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It's "Run it Back Part 2" with 3 Houston Starters Returning!
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Welcome to Episode #52 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast.
This is our 1st offseason episode of season 2, and just like last season we'll be discussing the big roster decisions made after the Portal season opened & the pre-NBA Draft workouts completed. The coaching staff & the LinkingCoogs NIL Collective stepped up yet again, w/ their creative "#WideAwake" campaign facilitating 3 of our 5 starters returning next season to make yet another run at that elusive National Championship! Add 3 elite 5* freshmen into the pot, and we have the potential recipe for a team that could finish the job next year.
So we'll begin this episode by making a few comments on the lone add from the Portal (Kalifa Sakho), then quickly move towards providing perspectives on how the team faired from a roster building perspective during Portal Season, and then finish by providing another "way too early" forecast of how we see the line-ups & rotations breaking down going into next season.
- No Conference for Old Men is available for free via Spotify / Apple Podcast / SoundCloud & the GoCoogs.com website; we're also available via the Republic of Football Podcast feed from the folks at Dave Campbell's Texas Football as their only basketball-centric offering
- Intro / Exit music: Ground Zero provided by FreeBeats.io
- Please follow us on https://gocoogs.com/old-men/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Episode 52
00:00:08
@NoConfForOldMen
Welcome folks to the 52nd episode of the No Conference for Old Men podcast. Podcast where three old guys are talking in Houston Cougars basketball with a bit of Vic 12 coverage added in as well. And proud members of the gocougs.com network, the undisputed number one Houston Cougars content provider.
Offseason Developments & 'Wide Awake' Campaign
00:00:24
@NoConfForOldMen
Well, the calendar has hit June and we're dropping our first offseason episode after finally getting a clear picture of next year's lineup with the huge roster surprise, I guess, after Yuuzhan announced he was bypassing the NBA draft to return during another crazy portal season.
Player Transfers and Acquisitions
00:00:41
@NoConfForOldMen
As most fans have seen from social media, big push from our Lincoln Cougs NIL collective with their hashtag Wide Awake campaign has allowed us to bring back three of our starters in Sharp, Tugler, and Uzahn again to pair with our three-star freshmen, Cenac, Harwell, and Flemings heading into next season.
00:00:59
@NoConfForOldMen
We did lose Arsenault from our lineup to NC State, but did pull in Khalifa Sacco from Sam Houston State to take over Francis' backup big duties. And you know what?
00:01:10
@NoConfForOldMen
We also curiously had Pop Isaacs committed from the portal to take over for Uzun just in case we lost to the NBA. But I guess we can all agree that we're happier to have Uzun back instead.
Roster Overview and Expectations
00:01:22
@NoConfForOldMen
Bottom line is this will provide for another loaded team heading into next season in what at least we're calling Running Aback Part 2. And again, all three of us are back with Tom Lediac, former coach, Bill Walker, former player, and myself, Steve Chang, analytics guy for this episode.
00:01:37
@NoConfForOldMen
So we'll begin with some quick initial thoughts, taking a closer look at the loan transfer portal at Insaco, and then just go directly deep into expectations after confirming that three starters and three star freshmen will be running it back for next season. and And then we'll close things off by taking a look at how we see rotations playing out going into next season.
00:01:59
@NoConfForOldMen
So guys, let's get into it. Huge news and commitment from our NLF collective in getting basically every key player except Arsenal back for next season.
Player Movements: Arsenault, Terrence, and Isaacs
00:02:07
@NoConfForOldMen
Tom, why don't you kick things off with a brief comment in Sacco and then just go directly into the overall achievement from the staff of retaining key players again this offseason from coaching's view.
00:02:19
Tom
Okay, I'm going kind of go a roundabout way of getting to you talked about, Steve. First off, I want to talk about Arsenault. Before his injury last year, Kelvin said he was our our best rebounder.
00:02:34
Tom
aye you know He came back this year. you know i don't know if the expectations for him were maybe too high or whatever, but things just never seemed ah ah to click. You know, he had some good games. He had some so-so games.
00:02:50
Tom
I know, Steve, you're a numbers guy, and I think it's on the veer, but you always come back with, you have stats about when Terrence was in the lineup, you know, how well we did.
00:03:02
Tom
I mean, you know, stats don't always tell the whole picture, but it seemed like he was on the floor.
00:03:03
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:03:07
Tom
You know, we we we did pretty well, but I think overall, you was it was good for everybody, good for us, good for good for Terrence. Maybe go get a different, you know, go get some different scenery and see what he does there.
00:03:21
Tom
You know, get some reset and get a fresh start at NC State.
00:03:22
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:03:26
Tom
So I'll be watching as many NC State games as I can and them the best. but then on the flip side, you know, there there's, there's a lot of competition at the positions he plays. And, and we'll all three of us talk about that coming up too.
00:03:40
Tom
Next one I want to talk about is
Team Dynamics: Fit and Impact of Transfers
00:03:42
Tom
Papa Isaacs. And by the way, what is y'all's favorite Papa Isaac moment at the university of Houston?
00:03:50
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:03:51
Tom
I don't know. Maybe Kelvin told him to go get a haircut and he didn't like And he left.
00:03:54
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:03:54
Tom
No, but but seriously seriously, it seemed like there was a contingency plan.
00:03:59
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:03:59
Tom
Uh, you know We lost a championship game and the next day. Pop said he was coming coming U of H. Milo goes into the draft. I was wrong about Milo.
00:04:09
Tom
I thought there was no way he was going to come back, you that he was pretty much committed you and wanted to be in the NBA.
00:04:11
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, me too.
00:04:16
Tom
But you know surprise, he'll probably make more money here at U of H than he would as a second-round pick. Some people were talking about guaranteed money. you know Some of that money is not guaranteed, and maybe he he was not going to be assured of guaranteed money.
00:04:31
Tom
But anyway, thrilled to have Milo's back. That's like getting a five-star point guard.
00:04:38
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:04:41
Tom
He's ready-made. I mean, he's had a year under Kelvin. He's ready to go. And it just seemed like there was kind of a contingency plan that if Milo's did come back to U of H, then Pop,
00:04:52
Tom
had an agreement to go to A&M, even though Kelvin in a zoom call a couple of weeks ago said there was no contingency plan. He said it was just a matter of pop kind of looking around the room and counting the heads and, and deciding, you know, uh, going to A&M might be a better option for him. But, uh, once again, just like the Terrence thing, it was a win-win for all parties. you know, pop gets to go to a program that needs a point guard at A&M and, uh,
00:05:18
Tom
We get Milos back.
Khalifa Seiko's Potential Contributions
00:05:20
Tom
Getting to Khalifa Seiko, I don't know a whole lot about him. Just from what everybody else sees, you know a couple of some YouTube highlights.
00:05:28
Tom
I know he sculpted like the Greek god Adonis.
00:05:31
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah yeah
00:05:33
Tom
you know what What do they say? 3% fat is about as low as body fat you can go. I think it is.
00:05:40
Tom
be He's got to be near the threshold of body fat you can, live with beside be before you die. I mean, there is nothing on him.
00:05:44
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah no kidding yeah
00:05:52
Tom
He looks explosive. He looks quick.
00:05:54
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:05:54
Tom
He looks agile. And as most of us know, when Kelvin looks at a big man, you he's looking at the defense and first, uh, you know, does a guy have a motor? Does he play hard?
00:06:04
Tom
Uh, is he agile enough, quick enough to get out there and play pick and roll defense? Is he agile enough to get a monster? The post is he agile enough to get out of the monster and recover back, you know, ah ah recover back, uh,
00:06:15
Tom
You know, whatever Khalifa does on the offensive end is just going to be icing on the cake. I'm sure his job, is to come in there, play post-defense.
00:06:26
Tom
It's to get offensive rebounds and defensive rebounds. And I'm sure if he gets an offensive rebound, unless it's a dunk or a putback, you know, he's looking to throw the ball back out to our shooters, you know, what they call a dagger.
00:06:38
Tom
Really good pickup for the Cougs and Khalifa. And, you know I think we have a solid five guys that that play the four and the five.
Competition and Player Development
00:06:49
Tom
you know we We have Seth in there. you He came in not last year, but what was it, the year before, and gave us some good minutes when he had those injuries.
00:06:56
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:06:57
Tom
But that's the way I see our portal additions and who we Terrence.
00:07:06
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay. How about you, Bill, from a player's perspective?
00:07:09
Bill Walker
Well, Terrence,
00:07:14
Bill Walker
it's just hard to say with Terrence. ah I think he's going to end up, I think, playing at NC state's going to benefit him. i just don't think it, it entirely clicked with him.
00:07:23
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, I agree. Yeah.
00:07:26
Bill Walker
I, I always thought liked Terrence from the beginning. And then it, it dwindled a bit. Steve, I know you were always high on him. I just, I thought that with Terrence, it was always from the neck up.
00:07:35
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:07:40
Bill Walker
And, and i think, you know, there may have been a ah ah confidence issue there. Yeah, I'm not sure. you know if Maybe not being the man, maybe not getting as many touches. i don't know.
00:07:54
Bill Walker
i don't know. But it just didn't quite pan out. So I think, especially for his benefit, it's better that he's at NC State now.
00:08:03
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:08:04
Bill Walker
And i hopefully that works out for everyone. Pop, I'm... yeah That was all kind of interesting to me. I'm still not 100% sure I like the idea of not not keeping Pop because he he is such an unbelievably dynamic threat offensively, both from the outside and penetrating. He is i mean he's a consistent scorer.
00:08:33
Bill Walker
Our guards are... are very good, very talented, but, but they go into slumps and, and, and from watching him when he played at tech and assuming he's healthy after the injury year last year Creighton, he is just a consistent score.
Talent Analysis and Strategic Planning
00:08:50
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:08:50
Bill Walker
But, but I mentioned from the beginning, and that's, this is why I, I, ah I didn't think Uzan was coming back either.
00:09:09
Bill Walker
Usain,
00:09:12
Bill Walker
and you've got Pop Isaacs, if all three are here. And then you've got Flemings and you've got Harwell, in addition to the others, Mercy, McCarty, off the bench.
00:09:21
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yep. Yeah.
00:09:25
@NoConfForOldMen
yep
00:09:27
Bill Walker
And if you've got three perimeter positions, 40 minutes a game, that's 120 minutes. Well, you figure your starters are going to play about, you know, right around 30 minutes a game.
00:09:40
Bill Walker
So if if that's what Sharp, Yuzan, ah Isaacs were playing, that leaves a total of 30 minutes for a pair of five stars, Miller, McCarty, and you could probably throw Ramon into that as well.
00:09:54
Bill Walker
And it just,
00:09:55
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:09:56
Bill Walker
the equation, the math didn't work.
00:09:57
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:09:58
Bill Walker
It never worked for me.
00:09:59
@NoConfForOldMen
I agree.
00:09:59
Bill Walker
So I thought there's no chance Yuzan was coming back. And when he did announce that he was coming back and then about 13 seconds later, Pop announced that he was going to, A&M.
00:10:08
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:10:12
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, no.
00:10:13
Bill Walker
I still, you know, regardless of what what's coming out of the, the, the basketball program, I've got to imagine that, that this was all, all prearranged and,
00:10:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:10:24
Bill Walker
I mean, it's not as though there was, you know, oh, Pops back in the portal. let's Let's start talking to different teams.
00:10:24
@NoConfForOldMen
agreed.
00:10:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:10:31
Bill Walker
I mean, it was Uzen's back. Pops is gone. Pops is at A&M. I mean, boom, boom, boom.
00:10:37
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, and and they even yeah they even had the recruiting graphic of Pops in A&M gear, right, at that time.
00:10:38
Bill Walker
no no no No hesitation.
00:10:47
Tom
Yeah, and here's and here's the deal.
00:10:48
@NoConfForOldMen
So you knew it was teed up, yeah.
00:10:49
Tom
Hey, guys, Kelvin said on that Zoom call there was no contingency plan, but Kelvin would be a great poker player because he's never going to tip his hand.
00:10:56
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:10:58
Tom
you know
00:10:58
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:10:59
Tom
He's not going to let anybody outside the program know.
00:10:59
@NoConfForOldMen
Agreed.
00:11:01
Tom
no So, yeah, go it go ahead, Bill.
00:11:03
Bill Walker
Yeah.
00:11:06
Bill Walker
So anyway, yeah, I've got to imagine that that was the case. and now now it works. Now you've got Sharp, Yuzan, and you've got the three position, which we'll talk about who who's going to fill that ah as as a starter from from beginning. But now the minutes make sense.
00:11:24
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:11:24
Bill Walker
So yeah, that's perfectly understandable.
Advanced Analytics and Team Performance
00:11:30
Bill Walker
Sokow. I like him. I really like him. You know, who knows? maybe Maybe the role will not be as... as as extensive, uh, you know, it depends on how, uh, McFarlane has progressed. And, and so, you you you'll have a couple guys, uh, battling, I think for, well, not, I think I know for that number three, big man position behind, ah behind Tugler and Senac, but I like Sokow, uh, six, 11 to 35. Uh,
00:12:03
Bill Walker
I don't know, Tom, maybe you're right about the, the,
00:12:10
Bill Walker
3% body fat being as good as it gets. ah ah I thought I was at about 2.7. you know but For everyone that's...
00:12:18
@NoConfForOldMen
that That's why you're my hero. That's why you're my hero, Phil.
00:12:22
Bill Walker
I thought there were about a dozen other reasons for that, but but nevertheless. i mean The guy, offensively, he's a dunker. he doesn't have post moves. He's not going to score from the perimeter. He's a dunker.
00:12:38
Bill Walker
He's athletic. He runs the floor. he blocks shots. He's a shot blocker extraordinaire. Quite honestly, he's got pretty big shoes to fill coming in for for Francis because Francis francencis was so improved last year and
00:12:50
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:12:55
Bill Walker
developed his offensive game. He was, he was unbelievable defensively blocking shots, grabbing rebounds, grabbing offensive rebounds.
00:13:04
Bill Walker
And I think Sakao can, can do a lot of that, but he, he, he's, he's not going to be, he's not going to produce like, like Francis did free throws as well.
00:13:17
Bill Walker
but he, he's, he's very athletic.
00:13:20
Bill Walker
He's very physical. He's going to run the court. He was he played, he he's also coming in with experience, two years at South Plains Junior College, the year at Sam Houston.
00:13:31
Bill Walker
know, he's never put up huge, huge numbers. You know, almost...
00:13:36
Tom
Was it Utah State too, Bill?
00:13:40
Tom
Did Saco play at Utah State? I think you mentioned once that he did.
00:13:42
Bill Walker
Oh, you know what?
00:13:43
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:13:43
Bill Walker
he did Yes, you're right. You're right. He did play he did play a year at Utah State. That's right. This is his fifth year.
00:13:49
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:13:49
Bill Walker
That's right. Two years at South Plains, one year at Utah State, one year at Sam. Yes, you're absolutely right, Tom.
00:13:55
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:13:56
Bill Walker
And you know never never huge statistical numbers, but he does what you want. he He is athletic. He runs the floor. He plays defense. He blocks shots.
00:14:09
Bill Walker
And I think... I think, you I haven't seen McFarlane since the injury. I don't, and I haven't heard a whole lot about him.
00:14:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:14:18
Bill Walker
Uh, but, but I would not be the least bit surprised with, with the experience that Sakao has. if If he, if he starts out, uh, because McFarlane's never played a college game, uh, I would think that Sakao would very likely start out as, the first big man off the bench.
00:14:37
Bill Walker
But, uh, Yeah, I like him. I like him a lot.
00:14:41
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay. I mean, for me, you guys know, I've got a soft spot for bigs. I hadn't really highlighted any potential players in the portal I really like for next season, but I'm always hoping for an experience legit big that's active and can intimidate inside.
00:14:57
@NoConfForOldMen
Just like how you've described Sakao. So... With Tungler and C-NAC as projected starters, Mick Farland also already on the roster. It was going to be pretty tough convincing any big-name bigs to join the team.
00:15:10
@NoConfForOldMen
However, Sacco was a nice under-the-radar get from a kind of a depth perspective at the 5. 6'11", 235, like you said, very cut in athletic and four years of experience already under his belt.
00:15:23
@NoConfForOldMen
He did contribute 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 block shots in 25 minutes a game. That's pretty good. Shooting 66% from the field, primarily dunking as you had both highlighted for Sam Houston. So every very, very experienced. And I'd say plenty productive for our needs.
00:15:40
@NoConfForOldMen
From an analytics perspective, Sakao had somewhat of a, I guess you can call it a nondescript year, even though the stats look decent at Sam Houston State. He was like a plus 0.5 player box score plus minus for admittedly a very poor 13 and 19 Sam Houston State University team.
00:16:00
@NoConfForOldMen
So for context, he was the second most productive player on that bad team. And also just for fans, just as a reminder, Yuuzhan, before he came and joined our program, he was a player box score plus minus two at OU before joining.
00:16:16
@NoConfForOldMen
So at the very least, this is an experience big to play behind Tucker and Sinek, and I believe he's more prepared to contribute ahead of a lot, while McFarland, I believe, i I read that he still needs some time to rehab from his leg injury. So he may not actually be ready to lock a whole lot of minutes early in the season.
00:16:35
@NoConfForOldMen
So this gives us at least a little bit of breathing room for him to fully recover it it and start contributing. Now, when you watch video of this kid play, I do really love his physicality and activeness.
00:16:48
@NoConfForOldMen
But to get any bench minutes, he's really going to have to show Samson some continuous effort. Because at times when I watch some of the games, he appeared to take plays off. And you know that's not going to fly in our program.
00:17:01
@NoConfForOldMen
But he has the athleticism and length, as we said, so the building blocks are there for the staff to mold. If you saw the photos again, as you guys had highlighted, so cut. He's definitely the first guy you want walking off the team bus when you were on the road.
00:17:14
Tom
Mm-hmm.
00:17:15
@NoConfForOldMen
So I think we've got that covered. He's a true five. That's athletic and physical. He appears to be a really good teammate and won't cause any locker room drama. So I also love the pickup.
00:17:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, when we look at the finalized roster from an analytics perspective, I couldn't have asked for a better scenario.
Season Expectations and Player Roles
00:17:34
@NoConfForOldMen
Obviously, losing Arsenal was a bit disappointing for me since I've been a big fan of his from the get-go.
00:17:40
@NoConfForOldMen
And I know both of you guys had highlighted the times I had mentioned even this past season where... analytically, Arsenal contributed big time, right? He was kind of part of that three-man lineup, at least early in the season, that contributed a great deal.
00:17:57
@NoConfForOldMen
You guys may have noticed I didn't mention that towards the end of season because statistically, he also dropped off big time in the last quarter of the season. he was no longer on those lists. For three quarters of the season, it was fantastic, and then it just really tailed off after that.
00:18:15
@NoConfForOldMen
So I think it's right for him to go somewhere for a fresh start where he can be featured for his final season. i mean, and I commend him for actually sticking it out for three seasons with us. And I think Wade and NC State is good to provide him that.
00:18:29
@NoConfForOldMen
But to get everyone else that had eligibility on the roster to recommit, to run it back from a number one seed team is just huge, in my opinion, and especially in this era of constant player movement.
00:18:40
@NoConfForOldMen
So with some unfinished business after losing a heartbreaker to Florida in the national championship game, I actually love the opportunity to take another crack at the national championship with this roster intact.
00:18:52
@NoConfForOldMen
Now from an advanced analytics perspective, we're also talking about getting three of our starters and nine overall returnees back from a team that ended the season. Number two overall in Ken Palm, 12 in adjusted offensive efficiency, number three in three-point percentage offense, 19th in turnover percentage, and 11th in offensive rebound percentage.
00:19:11
@NoConfForOldMen
Also, again, number one in adjusted defensive efficiency, third in effective field goal percentage D, number five in two-point percentage D, 24th in turnover D, fourth in block shots. I mean, it's crazy, right?
00:19:24
@NoConfForOldMen
Even with Roberts, Wilson, and Cryer now gone from this defense, we do get two of our top three defenders back in Tuggler, who was a plus 6.7 in defensive player box score.
00:19:36
@NoConfForOldMen
plus minus and Sharp, who was a 4.9 defensive player box score plus minus. Then you factor in the improvement we expect from Yuuzhan, who was ah ah himself a plus 3.6 defensive player box score plus minus.
00:19:48
@NoConfForOldMen
And the rest of our kids after getting another year in the program with Ramon Walker leading the way to teach the younger kids. And we're looking to be another top three defensive team again nationally, even before considering the addition of our number one freshman class.
00:20:04
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, offensively, we get two of our three top players back on that side of the ball as well. With Sharp, he was a plus 5.8 on the offensive side, and Uzahn was a plus 4.4.
00:20:16
@NoConfForOldMen
Expect improvements from Tugler, who himself was a plus 1.8. And add in three of the top offensive talents coming in, and Senac, Harwell, and Flemings. And we may not have had this much talent on the offensive side of the ball in this entire Samson area at U of H. Now, all of this talent is very young, admittedly, but this could be the first team with the natural talent on it, where offensively, we'll finally have the horses to make even our fickle fan base happy.
00:20:46
@NoConfForOldMen
though statistically we were elite offensively this season as we've been really the last couple seasons again in adjusted offensive efficiency overall in the country at a staggering 123.4 and as you guys may remember i thought going into this past season that if we hit 121 in adjusted offensive efficiency we would dominate in a run towards the national championships but as elite as we were even on offense, all of our fans know that we that ranking primarily through not turning the ball over, offensive rebounding like crazy, and then getting more shots up than our opponents.
00:21:23
@NoConfForOldMen
So basically, highly efficient statistically, but not quote unquote pretty. Next season will be the first time during the Samson era where we will have the talent with a three five-star freshman where we could have five kids on the court at the same time that can all get buckets on their own one-on-one.
00:21:42
@NoConfForOldMen
So where our offensive efficiency numbers might not be any better as a team than this past season might be a little bit worse. The fan base might finally quiet down on complaining about our offense just given the dynamic play of the new kids.
00:21:57
@NoConfForOldMen
So exciting times ahead. Going into next season offline, we've talked about this, but I'm not prepared to say this next team will be better than this past year's team, especially with three freshmen expected to play big minutes for us.
00:22:11
@NoConfForOldMen
But I do think that next season's team will be the most intriguing one of the Samson era. It'll be the first time where coaches are not relying on staying talent, but trying to weave in three potential one and done type talents to make another national championship
Coaching Perspectives and Strategic Plans
00:22:26
@NoConfForOldMen
run.
00:22:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Watching the evolution of this team is just going to be so much fun next season, guys. So finally, now that we basically know what our roster is for next season, what do you guys think the rotation will look like? And Bill, you can go first on this one.
00:22:41
Bill Walker
Okay. and And I'll just ah ah for a second address what you said, Steve. I wholeheartedly agree with you about this being an unbelievably intriguing team.
00:22:53
Bill Walker
And I also agree that the potential is sky high, absolutely sky high. But... what I don't want to understate or, or hopefully have anyone understate is the fact that we lost, we lost five players, including Arsenal, but four starters.
00:23:00
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep. Yep.
00:23:12
Bill Walker
And i mean, Roberts, Roberts was our, our offensive go-to guy down low. He, he had, I mean, great moves to the basket near the basket. You know, Tugler hasn't quite gotten to that point. And, and,
00:23:29
Bill Walker
And he's a little more athletic, obviously. And so we'll see how that plays out.
00:23:35
Bill Walker
Senac isn't quite that type of player either. So it'll be interesting in terms of how the how the inside scoring is handled. But I don't think you can underestimate the loss of Roberts.
00:23:52
Bill Walker
Cryer's shooting, don't it was Steve, you and I argued about his defense, but I thought he was a damn good defender last year, a great team defender.
00:24:03
Bill Walker
Francis, I already talked about everything that he did. And then the guy who who just did absolutely everything, defense, rebounding, steals, running the court, just great energy. Of course, Miley Wilson.
00:24:17
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, absolutely.
00:24:17
Bill Walker
So, this, this team lost four really significantly productive and, and just outstanding players, uh, leadership, uh, you know, you're replacing four seniors, uh, with, with not entirely, but, but to an extent with three freshmen coming in.
00:24:41
Bill Walker
So, uh,
00:24:41
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, that's fair.
00:24:43
Bill Walker
you You know, there are going to be people that that' step up from a leadership standpoint. I think sharpe Sharp will for sure. Yuuzhan will for sure.
00:24:53
Bill Walker
You know, hopefully inside Tuggler. And I think Ramon will as well. but But I don't think you can understate the loss of these four. I think they were great, great players for the
00:25:06
Bill Walker
And so I just wanted to mention them in terms of what, what is going to be on the court now, I think, you know, and I've heard, I've heard four starters for sure.
00:25:20
Bill Walker
Usan and Sharp in the backcourt, Tuglard, Senac up front.
00:25:22
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah Yep. Yep.
00:25:25
Bill Walker
The one I think is gotta be the third starter. And this would be replacing crier. to an extent would be Harwell.
00:25:35
Bill Walker
I just think, yeah know, I've, I've heard Ramon. I've, you know, I've heard ah ah couple others, heard possibly Flemings, but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, starting two-point guards maybe not having much off the bench.
00:25:47
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:25:51
Bill Walker
I think it's got to be Harwell. He's so talented, shoots the ball. He's top 12 high school player, five-star, think. I just think it's got to be him. So I think it's Yuzan, Sharp, Harwell, Tugler, and Senac. I think guys that are going to be getting minutes off the bench, I think, ah Steve, i know you've mentioned Fleming's absolutely being the first one off the bench. I think it's either, i don't know that that's necessarily true talent-wise, it certainly is, but I think it's either him or Ramon.
00:26:27
Bill Walker
And and you know it depends on what happens if if there's some foul trouble, maybe with Harwell. If Harwell's not playing well, i I think Ramon's the guy that comes in for him.
00:26:38
Bill Walker
I think Fleming's you know more or less replaces, gives Sharp his his time off and ah and use him for sure at the point.
00:26:50
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:26:52
Bill Walker
ah think think Sakao,
00:26:58
Bill Walker
plays good minutes. ah ah Again, i just don't know what's going on with with McFarland. ah entirely how healthy he is, but he's also never, I mean, he you could put him in the same boat as, although not as talented, as Cenac and Harwell and Flemings because he's never played a college game.
00:27:20
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep. Yep.
00:27:20
Bill Walker
So, you know, it's going to be new for him, even though he's been in the program. But but I think the third big man and the first big man off the bench of Sockow. And then of course you've got Mercy and you've got McCarty.
00:27:34
Bill Walker
And I think, i think all of them play. I think the guys who have limited time are going to be, Cordell Jefferson.
00:27:45
Bill Walker
And I think it's just a numbers game with him. You know, you've got Yuzan at the point, you've got Sharp who can, who can handle the ball. You've got Flemings coming off the bench, the five-star.
00:27:56
Bill Walker
I just think that it's going to be awfully tough for Jefferson to get significant playing time, much, much, anything much different than last year when he came in during blowouts.
00:28:06
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:28:08
Bill Walker
I don't, I think with, with Sokow coming, I think Sed's minutes are going to be probably reduced as well.
00:28:17
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:28:17
Bill Walker
And I see them being limited. And then finally is, the fourth freshman that's coming in, Bryce Jackson. And yeah, I've heard good things about him, but I've also heard that, that,
00:28:28
Bill Walker
And I think you guys mentioned it in the past, and and I've heard it since, that he could potentially be red-shirted.
00:28:33
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:28:34
Bill Walker
So those are the three that I think have limited
00:28:35
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:28:37
Bill Walker
but in terms of what starts, I can't imagine it not being Usand Sharp, Tugler-Sinek, and Harwell.
00:28:46
@NoConfForOldMen
Very nice. Yeah. I think there'll be a lot of common themes as we go through this. Tom, how about your perspective from a coach's view?
00:28:55
Tom
Interesting about Bryce Jackson. Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me at all about him, red shirt. And I think Kelvin even mentioned the possibility. But think about this.
00:29:02
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:29:03
Tom
About five years ago, we would be doing cartwheels in the street by getting Bryce Jackson.
00:29:09
@NoConfForOldMen
I know it's crazy.
00:29:10
Tom
You know, amazing hell how, you know, Kelvin and Saf have built this program. Here's the way I see it. And I'm only about 60, 40 years.
00:29:23
Tom
Confident that we'll see the starting lineup, but I'm like Bill. I think when the dust settles, we'll see Milo's E-man, Harwell at the 1, 2, and 3, Cenac and Tuggler at the 4 and 5.
00:29:39
Tom
But, you know, haven't been through off-season conditioning, haven't been through fall workouts, and guys like Cordell, guys like...
00:29:52
Tom
Ramon and said, you know what? They're great teammates, but they're going you know, they're going to teach these three five-star freshmen a few, a few things or or early on.
00:30:05
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:30:06
Tom
If you know what I'm, if you know what I'm saying, they're going licking their chops to go up against these freshmen and, and, they're going teach them the ropes, but I'd like to be ah ah you know, a fly on the wall at of these practices.
00:30:19
Tom
Milo's, E-Man, you can almost etch it in stone. They'll start at the one and two. The way I see it, that other guard spot at at the three or whatever you want to call it, because Kelvin says the two and three are are interchangeable.
00:30:34
Tom
I see Mercy, McCarty, and Harwell going after it. I see Fleming's as backup point guard to Milo's. I do see Milo's in and Fleming's on the floor.
00:30:47
Tom
every now and then together, like Bill, you said, not going to start two point guards, but, I wouldn't be surprised to see them because, you know, Kingston's minutes got to come from somewhere, you know, and getting back to to Terrence, uh, if Terrence was back in the program, you know, he's, he's looking
00:30:48
@NoConfForOldMen
I agree.
00:30:57
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
In-depth Roster Analysis
00:31:04
Tom
at competing at playing time with, uh, Hardwell, Mercy, McCarty, Ramon.
00:31:08
Tom
I mean, there's a lot of competition there.
00:31:09
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:31:12
Tom
Move on to the ah big guys. I'll tell you what, go back to the Kingston. There was some scuttlebutt about Plemings might not be too happy if Pop had stayed around. you know Bill, you mentioned that it was mean not enough minutes, ah too many players, not enough minutes, and who knows if that was just scuttlebutt.
00:31:32
Tom
you know But it did seem like there was a contingency plan and that depending on what Milo's did. Sinek, senac Tuggler is our bigs.
00:31:43
Tom
The knock on Senac, the one negative, they said maybe a little bit soft. We'll see. We'll see how that goes, but very, very talented.
00:31:56
Tom
Ramon, I could see him coming in there and getting minutes at the four, but also at one of those wing spots.
00:32:03
@NoConfForOldMen
three yeah
00:32:06
Tom
Seiko, probably the first guy off the bench. And like he said, like we said about my Farland, man, we, we just don't know, uh, Calvin on that zoom call when he was talking about the bigs, he never did mention, uh, McFarland.
00:32:21
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh, really?
00:32:22
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay.
00:32:22
Tom
yeah, he talked about everybody, but, uh, but McFarland.
00:32:26
Tom
And then he also mentioned that, you know his recovery has taken, taken a long time. So we'll just have to see it, see how that goes.
00:32:34
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay.
00:32:35
Tom
Uh, looks like a really good bench. If you have Fleming's mercy, McCarty Ramone, um, coming off the bench, that's a, that's a pretty stacked, a stack bench.
00:32:46
@NoConfForOldMen
It is.
00:32:47
Tom
So we'll just have to see how it plays out. You know, I think with Cordell, Cordell's is a very good insurance policy. If, uh, one of our point guards gets hurt,
00:32:58
Tom
not a whole lot of teams in the country. If they had a point guard go down or maybe two guards go down, you know, could throw in a guy as, talented as Cordell. Cause I think he does have talent, but you know, there's a lot more talent on the team than we've had in the past, you four or five years ago, Cordell probably playing, be playing right now.
00:33:07
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:33:11
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:33:16
@NoConfForOldMen
I know. I probably would have played last year.
00:33:18
Tom
And one last thing. Yeah. One last thing as far as the five stars, you know Kelvin hasn't had a whole lot of five stars. The first one I think we had was what Quentin.
00:33:26
@NoConfForOldMen
know.
00:33:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:33:30
Tom
It was Quentin, I think, and Quentin didn't start right away. He didn't start. He was not in the starting five right off the bat. He came off the bench, if you'll recall. I don't remember who the who the guards were at the time.
00:33:40
@NoConfForOldMen
I don't remember.
00:33:43
Tom
Was it Dijon and Sasser? I don't know. I'm drawing a blank, but just know he came off the bench ah to start the season. The other five star he had was ah ah Jarris. He started right away.
00:33:57
Tom
But you could also say that might have been probably Kelvin's softest team, you know, that we had, you know, since he since he's been here.
00:34:04
@NoConfForOldMen
Ha ha ha.
00:34:05
Tom
So it'll be interesting. A lot to look forward to. And, you know, who knows what's going to happen on opening night. Who's,
00:34:16
Tom
the combinations that's going to be really, really interesting. And another thing is that half our games and non-con aren't going to be those 30, 40, 50 point blowouts where you could experiment with different lineups, et cetera, you know, at least in a game, you can do it in practice, but you know, half our, half our non-conference games are, you know, you're not going to probably do a whole lot of experimentation.
00:34:30
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah i expect that
00:34:42
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah i completely agree i mean i think go ahead
00:34:44
Bill Walker
Yeah, the thing, oh, sorry, if you don't mind me interrupting for a thing about Flemings, and this is not that he wouldn't get a ton of minutes anyway because he's he's so talented, but the thing about him that's different from Yuzan, different from Sharp, and going to potentially put him on the floor with either of them, Yuuzhan, lots of times, is that he is so extraordinarily quick and athletic.
00:35:18
Bill Walker
And, you know, Yuuzhan's not, you know, people look Yuuzhan and say, God, he's just a phenomenal athlete.
00:35:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, it's explosive.
00:35:22
@NoConfForOldMen
Exactly.
00:35:26
Bill Walker
Flemings is.
00:35:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:35:27
Bill Walker
Flemings absolutely is. And could end doing some of the things that, that my leak did, uh, their, their size isn't entirely different.
00:35:36
@NoConfForOldMen
Hmm.
00:35:40
Bill Walker
Uh, but But in terms of, i mean, Flemings has extraordinary leaping ability. He's he's ultra quick.
00:35:47
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:35:49
Bill Walker
He's going to be the best athlete on the team. And last year, Malik was the best athlete on the team. So Flemings could certainly step in, play with anybody, because he's going to be so much different than any of the players that that we have.
00:36:01
Bill Walker
And yeah, going up against other teams, really, really solid athletes, he's going to be able to match up.
00:36:10
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, I would agree with that. I think our roster is arguably the most talented on paper that we've had heading into a season during the Samson tenure. I know you just mentioned Fleming's maybe the most athletic.
00:36:26
@NoConfForOldMen
Maybe. mean, Tugler's pretty athletic himself, and I would say Harwell's pretty athletic himself as well. So you've got three very dynamic athletes that will likely be on the court at the same time.
00:36:40
@NoConfForOldMen
for extended portions of the game. I mean, obviously looking at the lineup, Emmanuel Sharp shooting guard, Yuzan, point guard, Tugler at kind of the five returning from the starting lineup.
00:36:51
@NoConfForOldMen
One year older and improved is the expectation. So that's going to be huge. Three of the most talented five-star freshmen coming in in positions of need and Senac at the other four or five spot.
00:37:02
@NoConfForOldMen
Harwell at the three and Flemings at the one where we haven't had an impact rotational point guard since we had Giroux along with Sasser and Shedd on the same roster. So that's going to be huge in itself. I mean, just having such a dynamic,
00:37:17
@NoConfForOldMen
leader coming off the bench is, yeah, it'll be exciting. Key returning players that i expect to make significant contributions in Walker, McFarlane, Miller, and my dark horse is Chase McCarty, who I believe will have an outside shot, at least at the beginning of the season, of starting at the three.
00:37:37
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, I'm in complete agreement with you that things will be different come conference season. and just to start off with, to ease the freshman in, I think there's an outside chance McCarty starts.
00:37:49
@NoConfForOldMen
Then you have KJ Jefferson, Lott, Sackow, freshman Jackson filling out the roster. And we've talked about Jackson already potentially redshirting, which I think would be a good thing.
00:38:00
@NoConfForOldMen
That is deep and talented. And I just don't even know how these highly touted bench players are going to get any minutes on this loaded team.
00:38:07
Bill Walker
Why would you say McCarty over Mercy after Mercy played last year and McCarty was redshirted?
00:38:10
@NoConfForOldMen
I think longer.
00:38:14
Bill Walker
I know McCarty is is well is coming in as ah ah as a great perimeter shooter and can hit shots, but Mercy...
00:38:16
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah,
00:38:19
Tom
Yeah.
00:38:23
Tom
Bill? Okay.
00:38:24
@NoConfForOldMen
and I think hes
00:38:24
Bill Walker
mercy
00:38:24
Tom
i think I think Kelvin encouraged yeah and i think kelvin kind of encouraged both of them to redshirt, but it was their choice.
00:38:25
@NoConfForOldMen
i think he's longer
00:38:33
Tom
And I think Mercy decided he wasn't going ah he didn't want a redshirt, and McCarty did.
00:38:38
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah and i just think
00:38:40
@NoConfForOldMen
I think playing the three, because I absolutely believe that commitments have been made. And I think it was even mentioned in one of the interviews that Coach Samson had done, that the commitment has been made to Sharp, that he will play the two.
00:38:57
@NoConfForOldMen
I know we hear interviews where he's saying, oh, the three wing players are the same. But no, we have a very distinct The third wing player always guards a small forward. And I think a commitment has been made that we're going to play sharp up top next to Uzan.
00:39:12
@NoConfForOldMen
And then the third wing player is going to be the one on the baseline that's going to end up having to check the other team's three. And so with that in mind, I'm not sure Miller is long enough to do that.
00:39:25
@NoConfForOldMen
I believe McCarty is longer and more athletic than Miller. It probably fits that role. Better. That's why. Because I think Miller would do better top of the key, quite honestly, as a bench player.
00:39:38
@NoConfForOldMen
But that's my
00:39:38
Bill Walker
well Well, if defending the opponent's three is high priority, I'd be more inclined to think that it would be Ramon because he has played. He has defended these guys talent-wise.
00:39:57
Bill Walker
yeah i Honestly, I don't know if if McCarty has a ton more talent than Ramon.
00:39:59
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:40:02
Bill Walker
He's certainly... in terms of what he's supposed to do, what, what, what, you know, we've heard that he's going to come in as, as the more pure shooter and and more polished offensively.
00:40:15
Bill Walker
But Ramon is a, is a damn good defensive player plays hard has, and has played and has experience playing.
00:40:19
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:40:22
Bill Walker
And by the way, Harwell's, you know, Harwell's about six, six, six, five, six, six.
00:40:23
@NoConfForOldMen
It could be. It could be.
00:40:28
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:40:28
Bill Walker
So he can, he certainly got the, the length and the, and and
00:40:29
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:40:33
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:40:34
Bill Walker
body and so forth to play against opposing threes.
00:40:37
@NoConfForOldMen
completely agree. Now I believe Harwell is going to end up starting come conference time, but I think there may be a process of just easing the kids in quite honestly, just not applying so much pressure from the beginning.
00:40:50
@NoConfForOldMen
So more of a conscious effort to do that and just, uh,
00:40:52
Bill Walker
Hmm.
00:40:55
@NoConfForOldMen
Let them slowly adjust. They'll get plenty of minutes even during the the the preseason. But I thought, well, he may and it may be McCarty. It may be Walker at the three, but I think it'll be my opinion just based on what coach has done before. It'll be a returning player that will start.
00:41:13
@NoConfForOldMen
to begin with.
00:41:13
Bill Walker
Yeah.
00:41:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, all bets are off come conference time. You'll get the best players in. And by then you hope everyone's already been acclimated to the program where, uh, where we may see three freshmen or two freshmen right in the starting lineup. So we'll see.
00:41:27
Tom
Didn't John Rothstein say buy stock in McCarty?
00:41:28
Bill Walker
yeah
00:41:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, he did. He did. Cause I think our coaching staff has been leaking some stuff out to, to some of these national pundits to say, Hey, don't forget this kid. He's been lighting it up in practice.
00:41:43
@NoConfForOldMen
So we'll see. I don't know if it's a smokescreen or reality, but not none of us have gotten to see. So so I guess I'm buying into the hype that's been floating out there.
00:41:50
Bill Walker
so
00:41:53
Bill Walker
No. Okay. I just think that if it's – I just – I can't see how you you keep Harwell on the
00:41:54
@NoConfForOldMen
So we'll see.
00:42:01
Bill Walker
Again, a five-star. But if, if if Steve, your your theory is correct and and it is going to be a returning player ah right off the bat, I cannot imagine it not being Ramon.
00:42:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Ramon, yeah. Yeah. I mean, Ramon, he's kind of the... In my mind, he's kind of that jack-of-all-trades that can fill, I'd say, three different roles.
00:42:21
Bill Walker
Agreed.
00:42:23
@NoConfForOldMen
So I thought, well, probably more effective coming off the bench, filling in potentially different roles each game, right? Depending on who gets in foul trouble, who's not performing. He could probably...
00:42:34
@NoConfForOldMen
come right off. And so I view Flemings and Walker being the first ones off the bench, whoever the starters are, just to kind of bring stability as well as some flexibility along. So i think it'll be interesting because I think As Tom had mentioned, right, we've got probably half of our preseason games are gimmies.
00:42:57
@NoConfForOldMen
I expect to see a ton of experimenting with all sorts of weird lineups as well, just to see what clicks, right, and who plays well together. So it'll be fascinating.
00:43:09
@NoConfForOldMen
um And when you look at it with Sakao and McFarland, with the bigs, you're talking about a solid nine-man rotation that... I believe, right, come March, can take us to our first national championship again. But, of course, we'll we'll get into that as we get closer to the preseason.
00:43:27
@NoConfForOldMen
But, yeah, book it now.
00:43:29
Tom
Book it now.
00:43:31
@NoConfForOldMen
But, I mean, we're going to be able to come in waves, right, with different matchups, just like this past season.
00:43:32
Tom
Book.
00:43:36
Tom
Get your hotel reservations.
00:43:37
@NoConfForOldMen
But, absolutely, but we're going have a lot more offensive
Conclusion and Future Plans
00:43:41
@NoConfForOldMen
firepower, right? It may be young, but we have not had this level of offensive talent, right?
00:43:49
@NoConfForOldMen
Yes, probably since Faisal and Majema, quite honestly. And you want to talk about suffocating teams. You know, historically, we've talked about suffocating teams on D. How about this coming season? We're suffocating them on both defensively and offensively and just completely wearing them out. I mean, there's nowhere to hide.
00:44:08
@NoConfForOldMen
And so next season is just going to blast. So...
00:44:11
Bill Walker
Yeah, well, again, I agree that it's going to be unbelievably intriguing. But again, i I've seen five stars you know growing up and watching basketball and everything not pan out. and And I don't think there's any chance that that happens with any of these three.
00:44:31
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, not these three.
00:44:32
Bill Walker
But I'm not right off the bat going to say we're going to be we're going to be absolutely suffocating defensively and offensively. I want to see how, how they, blend into the, into the program and, you know, work under, under, know, what, what Calvin expects of them and, and how, how this program plays and, uh,
00:44:59
Bill Walker
and ah ah Don't get me wrong. i think the potential is absolutely there, Steve, for them to be exactly what you're referring to. But I just think it's a little too early to to kind of anoint them.
00:45:14
@NoConfForOldMen
No, no, no, no. I completely disagree. You got to set the expectation. You don't achieve greatness unless you set that expectation. No soft, you know, oh, maybe we'll be okay. No.
00:45:25
@NoConfForOldMen
I mean, it's national championship or bust, right? And I got to believe the program themselves are thinking that as well, right? Setting those levels of expectations.
00:45:34
Tom
And we got the secret ingredient, guys.
00:45:34
@NoConfForOldMen
I mean, look at... yeah yeah yeah We got coach, right?
00:45:39
Tom
Yes.
00:45:39
@NoConfForOldMen
He'll make every team great. It doesn't matter you give them on the roster. I mean, look at those first few teams that we had or our first NCAA team that we had that should have...
00:45:53
@NoConfForOldMen
You know if not for that lucky shot by Michigan, we would have fully confident we would have advanced. But if you look at from a talent, pure talent, I mean, that's nothing compared to what he's going to have a chance to mold this coming season.
00:46:06
@NoConfForOldMen
Right. No, no offense to the kids on that team. But, you know, guess what? it's kind of continuous improvement as the program has evolved. he's just gotten access much greater talent.
00:46:15
Bill Walker
Well, there yeah, no, there's, there's no question.
00:46:17
@NoConfForOldMen
Right.
00:46:17
Bill Walker
There's no question about the talent on this team. I mean, it's, it's, it's exceptional. Yeah. I just, I just want to see it play out.
00:46:28
Bill Walker
Just give it some time.
00:46:29
Tom
Thank you.
00:46:30
Bill Walker
i you know, I understand what you're saying about, about setting the expectations through the roof based on the success that, that, uh,
00:46:38
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:46:42
Bill Walker
the u of H program has had recently, but, uh, but then again, I'm going to, it's, and it's not like I'm taking and see approach.
00:46:50
@NoConfForOldMen
It'll be fun. Have some faith, man. Have some faith.
00:46:54
Bill Walker
I think we're going to be extraordinary this year.
00:46:54
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:46:56
Bill Walker
And, and a lot of it has to do with, with the other teams. I mean, I've, I've looked at some of the, some of the conference teams, uh,
00:47:00
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:47:04
Bill Walker
you know tech is Tech is top 10. They lost a bunch of players.
00:47:07
@NoConfForOldMen
They had lost a bunch. Yeah.
00:47:10
Bill Walker
BYU is continuously, I see them preseason rated rated as high as 8, as low as maybe 11.
00:47:13
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. They'll be fun to watch and follow.
00:47:19
Bill Walker
and they lost a ton of depth uh they don't have nearly what they had coming back in terms of they've still got a lot of players and all these teams have a lot of players but but not nearly as good uh Arizona Arizona had a bunch of transfers and so their depth is going to be a little shaky uh Iowa State same thing and and
00:47:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:47:34
@NoConfForOldMen
All new, right? Yeah.
00:47:45
Bill Walker
Kansas, Kansas has, you know, they brought in some, some good backcourt players, but their front court depth is, is not going to be great this year. And, uh, uh,
00:47:55
@NoConfForOldMen
So, Bill, what are you saying? are you saying that we should go undefeated in conference this year? that Is that...
00:48:00
Bill Walker
Well, i'm i I'm the one person on this podcast who did not pick us to lose like half a dozen games or whatever you guys, you naysayers were were predicting last year.
00:48:10
@NoConfForOldMen
kind
00:48:14
Bill Walker
yeah Yeah, I mean, based on where things are right now, don't see i don't see us being especially challenged for the for the conference title.
00:48:26
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah I think most of the experts probably are thinking the same thing. There's been so much true, right? You didn't even mention Baylor, right? Not a single player, right? Starter or benchmark.
00:48:35
Bill Walker
Oh, well, they're not.
00:48:37
@NoConfForOldMen
That's crazy, right?
00:48:38
Bill Walker
Yeah, i'm not like I'm not expecting a whole lot.
00:48:39
Tom
they didn they didn't need They almost didn't need the death penalty.
00:48:39
@NoConfForOldMen
Not a single player. Yeah. Yeah, no kidding. It's all a whole completely new roster, which is crazy.
00:48:47
Tom
They didn't need somebody to kill a teammate to kill the program.
00:48:48
Bill Walker
Yeah.
00:48:49
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay, guys. a
00:48:55
@NoConfForOldMen
okay guys I think that's it. So that's it for episode 52 of the No Conference for Old Men podcast. Hope you all enjoyed it. And again, would really appreciate it if folks would follow, subscribe, or collect our podcast, depending on your podcast platform of choice.
00:49:09
@NoConfForOldMen
We're also available via the Republican Football podcast feed from the folks at Dave Campbell's Texas Football as the only basketball-centric podcast or at the gocougs.com website for those that prefer to digest the content that way.
00:49:22
@NoConfForOldMen
We appreciate the continued support from all. Also, please give us follow on our Twitter account, No Conference for Old Men. As a reminder, we are in our monthly cadence during the offseason, but as a teaser, we hope to have a slew of special guests on the show for some in-depth discussions, just like last offseason.
00:49:40
@NoConfForOldMen
So please be on the lookout to download and listen as the episode drops. Take care, if everyone.