The Kevin Sheehan Show - Dyami Is Back

Episode Date: March 13, 2026

Kevin opened with the return of Dyami Brown to Washington along with the addition of WR Van Jefferson. Logan Paulsen jumped on to talk Commanders free agency and look ahead to the NFL Draft. After Logan, Bishop O'Connell head basketball coach Joe Wootten joined Kevin to talk DMV high school hoops and to reveal the first DC Coaches All-Met Boys and Girls Basketball Teams.   For all your football betting needs: DCRELOAD at MyBookie for a 50% Deposit Match Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Second down. It blitz again. Daniels, they'll have some time. Let's a rip, floating it deep down the field going for Brown.

He's got it. A perfect throw to Diami Brown. Wow. Remember that throw and catch, an absolute drop in the bucket throw from Jaden Daniels to Diami Brown. late second quarter in the playoffs in Detroit. All the while, Diami made that catch with Kirby Joseph ripping his face mask simultaneously. A few plays later, Washington was in the end zone for the fourth time in the first 30 minutes.

They led 31 to 21 at the half, went on to win 45 to 31. Man, it seems like a long time ago. Window Nation is the presenting sponsor of this show. 86690 Nation or WindowNation.com. If you need new windows, mention my name. They'll come out and take really good care of you. Well, Diami Brown is back, and they added another receiver as well this afternoon, former Rams wide out Van Jefferson,

who's bounced around a bit since having his most productive years in Los Angeles. but he played this year in Tennessee. But for Diami, we know that he took the money last year, as he should have. Washington was not going to offer him what Jacksonville offered him. One year, $10 million he got from the Jags. Well, he's back here a year later on a reported one-year $3 million deal. Diami caught just 20 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown this year in Jacksonville. He was a healthy scratch inactive for their playoff game against Buffalo.

He really fell completely out of favor with Jacksonville down the stretch of the regular season. He had just one catch in the Jags final eight games. He was actually inactive for a regular season game down the stretch as well. Diami had, you know, his breakout of sorts here in 2020. and it really came towards the end of the season and then certainly in the postseason. He ended up with 30 catches in 2024, but more than half of those came in the final five games of the year. And then in three playoff games, 14 catches, 229 yards, and a touchdown. The touchdown came in that first playoff win at Tampa.

One note about his year in Jacksonville. Diami was used on kickoff returns a bit and was pretty good, averaged over 26 yards per kickoff return. I don't know if that's part of the plan for him or not. But Diami Brown is back, and I would imagine there's a place for him on this roster, but I would not assume at all that he's the number two receiver. He and the addition of Jefferson seemed to me,

and I could be wrong, but they seem like insurance policies in the event that, you know, the Iyup thing doesn't work out or something else doesn't work out, you know, with Juan Jennings or something in the draft. Now, Jefferson is kind of interesting to me. I've always kind of liked him going back to Florida. I actually mentioned his name this morning on the radio show. We were going through the list of free agent wide receivers that are still out there. And I saw his name and I said he would be.

interesting. He's six-one. I think he's always played bigger than that with the Rams in particular. He was drafted by L.A. in 2020 in the second round out of Florida. And he had some moments as a ram for sure. I mean, his best season was their Super Bowl season, 2021. 50 catches that year for 802 yards and six touchdowns. He's played in seven playoff games, six in L.A., including 2021 when they played four and won the Super Bowl. And he played one in Pittsburgh two years ago as well, caught a touchdown pass from Russell Wilson in that game. In 2020 as a rookie, he was the go-to guy for Jared Goff

in a playoff loss at Lambo against the Packers. And I remember thinking that day because I had liked him coming out of Florida. I was like, he's going to be good. Like I think this guy's going to be a really good receiver. But he was never the go-to guy when Matt Stafford arrived. I mean, good enough to have 50 catches for 802 yards. He had a good season, six touchdowns in 2021. But that was the year that Cooper Cup caught 145 passes,

second best in NFL history. And remember, they felt like strongly enough that they didn't have a number two to Cooper Cup, even in Jefferson, that they went out and got Odell Beckham Jr. midway through that season. And of course, he had a huge postseason before getting injured in the Super Bowl. But, yeah, Jefferson, 29 catches for 350 yards this year and a touchdown in Tennessee. He will block. You know, you can't play for Sean McVeigh as a receiver if you don't.

And I'm sure that's part of what they liked. I think I asked my guest Dante Wittner two days ago about Brandon Ayyuk and his willingness to block. And he said about Kyle Shanahan, you don't play for Kyle Shanahan at any position on offense if you don't block. And it's the same for Sean McVe. Van Jefferson's not a bad blocker at all. I have not seen the details of his deal, but I'm sure it's one year and not for much money. But there you go. Two ads today. Diami Brown and Van Jefferson. Good to have Diami back. You know, he's, you know, a guy that can be used in a lot of different ways on offense, too.

They've used them in, you know, sort of fly sweeps and reverses. But, yeah, we now have four offensive players here over the last day and a half. Of course, Chig O'Konkwo and Rashad White along now with Diami Brown and Van Jefferson. Actually, you think about it. Chig and Jefferson. both in Tennessee last year. One of the worst offensive teams in the league, and we snag two of the players off the worst offensive team in the league.

I am very excited about a Conquo. By the way, I saw that Legerius Sneed got released by Tennessee. Remember the trade and the big contract he got. Not that long ago. He's been hurt ever since, but he's still a young player, and man, he was a good corner in Kansas City. One move from their own free agent,

before free agency began. Jonathan Jones, I don't think we had this on the podcast yesterday. Jonathan Jones was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. So corner, they got to add some depth to corner, that's for sure. I think both of these deals today don't mean anything in terms of what they may still do at wide receiver. You know, it doesn't stop Brandon Ayyuk from being picked up. It doesn't stop Carnell Tate from being drafted at number seven. They needed bodies at the position. I mean, they had Terry, they had Berks, they had McCaffrey and Lane. Those were the only receivers under contract before today. Now you add, you know, Diami and Van Jefferson to that list. It's kind of like, as of now anyway, at receiver, it's kind of like 2024, minus, you know, the obvious slot answer,

because I don't think they have that right now in the team unless it's, you know, McCaffrey or Lane. But there's no Crowder or Zekees at this point. You know, Berks and or Jefferson is like the Noah Brown replacement. So Terry Diami and Noah Brown in the form of either Berks or Jefferson, as of now. Again, they do not have their number two on the team right now, I don't think. but could they do what they did two years ago? If the I-Uk thing doesn't develop or they don't want him

or Juan Jennings' price continues to be high, which is really what the reporting is on Joanne Jennings as to why he hasn't been signed. He's looking for a number that nobody wants to give him at this point. Also, keep in mind with David Blow, it's probably a lot of 12 and 13 personnel next year. You know, a lot of two and three tight end sets with a Conquo Bates, Senate.

But stay tuned. I definitely do not think that Diami Brown, Van Jefferson, as ads today, solve the true number two wide receiver need this team has. By the way, Jefferson's probably not even a lock to make the team. Two guests on the show today. The next one coming up here in just a few minutes, Logan Paulson. I recorded the interview with Logan before the additions of Diami Brown and Van Jefferson, but we will get Logan to weigh in on everything else that has happened this week.

And then in the final segment of the show today, Joe Wooten, Joey Wooten, is the head coach at O'Connell here locally. He's been there for 27 years, won well over 500 games, the son of Morgan Wooten. he and many other coaches around town have put together as sort of a replacement for the Washington Post Sports section not being around anymore. They have put together the first D.C. coaches all met boys and girls basketball team. He will join me in the final segment of the show to reveal who those players are. But we'll talk about a lot more. We'll talk about his father a little bit. We'll talk about D.C. high school basketball a little bit. We'll talk about Jordan Smith, the Paul the sixth player headed to Arkansas.

Some people have said he's the best player to ever come out of this area. I don't agree with that. We'll see if Coach Wooten agrees with that. Before we get to Logan Paulson, good win for Georgetown last night, and they did it without their leading scorer. They beat Villanova. I know a lot of Maryland fans are excited about that. don't count me in that group, to be honest with you. I just, I feel like the Kevin Willard situation is a lot of his side, her side,

the truth is somewhere in between. But here's the thing that I just, you know, Kevin Willard, the Maryland fan base, was screaming for him to be fired a month and a half before he left. So it's just, you know, same Maryland fan base. I'm a part of it that thought Mark Turgeon was a terrible coach. So I'm not into, you know, rooting against Kevin Willard. It's even if it means rooting for Georgetown. I know a lot of, CJ, my buddy, Chris Johnson, former program director at our radio station.

And currently the man who runs the Washington Commanders Radio Broadcast Network, CJ texted me and he said, I hate when Maryland fans root for Georgetown. He's a big Georgetown guy. Yeah, anyway, Georgetown gets Yukon in the semifinals of the Big East tournament tonight. GW had a 14-point lead in the A10 quarter finals today in Pittsburgh, but lost to the number one seed, St. Louis. And one other thing before we get to Logan Paulson. So the Wizards lost last night to Orlando, 136 to 131 in overtime. It's a good loss, another good loss.

Orlando's a good team. The Wizards had a shot to win that game. Ballal Kulabali had a great basketball game. He was so good down the stretch. Ended up with 29 points. I think it's a career high for Ballal. I probably should have looked that up, but I believe it was a career high, 29 points. for Kulabali, and he was so good down the stretch.

He actually banked in a three to tie it to force overtime, 123 to 123. And then overtime came. And it was a very odd ending to the game. Orlando was up five, and the Wizards refused to foul. And then after they missed a shot, the Wizards got the ball back with 10 seconds to go in two timeouts and didn't use them. Just dribbled the clock out, threw up a shot. That was it.

Listen, I understand tanking, and I'm all in favor of what the Wizards are doing. I am. If you're going to fight like hell in the game that you're in with the players you have, and they fought like hell to rally from 15 down starting the fourth quarter to tie the game in force overtime, you'd think that maybe when you get to overtime, it wouldn't be so obvious. like, hey, that's enough, we're done. 136, 131 and overtime lost to a pretty good Orlando team. We did enough tonight.

I don't know, I think some of these young players, the development process has to include, if you are trying to win the game with the players you have in it, and you force overtime, it's one thing to go into these games knowing that you've got very little chance with the lineup you're putting out there, and that's sort of the goal, right?

But I don't know. last night was odd. I'm sure it's happened before, but they fight like hell to force overtime. They're in a back and forth game in overtime. And at the end, they just say, yep, that's enough. We'll take the 136, 131 loss in the two timeouts we have into the locker room and be happy. I'm in favor of what they're doing. I mean, I've said that all along, and it's the right thing.

And it's the last piece of this, you know, tank's slug. Rebuild, and they're in good shape now. You know, with a 16 and 49 record, they sit essentially third worst record, but, you know, only one more win than the Indiana Pacers who have the worst record. And now they are four, three, seven, three and a half games, you know, away from being out of the bottom four. So they're in good shape, really, to finish with a bottom four record, which is what they need to protect their first round pick. By the way, one thing real quickly about college basketball

last night, I was watching Duke in Florida State really good basketball game last night in the ACC quarterfinals. Florida State had a look to win it at the end. But Cambooser, who I love as a college player, and I think he's going to be a good NBA player. He's a tough, tough, badass competitor. He is. But there's something about watching him where occasionally I'm like, wow, man, you're 6-9 and you play 6-9, or maybe even 6-8. He couldn't finish in a game in Chapel Hill against North Carolina down the stretch at the rim, just couldn't finish.

And then last night, up one at the end, he goes to the baseline, and he has a shot just not only blocked, just stuffed. And that led to Florida State's opportunity. I love that their coach did not call a timeout. There was no time. Both of those coaches had timeouts, and none of them were using them down the stretch.

I kind of really enjoyed that. It was a very dramatic finish. But I like Camboozer, but I would never take Camboozer number one overall. I just wouldn't. It would be, I think, Peterson or DeBonza, if the wizards end up with that. I don't see Cam Boozer as a transcendent top five player.

I see him as a very good NBA player. And by the way, he can really extend in space the floor as a shooter. But I don't know if it's short arms. I don't know if it's not good enough lift. But man, at 6-9-2-60 or whatever he is, he just doesn't finish enough at the rim consistently enough as a college player. It's not going to do it as an NBA player.

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Logan Paulson is back here as we get ready to wrap up week one of NFL free agency. As of the recording of this podcast, nine new players for Washington. nine new players that ranks among the top three in new players added in the league. They're spending top three in the league as well. So I'll start with this. Do you have a favorite of the nine new players they've signed? Yeah, great question. I'm kind of torn, you know, kind of like picking your favorite kid a little bit,

between Leo Chenal and Chigotanacuo, I think, partially because let me explain the Leo Chanel thing real quick. Like Leo Chanel, like when I watched him at Kansas City, like I see a guy who's big, strong, but also can run pretty well. Like he plays some snaps where he's in man coverage on tight ends and his step for step, plays the ball well, stuff where he's in the slot play and receivers, shows power as a rusher off the edge, not super, you know, nuanced or dexterous, but shows power, like, knockback guards, really aggressive with his hands fighting off blocks.

And I think about, like, if they were to expand that role here with the commanders, like get him to blitz more, get him to run some ETs, get him to run some backer, backer picks on the center with a cross dog. Like, that seems like something that's really just going to explode his production here and really kind of unlock elements of this defense, you know, if we're assuming that it's going to be the analogous of Brian Forrest. Now, the reason it's hard to decide is because I think Chigacal will kind of does something similar for the offense. He becomes kind of this joker chess piece, you know, move tight end that can play a little bit of receiver. And I think given kind of the way the NFL is going with this 12 and 13, personnel. I think it allows you to kind of dictate the defenses in a very specific way.

So really excited about both those signings. Is there a player they added this week that didn't make sense to you? Oh, no, not really. And I think that was one of the reasons, like we were talking before he started about like how this was exciting. And one of the reasons it was exciting to me is because I felt like, given what I saw in Minnesota, given what Durante Jones said as a press conference, given what I know about Dan Quinn, that all of the players seem to, to have a role and a path and an opportunity here in this defense. It wasn't just like we're going to go spend the most money possible,

get the biggest names. It was like, Hey, Levin Chesson can be, you know, Van Ginkle to a certain extent, kind of this lanky hyper-athletes in terms of like lateral movement skills, not linearly, but laterally kind of his ability to drop into coverage, play the run,

rush the passer, loop stunts. And that's kind of what Van Ginkle did, right? We mentioned Leo Chanel, his ability to run those pressures and kind of mixed up with offensive linemen in the line of scrimmage the way that the linebackers in Minnesota did, right? Minster the dafei O way, like kind of having this stud alpha rusher that forces you to dictate

protections, like on the film with the L.A. Chargers, like, that's all over the film. Like, we're going to put him over here by himself. They're going to set the man side or the slide side over here, depending on their protection rules for that week, having this piece that dictates protections that way, see the role, see the vision. And then, Shig, same type of thing, thinking about the dynamic, not necessarily tight him, an offensive playmaker, it just seems like they all have a, they were necessary and they all had a role, kind of, at least that you can kind of project with all those guys.

Yeah, it's so funny that you mentioned Van Ginkle, because it's the second time today. I've heard that name because I had Leo Chenal on the radio show. He was great, by the way, for those of you who are interested and you're listening, the Team 980.com or the Odyssey app. I think they probably tweeted out the YouTube of it as well, but he was actually really good. Did you know, by the way, he has 15 brothers and sisters.

He's got eight sisters and seven brothers. He's one of 16. That is unbelievable. That's unbelievable. That's why he's so tough, I guess. Well, what led to him telling me that, and it's one of those things, if I'd done any research,

I may have known it before I talked to him. But I said to him, you know, watching him, he is one of those guys that just pops from a competitive standpoint, a high motor standpoint. You know, he's got the athleticism, but then he's just kind of relentlessly competitive, which, by the way, I've noticed with, really, it's been kind of what they've been looking for in their player profile since they got here. They look for those guys that are a little bit nuts. and I said, you know, is that something, because I think it's something that's typically innate, Logan. I don't think you teach somebody to become kind of a killer.

I think it's innate personally. And I said, you know, how did you become that way? And he said, I have seven brothers. I said, oh, my God. He said, well, actually, I also have eight sisters. I'm one of 16. And by the way, of the seven brothers, six are older brothers. And it's usually the younger or the youngest that definitely ends up being super competitive

because it's the way they kind of survived as a child. Absolutely. Yeah, and that definitely shows up on the film when you watch a very competitive person for sure. No doubt. All right. So is there a player that you wish they had gotten at this point that is somewhere else? Yeah, that's a great question. I guess if you're looking at the receiver position,

that's the one that got away in both instances with Alec Pierce and Romeo Dobbs. So having that vertical element opposite Terry felt like something that they were really going to pursue and it was interesting to hear all the reports about how aggressively they pursued those two pieces. But, you know, again, the alleged kind of offer to Alec Pierce was very aggressive and, you know, very persuasive, I'm sure.

But in some ways, I'm glad it didn't happen. I always get really nervous paying kind of specific players, you know, guys that have this verticality of their game, guys that are more deep threat, guys that lack a ton of nuance. And again, Alex Pierce was evolving that nuance to his game as the season went on. But again, like that opposite piece, opposite Terry, I think was the thing that I would kind of look at and say, yeah, still hoping they can sign someone to fill that role up at that Terry McCorm. Yeah, I mean, I agree with you.

I'm actually kind of glad that they didn't land Pierce. I think for that money. I like the player. I actually like Pittman as much as I liked Pierce in Indianapolis. But I was in high, I felt this way after the fact. I did not feel this way going in. But when I found out that they were in the Linderbaum mix, the money was insane.

But I kind of looked at that position and their need. And by the way, the stability he would provide, the production he would provide, the overall career kind of wisdom that he would provide for a third year quarterback under center, a lot more we expect this year. And I kind of said, you know what, I'd have been okay had they, you know, even spent a dollar more than the Raiders, if it meant they would have landed him. What did you think about him?

And then what do you think about that position? Yeah, so for me, I always have a hard time with Center. I don't know if it's because of like the Kyle Shanahan, like where I grew up in the pros, like what was emphasized. And to me, it wasn't center necessarily. Like, you needed a smart, competitive, tough person there, but it didn't need to be like a true physical difference maker, right? So, like, you, because again, like, if you think about the position and people give me black for this all the time, like, they're not covered. Like, if you're in a four-down spacing, you might get a shade of someone on the center's left shoulder, but the guards there to help out,

or a three technique. And so they're always kind of be in combination. They're never going to be by themselves. So I'm always like if you want to devalue one position, it's center from a physicality standpoint, but from the mental standpoint, which I'm really glad you pointed out, because I haven't really thought about it in the context of Jane Daniels necessarily, but like that dude needs to be on their their peas and cues and prosterized out their teas, all those analogies put together, because they really are the brain and the mouthpiece and the voice of the offense when it comes to targeting and identifying protections, targeting and identifying runs, and making sure the calls are correct to maximize the whole blocking surface. And so if that guy is not doing that

or can't do that, that's where I think you feel the discrepancy in center production now. Obviously, like with Linderbaum, you're kind of talking in a different category here because you're talking about a top two player at the position. Like kind of that, I'm going to use this in air quotes like that playmaking offensive linemen. People often reserve that moniker for like Trent Williams, Kristen Wirps, or Pena Sewell. He's got a little bit of that to him. So maybe you're willing to go that far because the brain's there, but also the physical playmaking that you see with maybe future Hall of Fame Center like Travis Kelsey, where they can get up in space, get on linebackers, pull to the perimeter in ways that are very unique to them.

And so I kind of understand what you're saying there, but for me I have to kind of get by my own bias, my own perceived bias, and say like that's kind of where the, I don't want to say, quote, unquote, the worst offensive lineman goes, but the least physically impressive offensive lineman goes. Interesting. Well, what do you think this solution for them is going to be? at center. So for me, like, this is again, like where maybe GM Logan Paulson needs to learn more about football, but I look at the, like the idea of Allegredy kind of taking over here or whoever as kind of the swing interior player stepping into that role. And if they can handle the load of it mentally, I feel pretty good about it. And like, I think I've talked about this on a

couple of different shows, but like if the draft board were to fall a certain way at seven, or if they were forced to trade back because the offer's too good and they're trade back to like 13, 14, 15. And they were to draft like an offensive linemen or guard there. Like that's a really intriguing proposition to me because then, like if you think about centers, like good centers often have two good guards. You'd be able to put Allegretti next to a first round pick potentially and Cosme and then the physical limitations of Allegretti wouldn't be quite as big.

And again, like when you hear Allegrety talk, obviously a really bright dude, got a ton of experience, understands the importance of the mental side of the position, understands the importance of his role mentally on Jaden Daniels. So again, if they were to make another addition there, I wouldn't be surprised. But I like the way Allegreddy is talking about his role in the offense if he were to be the starting center. I think, though, the fact, or I say the fact, the reporting around their interest in Linderbom, it certainly means that the plan, I don't think Plan A was Allegretti when they let Biotic go. Do you think that's fair?

I think that's fair. I mean, I think, like, this is my thing all the time with free agency and with the draft. Like, I was making this joke with someone earlier today. It's like, you know what I like? I like good football players. And what's Linderbom? He's a good football player, right? And so, like, when you're, I say this being a guy that was this role, like, it was in this role for a long time.

Like, if Logan Paulson is your starting tight end, you always want to upgrade, right? You want more past game upside. You want more diversity in terms of athleticism. Like, that's something that's going to happen. But if you have, in a pinch, if Logan Paulson is your starting tight end, you're okay, but you're always looking to upgrade that position. I think that's true for like 99% of the roster. Obviously for us, it's like Jane Daniels are good with. Laramie Tunsell you're good with. But everybody else, I think, is pretty, there's like certain percentages above their

hats or above their numbers on the, on the roster where it's like we'd like to replace this guy. But if it's Linderbom or Allegrety, obviously you're going to go Allegretti if the dollars and cents makes sense because you're always looking to improve the roster. And like we talked about, he's the unique case study in this example of center value. because of how physically good he is, right? So I think that's like, that makes a ton of sense to me. And like as a good backup plan, you probably feel good about Allegretti, right? But if they were to draft the center, for example, I think that's totally reasonable, right?

To provide depth, to provide competition. Those are all things you want to think about in constructing the best roster you possibly can and support Shane Daniels on the offensive side of the football. All right, this is too much conversation about a position that you've already minimized significantly. I'm kidding. But I, do you think there's a chance? that they'll regret cutting Tyler Biotish loose? That is a good question.

That's a good question. And I'm saying there's always a chance you learn to regret something like. But in terms of people that I've talked to, there were some things that they wish Tyler was doing better at the position, and they feel like Allegrety might do those things better. And I think if those things that reportedly, you know, Allegrety's going to do better, he does them better. I think you're going to be okay.

But I think there's always a chance when you let a talented person walk out of the building, a physically talented person walked out of the building, that you regret letting them go. So you really liked Chigakakon quote, too. I think that the last time I had you on, we talked about him for a while. I loved him going back to Maryland. I mean, I watched every single one of his college games. And I'm wondering if you think, like, this could be the example of that guy who's entering that age in which you're, sort of entering those prime years, and he's going to get, you know, he's going to get highlighted

and he's going to blow up as a pass-catching tight end. I'll ask you about his blocking in a moment. But I kind of have that feeling about him. Just he didn't have a quarterback in Tennessee. I mean, Cam Ward played a little, you know, played better late, but the offense was not good. The quarterbacking wasn't good. So what do you envision for him? No, I think that's you and I, again, I'm going to be optimistic here because I like the player, but I do see a very similar trajectory. It's the same thing I feel about Leo Chanel, and I feel the same way about Adapai-Oa to a certain extent, right? Yeah.

Like that they were in an environment where they were very good, but there were like limitations to the environment. And now if you put them here with one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the NFL, a young quarterback, an offense and an offensive coordinator that has had exposure, like working under Ben Johnson, working under Kevin O'Connor. that understands how to maximize offensive playmakers, right? Obviously, I think to how, think back to how, like, Sean McVeigh, for example, has maximized kind of unconventional receivers,

unconventional weaponized the tight end position in a new, modern way. And I look at what, again, Ben Johnson's learning from, or not Ben Johnson, excuse me, who's the opportunity? David Blas. David Blas, thank you. But David Blow is learning from what he's drawing from. Like, this piece in Chigaconko fits that,

really nicely, right? You can kind of line him up at receiver, line up in the slot, line him up in the shell, and because of his receiving ability, you force the defense into unusual matchups. And so as long as Blow, which I assume he does, understands what this piece gives you, I think his role could expand tremendously, especially if he's able to develop a really positive relationship with Jayden Daniels. Is there a comp for Chig in your mind? Gosh, yeah, like, it's a really tough thing. Like, I was looking at some of his testing numbers, And, you know, he kind of tests a little bit. I don't think this is a bad comp.

He reminds me a little bit of George Kittle in terms of like George Lerge in his career. I was just going to say maybe a slightly less of a blocker than Kittle, but that the route running, the elusiveness, the yak, the way he looks catching the football is similar to Kittle. I agree. Yeah, I think that's a good comp in terms of like, you know, they both ran a 451 at the Combine. They both had above average vertical jumps for a tie-to-end, above-average broad jumps. They both have tremendous lower body strength. George, especially early in his career, was very raw from like a STEM, Euro step double.

He's developed that, obviously, but early in his career was very raw there. And one, strictly on lower body horsepower, you mentioned the breaking tackle ability, like how he runs through contact. Like those are things Chig does well. Those are things George does well. And so when I think about a third down piece that, again, needs a little bit of refuselytes. climate needs a little bit of growth. And again, I think we'll get that growth opportunity here in terms of like balls and targets. He reminds me a little bit of George when I first was with him in

2017. Oh, right. You were. And not only that, soft hands, hands catcher, the thing that I love about a Conquo is he'll run over you, but he's also very, he's got great vision as a runner and can make people miss in the open field. Is he a good enough blocker? So I think that was the thing, you know, I started watching the free agent tight ends, watching, you know, Say I likely who was kind of the course to Jor for the position free agency. Like I turned on the tape of jig and I was like, you know, obviously the past game stuff is the reason you come, but I stayed because of the run tape. And he's not a big man, you know, he's 6-2, he's 239, 240 pounds.

But like, to me, there is a want-to and an urgency in the run game that shows me something about your football character. And so like when I see him blocking in line, like, He's got his hands fit, elbows tight, and he's running to the pile, and the running back kind of runs into his back. There's a lot of, like, receivers and half-catching tight ends that'll disengage from that block and kind of bail out from it because they don't want to get rolled up. Chig kind of uses that extra little boost and tries to run his feet and tries to bury the guy over the pile and, like, finishing with his hand on people and kind of talking a little bit of smack after the play. Like, I like that stuff. It gets me juiced up.

Now, he's going to be extremely matchup driven, right? You don't want him blocking, you know, your major edge rushers in the NFL at the moment, right? Because he lacks a little bit of arm length. But even that, like, looking up his combine scores, like, he has 32 and a half inch arms, which are well above, like, threshold for the position. And he just, his body size is going to limit his ability to, like, block traditional defensive ends. But if you can find good matchups on linebackers, safety's corners, like he wants to, man. He's a competitive huff football player.

And that's the thing that really got me excited about him. Like, in the same way that he runs. with the football after the catch. He's physical and he's courageous at the catch point. He brings that same urgency and physical courage to the run game. And so as long as you understand his limitations and what he is, like he's going to pour it out for you, which is something that I really like about him.

Tell me what the field looks like. I know that the Brian Flores system, everybody's at the line of scrimmage, they're bouncing around the whole thing. But in a base 3-4, week one, in this upcoming season, just tell me where the pieces are. Is Tim settle the nose tackle? I think so.

I mean, after watching him in Houston, like I was, again, he's not a perfect player or perfect prospect by any stretch of the imagination. But the thing that really jumped out to me about Tim and how his game was evolved from when he was here, you know, what was that four years ago now? Yeah. Was his willingness to own a gap in the run game. Play physical, has some knockback ability in the hips, and can explode through contact has enough kind of foot speed quickness to like, if you're not going to like really be physical

with them, you can split a double team and chase the ball down the line of scrimmage. So I do think like if you're looking at the guys on the roster currently, you know, Duran, Duran, Duran, Duran, Kynlaw, and Settle, like, settles definitely the guy that feels like the most natural nose guard and has some reps playing the shade, which is, you know, a little bit of a derivative of a true nose. Right. But I think has that skill set and has that want to, which is really exciting. All right. So let's just say settle and then Kinlan Payne, right, in a base 3, 4.

And then what, give me how the four players align behind those three. Yeah, so I think that's going to be maybe the most interesting part, because obviously Adafay is going to be in the field probably as much as possible, given the contract. And then I think the other side becomes really interesting with Caleb on Chase on and Dorrance Armstrong. I think they both are very good. It'll be interesting to see where Dorrance is. coming off the ACL, but I do think at least initially I'm going to give the slightest of edges to Dorrance. But to be fair to Von Chesson, like he did a great job up in New England of like holding edges and being dexterous and beating tight ends and rushing the passer. So it'll be seriously,

I think that'll be a really interesting battle in training camp to see who kind of edges out for like the first and second down roll. But I'm going to give the edge to Dorrance to start. And then at the linebacker, I kind of feel like it's Frankie and Leo Chanel. And that'll be interesting to see kind of who gets my responsibilities there. But I think if you're going to operate with both those guys up in and around the line of scrimmage, the way they did in Minnesota, I don't know if you could ask for two guys with a more perfect skill set for what that job title entails. Like when you look at Leo Stenal, he does a great job, you know, fighting off linebacker, an offensive lineman with great hand usage.

He's got great power in the lower half. Obviously, we've seen what Frankie can do. And then the idea of both those guys who are great blitzers and really explosive athletes working together on pick games, on centers and on guards to maximize their ability as pass rushers is a very exciting proposition for sure. I mean, do you have Nick Cross penciled in next to Will Harris as the two starting safeties with Nick being more in the box and Will being more of the free? I think so. I think as of right now, that's the way I would go, especially on first and second down. I was not super familiar with Nick Cross's game. I remember writing a report about him, you know, whatever it was five years ago when he was coming out of Maryland and, you know, kind of talking about how I thought it was miscast as a, like a true free safety,

even though like his measurements, like the 40 times specifically would lend you to believe that that would be best suited. But watching him near the line of scrimmage, watching him blitz, watching his ability to cover ground, playman coverage. I thought, man, this guy's exactly what you want as a box player in this defense. with some flexibility to work in zones. So that's the way I would look at it. And again, they talked about Will Harris last year and his tremendous communication and leadership

in the back end of the defense. And I think he's earned that opportunity to kind of start the season as the pre-safety. I didn't ask you about Amic Robertson or Omenahue, who, by the way, has got arms that basically hanged to the ground. I mean, he 36-inch arms on this dude. He deflected a lot of passes. but just give me your thoughts on both of those players and where they fit in.

Yeah, Charles and many of you, I played with them actually when I was in Houston in 2019, and he was kind of a puppy then. I think it was his first year. And everyone kind of thought he was going to be the next JJ Watt kind of thing, right? This defensive end that has some inside outside flexibility. And while he's not been as productive as J.J. Watt, obviously, like his career has kind of mirrored that. Like he has some ability on first and second down to be, the edge player like this hard edge shedding beat up on tight ed's kind of guy or on third down moving

and rush the pastor from the interior so to me looking at the contract and looking at his career the last couple of years he feels like a really good rotational piece specifically on third down if you want to rush from the interior with like some different body type like that's something that I think would be really interesting with him and then again if you want to get a little bit bigger kind of like your detrick wise maybe you can maybe they have like a sub package where instead of kinlawn pain it's a any hue and wise, the four eyes, just to kind of give a little bit more speed, a little bit more athleticism, maybe a little bit more like drop dexterity with some of those defensive tackles, then those two big fellows would give you, so just some, just give you some

flexibility, gives you some nice depth, I think. Robertson, Nichol, starting slot? Yeah, I think so, and again, like, it'll be interesting to see kind of how it progresses in terms of what they want to do with Mikey. Because I think, much like Mike Sanber still, like he can play Robertson can play inside and outside has played inside and outside. I personally think probably like you do that he's better suited to play the nickel. He's hyper competitive, he's scrappy, doesn't really back down from challenges that shows up on tape. People like talk about the PFF score quite a bit. I think

that's doing him a disservice because they put him in a bunch of very, very tough man-to-man situations against some excellent starting caliber wide receivers, like, you know, top five wide receivers in the NFL. I think he's a competitive dude. I think probably best suited for the nickel because of the size and length limitations. But I competitor and I think to your point probably starts at nickel unless you know Durante Jones and the staff really get their teeth into Mikey

and let him kind of you know get his sea legs going there on that interior corner spot. All right let's take a quick break and when we come back with Logan we'll talk running back Rashad White in Chris Rodriguez out and we'll get to wide receiver as well included

in that conversation will be Logan's thoughts on Brandon Ayyuk. We'll get to that and a lot more. after these words from a few of our sponsors. This segment of the show is brought to you by MyBook. If you want to bet on college basketball during the month of March, if that's your plan, you should do it at MyBooky, even if you're set up and doing it somewhere else right now.

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And use my promo code, DC Reload, D-C-R-E-L-O-A-D to get a 50% cash bonus. All right, we continue with Logan Paulson. And let's talk running back. I'm pretty sure that when we talked last a few weeks back that you liked Tyler Algear heading into free agency like I, did. But they end up with Rashad White, and Chris Rodriguez is gone to Jacksonville. They decided not to tender

him. So just give me your overall thoughts on where they've landed, at least for the time being, at running back. Yeah, I think I'm a touch surprised they didn't tender Rodriguez, but I guess when I look at how this staff treated him, you know, in terms of like the practice squad, when

you're up, when a week you're down, obviously they view him as more of a backup practice squad elevation type player. and I think they were looking to move on. So obviously really happy for Chris that he gets the opportunity in Jacksonville to reunite with William Cohen, a guy that coached him at Kentucky, and I think, you know, based on that contract, probably going to get a few favorable touches there,

which is going to be great for him. With regards to the running back, I'm a little bit surprised that they didn't sign, maybe not at the top of the market back, but somebody that I felt could be kind of a power downhill, complementary piece to Velcrofti Merritt. just to get some more experience in the room, and obviously White brings some of that as kind of your Austin Echler replacement, kind of the third down, pass catching, ass protecting back.

Not a guy that's going to maximize every single run, kind of going to get what's blocked for you there. So it'll be interesting to see utilization, but obviously has some familiarity with Jane Daniels, and I think that's probably one of the reasons why he's here. But in terms of where the position's going, I totally agree with you. I think they need to sign probably at least. two more players, right, to kind of fill out that depth and probably draft another one, you know, whether that's at seven or whether that's later in the draft or whether that's in free agency, just to kind of make sure that there's a healthy competition in good depth in that

room. All right. What's next? What do you want them to do? Wide receiver, obviously, has not yet been addressed. Yeah, I think wide receiver is the move that I would just kind of keep an eye on. And obviously, Joanne Jennings is still available. And I think, you know, obviously he's a good football player.

he's not kind of the, you know, going to take the top off of defenses the way that some of those younger guys that signed early are going to. And so, you know, to me, if he hasn't signed yet, there's probably some, you know, discrepancy between what he's looking for and what teams around the league are willing to pay. So, you know, when he kind of comes to that realization and the number comes down and it's more in line with what the teams want to do, right? I think Joanne Jennings would be an interesting one. I think, again, Devo Samuels, if that, again, if the dollars and cents kind of even out wouldn't be a bad one to get back here. And then I'm slowly coming around to this Brandon Iuke idea.

You know, like if the number is good and the years are short, it's like a true prove-it deal, sounds like he's healthy, sounds like that there's interest here. So that would be an interesting one as well to keep an eye on. But I definitely think they need to make a move at receiver and just kind of fortify some of that depth. If not, you're kind of, I think, pigeonholing yourself. yourself into forcing a pick at seven, which Adam historically has not wanted to do.

Yeah, I mean, if it's a prove-it deal for Ayuk, and he's healthy, and he's mentally, you know, grown up a little bit here, or whatever the issues are, if you get Brandon Ayuk from 23, I've said this, and it pisses fans off because they think I hate Terry and I don't hate Terry. I think Terry's great. But if you get Iyuk from 23, he's your best receiver. And the tandem of the two is top five, worst case, top seven or eight in the league. No, I think that's 100% right. And I love the way you articulated that because I think people forget how absolutely dynamic he was in 2003. They do forget. They do forget, no doubt. Yeah, apparently. Yeah, like, but the thing for me is like the what ifs you laid out there,

I think are super important, Mike. Yeah, of course. Do you still want to play football? Are you healthy? And I'm sure they have a good read on that because obviously he trains with Jane Daniels. I'm sure that there's kind of an inside track in terms of communication. But very talented guy like when he wants to play. And hopefully they feel comfortable with that. And again, one year prove it for a guy that talented. I mean, you saw it with Josh Gordon for a couple of years, like when he was going through all the substance abuse stuff, like he'd be suspended. And a team would always keep the tires on that because talented football players have a way to stick around.

and if you hit on them, like, then you look like a genius. And so I wouldn't hate that idea of kind of seeing what Brandon and I use got, and then moving on from there. All right, two more. Based on what they've done, does that tell you or give you a lean one way or the other on what they'll do at number seven at the end of April? Yeah, I mean, this is like, so I was asking about this earlier, and they were mad because they gave kind of a wishy-washy answer.

But the one thing I want to say is, like, I don't think anything they've done precludes them from doing anything. And what I mean by that is, like, if you're picking it seven, for example, and the best player on your board is Jeremiah Love, and he's there, fake Jeremiah Love, you signing three more running backs does not preclude me from doing that. Let's say you want to draft, you know, David Bailey, he's your number one edge rusher, and he's sitting there at seven. Like, I don't think any of these signings preclude you from doing that because of the length

of the contracts and because, like, the need to get younger and just more dynamic at the position, right? So I think that's what I would say, however, looking at the current roster, it does feel like, as of right now, if the draft was tomorrow, I would be looking at receiver. So, like, maybe Carnell Tate, again, I'm a big Jordan Tyson guy, but the injury stuff is starting to freak me out. So Carnell Tate feels like an interesting picket seven. Obviously, Jeremiah Love feels like an interesting picket seven just to become more dynamic, more explosive on the offensive side of the football. Yeah, I completely agree with that. I don't think anything they've done so far, you know, eliminates anybody.

It's put them into a position, which they should have been even before all these signings, to take the best player available. By the way, I think I asked you the last time you were on, but do you have a number one best player available wish at number seven? Oh, my gosh. Yeah, this is a fun one. Yeah, so right now, it's probably, it's like a close, I'm going to give you two names

because I can't just give you one. It's David Bailey and Sunny Stiles, I think are the two guys that I would just be doing backbooks if they were there. And people say, well, he's an off-ball linebacker. Obviously, David Bailey's resume speaks for himself. But I just, the way that Sunny Stiles has handled this off-season process,

his film, the interviews from what I understand, like he just seems like the safest, most consistent process prospect at a position that's really difficult to fill. and thinking about some of the flexibility and coverage you would give you here and just the playmaking ability he could potentially give you, that seems really exciting for me at the seven spots. Yeah, you know what?

That just made me think of one more question. Sorry. No, you're still. And I'm maybe giving away what my answer will be, but probably not. Is there a player on their roster before free agency began that has benefited from this weekend? more than any other. Oh, that's a good question.

So I would say both corners have benefited quite a bit from this week. And what I mean by that is when you bring in this level and this volume of pass rush with this kind of purported Durante Jones and Brian Flores system, like I think those dudes are now in a position where they're not going to have to cover the same duration. They can take more chances, be more aggressive. I think those two guys have benefited quite a bit from this week of free agent signing. That's a better answer than the one I was going to give you.

The reason I thought of it when you said Sunny Stiles is, look, Frankie Louvo may just benefit significantly from Durante Jones being the defensive coordinator, even without, even without Chanel. But there's just something about Louvue from that first year. And then last year, playing on a team that had all the injuries, I just, I think he is still like a budding, I don't want to say star, but I think he's got a chance to be, look, he was a second team all pro in 2024 with Bobby Wagner. So I think the addition of Chanel and some of the pass rushers really benefit Louvo in particular.

But the corners, a better answer. Well, to your point, I think the addition of Durante Jones, if you run a comparable system to what Flores did and you get him coming downhill, attacking line of scrimmage the way those linebackers did, I don't think you're going to see you're going to see Frankie Louver from two years ago. There's no doubt in my mind because that, like that is where he's at his best, his ability to anticipate snaps to kind of feel the leverages of the offensive lineman and just be a downhill physical presence. Like, Ben used to call him Crash Bandicoot, you know, because he just would go in there and blow stuff up and that's what this defense is. So yeah, I agree, but like to me, that's more the

Durante Jones element as opposed to the edge rush or something. I would think that there's a chance Frankie Louvo is going to get a contract extension before the season starts. That's just nobody's really talked about that much. Obviously, the Tunsel was the big conversation, but he's entering the final year of his deal. He's still at an age where if he's going to have the success that I think he's going to have this year, you've got to lock him up sooner rather than later. But we'll see. Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.

You're the best. Thanks for doing this. Talk soon. Kevin, thank you so much, man. Always a pleasure. Logan Paulson, everybody. Take Command Podcast. Does all that work on the Washington Commanders' YouTube channel on their website. Love having conversations with Logan.

All right. Up next, we will finish up with the first DC coaches all met teams after these words from a few of our sponsors. All right, joining me right now is Joe Wooten, who's been the head basketball coach at O'Connell for 27 years. And of course, is the son of legendary Dematho coach Morgan Wooten. Joe's won 580 games at O'Connell. And I saw your game in the semifinals a few weeks ago at Bender at AU against PVI. That was one hell of a game. And by the way, I did not know this until I was there. Juan Dixon's on your staff.

So just give me 30 seconds on Juan as a coach, because we all know what he was like as a player. He's phenomenal. Juan Dixon is one of the brightest minds in college basketball, NBA basketball, studies the game, watches film. I mean, he calls me at 12.30 at night talking about things we can do. So he's phenomenal to have. and I would say he's equally as passionate as a coach as he was as a player.

He never would know he played with a lot of toughness and bigger. So I think that's quite a compliment. Yeah, well, his passion was certainly on display, and that was one hell of a basketball game, too. You were up against the number one team in the country that night. You guys finished ranked in the top 25 nationally as well, correct? Yeah, we've been in the top 25 throughout. They haven't finalized polls.

we've been in there throughout the season. We've had a very good year, and it was a great group of kids. Joe Wooten's coached to O'Connell and flat out, top to bottom, the best basketball league, high school boys basketball league in the country for my entire lifetime. So what Joe is a part of is the D.C. coaches all met basketball team without the Washington Post having a sports section. And look, it's been part of, you know, a spring. ritual for all of us that are from Washington to kind of, you know, see who the Post had as they're all met team and players of the year in basketball in particular, but all sports. But Joe is a part

of the D.C. coaches all met basketball team, which they hope will kind of replace what the Post has been doing for, I don't know, 100 years. They're going to do it for boys and basketball, boys and girls just for basketball, but I know you've got, without the players of the year, because those announcements come next week, but you have the All-Met teams ready to be revealed here with me. So let's start with the boys. I would imagine Jordan Smith might be on that team.

I think he inches his way on there. And I'm not going to say that tongue-in-cheek, Jordan is obviously a no-brainer, but I'll do an alphabetical order because obviously that, that kind of gives us, that's where we're going to announce. So from Bishop O'Connell, one of my players, Darius Bivens, from Archbishop Carroll High School, Anthony goes by Aunt Brown, from Sidwell Friend School, Ian Condon, from Georgetown Prep, Sanon Juan, from Mead High School in Ann Arroyd County, Tian Scott,

from Clinton Grace School in Prince George's County, Lonnie Lyons, from Damatha High School, Ashton A. Smeek, from Bishop McNamara, Prince Alexander Moody, from Gillian Academy, Marces Ponder, from Westfield High School in Fairfax County, Germant Price from Bulla School in the IAC Xavier Skipworth from St. Paul the 6th, the player you mentioned before

Jordan Smith Jr. And from St. John's Catholic High School Jiamen Vini. So those are the boys. We have 12, but we have ties. We always carry over ties. There's 13 boys on the first team, Washington D.C. area coaches all met team.

So coach, are these was the pool of players every boys basketball team in the area? I mean, Westfield's a public school, right? I'm just confirming that public school players are eligible for this as well. They are eligible. And so

I actually think that brings up a great point. What I think is going to be really unique about this and we do this for the McDonald's game, McDonald's All-American game is we have a voting process so it's not, it actually had a two-part process. We had each of the members that led each of the county, like Dan Harwood, the legendary coach in Montgomery County,

led the Montgomery County, Rodney Ward, who sent the Michigan State, led PG County and so on and so forth. And they went to the coaches in their county and said, let's nominate the top 10 players in our county, both public and private. So we actually had 100 plus nominees on the girls' side and 100 plus nominees on the boy's side.

We then sent out a ballot after those nominees were selected, and that leader voted on the top 12 for the first team. The beauty of it is that no one person, myself included, could get a player on the team. It had to be the consensus of the committee. So that really allows us to, you know, take out bias and all those different things because you have to please the entire committee and get a majority of the committee, not just one coach. So with that being said, you know,

I'm obviously Fairfax County, Westfield High School, and Mead and Anaranda were the two public school. players on the first team. Let me just ask you about one player in particular that I don't think I heard you mentioned. And I think I know the reason why, but Baba Aladotan from Blake, who's playing in Montgomery County, is headed to Maryland, has been, you know, a consensus kind of top five, top ten player nationally. Is it that he just didn't play enough basketball this year? Correct, correct. And so he obviously would have been, I think, a no-brainer for

the McDonald's All-American game, no-brainer all-bent. But because he didn't play, he did not have that he was not eligible because you have to play in over 50% of your high school games. So before we get to the girls' team, is there a second, third team in honorable mention? You don't have to go through all of them. So the second team will be announced tomorrow.

Okay. Third team on Sunday, fourth team on Monday, and then the honorable mention on Tuesday, and then we're going to announce the coach of the year, the play of the year next Wednesday. Got it. All right.

So let's get to the girls. The girls from Bishop Iyrton High School. Let me make sure I got out of these right. Jormaine Davis. From Sidwell Friends School, Autumn Flurry. From St. Paul the Sixth School, Demi Gilliam. From St. Mary's Catholic High School in Toronto County, Bailey Harris. From the St. James, Jordan Jackson.

From Bishop McNamara. Jayla King from Bulla School Ivana Manayak from St. John's High School Camille Maysmith from Bishop McNamara Naire McCoy

from Osborne Park in Prince William County Kayara Rainey from Bishop McNamara Cadence Samu's and from St. John's High School Catholic High School Morgan Stewart

Well first of all congratulations to all of those names that you just read off, and look forward to the coming information next week. Let me just ask you while I have you here. You know, PVI is going to finish rank number one in the country, many of your dad's teams. Maybe you even have the answer. How many times did your dad's DeMathath teams end up ranked number one in the country?

So he had he won five national championship. Okay. which was the ranking, so five times. And I say with pride, Mike Jones, who was the longtime coached Matt, and then moved on the Old Dominion. We were high school teammates, and one of those years was our senior year. One of those years was your senior year with Mike. So where does Paul the 6th, where does their team rank this year

among the great teams that have ever come out of this area? I mean, personally, I didn't get to see him play. I saw him three or four times last year, and I thought that was truly one of the best teams I had ever seen athletically in particular from out of the area. I didn't know, I didn't think watching them just the one time that I saw them against you guys this year, that they were as good as last year's team. What's your perspective on that?

I think it's a very smart observation because I actually totally agree with that. I think they were more athletic, a little bit more, you know, talent on the previous teams. but this year's team for them was just a great team. I mean, obviously, Jordan Smith was a special player and is a great competitor, a winner. But everybody just got to fit their role, and they won a lot of close games, and they were probably a better team,

you know, cohesive unit this year, but maybe not as talented. But I think that actually is credit to the coaching staffed Glenn and his assistance. And obviously, Jordan Smith, you know, he had the great balance of being a great individual player, but being a great leader as well. So kudos to them. I mean, you're obviously, you know, a long-time observer of all of this from our market.

And I've been here and I've been to a lot of games and watched a lot of teams, but nowhere near what you have. But what I said about last year's PVI team, honestly, I remember watching them for maybe the second or third time last year. And I said, I don't think I've seen high school-wise from our area anyway, a faster, quicker, more athletic team than that. team last year. I mean, they're definitely up there at the very top. Obviously, my dad had some very, Mike Jones, had some very athletic teams at the math in the day.

And obviously, go back to the Macon teams with Johnny Dawkins and Ray Carroll teams under Hoover. I'm sure my age now, but... Well, Joe Joe Hunter, that team was unbelievably athletic. The McIncheon. Absolutely. And so, but I mean,

that Paul and 16th is definitely ranks with those teams. And obviously, this is a basketball town. People love the debate and love to talk sports. So I think it'll be a debate out there, but there definitely should be mentioned in that company. You know, I did something with your father. It's probably like now 12, 13, 14 years ago, but we did this thing called Lunch with a Legend where we rented out Morton's down on Connecticut Avenue. And for two hours, we hosted a show with a D.C. legendary coach. I mean, we had Coach Thompson, Gary, Lefty,

you know, a lot of the great players that had played in the area, and your dad agreed to do it, and it was one of my absolute favorites, but I knew he wouldn't answer this question, but I wonder if you will. I said to him, you know, having gone to

Metropolitan Boys Basketball, summer basketball camp for, I don't know, eight straight years as a kid, two sessions every summer, I just remember how much your dad would talk about Adrian Dantley. And I said, can I get you to tell me who your all-time favorite player is? And of course, he wouldn't do it. And I said, but Adrian Dantley came to mine first, didn't he? And he just smiled and laughed a little bit, but he wouldn't admit it.

Am I right that Dantley's his all-time favorite? In his later years, you finally admit it, he said, he says, we've got a lot of great players, but he is, Dale is the only one of the All-Fame. that obviously puts him in a unique class. I mean, obviously, he was special, and the great big bad AD is that, I mean, he was 6'4 and played four men in the NBA and was a scoring champion three or four times. He was an amazing player. I mean, just so special, I mean, that size.

You know, the other night when Bam went for 83 in the game against the Wizards, you know, he had, he set the record for the most free throw attempts and the most free throws made in an NBA. game. And so I looked up, you know, free throw attempts and free throw attempts and free throws made in a game. And Dantley's name is all over that list. In fact, in free throws made before the other night, I didn't know this, Adrian Dantley held the record for the most free throws made in a game. He made 28 in a game. He also had the second most in a game 27. So BAMs 36 made free throws. sort of, you know, shattered AD's, you know, Adrian Dantley's record, but Adrian had the top two made free throws in a game in NBA history.

He really was crafty in figuring out how to get to the free throw line. I mean, he, I'm assuming he was the same in high school, although nobody could stop him from getting to the rim in high school. You had to foul. Yeah. I mean, they did it. And every lovely one up, there was always a question mark about his size, but he always did it.

And just, you know, his work ethic was beyond compare, toughness, and along with his guide-given ability, he was a special player. So, I mean, obviously, you know, a D.C. legend, and I think I have to agree with you. You know, I think Morgan definitely was saying in his way that D.D. was the best. One other thing that has come out of this particular season, and really the last four, you know, with Jordan Smith having the career he's had at PVI. people that I love and respect when it comes to talking about high school basketball in this market. I've had a couple of them tell me they think Jordan Smith might be the best player to come out of this area.

Now, you know, for many years I did a show, you know, right before Coach Thompson did his radio show. And he would famously say when this conversation would come up, Elgin Baylor won and count five steps to you get to who, you know, to whomever's number two. I can't buy into Jordan Smith being the best player to come out of this area. Can you? I think he's a special player, but I would not say that he's earned that right yet. Obviously, to be determined, I think the challenge, obviously, is that, you know, the one thing that obviously is going against me, he's not very big. He's only six-two.

He plays really big, but obviously that's a challenge. But, I mean, obviously, a great player and he's going to be a special career. but I think I would reserve that judgment until well down the road. Yeah, well, I mean, I think the question you can talk about, you know, overall career, that's a different conversation than what they were in high school, right? Like, because to me, Danny Ferry had one of the greatest high school careers ever. Adrian Dantley obviously had one of the greatest high school careers. People look at Kevin Durant and they'll say, well, it's got to be KD,

but Katie's pro career was actually so much better than his high school career. Not to mention the Montrose Christian thing. We could talk about that for hours. But needless to say, there's a list, I guess, you know, all deference to Coach Thompson. After Elgin Baylor, we can talk about who's number two forever. That'd be a great conversation. Well, first of all, congratulations on doing this. Secondly, keep me posted on everything else, and I wish you the best of luck with it.

Thanks for having me on it. And just got to, in short, I would say we're excited about some of the things the coaches have talked about that we could do to promote D.C. basketball because we're doing the all met. But we look at this in an opportunity, we all feel like in a pride way, the DMV's got the best basketball in the country, and we want to promote it. So we can do some other things to promote the coaches and the programs and the basketball and the city nationally, which I think would help all of us.

I think most of us who are from here and even people who aren't realized this is truly the best basketball market in the country. And even though our football team's always been number one coach, basketball is really at this city's core number one. And it's been fun to have a conversation about it and your first D.C. coaches all met basketball team. Thanks. Good luck. Appreciate this. Thanks so much. Have a good day. There you go. Some high school basketball on this show today.

I enjoyed that conversation with Coach Wooten. Speaking of high school basketball, good luck to my alma mater, Walt Whitman, Whitman tomorrow night against Blake in the 4A state finals at UMBC 730 tip. They're playing the kid Baba, who is one of the top recruits in the country, headed to Maryland next year. Whitman in their third straight state final, the fifth state final for my friend and coach, Chris Lund. Go Vikes.

Have a good weekend back on Monday.