April 12, 2025 • 63 mins
Freshly crowned Women's Basketball National Champion, UCONN Head Women's Basketball Coach Geno Auriemma discusses questioning whether or not he still has what it takes to coach at the highest level and shares how navigating today's college distractions has reshaped his approach to coaching. UCONN Men's Head Basketball Coach Dan Hurley reflects on his emotional growth and breaks down how the transfer portal continues to grow increasingly difficult to manage. Dwight Howard, just voted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, joins the show to talk about his upcoming induction and why he thinks he could still hang with the big men of today. And another newly minted Hall of Famer, legendary broadcaster Brent Musburger stops by to talk about making it to Canton as the winner of Pro Football Hall of Fame 2025 Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Gina Oriema is set to join us the freshly minted
head coach of the national champion Yukon Huskies. Did you
forget about this feeling? Did you remember what it was
like to win a national title?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Almost? You know, we have those moments our senior citizens.
You know you ought to know so, but it didn't
take long to remember.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Though.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Never ceases to amaze me, the feeling that you have
when when you watch those faces and it's just really
really unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
But take me back to preseason and you said that
the girls they lost a scrimmage.
Speaker 5 (00:47):
Yeah we did, we did.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
And is that where you go home and you say
to your wife, oh god, I don't know what we
have here. We may not even make the tournament.
Speaker 5 (00:56):
Well, it's that's exactly what we say. We said we
make the NCAA tournament this year.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
You know, is.
Speaker 5 (01:03):
We didn't take it seriously, you know we we.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Kind of everybody thought, yeah, we're gonna be good because
you know.
Speaker 5 (01:10):
We're healthy. We got everybody back.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
But it was a it was a good reminder, but
it was it was a struggle throughout. I would say
November December, trying to find some consistency. We would have it,
lose it, have it lose it. And I think it
wasn't until we got back from South Carolina the first time,
when we played so well that we actually understood, all right,
this is what the level is, this is.
Speaker 5 (01:35):
Who we can be. And that's when it all changed.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Is it a grind?
Speaker 5 (01:41):
Oh yeah, oh yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
But is it a different kind of like let's say,
fifteen years ago, similar kind of grind.
Speaker 5 (01:51):
A little different? I think a little different.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
It being that the players I'm coaching today are more challenged,
They're way more distracted, They've got way more voices in
their head. They've got way too much information coming at
them from all sources of people.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Things that it's hard.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
To make your voice really be a you know, the
voice like you know when you played, like your coach said,
you know, today's Wednesday. You go home and tell hey, mom,
today's Wednesday. Man, No it's not. It's Monday. Coach said,
it's Wednesday today. What's your coach say today?
Speaker 5 (02:31):
I don't know. I wasn't listening. I mean, that's it's
just a little bit harder right now. Man.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
But you're not dealing. You know, we hear the men's
coaches talking about transfer portal. Nil. Yeah, how prevalent is
that for you? On a daily, weekly, monthly basis. No,
I don't deal with it on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. No,
we don't have somebody on our staff that's calling AAU
(02:58):
coaches and handler and all that. You know, you know
is you're a kid interested, Hey tell them we're interested,
like a lot of schools do. No, we don't deal
with that.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
We just coach our team.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
We know at the end of every year, because we
get pretty good players and if they don't all play
as much as they want, those days I'll wait my turn.
Speaker 5 (03:17):
Those are gone, you know. So we know that the
end of.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Every year, some kids already halfway out the door when
they realize I'm not getting the time that I thought
I was going to get. And it's like, you know,
we understand we might lose a couple every year, but
there's a couple kids that want to come every year.
What makes it hard is in the NBA they have
a free agency period of time. This is when you
(03:43):
can talk to free agents, this is when you can
sign them. Blah blah blah. Our free agency is the
whole year, and every kid there's three hundred and sixty
five Division one schools plus Division two.
Speaker 5 (03:55):
Every kid's a free agent every day the whole year.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
It's just.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
And then the portals open during the NCAA tournament. Can
you imagine the NBA playoffs and free agency is going
on during the playoff. I mean, it's insanity. So whoo,
but luckily we don't have to deal with as much
as obviously it's happening on the guys and the money.
Don't even get me started on the money some of
the money that I hear programs have to spend. And
(04:22):
now obviously it's football and men's basketball to drive this.
Speaker 5 (04:24):
But it's out of hand, man, it's out of hand.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
What was your pregame speech?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
What's my pregame speech? Probably, you know, the same as
it was the previous three games that we just want
you know, this was our fourth game, you know, two
and two.
Speaker 5 (04:49):
I like to talk about how many times this one
was really good.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
I like this one because I said, you know, this
is our twenty fourth Final four, and our record in
the Final four before last night was eleven wins, twelve losses.
Speaker 5 (05:10):
In twenty three.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Final fours, I said, So, I'm the winningest coach in
the history of college basketball, but I have a losing
record in the final four, I said, But when I'm
introduced at some events, you know, they go and ladies
and gentlemen, Gino Orima.
Speaker 5 (05:25):
You know, he's lost twelve, I said.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
They don't do that. They say, you know, you know where,
He's won eleven national chams. So you know, nobody gives
a damn about who loses. They just care about winning.
So why worry about losing because nobody cares. So I
think the thing that I always try to do is
try to make them understand.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
To not be afraid to lose, because that's.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
What gets in the way of teams winning, especially at
this point in time in the season, when your whole,
you know, career is riding on it. Of losing is
just so powerful, and I think it's my job to
try to diffuse that as much as I can.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
At any point during that nine year maybe it's not
fair to say drought, but for you it would be.
But did you at any point doubt yourself of am
I still able to motivate them? And am I losing it?
Or you know, any kind of concerns about you and
your coaching.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Yeah, yeah, of course, because well a couple of things.
We went to fifteen straight final fours, but we didn't win.
After number eleven, we didn't win the next four or
five years. You know, six years out of those nine
years that we didn't win, we went to the Final
(06:46):
four eight times, and we were never healthy. I shouldn't
say six of those times we were never healthy. So
I kept saying, you know, when we get healthy, we'll
be fine. But I gotta tell you, Dan, I'm brutally honest.
There was so many times when I would go home
and I would say, I don't think I'm as good
(07:09):
a coach as I used to be. I don't think
I'm as able to do what these players need in
today's world. I don't know that I can do that,
which is crazy because we're going to the Final four
ever year. But it does creep into your mind when
(07:31):
it's you're having all these things thrown at you. This injury,
that injury, this key player's out, that one's out for
the season.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
You know, yeah, it really really really made me.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Question, am I still the right person to be doing
this at this time in my career? At a place
like Yukon, where championships is the standard.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
And you know how this works. We get to a
certain age and people go, oh, how much long are
you going to do it?
Speaker 4 (08:00):
You know?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Oh, you know, be a great time to retire, you
just when you walk off. Finally, I mean, so how
do you deal with this? Just because I decided in
three years I'm retiring. I just said I have to
mark this is when I'm going to retire, or I
don't think I would retire.
Speaker 5 (08:18):
Is that five years ago? You made that commitment?
Speaker 2 (08:23):
A year and a half ago, I said I would retire,
and I gave the date I was going to retire.
Good for you, okay, but I needed to do it
because there's other things I needed to do, and to
be fair with my family and my wife. Have you
had those discussions of and I don't know if there's
anything else that you want to do, because maybe you're
(08:44):
like you know, coaches coach till they die. It's like,
this is what I want to do. This is all
I know. I don't know if I'm wired that way.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
No, no, I no, I don't know why I still
do it. Be honest with you, most people my age
have enough sense not to do it, and I I
think one thing that helps me then, like when I
get back to school and whatever recruiting has to be
(09:13):
done or whatever I would say. By the time May
comes around, I don't give basketball a thought until next September.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
I get it. I just walk away. I'm done. And
luckily I have.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
A staff and I got a program that that that
can do that. But I don't live at twenty four
to seven. I don't take it home with me like
the way. You know a lot of these guys do.
That just wears on them day after day. Now we
have the privilege of doing that because of our success.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
I get it.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
If you're grinding it out, trying to make DNC tournament
every year, keep your job. But I'm not in that situation.
If I was, I would have got out a long
time ago. Uh So, you know, I'm able to put
it away, and there's so many other things that I
would love to do. You know, when and you retire,
let me know, because I'll sit there and ask great
questions like you do, and make fun of people like
(10:05):
you do.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
I would love to do that.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
However, I got I got an email today from a
friend of mine, Tom Sherman play for play for Penn State,
and he played for Joe Paterno and he emailed me
today and he goes, hey, forty years at you kind
of because it's unbelievable.
Speaker 5 (10:24):
He goes, you know what, Joe.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Paterno was at Penn State sixty four years, so you
can still catch up. And I thought to myself, you
got to be kidding. Sixty four years.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Yeah, so no, it'll be.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Some time before that, trust me.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
And I'll leave you with this that you get your
women to stay, you know, they're they're there for years.
So you develop a friendship, a relationship whereas you know,
men's college coaches, if you're good, you know it's a
six month you know, transaction here. Yeah, but you could
see that where you with Paige Becker's you're watching her
(10:59):
be this great player to being injured to never winning
a title. Now he's your chance to win a title.
Then just being overcome by emotion because it's real. It's
like a daughter, I guess. I mean, you're hugging a
daughter of sorts in that moment and you're kind of
at a loss for words. Correct it was awesome though, Yeah,
(11:22):
it is.
Speaker 5 (11:22):
It is because.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
We do get them at an age where they're very impressionable,
so to speak, and they're seventeen, eighteen years old, and
we know, if things go well, we do get them
for four years. We do get to see them at
the beginning, and then we get to see them at
the end, and we get to see them when they're struggling.
When it is it's like raising your kids, and it's like,
(11:47):
all of a sudden, you send them off after a
period of time.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
Yeah, if.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
This was like men's basketball, there's no way I would
even have close to twelve national championships. Diana would have
been one and done. Stewie would have been one and done.
Mayan War would have been one and done. I can
go on and on page Becker's would have been one
and done. All these guys. So the fact that I
think we can it goes back to the old days.
(12:18):
It's like the way it used to be. You know,
we we get them young and then we you know,
work with them, and then does create a bond that
I think is missing in men's college basketball. And football
is a little bit better because those guys have to stay,
you know, for about three years. But now the portals
become Yeah, look, I'm here as long as I can
(12:38):
get what I want. Otherwise I'm out. And so the
coaches feel like, Okay, well, if this guy's going to
walk out on me any day now, why should I
invest all of myself and in or her. I'm just
going to coach you get what I need to get
out of you, and if you leave, you leave.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
If you stay, you stay, that's fine.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
So it's really kind of created like a professional environment
where we're just doing this. You're and this nonsense about
well they're not employees. Yeah, they are employees. We're paying
them to play basketball for us, and when they don't
like their job, they quit and go go work someplace else.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
So I'm lucky, I really am.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
I've got a great situation, and I know a lot
of guys on the men's side envy it, and and
I feel bad for those guys.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Uh congratch, hair still looks great, and uh, thanks for
joining us.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Yeah, And you know, I can't believe you're still doing this.
And I know I tell people all the time, you're
one of the few guys in America that ask questions
that are way shorter than the guys answer.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
And I really appreciate.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
That I want to shot clock Gino. I like that brevity, brevity,
get to the point that shit, Hey, congratch, thanks for
joining us.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
Yeah, thanks for having us.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
That's Gino Orima.
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Speaker 2 (15:06):
He's the head coach for the men's team at Connecticut,
two time defending national champs at least until tomorrow or
late tonight. Dan Hurley joining us on the program. Good
to talk to you again, coach. Did you watch the games,
the semi final games?
Speaker 8 (15:21):
I did, unlike uh, you know, unlike after the twenty
two season where you know where we had that first
round exit and I ignored the rest of the tournament.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Uh. I.
Speaker 8 (15:32):
I've watched as many of the games as as I
possibly could. Since we've been eliminated.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
You lose to Florida second round. But do you take
any solace with the fact that Florida is here playing
for a national championship?
Speaker 4 (15:46):
Yeah? I do.
Speaker 8 (15:48):
I think it's a uh, it's more honorable that, you know,
kind of at the run we've been on. Uh, you know,
where where we kind of fell out the hands of uh,
you know, of a championship level team that's you know,
one game away from experiencing the championship glory.
Speaker 9 (16:04):
So yeah, I mean if we would have lost to
like a lower seeded.
Speaker 8 (16:09):
Team or a team that, you know, it was not
of the championship caliber, I guess it feels more honorable,
you know, have a one thirteen in a row in
that tournament in the fashion we did, you know, to
have it all, you know, to have it all end
at the hands of of the Gators, there's there's probably
(16:29):
some honor in that.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
How do you explain what happened with Duke and Houston
at the end of that game.
Speaker 9 (16:38):
I mean, I mean.
Speaker 8 (16:42):
I can't you know, imagine, you know, just kind of well, no,
I can't imagine you know what what John and his
staff and those players are feeling. I mean, it felt like,
you know that they were the best team, you know,
the best team in the country this year. I think
their roster, the way they it together was, uh, it
was meticulous. I think the the quality at both ends
(17:05):
of the court, you know, was they were playing basketball
at an incredibly high level, you know, with high level
NBA players, But just the fact that they were not
in enough close games. I think, you know, I think
the fact that they dominated so much throughout conference play,
I think, you know, the separation between them and the
(17:26):
other teams and their conference really hurt them when they
got to those end of game situations where they haven't
had to shoot.
Speaker 9 (17:32):
A lot of pressure want to pressure free throws, one.
Speaker 8 (17:36):
Ones, they had to inbound the ball versus full denial.
With a three point lead or a one point lead,
they were, uh, you know that they were in a
type of game that Houston had been in a bunch,
uh you know, because of you know, playing in the
Big twelve afforded them more opportunities, and I think that
came back.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
To haunt them.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
I brought this up a long time ago. I brought
it up. Subsequently, you go to you and l V
when you and LV blew out Duke, your brother's team,
and then that following year, and we thought they were invincible.
And I remember talking about you want to see a
team play a close game. You just want to have
that feeling you know what you're doing. And this isn't
(18:18):
all on the freshman at Duke, but still you got
young players, and you got a veteran Houston team and
sometimes freshmen act like freshmen no matter how great they are.
But as a coach, what role would you play in
a situation like that?
Speaker 8 (18:35):
Yeah, I think, you know some of the I would say,
the situational things that you experience in a you know,
with that true game pressure, you know, and you know,
Duke goes in as the favorite, just kind of like
we were last year, where you know, we're.
Speaker 9 (18:52):
Playing at such a high level.
Speaker 8 (18:53):
They had, you know, dominated the first you know, four
rounds of the tournament. Obviously, the Arizona game ended up
being an eight point game or an eight point win,
but you know, at times in that game they look dominant.
But I just think that they You could practice situational
basketball all you want, but you cannot simulate the game
(19:17):
pressure that you feel. You know, when your inbounder has
got to run the baseline and throw a pass through
a narrow window to a player being face guarded by
a wolf. I mean, Houston's got some wolves out there,
you know, making it really tough on you. And you know,
for us last year, we weren't very good in close games.
You know, the games during the course of the year.
(19:39):
I don't think we were great in one possession games
the last two years, but there was a window I
think for duking that game to keep that game double figures,
keep that game twelve fourteen, back down to ten, get
it back up to fifteen, you know, but they just
they stopped scoring.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
The difference in coaching a freshman and coaching a junior,
what's the biggest difference.
Speaker 8 (20:06):
I just think, Uh, you know, repetitions, game experiences, you know,
just having been in those positions you know before, you know,
more practices under their belt, more, uh, you know, more
life experiences. You know, just you know a little bit more.
(20:27):
You know, maturity a little more. Uh, you know, worldliness
a little bit, you know, just a little bit more.
You know, prepared to have experienced more failures, have experienced, uh,
you know, different types of successes.
Speaker 9 (20:42):
Just a little little uh, a little more grizzled.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Talking to Dan Hurley, You're still the reigning national champs,
at least for twelve more hours.
Speaker 9 (20:51):
That's why I got I'm wearing it today, Dan, I'm
wearing it.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Uh. There's a trophy behind you. There's a pair of
shoes on top of that trophy. Whose shoes are those
Oh j R.
Speaker 9 (21:04):
Smith, Uh, you know Jr. Swish.
Speaker 8 (21:07):
That was my first great player that played for me
at S. Benedix And uh the first play went to
the NBA out of high school, so was Uh that
was his rookie year shoe with the hornets.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Okay, any other memorabilia that might surprise.
Speaker 8 (21:21):
Us, Uh, I got Well, I think a lot of
people like the underwear over those are my underwear. Not
many men have their underwear on a plaque in their office.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
Uh.
Speaker 8 (21:37):
Obviously the Gladiator health So that explains a lot about
me right there, the lion head behind it.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
You haven't gotten in trouble in a while, have you?
Speaker 8 (21:49):
No, I've I've got a lot of self aware. Well,
I don't have a lot of self I have enough.
I have enough self awareness and situational airness that I
skipped San Antonio and uh I decided not to parade
myself around the final four and to uh, you know,
(22:09):
to take a break, to let people have a little
bit of a break for me, and then uh, you know,
just to you know, reflect on the year, the run
we've been on, and uh, obviously, uh it was the
first real chance Dan I've had really since we were
eliminated for the tournament twenty two, you know, through to
that Florida loss in the tournament.
Speaker 9 (22:31):
You know, your my life's been a whirlwind.
Speaker 8 (22:33):
Uh of some incredible moments and and some moments that uh,
you know are Arnes uh arnest.
Speaker 5 (22:42):
Arn is great.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
But I remember when you turned down the Lakers and
we talked and you said you weren't mature enough yet
for a job like that. Your words, Yeah, all right,
how do you mature?
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Like? What do you?
Speaker 2 (22:56):
What do you what are are you doing anything to mature?
Speaker 8 (23:03):
You know that that's a tough one. I think Number one,
I'll say this a lot of I feel like the
biggest mistake I made this year was not being able
to uh, you know, put together uh and develop a
championship team. You know, I when I look at this
year for me, you know that that's the thing that
I regret the most is that I wasn't able to uh,
(23:25):
you know, to put together another team that was could
experience championship glory.
Speaker 9 (23:32):
You know.
Speaker 8 (23:32):
Some of the things I think that uh, you know,
whether it's you know, my relationship with officials, or you know,
some of the fan interactions or the different things that
come with me part of what makes me successful is uh,
is my passion, it's my intensity, It's it's this you know,
when when you're winning it, when you're winning championships, these
(23:53):
these same things have gone on when you're winning championships.
It's called relentlessness. You know, I've been called relentless the
past two years, even though I've been experiencing the same
types of interactions with fans and officials. You know, this
year it's been called, uh, you know, immature. It's been
called a lot of things because you know, my team
(24:15):
isn't on top.
Speaker 9 (24:17):
I haven't changed a whole lot that way.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
If you had a little ear piece and your wife
was allowed to talk to you on the sideline during
a game, how do you think that would go.
Speaker 9 (24:32):
I think that I'd be here, stop.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
Shut up.
Speaker 9 (24:40):
Yeah, I mean I would say that from a I
think that my relationships with officials. Now you know the
Florida you know the Florida post game. I regret that
one greatly. You know that that was I There was
literally one play call.
Speaker 8 (24:59):
Uh, there was one drive to the rim that I felt,
if we clearly got fouled on, that would have kept
that game in a two possession game. That was just
it was ringing in my mind. And it wasn't like
multiple calls I felt were miss dan. It was just
this one play, uh, that I could not get out
of my mind as I was heading through that tunnel
and as I saw the Baylor players, I deeply regret that.
(25:22):
I mean we we we missed a lot of open shots.
And credit Florida and Clayton. I mean this, uh, you
know the their their championship level, but you know.
Speaker 9 (25:33):
That one I regret deeply. I didn't believe that.
Speaker 8 (25:36):
And then that was embarrassing when I look at other
ones that were, you know, embarrassing that I'm the best
coach in the country. That was embarrassing. I wish somebody
could have stopped me from having that moment. A lot
of some of the fan interactions. I've got to get
somebody I think that maybe could just walk me on
and off the court. Maybe like college football has those
(25:59):
guys that walk the coach to the other coach and
then just get him off the court. Maybe I need
to get somebody that could just when the game ends,
just get me on and off the court. Because I
don't think that my in game coaching. I want to
change a lot because we've been really successful.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
But what is it about officials?
Speaker 9 (26:17):
Though I don't think it's as bad as it's made
out to be.
Speaker 8 (26:22):
I've watched these other officials and listen, I've earned you
earn your reputation.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
You know.
Speaker 8 (26:31):
I'm definitely a tough coach to officiate because I'm very demanding.
Uh And I value every single possession in the game
because I know how important.
Speaker 4 (26:40):
They are, you know.
Speaker 8 (26:42):
And and but I've also modeled myself after maybe an older,
you know generation of coaches. You know, I'm just an
intense coach, and I think I'm intense in a very
similar way to Coach Sampson tonight. I think if you
watch Coach Samson closely tonight, he's a very intense coach
and he's going to be very demanding of the officials.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Well, you're like your dad, though you would.
Speaker 9 (27:08):
Hate my father, I mean everyone and my dad.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
I know, I like being around your dad socially when
he puts his teeth in and he you know, you know,
we we have a conversation. I enjoyed being around and
we were I don't know what we were watching, like,
I don't know, some sitcom or not even a sitcom
is some cop show. When I went to his apartment
in Jersey City and I'm going, it seems really nice.
(27:35):
He's just a nice guy. Then you hear these horror
stories about how demanding your dad was.
Speaker 8 (27:40):
Yeah, well, I mean, Dan, you know, it's like you've
got to be able to separate the competitor, you know,
the combatants.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
But could you coach like this like you are right now, No,
you couldn't.
Speaker 8 (27:55):
Just be like, it doesn't line up with our play style.
It doesn't lie, okay, with with the intensity that we
play with. It doesn't it doesn't line up with how
we attack the offensive glass or you know how hard
we played defensively. And it's not just me, it's our
whole bench. I mean we lead the country in warnings
(28:15):
from officials to have everyone sit down. I mean everyone
on my bench is like out of pocket, like it's
it's just we're an emotional program. We're a passionate program.
And I don't think I'm going to change a whole
lot of that. I would, but I do you know,
upon reflection, I think that the interaction with you know,
(28:37):
people not on my team or you know, I would
like to probably have less of that.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
When do you walk down the hall to congratulate Gino.
Speaker 8 (28:47):
I guess I'm gonna wait for him maybe to sober up.
I mean, I wouldn't remember.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
I talked to him last hour.
Speaker 9 (28:56):
How did he look.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
He looked like a million bucks, hair was calmed. I
mean it looked like Gino.
Speaker 9 (29:02):
I mean, he he he.
Speaker 8 (29:05):
I mean we we we text, we talk, you know,
we were texting before, you know, all of his games
and and I mean he he saved my season from
completely unraveling in November.
Speaker 9 (29:17):
So I owe a lot to Gino.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
And uh what did he do?
Speaker 9 (29:21):
I mean, right when we.
Speaker 8 (29:22):
Got back from Maui as as I as I had
erupted like a volcano in Maui and and come back
to try to pick the pieces up. I was in
a bad, bad place. I was coaching, angry, I was
coaching frustrated. I you know, I I knew I didn't
have deep down I knew, you know, I didn't have
a team that could compete for a championship. And I
(29:45):
was trying to come to grips with that. And and
he helped kind of talk me through, you know, like
if all you're in this force to win championships and
and like, if that's the only joy that you get
from coaching, you've become basically a monster.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
How's the transfer portal, by the way.
Speaker 8 (30:06):
Oh my god, yeah, I mean like no one is
I mean when I that Monday, when when you come
to the realization that like literally no one is on
your team, you know, like that Monday, because even if
you're not in the portal, because it's now a lot
(30:26):
of it is being conducted by agents, you know, So
even if you're not in the portal, you're you're you're
in the portal because schools now, you know, they they
reach out for the agent, and you know, these agents
are representing the players. So even if a player hasn't
kind of formally gotten in the portal, schools will now
(30:48):
reach out for agents and make offers to players, you know,
that way indirectly, and and a lot of deals I
guess are agreed upon before players even go in, which
is not the way that that we do business.
Speaker 9 (31:04):
We you know, it's it's a mess.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
How many players are officially on your roster?
Speaker 8 (31:12):
I think right now I could sit here and say
that we definitely have eight players on our team, you know,
and we could have as many as ten. I think,
you know, maybe two potentially or are are undecided whether
(31:33):
that's you know, going to the NBA. Obviously, Alice Caravan's
got to make a decision what he wants to.
Speaker 9 (31:39):
Do with this last year.
Speaker 8 (31:42):
You know, I'd imagine he'll be deciding at some point
soon here, maybe this week, and then you know, then
we have another player who's you know, deciding. So yeah,
I mean right now and listen, it's better than it was.
You know, last week. I think there was a point
where I think I felt like I had like one
guy plus the high school guys, and we got three McDonald's,
(32:03):
all Americans, and a Tasmanian dude who I think is
gonna be really good.
Speaker 9 (32:07):
So we're excited about that.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
All right.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
If you need help in filling out the roster, like practicing,
just let me know. Wait, don't laugh like that.
Speaker 9 (32:20):
We're used to deep.
Speaker 8 (32:21):
When you get used to deep runs, Dan, I feel
like I gotta do better.
Speaker 5 (32:27):
You do.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Good to talk to you. Thank you, coach. That's Dan Hurley.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan
Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio Wapp Dwight Howard.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
He'll be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame coming
up in September. Former NBA champ, three time Defensive Player
of the Year, five time All NBA First Team Dwight,
how are you doing?
Speaker 4 (32:58):
Many blessed man.
Speaker 10 (33:02):
I'm so happy and thankful to be back on your
show again. We ever did a show in a while.
I think the last time I did a show, I
was actually in Orlando. I was driving in my car.
He was like, hey, you turned down music a little
bit so we can hear you.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
What was your reaction when you got the call for
the Hall of Fame?
Speaker 4 (33:23):
Man, I cried so hard.
Speaker 10 (33:26):
It was just like the first day soon as he
got as soon as I got the call, seeing the
name the Nasmith Basketball Hall of Fame calling my phone,
you know, seeing that, and then hearing them actually say
you have made it in to one out of four
hundred and fifty six people who have been in.
Speaker 4 (33:46):
The Hall of Fame for basketball.
Speaker 10 (33:48):
I just every memory of basketball that started, my youngest memory,
shooting on my first basketball go watching my magic justin tapes,
and then just the tiers start flowing, and uh man,
it's this an incredible journey with a lot of ups
and downs, but to make it.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
To basketball heavy it is for me, it's everything.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
What would you be like? What kind of player if
you were coming into the NBA now, given the way
the NBA is, Oh.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
Man, what kind of player would I be? Well?
Speaker 10 (34:24):
I feel like my time in Orlando I was very
unstoppable with office and then the side that I played.
I believe that if I was playing now, I would
still be a dominant player, top five center.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
I believe if I was playing right now.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Yeah, the game has changed so much with the perimeter.
And I knew you grew up idolizing magic, but maybe
you would have geared your game to be more perimeter based.
I mean, we got seven footers playing on the perimeter
on that look.
Speaker 4 (34:58):
That's true.
Speaker 10 (34:58):
Actually, when I started playing basketball, I didn't play center.
I didn't play center actually until I got to the NBA.
Uh So, when I got to the NBA, that's when
my positions changed. And back then, there were no stretch forwards.
There were no stretch no stretch fives. It was only
dirt and the whisky and the next person close to
him that was shooting that much was Tim Duncan and
(35:20):
he was shooting more so off the glass shots and
free throw line and air shots. And I remember the
last conversation I had with Kobe before we joined team
was what he wanted me to work on was those
free throw line and then jump shots and stuff like that.
But today's game, well today's game, and when I was
(35:40):
coming up in the game, that shot was taken out.
So now I would be a perimeter bass player and
that'll be a lot of fun. I'd get to show
people my other skills and the skills that I've had
growing up.
Speaker 4 (35:53):
And I go back to just being a kid again.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
How tough was Kobe on you?
Speaker 4 (35:59):
I would say he was that tough on me?
Speaker 10 (36:00):
What what like people would assume because I was a
hard worker, You know, it wasn't. I wasn't somebody that
he had to worry about getting in the jail, working
hard in the games and stuff like that. I just
think we just at the time, we was in two
different places in life, and uh, we didn't see how
to eye. We didn't give each other a task to
(36:21):
eat to see how to But are you living?
Speaker 2 (36:25):
You learn if I gave you a mulligan on getting
out of Orlando. Would you have still left Orlando and
gone to the Lakers.
Speaker 10 (36:35):
Uh, My intentions was not to go to the Lakers
after Orlando. I now do it what I know now.
Leaving Orlando, Uh taught me many lessons in life that
I needed, and I feel like if I would have
(36:57):
stayed in Orlando, maybe I wouldn't have learned those same lessons.
And it's just how you look at it, you know.
I hate the fact that I did have to leave Orlando,
that was my first home. But I believe that everything
happens I was exactly supposed to happen, and I can't
question fate. The only thing I'm glad about is that
(37:19):
it led me to the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
Most physical player you ever played against?
Speaker 4 (37:24):
Was who?
Speaker 10 (37:26):
Most physical player? Pekovich from Minnesota. Father was the strongest
player that I could say, I've played this really Okay,
the most out or to anybody else?
Speaker 2 (37:43):
What was your welcome to the NBA moment?
Speaker 4 (37:47):
Welcome to the NBA moment? Oh, Kobe Bryant Duncan on.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Me, Well, You're not alone in that category there, Dwight.
Speaker 10 (38:00):
It was a funny one because I remember actually Brian
Grant actually after that play.
Speaker 4 (38:05):
He said, welcome to the league.
Speaker 10 (38:06):
I'm telling and I couldn't wait to dunk on him
back or block his side or something. So when we
played against him in Atlanta Hawks, I took it personally
to just try to destroy him.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Did Kobe say anything to you when he dunked on you?
Speaker 8 (38:21):
Uh?
Speaker 10 (38:22):
He just said in an interview that he baptized me,
and he woke me up in actuality.
Speaker 4 (38:28):
He did that dunk.
Speaker 10 (38:30):
Was so embarrassed, and I was like, I gotta block
everybody's dunk. I put it everybody to the ground, and
I'm gonna go get me a defensive Player of the Year.
Speaker 4 (38:37):
So it did wake me up. He baptized.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
He had forty one in that game.
Speaker 10 (38:43):
Jesus ripe, we must have had the thirty eight thirty eight,
thirty nine.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
Who is the best player you faced?
Speaker 4 (38:56):
The best player that our face? Oh that's playing that
our base? Oh my goodness. Uh? Skill wise or do
you mean like overall overall?
Speaker 2 (39:11):
Just best player? Like that guy is he's different?
Speaker 4 (39:17):
Oh? Man? Uh? Well, obviously uh cobD Uh.
Speaker 10 (39:24):
Kobe did a shot in the finals, and I'll never
forget the shot.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
Uh.
Speaker 10 (39:29):
He was driving to the basket and he went up
and I put my hands up and try to block
the shot, and he took the ball between my arms
and then brought it back, came back up and then
shot the shot. It was It was incredible. After that moment,
I was like, this, that's the coldest player that I've
ever played me.
Speaker 2 (39:50):
You think you and Shaq will ever be friends?
Speaker 4 (39:53):
Uh? Yes, we Actually I saw him in Orlando.
Speaker 10 (39:57):
Actually after I was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
I was out at a restaurant eating with my family
and my friends, and the owner said that Shaq was
actually at the restaurant, and I said, I'm going to
go talk to him, and everybody was like what I said, Yes,
(40:18):
I'm going to go talk to him. I got up,
went over to where he was at, shook his hand
as we have a minute a loan, and we had
a real good conversation and I was very happy about it.
We expressed some things and yeah, the next time you
see both of us together, we'll talk about the stuff
(40:40):
that we had a sit down about.
Speaker 4 (40:43):
But it was a really good talk and I'm glad
that the.
Speaker 10 (40:47):
Universe everything worked out perfectly for us to be in
Orlando at the same place at the same time.
Speaker 4 (40:53):
I have a conversation.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
But when did it go south or sideways between you two?
Speaker 4 (40:59):
I have no.
Speaker 10 (41:01):
I really believe that it was outside noise and people.
He says, she says stuff like that, and then now
I make both of us irritated. So when I hear
something on TV that he says, I'm pissed off about it,
and I responded to him and vice versa. And to
be honest, I'm just just like, man, we're too old
(41:22):
for this. You know, we have children, we have people
who look up to us, and you know, we both
need a lot to a lot of people in this world.
We both doe some amazing things, and you know, we
don't need this.
Speaker 4 (41:35):
I don't.
Speaker 10 (41:36):
I don't like it. I grew up watching Shaq. I
respect him as a player and a man in a
businessman that he is. When his father passed away years back,
it's one of the first people to reach out because
I knew how much that, you know, losing his father.
Speaker 4 (41:54):
You know, it was hurting him. Man.
Speaker 10 (41:56):
You know I really as a as a young man,
you know, looking up just smiling like sagas like my
big brother.
Speaker 4 (42:02):
So we just had to miss.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
Unsett Yeah, I thought it was you were both in Orlando,
both had Superman nickname. You end up following in his
footsteps to the Lakers, So it's maybe he was thinking
you were following in his footsteps, trying to be like Shack,
and for some reason he had a problem with that.
That's all I how I viewed it.
Speaker 4 (42:23):
Yeah, well I wouldn't.
Speaker 10 (42:25):
So my thing is this, Also, if someone is trying
to follow in my footsteps, that means to me that first,
that's an honor, that's un humbling, and that means that
I've done such a great job with my life and
my career that somebody wants to follow in those footsteps.
Speaker 4 (42:42):
So I don't see anything wrong with that. No, now
I did not do that.
Speaker 10 (42:46):
It's just everything seemed to pan out like it was
a mirror image of Shacks like and career. We're both tall,
we're both funny, we're both comedians, like to have fun, dance,
we both talked the ball a lot, with both dominant centers.
Speaker 4 (43:03):
I understand that we both say we're Superman, So I
get it. If I am following his footsteps, I shoot,
I would love that.
Speaker 10 (43:11):
You know, Shaq has saved away for so many big
men He's done an amazing job. So you know, that's
amazing to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest,
most dominant big men to ever play.
Speaker 2 (43:22):
Who's gonna present you at the Hall of Fame?
Speaker 11 (43:26):
Oh?
Speaker 10 (43:26):
Well, I would love Kevin Gardinett, uh, keem Elijah one,
and Shaquille O'Neill to walk me in.
Speaker 4 (43:37):
If it's not Shaquille, if he can't do it.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
Mark Jackson, Wait, have you reached out to these guys?
Are you reaching out to them now?
Speaker 4 (43:45):
Yes?
Speaker 10 (43:45):
Yes, I have to reach back out to Mark Jackson.
Mark Jackson's story about him. I met him in high
school at the Top one hundred camp and I asked
him could he meet me every morning at around six
point thirty to work out before a cap started.
Speaker 4 (44:02):
And he thought I was playing around and I wasn't
going to show up.
Speaker 10 (44:06):
I told him I was serious about being the number
one pick and the best player in the Nations. I
was there every morning, he was there every morning. That
helped me get better, and I remember that they really
helped shape the mold before the NBA. So you know,
I would love for hear you know, walking in, But
I don't. I said, I think it's players who have
made it into the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
Okay, yeah, I mean it sounds like you got a
posse there, not just one person twice so Shack, Kevin Garnett,
a team Elijah, team Elijah. Yeah, well you got to
pick one. I don't know. Can you have three?
Speaker 4 (44:45):
I think you can have too.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
Okay.
Speaker 10 (44:48):
Uh my favorite player all time is what Chamberers, So
if he could do it, I would love what Timing
to be there.
Speaker 4 (44:54):
That's my favorite player.
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Uh So, yeah, well that's not gonna happen, so I
think it would be awesome. I mean, if Will Chamberlain
walks you in, hey, that'll be a pretty great moment.
He's been dead for a long time. Dwight, I think
Shack walking you in would be awesome. That would be
(45:18):
pretty special to see you two walk in together. Hopefully
it would.
Speaker 4 (45:23):
It would.
Speaker 10 (45:23):
It would be very special, not only because of all
the noise that over all the years.
Speaker 4 (45:30):
People would love that.
Speaker 10 (45:32):
But one thing we both say is people would love
to see us fight, and we're not fighting.
Speaker 4 (45:37):
We don't need to fight.
Speaker 10 (45:39):
But the moment that people would really love to see
is I think that moment right there, and it shows
that we have mature in a lot of different ways.
We're able to squash whatever beef people to say we're having.
And you know, he's inducted me into that level, that
that space that he's always pushed me at every single
time he's been, uh, you know, the shows at tn
(46:03):
T and stuff like that.
Speaker 4 (46:05):
So just to see him do there, I think it'd
be really awesome.
Speaker 2 (46:07):
And this I'm gonna script this for you. You and
Shoq walk in and then you open up your jackets
and you got Superman T shirts on.
Speaker 4 (46:18):
Ah, that would be hilarious.
Speaker 2 (46:23):
All right, we just got to get Shack on board.
Speaker 9 (46:25):
You know.
Speaker 2 (46:26):
That's it. We we we get. We got a little
bit of time. You got a couple of months.
Speaker 10 (46:30):
I think I think we got some time. I uh,
I will start working on sending us some more message
and see if.
Speaker 2 (46:36):
The work well. More importantly, congratulations on all of this
and thanks for joining us.
Speaker 10 (46:43):
Thanks for having me man. I don't know if you know,
I'll be joining the Big Three this year. Uh play
some Big Three basketball with ice CE and if you
have any players that's interested in playing, and I have
my whole professional league and Asian it's called the age
A Tournament We're having a draft April eleventh and April
(47:03):
twelve this month coming up.
Speaker 4 (47:07):
We have twelve teams in our league.
Speaker 10 (47:10):
We want to expand it and get more guys in
America and the States opportunities to play in a national
ball did an awesome job for me my career, and
it could do an amazing job.
Speaker 4 (47:23):
Of the guys. I would love to give him that opportunity.
Speaker 2 (47:25):
Can Cube play anymore? I mean, he messed around and
got a triple double, Dwight, which I don't know if
he really did. Dwight, he kept his own stats in
a pickup game.
Speaker 4 (47:39):
You are less.
Speaker 1 (47:40):
He was so good.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
Can Cube still? Can Cube play?
Speaker 4 (47:49):
He can still play?
Speaker 2 (47:50):
That's why he had it to four point four point shot?
Oh man, Good luck with all this, and again, rats
and thanks for joining.
Speaker 4 (48:03):
Us, Thanks for having May I have an awesome Day's.
Speaker 2 (48:06):
Dwight Howard going to be inducted into the Basketball Hall
of Fame.
Speaker 1 (48:09):
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan
Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio w APP.
Speaker 2 (48:19):
It was great, great day yesterday, Brent. Congratulations on going
into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It's the Pete
Rosel Radio and TV Award. I don't take any credit
other than letting people reminding people that you weren't in
the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You did all the work.
I just wanted people to remember all the great work
you did. So congratulations, Dan, thank you so much.
Speaker 12 (48:42):
I know that a couple of years ago we had
a conversation out at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas.
I think we were on the rooftop of the Fountain
Blue Hotel and you mentioned it, and I know it
wasn't even on my mind, but.
Speaker 5 (48:56):
You you actually put it forward.
Speaker 12 (48:58):
And then later I'm told as I was leaving you
at Jim Nance and Jim Nance also echoed what you
had said. So I want to thank both of you.
It was such an honor yesterday and you would have
got a kick out of I was honestly just brushing
my teeth and my phone rang and I looked down
and I said NFL Hall of Fame, and I said, well,
(49:20):
I wonder what that. And so I said hello, Brent,
coach Vermeo and I said, yeah, Coach, I said, this
is not your cell phone, this is a different phone.
He said, congratulations, you're the winner of the Pete Rose
Ell and it was, you know, mind blowing. I said, listen,
Dan Patrick, Jim Nantz and you coach. You're the ones
(49:42):
who put this forward and I owe you a debt
of gratitude.
Speaker 4 (49:46):
It was.
Speaker 5 (49:46):
It was great moments.
Speaker 12 (49:47):
I just wish Dan irv Cross, Phyllis, George.
Speaker 4 (49:53):
Jimmy, the Greek.
Speaker 12 (49:54):
I wish they were still with us to shareing this
because they meant so much to the NFL today and
actually the start of my career. So again, thank you
so much for your platform.
Speaker 2 (50:06):
Well, you gave me almost an opportunity to dream because
when I watched you do your show when the NFL today,
I remember watching and saying, I can do that. I'm
not a play by play guy. I can do that.
I don't know how to do that. I don't know
if I'd ever get a chance to do that. But
it's the first time in my broadcasting career, or like
(50:28):
the beginning of it, that I had a direction and
you gave me that direction. And you provided a soundtrack
for people's lives for fifty years, and that's the staying
power is remarkable. But I thank you because you made
it look like you can do. You know, you and
(50:51):
costas Bryant Gumbel, guys who are really good. They make
a hard job look easy, and that's why there's a
lot of people who want to do this job. And
and you did that. It's not easy, but you provided
that soundtrack and I'm forever grateful for that.
Speaker 12 (51:06):
I'm so appreciative to hear that. And so many youngsters
through the years Dan have come up and said, you know,
I really want to get into sportscasting. I love what
you do, and I would spend some time and talk
them through it. But I you know, you touch a
lot of lives. And I was asked yesterday, anybody ever
(51:29):
get upset with you? And I chuckled and I said,
occasionally I would get a letter, a little nasty from
a preacher somewhere who said that I was spoiling church
attendance on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (51:45):
Did you get any feedback, negative feedback when you were
saying you were looking live.
Speaker 5 (51:52):
No, it's interesting.
Speaker 12 (51:54):
No, everybody sort of gravitated to it without knowing how
it started. And it started because my director Bob Fishman,
who was a Hall of Fame director by the way,
he at a meeting of the NFL Today once earlier
in the week, said that his father had a friend
(52:17):
who loved to bet over unders and we were coming
into November and he wanted the weather at the Darius
stadiums that we were going, and we didn't have enough time.
Remember the NFL Today was a half hour show. Now
those pregame shows go on for days. But so well,
I said, we can't do a weather report. But I said, Bob,
(52:39):
what if you give me a live picture?
Speaker 5 (52:43):
And we started.
Speaker 12 (52:44):
I think the first one, damn might have been Soldier
Field in Chicago, because I know it was in November,
and so we used you are looking live and it
was kind of a drizzly, gloomy day at the lake
front of Chicago. And so the next one at the
at the meeting, Uh, Bob said, hey, my father's front
(53:05):
really loved that. He thought that was great, and so
we went from there to two three different stadiums that
we could flash around the country, and so it became
the trade Bard. Honestly, the only thing I ever insisted in.
Bob followed, I said it has to be live. I said,
we can't tape stadium pictures and make this up.
Speaker 5 (53:25):
If I say you were looking live, let's do.
Speaker 12 (53:27):
It so so so it went from there and but no,
I never I never received. I don't remember Pete Roselle,
who was a good front of the shows. He would
come by, you know, two or three times a year
when he wasn't on the road watching games. I don't
I don't remember Pete ever asking me specifically about but
(53:48):
you are looking.
Speaker 5 (53:48):
I've just became the trademark of the show. That's how
that's how we are.
Speaker 2 (53:51):
But you were kind of dancing around gambling without.
Speaker 5 (53:54):
Oh yes, oh yes.
Speaker 12 (53:56):
And I remember now, remember now, Jimmy, we weren't dancing, okay,
we were hugging me. I mean when Bob Wesler called
me before year two of the NFL Today and he said, Brent,
do you know a gambler by the name of Jimmy
the Greek? And I did, because when I was covering baseball,
(54:19):
I would stop off in Las Vegas and I.
Speaker 5 (54:21):
Had met the Greek. I knew him.
Speaker 12 (54:23):
And he said, I want to put him on the
NFL today to talk about the games. And I said, Bob,
that's fine, but what are we going to do with
the commissioner Roselle? And of course that led to the
famous meeting that we had for about an hour down
the Park Avenue, NFL offices, and Roselle could not have
been more favorable to what the Greek being on the show.
(54:47):
And then when we got up to leave to go
back the commissioners, Oh, by the way, listen, guys, do
me a favor now when you were at a meeting
with the commissioner and he says favor, we knew here
came the marching order and he said, please don't use
minus three plus seven minus ten on the segment.
Speaker 5 (55:07):
Yes sir, yes, sir, you got it.
Speaker 12 (55:09):
Never even thought about it, walk out and say, how
are we going to talk about if we can't use
the points spreads?
Speaker 5 (55:16):
Okay?
Speaker 12 (55:17):
So that that led to the famous checkboard with the
Greek and people would figure out if the checks were
all on one team side, he made cover of the spread.
So so we went from there. And the only time
I got in trouble after the NFS we were doing
the NFC of CBS then was after the NFC Championship game.
(55:37):
The Greek would always slip me a piece of paper
with the spread on the Super Bowl, and I would
always give it and I'd always get the phone call
on Monday.
Speaker 5 (55:46):
Don't you ever do that again? Oh gee, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (55:48):
I forgot until the next year when you forgot again.
Speaker 5 (55:53):
That exactly.
Speaker 12 (55:54):
Yeah, you know, I always knew, honestly, if you go
back to the founding of the National Football League. I
mean there were people at ball with Caama Art Rooney
he gets his stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers by winning at.
Speaker 5 (56:08):
The horse track, and even Peter Roselle.
Speaker 12 (56:11):
Every time I went to the Kentucky Derby, Peter rosel
was there, usually with Wellington Marraw, the owner of the jobs,
so I knew. And the underground was just full of
people who like to bet on the National Football you know.
You know, I'm glad that it's now illegal. And obviously
you have to be careful because a gambling addiction is
(56:34):
like an alcohol addiction.
Speaker 5 (56:36):
You got to be careful. You got to watch people.
Speaker 12 (56:38):
And I try to tell youngsters all the time.
Speaker 5 (56:41):
You're not going to beat it. I said. You may
think you are, but you're not.
Speaker 4 (56:45):
I said.
Speaker 12 (56:45):
If you want to do it for recreation, as I do,
I said, go ahead and enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (56:52):
If I would have told you nineteen seventy five, hey, Brent,
you're going to be a Hall of Famer and gambling
is going to be embraced by all sports. What would
you have thought that we've gotten to this point that
gambling is now commonplace. It's it's almost like you're guilted
(57:12):
in if you don't gamble on things, I'm.
Speaker 5 (57:17):
Gonna thought you were crazy. Okay, let's tell you the truth.
I uh both.
Speaker 12 (57:24):
I never got into this, you know, dreaming about Hall
of Fames. I met to Canton early in the NFL
career to shoot a segment for it, but I never
dreamed about about going in a and the gambling. I
guess I always thought it had a chance to be legal,
(57:44):
but I didn't realize how sports were going to embrace it.
Speaker 5 (57:49):
And you're so right. I talked to people all the time.
Speaker 12 (57:51):
I mean, think about ESPN, which did not exist when
the NFL today started. I mean, we didn't have cable
television like we have. If you up, I was watching
last night, like a lot of people are watching. In
the bottom line, you know, there were NBA spreads and
over unders were coming under. And I always smile when
I see it because I was so for voting back
(58:13):
in the seventies and now it's just part of the coach,
and I think, Dan, that's a good thing because I
think it'll just kind of be accepted and go on
its own way down the road.
Speaker 5 (58:24):
To tell you the truth, I.
Speaker 2 (58:26):
Was wondering if you could get Joe Namath to introduce
you at the Hall of Fame. I mean, you were
there when he made his big proclamation, Oh yeah, and
then they were going to win Super Bowl three.
Speaker 5 (58:42):
Yeah, it's great.
Speaker 4 (58:43):
It was.
Speaker 12 (58:43):
You know, you were talking about stadiums, you know, and
the old Orange Bowl. I think for me, the stadiums
always stand out where I have memories of what happened there. Okay,
and Super Bowl three was really something because earlier in
(59:04):
that week we'd gone to Fort Lauderdale and the bellman
sold us that Joe Namath was out back, and there
were a handful of us. I was a writer then,
and I also worked at BBM, the CBS radio station,
and we went out back and there was Joe in
a lounge chair, the famous picture with you know, there
was a lady behind him getting an autograph, and people
(59:25):
came up and wished him good luck. And I tell people,
it wasn't braggadocio. It wasn't it wasn't like, oh, I
guarant it was just kind of a matter of fact,
and we're gonna win the game. I guarantee it. And
it was just kind of thrown out, to tell you
the truth. It did not become a big story until
(59:47):
after the fact. Dave Anderson, great Columns of the New
York Times, was with me at a country club that
Joe spoke at, believe it or not, on Friday night.
He was a guest of honor and he he did
it and it was Dave who And it was such
a small story in the Times, and now it has
become it has become bigger than life. But as for
(01:00:07):
the game itself, Okay, I was upstairs, I had a prespass,
but I was in the photographer's box.
Speaker 11 (01:00:15):
But guess who was next to me. Howard Cosell giving
me the.
Speaker 1 (01:00:19):
Flay by plane of the I was the.
Speaker 12 (01:00:23):
One man audience for Howard Cosell at Super Bowl three.
Speaker 11 (01:00:27):
And of course he hated.
Speaker 12 (01:00:29):
The NFC because the NFC would not lie, and he
loved the AFL.
Speaker 11 (01:00:33):
That was that was his dream. So he was so
proud of Joe.
Speaker 12 (01:00:37):
Willie names I'll tell you you know.
Speaker 11 (01:00:41):
He called me mush I was thinking Mush, I'll tell
you he's the best.
Speaker 2 (01:00:45):
So but that's one of the iconic moments in NFL history.
Like when you think about it, what it became. You know,
then you had guys who started to guarantee things. Then
it became almost like common place where somebody was like, hey,
we're gonna win, do you guarantee it? I guarantee it.
Speaker 4 (01:01:04):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:01:05):
It was in the footsteps of Joe Willie.
Speaker 12 (01:01:09):
Absolutely absolutely, and I'll tell you Dan, that game to
me meant more to the merger than anything.
Speaker 4 (01:01:17):
Now.
Speaker 5 (01:01:17):
Now, Al Davis meant a lot to the merger because he.
Speaker 12 (01:01:20):
Started signing quarterbacks were in the NFL, and when the
George Hallises of the world saw what it was going
to cost them, they also made a move toward merging.
But once Joe Namas you know, I mean remember now
of Greek and Las Vegas made the Baltimore coltson eighteen
(01:01:40):
point favorite eighteen point favorite in that game, I mean,
let that sink in right.
Speaker 5 (01:01:47):
Now with everybody who didn't you have.
Speaker 12 (01:01:50):
You know, I did not bet the game, and I
never I never, I don't think I always.
Speaker 5 (01:01:56):
Thought the Cults were going to win. Listen, I was
a Bears guy.
Speaker 12 (01:01:59):
Okay, I mean covered them and knew the Hallas that I.
Speaker 5 (01:02:04):
Kind of looked down a little bit at the AFL.
Speaker 12 (01:02:06):
You know, I was kind of one of the establishment
reporters back in the day, and so I really thought
the Colts were going to win. I don't think I
would have given eighteen points, but as it turns out,
the bet of the year would have been on Willy
Names and the Jets.
Speaker 2 (01:02:23):
My friend, congratulations again and good luck with Thank you
v's in the sports betting network that you've been that
you co founded there, but uh, long time coming. Glad
to play any role in this, but once again, thank
you for being a friend.
Speaker 11 (01:02:41):
Oh, by the way, the Gators did well in your pool,
Yes they did.
Speaker 2 (01:02:47):
You won the contest, you won the bracket. Is that
more important than going into the Pro Football Hall of
Fame for me?
Speaker 4 (01:02:55):
Is whatever?
Speaker 2 (01:02:59):
Thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 11 (01:03:00):
So much, Dad, Thanks for all your help.
Speaker 2 (01:03:02):
Thank you, buddy. That's Brent Musburger.
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Gina Oriema is set to join us the freshly minted
head coach of the national champion Yukon Huskies. Did you
forget about this feeling? Did you remember what it was
like to win a national title?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Almost? You know, we have those moments our senior citizens.
You know you ought to know so, but it didn't
take long to remember.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Though.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Never ceases to amaze me, the feeling that you have
when when you watch those faces and it's just really
really unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
But take me back to preseason and you said that
the girls they lost a scrimmage.
Speaker 5 (00:47):
Yeah we did, we did.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
And is that where you go home and you say
to your wife, oh god, I don't know what we
have here. We may not even make the tournament.
Speaker 5 (00:56):
Well, it's that's exactly what we say. We said we
make the NCAA tournament this year.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
You know, is.
Speaker 5 (01:03):
We didn't take it seriously, you know we we.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Kind of everybody thought, yeah, we're gonna be good because
you know.
Speaker 5 (01:10):
We're healthy. We got everybody back.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
But it was a it was a good reminder, but
it was it was a struggle throughout. I would say
November December, trying to find some consistency. We would have it,
lose it, have it lose it. And I think it
wasn't until we got back from South Carolina the first time,
when we played so well that we actually understood, all right,
this is what the level is, this is.
Speaker 5 (01:35):
Who we can be. And that's when it all changed.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Is it a grind?
Speaker 5 (01:41):
Oh yeah, oh yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
But is it a different kind of like let's say,
fifteen years ago, similar kind of grind.
Speaker 5 (01:51):
A little different? I think a little different.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
It being that the players I'm coaching today are more challenged,
They're way more distracted, They've got way more voices in
their head. They've got way too much information coming at
them from all sources of people.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Things that it's hard.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
To make your voice really be a you know, the
voice like you know when you played, like your coach said,
you know, today's Wednesday. You go home and tell hey, mom,
today's Wednesday. Man, No it's not. It's Monday. Coach said,
it's Wednesday today. What's your coach say today?
Speaker 5 (02:31):
I don't know. I wasn't listening. I mean, that's it's
just a little bit harder right now. Man.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
But you're not dealing. You know, we hear the men's
coaches talking about transfer portal. Nil. Yeah, how prevalent is
that for you? On a daily, weekly, monthly basis. No,
I don't deal with it on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. No,
we don't have somebody on our staff that's calling AAU
(02:58):
coaches and handler and all that. You know, you know
is you're a kid interested, Hey tell them we're interested,
like a lot of schools do. No, we don't deal
with that.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
We just coach our team.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
We know at the end of every year, because we
get pretty good players and if they don't all play
as much as they want, those days I'll wait my turn.
Speaker 5 (03:17):
Those are gone, you know. So we know that the
end of.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Every year, some kids already halfway out the door when
they realize I'm not getting the time that I thought
I was going to get. And it's like, you know,
we understand we might lose a couple every year, but
there's a couple kids that want to come every year.
What makes it hard is in the NBA they have
a free agency period of time. This is when you
(03:43):
can talk to free agents, this is when you can
sign them. Blah blah blah. Our free agency is the
whole year, and every kid there's three hundred and sixty
five Division one schools plus Division two.
Speaker 5 (03:55):
Every kid's a free agent every day the whole year.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
It's just.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
And then the portals open during the NCAA tournament. Can
you imagine the NBA playoffs and free agency is going
on during the playoff. I mean, it's insanity. So whoo,
but luckily we don't have to deal with as much
as obviously it's happening on the guys and the money.
Don't even get me started on the money some of
the money that I hear programs have to spend. And
(04:22):
now obviously it's football and men's basketball to drive this.
Speaker 5 (04:24):
But it's out of hand, man, it's out of hand.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
What was your pregame speech?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
What's my pregame speech? Probably, you know, the same as
it was the previous three games that we just want
you know, this was our fourth game, you know, two
and two.
Speaker 5 (04:49):
I like to talk about how many times this one
was really good.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
I like this one because I said, you know, this
is our twenty fourth Final four, and our record in
the Final four before last night was eleven wins, twelve losses.
Speaker 5 (05:10):
In twenty three.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Final fours, I said, So, I'm the winningest coach in
the history of college basketball, but I have a losing
record in the final four, I said, But when I'm
introduced at some events, you know, they go and ladies
and gentlemen, Gino Orima.
Speaker 5 (05:25):
You know, he's lost twelve, I said.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
They don't do that. They say, you know, you know where,
He's won eleven national chams. So you know, nobody gives
a damn about who loses. They just care about winning.
So why worry about losing because nobody cares. So I
think the thing that I always try to do is
try to make them understand.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
To not be afraid to lose, because that's.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
What gets in the way of teams winning, especially at
this point in time in the season, when your whole,
you know, career is riding on it. Of losing is
just so powerful, and I think it's my job to
try to diffuse that as much as I can.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
At any point during that nine year maybe it's not
fair to say drought, but for you it would be.
But did you at any point doubt yourself of am
I still able to motivate them? And am I losing it?
Or you know, any kind of concerns about you and
your coaching.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Yeah, yeah, of course, because well a couple of things.
We went to fifteen straight final fours, but we didn't win.
After number eleven, we didn't win the next four or
five years. You know, six years out of those nine
years that we didn't win, we went to the Final
(06:46):
four eight times, and we were never healthy. I shouldn't
say six of those times we were never healthy. So
I kept saying, you know, when we get healthy, we'll
be fine. But I gotta tell you, Dan, I'm brutally honest.
There was so many times when I would go home
and I would say, I don't think I'm as good
(07:09):
a coach as I used to be. I don't think
I'm as able to do what these players need in
today's world. I don't know that I can do that,
which is crazy because we're going to the Final four
ever year. But it does creep into your mind when
(07:31):
it's you're having all these things thrown at you. This injury,
that injury, this key player's out, that one's out for
the season.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
You know, yeah, it really really really made me.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Question, am I still the right person to be doing
this at this time in my career? At a place
like Yukon, where championships is the standard.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
And you know how this works. We get to a
certain age and people go, oh, how much long are
you going to do it?
Speaker 4 (08:00):
You know?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Oh, you know, be a great time to retire, you
just when you walk off. Finally, I mean, so how
do you deal with this? Just because I decided in
three years I'm retiring. I just said I have to
mark this is when I'm going to retire, or I
don't think I would retire.
Speaker 5 (08:18):
Is that five years ago? You made that commitment?
Speaker 2 (08:23):
A year and a half ago, I said I would retire,
and I gave the date I was going to retire.
Good for you, okay, but I needed to do it
because there's other things I needed to do, and to
be fair with my family and my wife. Have you
had those discussions of and I don't know if there's
anything else that you want to do, because maybe you're
(08:44):
like you know, coaches coach till they die. It's like,
this is what I want to do. This is all
I know. I don't know if I'm wired that way.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
No, no, I no, I don't know why I still
do it. Be honest with you, most people my age
have enough sense not to do it, and I I
think one thing that helps me then, like when I
get back to school and whatever recruiting has to be
(09:13):
done or whatever I would say. By the time May
comes around, I don't give basketball a thought until next September.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
I get it. I just walk away. I'm done. And
luckily I have.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
A staff and I got a program that that that
can do that. But I don't live at twenty four
to seven. I don't take it home with me like
the way. You know a lot of these guys do.
That just wears on them day after day. Now we
have the privilege of doing that because of our success.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
I get it.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
If you're grinding it out, trying to make DNC tournament
every year, keep your job. But I'm not in that situation.
If I was, I would have got out a long
time ago. Uh So, you know, I'm able to put
it away, and there's so many other things that I
would love to do. You know, when and you retire,
let me know, because I'll sit there and ask great
questions like you do, and make fun of people like
(10:05):
you do.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
I would love to do that.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
However, I got I got an email today from a
friend of mine, Tom Sherman play for play for Penn State,
and he played for Joe Paterno and he emailed me
today and he goes, hey, forty years at you kind
of because it's unbelievable.
Speaker 5 (10:24):
He goes, you know what, Joe.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Paterno was at Penn State sixty four years, so you
can still catch up. And I thought to myself, you
got to be kidding. Sixty four years.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Yeah, so no, it'll be.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Some time before that, trust me.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
And I'll leave you with this that you get your
women to stay, you know, they're they're there for years.
So you develop a friendship, a relationship whereas you know,
men's college coaches, if you're good, you know it's a
six month you know, transaction here. Yeah, but you could
see that where you with Paige Becker's you're watching her
(10:59):
be this great player to being injured to never winning
a title. Now he's your chance to win a title.
Then just being overcome by emotion because it's real. It's
like a daughter, I guess. I mean, you're hugging a
daughter of sorts in that moment and you're kind of
at a loss for words. Correct it was awesome though, Yeah,
(11:22):
it is.
Speaker 5 (11:22):
It is because.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
We do get them at an age where they're very impressionable,
so to speak, and they're seventeen, eighteen years old, and
we know, if things go well, we do get them
for four years. We do get to see them at
the beginning, and then we get to see them at
the end, and we get to see them when they're struggling.
When it is it's like raising your kids, and it's like,
(11:47):
all of a sudden, you send them off after a
period of time.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
Yeah, if.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
This was like men's basketball, there's no way I would
even have close to twelve national championships. Diana would have
been one and done. Stewie would have been one and done.
Mayan War would have been one and done. I can
go on and on page Becker's would have been one
and done. All these guys. So the fact that I
think we can it goes back to the old days.
(12:18):
It's like the way it used to be. You know,
we we get them young and then we you know,
work with them, and then does create a bond that
I think is missing in men's college basketball. And football
is a little bit better because those guys have to stay,
you know, for about three years. But now the portals
become Yeah, look, I'm here as long as I can
(12:38):
get what I want. Otherwise I'm out. And so the
coaches feel like, Okay, well, if this guy's going to
walk out on me any day now, why should I
invest all of myself and in or her. I'm just
going to coach you get what I need to get
out of you, and if you leave, you leave.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
If you stay, you stay, that's fine.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
So it's really kind of created like a professional environment
where we're just doing this. You're and this nonsense about
well they're not employees. Yeah, they are employees. We're paying
them to play basketball for us, and when they don't
like their job, they quit and go go work someplace else.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
So I'm lucky, I really am.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
I've got a great situation, and I know a lot
of guys on the men's side envy it, and and
I feel bad for those guys.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Uh congratch, hair still looks great, and uh, thanks for
joining us.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Yeah, And you know, I can't believe you're still doing this.
And I know I tell people all the time, you're
one of the few guys in America that ask questions
that are way shorter than the guys answer.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
And I really appreciate.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
That I want to shot clock Gino. I like that brevity, brevity,
get to the point that shit, Hey, congratch, thanks for
joining us.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
Yeah, thanks for having us.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
That's Gino Orima.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk line up
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Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR
to listen live.
Speaker 6 (14:09):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together we're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 7 (14:14):
You could catch us weekdays from five to seven pm
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of course the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (14:21):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 7 (14:23):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
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Speaker 6 (14:27):
We have a lot of fun talking about the stories
behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture,
stories that well other shows don't seem to have the
time to discuss.
Speaker 7 (14:36):
And the fact that we've been friends for the last
twenty years and still work together. I mean that says something, right,
So check us out.
Speaker 6 (14:41):
We like to get you involved too, take your phone calls,
chop it up, as they say.
Speaker 7 (14:46):
I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio
maybe the.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Most interactive show on planetar.
Speaker 6 (14:51):
Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app from five to
seven pm Eastern two to four Pacific, and if you
miss any of the live show, just search Covie, Know
and Rich wherever you get your podcasts, and of course
on social media that's Cavino and Rich.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
He's the head coach for the men's team at Connecticut,
two time defending national champs at least until tomorrow or
late tonight. Dan Hurley joining us on the program. Good
to talk to you again, coach. Did you watch the games,
the semi final games?
Speaker 8 (15:21):
I did, unlike uh, you know, unlike after the twenty
two season where you know where we had that first
round exit and I ignored the rest of the tournament.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Uh. I.
Speaker 8 (15:32):
I've watched as many of the games as as I
possibly could. Since we've been eliminated.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
You lose to Florida second round. But do you take
any solace with the fact that Florida is here playing
for a national championship?
Speaker 4 (15:46):
Yeah? I do.
Speaker 8 (15:48):
I think it's a uh, it's more honorable that, you know,
kind of at the run we've been on. Uh, you know,
where where we kind of fell out the hands of uh,
you know, of a championship level team that's you know,
one game away from experiencing the championship glory.
Speaker 9 (16:04):
So yeah, I mean if we would have lost to
like a lower seeded.
Speaker 8 (16:09):
Team or a team that, you know, it was not
of the championship caliber, I guess it feels more honorable,
you know, have a one thirteen in a row in
that tournament in the fashion we did, you know, to
have it all, you know, to have it all end
at the hands of of the Gators, there's there's probably
(16:29):
some honor in that.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
How do you explain what happened with Duke and Houston
at the end of that game.
Speaker 9 (16:38):
I mean, I mean.
Speaker 8 (16:42):
I can't you know, imagine, you know, just kind of well, no,
I can't imagine you know what what John and his
staff and those players are feeling. I mean, it felt like,
you know that they were the best team, you know,
the best team in the country this year. I think
their roster, the way they it together was, uh, it
was meticulous. I think the the quality at both ends
(17:05):
of the court, you know, was they were playing basketball
at an incredibly high level, you know, with high level
NBA players, But just the fact that they were not
in enough close games. I think, you know, I think
the fact that they dominated so much throughout conference play,
I think, you know, the separation between them and the
(17:26):
other teams and their conference really hurt them when they
got to those end of game situations where they haven't
had to shoot.
Speaker 9 (17:32):
A lot of pressure want to pressure free throws, one.
Speaker 8 (17:36):
Ones, they had to inbound the ball versus full denial.
With a three point lead or a one point lead,
they were, uh, you know that they were in a
type of game that Houston had been in a bunch,
uh you know, because of you know, playing in the
Big twelve afforded them more opportunities, and I think that
came back.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
To haunt them.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
I brought this up a long time ago. I brought
it up. Subsequently, you go to you and l V
when you and LV blew out Duke, your brother's team,
and then that following year, and we thought they were invincible.
And I remember talking about you want to see a
team play a close game. You just want to have
that feeling you know what you're doing. And this isn't
(18:18):
all on the freshman at Duke, but still you got
young players, and you got a veteran Houston team and
sometimes freshmen act like freshmen no matter how great they are.
But as a coach, what role would you play in
a situation like that?
Speaker 8 (18:35):
Yeah, I think, you know some of the I would say,
the situational things that you experience in a you know,
with that true game pressure, you know, and you know,
Duke goes in as the favorite, just kind of like
we were last year, where you know, we're.
Speaker 9 (18:52):
Playing at such a high level.
Speaker 8 (18:53):
They had, you know, dominated the first you know, four
rounds of the tournament. Obviously, the Arizona game ended up
being an eight point game or an eight point win,
but you know, at times in that game they look dominant.
But I just think that they You could practice situational
basketball all you want, but you cannot simulate the game
(19:17):
pressure that you feel. You know, when your inbounder has
got to run the baseline and throw a pass through
a narrow window to a player being face guarded by
a wolf. I mean, Houston's got some wolves out there,
you know, making it really tough on you. And you know,
for us last year, we weren't very good in close games.
You know, the games during the course of the year.
(19:39):
I don't think we were great in one possession games
the last two years, but there was a window I
think for duking that game to keep that game double figures,
keep that game twelve fourteen, back down to ten, get
it back up to fifteen, you know, but they just
they stopped scoring.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
The difference in coaching a freshman and coaching a junior,
what's the biggest difference.
Speaker 8 (20:06):
I just think, Uh, you know, repetitions, game experiences, you know,
just having been in those positions you know before, you know,
more practices under their belt, more, uh, you know, more
life experiences. You know, just you know a little bit more.
(20:27):
You know, maturity a little more. Uh, you know, worldliness
a little bit, you know, just a little bit more.
You know, prepared to have experienced more failures, have experienced, uh,
you know, different types of successes.
Speaker 9 (20:42):
Just a little little uh, a little more grizzled.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Talking to Dan Hurley, You're still the reigning national champs,
at least for twelve more hours.
Speaker 9 (20:51):
That's why I got I'm wearing it today, Dan, I'm
wearing it.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Uh. There's a trophy behind you. There's a pair of
shoes on top of that trophy. Whose shoes are those
Oh j R.
Speaker 9 (21:04):
Smith, Uh, you know Jr. Swish.
Speaker 8 (21:07):
That was my first great player that played for me
at S. Benedix And uh the first play went to
the NBA out of high school, so was Uh that
was his rookie year shoe with the hornets.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Okay, any other memorabilia that might surprise.
Speaker 8 (21:21):
Us, Uh, I got Well, I think a lot of
people like the underwear over those are my underwear. Not
many men have their underwear on a plaque in their office.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
Uh.
Speaker 8 (21:37):
Obviously the Gladiator health So that explains a lot about
me right there, the lion head behind it.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
You haven't gotten in trouble in a while, have you?
Speaker 8 (21:49):
No, I've I've got a lot of self aware. Well,
I don't have a lot of self I have enough.
I have enough self awareness and situational airness that I
skipped San Antonio and uh I decided not to parade
myself around the final four and to uh, you know,
(22:09):
to take a break, to let people have a little
bit of a break for me, and then uh, you know,
just to you know, reflect on the year, the run
we've been on, and uh, obviously, uh it was the
first real chance Dan I've had really since we were
eliminated for the tournament twenty two, you know, through to
that Florida loss in the tournament.
Speaker 9 (22:31):
You know, your my life's been a whirlwind.
Speaker 8 (22:33):
Uh of some incredible moments and and some moments that uh,
you know are Arnes uh arnest.
Speaker 5 (22:42):
Arn is great.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
But I remember when you turned down the Lakers and
we talked and you said you weren't mature enough yet
for a job like that. Your words, Yeah, all right,
how do you mature?
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Like? What do you?
Speaker 2 (22:56):
What do you what are are you doing anything to mature?
Speaker 8 (23:03):
You know that that's a tough one. I think Number one,
I'll say this a lot of I feel like the
biggest mistake I made this year was not being able
to uh, you know, put together uh and develop a
championship team. You know, I when I look at this
year for me, you know that that's the thing that
I regret the most is that I wasn't able to uh,
(23:25):
you know, to put together another team that was could
experience championship glory.
Speaker 9 (23:32):
You know.
Speaker 8 (23:32):
Some of the things I think that uh, you know,
whether it's you know, my relationship with officials, or you know,
some of the fan interactions or the different things that
come with me part of what makes me successful is uh,
is my passion, it's my intensity, It's it's this you know,
when when you're winning it, when you're winning championships, these
(23:53):
these same things have gone on when you're winning championships.
It's called relentlessness. You know, I've been called relentless the
past two years, even though I've been experiencing the same
types of interactions with fans and officials. You know, this
year it's been called, uh, you know, immature. It's been
called a lot of things because you know, my team
(24:15):
isn't on top.
Speaker 9 (24:17):
I haven't changed a whole lot that way.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
If you had a little ear piece and your wife
was allowed to talk to you on the sideline during
a game, how do you think that would go.
Speaker 9 (24:32):
I think that I'd be here, stop.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
Shut up.
Speaker 9 (24:40):
Yeah, I mean I would say that from a I
think that my relationships with officials. Now you know the
Florida you know the Florida post game. I regret that
one greatly. You know that that was I There was
literally one play call.
Speaker 8 (24:59):
Uh, there was one drive to the rim that I felt,
if we clearly got fouled on, that would have kept
that game in a two possession game. That was just
it was ringing in my mind. And it wasn't like
multiple calls I felt were miss dan. It was just
this one play, uh, that I could not get out
of my mind as I was heading through that tunnel
and as I saw the Baylor players, I deeply regret that.
(25:22):
I mean we we we missed a lot of open shots.
And credit Florida and Clayton. I mean this, uh, you
know the their their championship level, but you know.
Speaker 9 (25:33):
That one I regret deeply. I didn't believe that.
Speaker 8 (25:36):
And then that was embarrassing when I look at other
ones that were, you know, embarrassing that I'm the best
coach in the country. That was embarrassing. I wish somebody
could have stopped me from having that moment. A lot
of some of the fan interactions. I've got to get
somebody I think that maybe could just walk me on
and off the court. Maybe like college football has those
(25:59):
guys that walk the coach to the other coach and
then just get him off the court. Maybe I need
to get somebody that could just when the game ends,
just get me on and off the court. Because I
don't think that my in game coaching. I want to
change a lot because we've been really successful.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
But what is it about officials?
Speaker 9 (26:17):
Though I don't think it's as bad as it's made
out to be.
Speaker 8 (26:22):
I've watched these other officials and listen, I've earned you
earn your reputation.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
You know.
Speaker 8 (26:31):
I'm definitely a tough coach to officiate because I'm very demanding.
Uh And I value every single possession in the game
because I know how important.
Speaker 4 (26:40):
They are, you know.
Speaker 8 (26:42):
And and but I've also modeled myself after maybe an older,
you know generation of coaches. You know, I'm just an
intense coach, and I think I'm intense in a very
similar way to Coach Sampson tonight. I think if you
watch Coach Samson closely tonight, he's a very intense coach
and he's going to be very demanding of the officials.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Well, you're like your dad, though you would.
Speaker 9 (27:08):
Hate my father, I mean everyone and my dad.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
I know, I like being around your dad socially when
he puts his teeth in and he you know, you know,
we we have a conversation. I enjoyed being around and
we were I don't know what we were watching, like,
I don't know, some sitcom or not even a sitcom
is some cop show. When I went to his apartment
in Jersey City and I'm going, it seems really nice.
(27:35):
He's just a nice guy. Then you hear these horror
stories about how demanding your dad was.
Speaker 8 (27:40):
Yeah, well, I mean, Dan, you know, it's like you've
got to be able to separate the competitor, you know,
the combatants.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
But could you coach like this like you are right now, No,
you couldn't.
Speaker 8 (27:55):
Just be like, it doesn't line up with our play style.
It doesn't lie, okay, with with the intensity that we
play with. It doesn't it doesn't line up with how
we attack the offensive glass or you know how hard
we played defensively. And it's not just me, it's our
whole bench. I mean we lead the country in warnings
(28:15):
from officials to have everyone sit down. I mean everyone
on my bench is like out of pocket, like it's
it's just we're an emotional program. We're a passionate program.
And I don't think I'm going to change a whole
lot of that. I would, but I do you know,
upon reflection, I think that the interaction with you know,
(28:37):
people not on my team or you know, I would
like to probably have less of that.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
When do you walk down the hall to congratulate Gino.
Speaker 8 (28:47):
I guess I'm gonna wait for him maybe to sober up.
I mean, I wouldn't remember.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
I talked to him last hour.
Speaker 9 (28:56):
How did he look.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
He looked like a million bucks, hair was calmed. I
mean it looked like Gino.
Speaker 9 (29:02):
I mean, he he he.
Speaker 8 (29:05):
I mean we we we text, we talk, you know,
we were texting before, you know, all of his games
and and I mean he he saved my season from
completely unraveling in November.
Speaker 9 (29:17):
So I owe a lot to Gino.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
And uh what did he do?
Speaker 9 (29:21):
I mean, right when we.
Speaker 8 (29:22):
Got back from Maui as as I as I had
erupted like a volcano in Maui and and come back
to try to pick the pieces up. I was in
a bad, bad place. I was coaching, angry, I was
coaching frustrated. I you know, I I knew I didn't
have deep down I knew, you know, I didn't have
a team that could compete for a championship. And I
(29:45):
was trying to come to grips with that. And and
he helped kind of talk me through, you know, like
if all you're in this force to win championships and
and like, if that's the only joy that you get
from coaching, you've become basically a monster.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
How's the transfer portal, by the way.
Speaker 8 (30:06):
Oh my god, yeah, I mean like no one is
I mean when I that Monday, when when you come
to the realization that like literally no one is on
your team, you know, like that Monday, because even if
you're not in the portal, because it's now a lot
(30:26):
of it is being conducted by agents, you know, So
even if you're not in the portal, you're you're you're
in the portal because schools now, you know, they they
reach out for the agent, and you know, these agents
are representing the players. So even if a player hasn't
kind of formally gotten in the portal, schools will now
(30:48):
reach out for agents and make offers to players, you know,
that way indirectly, and and a lot of deals I
guess are agreed upon before players even go in, which
is not the way that that we do business.
Speaker 9 (31:04):
We you know, it's it's a mess.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
How many players are officially on your roster?
Speaker 8 (31:12):
I think right now I could sit here and say
that we definitely have eight players on our team, you know,
and we could have as many as ten. I think,
you know, maybe two potentially or are are undecided whether
(31:33):
that's you know, going to the NBA. Obviously, Alice Caravan's
got to make a decision what he wants to.
Speaker 9 (31:39):
Do with this last year.
Speaker 8 (31:42):
You know, I'd imagine he'll be deciding at some point
soon here, maybe this week, and then you know, then
we have another player who's you know, deciding. So yeah,
I mean right now and listen, it's better than it was.
You know, last week. I think there was a point
where I think I felt like I had like one
guy plus the high school guys, and we got three McDonald's,
(32:03):
all Americans, and a Tasmanian dude who I think is
gonna be really good.
Speaker 9 (32:07):
So we're excited about that.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
All right.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
If you need help in filling out the roster, like practicing,
just let me know. Wait, don't laugh like that.
Speaker 9 (32:20):
We're used to deep.
Speaker 8 (32:21):
When you get used to deep runs, Dan, I feel
like I gotta do better.
Speaker 5 (32:27):
You do.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Good to talk to you. Thank you, coach. That's Dan Hurley.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan
Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio Wapp Dwight Howard.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
He'll be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame coming
up in September. Former NBA champ, three time Defensive Player
of the Year, five time All NBA First Team Dwight,
how are you doing?
Speaker 4 (32:58):
Many blessed man.
Speaker 10 (33:02):
I'm so happy and thankful to be back on your
show again. We ever did a show in a while.
I think the last time I did a show, I
was actually in Orlando. I was driving in my car.
He was like, hey, you turned down music a little
bit so we can hear you.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
What was your reaction when you got the call for
the Hall of Fame?
Speaker 4 (33:23):
Man, I cried so hard.
Speaker 10 (33:26):
It was just like the first day soon as he
got as soon as I got the call, seeing the
name the Nasmith Basketball Hall of Fame calling my phone,
you know, seeing that, and then hearing them actually say
you have made it in to one out of four
hundred and fifty six people who have been in.
Speaker 4 (33:46):
The Hall of Fame for basketball.
Speaker 10 (33:48):
I just every memory of basketball that started, my youngest memory,
shooting on my first basketball go watching my magic justin tapes,
and then just the tiers start flowing, and uh man,
it's this an incredible journey with a lot of ups
and downs, but to make it.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
To basketball heavy it is for me, it's everything.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
What would you be like? What kind of player if
you were coming into the NBA now, given the way
the NBA is, Oh.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
Man, what kind of player would I be? Well?
Speaker 10 (34:24):
I feel like my time in Orlando I was very
unstoppable with office and then the side that I played.
I believe that if I was playing now, I would
still be a dominant player, top five center.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
I believe if I was playing right now.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Yeah, the game has changed so much with the perimeter.
And I knew you grew up idolizing magic, but maybe
you would have geared your game to be more perimeter based.
I mean, we got seven footers playing on the perimeter
on that look.
Speaker 4 (34:58):
That's true.
Speaker 10 (34:58):
Actually, when I started playing basketball, I didn't play center.
I didn't play center actually until I got to the NBA.
Uh So, when I got to the NBA, that's when
my positions changed. And back then, there were no stretch forwards.
There were no stretch no stretch fives. It was only
dirt and the whisky and the next person close to
him that was shooting that much was Tim Duncan and
(35:20):
he was shooting more so off the glass shots and
free throw line and air shots. And I remember the
last conversation I had with Kobe before we joined team
was what he wanted me to work on was those
free throw line and then jump shots and stuff like that.
But today's game, well today's game, and when I was
(35:40):
coming up in the game, that shot was taken out.
So now I would be a perimeter bass player and
that'll be a lot of fun. I'd get to show
people my other skills and the skills that I've had
growing up.
Speaker 4 (35:53):
And I go back to just being a kid again.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
How tough was Kobe on you?
Speaker 4 (35:59):
I would say he was that tough on me?
Speaker 10 (36:00):
What what like people would assume because I was a
hard worker, You know, it wasn't. I wasn't somebody that
he had to worry about getting in the jail, working
hard in the games and stuff like that. I just
think we just at the time, we was in two
different places in life, and uh, we didn't see how
to eye. We didn't give each other a task to
(36:21):
eat to see how to But are you living?
Speaker 2 (36:25):
You learn if I gave you a mulligan on getting
out of Orlando. Would you have still left Orlando and
gone to the Lakers.
Speaker 10 (36:35):
Uh, My intentions was not to go to the Lakers
after Orlando. I now do it what I know now.
Leaving Orlando, Uh taught me many lessons in life that
I needed, and I feel like if I would have
(36:57):
stayed in Orlando, maybe I wouldn't have learned those same lessons.
And it's just how you look at it, you know.
I hate the fact that I did have to leave Orlando,
that was my first home. But I believe that everything
happens I was exactly supposed to happen, and I can't
question fate. The only thing I'm glad about is that
(37:19):
it led me to the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
Most physical player you ever played against?
Speaker 4 (37:24):
Was who?
Speaker 10 (37:26):
Most physical player? Pekovich from Minnesota. Father was the strongest
player that I could say, I've played this really Okay,
the most out or to anybody else?
Speaker 2 (37:43):
What was your welcome to the NBA moment?
Speaker 4 (37:47):
Welcome to the NBA moment? Oh, Kobe Bryant Duncan on.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Me, Well, You're not alone in that category there, Dwight.
Speaker 10 (38:00):
It was a funny one because I remember actually Brian
Grant actually after that play.
Speaker 4 (38:05):
He said, welcome to the league.
Speaker 10 (38:06):
I'm telling and I couldn't wait to dunk on him
back or block his side or something. So when we
played against him in Atlanta Hawks, I took it personally
to just try to destroy him.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Did Kobe say anything to you when he dunked on you?
Speaker 8 (38:21):
Uh?
Speaker 10 (38:22):
He just said in an interview that he baptized me,
and he woke me up in actuality.
Speaker 4 (38:28):
He did that dunk.
Speaker 10 (38:30):
Was so embarrassed, and I was like, I gotta block
everybody's dunk. I put it everybody to the ground, and
I'm gonna go get me a defensive Player of the Year.
Speaker 4 (38:37):
So it did wake me up. He baptized.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
He had forty one in that game.
Speaker 10 (38:43):
Jesus ripe, we must have had the thirty eight thirty eight,
thirty nine.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
Who is the best player you faced?
Speaker 4 (38:56):
The best player that our face? Oh that's playing that
our base? Oh my goodness. Uh? Skill wise or do
you mean like overall overall?
Speaker 2 (39:11):
Just best player? Like that guy is he's different?
Speaker 4 (39:17):
Oh? Man? Uh? Well, obviously uh cobD Uh.
Speaker 10 (39:24):
Kobe did a shot in the finals, and I'll never
forget the shot.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
Uh.
Speaker 10 (39:29):
He was driving to the basket and he went up
and I put my hands up and try to block
the shot, and he took the ball between my arms
and then brought it back, came back up and then
shot the shot. It was It was incredible. After that moment,
I was like, this, that's the coldest player that I've
ever played me.
Speaker 2 (39:50):
You think you and Shaq will ever be friends?
Speaker 4 (39:53):
Uh? Yes, we Actually I saw him in Orlando.
Speaker 10 (39:57):
Actually after I was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
I was out at a restaurant eating with my family
and my friends, and the owner said that Shaq was
actually at the restaurant, and I said, I'm going to
go talk to him, and everybody was like what I said, Yes,
(40:18):
I'm going to go talk to him. I got up,
went over to where he was at, shook his hand
as we have a minute a loan, and we had
a real good conversation and I was very happy about it.
We expressed some things and yeah, the next time you
see both of us together, we'll talk about the stuff
(40:40):
that we had a sit down about.
Speaker 4 (40:43):
But it was a really good talk and I'm glad
that the.
Speaker 10 (40:47):
Universe everything worked out perfectly for us to be in
Orlando at the same place at the same time.
Speaker 4 (40:53):
I have a conversation.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
But when did it go south or sideways between you two?
Speaker 4 (40:59):
I have no.
Speaker 10 (41:01):
I really believe that it was outside noise and people.
He says, she says stuff like that, and then now
I make both of us irritated. So when I hear
something on TV that he says, I'm pissed off about it,
and I responded to him and vice versa. And to
be honest, I'm just just like, man, we're too old
(41:22):
for this. You know, we have children, we have people
who look up to us, and you know, we both
need a lot to a lot of people in this world.
We both doe some amazing things, and you know, we
don't need this.
Speaker 4 (41:35):
I don't.
Speaker 10 (41:36):
I don't like it. I grew up watching Shaq. I
respect him as a player and a man in a
businessman that he is. When his father passed away years back,
it's one of the first people to reach out because
I knew how much that, you know, losing his father.
Speaker 4 (41:54):
You know, it was hurting him. Man.
Speaker 10 (41:56):
You know I really as a as a young man,
you know, looking up just smiling like sagas like my
big brother.
Speaker 4 (42:02):
So we just had to miss.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
Unsett Yeah, I thought it was you were both in Orlando,
both had Superman nickname. You end up following in his
footsteps to the Lakers, So it's maybe he was thinking
you were following in his footsteps, trying to be like Shack,
and for some reason he had a problem with that.
That's all I how I viewed it.
Speaker 4 (42:23):
Yeah, well I wouldn't.
Speaker 10 (42:25):
So my thing is this, Also, if someone is trying
to follow in my footsteps, that means to me that first,
that's an honor, that's un humbling, and that means that
I've done such a great job with my life and
my career that somebody wants to follow in those footsteps.
Speaker 4 (42:42):
So I don't see anything wrong with that. No, now
I did not do that.
Speaker 10 (42:46):
It's just everything seemed to pan out like it was
a mirror image of Shacks like and career. We're both tall,
we're both funny, we're both comedians, like to have fun, dance,
we both talked the ball a lot, with both dominant centers.
Speaker 4 (43:03):
I understand that we both say we're Superman, So I
get it. If I am following his footsteps, I shoot,
I would love that.
Speaker 10 (43:11):
You know, Shaq has saved away for so many big
men He's done an amazing job. So you know, that's
amazing to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest,
most dominant big men to ever play.
Speaker 2 (43:22):
Who's gonna present you at the Hall of Fame?
Speaker 11 (43:26):
Oh?
Speaker 10 (43:26):
Well, I would love Kevin Gardinett, uh, keem Elijah one,
and Shaquille O'Neill to walk me in.
Speaker 4 (43:37):
If it's not Shaquille, if he can't do it.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
Mark Jackson, Wait, have you reached out to these guys?
Are you reaching out to them now?
Speaker 4 (43:45):
Yes?
Speaker 10 (43:45):
Yes, I have to reach back out to Mark Jackson.
Mark Jackson's story about him. I met him in high
school at the Top one hundred camp and I asked
him could he meet me every morning at around six
point thirty to work out before a cap started.
Speaker 4 (44:02):
And he thought I was playing around and I wasn't
going to show up.
Speaker 10 (44:06):
I told him I was serious about being the number
one pick and the best player in the Nations. I
was there every morning, he was there every morning. That
helped me get better, and I remember that they really
helped shape the mold before the NBA. So you know,
I would love for hear you know, walking in, But
I don't. I said, I think it's players who have
made it into the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
Okay, yeah, I mean it sounds like you got a
posse there, not just one person twice so Shack, Kevin Garnett,
a team Elijah, team Elijah. Yeah, well you got to
pick one. I don't know. Can you have three?
Speaker 4 (44:45):
I think you can have too.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
Okay.
Speaker 10 (44:48):
Uh my favorite player all time is what Chamberers, So
if he could do it, I would love what Timing
to be there.
Speaker 4 (44:54):
That's my favorite player.
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Uh So, yeah, well that's not gonna happen, so I
think it would be awesome. I mean, if Will Chamberlain
walks you in, hey, that'll be a pretty great moment.
He's been dead for a long time. Dwight, I think
Shack walking you in would be awesome. That would be
(45:18):
pretty special to see you two walk in together. Hopefully
it would.
Speaker 4 (45:23):
It would.
Speaker 10 (45:23):
It would be very special, not only because of all
the noise that over all the years.
Speaker 4 (45:30):
People would love that.
Speaker 10 (45:32):
But one thing we both say is people would love
to see us fight, and we're not fighting.
Speaker 4 (45:37):
We don't need to fight.
Speaker 10 (45:39):
But the moment that people would really love to see
is I think that moment right there, and it shows
that we have mature in a lot of different ways.
We're able to squash whatever beef people to say we're having.
And you know, he's inducted me into that level, that
that space that he's always pushed me at every single
time he's been, uh, you know, the shows at tn
(46:03):
T and stuff like that.
Speaker 4 (46:05):
So just to see him do there, I think it'd
be really awesome.
Speaker 2 (46:07):
And this I'm gonna script this for you. You and
Shoq walk in and then you open up your jackets
and you got Superman T shirts on.
Speaker 4 (46:18):
Ah, that would be hilarious.
Speaker 2 (46:23):
All right, we just got to get Shack on board.
Speaker 9 (46:25):
You know.
Speaker 2 (46:26):
That's it. We we we get. We got a little
bit of time. You got a couple of months.
Speaker 10 (46:30):
I think I think we got some time. I uh,
I will start working on sending us some more message
and see if.
Speaker 2 (46:36):
The work well. More importantly, congratulations on all of this
and thanks for joining us.
Speaker 10 (46:43):
Thanks for having me man. I don't know if you know,
I'll be joining the Big Three this year. Uh play
some Big Three basketball with ice CE and if you
have any players that's interested in playing, and I have
my whole professional league and Asian it's called the age
A Tournament We're having a draft April eleventh and April
(47:03):
twelve this month coming up.
Speaker 4 (47:07):
We have twelve teams in our league.
Speaker 10 (47:10):
We want to expand it and get more guys in
America and the States opportunities to play in a national
ball did an awesome job for me my career, and
it could do an amazing job.
Speaker 4 (47:23):
Of the guys. I would love to give him that opportunity.
Speaker 2 (47:25):
Can Cube play anymore? I mean, he messed around and
got a triple double, Dwight, which I don't know if
he really did. Dwight, he kept his own stats in
a pickup game.
Speaker 4 (47:39):
You are less.
Speaker 1 (47:40):
He was so good.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
Can Cube still? Can Cube play?
Speaker 4 (47:49):
He can still play?
Speaker 2 (47:50):
That's why he had it to four point four point shot?
Oh man, Good luck with all this, and again, rats
and thanks for joining.
Speaker 4 (48:03):
Us, Thanks for having May I have an awesome Day's.
Speaker 2 (48:06):
Dwight Howard going to be inducted into the Basketball Hall
of Fame.
Speaker 1 (48:09):
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan
Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio w APP.
Speaker 2 (48:19):
It was great, great day yesterday, Brent. Congratulations on going
into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It's the Pete
Rosel Radio and TV Award. I don't take any credit
other than letting people reminding people that you weren't in
the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You did all the work.
I just wanted people to remember all the great work
you did. So congratulations, Dan, thank you so much.
Speaker 12 (48:42):
I know that a couple of years ago we had
a conversation out at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas.
I think we were on the rooftop of the Fountain
Blue Hotel and you mentioned it, and I know it
wasn't even on my mind, but.
Speaker 5 (48:56):
You you actually put it forward.
Speaker 12 (48:58):
And then later I'm told as I was leaving you
at Jim Nance and Jim Nance also echoed what you
had said. So I want to thank both of you.
It was such an honor yesterday and you would have
got a kick out of I was honestly just brushing
my teeth and my phone rang and I looked down
and I said NFL Hall of Fame, and I said, well,
(49:20):
I wonder what that. And so I said hello, Brent,
coach Vermeo and I said, yeah, Coach, I said, this
is not your cell phone, this is a different phone.
He said, congratulations, you're the winner of the Pete Rose
Ell and it was, you know, mind blowing. I said, listen,
Dan Patrick, Jim Nantz and you coach. You're the ones
(49:42):
who put this forward and I owe you a debt
of gratitude.
Speaker 4 (49:46):
It was.
Speaker 5 (49:46):
It was great moments.
Speaker 12 (49:47):
I just wish Dan irv Cross, Phyllis, George.
Speaker 4 (49:53):
Jimmy, the Greek.
Speaker 12 (49:54):
I wish they were still with us to shareing this
because they meant so much to the NFL today and
actually the start of my career. So again, thank you
so much for your platform.
Speaker 2 (50:06):
Well, you gave me almost an opportunity to dream because
when I watched you do your show when the NFL today,
I remember watching and saying, I can do that. I'm
not a play by play guy. I can do that.
I don't know how to do that. I don't know
if I'd ever get a chance to do that. But
it's the first time in my broadcasting career, or like
(50:28):
the beginning of it, that I had a direction and
you gave me that direction. And you provided a soundtrack
for people's lives for fifty years, and that's the staying
power is remarkable. But I thank you because you made
it look like you can do. You know, you and
(50:51):
costas Bryant Gumbel, guys who are really good. They make
a hard job look easy, and that's why there's a
lot of people who want to do this job. And
and you did that. It's not easy, but you provided
that soundtrack and I'm forever grateful for that.
Speaker 12 (51:06):
I'm so appreciative to hear that. And so many youngsters
through the years Dan have come up and said, you know,
I really want to get into sportscasting. I love what
you do, and I would spend some time and talk
them through it. But I you know, you touch a
lot of lives. And I was asked yesterday, anybody ever
(51:29):
get upset with you? And I chuckled and I said,
occasionally I would get a letter, a little nasty from
a preacher somewhere who said that I was spoiling church
attendance on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (51:45):
Did you get any feedback, negative feedback when you were
saying you were looking live.
Speaker 5 (51:52):
No, it's interesting.
Speaker 12 (51:54):
No, everybody sort of gravitated to it without knowing how
it started. And it started because my director Bob Fishman,
who was a Hall of Fame director by the way,
he at a meeting of the NFL Today once earlier
in the week, said that his father had a friend
(52:17):
who loved to bet over unders and we were coming
into November and he wanted the weather at the Darius
stadiums that we were going, and we didn't have enough time.
Remember the NFL Today was a half hour show. Now
those pregame shows go on for days. But so well,
I said, we can't do a weather report. But I said, Bob,
(52:39):
what if you give me a live picture?
Speaker 5 (52:43):
And we started.
Speaker 12 (52:44):
I think the first one, damn might have been Soldier
Field in Chicago, because I know it was in November,
and so we used you are looking live and it
was kind of a drizzly, gloomy day at the lake
front of Chicago. And so the next one at the
at the meeting, Uh, Bob said, hey, my father's front
(53:05):
really loved that. He thought that was great, and so
we went from there to two three different stadiums that
we could flash around the country, and so it became
the trade Bard. Honestly, the only thing I ever insisted in.
Bob followed, I said it has to be live. I said,
we can't tape stadium pictures and make this up.
Speaker 5 (53:25):
If I say you were looking live, let's do.
Speaker 12 (53:27):
It so so so it went from there and but no,
I never I never received. I don't remember Pete Roselle,
who was a good front of the shows. He would
come by, you know, two or three times a year
when he wasn't on the road watching games. I don't
I don't remember Pete ever asking me specifically about but
(53:48):
you are looking.
Speaker 5 (53:48):
I've just became the trademark of the show. That's how
that's how we are.
Speaker 2 (53:51):
But you were kind of dancing around gambling without.
Speaker 5 (53:54):
Oh yes, oh yes.
Speaker 12 (53:56):
And I remember now, remember now, Jimmy, we weren't dancing, okay,
we were hugging me. I mean when Bob Wesler called
me before year two of the NFL Today and he said, Brent,
do you know a gambler by the name of Jimmy
the Greek? And I did, because when I was covering baseball,
(54:19):
I would stop off in Las Vegas and I.
Speaker 5 (54:21):
Had met the Greek. I knew him.
Speaker 12 (54:23):
And he said, I want to put him on the
NFL today to talk about the games. And I said, Bob,
that's fine, but what are we going to do with
the commissioner Roselle? And of course that led to the
famous meeting that we had for about an hour down
the Park Avenue, NFL offices, and Roselle could not have
been more favorable to what the Greek being on the show.
(54:47):
And then when we got up to leave to go
back the commissioners, Oh, by the way, listen, guys, do
me a favor now when you were at a meeting
with the commissioner and he says favor, we knew here
came the marching order and he said, please don't use
minus three plus seven minus ten on the segment.
Speaker 5 (55:07):
Yes sir, yes, sir, you got it.
Speaker 12 (55:09):
Never even thought about it, walk out and say, how
are we going to talk about if we can't use
the points spreads?
Speaker 5 (55:16):
Okay?
Speaker 12 (55:17):
So that that led to the famous checkboard with the
Greek and people would figure out if the checks were
all on one team side, he made cover of the spread.
So so we went from there. And the only time
I got in trouble after the NFS we were doing
the NFC of CBS then was after the NFC Championship game.
(55:37):
The Greek would always slip me a piece of paper
with the spread on the Super Bowl, and I would
always give it and I'd always get the phone call
on Monday.
Speaker 5 (55:46):
Don't you ever do that again? Oh gee, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (55:48):
I forgot until the next year when you forgot again.
Speaker 5 (55:53):
That exactly.
Speaker 12 (55:54):
Yeah, you know, I always knew, honestly, if you go
back to the founding of the National Football League. I
mean there were people at ball with Caama Art Rooney
he gets his stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers by winning at.
Speaker 5 (56:08):
The horse track, and even Peter Roselle.
Speaker 12 (56:11):
Every time I went to the Kentucky Derby, Peter rosel
was there, usually with Wellington Marraw, the owner of the jobs,
so I knew. And the underground was just full of
people who like to bet on the National Football you know.
You know, I'm glad that it's now illegal. And obviously
you have to be careful because a gambling addiction is
(56:34):
like an alcohol addiction.
Speaker 5 (56:36):
You got to be careful. You got to watch people.
Speaker 12 (56:38):
And I try to tell youngsters all the time.
Speaker 5 (56:41):
You're not going to beat it. I said. You may
think you are, but you're not.
Speaker 4 (56:45):
I said.
Speaker 12 (56:45):
If you want to do it for recreation, as I do,
I said, go ahead and enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (56:52):
If I would have told you nineteen seventy five, hey, Brent,
you're going to be a Hall of Famer and gambling
is going to be embraced by all sports. What would
you have thought that we've gotten to this point that
gambling is now commonplace. It's it's almost like you're guilted
(57:12):
in if you don't gamble on things, I'm.
Speaker 5 (57:17):
Gonna thought you were crazy. Okay, let's tell you the truth.
I uh both.
Speaker 12 (57:24):
I never got into this, you know, dreaming about Hall
of Fames. I met to Canton early in the NFL
career to shoot a segment for it, but I never
dreamed about about going in a and the gambling. I
guess I always thought it had a chance to be legal,
(57:44):
but I didn't realize how sports were going to embrace it.
Speaker 5 (57:49):
And you're so right. I talked to people all the time.
Speaker 12 (57:51):
I mean, think about ESPN, which did not exist when
the NFL today started. I mean, we didn't have cable
television like we have. If you up, I was watching
last night, like a lot of people are watching. In
the bottom line, you know, there were NBA spreads and
over unders were coming under. And I always smile when
I see it because I was so for voting back
(58:13):
in the seventies and now it's just part of the coach,
and I think, Dan, that's a good thing because I
think it'll just kind of be accepted and go on
its own way down the road.
Speaker 5 (58:24):
To tell you the truth, I.
Speaker 2 (58:26):
Was wondering if you could get Joe Namath to introduce
you at the Hall of Fame. I mean, you were
there when he made his big proclamation, Oh yeah, and
then they were going to win Super Bowl three.
Speaker 5 (58:42):
Yeah, it's great.
Speaker 4 (58:43):
It was.
Speaker 12 (58:43):
You know, you were talking about stadiums, you know, and
the old Orange Bowl. I think for me, the stadiums
always stand out where I have memories of what happened there. Okay,
and Super Bowl three was really something because earlier in
(59:04):
that week we'd gone to Fort Lauderdale and the bellman
sold us that Joe Namath was out back, and there
were a handful of us. I was a writer then,
and I also worked at BBM, the CBS radio station,
and we went out back and there was Joe in
a lounge chair, the famous picture with you know, there
was a lady behind him getting an autograph, and people
(59:25):
came up and wished him good luck. And I tell people,
it wasn't braggadocio. It wasn't it wasn't like, oh, I
guarant it was just kind of a matter of fact,
and we're gonna win the game. I guarantee it. And
it was just kind of thrown out, to tell you
the truth. It did not become a big story until
(59:47):
after the fact. Dave Anderson, great Columns of the New
York Times, was with me at a country club that
Joe spoke at, believe it or not, on Friday night.
He was a guest of honor and he he did
it and it was Dave who And it was such
a small story in the Times, and now it has
become it has become bigger than life. But as for
(01:00:07):
the game itself, Okay, I was upstairs, I had a prespass,
but I was in the photographer's box.
Speaker 11 (01:00:15):
But guess who was next to me. Howard Cosell giving
me the.
Speaker 1 (01:00:19):
Flay by plane of the I was the.
Speaker 12 (01:00:23):
One man audience for Howard Cosell at Super Bowl three.
Speaker 11 (01:00:27):
And of course he hated.
Speaker 12 (01:00:29):
The NFC because the NFC would not lie, and he
loved the AFL.
Speaker 11 (01:00:33):
That was that was his dream. So he was so
proud of Joe.
Speaker 12 (01:00:37):
Willie names I'll tell you you know.
Speaker 11 (01:00:41):
He called me mush I was thinking Mush, I'll tell
you he's the best.
Speaker 2 (01:00:45):
So but that's one of the iconic moments in NFL history.
Like when you think about it, what it became. You know,
then you had guys who started to guarantee things. Then
it became almost like common place where somebody was like, hey,
we're gonna win, do you guarantee it? I guarantee it.
Speaker 4 (01:01:04):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:01:05):
It was in the footsteps of Joe Willie.
Speaker 12 (01:01:09):
Absolutely absolutely, and I'll tell you Dan, that game to
me meant more to the merger than anything.
Speaker 4 (01:01:17):
Now.
Speaker 5 (01:01:17):
Now, Al Davis meant a lot to the merger because he.
Speaker 12 (01:01:20):
Started signing quarterbacks were in the NFL, and when the
George Hallises of the world saw what it was going
to cost them, they also made a move toward merging.
But once Joe Namas you know, I mean remember now
of Greek and Las Vegas made the Baltimore coltson eighteen
(01:01:40):
point favorite eighteen point favorite in that game, I mean,
let that sink in right.
Speaker 5 (01:01:47):
Now with everybody who didn't you have.
Speaker 12 (01:01:50):
You know, I did not bet the game, and I
never I never, I don't think I always.
Speaker 5 (01:01:56):
Thought the Cults were going to win. Listen, I was
a Bears guy.
Speaker 12 (01:01:59):
Okay, I mean covered them and knew the Hallas that I.
Speaker 5 (01:02:04):
Kind of looked down a little bit at the AFL.
Speaker 12 (01:02:06):
You know, I was kind of one of the establishment
reporters back in the day, and so I really thought
the Colts were going to win. I don't think I
would have given eighteen points, but as it turns out,
the bet of the year would have been on Willy
Names and the Jets.
Speaker 2 (01:02:23):
My friend, congratulations again and good luck with Thank you
v's in the sports betting network that you've been that
you co founded there, but uh, long time coming. Glad
to play any role in this, but once again, thank
you for being a friend.
Speaker 11 (01:02:41):
Oh, by the way, the Gators did well in your pool,
Yes they did.
Speaker 2 (01:02:47):
You won the contest, you won the bracket. Is that
more important than going into the Pro Football Hall of
Fame for me?
Speaker 4 (01:02:55):
Is whatever?
Speaker 2 (01:02:59):
Thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 11 (01:03:00):
So much, Dad, Thanks for all your help.
Speaker 2 (01:03:02):
Thank you, buddy. That's Brent Musburger.
Hosts And Creators
Todd "Fritzy" Fritz
Dan Patrick
Patrick "Seton" O'Connor
Paul Pabst
Marvin Prince
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