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Houston Cougars '25-'26 MBB Season Preview
82 Plays20 days ago
Welcome to our Season 3 kick-off & Episode #59 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast.
The 3 Old Men bring back fellow GoCoogs.com contributor, Jayme Hollingsworth, to preview the Houston Cougars Men's Basketball team heading into the '25-'26 season. Our Cougars are "running it back part 2", with 3 returning starters to go along with their 3 5-star freshmen incoming class. The result being, what the three old men + Jayme expect be, a historic run for the program's 1st National Championship in Indy!
Please have a listen as we provide detailed breakdowns of the team in advance of the season opener just around the corner. The team is young, but LOADED like we've never seen before during this Sampson-era. So fans should be prepared for another fun & exciting journey towards March Madness!
- 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
Season 3 Introduction and Focus
00:00:06
@NoConfForOldMen
Welcome folks to the kickoff of season number three of the No Conference for Old Men podcast. The podcast where three old guys are talking Houston Cougars basketball with a bit of Big 12 coverage added in it as well.
00:00:17
@NoConfForOldMen
And proud members of the gokus.com network, the undisputed number one Houston Cougars content provider. Shocking guys that we've actually made it to season three and episode number 60. sixty it see It'll be either 60 or 61. We'll see when we release this one of our little humble, no-confidence enrollment podcast.
00:00:35
@NoConfForOldMen
We've certainly come a long way and appreciate the loyal fans and the support that we've received along the way since we formed this venture coinciding with our Cougs joining the Big 12.
Previewing Houston Cougars and Big 12
00:00:45
@NoConfForOldMen
And with the calendar about to hit November, it means college hoop season is thankfully upon us. So today's kickoff is going to be obviously our Houston Cougars preview.
00:00:56
@NoConfForOldMen
And again, all three of us are
Guest Jamie Hollingsworth's Scouting Insights
00:00:57
@NoConfForOldMen
back. with Tom Lidiak, former coach, Bill Walker, former player, and myself, Steve Chang, analytics guy for this episode. And like last season, we also have joining us here today, special guest, Jamie Hollingsworth, fellow contributor on the Gokus.com network, who does those fantastic scouting reports during the Houston and Cougars men's basketball season and to provide his insights.
00:01:19
@NoConfForOldMen
Thanks for joining, Jamie.
00:01:21
Jayme Hollingsworth
now Glad to be back. That means it's it's almost here. so Definitely glad to be back with you guys.
00:01:26
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, that's awesome.
Houston Cougars' Season Predictions
00:01:28
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay, guys, so let's get right into it. Let's start off with detailed perspective on the team going into the 25-26 season with a view into how each of you think the team is going to perform this season.
00:01:39
@NoConfForOldMen
Then we'll get into segment two with maybe a little bit more details around roster makeup and predicted lineups and then end with predicted records and maybe two or three additional contenders on the national scene.
00:01:52
@NoConfForOldMen
And why don't we start off with our guest, Jamie? If you're scouting this year's team, what are your thoughts on the Cougars going into the season?
Key Players and Freshmen Additions
00:02:01
Jayme Hollingsworth
Well, we all know that we have the big three coming back with Milo, C-Manuel, and JoJo. And then you've got some really good role players coming back. Mercy, Chase.
00:02:13
Jayme Hollingsworth
you know I know a lot of people have been talking about Chase and how excited they are to see him play.
00:02:17
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:02:18
Jayme Hollingsworth
Some really, really good guys coming back. you know You get the additional year of Ramon Walker, which is really exciting to have that leadership experience.
00:02:29
Jayme Hollingsworth
coming back, there. So, uh, and then you've got the, the freshmen coming in that everybody's excited about. I had a chance to watch Kingston play, twice live last year.
00:02:40
@NoConfForOldMen
and Nice.
00:02:43
Jayme Hollingsworth
guys, I'm telling y'all, you know, these are three guys that we're probably not used to seeing play as much as they're going to their first year.
Impact of Five-Star Freshmen
00:02:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yep.
00:02:52
Jayme Hollingsworth
but they really are legitimate superstars. I mean, when you got three, five stars, Kingston is one of the more athletic point guards that we'll have. I don't know if it's Sennac or Sennac.
00:03:04
Jayme Hollingsworth
I've now heard it both ways. I'm going call him Sennac for this one, but, as talented of a big guys as we're going to see.
00:03:07
@NoConfForOldMen
ye
00:03:12
Jayme Hollingsworth
And then Harwell who, uh, you know, I listened to y'all's a show with coach Kellen and, Just him describing what a good guard all around that he can just do everything.
00:03:22
Jayme Hollingsworth
So a lot to be excited about coming off the national championship game.
00:03:23
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:03:28
Jayme Hollingsworth
No reason why they can't get back. mean, when you have a core like you have coming back, plus the addition of these legitimate superstar freshmen. Sky's the limit for these guys.
00:03:39
Jayme Hollingsworth
I think last year to start the season, you know, you throw Milos out there, took him a little while to get the swing
Team Leadership and Identity
00:03:46
Jayme Hollingsworth
of things. But once he did and once they figured out their identity and the leadership, you know, those were big shoes to fill from Jamal.
00:03:47
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:03:55
Jayme Hollingsworth
And I'm not sure that J1 and LJ were quite ready, you know, to know their role. But once they figured it out and became the leaders of the team, you know, we saw what happened.
00:04:07
Jayme Hollingsworth
I think this year going in, you have Milos in that spot already, plus the leadership with him and Emmanuel and Ramon. They should get off to a quicker start this year than they did last year. So that's my thoughts going into the season.
00:04:22
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay, nice.
Coaching Strategy and Adjustments
00:04:23
@NoConfForOldMen
Tom, how about from a coach's perspective? What are you expecting with this year's iteration of our team?
00:04:29
Tom Lidiak
I think this year's team, the the ceiling is higher than than last year's team was. you know Like Jamie said, last year's team, did really the only addition was was Milo's.
00:04:42
Tom Lidiak
you know We're going to mixing in a whole bunch of guys, not just the three freshmen, but you know you got Chase who didn't play last year. So you know you've got a lot of guys coming in. They're going play some significant minutes that that even haven't played a college college game yet. But there's more talent on this on this team. So I think the the the ceiling is higher.
00:05:04
Tom Lidiak
Now, as far as wins and losses that we have, I think, what is it, 13 non-conference games? You know, okay.
00:05:11
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, well'll we'll we'll get into predicting records later, right, in the last segment.
00:05:14
Tom Lidiak
Okay, sure. but i But I just think, you know, you know We'll probably win some games just on talent alone.
00:05:21
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:05:21
Tom Lidiak
you know We might not be a finished product, but you know we you know there's going to be so much talent out there on the on the on the floor. Identity-wise, not sure. you know what the identity of this team will be. I mean, it's, it's, it's always going to be the same identity with, with coach Sampson, but every team is different now, especially in the era of, you know, transfers and NIL. So, you know, this team will, will be trying to find its identity, you know, the first, the first part of the year before you roll into conference play.
00:05:50
@NoConfForOldMen
How about scheme-wise, you expecting any changes or it'll be more?
00:05:54
Tom Lidiak
Oh, okay Oh, heck no. but Probably just some, you know, uh, uh, tweaks here and there, but you know, there, there's not going to change, uh, defensively, you know, coach Sampson has, yeah, he, he has a recipe, uh, you know, as far as, uh,
00:06:04
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, definitely not defensive.
00:06:11
Tom Lidiak
uh, X's and O's, know, we're going play, going to play our same man, a man, uh, just a few things offensively, you know, we'll probably be able to do different. You know, you got a guy, we got a guy now, a five man or a four man and CNAC who can pick and pop, or he can, he can short roll and he can make plays, you know, in the short roll.
00:06:23
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep. Yep.
00:06:27
Tom Lidiak
So maybe some differences there. I think it was Chase McCarty mentioned how, how good Kingston is in the pick and roll. So, You know, X and O wise, it's not going to change much.
00:06:40
Tom Lidiak
It's going to be Houston Cougar basketball, you know, tougher than a long weekend at your in-laws house. You know, that's the way I describe it.
00:06:49
@NoConfForOldMen
Rothstein. Yeah. No kidding. Okay. How about you, Bill, from a player's perspective or from your own perspective?
Player's Perspective on Strengths and Weaknesses
00:06:57
@NoConfForOldMen
What's, what's your take on this year's team?
00:07:00
.0Bill Walker
Well, you know it's funny because i've I've mentioned this to several people who have asked me about the the team heading into the 25-26 season. and And I read recently that Kelvin said exactly the same thing that that I've been saying to others. So clearly, great minds think alike.
00:07:23
.0Bill Walker
And yeah, yeah.
00:07:23
@NoConfForOldMen
but
00:07:25
.0Bill Walker
And what he said was, and and this this kind of piggybacks off of Tom a little bit, this team has a lower floor than last year's team, but a far higher ceiling.
00:07:38
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:07:38
.0Bill Walker
And that's what I've been saying as well. you Obviously, the the high ceiling and the low floor is due to the three incoming five-star freshmen.
00:07:49
.0Bill Walker
you know They're young. they'll They'll obviously take a little time to get things right and and become acclimated to you know not necessarily our system because they're they'll have had a ton of time during you know during the summer and and heading into the season. But but but you know it's going to take a little time to to to get acclimated to both the pre-conference games because because the talent's going be you know, the competition is going to be tougher than, than what they've seen before. And then of course the conference battles and, you know, and people have, people have come back at me and said, well, yeah, but you know Duke made the final four with, with three, five stars and, and, and they could have won it all.
00:08:35
.0Bill Walker
You know, number one, those three, five stars were all NBA lottery picks.
00:08:41
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:08:42
.0Bill Walker
It's also been mentioned to me, well, you know Michigan had the Fab Five where where they made it to the Final Four when they were freshmen. yeah's it's too Those are really two outliers.
00:08:53
.0Bill Walker
and But yeah with that said, this is a wildly talented team, arguably the most talented team team that will put on the floor since you know the Final Four teams of the early 80s. So you know if if they're able to put everything together,
00:09:10
.0Bill Walker
And I have absolutely no doubt that they'll do so under Calvin and staff. You know, this could be another solid run, and I think it will be a solid run through the Big 12 and absolutely a return to India for the Final Four.
00:09:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Nice. mean, great viewpoint guys. I think the analytics actually back up what you guys have all articulated. You guys have seen as well with the great sustained success over the last six seasons with coach Sampson, our Cougars continue to be the analytics darlings across the board with all the major players.
00:09:45
@NoConfForOldMen
And at this point, Ken Palm has yet to publish their preseason numbers yet. But as of this recording, Hoslam metrics, Bart Torvik, and even the newer Evan Maya have all got Houston again as a clear number one in the nation with the preseason analytics.
00:10:02
@NoConfForOldMen
Ken Palm's usually my jump off point when I look at the analytics, but I would be shocked if we're not number one in both his overall as well as defensive rankings when they come out later this month. And just to remind folks, providing you know just a little bit of context of of how we view things from an analytics perspective, threshold has been if you're top 40 or better in any particular area, it's a major strength. And if you're 175 or below, you've got major problems that really need addressing.
00:10:27
@NoConfForOldMen
And all this is really with making the NCAA tourney as the end goal. Now, if we look at the major stats focused on during the season, the Cougars are going to be stellar across the board. And if you look at end of last season, as well as historically speaking, for adjusted offensive efficiency, we ended up ranking fifth by Evan Maia, number one by Haslametrics, and 15th by Bart Torvick.
00:10:53
@NoConfForOldMen
And excuse me, that those are the preseason rankings. And those are elite rankings on the side of the ball that our fans just still continue to complain about during the season.
00:11:03
@NoConfForOldMen
But we'll get into the details a little bit later when we delve into...
Offensive Strategy and Analytics
00:11:08
@NoConfForOldMen
why maybe the fans this year will be more satisfied on that side of the ball this season. Not surprisingly, our adjusted defensive efficiency is ranked number one by a good margin across all three big data preseason rankings. And combining the two gives us the number one rating by all the analytic sites.
00:11:26
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, if you look more closely at the offensive side of things, we've always been applauding offense. 359th in adjusted tempo, and we don't shoot well, right? Ranking 124th last year in effective field goal percentage.
00:11:39
@NoConfForOldMen
and it's why fans complained about our offense. But we've also always hung our hat on getting more shots than our opponents and not turning the ball over. And really offensive rebounding like heck and pressuring teams on deep, and you just end up yeah yeah especially if you look at Haslam metrics where they've got an interesting stat around quick points off of offensive rebounds, we're ranked 23rd.
00:12:02
@NoConfForOldMen
And so it it actually results in a number one ranking in field goal attempts versus any other team. And so we just get off more shots than anyone else in the country. And even though we may not shoot all that great historically, we're going to score enough to beat pretty much everyone.
00:12:20
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, zirming in on our bread and butter defensive side, we're a lead across the board on all the key metrics. And Kenbaum, our effective vehicle percentage D, has been our staple, challenging every shot, ending the year at number three in the nation.
00:12:33
@NoConfForOldMen
And that's not going to try change anytime soon with Tugler Manning the middle. Turnover D has also been 24th in the country, which we've ramped up really over the course of the last four years. And our block percentage ended up at number four in the country.
00:12:46
@NoConfForOldMen
Bottom line is that we will be smothering on defense with nowhere to go for teams to attack. And now with Sharp potentially playing on top on D and C-NAC joining the front court, I expect it to even be tougher this season for opponents to get good looks.
00:13:03
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, I know we're going to get into roster makeup next, but man, with three five-stars joining, i mean, this is really just an incredible roster going into our season opener at Lehigh.
00:13:05
.0Bill Walker
Just
00:13:16
@NoConfForOldMen
And I'm going to be excited. I'll be flying in for that one. And I haven't come in for a season opener yet. and But this season, I'm so excited just to see what the team and the coaches have in store for us. I want to see how it unfolds.
00:13:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, how about
Roster Analysis and Player Roles
00:13:32
@NoConfForOldMen
looking a little bit more detailed in terms of roster makeup? And Bill, you can kick things off. What's your players take on the roster makeup and potential starting lineup this year?
00:13:43
.0Bill Walker
Okay, well, i'll just I guess I'll run through the roster.
00:13:47
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:13:47
.0Bill Walker
yeah The point guards, Milos, Kingston, Cordell, shooting guard, Emmanuel, Harwell, Isaiah Harwell, Mercy.
00:14:00
.0Bill Walker
And if he's if he's if he's on the roster, if he's not redshirted, Bryce Jackson, small forward, Ramon. And I'm going to say, even though the coaches have talked about him him playing a lot at at the four, I'm going to say Chase.
00:14:16
.0Bill Walker
and then And then the four, the power forward, Senac. I agree with you, Jamie. I call him Senac. Chris Senac, Khalifa Sacco, and then center Tugler, Sed, and hopefully he'll come back, McFarland, Jacob McFarland.
00:14:39
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:14:41
.0Bill Walker
The starters, and and Steve, you and I have have talked about this.
00:14:45
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:14:46
.0Bill Walker
can't. I think four of them are are obvious. Milos, Emmanuel, Chris Senak, and Tugler. The three is where I... Honestly, I have almost no clue.
00:15:07
@NoConfForOldMen
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:15:08
Tom Lidiak
Thank you.
00:15:12
.0Bill Walker
you know I've also... heard, and and Jamie, I'm sure you'll have a ton more insight into this, that you know perhaps it could be Ramon at the three. I guess right now I'm leaning a little bit more toward Kingston starting, but but I really have no idea who that that fifth starter is or the starter at the at the three.
00:15:37
.0Bill Walker
terms of strengths, without question, it's it two huge strengths and and the defense obviously is is the number one strength but uh but two two huge strengths are our our perimeter players and tugler i mean it's sharp and and yuzan are arguably the best backcourt in the nation and you know with with flemings uh
00:15:54
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:16:05
.0Bill Walker
you a potential starter. And then you have Harwell, Mercy, Ramon, and, know, McCarty is, from what everything I've heard has been playing exceptionally well, shooting exceptionally well.
00:16:19
.0Bill Walker
That, that's just an extraordinary set of, of perimeter players. And then, you know, and then, and then there's Tuggler and, you know, he's,
00:16:31
.0Bill Walker
I think he's primed for a big year. I mean, he was already you know highly highly rated defensively, defensive player the year.
00:16:42
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep. Yep.
00:16:42
.0Bill Walker
I think his offense is going to take a pretty big leap forward this year. Weaknesses. I think first and foremost would be our...
00:16:54
.0Bill Walker
Inside post play offensively. and And I've also, you know, Steve, I've mentioned this to you.
00:17:01
.0Bill Walker
Roberts was a monster inside. we we went to him. he He was a great inside scorer. And, you know, Cinex more of a face the basket player.
00:17:11
.0Bill Walker
Yeah. Tuggler kind of has been as well, you know, extremely athletic around the the basket. but But, you know, my concern is our our inside scoring. And, you know, we'll we'll see we'll see what happens there. i'm I'm guessing that that JoJo is going to pick up a lot of that slack and and become a pretty solid inside scorer this year.
00:17:39
.0Bill Walker
The other... Potential weakness, of course, are the freshmen. and you know that They could be somewhat hit or miss, but I think if that's the case, and I'm going to qualify this as a weakness, if that's the case, I only expect it to be early, and I think that they'll be absolutely fine as we progress through the through the Big 12 schedule and and approach the tournaments.
00:18:08
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay. Are you concerned at all about the time that Tuggler's missed in terms of kind of refining his offensive skills, especially down low? Because he had surgery again.
00:18:21
.0Bill Walker
Yeah. i think he's i think he's versatile enough. I you know i think that the you know clearly it was Jay Wynne in the middle last year, down low, getting the ball, and and you know everything went into him. I think...
00:18:40
.0Bill Walker
I'm confident that the Tuggler, I don't think that that we're going to be nearly as good as an inside scoring team as we were last year with J.
00:18:45
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:18:48
.0Bill Walker
Juan. It's just naturally how he plays. And you know Tuggler and Senac are not that kind of player. But I i do think that that that would with Roberts gone, that I believe Tuggler will be good.
00:19:08
.0Bill Walker
playing more in the post and and getting the ball. And I i think he's i think he's he's clearly talented enough, and I think he's intelligent enough to to get the job done.
00:19:16
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:19:21
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay, cool. How about you, Tom, from a coach's perspective?
00:19:25
Tom Lidiak
Oh, looking at
Injury Concerns and Player Health
00:19:25
Tom Lidiak
the roster, you know, there's a couple of injury concerns, a couple of minor, you know, as you mentioned, JoJo, he was in a boot. They're, you know, they're, they're nursing that injury. They're taking it slow. Just, you know, just as a precaution.
00:19:40
Tom Lidiak
We do have a couple of scrimmages come up, you know, October 18th, we got Mississippi State. Not sure how much JoJo will play then. Then we have that exhibition on the 26th. I'm sorry, Ole Miss on the 18th. That's a scrimmage. And then,
00:19:54
Tom Lidiak
On the 26th, we have that exhibition versus my Mississippi State. So not sure how much, you know, JoJo is going to play there, if they're just going to wait, you know, for the regular season, you know, the first game against Lehigh.
00:20:09
Tom Lidiak
And then we have an unfortunate situation with Jacob McFarlane.
00:20:12
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:20:13
Tom Lidiak
You know, he had that he had a small rod put in his leg last October. And then just recently in September, he had another surgery to put a larger rod in there. to replace that smaller one to, uh, to promote some healing. And that's just, you feel bad for the, you feel bad for the guy. Cause you know, he's put in a lot of hard work and you know, he's yet to see the court because of the, uh, the, the injuries.
00:20:37
Tom Lidiak
And then there's Isaiah Harwell. They're kind of nursing in that injury too. He tore his ACL. I think it was his junior year in high school. So it's still kind of a lingering thing. And, you know, he didn't go to those tryouts for that, uh, USA team, uh, just, uh, uh, you know,
00:20:53
Tom Lidiak
to get a little more healing going on too. the three guys I'm looking forward to seeing the most this year, I think are Kingston, uh, uh, Chris Senac and, and, and Chase McCarty, uh, a lot of, uh, noise surrounding McCarty about how, how good he's going to be.
Individual Player Contributions
00:21:11
Tom Lidiak
And also Kingston, uh, you listen to any of our podcasts, you heard the word from one of our assistant coaches say he's been unbelievable, uh, with, with Kingston, uh,
00:21:19
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:21:21
Tom Lidiak
If you listen and watch the interview with Kellen, Steve, I think you mentioned the possibility of playing, you know, two point guards together.
00:21:28
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:21:30
Tom Lidiak
ae Kellen just kind of went like this. And he said, you know, in the past we had Corey Davis, we had Galen Robinson, two point guards, you know, Marcus Sasser, we played with them.
00:21:38
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Sasser.
00:21:40
Tom Lidiak
And, and I don't know, I'm just getting the feeling that, you know, Kingston might be in there from, from, from the get go.
00:21:41
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:21:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:21:51
Tom Lidiak
So five men, know, Chase going to the four, I think that was kind of a recent development. And I'm wondering if the situation with Jacob McFarlane, you know, was was a cause of that for Chase to play some fours.
00:22:06
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:22:07
Tom Lidiak
And also, you know, by Chase being able to play the four and and some of the the guard spot, the the two or three, it also, you know, allows a spot for Kingston to get some more playing time too because I think there was some discussion on Goku's message board.
00:22:23
Tom Lidiak
They were giving up the minutes and, you know, somebody was saying, well, it looks like Kingston might only get 15 minutes or so. Well, you know, he's he's not coming here to play 15 minutes. He's...
00:22:35
Tom Lidiak
and that kind of had to go back with – I think that was before, oh well what's his foot decided to transfer to A&M.
00:22:44
Tom Lidiak
Who's our boy? Texas Tech.
00:22:46
Jayme Hollingsworth
Bob Isaacs.
00:22:47
@NoConfForOldMen
Pope Isaacs yeah
00:22:48
Tom Lidiak
Pop Isaacs. Yeah, there there you go. There you go.
00:22:51
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:22:52
Tom Lidiak
You know, word on the street was Kingston was like, he's gone if, you know, if Pop comes in because, you know, you're looking at 15 minutes a game, maybe maybe Max if Pop's came here.
00:23:02
Tom Lidiak
but let's get to what I think will be the starting lineup. And I have to give credit to Bryce Summerall because he, he posted on Goku so while back that, that he thought Kingston would, would start.
00:23:16
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:23:17
Tom Lidiak
And I commented, you gotta be out. You gotta be out. You're flipping mine, you know, no you know, Kelvin's not going to hand over the keys to a Ferrari, you know, to to some to some young guy. But, you know, the more the more we talk to the staff and, you know, the more they talk about Kingston, I think Bryce is on to something. But I think we'll see.
00:23:39
Tom Lidiak
uh, Kingston at point, uh, uh, Uzan and Emmanuel at the, at the two and the three under Kelvin system, the two and the three, they' they're the same position. Uh, you know, the point guard, the one is a totally different position. Uh, and then you got the four, which is a different position in the five, uh, four and five can also be the same position.
00:24:01
Tom Lidiak
But I think another thing that stood out, I think it was Kellen said this. He said they'll be looking for Milo's to score more this year, which which makes sense. of if If Kingston's playing a lot of point guard, you know, they'll set up Milo's to you know to be to be more of a shooter.
00:24:18
Tom Lidiak
Not that Milo's is not going to play point guard. I'm sure, you know, he'll get his he'll get his fair share playing point.
00:24:22
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:24:26
Tom Lidiak
And I'm like, you know, I think Sinek and JoJo will be the four and the five. You know, where does that leave Ramon? Where does that leave Chase? Well, there's some there's some depth right there.
00:24:40
Tom Lidiak
I think our concern could be with Jacob's injury a little bit thin, you know, at the post position.
00:24:46
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:24:47
Tom Lidiak
You know, JoJo has a history of getting in foul trouble. And, Bill, like you mentioned, you know, last year if we needed a bucket or a lot of times we would start the game or start the second half, we'd throw the ball in into Dijuan and, and, you know, establish an inside presence.
00:25:04
Tom Lidiak
Uh, I think Jojo can do that. He just wasn't asked to, uh, the score whole lot. Uh, you know, who, who thought Jawan would be the player he was, you know, the low post score he was, you know, the first couple of years he played here, but, uh, you know Jojo's thing is he's got to stay out of foul trouble, be on the, he needs to be on the floor more,
00:25:22
Tom Lidiak
But it'll be interesting to see what Kelvin and staff have cooked up as as far as you know as far as an inside game.
Team Depth and Rotation Potential
00:25:28
Tom Lidiak
that's that That's something we'll just have to wait and see. Now, where where does Mercy fit in all this too? Cordell, you know that's that's also a good question.
00:25:40
Tom Lidiak
There are some people that thought that Ramon might even not even start this year, but you know I'm not one of those. But really interesting A lot of questions will be answered in the first, you know the first couple of games.
00:25:52
@NoConfForOldMen
is.
00:25:53
Tom Lidiak
That's, you know, that's exciting to, exciting to think about coming up here. You know, we're, we're loaded and we got the greatest coach in the world.
00:26:05
Tom Lidiak
And, you know, when you have talent and you have great coaching that, that makes players play hard and make them play together, that's a tough combination. You know, I used to tell, I used to tell kids, know,
00:26:16
@NoConfForOldMen
is
00:26:19
Tom Lidiak
that uh you know if you get if you get a guy that's wildly talented and he has a insane work ethic you know what you have you have michael jordan there you know uh and that's what sets him apart from you know the other team so we we've got it all you know we've got talent we've had we have the coaching uh just got to stay healthy One of our assistants did mention, i think it was Hollis mentioned, shooting could be a concern.
00:26:45
Tom Lidiak
i don't know if you caught that, Steve.
00:26:46
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, i did. Yeah.
00:26:48
Tom Lidiak
he He mentioned shooting might be a be a concern. you We're losing LJ, and you know LJ saved us quite a few games last year where he kind of took over when we we needed a bucket. But you know hopefully, CNAC can provide you know that that kind of offensive firepower.
00:27:06
Tom Lidiak
And I'm not even mentioning Isaiah Harwell. That's that's insane.
00:27:09
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:27:10
Tom Lidiak
when You know, with about, I got about 15 seconds left here to talk. And I just finally mentioned Isaiah Harwell, a five-star recruit, which, you know, we would have been doing, you know, cartwheels, cartwheels a few years ago.
00:27:22
@NoConfForOldMen
cartwheels yeah
00:27:26
Tom Lidiak
Haven't seen much of Harwell play, but from the description of him, i don't know if you guys remember Mitch Richmond, who, You know Mitch Richmond played for the Warriors run. I think it was whatever they had. They had Tim Hardaway. They had Chris Mullen. They had Mitch Richmond.
00:27:42
Tom Lidiak
You know, a guard built really well, strong. it's That's just a really good perimeter shooter that can also take it to the basket. So it sounds like Harwell, you know, might be that be that type of player.
00:27:58
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, yeah, I kind of likened him to like a poor man, Scottie Pippen, right? Very versatile, good with the ball, very athletic. So we'll see. Very curious to see as well.
00:28:08
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, I think Richmond was a little stronger, but but yeah but but yeah, Harwell can do everything.
00:28:11
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, physical, yeah.
00:28:16
.0Bill Walker
I mean, quite honestly, early on, I thought that that that Harwell was clearly going to be the the starter at the at the the three or the the other guard anyway.
00:28:28
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:28:29
.0Bill Walker
But but yeah, that that obviously, now that we're getting closer to the season, that doesn't appear to be the case.
00:28:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, me too.
00:28:36
@NoConfForOldMen
It's interesting, though, right, because we heard from all the coaches around wanting to take their time with Harwell. He's still recovering. i haven't seen him miss any practices, right? He's in all the videos and everything for the offseason workouts, right, where we still see, right, some folks in boots, right?
00:28:56
@NoConfForOldMen
McFarland, Tugler missed time. I haven't seen Harwell miss anything, so I don't know if they're just downplaying it to not put too much pressure on the kid because I don't think he's missed anything. He's been in the strength and conditioning program because he's bulked up as well. So I'm really curious.
00:29:12
@NoConfForOldMen
See if we'll actually see him in day one. and Anything else, Tom?
00:29:17
Tom Lidiak
Well, that's about it. I'll let you guys talk some.
00:29:20
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay. Hey, Jamie, how about how about yourself? What's your take?
00:29:24
Jayme Hollingsworth
So I think we're all in agreeance on the first four starters. The name that I have literally written in my workout room in there that I have circled that I've been... just laying low is mercy Miller.
00:29:37
Jayme Hollingsworth
I'm telling y'all, I think that he's going to take off this year.
00:29:37
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:29:40
.0Bill Walker
I agree with you.
00:29:41
Jayme Hollingsworth
ay
00:29:41
@NoConfForOldMen
I hope so.
00:29:42
Jayme Hollingsworth
he he had a great summer. He looks like he's bulked up some. We all saw the dunk that he did in the drew league where he just posterized the guy.
00:29:50
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:29:52
Jayme Hollingsworth
i did not know that he had that kind of athleticism. I just thought he was kind of a shooter that can do some things. I think he's the fifth guy this year to start the game.
00:30:02
@NoConfForOldMen
Wow.
00:30:03
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay. thats There's a fresh take. I love it.
00:30:03
Jayme Hollingsworth
I think,
00:30:05
Jayme Hollingsworth
but that's That's my initial thought. I think that you could take him and one of the bigs out, bring in chase, and Kingston take Milos off the ball in that first sub-rotation and just run and gun, which would be something that we have not seen. But when you have two guards like that, that you could put one in one corner, one of either one of the point guards bringing it up the court, putting Manuel in the other corner,
00:30:34
Jayme Hollingsworth
go four out, one in, you know, that gives you some some stuff that we haven't really seen. So that's what I would do.
00:30:39
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:30:42
Jayme Hollingsworth
I'm not Kelvin Sampson, but if I had that kind of talent, that's probably what I would do.
00:30:45
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:30:48
Jayme Hollingsworth
I would say it's either goingnna be Mercy or Isaiah, actually. So I don't see him starting the year off with two freshmen in the starting lineup.
00:30:53
@NoConfForOldMen
OK.
00:30:58
Jayme Hollingsworth
Could very well happen. Kingston's absolutely good enough for that to happen. he He's a stud, I'm telling y'all.
00:31:05
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:31:07
Jayme Hollingsworth
He's not necessarily a score-first guy. He's going to try to get his guys involved. But if he can get downhill, he's going to do some dunks that we haven't seen from the guard position.
00:31:15
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, I agree.
00:31:16
Jayme Hollingsworth
So... So we've mentioned those guys. Khalifa, I think he comes off the bench kind of in that JV era role. Rim protector, lob guy.
00:31:30
Jayme Hollingsworth
But I think this is you know, it gets harder to say this every single year, but I think this is our deepest team that I've seen so far. I mean, you could legitimately play 12 guys if you wanted to.
00:31:39
@NoConfForOldMen
I agree. Yep.
00:31:43
Jayme Hollingsworth
if you want to bring said in there, let him bully some guys around. You could do that. If you wanted to bring Cordell in, let him play defense, shoot them you could do that. I think that they probably max it off around 10. but I think you see 10 guys every single night, part of, as part of the rotation. But if he wanted to, he can legitimately play 12.
00:32:04
Jayme Hollingsworth
Like y'all were talking about Jacob, I'm worried about Jacob. It just seems like it's it just happens every year. i mean, just say it's sad, and I'm hoping it's not one of those medical retirement type deals because I really want to see him out there.
00:32:11
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah yep
00:32:18
Jayme Hollingsworth
like He deserves to be out there. He works hard, so hopefully hopefully he can get out there at some point this year. And then, yeah I think Bryce redshirts for sure.
00:32:30
Jayme Hollingsworth
nothing wrong with that.
00:32:31
@NoConfForOldMen
ye
00:32:32
Jayme Hollingsworth
But yeah, you've got a lot of guys that know their roles this year. You know, I think Cedric's fine, you know, being that practice guy that bullies Chris around and gets him stronger and and ready for big 12 action. But Yeah, I think that would be my starting five and kind of my thoughts, you know, with that first rotation off the bench, let's speed it up a little bit, look to us spread the floor and get some some early offense.
00:33:00
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, no, that's great. Ed sides. i completely agree with you in terms of the depth for this team.
Competitive Practices and Roster Depth
00:33:06
@NoConfForOldMen
i mean, can you imagine the practices this year? i mean, you have high, high quality kids, right?
00:33:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Playing against each other across the board. I don't, I don't recall another roster that we've had here, even in the the two final four years that had this type of depth.
00:33:24
Tom Lidiak
yeah You know what? Hey guys, getting back to Bryce Jackson.
00:33:28
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:33:29
Tom Lidiak
I know Kelvin and Saf do their own evaluation, but you know Bryce had a higher rating than Jamal, Caleb Mills, Marcus, and he's probably going to be redshirted.
00:33:37
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. oh Yeah.
00:33:41
Jayme Hollingsworth
Yeah.
00:33:42
Tom Lidiak
that's That's nuts.
00:33:42
Jayme Hollingsworth
Yeah. He's another one. I, I got to watch a lot of his games last year on the, on the NFHS network. I watched several of his games and he's a stud. I'm telling you, but yeah, there's probably just too many there in front of him this year, but yeah, I think he's going a really good player too.
00:33:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:33:59
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:33:59
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, like I said, that our our are perimeter players, basically the one one through three positions, it were so incredibly deep that, yeah, you know, and you know he and he's a good-sized big guard, but but it makes sense to redshirt him with with the just the incredible depth we have in the –
00:34:19
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, he is. yes
00:34:28
.0Bill Walker
just around the perimeter.
00:34:30
@NoConfForOldMen
And what does that tell you with a, the kind of kids that we recruit as well as kind of the communications of the staff to be able to, convey every year we've been able to convince, you know, like a four-star player to, to redshirt.
Redshirting Strategy for Player Development
00:34:45
@NoConfForOldMen
Right. And that's unheard of these days. So a tip of the hat to the, the staff as well. Right. And the kids we recruit.
00:34:51
Tom Lidiak
You know, and before he got hurt his sophomore year, he was he was considered the best player in his class in the state of Texas.
00:34:57
@NoConfForOldMen
In Houston, yeah. yeah Oh, in the state of Texas? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, when you look at it from an analytics perspective, we do lose three of our top players in Roberts, Cryer, and Francis, but it's nothing new for us, quite honestly, because we've gone through multiple seasons where, like when we lost Sasser, Walker, and Mark after one season,
00:35:20
@NoConfForOldMen
But as you guys know, I like to use Bart Torvik's top 30 player box score plus minus in assessing how players impact winning.
Advanced Metrics and Season Expectations
00:35:28
@NoConfForOldMen
And of the guys that we lost, Cryer was our number two guy at a plus 10.3 last season.
00:35:33
@NoConfForOldMen
But we get our number one guy back in sharp, and he was at a plus 10.7. And though we missed the experience and low post scoring of Roberts, right, like you said, Bill, we we talked about it a little bit during the season last year as well. His production had actually dropped off last season, and he was basically seventh on the roster at a plus 7.1, his lowest number in three years as a starter.
00:35:58
@NoConfForOldMen
The expectation that I have is that Milos, who was a plus 7.9, and Tugler, that was a plus 8.5, really step up their efficiency this season. And they were already both great as first-time starters for us as the fourth and fifth most efficient players last season.
00:36:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Then you add in expected jumps for kids like McCarty and Miller in year two, hopefully a healthy walker for his senior year. And three five-star true freshmen who all bring offensive skill sets we have never seen coming into the program.
00:36:29
@NoConfForOldMen
And with our elite developmental coaching staff, this roster is in perfect shape and is just totally stacked for another national championship run.
00:36:32
Jayme Hollingsworth
Thank you.
00:36:35
Tom Lidiak
Thank you.
00:36:39
@NoConfForOldMen
And this is why I believe fans are going to be a bit more enamored with our offensive season with the three freshmen bringing more polished offensive skill set in. Milo's looking to school more in year two where he knows the sets now and we is more comfortable with the program.
00:36:56
@NoConfForOldMen
Plus Tuggler. And I don't know if you guys remember during our... I think it was the interview with Kellen where there's an intent to potentially utilize Tugler more and running the offense or initiating it more through him from up top because he's got great skill sets.
00:37:12
@NoConfForOldMen
I mean, it's really my belief that this year's team will be more, I'll do quote unquote, eye pleasing from an offensive set perspective. And so that that is the side that I'm expecting to see more tweaks and changes in with the types of skills that we've got at our disposal that we just flat out haven't had before.
00:37:32
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, if you start looking at starters, I'm in agreement with you guys as well for the four starters, Milo, Suzanne, Tugler, and Cenac. And the only reason I picked Fleming's is because just felt like when we were doing the coaches series that they were all kind of highlighting you know, Flemings is, or kind of hinting at him and what he's been doing. And so it almost felt like they were, they were kind of preparing our mindsets to, to be ready for a two point guard lineup.
00:38:04
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, my my personal preference, I think, is kind of like you, Bill, where I'd love to see Harwell you know' be that that third starter. I'd love to see really sharp up top, and we may still see that because even if we go with Fleming's in the starting lineup, it's my belief, and I know the coaching staff likes to say that our twos and threes play the same, but I'm going to say specifically on defense that
00:38:20
.0Bill Walker
Thank you.
00:38:28
@NoConfForOldMen
That Sharp needs to play on top of the key. And you put Milos down at the baseline because it's just easier to hide. yeah He's just not as quick as Sharp on D. And he's very effective at scoring from the baseline. So I think there'll be that little bit of a nuance and and we'll be will be set there.
00:38:46
@NoConfForOldMen
And then I'm not exactly sure who's going to come off the bench, but I'm hoping Ramon Walker. i mean, if you guys seen the photos of the the workout, yeah you know, kind of the and the annual Coach Bishop photo of the team.
00:39:02
@NoConfForOldMen
I'll tell you, go back and look at the past three seasons. Walker has never looked that size and that cut. I mean, he's always been in shape, but this year he looks like he's prepared to play the four. So I'm hoping he gets, you know, minutes in his last year.
00:39:18
@NoConfForOldMen
I'm expecting big things from McCarty as well as Miller. And so it's going to be tough for for for kids to get minutes at this point. So anyways, now how about for predictions or projections, right, from an overall regular season record, excluding the conference tournament, conference record, and then national ranking for UH this season.
Season Predictions and Rankings
00:39:40
@NoConfForOldMen
And then as you go through it, because I know already you guys are all going to be picking, you know, Houston near the top, if you can name two or three other teams here,
00:39:51
@NoConfForOldMen
that you guys believe nationally will be in contention with UH. That would be cool. Tom, why don't you go first?
00:40:00
Tom Lidiak
Well, get back to, you know, real quick about Coach Bishop and, and you know, how he works the guys out and how they get in shape.
00:40:06
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:40:07
Tom Lidiak
of Fleming's gained, he went from 165, he said, in high school. He's at 190 now.
00:40:12
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, crazy.
00:40:13
Tom Lidiak
He gained, what is that, 70? That's 25 pounds, something like that.
00:40:17
.0Bill Walker
twenty five
00:40:18
Tom Lidiak
Was it 25?
00:40:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, yeah.
00:40:19
Tom Lidiak
Yep.
00:40:20
@NoConfForOldMen
It's nuts.
00:40:20
Tom Lidiak
And, you know, and then Sharp. I don't know when that picture came around. It was a couple of months ago. He looked like a Pillsbury dough boy, but that he lost, he lost, yeah, he lost 10 pounds.
00:40:30
@NoConfForOldMen
Very svelte now. Yeah.
00:40:33
@NoConfForOldMen
That looks like more than 10 pounds, honestly.
00:40:35
@NoConfForOldMen
i mean, he looks lean.
00:40:36
Tom Lidiak
That, yeah, the, yeah, the tweet I saw, you know, said 10 pounds, but yeah.
00:40:40
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:40:41
Tom Lidiak
Yeah. Anyway, getting back to the season, you've got 13 non-conference games. I think we go 12-1. Not sure where that loss would come. Probably combination of maybe the the Auburn game and in Birmingham.
00:40:56
Tom Lidiak
you know We have the players players era where you play three games in three days. We've got Arkansas and in in new jersey in Newark, New Jersey. so probably one of those losses I think will we'll come in one of those games. So 12-1.
00:41:11
Tom Lidiak
I think Big 12 play, we go 16-2. You've got an 18-game schedule now instead of 20-2.
00:41:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:41:20
Tom Lidiak
You know, it's it's one of those lopsided schedules. you know, we have Iowa State on the road. We got Kansas on the road. We only play them once. I think the three teams we play twice are Cincy, Baylor, and who's the other one you guys remember?
00:41:36
Tom Lidiak
Anyway. So 16 and two, i think the two, I think we protect our home court, go undefeated on the home court.
00:41:39
Jayme Hollingsworth
Texas.
00:41:43
Tom Lidiak
And then, and then you're probably looking at, uh, two losses, uh, uh, probably, probably coming on the road.
00:41:50
@NoConfForOldMen
So you're thinking what, like 28 and three, is that right?
00:41:54
Tom Lidiak
Yeah, I think we, I think we are 28 and three heading into the big 12 tournament, the Iowa state invitational, you know, and, uh,
00:41:58
@NoConfForOldMen
Overall.
00:42:05
Tom Lidiak
that there That's their Super Bowl. I still say Iowa State would rather win the Big 12 tournament championship than win the outright national championship.
00:42:07
@NoConfForOldMen
That's right.
00:42:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Ha ha ha ha.
00:42:14
Tom Lidiak
I mean, that's how much they they they put into that. But I think...
00:42:18
@NoConfForOldMen
I'm sure your neighbors really appreciate you saying that out in Iowa.
00:42:21
Tom Lidiak
Oh, let them i let them I let them know. And they got they got more excuses than Carter's Got Pills while they lose.
00:42:29
Tom Lidiak
But... I think we we go 3-0 in the Big 12 tournament, and thirty one and three heading into the NCAA tournament goes 6-0, and we cap the whole thing off 37-3 with Kelvin's first national championship.
00:42:50
@NoConfForOldMen
Nice.
00:42:51
Tom Lidiak
You know, it's it's such a long season when you think about it, you know, from that first game,
00:42:55
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:42:58
Tom Lidiak
you know, to, to whenever, you know, the tournament, you know, our last losses, or if we do lose this year, you know, it's, it's just, every season's different. It's just a journey, you know, and, and sometimes we should just pinch ourselves and realize where we're at.
00:43:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh, yeah.
00:43:15
Tom Lidiak
How many, how many preseason rankings were, were the number one team.
00:43:19
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:43:20
Tom Lidiak
i mean, he just, you know, and old guys like us, remember the, just the, days where there were more rats in Hoffheim's Pavilion than there were people in the stands, you know.
00:43:33
Tom Lidiak
so
00:43:34
@NoConfForOldMen
Hey, Tom, so who who else have you got nationally?
National Contenders and Teams to Watch
00:43:37
@NoConfForOldMen
Give me two or three other teams you think are going to be in contention with Houston.
00:43:37
Tom Lidiak
i
00:43:41
Tom Lidiak
You know, I haven't haven't really focused a whole lot yet on the national scene, but, you know, you yeah you look at all the talking heads and you look at the analytics and all that, you know, Purdue's in there.
00:43:52
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, absolutely.
00:43:54
Tom Lidiak
And then Probably Florida. You have to probably throw them in there too. Some people are saying UConn. We'll see after the kind of season that Hurley had last year where he was thinking about quitting.
00:44:07
Tom Lidiak
He was thinking about getting totally getting out of coaching.
00:44:07
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:44:10
Tom Lidiak
So you know we'll see how her Hurley responds when the bullets start flying again this year, whether you know whether he's renewed and vitalized or whatever.
00:44:24
Tom Lidiak
So lot people are throwing UConn in there.
00:44:24
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay.
00:44:26
Tom Lidiak
But I'd say us, Purdue, Florida, you never know.
00:44:32
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay. Those are three good ones.
00:44:33
Tom Lidiak
Duke, Duke, you know they got they got those three guys that are throwing beaucoups of money into the Duke basketball program to procure talent.
00:44:34
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:44:45
Tom Lidiak
So, yeah, ill I'll go with those
00:44:48
@NoConfForOldMen
OK, awesome. How about you, Jamie?
00:44:50
Jayme Hollingsworth
So I've also got us going in twelve and one and the non-conference. I think you either drop one at the Players' Era or in Newark against Arkansas.
00:44:55
@NoConfForOldMen
OK.
00:45:01
Jayme Hollingsworth
In the conference, I have them going 15-3.
00:45:05
@NoConfForOldMen
OK.
00:45:05
Jayme Hollingsworth
I just think that's a really, really tough stretch towards the end of the season where you have to go back-to-back Monday nights at Iowa State, at Kansas.
00:45:09
@NoConfForOldMen
It is. Yeah.
00:45:15
Jayme Hollingsworth
So I think fifteen and three The conference overall, I don't you know thought it was going to be better than last year, but then I started kind of looking at the rosters.
00:45:28
Jayme Hollingsworth
you know Iowa State is going to need Lipsy to get healthy.
00:45:32
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:45:32
Jayme Hollingsworth
I don't know that Kansas has enough around Peterson, but I do know
Final Four Predictions
00:45:39
Jayme Hollingsworth
that Bill Self, has I've never heard him more excited about an individual player than he is for Darren Peterson.
00:45:45
Jayme Hollingsworth
He says he's the best player since Danny Manning.
00:45:48
@NoConfForOldMen
Wow.
00:45:49
Jayme Hollingsworth
So that's a pretty big pretty big statement. But overall, you know I think we win the conference again, fifteen and three I'm not sure that we win the but conference tournament.
00:46:00
Jayme Hollingsworth
I think you know that could be an opportunity for a slip-up going into the big dance. But I do think they win it all.
00:46:07
@NoConfForOldMen
Nice.
00:46:09
Jayme Hollingsworth
So I'm going to go a little different route. I'm going to go my final four.
00:46:12
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay.
00:46:13
Jayme Hollingsworth
Houston, Purdue, BYU.
00:46:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep. Yep.
00:46:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Wow. Conference supporter.
00:46:19
Jayme Hollingsworth
I think BYU could win the conference tournament.
00:46:20
@NoConfForOldMen
Love it.
00:46:24
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay. Yeah.
00:46:25
Jayme Hollingsworth
they I mean, they're flat out loaded.
00:46:27
Jayme Hollingsworth
Now, the question I have with BYU is their coaching. Yeah. call it what it is. He's he's an arrogant dude. hahu He really likes himself, but if he can figure out how to to get you know the talent that they have coming in, they just have so many good players returning with Keita and Richie Saunders.
00:46:37
@NoConfForOldMen
Yes,
00:46:46
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:46:48
Jayme Hollingsworth
So if Saunders can be okay with going from 20 points a game down to, you know, 15, 14, somewhere in there and share the ball with AJ. And then if AJ can be the player that I think he is, then I think they could get to the final four.
00:47:03
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay.
00:47:03
Jayme Hollingsworth
Uh, and then my fourth team, which, uh, is probably going to be a big surprise, San Diego state. I think they're, Oh man, I'm sorry.
00:47:11
@NoConfForOldMen
You're going to steal that from me. That's going to be one of my... No, that's great.
00:47:14
Jayme Hollingsworth
Yeah, no, I think they're, uh,
00:47:14
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:47:17
Jayme Hollingsworth
I think they're going to be the real deal. We got to see them in Vegas last year.
00:47:20
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:47:20
Jayme Hollingsworth
We'll get to see them again this year. you know Getting the the Guath guy back was huge. He was one of my favorite. He probably was my favorite player that I got to scout last year.
00:47:31
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:47:33
Jayme Hollingsworth
Just a tremendous athlete, shot blocker. So that would be my final four. I do think, like Tom said, I think UConn's back in the picture this year.
00:47:43
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:47:43
Jayme Hollingsworth
I think he did a good job bringing some guys in. And then it's all about retaining. you know If you can retain some really good players and then add on some top talent, then then you've got a chance.
00:47:48
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:47:53
Jayme Hollingsworth
So they definitely have a chance. But, yeah, that would be my final four.
00:47:57
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, no, that's awesome. You know, ball. That's great. How about you, Bill? What's your, uh, what's your take around records as well as a few other teams to look out for?
00:48:08
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, well, again, it's interesting because you guys all had us losing. I think all three of you had us losing five games in the conference last year, and I believe I had and us losing two.
00:48:16
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:48:19
.0Bill Walker
And this year I'm being a little more conservative just because of – of
00:48:27
.0Bill Walker
because of the time I, I just think it might take the, the freshmen to, to become acclimated. I'm saying regular season 11 and two. i mean, we've got, we've got four tough games. We've got Tennessee, we've got Auburn, we've got Arkansas, and then we've been, then we've got the, the unknown game at this point, uh, out in Vegas.
00:48:52
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay. So two, two losses in non-con, right?
00:48:54
.0Bill Walker
So, uh, yeah, 11 and two,
00:48:55
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay.
00:48:57
.0Bill Walker
you know while while we're getting acclimated and and and whatever. Conference, I agree, Jamie. I'm saying 15-3.
00:49:08
.0Bill Walker
you know're We've got BYU on the road, which I think is going to be extremely tough. We've got Iowa State on the road. We've got Kansas on the road. And, Tom, you were you weren't sure who the other team we played home and away is. It's Tech.
00:49:24
@NoConfForOldMen
Tough.
00:49:24
.0Bill Walker
And Tech on the road is going to be –
00:49:27
.0Bill Walker
a tough game. So I'm going to say 15 and three in conference, which would put us at 26 and five heading into the big 12 tournament. I didn't, I don't know.
00:49:40
.0Bill Walker
I didn't make any predictions in terms of the tournament. i just went to 26 and five national ranking. And I'm not sure exactly what you, you meant by,
00:49:53
.0Bill Walker
asking us what our national ranking is going to be, Steve.
00:49:55
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:49:55
.0Bill Walker
I think throughout the season, oh, are we going to win it?
00:49:56
@NoConfForOldMen
End of the season. Are we going to, are we going to win it? Are we not going to win it?
00:50:00
.0Bill Walker
Well, yes.
00:50:00
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:50:02
.0Bill Walker
I'm going to say yes. Yeah,
00:50:05
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:50:06
.0Bill Walker
yeah I had written down we're going to float between one and five all season.
00:50:11
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:50:11
.0Bill Walker
and
00:50:11
@NoConfForOldMen
i would agree.
00:50:12
.0Bill Walker
You know, the thing is this year, that there is not, I mean, you know, picking BYU and San Diego State in the final four goes to exactly what I think. And that is that there is absolutely no dominant team this year.
00:50:28
.0Bill Walker
Almost every single team has question marks.
00:50:31
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yep. Yeah.
00:50:31
.0Bill Walker
yeah my My three teams and it kind of along the same lines as as Tom, I have
00:50:34
Tom Lidiak
Thank you.
00:50:37
.0Bill Walker
Purdue, of course, uh, Florida.
00:50:38
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:50:40
.0Bill Walker
And then, and then my, my third team, I was, i was kind of vacillating between Duke and, and Michigan and, and it's probably going to end up being Duke just because they're playing it in a weaker conference.
00:50:53
.0Bill Walker
And, uh, uh, you know, they've got a couple players back.
00:50:53
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:50:57
.0Bill Walker
They brought in four really good freshmen, uh, the, the Boozer twins, Saar and, and, uh, kamania however you pronounce his name.
00:51:06
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah Yeah, they always have great players coming in, right?
00:51:07
.0Bill Walker
But, uh, yeah, the thing with Duke and I had this question about him last year is who's going to be their point guard. They're saying right now that it could be, uh, Caden Boozer.
00:51:18
.0Bill Walker
Uh, I mean, he's a six, four guard.
00:51:20
@NoConfForOldMen
Freshmen, yeah.
00:51:20
.0Bill Walker
Yeah. Freshman. And, and they, they think that he could end up being the, uh, the point guard. So, you know, every team, every team that I've looked at so far has questions.
00:51:32
.0Bill Walker
And, uh, you know And that includes us. And so i don't think there's and and that leads to you know picking teams like BYU or San Diego State for the Final Four because this is a year where where a lot of different teams could could end up making it because I just don't see any dominant teams out there.
00:51:54
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Okay. No, great picks. Now quickly from my perspective, I think we're all relatively close in terms of our
Hopes for Houston's National Championship
00:52:02
@NoConfForOldMen
predictions. I've got us 27 for overall, all of our losses coming in conference and all road losses, right? To Tech, BYU, ISU, and KU.
00:52:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Now I could potentially swap one of those if we can pull one off on the road in conference and maybe we lose to Arkansas in the non-conference. Uh, but I also believe we're cutting down the nets in March for our first national championship, you know, two other teams that I feel are going to be neck and neck with us, Purdue, just like you guys had highlighted, cause they've got like four guys coming back plus another, you know, great incoming transfer player.
00:52:42
@NoConfForOldMen
And other than Purdue, I'm also going to highlight UConn. I didn't think any of you guys would talk about UConn because, you know, from the national pundits, not a lot of them have mentioned UConn that high. They've actually mentioned St. John's before UConn. But I think UConn's up for a big, big comeback because they've got a lot of you know really good players coming back and they've filled out the roster really nicely. And then my dark horse was going to be San Diego state as well. I love the makeup. No one's talking about them. I mean, they might be ranked on the fringes and I'm not ranking them fourth, but I think, yeah, come, come NCAA tournament time that they are absolutely one that I would not want to see in our bracket.
00:53:25
@NoConfForOldMen
So, cause I think they could definitely make it to the final four.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:53:30
@NoConfForOldMen
So that's it for our third Houston and Cougars preview and episode number 60 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. We're also available and we have the Republican football podcast feed from the folks at Dave Campbell's Texas Football as their only basketball-centric podcast.
00:53:53
@NoConfForOldMen
We're at the gokus.com website for those that prefer to digest the content that way. We appreciate the continued support from all. Also, please give us a follow on our Twitter account, No Conference for Old Men. Thank you all again for listening.
00:54:05
@NoConfForOldMen
And please be on the lookout for our Big 12 and national maybe top eight or nine episode in the next couple of weeks. So look out and download and listen as the next episode drops.
00:54:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Take care, everyone.