January 6, 2026 • 18 mins
From Knoxville, Craig checks in to discuss Texas men's basketball who tries to get back to .500 in conference play against Rick Barnes' Tennesssee Vols.
Plus, Sean Miller's message to the team at shootaround, the longstanding connection between the two head coaches, and what Parker Livingstone's transfer to Oklahoma means for Texas.
Plus, Sean Miller's message to the team at shootaround, the longstanding connection between the two head coaches, and what Parker Livingstone's transfer to Oklahoma means for Texas.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Some union when.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
West Virginia down to Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
From West Virginia and Austin up to Tennessee, we always
love the chance to catch up with Craig way from
the road as we bump back with the King George
Straight part of Texan Tuesday. That's the nineteen ninety seven
number one hit, Craig carrying Your Love with Me.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, I'd have to say, I'm glad I'm not in
West Virginia today. Nothing against West Virginia, It's just I'm
a you know me, I'm a guy who kind.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Of prefers warm weather.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
My wife and I have a have a friendly kind
of difference of opinion on this. She likes chilly, kind
of cold, but not real cold weather like in the
forties fifties.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
She kind of likes that. Listen.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I was thinking the other day on New Year's Well
with back news. It was January the I guess the third,
and I'm sending there standing in my backyard with my
dog in shorts, in bare feet, throwing the ball. We
(01:18):
play fetch a lot, and she loves It's her favorite game.
And so we bought a whole case of tennis balls
because that's her favorite consistency, and I throw it from
one end of the yard to the other and she
comes back and rings. And we've been doing this for
thirteen years. She's she's thirteen years old now and still
and still loves to do it. We still do that.
We don't we don't run her quite as hard anymore,
(01:39):
but we do still have the ball session. But I
was thinking as I was standing out there, and I
was thinking about the fact that it was and it was.
It was two days ago, it was Sunday, and I
had gotten back from doing the women's.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Game, and I'm sitting here thinking to myself.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Here it is five o'clock in the afternoon on January fourth.
I'm still and shorts and bare feet in the backyard
and a short sleeve shirt. I'll take that any day
of the week in January, in any any time of year,
I'm glad to take that. So so, and it's not
excuse me, weather. It's not real bad here in Tennessee.
(02:17):
Kind of chilling and damp and murky, but it's around
fifty degrees, so you really can't complain too much about that.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
And then we'll all be out of here in the night,
back to Austin. Tomorrow. So that's that's the best part
of it.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
You know, when I packed up the car over the
summer and drove from DC to Austin to move down here,
I spent that first night in Knoxville. Lots of great
places to walk around, good restaurants aside from the shoot around.
Will you have time to check out the city at
all today?
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Well, I've been here many times through men's basketball, women's basketball,
traveling through on the way to North Carolina, so I
know the place is really really well work today in
preparation for the game the night, it's not going to
allow me really time to get out in about much.
But you know, I know the places around here I've
(03:07):
been in the past to have any kind of deal
where you're talking about breakfast, lunch or dinner and going
down along the Tennessee River and things like that, those
are all nice experiences. And hey, for long Ard football fans,
they'll get a chance to experience it. It's coming fall
when Texas plays up here at Tennessee, so they have
that to look forward to as well.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
And tonight we look forward to you and Eddie or
and on the call for Texas against number twenty two
Tennessee at the Food City Center, two teams that drop
their SEC openers spending time with the team earlier today
at shoot around. What are Sean Miller and his assistants
kind of emphasizing to this team as they approach a
really difficult stretch here at the beginning of SEC play.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Well, there's several things, but two in particular continue to
be stressed during the shoot around. On the offensive side,
it is taking care of the basketball. Tennessee does a
really good job with pressure defense. Now, it's interesting, the
volunteers force twelve point six turnovers per game. I usually
(04:11):
don't delve in the decimals much. I round up, so
I would say thirteen. However, they are also turning it
over themselves twelve point six times per day. Game long
runs at eleven point four turnovers and they force eleven
point three, so that's almost a wash in that. But
Tennessee does a really good job with pressure defense, So
the long runs had to be cognizant of that. In
(04:32):
getting into their offense, whether it's in the half court
set or in transition off miss baskets, they've got to
redown obviously very very well.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
And then on the defensive side.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
They've got to be able to This is a mantra
that Sean Miller continues to preach to his team. They've
got to be able to defend without fouling, can't get
in foul difficulty.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
It's rare. Let me put it this way.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
It's rare that you can pin a lost to a
team on one particular factor or incident. In the case
of Saturday's lost in Mississippi State, I'd say a big
leading part of it was the fifth foul that Dylan swayn.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Accrued and it it you know that it.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Looked, it looked, you know, borderline at best, and but
it took it out of the game. And here's a
guy ahead a career high, had thirty four points and
fourteen rebounds, and he's out of the game in the
last minute and a half, two minutes of the game,
and the long Runes were trying to protect the lead.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
They couldn't do it.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
So defending without fouling, keeping Madus spoken Titus out of
foul difficulty, you're keeping Daylan Swayne out of foul difficulty.
And Jordan Pope and Tremon Mark and they they've got
to be able to find offense. But they got to
be able to stay on the floor defensively as well
against this Tennessee team.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Yeah, and Craig, the numbers really back that up. Texas
a much better defensive team with Daleen Swayn on the floor,
and he saw his offensive impact firsthand on Saturday night.
And look, I know, Mississippi State's no pushover, right, but
that's still going to go down as a Quad three
loss potentially for this Texas team. You look at this
stretch Tennessee, Alabama and Vanderbilt upcoming, three big time opportunities
(06:11):
for the Longhorns to start building that resume after not
the start they were hoping for to the season.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, you know, and I think I think it's fair
to say put it this way. We're in single digit
days in January, so I think it's fair to say
that Sean and the staff are more concerned with being
competitive and winning games in conference than they are about
Quad one Quad two. And that's the kind of stuff
(06:38):
that you and I nerded out on and we watched
that stuff very very carefully, and that's part of our job,
and that's what college basketball pundits and analysts and writers
and broadcasters do. They follow the trail of those things
because there is a connective tissue toward the end and
you look back on and say, oh, you you had
a loss to a Quad three team in Mississippi State.
(06:59):
Not looking at that right now, they're looking at the
fact it was a conference loss at home when you've
got three more teams that are all really really good
right in front of you. So that's what they're they're
having to concern themselves with, starting with this game here
in Knoxville to night, where Tennessee leads the overall series
at eight seven to four, but they won the last
(07:19):
four in a RUW that Texas was competitive for the
most part in the game in Nashville last year in
the semifinal round of the SEC Tournament, the year before
in Austin were very competitive, and then the year here
the game here before that, they were not.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
All three of those were lost. That's the common thread there.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
So they've got they've got to be able to see
if they can stop this Tennessee team and pick up.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
What would be a huge win.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Right now, the best win on their resume is North
Carolina State, and that's getting a little less impressive as
the days roll on. I think it has a chance
to age a little better over time, but right now
it's it's okay, but they need more.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
You're right, and I need a reminder to just, you know,
not nerd out so much, right, just to enjoy the
game that's kind of coming up in front of us.
And there's plenty of storylines when you look at tonight
with Rick Barnes coaching against Sean Miller. We heard it
from him in the last segment, and Craig I hope
Rick Barnes' vocal strength has returned a little bit by
the time you get to interview him tonight. But Rick
(08:23):
Barnes coach Sean Miller as an eight year old point
guard at a youth camp at the University of Pittsburgh
in which Barnes was coaching against John Caliperi. So the
small world of college basketball never ceases to amaze. And
now we get these two coaches starting a new chapter
as conference foes.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
They carry that memory to both of them.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
This morning at breakfast, Eddie orn and Ibbvisney was sewn
about that and we talked about basketball camp and normally
in those basketball camps back then, this was one in
like you said, in summer and of course Sean was
going up in Pittsburgh and John Callaparty was there, and
Rick was there and several others. Normally, within the structure
(09:05):
and framework of those camps, they rotate the coaches around
you worked with different coaches, did different segments. That wasn't
the case in this deal. Sean was assigned to Rick Barnes.
Rick was his coach for that, and I think it's
fair to say. I think Rick would tell you this too.
He was a little bit different kind and style of
(09:26):
coach back then. His motor burned a lot hotter. His
motor burned a lot hotter when he started out of
Texas in the ninety eight ninety nine season and was
for quite some time through the final four run of
three and on down. Is it safe to say maybe
he's mellowed a little. Yeah, but I've still watched how
(09:47):
he coaches and he's still got that same competitive streak
and thread that runs through him. He also has some
good assistant coaches who you know, helped carry the band
from One is a very close friend of Eddie Orange.
Greg Polenski was a longtime NBA scout and director of
scouting for the Detroit Pistons. Poe and Eddie were assistants
(10:09):
on Bob Weltlick's staff in the eighties for a time,
and I've become friends with him as well. But he
and Eddie are very close. In fact, there were roommates
for a couple of years early on in Austin. They're
very close and Poe has been on Rick staff for
five years. John Lentz or Brian Lentz is an assistant
on Rick staff. Brian is the former head coach at
(10:32):
Appalachian State, but Brian is the son of John Lnz,
who was a college teammate and roommate of Rick Barnes
at Leonora Ryan Division two school in North Carolina. John
Lentz was Rick's roommate and a very close friend his
son Brian, who's been a coach for many years, And
like I said, for a brief times, the head coach
(10:52):
ATPP blatchein State is on Rick staff as well. So
you're right, there's a lot of connectivity between these two programs,
between these coaches and in their extended family. Garrett Maidenwall
is another one. Meidanwall is their strength coach. Garrett's a
great young man. He was the strength coach for Texas
(11:12):
women's basketball when Gail Gestencourse was the head coach. That's
where I got to know Garrett. I'm back and he
was a disciple of Todd Wright, who was Rick's strength
coach at Texas for many years and is now with
the Los Angeles Clippers, and so he was kind of
a disciple of his. So Rick has Garrett Meidenwald as
his strength coach. So there's a lot of connectivity between
(11:36):
these staffs and the individuals and their extended families.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
When you see Rick Barnes tonight, what are you looking
forward to, asking him? And when you've prepared for this team?
Aside from the youth and the turnovers, like we've talked about,
what really jumps out about the twenty twenty five, twenty
six version of the balls. Who's been pretty consistent the
last few years.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Yeah, they have been, and he's done a good job
hardly Now he's in his eleventh year. He has leaned
into the portal as other coaches have. He got Jacobe
Gillespie transferring in from Maryland, who's done a heck of
a job.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
They're stepping right into the point guard spot.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Nate Ament is a freshman who can shoot the basketball well.
Felix par we saw last year, the former Ohio State Buckeye.
We saw him last year at the SEC tournament. JP
Estrella is another guy that we saw last year. So
he's got good weapons, he's got good inside out players.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
You know.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
The ironic thing about this deal, Jake is Rick and
I've known each other long enough where it requires of
me enough mental discipline to conduct the pregame interview to
find out and get his thoughts on his team, because
we wind up just you know, going down rabbit holes
(12:52):
of memory, going down memory lane of the times we
had together. And he's to this day, he's a good
friend and and we do text from time to time
and things like that. And we both had that common
bond of having grown up in the state of North Carolina,
and uh so we you know, we shared a lot
of memories and things over the years. By the same token,
(13:14):
Uh he knows Bri stand and I want the long
Ones win this game. They need this this winn and
I know where he stands. He needs to get a
win as well. So that's that's how that works. In
this business. You you make acquaintances and friendships and things
like that, but ultimately you may wind up on different
sides and you have to really hope that your side
has the better hand.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
And that's what I'm certainly hoping for tonight.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Yeah, both teams got to have it. It feels oh
to one and SEC played, particularly the Longhorns who are
still looking for that big time signature win here under
Sean Miller to start his career in the Burt Orange.
I wanted to get you a quick reaction on this
before you get back to your to your prep work
and head on over to the Food City Center. And
that is they by the way.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
That they changed the name of that arena too forever
and ever and ever. It was the Toms Thompson Bowling
Athletic Center, and I'm still kind of calling it Thompson Bowl.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
And when the bus pulled up and we pulled up.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
With Aught, Oh, it's now the Food City Center, and
Edie said, yeah, they got the sponsorship. For folks who
don't know, I think it's safe to say in Western Tennessee,
Food City is the ATV of of Western Tennessee, big
supermarket chain. I mean, I'm sorry, I said western eastern
Eastern Tennessee. Uh, they're in the Smokies and Knoxville and
(14:29):
and it's it's it's a big time supermarket chain, but
it's mainly in the eastern part of Tennessee and in
the western part of North Carolina, but mainly in the
eastern part of Tennessee.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Food City is a big, big name.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
It'd be like, you know, the AHV centers in Cedar
Park named for HIV Well. Food City has the corporate
sponsorship name for what forever was known as Thompson Bowling
Athletics Center, but it's now as you mentioned, the Food
City Center.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Hey, since we last spoke, I just wanted to get
your your quick reactions this and I know you've got
to get over to the Food City Center. And that
is Parker Livingston transferring from Texas to Oklahoma. Made that
official earlier on this afternoon. Just what kind of impact
do you think this has on an already kind of
(15:17):
interesting situation between the Longhorns and Livingston moving forward now
with their art rivals.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Well, I look at it in a similar context when
they had Brennan Thompson and then Thompson ended up transferring
to Oklahoma, and then Thompson ended up transferring Mississippi State
after that, I'm not saying that Parker's going to transfer
beyond Oklahoma. Who knows in this thing and age of
nil and transferring things of that nature with a portal.
(15:45):
I also know this too, and this is something that
I think we would all probably do well remember.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
And that is as.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Much as a lot of folks would have you believe
that they know exactly what the financial structure was and
offers made and all that kind of stuff. Unless you're
in that room, whether it's with Sark or whether it's
with Brandon Harris the GM or or some of the
other people who are dealing directly with the numbers, we
(16:18):
don't know. We don't know all the factors. Is money
probably a factor could be. I know the Longhorns when
they talked to him, there was a lot said about
what they could offer.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Uh. Is it about playing time? Could be?
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (16:34):
You know that. I noticed through social media.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
There are a lot of Sooners or Aggie said, oh
they lost a number two seat receiver.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
I do not really because.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Ryan Wingo uh and and DeAndre Moore and and then
as it continued to develop, Jack Hendreys at the tight
end spot uh em it mostly those guys were coming
in for every bit as many catches, if not more
then parked it. Parker meets some big grabs and that's
not to be diminished in any way, shape or form.
(17:05):
But attrition with a roster is going to happen. It
does happen, you will lose play. They don't have tred
Weiser and they don't have CJ. Baxter, but they'll have
other guys coming in. This is going to go on
until the sixteenth, and it's going to be up and
down and for people to lose their minds over the
first couple of days of the portal, relaxed a little
(17:25):
bit and just wait and see how it plays out
in terms of how the roster management goes and what
they can budget, what they're going to bring in, and
most importantly, the positions they need filled. And that's where
they're going to continue to concentrate their efforts, their energies,
and their resources.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
And you and I will continue to follow that story
and give updates on the transfer portal throughout the week
here on the program, Craig is always thanks for taking
some time out of your road schedule to join us.
Have a great call with Eddie tonight.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
We'll look forward to that, and we'll look forward to
being back in the house tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
All right, that's Craig Way live from Knoxville, Tennessee. Longhorns
take on the twenty second ranked Volunteers. See their old
friend Rick Barnes at eight o'clock for the tip off tonight.
You can hear that game right here on ninety eight
to one kvet FM, part of the Longhorn Radio Network.
(18:22):
Up next, we'll talk about some more transfer destinations for
former Texas Longhorns right here on Sports Radio AM thirteen
hundred The Zone
Some union when.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
West Virginia down to Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
From West Virginia and Austin up to Tennessee, we always
love the chance to catch up with Craig way from
the road as we bump back with the King George
Straight part of Texan Tuesday. That's the nineteen ninety seven
number one hit, Craig carrying Your Love with Me.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, I'd have to say, I'm glad I'm not in
West Virginia today. Nothing against West Virginia, It's just I'm
a you know me, I'm a guy who kind.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Of prefers warm weather.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
My wife and I have a have a friendly kind
of difference of opinion on this. She likes chilly, kind
of cold, but not real cold weather like in the
forties fifties.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
She kind of likes that. Listen.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I was thinking the other day on New Year's Well
with back news. It was January the I guess the third,
and I'm sending there standing in my backyard with my
dog in shorts, in bare feet, throwing the ball. We
(01:18):
play fetch a lot, and she loves It's her favorite game.
And so we bought a whole case of tennis balls
because that's her favorite consistency, and I throw it from
one end of the yard to the other and she
comes back and rings. And we've been doing this for
thirteen years. She's she's thirteen years old now and still
and still loves to do it. We still do that.
We don't we don't run her quite as hard anymore,
(01:39):
but we do still have the ball session. But I
was thinking as I was standing out there, and I
was thinking about the fact that it was and it was.
It was two days ago, it was Sunday, and I
had gotten back from doing the women's.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Game, and I'm sitting here thinking to myself.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Here it is five o'clock in the afternoon on January fourth.
I'm still and shorts and bare feet in the backyard
and a short sleeve shirt. I'll take that any day
of the week in January, in any any time of year,
I'm glad to take that. So so, and it's not
excuse me, weather. It's not real bad here in Tennessee.
(02:17):
Kind of chilling and damp and murky, but it's around
fifty degrees, so you really can't complain too much about that.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
And then we'll all be out of here in the night,
back to Austin. Tomorrow. So that's that's the best part
of it.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
You know, when I packed up the car over the
summer and drove from DC to Austin to move down here,
I spent that first night in Knoxville. Lots of great
places to walk around, good restaurants aside from the shoot around.
Will you have time to check out the city at
all today?
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Well, I've been here many times through men's basketball, women's basketball,
traveling through on the way to North Carolina, so I
know the place is really really well work today in
preparation for the game the night, it's not going to
allow me really time to get out in about much.
But you know, I know the places around here I've
(03:07):
been in the past to have any kind of deal
where you're talking about breakfast, lunch or dinner and going
down along the Tennessee River and things like that, those
are all nice experiences. And hey, for long Ard football fans,
they'll get a chance to experience it. It's coming fall
when Texas plays up here at Tennessee, so they have
that to look forward to as well.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
And tonight we look forward to you and Eddie or
and on the call for Texas against number twenty two
Tennessee at the Food City Center, two teams that drop
their SEC openers spending time with the team earlier today
at shoot around. What are Sean Miller and his assistants
kind of emphasizing to this team as they approach a
really difficult stretch here at the beginning of SEC play.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Well, there's several things, but two in particular continue to
be stressed during the shoot around. On the offensive side,
it is taking care of the basketball. Tennessee does a
really good job with pressure defense. Now, it's interesting, the
volunteers force twelve point six turnovers per game. I usually
(04:11):
don't delve in the decimals much. I round up, so
I would say thirteen. However, they are also turning it
over themselves twelve point six times per day. Game long
runs at eleven point four turnovers and they force eleven
point three, so that's almost a wash in that. But
Tennessee does a really good job with pressure defense, So
the long runs had to be cognizant of that. In
(04:32):
getting into their offense, whether it's in the half court
set or in transition off miss baskets, they've got to
redown obviously very very well.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
And then on the defensive side.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
They've got to be able to This is a mantra
that Sean Miller continues to preach to his team. They've
got to be able to defend without fouling, can't get
in foul difficulty.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
It's rare. Let me put it this way.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
It's rare that you can pin a lost to a
team on one particular factor or incident. In the case
of Saturday's lost in Mississippi State, I'd say a big
leading part of it was the fifth foul that Dylan swayn.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Accrued and it it you know that it.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Looked, it looked, you know, borderline at best, and but
it took it out of the game. And here's a
guy ahead a career high, had thirty four points and
fourteen rebounds, and he's out of the game in the
last minute and a half, two minutes of the game,
and the long Runes were trying to protect the lead.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
They couldn't do it.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
So defending without fouling, keeping Madus spoken Titus out of
foul difficulty, you're keeping Daylan Swayne out of foul difficulty.
And Jordan Pope and Tremon Mark and they they've got
to be able to find offense. But they got to
be able to stay on the floor defensively as well
against this Tennessee team.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Yeah, and Craig, the numbers really back that up. Texas
a much better defensive team with Daleen Swayn on the floor,
and he saw his offensive impact firsthand on Saturday night.
And look, I know, Mississippi State's no pushover, right, but
that's still going to go down as a Quad three
loss potentially for this Texas team. You look at this
stretch Tennessee, Alabama and Vanderbilt upcoming, three big time opportunities
(06:11):
for the Longhorns to start building that resume after not
the start they were hoping for to the season.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, you know, and I think I think it's fair
to say put it this way. We're in single digit
days in January, so I think it's fair to say
that Sean and the staff are more concerned with being
competitive and winning games in conference than they are about
Quad one Quad two. And that's the kind of stuff
(06:38):
that you and I nerded out on and we watched
that stuff very very carefully, and that's part of our job,
and that's what college basketball pundits and analysts and writers
and broadcasters do. They follow the trail of those things
because there is a connective tissue toward the end and
you look back on and say, oh, you you had
a loss to a Quad three team in Mississippi State.
(06:59):
Not looking at that right now, they're looking at the
fact it was a conference loss at home when you've
got three more teams that are all really really good
right in front of you. So that's what they're they're
having to concern themselves with, starting with this game here
in Knoxville to night, where Tennessee leads the overall series
at eight seven to four, but they won the last
(07:19):
four in a RUW that Texas was competitive for the
most part in the game in Nashville last year in
the semifinal round of the SEC Tournament, the year before
in Austin were very competitive, and then the year here
the game here before that, they were not.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
All three of those were lost. That's the common thread there.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
So they've got they've got to be able to see
if they can stop this Tennessee team and pick up.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
What would be a huge win.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Right now, the best win on their resume is North
Carolina State, and that's getting a little less impressive as
the days roll on. I think it has a chance
to age a little better over time, but right now
it's it's okay, but they need more.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
You're right, and I need a reminder to just, you know,
not nerd out so much, right, just to enjoy the
game that's kind of coming up in front of us.
And there's plenty of storylines when you look at tonight
with Rick Barnes coaching against Sean Miller. We heard it
from him in the last segment, and Craig I hope
Rick Barnes' vocal strength has returned a little bit by
the time you get to interview him tonight. But Rick
(08:23):
Barnes coach Sean Miller as an eight year old point
guard at a youth camp at the University of Pittsburgh
in which Barnes was coaching against John Caliperi. So the
small world of college basketball never ceases to amaze. And
now we get these two coaches starting a new chapter
as conference foes.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
They carry that memory to both of them.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
This morning at breakfast, Eddie orn and Ibbvisney was sewn
about that and we talked about basketball camp and normally
in those basketball camps back then, this was one in
like you said, in summer and of course Sean was
going up in Pittsburgh and John Callaparty was there, and
Rick was there and several others. Normally, within the structure
(09:05):
and framework of those camps, they rotate the coaches around
you worked with different coaches, did different segments. That wasn't
the case in this deal. Sean was assigned to Rick Barnes.
Rick was his coach for that, and I think it's
fair to say. I think Rick would tell you this too.
He was a little bit different kind and style of
(09:26):
coach back then. His motor burned a lot hotter. His
motor burned a lot hotter when he started out of
Texas in the ninety eight ninety nine season and was
for quite some time through the final four run of
three and on down. Is it safe to say maybe
he's mellowed a little. Yeah, but I've still watched how
(09:47):
he coaches and he's still got that same competitive streak
and thread that runs through him. He also has some
good assistant coaches who you know, helped carry the band
from One is a very close friend of Eddie Orange.
Greg Polenski was a longtime NBA scout and director of
scouting for the Detroit Pistons. Poe and Eddie were assistants
(10:09):
on Bob Weltlick's staff in the eighties for a time,
and I've become friends with him as well. But he
and Eddie are very close. In fact, there were roommates
for a couple of years early on in Austin. They're
very close and Poe has been on Rick staff for
five years. John Lentz or Brian Lentz is an assistant
on Rick staff. Brian is the former head coach at
(10:32):
Appalachian State, but Brian is the son of John Lnz,
who was a college teammate and roommate of Rick Barnes
at Leonora Ryan Division two school in North Carolina. John
Lentz was Rick's roommate and a very close friend his
son Brian, who's been a coach for many years, And
like I said, for a brief times, the head coach
(10:52):
ATPP blatchein State is on Rick staff as well. So
you're right, there's a lot of connectivity between these two programs,
between these coaches and in their extended family. Garrett Maidenwall
is another one. Meidanwall is their strength coach. Garrett's a
great young man. He was the strength coach for Texas
(11:12):
women's basketball when Gail Gestencourse was the head coach. That's
where I got to know Garrett. I'm back and he
was a disciple of Todd Wright, who was Rick's strength
coach at Texas for many years and is now with
the Los Angeles Clippers, and so he was kind of
a disciple of his. So Rick has Garrett Meidenwald as
his strength coach. So there's a lot of connectivity between
(11:36):
these staffs and the individuals and their extended families.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
When you see Rick Barnes tonight, what are you looking
forward to, asking him? And when you've prepared for this team?
Aside from the youth and the turnovers, like we've talked about,
what really jumps out about the twenty twenty five, twenty
six version of the balls. Who's been pretty consistent the
last few years.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Yeah, they have been, and he's done a good job
hardly Now he's in his eleventh year. He has leaned
into the portal as other coaches have. He got Jacobe
Gillespie transferring in from Maryland, who's done a heck of
a job.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
They're stepping right into the point guard spot.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Nate Ament is a freshman who can shoot the basketball well.
Felix par we saw last year, the former Ohio State Buckeye.
We saw him last year at the SEC tournament. JP
Estrella is another guy that we saw last year. So
he's got good weapons, he's got good inside out players.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
You know.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
The ironic thing about this deal, Jake is Rick and
I've known each other long enough where it requires of
me enough mental discipline to conduct the pregame interview to
find out and get his thoughts on his team, because
we wind up just you know, going down rabbit holes
(12:52):
of memory, going down memory lane of the times we
had together. And he's to this day, he's a good
friend and and we do text from time to time
and things like that. And we both had that common
bond of having grown up in the state of North Carolina,
and uh so we you know, we shared a lot
of memories and things over the years. By the same token,
(13:14):
Uh he knows Bri stand and I want the long
Ones win this game. They need this this winn and
I know where he stands. He needs to get a
win as well. So that's that's how that works. In
this business. You you make acquaintances and friendships and things
like that, but ultimately you may wind up on different
sides and you have to really hope that your side
has the better hand.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
And that's what I'm certainly hoping for tonight.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Yeah, both teams got to have it. It feels oh
to one and SEC played, particularly the Longhorns who are
still looking for that big time signature win here under
Sean Miller to start his career in the Burt Orange.
I wanted to get you a quick reaction on this
before you get back to your to your prep work
and head on over to the Food City Center. And
that is they by the way.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
That they changed the name of that arena too forever
and ever and ever. It was the Toms Thompson Bowling
Athletic Center, and I'm still kind of calling it Thompson Bowl.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
And when the bus pulled up and we pulled up.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
With Aught, Oh, it's now the Food City Center, and
Edie said, yeah, they got the sponsorship. For folks who
don't know, I think it's safe to say in Western Tennessee,
Food City is the ATV of of Western Tennessee, big
supermarket chain. I mean, I'm sorry, I said western eastern
Eastern Tennessee. Uh, they're in the Smokies and Knoxville and
(14:29):
and it's it's it's a big time supermarket chain, but
it's mainly in the eastern part of Tennessee and in
the western part of North Carolina, but mainly in the
eastern part of Tennessee.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Food City is a big, big name.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
It'd be like, you know, the AHV centers in Cedar
Park named for HIV Well. Food City has the corporate
sponsorship name for what forever was known as Thompson Bowling
Athletics Center, but it's now as you mentioned, the Food
City Center.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Hey, since we last spoke, I just wanted to get
your your quick reactions this and I know you've got
to get over to the Food City Center. And that
is Parker Livingston transferring from Texas to Oklahoma. Made that
official earlier on this afternoon. Just what kind of impact
do you think this has on an already kind of
(15:17):
interesting situation between the Longhorns and Livingston moving forward now
with their art rivals.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Well, I look at it in a similar context when
they had Brennan Thompson and then Thompson ended up transferring
to Oklahoma, and then Thompson ended up transferring Mississippi State
after that, I'm not saying that Parker's going to transfer
beyond Oklahoma. Who knows in this thing and age of
nil and transferring things of that nature with a portal.
(15:45):
I also know this too, and this is something that
I think we would all probably do well remember.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
And that is as.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Much as a lot of folks would have you believe
that they know exactly what the financial structure was and
offers made and all that kind of stuff. Unless you're
in that room, whether it's with Sark or whether it's
with Brandon Harris the GM or or some of the
other people who are dealing directly with the numbers, we
(16:18):
don't know. We don't know all the factors. Is money
probably a factor could be. I know the Longhorns when
they talked to him, there was a lot said about
what they could offer.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Uh. Is it about playing time? Could be?
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (16:34):
You know that. I noticed through social media.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
There are a lot of Sooners or Aggie said, oh
they lost a number two seat receiver.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
I do not really because.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Ryan Wingo uh and and DeAndre Moore and and then
as it continued to develop, Jack Hendreys at the tight
end spot uh em it mostly those guys were coming
in for every bit as many catches, if not more
then parked it. Parker meets some big grabs and that's
not to be diminished in any way, shape or form.
(17:05):
But attrition with a roster is going to happen. It
does happen, you will lose play. They don't have tred
Weiser and they don't have CJ. Baxter, but they'll have
other guys coming in. This is going to go on
until the sixteenth, and it's going to be up and
down and for people to lose their minds over the
first couple of days of the portal, relaxed a little
(17:25):
bit and just wait and see how it plays out
in terms of how the roster management goes and what
they can budget, what they're going to bring in, and
most importantly, the positions they need filled. And that's where
they're going to continue to concentrate their efforts, their energies,
and their resources.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
And you and I will continue to follow that story
and give updates on the transfer portal throughout the week
here on the program, Craig is always thanks for taking
some time out of your road schedule to join us.
Have a great call with Eddie tonight.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
We'll look forward to that, and we'll look forward to
being back in the house tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
All right, that's Craig Way live from Knoxville, Tennessee. Longhorns
take on the twenty second ranked Volunteers. See their old
friend Rick Barnes at eight o'clock for the tip off tonight.
You can hear that game right here on ninety eight
to one kvet FM, part of the Longhorn Radio Network.
(18:22):
Up next, we'll talk about some more transfer destinations for
former Texas Longhorns right here on Sports Radio AM thirteen
hundred The Zone
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