The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Gottlieb – All Ball - Final Rockets/Westbrook thoughts; KD's puzzling Nets choice; '99 NCAA champ Khalid Al-Amin on U Conn's title run

Episode Date: July 18, 2019

Subscribe here to the All Ball with Doug Gottlieb Podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/all-ball-with-doug-gottlieb/id1358843497?mt=2.  This week, Gottlieb gives his final thoughts after having time to digest the Russell Westbrook/Rockets trade, and explains why KD's reason for choosing the Nets was puzzling. This week Doug's guest, U Conn NCAA tournament legend Khalid Al-Amin discusses his basketball background and his unforgettable NCAA Tournament run. 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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Hey, what up? Welcome in. I'm Doug Gottlieb, and you are listening to All Ball. And I feel like this is the beginning of the summer series. Last year, we had Scott Brooks for two episodes, Jay Bill is for two episodes. And, you know, summer without a ton of things changing during the off season really gives us usually a greater chance to delve into people's lives. And we'll continue to do so. So if there's somebody you'd like me to have a conversation with in college, pro, high school, basketball, international ball, I have some friends who have already committed to joining us. Hey man, just give me a call. Let me know when.

Hit me up. At Gottlieb Show is the Twitter handle. And of course, at Gottlieb show is also the IG handle. I don't know if it's a handle on IG or not. Anyway. And I'm told I have to tell you, you can listen to Doug Gottlieb show daily on Fox Sports Radio from 3 to 6 Eastern or 12 to 3 Pacific. You can listen. You can download that podcast or you can listen on the IHeart radio app or on your Fox Sports Radio affiliate. We're also on Sirius XM. I think one is 203 and the other one is 217. 217 I know is the one. It's like the Dan Patrick Station.

That's the station that we're on, not the Fox Sports Radio Station. Anyway, we're like a couple days removed now from the Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Trade. We did talk about it on last week's all ball, kind of the immediate reaction. And now that I've had a chance to catch my breath, I do sincerely believe that the Rockets, they got a better athlete, a guy who's closer to his prime. And I do think there's a little bit of immediate bump. On the other hand, you have a lame duck head coach, a player who is challenging a coach. I didn't say Russell Westbrook is not coachable, but he challenges you.

And while Hardin and Westbrook are better friends and have been longtime friends as opposed to Chris Paul and James Hardin, which was kind of like an arranged marriage, they're both people that have been through multiple marriages, both coaches and players alike. And so ultimately, I don't see it ending in a championship. I feel like this is part of the undue pressure put on by Tillman Fertita, that he wants to win and he wants to win now and he doesn't have the patience to see it kind of quietly and smartly evolve as the war. years fell apart. And look, it's fair to say the rest of the West has gotten better. I think the jazz have gotten much better. I love the grant acquisition for the Denver Nuggets, gives them the ability to play small.

He's a say-so athlete. He adds a ton of value there. And I even like what Portland has. Portland, you know, smartly, you add a rim protector shop blocker and you give, because they'll eventually have a, a couple of centers, you give the possibility of moving somebody here at mid-year if you think you can add one piece. And so I look around, and the clippers and the Lakers are pronouncedly better.

Did the rockets get that much better? No. Yes, you take Oklahoma City out of any sort of playoff contention. I'll also say this. I think Sam Presti did a great job. This apparently was the plan for next year. If it didn't work this year, they were going to blow it up next year. And Paul George walked in and said, hey, I'm out.

And so they sped up the process. Look at the number of picks he got returned. I would expect him to somehow try and get Chris Paul off the books. They'll probably take on something on the books to this year. And we'll see how many of those draft picks they could maintain. This is the way of the NBA. Oklahoma City's known this for years. That signing a free agent is really, really hard.

That you have to trade for guys, you have to draft guys. And for the life of their franchise, this is how they'll have to succeed, is to find ways to draft guys, trade for guys, and keep guys as happy as they can as long as they can. And now they're in rebuild mode. It's a life cycle. It's a, you'd much rather be bad to be really, really good than to be mediocre and to be super expensive, especially in that market.

And so I actually kind of understand it. I don't think, though, the rockets have, they've gotten away from fit. Fit is everything in this world. How you fit with your spouse, how you fit with your neighborhood, how you fit with how your kids fit with how they're educated. When you go and play in college, it's not necessarily about the school. It's about fit, right?

Roll, yes, but also, are you a guy that plays better when you play fast or you're a point guard that plays the ball in your hands? I look at this and I'm like, Hardin and Westbrook worked eight years ago because in the fourth quarter, Hardin was the point guard, Westbrook was the off guard, and he was a great cutter.

But since then, they've both become ball-dominant guys. And that genie is hard to put back in the bottle. And so I understand that the Chris Paul and James Hardin relationship probably had to end. They weren't getting along. They didn't see eye to eye. And I think Paul had to play ball screen offense. And they couldn't do that when James Hardin's on the court. And Paul struggled to play with James Hardin or to get by his man on a one-on-one basis.

And Westbrook will not. But lame duck coach, new assistant coaches, guy who's shown to be tough to coach. And a low percentage, high volume three-point shooter with the highest volume. three-point shooting team in the league. I don't see it ultimately ending up in a championship in Houston, which is what they say they're all about. Be sure to catch live editions of the Doug Gottlieb show

weekdays at noon Eastern 3 p.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I-Hard Radio app. All right, let me take you to the east really quickly because I do think it's fascinating, the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are a team that if you look it on paper, I mean, last year, they were like the clip, they were the clippers of the East.

Everybody loved their culture. People like their coach. Guys cheered for each other. They were a fun team. And I'll tell you how many people took notice. Kevin Durantz, even quoted it saying like, Sean Mark, he committed to Sean Marks before they'd even said like,

hey, do you want to, he was in. So apparently told Sean Marks, I love watching you play. You're never out of a game. You guys played for each other. Yada, yada. But stick with me.

Okay. So, Kyrie Irving is going to a franchise that emphasized scoring point guards, had a great culture, had a young coach who everybody believed in, and seemed to only be a star away from taking the next step. Doesn't that feel like Boston?

Kevin Durant is going to a place that the team seems to play with great joy, great passion, play for each other. Granted, many more ball screens than the war. But doesn't it feel like both of these guys have... Last night, a blown call changed a game.

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and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, learn the hard way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist. Kier 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.

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of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Look. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, Brett, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to The Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.

And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall.

And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah. You figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Been down this road before? Remember, the Warriors had this unbelievable culture and playing with joy before Kevin Rand got there. And Sean Marks has even said, hey, we got to change some of the way we play because we haven't had these types of guys before. And oh yeah, by the way, then you factor in that Kyrie is going to try and prove that he's a leader in the first year, you don't have Kevin Durant, that could either help him and hurt Durant. What if they have a great season without Durant? Then Durant comes back and they're not as good.

Or what if Kyrie can't win and he needs Kevin Durant to help him win? How does his ego handle that? Am I willing to believe that guys can learn from their past mistakes? Of course. Of course. That's why we watch film, right? So you can learn from your past mistakes and not make future ones. On the other hand, and maybe most importantly, what's past is precedent, right?

and in the past, both of these guys have joined great franchises that have had success without them. Remember, the Celtics went to the Eastern Conference Finals, two consecutive years, both without Kyrie Irving. And the Warriors had won a title, went to 173 games, and though they won two titles, it wasn't like KD enjoyed that experience. So what leads you to believe that this will be any different? It's a fascinating social experiment, isn't it? Really, really is. Really is.

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And we'll continue to bring you great personalities and unbelievable stories like this one. If you're of my age, slightly younger, slightly over, you remember Khaled El Amin. Star Point Guard, grew up in Minneapolis, played a Yukon, second round pick of the Bulls, then what happened to him? Now he's doing some college basketball on TV, works with kids as well. His path is fascinating. His championship run, or his championship game, which he looks at the camera and mouths to it, we shock the world, is among the 10 greatest kind of postgame celebrations in Final Four history.

Let's catch up with Khalid al-Amin. his journey, his championship, and his pro career afterwards. We're joined now by Khalid El Amin, and I want to get to your days at Yukon, your days in the NBA, your travels overseas, and talk about your broadcasting career. But let's start. Okay, you're originally from Minneapolis, North High School. I remember I saw you play in Vegas against Greedy Daniels. Let's say, I can't remember what high school gym was.

You two were the best, two best high school player, and you destroyed Greedy Daniels. I was like, this dude is, when you grew up playing, what was the first park that was your spot where you first learned to be a basketball player? There was a few parks, Doug, actually. It was a North Commons Park, which is about five blocks from my home, and we had another park called Harrison Park, which is about three blocks in the other direction. And so I was always playing outside. I was always affiliated with outdoor basketball. That's what we did back then, you know, in the early 90s, with play outside, you know.

And so, you know, on the black chopper's where you hone your skills, you know. You're competitive out there. You have guys talking trash. This is how you're born up and brought up, excuse me, and all of that experience helped me become the man that I am today, but the ultimate player that I was. That's the Robinsdale area, right, of Minneapolis. Is that, am I getting my location?

Well, wait, it's a note. It's in Minneapolis. It's right before you get to Robinsonville. It's not too far away from Robinsonville. You know, Minnesota and Minneapolis and the connected city that's around there. You know, it's a real close type of city or neighborhood. You have a lot of cities that's right next to each other. You drive through three minutes and you're already in another city.

It's a lot of cities right there together, mixed in together. But, yeah, Robinsonville has some good hoop, but Minneapolis is where it's at? No, and when you were a kid, the U was, you, I think maybe you were in high school, you had that Sam Jacobson team that had Bobby Jackson. They had a squad that went to the final four. Obviously, the NCAA stuff. Was that your squad growing up? Were you a you guy growing up, or did you like somebody else?

Come on. I'm away, Doug. You know, my family, my father, he brought our family from Chicago, too Minneapolis in the 70s. You know, my whole family from Chicago has sent me. I was the only child. I was born in Minneapolis. So I was born and raised here.

And, you know, it's a great city coming up. It wasn't known as a basketball state, so to speak. You know, I had to get my name from late 80s coming out of Minnesota was very highly talented. I think, you know, being able to score the ball, being able to put the ball, and a whole, you know, different spots on the court in different ways, really helped me nationally. And, you know, I'm thankful for all the big-time players that came before me from Minneapolis. And, you know, we will all meet at the YMCA.

We'll have open gym every night of the week from 7 to about 11. And, you know, I would just like a sponge there. I was this guy playing with this older guy. And I think that's where I was able to, you know, see. different styles of play. And winning was very important because there were so many guys in a gym back then, Doug, that, you know, if you happen to lose, you might not see the court again that night, or it'll be a few games before you get back on. So priding yourself on winning and being smart was always a part of my game, and that's what raised me. And I'm glad I had the opportunity to win like I did because it was instilled in me early. Yeah, yeah. It is interesting now how the guys play, kids play so many games with their AU team. that there isn't the same kind of punishment of losing. All right, so why did you go to Yucca?

Because Minnesota was on probation, right? Well, yes, that is one of the reasons. And yes, you're right. Coming up, I was a big U guy. Of course, all the Minnesota teams, Vikings, Timulose or twins back then. But, yes, I definitely loved the U. And I will commit it to the U as an underclassman. Coach Clemhaston.

You know, I watched Tim Cokes there growing up. And, you know, I was in awe of him. What I happened. He came to see me play. I got to meet him. You know, it's a little bit star-struck. And the U was where I wanted to go. And it seemed like, you know, that was going to be my home.

I committed to them, like I said, as an underclassman. And, you know, as my time went on through high school, I was able to go out to the ABC camp and play in the national camp with the Kobe Bryant, the Lamar Odom, you know, all the highly challenged. all the best players in the country, and I won top underclassmen. I was able to win top underclassmen there as going into my sophomore year. And so I had a teammate, Rock Lloyd. Sure.

He's a big-time New York City guy. Ramel Lloyd, yeah. Yep, Ramel Lloyd, yep. And he was on my same team at ABCD. And so we got to play with each other, got to know each other a little bit during that week. And his playing guard for a New York field. Galtos had got hurt during the camp. So he kind of asked me to fill in for him out in Vegas.

So I had the opportunity, just think of it, does it care from Minneapolis, Minnesota, had an opportunity to go on the summer circuit with a New York City team. I was unheard of back in 1995. So, you know, I was all in. You know, when you asked me, asked my parents, they were okay with it. So I had the opportunity to travel with them and to become, you know, a New Yorker, because I was always a hip-hop, New York hip-hop guy coming up, you know? Oh, wait, wait, you like New York hip-hop?

The West Coast hip-hop was so much better. I used to remember we used to go back some. My dad was a New Yorker. He grew up in the Bronx. And we used to go back every summer. And he would, you know, I'd go to, I'd play at all the different places that he played at. Like when I was in high school to get, you to sit there and wait all day or he'd try to get me in a game or whatever.

And I just remember we put on hot, 97 and I wouldn't know any of the music and I could I didn't like I just didn't like East Coast hip hop when I was a kid. Such a different style than what I was what I was used to. All right. So so so when you're in high school was was Minnesota on probation then or was it not until you're in college? Coming up my my senior year is when everything broke when one of the former and then that next year it had been my freshman year coming in that they would have been on probation. So, you know, around that time, a little bit before that time, I decided I want to, you know,

decommit from Minnesota. I want to take my visits because, you know, like I said, I was traveling with the Gauchos, and then that next summer I had got to play with the Long Island Panthers, which is Lamar-Otom, Kareem, Karim, myself, DeVar's Bill. So we have some big time New York guys on that team, and I was just seeing their recruiting process, how, you know, I used to, the roommate was Lamar, and he was getting recruited by everybody, Doug. I mean, Fisher, Steve Fisher from Michigan back then was calling, Tarkhanian was calling up. Every school that you could imagine was recruiting him. And I was kind of getting, you know, a little bit cold.

Like, wow, I was, I got courted like that a little bit. You know, I was that with a way to take, you know, took some visits and got to enjoy the recruiting process. So as a junior, I'm going into my senior, I'm committed, and I was able to take some visits, and I went to Kansas. I went to Georgetown. I took an official visit to Minnesota, and then I went to Yukon, went to Connecticut.

And so I was looking at the teams, Doug, and I had to realize that, you know, Minnesota, they had the great run the year before, but my freshman year, all those guys that went to the, they were graduating, they were leaving, you know, they were upperclassmen, so we weren't going to be the same team, so to speak.

So, and I was, I wanted to win, Doug, and I just wanted to win. wanted, you know, to have the best opportunity to win a national championship because that's what I wanted to do. And, you know, I visited Kansas, visit Minnesota, went to Georgetown, and I really felt that I was going to go to Kansas, Doug. And, you know, I took that last visit to Connecticut. I got to play with the guys. And I just fell in love, you know, it's like a legend around Connecticut that, you know, when I played with them on my visit, I was like directing some of the upperclassmen tell them to go there to do what to do or tell them what to do.

And it was just a matchman in heaven. And so visiting Connecticut and having the opportunity to play with the team just really filled it for me. And I just knew I wanted to go to Connecticut from that visit. All right. So you show up on campus and Rip was there, but he was, you know, like he wasn't superstar Rip Hamilton yet. They had a big white dude, Jake Voskell, right?

You and Alby, Albert Morning, were like the two-star freshman that, that, you know, showed up. And then, you know, Ricky Moore's like a junior, but he'd never really been like the guy because they had, they had to Ron Schaeffer when he was a freshman and he played. He started as a sophomore, but they weren't great. And so he got, what was that, what was the dynamic like when you show up? And Ricky's kind of been waiting his whole career to be the guy, and you come in and now he's got to play kind of off the ball.

Yeah, but that's the thing about Connecticut, though, done. You know, Connecticut was only two point guards at the same time because as you mentioned, Jerome Schuffer. played with Kevin Ali and Ray Allen and then Ricky Moore came in. And so he had got a little bit of Jerome Sheper, Ricky Moore. And, you know, Ricky Moore was a big-time player before he had a shoulder injury, you know, the season prior to me coming in. You know, he was a defensive stopper.

We all know that. But he was putting the ball in the basket at that time. And so he was a big-time player. And me coming on to the team, it was like, hey, you know, we have two lead guards on the court. in the Big East. That's what you needed back then to win. And we were just compatible with each other.

You know, we were able to play off of each other's strengths and each other's weaknesses, and it just worked out well. What did you do for fun in Stores, Connecticut? Well, you know, it was a college town, and, you know, I was able to, like I said, to come on the scene, and, you know, you had Rick Moore. You had ripped at Kevin Freeman, who's been there a year before. Sure. They stole me.

You know, they showed me the places where. other than that being in a college kitchen, don't earn me anyway, or you're in study hall, or you're at practice. It wasn't really much to doing stores, but it was a great college time. We had a great time, and we made it fun.

Let's go to the championship season. So, like, look, your first year you guys were, I mean, your first couple years, you guys are legit, right? You're legit. Yep. But your sophomore year, to you, Rips back as a junior. You mentioned Kevin Freeman, who's just a monster on the boards.

Voskel's back. Alba Morning's back. I mean, the great thing was you have all these guys back from the previous year. You had no freshman, no incoming class at all. Just all dudes that were back. What do you remember about that team? Like, when did you know, like, hey, we could win the whole thing? That summer, going into my sophomore season, we took a trip to Europe.

for a couple of weeks. We went to England. We had the opportunity to play with a couple professional teams in England, and then we flew to Israel. We got to play a couple of professional teams from Israel. We played Maccabi. We played another big-time team over there in Israel.

So that summer, RIP was hurt with a thigh injury. He couldn't travel with us. You know, we took our team minus RIP out there, and that allowed our role players to come on, and to get significant minutes and really show who they were. And Albert Morning was lightened up to those two weeks of games. Edmund Saunders showed he was a beast.

Rasha Mel Jones who really accepted. Yes, Rosh and Mel Jones. I respect him so much because it was his senior year, Doug, and he was supposed to go for the gold. It was his last chance to really show the NBA Scouts who he was. And when I came on the scene, he saw the type of player that I was, the type of leader that I was, and he took the motion with so much character. I just love that guy to death because any other guy who wanted to transfer,

especially this day and age, they would have transferred. They would have got out of there because they weren't getting the minutes that they were supposed to have gotten, but he respected the game, and I just love him for that. And like I said, the role players got an opportunity to really step up and show their work to the team. And after that trip, we said to ourselves, wow, we can be really good. I prepared for the season like, man, like none other. You know, every workout we were competing against each other, every drill we wanted to win,

and we just wanted to see the next guy do well. And so that's what was special about that team. All right. Give me your Calhoun like to you as a guy who came in and he gave you the ball right away. Like when I say Jim Calhoun, give me a story that encapsulates what he's like to you. he was a beast and I don't know if I should hear this or not but one time I was a freshman and it was right before the big east tournament and um you know they had the coach's meeting they go up to New York prior to the big East tournament they had their meeting and then they come

back and I can remember he went up there and came back and we had a practice right before we were leaving he was like because you know I was at the coach's meeting he was explaining what was going on and he was like you know they're good guys but I want to I want to kick their butt. And I know we both know he used a different word than that. You can, it's a pod. You can say if you said he wanted to kick their ass, like that's what he said. He wanted to, I hate all those motherfuckers.

And that competitiveness. You know, he had to read that, but the mutual respect for each coach that he went up against, but he wanted to win, and that just, that sense of urgency really rubbed up on. So when you say coach got home, he's a beast, he's a jeep. he's a genius and he's also just one of the most competitive people that I know. Yeah, yeah. Here's, okay, so my mom grew up in Connecticut. And when we'd go up to Connecticut, like, I remember her, because Yukon didn't used to,

it wasn't a, now it's a good school. It wasn't a good school when she was growing up. So she was super, super down on it. And they started recruiting me when they took Ricky. Ricky was like out of Atlanta, right? So they took Ricky that year. and it's funny you say about the multiple point guards. So Kevin Ali's from, you know, Crenshaw High School, L.A.

Yeah. So they were recruiting me. And my dad talked to Kevin Ali, who he'd coached against in A.U. And Kevin was around. He was like, what's Calhoun like? And he's like, they play fast. They're always good. You'll play around pros.

He's like, but he's going to bring another point guard in every year. So if you want to – because you remember when we played, they used to give you, like, two years. years till your junior year, then they would bring in another guy to compete with you. And if you couldn't beat out a freshman when you're a junior, like, then you weren't good enough anyway. You just had to figure it out. Right. And he's like, and Calhoun doesn't play.

He doesn't care at all. And he's just going to bring in another point. So as long as you don't care about being recruited over, because he's going to challenge you every day, you'll be all right. So I wasn't really that into that. And then my mom just couldn't get over. She went to Syracuse. She just thought it was like a.

She used to say, it was like, oh, that place is like a juco. Like, you don't want to go there. Anyway, so he calls me. Actually, Coach Hobbs called me. And I get back from ABCD. And my junior year, going to my junior year, I wasn't very good at ABCD. I was okay. And then my going to my senior year, I blew up at ABCD.

I played really well. And so Hobbs calls me, he says, look, we went off your scholarship, but I'll put you on with Coach Calhoun. Now, look, I'm from Southern California, and everyone seems, and I always feel like California people don't have an accent. and I had never really heard a Boston accent before. And so he comes on and he starts talking. And not only does he have, as you know, a Boston accent,

but Coach Calhoun speaks really, really fast. Like he talks, and he always had to come together and he says, talk about it. Come out, you'll be point out, you go take a visit. I'm like, okay, coach, cool. Yes, okay, coach. And then he puts back on, Coach Haas back on. And I was like, coach, I actually don't know what he said.

He's like, well, he just offered you to scholarship. You want to come out and take a visit. So I didn't even visit. But I always, I've told, I've told him that to this day that I didn't actually understand him on the phone call. But I was, I did set up a visit. And then Ricky committed, I think, earlier than I ever visited. But here's what I loved about him. He was a lot like Eddie Sutton in that he kind of manipulate, I felt like he manipulate the media where he'd tell the media, you go and see one of the Yukon practice.

and he'd go like, ah, we're shitty, we're not any good. His fucking guys suck. And then so people in the local media would start to write negative things about him, like, about the, and then he would tell the players like, see, the media doesn't believe in you, I believe in you, what's the matter with these media guys, right? And then he would, he would always, he would sub a dude out before the first TV timeout. Somebody would make a mistake, like Edmund Saunders, who, I got to get your best Edmund Saunders story at some point in time. Edmund Saunders would, he'd make a mistake. And he, we would, when I was covering him at ESPN, somebody would make a mistake and we'd have bets on Media Row,

who he was going to take out first. And he would come almost out to mid-court and hook that motherfucker out for making a mistake. Like he was, but his, he, he, like guys accepted it, right? Like you go sit for a second, then he puts you back in and everybody else got the message and you played hard. What was it like to actually play for him? It was a point guard. I just had the relationship with every head coach.

You know, I wanted to have a great relationship because I felt, you know, the playing guard is the extension of the coach on the court. So I was always in his office, peeking his brain. You know, there's a story going around how, you know, most of the players were intimidated a little bit of Coach Calhoun because of his presence because of the way he speak is the way his character is. You know, for me, I didn't even see that. I just saw that he was the head coach, and I knew I had to have a great relationship.

I have to know what he's thinking, and he has to trust me. So I was always in his office, picking his brain, and, you know, have a great relationship, a great rapport, and he trusted me on the court. At least I think he did, he trusted me most times. So, you know, having an opportunity to play for him and just knew his history, you know, because I'm a student of the game. I went, you know, I pursued him from Northeastern, and then he came to Connecticut, and how he turned it around.

So I was a big fan of his already. and so you know, having an opportunity to run one of his clubs and wanting to win and wanting to do the best. We just were a great match together, and he really brought out the best of me on the court and off the court. All right, let's get to the tournament run. So you guys are one of the top two or three teams in the country, and I know it goes down as an upset and you're running around. We'll get to the game itself in a second. But you guys were legit. You did get shipped out west, but you're the number one.

seed. And you played, do you remember the Texas San Antonio game at all? Yes. Tell me about it. It was, it was, you know, one of the better first round games, you know, for us. Being back the year before, we had played fairly Dickerson, and they gave us a run for our money. They scared us, you know, they played us down down there to the wire.

Elijah Allen went off a 41 point, so we knew that first. game we couldn't play around. So we all got out in the filter atmosphere early. Everybody got out there, got their shots up. We wanted to be prepared and wanted to go into this game and wanted to set it, you know, really set the tone for the tournament. And we did just that. We had a great practice prior the day before, and we were ready to go.

You know, coach came in, gave his pre-game talk, you know, about this is our time. And, you know, guys really responded to that. And that game really set the tone for the rest of the tournament. And here, we're playing our A basketball. Let's go ahead and show the country who we really are. And let's make that next step from the elite eight to the final fourth. All right. If you remember, the second round, who'd you play?

New Mexico. They had Kenny. Oh. Should he be tough now? Because he'd be like a small ball five now. Yeah. Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot. I'll think of it in a second.

Yeah. He was a great. He was a big-time player. you know, for them. And they had a couple other guys who could play. And so, you know, that night, the Scowalty report was, you know, we got to get out and really jump on these guys and set the tone on these guys, you know. So I can just remember coming into that game.

We were all. Kenny Thomas. And so ready to play. Kenny Thomas. Yeah, Kenny Thomas. Yes. Kenny Thomas. And I was, I just can remember coming.

And we went on a 17 to the 16 to the game. zero run to start the game. And so I don't think if we're up 17, no team is going to come back if we're up 17 on them. So, you know, like I said, it was just an extension of that first game of us playing at our A level and continuing that. And, man, it was just a quick. Then you played what, Iowa?

I believe so. The sweet 16, yes, we play Iowa. Did you go home? Did you guys go home in between? I'm not sure. I don't even remember that. I can't tell you the truth. I would say no, but I don't remember.

It was 20 years ago or a little bit more, so I can't really remember. Okay, so I guess my question is this. Like, look, Calhoun had done so many things, but he hadn't gotten to a Final Four, right? Right, mm-hmm. And so was, what, did you guys feel any of that? Was there any talk? I mean, obviously the media would ask, but how was he? during as you're playing in tournament games?

Was he the same? Was he tight? What was he like? He was always the same to me personally. That's the genius about him. Like, you never really saw him nervous, or if he was, he never showed it. He prepared the same way. He made sure that we were prepared.

But his demeanor, the way that he talked, it never changed. It never faltered. And that extent and still so much confidence in me, as the playing guard of the team for him to see him have so much confident. And, you know, whatever he said, I took it and ran with it. I thought it was the truth for me. So I just felt him, you know, and I can always remember when he will come into the room

or the gym for practice or we have a meeting, whatever, you know. I could tell what type of move that he was in from the first 10 seconds when he walked in room. He was all business. Doug, I was all business. You know, if he had a little couple of jokes, then I knew that the mood was a little bit lighter and I can relax and I can, you know, be myself at times. But he was always on point. And, you know, he really instilled the confidence that I carry to this day that be sure of yourself. You've been working.

You are prepared for this situation. Now I'm going to make the most of it. And that's what I love about him so on. What was Rip like? Like Rip became this unbelievable shooter. I mean, basically a lot of it just off floppy, right? Just reading screens, you know, coming off of down screens and, you know, all the different, just moving without the basketball.

Man, it was incredible, Doug. I'm sorry to cut you up. No, it's okay, just go. And like you said, coming off those screens, he's the one who taught me how to play off the screen. He told me how important that was to play off the ball and to get easy buckets. And I think I instilled some of that into my game. And it is important, you know, when you're off the ball, to make great cuts, to keep moving, and to use those screens, because that's what they get there for. He had this move, Doug, where he would use the screen.

He would come off a down screen. The big guy will come to him a screen, and he will come off of it. And he knew how to, and he's coming off the screen, and he's going to curl the screen, right? And his defender is right on back of him. You know, they're playing the correct way. They're going to trail the screen. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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

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conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what.

He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series. because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall.

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after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the balls. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, and follow him. But as he would brush off of his, our big man,

Fasco, he would ask the big man and kind of, I don't want to, I want to say torpedoes around him. And while he does that, he is swinging. He is pushing the big man into the defender. So it's just like he's making sure that Jake is, screening his man, and he would come off every downscreen, every girl screen so wide open that he had to get the ball because, you know, the guy said such great screens for him, and he used it so well that, you know, I put that into my game, and he was just such a lethal

move, and he was open every time he came off a screen. Yeah, he was pretty special. He was special. He was special. I seen it in ABCD, my junior year, we were on the same. team, actually. I didn't, you know, tell you about that. I didn't have a chance, but Rick Hamilton and Kevin Freeman, we all were on the same ABCD team, but Kevin ended up getting hurt during the camp, but we were on the same team, and we went undefeated, and I think he was

rated maybe the fourth or sixth best player, and that was maybe the ninth or tenth, so we definitely was a successful camp for us, but that was our first meeting with each other, and, you know, I'm so happy I had the opportunity to play with him because he's stressful. Okay, so you guys, you get past the Sweet 16, and now you're playing, you're playing Guanzaga to go to the Final Four, and this was a good Zaga team, and Santangelo was nice, but, like, I can't imagine you guys from Yukon playing the Big East. You guys won the Big East tournament, right? You smashed, I think you smashed St. John's in the championship, right?

But you're like your close game with Seton Hall, and then you smash Syracuse, you smash St. John's. You get all the way, you're in the elite eight. Elite eight. What do you remember about the Gonzaga game? I mean, that was the over-the-hump game, you know, a few. I don't know, two or three teams have, coach Calhoun teams have priorly gotten to that point, but they didn't, you know, get past that point. And we were there the year before.

So this is the game. where we had to show ourselves. And, you know, unfortunately for me, I didn't have a great game, but as a team, we played like a team. You know, we had our ups and downs during the game. Gonzaga was a tough-minded team. They had tough players, tough defenders, and they were a team. So we had to play our best team game for us to win.

And down the stretch, guys made plays here and there, made free throws, and we were able to sneak out of there. but it was a total team effort, and if we hadn't gone to Europe that summer, we might not have won the team who was so together that that was what ultimately gave us the upper hand against Gonzaga. Yeah, what's interesting is, you know, Calhoun's teams always played so fast, and yet that game especially you had to play, you know, Gonzaga slowed you down. Ohio State really kind of slowed you down. So the war to win a national championship, you had to win two games in the 60s,

which is not his style. He liked to get up and down and press and really run, and they kind of took you out of it, and you still found a way to win. Okay, so you go. Go ahead. No, I'm just saying that's one of his greatness. We could play multiple ways. We just, yes, we would love to play get up and down and make it a fast-paced game,

but we could play the slowdown half-court game because we have such high IQs, you know, and that went from having two point guards on the court and having a great shooter and having role guys who didn't care if they didn't score. they wanted to get other guys open. And when you have selfless guys like that, your team is going to be successful. Hey, All Ball Community. Listen up.

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They got Schoonie Penn and Michael Red. They got a good little squad there. Kane Johnson, the big center. Oh, yeah. Other than playing in front of 50,000 people, what do you remember? about that one. That's the atmosphere of the final four. Finally being the first Connecticut team to make it there.

But that wasn't, we weren't satisfied with that. We wanted to win. You know, we got in there. We kind of got the market off our back, so to speak. But we wanted to show the country we were there to win. And playing against Ohio State, they were just another team that was in our way. And we knew they had great players, like you said, as you mentioned. But we thought that we were a better team.

And we kind of hung our hats on that the whole season. We are the better team. They have good players, but we are a better team. So I think that game, I think we slowed ourselves down. You know, the first half we played great. We played great team ball. And the second half, we kind of got a little bit individual and tried to make plays too much individually.

And that's the reason why they were able to hang close with us. When it came down a stretch, you know, we always came back true to who we were, and we were able to pull that out. All right. So you get ready for the national championship game. And again, on paper, in our era, the next year's team for Duke had an unbelievable roster, right? But in terms of, like, highly-touted recruits, Badiatee, Brand, and even Chris Burgess is like number one big guy in the country. Trajan Lane, Cori, Muggetty, Chris Carrowell, Nate James.

Taman Domsowski's from New Mexico. He was McDonald's All-American. William Avery, like, damn dude. They had just dudes. So you're sitting in your hotel room in Tampa. What was the prep like for the National Championship game? You know, that film session or that scouting report before the Duke game, you know, Coach Calhoun told us, you know, before the game, he said,

and he's never said this to us before, of course, he said, you know, you're going to be playing the team tomorrow that's better than you. And he's never said that to us before. And so, of course, that got our attention right away. And so we just had such leisure focus coming into that game. And I can remember us, you know, we had planned to double Elton every time he got the ball on the block. And we did it.

It's like we practiced that type of defense every day. And we hardly ever doubled on the block. So we were all watching laser focus. And we were able to make the plays to be the. a better team. And like you said, they had players. They should have beat us by, on paper. They should have beat us by.

You know, when the team is locked in and the team wants to compete and show who they are, anything can happen. And that's why basketball is such a great sport, as you know. He used to tell people that he thought the Duke guys were a little soft. He thought, like, look, we got city kids. We got kids. We got fighters. And his, Calhoun would always say, like, hey, in his, I can't do his accent.

But he would say, like, you know, if you go anywhere in the country, no one in a city will ever wear a Duke shirt. Now you go to the suburbs, they'll wear Duke stuff. You go to the city, they don't wear Duke stuff. And he's like, and that's why we beat them. It's because we got city kids. We got just dudes that are tougher. Do you think that was some of it,

that you guys were just a little tougher, a little nasty than that were? I don't believe that because you still have to play the game and those guys could play. So I just thought that, like I said before, we were just a better team, you know, from, one through 12 or 1 through 10, however many players played that game, we had, we were the more deep team. And we were just a better team that night.

And, you know, we just thought coming into the game that gave us a little bit more motivation, they said that we were going to lose by 10 points. We're the 10-point underdog. And come on, we felt that that was ridiculous. So we had a, you know, we played with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder. So that really helped us out, too. Yeah, no, listen, they went 16-0 in ACC play. then they won the ACC tournament.

They only lost. I remember the game they lost. We were watching it. They were playing the Great Alaska Shootout, right? With Cincinnati, Melvin Levitt made a dunk at the buzzer. Oh, man. That was kind of like a, that was, you know, that was like unbelievable. You know, that they actually lost.

But, you know, I think that gave some of the teams in the country, you know, the confidence. Oh, okay, they are human. And we ran up, when we ran into them, we felt like they were, human, so we want to go out and prove everybody. When the buzzer sounds, you're famous for yelling right around. Was it, we shocked the world, right? That we said we shocked the world? Yes.

I kind of said that in the pregame. And I honestly can tell you, I don't know where that came from because me and Coach at whom were being interviewed and they said something to me. And I answered the question, but I said at the end, you know, we plan to shock the world tonight. And to this day, I don't know where that came from. And then, like you said, when the buzzer sounded, and we had one, and I went over to the desk and said it, like, it was just so much adrenaline and, you know, joy coming out. And like I said, it was just, or anything, it just came out.

And it was the slogan. You know, it's been the slogan ever since 1999. And, you know, I'm just happy to have the opportunity to get it done and to win for the University of Connecticut and Coach Calhoun. Why didn't you go pro after that game? I just felt like I wasn't ready. You know, my game, I felt like I needed to polish it up a little bit. You know, I felt like, you know, another year of school would have done me great. And, you know, just looking at the draft board, you know, I wasn't expected to go very high.

So, you know, I kind of just, okay, took that in stride and said, I'm going to get better next year, and, you know, I'll see what happens next year. And so that's the route that I took. Maybe it wasn't the right move in some people's book, but for me, I was comfortable with it. No, I'm just, I'm wondering, because Miles Simon's one of my closest friends, and he came back after winning the MOP, and, you know, he went in the second round, and he probably would have might have gone the first round. He doesn't necessarily, I don't know if he has many regrets. We should be pointed out like that year was a nasty year in the draft, right? Like, what would have been your sophomore year?

Elton Brand went one, Stevie Franchise went two, Baron Davis went three, right? Lamar Oda went four, Wally Zurbiac went five, Rip seven, Sean Murray went nine, Jason, the Jet, Jason Terry went 10. Like, that was, right? Mono Genoble, I think, was the last, but one of the last players of the draft. Andre Miller went eighth. Like that was a... Richard Lewis.

I think Richard Lewis was the last pick of that draft. Okay, so William Aver... No, he wasn't the last pick, but he was the last one in the green room. That's what happened. But, dude, William Avery went 14. How did that happen? You know, I've heard a lot of, you know, people tell me that that's where I would have gone. To the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Khalid, he went to the Timberwolves. Yes, yes. And so, you know, I'm happy for him that he got the opportunity. to let his dream out. And, you know, for me, I made the decision so I had to live with it. Like I said, I'm comfortable with it, and it is what it was. What's it like to try and what to go back? Like, is there, do you guys think you weren't, I mean, there was a bunch of things.

You lost Rip, you lost great players. There's some other stuff going on. But was the let down the next year because it's just hard to relive it, to live up to the expectations? Was it because you weren't fully back in, school emotionally. Why did you guys have a disappointment next season? The great season that we were all hoping for that we all were used to, you know,

coming off of, you know, a 34 and two season, wow, come on now. You know? Yeah. And so, and, you know, we didn't have those same type of players. Losing Richard Hamilton was a big blow to our team, losing Rosamil Jones, the leader. of our team, you know, losing Ricky Moore and all these guys, you know. Yeah, so those are big shoes to field, Doug. And, you know, and we filled them with guys that's just doing it for the first time.

And not to mention when we got to the tournament, you know, I got hurt on some freaky spin move that I've done a million times that I still don't know to this day how I got hurt, how I sprang my ankle doing a spin move. And so, you know, it's just all those things accumulated, and we were put out by Tennessee and the, I don't know, round of 32 or whatever it was.

So, you know, all those things multiplied was the reason that we didn't have a successful tournament run. But it was still a successful season in my junior year and, you know, I learned a lot from it and the guys did too. So you walk into Calhoun's office afterwards? Is that how you, how did you decide to leave to go pro?

Well, I was kind of nervous to go into his office. And because I knew, you know, it was a lot of talk going on, and he would have wanted me to stay, and if he would have told me to stay, I would have. But I was ready. I think I was ready to go.

You know, it was just time for me for a new challenge. And so, you know, I had my parents make the phone call to him, or actually I think my parents came out and talked to him and told them. and then I had to meet him when I had to soften him up first and then I had to meet him meeting with him and you know that's how we decided that you know it was time for me to move on and and we did you know I had a good campus Chicago you know I went 34 I would like to have going first round but you know I had the opportunity to play and a lot of first round players lottery players they don't get an opportunity to play right away you know it depends on the

team where they go and I had an opportunity I started 14 games I made the rookie all Star Game, so I get them. Wait, you're going, you're going too fast there, Khalid. Okay, so hold on, hold up, dude. Wait, wait, wait, wait. So your family, hold on, your family moved from Chicago to Minneapolis. You were roughly the same age, right? Like, I finished in 2000.

You're a little bit younger than me. Like, and I know Mike was gone, and the Bulls weren't very good. But what's it like to walk into that locker room? And you see Bulls in the front and Elamine on the back. Oh, man. And it's unbelievable, actually. And to see the facility, to see the Burdo Center, went to practice every day, and, you know,

and to see the pros that was still there when I was coming up. I saw Tony Kookew was working out. Will Purdue was there. It was just a dream come true, and I wanted that, you know, to be forever. But unfortunately, you know, it is a business. and, you know, I'm just happy I had the opportunity to reach my goal and to play as many games as I did. You know, I learned a lot about being a professional from being in the NBA, and it helped me my career after Chicago.

Now, did they, like, officially, did they cut you? Like, how did it end? Yeah, well, it was, you know, I think it was 51 games maybe into the season. and, you know, before the morning a shoot-around, I don't know who were playing. I got him. I had a long talk, and, you know, he told me that, you know, they were going to wave me. They were going to let me go. But he told me, no, gave me some expiring word for motivation for me to you,

and we parted ways, and that's the business, you know. It's one day you're there, and, you know, one day you might not be there. And so, you know, this game that we chose is not always fair, strong, and you have to be willing to go through those type of downs in order for you to, you have to, man. That was definitely a big time downer, Doug. It was my dream. I was playing in Chicago. I had so much family there who had the opportunity to see me play.

Like I said, I'd love every minute of it, but I understood it with a business, and it was just time for me to move on. What was, I mean, like, look, did you did the whole thing, you did the CBA thing, you played in Germany, you played in Israel, you played in Turkey, you played a bunch in Turkey, you played in Lithuania, you know, you played everywhere. Ukraine. Ukraine, craziest story you could tell somebody. Oh, wow. We were in Israel, we were in Turkey, and, you know, unfortunately, you know, a suicide bomber had decided they wanted to strike.

Not so far away from where we were, you know, few kilometers, a few miles away. And, you know, both times we actually heard the explosion. It was so loud, it was like an earthquake almost. And so that was the craziest, most serious part about being injured or being overseas was our experience with that. And, you know, it was something that we lived with as a family. you know, we were scared for a while, but, you know, we kind of got over it after a while, and we had to move on because, you know, in this day and age, that's life. And so we were able to do that.

We were able to regroup. And, you know, we went on and had a terrific season in those years. If you could give the younger you some advice, like, hey, Khalid, you're 16, you're North High School. Here's some advice that you could use. Now that you're, you know, you're 40 and you played 17 years professional basketball, what would it be? More, I would take the, you know, my eating habits more serious. You know, I was a young kid who thought he could eat anything because I was in the gym every day. And we all know, it doesn't matter how many, you know, how much time we spend in the gym if you're eating habits that are not good, you know,

you're still going to look the same and you're still going to be the same. So I would take my eating habits a little bit more serious. than I did. And, you know, because later in my career, I was able, you know, to understand the things that I needed to eat. And, you know, and I was able to play, you know, over 16 years professionally. So I would, that's what I would tell the younger, Elinin. And also, you know, being in the NBA, you have to respect that.

And, you know, it's the best players. And so spending as much time in the gym, that has to be the number one thing. And so any young player coming up, that's what they should be concentrating on. I mean, to eat right and to put as much time into the gym that needs to be. You had peace? You have peace with your career? Oh, I definitely am. I definitely am.

I would have liked to stay in the NBA longer, of course. You know, that's a no-brainer. But I had the opportunity to travel the world, Doug, by playing basketball. I know. I live with the best. Coolest place. Coolest place that you live. Like there's one place.

Just living, coolest place. Wow. It's been so many. You know, I love Istanbul. I love Tel Aviv. You know,

I love Croatia. Every place that I have been, every place that I've been, has been great. They're beautiful cities, you know, beautiful people. You know,

so I would say Turkey food everywhere that I have been has just been unbelievable. All right. last thing. You mentioned how you'd change your diet, but you do love food. Favorite thing you ate overseas. So you're like, man, this is my favorite thing. See, the food in Turkey is unbelievable, man. With the seasoning, you know, they love the barbecue.

I love it. You know. Any one dish? Any one dish? Well, I like the adana kebab. You know, it's a little bit of a spicy meat. red meat, beef, of course, and they grill it, but it's just the flavor

that it has, and it's just unbelievable. You have to try it. I can't explain that. My explanation wouldn't give it justice. You just have to try the Adonikaaba. All right. When you go into Jim's Den,

now you have your own camp, you're doing broadcasting. Yeah. When you walk in, like I had a buddy mine as a producer, he's only 28. I was like, man, I'm having Cleed Elmina on.

I'm so excited. And he's like, Like, I've heard that name wherever I heard it. How do you feel, when you walk into a gym, especially now like an AAU gym, what's it feel like for people to know who you are and all you've done? Oh, man, it's fantastic. Every time I walk into a gym, upteen people come to me, tell me they, they, to watch me, they respect me as a player, you know, can I talk to their son?

You know, a lot of people understand that I'm training now, and they give my knowledge. number they want me to get in the gym with their son or their, you know, whatever. So it's always been loved, though. It's always been like that. I guess I've been a player of the people, so to speak, Doug. You know, I'm only five, nine and three quarters, you know, most of my career, I used to be on the chubier side, you know, so I'm like the average joke of professional basketball or college basketball.

So I think the average person really, you know, they have this bond with me, you know. And so I think that's why I have the reception that I have every time I step into a gym that everybody, you know, they give me respect, they give me love, they show me love, and, you know, they want to know what I'm doing now. So, you know, I'm very thankful for that, you know, being able to be recognized for the, you know, the hard work that I put into the game. And it's just fantastic to be remembered for your hard work because that's all we want to do. We want to leave a legacy for ourselves and for someone to recognize you as a great place.

or a type of player that they looked up to. It means the world, and I'm thankful for it. Yeah, and you're a winner, right? And that's the big thing. You're a winner. Oh, yeah. Hey, Khalid, man, I love catching up with you. This is so great.

We'll catch up some here offline and talking about other stuff, but thanks so much for spending time with us on the All Ball podcast. Oh, yeah, Doug. I'm tuning in to you, man. I appreciate it, and I can't wait to hear your next big thing. Be sure to catch live editions of the Doug Gottlieb show weekdays at noon Eastern 3 p.m. Pacific. All right, my thanks to Khaled El Amin.

Thank you for downloading the All Ball podcast. Don't be afraid to retweet it. Send it to a friend. Download, subscribe, and rate it. Make sure you tune into the Doug Gottlieb show, 3 to 6 Eastern, 12 to 3 Pacific. Every Day, Fox Sports Radio, IHeart Radio. You can download every show as well.

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