The Kevin Sheehan Show - Tunsil & Tournament

Episode Date: March 17, 2025

Kevin opened with Washington's progress on defense so far in the off-season and a few of Laremy Tunsil's remarks from his introductory presser today. Plenty on the Terps and the Bracket as well as Kevin Willard calling in to talk about Maryland's path in the NCAA Tournament.  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 Chean Show. Here's Kevin. Athletic, smart, can make plays whenever he wants to compose just to be so young. Him and CJ have that same trait. They're very opposed, especially in tough situations. Now, you can just tell he was a baller.

Even in college you can see it, he was a baller. Again, I'm excited to be in his position, blocking for him. talking for a young guy like that who can make plays whenever he wants to. That was Washington's new left tackle Laramie Tunsell talking about his new quarterback, Jaden Daniels, just about an hour ago as he held his Zoom introductory press conference after the trade was finalized over the weekend. He had a few other things to say, and I'll tell you what those things were coming up here in this opening segment.

The show's presenting sponsor. As always is Window Nation. 86690 Nation. Windonation.com. If you need new windows, mention my name. Window Nation will take really good care of you. I've got one guest on the show today. Maryland basketball coach, Kevin Willard,

will jump on with me in the final segment of the show. The bracket is out. I'll give you my thoughts on the overall bracket, but specifically Maryland's, path to a final four. I've been saying for the last month and a half that I think Maryland has a chance this year to make a run to the final four. I'll tell you my updated thoughts in the next segment. And then Kevin Willard will join us after that. This from Garrett M. to open up the show. Garrett M. writes, Kevin, you've been very insistent that Washington should be all in to win the

Super Bowl during Jaden's rookie contract. So why aren't they all in on Trey Hendrickson? Doesn't the definition of all in mean you're willing to pay the price asked rather than trying to get the best deal? They already overpaid for Javan Kinlaw. They traded too much for Tunsell, so why not a first rounder or whatever the Bengals are asking for Hendrickson? They haven't done enough on defense and he might be the last proven defensive player available in this off season that can make an immediate difference. Don't you think it's strange that they're not just paying the asking price? Thank you, Garrett, for that. I said last week, and I just want to say it again, I don't like the description of All In. All In to me says spending big, maybe even, maybe

even overspending. I like kind of the mindset being win now. That's more of a current thinking. It doesn't guarantee big results. Because as we've talked about, free agency didn't have, you know, a bunch of big spending opportunities, at least for them,

for what they were looking for. Washington's gone the trade route. Debo, Tunsel, you know, Lattimore back in November. But you said it, Garrett, and it might be true that they did overpay for Kinlaw. I don't know if they overpaid for Tunsell, but it was a big trade for picks. So the overpaying for Kinlaw kind of already speaks to your all-in, you know, and being willing to overpay. I understand Kinlawn Hendrickson are not the same players.

I do understand the distinction there. As far as the specific Hendrickson situation now, I do believe that they're one of the few teams, you know, maybe more than few, that are interested and have been hovering. I just don't think they see a first and a third for a player that you have to then pay 30 plus million a year to as fair. I think they'd pay a fair price, but I don't think they're willing to take it on the chin for a player like Trey Hendrickson. Maybe Miles Garrett, had he been available, they would have considered taking one. on the chin in terms of paying maybe a little bit more with a lot of competition for Garrett. You know, keep in mind, and we've talked about this too, when it comes to Trey Hendrickson in

particular, because he's not the player Miles Garrett is. The draft is loaded with defensive linemen, edge rushers, also interior defensive linemen, but for sure, you know, defensive ends. and so that may be kind of the fallback for them, even though I do think they have thought big and they are in win-now mode, I think Kahlil Mack was a target for them and Mack just decided to stay in L.A.

and play for the Chargers. I think Garrett absolutely would have been somebody that they would have chased had he become available. And I do think they're interested in Trey Hendrickson. By the way, on the Hendrickson front, you know, signing of Jamar Chase and T. Higgins over the weekend, Chase to the largest non-quarterback contract in NFL history, Higgins to a long-term deal as well.

Now that they can structure those deals in a way that opens up cap space in 25, Hendrickson could get re-signed by Cincinnati. You know, this, you know, availability for him to go out and seek a trade partner may not have produced what Cincinnati told him it needed to produce, which was, you know, call it a trade partner. first and a third. And now that they have gotten the chase and the Higgins deals done long term, Joe Burrow wants Trey Hendrickson back. So we'll see. I do think Garrett M., the email or not Miles Garrett, Garrett M. When you said that they haven't done enough on defense, that is a thought,

I think many have so far. I mean, we are early, but there aren't a lot of big moves left to be made. I don't know if you're right or not. I don't know if you'll end up being right or not. I think they might feel differently, even though maybe they weren't able to execute on plan A, which was to get a big splash impact defensive player, you know, a Garrett, a Mac, or a Hendrickson. They did, you know, bring back Bobby Wagner, which was huge. They've signed a lot of defensive players. But to be fair, you know, in your description of what they've done or not done, it does seem like on paper they've added basically one new starter in Will Harris replacing chin at safety. You know, they brought back Wagner, a starter. After that, I mean, I think Ken Law and I think Noah I have a chance to play a lot.

but Goldman and Wise and Jonathan Jones and Sheldon Day, who they added late on Friday, Jalen Holmes, who they re-signed over the weekend. These are rotational and or depth signings. But here's the thing, and I talked about this actually earlier today on radio with my producer Denton. You know, defense, unlike offense, is more variable. There's more variance year to year with defense than there is offense, in part because when you have consistency a quarterback and that player has so much impact on what your team offensively is, as long as that piece stays there,

you don't have as much variance year to year. Defense is different. Big changes happen. And sometimes, by the way, they happen with the same core group of players. Washington in 2022 had a very good defense. It was top 10 by almost every advanced metric. It was abysmal in 2023. Basically the same core minus Cole Holcomb and Bobby McCain.

Those were the only real differences from 22 to 23. Defense changes. So maybe they're thinking, you know, defense changes. It's year two. Same system for a second consecutive year. We liked some of the players we had. we're expecting a jump in production because of their understanding of what we're trying to do. You know, maybe it was more scheme than players.

Maybe it was more play calling than players. We talked all season long about the, you know, lack of a really good defense, especially against the run. And at the same time, it was like, there's a disconnect here because Louvoo is a good player. Wagner's a good player. Martin and Chin are pretty good. Sanra still's pretty good. Armstrong's not that bad.

And yet the production wasn't there. But maybe, maybe there are scheme changes coming. Maybe there is an expectation that the variance defense year to year, that a big part of why they'll trend upwards is it's year two in the system. And they'll have a better understanding of what Joe Witt Jr. and company want to do. I mean, there is no doubt, right? that when we get to the beginning of the season, if they have not significantly, you know, added to the defensive side of the ball from where they are now.

And by the way, over the weekend, Dante Fowler Jr. signed with Dallas. So that's 10 and a half sacks that are gone. Now, I didn't think he was going to be kept, especially after his tweet last week. He was a liability against the run. There's no doubt about that. But it's 10 and a half sacks, you know? I think if we get to the beginning of the season,

in the big move that maybe they had anticipated maybe delivering on, Khalil Mack, Miles Garrett, Trey Andrickson, you know, that those moves never materialized. And they ended up picking a player in the first round, a defensive end that they're really high on. But I think we will still, as a group, the large majority of us, will identify before the season starts, defense, as our major concern, stopping the run, as our major concern, even pressuring the opposing

team's quarterback. I mean, we will get to if what they, let's go through what they've added, right? Okay, so what they've added so far, Javon Kinlaw, Eddie Goldman, Dietrich Wise, Jonathan Jones, Will Harris, Jacoby Martin, okay, in terms of new players on defense. They've added, or they've kept, excuse me, Bobby Wagner, obviously, Sheldon Day, Cleland Farrell, they kept this weekend, Jalen Holmes, they kept this weekend. And then they lost Dante Fowler, Jeremy Chin, St. Juice, Forest, anybody else defensively, and John Allen, of course. We will get to the beginning of the season if this is what it looks like with just maybe a couple of

draft choices, maybe a first rounder added, and we will have concerns about them defensively. But I will remind myself and all of you, not that I'm saying you'll need to be reminded, that defense changes year to year, and maybe year two, and maybe Kinlaw and Wise, and maybe there's a couple of additions here that they understand fit better than the pieces they had last year. by the way, they've brought a lot of those pieces back. Out of their 28 free agents, I think they've now brought back 19 of them. We knew that that was going to be a big part of the offseason. A lot of one-year deals with players that were their own free agents.

They just have too many roster spots to fill, and a lot of those players just flat out didn't have, you know, a significant marketplace. But, yeah, I think we could get to, you know, training camp and just say for a month, five, six weeks leading into the opener about, you know, I think it'll become very much a theme to training camp and the buildup to the season about the concern defensively, that they just weren't able to land the big time knockout, you know, punch defensive impact player. One more email just to read, because this was a good one. This is from J.C.

J.C. writes, Hi, Kevin. Cincinnati is forever short of cash, so they may be willing to trade Burrow and Hendrickson for Daniels. Would you do it if offered? First of all, they weren't short on cash this weekend, J.C., with Jamar, Jason T. Higgins.

Let me think about it. No, thank you. I would not do that deal. I laughed when I first read this, but I also thought about 30 seconds later that some of you might consider it. Burrow and Hendrickson for Jaden Daniels. I bet you that some of you are going to email me or tweet me and say, you kidding me? The best pass rusher in the game the last two years in terms of sacks and a top five.

were quarterback who's better than Jaden, some of you might say, yes, they should do that deal. I would never do that deal. And I really like Joe Burrow, but I like Jaden much more. I just do. And Hendrickson, by the way, wouldn't even be that much of a thought in a deal like this. This would be about the quarterbacks, Burrow and Jaden. Jaden's 24, Burroughs 28. Burroughs missed in five seasons, 13 games. He's basically had two of his five seasons ended by injuries. Jaden might end up having those issues too, but he hasn't so far. And I just think he is the better quarterback. I'm never. I'm never trading Jaden Daniels. Never. Not until something changes dramatically in the way I feel about his game. You know, I don't think it's going to change anytime soon. Oh man, that is definitely

a mid to late March discussion. A couple of trade, you know, thoughts. All right, Laramie Tunsell today, a couple of things. First of all, on what the Texans told him in terms of why they traded him, he said, quote, it's a young man's game. I've seen it for myself. They wanted to keep their young core together. That's kind of interesting, because, like, Houston has a young quarterback that they have to protect.

I understand that by the time they got around to paying him, he's 31 going on 32, and that they had all sorts of issues. I had somebody on from Houston last week on radio. Apparently, the O-Line Room was not a healthy room on that team. It was a bad offensive line minus Tunsell at the end of the year, which is why Houston did take a slight step back, even though they did win their division, and they did make it to the playoffs again at 10 and 7. But he said that basically they told them they want to

keep a young core together, and he said it's a young man's game. I've seen it for myself. On his first kind of initial thoughts of Washington's culture from his visit over the weekend after the trade was finalized, he said, quote, the energy in that building is off the charts. Everybody is happy. Everybody's energetic. Everybody is looking to win, closed quote. And then he was asked by, I think Ben, standing, about. you know, a contract, a new contract. He's got two years remaining on his current deal, but I think we all understand they traded four picks for him. They're not going to let him get to

2026 at 31 going on 32 and play a season that could lead to unrestricted free agency. He basically blew off the question saying AP, know where I, you know, AP Adam Peters and the front office know where I stand. on that closed quote. So I think it makes sense that whether it's before the season, during the season, or this time next year, it is before 2026 begins that Laramie Tunsell ends up getting a big contract extension. All right.

And you heard what he said about Jaden coming in. He's excited to play with Jaden Daniels. Who wouldn't be? And I'm sure he was excited. He mentioned C.J. Stroud's name in that answer. All right. Let's talk tournament when we come back after these words from a few of our sponsors. It can be hard for men to deal with hair loss, even though it's common.

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That's goldbelly.com code sheen for free shipping and 20% off your first order. Full puts Maryland in front, 80 to 79. Don't let Donaldson get it back now if he throws it in. There they go. Get it in? Donaldson. 90 seconds. Two seconds.

Donaldson. Trey Donaldson, coast to coast for Michigan on Saturday to beat Maryland 81 to 80 in the Big 10 semi-finals. Maryland's last four losses have come three times at the buzzer and once with just under six seconds to go on a banked-in three-pointer. This segment of the show is brought to you by My Bookie. March Madness is here, and every game is a chance to cash in. From the first tip off to the final four, every night promises high stakes matchups, wild finishes, and big time betting opportunities. And my bookie's bet and get is back to sweeten the deal. Place a cash bet on March Madness and get a surprise reward.

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Just make sure to let them know that I sent you using my promo code, Kevin D.C. My bookie will have bracket contests. galore. So sign up at mybooky.ag and use my promo code, Kevin D.C. Kevin Willard will join me in the final segment. Maryland is off to the West region as the four seed. They're going to play in Seattle Friday afternoon against Grand Canyon, and then they'll play the winner of Memphis, Colorado State in the second round if they get by their first round matchup, more on their bracket and their path in a moment. I do want to go back to Saturday for just a second. That was not Maryland's best effort. Offensively, Derek Queen was incredible. 31 points, 10 of 19 from the floor,

9 of 9 from the free throw line, including those two free throws that gave Marilyn the lead with just over five seconds to go. But this was a rough afternoon for Maryland on the glass. They got out rebounded. 47 to 18. Michigan had more offensive rebounds than Maryland had total rebounds. Now, I saw a lot of you reaching out to me to say, my God, the two bigs for Michigan, Wolf and Golden, dominated recent. Queen, and there was some of that. There's no doubt there was some of that. A lot of it had to do with

Maryland switching every single screen, and you ended up with Golden, and you ended up with Danny Wolf, who's going to be more likely than not a first round pick, in some advantageous size matchups after the switches on the glass, where Maryland had their bigs out on the perimeter at times, guarding smaller players. So there were a lot of reasons. Look, ultimately, when you get out rebounded like that, you know, to the tune of 29 rebounds, giving up 19 offensive rebounds, you know, you got out physicaled, you got out hustled on the glass. And Reese and Queen have been better than that as rebounders. I mean, they combined for eight rebounds in the game. Derek Queen's been a double-double machine.

He had three total rebounds in the game. Now, part of it is Michigan shot the ball well. They shot 47% from the floor. They shot 39% from behind the arc. They only missed one free throw. So when you're shooting the ball well, there aren't as many chances to rebound the ball, but Maryland was not good enough on their offensive end on the glass.

And that hurt a lot. down by 15 in the second half made a big run. The reason the game was so different rebounding-wise and yet so tight scoring-wise is Michigan turned the ball over 19 times. It's what they do. It is their true Achilles heel turning the ball over. Maryland turned it over just six times. So Maryland got 13 extra possessions with turnovers. Michigan got 19 offensive rebounds, which created additional shot opportunities. Just disappointing because I really wanted it, and I talked about it on Friday. I think a lot of Maryland fans, I'm with you, really wanted a deep, deep run in the Big Ten tournament.

Maryland was outstanding on Friday night. I mean, blowing out Illinois, 88 to 65. At one point, they had a 36-point lead over at that point, one of the hottest teams in the country. Illinois going into that quarterfinal game against Maryland had won four straight. They had beaten Michigan on the road. They'd beaten Purdue at home. And Maryland dominated Illinois. Maryland has owned Brad Underwood since he's come into the league.

And the Terps were phenomenal. They scored 57 points in the first half of that game against Illinois with zero turnovers. And they got it from everybody. I mean, Rodney Rice was on fire, you know, knocking down. five threes in the first half. He had that possum three in the second half. I don't know that it was really playing possum where he went down and he was holding his calf muscle and then all a sudden his defender left him and he got back up, shot a three and got fouled. That was an

impressive win, but it would have been cool to see Maryland in the Big Ten finals yesterday. Michigan went on and won it. They beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten final. I think losing the game Saturday may have cost Maryland one seed line. Although, with the seeding the way it turned out, Michigan's a five seed, Wisconsin's a three, Maryland's a four, Purdue's a four. They walloped Purdue in the quarterfinals. They beat Maryland in the semifinals, and they beat Wisconsin in the finals. So I don't know how much these conference tournaments really mean to overall seed. Michigan ends up with a five seed. The Big Ten ends up with just eight. when it looked like a few weeks ago they could have as many as 11, but definitely nine or 10.

We'll get to the overall bracket here in a moment. But yeah, not Maryland's best. They didn't play as well as they have played. Now, if you're looking for a silver lining turp fans, Maryland has rebounded very well off of these devastating losses, right? four losses, their last four losses, all at the wire. Maryland lost to Northwestern at the buzzer in overtime, 76, 74, and then they went on a four-game win streak. They lost Ohio State on Bruce Thornton's three, banked in three with under six seconds to go. They went on a four-game

winning streak following that loss. They lost on the Trey Holloman, 64. footer at the buzzer at Xfinity Center, losing the Michigan State 5855. They followed that up with a four-game winning streak. So now they lose with 0.4 on the clock left on Trey Donaldson's Tias Edney impersonation end-to-end. Yeah, it would have been nice to have stopped the ball to not let it come back into Trey Donaldson's hands. That is true.

It also would have been better had Queen and Reese, been a little bit more in line to block this shot at the rim because that's a shot they've been blocking all season long. But if Maryland were to follow up this buzzer beating loss with four straight wins, they would be in the final four. So overall thoughts real quickly on the bracket, you know, all the controversy deals with North Carolina. I have not, you know, immersed myself in all of the analytics. But I read enough from over the weekend and then after the pairing show last night

to know that North Carolina's 1 in 12 quad one record, meaning they were 1 and 12 against the best teams in America, even though they had a very difficult schedule. They didn't beat any of the teams that were difficult to beat. Their only quad one win was over UCLA in December, and UCLA was not anywhere near what they turned out. to be. They nearly beat Duke in the ACC semifinals, but they had a lane violation. Duke was playing

without Cooper Flag. They were also playing without another really good player. Carolina, I've watched three or four times over the last three weeks. I think they're bad. I don't think they're anywhere near as good as Indiana or Ohio State or West Virginia, who I didn't see play a lot. West Virginia and in Indiana were the two teams that were thought to have been really screwed by Carolina's inclusion. But we have to remind ourselves every year, man,

this is a television show, period. And North Carolina is a blue blood. And North Carolina playing tomorrow night in a first four game and then again as an 11 seed against, I think it would be Ole Miss, right? I think that's the play in for their side. Now, Indiana is a pretty big program, as well. It looks like Carolina was last team in, and West Virginia was first out. But I watched North Carolina a couple of times. I just was not impressed at all with North Carolina.

The other gripes that I would have about the bracket, and, you know, this is an annual tradition of griping up. That's what everybody does. I mean, matchups are everything. It's hard, but I can't believe Louisville's playing in Lexington is an eight seed. First, of all, I think they were underseated as the third best team in the ACC and a team that pushed Duke in the ACC final on Saturday night. But how do you let them play in Lexington? And then if they beat Creighton, and that's unfair to Creighton as a nine seed to have to play essentially a road game, how is it fair to the number one overall seed in the tournament, Auburn, which by the way is the number one seed I would have preferred Maryland had been the four in. I think Auburn's the weakest of

the four number one seeds, personally, after watching them a bunch here over the last month, but they were the number one, number one overall seed in the tournament. How is it fair for them to play Louisville if they have to play Louisville in the second round in Lexington? I know that they've played on that floor, but that just shouldn't be. I already mentioned Michigan is a five seed. You know, after they won the Big Ten tournament, it goes to show really that the seeding perhaps is more etched in stone before these conference tournaments. And then I'll be honest with you. From Maryland's standpoint, how is Wisconsin a three-seed and Maryland's a four-seat?

Maryland ranks ahead of Wisconsin in almost all of the key advanced metrics. They beat Wisconsin in their only head-to-head win. They had a better quad-one record than Wisconsin. I think I said this last week or the week before. I don't know why Wisconsin keeps getting, you know, in the bracketologists, a higher seed than Maryland. I don't think they deserved it. Now, with respect to Maryland as a four seed, I'll tell you what, putting them in that, you know, bracket with Florida, I thought when I saw Duke pop up as a one after we got Auburn's bracket in the east, I thought Maryland was going to be the four.

I thought with Coach K gone, and it's obvious a Duke Maryland Sweet 16 game would be a huge, television draw, and probably not as much in 20, 25 as it would have been five years ago or right after Maryland left the ACC. But still, there's enough, you know, cachet in the matchup. But they didn't match that up. They put Arizona as the four. I knew once Oregon was the five that Maryland wasn't going to be the four. Maryland, you know, there's been an emphasis with the committee to keep top 16 seeds, top four seeds in each region, as close to home as possible? Well, they didn't do it with Maryland. Maryland's going out to Seattle. They're in the West region. They play Grand Canyon. What I know about Grand Canyon is their coached by Bryce Drew.

This is their third straight tournament trip. They won last year in a first round game, in a first round upset over St. Mary's as a 12 seed. They're apparently not as good this year, but they like to really play at a fast pace. That's what Maryland likes to play at. The Terps are 10 and a half point favorites. I would be really disappointed if Maryland doesn't beat Grand Canyon. But you never know. You know, in these matchups and Maryland doesn't have a bench where they can rely on points, foul trouble.

This is what I've said when I've talked about Maryland as a final four possibility, and you've probably heard a lot of other people say that too in the last month. Maryland's starting five is the most productive starting five in America. They don't have much scoring at all off the bench. although Jordan Geronimo's gotten better off the bench. But I like Maryland to certainly advance over Grand Canyon. Memphis has an injury to a key player. They're actually an underdog as a five-seat against Colorado State.

Colorado States won 10 games in a row. They've got a really good shooting guard who can really fill it up. But, you know, the last time Maryland went to the Sweet 16 was 2016, and they didn't have to play as a four-seed, the five, to get there. They played Hawaii, who had upset, I think it was Cal in the first round, and then they went on to the Sweet 16. It's possible Maryland will face Grand Canyon in Colorado State with a chance to get to the Sweet 16. They're certainly favored in their four-team pod to come out of it and advance to the Sweet 16. And if they get there, they will face the number one seed in their West region, Florida.

Florida is loaded, man. I've watched them several times now down the stretch. They won the SEC tournament. They've won six games in a row. The SEC got 14 teams in. Their guard, Walter Clayton juniors, as good as any in the country, it's 6-3-200. Average is 17 plus a game. They're loaded, and they've got players that can score off the bench. They're well-coached. I don't have any fear of anybody in this tournament for Maryland if Maryland plays their best basketball. I think they can win. Duke to me is so overwhelmingly loaded with talent. They're the one team that I think it's going to be, I think Duke's going to win this whole thing, although I really like Houston and Florida as well, but I think Duke's the team that I would pick right today.

We'll do brackets later in the week. I'm not afraid of Florida. I don't think it's a can't win game. I think Florida would be probably no more than like a six or a seven point favorite over Maryland. Maybe less than that. I want to get there. I want to get to the second weekend for the first time in nine years. That would be nice. And playing Florida would be awesome.

Florida's going to have to play Yukon in the second round. If Yukon gets by their first round matchup against Oklahoma, that's not a given there. and Yukon's not what they were as defending as national champs last year or the year before. But I like Maryland's chances still. Do I like them as much as I did a month and a half ago? Their bench is even less than what I thought it was a month and a half ago from a scoring perspective. I, to be honest with you in many ways, think Florida is really, really good, but I'm almost glad that they didn't get Duke or Houston. Houston is one of those teams that physically could manhandle Maryland in a lot of spots.

And I don't know that Florida will do that. Could be a very, very high, highly entertaining, high-octane, high-scoring suite 16 game if Maryland and Florida play. I hope to get to that. And if they do, I do think the winner of Maryland, Florida in the Sweet 16 would have a really good chance. I like St. John's a lot. They don't shoot the three particularly well. Texas Tech and Missouri and Kansas and Arkansas. I think the Maryland Florida Sweet 16 winner, if that's the matchup,

I think they go on to the final four. A Maryland St. John's elite hate matchup with Patino, who is Kevin Willard's mentor, that would be one hell of a matchup. But let's just get our Terps, for those of you, that feel the same way about Maryland that I do. Let's just get them to the second weekend for the first time in nine years. They made a lot of progress. They brought a lot of people back to the program interested in what Kevin Willard will now do.

Willard, by the way, was mentioned in the Villanova opening. Villanova's got a ton of money. Villanova is not a better job than Maryland, though. And part of it is just the Big East versus the Big Ten. The Big Ten is solidified. It's healthy. It's going to be here, and you don't know what's going to happen to the Big East or the ACC for that matter. And it looks like it might ultimately result in an extension for Kevin Willard more money from the school.

We'll see. He had a hell of a year, 25 and 8. He will join me next after these words from a few of our sponsors. So most of us wear underwear every day. But when was the last time you changed the type of underwear that you wear? I had someone tell me recently that they hadn't changed the brand of their underwear since shortly after college until they heard me talk about skims for men. Yeah, for those that haven't heard, skims now offers men's underwear, and I'm here to tell you it's worth the hype. Whether it works sitting at your desk or at the gym working out, skims works for all occasions.

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Joining me right now is the head basketball coach at Maryland, Kevin Willard, the Terps Friday afternoon in Seattle against Grand Canyon University in a first round game. Maryland, 25 and 8, a very exciting season. I'm curious before the bracket came out, you know, last night on CBS, how much of an information junkie you are when it comes to, you know, bracketology and trying to seek out information before you know definitively where you're going. Yeah, I mean, you know, Kevin, it's a good question because I think during the year, as the season

goes on, I'm really, really into it. I follow it. I explain it to the team. I talk about the different metrics and things like that. But once you get down to, you know, there's not much movement And once you get down to Friday and Saturday in the Concord tournament, you know, I think, I thought we were the last three seed and then we lost in Michigan. I think we got the first four seed. So I think once you get to that point, you know, you know you're in and you're just kind of hoping to get the best seat possible. Do we know that the conference tournaments really don't significantly change much at this point? because I'm wondering, and maybe you have a thought on this, if we had beaten Michigan and we were playing yesterday,

would we have been a three? You know what? I don't, you know, maybe, but I don't think so. If you look at, you know, Michigan got a 5C, Wisconsin, got a speed Michigan beat Wisconsin. So, you know, when you think about the complexities of all the different things that go into the seating, I think most of the time, and I've been told this by different people that have been on the committee,

most of the time the fields usually set the week of conference tournament. And the only thing that really changes dramatically is the bid stealers. When there's an upset in the conference tournament, someone gets knocked out. But for the most part, when you're seeding 68 teams, that's pretty much done before a conference tournament. Did you have any sort of preference yesterday before CBS laid the whole thing out? Yeah, I mean, I definitely would have obviously gone to Providence. Right. Just because I think we would have got more fans there.

But, you know, when you're a three or four seat, you know, you put a really good year of hard work in. We just enjoyed it when it was Seattle. We were excited because obviously we've gone out and played Washington and Oregon. So either way, once you get to that point, it's all about celebrating the fact that, you're, you know, You've been an at-large team. That means you've been one of the best teams in the country all year long. You really just want your kid to enjoy and get ready to get to work. Is the first moment you know who you're playing and where you're going when CBS puts it up there on the screen?

Yeah, I mean, we had a really nice party yesterday with the team. And I think the biggest thing is making sure that, you know, obviously we're coming off that gut-wrenching loss in Michigan. And my biggest thing yesterday was just making sure the guys really enjoyed that moment. And it's a great moment when you see your name pop up there, where you're going to go, who you're going to play. It's what the seven months of hard work is all about. Yeah. What I was asking, though, is do you get any information before it comes out?

Like, do you get tipped? You guys are a four. You're going to play in Seattle before. Oh, no. Okay. You got it. So. Yeah, I mean.

I mean, I used to get it just about 20 minutes before, only because I knew a bunch of guys that worked for Westwood One, and they would provide them with the bracket before. But I was sworn to secrecy. But I wasn't sure if that's something that you guys had any information on. So take us through exactly what happens. Once you know, it's Grand Canyon, Seattle. I know there are a lot of moving pieces with travel and the whole thing, but what are you focused on? I mean, so really, the first thing you really do is just logistics. You've got to make, I mean, you're not just, you're not just jumping on a flight and going somewhere.

You have your band, cheerleaders, you have families. So, you know, you really have to sit down and you have to talk to the NCAA and tell them when you want to leave. They tell you your hotel. You've got to get all that stuff. So the first kind of couple hours is logistics. That's what I'm doing. I'm working with my staff, my director of basketball operations. and trying to make sure that we get the best logistics to get out there and do it.

The staff goes in and starts working on, obviously starts working on Grand Canyon. The other staff is working on the second round game. And then once I get the logistics done, we got done with that around 8.30 last night. And then the staff and I sat down. We start going through the game plan for Grand Canyon. And we start breaking that down. We did that for a couple hours. And then we got in this morning.

we've been doing that and we're getting ready right now to step in the practice. On the logistics front, I'm just curious. Is there a designated hotel or are there choices for hotels? Like is it a mad dash to get the best accommodations or not? No, see, that's why I really believe that the seating's done way in advance the week of. You get your hotel based on what your seat is. Each city that you go to, the seed is designated from the hotel. So the NCAA sits there and says, okay, you're going to the Hilton because you're the four seed.

And the six seed is going to some of the hotel. So that's when you really realize the complexities of running the NCAA tournament and everything that goes into it, you know, it's all done based on your seed. All right. So what can you tell us about Grand Canyon at this point? Yeah, I mean, they're a good basketball team. They have really good size. I've been really impressed. Not only are they, they have good size on the inside,

but their guards and wings have good lengths. They're very good defensively. They get after it. They play fast, but they don't push the tempo crazy. They just shoot very quickly in the half court. They put a lot of pressure on you, the guard one-on-one, to guard your guy. defensively, they'll mix it up a little bit.

They played Georgia in Stanford, some two-three zone. They played a lot of man-to-man. Overall, they don't shoot it great. I would say that's probably the only thing. They don't do well. But besides that, everything else, they do really, really well. Is there a team once you watch them on film that you say they play like this team, and we played that team, let's go back and look at it?

Yeah, a little bit, but at this time of year, you are who you are a little bit. Like, you know, we're putting it, we're putting in a different, a little bit different secondary breaks for them, because they do play defense a little bit like Washington. They play defense a little bit like Wisconsin, so we're going to put a different secondary break in that we had in earlier in the year. But for the most part, you know, right now just concentrate

what we're going to do defensively and really just focus on that right now. And you did say that part of your staff starts to look at Memphis and Colorado State. Yeah, right now, me and David Cox are just focused on Grand Canyon. So it's me, David, my video coordinator, us three are really just diving into Grand Canyon, and we will spend the first three, all three days just worrying about Grand Canyon. The other two assistants, one guy has Colorado State, one guy has Memphis. And I won't even look at those guys until after the game. So me and David are just focused on Grand Canyon.

The other guys are focused on their games, but they're not part of the game plan. Just me and David are part of that. You know, I meant to ask you about the logistics, and it's just me being curious about it. But, you know, where do you practice? Does a team like Oregon, who's also playing in Seattle as a conference team do you guys, is there any sort of help that they give you or you give,

what kind of camaraderie is there between conference teams playing in the same venue? And the first part of that was just, you know, how do you determine where you're going to practice or is that the NCAA that does that? No, I mean, that would give you a time flight. We have our open practice on Thursday. I think it's from 1 to 140 that you have. to be at. But as far as being Seattle, you know, we're going to practice at Washington on Thursday. So those guys have been great. And the fact that they're in our conference and Danny is a really

great guy. So we'll practice at, we'll practice at Washington on Thursday. And Friday's an early game. So Friday morning will be a ballroom walkthrough. We won't do a regular walkthrough for a 130 game. All right. You are... As far as Oregon, I probably won't even talk to Dana because they're in a totally different bracket

and they're doing, they're probably having the same logistics that we're trying to figure out. Gotcha. You know, the sports changed a lot in the last, you know, 10 years, 15 years, you know, maybe even

and not as long as that. It's become for many sports fans a one month out of the calendar sport, and that month is March. But you're a part of the journey. And by the way, hardcore fans, and I'm one of them, are kind of watching the journey as well. But how much do you sort of balance this incredible 25 wins that you had, memorable moments? You know, the Illinois, Indiana back-to-back was so much fun. There were different moments during the course of the year, the painful one at home against Michigan State.

It's certainly a memory. But how do you balance the largesse of 33 games in the journey you've been on with this one and done where all the attention is? Yeah, that's actually a great question, Kevin, because it's like, and I say this all the time, if you don't have a good journey throughout the year, then you don't have a chance to be in this tournament. So the journey is probably most important because if you don't, if you're an at-large, team. If you get in that large bid, it really means that you have one of the best 30, 30, 30 games seasons. And we celebrate that. I told the guys that the day,

when you get a four-seat, that means you've been one of the best teams all year long. Right now, the difference, we have to flip the switch, though. So now it's the second, the way I'm looking at, it's the second season. So the journey was great. We had a great year. the journey gave us the opportunity to get to this point, and now you have to take advantage at this point. So it's almost like flipping the switch a little bit. It's like, all right, now we worked all year to get better, and right now our main focus is the fact that it's a one-and-done season,

and we've got to take advantage of the fact that we're in. Yeah, it's just interesting because you get judged less on the 33 games by fans and much more about what happens now. Yes, yeah. And you know what? There's something to it because if you don't have a good season and you don't get a good deed, it's really hard to advance in March. And so that's kind of where the balance has to be is the fact, yes, you get judged on March,

but the better you do during the season, the better chances you're going to have to win in March. And I think that's kind of where you do get judged. that way, but as a coach, you've got to make sure that you do everything possible during a season to give you the best opportunity to win in March. Is this your best team that you've coached anywhere? No, my 2019-2020 team at Seaton-Hall. The COVID-the-COVID year was really, really good. This is probably my second best team.

Probably my second best team. I would say by far it's the most fun I've had coaching of any team I've ever had. They are fun to be around. They work hard. They have a great attitude. I enjoy being with each one of these guys on an individual basis just to talk to them. So it's, it's, it's, by far, I've had the most fun coaching I've had in my career. You know what's interesting about that, Kevin? Your COVID team, you guys, I think, I think you shared in the Big East title that year. Is that the year that you shared a Big East? Yeah. And Maryland did the same thing. in the Big Ten.

And you guys, Marilyn was going to be either a two or a three seed. I'm imagining you were going to easily be a top four seed, right? Yeah, we were probably trending towards to a two or three seed. And the biggest thing was we were going to be in the East region, which that year the Sweet 16 was in Madison Square Garden. So it would have been like a home game for us. I think the same thing was, I think I talked to Turch the next year, and he was the same thing.

they were going to get, I forget where their region was, but it was going to be someplace close to here. It's unfortunate because, you know, the Maryland team, we played them that year. They were really good. They had obviously great guard play. You know, they had sticks. They had Bruno. I mean, they were a team that was built for a long run. Yeah, they were good that year.

They had a point guard in Cowan and they had sticks and Wiggins off the bench. Morsell was the defensive player of the year. They were loaded heading into that thing. and I remember your team. I remember you had a couple of big dudes and you had one tough-ass guard. And I'm blanking on his name right now. Miles Powell.

Of course, pal, yeah. Yeah, that was... We had two seven-footers that, I mean, we protected the rim at an elite level, which gave us a chance to be really aggressive on the wing, so we defended the three really well. And we had, I mean, I had 6-11, 7-foot, 7-foot. And it was, you know, it was one of those things where we just defensively were so good that we could have beat anybody.

Last one. Just do you think about the fan base, you know, this Maryland fan base, I don't think you knew it when you got the job. I remember a couple of our first conversations. It is a very passionate fan base. It's a demanding fan base. And, you know, it's a national championship program. You know, Gary, one. won a national championship, went to back-to-back final fours. And this team, regardless of the coach, has been to one sweet 16 over the last 22 years. Do you feel any of that and the added pressure of getting beyond this first weekend? Yeah, I think you feel that no matter where you are nowadays. I think, you know, I've actually enjoyed this fan base and, you know,

the way they are. The only thing that I've been trying to do is educate our fan base on the Big Ten. It's, you know, I think we're still stuck a little bit in the ACC world where, you know, college basketball has changed. I don't think our fan base enjoys how good Big Ten basketball is, you know, the Midwest and really the fan bases out there understand how good the Big Ten basketball is. I think our fans are starting to realize how much fun Big Ten basketball is and really enjoying it. And I thought the fan base this year, you know, we start off attendance a little slow,

but I think once they realize, you know, what type of team this was, how fun they were to watch, you know, to only lose really one game at home, you know, we went 17 and 2. It shows you how good this fan base is. You like Marilyn? You like the Big Ten? You're going to be here for a while? Yeah, I mean, you know, the Big Ten is great. Kevin. It's one of those things, I said this yesterday to one of the reporters after the selection came out was the greatest thing that the Big Ten is it makes you, you have to be a better coach every day. When you go up against Matt Painter and Tom Isow, Dana Aldman, Nick Cronin, you know, you go down the list of all these guys that are in this league that are so good, you know, Greg Gard at Wisconsin.

You know, Dusty's done a phenomenal job at Michigan. You have to, we see so many different styles that you have to, you just can't sit there and say, okay, you can't be stubborn and say, I'm going to play this way every day because, you know, that's the way it's going to work. You have to really adapt. And I enjoy Big Ten basketball. I love the challenge. And, you know, Maryland, it's a great program.

And I think I love the momentum that we have going right now. Best of luck, really hoping for the best. enjoy it and hopefully we can talk next week before a Sweet 16 game. Sounds great, Kevin Willard, everybody. Maryland and Grand Canyon Friday afternoon 435 on TBS. Remember, it's CBS, TNT, TBS, and True TV for the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. If you're in your car Friday afternoon and you can't watch it, you can listen to it on the team. 980. All right, that is it for the day. No Tommy tomorrow. Logan Paulson will be on with me and we'll talk a lot of football. I'll have smell test picks for the tournament maybe as early as tomorrow's show. All right, that's it for the day. Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you.