Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Former Iowa guard Bakari Evelyn joins the show to talk about his time at Iowa, the disappointment of the NCAA tournament being canceled, and his future plans

Episode Date: April 7, 2020

We've got special guest Bakari Evelyn on the show today talking about his decision to transfer to Iowa, the memories he made with the Hawks, his thoughts on the cancelation of the NCAA tournament, and... what his future professional basketball plans are. This is an interview you don't want to miss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 I thank God I was born on the good arms of the Midwest, and not on the battlefields of the U.S. It's a time of panic, and it's intercepted! It's picked off right away! Intercepted by Marty Hooker! Pick six! Eight seconds into the game! Buffen sets up deep in the pocket, goes down the field for Smith! Oh! He got it! Smith! Decks down 85 yards! Iowa! Field for Smith. Oh, he got it. Smith. Touchdown. 85 yards. Iowa.
Starting point is 00:00:29 Touchdown, 10. Taking a shot in the end zone. It is caught. No offense. Touchdown. That's either one or you have it. Go ahead and three. Yes.
Starting point is 00:00:44 Two-point lead for the Hawkeyes podcast on this beautiful Tuesday morning. I am your host, Andrew Wade, and I'm excited to be back for another episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast, your daily podcast covering your Iowa Hawkeyes on the Locked On Sports Network. your daily podcast covering your Iowa Hawkeyes on the Locked On Sports Network. And as I teased yesterday on our show, where we talked a bit about some of the transfer news impacting the Iowa Hawkeyes and unveiled some of the special segments we're going to be doing over the course of the next two weeks, we are having a bonus episode giving you our Bakari Evelyn interview.
Starting point is 00:01:39 We had an opportunity to sit down with the guard from the Iowa Hawkeyes from this past season, the grad transfer guard who formerly played at Nebraska and Valparaiso. We had an opportunity to sit with him and talk with him a bit about what he's doing to train for some of these upcoming endeavors, what he loved about Iowa, what were some of his favorite memories, and how he felt about the NCAA tournament getting canceled. So I think it's an interview that you're really going to enjoy, so I hope you do. And please let me know what your thoughts are on it. Before we jump into that interview, though, I do have to go through a few quick nuggets, a few quick housekeeping items.
Starting point is 00:02:13 If you could just go and review and subscribe our podcast wherever you downloaded this podcast at, that would greatly help us out. And I would greatly appreciate it. And make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Feel free to interact with us. Send us any questions that you have about Iowa Hawkeye stuff, and I'm happy to answer those on the show as well. But that being said, let's jump into the interview with Bakari Evelyn right now. All right, we are joined here by former Iowa Hawkeye basketball player Bakari Evelyn. Bakari, how are you doing today, man?
Starting point is 00:02:46 I'm doing good. I'm doing good. You stay insane? I mean, I know with COVID right now, everyone is pretty much locked up in their house. So how are you managing your time right now? A lot of YouTube videos, in-house workouts, and video games at the moment. But it's a good day outside. So I'm gonna be able to get outside today. Awesome. And you're in Detroit right now, a good day outside, so I'm going to be able to get outside today. Awesome. And you're in Detroit right now, right? Yes, sir. I'm in Detroit, yeah.
Starting point is 00:03:08 And you moved to Phoenix, though, your senior year. Did your family ultimately move back or what? I moved out to Phoenix with my two older brothers for my senior year of high school. But my mom and dad still live in Detroit, so I'm with my mom right now. Awesome. And what video games are you playing at the moment um i mean anything any anytime i get bored of one i just download another one so from 2k to madden to call of duty to to mortal combat to um what did i just download a grand theft auto a little bit of everything i love it man you actually just got into uh call of duty recently and i just download a grand theft auto a little bit of everything i love it man you actually just got into uh call of duty recently and i actually bought a controller for my wife so
Starting point is 00:03:50 we have been getting our butt kicked online pretty much every single night super fun stuff that's that's how you start though man you gotta gotta get a feel for it then you're gonna be right you gotta work your way up i mean dude she, she had seven kills in her first time, and then since then, I think she's had one. Yeah, that's how I got it. That's the beginning of luck. Absolutely. She had a shotgun, and she was doing real well. So I think the big thing here, Bakari, obviously you had a senior year at Iowa, and it was a fantastic year for the Iowa Hawkeyes. your senior year at Iowa, and it was a fantastic year for the Iowa Hawkeyes. I want to touch on real quick, though, how disappointing was it?
Starting point is 00:04:33 Obviously the virus concerns are huge, and that's a big part of it, but how disappointing was it to not be able to play out the Big Ten tournament and ultimately the NCAA tournament? I mean, it was pretty disappointing, I'm not going to lie, especially for me. It's always been a goal of mine, I'm sure it is for every kid, to get to March Madness and have the opportunity to go dance and make a run. And knowing that we were pretty securely in and had a chance with the Big Ten tournament to definitely help our seed and our possibilities of making a deep run in the tournament.
Starting point is 00:05:08 So just knowing how close we were and how close I was, in a sense, selfishly of achieving a childhood dream, but just how close we were as a team to accomplishing big things this year, to have it just end that way was tough. It's still tough to deal with I can only imagine man and I don't I don't think it's selfish at all I mean as you said that's every young kid's dream to go to March Madness or go to the College World Series or go to the CFP Championship right so I mean I think that's a very understandable goal is that something that
Starting point is 00:05:39 in the locker room you all talked about a lot is kind of the opportunity to lie ahead for you all um yeah yeah um especially with the team uh me joining the team from uh last year uh they already have been to the tournament they already had that taste of winning the game for cincinnati and and being right there down to the wire with tennessee so um the guys as a group were all hungry to get back there and get even further than they were previously and a group were all hungry to get back there and to get even further than they were previously. And me, I was just hungry to get there and do anything I could to help the team and just help us keep going and help us keep winning and see how far we really could go. Definitely, man. And I think I can speak for most Iowa Hawkeye fans that we really loved watching you play this year and you were a huge contributor to the team. You know, you're,
Starting point is 00:06:25 you were Fran McCaffrey's first graduate transfer at the university of Iowa. And I think it worked out pretty darn well outside of, you know, what happened with the end of the season. Do you feel like you were able to accomplish everything else that you wanted to accomplish this year? Yes and no. I think, I think I would have liked to found my rhythm a little bit earlier in the year as opposed to late but i think i did have a good time that i really needed with us cj
Starting point is 00:06:54 being out and um jordan being out um but as a whole in the year i mean i'm very pleased and happy with the year um very happy with the experience and just being able to represent the Hawkeyes and put on that uniform. So it was definitely a dream come true for me. Absolutely, man. You played really well down the stretch. I mean, you played a lot of key minutes and kept Iowa in a lot of games and helped Iowa win a few games too, which I thought was really awesome to see. You know, you've had your experiences at three different universities. You don't have to say yes, know, you've had your experiences at three different universities. Was Iowa, you don't have to say yes, right? But was Iowa your favorite experience?
Starting point is 00:07:30 Or were there different pieces of each university that you really enjoyed? No, Iowa was my favorite as a whole, holistically. Iowa was definitely my favorite out of the three. Yeah, yeah, Iowa was definitely my favorite out of the three. Yeah, yeah, Iowa was definitely my favorite out of the three. I love it, man. So let's kind of backtrack to when you were coming out of high school. It sounds like you were recruited a bit by the Iowa Hawkeyes, but they obviously had some guard depth until you possibly would have been redshirting.
Starting point is 00:07:58 I might be just kind of mixing up a few sources here, right? That's some of the research I did. But one of your thoughts, you ultimately chose Nebraska. mixing up a few sources here, right? That's some of the research I did. But one of your thoughts, you ultimately chose Nebraska. What came down to choosing Nebraska over, say, Iowa or any other program at that time? Yeah, at that time, I had been in talks a little bit
Starting point is 00:08:18 with Coach Dillard at Iowa. And like he said, I think really I got to start back with the fact that I didn't get to play really my senior year when I had transferred when I left moved from Michigan to Arizona I had transferred regular high schools at first and for whatever reason they didn't rule me eligible in Arizona so I got to miss the majority of my senior year I ended up playing a few games with the prep school there, just like eight, six, six, seven games to end my senior year. So coming off of that, missing my whole senior year. And then again, then talks with the Iowa staff.
Starting point is 00:08:56 They wanted me to register it again. So that would be me missing a whole nother year. So after sitting out a year, I remember I just wanted to play. I wasn't thinking, you know, long-term or even what's necessarily the best situation in the end. I just was, you know, kind of upset about missing the majority of my senior year and just really anxious to get out there and play the game again. And what it came down to with Nebraska was there was a place where I knew some guys on the team that they had coming in from AAU and Glenn Watson, Ed Morrow. When I went there on my visit, I really liked the fans they had.
Starting point is 00:09:32 The Husker fans, good fan base. They're passionate. Yeah, very passionate. They have really nice facilities, very nice arena. So I just kind of liked the school and where I could see myself being there at the time I mean it makes sense I don't blame you at all and then to kind of continue forward on your story you you played in Nebraska you played as a freshman and then ultimately decided to transfer and then sit out a year so walk me through that obviously you had to sit out most of your senior
Starting point is 00:09:59 year which I honestly didn't realize so I can only imagine how tough was. But what was it like to then decide to leave Nebraska? What kind of led to that decision, if you don't mind talking about it? Yeah. I just remember at the time we were pretty guard heavy. I think we had had four guards. I was the fifth guard my freshman year. And we were graduating one and returning three other ones, and we had a redshirt sitting up.
Starting point is 00:10:28 So it was going to be a similar situation with five guards. And I just felt like there would have been more opportunity for me to be somewhere else where there was more playing time available at the guard position. Now, not knowing when I left, I think another player decided to leave a few months after me and grad transferred, Andrew White. He went to Syracuse. And then a friend of mine, Anton Gill,
Starting point is 00:10:54 ended up getting hurt. So they actually went from being super guard heavy when I was leaving to, I think they ended up playing a few walk-ons the majority of the year because their bench was so short. So that's kind of funny how things work out. But that was really going into my decision,
Starting point is 00:11:12 just seeing somewhere where I had more of an opportunity to play. Definitely makes sense. I mean, it sounds a little bit like Iowa this season where it seemed like we had a lot of guards and a lot of post players, and then injury by injury by injury, slowly the depth was whittled pretty down for the Iowa Hawkeyes. So, man, you ultimately decided to transfer to Valparaiso. You spent one year redshirting there, two years playing.
Starting point is 00:11:36 After that, was the goal to ultimately, like you said, go to the NCAA tournament? Is that one of the key reasons that you wanted to decide to leave Valparaiso then? Yeah, yeah. I wanted to get to the tournament. I wanted to play on definitely a winning team. I felt like I was ready for a bigger stage and just to test my limits with the best competition there was out there in the country.
Starting point is 00:12:06 I think you couldn't have picked a better conference. Would you say the Big Ten Conference is, without a doubt, the best conference in the NCAA? I mean, yeah. Yeah. I mean, like I said, I grew up. My mom went to Ohio State. My dad went to Michigan State. So the Big Ten has always been something that's been embedded in my head as a child.
Starting point is 00:12:29 So I've always thought highly of the Big Ten has always been something that's been embedded in my head as a child. So I've always thought highly of the Big Ten. And this year, I think it was pretty clear that a lot of the best teams in the country came from that conference. Definitely. And when you decided to transfer from Valparaiso, what was that decision like to go to Iowa? Was it a pretty easy decision? I read somewhere that it really felt like home coming to Iowa. Was it as easy as that or was it kind of a – you didn't know what to do? I wouldn't say I didn't know what to do. I wanted to definitely take my time with that last decision, picking my last school and make sure I was making the right one. But when I actually got to get to Iowa and take my visits
Starting point is 00:13:04 and be around the guys and the coaches from then on it was pretty easy I just kind of felt a connection with everyone I felt everyone was really transparent and honest and that they were going to put me in the best position to be successful I love it man, like I said, I think I can speak for all
Starting point is 00:13:20 Iowa Hawkeye fans when I say very happy that you ultimately decided to come to the Hawks and I think this season all things happy that you ultimately decided to come to the Hawks. I think this season, all things considered, we would have loved to see the Hawks in the Big Ten tournament and March Madness, but I think a pretty memorable season for Iowa Hawkeye fans. So could you describe maybe this year's team in three words? What would you describe this team in three words as? Three words to describe this team. I say resilient.
Starting point is 00:13:50 I say competitive. And I say resilient, competitive, tough. Those are the three words for this team. Resilient, competitive, and tough. I would have to agree with you there. So one other question, just for the NCAA, obviously canceling the tournament made a ton of sense, especially as we're seeing the NBA,
Starting point is 00:14:13 basically everything is shutting down, right? So what do you think, if you had to make the decision for the NCAA, what would you recommend them doing to rectify the situation? What would be your approach to it? I don't know. That's tough. That's a tough one. Of course, for myself and just all of the seniors out there
Starting point is 00:14:39 that didn't really get a chance to play in March Madness, figuring out a way to kind of make up for that, of course, would be ideal in a sense. So whether that was moving the tournament back later instead of canceling all the way, or if you're canceling all the way, giving the seniors another year, or whatever it was about that, I would have loved to see all the seniors, not just myself, get a chance to experience that.
Starting point is 00:15:08 Because there were a lot of different teams, whether it was mid-major or other high-major teams that had seniors who had never been to a tournament and this was going to be their first time. So I think that's a heartbreak for them. But I know it's a tough situation. You've got freshmen coming in and people transferring. And I'm sure it's a bunch of other things. So it's not as easy as probably, you know, myself or others who want it to be of making the decision. But yeah, if there was a way to have a tournament or to have, you know, these to really see who was the best team in the country this year, I would love to see it. who was the best team in the country this year, I would have loved to see it.
Starting point is 00:15:46 Yeah, I mean, it's certainly an unprecedented situation for the NCAA, and I know they already came out with the fact that spring athletes are going to actually be getting another year of eligibility. If that was something that was offered to you, is that something you would consider taking? Yeah, it's something I would have to look into. I would definitely have to talk with Coach Fran and the guys and just see how it would work with our team and just the plans for next year. But that's definitely something I would be open to.
Starting point is 00:16:14 Of course, I would want to play March Madness and be with these guys again and be able to play in front of Hawkeye fans again. So that's definitely something I'd be open to. Yeah, absolutely. So what was your impression of Carver-Hawkeye Arena and the Iowa fan base? Did it live up to your expectations towards the end of the season? Was it as impressive as it sounded? As you know, I live in Denver, so I don't get
Starting point is 00:16:40 to go to a lot of the games, so I have to watch all of them on TV. But was Carver as bumping as it seemed like it was towards the end of the year yeah yeah Carver was definitely bumping um it's definitely a tough place to play if you're a road team um and that's something that we took a lot of pride in was defending home court to the best of our ability this year um and I just I don't know it's exciting in there man um you know it's just you can just feel the energy from the fans to just um the whole setup of everything is just great um I love playing the Harvard so um definitely gonna miss that definitely gonna miss that yeah for sure and what was what was probably what was your most fun game this year as a player for the Hawks?
Starting point is 00:17:26 It's a couple of them. It's a couple of them I would put in there. I would put the Ohio State game in there for sure. You had a big game that day. I think you had 15 points, right? Yeah. The Ohio State game was a fun one. I'm trying to think.
Starting point is 00:17:42 Even the Rutgers game was crazy to go without um Penn State um at Minnesota was a fun game too as well um there are there are a couple of them there are a couple of them but I would go with those four um and maybe the Cincinnati game just because of that playing at the United Center and everything was real was really sweet um probably those four four or five games I love it um just kind of a side you know side conversation on the Minnesota game so as you probably heard them chant uh they really hate Iowa um clearly yeah yeah yeah I I guess I did not personally realize how much Minnesotan Minnesotans and Minnesota fans hated Iowa until this year,
Starting point is 00:18:26 until they felt like it seemed like every time they had an opportunity to, they would chant that they hated Iowa. So from an Iowa athlete perspective, did you hate Minnesota? Did I hate Minnesota? No, I wouldn't say I hated them. I wouldn't say I hated them only because, you know, we put them away two times. So it wasn't like we had a big problem with them. You know, it was more like they had a problem with us. They weren't, you know, someone we were worried about too much.
Starting point is 00:18:54 The little dog always wants the big dog, man. You know, that's how it goes. Is there any team in the Big Ten that you didn't like or that you didn't particularly enjoy playing against? Yeah, Purdue. Yeah, I would have to say Purdue. I think that's fair. I'd have to go with Purdue on that one.
Starting point is 00:19:16 Yeah, we could have another chance at them. Maybe at a neutral court this time, but another chance at Purdue, yeah, for sure. I was hoping we got another chance at them in the Big Ten tournament. I felt like third time's a charm on that one Purdue just weird team man they always seem to have Iowa's number in a number of sports yeah I mean that was those were two tough nights two tough nights for sure yeah for definitely um so real quick just out of the recent news you're probably seeing that your teammate Luka Garza is getting, in my opinion, screwed out of some National Player of the Year awards.
Starting point is 00:19:52 Wanted to get your thoughts on it. Do you think that Luka Garza should be the National Player of the Year? I mean, yeah, I think it's pretty clear. I don't know anyone who's put up these numbers that he has in the Big Ten in recent years. I mean, he's just consistent. I think it's the consistency of the day-in, day-out performance and just
Starting point is 00:20:15 excellence that he showed out on the court. I guess the best competition in the country, like we said, the Big Ten was the best. It's probably one of the best years it's had this year. We had a lot of teams that were all in the top 25 or in the country. Like we said, Big Ten was the best. It's probably one of the best years it's had this year. We had a lot of teams that were all in the top 25 or in the top 40 in the country. Every night was a quality team and a quality win. He performed every night with everyone knowing the ball was going to him,
Starting point is 00:20:39 with different double teams and triple teams and all different types of defensive schemes. He just continued to, you know, dominate, be consistent, be who he was, and lead the team. So I think he should win it. I thought it was a no-brainer. Me too. You know how this goes.
Starting point is 00:21:01 There's politics in this. Yeah. I mean, it feels like, at least personally as an Iowa Hawkeye fan and an analyst on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, I feel like Iowa, if there's a toss-up at all, it doesn't go Iowa's way. But I think that adds another chip on our shoulders as fans, as athletes, as supporters of the Iowa program and brings everyone even more together, all in anger at the national media. So kind of an interesting thing there.
Starting point is 00:21:34 Yeah, definitely. Definitely. For sure. So just a few more questions for you if you have a few more minutes. Is that okay? Yeah, for sure. Awesome, man. So what is next for you?
Starting point is 00:21:46 Next, I'm definitely looking to play professionally. I've been in talks with a few agents so far, and there's a few more calls I have lined up with agents going into the rest of this week and next week. And so I would say immediately next is just finding an agent within the next month or so. And with the NBA and everything and overseas as well, all kind of being up in arms with this, you know, Corona situation. It's kind of tough to know, you know, when you will have opportunities for workouts or any type of combines or camping bites. So with that being all insured, just trying to work out, stay as healthy
Starting point is 00:22:28 and in shape as I possibly can, and just sign with an agent and move forward from there. I love it, man. And last question for you. What was your favorite memory at Iowa, on the court, off the court, whatever it may be? That's tough. let me think favorite memory at iowa uh i can give you one of each on the court off the court i love it let me see favorite memory on the court we're gonna go um man i'm trying i'm sorry i'm drawing a blank you're good man no worries at all
Starting point is 00:23:12 i'm trying to look through everything through everything we're all locked up in our houses right so we all have plenty of time i've been doing a ton of virtual happy hours so yeah definitely um on the court, I'm going to say the Minnesota game on the court, just because of everything that led up into that game with CJ being out, Cordell just coming back, us, you know, kind of dropping the ball versus Indiana at Indiana. And that one, I just remember that being a very big game as far as just we needed that game. And I just felt like everybody stepped up.
Starting point is 00:24:01 I felt like Cordell played great. It was a big reason why we won. Ryan played great. L was a big reason why we won. Ryan played great. Luka was Luka. Connor was Connor, Mr. Reliable. I just thought it was a great game that really embodied who we were as a team. Just fighting backs against the wall and continually figuring out a way to overcome. So I go with that for on the court.
Starting point is 00:24:23 Off the court? to overcome. So I go with that for on the court. Off the court, this is a tough one for us. A lot of good moments. At least you had enough good moments to make it kind of tough, right? At least you made the most of your year at Iowa. Oh yeah, yeah. We definitely tried to maximize the year. Oh, yeah, yeah. We definitely tried to maximize the year. Off the court, I would just have to say just the nonsense that would occur,
Starting point is 00:24:59 you know, in the locker room post-practice, you know, pre-practice just messing around with the guys. That was definitely probably some of the funniest times, just, you know, guys joking around. We got a lot of funny, you know, a lot of great characters on this team. So I would probably say that for Off the Court. I love it. Yeah, it sounds like, you know, despite coming in as a grad transfer,
Starting point is 00:25:21 you built a really close relationship with these guys, which I think is a testament to you, to the team, to Fran McCaffrey. I think it's pretty incredible. It sounds like you built a really great relationship with all these guys which I think is a testament to to you to the team to frame McCaffrey I think it's pretty incredible it sounds like you build a really great relationship with all of them no yeah yeah um I have a great relationship with you know basically everyone on the team and you know it's gonna be weird not being with these guys um it's been weird so far not being with them every day but it's gonna be weird you know going down the next few months too so I mean it happened pretty abruptly uh to be it sounds like on your way to the you know to the tournament and then it gets shut down and then from there it seemed like a domino effect yeah yeah it all happened so fast it happened so so fast um but you know i guess that's life man
Starting point is 00:26:01 yeah um so i lied i actually have two more questions I just thought of. And if you have time, I'll go through those pretty quickly. The first one, Fran McCaffrey is known as a guy who gets angry. If you watch Iowa games, you'll see him get upset every once in a while. Can you tell me a little bit about the experience when Fran gets mad? I mean, as a a player it seems like he's doing it often to kind of inspire you all and get you kind of pumped up and more or less if it's not for that he's just sticking up for your players so or sticking up for his players so what
Starting point is 00:26:36 is it like playing for Fran McCaffrey and you know do you think he's an incredible coach? Yeah yeah by far one of my favorite coaches that i've had just in my career not just in college but just all through up growing up playing the sport um i love coach friend um i think he kind of gets a bad rep with with um yep you know the whole fran's face thing everyone making fun of you know how ready he gets when he gets loud like um i mean those things are funny. But the majority of the time, yeah, he's sticking up for us. It's not too often that he's really yelling at us,
Starting point is 00:27:11 no matter how it may seem to the people outside watching. It's not too often that he's just yelling or going in on us. Usually when he is, we kind of know what's coming. We definitely know we've messed up or we're not getting back or turning the ball over, whatever it may be. So it's not like it's unwarranted either. So you couldn't fault him for that. But, no, he always has our backs, you know, with the media, with whoever, with the administration at school, you know, with, you know,
Starting point is 00:27:39 crazy people online, whatever it may be, he always has our backs. He's always going to stick up for his players and just knowing that in a coach it definitely makes you want to play hard for him and and and do whatever he asks because you know you know whenever you need him he'll be there for you as well so absolutely so i i try to ask that so i've talked to jordan mohan and i talked to nicholas bayer and i try to ask that question them as well just because personally from my outsider perspective i love frame mccaffrey as a coach and I think like you said he gets a bad rap and so I always want to make sure that when I'm talking to someone who's played under him that they can give that that
Starting point is 00:28:12 opinion about him I feel like sometimes fans don't realize just how important that is in a coach to be there and stick up for you and stand up for you and and be that that guy who's going to go to bat for you at all times. Yeah, definitely. Definitely. That's exactly it right there. Okay, last question, I promise. What would you predict Iowa could have done in the NCAA tournament? How far do you think you could have got? I mean, just off what I felt like, you know, and it's hard to tell,
Starting point is 00:28:49 but just how we were playing this year. You know, Luka was having a phenomenal breakout year. I felt like everyone was really hitting their stride as a team, you know, whether it was myself, whether it was Cordell, whether it was Joe Toussaint, CJ, Weezy. I feel like everyone was kind of getting into their stride right as the season was ending. I think we could have went all the way to at least the Elite Eight.
Starting point is 00:29:14 We definitely had Final Four aspirations. That was something we talked about a lot in the locker room was getting to the Final Four, getting down there. I definitely thought we could have made it to the Elite Eight Final Four. I love it, man. I mean, I couldn't agree more. Would have been pretty awesome to see. Yeah, we definitely didn't feel there was a team that, you know,
Starting point is 00:29:35 we were afraid to play against or a team that on any given night we couldn't beat. Yeah, I mean, I felt like every single game that Iowa played, you had an opportunity to win. It didn't matter who it was. There was no matchup too big for you all as a team. So, unfortunate to see it end like that. Unfortunate to kind of see your senior season end like that, Bakari. But I will say, like I said before, we, as Iowa Hawkeye fans, love seeing you on the court.
Starting point is 00:30:00 I'm really glad that you could spend a year with the best fan base in the nation. Any last words before we hop off the call, man? Just, you know, thank you. First,
Starting point is 00:30:13 you know, for even doing this interview or asking me to do the interview. Thank all the Hawkeye fans for all your support and encouragement throughout the whole year. I hope you guys just continue to, you know, stay excited for the team next year. You guys, the girls are going to be great. Of course, you know, thank all my coaches, managers,
Starting point is 00:30:32 just everyone who played a part. It was truly blessed and truly proud to, you know, put on the Iowa Hawkeye uniform this year. And it's something I'll always remember for the rest of my life. So thank you. Absolutely, man. Well, Bakari, if you ever see me in Call of Duty, please take it easy on me, man. But I hope you have a great rest of your day and stay safe out there, buddy.
Starting point is 00:30:50 All right. Thank you. You too. Talk to you later, bud. Peace. Bye. All right, and that will wrap up our show today. A big shout-out to Bakari for taking his time to talk to us about Iowa Hawkeye
Starting point is 00:31:03 basketball, some of his transfer decisions. He was very open and honest, and I really, really appreciated every second of the time with him. A great dude to talk to and just a great interviewer. So happy to, or interviewee, excuse me. So happy to have him on the show. Hoping to get a few more former players on the show as well in the coming weeks. So I hope you tune in. If you did like that interview, we are, like I said, going to be trying to get more interviews on the show. So make sure to like, review, and subscribe wherever you downloaded this podcast at. And as I've been saying, make sure to stay inside, stay safe, be healthy, be well, so
Starting point is 00:31:35 you can tune into more Hawkeye podcasts like the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, and so you can be ready for Iowa Hawkeye football season hopefully coming up in September. That being said, have a fantastic day, Hawkeye Nation, and let's go Hawks.

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