The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - Which team will win it all?

Episode Date: March 24, 2023

Fox Sports College Basketball analyst Casey Jacobsen joins the show to tell Colin which team should be considered the favorite to win the tournament The Eagles are getting the band back together againSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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 podcasts. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule. of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local

station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right. It is a forer. Friday, live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be in, however you may be listening or watching. Thanks for Megan, us part of your day. J. Mack is joining us. We're going to have Casey Jacobson, Fox Sports College Basketball star at Stanford,

played in the NBA for a few years. Is Drew Timmy an NBAer? Is Noel, Marquise, Noel, is he an NBAer? I don't know. I tend to think Timmy will find a way on a bench. You compared him to Kevin McHale. Now, McCale, who played at the University of Minnesota, he was 6.11 and a half. He was also one of the longest guys I've ever seen in person.

Timmy is 6'9. He's not as long. He's a little bulkier. McHale was also just better. McHale, I think, was a great, great Hall of Fame-level player. And it was also a different game back then where you didn't, McCale didn't shoot threes. Nobody cared. Now everybody's got to shoot at three. So the culture has changed. Even Kevin McHale now coming out.

would have doubters because he's not a perimeter player. Yeah. And basically now if you're a big guy, they want you shooting three so you can get to the NBA. Drew Timmy said, forget that. I think he's made four threes this season, two in the tournament. And his footwork down on the block is impeccable. Like, you can't stop him.

Zach Edy for Purdue. Again, no perimeter game, dominant inside presence, probably deep second round guy. And it's funny, the college basketball diehards, they get all worked up and they're like, this is what's wrong with the NBA. No, the NBA is a global game. It's a three-point shooting game. There are guys that have been very, very good college players, but they don't have the length.

I remember watching John Stockton. This is, you know, 30-some years ago, I went to Eastern Washington University. He came in to our basketball arena and dropped 42 points. And I watched it. And the first thing that I remember about John Stockton, I remember this, was he was really feisty and he was long. like kind of weirdly long for a six-foot guy. And it length matters in the NBA. And the NBA has just pivoted now to a three-point shooting league. Like it or not, that doesn't mean you can't be Draymond Green, but he's the best defensive player in the league,

the best screener, the best defensive player. He's also an offensive catalyst. So you don't have to shoot a three if you're great at something. Draymond Green is one of the leading rebounders in the last decade. He's the best defensive player in the last decade, and he's a big part of their offense and ball movement and screens. But generally speaking, you've got to give me something from the perimeter. Yeah, it's interesting.

If you watch the games last night, Colin, the three best players, Drew Timmy, Noel, and Jaime Hawkes of UCLA, none of them project as great NBA players. You know who projects as the best NBA player? The kid Strother, who hit the three, because he's like six, six, eight, super long, can play like, he's not Paul George, but he's, in that mold body-wise. And it's funny because you just watch those games. You're like, gosh, Timmy's amazing.

And Strother is the guy who's probably going to go first. And also, one of the reasons that Timmy is dominating college basketball is he's a man. He's been in a wait room for four years. So a lot of these guys that don't project to pros are just really smart and savvy and clever. I mean, you're watching Noe last night. That guy is so clever. He's looking at his coach, the old talk to the coach, Allie. I mean, some of this stuff in March Madness is situating.

brilliance. A lot of high IQ It's like NBA playoffs. A lot of high IQ basketball in those warriors and Miami teams. You're starting to look at these juniors and seniors that have been around this tournament for three or four years. These catchers smart. They're winning games on situational excellence. How about this kid, Noel? 43 minutes, he did it, bang up the ankle. 19 assists, two turnovers. Two turnovers against Tom is zone in Michigan State.

It's a great performance. I didn't watch them enough in the regular season to have a strong opinion. But I just know last night, he just took the game over. Electrifying. It was just so much fun. Casey Jacobson, Fox Sports College Basketball analyst, a star at Stanford, four years in the NBA. You know, it is interesting. I think it's so redeem.

I love, I love Villanova's story. I think Villanova is the West Coast Gonzaga. Villanova would get blue-collar tough kids, and they would demand they play defense. And, I mean, like, McHale Bridges kind of guys. Every coach I've ever talked to in the NBA has, like, like, oh, draft Villanova guys. They're always smart. They play defense. Jay Wright, coaches them hard. And I think sometimes college fans resent the fact they're not going to be stars in the NBA, but you were a star in college to the pros. How does Drew Timmy to you, Casey,

project? I mean, what do you see him as? Well, first of all, Colin, thanks for having me on. You bet. Hey, Mac, too. Good to see you guys. Look, I'm not so sure if Drew Timmy is going to be a star in the NBA, Colin. I don't know that. I do know that he's a head. heck of a basketball player and one of the best back to the basket low post players that I have seen in college in the last 10 years at least, okay? But you know the evolution of the game. You talk about it all the time in your show. Big guys who play back to the basket aren't as valuable now as they were 10, 15, 20 years ago. That's just the facts. You mentioned that Drew Timmy doesn't have perimeter skills. And I would agree with you if we're defining perimeter

skills as a three-point jump shot, although he did hit one three last night, by the way, against UCLA in the first half. He does have perimeter skills when it comes to ball handling and passing, though, Colin. So, like, you talk about Draymond Green with the Warriors, and I don't really want to compare Drew Timmy to Draymond Green. They're two different players, but they do play the same position, and they do, they are successful at dribble handoff screen, rolling to the basket, catching on the run, and being able to handle the ball. So we think about perimeter skills as just three-point shooting. It's a lot more than that. I do think Drew Timmy, on the right system, European-style basketball where you're asking your bigs to handle and pass the ball,

could absolutely have a place in the NBA. I think that's really smart. I know a lot. You know, I know Drayman pretty well. And when people, you know, dog on him, I'm like, you're not watching Warrior games. He is such a catalyst. The other night against the Mavericks, he had two huge screens that got Curry layups, and that was the difference in the game.

So that's a really interesting comparison there. To your point, they're not the same player, but how about the guard from Kansas State? He is tiny. I'm not sure who would he defend, but we made the argument earlier. Could you put him at the end of a bench? He's a leader. Big game, situational. What do you make of his game?

Well, first of all, how fun was he last night? That was about as enjoyable of an experience of watching basketball. Those two games, Michigan State versus Kansas State and UCLA Gonzaga call, and those games were back-to-back. I wish they were all like that. They're not all like that. Just incredible the way he was able to, you know, shake off an injury. You saw him turn his ankle. It was kind of a bad ankle sprain in that second half.

He comes back. And not only does he come back to help his team and run the offense, he was dominant scoring the ball. He was dominant stealing the basketball. And before I get to Marquis Noelle's NBA potential, Colin, there's something that a lot of media members haven't really talked about. And that was the end of the game, defense that Marquise Noel. We talked a lot about that beautiful Alley-Paths pass to Keonté Johnson

and whether or not that was a call play or an off-the-cuff play. But go back and watch the last six seconds of that game, Tyson Walker, Michigan State pleading score, goes up for a three-point shot. And Michigan State is down three. And what does Marquise Noel do? He reaches in and steals that ball call. You know how risky of a defensive play that is? Do you know what kind of kohones you have to have to even try and make that play. He steals the ball, seals the game. This guy plays with a type of player and style that I haven't seen in a long time. Now, to his NBA prospects, look, he's little. He's tiny. Have there been players in the NBA that have gotten a chance? Yes, but they lasted very long? Not really. The one that comes to mind to me, Colin, that is

comparable with Tyler Ullis. You remember him for Kentucky? And he got a shot and he played a couple of years with the Phoenix Suns, and now he's a college basketball coach, I think, with John Caliperi and Kentucky. But he did play a couple of years. I consider Marquise Noel in that similar mold as a Tyler U.S. Yeah, if I had to reseed the whole tournament again, I think UCon may win. I mean, Arkansas's got dudes, and they just hammered them. You know, here's the funny thing. UCLA's coach, I really like this guy. He said yesterday, listen, the transfer portal is just different. And one of the things I like about college basketball that college football doesn't offer is regional balance. I mean, we got a Gonzaga. We got a Creighton, who I like tonight.

You got Yukon out east. I got a southern team. And we got a small team in Florida Atlantic. I love all this, right? You can win with transfers like Kansas State. You can win with three star guys, four star guys like Gonzaga. The UCLA coach said the other day, he said, listen, man, the dying words of a C-E-O-R, well, we used to do it this way. The transfer portal, Casey, to me, and tell me if I'm wrong, I think it's saving college basketball. And I also, because you can rebuild quickly. And by the way, players are better when they're happy. Players aren't good at a university where they're not playing. I mean, by the way, Austin Reeves for the Lakers. The kid was good. He didn't get an opportunity. Now he gets to start, and he's really good. So I like the transfer port. I also like paying guys

because if a guy is great, again, he's happier. He does it. So I'm into this stuff. What is your takeaway, though, on all the movement, all the money? Does it worry you? It did worry me a couple of years ago, Colin. But like you say all the time on your show, we're in the interesting business. Does the transfer portal make college basketball more interesting?

It absolutely does. Now, does it make it more difficult, though, for college coaches to build for the future? It does. It doesn't make it more difficult if you're a high school player right now being recruited. You kind of have to wait your turn. You don't even know if you're going to get a scholarship offer. You kind of have to go a different route. You said that it's saving college basketball. That might be a little bit too much, but I am not afraid of this. I am not afraid of change. I'm not afraid of the NIL. Let's try and figure it out. The past, Colin, was archaic. The way we ran college basketball needed a change for over a decade.

We're finally seeing it. For an analyst like me, it is really difficult. Every year I've got to study these rosters over and over. I don't even know who's playing on the team. Colin, last year, an average of five players per team transferred. That's a third of the roster. I believe it's going to be more. I believe it's going to be over six or maybe even seven guys per team are transferring.

So it is a merry-go round or a carousel. however you want to describe it. But what you're seeing in the tournament is still holding true, Colin the older teams are still here. Florida Atlantic is an old team. Kansas State, okay, they have a first-year head coach in Jerome Tang. This is an old roster full of seniors and fifth-year-s seniors. San Diego State.

San Diego State has a 23-year-old and a 24-year-old, and Adam Saco and a Guacrope. These are older dudes, and they're winning deep in the tournament because they know how to play and they'd been there before. By the way, the Big 12 has had a good three or four year run. I know Kansas got bounced, but I'm watching Kansas State last night, and I'm like, I don't know, man, that team is well coached. They're dialed in.

They can go physical. They can go finesse. They got a star guard. I'm going to just roll the dice and say Yukon wins it. If I said to you, who's winning it, you could reseat it today. I'm going to go Yukon. What say you? So I've been on the Houston Cougar train from,

the start of this season, and they've given me very little reason to get off that train, Colin, but I totally understand what you're saying. Yukon now is playing at a different level over the last month and a half. But Houston, okay, first of all, Colin, the final four is in Houston, okay? That's got to be a little bit extra motivation for them to play in front of their home crowd and home fans and all that. Houston is as old as any team. We've talked about that.

Their back court is so good with Marcus Sasser, who did not play. play in last year's NCAA tournament, by the way. So he's got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder and wants to prove himself. Jamal Shed is a senior point guard, Tramon, Mark. If you are experienced and old in the back court, Colin, I trust you. You con, they're good. But can I at least say that before this tournament started, they didn't have a single player wearing their uniform that had won an NCAA tournament game.

Now, they're playing amazingly well. But Houston, two years ago, played in Final Four. last year played in an elite eight. I think experience does matter just a little bit. You got to have the dudes. Sure. I get that. But Houston is the most experienced. They've been arguably the most consistent. And it's just a matter of whether or not Marcus Sasser, their best player and shooting guard, is healthy or not with that groin injury. All right. You talked me into Houston. All right. Duke was my first one. That was a bad pick. Okay, finally, that final shot, the winning shot by Gonzaga, we can show it again. it was the Villanova play.

And I think Villanova Gonzaga are, they're kind of very, very similar. They make, you know, one is known for defense. Gonzaga's known more for offense. As a former player, is that a good shot or a bad shot? A bad shot that went in. So it is a good shot for Julian Strothard. It always depends, Colin, on who's taking it. If you have followed Gonzaga this whole year, and I know you have a lot of other stuff going on,

so you probably haven't watched Gonzaga play every single year. Julius Strother hit a shot very similar to this against B. in Provo, Utah. Now, that shot that he hit against BYU was off of a ball screen, but it was about the same distance and length. Go on YouTube and look at it. This is a play that they draw up for him, whether it be a ball screen or on this instance, it was kind of a pitchback play, like you said, the Villanova J. Wright play, which Colin,

I don't know if you know that Mark Duk talked about it after the game. They call that play that they ran, the J. Wright play. I don't know why they call it the J. Wright play. They should be calling it the Chris Jenkins play because it was Chris Jenkins who should get the credit. He's the one that hit the shot for Villanova in that NCAA tournament final game in 2016. But just execution, a player like Strother who has deep range like that, to me, it was a good shot for him. But for 99% of the other players in college basketball, that would have been a terrible shot. Casey Jacobson, how good is he?

Stanford, NBA, follow him on shows throughout our network. good seeing you, man. You're so well prepared. So buttoned up. I appreciate it. Colin, thanks for having me. Jay Mack. You're good. Casey Jacobson, who's been at the company for a while. And during the regular season, we've said this before. College basketball can feel like a bracket and a four-week sport. But that's what the World Cup is. Like, it is, this thing is magical. It just reels you in. Listen, I mean, there's when you talk about tournaments, I mean, there's five or six or seven, like World Cup's big. Olympics is kind of a turn of it.

March badness is. The European championships and soccer are the second biggest thing in the World Cup. There's a handful of tournaments. The College World Series, by the way, we don't watch college baseball. And then the College World Series in Omaha sucks you in. Little League Worlds. I've sat and watched an hour of Little League World Series 20 straight years. A team, you know, some team from Hartford, Connecticut or, you know, Midland, Texas shows up and they're playing, you know, a Korean team.

It sucks you in. Yeah. I find this stuff fascinating. Do you want me to drop my little nugget on Gonzaga, Yukon now? Okay, so I think Yukon, the way they've dismantled teams is really impressive. Okay, so that's it right there, dismantled teams. So I looked at the three opponents that they beat. None of them are top 40 offensive teams in the country, efficiency-wise, according to Ken Palm.

Do you know where Gonzaga ranks offensively? Two. One. They're number one in the country offensively. So I looked. Have they faced, has Yukon face? any other top 10 offenses this year. They faced

Xavier twice. They lost both games. Top 10. You're saying, hold on, hold on you. You're saying Yukon did. Yeah, Yukon has struggled against top 10 offenses. They went 0 and 2 against Xavier. Top 10 offense. And they went 1 and 2 against Marquette, a top 10 offense. Gonzaga is the best offense they will have

faced this season, and they've struggled against elite offenses. I think there's some value in Gonzaga. Everybody is with you saying, Yukon's probably number one. I think everybody at the other network. Yukon. I get that. They're awesome. Well, the other network's base there. I think, that's a good point. I think the value here is on Gonzaga.

Values the key to betting. Let's see if anybody else agrees. I'm sure the people will chime in on social media. I thought UCLA, the effort, they lost their best defensive player a month ago. They didn't have a big last night. I thought their effort, I thought they were gassed. With about 10 minutes to go in the second half, I thought they were gassed. The other thing with Gonzaga, the free throw shooting concerns the hell out. And they turned, they were mass in the first half.

Nine out of 17 against UCLA, and they're 259th in the country shooting free throw. So like late in the game, hack a timmy, that could be a thing for Yukon. I hate backing bad free throw shooting teams. I'm a money free throw shooting. But I don't like. The audience really deeply care. I will say this. I didn't think Gonzaga played well at all.

I thought defensively in the first half, they weren't even alert. They were getting beat everywhere. Yeah. And then they couldn't hit free throws. They were a turnover-plagged mass. UCLA just ran out of gas, basically. Yeah. That first half, 46 points, they were unstoppable.

No, it was. I thought Gonzaga did not play well and won. Now, UCLA fan could say, we didn't score for 11 minutes, and we almost won. That's a totally, I thought it was just a, I mean, we said this yesterday in the show. This can be the best game in the tournament. They played three or four times. They recruit against, you know, they battled for some of the same players out West. Arizona, UCLA Gonzaga.

You know, they're battling for some players. and the recruiting, you know, and they're all battling for top guys. So it's a really cool rivalry. A lot of UCLA fans want to blame the coach for slowing down the offense in the second half. First half, they're up and down the court, 46 points. But he didn't really have a choice, did he?

He only, yeah, short bench, right? His guys were wearing down. And also, Gonzaga's pace. They lead the nation in scoring. Yeah, they're a machine, dude. Yeah, and also, Gonzag is deep. So they did. They had a guy come off the bench who was, I think,

Malachi Smith, second leading scorer, one of Terrell Owens' blood. So, again, if UCLA would have had their big and their best defensive player, they probably don't slow it down. I say this all the time. Whenever I hear NFL fans criticizing play calling, you have no idea what the film said all week. You have no idea who's available. There's sometimes, I mean, if you watch the 49ers when they have Use Check is healthy and he's not, you can tell they get more physical when he's available.

They run different stuff. So, you know, UCLA has a short bench. they're facing a great offense. You know, maybe he said we had a great first half. Let's pull it back. You don't want to get into a track meet with Gonzaga. Like that just doesn't work out well. So they get a lead.

They're playing well. They bring it down a little bit because he knows I got no bench here. We're going to run out of gas. And it looked like they did and still got back into it. Yeah. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you live.

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 what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two.

Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Betterhelp dot com slash heard 10% off journey of self-discovery online convenient affordable therapy better help.com

slash heard. Who was the player you were bringing up that was small in the NBA that succeeded? Well there's a bunch of them that have been like right around six feet. Fred Van Vleet 6-1 with sneakers. Okay but Marquis dez-Noel is 5-8.

That's a big gap. I mean, Kyler, Bryce Young is, you know, 5-11. If Bryce Young is 6-2, he's an A prospect. Now you say, well, you know, football is basketball, look how many of the stars are hurt. Like your body gets taken, you get beat up in all these pro leagues. I don't care what sport it is. You got guys out for the year at the World Baseball Classic. When you're competing against, I don't care if it's hockey, baseball, basketball, football.

Size matters. You generally last longer. was probably about 6-1, Isaiah Thomas. But again, that's a different era. Isaiah Thomas, an unbelievable player. Yeah, I don't know. 5-8 is kind of small to be in the NBA. The NFL's a big man's league.

The NBA's a tall man's league. I mean, that's the reality of it. J. Mack with the News. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News. All right, so let's go back to the tournament. Two plays really stole the night, Colin. And this one, Marquis Noelle to Kianti Johnson, the Florida transfer.

I just love this talking with the coach. If you see the full screen of it, the Michigan State defender is kind of frozen, has his eye on the point card. And the kid just goes back door. And of course, the Julian Strother, three to beat UCLA. It's crazy. UCLA was down 10 with two minutes left. And then next thing you know, they're up with 10 seconds left.

And that play was incredible. Colin, do you think McConan should, like, should they have? picked up full court there? They just let him walk into a 28-foot three-pointer. If you would have told me they're going to take a 28-3-pointer, Mick Crona would be my guest. If that's what you see, I mean, don't get me wrong, but Mick Cronin would have taken that shot every day of the week.

Well, Stan Van Gundy, who's coached in the NBA, was the announcer, and all he's talking about during the dead ball before this is, do you double Drew Timmy? It's going to Timmy. You know it's going to him. And UCLA almost looked like they were playing back, getting ready for the ball to go. into Timmy. Yes. So were I.

Listen, that's great coaching by Mark Few. That is tremendous, like, knowing everybody is expecting this, I'm going to go this way. And, I mean, the guy got a clean look, splash. And he said, Mark Few said, he listened to his player. The player came in and said, came to, Few, and said, let's run

that play. Yeah. And so, and Few said, you know, he was pretty profane and vocal about it. So Mark listened to his players. I'm just curious, what was Cowherd's reaction at his house last night? Were you watching with the family solo? Are you freaking out when that kind of shot goes in? Well, I went to college next to Gonzaga. So Mark's my friend, and I text Mark, but UCLA is

five minutes away, and everybody in my neighborhood, you know, likes UCLA. So, you know, people think I'm a USC guy. I root for local teams to do well. It's better for our economy. It's better for the vibe. So, I mean, it was like, you know, I have a soft spot for Mark few, but it was like UCLA, I thought, played its butt off without two of its best players. Yeah, I had Gonzaga in my brackets. I had Gonzaga losing to Duke in the final. So you're still alive? Those are my two favorite programs with Villanova, so I'm a

homer. Villanova-Gonzaga, Dukes, who I root for. I know you care. I'm first in a bracket and second, but... Yeah, everybody does. I think it's keep updating us on. And your girls, your daughter's team. That's very important. Listen, it's going to be a tough, but we don't have our best players Saturday. But, coaching matters. If Mark Fugh can call that great play, why can't

I dial up something interesting? I totally, some inbound plays, steal some points. You want to come to the game? No, not at all. Next up, Indianapolis Colts need a quarterback with the fourth pick in the draft. Obviously, they're going to get one, but the question is, who's it going to be? Anthony Richardson, Will Levis, by the way, seeing a lot of videos about him on Instagram

lately throwing darts. I don't know, Colin. The more I think about it, like Lamar Jackson makes all the sense in the world there. I don't know what Jim Ursay is waiting for. Like, what are you going to do with Levis or Richardson for? you're not going anywhere. And then you're going to be backdrafting at the top. Why not just make a play for Lamar Jackson?

I don't understand. Well, he's expensive and hurt. That's why. He was an MVP of the league. When he's healthy, the Ravens are at the top of the division. Well, what's interesting, it's the Mahomes factor and the Burrell factor and the Josh Allen factor. So when you're looking at quarterbacks, you're going to have to get through

Mahomes, Burrow, and Allen, and maybe Trevor Lawrence. So does it, does it, do you look at that and go, you know, Lamar Jackson's not as good as those guys? So why not go to the draft? He's not, at this point, I don't think, because of his injuries and his kookiness and all this noise, he's not ascending like they are. So when you're in the AFC,

it does make you go, like when Peyton Manning or Brady in your division, you have to draft pass rushers. Well, I mean, listen, Mark Sanchez beat Peyton Manning in a playoff game, okay, in indie. Like this stuff happens. I wouldn't say Lamar's that far behind those elite quarterbacks. For me, he's in the second tier. Is he second tier for you?

I think, yes. There's the top five. I've said there's only five guys in the NFL. As a general manager, I would not pick up the phone. I don't even want to talk. Mahalms, Borough, Allen, Trevor Lawrence, and Herbert. Well, I'm not going to pick the phone up. Everybody else in the league, I would pick the phone up and listen to your offer.

I then think there's four or five. other players that are very dynamic. Kyler Murray, Aaron Rogers, Lamar Jackson. I would, for various reasons, pick up the phone, but they're obviously Hall of Fame-level talent. So it's like there's the five. Don't pick up the phone. Then there's another four to five that are really, really unique.

And then you get into a group of a Derek Carr, Dack, Kirk Cousins, they can, Jared Gough. Can win games. I don't think they're special, but they're adults. They moved the chains. Golf got to a Super Bowl. You can win a division with them. But I'm absolutely listening to offers.

It's interesting because, you know, Lawrence went one in that group. Mahomes was, I think, what, 10 somewhere around there? Herbert was, was he the third quarterback taken in that draft after Burrow and Tua? Yep. So Colts at 4, probably going to get the third quarterback. I mean, Josh Allen was definitely not the first. I think Baker and Sam Darnold went before Josh Allen. So sometimes when a guy falls to you.

Well, Lamar went late. the first. Lamar was, yeah. So, Colts are going to be fascinating to watch. I don't know what's going on. How about the kid at Tennessee to Hendon Hooker? I had Daniel Jeromiah on my podcast. He sees Hendon Hooker going to Minnesota, and this will be Kirk Cousins last year. So I went to look at Kirk Cousins' contracts. I watched Hendon Hooker against Alabama. Holy moly. Now, against Georgia, don't look at the tape.

Well, Georgia's also the best team in the country. You ever write. It was the game on the road in Georgia. In Georgia. It was in the rain, but Georgia has a ton of NFL players. He couldn't read the defense. Like Hooker struggled. I like Hooker, but the idea that Kirk Cousins could become available next year. You look at his contract. Like, Vikings probably going to move off of him after this year. Yeah, Henan Hooker's big, 25 years old, really good arm.

It's an interesting, some people are like, well, he's old. Jimmy Garoppolo. Wouldn't Jimmy Garoppel old? Yeah. I mean, it's not the, nobody, you know, I mean, I go back to the NFL. Not everything's a 401K plan. You can be a day trader. If you told me Bryce Young right now is going to be really good for three and a half years at Houston,

I think I'd still take him. I got three and a half years of being relevant in the fifth biggest city in the country in a wonky division. I mean, again, not everybody's a 25-year player. Yeah, by the way, the coach and the GM. If he comes in and he hits, but that third year, you're probably renegotiate and getting an extension. Like, if you just told me three and a half, four years with Bryce Young, he's going to be a B-plus quarterback. I'd still take him.

How about this? Colts at four, trade down and grab Hendon Hooker, trade down later first round, get more picks, or take Levis or Richardson for him. I think there's some value. I don't know if there's a bunch of separation there. I think there's a separation with Bryce Young. I think Bryce Young's really polished.

I think he's, I just don't know. I would take, to me, Bryce Young first, knowing that he's undersized. That's where I would push back on Sean Pate. who says never take an undersized guy in the top 15. I think you can make that argument. But I do think the NFL is such a big business now, that GMs and coaches get fired.

Literally we're firing coaches after a year now. After a year a coach gets fired. Teams now are literally drafting a quarterback, and next year they'll draft another one in the first round. So because of the urgency of the business, I think you have to sometimes say, what's good for four years? I mean, like, we talked about it yesterday, the running back from Texas, Bijon Robinson.

You say to yourself, well, you're probably only going to get him for four. But if I'm a football team that's got a young quarterback, I'm Carolina. Whoever has a young quarterback, and he's in the process of growing, you're going to tell me for four years I give him a star running back? Don't you think Zeke helped elevate Dak and the team? I think Amari Cooper did more than Zeke, right? Remember the numbers? But they're both valuable.

Yeah. So my point is, not every guy you take, even in the first round, has to be a 401K plan. Mac Jones? Yeah. Well, they have running backs they like. But I just, I think there's sometimes, in the league, now you get fired after a year. As a GM, if you can give me Bijan Robinson, it's like, he'll be a star for four years. What's wrong with that?

All right. We'll wrap up with Nicola Yokic in the mix for his third straight MVP. Embed is closing fast, and your buddy, Janice is also doing that. But Denver coach Michael Malone spoke about this year's MVP debate. I think you'll like this. Unfortunately, it's just taking a really ugly, nasty turn in the MVP conversation. And I think it's really turned a lot of people off, including him. And what's happening now is there's so many guys that could win the MVP this year.

Great candidates. Juel M. Bede is a great candidate. Luke Adonchich is a great candidate. Jason Tatum, whoever you want to put in that, like those are all deserving. But what happens in today's society is that everybody, it's like when I was a college coach, all the negative recruiting, it's not promoting my guy, it's ripping down every other guy.

And that's just ridiculous. Yeah, no, I mean, it's, I think what Yokic is, he's such a unicorn. He's like a, he's a point center. And it's not a flag. I mean, remember the All-Star game? He did not want to be there. Like, it just, he plays, he didn't even fit the All-Star game. And so I covered Arvita Sabonis.

And people just don't understand how great Arvita Sabonis was. He didn't want to be. He wasn't a flashy guy. He was very much, you know, he comes in from another country. So they all feel like visitors. You ever notice this, that often international players are more loyal? They don't want to bounce around the league. They want to be loyal to the American team that signed him.

Janus doesn't want to leave. He wants to be loyal. He's an international player. domestic kids grow up and it's like, hey, I'm going to bounce around and make the most money. LeBron Jay, and I don't blame them at all. But I think sometimes with international guys, their games are fundamental. They're not flashy because they go to these academies. They're so good by 14.

And American culture basketball, we love John Morant because he's high-flying. Yokic wins you more games than John Morant. Every time John Morant's gone, the Grizzlies win. Go look at their record when Yokich doesn't play. So in our American culture, we're a little outdated, is that we don't appreciate. Like, Draymond Green gets so much crap. And I'm always like, do you watch Draymond Green play? You don't even understand basketball.

His screening is spacing. Like, you don't even get basketball. So our American basketball culture is still fascinated with flashy. And I feel bad sometimes for international players who do everything right, but they're not a dunk machine. So we're turned off by it. The big problem with the MVP award is it's a regular CER. an award. That's right. And then they give it out after the playoffs. Well, guess what? If the MVP

Yokic gets dusted in the second round, it looks like how could he be the MVP of the league? So it's like a no-win situation for Yokic, who by the way is no longer averaging a triple-double. He's down to 9.9 assists per game. But guess who leads the league in triple doubles? Yokic with

28 a center. I think it's okay to say the best player in the regular season has been Yokic in the NBA. He plays a lot of games. He tries his butt off. He's doing the triple doubles. That's one statement. The next one is, I don't know if he's going to deliver for Denver.

Well, think about the history of the NBA. Aesthetics matter. Of all the great players, of all the great scores of all time, name the three that we talk about the least. Kareem, Duncan. Why would that be? Carl Malone. They weren't flashy.

I mean, we talked Kobe, Michael, Magic, LeBron, Curry, M.J. Curry. We talk Shaq. We don't talk Duncan. We don't talk Malone. I mean, that's the basketball culture.

I mean, Westbrook's beloved. He's got bad hands and can't shoot as a guard. But he's flashy and spectacular. So the American basketball culture is bias against fundamentally strong, sound, do a lot of things well, guy.

That's not spectacular. It's been like the It's my whole life. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, there's an argument that he's easily the best player of all time. By the way, significantly greater, longer than Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan's wasn't unstoppable. Kareem literally created the most unstoppable shot in league history, defensive team, first team. So it's just there's a bias against, and basketball aesthetics matter.

They don't in football. Nobody cares about flashy guys in the NFL. Do you win me money on my bat? Do you win? John Moran is a Lamborghini. Karim Abdulrabar is a Honda Accord, who's going to go forever. Yokic is a Toyota Corolla, durable, going to show up every day, no problems. John Morant is a Lambo.

And he's going to be in the shop all the time. You can't drive it on certain roads, but man, it looks awesome. Do the ladies love it. And for the record, I have no problem with all my sports being different. Aesthetics and culture and style matters in pro basketball. And that's okay. And I think it punishes less flashy. players. Jay Mack with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd L.Rid News. All right, I'm late. In L.A., it's the Herd back a second. Be sure to catch live editions of the Heard weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Two NBA insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right into the

NBA great buy. All happening in only one place. This league uncut. The new NBA podcast with me, Chris Haines and me, Mark Stein. Join us as we team up to expound on everything we're covering, hearing, and chasing. Listen to this league uncut with Chris Haines and Mark Stein. 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 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 what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball. 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two.

Listen to Stuff to Bo Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. In just three weeks, real football for real fans is back to 2023, Un- SFL season opening kickoff weekend. Start the new season on April 15th and 16th on Fox, NBC, and FS1. So in the NFL, you invest in positions of scarcity. Everything else? Just keep drafting players stay cheap. So yesterday, Lane Johnson, one of the best right tackles in the NFL in a decade, re-signed an extension. There was concerns he could retire. He's coming back. He's going to play for another three years. They also had Jason Kelsey come back, and this is a really smart move, because Philadelphia had to make some choices. Their GM, Howie Roseman, I thought after they

won the last Super Bowl, they brought too many guys back. I thought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they won a Super Bowl brought too many guys in positions that don't matter back. I thought the Rams, after they won their Super Bowl, had too many expensive guys on defense. So what did the Philadelphia Eagles do? I think it's very smart. They lost a really good. good defensive linemen of the Niners. It hurts a little. They lost a good safety to Detroit. It hurts a little. And they let a couple of linebackers go. And Arizona and Chicago, bad teams, I think probably overpaid for linebackers. But the guys who protect Jalen Hertz, they brought them back. The guys that Jalen Hertz throws to, they're going to have those guys back. Running back,

they lost one. They gained one. So linebacker, safety, running backs, by and large, keep drafting them. Kansas City, young and cheap on defense, one-star defensive tackle. That's what the Rams are doing, by the way, if you've paid attention, Aaron Donald, and they're going to surround him with young, inexpensive defenders. Philadelphia is smart. To me, there's five things in football you've got to get right. offensive coach, quarterback, offensive tackle, weapons, and an edge rusher.

If you get those right, everything else, just keep drafting, keep going cheap. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, everybody bragged about they brought everybody back. They shouldn't have. They should have brought the most valuable offensive guys back and let some of those linebackers go. The Rams got too expensive on defense and what happened last year. The offensive line fell apart and they had no depth. You know, Philadelphia last time they won a Super Bowl.

Be very careful about bringing everybody back. This league now is really clear. Invest in positions of scarcity. There is on average one great quarterback per draft. On average, two really high-end edge rushers per draft. Three, maybe two great offensive tackles per draft. You can get wide receivers anywhere, but you can't get great wide receivers anywhere. You got those?

A.J. Brown, Devante Smith, make sure you got them locked up. So the Eagles, it's not, they let linebackers go, good defensive tackle go, good safety go. Those are good players, four really good players. Made sure the center's back, the tackles back, make sure the receivers stay put, running back, lose Miles Sanders, bring in Rashad Penny, totally replaceable. So it's not just bringing guys back. Who are you bringing back? Philadelphia has figured it out.

Don't bring everybody back when you go to a Super Bowl. Kansas City is a great example. They let go a honey badger. They let go of a great corner to San Francisco. They've had to move and get different safeties. They've moved D4. They've moved up. They got Chris Jones, and they're really young.

The Rams right now look like that's what they're doing. We're going to keep Aaron Donald, get very young, very cheap, very athletic on defense. We're going to move the money to the offensive side of the football. All right. Good stuff. Casey Jacobson was fantastic. Hitted out of the part today. Intelligence runs in the family, so does innovation and extraordinary.

Mercedes-Benz has eight new SUV model, seven-seaters, third row, all beautiful. Go to a local dealer, test drive them, or go to mbUSA.com. That's mbusa.com. Fridays are so good. So tonight, I don't know if we'll have a UCLA-Gonzaga tonight and a Kansas State, Michigan. I don't know. I don't know. But a lot of people think Houston may be the best team.

So if you think, if you want to get on Houston, keep your eyes open. A lot of people think that's the best team. I did take San Diego State, the Aztecs, and the points against Bama. Remember Casey Jacobson talking about 21, 22-year-old, 23-year-old guys? San Diego State, a lot of veterans. Alabama has some young kids. Could be a tough one for the tide. I think they prevail, but it might be close.

I'm taking Creighton as a favorite and Houston in the first half. I like that Creighton team. They're good. Headlines next hour. Creighton may be featured. A little tease. You're really starting to get the business. Hour three next.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mike. Mickey 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 podcasts. 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.