The Kevin Sheehan Show - Brandon Aiyuk Prediction

Episode Date: March 18, 2026

Kevin opened with the distant possibility that Washington could host the 2026 NFL Season Kickoff opening game before getting to his annual NCAA Tournament Champion Formula in which he narrows the fiel...d down from 68 to the eight teams he believes can actually win the championship. Spotrac's Michael Ginnetti jumped on to talk Commanders' free agency and discuss/predict the Brandon Aiyuk situation. Jimmy Patsos joined Kevin to talk NCAA Tournament, Terps' coach Buzz Williams, Hoyas coach Ed Cooley, and a lot more including his thoughts on John Travolta and the city of Nashville.   For all your football betting needs: DCRELOAD at MyBookie for a 50% Deposit Match Our listeners get the Harry’s Plus Trial Set for only $10 at https://www.Harrys.com/[INSERT CODE]  #Harryspod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:02 You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Sheehan Show. Here's Kevin. Two guests with me on the show today. Mike Genetti from SpotTrack will join me in the next segment. I've already recorded this with Mike.
Starting point is 00:00:18 It is excellent. It's worth listening to. He shares his thoughts on Washington's free agent class so far and predicts what will happen with Brandon Ayyuk. Following Mike, Jimmy Patsos, we'll jump on on the eve of the first round of the NCAA tournament. I'm sure per usual, the conversation will veer all over the road and hit almost everything in its path. Looking forward to Jimmy today. The show's presenting sponsor is always Window Nation, 86690 Nation,
Starting point is 00:00:54 windownation.com, if you need new windows. How about opening the show with some NLWR. schedule news. The season will open up officially a night earlier than usual. The defending champion Seattle Seahawks will open their 2026 NFL season against somebody somewhere, more on the somewhere part in a moment. But that game will take place Wednesday night, September 9th. The following night, Rams 49ers, in the first.
Starting point is 00:01:30 ever game in Australia, Melbourne, Australia. So week one starts with Seattle, opening its season, and the NFL season on Wednesday night, followed by a Rams 49ers game in Australia. But listen to this. So Wednesday night, September 9th, Lumen Stadium, the stadium that the Seahawks play in, currently has scheduled a soccer game between the Seattle Sounders and And I'm not sure who the opponent is, actually. And simultaneously, the Mariners will be playing next door that evening as well. There is some belief that both the Mariners and the Seattle Sounders will reschedule their games to accommodate the Seahawks opening up at home to begin their defense of their Super Bowl title. But if they don't, Seattle could open up Wednesday, September 9th on the road.
Starting point is 00:02:38 And guess who is on their road schedule? Yes, our team, Washington, they play here next year, second consecutive year, they'll play here. So there is a possibility that Washington could host the first game of the 2020. season. Not likely. Unlike what happened with the Ravens back in 2013 after they won the Super Bowl in 2012, they were scheduled to open up their season on Thursday night football, but the Orioles had a home game at Camden Yards next to M&T Bank. And the Orioles would not move the start time of their game. And so the Ravens ended up opening that season in Denver. as the Super Bowl champions.
Starting point is 00:03:30 And if my memory serves me correctly, they got routed by Peyton Manning and the Broncos on opening night. But anyway, stay tuned on that. An outside chance that Seattle might have to open up on the road as the defending Super Bowl champions. But Seattle's relationship with the city, with those other teams,
Starting point is 00:03:52 I would probably bet on the Mariners and the Sounders. I mean, the soccer team's probably going to get the hell out of there for the Seahawks. The Seahawks, I would assume, are the primary tenant of the building. But what will the Mariners do? Would there, you know, be the traffic issues that Baltimore faced in 2013? Who knows? Congratulations to Howard. Big win for them last night in the first four.
Starting point is 00:04:20 Their first ever NCAA tournament win. A really good job by coach Kenny Blakeney. The Bison won the game 86 to 83 over UMBC. They had an 11-point lead with two minutes to go and nearly blew it. They had to survive a buzzer-beating three-point attempt that would have forced overtime. Howard last night, a smell test pick for me. So 1-0 so far on the 2026 March Madness smell test, as I mentioned yesterday. I think I've done this five years, and I'm pretty sure four of them have been winning years.
Starting point is 00:05:00 Last year was 14 and 10. The year before that was 13 and 13. But I think the two years before that were definitely winning seasons. I can't remember exactly what year one was when I started to do the smell test for March Madness. But I think I won that first year. I just can't find the information anywhere. Last night, the Wizards lost their 13th straight game. Good for them.
Starting point is 00:05:26 This one to the Pistons, 130 to 117. Bub Carrington in the game had 30 points with no free throw attempts and no turnovers. According to our guy Chase Hughes at Monumental, just the second time in franchise history, Bullets Wizards history, that a player has had 30 plus points with zero free throw attempts and zero turnovers in a game. The last time it happened, the only other time it happened, Rex Chapman for the bullets back in 1994. This from Chas, not Chase, Chaz writes, Kevin, my stomach is completely full after Adam Peters kept cooking up one free agent meal after another.
Starting point is 00:06:17 What's for dessert? I'd like to recommend another tight end, since most believe they will run a lot of two and three tight end sets. Jonu Smith is always available and usually productive. I don't trust Bates or sin it as receiving tight ends. Your thoughts. You know, that's not a bad thought, Chaz. I wonder if they are done at,
Starting point is 00:06:47 tight end. I think they're done in part because the two best tight ends in free agency remaining are David Najoku from Cleveland and Jonu Smith. And they're probably looking for a place where they can be a top tight end. Not that either one of them's been in that role consistently in recent years. Let me just also mention real quickly, there was a player on Washington's roster last summer. And he played in preseason games, and they re-signed him for this year. Lawrence Cager, remember him number 89 in preseason games? You probably don't.
Starting point is 00:07:28 But he's a big six-foot-five inch, 225-pound, I mean, route runner, you know, and a good pass-catching tight end. He was a, you know, I think an undrafted free agent that signed with the jets out of Georgia initially. I have a feeling they like him. And so in terms of, you know, a Conquo being the past catching number one tight end, Bates being the number one blocking tight end, Ben Sinit, remember the comparisons to Kyle Eusecheck from Adam Peters after he got drafted, maybe he's more of a fullback or an H-back. Cager might be a guy that ends up being a fourth tight end as a pass catching tight end.
Starting point is 00:08:18 I don't know that that's a, you know, a given, but I do think they like him. I think they like him. And I think they've had Colson Yankoff on the team, too. He's hardly, you know, a tight end in build. But could they go after another tight end? I don't think they will. I do like Jonu Smith, by the way, and I like Injoku as well. and John Hsu Smith has been available to Chaz's point,
Starting point is 00:08:47 has not missed a game in the last three seasons. If he does join a new team, he was in Pittsburgh last year, it'll be his fifth team in five years after starting his career with four fairly productive seasons in Tennessee. He had a pretty good season last year with Aaron Rogers in Pittsburgh, but his best year was with the dolphins, in 2024. 84, 88 receptions in 2024, just, you know, two seasons ago for 884 yards and eight touchdowns. He's actually caught eight touchdowns in two different seasons. He did it
Starting point is 00:09:28 with Tennessee back in 2020, but I've always liked the player. I think he's a really good past catching tight end for sure. I doubt they'll do that, Chaz. I doubt they'll do it. All right. Before I get to Mike Genetti, it is time for my annual NCAA tournament winning formula. I've been doing this, I don't know, five or six years. Basically, I have a formula that narrows the list of 68 teams down to a much smaller number. And from that much smaller number, the champion will emerge. last year, the list went from 68 down to 5 after inputting four sets of criteria, and I'll go through those in a moment. But last year's list landed on Kentucky, Gonzaga, Auburn, Duke, and Florida. Florida won the national championship. So this year, we start with 68 teams, and the first criteria is that you have to be, a top 15% in the country, scoring team, points per game.
Starting point is 00:10:43 I believe you've got to be able to score to win this tournament. That scoring is more important than actually playing great defense and being a low-scoring team. You've got to be able to score to win this tournament. And among the top 15% scoring teams, there are 32 of the 68 that resolve. in that top 55, the top 55 being the top 15% of the 365 Division 1 teams. So 15% of 365 is actually 54.75. I rounded up to 55. So you had to be in the top 55 scoring teams in America and 32 of the teams in the tournament are. And those teams are, Alabama,
Starting point is 00:11:36 Arkansas, Georgia, Texas A&M, Miami of Ohio, they play tonight, South Florida, Akron, Michigan, Florida, High Point, St. Louis, Vanderbilt, Arizona, Gonzaga, Queens, I think that's schools in Charlotte, not in New York, Louisville, Illinois, SMU, NC State, Wisconsin, Santa Clara, Duke, Texas. last night, Miami, Iowa State, Utah State, Purdue, St. John's, VCU, UCF, Kentucky, and Virginia. So first criteria, you have to be a top 15% scoring team. That means you have to be in the top 55 in points per game, and 32 of the 68 teams survive and advance to criteria number two. You have to be a Ken Pomeroi, Ken Palm, top 10 offensive efficiency team. So not just scoring, but scoring efficiently. By the way, 17 of the last 20 champions have been among the top 15% of scoring teams, and 18 of the last 21 championship teams have been a top 10 Ken Palm offensive efficiency team.
Starting point is 00:13:08 So of those 32 teams that survived the first criteria, how many of them were in the top 10? Purdue was, they were actually the number one offensive efficiency team. Illinois was they were the number two offensive efficiency. team, followed by Alabama, Duke, Arkansas, Arizona, Vanderbilt, Michigan, and Florida. So from that list of 32, we're down to nine teams. Nine of the top 10 offensive efficiency teams were also among the top 15 percent scoring teams. So now we're down to a list of nine. Purdue, Illinois, Alabama, Duke, Arkansas, Arizona, Vanderbilt, Michigan, and Florida. The next criteria is, I believe this is a sport where in March, guard play is more important than front court play.
Starting point is 00:14:10 So the criteria, number three, is that two of your top three scores have to be guards, wings, perimeter players. 16 of the last 19 champions have had two of their top three scorers be backcourt or wing players. So of the nine teams that are still alive, eight of them survived through this metric. Only one did not. Michigan did not. But Purdue did with Smith lawyer and company. Illinois did with Wogler and Stoyakovich. Bama did, even though they lost Holloway to this pot charge the other day,
Starting point is 00:14:55 all three of their top scorers were perimeter players. Duke, I included on this because Camboozer, even though he's a bigger dude, he's second on the team in three-point attempts. So you take him and Isaiah Evans, so they qualify. Arkansas with A-Cuff Jr. and Thomas and Brazil easily qualify. Arizona, the same. Vanderbilt the same, all three. of their top scorers are wing players. And then Florida, barely, but yes, even though some of their
Starting point is 00:15:26 bigger guys are included, they do shoot a large majority of the threes and are more perimeter wing players. So Michigan's the only team that essentially had front court scoring dominance. Those eight teams, Purdue, Illinois, Bama, Duke, Arkansas, Arizona, Vandy, and Florida, all survived to the last very subjective criteria point for me, which is my personal opinion on whether or not these eight teams are well-coached. I'm looking for excellent coaches, and here's the bottom line, is that Matt Painter is one of the best at Purdue. Brad Underwoods are really good coach at Illinois. Nate Oates, I have finally seen the light he can coach. Certainly he can coach offense, that's for sure. John Shire actually is a great defensive coach, but a good coach at Duke.
Starting point is 00:16:30 Calipari at Arkansas, obviously. Tommy Lloyd at Arizona for sure. Byington at Vanderbilt is a good coach. And then of course, Todd Golden at Florida is a national championship coach. So all eight of the teams that were remaining after criteria three. I think all eight of them are well-coached. So there's the list. Purdue, Illinois, Alabama, Duke, Arkansas, Arizona, Vanderbilt, and Florida are all teams, the final eight out of 68. I believe that the national champion will emerge from that list of teams. We'll see how it goes. All right, let's get to Mike Genetti.
Starting point is 00:17:20 I promise you this is worth listening to. We'll get to him right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey guys, how about a barbershop quality shave from the comfort of your own home? That's the Harry's Plus experience, and I've been experiencing it for over a year now. My old razors dulled too fast, irritated my neck. That experience was the furthest thing from the close. Close, smooth, Harris Plus shave I enjoy now. Harry's Plus has an advanced pivoting system that reaches every corner of your face.
Starting point is 00:17:53 The refined blade and the weighted metal handle provide added control and comfort. The blade spacing is optimized to glide smoothly and avoid clogging. Drugstore blades clog so fast. And maybe the best part about Harry's Plus is how affordable it is. Harry's owns their own world-class blade factory in Germany, no outsourcing, no middleman. That same facility has been perfecting blade making for over a hundred years. And because they control the entire process from steel to shelf, they keep costs low. Why pay $30 for refills when Harries gives you better blades for a fraction of that?
Starting point is 00:18:35 For a limited time, my listeners can get the Harry's Plus trial set for only $10 at Harry's. com slash Sheehan. This set includes the all-new Harry's Plus Razor, one refined five-blade cartridge, a two-ounce foaming shave gel, and a travel cover to protect your blades on the go. Just head to harries.com slash Sheehan to claim this offer. And after you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. Please support this show and tell them that I sent you. If you're going to bet the tournament, my recommendation is to do it at my book.
Starting point is 00:19:14 They're offering all of my listeners a 50% cash bonus when you go and sign up for the first time or you're returning as an existing MyBooky customer. You just have to use my promo code, DC Reload. They've got everything you need for all of the games tomorrow, tomorrow night, Friday, Friday night. And then you'll get the weekend games that'll get posted. The Saturday games will get posted late tomorrow night or early Friday morning. the Sunday games will get posted late Friday night or early Saturday morning, but there is just plenty to choose from. Plus, lots of prop bets on each game will be available. In addition to that, you can play a lot of their current contests. They've got a $100,000 bracket contest available right now. You've got to enter before tomorrow at 12 noon, but you can find all of it at my book bookie.ag or my bookie.com. And again, use my promo code. DC reload. D.C. R.E. L-O-A-D. And you'll get a 50%
Starting point is 00:20:25 cash bonus. If there's something written in the promo code section, erase it. And then type in DC reload. A 50% cash bonus, man, this time of year, take the free money, even if you're wagering somewhere else. No smell test pick for tonight. one and oh after Howard last night, but I will have plenty of smell test picks on tomorrow's show. And I will tweet them out as well at Kevin Sheen, DC. MyBooky.ag or MyBooky.com promo code DC Reload. All right. Joining me right now is Michael Genetti, SpotTracks, co-founder, editor. I love this site.
Starting point is 00:21:11 I reference the site a lot. I bet you have a lot of people, Mike, around the country, that tell you that. But it's just the best place to go to for just organized sports contract and salary cap information. And during free agency, it's a very valuable tool. You do a great job with it. And it's much appreciated by people like me. I do want to start with Washington before I get to the primary reason for calling. you, which is Brandon Ayyuk.
Starting point is 00:21:43 But what have you made of what Washington's done here in terms of the players they've signed, the contracts that they've signed them to, just your overall thoughts, you know, on Washington's free agency so far? Aggressively selective. I'll put it that way. It feels a little different than last time around where maybe a little bit more thrown baloney at the wall last year because there was a little bit of anxiety because of how while Jaden Daniels had started this career, and now things have settled down a little bit,
Starting point is 00:22:13 and some of these contracts look a little bit more poised. Obviously, you know, the big fish right now is the O-A deal, which is really just a two-for-50 on its face. So if everything else kind of settles in underneath that, there's still ample cap-space. You know, we can project about 40 million of cap-space right now for Washington heading towards that kind of second wave of free agency. So they're not putting all their ducks into the early part of the off-season. They're giving themselves some time for trades, for other teams that maybe settle some dust a little bit, and then head towards the drafts with assets around.
Starting point is 00:22:48 Explain to me how Washington has been the third biggest spender so far in Free Agency. I think in new players actually acquired their number one with 12. It's 16 total since last Monday. But we know where they went into Free Agency with, you know, top three cap space. And even though they've been a top three spender, they still are third at SpotTrack right now with available 2026 cap space.
Starting point is 00:23:21 How does that work? Do they just push everything cap-wise out into the future? Yeah, generally speaking, a new contract comes with a friendly first year cap. Which is obviously what you're seeing with the Laramie-Montal extension. That was a significant amount of savings despite the fact that he's the highest average paid offensive linemen and NFL history. So, you know, it's sort of funny how that works. It feels like the aggressiveness is there, and yet much of the damage doesn't come until year two, and certainly in year three, if it exists at that point in time. So there's a benefit to signing
Starting point is 00:23:52 contracts, which is why you're seeing some of the contending teams with little cap space, do exactly that this time of year, which is an attack on a year or two to some of their more notable players, just to get that kind of immediate benefit from the cap perspective. And do they just count on the cap continuing to go up? You know, it's $301 million this year, and I don't even know what you've got to project it at next year, but I'm going to guess it's $330 million or somewhere around there. That's a part of it too, right? No question.
Starting point is 00:24:21 Yeah, I think we're kind of keeping it lower around $323 for an early projection, but just on the face, you know, a $20 million increase every year allows you to make at least a mistake or two a year, and it allows you to push things like this down the road a little bit as well. Now, the teams that have been aggressive with that, you know, it always comes back to get them at some point in time. But simple, simple extension, simple free agent contracts like we're seeing Washington handle right now, not too much collateral damage down the road. You know, completely different subject, but I just thought of this. You know, the players get 48.8% of top line revenue in the sport.
Starting point is 00:24:57 You understand the business of the NFL. and I'm always interested with those that scream at like an additional game, an 18th regular season game, and say, well, the players are going to have to get a lot more back in return before, you know, the NFL and the NFLPA could come to an agreement on that. And I always say, well, yeah, I mean, safety-wise, they probably want, you know, increased rosters, et cetera. But with the 18th game, they are getting more.
Starting point is 00:25:27 They're getting 48.8% of a lot more if they add that 18th game. I'm wondering how you view those conversations in the context of the rev share in the business of the NFL. That's an interesting way to look at it, honestly, is to kind of come from the numbers standpoint. Certainly I agree that the relationship has gone well in that regard. I think the point of contention for most of these people screaming out loud would be anytime, time the owners try to tinker, the players have got to do everything it takes. Because the owners in this league specifically just have such a high amount of leverage. Obviously the money is, you know, they're printing cash left and right right now with these media deals that continue
Starting point is 00:26:12 to balloon even just this week with an announcement. So I just think the stanchion is we've got to make sure that at every point in time we're putting as much pressure from a player's side of it as possible. And if that means getting an extra half a percent out of what you're discussing here, I do think that's a big talking point with where things are headed in the 18th game. And the other side of it that I would bring up is most of the people close to the league believe that 18th week for every team is going to be an international game, which does complicate things, does make things a little bit more expensive, and doesn't necessarily bring in that home revenue that owners are speaking to here. So there's a little bit more of a nuance to it, I think, but I agree with you that the relationship is strong,
Starting point is 00:26:54 and they really shouldn't screw up too much of a good thing right. Yeah, trust me, I'm not suggesting the players shouldn't try to get everything back in return. But when people say an 18th game, the players get nothing out of it, that's just not accurate. They're seeing an increase in the media dollars, which they share in at a 48.8% rate. By the way, you mentioned something in that answer, and I think you were referring to this performance-based pay that came out this week because Chris Paul actually made a bunch of extra money that I don't know that anybody understood that he would be making.
Starting point is 00:27:34 He did, his agent did, but I'm talking about NFL fans in general. Was that what you were referring to? You kind of slipped that in during your answer. That and then the CBS contract with a... Oh, yes. It's going to be about $3 billion, you know, up about 20%. But performance-based paid part of it. That's a CBA negotiates, it's a collective bargaining negotiated system that allows rookie contracts to balloon a little bit in their final year or throughout the course of their rookie contracts.
Starting point is 00:27:59 So that's a perfect example of the players getting in a little bit extra. Sure. Per the last couple of CBA iterations. Explain how that works. Explain, because I honestly, I don't think I ever heard about an additional paycheck for a player based on performances that had nothing to do with incentives. Exactly. Yeah, it's really just like a rookie incentive. If you follow baseball at all, Kevin, they've done this recently with the pre-arbitration players, where pre-arbitration players that have a certain amount of war in a season are subject to now these exact same performance bonuses on an annual basis. I believe the top 100 pre-ab players get a bonus. It's exactly that. If rookie contracted players that are not eligible for extensions or not yet able to hit free agency,
Starting point is 00:28:49 kind of outkick their coverage from a productivity standpoint. They will get compensated based on this collectively bargained pool, and it's a cash-only, CBA-driven pool. There's no cap-it-you-know effect at all for the team. It's just cash in hand for the player and the agent, and it's been a nice, nice little kickback for a lot of players that, for the most part, are near minimum salaries on an average basis. Chris Paul received just over $1.2 million in 2025.
Starting point is 00:29:19 performance-based pay, which was fifth highest in the NFL for the year. By the way, on Chris Paul, he was the one out of the players that they had that were entering unrestricted free agency that I thought had a chance to cash in earlier rather than maybe wave two, wave three, because they really didn't have an obvious wave one free agent from, you know, the players that played on their team last year. What do you think? why do you think Chris Paul didn't get a bigger deal and hence came back to Washington?
Starting point is 00:29:56 It's been a weird market for some of those middle of the road offensive linemen and things like that. We saw Rashid Walker out of Green Bay who I thought we had a chance to get starter pay. He's on a one-year four million dollar contract with a ton of incentives to make it you know, 10 out of max.
Starting point is 00:30:12 So it's just sort of been the trend right now. Not that I think that the entire positional group is coming down by any means. I just think that depth pieces are remaining depth pieces and maybe we're losing a bit of a middle class right now with some of these position groups because of how high the tonsils and the slaters and the sewers and the sewers of the world have gotten. Not that they don't deserve it and not that there's not cap and cash for everybody, but we have seen this gap sort of widen in certain areas and I think maybe it's trickling into this offensive lines of just a little bit
Starting point is 00:30:43 right now. Come back to Washington in a moment. I don't want to lose this thought because the Max Crosby situation was certainly an odd situation. Real quickly on that, do you have a gut feel as to what happened? Do you think Baltimore got cold feet? Or do you think that legitimately they were concerned with the medical? You know, the softball answer is there's a little bit of both there, but there's no question that there's cold feet, right?
Starting point is 00:31:09 There's no question that they saw the greener grass, the ability to hold on draft picks and take a risk on Hendrickson in that contract, which is perfectly plausible. It's just the risk you run, right? I mean, this is all unofficial stuff for those first 40 to 72 hours that were going through this stuff. And I know it feels like free agency was done before it even started, but this was one of those cases where you've got to kind of keep your foot on the gas
Starting point is 00:31:35 pedal here because these things do happen. We just haven't seen it happen at this level with this type of player in forever. So it's going to be a learning education piece for, I think, a lot of teams as they navigate sort of some of these early wink-wink moratorium negotiations behind the scenes and try to not let those things get out to the public. Yeah, why do they do it this way? Why wasn't last Monday at 12 noon the beginning of free agency period? It's a good question. Agents do feel like they need the time to sort of collect all their ducts. This is all happening. leading up to it. It's not hit herself. We know what's happening. I think the league itself is sort of saying the quiet stuff out at this point in time. We've got league Twitter accounts posting agreements and March 9, you know, not official free agency. I think everybody's in on it at this point
Starting point is 00:32:28 in time. I would expect something to change, maybe not immediately, but in the coming years here, because it is a little silly and things like this are going to get caught up in the middle of it. You know, the compensation that Baltimore did or was willing to offer two first round picks for Max Crosby, coming off, you know, last September's deal for Michael Parsons, I said, and you're going to have a much better feel for this, but my gut feel was, man, for a couple of years, I heard from various people that cornerback was more important than pass rusher, interior pass rush was more important than edge pass rusher. and I don't think that's true. I think after quarterback, isn't it edge rusher next in terms of salaries, you know, compensation and trades? It seems like that's still the number two and it always has been. What do you say to that?
Starting point is 00:33:22 I'd say it's becoming much more debatable. That had certainly been the pecking order for quite some time here. And by the way, Micah Parsons' contract certainly, you know, puts that back into the forefront. There's no question about that. But we are seeing quite a bit of his money and quite a few of these markets jumping at a much higher percentage base. Let's put it that way than the edge rushers are. I would put the, you know, the Chris Jones contract on the interior.
Starting point is 00:33:52 Certainly five or six cornerbacks have reset the market pretty much every offseason. And it happened again this year at $31 million with Trent McDuffie out in Los Angeles. So it's coming. We're not there yet. but I would agree with you that as of right now, you know, if there is a Micah Parsons, a true A-Alpha edge rusher, that is still the number two most coveted position in football.
Starting point is 00:34:15 I guess for me it's the combination of the salaries, but also what is typically required to acquire one versus the other positions, because two first rounders is a lot more than what the Rams gave Kansas City for McDuffie, right? I'm forgetting it is. It is, but the Colts did give that to the Jets for Soft Gardner. That's true.
Starting point is 00:34:39 Yeah, we do have some crossover here happening. I don't think it's happening. It's going to be a trend. You know, and I would imagine if Miles Garrett starts to talk, you know, chirp his way out of Cleveland, that would be the rate, right? So I don't think that we have that kind of power with any other position just yet, but I do think it's getting there. It's getting close.
Starting point is 00:34:57 What do you think it would take to get Miles Garrett? I open up a bag of worms there, huh? Well, you know. Yeah, go ahead. I just think it's on the same playing field here. Not quite Parsons because obviously the age situation was much more in Green Bay's favor there. But this is a guy you rent for three years and he changes your defense for three years. He's just that kind of player despite his age.
Starting point is 00:35:18 So it's the Crosby conversation and maybe a little more because of his impeccable resume. So I just think that's where we live with those top tier players. Yeah, I often say on my shows that the thing that we fans, tend to get wrong more than anything else is trade compensation conversations before they happen? I almost never try to guess. You're not wrong there. There's nothing scientific about it.
Starting point is 00:35:47 It's just a gut feeling. What does a certain team have that another team doesn't have? How do we gain leverage? What is a team looking for specifically? You see more player for players swaps in the NFL this year than we've ever seen it. I'm all here for that. I think that's a phenomenal way for teams to do business and continue to have draft and develop pieces.
Starting point is 00:36:05 So you're right. I generally don't try to go out there and throw out hypothetical trades, but you're welcome to do so on our trade machine on Spotrack if you have so quiet. At Spot Track, SPOTR-A-C on X on Twitter. Michael Genetti joining us right now. So before I get to Ayuk, let me just ask you one more about Washington. It's two parts. Your favorite signing in terms of the combination of player and the deal
Starting point is 00:36:34 and the one that you would question the most is maybe not the best deal or the best player for the team. Okay. I'm going to give you O'Concoe, the tight end. I think there's a lot higher ceiling than what he was able to kind of be pulled out of in Tennessee. Not that he's going to be a massive, massive top A plus playmaker, but he's got a chance to be in this offense. And I think it's exactly the kind of small ball that Jaden Daniels needs right now inside of that offensive structure. So I think that's a solid deal to two-year guarantee, perfect for what you're dealing with right now. Questionable, I don't know, there haven't been too many big swings and misses right now in free agency, in my opinion. But, you know, I guess I'll go down to the wide receiver room, which has sort of just been patched together a little bit here, right, with Dimey Brown and Van Jefferson, certainly just, you know, some camp bodies at this point in time. What happens of the Debo Samuel hole and things like that?
Starting point is 00:37:31 I think there's certainly a conversation we had about bringing in a number two, maybe a number three to this roster. So maybe it's a lack of what's happened at that position as a whole versus some of the bigger signings that have happened around the league. I have a feeling you'll disagree with me on this, but hear me out. Of the players that they chased very early, Alec Pierce, Tyler Linderbaum, and then Trey Hendrickson, and did not land. The one that I actually think would have been the best one for them to land was the
Starting point is 00:38:01 one that just got completely out of control in terms of the money. And that's Linderbaum. I know that no one thought he was going to get $27 million a year, but they don't have, they've got a need at center. And ultimately, you know, if they gave him an extra, you know, million dollars a year over three years, I think it would have been worth it. Do you think I'm nuts? I think the reason he's on $27 million is because there were 30 other teams saying
Starting point is 00:38:29 that same thing. hey, you know what? This is probably the guy that changes the course of our next four years offensively just because of where he plays and how good he is. And that's why the Raiders had to go to an astronomical number, both from an average and a guarantee standpoint. So I'm never going to disagree with that. There's a rhyme and reason to everything with these numbers.
Starting point is 00:38:48 So good for the Raiders, sort of setting the plate nicely for their next generation and their next quarterback. But, man, that's a heck of a number. Why hasn't Joanne Jennings signed with anybody? fascinating what I'm hearing is that there's a world where he wants to remain in San Francisco and they're just kind of going through other business right now right and and he's sort of being caught up in the mess a little bit here but there have got to be offers there's no
Starting point is 00:39:15 question there are teams that still need that that exact versatility that he brings the size that he brings and maybe he's just a little bit you know his asking price remains a little too high now heading into the second wave here we have him about a 20 million dollar player I'm guessing teams want to be more into the 14s or 15 million with him on a realistic base value. So we'll see what happens this week. That's definitely one of the names of the top of the list of availability right now. You think Washington's shown interest? No question.
Starting point is 00:39:43 I know the IUC stuff has been linked heavily, but if we're going to get into that, I do think that's going to drag on just a little bit longer. And for the teams that are looking for this position, New England, you know, Philadelphia to some degree, Buffalo, maybe even Washington here. That's a name. John Jennings is a name. There's some other trade options out there, but I think Jennings is the pivotal player
Starting point is 00:40:03 that can actually come in and make it immediate in. What's the other trade option other than A.J. Brown? Yeah. Well, Waddle was certainly on the list. And now what happens with Denver is sort of like a converse, right? Is Cortland Sutton now available? Because that's sort of the goal
Starting point is 00:40:16 that Waddle is going to step into. He's basically on a one-year guarantee. So I think he's a new name to the list. But it could just be that Denver want to load up for one year and see what the heck they can do with all these pieces. Outside of that, we'll see. Obviously, A.J. Brown is the June conversation here.
Starting point is 00:40:33 Some of the moves with smaller players, like what's going to happen with Rashid Rice in Kansas City, Kean Coleman and Buffalo, I think, are both fringe trade candidates right now because of their inconsistencies and maybe some off-field stuff, obviously. And then, look, there's no guarantee because it's March, and business doesn't happen until August with the Dallas Cowboys. There's no guarantee that George Pickens is going to be happy throughout this entire summer. So those trade conversations have got to exist until they stop existing and a contract happens. All right.
Starting point is 00:41:03 Brandon Ayyuk, just give me your overall thoughts on maybe start it chronologically. What happened in San Francisco and what currently is going on and what do you project will happen? Yeah. Certainly conflicting reports. Did he quit? Did he not want to rehab? have what happened with the team there specifically. Obviously, it's a position where there's a point of no return.
Starting point is 00:41:29 So how do we get rid of Brandon IUK is the biggest conversation right now in football, in my opinion? Because the fact that it hasn't happened, that if there hasn't even been in the discussion of San Francisco pulling the trigger on this thing, means to me that they have gotten at least an inkling of offers with the trade market. It's a one for 27, nine guaranteed, just to say what it would be on the face. right now. You bring that contract, then, you restructure it, you rip it up, you start over because obviously everything voided and it's sort of a vanilla contract. But that's what it would take to acquire Brandon Iuke on the surface. Wait, I want to be, I want to make sure, I want to make sure I'm clear on that before we
Starting point is 00:42:08 move on. If you give up a seventh rounder, you get that, that $27 million base salary for next year. Why would he, why would he restructure that versus if you picked him off off waivers, you're starting anew. That's right. That's the big debate is we want to get to a situation where we can start at ground zero with Brandon I, you can build our own contract versus bringing in. And like I said, he has no, if you acquire his contract, you are acquiring him and the contract as a package deal, that sounds like a recipe for disaster if you're asking me.
Starting point is 00:42:46 Regardless of what the pick is that you're giving up. Right. the San Francisco side of this, Kevin, is that they lose $20 million to do anything right now from a cap perspective. They cut them, they lose $20 million. They trade them. They lose $20 million. So they are in no rush.
Starting point is 00:43:03 And then the other side of this, which is me putting some words in their mouth, but I don't think it's that far-fetched. I don't think they're in a rush to let this guy hit the open market right now. Or in a rush to let this guy pick his next team. I think there's a little bit of that happening because there is this direct connection. He has sort of been out there saying the commanders are a choice of mine for my next destination. I think they're holding suit because they can hold suit right now. And certainly from a financial standpoint, it does make sense for this stuff to happen after June 1st.
Starting point is 00:43:32 So will teams wait for this or will they wait out San Francisco to have to force a release and then they can start from scratch with Brain and a Yuc? I think that, the latter part there, is what teams are hoping for because I think just adding any more assets to this player with that resume is just $2. are risky right now. Yeah, I totally agree with you. And I would think that every NFL team, unless there is, you know,
Starting point is 00:43:56 behind the scenes information that this was truly like an equally blamable, culpable situation where IUC had reason to believe. I mean, I've said this a million times. Giving back $30 million
Starting point is 00:44:11 for not showing up at a facility twice a month to get your knee checked is bad judgment. you know, in a best case, if you're trying to evaluate him, right? It's ludicrous where it got to, and it's ludicrous that I got to a point where he didn't even feel the need to appeal those guarantees voiding. Right. It means that, I mean, that isn't an admission of, this was me, I took it to this level,
Starting point is 00:44:38 I just want to get out of here. That's the only way I can read that. Outside of the fact that he doesn't like football anymore, which I think some teams have to do some homework on. But you're right. I mean, this was a guy, it wasn't even 30. It was X amount of dollars last year. He forfeited, you know, guaranteed salary last year.
Starting point is 00:44:56 He forfeited basically a full salary this year, and there was injury guarantees in 2027. This was a contract and a half sitting in front of him that all he had to do was just kind of play ball and show up. And even if he's off injured, that money is his. So it's a truly startling scenario for a player that worked so hard to get into this contract and then as quickly as he was in it, he was trying to get out of it immediately. So what's your prediction? How does this end?
Starting point is 00:45:25 He gets released on June 2nd, which is terrible, by the way. That's a terrible, because the San Francisco 49ers can designate him a post-June first release right now. That could have happened last week, right? They can, they can free up this dead cap situation in June, put him on the open market and let him go pick a team right now. I believe that they will choose not to do that and that they will wait until June and wait. until after the draft and make all the other teams make decisions without him being in the fold, including draft picks. And then they will release him and hope that he probably latches on summer at a very, very small contract for 2026.
Starting point is 00:45:59 So I think there's a little bit of vindictiveness happening here, but I guess I understand it. If things really got that sour. So let's say that they don't get any draft compensation because it sounds like you believe that somebody would be nuts to actually acquire the player and the current contract with a conditional, you know, day three pick or whatever it would be. Let's assume he gets released June 2nd. What does the deal look like when he signs with Washington? Look, all I can tell you is what our model says about Brandon Ayuk
Starting point is 00:46:31 as the football player, he's still about a $13 to $15 million player right now, okay? Which is half of what he was earning before. Right. So I think he gets that in June, you know, when everybody else has rosters, you know, 90-man roster is full? No, I think that's inconceivable. But is it a $7.5 million contract that can double with incentives? Yeah, that's probably pretty plausible because we may also have A.J. Brown moving on June 2nd, right?
Starting point is 00:46:58 And maybe a couple other, you know, post-June 1 trades here that kind of shake things up a little bit in the league. So it won't just be the Brandon Ayuk show at that point in time is what I'm saying. And I do think that if he's healthy and if he is ready to play football, he can impact a roster immediately, at least, one season. Yeah, no doubt. And look, Washington's situation, and you and I have talked about this before, you know, this could be, and you aren't necessarily a huge subscriber to this, but you considered it a possibility. But with Terry's cap number jumping to $34 million next year, I think a lot of us believe there's a pretty good chance this is going to be Terry McClure's last year in Washington. I think it's certainly leaning that way. It just doesn't have to. The
Starting point is 00:47:41 counter doesn't say it doesn't have to. But from a football, from a roster construction standpoint, I believe finding his replacement at some point in time over the next few weeks is absolutely the right move for the Washington commanders. Yeah. And what's the option other than Brandon Ayuk in waiting until June 2nd? What are the other options? You just threw out Cortland Sutton.
Starting point is 00:48:01 Obviously, A.J. Brown's not going to get traded within the division. Juan Jennings is a possibility. What about Stefan Diggs? Yeah, I think I like Jennings a little bit more in that. role. Yeah, me too. A little bit more physicality, a little bit more of a, you know, kind of a quasi-tight-in, especially in the red zone. I think that makes a little bit more sense for the offense. But is there not a high draft pick coming at that position? You know, I know this holds the fill in defensively, it's got to be pushed forward a little bit more. But I do think there's a,
Starting point is 00:48:28 there's a world where we're talking about a very poignant weapon coming early in the draft for Washington. Is there a center option still remaining in free agency for Washington? You know, not really. There may be a scenario where trade. can happen as roster sort of shake out a little bit here, but no question. That remains one of the top, you know, a really interesting release early on in Free Agency here with Tyler Biotty. So I'm not sure how you kind of move past that one yet without having a replacement immediately in mind, but they certainly know a lot more than we do right now inside that front office. All right. Last one, I promise. What do you think the chances of Debo Samuel and or Bobby
Starting point is 00:49:07 Wagner resigning in Washington are? Oh, I guess if that was going to happen, it would have already happened. It's my immediate thought with that, but I guess it's certainly possible. It feels like Debo has a plan, and that plan is just lacking the money he's looking for right now. I would say very, very low. Okay. I do think that those things would have happened out of the gate if there was immediate interest in return. I think it's more about they're looking for the right price right now with a couple of teams ahead.
Starting point is 00:49:40 never mind. Yeah, I've talked about how I think, well, I think Debo Samuel is not coming back here, but I think there's at least a chance that Bobby Wagner could resign here, Mike, because they actually have a need still for a middle linebacker, and I know he's always loved playing for Dan Quinn. I wouldn't say that it's, you know, better than 50-50, but I think there's at least a chance of it. I mean, Bobby Wagner, if he decides to play, there's a market for him, right? No question. And it's about the same contract. It's about seven and a half with incentives. Right. It's where those guys just have to live for a couple years and they continue to do it at a high level.
Starting point is 00:50:20 Thank you for doing this. Always enjoy the conversation. Keep up the good work. Thanks, Mike. Appreciate you, Kevin. Thrive Markets a product that I've been using. I think you should use it too. Thrive is a membership-based grocery service where you can shop from wherever you are, simply just hop on their app. The membership breaks down to just $5 a month, and it gives members access to weekly sales, personalized shopping with filters, auto ship and save, free gifts, and peace of mind knowing there's no junk in any of the products they carry. Thrive Market makes it easy with thousands of healthier swaps from brands like Goodles, Mac and Cheese, simple mills, poppy, and so many more, all vetted before they hit the site.
Starting point is 00:51:06 The membership gives me access to brands flavors. I never get to see in my local store. I've discovered so many new favorites. You're paying a small monthly fee to offload the stress, research, and decision fatigue of eating healthy. And you can try it risk-free. Ready to make some healthy swaps and become a member? Join ThriveMarket with my link, ThriveMarket.com slash Sheehan for 30% off your first order, plus a free $60 gift.
Starting point is 00:51:39 Put favor to ask of some of you who listen to this podcast. Ratings and reviews are super important for us, especially on Apple and Spotify. So if you can spare a minute or two to rate the show up to five stars, that's best on Apple and Spotify, obviously for us. And you can even write a quick review on Apple. But it's really important for us to continue to get ratings and reviews from the audience that listens to this show, it just helps us out a lot on the advertising side. Additionally, following the show is big for us. So just hit the plus button or the follow button,
Starting point is 00:52:18 whichever exists on whichever podcast platform you are listening to us on. All right. Joining me right now is one of my absolute favorites, Jimmy Patsos, long time coach, now a commentator with Monumental, among his many, jobs. You know, I was thinking about this that it's now been eight years since you coached. And we're here. And we're here. And we're, no wonder, you're so happy. And we're on the eve of another NCAA tournament. Do you ever miss it? Good question. I do not really miss the way the business has gone now. I miss. I loved road trips.
Starting point is 00:53:03 I liked winning on the road. I like taking the team to Rick James or Satchel Pages, Grave, or Niagara Falls, or the Guggenheim, where they called the T-Cup Museum, or Andy Warholz, New York, and Pittsburgh. I miss those things. I miss being around the players. I miss Road wins.
Starting point is 00:53:21 We were very good at that. And we do how to celebrate on the road a little bit. Remember, we didn't shard her back, so a lot of times you stayed over, and you could go out to town and have dinner with the team or bring them someplace cool. or, you know, we beat Tennessee State. They have a lot of the two years where Oprah Winfrey win,
Starting point is 00:53:37 and Anthony Mason win, and we beat them. And Robert Covington, and we went to the palm, everybody. And I told Joe Boyland, my AD at Yale, the best AD ever, great guy, fantastic guy, RIP, he was Tom Young's assistant. Joe, it's been a long year. We played in one of these crazy bracket busters, middle of February. But with the twoies, that's the twoies from the blind side.
Starting point is 00:54:00 They're from here. They said they're in for 50% of the tab. So, Lou Ann, too, he's with me. That lead, too, he's who's the mother, exactly what you can't. And Sean, the all-time assistant leader, yes, I know in three minutes we'll have gone over the blindside, Nashville.
Starting point is 00:54:14 We won't talk about Dolly Park. You'll hear she come again. Well, please don't sing. Nashville, though, is a great city to have the night out, you know, on the town with your team. Nashville is unbelievable. We beat them. That's where Tennessee State is,
Starting point is 00:54:29 where Nolan, Memphis is going on the N. A wearing under armor, good guy, Derek Smith's son, Curtis Malone, Stepson. So it's all connected. And that's what I'm very lucky and fortunate to be in this business, because F.J. Tooey, the son, is now the AD
Starting point is 00:54:44 at Louisiana Monroe. And he called me about their job opening. Not for me, but like, do you have some candid? And I still talk to him about, we split the bill at the palm for two grand, because I said that Joe Boyland, back then when ADs were just ex-coaches and understood, we
Starting point is 00:55:00 just ended a win streak. You know, this is a great win for us to be Tennessee State. And that's my point about this whole thing. It's all connected. And I am very grateful to work for Under Armour. We have 80 schools in Digital One. We have O'Connell and St. John's and St. Francis, of Elkharmal and I have G.
Starting point is 00:55:20 And Steppenach, who's in the top 10 this year. So I help a grassroots high school. I'm going to see college guys. Grassroots in the summer, I'm going to see college guys. They do college, and then the Wizards and the Willsonsonsons and we also family. And we had to help around with some of the pros. You know, he's some different guys.
Starting point is 00:55:36 Like, Aaron Wiggins is one of our guys. Yeah. Where's our stuff, and he's on the great Maryland therapy who's been on the O.K.C. Thunder. So I'm very lucky to be connected to a lot of good parts of the game. I'm happy for Sienna and Jerry McNamara that they want. Yeah. MacMachar's a good guy.
Starting point is 00:55:51 We made the piece. They put a thing up there in the hallway about me winning the CBI, which was a two out of three tournament that Jamie Dixon and shock is smart of one. So you got to make peace with people. I've never said a bad word about Sienna. Loyola was a real joy to coach at because Joe Boylan was my AD or from lacrosse. We won the national title of lacrosse.
Starting point is 00:56:11 I coached basketball. We went to the NCAA. We played St. John. We played Pittsburgh. Ohio State. Ohio State, yeah. Pittsburgh, Sadmata. And, like, those are the things you remember.
Starting point is 00:56:21 And the good things to carry away himself, that's not even, that doesn't even count. That's just family. That's blood. That's just, that's. that's thank God I mean he saved my life my existence Maryland basketball
Starting point is 00:56:32 and Gary Williams 11 straight NCWAs but we talked the other day about playing Steve Nash and scraggly here and how was Billy Hans Falk because it was his scout I'm just kidding
Starting point is 00:56:42 but we laugh about playing him and Joe Smith beat New Mouth St. Louis on St. Patrick's Day when we took the nation's storm we were the first game we were the first game
Starting point is 00:56:55 of the day on St. Patrick's Day in the whole country and we play St. Louis and Joe Smith and up that we beat him. Like, that's what you remember, but Johnny Rhodes being successful and Dwayne being the coach
Starting point is 00:57:06 at American You and Walt Williams being one of the greatest players ever. And then we lost some people at Cal. You know, Lawrence Moat and Charlie Harrison are no longer with us. Lawrence Moe was there, and it all started because of Jack Brun. I was lucky to be with the cast and the GM of the Yankees. I talked to the other day, John Beckerts in Vermont.
Starting point is 00:57:23 But Mike Lonegan was a huge influence of my life. Mike Lennigan really showed me the way around D.C. did a great job at Vermont, GW. This all started by, did I, have you missed coaching? I mean, this is the best. And that's why, and that's why, because you don't even talk about the coaching part as much as you talk about Morgan Woot. And the relationships, yes.
Starting point is 00:57:42 And Jack Bruins and going to the sign of the whale and talking to Mike Bray. Not knowing he was the assistant to Mathis and that was going to be the coach of Notre Dame. And where it's gone, I'm so lucky to be part of the DMV. And then it is D.C. is the epicenter. Baltimore I just joke used to, but I live there. To Richmond to Harrisburg. What if D.C.? And the answer is, I do miss coaching, but I don't because I'm still in it.
Starting point is 00:58:05 And I love basketball. I love the people. I like going to the games. But you know what? I don't miss, Kevin, the losses. Yeah, well, you don't have to deal with those. You know, the tournament in 1994, which was, you know, the rebirth season of Maryland basketball coming off the probation years.
Starting point is 00:58:28 And that... Nobody gets anymore. We got like hammered and everybody else gets a letter. Yeah, for Bob Wade giving Rudy Archer basically a hat and a ride to class. But that really wasn't it. It was that he wasn't truthful with the NCAA. But we don't have to relitigate that. But I'll never forget that first day of the tournament in 1994
Starting point is 00:58:49 because T-Bones was... The line was down the block to get in to watch Maryland on that particular day to watch the tournament. And the win over UMass was just exhilarating. Because if you recall, we lost a UMass earlier in the year. To Lleu Roe. Up in the Springfield. Yeah. That's when Gary Williams was so good at scheduling.
Starting point is 00:59:17 And Buzz has done a good job. You know, well, Willard did a good job with Virginia and Georgetown. getting them back on. Now, Buzz is going to continue those series, and he's going to go to... But Gary was brilliant. He didn't like John Calipari. I'm not saying he didn't like Calipari,
Starting point is 00:59:32 but they were not tough from the same class. But he knew he may be doing things this way, and we might be doing things our way. But it was good for TV, and we can play in the Hall of Fame, and then we went to Baltimore and Joe Smith and Hamby. Epic performance, they won by two. Keith Boat, First, Dante Bright.
Starting point is 00:59:50 This is like, this is called entertainment. This is called, you got a recruit player, then you got a coach for them and make them better. And you got to go to school and all that. We got to promote that program. We had Cal Ripkin. I'll never forget it. I really, we played them,
Starting point is 01:00:03 and I want to go back to you. You asked to T-Bone. Of course, have the people T-Bones. I'm like, that's the bartender from the third edition. Yeah, of course. I'm like, yeah, that's my brother. Yeah. But I love the best part of, we played in Baltimore,
Starting point is 01:00:15 and everybody was there. Cal Ripkin, the who's who. But Yacette Coto was there, the actor. And I walked right up to him before. full of the game and I'm like, hi sir, and I'm like, he was Cominga and in a Living Let Die. And like, what an honor. Me and my brother took a picture with him, like, with a Polaroid or something.
Starting point is 01:00:33 But it was that long ago. But it was like that, that's what was great was being the show. Right. And I'll tell you, besides Duke and Carolina driving us, people should never forget, Carolina and Duke were in our, you know, they won the NCAA title my first two years in league. That's my speech to Gary. Coach, can I say one thing?
Starting point is 01:00:52 Yes. Be better players. What did he say? He said, yeah, no kidding. No effing kidding. Yeah, loudly. You go find him. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:01:03 But you know, because Johnny actually, you're doing good. But it was Joe and Keith that were the next level players. I got him and Pillyhan and Harry, but that was Gary Williams. My point about that was you look back at all that. Georgetown drove us. Georgetown was a driving factor. I love J.P.3. I work with Ronnie.
Starting point is 01:01:24 And Ronnie and I, you know, it's funny we go back and forth because I'm in Carol, and he was an old kill guy. He was not Gonzaga like his brother. Yeah, he was Aga like the police family. Yeah, right. He was, um, Flint Hill. I'm sorry, was Flint Hill. Yeah, Flin Hill.
Starting point is 01:01:36 Yeah, Ronnie was Flynn Hill. Yeah, of course, JT. Three was Gonzaga. Yeah. With Aaron Bane and George Lynch and, you know, and up Hill and see, you look back and you say, Duke and Carolina, you have to chase them and they drive you. So did Georgetown. They were selling the most product in the country.
Starting point is 01:01:55 They were the number one at Paral School until the Fab Five. Like, they were a nemesis not just on the court, but in your backyard and recruiting and perception. And there was nobody better than Gary Williams of getting up every single day and doing this and doing that and recruiting, and he was an unbelievable practice planner, and he could teach the game. But when the game, when practice ended, he didn't go home and watch TV. He was like, where we go on tonight to promote the program?
Starting point is 01:02:19 If it's golfing, if it's to a high school game, if it's to a restaurant, it's to a charity, if it's Doche City, that man was on the roll. And I'll tell you what, the Hoyas. Thank you, John Thompson, was the Cal grad. Thank you, the thank you, the Hoyas, because I don't think we would have done it without them. So go back to your 94 when we're finally in the NCAA, like, we're back. Occasionally after games, R.J. Bentley's was a stop for the coach as well. God, we loved him.
Starting point is 01:02:44 We may have had a life. Oh, John was the best. John Brown's so great. Yeah. You know, the interesting thing about Georgetown, because, having done that show at 980, which preceded Coach Thompson's show for nine years, you know, we spent a lot of time with Coach. And he always said, you know, because there were many arguments in the bullpen,
Starting point is 01:03:07 Maryland versus Georgetown, why don't Maryland and Georgetown play? And he would look at me and say, you know, in his coach Thompson way, MFer? Because we were building a national program and nobody cares about Maryland, Georgetown. I mean, the Thompson's hated Maryland and hated the ACC, which I loved about that they felt that way because the feeling was reciprocated. You know, Maryland fans couldn't stand Georgetown couldn't stand the Big East, but you're a hundred percent spot on. You know, during those Iverson years, especially coming off the Alonzo years and the Patrick years,
Starting point is 01:03:45 they were a national brand. And they were, you know, well, beyond the DMV because in the DMV, Maryland was still from a number standpoint the most popular team. We had a bigger student body. We had more alum, et cetera. But Georgetown, he built a national brand. It was amazing. A little school in D.C. It's a little school that's the whole, the whole school trade. It's too bad that he did such a remarkable job because had he not, they would probably have a 6,000-seat arena on campus, which they should desperately need now. And I say that fully.
Starting point is 01:04:23 Auburn has 9,000. But Zagabot built a 6,500-seat arena, and they could pack it every night and so can. But that's what fits. And if they weren't so good and so national, and John Thompson didn't do such an amazing job, they probably would have knocked McDonough, and they would have docked Gates down and sit here.
Starting point is 01:04:41 We're going to build a 5,500 seat, to do the body center. I like the stint toss, if you've ever been to say it, you're going to hold like eight. but it's the hub and they had the land and they could have done it you'd never get that through today not with the Georgetown Society and it's too built up
Starting point is 01:04:55 and now they're in trouble because they're playing a building that's too big and they're not connected to campus and you know Ed Cooley's trying as hard as he's a good guy and GW to be as the best building in the area 5,000 on campus Caputo against George Mason back they go the
Starting point is 01:05:11 NIT good job Caputo's first goal has been attacked conquered to get to the NIT Right. Because that's BW's expectations as an IT and an occasional MCWA. Yeah. And, well, okay. Unfortunately, we could do the DMB thing along.
Starting point is 01:05:28 I wanted to give you credit for educating me. It's interesting. John's perspective changed to national. I never really thought of it that way. Well, you know, after the lefty John Thompson incident at the D.C. Armory, in the late fall, early winter of December 1979. That was it. They played in the Sweet 16 at the Spectrum later on that year.
Starting point is 01:05:52 Georgetown won with Sleepy Floyd and Baby Dern, etc. And that Thompson and Georgetown stopped playing Maryland. And it didn't, you know... Well, I'm glad they're playing now, and I think they need... Yeah, I agree. And then it finally resumed with that game that you were a part of, obviously, at the Capitol Center. and it was, you know, John, I remember coach would say all the time, we didn't even fill up that building. And I said, it was 11.30 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving and Maryland was coming off probation.
Starting point is 01:06:22 And yet, it may not have been 19,035, but it was 17.5. And he said, but it wasn't sold out. And I said, yeah, but play that game, you know, a couple of months later with Maryland ranked in the top 10 or top 15 headed to the tournament. and you would have needed a mask and a gun to get a ticket to that game. But anyway, we could go around and around with all the schools and all of your coaching ties like you do all the time. And I love the way you give all the DMV schools a lot of credit and know all their stories, including current. He's unbelievable.
Starting point is 01:06:58 Yeah, unbelievable job. Yep. But you know what I'm going to ask you about before we talk about the tournament, because I did call you to talk about the tournament. but Buzz Williams year one and what do they need to do year two to make sure that this never happens again? Yeah, year one's over. They missed on the portal. Look, Indiana missed on the portal, crate missed on the portal.
Starting point is 01:07:20 Some guys hit, Virginia hit. Ryan Autumn should get national coach of the year, you know. He hit on the portal and he got rid of guys and then started over from fresh. I don't want to hear like everybody has a chance in the portal. Now, Buzz got to start two weeks late. Look, he's done better in here too. and three at Virginia Tech in Texas, saying I wish him well.
Starting point is 01:07:40 I don't spend much time with them at all, and I'm not on, I'm going to practice, I'm not around the program, like I've been in the past, but he certainly, I'll tell you one thing, two things.
Starting point is 01:07:50 His young men play hard for him, and they never quit, and that's the sign of a good family coach. They have a tightness in that group. They competed hard every time I watched them, and they didn't quit on it. And so that's,
Starting point is 01:08:03 because I've seen that around the country with some teams did, including teams that didn't going to go to the N-19, which I don't agree with at all. But, so Buzz, he's got his ways, you know, he's going to do his 5 a.m. thing, you know, he's some different stuff. They've
Starting point is 01:08:17 shoot the more. He's a different guy. That's okay. We just want to win. I think he's got a really good chance. I thought Mills was one of the most approved guys in the country. I go all over the country, watch a team, from Lehi to Boston U to Maryland, Michigan, to Michigan Duke. I watch a lot of them. You know, B.C.,
Starting point is 01:08:35 thousand. But I go up. I go to Quinnipia, I mean, I went to Yale, play Quintopiac. Yale got tough loss to not call it tournament. I talked to Fram McCaffrey because I saw him play with the judge, RIP, Bob Maddie. We go to all kinds of games, but let's face it, the big ones are more fun. And Maryland has a lot of expectations for this area. There are primary entertains in the winter. The Wizards are turning it around.
Starting point is 01:09:00 We'll get into that another show. They've been a go-to for 30 years for people, and this is not a fun. year. It wasn't a happy year. I don't think people felt connected to the program for some reason. Maybe the way where they left. You know what stinks, Kevin? What? It's a year ago, and I'm a big queen guy. Everybody knows I'm from
Starting point is 01:09:18 Baltimore now, even though I have my place in D.C. I'm a Carroll High School Catholic. You let's not screw this up. But I became really close with Derek Queen because he played on our circuit in Brooklyn. State Crancers for two years. That guy went left and hit a bank shot. We won't on a buzzer shot and said, I'm from
Starting point is 01:09:34 Baltimore, and let's go Maryland. And a week later, all hell broke loose. The weather was right or wrong. I liked Willard. He did a really good job. Two tournaments and three years. But it ended badly. And it wasn't you handled great.
Starting point is 01:09:46 But I still consider Kevin Willard a good friend, and I like what he did for Maryland. All I know, like everybody else, I wear it on my sleeve. You know, I'm not going to start crying or stuff. We're not babies. He has basketball. People go through a lot of stuff. But it stinks that it's gone this bad, this fast. And I mean, from the moment he hit the shot, not.
Starting point is 01:10:06 How we hung in there against Florida. That was like a blur. Like, it's just bad that everything's been bad for a year. So hopefully that's over. You know, they say things happen. I had a loss. We've all had losses, okay? They say after a year, you can really move on.
Starting point is 01:10:21 Well, let's hope Maryland basketball has moved on. I hope Buzz and staff understand the importance of this program for the last 35 years, 40 years, 50 years. It didn't start last year, okay? Started 50 years ago. More than 50. Gene Shoe. Let's not go back to Gene Shoe.
Starting point is 01:10:40 Lefty made Maryland basketball. Lefty made a brand. No, I know that. They did win a Gene Shue did win an NBA title for the record. Gary Williams and Joe Arrington run on that team.
Starting point is 01:10:50 So is Jay McBillan, whose brother Tom came. Well, Gene Shoe lost as the 76ers coach to the Blazers, right? All right. Who was the winning? Who want to win the Wizards?
Starting point is 01:11:02 When the Wizards won and it was Dick Mata? Yeah, it was Dick Mata. Dick Mata was the coach. Yeah. Right. I think, gee, you might have been on the staff. But anyways, so you have a lot of history. You're right.
Starting point is 01:11:12 The left through the deli area is just incredible. I mean, everyone has given them credit for revolutionizing coaches. But it's also McMillan, Oxford, Elmore, law school at Harvard, I believe, which going to be a player. John Lucas won in tennis. I don't care about good a player he was. I won the national championship in tennis, to Mo Howard, Greg Manning, Calvert King, Buck Williams.
Starting point is 01:11:33 And that needs to be woken up in the president. In the present Maryland program, that needs to be addressed how important all that is, how this is a program that's for everybody, and how this is like what we do for four months. And it's not Indiana where it's every day. And there's football, the NFL, and this plays in the Kennedy Center. I get all that. But for 12 to 15 times a year, Maryland basketball is the most important thing of the game day. And I mean that, you know, sincerely, I know people got to play money games.
Starting point is 01:12:05 those days are just special days and I know a lot of people feel the same way Yeah, I mean And we hope Bunch to bring us back Bunk has done it before I hope them and staff to do it again I like Adams I love Mills
Starting point is 01:12:19 Mills most group player You get paid back You're in business Gotta hit the portal The Big Ten's probably not going anywhere Everybody has money Nebraska's good There's different teams that are good
Starting point is 01:12:28 UCLA USC spent a ton of money You didn't win So what do you ask What are you asking? I'm Maryland basketball It was a bad year but I think the future's right. Everybody relax and have faith.
Starting point is 01:12:39 But I think both sides, we have to relax, and maybe the Maryland basketball coaching staff as a unit right now and a team maybe have to address some things they've got to do better. And I've got in there every day, and I don't know when I don't coach anymore. But from an underarmor standpoint, we're very lucky to have them.
Starting point is 01:12:54 We have Seaton Hall. We have Northwestern. We have Wisconsin, who I think you go really far, St. Mary's. They're just another team in the Under Armour brand that happens to be our flagship school because of Kevin.
Starting point is 01:13:05 that we really want to see too well. But we love all our teens. And from a media perspective, I do Tows in GW. So I have to worry about them because they're on monumental. But from a heart standpoint, and then I'll finish,
Starting point is 01:13:17 this is like something that matters so gravely and so deeply to everybody. And we want to see recruits locally or nationally. That doesn't matter. We don't care who's like your staff. Nobody cares if you win and then you try to feel connected to the fan base. And what left you to do is Eldon?
Starting point is 01:13:32 And I will ask you this. You're going to talk now. what made lefties so special? What was lefties thing that just created this monster of a program in terms of like energy and feeling part of it and like we're coming and we're cool and we're new? What was it, Kevin, that he did? Well, number one is he won and he won a lot.
Starting point is 01:13:51 In an era where, you know, just the ACC tournament champion went to the NCAA tournament. But Marilyn, you know, during the 70s was a perennial top 10 kind of program in terms of the rankings. Number two is, and you know this, he was larger than life as a personality. He was a rainmaker. I mean, Maryland basketball was nothing when he arrived in 1969, and I'm not old enough to remember those first few years, but I remember the 74 ACC tournament final when they lost NC State, Tom Burleson, David Thompson, Monty Tal, Mo Rivers. By the way, Tim Stoddard, who also won a World Series with the Orioles.
Starting point is 01:14:30 Yeah. And he, there was just something. about him where nobody could pitch it better than him, nobody could sell it better than him. There was an entertainment factor that was beyond, the number one adjective used for Lefty Dresel during his career at Maryland was the colorful Maryland basketball coach. He was always referred to as colorful. But the bottom line is... We like colorful.
Starting point is 01:14:56 We like color. Yeah. But he won. And then in the springtime, through the summer, I'm... I think you know this. Maryland recruited the number one player in the country. Let me count them. Tom McMillan was actually the number one player in the country.
Starting point is 01:15:12 Bill Walton was not. Walton was two. Interesting. Wow, what a fact. Moses Malone, obviously, committed to Maryland as the number one player, maybe the most highly recruited player at that time in the history of college basketball, committed to lefty. Lefty's the one that told him to take the money and go to the Utah stars.
Starting point is 01:15:31 Then... How about that? Then, a few years later, Albert King, number one player in the country. Got Albert King. And then this is the one that people forget. Reggie Jackson at Roman Catholic in Philadelphia was the number one player in his class. Wow, what is statistic.
Starting point is 01:15:48 Lefty got four number ones overall during the 70s. And he was thought of as the best recruiter. This was the rap lefty. Best recruiter in college basketball overrated as a coach. I always felt like actually he was underrated as a coach and maybe a little bit overrated as a recruiter, especially when you got into the 80s. But Lefty made, you know, I've talked to Gary about this, about this before, but my, you know, formative years are Lefty in Maryland.
Starting point is 01:16:24 But as I've told Gary many times, give me one season or one big game. I'm taking Gary over Lefty to coach it with Jimmy P on the sideline. Yeah. and teaching Gary's ability to teach and make guys better every day. Every day. I wasn't, practice wasn't my thing. I liked it, but I didn't love it like he did,
Starting point is 01:16:42 but I liked games, and I liked promoting and recruiting and being out. Gary Williams' ability to teach but his ability to act to know and draw up and play himself or come. And he just knew what to practice that was going to work in the game. But I'd remember Boston and I didn't really know much about Maryland until the lit bias thing.
Starting point is 01:16:59 You know, obviously. Yeah. But lefte is the reason that people like me. It's part of our D&S. And so that's why this time a year, when we're not in it and we're not even close, there's a major void. And because of that, and this is the segue into talking about the tournament, I haven't watched as much college basketball this year as I typically do because Maryland. Because Maryland is my job. But I see, I didn't go to any Maryland games. I'm glad I went to Michigan and Illinois because I want to do those teams.
Starting point is 01:17:28 And he played really good against doing it. Buzz did a good job at big games. He just couldn't get over the hump. weren't supposed to. I was at the Rutgers game. I just think it was a bigger transition than everybody thought. But if you miss in the portal, it's only a one-year deal. It's not like you recruited bad kids and you have to wait four years for an extra recruiting class and all that.
Starting point is 01:17:47 No, you got to go out and get the guys. Oh, he's. But there's got to be a little more somewhere along the line to connectivity. I know. There's gone just a little bit of straight. Yeah. And I think Ed Cooley's done everything you can. And it's not working at Georgetown.
Starting point is 01:18:03 I went to some of the games bad crowds. Yeah, Seed Hall was pretty good crowd. Villeneuve was pretty good crowd. Both Villanover and Seedal beat them. But he's tried banging the drum and doing the left-eat-eufing. Maybe it's a different era when people don't want to go to money games. They just want to go to the big games. Maybe there's traffic.
Starting point is 01:18:20 Maybe his dude's not as engaged. Maybe they're watching on their phone. Maybe they're best to do it. I don't know. But it's hard in cities. It's hard in cities. But Georgetown has had the same problem. Maryland has them getting that really big, big, big,
Starting point is 01:18:33 proud here, you know, in big buildings, you know, especially for games that aren't the most attractive or at the perfect time. But I'm looking forward to the future. I think the tournament awaits us, and I just think Bill's, the guy that has to stay, he just turned into an NBA prospect in front of our eyes. I give them the coaching staff a lot of credit, and I'm excited to see where Mills develops it, the left-handed. Wait, hold on. You think Mills has developed into an NBA prospect that quickly? Oh, absolutely. Tell me why.
Starting point is 01:19:07 I don't know. He was better than the guy. They're going to take in the lottery pick for Illinois, but I have to deal with the NBA guys all the time. He's prognosticators. He's way better than that kid from Illinois. Wogler, you're saying. Yeah, Wogler didn't even show up that day.
Starting point is 01:19:22 The guy number zero was a better player. You're right. It was like a baby Joker. And then they made some threes. I mean, Mills said dirty. The guy was all over the place. Athletic, going to the air. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:19:31 He's great player. Dennis Hobson, like to Gary at Ohio State, who was the lottery pick. I'm not saying, and he's left-handed, hard-to-guard, makes float his hit and reeves,
Starting point is 01:19:40 rebounds, he way out played that. Now, that's why you can't watch one game. Yeah. I'm also not, he's also 20. He went to prep school, the red shirt of the year.
Starting point is 01:19:48 Right. You know, wagging he's young. Not every 19-year-old hits it. You want to talk about Zion and John Moran, how great that's going. But you had 30 guys tell you how great they both were. I know.
Starting point is 01:19:59 Okay, Barrett, better than both of them. R. R. It's R. R. for his high character, high commitment to the game, happy he's in Toronto, doesn't pout, and Toronto, watch out for them in the NBA playoffs, because they're going to win their home with Jurassic Park.
Starting point is 01:20:11 RJ Barrett is a much better pro than Zion Williamson and John Moran. And he couldn't get anyone to listen to that five years ago. But they didn't see RJ Barrett in Egypt, meet his team to the Canadian title. One of my kids played for him in Sienna. They didn't see RJ Barrett as a great person that showed up every day for the Knicks. He played for Tom Tibado, which is no black in the park. They didn't see that. Well, I see Andre Mills is a really good player who could do lots of things.
Starting point is 01:20:36 There'll be lots of players. There'll be lots of other names mentioned. But you know what? Last time I checked, 20% of the league was not drafted. Champany's a good player. He wasn't drafted. His brother starts with his first. He wasn't.
Starting point is 01:20:48 Those guys missed too. But Mills, that guy's a really good player. All right. He's not 6-1. He's 6'5. I know. And he's got the longer arms, and he is relentless, high-motor. My God.
Starting point is 01:21:01 All right, let's talk tournament, and we'll do it right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Did you know that fast-growing trees is America's largest and most trusted online nursery with thousands of trees and plants and over 2 million happy customers? They have all the plants your yard and home needs, including fruit trees, privacy trees, flowering trees, shrubs, and house plants, all grown with care and guaranteed to arrive healthy. It's like your local nursery, but anywhere you live, but with more plants than you'll find anywhere else. Whatever you're looking for, fast-growing trees helps you find options that actually work for your climate, space, and lifestyle. Fast-growing trees makes it easy to get your dream yard. Just click, order, grow, and get healthy thriving plants delivered to your door. They're alive and thrive guarantee promises that your plants arrive happy and healthy.
Starting point is 01:21:56 No green thumb required. Just quality plants you can count. on. Plus, get ongoing support from trained plant experts who can help plan your landscape, choose the right plants, and learn how to care for them every step of the way. The perennials this time of year, like the Goldstrom Black-Eyed Sousins that we had sent, are just absolutely spectacular. They arrived in great shape. Fast-growing trees has over 1,600-plus varieties of trees and plants, so much to choose from more than you'll find anywhere else, including rare and unique varieties, plants for every growing zone and every climate.
Starting point is 01:22:35 And right now they've got great deals on spring planting essentials, up to half off on select plants. Listeners to this show get 20% off their first purchase when using the code Sheehan at checkout. That's an additional 20% off, better plants and better growing at fastgrowingtrees.com using the code Sheen at checkout. Fastgrowing trees.com code Sheehan. Now's the perfect time to plant. Let's grow together. Use Sheean, S-H-E-E-H-A-N to save today.
Starting point is 01:23:09 Offer is valid for a limited time. Terms and conditions may apply. Window Nation is offering 50% off all window and window styles through the end of this month. So if you've been thinking about new windows, call Window Nation soon. 86690 Nation. You can also go to windownation.com.
Starting point is 01:23:33 You can also finance the purchase, no money down, and as little as $199 a month if you choose to go that route. You're working with a great company. You're working with a phenomenal customer service company, 45,000 five-star reviews on social media and rated number one by Forbes magazine among all U.S. window installation companies. Wind donation offers a lifetime warranty, so there's literally no risk. The actual in-home estimate is free. It'll take an hour or less. The actual installation of the windows, they promise, will take a day or less.
Starting point is 01:24:14 50% off everything right now, 86690 Nation, windonation.com. All right, we continue with Jimmy P. So let's talk tournament. And I want to know if there is somebody, because typically you're rooting for a lot of different people, but is there somebody more than anybody else in this tournament coach-wise that you're rooting for to see either get to his first final four or win his first national championship?
Starting point is 01:24:44 Give me that guy if you have one. Well, I mean, Greg Garda, Wisconsin is an underarmor guy that has done an amaze job, but I know him, but he's just a Division III grinder. He's adapted to the NIL. I like these guys that have like Izzo and Greg Gard and two guys, I'll just say that and his is not under all I know him.
Starting point is 01:25:05 When a lot of guys retired, Jay Wright, Tony Bennett, Jim Laronager, guys didn't want to do this anymore. I'm not saying they're wrong. I totally see where they're coming from. Greg Gard and Tom Inzo just said this is what we're going to do and this is the new rules.
Starting point is 01:25:18 And then Greg Gardner took a two-n-level his offensively is really fast. Yeah. Big Point's really good. Nick Boyd didn't have a Division II offer. And we had Division II offer Dusty Matesudson with Florida Atlantic. Went to San Diego State.
Starting point is 01:25:29 I know his high school coach. Those are the stories I like. I went to Wisconsin. Big Boys, first team all in Big Ten. That guard changed his offense. I'd say Greg Gard. The guy kind of locally I really like is. I like that Phil Martelli and Ryan Odom have the same thing in common.
Starting point is 01:25:45 Neither one took the Bage and went to work for their dads. They went the other route. You know, Ryan was in Monor Ryan, and he went to South Florida, and Virginia Tech with Steph Greenberg, who's a friend of mine. that ain't no walk in the park. I like Seth, but I'm not driving across country with him,
Starting point is 01:26:00 okay? When you're pulling in time, we're not having beer and, you know, teabones and places, something like, when I see in the world's
Starting point is 01:26:10 largest frying pan, like John Travolta in that movie, Michael, you and I will talk about Tramolta. Primary colors. Yeah,
Starting point is 01:26:18 Governor Jack Stanton. Henry, Henry, we're going to the way. But you know what? It's all about How great is Travolta, just overall? I mean, how about Tarantino just saying, wait a minute, he's kind of been, you know,
Starting point is 01:26:36 he's been out of it here for five, six, seven years. And Vincent Vega, unbelievable character. Cheeseburger Royale. That's a quarter pound with cheese. Oh, my God, it's unbelievable. All your privileges are revoked. All right. So let's say by text, Greg Gardd, because of what he's about.
Starting point is 01:26:58 He's a good coach. I think he's underrated as a coach. I talked about him the other day with somebody, I think maybe on radio, and I just said, what do people in the business think of Greg Gard? And the reason I asked that question, Jimmy, for years, I always thought Matt Painter was criminally underrated as a coach. I would agree, but then he made the final four, and he's been, you know, obviously they were the preseason number one team this year.
Starting point is 01:27:21 He has never coached. I know. I was a whole market. And I think guard... The guy I was back about for a while is Martelli, because him and Wary and Odum... At VCU, for those that don't know. They went their own way. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:27:34 Martelli went to VCU. He was the prime worker for Jared Grasso. The things went down there. He stepped in and did good. Now he went 16 and won in his last games. VCU and Ed McLaughlin deserve a ton of credit. They picked the right coaches. That's not easy.
Starting point is 01:27:47 You don't hit every time, but Ed McLaughlin does. VCU is just one and had good coaches all on the way. and I think Martelli and VCU is like, they're like, I love their Carolina, they're limped in. Yep. And they still get to play. See, that sound like Gary. And they still get to go to Greenville. They're actually should have been in Portland and everybody knows.
Starting point is 01:28:07 That does sound like Gary. There's six seed. They get to play in Greenville. Which is ridiculous, but B.C. you could beat them. B.C.U. could win that thing. Illinois, as much as I like them. Graham McCaffrey's done a good job. But Greg Gards, the guy I'd like to see Go to make the final.
Starting point is 01:28:22 Okay. mission. Yeah. That's a good one. Yeah, Wisconsin. Wisconsin was a nothing program for 20 years. Like you were talking about how Great Maryland was, they were. And then Bo Ryan, of course, followed, you know, Dick Bennett got it going.
Starting point is 01:28:36 And then Bo Ryan took them to the two final fours with Kaminsky. Yeah. Everyone thought we were here. And then it slipped. And then Greg Garts' little round of 32s weren't good enough. See, I remember those days when, like, we lost in the first round, two of Charleston team that should have been a five-seat. There was no 12 seats.
Starting point is 01:28:52 Yeah. And Steve Nash, that we just, you know, was better than everybody thought, clearly. Well, sometimes the fans don't understand, but they're understanding now in Wisconsin how good a job he's done. But I'd like to see him solidify it, Kevin, with one more like big run. Everybody else seems to be, you know, Mick Crone and I love, and we should go back, but he went to the final floor. He's difficult to stomach if you're just a fan. with his, he's, he's not, he's not, he's actually funny if you view it that way, but he's too caustic with media.
Starting point is 01:29:32 Hey, he just is. He is, and he's in L.A., and he's nervous because you see L.A.'s, you know, trying to keep it on it. Hey, they'll try to get you there. They got Steve Alford, Jim Harrod, Bartow, Larry Brown. Mm-hmm. Okay, they're like, they're like a school I used to work out that I won't name, where they just couldn't wait to fire the next guy. Right.
Starting point is 01:29:50 That's what they do. You either win and leave where they fire you. you know what? It's a great guy. His dad was a scout for, I think, the Braves, even though I lived in Cincinnati. He's a grinder for Huggins and Petino. But the guy that's easy answer of all this is Mark Few,
Starting point is 01:30:06 because everybody likes him. He wins, and he's gotten to awe everywhere he can get. He just needs that national title. And this is this is the game if he's good. They play defense more. So I would say, Calvin Samson and Mark Few are the guys that haven't wanted everyone to see when it. Right.
Starting point is 01:30:21 I want to make a run because he deserves to be recognized what he's done. Phil Martelli's just kind of done his own thing, and he's really got them playing well. And they're like one of those 11 teams. You know, you've got to pick a double-digit seed. You can make a run. So that's kind of where I'm at. Kelvin Samson, I think, for everybody in this sport, I mean, look, they were super close last year. He's just been so good for so long.
Starting point is 01:30:45 They were favored over, we did not want to play them in 2002. Not where we didn't want to play. Oklahoma. We had lost to them. Yeah, I know. I'm upset them with Jared. They beat them. Well, Gary says it was a terribly scheduled game. He would have never scheduled it that way, but it was the return trip.
Starting point is 01:31:05 It was in Norman, and it was just a bad spot on the schedule. I told Gary, because we talked about this game not that long ago, and I can remember, I'll never forget that game, because it was my early days of discovering that when the line looks wrong, it usually isn't. And in that game, we were the number two team in the country in Oklahoma was favored at home. And we got destroyed. Destroyed. That was one of those funny stories we always talked about.
Starting point is 01:31:36 I wasn't in the office that day. I'm like, who let them schedule that? Gary, I worked. Troy was very good at the logistics. But I did a lot of the – people forget – Gary Williams lost his secretary. My first year as a volunteer, Corey Gavill was there, Art Perry, me, Billy, and Cleo. And there was no other desk.
Starting point is 01:31:56 He goes, and I said, my family was in the real estate. I can answer the phone. So you walked into Maryland basketball, and I had the front desk. But back then there was no cell phones. I'm like, hello, Maryland basketball? It's Dick Vitell. Hello, Maryland basketball. It's Mark Butler looking for tickets.
Starting point is 01:32:09 Who owns always? He gives $10 million the RIP, rest of peace, Ray Man. But his family is given $50 million to University of Maryland. I answered the phone. I'm taking credit for that. Okay, over Christmas and had him go to a U.N.B.C. Maryland game and go to Bellings and beat John Brown in the rest of history. Right. Pitches on the wall.
Starting point is 01:32:25 Penn State gave four tickets and it rained and nobody visits them. That's a true story. Because Gary had enough faith in me to say, you're pretty quick on your feet. Your family had a real estate company. You bartender all you go, you take that death. Because back then, you couldn't hire a secretary in three weeks. It took like months to get the paperwork done. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:32:45 Well. So we didn't hire one. So my first two years, I'm answering the actual phone, 18 months. In scheduling and TV and CBS, ESPN, Dick, and all these guys, Burke Magnus, and you learned him, and Sean McManus was calling back then. And so, yeah, he was yelling, he was not playing Kentucky. By day two, he's like, get him back on the phone, we'll play in New York City. We'll go play Kentucky home and home.
Starting point is 01:33:12 We'll play Oklahoma. We played Bill South in Illinois home and home. Right. We played UMass with John Calipari, home at home. Now, we had to play in the area at the Baltimore Arena. We played Billy Tubbs when they were ranked up there. Gary put a 1-3-1. But that's what you learned.
Starting point is 01:33:27 And that was the part of the business. People don't understand how good Gary was at teaching you the business. And don't say no, but don't say yes, but maybe we'll take a day. And what are we going to do in Oklahoma? Those guys play hard. But then, okay, TV wants it. Maybe it will toughen us up. But really what he really wanted to do, Kevin, was sell tickets.
Starting point is 01:33:45 We had those little four-packs like Kentucky, UMBC, two in, you know, Coppin, Loyola, whatever. And he would, because he wanted to fill the corners, because Al McGuire had taught him when you fill the quarters, you know you've done your job. Our speakers, Alamaguire came in, Dave Gavin came in. Well, I was at Loyola. And nine years of Loyola, my five speakers for the banquets that we used to do,
Starting point is 01:34:07 the preseasoned bankers, I'll put this against anybody. Nine years in Loyola, we have five speakers. Digger Phelps. Francis Schella Jay Bellis John Feinstein and then Bill Raftery those are my five banquet speakers
Starting point is 01:34:23 That's pretty good Jake hands I'll put them against anybody That's why we want a lot of little They haven't want to get left But it ain't an easy job And you better hustle And you better pay those guys
Starting point is 01:34:34 And you better pick them up in cars And you better bring up to games And you better shake hands And you know what else you better do You better be authentically working hard Because they know it The diggers like I know you're going to work hard
Starting point is 01:34:43 And Feinstein, of course, Rob 80s told me you could sell a few books, so he was up there. Then Grandfichella was just going to broadcasting, and Jay Billis, but he finished with Rastry, and he's like, I wouldn't come down here except for the job you've done. So we sold out the box for the Orioles in September. It was a big box, 70 people. Yeah. And that's what you've got to do. And I learned all that from Gary Williams.
Starting point is 01:35:04 You have to promote. You got to, it's called having fun. Like, it's a lifestyle, and that's where I want to get off here. I like to coach the tournament. You're not getting off yet. I knew you were going to do this to me. I knew you. It's because of you.
Starting point is 01:35:20 All right. Well, just, look, first of all, you're right. You're right. I've got to promote the program every day. We have to rule number three. Especially in a big market. You really have to. And we've become a bandwagon town for everything other than the football team.
Starting point is 01:35:37 That's interesting. Do you think that town of you as well as that? I actually see that a little bit. Oh, there's no doubt. I've heard that, but right. This town started to change when baseball came, and we had four professional sports teams. The market's always been transient, but it's even different in its transients. It's also younger than it's ever been.
Starting point is 01:36:00 So this is, you know, this is always going to be a Skins town first, and that's the team that gets followed in the masses. You know, there was a time where Maryland basketball, you know this, I know this, you legitimately say they were number two in terms of the most passionate following. But I think every other team now, other than the football team, is if they win and win big, there's a big bandwagon full of people. And if not, it's tough. It's tough. You're educated me there.
Starting point is 01:36:30 By the way, we drove by the other day, besides the Grateful Dead conference, which I saw many, me, the Catwoman, a couple great episodes of the Grateful Dead in RFK. And then, of course, my first game was Tommy Cramer and Chase Schrader. I think they broke the passing record. They won an overtime. Yeah. A past to Gary Clark. A past to Gary Clark.
Starting point is 01:36:51 A hitch turned in 44 to 34 to 38. 44-38 places rocking, and I found that bar at half-time. I don't think I ever left. If that RFK is gone, is that going to definitely be replaced? Will the commanders move back there? Yeah, they're building a stadium right now on the RFK site. So that's not well, you know, that's going to help. Yes.
Starting point is 01:37:13 But I'll tell you this, when the Wizards get good with this young group, they hit in the draft and they see the top of it. But it could hit. They could hit because they've taken it lumps. And it's been a long, painful process. But if they hit, the NBA is hot right now. I know the Wizards are up, but the NBA is a tell you know it's son's actors. We have a lot of credit going through these pains.
Starting point is 01:37:34 But I would like, since you be the bandwagon town, that's going to be interesting. Who do you like in the tournament? Who do you like in the tournament? and who do we like? I don't like you, Cohn. I think Duke has a tough draw. I got St. John's upset Duke.
Starting point is 01:37:45 I like Petino, although he didn't serve a five-sheet. And I'll tell you who I think could win it, and no one's going to say they're going to get this. You'll get your bracket right, because nobody wants to Circle Iowa State. It's not cool to Central Iowa State, and nobody's seen him play. And they're unbelievably great.
Starting point is 01:38:02 And Milose is a guy. I know the kid who's from Tewaqui. He's right outside Milwaukee. He's a 6-7 guy that can shoot the ball. who's unbelievable. Iowa State's the team that I think's going to cut down to them, and nobody's going to put them. And I wouldn't put them either. It's not sexy to circum them. But that's who I got. And Arizona, I haven't seen enough. But they're really, really good. Tommy. Like Arizona, Iowa State, Florida, and St. John. So I have a little bit of non-chockey.
Starting point is 01:38:29 No, I love that. And you're, you're right. No one is saying Iowa State, but literally in the last 24 hours, you're the third person. to tell me they've got Iowa State winning the whole thing, I swear to God. All right, last one, because you know, you're sometimes elusive, you know, over a period of time. But if the Wizards are on the clock at number one, who is it? I like DeVisanta anyways. I don't trust the guy from Kansas here. I don't want to play basketball.
Starting point is 01:39:00 He's always injured. I know he's a great player. Boozer, probably to the Pacers, the three. you know, it's weird because the Pelicans come from one more games the Hawks aren't going to have a picket. It's who you need and want. I think made a minute. Three years might be the best player in the draft. Local kids
Starting point is 01:39:16 that's at Tennessee. And there's different players, but if Peterson's really good, you know, he's really good but he just worries me. So I take AT AD Besantah. He's a proven score. Yes, we have a wing. Sure, we need a big guy. We'll fill in. Then you can make some trades if you have
Starting point is 01:39:32 him because you have developed some good young guys, and then you start to put your roster. Trey Young, at least as a legitimate pro at the point, and you go from there. But I take AJ. He's just so talented. He's got a big upside. He's got a good motive, and he likes
Starting point is 01:39:48 to play basketball. And I get concerned about guys that are low-managed me already, you know, before they get to the NBA. All right. Well, this was great, as usual. I was never... Let's go to Columbia. I'm sorry about you. No, we're going to
Starting point is 01:40:04 to do it, and we'll talk about Rick James' grave in Buffalo, and we'll talk about the pixies from your area, because I was not a dead guy. No, I wasn't, but the pixies we love. I saw that playing 150-seat venue in Boston, and Amy Bann from Tiltby. Wow. Wow. Look it up with the name of the club, and they open, and you're like, they got talent, and out comes this guy, Frank Black and the Pixies.
Starting point is 01:40:30 Unbelievable. That's why you got to live with. wife and you got to go. You know what? Our Comacardi and our friends of Columbia and all you people, we thank you for getting us here because be a big dream chasers, Kevin, and those people of the third edition and T-bones and stuff, they give us a little extra money to chase our dreams.
Starting point is 01:40:49 We don't forget to you and we appreciate you. All right. Love you. I'll talk to you later. Thanks. Later. The one and only, Jimmy Patsos, everybody. I'm exhausted. One of the most interesting and smartest people that comes on this show. Love them. dearly. That's it for the day. Back tomorrow with Tommy.

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