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NCAA, baseball and Deon Thomas
93 Plays2 years ago
I talk about
the World Baseball classic
NCAA March Madness
St. Louis City SC
St Louis Battlehawks
and freind of the show Deon Thomas stops by.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'Talking Sports on the Bleachers'
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome folks to my spot up here on the bleachers. I'm glad you stopped by and as J.D. Clampo would say, come on up and sit a spell. I'm Don Glenn and this is Talking Sports on the Bleachers. You got to get it done. This is Gateway City Sports. The rumors are true.
00:00:24
Speaker
This is Talking Sports on the Bleachers with Don Glenn. A confident young man. A superb athlete. A look at the sports issues of the day. Grab a seat, top a cold one, and let's talk some sports. Gee, that sounds kind of interesting. Gentlemen, start your engines!
00:01:00
Speaker
Grown on the shotgun, here's the snap. Romo looking, dumps it off, breaks that, and her snuck it! And her snuck it over goal line by the Woodson! And there is your Gallagher! Rule for the wide spread stands, arms out over the place. Bickford from the threat. So one young hit. A play, and there it goes!
00:01:47
Speaker
Playoffs? Don't talk about it. Playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs? Are you crying? I'm not crying! I'm not crying in baseball! You don't understand, I could have had class.
00:02:11
Speaker
I could have been a contender. I could have been somebody. Holy cow! Hey, Dad?
00:02:44
Speaker
You want to have a catch? I'd like that.
Preview of Sports Topics and Guest Introduction
00:02:58
Speaker
Welcome, men and women, children of all ages, to Talking Sports on the Bleachers. I am your host, Don Glenn, and we're going to sit up here today and talk a little sports. A lot to talk about, actually.
00:03:12
Speaker
We've got the World Baseball Classic, the NCAA, coming up on weekend number two. Then there's some things going on in St. Louis that's got people buzzing around there, and you know something? For once, it's not the Cardinals or the Blues. We'll get to that. And my good friend, friend of the show, and Illini legend Dion Thomas is going to stop by. We're going to talk a little NCAA basketball and the Fighting Illini.
00:03:40
Speaker
I want to tell you that talking sports on the bleachers is a proud part of Gateway City Sports. At Gateway City Sports, you will find lots of articles and content on anything and everything in and around the city of St. Louis. On a variety of sports, you cover a wide area. Pro and college as well. And we also have other podcasts too. If you got a Cub fan in the family, or you're a Cub fan with a Cardinal fan, or you got a Cub, anyway, where you can get a Cub and Cardinal fan together. Let's just put it that way.
00:04:10
Speaker
I got a show for you to listen to. It's called The Team of Rivals with Ron Nuttle, Pete Gettys and Elliot Dewey. They cover everything Cub Cardinal fans will want to listen to. If you're just interested in Cardinal content, then check out the That's All winner with Ryan Jenkins and Josh Brown. If you want more Cardinal content with a little bit of extra added in, then check out the Two for Three with the Moose Mike Stevenson.
00:04:38
Speaker
And once a month, you can catch me and my broadcast partner, Russ, Uncle Frank Robinson, as we do the NCAA report. And then of course there is always the often intimidated, never duplicated, Derek King sports show with the legend himself, Mr. Derek King. So go to gateway city sports.com. Check us out.
00:05:00
Speaker
If you follow sport and we don't cover it, let us know about it. We will see what we can do to make that happen. That's GatewayCitySports.com. Let's start off with a little baseball.
World Baseball Classic Highlights and Controversies
00:05:23
Speaker
The World Baseball Classic is over and Japan has now captured their third
00:05:29
Speaker
world title, world baseball classic title. They beat the USA 3-2 with the final not coming on a strikeout by Shohei Otani of Mike Trout. With the bases empty, Trout had a chance to tie the game and Otani struck him out on a slider away after throwing him 200 mile an hour fastballs.
00:05:57
Speaker
I guess there's, you know, these guys are teammates on the Angels, folks. And a lot of people wanted to see that. They wanted to see that game end. If it was going to be the United States, Japan, they wanted to see Otani and Trout in the final inning. That's what they won. That's what they got. And Japan is the winner.
00:06:18
Speaker
Oh, tiny was also named the MVP of the world baseball classic. Now there were some issues that came out of a couple of very bad injuries and, and, uh, you know, let some people questioning as to why we're still even playing this. And I think, I don't think there's any reason to, to doubt why the game is being played. It's, it's a very big goodwill gesture and you know, it's something that promotes injuries are going to happen. You know, the only thing I'm with these injuries is there to really.
00:06:45
Speaker
top dollar high value players if you will. Edwin Diaz injured his right patella tendon and he wasn't even a baseball move. He was just jumping up and down. It was after the game and he struck out a batter to end the game and was jumping up and down in celebration and evidently came down wrong and there went the knee.
00:07:11
Speaker
He's going, he's had surgery and going to miss all of the 2023 season. And of course this is after the Mets designed him to that big contract. Uh, the other high profile injuries, Jose Altuve. Now his was an actual in-game injury. Uh, he got hit on the, uh, hand, uh, with a 95 mile an hour fastball.
00:07:34
Speaker
he is due, or I'm not sure if he has had or he's due to have surgery, they do not know how much time he is going to be out. There was also a couple other minor injuries. Freddie Freeman had a what they called termed as a slight hamstring issue.
00:07:54
Speaker
so that shouldn't hopefully not take too long to recover from I mean it doesn't seem like it was a torn or severely pulled so hopefully that's going to be a quick recovery for Freddie and then Japanese shortstop Sozuka Genda also broke a finger so
00:08:15
Speaker
But, you know, like I said, those injuries are going to happen. And they would have happened that they could have happened. Those guys in spring training could happen to him in a workout session, could have happened to him in a simulated game.
March Madness Surprises and NCAA Tournament Analysis
00:08:25
Speaker
Um, you know, anything like that. Uh, Nolan Aronado got hit on the hand. I mean, he could easily ended up, uh, like, uh, Al Tuve, uh, with a, you know, a busted hand or broken fingers or anything like that. So you just don't know. No, they're professional ballplayers. They know the risk. They're going to take the risk. If they don't want to take the risk, they won't play. I mean, that's all there is to it. These guys want to play and you can't stop. You really can't blame them or want to try and stop them for playing for their home country.
00:08:54
Speaker
I mean, yeah, they get paid to play for the Mets or the Cardinals or the Brewers or whoever. But these guys want to play for their home country. And then when you look at it, like the Czech Republic, you know, they didn't have any actual major, major, major leaguers. I don't be sure they didn't.
00:09:11
Speaker
It was just a bunch of guys that normally have 40-hour week jobs that play baseball on the weekend in a club setting. This is basically an all-star team of a club league that played their way into tournament play to make the World Baseball Classic.
00:09:31
Speaker
the same with Great Britain and the neat thing both of them won a game so now they get an automatic berth into their 2026 version of the World Baseball Classic which they say will be played and I say thank you for that.
00:09:48
Speaker
Okay so under further review, well the first weekend of the NCAA tournament was done and man was it crazy. I mean there's a reason they call this March Madness folks and there is. First of all Virginia is now not the only number one seed to lose to a 16.
00:10:08
Speaker
as Fairleigh Dickinson out of the Northeast Conference defeated Purdue 63-58. Then Princeton, not to be outdone, Princeton from the Ivy League, a 15 seed, used an 8-0 run to come from behind and beat Arizona a 2 seed, then they decided that wasn't enough. So on the next round, they beat the number 7 seed, Missouri, and beat them
00:10:36
Speaker
quite convincingly, actually. Be on the watch out for Princeton. Let's see what other upsets we had here. We had Kansas, a number one seed, going down in the second round to number eight seeded Arkansas. And I'll tell you what folks, Arkansas could give some teams some trouble.
00:10:56
Speaker
Uh, they're a team that shoots, that shoots well, that plays well, that plays together. That is, you know, it's not the 40 hour or the 40 minutes of hell that Nolan Richardson had when he was there, but it's pretty damn close. I mean, these guys are going to push you every step of the way. So you better be ready if you're going to play those guys. Number six seed Creighton up ended number three seeded Baylor and Baylor was one of my picks, uh, to come out of, uh, uh, the region.
00:11:26
Speaker
They're not there now, so who knows what's gonna happen. So the Sweet 16 shapes up this way. Number one in the south, number one seed Alabama plays number five seed San Diego State. Number six seed Creighton, as I said, plays number 15 seed Princeton. In the east, number nine seed Florida Atlantic.
00:11:47
Speaker
Also another, well I'm really a surprise winner, they beat an eight. I mean eight, nine, you know, it's an upset, but nah, who cares, it's an eight, nine. Anyway, ninth Florida Atlantic beats number four seed Tennessee, number three seed Kansas State against number seven seed Michigan State. You know, there's an old adage, there's a lot of people who said, don't ever bet against Tom Izzo. I did, and he made me pay on my brackets, I can tell you that right now.
00:12:13
Speaker
In the Midwest, number one seed Houston takes on number five seed Miami. Number three seed Xavier takes number two seed Texas. And in the West, it's number eight seed Arkansas versus four seed Yukon and three seed Gonzaga versus two seed UCLA.
00:12:31
Speaker
So like I said, my picks when Russ and I did our show last week, I had Alabama and Baylor as my favorites in the East. I was very bullish on Duke, K-State and Marquette. Then in the Midwest, I had Texas and Houston as my top choices with Penn State as a possible.
00:12:51
Speaker
Uh, and then in the West, I had Gonzaga and Arkansas and that's kind of shaping up. I've still got a lot of my final four teams left. Um, sadly, Duke decided they wanted to bow out, but you know, Hey, that's, that's them. They can do that if they want. There's a couple of notes and oddities I found. This is the third year in NC, in the NCAA tournament that Purdue has lost to a double digit seed.
00:13:15
Speaker
Okay 21 they lost to the 13 seed north, Texas Last year they lost to the 15 seed st. Peter's and now this year they lose to the 16 seed fairly Dickinson But the last name in the before that in the tournament which was 2019 because it was no NCAA turn in 2020 2019 they were in the final four and
00:13:38
Speaker
which coincidentally is the last time any Big 10 team has been in the Final Four. So hey, Big 10, if you're listening, get on the stick here, guys, okay? Duke, I thought they were destined for the Final Four. They were on a run. They won their last six regular season games.
00:13:57
Speaker
Three straight wins in three days in their ACC tournament. They got a five seed and they blew out Oral Roberts and then ran. It wasn't an upset. They lost to a four seed, four versus five.
00:14:13
Speaker
But I didn't think Tennessee could stop them. And lo and behold, Tennessee said, hold my beer. Here we go. Arkansas. Now, I thought Arkansas would be a tough game. But I thought Illinois could have got past them without too much trouble. I did have them in one of my, I filled out like five brackets. And I think in at least one or two of my brackets, I did have Arkansas beating Kansas. So that did actually come true.
00:14:39
Speaker
So, you know, we'll see what happens now from what I said is my final four when Russ and I talked was Alabama, Duke, Texas and Gonzaga and So far three of those are still intact. So I'm hoping for the best on that one You know if all the upsets weren't straight stressful enough now these teams have got this next round of 16 to the sweet 16 and
00:15:05
Speaker
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00:15:30
Speaker
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00:16:00
Speaker
Oh
00:16:26
Speaker
Okay. Joining me via the gateway city sports zoom line is the all time meeting score of the university of Illinois friend of the show and the associate director of development, Illinois legend, Dion Thomas. How are you doing? It's been a while, my friend. It has been a while and they've been a buck changes since the last time we've spoken as well. Oh yeah. We're going to get into those. That's for sure. That's no doubt. First, I want to talk a little bit about the NCAA tournament. First weekend's done 13 upsets.
00:16:56
Speaker
13 upsets. Yeah. Number one seeds go down. Got a 16, you get a number 16 seed in the, in the sweet 16 or no, it's 15 seeds in the sweet 16. Yep. Uh, two number nine seeds in the sweet 16. What in the heck is going on? Well, you know what it is. This is the age of parody. And I think it's good, um, for NCAA basketball.
00:17:25
Speaker
You know, I love the fact that a lot of people's brackets were busted on the first day. I mean, it just shows, you know, I'm not a big fan of the transfer portal, at least the way it is and the way it's constructed because a lot of kids get left in there without opportunities to go when they had scholarships. But this is what the transport portal, I guess was supposed to do. I mean, it gave some kids an opportunity to transfer.
00:17:55
Speaker
Some kids that were at smaller schools that maybe were under recruited and didn't have the opportunities. Now they're playing on teams that are bigger, that have made it to the NCAA tournament. And it creates this parity. It creates a balance across college basketball that hasn't been seen maybe in forever. I mean, for you not to have the blue bloods
00:18:22
Speaker
All right now in the Sweet 16, the Dukes, the North Carolinas, the Indiana's, the Kansas's, you know, they're all out. So, I mean, it's an amazing time. I mean, of course I would have much rather had my line I planned this weekend, but you know, they're out as well. But I enjoy the parody. I have enjoyed watching the tournament this year more so than I think I have in a long time.
00:18:48
Speaker
Yeah, I'd say that some of those games have been fun to watch. That's for sure. That's for sure. I mean, Princeton, Arizona, that was, that was just, that was fun to watch. Of course, anytime Purdue gets beat, it's fun to watch, but. Agreed, my friend. I actually, I did a, in an interview with WLS sports.
00:19:12
Speaker
And we were leading up to Purdue, the Purdue game. This was after Illinois had lost. We were talking to Illinois loss and what game to look for. And I told them, I was like, Hey, pay attention to this Purdue game. Oh, no. You know, Purdue's the number one team. They got Zack Eddy. I say, no, NCAA tournament is all about match-ups. And I was like, and Purdue, this is a terrible matchup for Purdue.
00:19:40
Speaker
And turned up, they, you know, I hate to be right because, you know, Matt Painter and all of, you know, Paul Lusk and Brandon Brantley, all good friends. And I really liked those guys. I think they had great guys on their staff. I think Matt has done a tremendous job, but I knew that was going to be a problem. And I happened to be right. And they just, you know, went out there and now they're the second six, the second number one seed to get knocked out by 16.
00:20:07
Speaker
Virginia now has company. Yes. And I bet they're happy. They finally got the monkey off their back at least. They won't be the punchline question. They're not, they're not the answer. Well, they're still part of the answer now to the trivia question, but they got, they got help. Um, the big 10, eight teams qualified.
00:20:29
Speaker
Yes. One team is left. And if the team, I would not, if you were going to say only one team is going to be left after the weekend, I would not have picked Michigan state. I did not pick Michigan state. And, and I actually told someone in that same conversation, as a matter of fact, we were talking about teams that will advance. I mean, now, you know, this is one time I say I was wrong and the pundits were right. Some of the pundits had them going to the elite eight and the final four.
00:20:56
Speaker
But after having seen them during the year, I was like, wow, I'm like, okay, you know, you don't better get there. So they say in March, but this time, this time I kind of went against Tom and I got egg on my face. Um, yeah, but they have really found a way, their guards are playing tremendously. They have, I think they recognize who they are. They're not a team that's settling for three point shots any longer. They're driving guys.
00:21:25
Speaker
They're getting to that Michigan State mid range and there have been highly effective. And then their guard play has just been off the charts. And I think that is why they are still sitting there today when other teams in the Big Ten are not. One final question then we get to Illinois.
NCAA Tournament Storylines and Coaching Debates
00:21:42
Speaker
Which do you think is the bigger story, Princeton or Texas?
00:21:51
Speaker
I would say Princeton. I mean, how often do you get an Ivy League team to do what Princeton is doing? Well, you know, we talked about that that parody. We talked about how balance things are going. But even with that, you never talk about Ivy League schools. So they're kind of above and beyond even the things that we have spoken about. And, you know, the old peak career days have seemed to have come back over there.
00:22:21
Speaker
And I mean, I'm happy for those guys, you know, you, you, you got the guys that are going to be corporate CEOs. I'm very, many of them will not be running up and down a NBA basketball court in the coming years, but they'll have stories to tell about how they made it to the sweet 16. Oh yeah. No, their accomplishment is definitely something that I, I, you know, like you said, you just don't see, cause when I was doing our bracket show, we got the, these games and I said, uh, this
00:22:48
Speaker
The Ivy League ever get tired of being the, the one in doormat for the rest of the, and lo and behold, they'd turn around and knock out Arizona. It's like, I know something we didn't expect to see. Oh, no one. I was thinking that, you know, when you're talking about, uh, Terry down in Texas, uh, you know, taking over that program and then putting them where they were. A lot of people have them in the final four of the championship game.
00:23:13
Speaker
And the reason they weren't at, to remember Illinois played them earlier in the year. Yeah. Uh, and Illinois beat them in an overtime game in New York, but I saw the potential in, in that Texas team. Um, so that's why they're not as, as big a story to me as, as, as, um, this, as Princeton, but you know, when you got guys like, you know, Marcus Carr was a really good guard in Minnesota.
00:23:40
Speaker
for several years here in the Big Ten. So I had an opportunity to watch him play in the cover and to cover him and he's become, you know, their leader down there. I mean, I loved him when he was here. He was an all Big Ten selection when he was here and now he's gone down to Texas and has continued that streak and to be honest has gotten better as a point guard. So that's why I chose Princeton is just because
00:24:06
Speaker
You know, that, that Texas team was always pretty dog gone good. I mean, you know, and then, well, they even put some whippings on some people. So now the biggest story is going to be if the Texas athletic director and then give that guy the job. I mean, he's done a great job down there and he still has an interim tag hanging over his head, which, which is a stop. That might be the biggest story. I mean, how is he not?
00:24:31
Speaker
been offered or given a contract and maybe he has, maybe they just don't want to announce it right now. But, you know, I was just on, uh, Paul yesterday and someone asked me, Hey, did you hear Brad Underwood is going to Texas? And I'm like, uh, I had actually heard some stuff about that like weeks ago before the NCAA tournament even started. I was like, but Brad's not going anywhere.
00:24:56
Speaker
Um, at least by my understanding, um, and then speaking to him, I, I doubt that's even a possibility, but the fact that people are even talking about, uh, another coach coming into Texas being where they are right now is, you know, I, it's suspicious. It's crazy. It's dumb. It's ludicrous. I have no idea. You can choose a word.
00:25:20
Speaker
From the Webster dictionary, that just means that they are absolutely out of their mind if they don't keep this guy's coach. Well, I mean, they, the athletic director fired the football coach after winning a bowl game. Very true. You don't know what's going to happen. That happened in Texas. Oh yeah. No, no doubt. You know, if I had to describe the only basketball season, two words, I put it down as missed opportunities. How would you describe it?
00:25:49
Speaker
And two words. Yeah. Complete letdown. Ooh. I guess letdown would be three words. Well, yeah, we'll put a hyphen in there and make it two words. There you go. I like that. Thank you for the save. Um, no, I just think this team had so much potential. Yeah. Uh, but you know, this is, now you always tell people, you know, you'd heard, I'm sure you've heard the expression, uh, great players make great coaches.
00:26:18
Speaker
or players, the greatest thing that coaches can do is build teams and put guys together when you're balancing the different characters, the different skill sets, the different mindsets. You become a coach, you're their mother, you're their father, you're their psychologist. You become all of these things, but then you have to build a team. Brad built a really good team.
00:26:47
Speaker
you know, length, athleticism, skill. I even went on the record and said that this is probably the most skilled team we've had since 89. And maybe even beyond that, because what Dane Danger does in the low post with his ability to dribble past, shoot, we haven't had a big like that. Or at least show those, I mean, since I was in school.
00:27:14
Speaker
And my job wasn't really to pass very much, so I didn't showcase a whole lot of passes at that time. But I mean, this team is let down a lot of people, and I'm sure they let down themselves as well. But the internal things, and I'm not saying internal with the team, internal personalities somehow just, you know, did not mesh.
00:27:42
Speaker
And I think that is what dragged this team down. Yeah. I mean, you mentioned dangers, athleticism, and not having seen that around. And I think if I had to think back of who, what big man or man in the middle of the head, I got to go back to Kenny Norman before that, that I haven't since I've seen any kind of athletic prowess out of that post position.
00:28:11
Speaker
I mean, Don, I'm going to feel a little shaded on that man. Cause you pass me over. I know. I know. But, but am I feeling a little hurt big guy? Well, yeah. But I think, I think Kenny was a little faster than he was. No, he was not. I mean, I might give you a stronger, but faster. Wow. Don.
00:28:37
Speaker
Oh man. Everyone has their opinions. But it has been a while since we've seen that in the low post of Illinois. Somebody with that kind of ability. No doubt. His dad and I actually played together, Dane's dad that is, and I played together in high school. You mentioned it before, yeah. Yeah, and his father had a really, really good skill set. He and I
00:29:03
Speaker
You know, we talked about Dane before he got to Illinois, so I kind of had an idea, but I would have to say I was even surprised by Dane's ability. When I saw him come in last year at over 300 pounds, I saw the work he put in to get him his weight down and to get him, but I still did not realize even at 300 pounds, the feet that young man has and his spin move and his skill level was just off the charts.
00:29:31
Speaker
As long as he continues to, one, shed the weight, build muscle, the sky's the limit for him. And as I told him this year, make sure you just buy in and listen to what what Slet says, which is the strength and conditioning coach at Illinois, and you continue to learn from these coaches. Because if he does that, he should be playing on, he'll definitely be playing on the next level. Now,
00:29:55
Speaker
which level that is, I don't, I don't get into that. That's not my job. That's under your prognostication skills. Exactly. Exactly. Not my job to decide where he goes, but I think he is, um, with his footwork as good, if not better than some of the guys that are playing in the NBA. No doubt. No doubt. Uh, we all know, I mean, it was, it's very widely figured out that Illinois three point shooting this year, basically it was horrible.
00:30:24
Speaker
Wolf at best is that a result of missing Luke Goody that much or is that a result of having? inexperienced at the point Well, I won't I won't blame it at the point now the one thing I will say not having a point guard is you had two guys Three guys including Coleman that were really trying to create different things and in those moments of creation I
00:30:52
Speaker
they took some really bad shots. I mean, just terrible. A lot of people would get really excited off of, you know, Matt Myers, dribble dribble, step back or step to the side, but that is a low percentage shot. Or, or Terence Shannon just dribbling up when no one's in rebounding position or anything else and firing up one, or Colvin Hawkins, who got caught far too many times, because he was playing the point guard a lot of the time at the top of the key.
00:31:21
Speaker
You know, about three to five feet behind the line and he'll just fire one up. So that low percentage shot and they're in a very bad shot for a team that's already struggling. So I think shot selection.
00:31:36
Speaker
was probably worse than, you know, not having a true point guard for a long time or not having, uh, Luke Goody, uh, for the amount of time that he missed. And one other thing, I mean, RJ Melendez, we all saw him shoot the ball last year. So we know how well he could shoot the ball. There was something going on with him either mentally or, you know, what they call it in golf. He had the yips.
00:32:04
Speaker
Whatever it was, I mean, for that young man to shoot as poorly as he did this year was uncharacteristic for him. And I think that also contributed and the low three point percentage numbers, but he picked it up later on in the year. But, you know, by that time it was, it was a little bit too late.
00:32:24
Speaker
I think the shoulder injury might have had something, because he actually wasn't that bad in the first part of the year. And then that shoulder injury just seemed like after that, I don't know whether he just lost his confidence, whether he just lost his rhythm. But you are right, that last game, it looked like the old version of RJ Melendez, if you will, or the better version.
00:32:45
Speaker
Good point. I mean I to be honest the season was seemed like it was so long. I had forgotten about the shoulder injury So great great point on that. I think that definitely could have caused some issues Yeah as I as I keep going as we go through the season and I look at the different social media boards and I see the different Posts and whatnot people saying a lot of people really wanted to put blame somewhere and
00:33:13
Speaker
A lot of them always will come back with, you know, we've got the, Underwood can't adjust. He's a terrible coach. He's a bad endgame. He can recruit, but he can't, he can't, he's not a good X's and O's. Personally, I don't think that's the case at all. I think, I think Underwood's probably one of the better X's and O's coaches out there. I mean, maybe, maybe not as good as, as, as a coach Kay or somebody like that, who's how much blame or credit does Underwood deserve?
00:33:39
Speaker
Well, let me start off by saying this, you know this, you've been around this long enough. They're always going to be what they call the Sunday morning quarterback or the off field coaches. You're always going to have people that are going to try to point the finger or find some fault, especially in the coach or even the players. And I mean, you know, not a line, I miss it more sometimes.
00:34:05
Speaker
Our fans as much as I love them tend to be Far too critical and they tend to turn and make things personal at times and and I don't think that's good I don't think it's fair. I've walked the sideline and and tried to Get 17 to 22 year olds to do exactly what you want them to do For anybody that thinks that's an easy job. Try going in the coaches. I
00:34:34
Speaker
because it's not. It is an extremely difficult job, but that's why a lot of the times these coaches are paid what they are because that's their lives 24-7 and that's the effect on their families 24-7. Now with that being said, as the head coach, yes, I mean part of it is
00:34:56
Speaker
falls on you. And if anyone has listened to a Brad Underwood interview post game journey, he always takes responsibility. He takes responsibility even when it's not his fault. And that's one of the things that you want your head coach to do. He sticks up for his players. He understands, you know, when they have to be called to the carpet. And he also understands when they have to be hugged.
00:35:27
Speaker
This year was probably his best coaching job, trying to balance and build a team in this new era of NIL and the transport portal. Did they underachieve? Oh yeah, definitely. And he'll be the first one to tell you that this team underachieved. Did he tell him, would he tell you that there were some things that he could have done better? No doubt. He would have told you, he'll tell you there are some things that he could have done better.
00:35:57
Speaker
But the great thing about great coaches is they learn and they adjust. And if you look at this team in the beginning of the year, the adjustments we made and then the run we went on. And then as I said, there's some things that coaches cannot do. I can't play for the people. He can't play for the guys that are out there on the court. When you're telling guys to do things and they decide to do something different,
00:36:24
Speaker
then that's very difficult. Most people say, well, then take them off the court and sit them around on the bench. And I'd be a proponent of that as well. But also you got to understand when you're taking your best players off the court, then you know what comes with that more times than not is an L. And then now you got another complaint from the people. Why are we losing all these games? Why isn't he playing the Matt Meyer? Why isn't he playing Terry Shannon Jr.?
00:36:52
Speaker
I mean, Brad is a culture guy and he has said many times, this is a development program and it is. How good did our freshmen look this year? Pretty dog gone good. How good did our sophomores look when he came back? In my opinion, after missing so much time, looked pretty dog gone good.
00:37:16
Speaker
RJ eventually got his confidence back and he was probably the most impressive player on the floor down the stretch. That's where development comes in. You know, Coleman Hawkins.
00:37:27
Speaker
A lot of people will be angry at Coleman. I was angry at Coleman at several points throughout the year. But what Coleman Hawkins brings on this team was he did a heck of a job. Let me just say that. Could he have done better? Yes. He'll be the first one to say that he could have done better. But again, watch the development and to see a kid grow from being a three star athlete, which no one really
00:37:54
Speaker
gave a whole lot of love to, to be in one of the guys that the NBA really likes because of his skill set and the things that he can do. There's a lot of development there. But then, like I said, in this new era of NIL and transport portals, I mean, you're recruiting kids that you don't have a relationship with, you know, at least not the ones that you build over time.
00:38:20
Speaker
And that's where the scary, the crazy thing is. I mean, cause most times are not, you know, these coaches are talking to agents. They're not talking to the kids. So that was the beauty of college sports before this new era, you were able to build and grow relationships. And now you're, you're bringing in guys and they can tell you, you know, it isn't a job interview guy.
00:38:45
Speaker
You put your best foot forward in the job interview. Oh yeah. I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread. Doesn't necessarily mean that you are, you know, Oh coach, I do whatever I have to do for the team. I dive on the floor. I eat rock if I have to, but then you get the kid in the program and then they don't do that. So I thought Brad did a commendable job this year. Wasn't his best. Well, wasn't his best as far as production.
00:39:14
Speaker
But I think it was his best as far as keeping this team that I think a lesser coach, we would have been in the bottom of the big 10. But we were battling for, you know, the second or third place. Now, everything else was all jumbled up. So we had to fall on where we fell after losing our last game to Purdue.
00:39:36
Speaker
But we still had a shot at the Big Ten, a share of the Big Ten title, even with all the dysfunction that was going on. How do you say that's not a good coach? Good point. We know there's going to be some defections. I don't think there's any way we can say it other way. And you hope it's not the most key cogs that are going to be leaving the wheel, so to speak.
00:40:01
Speaker
We know we're losing Matt Meyer. I mean, he's gone, he's guaranteed. Coleman Hawkins, right now I think he and Shannon both are in that 40 to 46 reigns as far as the NBA draft board goes, how far down they are. And actually, Shannon does have the ability to come back one more year. They both do. Yeah. Well, yeah, Coleman's a junior, but I think Shannon's got his COVID year left. Yes, he does. That's correct.
00:40:29
Speaker
what you're feeling do they both come back to the both leave the mix and match what i believe will happen uh... and of course i wish i had a crystal ball they will in my opinion they'll both declare uh... for the NBA draft
00:40:44
Speaker
they will go and listen to what the execs have to say. And I'm sure, and I'm not gonna say I'm sure, I believe after speaking with several of my friends and colleagues that are scouts will tell them that they need to come back to school. So that's what I'm expecting for them both to be back in Champaign next year.
00:41:10
Speaker
And I just think it's the better, it would be the better decision for them both. I mean, if Aaron Shannon comes back and Zack Edie will probably come back as well. But if he comes back and he, Terrence, that is, comes back and makes the changes in his game. Right now, everybody played him left. He struggled going right. If he can come back and become a more consistent three-point shooter,
00:41:38
Speaker
You know, his athleticism and his speed and quickness from end to end, you're right. We'll get him in the forties. He comes back and improve on those things. He's the first rounder. I mean, after the first few games in the year, he had bumped all the way up to the first round draft board. You come back, you're more consistent and you are in the, in the running for big 10 player of the year.
00:42:03
Speaker
you continue to play and improve on what you did. And now you're a first team or I mean a second, first or second team, all Americans that bumps your stock way up. Coleman Hawkins, he has to become a more consistent shooter. He has to become a more dominant player, period. And he has to show guys that. I mean, I've had conversations with scouts that are like, that's the Coleman Hawkins we want to see where he was playing in the post. He's putting the ball on the floor. He's utilizing that skill set. So I think they both come back.
00:42:33
Speaker
If there are any defections, in my opinion, it'll probably be from the freshman core. I hope not. I would love to see all of those guys back, but those are normally the people that are moving on. You normally see it from your younger group, not your older group of guys that are leaving. So we'll see. I know they're going to be having their
00:42:58
Speaker
their exit interviews or conversations coming up in the near future. So hopefully they'll, you know, we can get those guys to give back. Yeah. Cause with, I mean, you know, with the two kids we got coming in, uh, uh, Hansberry and, um, uh, Gibbs Lawhorn, um, I think it's going to be imperative that if we can't keep some of a couple of those freshmen, we're going to have to go out and get through the portal.
00:43:22
Speaker
Uh, another shooter, uh, definitely a veteran point guard. I think it's going to be the veteran point guard anyway, regardless. I still think he's one of those.
00:43:31
Speaker
I agree. But I would love to see, for me personally, just selfish reasons, I want to see Rodgers and Epps stay, because I think those two guys have a chemistry that just, I don't think it's been tapped yet. Agreed. Agreed. I mean, both of them have a ways to go as far as development, both from the outside, putting the ball on the floor, you know, want to get to the mid-range game, as well as extending it out to three.
00:44:00
Speaker
But what they have in space is their energy, their toughness, their dogged mentality. You just don't find that in a lot of places today. I mean, it's almost become a skill to play as hard as those two kids doing that. Back in my day, that was mandatory.
00:44:20
Speaker
You had no choice. Even when I was coaching, we would go out and specifically look for guys that were those kind of...
00:44:35
Speaker
of junkyard dogs and so today it's even you know more difficult to find guys that play as hard as they did so to be able to keep them uh i love jade naps and what he brings to the team and looking at his development this year but like he said we need a we need an older point guard we need an old point guard um but i love him and i hope he comes back i hope we keep sincere i hope we keep them all
00:45:02
Speaker
Yeah. But like you said earlier, probably not likely. Yeah. Well, Deion, I know you're getting your day started. It's kind of busy. So I'm going to let you go. And I want to thank you for coming on. And are you still doing the champagne on ice? I haven't checked lately. I am. I am. I am actually about to do a season wrap up.
00:45:25
Speaker
OK. And I'm going to do the season wrap up. And then I think I'm going to do some things in the summer here and there, you know, maybe once every other week just to have maybe some recruiting talk or things of that nature to keep it going throughout the summer. I hope that I can get my sponsors to cover the summer one, but it's not that I'll do it on my own anyway, simply because it's just fun to do. But yes, champagne all night is still is still rolling.
00:45:52
Speaker
Well, again, I want to thank you. Uh, you know, it's, it's been fun always and we'll get, we will definitely get together again. Hopefully I won't take as long to get back to you this time, but, uh, maybe touch base over the summer once or twice. See how the, like you said, check in on recruiting and that kind of thing. And we'll go from there. Sounds like a plan, Don. Thanks again for having me, my friend. All right. Thank you, sir. Hey, that was Deonta. I really like having Deonta on. He is just such a
00:46:19
Speaker
such a wealth of knowledge and a really great guy to talk to. So I really appreciate him coming on. Uh, you know, he, we mentioned talking about having, um, getting some appoint guard and stuff like that. And, you know, I think to me, that's just, that's just something that Brad Underwood's going to have to do, uh, to protect the team, you know, and we all know how important it is to stay protected. So just like a quarterback stays protected in the pocket, you need to have someone
00:46:48
Speaker
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00:47:14
Speaker
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00:47:45
Speaker
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St. Louis Sports Teams' Performances Overview
00:48:21
Speaker
under the arch. Normally this time of the year we're talking about the Cardinals and the Blues and that's about all we talk about. Well, this year there's a couple other teams out there that's kind of getting people to stand up and take notice and the first one is St. Louis City SC or the St. Louis City Soccer Club. Brand new expansion team in MLS and they're already set in records. They're 4-0 and in the history of the MLS there's never been an expansion team to go 4-0 so they've set that record
00:48:50
Speaker
Right now they are leading the league in points with 12. They are tied for the lead in goals with 11. They're just playing phenomenal. They're third in the power rankings. They've sold out their two games at St. Louis and they're taking the city by storm. They are led by forward
00:49:19
Speaker
J.O. Klaus, and I hope I pronounced that name right, the first name, not the last name, with three goals, and midfielder Edward Lowen with three assists, and both of those guys are leading the league. Their next game is going to be in Sandy, Utah, facing off with Real Salt Lake at 8.30 on Saturday the 25th, and it can be found on Apple TV.
00:49:46
Speaker
The other new team that's kind of causing a little bit of stir is the Battle Hawks. They started out really good, 2-0. They've cooled off a little bit. They've lost a couple games to the same team. It's probably not the good team to lose to, as that's the DC defenders who's leading the XFL North. And it's going to be quite hard for the Battle Hawks to take them over. I mean, they're going to have to fall on hard times. I mean, the defenders, that is.
00:50:14
Speaker
but the Badlocks, you know, they're playing good enough. They probably will make the playoffs and that's a good thing. They're led by A.J. McCarron, who's third in the league in passing yards with 1,086. He's tied for first with touchdowns with 11. He's got a 65.5% completion rate, which is good for second in the league. He's thrown to 13 different receivers in just the five games. He's completed the
00:50:42
Speaker
108 out of 165 passes. His leading receiver is Hakeem Butler, 30 catches for 336 yards. Both of those are second in the league. He's got four touchdowns, which is tied for second in the league. Brian Hill, the running back, 49 carries, 255 yards, which is second in the league. He's got one touchdown, but a 5.2 yard per carry average, which is number one in the league.
00:51:11
Speaker
So offensively they're putting up some, they're putting up some numbers. They got some good numbers. Defensively they've got good numbers as well. Willie Harvey leaves the team with 34 tackles. Mike Rose has 28 tackles.
00:51:24
Speaker
Uh, he's, uh, Willie Harvey is third in the league and Rose is sixth. Uh, force fumbles, Lakayo London is tied with Travis Sweeney for the team lead with two. They're also tied for second in the league. Travis Feeney also has a two fumble recoveries as does Kevin Atkins and Ben DeLuca. And they're all tied for second in the league. Uh, excuse me, that lead the league with two.
00:51:50
Speaker
Nate Meadows, the defensive back that leads the team in interceptions. He's tied for third in the league with two. The Battle Hawks also have not found it hard to sell out the stadium. They sold out both their home games. So they'll keep rolling on. Their next game is also the 25th at 8.30 versus the Vipers.
00:52:16
Speaker
The Blues, unfortunately, it's going to be a lost season because they're going nowhere fast. And with the fire cell they've had on some of the players, you can't tell me this is not the precursor to a rebuild. And they're getting younger. They've gotten younger. So we'll have to see if that carries into some success in next year and beyond.
00:52:43
Speaker
So that brings us to the Cardinals. A quick injury note, Paul D. Young will probably start the season on the injured list. He's having some more problems with his back. They said he reworked his swing in the off season. OK, he ended the off season hitting 157. He's currently hitting about 154.
00:53:07
Speaker
I think he reworked it the wrong way. Whatever he's done though, he is getting I guess a little bit better at not swinging at stupid pitches because his walk rate is up and he's got an on base percentage even though he's only hitting like 150, he's got an on base percentage
00:53:26
Speaker
That's in the 400s. So, you know, you have to wonder, is he fixing the swing or is he just fixing what he's swinging at? And not fixed. So I don't know what to think about Deion. I think he's probably not much longer for this team.
00:53:48
Speaker
year before his options kick in and I don't think St. Louis is going to pick the options up. They weren't going to pick up $12 million for Colton Long and he was a gold lover. They're certainly not going to pick up $12 million for Paul DeYoung when he's only hitting the buck 50. You hit a buck 50 and you just don't plan on being with the team too damn long. I can tell you that right now. Now, what does that do?
St. Louis Cardinals' Season Preparations
00:54:17
Speaker
If he's going to be on the DL, who does that open a spot for? A lot of people are, I know what you're thinking.
00:54:22
Speaker
Mason win, Mason win. Well, they're not gonna bring up Mason win when they got Tommy Edmond playing shortstop. And they're not gonna get rid of Edmond. That's just not gonna happen unless, I mean, some crazy deal falls in our lap and yeah, they'll get rid of Edmond. But they're not gonna get rid of Edmond just to play Mason win. You've also got Donovan, Brendan Donovan can play short. So needing win to come up with the team is not gonna happen.
00:54:53
Speaker
I don't know if that makes wind trade bait. I don't think it does because I think maybe they're looking down the road. Do they, you know, in a couple of years, is Edmund still going to be at shortstop? Is Gorman still going to be there? Is, you know, you don't know. So I think maybe they hold this year, they stay in a holding pattern this year with wind and then try and make a decision in the off season. Now, who it may open a spot up for?
00:55:19
Speaker
There's a couple of guys that are making a case to be that bench infielder, if you will. Someone like a Taylor modder or Cameron Robertson. Both of them have a really good spring. Modder has shown some good power with three home runs and 47 at bat. As well as propensity to get on base, he's got a 345 on base percentage. Now he's only hitting about 230.
00:55:46
Speaker
But he plays a really good deal. I've seen a couple play running play look like, he's been paying attention to what Aeronado's been doing. I can tell you that right now. He's got a pretty good glove. As for Robertson, he's slashing 292, 415, 554 in a very limited time. Now, Robertson is primarily a second baseman, but he can play a short in middle infield.
00:56:09
Speaker
Uh, modder is primarily a third baseman. So, you know, they may, they may keep both of them and just go with one extra outfielder, uh, when they bring up Jordan. Cause like I said, Jordan is coming north with the team. I don't care what anybody thinks says or how they're feeling is it Jordan is coming north with the team.
00:56:26
Speaker
Alec Burleson is going to be in Memphis. There's this bank on it. You know, all you have to do is look at the stats and that's going to tell you. And like I said, it's been been noted before. If they're going to bring Walker up, they are not going to have him ride pine. Walker will be starting or will be in some type of a rotation where he's playing at least five days a week to get at bats. This bank on that.
00:56:54
Speaker
Pitching wise, the rotation as we've known is, I don't know since the end of last season what the rotation was going to be. Wainwright, Michaelis, Montgomery, Matt Flaherty, Hudson and Libertor have both been optioned to Memphis. So leaving the long relief spot starter job to Jake Woodford or Andre Palante or both.
00:57:18
Speaker
That could be possible, although Zach Thompson, I think, is also going to be in that bullpen. So he could take some long relief innings from the left side if you need him to. I think Cabrera will be back in the bullpen. You know it's going to be Helsley and Gallegos in the eighth and ninth. Then after that, a couple of good names that I didn't think I'd be talking about as far as coming north in the bullpen, Drew Verhagen.
00:57:44
Speaker
I had to look twice at the stats to think it was looking at the right one. 129 ERA with a 0.8 whip, or 0.71 whip, excuse me. He's got six strikeouts, two walks, and seven innings.
00:58:06
Speaker
Now, Zach Thompson, like I said, he's been doing his best to make sure that he stays on the team. In 10 innings, he's thrown, uh, he's got a 1.8 ERA and a 0.8 zero whip, nine strikeouts and only one walk. Um, a couple of other names that might have a shot in that bullpen.
00:58:27
Speaker
If they want to go with another left-hander or if Cabrera doesn't make it and they need another left-hander, I think Anthony Miskowitz may have a shot at that. I guess I think Polenti may have a shot in the bullpen. Jordan Hicks, I don't know if he'll be in the bullpen or if he's going to start at Memphis. He's having his issues.
00:58:46
Speaker
Having some control issues or at least he's had them so far and maybe there's kind of straightening out and if he gets them straighten out before All the decisions had to be made then he can come north but I think he could be one that could be Start have to start down in Memphis to get his his skill set right if you will so anyway, well, I'm gonna tell you what that about does it for me and
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:59:11
Speaker
Don't forget if you like the show talk to your friends tell them about it tell them they can find it on Spotify Apple podcast Google podcast anywhere you find your podcast
00:59:20
Speaker
you can check out the show's website Talking Sports hyphen o t b hyphen g c s dot on podium dot com or you can hit me up on twitter t s o t b g c s well that's at t s o t b g c s sorry uh... so until next time have fun stay safe and we'll see you again when we can talk sports on the bleachers good night everybody
00:59:56
Speaker
Thanks again for joining us and you have been listening to Talking Sports on the Bleachers. Here's hoping you have a great sports day!
01:00:18
Speaker
you