, hey, lower your expectations. If you're a fan of the whos. If you had to give it a guess right now, what would you say? What's interesting, Ken, I wasn't, I'm not very in on Virginia for this year. I think they'll be, like we got 18 basketball teams now. I think they're in that middle third, like 12 to 12, or what would that be, seven to 12? Yeah. I think they were going to be in that range this year. What's interesting is they're set up with multiple, like in baseball, in major league. When you sign somebody, you want some contract control where you got them for a couple of years.
Starting point is 00:31:33 a bunch of the guys that Virginia has just brought in are in that vein. And so if Coach Sanchez can keep that going, there is some continuity and some pop. But none of them are guys I see like a Kyle guy or a D'Andre Hunter or a Thai Jerome that just had them rolling, even undersized Kihei Clark that was there for three and a half decades, I think it was. It was the Armando Bacon of UVA. That's right.
Starting point is 00:32:01 So I think for right now, I am not expecting them to be at the success they were like in the mid teens into these early 20s. But I think they will hang around. I don't think they're going to the bottom tier of the ACC. But that's where I would have them right now. But man, the ACC as a whole, this is what I'm looking at, guys, going beyond the Virginia of it, if that's okay, to the ACC as a whole. Sure. We had four national championship winning coaches in our conference four years ago. We've lost one of them each successive year. 2021, 22, Roy Williams is out.
Starting point is 00:32:38 Hubert Davis is in at North Carolina. 22, 23. Mike Shashefsky's out. John Shire's in at Duke. Last year, Jim Beehimes out, in comes Red Autry at Syracuse. And now Tony Bennett's out and Ron Sanchez is in. That means, per Brian Ives who tweeted this, for the first time since the start of the 81, 82, season. There is no head coach in the ACC that has a national championship to his name. Wow. Well, this is tremendous stuff and tremendous insight here. And he's Isaac Shade. And like Kenton
Starting point is 00:33:09 and I, he's a two-show man. You could see him and hear him on locked on college basketball, also on locked on tar heels. Isaac, thank you so much for the info. And I cannot wait. We'll be seeing a lot more of you when hoop season begins. You know that. Let's do it, boys. I'm so ready. Hey, real quick, one other thing nationally, only six active national championship head coaches. Now, I know it's three in football. We got one of them in our conference, but now in basketball, we're down to six as well. So those numbers are dwindling. It's going to be a conversation that continues. No doubt. Well, great, great stuff. And we'll continue our conversations tomorrow here on Lockdown ACC. We'll have the squad coming up later on this week. He's Isaac Shade. He is Kenton Gibbs. I am Alex Dono,
Starting point is 00:33:51 and we'll talk to you next time on another episode of Lockdown ACC. We are part of the awesome Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.