The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Hoos Earn NCAA Tournament Invite (First Four); Colorado State (-2.5) vs Virginia, 910 PM, truTV

Episode Date: March 19, 2024

The Jerry & Jerry Show headlines: Hoos Earn NCAA Tournament Invite (First Four) Colorado State (-2.5) vs Virginia, 910 PM, truTV Keys To Victory: What Does UVA Need To Do? How Would You Characterize ���First Four’ Invite? Can Wahoos Go Far In The NCAA Tournament? What Are You Watching This Year In Tourney? Bennett: “I Believe I Made A Mistake [v. NC State]” Scattershooting Around UVA: Football & More Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air Jerry Ratcliffe & Jerry Miller were live on The Jerry & Jerry Show! The Jerry & Jerry Show airs live Tuesday from 10:15 am – 11:15 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The Jerry & Jerry Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible and iLoveCVille.com.

Good Tuesday morning, guys. My name is Jerry Miller, and thank you kindly for joining us here on the Jerry and Jerry Show. We are live across all social media platforms, wherever you get your podcasting content. On the I Love Seville Network, a show featuring a Virginia Sports Hall of Famer, Jerry Hootie Ratcliffe. What this man has done in media, almost unprecedented. Awards galore, 50 straight ACC tournaments. And he sees, for the first time in his career, a Virginia team get into the NCAA tournament by the way of the first four. Yeah, I mean, I think they said on

the Zoom teleconference we had with the people in Dayton last night that this was the 13th year of the first four. So, yeah, something that seems newer than what it actually is, but it's definitely a new

experience for anybody involved. Very rare to say with a man of his tenure to say that a first on the virginia beat here and folks will break down this colorado state basketball game they are depending on where you shop a slight favorite to the tune of two and a half points 9 10 tip true tv will talk keys to victory with Hootie Ratcliffe. We'll ask Hootie to characterize this first four invitation and how he would grade the campaign so far. Tony Bennett showing some humility, some remorse,

admitting that he made a mistake against NC State in the semifinal of the ACC tournament. Perhaps he should have had guys at the free throw line. Perhaps he should have had guys at the free throw line. Perhaps he should have had a timeout called. Perhaps he should have fouled. All those stories and more, including a new segment on the Jerry and Jerry Show, scatter shooting around UVA, inspired by the best boss I ever had, Jerry Hootie Ratcliffe. Before I go any further, we'll give Judah Wittkower, Mr. Consistency, the MVP, some props on today's program. If you want to work the studio camera in, and then we'll go to Hootie Ratcliffe on a two.

What do you make of the game tonight, Hoots? Well, I think it's going to be a really good ball game because the Mountain West has been a pretty decent conference all season. Colorado State has played well throughout most of the year. They actually played maybe a little better out of conference against some pretty good teams than they did in sort of a rollercoaster year within their conference. Very senior-laden team.

I think their top seven guys are either juniors or seniors or redshirt seniors. High-quality basketball. I think they're coached by a guy who's been around for a long time, who knows the Bennett family? I think Tony, none of them. I think going back to his days with his dad as an assistant at Wisconsin. So it should be a tight game. It should be. I know that Colorado State, they're perhaps a little more offensive-minded than Virginia,

but they also play a little bit of a slower pace, and they focus a lot on defense. So I think in some ways they'll kind of mirror each other to a degree. What was going through your mind? What was the emotions? What was the surprise on Selection Sunday when they earned this invitation? I was shocked. I did not expect them to get in. I thought NC State took their invite.

You can make legitimate arguments for a team like St. John's, potentially over UVA in the NCAA tournament field. There was a lot of angry teams, and you saw that as they boycotted the NIT. Yeah. What went through your mind when they got the invitation? I was surprised, too. I thought when they lost to NC State they were probably done. I think the fact that NC State went on and won the championship may have helped them to a degree,

helped them slide in because that knocked another at-large out. But it also showed that, hey, one of the teams not in the top four in the ACC won the title, knocked off the top three seeds in three nights won the title. Knocked off the top three seeds in three nights, I guess. Maybe this conference is not so bad after all. I was surprised. When their name popped up, I was definitely surprised. This team gets in via the

first four. A first for the University of Virginia. The contest tonight, True TV, 9-10 tip. As I've mentioned, the Rams a two and a half point favorite. Do you take anything away because it's a first four invitation?

Some in Wahoo Nation have characterized it a backdoor into the tournament. I find that ridiculous. You're the Virginia Sports Hall of Famer, however. I think they're going to be even more passionate because I think losing the NC State game the way they did left a bad taste in their mouth. They truly, truly wanted another chance to show people that they're a better team than what they've showed in that game. And I think they arrived in Dayton with a chip on their shoulder, and I hope that they play that way because that's the good Virginia that we like to watch play

when they are fully focused and a little angry and out to prove a point. Larry Redwing, welcome to the program. Folks watching in Buckhead, welcome to the program. Western North Carolina in the house. The D.C. area in the house. Northern Virginia, Charlottesville, Crozet, Lynchburg, Orange, Green in the house. Got folks watching in Tennessee in the house, the D.C. area in the house, Northern Virginia, Charlottesville, Crozet, Lynchburg, orange, green in the house. Got folks watching in Tennessee in the house. I love how we're building this pocket of followers across much of the eastern seaboard and the mid-Atlantic. Hootie,

questions are coming in already. This is a great one for you from Jennifer, routinely watches the program in Richmond at work she said Tony Bennett admitted he made a mistake I found his comments endearing please talk about this with Hootie and please talk about the end of the NC State game that certainly should have gone UVA's way yeah I mean we we asked him about that and a couple other things that were questionable after the game the other night. And he was – he kind of defended himself. He didn't – he just felt like that they wanted to play defense and get a stop. And I think everybody – I think everybody knew that he had made a mistake. I don't know, maybe it was the heat of the moment or what,

but maybe he wasn't thinking about it. Maybe his thoughts were somewhere else, but he wouldn't admit to that after the game. Then last night on the teleconference, none of us brought that up, but he brought it up, that maybe looking back on things that he did make a mistake, and he did. Coaches aren't perfect. He'd be the first to admit that.

They make mistakes. They don't have all the answers. Potentially three mistakes here. They're not gods. They're not gods, right. They're just coaches. Right. And, you know, Jim Boeheim was at the game and

one of my colleagues after the game walked over to Boeheim and said what do you think about Virginia not fouling at the end and he said I would have fouled the guy five or six times to keep him from getting a shot off I would have even sent him to the line, but he would not have gotten off a three-point shot. And so, you know, I think it was pretty obvious that had they hacked the guy, Virginia would have won that basketball game. Potentially a few mistakes. In hindsight, it's 2020. I appreciated Coach Bennett taking the heat off his players, took the heat off of Isaac McNeely for missing the free throw, took the heat off of Ryan Dunn on a pretty bad foul at the end of the contest. Here's what he highlighted. I'm paraphrasing here. Perhaps when Isaac McNeely was taking that free throw, he should have had Virginia players under the basket. That's what

he said. Then he said when Isaac McNeely was taking the free throw, perhaps I should have called timeout before the free throw, but he did not because he did not want to ice Isaac McNeely. He said in retrospect, I'll take that timeout moving forward. And then he said that he probably should

have fouled after Isaac McNeely missed that free throw because they had fouls to give. And I probably shouldn't have let them take that three-pointer. I appreciated the humility and I appreciated the fact that he, you know, almost taking a page out of his dad, Dick Bennett's book, who was very much an iron fist authoritarian. Yes. But when Coach Bennett, and I'm talking Dick Bennett now,

realized perhaps the next day that he stepped out of line, he was quick to pull his players together and say, I was wrong here. I either lost my temper, I took it too far, I'm sorry. Yeah, and Tony talked about that during the interviews last night, and that may be the main thing that he took away from his father. He learned a tremendous amount, obviously, about coaching basketball and the psychology of it all,

but that was his main gift from his father, was that sometimes he would maybe cross the line, go a little too far in criticizing players or getting on them. But he was always the first guy to come back the next day and apologize and say, please forgive me, guys. I need you. And I think that's a lot about what coaching is all about. I was always fascinated growing up by Vince Lombardi, who was about as disciplinarian as you could possibly be and get by with it without going to jail.

And I remember talking to a lot of the old Green Bay Packers that, again, I was just fascinated by that whole regime about what it was like to play for Lombardi. And they said, you know, the guy would be the first to get on you, but he would also be the first to come back and praise you if you deserved it. So, and Bear Bryant was a lot like that too at Alabama, another one of the coaches that I looked up to when I was growing up and I wanted to be a football coach. And I think that's a gift that the really great coaches have. Questions, put them in the feed.

I'll relay them live on air. James Watson, welcome to the program. Bill McChesney, Johnny Arnalis, welcome to the program. Mr. DL, Georgia Gilmer, Aaron King, welcome to the program. Lloyd Snook, welcome to the program. Thank you for watching. Max Edelson, Carol Thorpe, Patty Rowe, welcome to the program. Tripp Stewart, Ray Cadell, welcome to the program.

Six states right now, seven states right now watching us on the Jerry and Jerry Show. Questions coming in for Hootie. This one's a very good one. Virginia has got to shoot the basketball well against Colorado State, especially considering the free throw difficulties. Please ask Rackcliffe this question. Do you think they can turn the tide with the jump shot against Colorado State? I think they can.

The Rams are not a really big team. I think they have two 6'8 guys in their top seven. Most of the other guys are like 6'4", 6'5", guards. And I think that might help Virginia a little bit in that respect in terms of spreading the floor and maybe having a little bit more inside presence to help them spread the floor with Groves and Dunn and Miner and Buchanan. They might be able to be a little more effective in the paint and open up the perimeter a little bit for Groves when he moves slides outside

and for Murray, Rhodey, and Bigman and McNeely. Murray has been, I asked Tony Bennett last week, I guess right before the ACC tournament, I said, do you think that Tane Murray could be the X-Factor in the postseason? And he agreed. He said, I think he could be if he can continue to play and contribute the way he has the last 10 days or so of the regular season. And Murray did.

He delivered. He gave them some good minutes, some good nice stretches. And he's got a jump shot that you've got to respect. And like Tony said when we were talking, he said, you know, he doesn't really have to hit that shot all the time, but he has to be the threat. And people have to respect that threat. So that means a lot too. Tane Murray, and we'll spend some time with him here.

He's done some stuff off the dribble drive to the rack that has blown my mind. Yeah, he's had a couple of nice moves. A couple of nice moves. And it's because they have to respect the jump shot so much, they're giving so much attention to his shooting ability that it opens up some driving lanes for him personally. Also, another thing we should highlight

with Tane Murray is this is a pretty big boy. He is considerably taller, and it's noticeable on television when you're watching the broadcast, than say an Isaac McNeely. So that height also gives him an opportunity to get the shot off. When Murray's on one side or when Murray's running the floor

and when Groves is set up behind the arc and McNeely is set up behind the arc, there's tremendous opportunity over there for Reese Beekman. And Reese Beekman's been taking advantage of it. Yeah, and his outside shooting has stepped up a level in the last few weeks, and I think it probably will continue to do so. He used to be reluctant to take that shot, but now he fires it without even having to think about it. And that's a good thing because he's a better shooter than he ever, I think,

was given credit for. And it shows now. And with the threat of him being able to dribble drive and straight line drive to the basket, that makes him even more dangerous. Florence Worley-Vaya, thank you for watching the program today. We very much appreciate you. Craig Thomas Johnson, thank you for watching the program today. We very much appreciate you. Craig Thomas Johnson, thank you for watching the program. How about Andrew Rohde? Coming off the bench and giving this team a spark.

Playing with almost a pep or another step of confidence. Yeah, maybe he was feeling the pressure a little bit too much starting and not delivering at times. And that can weigh on a player, particularly a new guy in a system, in a new system. Confidence is a huge part of any sport, and particularly if you're a guy who's supposed to come in and shoot the lights out of it. And you're not doing that's supposed to come in and shoot the light out of it. And you're not doing that.

It can almost destroy you. And so I think he probably relishes the aspect that he can come in off the bench and give some instant energy. And maybe not as much pressure on his back to deliver as when you're starting and failing. Well said, Hootie. Let's talk Ryan Dunn. I'd love to see Ryan Dunn emerge even more. I mean, the guy is a shot blocker. The guy is a rebounder. Oftentimes, and it may not be his best role,

but oftentimes he's having to guard opponents' top post players. Ryan Dunn, for this team to make a deep push, I would love to see a little more offensive production. Yeah, and he's taking it to the rack a little bit more of late. I think he realizes that that's something he needs to deliver upon, and he's done a pretty decent job of it. I mean, his defense is sensational. You can't compare it to anybody else's that I know of.

It's just different. And the way he can get up and block and his wingspan. Jeff Capel pointed out that he said, the first time I saw Ryan Dunn play defense, he said my jaw dropped. He said I've never seen a kid that young be able to do some of the things he can do. And we've only seen that blossom over his two years here. His offense, I think, will just continue to get better as he grows. But the fact that he's trying to attack the basket a little bit more

and being a little more aggressive, I think, has helped. And I would love to see him do that going forward and starting tonight and assuming they get by the ramp, Colorado State. When he goes down to Charlotte, assuming they get there, it's going to be important, almost a necessity for him to be more aggressive. Jeff Paul watching the program right now in Vermont.

We appreciate the retweet on Jeff Paul's Twitter account. Hootie's Twitter account going bananas right now. Viewers and listeners, let us know your thoughts. I'll throw this to you, Hootie. Here's the crazy thing about this team. The crazy thing is this team can either go if they can stroke it from downtown

and hit some jump shots and score if the jump shot is on, this team can be a world beater. This team also, if the jump shot is not off, can lose to some of the bottom teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference. And they have. Yeah, right. So it's like a tale of two teams.

And I do not know which team is going to come out against the Rams. The ESPN matchup predictor has the Hoos as a 60-point favorite. But Vegas has the Rams as a 2.5 point favorite I had Virginia in my bracket winning this game winning the first round matchup and then losing to Tennessee

in the second round I would too we saw it last year against Furman when the shooting let them down the stretch. We saw it against Ohio the year before when they struggled to make points, make baskets. When they're off, they are off. They're off. And they're a very beatable team.

But when that three-point shot is falling, they're almost unbeatable. The NC State game the other night was the first time in 15 games this season where they made at least six three-pointers and lost the game. And they should have won the game. And they should have won. There's no question about it. So it just goes to show, if the three-pointers are falling, you better watch out because this team is awfully hard to beat.

I'll throw this to you here, and this is what one of the viewers has put in the feed. Spencer's watching the program right now, southwestern Virginia. I'll paraphrase Spencer's comments, and they're to the tune of this. Groves, McNeely, those two guys almost shoot the basketball better from bonus fear than they do inside the arc. When McNeely and Groves are shooting from downtown downtown they stroke it to the tune of 50 percent right below yeah once they get in the paint or in that mid-range game not nearly as confident with the jump shot also on the free throw line what do you think is up with that i don't have an answer for that i really

don't i i mean some guys just i think they work on the three so hard that it's come so naturally to them that anything other than that is somewhat foreign to them. And McNeely, anytime he lets go of a three, I do. I really do. I don't think I never think about him missing. And I'm sure he doesn't either. Groves, when he was in Oklahoma, he was hot and cold. He started out last season really hot, almost unstoppable,

then fell into a 10-game slump at the end of the season. This year it's been kind of inconsistent, up and down. But I think you're right. I like his three-point chances a lot better than his two-pointer. And again, I don't know what causes that, really. And I'm still mystified at this entire team's lack of success at the free throw line. I've never seen anything quite like it. They go to the free throw line and almost like deer in headlights.

Yeah, and I don't understand that. We need to highlight some other successes here for this Virginia basketball team. Then we'll talk keys to victory tonight against the Rams. Tip off, True TV, 9, 10 p.m., a late one for us folks that like to go to bed a little bit early. T.J. Miner. Excuse me. I always call him the Orange County graduate, T.J. Miner, a guy who I covered while working for Hootie Rackle for the Daily Progress.

Jordan Miner and his defense against Quinton Post. Quinton Post torches Virginia. I'm thinking Boston College is going to beat the Hoos in the quarterfinals. Key adjustment, Coach Bennett says, look, we're going to close the rest of the game with Jordan Miner against a seven-footer who's clearly got professional upside. Yep. And Miner, who's undersized, shuts him down. A lot of that is just sheer determination and focus on your assignment and what you're doing. I mean, he wanted to make everything as hard on post as he possibly could, not give him anything easy.

And hats off to him. He did an incredible job. He worked his butt off to try to shut that guy down. I mean, you think about it. When he came into the game with that assignment the second time, at that point, Quentin Post was one of three players in the last ten years in the ACC tournament to have scored 60 points and 30 rebounds in three games and he had those numbers at that point with five minutes to go in regulation then five minutes in overtime and he didn't score again I guess the guy that's smaller and

I will I don't know if he's as strong or not but definitely had a size advantage Huge size advantage. Hats off to Jordan Miner for just having the guts and the fortitude and the focus to be able to take away his strengths

and not let him beat him. Yeah, absolutely. Miner helps push the Hoos to victory against Boston College. Now, he could not duplicate it against DJ Burns. What really impressed me with DJ Burns, yes, he had 19 points. Yes, he had five boards. But the guy can pass the basketball. Yeah.

When teams collapse on him, he can find open people and even do the, what's it, the hockey assist. The assist that leads to the assist that leads to the easy bucket. He's a smart player and he's an elite passer. He has good touch. He has good vision. And he has worked hard on that this past year he was pretty good at it a year ago but he's gotten much better in that area and i love watching him play i don't like him playing against virginia but the guy does it with a smile on his face he's a really happy-go-lucky kid and a good guy i i know a lot of virginia fans don't like him because he can get a little brutal. A couple of flagrant fouls in there.

There was one forearm, and he just about took one of the Virginia guys' heads off during the game. And, I mean, you can't even do that in football, let alone basketball. But he got by with a few things, and more than a few probably. But you have to appreciate his overall skills and

the fact that you know he knows how to use his body to his advantage he likes to get in there and bump and bump and bump and he will back you down into the lane I know minor he likes to catch the ball a little bit further out than most centers do. And if you're big enough, you can keep him out there. And he's not as effective, but not many people have the strength to not be back down into the lane by him. When he gets his back to the basket and backs you down into the lane, you can't stop him, really. You have to foul him or he's going to just score on you. Bill McChesney watching the program, he's the mayor of McIntyre.

He says Burns fouled Miner with impunity. Yeah, I think he mugged him a few times. Oh, man, Burns definitely utilized his physicality to secure some post-positioning advantages. James Watson says, I was very impressed with DJ Burns. A 300-pound guy playing center, old-school style,

posting up and passing like Magic Johnson. Hopefully he gets a serious shot on the next level. I was equally impressed with DJ Burns. His game's so well-suited for the college level. Not was equally impressed with DJ Burns. His game is so well suited for the college level. Not sure how well suited it is for the NBA

game. It'll be interesting to see if somebody will give him a serious chance. I think somebody probably will give him a look and see if he can fit into some kind of a scheme. He's not a guy that gets up and down the court real fast. No, and doesn't have the best leaping ability.

No. And he's 6'9", 300 pounds here. We're not talking like 7' plus, but still a fantastic college player nevertheless. What did you make of the Wolfpack's run? I mean, magical there. It was unbelievable. I mean, over the years in that tournament, we've seen NC State flirt with things like that. It seemed like if there's one program in the ACC over the years that has never let that bother

them, that they felt like that felt like no matter where they're seated that they can pull enough upsets and get to the championship game. It's NC State. No matter who their coach or players are, they've been magnificent at doing that over the years. It's mind-boggling. I can't think of another program that even comes close to being in that category. But to play, and, you know, maybe we're overestimating five games in five days.

Maybe we're, you know, it would seem like you would be exhausted. Absolutely. But, you know, Kevin keats told us that night he said he said you guys are overreacting to that he said you know some of these kids will play three games in one day uh in aau and stuff so you know maybe we are overreacting to it maybe it's not quite as draining as it appears to be, but certainly they made it look easy. They seemed to get better in the second half of most of the games that I saw when you should be, your legs should be wearing down

and affecting your jump shot and your want to. They, it was, you know, you have to salute them that what they did was remarkable. I don't know if we'll see that happen again, but that was unbelievable. This is a great question right now from Brian watching the program. He's watching outside of Baltimore on our heat map, and he says, look, I'm a Pitt Panthers fan. I'm an ACC fan.

I love the tournament. You guys got to talk about Pitt and the an ACC fan. I love the tournament. You guys got to talk about Pitt and the travesty of not making the dance. I thought Pitt deserved to be in. They've been one of the most impressive teams down the stretch of the season of anybody in the ACC, or even some teams outside the ACC. I thought they've got everything that you'd want in a basketball team. They've got scorers. They've got size, length, play good defense, well coached.

I thought they deserved to be in. I was kind of surprised they weren't. I thought they would get in before Virginia. Here's a question for you. This is a tough one for you. Should they have gotten in before the Wahoos and Wahoos? Probably. Although, you know, you have to look, again, if you're Tony Bennett, like you said, if you're looking at the entire body of work, Virginia had some pretty good wins early in the season. Florida and Texas A&M ended up playing high in the SEC tournament there at the end

and had some pretty decent wins throughout the season, finished third in the ACC. There's nothing to sneeze at. I think Pitt was better during the last 10, 12, 15 games of the season than Virginia was. But again, they view the entire body of work. And you can make a case for both those teams being. I thought they both deserved to be in. I kind of thought that Wake Forest deserved to be in, even though they did falter down the stretch, which is something that they have done,

tended to do the last two or three years, and they've got to find a solution to that problem because it's keeping them out of the tournament. I want to give you this question. The NIT saw a boatload of teams say no. And I'll rattle off the teams that turned down invitations from the NIT. There was a time where the NIT was a big-time tournament. Here's a list of teams.

You don't think so on that one. No, no, I've covered. Madison Square Garden. I've been to Madison Square Garden back when it meant something a couple times. And even though the rest of the nation would frown upon it or sneer at it maybe, to see the players celebrate that NIT championship, at least back in those days, it was a pretty big deal. At one time, the NIT was bigger than the NCAA tournament. Right, right, right. So here are the teams that turned them down.

St. John's, Pitt, Oklahoma, Memphis, Ole Miss, Indiana all turned down the NIT. Yeah, and, you know, it's interesting because the NIT changed its philosophy this season and wanted more Power Six conference teams in its tournament than in the past. And for those programs to turn them down, that's a powerful statement, I think, that maybe the NIT has seen its better days and needs to go away. I don't know. But when St. John's turns you down, I mean, Madison Square Garden is their home, for goodness sake. Yeah. And they are New York City's team, even though people claim it's Syracuse. But I don't know, maybe Rick Pitino figures he could spend his time better going into the transfer portal

and seeing who's out there right now because people are already jumping in waves. Buster Taylor's son, for example, enters the transfer portal. His son, what do you call him, a wing, a two-guard from Syracuse. We'll see where he heads. He was very much heavily recruited by UVA, but chose the orange. Scott Ehrenworth, the Esquire, is watching the program at Virginia Beach. He says, good morning, guys. I just tuned in, and I'm sorry if I missed this,

but how did Tony Bennett not have people on the foul line? He said he made a mistake. How does a big-time coach make that mistake? Please talk about that with Hootie. We covered that, but we covered it again. We covered it, but just like we said earlier, coaches aren't perfect. Coaches make mistakes. I've seen some of the greatest football and basketball coaches of all time make glaring errors in judgment during games. And I think they just get caught up in the heat of the moment. They get a thought in their head about they're going to do it a certain way.

And sometimes they ignore the obvious. And it was just a mistake. He made a mistake, and he admitted it and owned it, and I admire him for doing that, for admitting that he made a mistake, because a lot of coaches won't do that. They won't admit they made a mistake. It's almost like my marriage. I've got to admit I made a mistake five, ten times a week over here. Sorry, sweetheart. I was wrong. I'm sorry. She wants to hear the words. I'm sorry.

DJ, this is from James. DJ Burns played five straight games and dealt with Armando Baycock, Jordan Miner, 240 pounds of muscle, and a seven-footer from Duke. Think about that. That's his comment, the strong comment right there from Mr. Watson. It's fascinating. I mean, especially at 300 pounds. Yeah, I mean, the fact that he was able to maintain himself for five nights in a row at that level of play is, you've got to give the kid a lot of credit.

I mean, he was a bull. He was just a bull. Keys to victory. Comments coming in fast and furious right now. Keys to victory, Hootie, against Colorado State. What do you want to see? Well, I think, you know, the fact that it's a whirlwind experience for both these teams.

I mean, Colorado State didn't get home from Las Vegas until, I think, 1.30 or 2.30 in the morning Sunday night and then had to get on a plane and fly to Dayton yesterday. Virginia wasn't to that degree, but it was still kind of a whirlwind thing. I think part of the key is going to be the matchup between

Bigman and Colorado State's point guard. I'm trying to think of his name. Stevens. Isaiah Stevens. Right, Isaiah, I believe. A six-foot, buck-85 senior from Allen, Texas. Yeah, he is one of the premier point guards in the country. And I think that's going to be just a fun matchup for fans to watch.

And I don't know. They may negate each other. I don't know. But that's a guy that you can't let control the game. And certainly Bigman is the guy you'd want on him to prevent that from happening. But I think Virginia has to be its best Virginia. It has to be the defensive team that we've come to admire and it's got to have

no flaws against a team. This team can put up some points. They've beaten some pretty good teams this year. They beat St. Mary's and Washington. I don't know. They may have beaten Gonzaga. I can't remember. They have beaten some.

They beat Boston College. They've beaten some good teams in the non-conference. But they're a team that can hurt you if you're not playing great defense, and I think that's going to be the key for Virginia tonight is play solid defense and to hit the threes. And I think they might be able to exploit the middle a little bit too because Virginia does have a little bit of a size advantage. Not much, but a little bit.

This team's beating Creighton? Creighton. It wasn't Gonzaga. It was Creighton. Yeah, 69-48. They took it to Creighton. Creighton, a top-ten team in the country. They have this point guard, and who is exactly right?

Isaiah Stevens. His line is the real deal. He's amazing. I mean, this guy's averaging 16.5 points a game, seven dimes to contest, shooting 50% from the floor. This is the matchup to watch. Two premier point guards, Hootie. No question.

It's going to be like a heavyweight battle between those two guys just going at each other all night long. Again, they're both so good they may negate each other. I don't know, but it'll be fun to watch. Key to victory for me, I think Isaac McNeil is going to come to play. He always brings it. I'd love to see Groves produce some points. This team is a different team when Groves is contributing nine to, like, 13 points a contest,

and his downtown shooting is consistent. He did not show up against NC State. No, and you're right. Virginia needs that third scorer every game. You know you're going to get X amount out of Bigman. You're probably going to get X amount out of McNeely. But there's got to be another guy. And whether it's Murray or Rohde or Groves

or somebody in the middle. So they can get some points. 12, 14, 16 points out of Miner and Buchanan combined. They need that third scorer to be able to win a game like this. Phillip Dow watching the program, he talks about the free throws. Don't forget, free throws are a major issue the team has. Absolutely. I'm not sure there's a quick fix on the free throws.

There is no quick fix on the free throws. There is no quick fix on the free throws. They've been working on it all season long. They do all kinds of drills. They do situational drills. They work on it every day. I'm pretty much confident of that. I don't know what else a coach can do unless you go to the extreme

that if a guy misses a free throw, you take him out of the game and don't put him back in. But it's hard to do that these days because you're sacrificing something if you do. This question's come in. This is a really good – this is an interesting question. Thomas watching the program in Newport News, he said, do you think guys like Dante Harris, Elijah Gertrude, or Bond could be factors in these games?

I think he's going to tighten the bench. Yeah. Usually this time of the year, and I know he played a few more players against NC State and BC than he normally would this time of year because, again, those guys were the opponents that were playing multiple games, and he was trying to wear them down physically. But normally this time of the year, you're cutting down your rotations. So I doubt it.

I really doubt it. I don't think at this point there are going to be any factors unless somebody gets in really bad foul trouble or gets injured or something. I knock on wood, I hope that doesn't happen to anybody. But I think you're more apt to see somebody like Murray contribute and make an impact than somebody else that far down on the roster. Do you think Murray's in the starting lineup? What's your starting lineup now? Are Groves and Rohde now coming off the pine to give some instant offense

with a potential starting lineup of Beekman, McNeely, Tane Murray. Gosh, do you go Dunn and Miner? Or do you go the five spot? Do you go Dunn and Miner on that? Although he might go Dunn and Buchanan, depending on the matchups. Because Colorado State's not that big. They're not big. I think they have two 6'8 guys that play a lot.

And Buchanan gives you a little more athleticism, a little more scoring ability, where Miner, he's physical, he rebounds, he sets screens, but he's more plotting. And the fact that Murray's been so steady, I wouldn't be afraid to start him at all. I think he's brought a lot of consistency to the lineup and made a major impact on the team. I wouldn't be

hesitant to start him at all. What concerns you about Tane Murray? Is it the defensive side of the ball? A little bit, but he's not bad. Excuse me. I don't have any hesitations with him, really. I think he can hold his own against most anybody. His last three games, Tane Murray, you're looking at a potential X factor here. Georgia Tech, the close of the season, 12 points, three

dimes. Boston College, 11 points. NC State, 8 points. If this guy's giving you 8 to 12 points of production, you've got a fantastic potential X factor here. A lot of comments on the feed here. I'm seeing on Rhodey.

What's gotten into Rhodey? And they're mentioning this in a positive way this time for Andrew Rhodey. I think, again, as we mentioned earlier, I think maybe the pressure is off a little bit because he's not starting. He's not a guy that when he's out there is expected to produce a lot. And I think that pressure may have been wearing on him a little bit. And pressure can really have its effect on a player. And I think he may enjoy that role coming off the bench and and providing a little spark and bringing some energy instant energy into the game and again I

think the pressure is off his back and it's it's it's helped him maybe with a different approach to the game uh here's a great uh comment that's coming here from Charlottesville from Grayson. He says, fellas, I absolutely love the interview with Ralph Sampson. I watched it twice. Thank you for having him on the show. That was a fantastic interview. It's always fun to talk to Ralph because there's so many stories. We could sit here all week and not even come close to covering all the stories that evolved during the Ralph era.

I mean, it's just countless stories. Some of them have been buried, unfortunately, and I'd like to see them resurrected. I've thought about doing a story or two about Ralph versus the Russians. A lot of people forget that that was when he was playing, that was back during the Russian heydays of their Olympic teams, and they would come over here and mix it up with the U.S.'s best college teams. Ralph took them on twice and beat them twice, I believe. I know I covered one of those games in Richmond.

There are just so many stories and highlights from his career. I remember he was telling us about what an impact Bill Russell made on his life. I remember Bill Russell coming to town and him interviewing Ralph over at U-Haul. So many people like that came into his life over that span of time. It's just amazing. Just story after story after story.

I relay the circumstances of Ralph leaving the studio after the show and how he legitimately stopped traffic while walking to his car. A woman on the other side of Market Street gets out of her car with a bus behind her, swings her driver's side door open, sprints around the hood of her vehicle to greet Ralph Sampson in the middle of traffic.

Yeah, right in the middle of the street. And other cars blowing and honking their horns. With their windows down, screaming at Ralph. Yeah. I mean, that's, can you imagine that? Everywhere you go, it's like that everywhere. It always has been. I don't think it's ever changed.

I've just seen him mobbed so many times over the decades. He's so gracious in how he handles it. He handled it so well, it didn't even face him. It didn't even face him. He greeted the lady who jumped out of her car,

and he gave a wave to the cars driving on the other side of the street that were hooting and hollering at him. It did not face him. No, not at all, And he's been that way. I've seen him been put in some awkward circumstances like that over the years, and still he handled it very well. it's a gift I guess because I think most of us couldn't deal with that kind of tension and pressure he can't go anywhere you can't hide 7 foot 4

I don't care what you do exactly so we'll get to scatter shooting around UVA with a look on spring sports and some football football practice starts today we gotta talk transfer portal before we do who wins tonight and why with a look on spring sports and some football. Football practice starts today. Yeah. We've got to talk transfer portal.

Before we do, who wins tonight and why? Wow. I think it's going to be a heck of a game. It could be one of those thriller-dealers down to the wire games. I think Virginia will win, and I think it will be because of the two things we mentioned earlier. I think the three-pointers and I think the defense. As good as Colorado State is,

the fact that they're seeing this live and in person for the first time, it's different than just I know they said they watched virginia on film you're talking pack line the pack line and and uh and just the offensive scheme uh even though colorado state can be patient as well but um i just think facing all that um for the first time live and in person

is a lot different than watching it on film. Again, the shots have to fall. If they don't, Virginia's definitely in trouble, and they probably won't win the game. But I think the difference will be that they'll be making their three-pointers and that they'll play good defense. Again, I think the team is going in here with a chip on its shoulder. It knows it's got a second chance that they weren't even sure that they deserved.

And I think they want to prove a point that they're better than what they're being perceived to be. Lenardi, I think, ripped them nationally last night on Twitter. I saw that. He ripped Beekman as well. Yeah. How is Lenardi doing Skeleton-Talloc now? He ought to stick to what he does. Amen.

And he doesn't even do that as well as he used to. He's really fallen off his accuracy in recent years. And there's a lot of other bracketologists that are way, way, way more accurate than he's been. 100%. Jennifer Nunley Hux. I love the Ralph Sampson interview. We are so fortunate to still have him in the area and for all he does to promote the university and support the community. Thank you so much for having him on your show. We appreciate you, Jennifer, for watching the program. And Ralph loved this show, too.

He loved being here. Did he text you afterwards? Oh, yeah. He said he had a blast and he'd love to do it again. Yeah, absolutely. All right. We'll get to how about this comment? If Virginia beats Colorado State tonight, how far do you boys have them going?

That's from Carter, who's watching in North Carolina. I mentioned earlier in the show, I have a beat in Texas, but losing to Tennessee. Yeah, I could see that. I don't think Texas is as good as advertised, but there's no way they get past Tennessee. It's just too much of a mismatch. Yeah, absolutely. Transfer portal, any news you want to hit transfer portal

or you want to go to football practice today? Well, all I know is that the transfer portal is already flooded with players. I saw on Twitter last night there must have been 100 guys that jumped in the portal just yesterday alone. And it's going to be frantic for a while with coaches. I know they say it's kind of like speed dating, but it's going to be interesting to see where all the

cards fall. I don't know that Virginia will lose anybody because of the NIL because they've enhanced that. No Gertrude? A lot of folks speculate about Gertrude. I don't know. I don't know the kid well enough to know what he's thinking.

Is that the one you would think would be potentially a loss? Possibly. It might be a lure to go back to the northeast. But I would think he would have to be happy here because I think he sees the potential. If he stays here, he'll be a star. And a starter. I think he'll get plenty of playing time next year.

I think he was just caught up in the numbers this year. They wanted to redshirt him to begin with. He was playing so well that they had to take it off of him. Well, and Dache had the high ankle. Especially with the Harris injury. Yeah. They may have wished that they hadn't done that now. I don't know.

But maybe they felt like that he had the itch and wanted to get a taste of basketball. But you never know what these kids are thinking. I would selfishly like to see him stay because i think he's just going to be fun to watch for the next several years connie watching on twitter michael waddell watching on twitter uh thank you kindly guys mike waddell has the north carolina uh sports network i think it is yeah the north carolina with dave glenn the dave glenn show yeah they're doing a great job down there. He's watching us right now.

Just gave us some props. One of the best shows on the East Coast. I fell in love with Dave Glenn with the ACC Sports Journal. I love Dave Glenn. He's a great guy. And Waddell and me go way, way back. He's giving you some props right now. How about this question?

How about Dante Harris in the transfer portal? That would be his third school, ladies and gentlemen, if he did that. Yeah. Montae Harrison, the transfer portal. That would be his third school, ladies and gentlemen, if he did that. Yeah, I wouldn't be shocked at that one because his playing time diminished after he got hurt. I don't know if he ever got back to 100% or not. And does he see the writing on the wall with Gertrude and Bliss? Well, he could, and that's a factor because Bliss is going to be a factor. I know that that's going to happen for sure. He's too good to keep off the

court. And so, yeah, I wouldn't be shocked about that one, honestly. This question's come in for you. If you had to pick one who enters the portal, who would it be? Probably Harris. Yeah, me too. Third team in a couple of years, started georgetown biggie's tournament mvp coach uh williford on the jerry and jerry show an invite secured by hootie rackliff right there said perhaps the best on-ball defender the fans have seen even better than kihei clark yeah statement that took both you and i back that turned into content on jerry rackliff.com. We maybe never saw the true Dante Harris this year. Yeah, I'm not sure that we did. And, again, I don't know how much his ankle factored into that.

I'm sure it had an impact. But his offense was somewhat disappointing. And that surprised me because he played for Curtis Staples, scored over 50 points or 50 points in a game, a high school game for Curtis out in Tennessee, and could light it up. So I don't know what happened to his offense this year, but I think that probably cost him some court time. He just wasn't a very accurate shooter from outside.

Folks, we'll talk football. We promise you, first day of practice, good night. March 19th, first day of spring, first day of practice, Woody Ratcliffe's like, here we go again. Yeah, I know. I mean, I think they're having a Zoom with Tonyott as we speak i believe so i'm gonna miss that i'll have to catch it on the rebound but um yeah i think he has to be fired up he's his third spring uh the fact that he's got essentially except for the well he even has some of the first years in here the early enrollees. He's got practically his entire team here in the spring, which that hasn't happened a lot here in recent years. And so I would think he has to be delighted that he has all those guys in-house and learning and picking up his systems and learning the culture.

I don't know that it is. I think last year it was what the over-under was three and a half wins. I think Vegas, I expect that will probably be four and a half this time around. Again, it's not an easy schedule. They haven't done themselves any favors on scheduling, which continues to surprise me that they won't address that. Maybe they have for the future. What happens if he wins three games again?

That will be three years in a row of three wins. I think Carla might have a decision to make or somebody above her might have a decision to make or somebody above her might have a decision to make. But it'll be hard to justify. But, you know, what he has to do is find a way to win some of the close games. Last year they could have won five, six games or more with a few breaks or less mistakes. But one of the things in his favor is that he has a majority of his offensive production returning. Quarterback, talent back.

Including two quarterbacks. Some good receivers, some good transfer receivers. And guys that have been in the system for three years, some offensive linemen that have been around for a while, a defense that was somewhat disappointing last year and I'm sure they're working to try to improve that. So I think he has some things in his favor other than the schedule, but he's going to have to overcome some of that to be able to meet any kind of expectations, I believe. Get this, guys.

The spring game, April 20th. We're a month away from the spring game. The opener, the Richmond Spiders at Scott Stadium, 31st of August. Then you go Richmond, Wake Forest, Maryland, Coastal Carolina, Boston College, Louisville, Clemson, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame. You closed the season with Notre Dame, SMU, and Virginia Tech. Not an easy task. Notre Dame is supposed to be pretty good. SMU is incredibly excited about being in a Power Five conference

for the first time since the old Southwest Conference days of the Pony Express. The Pony Express. They got the death penalty. Yeah. The only team to ever get the death penalty for cheating. And, of course, the Hokies made a statement here last year that left a lasting impression and maybe accidentally helped Virginia in the aspect that I think a lot of Virginia movers and shakers realized that they had to get more involved in NIL to try to close the gap and prevent that kind of butt-whipping from happening again.

Spring sports, scatter shooting around spring sports, Wake Forest, UVA, wild baseball weekend. Yeah, I didn't get to pay as much attention to that as I would like to have had because of the basketball, but Brian O'Connor's got it going, man. He's got a really good baseball team, and yeah, that was a fascinating series. Wake Forest obviously has thrown a ton of its resources into its baseball program,

way more than most ACC teams has in terms of NIL. And the fact that Virginia went toe-to-toe with them speaks volumes about the kind of talent that O'Connor has collected over there. We got college football starting today with practice. We've got UVA on True TV against the Colorado State University Rams. We've got the NCAA

tournament starting Thursday. It's a busy time, my friend. The women have the new tournament, the women's basketball invitational tournament, I guess it is. I don't know much about it. Today's Sam Brunel's birthday.

Oh, happy birthday, Sam. Absolutely. And it's good to see her get to extend her career a little bit. And who knows, they might go deep in that tournament. They finished the season pretty strong for the most part. And it would be nice to see them make some noise. The show, my friend, is always easy with you. Oh, you make it easy. I just follow your lead.

Jerry Ratcliffe, the namesake of JerryRatcliffe.com. I'm on the website literally every day. JerryRatcliff.com. Jerry, Scott, the team produce content that is captivating, informative, entertaining, enlightening, you name it, jerryracliff.com. Judah Wickauer looking snazzy and sharp over there with a one-button vest, one-button sweater. He always looks like he's just stepped right out of GQ, doesn't he? Look at that, Judah Wickauer. Look at this guy, man. Always chill and consistent. Judah Wickauer. I've never seen the man

frazzled. I haven't either. I literally have never seen Judah Wickauer. You got ice water in your veins? Maybe he's who we need at the free throw line. Judah Wickauer. Yeah, exactly. The director and producer of today's program. I bet he'd be an 85% free throw shooter at least.

No question about it. At least. No question about it. You don't need anybody at the line boxing out or getting rebounds or fouling when Judah's at the stripe. Hootie Ratcliffe, our star, jerryratcliffe.com. Judah Wittkower, my name is Jerry Miller. It's the Jerry and Jerry Show, Tuesdays at 10, 15 a.m., wherever you get your social media. We love connecting with you guys.

Check out jerryratcliffe.com. And thank you kindly for joining us on the program today. So long, everybody. That was easy. Great show. Thank you.