The Herd with Colin Cowherd - All Ball - Former Notre Dame Guard Kyle McAlarney on Notre Dame, Euro Career, Adversity, NBA Player Training

Episode Date: November 4, 2020

In this episode, Doug catches up with former Notre Dame Guard Kyle McAlarney discusses his path from Staten Island to South Bend as a highly touted recruit, a public arrest/suspension, his successful Euro career in the French league, and how he's staying in the game as a high school coach, NBA player trainer, and transitioning to being an agent. Make sure you download, rate and subscribe here to get the latest All Ball Podcasts! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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So head on over to proflowers.com to get fresh this Valentine's Day and get 15% off through February 14th on gifts for your special someone with promo code Crush 15. See website for details. Hey, welcome into the latest all-ball. I'm your boy, Doug Gottlieb, and I am, I'm really, really excited about your thoughts on this week's guest. To me, I love stories of guys that kind of work through things, right? That's what I, and when I, I remember when Kyle McElarney got suspended at Notre Dame and had to leave Notre Dame and then went back to, went back to

to Notre Dame and made it his junior and senior year. And I followed him playing overseas for years. I followed him when he came back to become a high school coach and now he's trying to be an agent. I just, I love guys like, hey, that's a chapter, but there's other chapters to the book. So instead of talking about college basketball schedules,

I'm fascinated by them. I love this idea of playing the same team on back-to-back nights. I think it's cool. It reminds me of playing minor league basketball, right? you play a team and you play a team again and, you know, there will be no doubters. If you beat a team two games in a row, there's like no doubt who the better team is, and there's a mental advantage you hold over that team if you ever see them again. But the idea that you could play a team four times in a season in a stretch of just two trips each way,

like home and home, that feels crazy to me. Crazy, crazy to me. But instead of getting into college schedules or preseason All-American or a World, award stuff. We can do that upcoming next week. I wanted to bring you this interview. Kyle McElarney is, what is he now? 33 years old. He's from Staten Island, New York, and just a stud ball player. And I think a great guy to have around the game for a long time. This is me catching up with Kyle.

All right, let's welcome him in because he's now moved from player to coach at more Catholic high school, I believe. He's the prize. of the pride of Staten Island, of course, played at more Catholic. We'll get to his entire basketball journey as much as we can here in the All Ball podcast. He's Kyle McAlarney. Kyle, how are you? Great, Doug. Thanks for having me on, man.

And I just have to correct you. I actually vacated that position. I'm now working for priority sports here in Chicago. And I'm sort of like a hybrid role here working to become an agent, but also training everybody in the company. So I left that I left my my hometown and my home school. I'm on the board now. I'm still involved, but it was a great two years when I was there.

It was a good transition for me. That's pretty cool. Okay. Why the mask? I'm in the East Bank Club here in Chicago and I had the mask off. And some guy came around and knocked on the door and said, I have to wear the mask at all times while I'm in the building. And in an effort not to get kicked out of here,

I figured I'd keep it on. That's fair. I just didn't know what level of like because we're, I feel like we're like, at least my family, we're like in the middle. Like we didn't do Halloween trick-or-treating because that's like, that's like giving everybody the middle finger.

We know more than doctors and scientists. On the other hand, sometimes I watch on TV and there are people that are standing all alone with a camera that's way off in the distance. And I'm like, okay, it's overdoing it a little bit. I feel like, you got to be, you got to make kind of sound. sensible decisions to be somewhere in the middle. Is that fair?

Totally. We did the trick-or-treating thing at a distance where I was, people set up candy on the front lawns and things like that. I was a little bit uncomfortable with the amount of people that were out, but, you know, I try and do my best to play my part. So, a bunch of things I want to get to. Yeah. More important. Let's get the best. Then our children's trick-or-treating. Let's start with you. Please. Okay. You grew up on Staten Island, right? And it's like New York, but not, it's different than the rest of the boroughs, I feel like. You know, there's a unique to Staten Island.

What was it like growing up as a Hooper in Staten Island? I'm glad you put it that way because it is different. It is New York City. We're a borough of New York City. But growing up in Staten Island, you're insulated a little bit. Staten Island is where the cops and the firemen live and the teachers and the nurses. It's very blue-collar area. But it's an island. Literally speaking, it's an island. And the competition on Staten Island for basketball is not that good. It's not that good. So that's why I was able to score so many points in high school. My exposure came from AAU. But what had happened was I started to develop, I started to become well-known, at least on Staten Island. And, you know, newspaper articles and people deeming me the best player ever on Staten Island. And it really propped me up.

but the general consensus for people who know is you're not good you're not anything you ain't shit until you test yourself within the city um and off stat Island because the basketball just quite frankly it's just not good it's just not very good it's interesting because uh about i don't know about two years ago i put out a tweet maybe it was a year ago that the like little known secret is that there's just not as many players or not players in new york like there used to be even when you were coming out just because so many people have moved and obviously this before before quarantine, we're now, any families, of course, can move out.

But it just, it feels like, one, most kids don't go to, they don't want to go to college in the city, let alone even high school in the city. And then now you're getting more and more families move out to the, to the burbs or just move away because it's so crazy. It has been previously so crazy expensive to live in Manhattan. What was the hoop like? Like, who are the other guys in Manhattan and the other boroughs in the surrounding areas?

Your graduating year, what was that crew like? So the year before me was Basti, Sebastian Telfare. He was the year before me. My year, Zavarian won the city championship, and that was Levantz Fields, point Garfin Pitt. I was actually slated to go to Zavarian, which is right over the bridge in Brooklyn, to play with Levantz. One ended up not going because my high school was like two minutes from my house. My parents were like, yeah, you're not going there. Like, we'll take up the block.

It's fine. So Levensfield, he was, my opinion, he was the best play in the city. I thought he was better than me at the time. Great ball handler, controlled the game, and demonstrated on a level that I never had the chance to do. So he was big. Sebastian was before me. My class wasn't that strong. Greg Paulos, a lot of people talked about him because he was upstate, but it was really us three in the entire New York state.

I mean, my class really wasn't that strong in New York City at the time. You know, it's interesting. So Bassie was at the McDonald's game that year. I called it. It was in Oklahoma City. And that year, I believe there was like eight dudes. J.R. Smith was one of them. Obviously, Dwight Howard was the number one or number two.

I can't remember. It was him or a mecca O'G4, right? And I remember going to the restaurant that became, I forget who it was called before. It was became KD's restaurant, but it was before KD went to, was there. And after the workouts one night and, you know, all the scouts you're around. And I was like, one of you guys is going to do it. Like, what do you mean? I was like, one of you guys is going to take him.

And it's going to be a mistake. And it was Sebastian Tailfare. And I actually, there's a lot of Bassety that I like in that he was a creative passer. He was quick. I mean, he's kind of your classic, atypical New York City plinkard, right? Can get to the rim or can make a play off penetration. But he just didn't have, he didn't have, he didn't have the size of, Steph, right, he was his cousin.

And he did, so he wasn't as powerful as able to, you know, adjust to the pro game defensively where they expose you. Couldn't really shoot. And just wasn't real like everything with him had to be some sort of fancy pass or something a little bit over the top. It was just too much city game. And he just needed like he was supposed to go to Louisville. Like that would have been perfect for him, right?

To get, just refine him a little bit before he got there because they throw you out, they put you out in the deep end and you're 18 years old and they're coming at you. And then you have all the other things going on in your personal life. But you and Levant said amazing, amazing college. So why Notre Dame? Why did you pick Notre Dame? Because I had the opportunity to play as a freshman, bottom line. That's why I went there.

And I, you know, a lot of people like to throw the narrative out there from, you know, McAlarney is my last name, Irish Catholic kid, right? Of course, the Notre Dame thing appealed to my parents. The academics, of course. But if I'm giving you my real answer, it's because Coach Bray told me that I had an opportunity to start as a freshman. And that to me was the most important. And that's actually the advice I give to a lot of kids these days is go where you're going to play because that's where you're going to be happier. You're going to be happy, right?

Like no one, like I, like, I, God bless people that can sit there and cheer. Like, I remember, you know, that's why I went Notre Dame was McLeod said I'd be the starting point guard right away. and the programs that I turned down, it was because it wasn't that case, right? I mean, that was just very, very simple. And what's interesting is I, my first year out, we won a championship in Russia. And I like split time.

And I was miserable, right? Like we literally won every game, but one game the entire time I was in Russia, which is like unheard of we won our Euro League. We won the Russian League. We lost one game, one. Right. And I was, I was,

Miserable because I'm so, you know, you're like, why are you used to play in 30, 35 minutes? You're like, man, I want to sit here. Like, I don't care what bonus I get. You don't feel a part of it. So for me, and I had Chris Quinn was a senior when I was a freshman. Yeah. Colin Falls was a junior when I was a freshman.

But Coach Bray was like, man, you know, I want to play three, four guards, guys who could shoot it, pass it, handle it, freedom, you know, free motion style offense. No, no rules, really. And I was like, let's go. I'm ready. So for me, that was the. main thing was the other stuff was honestly it was it was icing on top of the cake I wanted to play I wanted to play right away and I didn't want to wait and that was the only reason why I went there

Okay so we haven't we had we did no pre-interview meeting or whatever But I did want to ask you about the suspension you cool with that yeah of course okay So for people who don't remember like you're in the conversation of best guard in the big east I'm going to say you were were a junior at the time I was a sophomore. A sophomore. Okay. And all of a sudden it pops up that you test positive for weed.

Take me through. I got arrested. Oh, you got arrested for having weed? Yeah. So, yeah. So I'll tell you the story. So it was my sophomore year. Chris Quinn graduates.

Here's the ball, right? Your program. Ironically, it was actually after my best game to date. I think I'd seven threes. I forget who we played. It was December 26th. It was day after Christmas. And I am out of at a buddy's house and I'm driving home by myself.

And I was smoking a little weed. And I got pulled over for not signaling for a lane change. And they arrested me and they took me to jail. And I spent the night in jail. And basically we were on break then, right? So there was no classes. So. You stayed at the hotel?

They stayed at the hotel then? We were saying, yeah, we stayed at the residence. down there in South Bend, yeah. So horrible, horrible time for me, but there was no classes. So as you know, the way Notre Dame works is they have the student affairs committee or whatever. It's sort of like a, they weren't in either. Honor committee. I think it was like an honor committee, right?

Yeah. And so they basically told me, you got to wait until we get back until class gets back in session until everybody's back on campus. Coach Bray in the meantime suspended me indefinitely from the basketball team for games, but I was allowed to practice and travel with the team. So for the whole Christmas break, I practiced with the team and I traveled with the team. We went to Villanova and went to Georgetown during that stretch. And at this point, you're already talking about it on ESPN. So at this point, you know, the words out there, it's the whole arena is chanting at me, you know, that kind of deal.

What was the funniest champ? the other way, I just want to correct you was rider on the December 20 was when you had seven threes. Rider College, not 26th. Yeah, yeah. So, but you definitely had seven three. But they were chanting. Yeah, they were chanting pothead.

You know, the, you know, do you want to smoke a joint after the game and it wouldn't stop, you know? I love the idea, though, that like college students, many of, many of whom smoked a joint. Yeah. either before or after the game are giving you shit about it. Like the irony to it is amazing. Okay, I got a bunch of questions, though. Okay? You got a bunch of questions.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I've never understood smoking in the car. Right? I just, that's the one that I don't, that I don't get. I'm, I, like, I was fully candid. Yeah, I spoke to me a little bit in college. Never during the season. We were petrified of getting caught, right?

And it was a little bit before you. and obviously times have kind of changed and how people view it, but we were just like, yeah, we're not, I'm not in season. So it was very, very rarely and it was out of season. But I never understood the cruise along because it's like,

if you do it in your apartment or somebody else's apartment, the only chance you can get caught is if you get caught when they test you. And even then, as long as it's not a conference or an NCAA test, it's like a slap in the wrist, right? So why in the car?

Because I was, I did, I smoked weed by myself. I was not a social, I didn't do it in groups. It gave me anxiety. I actually developed panic attacks. I did it honestly, and this we can go back. When I watch Chris Herron's story and I get, and when I first watched it, I sort of resonated with it a little bit. The pressure of that, you know, when you're, put on a pedestal at such a young age and you're depicted as this perfect kid, good grades,

great athlete, he's going to Notre Dame, making us all proud, this and that. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say it. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

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I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we

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pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. When I got to Notre Dame, I really, I struggled a little bit socially because I really didn't have an outlet. I couldn't escape that pressure. and I quite frankly I turned to weed because it was the only thing that gave me sort of a little bit of an escape from that pressure. It's sort of like a little bit of release.

So why in the car? Because I did it by myself. Because I wasn't a guy who was out there doing it, throwing in everybody else's faces. I wasn't like that. I was I was a loner when I when I did it. And that's the reason why is because I just it was the only. only way for me to kind of like release all this tension and pressure on my shoulders. Look, Valentine's Day is almost here and you know what that means. It's time to...

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car seat buckle for the toddler. And now the eldest daughter who looks to be about nine or ten has secured herself in the booster seat. Dad zips the bag closed and they're off. Ah, but looks like mom doesn't realize her coffee cup is still on the roof of the car, and there it goes. Oh, that's a shame. That mug was a fam favorite. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just nail the big stuff. Like making sure your kids are buckled correctly in the right seat for their age and size. Learn more at nhtsa.gov slash the right seat.

Visit nhtsa.gov. Brought to you by Mitzha and the Ad Council. What grows in the forest? Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest? Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too. Because when we disconnect from this

and connect with this, we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest service and the ad council it's really fascinating because you know obviously the shit I did is way stupider right and easier to track and I don't think it was as much of a release but I do completely

understand the idea of like yeah you're like you're it's you're just you only you create them for yourself these expectations right and I remember like the thing about Notre Dame and I actually now I respect it even more is like you legitimately have to go to school and legitimately have to study. And I just remember being overwhelmed. Like, you know, high school shit's easy. I like, you know, if you pay attention and you study a little bit, you're going to get an A or B. And that was good enough, right? And then, you know, like my SAT was good enough, right? Everything was just good enough and you could get by. Like, they're, everybody's smart and everybody's focused, you know, or if not, they kind of weeded out. And then you have basketball. And basketball's

way, I felt like it was just, it was way harder than I thought it would be, you know, like. Like, I've done this my whole life. I was born for this, you know? So I, I, I averaged 35 points a game for two years in high school. Right. I scored 2,566 points in high school. I came in on my, I think, was it my visit or the first day at Notre Dame? And we were just playing twos in the pit, which was the practice facility.

Chris Quinn busted my ass so bad that I walked out of that gym almost in tears, you know, almost in tears. I think everybody's been there. I think we create this thing. This is why I'm against the, even the one and done. I think everybody should go like at least two years of college. Right. Because that first year, you're going to get your ass kicked in the first like three months by all the veteran dudes, right? They're bigger, they're faster, they're stronger.

They know kind of the game. They know how everything kind of works. And eventually like your talent comes out once you kind of figure stuff out. But your body is going to change too because no matter what trainer you work with in high school, Like I work with Marvinovich. He's a great renowned trainer. You get to college, you start taking some creatine. They start putting some meat on you.

Like everything, your whole body changes. And you have to worry about your game changing while everything else kind of changes. I think like, that's like the best thing for everybody. Levels you off. You're like, wait, I'm not. Now I'm not one of the best basketball players on earth. I might not be even be the best point guard in this gym. And I thought I, the coaches told me I was.

Right. But why am I not? Like, I think that's the, I think that's kind of the beauty of the whole thing. It is. It is. And I think everybody, you're right, has to go through that in order to grow and get better. For me, that first day, I mean, Chris Quinn was underrated point guard and Biggie Sister. Really, really good player.

And I'm not downplaying his talent, but he kicked my ass, man. And from that point on, it made me work differently. It made me see the game a little bit differently. But at the same time, I had this added pressure from back home that I couldn't fuck up. I couldn't. I'm not supposed to get. So you get in trouble. You're in the night in jail.

And now you're in the cell phone era, right? Because I was before cell phones, right? So I had to wait. You know, when all my stuff went down, it wasn't until it came out in the newspaper. And then all of a sudden, you know, people looked at you different. What was it like in those next couple of days in terms of who had your back that to this day you will not forget? Well, my teammates, all, every single one. one of them, every single one of them.

So I'll just run you through. The first phone call I made was to my father, and he ripped me a new assholes, so to speak. And then a day later, he was like, all right, we gotta get through this, let's get through it. So my parents were unbelievable to me during the whole process. Then I went to see Coach Bray at about 7 a.m. the next morning

to let him know about everything that happened. And then we had a team meeting and I told the team and they had my backs, from that moment on they didn't act differently towards me they they uh supported me through the entire process and basically i relied solely on them um i i actually i didn't i stayed there for the next couple weeks because i was awaiting you know classes to resume and the the student affairs committee to meet and you know see my case or whatever and and so that whole time i just i was in the gym i I practiced with the team and really just laid low.

But it was a dark time. It was pretty dark because I didn't know what the future was going to hold. It's funny during that time, actually, I had to go see, I had to do community service. I had to do drug counseling. And I had to see this drug counselor. And it was just really awkward because I'm not an addict. and I believe. You just smoked a joint to relax.

You don't want to, you don't want to downplay the stupidity of it, but it's the stupidity because like, I like, I remember, like I had this exact same. You know, Pat Garrity is a dear friend of mine,

he's my teammate, and he was like a biochem major. And he was like, you do know that THC is less harmful than nicotine. And I was like, how are you advocating for me to smoke weed? He's like, no,

he's like, I'm just telling you like, the whole thing is so screwy. It doesn't make any sense. And, you know, so yeah, I, okay.

So how did you make it back? What was the process like of making it back? So I got suspended. And it was a pretty, pretty tough thing to swallow because at this point, we're like three or four weeks from the arrest. And Coach Bray, you know, he supported me through the whole thing, but I don't even think he knew what the administration was going to do. So they came down with the hammer and they actually told me that if I don't leave campus within 48 hours, is they're going to arrest me. So I vividly remember standing up

and, you know, I think I said, fuck this. And I walked out. I threw all my Notre Dame clothes on the floor. And I got my car and I left. I left campus. I went to my uncle's house who lived in Ohio. But for the next couple months, I started to get recruiting phone calls again.

I was getting re-recruited. Sean Miller when he was at Xavier, I was close to transferring. I was very, very close to transferring. Coach Bray flew back to New York. He brought a jersey with him. He sat in the house with my parents and I for like four hours in Staten Island. And he re-recruited me.

He resold me on the entire program. He resold me on sort of my comeback story. And I just felt like, you know what, I made a commitment to this program. And I want to my teammates who have my back, I want to spend some more time with them. I want to, you know, solidify those relationships for the rest of my life. And I went back. I went back in June of 2008. Boy, do you remember about your first game back?

First home game. My first home game back, I remember I led the team out on the floor to the fight song. And you played LIA, by the way. Yeah, no tears, no chills. I was angry that year. I was angry. that was my best year. That was my best year.

I was able to tap into, I think any player can probably speak to this. There's certain moments where you're able to harness your energy in some sort of a way. Yeah. And use it for the game, whether it's whatever it is. That's it, dude. Yeah. So I have 11-year-old son.

And he's, I don't know how big he'll be. I don't know how good he'll be or whatever. But this is the honest discussion that we've had. I said, and I talk about my daughters as well. Like, you know that thing, that that nervousness you have, the pressure you feel of wanting to win, of wanting to look good for your buddies, you know, wanted to help the team. You wanted to play, you know, if you carry a burden of trying to play for me or play well for your parents, whatever. Like, the best, find a way to use that as their energy. Whereas the people that don't, they allow it to bring them down.

right? And you can, it's a, it's a choice. Now, look, some of it, it's a really hard for kids mentality. It was hard for, I think, us, even as high level athletes. But I think that's, that's the deal right there, right? Because you're like, look, some dudes just wake up angry and want to kill everybody every day and they use that towards who. But to the people who are like, feel kind of this pressure and anxiety and stress and Atlanta and excitement over performance, I think that's the deal is how do you harness that and use that as your fuel? Yeah. And, and. I don't know how you do it. Like, I don't know if I could verbalize it, you know, better than just you figure it out. You figure out how to sit with this feeling.

And that's what I remember about the first game. And that's what carried me through that entire season was like every game I went into just like angry, you know, and looking to prove people not wrong because I was where I was supposed to be. but, you know, I just, I wanted to reintroduce myself or, or. Well, that's, that's a moment. That's not who you are, right? You're not a, you know, you're not some dude smoking J's, you know, trolling through South Bend.

Like, you're, you're a hooper, you're a hooper. And whatever, we, and you move on. You know, you had a very successful European career now, obviously before coming back to the States. I do wonder, though, in terms of what a backup guard looks like in the NBA, to just make the league, you got to be able to shoot, you were a great shooter. You got to be tough. You're tougher than shit, right? You got to be able to run a team. You could do that.

Why do you think you didn't make it to the league? I think it was, I don't think, and I think I would have struggled. So I don't think it's wrong defensively. It wasn't a quickness issue. It was a size issue. I mean, I'm 5-11. I'm 5-11. And I was, I fully believe to this day I'm the best shooter in the world, right?

Like I'll walk on the court and, you know, we'll get on the court together and we'll talk shit. And, you know, you're not beating me in the game of horse. I fully believe that, right? And I fully believe that at the time. So in terms of skill, in terms of speed, I thought I was there. In terms of quickness, end to end, maybe not there. But, you know, staying in front of guys. Yeah.

I thought I did a good, decent enough job. Yeah. But size. You know, I worked my ass. Yeah, I worked my ass off in the weight room, but I never really felt that I could like take a bump and, and, and,

and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and,

I worked in the way room, I never felt true of basketball strength on the court. Um, so I think it was a size issue for me. It was a size. I think the questions were, who can I guard? And I think they were right. I don't know.

I think I would struggle. I think I would, would have struggled defensively. Your best experience playing overseas was where? In France. So I played in France seven years. I played nine years overseas and seven of them were in France. Two years with Limoges and then five years with Orleans.

And that's where I finished my career. And that was a choice more than anything. You're just done? Well, after my second year in Limoges, I was playing pretty well. I had an opportunity to go to Spain. But my wife at the time and I, we were having conversations. And I just didn't want to, you know, I wanted to create more of a stable lifestyle for her and I. And so we could start a family.

And we liked the city of Orleans. And they just kept all for me two-year contracts. So I just kept signing them. And I just felt like this is a good city. This is a good team. I love the fans, the club. It's about an hour south of Paris. And we kind of made it at home there.

And for me, that was my entire five years there was the best experience of my life. Tell me if you think this is wrong. So I had Phil Hickianne who played with me at Notre Dame, and he talked about how he just, he couldn't do the minor league basketball thing. And I kind of expressed it the same thing. It's just it's so hard to go somewhere where people aren't about team. They're about getting somewhere else, right? How can I get to somewhere other than where I am now,

is I do feel like, and I don't think it's just prone to Notre Dame guys. I think it's a lot of guys that have a really good college experience. You do, it's like you said, you want to come back for your teammates, right? Those are your boys. Those are your guys you ride or die with, right? And I don't know if everybody is wired that way, but I do think there's a, there's a healthy dose of that from guys that had really good college careers. And the reason that they enjoy European basketball,

maybe then slugging it out to try and make it here, is the idea that it is more of a team it is can be more of a family if you stay in the same place the hard part is when you bounce team to team i did i could not get down with that i really really i struggle with like i remember winning a russian championship and i was like i don't care i like that i'm getting a bonus by physically don't care i'm still pissed we lost to florida in the elite eight and oklahoma my last home game i don't give a shit we just beat unix kazan to win the russian championship don't care and i think that's kind of what you tapped into you smartly you knew yourself and that like i'm better off knowing and loving the people that i'm here and and having a real connection than just chasing the check which is what most good yeah and there were some things that fell on my favor you know uh yeah i actually played with the same group of americans for two and a half to three years over there in or leone great guys dave noel from north carolina marcella summerville from bradley darnel harris from la salle Brian Green from Colorado, a couple guys who are now my, I have sort of that second wave of college teammates and then great guys, man.

And so that fell in my favor. But it's interesting, I kind of want to take a look at that, like Notre Dame guys, Duke guys, Stanford, you know, guys from those kind of a program. Virginia. Virginia, are they able on a grand sketch? like what are the numbers like are they able to successfully have a European career because I actually would argue that they're not I would and okay so why do you think that is I have I have a hypothesis so on yours I don't know I don't know I think a lot of I think a lot of them they know that like like look they did the basketball they got a job and something else it's like yeah I'm gonna be

they there's not the this is all they have like I remember I was in the like I tell you all the time I was in the I was so I was supposed to to play for a team that played in Russia in St. Petersburg, but trained in Italy. My agent Herbardo at the time it was just a weird year. We're going to do that for half the year. And then you transferred to a different team. And then...

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a

full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on The Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person

while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different. levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me,

Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free

our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. I didn't get my Israeli passport, so that fell through, and I went to, I had to come back.

I was with the Lakers. They cut me before I got to the vet camp. So I went to the CBA and beat out like 13 dudes and then Rainy Livingston got cut the day before the season, so then they cut me because Raina Livingston's 6-5, you know, pro. Anyway, so I actually called a couple of games, did some local radio, stayed healthy, and then went to Salina for like six games.

And we played two games in Des Moines, back-to-back nights. I did with no practice, and then we bused to like Selina can't swear on like a sleeper bus. And I just remember that like I was looking around going, I can't do this. You know, I love, I love, love, bad. basketball. I can't do this. And I was I was taken by most of the guys in the bus. Like, this is all they had. This is it. And so I think some of that breeds, some of these guys that are like, they become really good pros, great pros because that desperation kind of fuels their energy. Whereas I think some of it for the Stamphords, the Notre Dame's, the Virginias, the Vanderbiltz of

the world. Like those guys like the lifestyle, like living overseas, but like, you know, I don't need this shit, you know? And unless you're playing your elite. league, it really, it's tough. It's tough. You know, I never played your league. So I was just in like France, you know, so domestic one game a week, you know, you kind of fall into like a nine to five routine. You got to one day off. I did my last gig was in Clermont-Ferone and they were trying to get to trying to get to Serial A. The guy went down, got hurt. I went out there. I loved it. Coach is a young African dude. He was like 40. A vibe with him was great. I had no car because I was only there for like two months.

And I'd called games for a year at ESPN. And I would walk, I had a little flat. And I'd walk by the pastry shop and get a cappuccino and a pastry and go to practice. And then I go to the cafe and that's right at my lunch. And I read a book and watch the MuroSport, whatever. Then I come back and go to practice. And then I go to the cafe. And then I come home and Saturday.

It was amazing. But I couldn't do that hamster on a wheel for a long time because I'm like, it was like a two month vacation, but that was about it. It's hard. It's hard. And it's hard being away from family for a long time, too. That to me, you know, I missed so much. I missed my brother's wedding.

I missed, you know, deaths in my family. And at some point, you get to 27, 28, 29, I'm married, having my first kid, I'm like, do I really want to keep missing all these things, you know? And so that's when I started to think, you know, I got to figure this out, man. I got to, I got to transition out of this. I love ball. I got to stay involved in it somehow. What level and how? I don't know yet, but I got to do something else.

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Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. Okay, last thing. So now you're doing both training and you want to be an agent. Okay, why do you... Go ahead. It's an interesting story how I fell into this.

So I was all set to coach. I was the AD at my former high school. I did it for two years. I was the athletic director, and I was the head coach. And it was fulfilling, rewarding. I thought I was all set to climb the coaching ranks, you know, build a program for a couple of years

and try and get an assistant spot somewhere. But then my buddy who works for priority sports, he's an agent with us, Kieran Pillar, reached out to me and said, hey, hey, Gordon Hayward is looking for a guy on the East Coast, somebody different. And I had been training players in my off-season since I was like 16

because I developed their reputation on Staten Island already. So that was like my side business. I made some cash with it. I helped a lot of kids. I developed an affinity for teaching the game as well. So I had a lot of experience with it. And I said, sure, I'll give it a try. So I did it last summer, all summer.

I was up and back and forth between Boston and New York and worked with Gordon, developed a really good relationship with him and Mark Bartolstein, who's our CEO. And conversations evolved. And I liked, to be honest, Doug, I liked watching games. of Gordon feeling emotionally invested what he was doing. I felt like I was standing up like going through like

do you know the pick and roll that he was taken and you know just talk I was like shit this is like playing you know and and for me it just struck it felt really felt really good you know and so conversations evolved and they hired me full time

and now I kind of travel around a lot. I work with a lot of our players and I still work with Gordon, but I'm also my, you know, I'm going to be representing guys next year and working with, with priority sports full time with that. So, last thing. Okay, you're a professional basketball player. As you said, I feel like I'm the best shooter in every gym, but I'm always blown away when I watch him or I help work out a pro like a Gordon Hayward at just how fucking good these guys are. Like, like the level of their skills. is so much better than any human being can conceptualize.

Could you give me a, for instance? So trying to, what I've been so impressed with working at guys at that level is how quickly they learn something. And, you know, like Gordon Hayward, right? The whole conversation was about his handle before I worked with him. It was about his handle, his handle, his handle.

And his shooting. and shooting from long range. So we start working together and very quickly I realized this guy's the best, if not the best, top five at least mid-range player in the NBA.

And the numbers will back that up. And so there wasn't a lot for me to do with him. You know, like I, you know, but it became a relationship thing and something, I digress. I think the level of which these guys can learn,

like how quickly they can learn something, is people don't understand. And Gordon Hayward, mind you, was about 6-8. You know, he's a, he's super athletic, can jump off both feet, can handle with both hands, can shoot going both ways. I think people underestimate the skill that these guys have. And what, you know, everyone was told, when I was first working with Gordon, everyone would say, oh, he needs this.

He needs this. This guy's got got everything, you know. He doesn't, it's not much for me to do. It's just got to click in his head. He's got to get a confidence thing. Well, look, you hit on three things, which I don't think, I think the basketball world knows of, but I'm not sure the real world, the rest of the world, my friends, we call them civilians. They understand, right?

That to make the league, you got to be able to defend, right? Which is why you didn't make it. And I'm sure that there's so many small guards or there's even big, like, we always talk about big guys, like, yeah, but can you actually, can you switch on a pick and roll and not get sliced and dice or can you defend the rim, right? So, like the defense is way bearing you thought. The second thing is how smart they are. Like we don't do a good enough job.

We're so sensitive to maybe pointing out that somebody's not a quick learner. But dudes that can't pick things up, you can't play at a high level. You just can't. All those guys are basically different levels of basketball geniuses. And then the third part is the confidence factor, right? If you lose that, it's really hard to get it back. But the difference in the best and guys that are struggling a lot of times is just what's going on upstairs. because a lot of them have all the same skills and all that same size.

Yep. And I think it's you hit on it how smart guys are. You know, even when we make comments like, you know, his IQ just isn't like, you know, let's be careful about when we say that because, you know, they might be trying to figure something out or fit themselves into a different role. And that takes time. You know, that does take time. Plus have you been wired one way.

It's like Mello, right? He was wired. He was the best player, the go-to score. Now a sudden we want you to be a third. score and then we need you to play better. It's like it's a completely different. And that's when you've been doing something one way for 25, 30 years, then hey, late in your career, that's a hard shift to make.

And I also think that it's important you point out basketball intelligence is not regular intelligence. It's different. My question, my question, I would ask you this question, Doug, like, since you're a point guard, like, can you, can you become a true point guard? Like, can you, you know what I mean? Like, is that because I was always a score. but my size would tell you otherwise right my size would tell you know I'm a point guard I'm 511 you know good handle could shoot like understand the game but I think like I try and score you know when I became a sophomore in Notre Dame and then even my first couple years when I graduated they were trying to fit me into this point guard position and you know I got to run the team run the team run the team run the team run the team and my assists were just never I could never get you know what I mean and then overseas

The coach is on me, like, you know, you need to get your assist up. You need to create for others. And I'm like, look, like, this is what I am, you know? No, that's like trying to tell me you need to be a score, right? I tried to rewire myself. Can you teach somebody who run a team? Yeah. I think, I think you can coach them on.

There are things you can coach them on that you can at. You'll never be able to teach somebody vision and passing. But I do think you can teach them some of the very basic stuff where you can kind of fake it. You know, you can kind of fake it. Yeah. know, in terms of mentality, it's really hard. You're a score, you're thinking score. But when I work with guys that are scoring point guards, I was like, look, here's

I want you to do. I want you to think the second time I touch the ball in any offense position, I want to score. But the first time, let's get it to the first open guy, right? In transition, you come down, you want to attack, attack. But after that, I need you to get the ball to somebody else. And then the second time you get it, now we can go. But there's some things that you can, you can teach and you can add.

but I do think it's hard mentally to transition from score to point. That's a lot about it's about fit. A lot of it's about fit. Like, Mike, the team I had the best shot with was the Lakers, they were running in triangle where you would have been better in the triangle than I was. You know, like,

that's why Joe Crispin was great in it. You know, Mike Pemberthy, like just a great shooter. Like I could do a lot of things Mike Pemberthi couldn't do, but I could not shoot with that guy. He made the team and I didn't. Sure, sure.

Sure. Hey, listen, this has been amazing. Your journey, I cannot wait to see what you do next. I really appreciate. time more than anything i have a ton of respect for what you accomplished what you went through and how you accomplish what you accomplished thank you dog i appreciate that man i'm i've been

listening to you for a long time you know that i've been telling you about that i love i love your podcast and your commentary it's it's it's refreshing because it's honest um and i love the game and i love hearing more and i love to share my story so um eager to uh to to move forward with this thing and uh you know happy to happy to be here so thank you man appreciate it. Thanks, Kyle. Wow, how great was that, right? Reminded the Doug Gottlieb show is daily, three to six Eastern time, 12 to 3 Pacific. You can check it out in the IHeart radio app on any of your Fox Sports radio stations, even the satellite radio

203 or 217. Check that out. In the meantime, we're going to keep doing this, bringing you basketball guys and their basketball stories, just so happen to have two Notre Dame guys back to back. But Kyle's an absolute stud playing with Orleans, all those years in ProB before shutting them up, shutting it down, if you will. But my thanks to him, and for you to listening, I'm Doug Gottlieb, and this is All Ball. This Valentine's Day, you know just what to get that special someone, because you know just what makes them tick. So head on over to Proflowers.com to get fresh this Valentine's Day and get 15% off through February 14th on gifts for your special someone with promo code Crush 15. See website for details.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to Look Back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me.

Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clivert Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you, get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.