Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Hoops: Women prepare for the B1G Tournament, Men remain on the bubble, unionization of athletes

Starting point is 00:00:00 We went to the bullpen today. We bring biz off the scrap heap. He's ready to talk some Hawkeye hoops, men's and women's. We break it down. The men's chances of making the NCAA tournament. What's going to happen this weekend for the women in the big 10 tournament all today,

Starting point is 00:00:15 locked on Hawkeye. 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. That's Biz.

Starting point is 00:00:38 And this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you find your podcast. You can also find us on YouTube. While you're there, hit the subscribe button. Helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Make every moment more.

Starting point is 00:00:55 New customers join today. You'll get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet of $5 or more wins. Just visit fanduel.com slash locked on to get started. Biz, good to see you again. It's been a while. And what, you're a little busy?

Starting point is 00:01:11 What, driving all through the great state of Iowa? Yeah, getting ready to head up to Minneapolis. It's here on the Hawkeye Women tomorrow, Trent. So trying to get all the crap done that you need to do before you go on spring break. So driving around, you get me from the front seat of my car today. Not too bad. So making your way up there, taking the kids up and get to watch some good basketball. We anticipate it's going to be a long stay in Minneapolis and certainly the news of Mackenzie Holmes. Yet another knee injury to her.

Starting point is 00:01:40 The same knee injury that she had a torn ACL before on. She's had another injury in there. We'll see about her availability. That's who Iowa likely will face in the semifinals. It feels like the path is set up, either Wisconsin or Penn State. Those two teams collide this evening. Iowa's played incredibly well against both of those teams. So you hate to say it's a foregone conclusion, but the way Coach Bluter has coached her team in the Big Ten tournament

Starting point is 00:02:02 feels like it's going to be a long stay in Minneapolis. Yeah, I mean, it certainly seems like things are set up for us to hopefully make it to Sunday. But, you know, I'm still guessing that we'll see Mackenzie Holmes. I think it might be a ploy on Indiana's part to claim she's not playing. But, yeah, the Wisconsin-Penn State game shouldn't worry us at all. Penn State's fallen apart since we played them the last time. They lost eight in a row or something like that.

Starting point is 00:02:33 Wisconsin's played a little bit better, but the thing is, both those two teams like to be up-tempo. And if you're going to be up-tempo with Iowa, you better have the talent to stick with us. And I don't think either one of those teams do. Iowa, you better have the talent to stick with us. I don't think either one of those teams do. Unlike some of the men's tournaments in the past, hopefully we at least make it to the weekend. Yeah, we've seen that issue crop up plenty of times in the past

Starting point is 00:02:56 including just last year, getting bounced in the first game against Ohio State. We'll get into the men here in a moment. Biz, take us back though to Sunday and the environment in carver um just incredible and you know talking to people there people that have been to a lot of games you know being able to to be able to see that environment of what it was uh just take us back and you it's different me being here in des moines you being over there in iowa city just kind of encompass the last four years and what this grown into and and just the importance of women's basketball now in the corridor two stories kind of tell you how crazy it was Trent first so my daughter had volleyball in the morning so we I went and watched volleyball

Starting point is 00:03:37 and then we her last game got done in Cedar Rapids at like 10 50 so we were worried we were going to miss tip off and you know know, the chaos getting in there. But by the time we got to Iowa city at like 1130, we were able to drive literally directly to the stadium because there was nobody on the roads that everybody was already there. Everybody, everybody that was going to the game, except for us, I'd either went to a game day in the morning and stayed, or I'd gotten there, you know, at least an hour, hour and a half in advance. It was funny because it was like

Starting point is 00:04:08 a ghost town outside walking in 25 minutes per game because everybody was already in their seats. Second, we get to our seats and we noticed that Nolan Ryan had decided to come watch Caitlin play. We look and realize that he's literally five rows in front of us. So, you know, it's pretty crazy that Nolan Ryan is five rows in front of you and is there to watch a, you know, an Iowa women's basketball game. And then, I mean, the atmosphere just from beginning to end,

Starting point is 00:04:39 I mean, people that are older remember, I mean, Iowa men's basketball, when I was in college, you know, the late nineties, every single game was sold out, but not like that sellout. I mean, it was never, I can't remember ever a time where, you know, it was basically completely full an hour before the game and completely full an hour after the game. Nobody left, not a single person left for the senior senior day. I mean, it was still 100% full afterwards. So, uh, yeah, pretty amazing day. And honestly, a day that we'll probably never, ever see again.

Starting point is 00:05:14 So, I mean, that's kind of the thing I keep thinking this whole stretch is, you know, this is never going to happen again. So, uh, try to enjoy as many moments as we can. Yeah. And, uh, hopefully we get nine more of them, three in the Big Ten tournament, six in the NCAA tournament, and culminates there. I've, throughout the course of this season,

Starting point is 00:05:31 now I think you also know me as a fan. I think I go through a little more highs and lows than you do. You're pretty more, you're much more even keeled than I am. You're also a little more optimistic as a fan than I am. And throughout the course of the season, I've just, I kept wanting more. And we Caitlin's going to be there. And in the biggest

Starting point is 00:05:48 moments, it seems like she shines even brighter than she already does in those big moments, but the supporting cast, and maybe it was what happened against Ohio state, seeing what we've seen lately at fear Bach, really stepping forward and became what she did against Minnesota. Seeing some of these other pieces really step forward. My optimism meter certainly has grown just over the last week for this team. And getting to a Final Four is going to be incredibly difficult. It's not going to be easy, but my optimism has grown. Yours is usually always there, but what you see with this team

Starting point is 00:06:16 and what it's going to take for them to get to a Final Four. Some luck. Realistically, the thing this team has to do, teams like South Carolina and UCLA don't have to do is we've got to take some risks on defense. We have to be creative on defense. You saw it last year. The reason we beat South Carolina is we basically didn't guard two of their five starters. We dared them to shoot, and they didn't shoot. When they did shoot, they weren't confident.

Starting point is 00:06:46 And, and, and we basically ended up being three on five. And then the reason we lost LSU is we tried that same strategy and the girl we didn't guard went off for six threes in the first half. I mean, it was a girl that we, I mean, but you saw against Ohio state, same thing. We didn't guard two Ohio state girls. I mean, um, the transfer from Duke and, uh, the point guard, we were basically I mean, Kaitlin Clark just played a one-girl zone in the middle and Kate Martin matched up on Cody McNamara, which is totally different than what they did before. But, I mean, you're taking

Starting point is 00:07:15 risks in that situation and against any team that's a top 10-15 team, we're going to have to take some risks defensively and hope that the girls we choose, that we ask and say hey, you got to beat us, that they don't beat us. So that's number one. And then obviously number two is what you just talked about. The role players have to shoot decent. They don't have to shoot great. They just have to shoot well enough that you know, Gabby Marshall she doesn't have not shoot amazing,

Starting point is 00:07:45 but she has to shoot three out of eight just to keep at least keep the defense honest a little bit. But, I mean, the biggest difference in general with this team, though, is, I mean, it's weird to say this because she's always been an amazing generational player. But Clark is so much better than she was even this time last year. Clark is so much better than she was even this time last year. I mean, she just, I mean, it amazes me her ability to step up in the moment, like every game, right. Or she never backs down to pressure. I mean, if anything, she thrives under pressure, um, you know, and it gets bad

Starting point is 00:08:18 opponents. She has to man, you feel it's like the old Jordan, she has to manufacture, uh, ways to get mad so she can play better. But, I mean, the fact of the matter is, given the limited amount of talent we have around her, we're going to need some luck. We're going to need some teams to shoot bad, and then the girls that we forced to beat us don't do it.

Starting point is 00:08:36 But, I mean, it worked last year. I'm not doubting this team anymore. I think, you know, will they make the Final Four? Maybe, but it wouldn't surprise me at all. Last year, it legitimately surprised me they made the Final Four. I thought they had too many deficiencies, and I thought at some point Clark would go, you know, six for 24 and they'd lose.

Starting point is 00:08:58 But, I mean, this year it wouldn't surprise me at all if they returned. So, I don't know. And that's solely because Clark's just that much better than he was. I guess that she was that much better, that much more consistent than she was. I mean, she just, she's amazing. It's a fair way to put it. And I, over the weekend, took a look back before the game on Saturday or Sunday and watch like a 12 minute highlight video of the South Carolina game.

Starting point is 00:09:21 Boy, that got me revved up too before the game against Ohio State. She was just so good in that one. But you're right, the consistency that she's shown, it's another level. And like I said, those big moments, that is something that she is going to be there every single time. And we do have to remember, last year,

Starting point is 00:09:35 Sweet 16 didn't have to play Duke. It was Colorado who pulled the upset. That was a really good matchup for Iowa a year ago. Stanford was not waiting in the Elite Eight. It was Louisville that was there. So the bracket also opened up. And you don't know that's going to happen. Probably their was not waiting in the Elite Eight. It was Louisville that was there. So the bracket also opened up, and you don't know that's going to happen. Probably their most difficult game until the Final Four

Starting point is 00:09:49 was against Georgia in the round of 32, and one of the women's bracketologies that I saw had them matched up as a number one seed, the last number one in the 8-9 game was Ole Miss. Ole Miss, who a year ago beat Stanford in the round of 32. So we don't know who that matchup's going to be. They're just a portion of the fan base that just thinks this is a foregone conclusion. And I think you and I and most everybody should know it's just not as simple as that.

Starting point is 00:10:14 Well, we've been somewhat fortunate, too, that teams have been willing to just go up-tempo with us also. One of the things that worries me in a tournament setting is, you know, when we lost to Creighton two years ago, they slowed it down. They grounded out. They made it an ugly game. They beat the crap out of Caitlin, and they made it a really physical game. And it was played at a different pace.

Starting point is 00:10:38 I mean, if you get a team that's physical and has some big bodies that they can switch on and keep it in the 60s and 70s instead of the 80s and 90s, we could be in trouble. And that's what you talked about. It's like Georgia and the Ole Misses and teams like that. I mean, that's – I don't know. I'm cautiously optimistic that they're not going to stub their toe early on. I think those first two games, I think those first two games especially, I think we'll cruise through those pretty easily.

Starting point is 00:11:12 Then when you get to 3-16, then you never know. Good stuff there, Biz. We continue. Let's take a look at the men's team here. Locked on Hawkeyes. We're going to talk about the matchup against the Illini and then the Big Ten tournament for Iowa. What still needs to be done for the Hawkeyes to punch their ticket?

Starting point is 00:11:27 What's led to this turnaround here late in the season? We'll get into that as we continue Locked on Hawkeyes. Passion, drive, and patience. What brings home the winning trophy is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance. From superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights, and more, whether you're into speed, power, or style,

Starting point is 00:11:52 eBay Motors has got you covered. With over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die, you'll always find exactly what you're looking for. And with eBay Guaranteed Fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back. Because with eBay Motors, youed Fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back. Because with eBay Motors, you're burning rubber, not cash.

Starting point is 00:12:09 With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it's easy to turn your car into the MVP and bring home that win. Keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit, only available to U.S. customers. Exclusions apply. eBay guaranteed fit only available to U.S. customers. Trenton Biz back with you again here. Locked on Hawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:12:33 Thanks for making Locked on Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Time to talk about the men. And speaking of my optimism meter, I was at empty after the loss to Maryland and then another loss to Maryland and their treasure along at six and eight. They still got road trips to Michigan State, Northwestern. There's no way. And here we are, I believe two wins away from being an NCAA tournament team and any combination really over the next three, you beat Illinois, you win your first game in the big 10 tournament,

Starting point is 00:12:57 then losing the quarterfinals. I think they're going to be in probably to Dayton. They lose to Illinois, win two games, including more likely beating Illinois in the tournament. I think that's enough to get them in. How did this team get here, Biz? You know, I think you have to give a huge, huge amount of credit to Fran McCaffrey. Like, I know people, the outside persona of Fran is that he's this fiery, crazy psychopath that screams at officials and does those types of things.

Starting point is 00:13:24 And, you know, that's warranted because he does that occasionally. But if you know Iowa basketball and you love Iowa basketball, like you and I, I mean, this is, I mean, they've started 0-3. Fran doesn't panic. I mean, and he's the outward, you know, the face of the program. He doesn't throw anybody under the bus. He talks about how they're going to be okay. They're going to, you know, this is a team that's going to battle and keep, you know, get better.

Starting point is 00:13:47 And they did. And then like you said, later in the year, they lose, you know, they lose bad loss to Maryland, really tough loss at Indiana, you know, tough loss depends on games that they either should have won or could have won all those games. And after all those games, he just kind of stays the course. And I think you just give them a huge, I mean, at no point was there any panic? I mean, I, you and I panicked, like you said, I mean, I think everybody in this, every, I have a fan at some point thought, well, we're not, you know, we're done this year.

Starting point is 00:14:16 It's going to be an ugly year. We're going to be six and 14. It's going to be a transition, you know, transition year. You know, the people that didn't think that were, uh, the people that matter friend and the players. They've stayed the course. Give them credit because they played really, really good basketball in the last three or four weeks. Even the losses. That Illinois game, that was some high-level basketball on both teams.

Starting point is 00:14:38 You can argue on only one half of the court, but that's just the way we are. At this point, you're going to have to accept the fact that, you know, it's first to 85 to win most Iowa basketball games, but I've really enjoyed it. I mean, they're just, I mean, I've been impressed. I said, Preston Fran, his, his, his behind the scenes demeanor of just staying calm and not hitting the panic button, I think has really helped this team because I think everybody is, everybody in that room has stayed together. You know, nobody's quit and they played their best basketball down the stretch.

Starting point is 00:15:08 So whatever the opposite of the Fran fate is, is what's happening. And it's better to see than what we dealt with, at least kind of in that early part of the Fran tenure. They've been good down the stretch. Now it's just punching the ticket. I want to throw a theory at you, Biz, and I didn't prepare you for this one, but you hear it. I hear it. I think all Hawkeye fans hear it. It's well, it's this lack of success, the lack of a sweet 16, not getting to the second weekend in the NCAA tournament. And speaking of highlights, it popped up in my feed a week or two ago.

Starting point is 00:15:36 It was a game against Tennessee in the round of 32. They force overtime and lose it to the Vols. And if I would have won that game, got to the second weekend. Do you think that all would be forgotten that all of a sudden that we'd have 15,000 in the stands every single game throughout the course of the season? I think it's almost a lazy narrative that people just point to that. There feels like there has to be more there because just one more victory, if they would upset Villanova or Gonzaga one of those two years in a round of 32, I don't think that'd be enough.

Starting point is 00:16:03 And it's kind of a combination of things, but don't think that'd be enough. And it's kind of a combination of things, but I just think that's a lazy take. That it's just lack of Sweet 16 that Hawkeye fans, for the most part, are staying away from Fran's program. Yeah, honestly, Trent, even if we made the Sweet 16, I think people would probably find something new to bitch about. I mean, because I remember, what, three years ago, the big thing was, well, terrible in the Big Ten tournament,

Starting point is 00:16:24 can't win the Big Ten. Then we win the Big Ten tournament, well, terrible in the Big Ten tournament, can't win the Big Ten. Then we win the Big Ten tournament, and everybody switched to, okay, now they can't get to the second weekend. And so is it right to be disappointed that we haven't made the 316 since 1999? Hell yes. I mean, you and I are big fans, and it pisses me off. It's been 25 years, and it pisses me off even more that, you know, Iowa State was able to do it one year after being whatever, 2-22. I mean, they, I mean, but what that shows you is you got to have some luck

Starting point is 00:16:56 to get in the Sweet 16 also. And we've never really gotten a lucky draw. There's never been an upset. The year that we, the other time we played Tennessee in the playing game, and we lost that game, that bracket ended out opening up wide open.

Starting point is 00:17:15 If we win that game, we make the Sweet 16 because it was a terrible Massachusetts team and then there was a 14-seed upseat or a 14-beat- beat a three on the other side. All you had to do was beat Massachusetts, Massachusetts and a 14 seed to get there.

Starting point is 00:17:31 But, uh, it's a combination of luck and, you know, just his style of basketball being an offensive minded team. Doesn't translate very well to, to mid to late March because the games are just played differently. You got to be, you know, you got to be able to win a 68-66 game

Starting point is 00:17:52 and not necessarily try to outscore everyone. So I don't know. I'm at some point I just get tired of it. Like I think it becomes a trendy thing to do to just bitch about Fran and his teams and, you know, I don't know. He is what he is. I get frustrated about the same things. The two-foul rule drives me insane. Their lack of commitment to defense is frustrating. If you were to weigh the pros and cons of the Fran era, the pros are about 15-2.

Starting point is 00:18:20 Especially this year. I've really, really, really enjoyed the last month. I think the team has kind of taken kind of a screw you mentality to the fan base. Like, you heard it with Patrick yesterday. I mean, he kind of was like, you know, we don't really care. Fans come, fans don't come. I mean, it was kind of in his voice. He kind of like, well, we don't anticipate a good crowd because most crowds are bad. So, he's not wrong. He probably shouldn most crowds are bad. So he's not wrong.

Starting point is 00:18:45 He probably shouldn't have said it, but he's not wrong. What other guy I want to get your thought? You know, Josh Dix has been unbelievable and just how efficient he is. Just his mid range game is something you just don't see in basketball anymore. But the elevation of Tony Perkins and, you know, last time out, he wasn't shooting very well, but he had 14 assists in the game against Northwestern. I maintained for a long time. He's good in a pinch, a backup kind of point guard.

Starting point is 00:19:10 I think he's proven me dead wrong. I mean, there is more to his game and his ability. He's become tighter with the handle. His assist rate has grown exponentially this season. All the things that you're looking for here. If I'm Brad Heinrich and the Swarm Collective, number one for basketball is to find a way to get Tony Perkins back for another season, because you got that figured

Starting point is 00:19:29 out. Harding can be the backup for a year and then he'd go from there. That's what I'm doing at the top of my wishlist for next season. How about you? Yeah. Well, the thing with Tony, that's really impressed me. I think his leadership skills have just gone through the roof these last couple of months. Also, I thought early in the year, his body language in a couple of games really stunk. And he was really getting to the point where he was kind of almost a whiner. Like every call he's bitching to the officials and just kind of seem like, you know, little things would get in his head. And I think the last couple of months has been just the opposite.

Starting point is 00:20:00 Like, you know, he's had a couple of games. I mean, what game was it? The Wisconsin game. He got benched. I mean. He got straight up benched late in the first half because he was playing like crap. He didn't pout and he came back and he not only played a great second half, but he hit the game winner at the end. I've always been a Tony Perkins fan. I think I've always liked him more than you have. I think it's about middle of the year

Starting point is 00:20:26 last year, honestly, it's kind of a similar trajectory to Dix in some ways. I remember that Illinois game at home last year, he was unstoppable. Just constant mid-range jumpers and he carried us to that win. He's kind of gone from there. Dix is kind of the same. Midway through this year, for whatever reason, Dix finally realized he's a scorer. And, I mean, God, he's, I mean, his mid-range game is incredible. I mean, just, I mean, he can get that shot off pretty much whenever he wants.

Starting point is 00:20:56 And when he's making it, I mean, there's no stopping him. I mean, he's, I did not see that coming at all. If you'd have asked me two months ago, I thought best case scenario would be Josh Dix would be a borderline starter his senior year. Now he's a borderline star. Well, Biz, before we let you go, I got a lawyer question for you.

Starting point is 00:21:17 I'm trying to figure things out. What did you do wrong, Trent? No legal troubles over here. We're in good shape, at least at this point in time. We're okay there. That's good. shape, at least at this point in time. We're okay there. That's good. I'm not giving you bail money, Trent.

Starting point is 00:21:28 Good. We're all right. But what this, the Dartmouth becoming a union, what this kind of means. There's a lot of legalese that I've been reading through. I'm trying to figure this out and more towards a look towards the future. We'll do that with Biz here. Yes, he is a lawyer during his day job. We'll do that as we continue. This is Locked on Hawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:21:49 Fire TV is your destination for sports from live games to highlights to in-depth analysis. Fire TV offers amazing previewing experiences with smart TV TVs as well as the Fire TV Stick that you can plug into your existing TV. It provides access to millions of movies and TV episodes, as well as free and live TV. Whether it's opening weekend for baseball, college basketball tournament, or you have anything else on your sports calendar, you're going to want to have a Fire TV.

Starting point is 00:22:19 Fire TV recently created Fire TV channels. They deliver a constant supply of the latest favorite sports brands all for free, including right here with Locked On and most of the big pro leagues, college conferences as well. Fire TV channels let you dive into all the games, the analyst highlights, and a whole lot more to keep up in the world of sports. Not to mention great news, entertainment, gaming, travel, cooking videos as well. Check out Fire TV channels on fire TV and Alexa devices.

Starting point is 00:22:48 If you haven't checked out fire TV channels, you should right now. Trust me on this. Learn more at amazon.com slash locked on fire TV. All right, biz, we're putting you to the test here and Dartmouth. They're unionizing a 13 to two votes, something like that. It's a test here. And Dartmouth, they're unionizing. A 13-2 vote, something like that. It's a private institution. It's an Ivy Leaguer.

Starting point is 00:23:13 They're terrible at basketball, but their basketball team is unionizing. This feels like the beginning of what's going to happen across the country. Northwestern tried to do this, what, about a decade back. Very simply, explain this to me like I'm five. What does this mean? Well, I mean, more than anything, Trey, it's just another brick in the wall of the demise of the NCAA in general. I mean, more so than that, I mean, the unionizing part, like you said, Northwestern almost did it a decade ago. I mean, basically, they're demanding to be treated like employees and not as student athletes.

Starting point is 00:23:47 But that's basically what they're being treated as anyway with the NIL part. It's just formalizing it. To me, the bigger nail in the coffin in the last month or so has been the ruling on the preliminary injunction with Tennessee and Virginia, the two schools, whatever. Because that one, what that does is it basically the NCAA has basically announced we're not doing anything with NIL anymore. We're not going to try and enforce it. We're not going to try and stop it. We're not going to try and regulate it. I talked to a guy who

Starting point is 00:24:20 was involved with the NIL program at Iowa who our kids are and stuff together and obviously he's always very very careful on what he says and doesn't say but the way he described it is before that ruling you had to always be completely cryptic about what you were doing and you could never be like you could never tell a recruit here's exactly what we're putting together you always had to kind of be like, well, hypothetically, if you come here, we can possibly maybe do this. And the way he said it is like, you know, if you're going to take a job, you're going to want to know your salary, but we couldn't do that. We couldn't be like, here's your salary. We had to do it in very like

Starting point is 00:24:59 hypothetical cryptic terms because it couldn't be an inducement and now they can just flat out say here's what we can do for you so i mean i think from a you know from a college standpoint and especially a place like iowa i think it'll be helpful because i think we don't have to beat around the bush and we can like you said tony perkins we can flat out tell tony perkins you come back here's exactly what we can do for for you. And then he's got to make a business decision on what he wants to do. But same thing with the unionizing. I think in the end, the NCAA, I think, finally sees the writing on the wall and realizes that all of these things, the unionizing,

Starting point is 00:25:40 the NAL stuff, they're fighting a losing battle on all of it. And so the quicker they can try to create some sort of universal regulations that everybody can agree on, the better. But it's completely the Wild West at this point. But I don't know. I mean, you and I have talked about it in the past. I'm all for it. I have no sympathy whatsoever for, uh,

Starting point is 00:26:06 universities who have basically been pocketing, uh, insane amounts of money forever and have never had to deal with any of this. And now they have to, uh, you know, and now they finally have to, you know, treat, you know, treat all these different athletes as, you know, employees, which, which they've always been, we've always known they have been, but now you've, now you finally have to face the facts and do it. You and I have talked about it before. I love the way Iowa's handling it. I think Iowa's... I mean, the fact that we're focusing

Starting point is 00:26:35 mostly on bringing back returning players and rewarding the people that have been committed to the university and have done well at the university, I think it's going to be a long-term success. And I think it's going to put us in a situation where, you know, I think you're going to see Tony Perkins come back. I think you're going to see Peyton Sanford come back. And I, I think, you know, I think football will be a little bit different because obviously

Starting point is 00:26:58 the COVID years are going to end here eventually. But I think you're, you know, we had a stretch there for what, a decade where almost every year, one or two guys were leaving. You know, we've, we've had a lot of people leave early for the NFL in the last decade. And I think if the only two that probably would have left early, given the new circumstances are probably Hawkinson and Dijon. I think outside of those two, I think everybody else probably comes back for another year. Cause we can pay them just as well as they were going to get paid. You know, Imani Hooker got paid, what, I don't know, $750,000 as a third-round draft pick.

Starting point is 00:27:31 We probably could have paid him more. So, I mean, I think it'll be helpful for Iowa long-term. And honestly, that's all I care about. Yes. Big picture, does it help Iowa? And I think it does. A final thing on this front. Am I crazy?

Starting point is 00:27:44 If unionization happens, they become employees that can lead to contracts. That's going to lead to probably not the same kind of things that athletes are getting right now is right now, probably the best time to beat a student athlete because in the future, I don't know if they're going to have the same kind of flexibility. There's going to be contracts. There's going to be maybe certain amenities that they're not going to be able to have. I mean, the likelihood that they're going to be able to transfer four times, I think in the future, both the big 10 and the sec are trying to push back on that probably right now might be the best time to be a student athlete because well, there's the

Starting point is 00:28:14 wild, wild West and you kind of, you're getting both sides of it without having to have the contracts that are connected to it. Yeah. I think across the board, I'd say that, I mean, I think what you're going to see eventually and and you can see the tea leaves already going this direction i mean there's going to end out being three levels of of football right now there's two i mean there's the fcs and the fbs five years down the road there's going to be three there's going to be the two super conferences or you know whatever top 40 50 teams and then there's going to be three, there's going to be the two super conferences or whatever, top 40, 50 teams.

Starting point is 00:28:46 And then there's going to be the middle level. And then there's going to be the lower level. And, you know, if you're the superstar athlete, those higher level, you're still going to get paid really well. But I think if you're in that middle level down the road, I mean, you're going to, you're, you're going to struggle to get paid as much because I think what you're going to see, like, like in,

Starting point is 00:29:05 like in the pros, I mean, you look at major league baseball right now. I mean, the, the, there's some ridiculously good talent. That's not signed,

Starting point is 00:29:14 um, out there because you can't, you can't pay everybody an insane amount of money. So I think what's going to happen is you're going to see the, you're going to see the, the true crazy top level guys that Caleb Williams getting paid absurd amounts, but that middle level is going to eventually bottom out a little bit. And so, yeah. So to answer your question, like right now, I think across the board, everybody's getting paid right now.

Starting point is 00:29:36 I'm not sure that's going to be the case five years, five, 10 years down the road. They'll get paid, but it won't be, uh, you know, right now I think everybody's, uh, you know, from what I understand, Iowa, I mean, you can, you can be, uh, you know, you can be the 13th player on the women's basketball team and you're getting paid pretty well right now. Good time to be here. No doubt about it. All right, biz. We'll save travels up to Minnesota, get the kids, get the wife, get everybody going there. Are you, uh, making it, I mean,

Starting point is 00:30:00 are you staying target center area? You guys out by the mall, you're going to hang out with Uncle Rusty? What's going on? Staying at the mall, but we're going to head downtown, visit our good friend Rusty, and our friend Beef is going to be there as well. Oh, nice. So we'll be kind of all over the place. I don't know.

Starting point is 00:30:22 It's going to be chaos because, like, 70% of the place is general admission tickets. So I can't imagine how long the line. And with us being the first game of the second session, they're going to have to kick everybody out and try and get everybody right back in. I mean, they may still be letting people in the door when the game starts. It's going to be such a long line at the door. So I hope they're prepared for it because it's going to be complete chaos in general admission seating. Well, good luck on the bowl at Cowboy Jackson.

Starting point is 00:30:47 We'll talk to you. Maybe we'll track you down again next week, Biz. My old man back won't allow me to do mechanical bullshit. That's Biz. I'm Trent. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Biz, good luck up there. We'll talk to you next week.

Starting point is 00:31:01 All right. Go Hawks.

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Hoops: Women prepare for the B1G Tournament, Men remain on the bubble, unionization of athletes

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