Sean Miller introduced as the next Texas Longhorns Men's Basketball Coach

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the program here on sports
Radio AM thirteen hundred. The Zone is who bring you
the program this afternoon from UFCU dish falk Field, where
the Texas long worn baseball team as a non conference
game tonight with the Bearcats of sam Houston State University.
SAM Houston will take on a Texas team that is
up to as high as number three in some of

(00:21):
the polls following their weekend series win over the LSU Tigers. Okay,
so that's one element of University of Texas athletics. Right
across the freeway from US right now is University of
Texas football. Spring practice got underway today and Pro Timing
Day underway as well on the UT campus inside the bubble.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
So that's been going on.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
So you have football, baseball, women's basketball. We know from
the broadcast we brought you yesterday here on the Zone
that the Texas women are back in the Sweet sixteen
for the fourth time in the five years under Vick Schaeffer,
winning yesterday afternoon eighty five sixty eight over Illinois. And
now for the Longhorns, it's on the Birmingham, Alabama and
a Saturday afternoon matchup in the sweet sixteen, a rematch

(01:08):
from the regular season contest with the Tennessee Lady Valls,
whom they defeated back on January twenty third, so just
a tiny bit over two months ago. They beat Tennessee
on a Thursday night at Moody Center in a thriller
eighty to seventy six. And then you have a long
worn baseball excuse me, long wrnon men's basketball, which today

(01:31):
introduced you to their new head coach. We brought you
the news conference live this morning at eleven o'clock here
on the Zone as Sean Miller was introduced as the
new head basketball coach at the University of Texas. We're
gonna hear from Coach Miller, his comments, his opening statement,
if you will, from that news conference coming up in
just a few minutes. So, yes, a very busy time.

(01:52):
And that doesn't even get into the other sports like
softball going on. And they're number two in the country
and they come off the series suite of Auburn Men's
and women swimming and dogging have been competing in NCAA
championship events, track and field, underway, men's and women's tennis.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
And golf.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
So there's an awful lot going on, but we try
our best to keep up with everything, and we of
course includes the producer of this program, Cameron D. Parker
that he on the birth certificate stands for Dallas.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
It's kind of.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Quiet in terms of the team for whom he is
given the middle name, the Dallas Cowboys at the moment
in the offseason. But Dallas Mavericks got Anthony Davis back
last night and he had a productive game, and the
Mavericks beat the Nets last night, and wouldn't go too
crazy over that, after all, the Nets aren't very good,
but at least it was a positive sign in the

(02:45):
right direction. D for direction, I guess Cam because of
the directions we've been pulled in over the past several.

Speaker 2 (02:52):
Days, no doubt.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
And we'll head out to the east, to the southeast
of Birmingham, Alabama in a few days. So it's been
nice to be home for a couple of days, being
back here in the iHeart Studios, seeing all over co
workers and they're goh, you still work here, Yeah, yeah,
we still work here. We've been on the air every day,
is just we've been in different cities and across the

(03:15):
United States, but it's a fun day, a sad day
in some regards, but a fun day and an exciting
day for Texas and basketball.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
I take it to referring to sadness in that, of course,
the replacement at Texas for the men's basketball program. And
while there's excitement there for Sean Miller, I thought that
Coach Miller, and you'll hear him say this, I thought
that Vice President Director of Athletics Chryst del Conte, as
well as the chairman of the Board of Regents, Kevin

(03:46):
el Type, and Jim Davis, a university president and own president,
all had glowing tributes for Rodney Terry and the things
that he did in this difficult situation into which he
was thrust in December of twenty twenty two and guided
the program and the players on that roster and held
it together and got them to the Elite eight. And

(04:08):
then they went back to the NCAA Tournament. Last year
reached the second round of the tournament before falling to Tennessee.
And this year reaching the NCAA Tournament but losing in
the first four round, and athletic direction in the department direction,
and again CDC made a very very vocal point of
pointing out that nothing's done in a vacuum.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
That there is the.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
Considered opinion of really those three, Kevin Elsie and the
interim president Jim Davison, and himself obviously CRYSTALCNTI on a
change in direction with a basketball program. But they all
did thank Rodney Terry for his work, so and we
salute him as well. Roddy and his stafford great guys

(04:53):
and a few of the staff members were around the
day and we're there along with varsity head coaches. Art
came over coming off of the practice field, came over
for the introductory news conference. He was there. Jim Schlasnagel,
the long WRNS head baseball coach, was there. Vick Schaefer,
the Texas women's basketball coach, was there. Ange Kelly, Texas

(05:14):
soccer coach, was there. Jared Elliott, Texas volleyball coach, was there.
There were several of the UT Athletic Department varsity coaches
who were there, so it was good to see that
as well.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
All right, we need a break.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
When we come back, we're going to bring to you
the comments from Sean Miller, the brand new head basketball
coach at the University of Texas here on this Tuesday
afternoon on Sports Radio AM thirteen under the Zone. Glad
to be with you here on this Tuesday afternoon and
Tuesday evening going to be long WRN Baseball as Texas
takes on Sam Houston tonight and then Texas goes on

(05:47):
the road for another SEC Conference series and we in Columbia,
Missouri to take on the Missouri Tigers this weekend. But
we want to jump right in with hearing from the
brand new i head basketball coach at the University of Texas.
It was a news conference we brought you live this
morning here on the Zone. But here's a sample of it.

(06:08):
These were the comments, the introductory comments after just being
introduced by christ Do Konze, the university vice president and
director of Athletics. But here are the thoughts, the comments.
The opening comments from brand new head basketball coach Sean Miller.

Speaker 4 (06:24):
Well, thank you. It goes without saying.

Speaker 5 (06:28):
This is a day that doesn't happen to many people
in life, and I know this is a life changing
opportunity for my family, my wife and I and I
see it no less than that, and I'm so looking
forward to the future of doing amazing things like Chris
had mentioned, which has become the standard here at Texas

(06:51):
and what appears to me to be in virtually every sport.
I want to start my comments here this afternoon or
this morning thanking the place that I left. Xavier University
is a small Jesuit school in Cincinnati, Ohio, and it
is an amazing place to be the college basketball coach.

(07:13):
There has incredible meaning to the university. They're athletic director
Greg Christopher and President Colleen Hannich believed in me, gave
me an opportunity, and it's when change happens. There's always
people and things going in two different directions. That directions

(07:34):
you wouldn't want me to be the coach if I
didn't have some strong feelings about the place that I left.

Speaker 4 (07:39):
I love that place.

Speaker 5 (07:41):
If you think about my journey, I've been a coach
for thirty two years in college basketball. Eleven of those
thirty two were at Xavier, eight as the head coach
in two different stints. It's a place that trusted me,
believed in me. And when I tell you I'm forever
a part of them and forever grateful, that would be
an understatement. And I like to think everybody that's associated

(08:05):
with that place.

Speaker 4 (08:06):
That I left.

Speaker 5 (08:08):
By the way, it's ironic that we just played Texas, right,
And I think that anybody that watched the game on
TV or was at that game would feel that passion
that I'm describing about the fans. I mean, it was,
unfortunately for Texas, a true road game, and we certainly
were able to take advantage of that great crowd.

Speaker 4 (08:28):
In terms of.

Speaker 5 (08:29):
Today, I would like to thank Chairman El Taive, President Davis,
and certainly Chris del Conte for this unbelievable opportunity. We
spent some time talking this morning and they all kind
of started the conversation with a lot of things, but
the thing that resonated with me more than anything is

(08:49):
the brand or slogan. You know, what begins here at Texas,
what starts here changes the world, right, What starts here
at Texas changes the world.

Speaker 4 (09:00):
And it's like, when you.

Speaker 5 (09:01):
Think about that, that is an incredibly powerful statement. And
to be the coach here is quite an honor. Rodney
Terry is somebody that I know as a coaching friend,
and I've known Rodney both as an assistant head coach
and he was at Fresno and UTEP and certainly we
competed against each other at two different times while he

(09:23):
was the head coach here at Texas and I was
at Xavier. I have immense respect for him. He's a
great man. He did an incredible job, and he impacted
Texas the University of Texas in his basketball program in
a much greater way than just his final three years.

Speaker 4 (09:42):
He was actually here for a total of twelve.

Speaker 5 (09:45):
Years, and in my runs at both Xavier and Arizona
when we played Texas, I coached against Texas when he
was both the assistant and head coach. So I know
he's given his heart and soul to this place and
just want to make sure from that perspective again, when
change happens, people.

Speaker 4 (10:02):
Go in different ways.

Speaker 5 (10:04):
I have certainly an amazing amount of respect for what
he's done for this basketball program. I'm so excited to
be here at Texas. When we talked this morning, I
didn't realize that the athletic department has won three out
of four Director's Cups. I believe it. Stanford owned that
identity for a long period of time. No longer, and

(10:27):
when you see the success in other programs, I'm anxious
to meet coach Schaeffer. Laura Ianello is somebody that I
worked with when I was the coach at Arizona, and
she was the women's golf coach at Arizona. She's now
here at Texas and I haven't seen her yet, but
she was a national championship coach at Arizona. She's here

(10:48):
now at Texas. And then obviously football, Steve Sarkesian. I've
been a fan. I'm a huge college football fan, probably
because I grew up in Pittsburgh. You say, coach, who
do you watch the most? Amy And I like, we
damn near put on like Franco Harris's jersey and watch
the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday and sometimes I save my

(11:12):
energy and I just watched that SEC game on Saturday.
But I've watched the rise of Steve. We were in
the Pac twelve together. He was at obviously Washington and SC.
We have a common friend Kevin McGuff who I know
he worked with at Washington. And I've become a fan
of watching the SEC football in Texas.

Speaker 4 (11:32):
It's like, what do you do on weekends?

Speaker 5 (11:34):
That's a big part of what I like to do
before our season starts. Bjeon Robinson went to South Point
High School in Tucson. I went to high school in
the same class as my youngest son, Brayden, which is
wild to watch him here in little old Tucson playing
high school football and watch him become the offensive rookie
of the year with the Falcons.

Speaker 4 (11:54):
It's like, Wow, that's Bijon.

Speaker 5 (11:56):
You know, a guy that I used to watch in
ninth and tenth grade. So I'm anxious to be a
part of that fabric and embrace everybody here and do
what those other.

Speaker 4 (12:07):
Programs have done.

Speaker 5 (12:09):
And there's no doubt in my mind that when you're
the flagship school the state of Texas, your power is limitless.
When you're a part of the SEC, it just means more.
I don't know if there's a slogan that makes more
sense than that. You feel it on football Saturdays. You
feel it in this year's Sweet Sixteen in basketball. For

(12:29):
a minute there, I thought all sixteen teams were from
the SEC. You step away and like, wow, arguably the
greatest conference ever put together is in present time in
the SEC. When you talk about basketball in terms of
the former players, I have lived that life two different
times at Xavier, where you have incredible players, David West,

(12:54):
James Posey at a smaller school.

Speaker 4 (12:56):
Brian Grant, Tyrone Hill.

Speaker 5 (12:59):
To welcome them back and make sure that they know
that this program is always there. When I went to
Arizona and took over, I was the fourth coach in
four years. Lude Olsen's shadow is immense, and what he
built there at the University of Arizona, that program will
forever be his program. But those players, Jason Terry who
worked on my staff, Damon Stodamayer who worked on my staff,

(13:22):
Joseph Blair was going to be an NBA head coach
here soon worked on my staff, Steve Kerr, Richard Jefferson,
Gilbert Arenas. I can keep going those guys. I tried
always to make sure that they understood that the coach
may have changed, but what they built is what we
live on and you're always welcome in our program here

(13:44):
at Texas. I could name a lot of names, some
of which are right here in the crowd, but TJ.
Ford from Houston, obviously, Kevin Durant, who's from d c
LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas, Avery Bradley from Seattle. I bring
those examples up because you see that the great state

(14:05):
of Texas, like it might be the most talent rich
state in our country when it comes to recruiting. Yet
you know what starts here changes the world. You can
go to Canada and get Tristan Thompson, you can go
to Seattle and get Avery Bradley. It's both the combination
of this great state and also the world. And I
think our job is to recruit the world and bring

(14:27):
the best programing team we can here to Texas and
super excited about that. The same with the coaching history,
whether it's Shaka Smart Chris Beard from recent times, and
I know both guys well. Chris is a good friend Shaka.
I just finished coaching against him in the last three
years of Marquette.

Speaker 4 (14:47):
We played them three times this year.

Speaker 5 (14:49):
The games of all three games were decided by a
grand total of six points. They were just absolute basketball wars.
Tom Penders I've known since I've been in second grade.
He was somebody that I met a long long time
ago growing up. And then Coach Barnes. He may get
mad at me, Rick Barnes, but if you can imagine this,
he was my first coach that I ever had. It's

(15:12):
at the Pitt Basketball camp I was a third grader.
He led me to a championship, or maybe I led
him to a championship as a nine year old, and
I know that's a difference in age there. But he's
somebody that I've known since nine and I know what
a great coach and tenure he had here. We competed
against him, and I think what he's doing at the

(15:34):
University of Tennessee, it really speaks volumes to the great
coach that he is. I also have an amazing, unique
track record with Texas. You know, everybody will remember the
last two times think about it. A Sweet sixteen matchup
in which Texas beat Xavier at you the Arena, which
just happened a couple of weeks ago, which was an incredible,

(15:57):
credible game could have gone either way ten times over.
I don't know if people in here remember, but there
was a suite. There was a game that meant the
Sweet sixteen. There was arguably a five second count that
impacted the game.

Speaker 4 (16:10):
I thought it was one of the best calls.

Speaker 5 (16:12):
In the NCAA tournament history. If you don't know what
I'm talking about, look it up.

Speaker 4 (16:18):
You'll know what I mean.

Speaker 5 (16:18):
But I had a guy named Derek Williams, which arguably
became the greatest player in that NCAA tournament, was the
number two pick in the draft, and obviously Jordan Hamilton
I think took a charge on the last play. I
don't know if Jordan was used to taking charges, but
and an one won the game and it led us
to a Sweet sixteen. And then if you go all

(16:40):
the way back Sweet sixteen, when I was an assistant
coach in the Atlanta, Georgia Dome in which we won,
I was at Xavier.

Speaker 4 (16:47):
Then we went on to lose to Duke.

Speaker 5 (16:50):
As a player, played in the preseason NIT against Coach
Penders in New York City. So you think about that,
that's almost a lifetime of experiences, and I'm glad that
I have the opportunity now to where this burnt orange
in coach Texas. In terms of the vision of the program,
it's really about four things. With me, I believe this,

(17:13):
over my time, like all of us, thirty two years,
twenty years as a head coach, what you once did
sometimes is made better, sometimes is left out. You continue
to grow and evolve, and I believe I've really grown
and evolved a lot, even over the last four or
five years, both on and off the court. As a coach,

(17:35):
vision of the program starts with recruiting. You know, if
you follow Texas football, you know, I'm sure that coach
would say the same thing. The lifeblood of what they
do are the decisions they make that who inevitably becomes
their roster. It's going to be a combination of the
transfer portal, recruiting the very best high school players, having

(17:57):
a great feel for international recruiting. And again, what starts
here changes the world. That's the state of Texas. Again,
when you look at the talent in cities just Dallas
and Houston, it's never been more plentiful. When you're who
we are, It's going to begin there player development. It's

(18:18):
one thing to recruit people and players to your program.

Speaker 4 (18:21):
They have to get better.

Speaker 5 (18:23):
The greatest gift that's happened to me as a coach
is that I coached it Xavier. We might not be
able to get to McDonald's All American in our history
at Xavier we stand at a grand total of zero
McDonald's All Americans. Yet if you look at the results,
how did that happen? How do you have winning teams
and teams that advance in March Madness. Players have to improve,

(18:45):
they have to grow, they have to get better, and
when you're in charge or a part of that type
of program, We're going to bring that same type of
staff and know how here to Texas so that it's
not only recruiting great, but it's making sure that they
develop in the proper way that one day they can

(19:05):
become an NBA player. Style of play, and again, I
know i'm talking Texas football here. I'm a huge football fan.
Like I said, but one of the things that captivates
me when I have a choice who do I watch tonight, Well, who's.

Speaker 4 (19:20):
The most exciting and.

Speaker 5 (19:22):
Excellent college basketball is the same way I believe in
an uptempo style of play. That's something that I've really
changed on over the last four years. Playing fast doesn't
mean playing reckless. In the NBA, there's a twenty four
second shot clock for a reason and it's not going
to shrink anytime soon. When you look at college basketball

(19:45):
in player development being exciting, you could play fast and
you can also play smart. But I will tell you
that in terms of pace of play in tempo, I
promise I'll deliver on not only an exciting style, but
I think a style that people and players will love
to watch in person, on TV and most importantly to

(20:06):
be a part of. When you think of our style,
in addition to pace, you should think of movement, both
ball and player movement, a togetherness on both offense and defense.
And most importantly, and I think, if you don't have
it in this league that we're in, you have zero chance,
and that is you better have a great toughness and

(20:29):
will about you. When you watch us play, you have
to compete for it all. Every possession matters, So pace, movement, togetherness,
and toughness. I think it really embodies the style that
I believe in, and that's the style.

Speaker 4 (20:44):
That we'll play here at Texas.

Speaker 5 (20:46):
And finally, the word culture is used a lot, especially
when things are going well. I think where a culture
is really judged is when things maybe aren't necessarily going well.
And I'll point to the season that I I just left,
where if you would have judged the team that I
coached in January or December, we might have been on
the tournaments outside looking in, dealt with the season ending injury,

(21:10):
dealt with some close losses. Where a culture really kicks
in is at that moment of truth and the why
in the road can you really turn it around? And
one of the things I'm so proud of of the
team I just left is that's in fact what we did.
We played our best in February and March, and I
point towards culture culture here and I look forward to

(21:32):
bringing it.

Speaker 4 (21:33):
Is what I call all in.

Speaker 5 (21:36):
You know, the pillars of it are communication, respect, unity,
passion and joy. But when I say all in, it's
not only who we are and what we do every
single day as a team and coaching staff, but it's
also what it feels like on game day in Moody,
in the Moody Center with the Corral. To have a

(21:59):
great call basketball program, you have to have an advantage
when we play at home. If you think about Kansas
or fog Allen Fieldhouse, one of the things that inevitably
creeps in your mind is what it feels like.

Speaker 4 (22:14):
To play that home game. When you look at Duke and.

Speaker 5 (22:17):
Cameron Indoor Stadium, there's arenas that are bigger. There are
no arenas that you ever walk into that are a
more home court advantage than what they've built at Cameron
Indoor Stadium. At the Centas Center where I just left
Xavier six thousand undergraduate students. We had twelve hundred student
student section every game for seventeen the Corral and myself,

(22:41):
I'm looking forward to a great relationship. We need an
incredible home court. We need to have an electric, great
student section. When I say all in, you need everybody.
The people that hire you, an athletic department that is
in alignment, and you need fans that understand that game
we play matters, but none matter more than those seventeen

(23:03):
home games we play a year. And finally, all in
with former players is again like I had mentioned, we can't.

Speaker 4 (23:11):
Do this alone.

Speaker 5 (23:12):
We need your support, and we as the new coach
and staff, have to do a great job of always
making you feel that this program is yours. But if
you combine those incredible forces each other as an athletic department,
the home court atmosphere with fans former players in a
way of building within a culture of all in, we

(23:35):
need everybody, that's when magical things can really happen. I've
been a coach a head coach for twenty years. I'll
give you the good and bad from this perspective. There's
only been one coach that's been the more elite eights
without reaching a Final four than me, and that's the
former Hall of Famer John Cheney. You can say, wow,

(23:56):
those are some tough losses, but I've always operated.

Speaker 4 (24:00):
From this perspective.

Speaker 5 (24:01):
You've got to beat the door down and knock at
it a number of times to eventually punch it through.
And I'm looking forward to uniting with the resources and
this amazing institution in place here at the University of
Texas and breaking through not once but multiple times, competing
for SEC championships and being a perennial great program like

(24:25):
so many other great programs at this university are.

Speaker 4 (24:28):
Right now. I have three sons and my wife Amy.

Speaker 5 (24:35):
Nobody has been through more than my wife Amy. We
met in high school, grew up in Pittsburgh Blackhawk High School.
Both attended the University of Pittsburgh. She's been at more
games without knowing the game than any wife has ever attended.

Speaker 4 (24:52):
I'll say that again.

Speaker 5 (24:53):
She's attended more games since I've been sixteen years old,
and she's been sixteen years old and without truly knowing
the game than any fan that's ever done it.

Speaker 4 (25:04):
I love it about her.

Speaker 5 (25:05):
She just cheers, But like I asked her, you know,
a couple of times this year, if someone calls it travel,
what's that mean? And that's kind of one of the
many things that I love about her. She loves me,
We love each other. She's a great mom, a great wife.
But she's been on this journey with me for thirty
two years. And all coaches that are in the audience

(25:26):
know what I mean when I say that there's a
special place in heaven for a coach's wife.

Speaker 4 (25:31):
But to have her with me here and at.

Speaker 5 (25:33):
This press conference in US, I think, embarking on what
I consider our final journey together, it's an amazing feeling. Again,
thank you, Chris, thank you for this opportunity. I am
forever grateful, and I promise you that no staff, no coach,
will give more of himself to get us to the

(25:54):
top than I will holcome there.

Speaker 1 (25:57):
It is the comments the address for from Sean Miller,
the new head basketball coach at the University of Texas.
Coming up a little later, you'll hear the Q and
A that a lot of reporters had for him. And
then in the four o'clock hour, my conversation with the
head coach are one on one that's coming up a
little later on. However, since we're back in the saddle

(26:19):
and doing what we do, you know what that means
up next inconceivable here on a Tuesday afternoon on thirteen
under the Zone, Craig Way with you from UFCU dishwalk Field,
Texas Longhorns tonight take on the Sam Houston Bearcats.

Speaker 2 (26:33):
The Longhorns now.

Speaker 1 (26:35):
Coming off that weekend series victory against LSU, taking two
out of three from the At the time second ranked
Tigers have risen to his highest number three in the
nation in the Baseball America rankings, their number five in
Perfect Game, they're number seven in D one Baseball dot
Com and number seven in the USA Today coaches pull,
so they continue their rise and now nineteen and three

(26:58):
are the Longhorns. And we'll hear from Jim Schlastang a
little later on this hour. I had an opportunity just
a little while ago, went down and visited with schlass
before we got things going to hear, So we'll hear
that conversation coming up coming up in a few minutes more.
On the first day on the job for Sean Miller,
the new head basketball coach for long worn men's basketball.

(27:21):
We brought to the news conference in its entirety this morning,
which was the introduction by University Systems Regent Kevin el
Type and in addition to that, also heard from university
Vice president and Director of Athletics christ del Conte. He

(27:43):
did the big introduction of Sean Miller. And then last
hour we also re aired Sean Miller's comments for the media.
His introductory comments, we brought that to you live as
part of the totality of the news conference this morning,
and then last hour we brought you his comments this morning.
The totality of the news conference included the Q and

(28:05):
A with the assemble media. We have Cameron Parker extracted
that part of it and you're going to hear that
coming up here as we recap the.

Speaker 2 (28:14):
Course of the day.

Speaker 1 (28:15):
And then in the four o'clock hour, he you know,
in this day and age, when when a reporter has
a one on one interview with a coach or an athlete,
quite often they'll say I sat down with so and
so and it did this. And sometimes they're not actually sitting,
they're standing or maybe even walking with it.

Speaker 3 (28:34):
This.

Speaker 1 (28:34):
In this case, we were sitting, so didn't you post
something on social media about that cam showing the two
of us having our chat together after the press conference.

Speaker 3 (28:43):
Yeah, if you want to see the video version of it,
I just cut it up and put it on our
TikTok in Instagram.

Speaker 2 (28:48):
So am thirteen hundred the zone. If you want to
be able to watch end listen.

Speaker 1 (28:52):
All right, So there it is and it'll be there,
but we'll bring you certainly the Q and a portion
with the media coming up here in a few minutes
and in the four o'clock hour. Also later in the
three o'clock hours, I mentioned with Jim Slasnagle, who right
now is watching some of the long worn players take
some swings, and these are some of the reserve players.

Speaker 2 (29:12):
But you know, it never ends for a head coach.

Speaker 1 (29:15):
He's out there watching guys who are the backups and
maybe getting it baty every game or a couple of
or one at bat maybe every couple of games or
three games or whatever on the weekend. So there's the
constant work to try to upgrade what's going on. So
we'll hear from Jim Slasnagle a little later on this hour.

(29:36):
And then, like I said that one on one conversation
that I had with Sean Miller coming up in the
four o'clock hour.

Speaker 2 (29:44):
Okay, so.

Speaker 1 (29:47):
Pro Timing Day and the first day of spring practice
simultaneously happening on campus at the University of Texas today,
Long Worn's head coach Steve Sarkisian, who made time to
go over four the introductory news conference of Sean Miller.
But nevertheless, he had his practice and the Pro Timing
Day is going on right now. When you were doing

(30:09):
your I guess your internships and your student reporting and
things like that, did you ever go to a pro
Timing Day?

Speaker 3 (30:17):
Kevin, No, never did, actually because by the time I
probably would have gone during my internship with Longhorn Network.
But I believe the pro Timing Day was canceled because
of COVID nineteen.

Speaker 2 (30:30):
You're exactly right. It was. It definitely was. But it's
it's now.

Speaker 1 (30:34):
In fact, it's being televised live on the SEC network.
It reminds me of the earlier days, not that long ago,
of Longhorn Network televising such things live, but it's it's
going on with Pro Timing Day. Saw Isaiah Bond being
measured and you know some of the some of the
metric things they do with some of the pro in

(30:55):
front of the pro scouts there, so that's going on.
And then of course spring practice, and our pal and colleague,
Fozzy Whittaker was working for SEC Network and he visited
with Sark very briefly, and I heard the conversation, and
Fozzi asked him a question along the lines of what

(31:15):
you know, what are you looking for early on in
the spring practices with today being the first And of
course this is a different world now as we know
for Sark and for the football program. It's been quite
ballyhooed and reported quite a bit about, you know, no
spring game, and but the changes that have happened go

(31:40):
far beyond the fact that there's not an orange white
spring game. There is going to be a fan fest,
but no spring game. Sark has made it abundantly clear
that his goal is to try to continue to mold
his program into in terms of its logistical elements, into

(32:04):
more of a pro style approach NFL style.

Speaker 2 (32:07):
And meaning off season workout.

Speaker 1 (32:11):
Things being in segments done where players can be in
their best condition during these times coming off their off
season conditioning, rather than cramming fifteen practices together or twenty
practice together. And then having a spring game. That doesn't
really mean that much in terms of the regular guys

(32:35):
who are going to be contributing to the football program,
because you know, in this day and age of the
portal and with all eyes on what's going on, they're
not you know, they're not that enthused about, you know,
other programs having an opportunity to take a look at
student athletes who would then be in the portal. Speaking

(32:57):
of the portal, by the way, the portal is open
now in college basketball, and that is something that Sean
Miller and his staff as he puts his staff together,
we'll have to deal with that. Speaking of which, coming up,
we'll bring in the Q and A portion because that's
that's part of the Q and A is the portal
and NIL because there's over hot button topics in college basketball.
So that's coming up next as we continue here from

(33:19):
UFCU dish fak Field six fifteen, Airtime six thirty. First
pitch for Texas and Sam Houston with this program with
the comments in the Q and A with new men's
basketball coach Sean Miller up next on AM thirteen under
the Zone. So what George Strait did you hit us?
So which number one? Did you come back?

Speaker 3 (33:36):
We're just starting over because I couldn't remember where I
left off that, so we're starting out with I hate everything,
which doesn't really match the theme today. Yeah, it's a
beautiful day outside.

Speaker 2 (33:47):
Absolutely a lot of fun out there today.

Speaker 3 (33:50):
But maybe watching what seeing my bracket bust, you know,
makes me say I hate everything so many Maybe that's.

Speaker 1 (33:56):
That's where I was going next. I was going to
ask you how your bracket was doing.

Speaker 3 (33:59):
So my lead eight still there, final four still there,
but you know, everything else is kind of wrecked. So
all it takes is one or two upsets and I'm
I'm not I'm not winning my bracket pool right now,
how about you?

Speaker 4 (34:10):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (34:12):
Seven of my elite eight are still alive. I had
Saint John's in the Elite eight and obviously Arkansas proved otherwise.
And uh yeah, my final four is still alive. Uh
so that is still there. My women's bracket, I think
I've only missed two games total. Uh, in the entire tourna.
It's it's been really good. And and Linda also, she

(34:32):
is both of us picked the of course, the women's bracket,
I will I will say is a little easier to
pick because the home courts it's a little easier to
go chalk. So you know, now, having said that, things
could be drastically different in the Spokane four region. For
folks who didn't hear about it, late last night, Juji Watkins,

(34:56):
the outstanding All American and certainly serious candidate for National
pl of the Year, suffered a serious knee injury.

Speaker 2 (35:03):
She was driving down the floor off of the defensive steel.

Speaker 1 (35:07):
And there was contact with the Mississippi State player, but
it was just like regular contact going up.

Speaker 2 (35:13):
She came down hard on the knee and hit the floor.

Speaker 1 (35:16):
And the minute she hit the floor and cried out.
I hate saying this, but I've been there. I've seen
that particular injury too many times to think it isn't
anything other than what it is reported to be, and
that's a torn acl I saw it happen with Necka

(35:37):
and I Polly for Texas. I saw it happen with
Eric Carreern for Texas. I've seen it with other players
of other teams. It's just it's that horrific sinking feeling
you get when you see a player go down, and
it was it was no matter whether you're rooting for
USC or not a transcendent player like Juju wat Can

(35:57):
you hate to see that happen to her. So some
might say it opens the door wide open for Yukon,
who's been playing well. And some folks picked Yukon to win,
to beat US anyway, including me.

Speaker 2 (36:09):
I have Yukon in the National Championship game.

Speaker 1 (36:12):
But what might be interesting is when USC plays Kansas
State in the Sweet sixteen this weekend. Kansas State has,
of course, six foot six inch All American Aoka Lee
in the post and Serena Sundell their outstanding swing player
who can score from anywhere on the floor, so it
could be a challenge. Although US really gathered themselves nicely

(36:36):
and just blew the doors off Mississippi State. They were
in the process of doing it even before the Watkins injury.
We'll see how it goes from there. All right, back
to basketball. Let's hear some more now. This is the
Q and a portion of the introductory news conference with
Sean Miller, the brand new men's basketball coach at UT.

(36:58):
This is the reporters asking questions the new head coach.

Speaker 6 (37:04):
You mentioned it, the trips to the Elite Eight with
no trip to the Final four, what do you think
the biggest hurdle has been to get you there? And
why do you think this is the right place for
you to take that step to a final.

Speaker 5 (37:15):
Yeah, I don't know if I can be specific. You know,
in two of the four games that I've been in
that regional final, you know I can walk you through it.

Speaker 4 (37:23):
Almost it was a.

Speaker 5 (37:24):
Block charge call in overtime to Wisconsin. The call went
the wrong way, and when I tell you, if it didn't,
I wouldn't have announced what I did here today. We
would have been in a final four. We also lost
to Kemba Walker and they went on to win the
national championship at Yukon, in which we had three shots

(37:44):
to win it and missed all three. So I don't
know if it's necessarily you didn't have this and now
you do. But it begins and ends with what I
said and when I talked about the vision of the program.

Speaker 4 (37:58):
You have to have elite town.

Speaker 5 (38:01):
It has to have a roster field of people that
are playing for the win, not just for their own
personal glory. And it takes a little bit of good
fortune in this great tournament. We just lived it against
the Texas at Xavier at you the arena, we couldn't miss.

(38:21):
Against Illinois three days later, they couldn't miss. And as
I try to judge what we did or didn't do
well in both games, you know it's not a seven
game series in March madness, and you see that it's
what captivates the world and makes that tournament so special.
But if you put yourself in a position to have
great resources from a great conference and you have a

(38:42):
chance to have the most talent, I think you give
yourself the best chance to keep getting there, and as
you do, one day it'll happen.

Speaker 7 (38:50):
Right Hey, Sean Cedar Golden Austin, American Statesman, Um, you
haven't been to the final four in Texas, has been
chased seeing once and so three?

Speaker 2 (39:01):
You think those stars aligned?

Speaker 7 (39:03):
And was that part of your conversations with mister Dell content.

Speaker 4 (39:07):
Yeah, it has.

Speaker 5 (39:09):
You know, I know, certainly from my perspective, hungry to
get there, and I'll also tell you I know this
place is hungry to get back there and compete and
win a national championship. But I think when you look
at the twenty year period of time for me, I'll
point you to an eight year window and it didn't
just happen at one place in an eight year window,

(39:31):
we went to four Elite eights, And when you look
at the four Elite eights, six of those eight years
we went to two other Sweet sixteens. So I think
when you're in that cycle and you can keep getting
to that second round.

Speaker 4 (39:47):
Inevitably it will happen.

Speaker 5 (39:49):
Whether that's talking about Texas basketball or a coach himself.
And I think that sustained excellence is something that you
work towards improving. Are some things that I also believe
that you change as a coach that can help you
do better. And I think one of the things for
me offensively to play a faster brand of basketball, I

(40:11):
think gives us an even better opportunity to get to
that final prize. And there's a lot of layers to that.
I just believe that's that's how the game's played today.

Speaker 8 (40:24):
Josh Newman from lone Star Live dot com sean, how
much struggle was there in trying to decide whether or
not to leave Xavier for a second time and ultimately
what was the tipping point that brought you here?

Speaker 5 (40:35):
Well, it was a major struggle for me on one sense,
and that has nothing to do with the great place
that I'm standing at right now. It's you know, it
tugs at your heart when people believe in you. And
you've been in a place for eight years as the
head coach. Eleven years, like I had mentioned, you have
family and friends, and you become tied to so many

(40:56):
of those teams and players in moments, and so much
of it is doing more with less at a place
like that, and there's a lot of pride that starts
to become a part of who you are when you're
in that and you know, at the end of the day,
this is a life changing opportunity for me and my family,
and I believe this that it gives us the best

(41:18):
opportunity to compete and win for national championships. The world
of college sports has flipped upside down over the last
three to five years, but no more sport than in
college basketball. And when you think of the SEC ten
years ago or five years ago in the sport of
basketball and you look at this year, there's a huge difference.

Speaker 4 (41:41):
There's a huge difference.

Speaker 5 (41:42):
In the talent, the parody, the coaches, and I think
to have the opportunity to compete against the best can
bring up the best in you, and that was a
big part of.

Speaker 9 (41:52):
This, right.

Speaker 10 (41:55):
Thomas Jones lost an American statesman, Sean, what do you
see the role of a general manager in this era
of college of basketball and do you have someone in mind?
And then a second question, what do you know about
nil funding for Texas basketball and what can use the
head coach do to increase that engagement?

Speaker 5 (42:13):
Yeah, first, just not only the general manager question, but
the staff. You know, I'm taking a deep breath and
obviously trying to put the best staff that I possibly
can put together. There's a great group of people that
I have at Xavier, which a number will come with me.
And then I'm also realistic and understanding that here at

(42:33):
the University of Texas having people that are a part
of this great state, that have a history and tradition
and to know how whether it be in recruiting or
growing up living playing at the University of Texas. So
I'm just anxious to not take my time because we
don't have time, but to certainly not rush into any
decision and make sure that as I learn what's best here,

(42:57):
that I make those choices clearly. That position, though that
you asked a question about, I think is incredibly important
to the future of college basketball and in any program
that's trying to do what we're going to try and do.

Speaker 11 (43:14):
Eric Henry twenty four seven Sports seaw I'll kind of
pick it back off of Thomas's question from your vantage
point as a coach, how crucial is NIL to competing
at an elite level? And the second part of that,
what assurance is from Crystal Conte? I have you been
given that Texas will compete at at a level when
it comes INNIL.

Speaker 5 (43:30):
You know, I don't have any concerns about whether we'll
have the resources or the ability.

Speaker 4 (43:36):
In the NIL space.

Speaker 5 (43:38):
I mean, this is the University of Texas, and you
know when you try to compete for a Final four
national championship, it has to be synonymous with being able
to match up in that space that.

Speaker 4 (43:48):
You're talking about.

Speaker 5 (43:50):
I will also tell you this, though, that the place
itself is still the most important. There are young people
that want a great education. There are young people that
want to play in in a conference that's it's never
been ever stronger in any sport, the SEC. There are
people that want to come to the University of Texas
because of the great tradition and history. I want to

(44:12):
play in a style of play and have the resources
to grow and become the best they can be. All
that is still very very important and to your your
actual questions that no longer stands alone though it has
to be matched with the know how and understanding that
without name, image and likeness and a plan to compete
against the best, you can only go so far. But

(44:35):
when those two forces are matched, I believe that great
things happen, and I also believe that that will happen here.

Speaker 12 (44:44):
Hey Sean, So, the biggest difference between you and other
coaches that Texas has had is your style is different.
There have been a lot of defensive minded coaches, but
you're more of an offensive minded guy. You're up tempo
and the first the last guy who was like those
or was Tom Penders. Did the fact that other SEC
programs like Alabama and Kentucky are running these uptempo offenses,

(45:07):
does that give you confidence that your system is going
to work as well or did you have that confidence
going in regardless?

Speaker 5 (45:13):
I have the confidence regardless. Certainly recognize there's a number
of programs in the SEC that are playing a style
that is unique, using the three point shot more than
ever before playing at a pace that maybe the great
teams of the past didn't necessarily play as fast. But
that's what I believe in. But I do want to

(45:35):
say this, there's no way you can do it by
scoring and outscoring people. In college basketball, the defense is
so much a part of the talent that you have.
When you think of basketball, people think of talent on
the offensive end. I can make the case the talent size, quickness,
shot blocking, positional height that right there impacts the defensive

(45:59):
side of the ball, perhaps even more here you have
to be great at both. If you would have asked
me the question you asked five years ago, someone would
have acted like you don't know what you're talking about.
I would have been known as a defensive coach at Arizona.
But you have to blend both. I think you have
to adapt and adjust to the new way. And you know,

(46:22):
what once was is no longer. But I want our
program to be known that when you play against us,
we have a certain togetherness and toughness on defense that
you can certainly look at as part of the identity
of our program. Thing about basketball it's so unique is
players have to do both. You know, you know you're

(46:44):
not a defense that we're just offensive and two way
players is something in and recruiting you have to covet
at a place like Texas.

Speaker 9 (46:55):
Kurt Bowls from the Houston Chronicle, Welcome, Sean. I wonder
if any your players are going to come with you
from Xavier and you almost have to lean more into
the portal than high school players as stay old.

Speaker 5 (47:08):
Yeah, I can't really answer the first part. You know,
obviously have amazing loyalty to Xavier, and all of those
kids have choices and no different than the young players
and the people that are returning here here at Texas.

Speaker 4 (47:29):
Hi, Sean.

Speaker 13 (47:29):
Roger Wallace from NBC in Austin. These coaches flips are
so quick. Friday night, you're fighting to get to the
second round of the tournament. Today you're standing in Austin, Texas.
What's that like emotionally for you and your family? All
of a sudden you got a new wardrobe and new
thoughts and dreams.

Speaker 5 (47:47):
It's a really a great question, and it's what I
started the press conference here today with my initial comments.
You know, with change, forces go in different directions. One
coach leaves, new coach comes. One place you leave, and
you know, they have very strong feelings about that, and
then in the place that you arrive at has equally

(48:10):
strong feelings.

Speaker 4 (48:11):
And as the person.

Speaker 5 (48:12):
Who's going through it with your family, those feelings can
really be polarizing and can steal your mind. But for me,
this opportunity, I don't think I've ever been more excited
in my life to live in Austin, to live in Texas,
to be here as the new head coach at Texas,

(48:34):
and in time, the loyalty in the relationships what I
have found, they repair, and I think you can have
a healthy way of moving forward and also respecting the
past and where you came from. But you're right, sometimes
it doesn't feel right to leave one thing so quickly.

(48:56):
You know, the height of winning the game in the
NCAA turter and moving on towards leaving that place and
coming to the new place again. I don't know if
you'd want me to be the new coach here at
Texas if those feelings don't tug and pull you in
different directions. So you're right, it's a good observation on
your part. It happens quickly, really.

Speaker 4 (49:17):
Does Coach John high Fox and Auston.

Speaker 2 (49:21):
We've heard in Auston. We've heard perfect fit, perfect, perfect coach.

Speaker 4 (49:25):
What makes you so special?

Speaker 5 (49:28):
I don't. I don't know if I'm special. I know
this that you know. I'm a son of a high
school coach. My dad won numerous high school state championships
in Pennsylvania. We grew up in a football football crazy place,
Western Pennsylvania. I mean where I grew up is Joe Namath.
Me and him are from the same town. I mean,

(49:49):
Tony Dorset was five minutes ten minutes from where I
grew up.

Speaker 4 (49:52):
Mike Ditka.

Speaker 5 (49:54):
You look at the quarterbacks, you know, Jim Kelly, Joe Montana.
I could keep going. I'm probably missing some so I
could probably feel in you know, ty law Al Equippa.
All Equippa is fifteen minutes from where I grew up.
So how do you become a basketball coach? Basketball player
starts with my dad. One thing that I'll tell you
is I don't think anybody who's ever met me would

(50:14):
question my deep love for this game.

Speaker 4 (50:16):
I love it. I love it.

Speaker 5 (50:18):
When I didn't have the opportunity to coach and sat out,
my wife will tell you at one point I was
playing I was playing.

Speaker 4 (50:25):
Madden, you know, like I didn't know what to do.
You know, It's like all I've.

Speaker 5 (50:29):
Done is basketball, and I you know, I'm here to
tell you that from that perspective, I think that's the
driving force of a lot of things. And I also
think that the players that play for me and the
players that we recruit, they have to be able to
share in that passion for it to be a good fit.
But I would say the one thing about me is
that I truly do love this game of basketball.

Speaker 2 (50:54):
And there it is.

Speaker 1 (50:55):
The answers from Sean Miller, the new head basketball coach
at the University of Texas, at the news conference today
here on the UT campus. We brought that to you live,
his introductory comments live, and we replayed that for you
last hour. We replayed his Q and A with the reporters.

(51:16):
Next hour, my conversation with him after it was done,
he sat down with me for a few minutes and
we'll hear that as well. But coming up, we'll hear
the conversation it just had just a little bit ago
with Long Orange at baseball coach Jim Slason angles. This
team is nineteen and three right now and ranked in
the top ten in all of the collegiate baseball polls,

(51:36):
and there's a lot of them. I don't know if
you've noticed that, there's several college baseball polls, but they're
in the top ten in all of those. As they
get ready to go back to work tonight taking on
Sam Houston State here at UFCU dish Fakfield.

Speaker 2 (51:49):
So that's coming up next.

Speaker 1 (51:51):
And in like I said in the four o'clock hour,
we'll hear my conversation with the long Orange new we
had basketball coach. But more to come here on this
Tuesday afternoon from UFCU tos Far Field here on AM
thirteen under the zone. This long worn baseball team is
on the field right now and they're just going through
some early stretching and some things like that. There were

(52:11):
some guys that came out for some early VP, some
of the reserve players. The starters will start taking batting
practice in a little bit, but right now the guys
are just stretching out and loosening up and getting ready
for this matchup with Sam Houston. How good is Sam Houston. Well,
they're struggling out of the gate. Normally, this is a
team really a mid major program to follow pretty closely

(52:33):
because then They've been able to get into regionals multiple occasions.
This year tough out of the gate only seven and seventeen,
and pitching has been their biggest problem. I mean, they're
only about in two sixty one as a team, but
that era kind of sticks out like a sore thumb.
Six point seventy one is the teamra right now. We'll
see if the Long Worn offense can get going on that.
The Longhorns are going to counter with Kate bing tonight

(52:57):
and being a week ago gave the Loghorns some scoreless
innings in that eight seven twelve inning loss to UTSA.
So that's one thing that Jim Slastnagels counting on as
well as his offense again being in fine form. Here
was a conversation I had just a little while ago
with the Long Worn's head coach, as Long Worn fans
get to know you even better and the style not

(53:20):
only for yourself but of your coaching staff as well,
how would you say that your guys have responded so far,
not only to the successes that they have, but then
the way that they've gone about showing the resilience coming
back from the Friday night loss. Do you notice different
things about them when they get back to work coming
off taking the last two games of a series as
big as that one was.

Speaker 14 (53:40):
Yeah, I mean I haven't seen him. I didn't see
much of them yesterday.

Speaker 15 (53:44):
But I think if you look at our record, you know,
if Coach Parcels is true and is accurate and saying
your records says who you are in that moment in time,
right then we've done a really good job of that that.
You know, when I do get to talk to the
team that is, I am going to challenge them with that.

Speaker 7 (53:59):
You know, the.

Speaker 15 (54:02):
If you still talk about what you did yesterday, you
haven't done much today things. So yeah, our guys, you know,
I think they do a good job turning the page
like we did having a facing a tough pitcher on
Friday night and LSU played awesome.

Speaker 14 (54:14):
We didn't play horrible.

Speaker 15 (54:15):
We just didn't play as good as they did and
we got beat and then come back the next day
and play from behind a little bit and then win
and then have a really good game on Sunday. So yeah,
this team I think is representative of what every Texas
fan would want. Is this a resilient team that takes
each day onto its own we called it an opening
day mentality, and today's opening day, and we'll take the

(54:37):
confidence from what positive things have happened to this point
in the season and try to learn from anything that
you know could be perceived as negative.

Speaker 1 (54:45):
You know, it's interesting I heard football coaches sarc included
to talk about a twenty four hour rule after wins
and things like That's a little bit different football when
you have one game a week, and basketball they talk
about the same thing. When you're playing as often as
you play, is it pretty easy to shelve it? Or
sometimes is there a lingering good or bad off of
a winner?

Speaker 14 (55:04):
I mean, I think there could be both.

Speaker 15 (55:05):
You know, I think one thing as you hear most coaches,
especially later in their career, they'll always say what do
you wish you would have done more of?

Speaker 14 (55:12):
And they'll say, enjoy the wins.

Speaker 15 (55:14):
And so we try to do that Sunday night and
a little bit yesterday, because it does feel good to
feel good.

Speaker 14 (55:21):
And then, but the.

Speaker 15 (55:24):
Most competitive people that work hard, and especially when you're
in a place like Texas where you have a lot
of advantages and you work your rear end off and
you feel like you do things right the way I
think it works for those people. Is winning never feels
as good as losing feels bad. Right, on a scale
of one to ten, a win is like a solid six.

(55:44):
There are days where it's a seven and a super
regional is a nine, right, but on most days are
a five six because you feel like you should win
because you've worked hard enough. Doesn't mean you deserve it,
but you just feel like you should. And then when
you lose, at least how my my messed up mind
is like a nine. Yeah, the world's coming to an end, Like,

(56:06):
how are we ever gonna win a game again? And
that's that's a bad mentality too, and that's usually what
I try to stay away from the team so they
don't because they they they're the ones that play and
they need to feed off positive energy, not somebody who's pouting.

Speaker 1 (56:19):
Well and as a guy who bounce back, maybe just
a little bump or two early, but he showed you
something really, something strong last week.

Speaker 2 (56:25):
This is the guy you got going to the mountain
to start for you to an ik.

Speaker 15 (56:27):
Being yeah, really, this is a really big day for us.
If Caid can go out in another offensive environment win
blowing out. If he can go out there and give
us five, four, five, six, six would be awesome. But
four or five innings of solid baseball. Have us in
the game, doesn't have to be shut out baseball. Just

(56:48):
have us, you know, with a chance to win the game.
But give us good four or five innings like he
did last week. I mean, it just can't you know
how much that sets us up, because you know, we
need we need the grubs and the to Plantier and
Riojas obviously grubs and rio Jas for sure. Out definitely
don't want to pitch him Alanis tonight. If we can
help it, it will be awesome not to pitch Dre

(57:10):
part of that's the offense too. So if you can
get it all, it all is interactive. You know, if
bing we if he never threw another inning on a
weekend and just gave us five innings every Tuesday, that's
as much of a contribution to a SEC series win
as anything else. And so hopefully Kate can go right
out there in the first inning and and give us

(57:30):
get us off to a good start, get us in
the dugout, and give us a chance to score first.
There there's I'm sure they're gonna throw a lot of
different guys to night they're starting their closer, I think,
or a guy that's got twelve a bunch of appearances
and no starts, I think, so I'm sure it's gonna
be a dogfight.

Speaker 14 (57:44):
Like you know, most of these Tuesdays are uh.

Speaker 1 (57:46):
The guy to whom Schwass is referring starting for Sam
Houston as.

Speaker 2 (57:53):
A young man by the name of Danny.

Speaker 1 (57:55):
Valladez Valladez, uh he he has been used exclusively out
of the bullpen. This will be his first start, and
he'll be making his thirteenth appearance, and he does have
a couple of saves. So with his twenty two and
two thirds innings, you would say, yeah, he's probably the closer.
There's another wrinkle about Danny Valadez. Danny Valadez pitched at

(58:17):
Cedar Ridge. Did you recall seeing him in your Round
Rock Dragon broadcasting days, cam seeing Danny Valadez of Cedar
Ridge when they played Round Rock kind of.

Speaker 3 (58:29):
Think here if he did. He's a junior, I think
this year, so that was probably before my time with
the Round Rock Dragons.

Speaker 1 (58:38):
Okay, and well I can tell you this. He was
coached by none other than Mike Cardball. Harg how about
that he was one of his guys. So he'll get
the start. And as you heard Schloss talking about kay
Bing will get the start for Texas tonight. All right,
we'll have some other comments and other things to get
to before we wrap up hour number two here on

(58:59):
thirteen under the zone here from UFCU to just far
Field this afternoon. As the Texas Longhorns are in action tonight,
they'll take on the Sam Houston State Bearcats. Sam will
come in with the record of seven and seventeen, the
long Horns nineteen and three and ranked as high as
number three in the nation by Baseball America. They are

(59:19):
seventh in the D one Baseball Poll, the National Collegiate
Baseball Writers Association rankings, and the USA Today Coaches pulled
the number five in perfect game, so long Horns ranked
in the top ten of all the major polls. Coming
off taking two out of three from LSU. It's interesting,
you know, they had a two and two week when

(59:40):
you think about it, because they lost the twelve inning
game to UTSA, but the sting of that, and even
though that was followed by the Friday night loss to LSU,
so it was two consecutive defeats for Texas after they
had started the season losing the season opener to Louisville

(01:00:00):
and then winning seventeen consecutive games. They were seventeen and one,
dropped the midweek contest in twelve innings to UTSA, then
came back and lost the Friday night game to LSU
eight to two. But boy did they respond in the
big way Saturday to win eleven to seven of the Tigers,
and then pretty much controlled virtually the entire game to

(01:00:22):
win on Sunday over the Tigers.

Speaker 2 (01:00:24):
Six to two.

Speaker 1 (01:00:25):
So Texas with that win now sitting a tide, sitting
tied to top the SEC standings right now as they
go into the midweek non conference game. But it's the
Longhorns at five and one, number two, Georgia at five
and one. Georgia coming off sweeping Florida in Gainesville, Florida

(01:00:49):
was number thirteen at the time. Not only did they
sweep Florida, they put forty runs on the scoreboard over
the weekend. In that series sweep of the Gators, they
scored eight runs seven win Friday, they scored seventeen runs
Saturday and beating Florida seventeen to eight. And then they
scored fifteen runs in a run rule seven inning fifteen
to four win on Sunday. So Georgia is number two.

(01:01:12):
And by the way, that's the team that will be
in here, not this coming weekend the long ornge go
to Columbia, Missouri to play the Missouri Tigers is coming weekend,
but the following weekend Georgia will be here, so big
doings there. Georgia is tied with Texas for first, also
five and one in the conference. Arkansas is five and

(01:01:32):
one in the league. In Tennessee is five and one
in SEC play, so it's a four way tie atop
the conference standings, and in fact, Tennessee has the best
overall record at overall, actually Arkansas is the best winning
percentage twenty three and two.

Speaker 2 (01:01:49):
Tennessee is twenty two and two. Looking here now, George
is twenty four and two.

Speaker 1 (01:01:54):
It's interesting D one has Tennessee listed at the top
of all three or five and one in the league
and is twenty four and two, Arkansas twenty three and
two overall, Tennessee twenty two and two.

Speaker 2 (01:02:05):
Overall.

Speaker 1 (01:02:07):
Those three listed, and they're listed really by ranking in
D one Baseball. That's why They've got it listed like
that in terms of the national ranking, because Tennessee is
number one in the country and in the conference.

Speaker 2 (01:02:24):
Like I said, they're all tied at five and one
in the league.

Speaker 1 (01:02:27):
Georgia's twenty four and two, Arkansas is twenty three and two,
Tennessee is twenty two and two, and the Long Runs
are nineteen and three. But they're all five and one
in SEC play. Alabama's four and two, LSU is four
and two, Oklahoma is four and two, Auburn is four
and two, Vanderbilt.

Speaker 2 (01:02:42):
Is owing two, and Ole Miss is owing to It's
a six way tie.

Speaker 1 (01:02:46):
One game off that pace then is Kentucky at two
and four, South Carolina Mississippi State both one and five
in the league and winless, winless, and only anybody whould
have thought this would have been the case Florida on now.
To be fair, the Gators have played Tennessee and Georgia,
two really good teams back to back, but one was
at home Georgia. They lost all three of those games

(01:03:07):
that were swept there in Knoxville and Texas A and
M is six. The Aggies were swept at home by
Alabama and then went to Vanderbilt and were swept by
the Commodore's Aggies. Of course, were the preseason number one team,
and I don't think anybody expected that either. So that's
that's where it is in terms of conference standings. But

(01:03:28):
the Wall get back to the conference play this weekend,
and uh, by the way, also Owen six's Missouri, and
that's where the Long Orange we had this weekend. The
Tigers had been swept at LSU and then got swept
over the weekend as well, and in being swept over
the weekend, they are now Owen six in conference play

(01:03:50):
as well. And Texas will be in Columbia, be the
first time the long Wards have played there. I have
to think about this. It's either twenty eleven or twenty twelve.
It was the last time, and I want to say
it was twenty twelve, but I could be wrong about that.
The last time that Texas played in Colombia when they
were both still in the Big twelve Conference, clearly Nebraska

(01:04:11):
and Colorado had already left, and then Texas A and
M Missouri left around the same time at twenty twelve.
So anyway, it'll be the first time they've been there
in more than a decade when they play their Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday.

Speaker 2 (01:04:22):
Texas women's basketball.

Speaker 1 (01:04:24):
Team leaves on Thursday, just as the long worn baseball
team leaves Thursday to travel to Colombia. The basketball team
will go to Birmingham, Alabama, and they'll play on Saturday
afternoon and Texas will take on Tennessee. It'll be a
rematch of a game played just over two months ago

(01:04:46):
when they beat the Lady Balls on January twenty third
at Moody Center, and it was a heck of a battle.
They won that contest eighty to seventy six. So they'll
play Tennessee Saturday afternoon. That's a two to thirty tip off,
two point thirty on the tip off well beyond the air,
two fifteen Saturday afternoon, and it'll be.

Speaker 2 (01:05:09):
Preceded by.

Speaker 1 (01:05:13):
The matchup between the number two seed TCU and the
number three seed Notre Dame.

Speaker 2 (01:05:17):
That's a rematch as well.

Speaker 1 (01:05:18):
They played a non conference play down in the Cayman
Islands over the Thanksgiving weekend and tc won that game.

Speaker 2 (01:05:24):
They beat Notre Dame.

Speaker 1 (01:05:26):
Notre Dame in Texas, of course, played Notre Dame won
that contest in overtime back in December and the sec
ACC Challenge. They won that game up in South ben
in overtime. So the Seeds have largely held to form
in the women's tournament, not at all cases. Kansas State
was a five seed. They knocked out the four seed Kentucky.

(01:05:46):
That's in that Spokane region. As we mentioned, they're going
to play USC, who it looks for sure, is going
to be without Juju Watkins. The reports are indicated that
she has a torn acl suffered in that win last
night of our Mississippi State, So that would be a
five seat playing the one set out there in Spokane,
Oklahoma would play Yukon that's a two seed in the

(01:06:08):
three seed and that's in the Spokane number four region,
the Spokane four region. In the Spokane number one region.
You have South Carolina defending national champions playing Maryland, four seed.

Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
You watched that game yesterday, did you? Cam? Didn't you
text me as well?

Speaker 1 (01:06:25):
What an epic game that was between Maryland and Alabama yesterday?

Speaker 3 (01:06:29):
And Alabama was up was it twelve or seventeen seventeen?
And then what essence Cody fouled out and Leah and
I fouled out. Americaly and Maryland clawed back into it
and probably should have won in the first overtime period.
Of course, that three point foul and Sarah Ashley Barker
with what point seven ten to a second left, Oh,
that's the worst thing you want to see from a team.

(01:06:50):
But then Maryland just you know, just out and played
Alabama that second ot. But I mean, huge credit to
Sarah Ashley Barker. She didn't play the first time Texas
played Obama at Moody Center. Craig I was on the
call for that, and in Texas just absolutely destroy Alabama.
But with Ashtar Ashley Barker, she's a phenomenal player, left
everything out there on the court. So I had them

(01:07:11):
the win in my bracket. Of course, I'm sure everyone
cares about how my bracket looks.

Speaker 2 (01:07:15):
So I was.

Speaker 3 (01:07:15):
I was ruined for Alabama yesterday. But a fantastic game
all around. And in Florida said, OLSU was a good game,
and ultimately LSU kind of pulled away in the second half.

Speaker 1 (01:07:24):
The first half, Yeah they blew him. Yeah, they blew
them out in the second half. And LSU looks good,
they look healthy again, and uh and and LSU is
in that is in also in that Birmingham one or
Birmingham two region where you have South Carolina as the one.

Speaker 2 (01:07:44):
I remembering that Craiker or is that the other Spokane.

Speaker 1 (01:07:46):
That's the other Spokane, right, because South Carolina is the one,
Maryland is the four. And how about Duke and North
Carolina the two and three in uh in that in
that Birmingham region there, that'll be interesting with Duke and
North they've never met in the NCAA tournament. And remember
Duke of North Carolina on the men's side had never

(01:08:08):
played in the NCAA tournament, so they met in the
final four Fuse a few years back, they had played
in an n semi final I remember when I was
a kid, but they had not played in a men's
NCAA tournament game. They'd both been in final fours together simultaneously.
Nineteen ninety one comes to mind when Duke finally won
its first national championship, but North Carolina lost in the

(01:08:30):
semifinal round to Kansas and Duke won to get to
the national championship and beat Kansas in that National championship.
But it'll be the first time that the Duke of
North Carolina women and they only played one time this year.
It's kind of like Texas playing Oklahoma one time this year.
Remember the way back in fact, they opened conference play

(01:08:52):
in January in Norman and got a big win beating
the Sooners there in Norman. That was big because Oklahoma
is playing really well right now. They blew out Iowa
yesterday in their Spokane region and now they get Yukon
and it's gonna be a it'll be an interesting matchup
there in the rest of the women's bracket as well.

(01:09:14):
But Texas will be playing and the Longhorns will play
Saturday afternoon and you'll hear that game here on AM
thirteen hundred the Zone. So there'll be a little switch
of the weekend here with a normal scheduling Friday night.
It'll be well, Cam, you're in better position. I am
to recite the schedule. I remember Friday night because we've

(01:09:35):
got Round Rock Express Baseball beginning this weekend.

Speaker 2 (01:09:38):
So what's our Friday night?

Speaker 3 (01:09:40):
So Friday night YouTube Baseball beyond k KGFIHD two are
one to three one Austin's Eightyes station and the that'll well,
you'll probably hear YouTube baseball on for most of the
season with the Express can off this Friday, so the
Express will be on right here on thirteen under the
zone and when it doesn't conflict, and we'll put Texas
Baseball on the z for this weekend. UT Baseball will

(01:10:01):
have all three games on one O three one FM.
The Express on cavid Am. Women's basketball, as you said,
will be on cavid Am Friday or sorry on Saturday,
and if they win, we'll be on Monday. And don't
forget Craig Austin FC. It's it's in action on it's
an action. You can listen to Austin FC, who are

(01:10:22):
three to zero to two, had a big one yesterday
against San Diego. You can listen to them on a
ninety seven point five Austin's alt station.

Speaker 2 (01:10:29):
So we got all of those a lot going on, right, yeah, yeah,
we do.

Speaker 3 (01:10:32):
And of course UT softball the number one ranked DUT Softball,
that's right, games.

Speaker 1 (01:10:36):
And number two in one poll, number one and the
other aren't they I think I saw in their sad
notes or something like number two and one poll number
one at they play six o'clock tonight and uh that's
on the HD signal, right, yes, correct, yes.

Speaker 3 (01:10:49):
So if you're looking forward to the iHeartRadio app, which
I suggest you download.

Speaker 14 (01:10:52):
It's free.

Speaker 3 (01:10:53):
Just search Retro Retro Austin in your app and it'll
come up all right.

Speaker 1 (01:10:58):
Longgorn taken batting practice. Adrian Rodriguez himself just drove one
right out of the ballpark. So that's going on right now.
Up next, my conversation with Sean Miller, the brand new
head men's basketball coach at the University of Texas, when
we continue here on this Tuesday afternoon on AM thirteen
under the Zone. Glad to have you with us this afternoon,
and let's hear the conversation I had just a little

(01:11:22):
while ago, well it was earlier today, you know. We
brought to the news conference live here this morning at
eleven o'clock on the Zone, where we heard Vice President
Director of Athletics Chrystal Conti, as well as the Chairman
of the Border Regions Kevin elt Type and the university
interim president as well also introduce Sean Miller, the new

(01:11:48):
head coach head basketball coach at Texas, and we brought
you that as well as Coach Miller's response the Q
and A with a report, and then I had a
brief sit down conversation with him afterwards this this afternoon
on the program, we were able to reair for you

(01:12:09):
his comments and then the Q and A with the reporter.
So let's one more time to give you a listen
to my visit my chat with a brand new head
basketball coach at Texas.

Speaker 2 (01:12:17):
Sean Miller, coach. I'm gonna I'm gonna start off.

Speaker 1 (01:12:19):
By reviewing something at the news conference last Thursday and
day and or last Tuesday and day. And I asked
you about the relationship between your guard Ryan Conwell and
Julian Larry at Texas, and I mean, and you talked
about how that's become more commonplace and will continue to
become more commonplace. But the vibe I got from it

(01:12:41):
is that you're about family and that and that and
I kind of got that vibe from the news conference
and what that means you not only to your immediate
family but your basketball family.

Speaker 4 (01:12:50):
No.

Speaker 5 (01:12:51):
I mean, I think the culture that we talk a
lot about, the culture I believe in is is what
we refer to as all in, and it's what you're
talking about, you know. There's just there's so many different
connections between players now that used to be at one
program and are now part of your program. There's change,
more change now than ever, but the constant is you

(01:13:13):
know those that have been with you that they feel respected,
they feel a part of what we're doing, and that
they can be a force, a positive force for great
things moving forward. And you know here Texas, you know
that's about former players, that those guys, even though I'm
the coach that didn't coach them, and they may have
played for Rick Barnes, that they still love the University

(01:13:34):
of Texas and they feel a connection to the basketball
program that becomes the basketball family. And you know those
that you coach that are a part of your team.
Some will come from other places and be with you
for a year. I believe there's still those that will
be with you from start to finish. But it doesn't matter.
Sharing that locker room and the experience you want them

(01:13:55):
to develop, but you also want them to know that
they are a part of something that's bigger than just themselves.
And I think that family that you talked about is
what I would refer to as all in.

Speaker 1 (01:14:06):
You're a western Pennsylvania guy, and even Cincinnati not that
far from Pittsburgh as well. Tucson is obviously a long
way in Austin's a completely different world to itself. How
versatile do you characterize yourself on being able to transition
to live in different environments as you have?

Speaker 5 (01:14:21):
So I think those are very helpful characteristics that I
quite frankly needed to adapt to and adopt as my own,
or else it would not be able to survive. But
when you coach in a big East at Xavier, you
coach in a pac twelve at Arizona, you live in
the West, the Southwest, the desert in Tucson, Arizona. You
live in the Midwest in Cincinnati, those are all really different,

(01:14:45):
different challenges. Those are different places, and what works at
one place doesn't necessarily mean it to work at another.
Yet there are certain things you do as a coach
that you realize it doesn't matter where you are. So
as I come here to be the new coach at
the University of Texas, I think all those experiences helped
me be the most prepared that I can be take

(01:15:07):
the ground running.

Speaker 1 (01:15:08):
Clearly, this is from that category of drinking from a
fire hose. Right now as you start to try to
get in things and not even asking personnel decisions, but
you haven't had a chance to view. You saw it firsthand,
obviously in the ball game last Wednesday.

Speaker 2 (01:15:24):
It was only six days ago.

Speaker 1 (01:15:25):
But the mere fact that you saw Texas on display
to give you an idea once you started looking to
the roster, once you accepted the position on what you
might have to work with, which might have to replace,
and what you have to do in rolling up your
sleeves to replenish the talent pool.

Speaker 5 (01:15:41):
So you now build a program one roster at a time.
And you know, I don't know if anyone is exempt
from what I just said. Now, how you go about
building that roster can be done in different ways. First
things first, you know, I had the opportunity to meet
the returning players last night for a brief minute. The
more important conversations will be in the next couple of days,

(01:16:03):
even beginning here, maybe this afternoon or this evening with
you know, those that can come back, and then we
welcome them back.

Speaker 4 (01:16:12):
And also there's going to be change.

Speaker 5 (01:16:14):
Sometimes you have to respect that in today's world, those
that might have been here and done a great job,
they have the freedom of choice to go other places.
So I'm anxious to put all that together. I wish
I could speed up or slow down time right now.
But that's the next task, especially this month. It's a
big month.

Speaker 1 (01:16:34):
You said you didn't really have time to take your
time on things, But does it in your mind a
timetable on assembling coaching staff, support staff, management staff is
it week, ten days, two weeks to get you have
a frame of mind on how long that might take.

Speaker 5 (01:16:50):
Well, the biggest point is I just need a core
group of people starting to work alongside. I mean I
have that in place right now, and that will come
from those that were with me at Xavier. So you
know that being said, I think to complete the best
staff that we can, there's going to be a few
people that weren't necessarily with me at Xavier. They might

(01:17:12):
have been on the staff that just left, they may
be coming from other places. So I think the first
part that will happen right away is those that are
coming with me from Xavier. I think they'll be on
board as soon as this week.

Speaker 2 (01:17:25):
All right.

Speaker 1 (01:17:26):
The final two questions are the two most important ones.
One has Amy picked out the house yet?

Speaker 4 (01:17:31):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (01:17:32):
No?

Speaker 5 (01:17:32):
And to show you what she just went through, we
lived in an apartment for two years in Cincinnati because
we made the decision to build and as it often
is the case, it takes a lot longer than it
was projected. We moved into our new house in late October,
middle of October, so if you do the math on that,
we've lived in that house for about five and a

(01:17:55):
half months. She did a lot of the work and
picking things out and building it. So I will tell
you this, we will not build a house here, but
we look forward to making that choice.

Speaker 4 (01:18:06):
So no, we left that.

Speaker 5 (01:18:07):
We haven't had the opportunity to figure things out here yet.

Speaker 1 (01:18:10):
Okay, final question, and it's a big one. Aaron Rodgers
to the Steelers. I think we're boxed in right now.
That becomes the next best choice, So I'm going to
say that will happen.

Speaker 2 (01:18:19):
Okay, Hey, it's a pleasure to meet you.

Speaker 1 (01:18:22):
Look forward to working with you as your play by
play broadcaster, and excited to see what the future holds.

Speaker 2 (01:18:27):
John, I appreciate you taking the time. Oh, thank you.
Uh yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:18:31):
In case you didn't know, and why I asked that
question about Aaron Rodgers is he did mention and we
aired that a couple hours ago in his opening comments.
He's a native of western Pennsylvania, he said, from the
same areas Joe name through grew up and beaver Falls, Pennsylvania,
mentioned Tony Dorseat who was from Aliquippa, Mike Ditka as well,

(01:18:52):
and h and he talked about, you know the quarterback
you named Allars Jim Kelly talked about he left out
Dan Marino.

Speaker 2 (01:18:58):
I thought out of that deal.

Speaker 1 (01:18:59):
But anyway, he mentioned all of these quarterbacks and all
of these other great, great athletes from western Pennsylvania there
and uh he said he was a huge Steelers fan,
and he and his wife Amy, he said, they pull
out the Franco Harris jerseys and they're they're big Steeler fans.

Speaker 2 (01:19:18):
So I felt compelled to ask him, Cameron, you know
Aaron Rodgers. Yay, nay.

Speaker 1 (01:19:24):
It was an interesting response. He said, I think we're
boxed in. So the answer is yes, you think. In
other words, running out of time to come up with
a with a suitable quarterback answer.

Speaker 3 (01:19:36):
Oh, I mean he could have walked over to the
Texas Pro day and see when your spin it.

Speaker 2 (01:19:40):
You know, that's true, that's true. He definitely could have
done that.

Speaker 1 (01:19:44):
It might have made since to do that, or at
least to ask about it, uh, you know, uh, and
and to see where since we're on the subject of football,
the there's there's been more and more interest in cam
Ward of late being the overall number one pick in

(01:20:04):
the draft, And of course the Titans are going to
have a private workout in a throwing session with cam
Ward and they're willing to listen to offers for the
first pick, but it's going to take an even stronger package.
Apparently Adam Scheffer was reporting that he apparently had a

(01:20:26):
really impressive showing at the pro day of Miami.

Speaker 7 (01:20:30):
And.

Speaker 1 (01:20:32):
Ward's quote was, I told them talking about the general
manager Mike gord Borganzi and the president of the football
operations Chad Brinker, he said, I told him, I'm solidifying it.

Speaker 2 (01:20:42):
Today. They finally got to see me throw in person.
That should be all they need to see.

Speaker 1 (01:20:48):
So Ward has repeatedly said he isn't overly concerned about
being the top pick, but he likes the thought of
being able to.

Speaker 2 (01:21:01):
Play.

Speaker 1 (01:21:02):
That it really might work out to where he has
an opportunity to play with the Titans and to be
the overall number remember when he was. Of course, he's
a native Texans For folks who didn't know, he's from
West Columbia High that's out near Houston, just a little
bit out to the west of there. Played it incarnate word.

(01:21:22):
He threw for over sixty nine hundred yards and seventy
one touchdowns in twenty twenty and twenty twenty one, and
during the pandemic time, transfers to Washington State, spent two
years there through for almost seven thousand yards, forty eight touchdowns,
sixteen interceptions in two seasons. Then transfers to Miami, and

(01:21:45):
in his only year in Miami forty three hundred passing yards,
thirty nine touchdowns, seven interceptions.

Speaker 2 (01:21:52):
It was a Heisman Trophy finalists.

Speaker 1 (01:21:54):
He set single season school records for passing yards, passing, touchdowns, completions,
and completion percentage. But apparently he's pretty excited about the
thought of playing for Brian Callahan now, because I guess
Callahan has looked at Cam as being a real quarterback
whisperer of sorts.

Speaker 3 (01:22:12):
Yeah, that seems to be kind of the thought of
mind here. I mean, honestly, I think Travis Hunter is
the best prospect in this draft. But you know how
it works, Craig, if you're a quarterback, doesn't matter. If
you're the top quarterback, you are going to go number one.
We're probably gonna see shaudor Sanders go too. We're hearing
Jackson Dart possibly top ten, and hopefully off of Quinn's

(01:22:34):
pro day he'll be able to move up the draft
board as well. But yeah, I mean they you know,
they made this move the higher Bill Callahan to try
and you know, get a quarterback and develop a quarterback.
I don't think, well Levitt Weill Levis rather is the guy,
but it's a Tennessee franchise, Craig that has been searching
for I would say, in above average quarterback because Ryan

(01:22:55):
Tanhill did a fantastic job. And I know Texas fans
don't want me talking good about it, Aggie, but hey,
he got them to an AFC Championship game, right, he
ended Tom Brady's tenure as a New England Patriot.

Speaker 2 (01:23:05):
So but before that, you know, is it Vince Young?

Speaker 10 (01:23:09):
Is it?

Speaker 2 (01:23:10):
You know, Carrie Collins is it?

Speaker 7 (01:23:12):
You know?

Speaker 1 (01:23:12):
Uh been a long time where they really got off
track is when they took Marcus Mariota.

Speaker 3 (01:23:20):
Yes, yeah, he didn't pan out to be the quarterback
they thought they were. And you know, I'm a little
bit worried maybe you know, I love what cam Ward's done.
His story is incredible. But is cam Warden also going
to be in that Marcus Mariota line. Yeah, yeah, well
one of the other ones that you mentioned as well.

Speaker 1 (01:23:36):
So that's what's fascinating about the quarterback thing because there
are so many, so many, uh, you know, great college
quarterbacks who become really, you know, the hot ticket, the
must see guy, and then they get drafted very high

(01:23:59):
and then they either struggle or they wind up being
complete busts. And we've seen some wind up being complete
bus and it's unfortunate. Now may they may make tens
of millions of dollars as a result of that, but
even though they do that, they wind up being busts

(01:24:20):
in some cases. So anyway, that's that's what's going to
be interesting to see with regard to cam Ward if
he is, if he is truly the real deal for
the NFL.

Speaker 2 (01:24:30):
Draft, we'll certainly find out.

Speaker 1 (01:24:32):
All Right, We've got some other topics we'll get to
coming up next. We'll continue long worm batting practice going
on here at UFCU Dish falk Field as the Longhorns
get ready for their matchup. There's a big swing off
the bat of Ryland Galvan, who's he just drove that
off the back wall of the visiting bullpen. It hit

(01:24:53):
the Bevo mural that says National champions They are enlisting
the national championship years of forty nine to fifty, seventy five,
eighty three, two and five. He's one of the guys
that's had the red hot bat of late Ryland Galvan,
long worn catcher who's leading them at home runs with nine.
Right now, we got some other topics we get to
coming up when we continue on this Tuesday afternoon on

(01:25:13):
thirteen under the Zone. I wanted to wait until the
time was appropriate to talk about this a little bit,
and uh and I guess now is just as good
a time as any as well. People who have listened
to this program for a long time, you know, to

(01:25:34):
be it here or when we were across town for
over six years, and when I was here the first
time for nineteen years. So you know, I've been in
this town, living regularly in this town for twenty eight years,
more than I've lived in any other part of the

(01:25:56):
state of the country. I grew up in North Carolina,
but I left when I was eighteen and lived in
the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex for about eighteen years and
then moved down here, and I've lived down here twenty
eight years.

Speaker 2 (01:26:09):
Now you do the Matthew figure out how ol dam.

Speaker 1 (01:26:11):
But it was while I was in the metroplex that
I received not only my regular secondary education at the
collegiate level. And I joked about how I've was doing
a survey. I went to four different colleges before I finished,
and started at UNC Wilmington right after I'd graduated high school. There,

(01:26:32):
in my freshman fall semester at UNC Wilmington, came out
for Christmas vacation. My parents had already moved out here.
I followed was an advertising man and was working for
the Dallas Town Herald and came out for Christmas vacation.

Speaker 2 (01:26:44):
Liked it so much I decided to stay.

Speaker 1 (01:26:46):
So then I thought, well, I'll just get some basic
stuff out of the way before I figure out where
I'm going to go to finish up my college career.
So I went to North Lake College in Irving. It's
now called Dallas College North Lake Campus. It's all but
the Dallas County commun College district. They've adopted the name
Dallas College. And then they say, you know whatever, campus Brookhaven,
mountain View, Eastfield, Richland, North Lake, Cedar Valley. I guess

(01:27:11):
was in El Centrum and it was called North Lake
College back then. So I got two years of my
basics out of the way and all that stuff. I
then transferred and I went to Texas Tech for all
of one semester. I was there in the fall of
eighty one, but I thought, for what I wanted to do,
I kind of needed to be back in the metroplex,

(01:27:32):
and that's when I transferred to the University of North Texas.
Now at the time it was called North Texas State University.
And when I transferred to North Texas, I wasn't completely
sure what I was going to do. I had done
some sports broadcasting and really liked it and kind of
felt more comfortable with that than anything else. But I
also thought about news and investigative.

Speaker 2 (01:27:53):
Reporting and things like that.

Speaker 1 (01:27:56):
But then I met Bill Mercer, and I enrolled in
the sports broadcasting class at North Texas and it really
did change my life in many ways, not only because
the direction it gave me in terms of wanting to
become a broadcaster, but the teacher, the mentor, and the
friend that Bill was first of all. Bill was an

(01:28:16):
iconic broadcaster in the in the Dallas Fort Worth area,
as folks know from many many years and.

Speaker 2 (01:28:23):
Nationally as well.

Speaker 1 (01:28:25):
Bill was a TV news reporter on what is now
KDFW Channel four television in Dallas Fort Worth. Back then
it was KRLD TV to go along with the KRLD
radio and he was a news reporter and was one

(01:28:46):
of those on the ground covering the Kennedy assassination. In fact,
and this just happened by accident, Bill was the one
who actually informed Lee Harvey Oswald what he was being
charged with. In the day between the Kennedy assassination and
when Lee Harvey Oswald was gunned down by Jack Ruby
in the basement of the Dallas jail, there was that

(01:29:09):
Saturday interim and for whatever reason, the Dallas Police kind
of brought him out. It was almost kind of like
a makeshift type of news conference, which would never happen
today with a murder suspect, a capital murder suspect of
the President of the United States, But they kind of
brought him out on this stage and that's where you
might have seen some of the footage where you hear
Lee Harvey Oswald and say I was a patsy, I

(01:29:30):
was set up, blah blah blah. And during that he said,
I haven't even been charged with anything. Well, Bill, Bill
Mercer was in the front row of this reporter's right
up by the stage, and he just kind of instinctively said, yes,
you are, and Oswald looked at hi him. Bill said,
you've been charged with the murder of the president, and

(01:29:50):
he said. Oswald just kind of stared at him for
a moment, and then the police let him off, led
him away, and then of course, the next day Oswald
was shot. So Bill was a news reporter, but he
was a sports broadcaster, and a great one. He did
minor league baseball for years in Dallas Fort Worth, and
then when Major League Baseball came to Arlington in nineteen
seventy two, he was the first play by play broadcaster

(01:30:12):
for the Texas Rangers. Prior to that, he had been
the play by play voice of the Dallas Cowboys in
the late sixties. The Ice Bowl game against Green Bay
can YouTube it and you hear his broadcast working with
the old esteemed Dallas Times Harrow columnists Black He shared
it as his analyst in nineteen sixty seven, calling the
Ice Bowl Game against Green Bay the NFL Championship. Bill

(01:30:34):
called the Cowboys first two Super Bowls, the loss to
Baltimore in Super Bowl five and their first ever Super
Bowl championship in Super Bowl six. It was after that
that Bill left the Cowboys to become the Rangers play
by play broadcaster.

Speaker 2 (01:30:48):
He did it for two years. He worked with Don Drysdale.
Then he left.

Speaker 1 (01:30:52):
He got an offer to work with the Chicago White
Sox with Harry Carey. He did that for a couple
of years. All during this time, and it started in
the sixties. Bill was a teacher at North Texas. He
taught first of all, like announced classes and other things
like that, and he started the campus radio station, signed
it on KNTU in nineteen sixty eight, and that's where

(01:31:14):
a lot of us who were sports broadcasting majors, and
when they added the sports broadcasting curriculum, Bill was the
man to teach it and a lot of great broadcasters
have come through that curriculum. Mark following the play by
play voice of the Mavericks Dave Barnett, who did the
Dallas Mavericks for years, then the Spurs and worked for ESPN,
and he's in his retirement years now. He's still the

(01:31:37):
play by play voice of North Texas. Gentleman Miller my
friends from the morning show of the ticket North Texas graduates,
so that many many others Rich Phillips who does s
us play by play that came through the sports broadcasting
curriculum at North Texas. And Bill Mercer was a teacher
and a guiding forced all of us, and he taught

(01:31:59):
us about much more than just you know, calling a
game and how you set it up and all of
those things. He taught us how to conduct ourselves on
the road and be professionals. He was a true mentor
and a leader, and we lost him last Saturday. Bill
Mercer was ninety nine years old, and I visited him
several times over the past few years. He was in

(01:32:21):
a facility up in McKinney. But he was as sharp
as a razor mentally all the way to the very end.
He passed away from an aortic aneurysm of the weekend,
but his mind was as sharp and his voice was
as you know, residence as it was all the way
through all those years he was teaching us.

Speaker 2 (01:32:40):
And he was a great, great man.

Speaker 1 (01:32:42):
He was a World War two veteran, served on a
gunboat in the Pacific Theater as well, and of course
so many folks remember him as the voice of World
Class Championship wrestling, and he was kind of profile in
that movie The Iron Claw because he was very close
to the Von Eric family. So Bill was a man
for all seas and many tasks, but above it all

(01:33:03):
most he was just a great, great man and a
multiple Hall of Famer. He'll be missed, and passed away
last weekend at the age of ninety nine, but his
lessons all remain with those of us who were his acolytes,
his students, who were, as some had taken a calling it,
members of the mercer mafia. We'll be back to wrap
up today's edition of the program here on AM thirteen

(01:33:25):
under the Zone

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