Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - FALLBACK: Iowa Basketball FRANTICALLY Searches for New Talent - Who's NEXT for the Hawkeyes in the Transfer Portal
Episode Date: April 8, 2025Iowa Hawkeyes fans, are you ready for a deep dive into the latest sports buzz? Discover how the basketball transfer portal is reshaping the Iowa Hawkeyes' roster, with key moves like Josh Dix heading ...to Creighton and Pryce Sandfort joining Nebraska. What does this mean for the team's future under new coach Ben McCollum?Join host Trent Condon and guest Scott Dochterman from The Athletic as they explore the high-stakes world of Iowa sports. From the promising future of Iowa women's basketball to the critical spring questions facing Iowa football, this episode covers it all. Key figures like Mark Granowski and Honor Huff are spotlighted, offering insights into their potential impact on the field.Don't miss out on this engaging discussion packed with expert analysis and insider perspectives. Tune in for a comprehensive look at the Iowa Hawkeyes' evolving sports landscape!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Turbo TaxReady for stress-free taxes and the most money back, guaranteed? Head over to TurboTax.com today and get matched with your Expert. Only available with TurboTax Live Full Service. Real-time updates only in the iOS mobile app. See guarantee details at TurboTax.com/guarantees.Supply HouseJoin the Trade Master program today at SupplyHouse.com/TM and start ordering plumbing, HVAC, and electrical supplies with just a few clicks. Plus, use promo code SH5 for 5% off your first order. That’s SupplyHouse.com!Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.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.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.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)
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Josh Dix gone. Price Amford gone. I would need players. What's happening in the portal?
We got names for you today. Locked On Hawkeyes.
You are Locked On Hawkeyes. Your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On
Podcast Network. Your team every day.
Hey welcome in I'm Trent Condon and this is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making
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us here as we kick off a new week, on Hawkeyes back at it after a weekend in
fact in Iowa City. I made the trip over to the east side of
the state and took in a little Iowa softball. Took my daughter
to her first ever softball game before she played in a
softball tournament up in North Liberty. So, we're able to
cross that one off the bucket list. Um had some conversations
with some people over there. Um good time overall and we're gonna talk about that a little bit later list. Had some conversations with some people over there. Good time overall.
And we're going to talk about that a little bit later on. What happened on the diamond
in the Hawkeye world. We'll also talk a little bit about the Iowa baseball team and the softball
team. Spring sports going on. Football is underway. We got a lot to get into. Plus we
will be joined by Scott Dockerman from the Athletic. We will
talk with Doc about the comings and goings, get into some weeds a little bit deeper of
how things are going to shake out and how things are going to look going forward. And
as we come to you on the heels of the national championship game in women's basketball, just
one more look back at Caitlin Clark and just absolutely how incredible was these last two
years. But we kick off today on the men's side of things and we open with the transfer portal. It is always a
conversation piece. This new era of college athletics and what it'll be going forward,
who knows what it's going to look like. But what we know for the here and now that money is currency
and it's crazy in college athletics that is as simple as
that because we know the chicanery that was part of college athletics and the under the
table payments and the like that were happening. Not the case anymore. You have money, you
have power. You have a chance to build a pretty good resume in basketball. So we find out
last late last week that Josh Dix is making the decision to move
closer to home. He's going to go and play with Greg McDermott's program at Creighton, hop,
skip it, a jump away from where he grew up, where his family is in council bluff. So it makes a ton
of sense. You know, heard a year ago that this was something that was happening, that there was
conversations at least being had. What those conversations are,
is it assistant coaches, is it AU coaches, whatever it is.
This is again, our new reality.
And I had somebody that believed
that he was gonna be departing a year ago.
And it didn't happen obviously,
as we see him complete his junior season.
But he's going there, he's gonna get a bag
and he's a good player. You know, imagining what a backcourt
of Bennett Sturtz and Josh Dix could have been, not just
offensively, but defensively, was exciting to think about.
It's not going to happen. And then you have Price Ampert. It's
one thing for Josh Dix to go close to home. He's got a mom
that's been sick. You can wrap your mind around that one.
Probably Sam. All right. You grew up loving Fred Hoiberg.
All right. How you can wear the black and gold and do that? I
don't know but anyway. To go to Nebraska. There's gonna be some
different feelings about that one but they're gone. So now we
turn our attention to what is next, right? What is Iowa after? So you start with,
I think, the two simplest parts of the equation for this team. Ben McCollum needs to go out,
it needs to get a center. Cam Maneo is a guy that can play inside, and I believe can play power
forward at a pretty effective level in the big 10. However, he's not a center. He can play 6'8", 6'9", guys at center in the Missouri
Valley and get away with it. You can't in the Big Ten. Not over the grind of a 20 game
conference season. Unless you have a whole lot of depth there and a whole lot of other
pieces that you can go, you just can't get away with it. Plus with his skill set, I think he's just better made in the Big Ten to be a four. Look at the other transfer targets that
they brought in. Outside of Sturz, this is not a great shooting group that has come in.
Cooper Koch, I think we all believe, is going to be able to be a shooter and is going to be a guy
that's going to, I think, continue to grow and build. And he's going to look back at his decision to stay and be the one out
of the group that McCollum wanted back to stay in Iowa City. And I believe he'll be
rewarded for that. Not financially, he willed away. But more importantly, he's going to
be a guy that's going to be remembered very well.
Because I do believe that it's going to work with Ben McCollum in a way that I didn't believe
it was going to work with Todd Licklider.
I think that they got the right guy.
And of all the candidates, all the realistic targets, I still believe, and it took some
convincing for me to get there, but Ben McCollum was the perfect guy for this job. With the resources that they have is
understanding and how to go about it. So let's get into
these names and talk about some of the guys. So alright need a
big need a center and you need shooting. You need more
shooting in order to make that happen and two of the guys
right at the top of the list that make a ton of sense as it
pertains to
shooting our honor huff
nice 510
So we've continued to hear and Ben McCollum's talked about it and again coming up later in the week
we'll be able to hear right here on lockdown Hawkeyes from coach McCollum, but
Coach has mentioned he goes back to a couple years ago at Northwest, Missouri State
We had five guys that were shooting over 40% from three well Huff can fill it up
this dude's one of more prolific three-point shooters in all college
basketball at UT Chattanooga that went all the way to the finals of the NIT
he's 510 510 is not an end all be all. He's
incredibly quick though. This is not, this is not 5'10 to be 5'10
that different kind of look that maybe you would think about. I
really like Huff. He thinking of him in the back court together
with Sturtz at 6'4". You can get away with that.
Starter, off the bench, whatever it is, you have those guys kind of both playing
that combo guard position, both running the point. It could work. Even a 5'10
in the Big Ten because of the athleticism that he has, the quickness
that he has. Another name of a shooter is Tate Sage. Now this is a guy six foot seven, two guard. It wasn't Drake
commit. You look at him, he's not going to wow you athletically, but a tremendous shooter,
a smart defender, and a guy that you can understand where he fits. A lot of people believe this
is a foregone conclusion that it's going to happen, that I was going to get a commitment
coming up here pretty quickly from Tate Sage sage the other guy that was committed out of the next year's recruiting class for Drake
is
an Estonian
That came in it was down at Sunrise Academy
Remember gable is Shaney. That's where he came from this guy's name sim martin sadi six foot nine power forward
mid major type prospect
had been major offers Soddy, six foot nine, power forward, mid-major type prospect. Had mid-major offers, but good ones.
Drake Bradley, two of the best teams, if not the best two teams in the Missouri Valley.
Still watching him.
And again, we're going on highlight reels, right?
Still looks like a mid-major player.
Maybe can develop to be a power program player,
but that's the direction that they can go
So those are the guys that come in that had offers from McCollum and
Committed to him and obviously the background makes sense a couple of names for you
What do you go back to the Missouri Valley Evansville leading score from this past year?
Taysha and Comer
Average 16 points for rebounds. That sounds pretty good. And then you look at the efficiency it took to get there
That's not very good. Now you did it on a bad Evansville team because they're seemingly
always a bad Evansville team. However, Comer was the best player for the Purple Aces this past
season. Guy that has some skills, some versatility, it's got to shoot it a whole lot better though
to play in the new Iowa system. Another guard prospect is Wes Enos who is a Division II kid out of Lincoln
University. There's a couple other D2 kids that Iowa's been involved with because of McCullen's
background and certainly the coaches that he knows there. Finally two more big guys, Duke Brennan,
the big out of Grand Canyon, started his career at Arizona State. That would be the one that I
think you would circle probably the most when you're talking about a center prospect. He's not gonna be a guy that's gonna come in an
average 15 a game, but he can come in, bang around, big body, and you think of
him playing with some of the guys that they have. I think that makes a whole lot
of sense. And another name to throw out there, and this came up right away when
McCollum took the job, is Srivon Yurov. He was Mr. Basketball here in the state of
Iowa this past year, helped lead Valley to their third consecutive state championship. Watched him a ton. Over the
last three years, I've probably broadcast 20 of Trevon's games. So, I see him a ton.
Limited athletically, tremendous skill set, led Valley this year in assist as a 6'9 guy.
He's got to get more athletics, got to get that quickness. He went through a huge growth spurt
back in middle school. His older brother drew tremendous
football and basketball player but he was like six two six
three. Trev's six nine and you see kind of that body maybe
seen to try to catch up a little bit athletically. No commitment, nothing like that but that has
been something that has at least been rumored recently with
Travon Urock possibly becoming a Hawkeye. He is committed to
you and I have to get out of that but we know how that works
in today's environment. So, that was some names for you as
we go down the path of of taking a look around what is
out there in the portal. This is a dead period.
Iowa can still have contact with these recruits. Iowa can still be talking with these players. They just can't have them on a visit until it gets to the end of the week.
So this is going to be that time where they're going to be setting up a lot. A lot of these guys are then going to be making visits starting coming up this weekend the weekend of the eleventh and going from there as things will ramp back up in the portal we
got you covered each and every day on locked on Hawkeyes we
continue on the locked on Hawkeyes podcast we're gonna
talk with Scott Dockerman we got football we got basketball
and we got just the athletic department as a whole we'll do
it with Doc as we continue locked on Hawkeyes.
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Scott Dockerman from the athletic joining us as we take a
look at some Hawkeye sports as a whole. Doc I want to start
with you talking women's basketball
and just to look back after the heels of the national championship game, what we saw South
Carolina, you kind of the domination out of Yukon. It just, it takes my mind in a different
direction. You know, I think it opens up to our eyes even more of what Caitlin was taking
those teams that didn't have a all americans to back to b
games playing as long as
get into that final tilt
that those runs are speci
a step further with you d
blue blood status for Iwa
There was an elite eight
got there. Obviously the
fours. When you look at w in front of her, what's a realistic goal?
What's a realistic kind of end game when you look at the program over the next
eight to 10 years?
Geez.
Um, you know, I think they're recruiting the very high level.
Um, I mean, the majority of their players are top 100 players.
And you look at coming in next year with Addie deal and Leila Hayes and some really good players why wouldn't they
want why wouldn't they be able to at least get to a final four with that kind
of recruiting prowess I think that's something that's realistic I mean you
know it's not realistic to expect another Caitlin Park to walk in the door
because you're never gonna have that again. She is a one-of- every single facet on the floor, off the floor.
But I think when you look at Iowa's program and you look at the teams that have been there,
UCLA has really no history whatsoever. They have an incredible post. If they didn't have
Lauren Betts, they wouldn't have been there either. I think if you have, if you're Iowa, if you're able to put together a roster that's
capable and you have a couple, a little bit better team than you did this year, I think Iowa's more
than capable of getting to the Sweet 16 with regularity, maybe three or four times every
10 years and pushing through and getting to the final four maybe once or twice over that period if they've got the team to do it.
Doc, I guess, just your thoughts on Ben McCollum, the McCollum era is underway.
We don't know what the class is going to look like.
A lot of guys following him from Drake, really good players at Drake.
What's your thoughts on the start of the McCollum era and what lies ahead?
What's your thoughts on the on the start of the McCollum era? What lies ahead?
It's so early right now to really predict what can or can't happen in the next in this
first year and beyond.
I mean, I think what we would say is he's brought a lot of his players to form a foundation
of what he wants at Iowa.
And I think, you know, he's taking the best available Drake players with him but it starts of course is one of the best players in the country
regardless of division and
Level of play so I think that's exciting
Not being able to get a Josh Dix or pay for a Josh Dix or price Sanford is probably something that you know
You think about it doesn't mean that it's a negative or anything.
It's just the way the world works.
But I'm probably more interested than anything
to see how is it going to go going forward, which players he
gets that aren't connected to Drake or any of the schools
that he's worked on.
And I think that's really going to be the determining factor
as to whether this team is competitive in the Big Ten or where it ended up under Fran McAfee this year,
which was below Fran's standard and kind of languishing and barely trying to get into
the Big Ten tournament.
So as we wait for everything to be handed down with the case from up above in the government with college athletics.
Now, when you look at Iowa,
the way that they're gonna structure things with what?
20.5 million dollars.
Do you have a rough estimate of the way
football will be fully funded?
We get all that, but the rest of the sports,
what they plan to do with that,
men's basketball, they need a bigger slice of the pie.
Women's basketball, not down on that 20.5. How would you structure it?
And and how do you believe they will?
Yeah, I mean I've had conversations with Beth and other people about how this is gonna work and they're pretty evasive
and I think in some ways it's kind of structured among time around time, but I
Think the interesting factor for Iowa and other schools like Iowa is you can't feed
everybody the same.
And for Iowa, there are four sports that stand out and always has been.
Football is number one.
You could put two and three blank, but it is the most important sport in Iowa, no question.
I think men's basketball is probably going to get the second biggest share because it
is the only other profitable program, even though that profit has been way down in the last few years. Women's basketball
competes at a high level and it's high visibility. It was second attendance this year, it was second
attendance last year and you get top 100 players, you've got to have the money to be able to compete
and then wrestling as well is obviously very important and there are some outside interests there that can
help them from a collective standpoint. But then the other ones are going to be really fascinating
to watch. What do you do with baseball, volleyball, softball, track and the other sports and how much
do they get and what are you willing to concede as a program?
I think you look at like Iowa and Wisconsin, for instance. Wisconsin is an elite program in
volleyball and a bottom feeder in basketball. They've lost to Iowa 31 straight times in
basketball. Does it make sense for them to take money away from volleyball and apply it to women's
basketball just so they could be a mediocre program in the big 10 or do they just say, you know what, we, we compete for championships in volleyball.
Let's stick with that.
And likewise with Iowa, it's the same deal in the flip, which is we compete for big 10
championships in women's basketball, but volleyball, you just can't get off the ground.
Do you really want to take, you know, money from what could be one good player on your
women's team that helped you reach the sweet 16 just so you can be
Slightly more competitive and volleyball that those are gonna be the fun or you know entertaining
Let's say for us for them. It's gonna be you rip their head out here on their head
But but but you know and it's like that with everywhere ice hockey at Minnesota women's volleyball at Nebraska
Everybody's having the same discussion on how you're gonna slice that pie.
Doc, we saw, I'm gonna switch to football with you here.
We saw Deion in Colorado.
They wanted to bring in another school
and practice against them.
We don't necessarily call it a spring game,
but kind of like a game, right, in April.
And the NCAA shot it down.
They wanna do more due diligence on the matter.
Do we get to that point, Doc?
Is that something that we could see ESPN2
had already committed?
They were going to televise the affair.
Is there an appetite for that?
And do you think we would,
we'll ever get to a point where we see that?
Yeah, absolutely, well, I don't know.
I think you can expand upon that and
look into August. I think that's probably where it's more ripe. And the oversight committee
meets again on Thursday, and they really didn't shoot it down as much as they just put the
brakes on it. You know, it's too late in the process to go through with something like
this. It's recruiting disadvantage for the other schools because you know
all the eyes will be on this as opposed to anything else and I kind of wonder in the
April March life of spring football
Can you can schools do that when you've got so many different moving pieces a portal and you know?
Injuries, you know, there's still players recovering from surgeries.
I'm not sure exactly what will happen there. But I think when you start to look at August,
I think that is right territory. When you think about, you know, let's go regional here. What if
Minnesota and Iowa State decided, let's have a couple of joint team practices and then play a game, um, you know, either in go for land or a Jack Trice, um, and get together and you get
30,000 people there and that's a heck of a game day.
That's a heck of a check that split the body.
It ends up.
Yeah.
It ends up on BTN.
It's ends up on something else, but then you start thinking, well, you know,
maybe, maybe for an Iowa, you do that against Northern Iowa, but then it opens
up your schedule to play an SEC team in the regular season because then you already have
your seventh date or you go to a neutral site in Chicago and play Notre Dame.
I mean, I think that is the right territory.
I think spring is going to be kid's mess for teams because there are sometimes that you
only have 35, 40 players and I don't know if you want to play a game, can't even play team games, scrimmages against each other, let alone
somebody else. Has that August seen a theory idea? Has that seen the light of day doc? Is that just
you? And if so, would you kind of get that out there? Because that makes a ton of sense to me.
I tell you what, I wrote about it. It's now in the editor's hand. So
let's see. I do have some people quoted. I can't give away too much here, but I will say that
people are discussing it. This is why Trent and I both subscribe to the athletic. One of the many
reasons we should say. Yes, and that is why Doc's face is right at the top of my list of articles, even in front
of the...
And by the way, congratulations on re-upping with the athletic. That was good news for
us, Doc.
Thank you. I appreciate that. It's been fun working for the athletic and hopefully I can
continue to do a good enough job where they appreciate me, want to keep me around.
You are a national writer now,
but of course still keeping your eye on all things Iowa.
Iowa football, there was open availability,
got to see some stretching for 20 minutes
and a couple of plays on Thursday.
Doc, what remains the biggest spring question
that needs to be answered for Iowa football for you
before the new portal window opens for football?
What's the biggest question still out there?
Um, you know, I guess that, you know, there are a couple that one is I think more than any of them
personnel wise there's one on each side of the ball that I think has to be answered this spring.
One is left tackle. Do you have a left tackle, you can win big games with. And if they think Jack
Dotsler can do that and do that job or Trevor Lau, whoever comes out of that, then go for it.
Push it through. If you don't, then go out and get somebody. And then likewise, I think at corner,
we saw a lot of inconsistency last year. I think they have some talent there with
TJ All and with Deshaun Lee, but do they
feel like they can win games and beat Oregon and Penn State with them? If they don't, then go out
and get a guy. And that to me, those are the two biggest question marks I have personnel-wise on
Iowa's roster. And because I do think that they finally have really upgraded a quarterback. I
think Mark Brunowski is going to be a terrific quarterback.
I think they've got the semblance of a really good offensive line.
I think the receiving core is, you know, inexperienced and modest, but
actually getting better.
And I like their tight ends and their running backs.
So, um, offensively, I think they're going to be much improved defensively.
They've got some, you've got to grow your, your depth at linebacker and defensive line, but I think they're okay there. It's just do
they have a winning corner and do they have a winning left tackle based on
their guys if they do, then this team is going to be very competitive and most of
its games if they don't, then they're gonna either have to go get a guy or
lose some lose some games that they're not gonna want to lose.
Scott Dockerman from the athletic doc Doc. I hope your editor clears that one and gets published
at the Athletic in the next couple of days. Good stuff. Can't wait to read it. Scott Dockerman
from the Athletic Doc. We'll speak with you next week. Have a wonderful week, Scott. Thank you.
Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you. Scott Dockerman from the Athletic. Good.
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Try kind of back with you one final time,
Locked On Hawkeyes.
So, mentioned I was in Iowa
City over the weekend, always great to be back in Iowa City and took in my first Iowa softball game
in 26 years. And am I getting old? For the first time since my freshman season, went out, watched
a softball game, took my daughter and took the family over to Iowa City.
Had a change in the schedule. It was chilly on Saturday, but got over there.
Wasn't too bad in the stadium. It was packed though. Absolutely shocked. I mean,
that thing was plenty of Nebraska fans that were there also, but for a cold,
windy day, a lot of people there. Now, Nebraska made quick work of the Hawkeyes
because of that and the wind blowing out as they were just crushing the ball.
I believe they finished the game five home runs, something like that.
They were just getting it up into the jet stream
and finishing it off.
But Iowa comes back on Sunday, gets the victory
against the top 25 ranked Huskers and another ranked win
for Iowa Softball.
So they're 22 and 14 on the year, four and six in the Big 10.
Still work that needs to be done, but with an RPI in the top 50, Iowa still got a chance.
So the top 12 teams this year, this is what they're going to do. With 17 teams in the
Big 10 for softball, they're going to qualify 12 of the teams for the Big 10 softball tournament.
You finish the top 12, you're in. And there's not a whole lot of advantage. Yeah, the top four
teams are gonna get a bite in the quarterfinals, but this is
single elimination. So you gotta be ready to go from this jump. I
was in really good shape not only to make the tournament
because you look at what they have going forward. Maryland is
their next series coming up this weekend. They go on the
road to Maryland who's 15 and 22 on the air. That is Penn State back at home. Nittany Lions 518 and
18 an RPI of 88. Michigan State is their third series remaining in the Big Ten.
Their RPI is 170th and then they wrap up against Rutgers who's 169th. Iowa has a lot, a lot of very winnable games here
in the Big Ten down the stretch to solidify themselves
as in the Big Ten tournament, but maybe more importantly,
put them in a position to go on a little bit of a run
and build themselves an NCAA tournament resume.
Look, if you're around, you remember the days
of the late 90s and early 2000 thousands when Gale Blevins had
that program running at just an incredible level you remember
what Iowa softball was and to get back there still a lot of
work. There is great talent though in this state people that
know the sport well will tell you it's been disappointing to
see a lot of that talent leave the state a lot of that talent
then show up at Iowa State Drake and you and I you, you and I and Iowa State in particular have had some good programs
here recently and getting Iowa back into that factor. Now Iowa's back in a big time way in the
Big Ten though they let one slip away against Northwestern. Couldn't complete the sweep yet.
The Hawkeyes still sit in first place. So they have 15 games into the schedule.
12 and 3 on the year. They're 18 and 10 overall. They have the loss of Northwestern,
not great, and their RPI does sit at 78. But Iowa in great position themselves to be in the Big 10 tournament.
Now their schedule looks a whole lot different than the softball team's schedule down the stretch
as they will wrap up the season against Oregon who is ranked in the top 25. Before that, they have a neutral site
series at Principal Park, the Iowa Cubs Stadium in Des Moines against ninth
ranked Oregon State. Before that, they go to Washington. That's at the beginning
of May. Coming up this month, they take on Nebraska this weekend, though
Nebraska is down down still Nebraska
it's at Michigan after that who's over 500 and ranked 41 in the RPI and then
against Indiana before that Washington series so gonna be much more difficult
for Iowa but still in first place Rick Heller I'm doing it again with the
baseball program transfer portal here we got you covered spring football here we
got you covered ton to talk about here this week on
lockdown Hawkeyes and we're with you each and every day your
team every day that's what we do on the lockdown network
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talk to you again tomorrow. Until then, go Hawks!