Hour 1- December 11, Tim Kish

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on
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Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hey, good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to Eye on the Ball
here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera and
today is my new Thursday guy, Jay John former U
of assistant basketball coach, head coach at Oregon State. It's nice, nice,
this isn't the weather great? Want you to do the show outside.
We got Ray on the behind the scenes over here
taking calls, not making this show bad.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
There we go, There we go.

Speaker 4 (00:43):
Thanks for you just showing up.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Hey, So we were talking off the air, just starting.
I'm gonna throw this at you and I don't know
how you can answer, but how long were you a coach?

Speaker 4 (00:51):
Even in like thirty some forty some.

Speaker 5 (00:53):
Years thirty one years at the level at college level?

Speaker 2 (00:59):
And I'm gonna preface this with me saying this, so
one of the things in my business of being a journalist, YadA, YadA,
the one thing I really there's a few things, but
this specifically, you are what I found out you how
important emotions play a factor at this level? Maybe in
high school level two, college level emotions of kids day

(01:21):
of game, day of game, because if they're not ready
to play, if their girlfriends just left them, or the
school sucks or whatever, that they have to be emotionally involved,
emotionally involved in the game.

Speaker 4 (01:33):
That's what I've learned.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
You know, you don't know is the best teams can
beat the beat by the lower teams because if the
big teams aren't ready, the lower teams will not come under.
But for you, what did you think? What did in
the thirty some years, what did you learn?

Speaker 5 (01:49):
Well, basically to listen, to listen with your eyes and
your ears.

Speaker 3 (01:56):
Okay, you got to pay attention because.

Speaker 5 (01:59):
And that's to everything or to what well, to everything,
but just you got your kids, your guys, okay, because
there are things that that that impact and then impact
their lives. And there's things you know, there's things coming
at them all different directions. And so how you practice,
you know, many times as a coach, if you're if

(02:20):
you're somebody that has you know, some in established criteria
for accountability and performance and practice, if you can try
to practice at that level where where I know that
that the ones going against the twos, that it's competitive yeah, okay,
when the ones go against the twos my opinion, or
the ones go against the walk ons, you know, or

(02:42):
scout team. You know, Now, I sometimes I can get
a false sense security, especially would say that about basketball.
The other thing about football is there just hitting every play.
So even if it's a scout team guy, you know,
if I'm not paying attention because he's as a freshman,
you know, no, he can knock he can knock me over.
But in basketball, and especially in high school, you know,
kids don't. That's one thing you say when you get

(03:03):
to be a college coach that the kids in high
school don't practice hard enough. Okay, because most of the
time they walk out on the court and they're going
to win, okay. And so but I do think you
have to pay attention. You have to pay attention to
those things because you know, by and large, if you
studied very well for the test, and you overstudy for
the test and the teacher throws something.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
At you, you you're kind of ready for it.

Speaker 5 (03:26):
And it's to think it's the same in competition, which
is when you see the upsets that you see, is.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
Not everybody's fully focused.

Speaker 5 (03:34):
You know, one thing that you can't really talk the
kid into this insecurity. But shooters are ready to make
it before the ball gets to them. Okay. And so
if you're not mentally ready to play in this game
and right sharp, your feet aren't getting set and you
can tell, oh, you can tell, and you know, and
then you can see a kid doesn't have it. You know,

(03:55):
if you have a bench guy, he's like, okay until
you figure it out.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
He goes in for you and.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Had you in your time in the thirty one years,
and I thought maybe Luke would be able to do
this and maybe didn't. And I just don't remember or
he did it before I covered him. The starting five
they're out of it. They're not They're just not there.
Get him out, bring the next group in and make
sure that the first team says, if you're not going
to do it, you're going to get the second group
to do it.

Speaker 3 (04:20):
I'll be honest.

Speaker 5 (04:20):
In my four years with coach, I don't I don't
believe you saw that.

Speaker 4 (04:24):
No, but did you Did you ever do something like
that once? Because once.

Speaker 5 (04:32):
I thought I wanted I guess I just wanted to
see if it would work. Yeah, yeah, you know, and
you know, by and large, I think that might work.

Speaker 3 (04:39):
I don't know. I don't think it works at all.

Speaker 5 (04:40):
In college is just you get look at five more
guys and say, because you never know on the floor
when somebody can recognize that the teammates are all out
of it.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
But I'm trying, but they you know, they're not responding.

Speaker 5 (04:51):
And one thing with coach Olsen that that was helped
in teams that get like this, it helps is in
practice when when there's oppetition in practice and the ones
go against the twos, then I don't have a problem
bringing somebody in off the bench because you know they're good,
you know, as a coach. As a player, I don't,
I don't, I don't have a problem. I mean I

(05:13):
understand he can play too, so I better figure it out.
So it's that you developed some of that peer pressure
accountability that you know, I want to play and you
get it.

Speaker 3 (05:22):
And it's teams that don't have that you can go
through lulls.

Speaker 2 (05:26):
Oh yeah, with our question. The good thing when you
were here they had, you know, the second team was
pretty damn good and they pushed the first team.

Speaker 5 (05:32):
Well it was there was there was one year when
when things were a little bit thin, but the leaders
on the team were just so extraordinarily driven that and
it might be well, the ninety nine teams, certainly with Jason,
you know, with Jason Terry and aj you know, they
had you know, and Jeane had a little bit of
experience from playing in the Final four before and the

(05:56):
lead eight. But we had all the freshmen, okay, and
good freshmen, but good freshmen, but still freshmen. But so
those guys were so elite in their in their preparation
and their competitiveness that that it helped freshmen get through
some of some of the roadblocks because when it really
got tough for it just gets about JT.

Speaker 4 (06:16):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
And that's I think I've talked to you about this,
at least I have on the air a few times
to a number of people that Jayden Bradley reminds me
a lot of JT that year, where you know, he
was the golden parachute.

Speaker 4 (06:27):
If you needed something, give it to JT. He'll figure
out and get you some points.

Speaker 5 (06:32):
Well it's it's you know, and again at the the
Auburn game, when you know, Bradley hits a couple back
to back threes and you sit there and say, you
keep doing that, young man. You're you're playing yourself right
up the draft board because now you now you become
let me say difficult, you become more difficult to defend
because I'm going to run out at you long close

(06:52):
out to the most difficult thing to defend in basketball,
and that was you know, I don't know that it
was accentuated before watching Clay and stuff do it.

Speaker 3 (07:01):
But to deal with that, yeah.

Speaker 5 (07:03):
You know, stretching the floor because of the shooting length
and the lanes everywhere.

Speaker 4 (07:07):
Yeah, no question, And you do you went to the game, right?

Speaker 3 (07:10):
I did?

Speaker 2 (07:10):
Okay, so I did not. I was obligated to go
somewhere else for that day. But let me ask you,
because they win, they went big, beat up pretty good
Auburn team, I guess, but the rankings or whatever, I
don't know how good they are in retrospect. However, you know,
the fans that love this team, what's the best team
I've seen since whatever or ever? They're just so good.

(07:32):
You were part of some pretty damn good teams. In fact,
probably the best team I think I've ever covered. The
two thousand and one year with the guys that we're talking,
Richard and Luke and Gilbert and Lauren all these guys.
So I think it's too early premature to talk about
stuff like that. But what did you see against Auburn?

Speaker 5 (07:49):
Well, you know what I saw was whether Auburn was
just you know, caught off guard or whatever. Well, I
don't know. They you know, they have to me. I
always saw a role to two real guys. I mean,
you got Ralford and then the keisha On Hall kid.
Because the Kishon Hall last year, you see it against

(08:10):
Central Florida, Sint Florida. He came to Tucson and he
played really well against the u of A. But everybody
else seemed kind of skinny and not with it. Now
they're you know, and the crowd, the crowd and the energy,
you know, changed things. I mean, I went to the
Northern Arizona game in that you know, that's just shrug
of the shoulders. When I went to this one, I'm
sitting there going, wow, I've never I haven't been to

(08:31):
a u A game as a fan like this since
I was in college in nineteen eighty. You know, every
other time I'm down on the floor either as a
good guy or a bad guy, you know, And it
was amazing.

Speaker 3 (08:44):
The electricity.

Speaker 5 (08:45):
You know, it's one of those things where you have
a fan base at the U of A that we know,
this is a big game and we're going to show,
you know, and we're gonna we're gonna.

Speaker 2 (08:53):
Be vocal before because where's a buzz in the building
and that really happens. Jay, You've been going for a
long time. And that was one of j Tommy's pet peeves.
I mean last year he I think he went to Kansas, right,
and he says, I wish he didn't say it like this,
but I wish our fans would show up early and
be ready and yeahda YadA, because you know riving crowd.

Speaker 5 (09:14):
Well it was eight o'clock kick a tip off, so
I think everybody was ready to go someplace by then.

Speaker 4 (09:19):
Yeah, but you know that's and that's the crowd he
hopes to see all the time.

Speaker 5 (09:22):
You know the thing I see in the U of
A team right now, and people talk about best team whatever. Okay,
you know I'm not saying they won't. We can pump
the brakes. There's a two It's a two hundred minute game, okay,
And how you rotate your players through the game.

Speaker 3 (09:40):
People don't realize you do his coaches.

Speaker 5 (09:42):
That's why people do plus plus minus charts, you know,
and uh and who's effective together you have you can
have a ninety second laps and be outscored eight nothing,
and all of a sudden things changed, things changed a
little bit relative to now you're chasing to catch up
again versus right now, the UVE puts out lineups that

(10:05):
doesn't necessarily have drop in intensity or offense and defense
of execution. So they're two hundred minutes. They're really really
good right now. They're really really good minutes, you know,
and if the scoring is down a little bit, no,
they're still fighting the heck out of you on the boards,
in on defense and anyway.

Speaker 3 (10:25):
So that that bodes.

Speaker 5 (10:28):
Well throughout the course of the year, just because they
seem to be really focusing in tune with each other.

Speaker 2 (10:34):
Yeah, yeah, without question, explain to the listeners listener about
the two hundred minutes, because you only have minute forty
minutes in the game.

Speaker 5 (10:43):
Yeah, so you know, out of two hundred minutes, every
position it's got forty minutes.

Speaker 3 (10:47):
Okay, so five times forty, simple as that.

Speaker 5 (10:49):
But again, when you have when you don't get back
on defense quick enough one person, it creates a passing lane.
So all of a sudden, everybody's on one side and
there's this guard who comes across this way, whips it
all the way to the ball opposite corner, and there's
an open three. Yeah, okay, because somebody had to stay
inside the paint and help a big guy.

Speaker 3 (11:06):
Because the big guy's not bad.

Speaker 5 (11:08):
All these things happen, in which case you have breakdown,
you know, and so out of those those minutes of
the game, you know, you have to shuffle those minutes
up and how is somebody performing? And you can see
through plus minus charts over time when this person is
in the game, we're accelerating or you know what. You know,
he Kenny outscores problems. Okay, he can shoot a three,

(11:30):
but he can't go to anybody, so we can't play
him twenty five minutes. Yeah, okay, we're gonna get fifteen
minutes at him. Hope he banks two threes and doesn't
hurt us on defense. So you're always playing those games
with your roster. And that's how often did you go
to those plus minus.

Speaker 3 (11:45):
I didn't do it.

Speaker 5 (11:45):
I mean, it wasn't just theat No, this wasn't such
a big thing. Everything started after Moneyball, you know, which
with everybody to how do we make how do we
apply this? And so you know, for me, it probably
wasn't until six seven or seven eight later on.

Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yeah, yeah, no, Because you're right, analytics became the big
deal of you know, who's what.

Speaker 5 (12:05):
You know assistant at cal and then we started doing that.
I mean, coach Montgomery had come from had done some
stuff in the NBA, and so it became a part
of what we were doing.

Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah, okay, we're going to take a break real quick. Here,
come back with Tim Kish former you of a football
assistant coach head coach for a moment.

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Speaker 1 (17:05):
This is I on the Ball on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
I want to take part in the show. Call up
Steve now went five to two oh four seventy.

Speaker 2 (17:17):
Hey, welcome back to Why I the Ball here a
Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, you're j John
and you're ray A. Listen one and now we have
a former U of A assistant football coach, Tim Kitsch,
head coach for a couple of three four games.

Speaker 4 (17:32):
How are you, coach?

Speaker 11 (17:34):
I'm doing great, Steam, Thank you.

Speaker 2 (17:35):
Sure, great to have you on the show. Look at
you awards coming from everywhere. You just got one.

Speaker 11 (17:42):
Well, I got a great great uh nonprofit board with
a great volunteer spirit and uh I'm happy to accept
any acolades we get on behalf of the rest of
the group. But yeah, it's a pretty meaningful experience to

(18:03):
be in front of the National Football Foundation then being
presented this kind of award.

Speaker 4 (18:09):
You do a great job.

Speaker 2 (18:10):
You've been in the position I think three or four
if not more years, right one and two.

Speaker 4 (18:14):
If you can explain what you guys do.

Speaker 11 (18:17):
Yeah, we Well, the mission and the vision that we
have is is essentially to promote the game of football
in a positive manner and and we're trying to grow
the game of football in southern Arizona and uh and
do everything we can to put youth football players in

(18:41):
positions for success and recognizing any outstanding academic achievement, athletic
achievement and community service buyer student athletes all over the
southern region.

Speaker 5 (18:57):
So with that, coach, just just because of You're just
curious on this with with you, with what you're doing
and your and your experience and your just your connections,
your network. I'm just curious, do you get do you
get college coaches calling you about kids in the area
and just kind of a little do fact the fact though,

(19:18):
you know, scouting and and talking about you know, talking
about the talent level of some of these kids.

Speaker 11 (19:25):
I absolutely do and uh uh, you know, being in
the profession for forty three years. I'd like to think
I have a decent reputation out there, and i'd love
to I loved recruiting. That was obviously something that I
really really enjoyed doing when I've as a football coach,
a college football coach. But uh, the showcase that we

(19:47):
run up in Phoenix, jay is uh is A is
really the thing that's kind of sparked a lot of
people's interests. We've run it for three years now, it's
gonna be our fourth year. Uh. It'll be this February
mid February up at Ottawa University, and it's for under
recruited kids all over the state of Arizona. We bring
in twenty or so colleges Division III AIA type colleges

(20:13):
from twelve to fourteen different states and they come for
a one day combine, showcase, whatever you want to call it,
to observe these kids and to potentially offer them a
chance to go to college and continue to play the
game that they love. And that's been a big coup
for us. But I do get the occasional phone call,

(20:34):
how about so and so at Southpoint? How about so
and so's Sabino push Ridge I mean, I've kind of
Mirana now is Tucson High. All those schools are getting
some attention, which is really great for growing the game
down here and trying to expose these kids to the
rest of the country.

Speaker 5 (20:53):
Well, I'm sorry, you just say, as a college coach myself,
and if it's a basketball thing, if I knew that
there was a there was an experienced person connected to
tow youth, I'd be I'd be crazy now to try
to call and get and get an honest assessment rather
than anything that's got a little bit of fluff for
you know, inaccurate information.

Speaker 11 (21:15):
So well, again, it's just one of the things that
we do do. We just had our two hundred community
event in three and a half years. We're doing a lot,
and we're involved very much in youth football. We're involved
in girls flag football. Now. I helped with the College
Football Hall of Fame at the University of Arizona, which

(21:35):
we have seven Hall of famers, three coaches and four players.
The National Football Foundation has been great for all of
us to kind of guide us the direction that they
like to see all of us take. But for the
most part, we pick up on that and try to
expand it. And and like I said, I have a

(21:57):
volunteer board that south standing. So uh that that helps
a lot.

Speaker 2 (22:02):
Going back to what you said earlier, So you're the
coach that likes recruiting.

Speaker 4 (22:06):
Oh yeah, one and two.

Speaker 2 (22:08):
What's the you had a number of these, three of them,
now you'll have four of them. What's the success rate
or like, where are they going?

Speaker 11 (22:18):
One more time?

Speaker 2 (22:18):
Yes, you had three, you've had three of the combines
your you know, have your fourth one upcoming. How many
kids have you been able to put place somewhere?

Speaker 11 (22:30):
Uh, well we we one out of every three that
has come in the last three years has been on
a college roster.

Speaker 4 (22:36):
That's good.

Speaker 11 (22:36):
Yeah, it's amazing to be honest with you. And uh
so we have colleges from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota,
North Dakota, Wyoming, Iowa, Kansas, Texas. We've got one coming
from Oklahoma this year, that's the first. We got two

(22:57):
from Indiana coming this year. So these you know, these colleges.
You know, if you look at the state of Arizona,
you got your three Division I schools and then you
only have two other schools, two other colleges that play football,
and that's Ottawa and Arizona Christian. And so these coaches
that come out here to recruit these kids realize they're

(23:19):
trying to find homes. I mean, there just isn't enough
places in the state for these kids to go. So
if they're willing to travel, we can give them a
pretty good shot at getting on a college roster and
getting a college education. Well, one of the things I
go ahead, go ahead. I'm sorry, no, you go ahead.

Speaker 4 (23:37):
One of the things you.

Speaker 11 (23:39):
Yeah. So we had two kids from CEO last year
that one had only played two years of high school football,
one had just played one. Both of them came to
the combine. I'm just giving you an example. Luther College
offered both kids forty three thousand dollars to go to
school there a year. They had to come up with
two grands one one two to four grand I believe

(24:03):
it was at the end of the day for them
to and and these are kids that really didn't have
that much football experience, but they were good athletes and
they had good academics. And these colleges are gonna eat
that stuff up. And uh, you know, because it's all
financial ad it's not it's not technically athletics scholarships and

(24:24):
Jay knows what I mean by that too, and I
know you do too, Steve. But I mean there's an
example right there of the kind of help we're giving kids,
uh to chase their dreams.

Speaker 2 (24:34):
Well along those lines, because I was gonna ask you guys.
I know I've been affiliated with you guys a little
in the help out before you got there. Uh, today's world, Nil,
people moving around to me, and I could be wrong
how education is almost taken a back seat to kids
wanting to get the bag and rather than get the
education us I'm wrong.

Speaker 11 (24:53):
No, you're not wrong, and it's sad. It's uh, you know,
we've gone, We've we've lost our I mean, you know
here we say it's a student athlete and at the
collegiate level, and it isn't I think in the lesser
divisions still there. But at the at the top of

(25:15):
the food chain, Uh, it's it's not that. And uh,
I mean the transfer portal and everything else would be
great examples of it. There were a lot of buzzwords
at the College Hall of Fame banquet when I was
up there for two days. A lot of talk about
habits in Indiana University. Uh, come up with a football

(25:38):
team like this in two years time. Obviously we're talking
to n I L. They're talking about all the colleges
eleven colleges that that decline going to a bowl game
and first time in bowl history, and how bowls may
be no longer a part of the college football system
after this year.

Speaker 1 (25:58):
Uh.

Speaker 11 (25:58):
There was a lot of up there about all that stuff.
So I don't know how much you want to get
into any of that, but that's that's kind of what
I was here and when I was up for. The
shame of it is these kids need that education because
they don't have a lot to fall back on, and
the bottom line is one percent of and make it
to the next level.

Speaker 5 (26:17):
Yeah, it'd be curious to see over time, especially in
the football level, given the fact that you know, there's
so much data on the average length of career in football,
and you know the counter to that at the bigger schools.
There's more of an infrastructure at the bigger schools too,
within their donor base to you know, help be a

(26:37):
little bit of a net for a kid if something happens.
But still, I hear what you're saying on that coach.
I want to ask another question. This is my first
year back. You know, I've been out of Tucson, you know,
thirty eight of the past forty two years, so and
that means out of Arizona. And so I still pay
very much attention. As a South Point grad, I've you know,

(26:58):
paid attention over the years. You know, I ended up
coaching Dennis Bene when he was a freshman in high
school at the South Point.

Speaker 3 (27:03):
So you know, hilarious, right, yeah, so I care, but
I would.

Speaker 5 (27:09):
I started noticing these Arizona quarterbacks, a state of Arizona
quarterbacks around the country, and you know, and I'm like, hmm,
and the Arizona kids have always been, you know, misrepresented,
you know, just from being Arizona.

Speaker 3 (27:25):
You had one or two stars less to begin to
begin with.

Speaker 5 (27:29):
And I started asking some of my coaches here and
I just like your take on it. I said, what's
going on? You know, I know there's a population sore.
I understand, especially in the Phoenix area. I understand there's
a lot of former you know NFL and college and NBA,
I mean just former professional athletes retiring, so there's some

(27:50):
extra expertise. So but what's going on and they kept
saying to me flag football, and the flag football is
getting kids, you know, blah blah blah.

Speaker 3 (28:01):
Okay, I don't have to explain.

Speaker 5 (28:03):
All all the value that I want you to do that,
but is can you ascribe some of that, you know,
growth in football and and and uh, these Arizona these
kids from the state of Arizona, you know, heading out
and having and having great success where maybe that wasn't
that wouldn't been the case when when you were coaching.

Speaker 11 (28:24):
Here with you, Yeah it was. There's there's no doubt
it wasn't when I was here. Uh. And really what
you're referring to for the boys is not necessarily flag football,
but it's seven on seven, Yes, got it, got it
pretty popular? Yeah, and they and that is just that's

(28:44):
that's been a huge Uh, there's been a huge development
of that. Uh. I think that along with the fact
that Phoenix has been the fastest growing city in the
in the country for three years now. Uh. You know,
the population has exploded since I was coaching at U

(29:05):
of A. And I'll be honest with you, and Steve
will tell you this, there wasn't eight to ten Division
IE kids when I first got here at u of
A you couldn't spend your time, you know, you didn't
want to really waste your time, if if you want
to use that term. I hated that term, yause we
took a lot of your kids out of here and
developed them out of the state that weren't highly recognized.

(29:28):
But that's okay too. It's just this seven on seven
thing and you know, the brock Parties of the world.
The kids starting at Navy. I was an Army football coach.
I coached at West Point for eight years. The starting
quarterback at Navy who was a Campbell finalist up at
the National Convention that I was just at the College

(29:53):
Hall of Fame banquets. He's a he's a Phoenix kid.

Speaker 3 (30:00):
Allen a Phoenix kid.

Speaker 11 (30:02):
Oh yeah, Kyle Allen is a Phoenix kid. And uh,
I mean Spencer Rat where I recruited to Oklahoma. He's
a he's a Pinnacle kid. Uh. There There's been a
lot of kids. There's there's a couple, uh quarterback kind
of like gurus up in Phoenix that have developed some
pretty good kids over the over time. Jeff Skerns has

(30:24):
done a good job down here. Had a few quarterbacks
in his day. Uh you know, but you've got to
get him exposed. And and the seven on seventh thing is,
you know, for the type of offenses that are being
run now, the spread offenses, uh, you know, and throwing
the football, that's invaluable for these kids that they're getting
that those opportunities to get out there compete. So uh

(30:46):
I see the development much of the same way you do,
Jay what people are telling you. And uh yeah, we're
we're we're really starting to hone in on uh uh
seeing a lot of quarterbacks coming out of Arizona and
playing on college rosters.

Speaker 2 (31:00):
Could you're not too far removed from being a coach
here Oklahoma and other places? Obviously, But how would you
have handled n I L? And if so or not,
are you glad you're out?

Speaker 11 (31:15):
Well? Yeah, And if you want the honest answer, And
I've answered this honestly with other people that have asked
me this question. So I would have jumped across my
desk and put two two of my hands around somebody's neck.
And when they told me that they didn't they were
going to leave because they didn't get enough playing time.
Uh I say that prectiously, but I I just I'm

(31:40):
appalled at at what I'm hearing, you know what, what's
going on and uh in some of these situations. And no,
I am sad. I'm sad for the state of college football.
I'm sad for the coaches because the coaches I who
I know quite a few still coaching. Uh, they're miserable.
They're just they're just because they're they're having to re

(32:02):
recruit their own kids every year. And uh, I mean
you just didn't expect that. So the word loyalty j
you know this. Oh yeah, and Steve, I mean that's
that's that's out the window. You know, it's uh, it's
what have you done for me lately? And I just
hate it for college football. I just don't think it's

(32:23):
the right path. But until it's until until the wild
West is is uh laugh thought, that's the way it's
going to be.

Speaker 3 (32:32):
I'm going to take you back a little bit much further. Coach.

Speaker 5 (32:35):
So you know, I was here at the u of
A as a basketball assistant through two thousand and two. Okay,
and so my first year here in ninety eight ninety nine,
Arizona football comes down to one day where they may
be going to the Rose Bowl, or maybe not. And
ultimately UCLA loses and so they're not that they're not

(32:55):
in the four and all that stuff. And a couple
of years later than coach Tomy's let go and then
you know, I leave after one year with the new staff,
and then a couple of years later that that staff
has been replacing you guys come in here with you know,
coach Mike Stoops.

Speaker 3 (33:12):
So what was that? What was that rebuild?

Speaker 5 (33:15):
Like it's I'm just I'm just curious what, you know,
because there's such a you talked to people that played
for coach told me and it's still revered. It's revered
as is maybe the best time of Arizona football in history.
And so in three years it wasn't I'm just curious
what you guys experience.

Speaker 3 (33:35):
Wasn't trying to get things going on?

Speaker 11 (33:37):
Yeah, uh well, uh you know, coach told me did
a great job and he was very consistent, and uh yeah,
I think there's a lot of people that are, uh
still frustrated by the fact that he was let go
because his reputation, you know what, was impeccable. To be

(34:00):
honest with you, Uh, I had an opportunity to meet
coach and be around him a little bit, not coaching boring,
but uh uh I know he did a great job.
I know when Mike came in, we you know, the
I can't say that the uh you know, everything was
that we were uh you know, it was bear at

(34:22):
the bottom, but it wasn't there wasn't a lot of
talent on the football field when we when we came
in there. Initially, we did pride ourselves in developing kids,
and I thought we did a pretty good job. We
got within a game of going to the Rose Bowl.
Steve could tell you that, uh we needed to beat
Oregon and uh I didn't do it. Uh in an

(34:44):
unbelievable game, and uh uh but we got there, we
got close, and then uh it was just it was
tough for continuity's sake, uh to keep it going all
uh you know, for all eight years. But I thought
we did a decent job and uh uh we didn't
leave the cover bear when we looked and I think,

(35:05):
uh Rich Rodriguez, uh you know, he he was able
to uh garner the talent that we did have here
on the team and and have some success for a
couple of years. So it's just tough nowadays it's everybody's
got to be on the same page. I wish we
would have had a uh indoor facility. I wish we

(35:26):
would have had practice fields like they have now. I
wish we would have the zone facility and a locker
room and all that stuff that we didn't have. But
those are just excuses and uh we we weren't making
any excuses. We were just gonna we this was the
hand we were dealt and we we needed to make
the most of it. And uh we thought we did

(35:46):
a pretty good job with uh uh with the uh
materials we were given and uh and I really enjoyed
being around this coaching stuff when we're here for eight years.

Speaker 4 (35:59):
Well, thank you coach joining us.

Speaker 2 (36:00):
Congrats again, would you guys at the Southern Arizona Football Foundation.

Speaker 11 (36:05):
Yeah, thank you very much, Steve. I appreciate it. We're
looking forward to keep doing bigger and better things. And yeah,
let me know whatever we can do to help out, well,
we're always here to help kids in the community, So
thank you very much for having them.

Speaker 2 (36:20):
We'll talk to you again right before that next camp
and maybe that golf thing, the golf fundraiser you do,
so let me.

Speaker 11 (36:25):
Know, Okay, Thank you great Steve, Thank you very much.

Speaker 4 (36:28):
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How about transferring to a four year college.

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Speaker 1 (40:02):
Com, Streamy live on the iHeartRadio app. This is High
on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.

Speaker 4 (40:15):
So welcome back to the ball hero Fox Sports Fortune fifty.

Speaker 11 (40:18):
I'm Steve Rivera.

Speaker 4 (40:19):
You're j Johones. We got ready with the phones and
we happen to have somebody on the phone. Now, Hello,
you're on the air and one on the ball. Who's this?

Speaker 18 (40:25):
Hey you guys, This is Gabriel calling from California.

Speaker 11 (40:29):
How you guys are doing fine?

Speaker 4 (40:31):
Gabe? How are you?

Speaker 18 (40:33):
I'm happy that U A has a Territorial Cup and
they beat the stum Devils.

Speaker 4 (40:39):
Yep, I'm very happy with that.

Speaker 11 (40:42):
So for folks on the.

Speaker 18 (40:47):
College chaos coaching search is at it again, Honestly, it's not. Honestly,
Sharan Moore did.

Speaker 11 (40:57):
Really did something?

Speaker 18 (40:58):
Really, I mean, the hating the call really stupid.

Speaker 2 (41:02):
So but yeah, so you haven't even mentioned the basketball team.

Speaker 18 (41:09):
Yeah, they're number one in the nation.

Speaker 4 (41:12):
Yep. How do you like that?

Speaker 11 (41:15):
I love it? I love it.

Speaker 18 (41:16):
But they can't get complacent. Well, one team's all gonna
come on and buy them in the ass. So anyway,
you don't get complacent or that goes the same thing
with football. But anyway, while we were so wrong about
the coaching churches for college football being run, like I said,

(41:40):
it's an awful scenario. What is going on in Michigan.
I feel bad for the family of Shrommore. I feel
bad for the victim. But you gotta be you gotta
be smart, your public figure. Don't don't do that kind
of stupid sugar honey iced tea.

Speaker 2 (42:01):
You're right, Dave, You're right right. Anyboddy, thanks for the call,
appreciate your call. Thanks to take care. That's for another day.
I think you're gonna probably have that on. Let me
ask you. You were here during some pretty good basketball times.
Obviously number one, I think they were number one, maybe

(42:23):
to the end of the year. That year they went
to the Final four. Duke was number two or vice versa, yeah,
vice versa. The pressure, if that's the right word. Maybe
there's none of staying a top.

Speaker 5 (42:36):
Well I you coach also was used to that. Yeah, okay,
you know, and so he never really changed, you know,
the the the and you're going to continue to play
good teams and environments that it's just it just is
what it is.

Speaker 4 (42:54):
And they love you coming in.

Speaker 5 (42:55):
Yeah, no, I mean you have you got everybody's best shot,
you know. I will remember this would have been oh man,
ninety nine maybe we were number one in the country,
I think, and thousand, Yeah, we went in nine ninety
two thousand we went into play at LSU.

Speaker 4 (43:14):
Yeah, oh I remember that, you know. And and it
was a bad beating.

Speaker 3 (43:18):
Well it was.

Speaker 5 (43:19):
It was a bad beat It was it was a
noon tip. We weren't we didn't charter.

Speaker 4 (43:24):
It was it was a late trip, late night trip.

Speaker 5 (43:27):
Well, it was one where we had finished some tests
were in and round finals. Yeah, okay, And so we
practiced and we left like around noon and we had
to go to Dallas and then change planes and get
to Louisiana and so this this, this is hilarious a story.

Speaker 3 (43:45):
You know you're going to get beat before you start.

Speaker 5 (43:48):
So we you know, we get down, but we don't
get to the hotel till till eleven thirty.

Speaker 4 (43:52):
Yeah, I was there, okay, And.

Speaker 5 (43:56):
You know the guys, you know, Gilbert thought we were
playing in the evening. Okay, So he and Jason were
playing video games all night and then all of a sudden,
it's like, let's go at seven o'clock. We got we
got a little snack we gotta get. We got to
get the shoot around. So and he says, what's going on?
He says, why would we do this? He says, why

(44:18):
why would we schedule something to just get us?

Speaker 3 (44:20):
You're so late.

Speaker 5 (44:21):
So you go there and you got to shoot around
and everybody's tired, and you're talking about reading your team.

Speaker 3 (44:26):
Yes, you know. He's like, oh boy.

Speaker 5 (44:28):
And so you know, then we we go out for
the warm ups before the game, and at this particular time,
they hadn't they kept Mike the Tiger that we went
in we'd come back out, and so we go out
a hallway and there's Mike the Tiger in the hallway,
thankfully in the cage right and and a couple of
guys you know, see that and go they high tail
it the other way.

Speaker 11 (44:47):
You know.

Speaker 5 (44:47):
Gilbert's like, no, I'm going out with l s U.
So it's like, uh, write attention and go we're gonna
get drilled tonight.

Speaker 4 (44:54):
We did, you did, okay, So at the time it
was his worst beating on the road.

Speaker 11 (44:58):
You know.

Speaker 5 (44:59):
Ever, well, you wouldn't all that. I mean, you had
to write the story, you know, and I was wanting
to read the paper.

Speaker 4 (45:04):
Let me see this too. I was not part of
the team.

Speaker 2 (45:07):
I went to cover you guys, and I was, you know,
he puts it kind of in the stands with the media.
It was the scariest place I've ever covered a game.
You can talk about Tiger, I'm talking about the people
and what they were saying.

Speaker 5 (45:20):
You know, I don't want to get into any kind
of I am in Arizona, but there's a little you know,
deliverance comparisons here. But when we went to the shoot around,
there were people because they had ramps leaving up, kind
of like you do at Arizona State. So people are
up at the top of the concourse, at the top
of the ramps, and they're watching us, and they're just
looking at us, and they're just going with it. With
the Southern accident, Tiger Bay, Tiger Baby, like, oh man,

(45:42):
we have stepped into a different planet, in a different world.

Speaker 11 (45:45):
I could.

Speaker 2 (45:46):
I'm not joking too. It was the most uncomfortable and
I wasn't even with you guys, I was just there
to observe.

Speaker 5 (45:52):
So to your point, you know, this is you know,
I think for this year of a team that they
crafted the perfect schedule for having young people where you've
played some big teams you don't know what's gonna happen, okay,
but then you're gonna play some other teams where the
freshman can you know, get out there and they can
play through some mistakes and they don't hurt.

Speaker 3 (46:13):
Ship, and you know they've kept growing.

Speaker 5 (46:17):
And you know, I give you know, I give Tommy
Lloyd credit because this is this is a playbook right
out of Coach Olson. We're gonna go play against the
best teams. That's who we are and that's how this
program rolls. And so you know, we've got another big
challenge this weekend. But however it is, you know, you do,
you're going to hope that you have a team. The

(46:39):
best thing you want as a coach is that you
say at the end of the game, we didn't lose
the game.

Speaker 3 (46:45):
We just ran out of time.

Speaker 5 (46:46):
Because your kids just keep playing each possession, each possession,
east possession, and it's one of those games where no,
you know, you got the ball last, and the ball
bounces in whatever.

Speaker 3 (46:56):
Okay, we can't be disappointed with the effort, you have
anything to say.

Speaker 2 (47:00):
So so that year, if you remember, they turned out
to be the number one seed in the whole tournament.
That was in the two thousand and then Lauren was
hurt arranged with his back and you and Wisconsin comes
in and knocks you off. Ricky, Ricky tried his best
to save you and.

Speaker 4 (47:16):
Then he didn't.

Speaker 5 (47:17):
Well what I do remember about about that game specifically
or just a tributing the Jackson State game is, you know,
it's you know, call it what you want to call it, okay,
but we had two freshman guards that not played in
altitude and it really I know, this a freak Gilbert
out because he kept coming to the bench going, I
can't breathe, I can't breathe, and you know, it's it

(47:41):
is what it is. We needed, we needed rim protection
and we didn't have that with Lauren. And that was
you know, that was a Wisconsin team that went from
an eight seed to the final four, and you know,
so it was a good team.

Speaker 2 (47:57):
So so this is going to be a different game
for Arizona because there not a three point shooting team
and We'll see how they defend against the three. They
go inside a lot Arizona does. So you're if Alabama
is successful, even to a certain degree, you know, percentage wise,
they're gonna get threes, right, threes are reups, threeps. So
Arizona has to find ways to come back the threes

(48:18):
because you're not gonna go if you go two inside,
maybe get fouled. They was your three pointer. But how
do you defend that three outside of staying on top
of them?

Speaker 5 (48:26):
Well, I think one of the pieces of that is
to be effective in executing your offense. And you are
more of an inside outside team, and so you know,
worked up all down there, get fouled, you know, get
quality shots, grab offensive rebounds because long shot, long rebound,
and so if if and then now you're in a
transition issue. And so if Arizona can run the offense

(48:50):
like they have, you're gonna have rebounds that are contested,
which is gonna slow down break.

Speaker 4 (48:56):
Okay, So that's that's part one. That's a positive.

Speaker 5 (48:59):
It is positive defense. Can your offense can help your defense? Okay,
Bad offense always leads to bad defense. Okay, So Arizona,
don't turn the ball over because now you're gonna excite
the crowd.

Speaker 3 (49:09):
You can't defend turnover blah blah blah. And so that's part.

Speaker 5 (49:12):
One and then the other you know, with freshmen, we'll
see what how the communication is because you know, if
if you know, anytime the ball moves quickly and it
gets to shooters that are that believe they're open well
before the catch, now you know you're you know, now
you're playing and hope they miss. I think the other
thing is long shot long rebounds we talked about, and

(49:32):
so you can't you can't overrun the rebound. So for example,
you know, uh, there's a tendency with people that defend
the three turn and run in for the rebound and
then it goes over their head, you know, and so
you're one of your coaching tools. It's like any shot,
step towards your offensive man and then make sure that
you're going toward the grab, going toward the rim to

(49:55):
grab the ball rather than just getting in a two
foot jump up in the air when someone's got running
start behind your head. So the biggest thing, you know,
for this Alabama game, though, it's going to be the
communication and awareness and defense. So that young players. You know,
with big with a large crowd, home crowd, you know

(50:17):
they're going to be able to They haven't really played
a true.

Speaker 3 (50:19):
Road game, have they.

Speaker 5 (50:20):
Everything has been a neutral Yukon was Yukon was that
was true road game and they and they they they
did manage that. But anyway, that's yeah.

Speaker 3 (50:30):
That makes sense.

Speaker 4 (50:30):
I mean a box out the guy who shot the three.

Speaker 5 (50:33):
Just because you've got to go to the elbows. If
your guards and nobody's coming, you got to run in
the elbows. And sometimes because the balls are going to
come off and you've got to be you know, ready
to to you know, they get tipped inside and so
now you're there as a guard, you know, to to
be there to pick up a contested boy. I don't
think the.

Speaker 2 (50:52):
Line has come out yet, but I was going to
kind of say, haven't covered these games forever? In these
big games to meet, it's like an ambush. You know,
number one team comes in. You're on the road against
a very good team. They're waiting for you, against a
good team that likes to run.

Speaker 3 (51:07):
There's no there's no doubt about that. It is one
of those games.

Speaker 5 (51:10):
But that you know you have a head coach who
is part of his you know, plus and minus twenty
years a Gonzaga.

Speaker 3 (51:17):
They played the games like this, Yeah right, okay, so.

Speaker 5 (51:19):
You you you know, you're aware, and you can you
can you know, gauge your personality towards the kids throughout
the course of the week.

Speaker 3 (51:27):
Is this finals week? I man, maybe finally it's funny over.

Speaker 4 (51:32):
But we're final in this hour, so we gotta go.