Final Four Week and Zach Laput

This week, the Bristle Boyz welcome Connecticut’s own Zach Laput, a DII All-American and two-time Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year at Bentley University. Zach discusses his decision to enter the transfer portal and test himself at the next level.

The Boyz also breakdown the men’s and women’s Final Fours and discuss the Yankees hot start to the season.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
And the boys are back April 2nd, 2024, Lottie.

(00:11):
Happy to be back in the studio.
Lottie's studio.
Good to see everybody.
We have the angriest man, Jay.
The commish coming in hot late.
The Donfather here.
Hair looking dapper.
Studio engineer Brian Furgensen.
I mean Kevin Ross.
Crocker.
Last guy to show up.
And don't forget about the tax man.

(00:33):
How about Crocker, GQ tonight?
He is looking good.
Man, damn it.
Studio owner Lottie.
Lottie, Lottie.
Thank you.
Thank you to our sponsors, Joe Morello, Capital Securities.
And you know his motto, a life well planned.
TNT remodeling and SkyGaze are brewing, coming in with some.

(00:54):
How's he got time to do all that stuff?
Who?
Our guy.
Teisser.
OK, to do what?
Both those jobs.
He's a hard worker.
He works right through lunch.
Donfather, you know him?
Did you hang out with him at all the last four months?
A little bit this weekend, too.
Oh, this weekend, too.
Keep the torch going.
Are you going to miss him?

(01:14):
I'm not going to.
In the winter?
I see him every weekend.
Kidding me?
In the winter.
We're going to go up to Eastern Connecticut,
watch some boys and men and women's games,
support Angri Jay and Audrey Teiss.
Little bromance there.
It's never going to end.
Yeah, that's cute.
Bidwell Tavern or Willington Pizza on the way home?
Bidwell.
OK, I'm in.
We're waiting on some big boy sponsors that are coming in.

(01:35):
Word has it.
Commission is bringing in a whale.
We'll see if that comes to fruition.
Waiting for the video cameras, too.
Champ Terresso, a little bit of a call out.
OK.
So our guests, we got a guest tonight.
And our guests aren't doing too bad out there.
The charter oak jinx is not a thing.

(01:57):
Charter oak comes on this, and his status in the draft
has been elevated.
With coincidence?
I don't know.
Number three, an ESPN.
Is that what it says?
Mm-hmm.
What do you think, man?
He's been unbelievable.
Oh, my god.
I mean, people might say the second game was a dud,
because I've heard people say it.
I don't agree.
Remember back in the days when Rafter, you know,
those guys you used to invite, Tal,

(02:17):
they used to talk about intimidation blocks by Ewing?
And that was a thing, by the way.
People didn't want to go in there.
I watched Illinois in person.
I was thoroughly impressed.
I cannot believe a 30 to nothing shellacking
to start that second half.
That was amazing.
And they didn't want any part of them.
And the coach does a great job.
But he said on the air, I don't care if he blocks 100,

(02:40):
we're going to keep going in there.
Buddy, if he blocks 100, don't do the same thing all over again.
They were all for 19 around the rim when he was in the game.
What's the definition of insanity?
All for 19.
Come on.
Is it Underwood?
What's his name?
Yeah.
Can we make an adjustment?
Jeez, you don't want to party.
And I talked to Angry J earlier today.

(03:00):
I thought that would be Yukon's toughest game
in the two-year run they've had.
We talked about it.
Yeah, I really did.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
I looked pretty good when it was 23-23.
Then I went, you know, I was at a local establishment.
And before I turned around, it was 53-23.
Well, stay home, would you?
So anyway.

(03:21):
Raftery.
The Oak.
Tonight, we got another basketball guest.
Division II, Bentley Falcons, Notre Dame of West Haven,
Zach Laput has gone into the transfer portal,
looking to make the jump from Division II to Division I.
And we'll have him on in just a few moments.
Next week, we have committed eight-year big
leaker, Jeff Frye.

(03:43):
In eight years, it seems like he was around longer than that,
because you know what?
He was an effective player.
Number with the Red Sox, anybody?
I don't think so.
Crocker?
Three.
Three.
Yeah, Ed Wood.
Three.
All right, let's get the sports.
That's why we're here.
That is why we're here.
Does Crocker even try on the Red Sox trivia?
Supposed to be a die-hard Red Sox fan, him and Dahl.
They don't even try.
But Dahl's pretty good.

(04:03):
He knows some obscure guys.
They're not a number of people, but whatever.
Let's get into the sports world.
It's not baseball weather.
It's freezing cold.
It's raining around here.
But it wasn't freezing cold or raining in Houston
for four straight days.
And if you're not paying attention, that's when Yank went

(04:23):
four and 0.
Never doubted it, not for a pitch.
Lottie, I never doubted it.
They go ahead to Arizona.
Five and 0.
I think I just put the hex on them for tonight.
But we are five and 0.
And who's hotter than the Yanks?
Answer?
Nobody.
The Pirates are also five and 0.

(04:44):
And by the way, talk about a bunch of fun, young players.
And they do have the veteran McCutcheon still DH.
So they got a little leadership there.
You see this O'Neill Cruz and a third baseman too.
These guys are young athletes, man.
The Pirates are fun.
But their record is not better than Yank.
Guys, what do you think about Yank and Donfather?
Overrated.
Are the socks playing?

(05:05):
Like, what's going on?
They're over 500.
What are you talking about?
All right, guys.
What do you think so far?
What do you think so far?
My first thought is Soto has injected so much energy
into the team that something has been missing over the last
couple of years that he's really hit the ball, of course.
He's injecting something.
Just the energy into the team has kind of moved people in.
Yeah, obviously, Soto is incredible.

(05:28):
It kind of reminds me like when Boggs came to the Yanks
100 years ago, where they just changed their whole philosophy
and manningly said he was the key to that team.
I feel like with Soto's approach, they're
taking more pitches, wearing out the starters.
And judges having more fun.
Verdugo's adding some spunk, even though he hasn't started
to hit yet, but Evope makes that jump after five games.

(05:51):
It looks like maybe he has, but we'll see.
And Cumbriera can be that guy.
Wells can be that guy behind the ditch.
Bish.
Now you got that balance between the young guys
and the veterans.
So obviously, it's a lot more fun after the two years we've
experienced, or the three years or four years of boring baseball.

(06:13):
The Yanks are back.
I love what you said.
He's wearing a v-neck Yankee pullover.
So is the Yankee fan in?
And Yankee's a point in great.
So who's the first one to go down?
When's the injury?
It's going to happen.
Hull 3, Stanton.
Well, it's definitely Stanton or Torres.
It's hampering April, for sure.
It's already happened with Cole.
Lemayhu.
Lemayhu.
Hull 3, Stanton's next.
I'm worried about Lemayhu coming back,

(06:33):
and then what happens to Cumbriera.
They're just going to bounce him around?
Yeah.
He's playing good where he is.
But Lemayhu at second, get rid of that bomb.
Lemayhu's not coming back anytime soon.
So nah, he'll stay hurt.
Labor started out 0 for 11.
He'll stay hurt until Cumbriera cools off.
But I know you guys are all excited.
I'm not.
You've seen this crap before.

(06:53):
I will say there's one good thing happened.
One good thing happened.
And it was Soto after game three or four.
I think it was game three.
I don't know.
He fouled off his ankle or something.
The reporters were asking him about his ankle.
And his response, they asked him, is it hurting?
And he was like, no.

(07:13):
They asked him, should you see the trainer?
And he was like, no.
They just cut him off.
It was like he kind of knows how the Yankees treat their players.
And it was like I'm playing every day.
It was kind of refreshing to see.
Because any Yankees says, well, it's kind of like I
got to go see the trainer.
They ended up on the injured list for freaking 10 days.
And then they're playing, taking swings in Tampa.
And then all of a sudden a month has gone by.

(07:34):
It's awful.
It was great to see the guy who wants to play baseball.
He likes playing baseball.
It's kind of cool.
Remember what Judge said at the end of the year?
And talk to me on how frustrated he was.
I think one of the main things was,
can we put an everyday lineup out there?
Because I feel like the first five games,
the same guys have basically played.
So maybe they listened to him just a little bit.
Same thing in the line.
I saw that.
Yeah, I saw that.

(07:55):
Trevino, former All-Star.
Anyway, Yankees are hot.
Yankees are hot.
Lottie, they're back.
Yankees are back.
You love it, don't you?
I do.
They're fun.
I like Verdugo.
I said at the time I liked the trade.
It's only for one year, but I like them.
You see him talking about Soto in the post game
the other day, calling him a dog.

(08:17):
See that necklace, too.
That's the biggest number 24 I've ever seen.
The wife, Peter, tattoos.
Where's George?
George is rolling over and engraving out.
What'd they get?
Hey, our last three number 24s, him, Cano and Tino.
I mean, he's not in their stratosphere.
Let me ask a question to you guys.
Dominguez comes back and he's not making it back to me.

(08:39):
You're going to owe me money there.
I said June 1st.
You said, come on, man.
The date's already changing.
It was Memorial Day.
So anyway.
When's Memorial Day?
The day before June 1st?
I don't know.
What are you saying?
So is that a day?
So when he comes back, does he play?
What are we doing with him?
Is he going to be in triple A?
Because we got to keep standing.
If we take staying out of the lineup,

(09:01):
we get an excellent mother baseball player in there.
Like we have a baseball team.
That's the thing.
We have a pretty good team.
Will it happen?
Dominguez a better outfielder than Soto?
Yes.
Oh, yeah.
And he can play center field.
So it works out perfectly.
For Judging Right?
Judging Right, Soto, and Verdugo could D8 and play left.
Well, they could just flip those four around.
Yeah, and get rid of this.

(09:22):
It's Stan.
I've been telling you guys this for years.
Anyway, socks, nothing.
Dodgers look pretty good.
One quick thing on Ohtani.
I don't know what's true and what's not.
But if they don't investigate this guy the way they did Pete
Rose, it's a trap.
It's almost a non-story already.
I know.
Because he's making baseball too much money.
Is he going to pull on Michael Jordan?
He's going to weave baseball and try

(09:42):
to play basketball for a couple of years,
like Jordan did with baseball.
Because he just voluntarily decided to weave.
I mean, he's a freaking disgrace.
Can we put him on the Lakers?
He should be kicked out of baseball.
If only we could put him on the Lakers.
No one in America's happened that bridge claps is Ohtani.
I'll have to take him out of the news for a couple of days.

(10:03):
Sad times, though.
Rest in peace.
Terrible, terrible accident.
Final four.
Yukon Huskies are in on a women's side.
Now, I know you guys probably watched last night.
I did.
Wasn't overly optimistic.
I heard the great Gilbert Arenas talking about this juju

(10:24):
that like Caitlin Clark couldn't guard her.
She would eat up.
Caitlin Clark.
I think he said she'd be lunch meat or something like that.
Well, buddy, your brook guns into the locker room,
so you're not exactly a genius.
But we're not even going to find out,
because Huskies took them out.
Under the radar, Huskies this year, too.
With five guys.

(10:45):
Foul trouble, short bench, all kinds of stuff going on.
They still won, which I think was an unbelievable job of Gino.
Yep, for sure.
In page buckets.
I mean, he has the knack to get that one player, the Tarasi
type player, the Moore type player, who else am I thinking
of?
For Anastor.
Oh, my god.
Yeah, but you think about South Carolina's undefeated

(11:06):
and all the LSU drama and all that stuff.
And then the Caitlin Clark, people weren't even.
They don't even talk about beckers, right?
Oh, no.
Obviously, we appreciate how good she is.
But I don't think anybody even, she's on everybody's radar.
Don't get me wrong.
She's fantastic.
But she's kind of taking a back seat this year
to some of those other kids.

(11:26):
I don't think she minds what the money she's bringing home.
I don't remember rooting for a Yukon women's team this hard
at this point in the season in years, just because of what
they overcame.
Yeah, I care big time about their chances on the weekend.
And I'm not, again, not overly optimistic.
They got to play Iowa.
Is that right?
Yeah.
I mean, who's chasing that kid around?

(11:46):
I think they got a chance Friday.
It's the next game, I don't think.
Anybody else?
I would agree with you.
I think I got a shot on Friday, too.
Gino figured out something defensively
to make her think maybe just a little bit more than Ellis.
You did.
Jeez.
Iowa doesn't guard at all.
Like, I mean, I can tell you, I've
watched a lot of Iowa games, but watching a little bit
the other day, it was kind of like watching Summer League
almost.

(12:07):
They jack up NBA threes and stuff,
and it's cool that she makes jumpers.
But Yukon at least guards a little bit, so I can't see them.
Don File, I know you were talking about beforehand.
They had 12.3 million viewers or 13 million viewers
for the Iowa LSU game.
Yep.
That's crazy.
Men's tournament had 10.1, I think, for the first weekend.

(12:30):
I didn't see what they had over for this past weekend.
I'm asking you, I don't know.
Well, the reason for that is the show that wasn't basketball.
And you're not supposed to say it.
You're not supposed to say what you see.
And I don't know what the reason is.
You can't say it, but I see a bunch of LSU players.
And I don't care whether they're number 30, whatever, or 10,

(12:53):
or they're regarded it forward.
I see a bunch of punks out there.
And I see the coach running around like a jackass.
And she's got that stupid code on,
flipping out about a charge call.
And everybody's against them.
And it's so unfair, and they're so treated.
However, they're a bunch of punks.
So when they lose, we can smile about it.
But if you smile about it, you're not sympathizing with them.

(13:15):
And they're a victim.
And I'm against everything LSU.
I pretty much always have been in every sport.
I mean, baseball players are cocky.
I like Shaq.
And that's where it ends.
But this thing, if you're following social media today,
we're now this angel, whatever her name is, is a victim.

(13:36):
Dude, take all your money that you made.
Take your sports-illustrated money.
And take your mocking of people on national TV
in front of millions of viewers.
Take that mockery and cry about it, because you'd lost.
You're not a Ben Simmons fan?
You cried about it.
Hell no.
Go cry about it, and then you're trying to be gracious
with a hug after you lose.
But when you're winning, you can taunt like that?

(13:59):
I know we have a shortage of officials on youth levels.
But can we start enforcing these taunting things?
I mean, in the NFL, you do a dance
to allow a negata, a 15-yard penalty.
But this kid can walk around and mock.
I hate the fact that even high school players
are taunting after every shot.

(14:20):
Yeah, so I agree with that.
You're not that good, man.
But no, I 100% agree with you.
But the coaches could stop that.
Well, not that LSU coach don't want to stop it.
No, exactly.
But I'm saying, if you want to stop it,
never remind the officials that the coaches got to take them
out.
It's not really that hard.
I mean, do you see the Yukon Girls act like that?
No.

(14:40):
I agree.
I agree with everything you just said,
but you're also going to do the Katelyn Clark last year
doing that.
I mean, she did dumb stuff again.
She shouldn't do any more, though.
She's been also complaining to the restaurant.
I don't say that.
Yeah, the Iowa coach could just say, hey, grab some pine.
It works.
Listeners that don't bother you did the face thing.

(15:00):
What's the name for it?
Can't see me.
Can't see me, Johnson.
Yeah, they can't see me thing.
I know you couldn't see it because this is just a podcast,
and we don't have cameras.
That's right.
There's no cameras yet.
But anyway, yeah, what an annoying bunch of people,
and what a great bit of karma it was for women's hoops.
You know what's not to talk about.
What's not to talk about enough is the LSU,

(15:23):
they are hard to root for.
But you mentioned the baseball team, and it's both of them.
Like, they're paying their athletes more than anybody.
And you kind of get what you get.
That's the way it works.
You see that you talk about the baseball team.
I mean, they act like buffoons, too.
Yeah, which I'm not a fan of it.

(15:43):
Yeah, as I was saying, so the coaches get rid of it.
Yeah, it used to be the coaches that run the show, but not me.
And now all the money being in LSU is shown off.
Yeah, the athletes run the show now.
Let me hear what Savin said the other day.
Studio engineer.
Oh, yeah, Nick Savin.
He said what?
Like, his wife came to him and said, why are we doing this?

(16:05):
He's like, what are you talking about?
She goes, they just want to know how much you're paying.
I mean, this is it.
Sure, Jay writes, thought the same thing.
Roy Williams, there's a reason why these guys aren't coaching.
I want to say, how many times are you watching a men's game?
And they're saying, so and so, who played in Wichita State
last year, and then before that was Alabama,
they got three schools they all played in.

(16:25):
It's unbelievable, like, where they came from.
Lottie has a good solution to that,
to give everybody one freebie.
And after that, he's sitting out.
And you've got a city area.
You've got to have a window.
You can't be like 26 anymore.
I'm playing quarterback for Miami, man, or whatever the freak.
Yeah, I'll give you one free transfer.
It's an open market.
But after that, I wouldn't even say it's a penalty.

(16:46):
It's just, you should have to sit a year.
These guys are like, you guys just said, four schools, four years.
I know we're old school.
We love college basketball.
We want it to go back to the way it used to be.
It's never going to go back to the way it used to be.
But can we regulate it and control it just a little bit?
Just a little bit.
I hope so, or we're going to really ruin it,
because the only good part about it right now is this tournament.

(17:09):
Yeah.
Everything else sucks.
Regular season is unwatchable.
To me, regular season is unwatchable.
Yeah.
And we used to set our clock to it.
Right.
And you don't care.
And then the offseason stuff and the season
is what, like 18 months long now.
Like, short it up, tighten up some rules,
and let us care about the kind.

(17:29):
And you, Lottie, I want to give you too much credit.
But you also said, regular season champion
should get an automatic.
I'm a big fan of that.
I know I would be in the minority,
because it kind of takes away from the three, four, five day
excitement of the team coming out of nowhere.
Like an NC State who had 14 losses
and was a free throw away of not making it,

(17:49):
and that coach getting canned.
I just, I'm a big fan of over a three, four months
ban, rewarding that team that won their conference championship
over that three or four months rather than three or four days.
You still get the little guy in the tournament that way.
Those smaller schools are still getting in.

(18:10):
Then if the conference wants to still have a little tournament
to make a moneymaker, make some money for their league,
I'm all for it.
But I just, I'm a big fan of the other way.
And I know I'm in the minority.
So I'll tell you what.
Hold on.
There's one thing that's been really, really hard.
And I'll suppose you for division one teams is,
like it's really hard to build a program.

(18:32):
Like if you're starting out, like what Hurley has done is amazing.
Because he kind of has the family atmosphere going,
even with kids who have transferred in.
But like some of these guys, I mean,
the guys are mentioned three or four.
It's a team for one year.
And it's an entire new team.
Like how do you build like any kind of connection with a kid
and build a program when he's leaving in April or May or something?

(18:55):
I've heard a bunch of coaches come out and say that every player
now that you recruit is on a one year contract.
I mean, it sucks.
Like how do you build a program like that?
Scholarship, man.
But look at the two teams that are one team, seeds left.
Both those teams are pretty much consistently.
They're a program, yeah.
The program guys, they're freshmen who came into the program
that were recruited.
There's one transfer for you.

(19:15):
And I think Purdue has maybe one that's like a player.
UConn last year had one that was a bench player that was huge.
But still, it was still consistency for those two programs.
And I think if you look at some of the other programs that were good,
Houston, I believe, didn't have a ton of transfers either.
So it isn't showing that the full transfer team is better than.

(19:38):
Well, that's going to have to show over time,
though, and we're going to have to put up with this year
until teams see the blueprint.
Well, Kentucky's the kid.
Speaking of Kentucky, we were talking off, well, Oakland beating Kentucky.
You guys saw what Jay Wright said.
He's like, now, Oakland's a better team.
They won because they're a better team.

(20:00):
They have 22 or 23, in some cases, 24-year-olds against 18, 19-year-old kids.
And he's like, yeah, Kentucky kids will be better NBA players,
and they'll get paid.
But right now, Oakland's a better basketball team because they have men.
And let's be honest, too, a guy's transferring, right?
He's getting paid.

(20:20):
He's transferring.
How long you going to school for?
A month for the entire year?
The entire school?
Yeah, school is a non-factor.
It's a non-entity now.
These kids aren't going.
We're not going there for the academic piece, that's for sure.
Things need to change.
I know I'm definitely not ruined against you, Ken.

(20:42):
But it's hard not to root for a painter because it kind of seems like he does it
the right way, right?
So what Kevin said and angry Jay, he doesn't have a lot of movement in and out
of his program.
Those guys, they just, he develops them.
They get a little bit better each year.
And then once every four years, you make your big run.

(21:04):
And this was his first final four.
I fell happy for him.
Lottie, I don't want to give them too much credit.
I actually feel bad for what's happened to them over the past few years with the Carson
Edwards team.
So like that.
This Edie, they have two, they had two seven-footers before him.
One was the guy Harms, you remember that guy?
Yeah, Lefty, right?
And did they have two of them at one time?
Was it?
Two seven-footers.

(21:25):
Before Edie got there, they had two seven-footers.
Well, Caleb Swanigan was there for a while.
Am I going back too far?
No, I'm not.
There was another guy.
We saw them play at Rutgers and they almost beat them.
Yes.
With two monster guys.
Yeah, they were kind of platooning them in and out.
And the other name escapes me.
Guys, Bama Connecticut.

(21:48):
What Connecticut just did to this team was amazing.
Have you ever seen a 30-nothing run at any level?
Girls, boys, travel, I've never seen anything like it.
I've never seen a 30-nothing run.
It was a machine.
Does Alabama have a shot?
God, you see the number?
Was it 11 and a half?
Down five?

(22:09):
Already?
12?
I agree.
They're not big enough.
Can't go down on them either.
I'll say this.
I was talking to the commission.
We were talking in the league game.
He's crapping himself because he's nervous.
You guys can disagree with me.
But in the last 10 to 15 years, I don't think I've seen a better

(22:31):
defensive team.
Are there more talented teams that we've seen?
Absolutely.
But they don't make mistakes, man.
Any small mistake they do make on defense, they got the giant back.
He's a human eraser.
I've been saying it for the last two years.
For me, they're really fun to watch on defense.

(22:53):
Their guards are so physical.
Big guards.
Those guys rebound.
I think Hurley's done an incredible job with this.
The guys, they had four guys play terrible in the first half the other day, other than
Donovan.
They had an all-American, first team all-American who did nothing.
They're up five.
To me, it doesn't happen, especially when you're playing.

(23:16):
Illinois was the 10th team, ranked 10th in the country at that point.
It's amazing, but the guys are so unselfish.
It's fun to watch.
They've bought into whatever he's selling.
Life shot 28% from three in this tournament.
28%.
Like, Carribean started shooting a little bit better last game, but he had really done

(23:36):
nothing up until then.
And Castle had two points, and Newton had seven points.
How many bad shots did they take?
How many bad shots did they take?
They're unselfish in that regard.
The ball movement and player movement is phenomenal.
I always think that the freshman's going to go renegade every once in a while.
He does, though.
He does.

(23:57):
You're right.
It's like he's kind of realizes his role.
Anytime the offense is not clicking, defense is there.
That's one thing.
They defend the ball no matter what's going to happen.
Will their shots go in or not, they're going to defend the ball.
Reminds me of an old Syracuse team, Don, father.
No.
To that point, somebody's going to have to shoot really well, or beat them.

(24:19):
So in the other game, it seems like we deserve going through this nonsense in college basketball.
Players like we and every college basketball fan out there deserves to produce a UConn matchup.
Everyone wants to see it.
The dogs play first.
Is that right?
No, UConn's got the late game.
What time is the late game?

(24:41):
8.49 or something.
Oh, the time.
That hurts.
Right at the stadium.
Does anyone worry?
We think it's probably UConn producing the finals, right?
Does anyone worry that Donovan's got two fouls in the first half against the big guy
here?
I think Purdue's got to worry that their guys got two fouls in the first group because
they play through.

(25:01):
They don't call fouls in that guy though.
He lives at the foul line too.
But here's the thing though, they run through him.
UConn plays basketball and occasionally one guy benefits, occasionally it's another guy.
It's like an equal opportunity offense.
Purdue has to throw the ball in there to that guy.

(25:22):
He touches it a ton.
Donovan doesn't see it.
He only plays half the game for crying out loud.
So we do other, UConn does other things.
They're a one-trick pony.
They got to play without him for a stretch.
They're in trouble.
Well, they won't.
But if Donovan's got two fouls of 10 minutes in the game, then Samson's in there and it's
going to be like back and down, back and down score.

(25:43):
This is B. Alabama first.
Yeah, I know.
We want to see Ewing versus Samson.
No, it seems like we deserve it.
They got to have the tempo and get Samson down the court ahead of E.D. and dunk the
balls.
Yeah, I do love the way we're talking ahead of what's going to happen.
Well, yeah, I'm not getting ahead, but I was talking to my father-in-law on Sunday.

(26:04):
He said, watch Donovan, how he gets from rim to rim at that size.
At 7-2, that's not common.
It doesn't happen.
He runs 90 feet.
Yeah, and he's going by guards and forwards.
E.D.
Looks like he's walking through the dorms at DePaul.
Yeah.
Yeah, I did see that.

(26:24):
Yeah, I did see that.
Leave the kid alone.
All right, so anyway, you guys.
I didn't bring it up.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Okay, so I can remember a few times when going into the Saturday semifinal where you're
rooting for one team and the other because you wanted to see them play against each other.

(26:46):
Okay, and obviously it was Duke, you know, V1.
Was that a final?
Yeah, it was.
The first year and then the next year was a final four.
Yeah, so UConn Duke was another one with the first one.
99.
And the America team, right?
So both of those.
That was a final four game, the Mecca one.

(27:08):
And how about Kansas, Carolina with, was it Grant Hill's team?
Yeah, when he had the alley-oop above the back part, basically.
Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, this one I think America is rooting for.
I am, yeah, definitely.
I'm not.
I want to see stay in there so we can just beat him by 20.
20?

(27:28):
Might be done by 50.
Anyway, can't wait for this weekend.
We're welcoming in our guest, Zach LePuit from Beacon Falls, Connecticut, Notre Dame,
West Haven, and most recently Bentley College, where he was one of the best Falcons of all
time.
Jay, did you say he was a leading scorer already after three years?

(27:50):
No, he is.
He was a leading scorer, obviously, the last couple of years for them.
He was the Northeast 10 player of the year and he's 10th all time at Bentley after three
years already on our scoring list.
Yeah, he's 1,600 points in three years.
Pretty incredible.
That's crazy.
He started 87 in 90 games, so he can start three games as a freshman and of course,

(28:10):
Lawson figured out he probably should be in a...
Guys, this next segment is sponsored by Capital Securities and their vice president, Joe
Morello.
And as we've planned out this interview really well, it reminds me of their motto, a life.
Well planned.
Zach Laput, Beacon Falls, Connecticut, Notre Dame, West Haven, and the Bentley College

(28:32):
Falcon Northeast 10 player of the year this year.
Zach, welcome.
Thanks for joining us.
Let's talk some basketball.
Zach, we're going to start with the spicier stuff.
This portal is hot news for everybody.

(28:53):
Full transparency.
We don't love a lot of things about it.
So, I think one of the best things about it is for somebody such as yourself to go from
a Division II program and try to test the waters and see how far you can take this basketball
thing.
So, guys, at your level, and I don't know if you know anyone else who's gone in the portal,

(29:14):
but what's your take on the whole portal business?
Well, I think it's completely out of control.
I think about 90% of the people in it roughly are probably entering it for the wrong reasons.
I think a lot of people enter it because they're not happy with their situation instead of

(29:34):
doing something about it themselves to get better.
But I would say the people that go in it for the right reasons or at least have given it
a lot of thought.
It could end up potentially being a great thing down the road, and I think it's definitely
got its pros and cons.
There's going to be a lot of people that benefit from it and a lot of people that don't.

(29:57):
I think, for example, the COVID year, it ended up benefiting me tremendously because I got
the extra year because of COVID, but the class below me, it hurt them pretty bad because
there weren't any scholarships for college from the high school kids in that graduating
class.
So, it's really just all high, but you look at it.
Yeah, it's certainly trickled down to these high school graduating seniors where it seems

(30:21):
like it's a game for men at the Division I level and Division II and Division III for
that matter.
It seems like programs want experience, bigger, older guys.
And you would fit that, Bill.
So can you talk about your experience at Bentley and your legendary coach?

(30:41):
Yeah.
So, I mean, it definitely isn't as smooth as it may seem from a resume standpoint of
my time here at Bentley.
I've been so blessed to play for Coach Lawson.
When I admitted here, I just really trusted him.
I knew that I was going to be able to count on him to tell me the truth and everything

(31:05):
and to hold me to the standard that I had for myself.
It's been better than I ever could have possibly imagined playing for him.
My freshman year, we didn't have a season.
It was COVID and we were practicing every day with Mass on.
And it felt like I didn't know how to play basketball every single day.
I was just playing against older men and the game was moving really fast for me.

(31:30):
And I wasn't going to let that.
You know, Stombi, I had my goals and I was going to get it one way or another no matter
how long it took or what I had to do to get there.
That's just how I'm wired.
I'm going to make happen or I'm at least going to give everything I possibly have.
And I would go in every morning at 6 a.m. and luckily, I was blessed.

(31:50):
My assistant coach would come in that early and he would work me out to train me on the
right things I needed to do to get better here at Bentley.
And every day after practice, you know, I'd be like my head would be just like running
a million miles an hour during practice, I never was making the right decisions.
It was just a different game.
But I was playing in the CIA.

(32:11):
And I had always worked on like my one-on-one skills and trainers.
Like I would train like six to eight hours a day.
I still do, but I wasn't working on the right things then.
And after practice, I would watch film with my assistant coach every single day of our
practice to just learn about what are the right decisions, you know, really learning

(32:34):
the game.
And that year was a blessing for me because it really was a prep year that I never took
coming from the CIA.
And it was just a great development year for me.
That's awesome.
Wherever I go.
And I just knew what I had to work on going into that next year.
And so it became my greatest blessing that I was able to save a year and just really

(32:56):
develop.
I was going to ask you about that COVID year.
It's probably the first time in your life that you didn't have, you know, a competitive
season, but you answered it perfectly.
I want to get back to your coach for a little bit.
He started as a head coach in 1990.
All right.
Now it's 2023.
That's a 33-year span.
Did you ever talk to him or did he have conversations with your team about how he's adapted and

(33:19):
adopted his style over a 33-year span?
Because 1990 and 2023, the game is not the same.
Can you talk a little bit about that?
Not to mention 2024 this year, Zach, but go ahead.
23-24 season.
Don't listen to him, Zach.
Don't listen to him.
I got it.
Well, I could say I obviously don't know firsthand how he was with the coach back then, but I

(33:45):
know he's made it clear that he, it seems like he's not been easier on us at all.
That's not the word, but he's definitely come a lot more mature, I guess, and is a way to
go about things, I guess, back in the day.
They used to run a lot, and now we just play pick-up as our conditioning, but it's not,

(34:08):
we don't play pick-up like most other programs.
I'm sure there's a lot of programs that play really good pick-up, but our pick-up games
are highly, highly competitive, and we're, everyone's pushing their conditioning in that
because that ultimately is the conditioning that translates to the games.
You know, I don't go on runs, but I'm able to play 40 minutes in a lot of our games

(34:30):
because of just pushing myself in live play every single day.
I know that's one way that he's adapted, but I mean, he's going to be one of the greatest
coaches in Division II history, just one of the greatest coaches of all time.
I've just been so lucky to play for him, and I know that, I mean, he's had to adapt in

(34:50):
a lot of ways, you have to adapt if you want to keep being successful, which he has, and
he'll always be at the top as long as he's coaching.
And, you know, there's a lot more three-point shooting now.
I'm sure like the games called a lot differently.
I know his best teams back in the day used to be defensive monsters who could hold teams
to like 40 every single game.

(35:10):
They could just shut teams down, but you know, they allowed handshacking back then.
It was just a lot of different games.
Now our teams are scoring like 85 and above.
We could just really score the ball because we have a great free-flow motion offense.
So, I mean, he's adjusted based off of how the game is being called, what it is, and
you know, it just speaks to just the legend that he is, I guess.

(35:34):
Zach, if the Bentley Falcons could hang their hat on a word or a phrase or something that
their program is all about, like a model, what would that be?
Yeah, it's definitely every ability.
So every ability is every ability.
It's the ability to basically give your best at everything that you do.

(35:59):
So that's just like for basketball.
I think it also like, I think it's who I want to be as a person.
It's kind of how my mindset's wired to reach my goals because you have to have it.
Like if you're playing a 40-minute game, you have to play hard every possession.
You have to be locked in.
You have to cut hard.

(36:21):
You've got to go offense-rebound every single time because every single time, like, you
two extra offense rounds would actually be the difference in a game.
And the talent is so, there's so much parody of the talent in college basketball that every
ability really comes down to be the difference maker in most scenarios.

(36:42):
Like, are you going to give your best every single day to get better as a friend at basketball?
It just speaks to everything you do in life, honestly.
Hey, Zach, so you had a great resume in high school.
You have a great resume in college.
We got it all in front of us.
So you're going to have options just like you had options, I'm sure, where you're in

(37:03):
order to be in West Haven.
So what are you looking for now for your next opportunity?
What is it playing time?
Is it just an opportunity to win?
What's, what, how was, what are you looking for now compared to where you were looking
for, you know, four years ago when you were looking for a college to play for?
Yeah, so my ultimate goal has always been to be the best basketball player I could possibly

(37:25):
be.
And to see what the highest level I could possibly reach.
And I definitely have already exceeded whatever I thought I could do when I started my, when
I started dedicated myself to basketball my freshman year.
But I'm not going to, I'm never going to stop.
I'm not going to ever set a feeling for myself.
And so for this next year, I will say I am, I'm used to winning everywhere I've been.

(37:49):
So I'm, I'm going to go to a program that has the same mentality as me and expects to
win and make a run in March.
I have to feel that from the coaching staff and know it from their history.
That is very important for me.
And it is important for me if I'm going to leave the situation to have your belly to
go to a place where it fits me and there's a need for me rather than a want, I'm not

(38:12):
going to go somewhere where they just want me because they like me.
I'm going to go somewhere where they really need me to help them win and take them over
the top.
So I would say those are the biggest things.
As to fit in the style of play, the level is important.
I would ideally go to the highest level possible because that is ultimately what I want to
do challenge myself because I got to be uncomfortable to grow.

(38:35):
I've got to put myself in the best possible environment to grow and what place is going
to help me become a pro just as much as I'm going to help them win championships.
I love it.
There is a power five on the list of schools I've seen.
So maybe that's a possibility.
I got to throw this out there, Zach.
For some of our listeners, I got, I got to see you playing high school a bunch too because

(38:57):
I know coach Shay and we're, you guys had that prep team that was going on there for
a while for some of our listeners that don't know that Zach is the Northeast 10 player
of the year, which division two is incredible.
1600 points in three years there.
Right.
Incredible.
Pass the ball, Zach.
Yeah.
He does that too.
Because he's got every ability but passing.

(39:18):
Yeah.
So I mean, I'm not, I'm not taking a light of it.
So can you like go into like, I knew you mentioned about practicing like three days, three times
a day and stuff like the one thing I thought when I saw you in high school.
I was just like, well, I'm not sure how great he shoots.
I'm like, obviously he's going to be a good college player, but like following you from

(39:39):
a distance.
I'm like, like you're, you're shooting percentages are for, for a college player.
Like they're off, they're like the Steve Nash thing where it's 50% from the field, 90 from,
you know, you're right around those numbers.
I mean, how much time do you put into that?
And if you don't mind like when you, when you were getting recruited out of Notre Dame
in West Haven, you were saying you wanted to play at your highest level.

(40:01):
Who else recruited you besides event?
Because I do remember seeing a bunch of schools there and what ultimately was your decision?
I just asked you about six questions, but what ultimately decided you would coach
Austin and Bentley?
Yeah.
I'll start with the shooting thing.
So I think my, I definitely didn't shoot the ball that well in high school by any means.

(40:22):
Funny my sophomore year, I was purely just a catch and shoot guy.
Yeah.
And I was in defense and then junior year I had like an elbow injury.
So I couldn't shoot for the whole summer.
So I just became really explosive and that's all I focused on was driving.
So then I became a little bit of 50, 50 in senior year.
You know, it's just so easy for me to get to the basket.
I just did that because I wanted our team to win.
And that's, I knew I could get whatever I wanted at the rim and the CISC.

(40:45):
So I didn't really run the shooting that much.
And that kind of hurt me a lot in my recruiting because I didn't play on a big AAU team.
I played with all my high school buddies because I wanted to build a chemistry to win.
That's awesome.
That's awesome by the way.
And then for my high school team, you know, I just was doing what we had to do to win.
So coach they would always tell me shoot the ball more like you need to show these schools.

(41:07):
But I was just, I couldn't get my head to not do it because I just knew what would
work for us to win.
So when I got to college, I wasn't even looking to shoot like that first year.
And coaches like to play off your shot, play off your shot.
I had to learn like a different way to work in my shooting than I was used to.
I could shoot spot shots and shoot like a super high percentage, but that wasn't going to

(41:30):
necessarily translate to the game.
The game's fast and you know, sometimes you're not ready to shoot, but you're open and you
don't realize it's too late.
And you got to be able to shoot off all different footwork and different reactions and different
angles.
So I just completely changed my training regimen to be a lot more reactionary based rather
than three plan drills because I don't think those translate at all.

(41:54):
I think they can't then like you want to get your handle stronger or in better condition,
stuff like that.
I think they could be really beneficial, but I think for the grand scheme of things, what's
ultimately going to translate to the game the most, I think you got to do reactionary
based work at game speed and just try to make the workouts as much like the game as possible.
And so I might work out for the same amount of time, but I've cut down the reps, but make

(42:17):
it way higher intensity.
And I think that really helped my shooting ability.
And yeah, I would say that's what helped my shooting abilities the most was just making
it as game like as possible and playing a lot of one on one.
You got that little step back, right?
I know like if you're driving and the guy actually cuts you off, you do that little
like fall away, which is pretty much like automatic range.

(42:39):
Yeah.
I mean, what I think I think I built a pretty good package.
I like to say like between my shot, you got to play that.
And if you don't, I think I've my first step is quick enough to get by anybody if I'm
off the catch and I get to the paint when I play off the two feet.
I think I used to get whatever I want to with my pivots, my touch and my footwork.

(43:01):
So if I'm playing under control like that, I think that's what I'm on my best.
But yeah, as for why I chose Bentley, so I said I, I felt I was under recruited, but
you know, maybe I wasn't for the time.
Maybe I just wasn't ready and I was deciding between Bentley and St. Anselm.
I had two other division two schools, Pace and Adelphi, which are really good schools
in my conference, but I was deciding between Bentley and St. Anselm.

(43:25):
And it was, I mean, those were rivals.
Those are our biggest rivals.
I have a lot of respect to that program and tower, our buckles, same shot, same fall.
We became, we became friends.
I would say playing against each other, just a lot of respect for each other.
Yeah.
I've been playing with Bentley for three years and I just, I just trusted Coach Lawson more,

(43:50):
honestly.
Like I really just felt like I trusted him and you know, it definitely was the best decision
for me.
I'm sure if I went there, I would have probably enjoyed playing with Tyler and all those guys
and Coach Dixon, but Bentley, I just had a feeling like I just really had a feeling
about Bentley and definitely was the best thing in my life.

(44:11):
That would have been quite a one-two punch.
Kamish?
Yeah, Zach, I know both your parents were student athletes, Trinity.
I want to know what you took away from each of them.
Yeah.
So I would say from my mom, I mean, my mom's just an angel.
You know, every kid will say that about their mom, but I mean, it's just definitely true
about my Sheila.

(44:33):
She is the most caring, selfless, giving person to her family, like in every way possible.
And I would say just her ability to, like she really is great at understanding people
and listening.
And I would say my ability to really just listen and understand and hear people out

(44:59):
and just understand where they're coming from.
I think I would say from my mom, from my dad, except with the competitiveness, there's
no doubt about it.
Like when I was a kid, we'd play sports together and he would purposely just completely dominate
me at whatever we possibly played.

(45:19):
And he would talk trash the entire time doing it just to get me mad.
And it instilled like a fire in me when I was little.
Like I just hated losing because of him.
It was a football player, right?
Because of that.
Yep, football.
And I would say like he would just beat the crap out of me like on the field.
And I just, we're just every day, like I'm going to win it.

(45:42):
Like every sport I do, I just looked at it like winning is all that matters, which is
like, you know, good and bad in some ways, but it's the way I look at it.
Like it is everything for me.
And it's why I play like not the only reason I play the game, but is one of the biggest
reasons why I play the game is to win because there's no better feeling than winning.
And I would say that I would say that's definitely the biggest thing I got from him.

(46:04):
And like in fifth grade, for example, like I saved up all my birthday money growing up.
Like from like third grade up, I knew I wanted to bat in cage.
Like baseball was my main sport growing up.
And like from that early even, they just show like what, like how I've been wired from like
my parents and just like naturally, since I was a kid, like I knew I wanted to save my
money to get a bat in cage for baseball so I could take swings every single day.

(46:29):
And then in fifth grade, I got enough money to get one.
And then every single day, I would take 300 swings in my batting cage when I was in fifth
grade, my dad would pitch.
What position you play baseball?
For a little shortstop for AU center field, I could really hit.
That was what I was good at.
I was fast so I could play like the outfield and shag down whatever.

(46:52):
Who was your AU team?
I played for the Connecticut OWLs first and then the Connecticut Gators and then the CT
grind were the programs I played for.
And that was like my, yeah, I was, I was all in on baseball, like up until high school,
I was like, this is what I'm going to do.
I'm going to go to school for free doing this.

(47:13):
Like this is, there was no limits.
I didn't have any limits for baseball.
Like I knew I could do whatever I wanted with that.
And I, and I was like, it's all I did.
Like even then, like for middle school, but it was just boring for me and I eventually
fizzled out because it's just not, it's basketball and the coach, he's honestly the one that
made me love basketball because my dad are really close friends at Notre Dame.

(47:39):
And I just was like in love with like the way he looked at the game and like it's fast
pace and I just like want to play for him and then so freshman year I decided to do
only basketball.
My parents were like, they weren't like, they were always going to support me whatever
I did, but they were like, you should play baseball.

(47:59):
Like you shouldn't quit baseball.
I'm like, I don't want to.
I want to do basketball.
And they're like, well, at least do one more sprain.
I'm like, I won't.
And they're like, all right, well, you're too good at an athlete to not play in a sport
realm.
Like I'm not playing football because I'm going to get hurt.
Don't tell me lacrosse.
Oh, no, they would, you know, they want me to play across and like, no, I'm not doing
that.
Like, so I did like track freshman year to like make him happy like in the spring.

(48:22):
But that was, I was just all in on basketball.
That's not really a sport anyway.
But yeah.
No, man, angry Jake.
Come on, man.
You guys are the runners out there.
It takes forever, but Zach, I want, I want to get back to Tyler, our buckle and saying
to them, I know you had two really close games with them this year.
If you could talk a little bit about him as a player and the way he played like his competitive

(48:47):
style, just coaching him for a couple of years.
I know it's there.
I know the intensity.
I know how hard he's worked to become the player that he was and is.
Can you also talk a little bit about Justice Ellison, the kid from South Windsor that
was AIC because a lot of our listeners are from Connecticut that are very familiar with
those two guys.

(49:08):
Tyler overcoming the two ACLs.
Yeah, two ACLs.
That's on the perseverance and determination.
He had a shoulder too, right at one point.
He was never healthy just because of his style of play and how hard he trained.
So if you could talk a little bit about those Connecticut guys, Ty and Ellison.
Yeah, I'll start with Ty.
Like the words I would use to describe him are just competitor, a winner and just a bucket.

(49:34):
He's just the workhorse and that's why I think we have the ultimate respect for each other.
Being rival schools, like he just every time I play him, like I know I'm I prepare for
the same every game about the same way, but I'm preparing for San Diego is a little bit

(49:54):
more when I know I'm playing him.
Like I know that he's going to give his best and I don't want him to have any edge on me.
I want to have the edge because I know that he's going to bring it and when the when the
light shine braids when he plays his best and you know, it's because all the work he
puts in behind the scenes and you know, for someone like his talent that is him, he had

(50:17):
a I had an inexperienced team this year.
He had even more so an inexperienced team, just a bunch of transfers and I don't think
he could have handled the situation this year any better than he did.
It was a pretty it was a pretty tough situation over there for them to win, but like there
was no better leader and unselfish person.

(50:40):
He could eat could easily average like 24 25 a game and put up a ton of shots, but you
know, they wouldn't have wanted he just tried to make his team play the right way.
And I think he just really speaks to the person how much he's grown.
I know my coach thinks a lot of how much he's grown like with his attitude.
I know he would get a little like emotional when he was younger, but he's really like

(51:04):
turned it into a very mature like passion that I think everyone has a very large respect
and admiration for and that's why I definitely am looking forward to getting a lot of work
with him this offseason.
He becomes a professional and can have an amazing career doing that because of just
the person he is.

(51:24):
And then just with Ellison, he's actually my grade in Connecticut.
He played a Windsor in my senior year.
We definitely would have seen them in the state championship or the state semi finals
or something.
And he clearly is a workhorse and also bucket as well.
Like I know last year you like 13 or 14 a game or something like he was good.

(51:48):
Like he was a good player in our league, like clearly talented.
And then just this year, just completely different.
Yeah, like 21 or 22, right?
Again, yeah, 21 or 22.
You just move in different like he can get to any mid-range pull up he wants and just
elevate over guys.
And you know, he's in a tough situation over there.

(52:08):
See like there, I have a lot of respect for the coach over there.
He's a great guy, but the program, I mean, they didn't have enough to be a really competitive
team this year.
He definitely made the most of his season and I mean, it shows off to his work ethic.

(52:28):
Like I know being in that situation, it could be easy for a lot of guys to, you know, just
give in and you know, their career could easily come to an end.
But he just, I mean, he just took no prisoners and he just was not going to make any excuses.
And I think at a, I'm definitely looking forward to getting in some work with him this summer
too as well because I'm going to have a lot to learn from those two guys that what they

(52:51):
do really well because I mean his last game of his season this year, he had like almost
40 against other Connecticut.
I want to say at least playoff like he was one of them in the game.
It was insane watching how it was like what, how was it, why did they keep letting him
go one on one?
Like this is crazy.
Like he's just going to keep scoring.
And he did.
It was crazy.
So he's a, he's super, super talented.

(53:13):
And you know, I saw you just enter the portal.
So whatever school lands him is going to be very lucky.
Guys, is that the great Sean Ellison's son?
Yes.
So he started at South Windsor.
Yep.
Then went to Windsor.
I think he went to Woodstock too.
He said a few stops.
Yeah.
Good luck to him.
So he's in a portal too.

(53:34):
Hey, I don't want to get too personal here, but like I'm just thinking as a, as a coach,
if I were in a position to coach a college team and you know, one of my kids came to me
and you know, or I found out he went to the portal, whether he came to me or not.
I'm thinking I'm taking his five back for the workout facility and I'm, I'm, I'm kind
of drawing a, can you speak to, to where you're going to visit?

(53:57):
I mean, it's all over the internet.
So I mean, the ones we know, but could you just speak on the pot about that?
Yeah.
So the schools I'm definitely going to visit.
I've already unofficially visited Northeastern and Quinnipiac.
I'm going to visit officially, I might officially visit Quinnipiac.
You got to see, but I'm going to officially visit Iona, Bradley, Liberty and Furman.

(54:23):
Those are the ones I'm definitely going to visit.
There's a couple others I may like Rutgers, I'm a Davidson, I may Vermont, maybe my, I'm
definitely two.
So I don't want, I don't want these will be a sender.
Oh, Belmont, maybe.
So we'll see like there and the portal changing every day, like William and Mary, maybe like

(54:45):
the portal changing every single day.
And there's going to be new schools coming in maybe.
And you know, school that's talking to me now may fizzle out.
So we'll see, but that's basically kind of what it looks like to any extent right now
of the visit.
What it may look like.

(55:05):
That's a lot of visits.
It's extensive lists.
Is there a limit or can you go on whatever?
Well, I definitely wouldn't visit all of them.
I'm going to have to narrow it down to a group of like four or five something.
Okay.
And we'll see from there.
But I would say all those are in consideration right now for visits.
All right.
I want to get back to real quick because we forgot one guy.

(55:27):
We're big on the Connecticut high school basketball and one of your teammates is Aaron
Latham, who out of.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
Out of Glassenberg High School.
And he actually went to Taft for a PG year.
You play with Tyler?
Yeah.
He, I don't know if he played that.
No, he didn't.
He did.
He did, but I think they're a part.
Yeah.

(55:48):
So anyway, I know his high school coach really well, Jimmy Vaughan.
And he, Aaron has had a remarkable career too.
Like he didn't play, I believe, like in the beginning of Bentley.
And now he's turned out to be a really good player.
Can you just want to say a few words about him?
Because we're a Connecticut guy.
We're a Connecticut guy.
Like he's the hell of a player.
I mean, I actually wrote him a letter, his senior, Glassenberg.

(56:08):
And listen, Zach, there was crickets back from him.
So you can make fun of him for me.
Must have been a great letter.
I'm very glad you asked about him because that is my best friend.
He, freshman year, we both didn't know how good a friend we were going to be.

(56:28):
We were a little different in some ways and weren't really sure how much we were going
to get along.
But, you know, we started competing on the court.
And there, you could easily point out the two most competitive guys on the court.
Yeah, I'm going to cut you off.
But like, that's the one thing I love the bottom.
Like he had that little edge when he played.

(56:49):
Like you see him and he's like this really skinny kid in high school.
And like, there was a loose ball man.
He was biting, kicking, elbowing people for it.
It was awesome.
Oh, sorry, you made a cut.
No, there's no one you want more on your side than him.
And we, when we would play, you know, if someone would do something to someone on
his team, he'd be the first person to stick up for him or vice versa for my team.

(57:13):
And that's kind of how we really got along.
Cause we could, you know, we might butt heads on the court cause we're just so competitive
and you know, it could turn into whatever, uh, in pick up games and practice and whatnot.
But as soon as we get off and we talk, it's just like, it's why, it's why we're roommates
and best friends.

(57:33):
And we're just very like minded in that aspect.
And we both just get what it takes to win.
And um, I mean, off the court, you're just hanging out like there's no better friend.
And like he's extremely, extremely loyal to the people he's close with.
And um, I would say because of it, there may not be a lot of relationships, but the relationships

(57:58):
that he has are very genuine and wholesome.
That will go a long way in his life.
And whatever he chooses to do, he's going to be super successful because of his mindset.
Like the, like the competitiveness I'm talking about and you were talking about, he will
do whatever it takes.
Yeah.
No, he was from the Washington high school.
He was definitely from the Washington high school.
Oh yeah.
He's going to outwork anyone at whatever he chooses to do, whether it's like finances

(58:22):
or whatever, this last year, badly, like that's someone you definitely want on your
team at whatever you do in life.
Did you get a chance to watch our honor when a state championship this year?
To watch Notre Dame.
Yeah.
Of course I did.
Were you there in person?
I was though.
I actually, my summer job this year, I trained the Notre Dame West Haven team.

(58:47):
Oh, here we go.
It's a commercial.
I was their skills coach for about an hour and a half every week day.
And then their strength coach for about an hour and then for the summer league I was
their coach for the games.
And I had those my guys, like I had to make sure I went down to the Quinnipiac game where

(59:07):
they won the S.D. Championship and I went to the semis and the state championship because
our season had ended.
So I made sure to support my guys and yeah, they have an awesome group.
I can speak forever about the world of those guys.
I think they have an amazing group.
Like there's not a bad kid in that program.
Like honestly, like all those guys love basketball and they live in the gym and they're just

(59:31):
all really good friends.
So yeah, I love the program.
I love Coach Shea and they definitely earned it this year.
Hopefully they were all reactionary drills that you did with the guys this summer.
They played a lot of live basketball, that's for sure.
That's the key man.
Where's that gone man?
No sticks.
No stick defenders.

(59:52):
I'll tell you what, they definitely played five on five almost every single day.
Good for you.
They definitely played at least one and three.
They played some form alive at least double the amount that they did skills.
I can promise you that.
So you're speaking of your high school program and by the way, you saw Coach Shea's jacket.
Oh my God, that thing was miserable.

(01:00:13):
He had on the state finals.
It looked like he won the Masters.
But anyway.
He was rocking it.
He was rocking it.
Yeah.
He had a great things to say about you.
I talked to him today and I'll tell you this.
He said, wherever Zach goes, he will establish a winning culture or build on an existing
culture.
He cannot tolerate losing and he's all about winning is exactly kind of how we put it.

(01:00:36):
Do you want to say a few words about him?
Oh my God.
I mean, he is, he will be a close friend of mine and a mentor forever.
I attribute my love for basketball to him.
Like 100%.
I chose basketball because of him and I've always wanted to play for him.

(01:00:59):
And so my sophomore year, freshman year, I was only on the freshman team.
I was about like five, nine only play freshman.
That was it.
And sophomore year, I had a little gross for it.
And I got, I was really in the gym a lot.
I was getting better and it was in the fall.
I was like six, three now and I was like the ace man, the nice man on our varsity team.

(01:01:22):
But I saw I was good enough to start and I would go to him every day.
Like, what do I got to do to start?
And he was like, what do you got to do this?
You're not good enough yet.
And he's always just been 100% honest with me.
And that's, and he's the reason why I can get coached the way I do because he would
tell me exactly what I have to do better.
He's like, if you, if you could do this, then you can be considered to start or you could

(01:01:43):
be considered to have this role.
And if you don't, then you're not.
And so I just did exactly that.
Like the stuff he told me I need to get better at, I did.
And I eventually earned the roles of that sophomore year of star varsity.
And like he's always just held me to the same standard that I hold myself to.
I would always ask questions, what do I have to do to do this?

(01:02:05):
What do I have to do to do that?
And he always just tells me the straight truth and it's why I can get coached the way I do
now.
And now it should be, that's the way it should be.
Yeah, Zach, Zach in today's high school game or even in other levels, that kind of honesty
is frowned upon because mommy or daddy will call and say you're bullying or favoring one
person or another.

(01:02:26):
And, you know, kudos to you and you gave credits to your parents about some other things.
And they obviously raised it the right way because you can be coached, you can be criticized,
you can't accept feedback.
And we're going to wrap this up, buddy.
This was, this has been great.
We're going to have you down here once the dust settles, whether that be in the summer
or whatever, it's not that far of a drive for you.

(01:02:48):
What do we got?
Woodlands like couple, couple, couple, 40 minutes, 30, 30, dude, we're good.
We'll get you down here.
Maybe we'll grab one of your teammates if they're in Connecticut and you could both come down.
Yeah, that'd be cool.
Yeah, we could do that.
Hey, who's going to win the final four?
Yeah, we'll go, we'll get Aaron down there for sure.
He's in.
Who's going to win the final four?

(01:03:09):
I mean, come on, it's Yukon, and Yukon, Yukon just completely head over heels above everybody
else.
Yeah, there's something, aren't they?
All right, LeBron or Jordan?
I'll say they're both the go at it.
Oh no, he's young, he's young.
Yeah, you're just a kid.

(01:03:30):
I'm a 23.
No, no, no.
Oh, jeez, I don't even know.
That's all right.
We don't know.
We're 35, you said LeBron.
We're three at curveball, that's all right.
Yankees or Red Sox?
A Red Sox for sure.
Get that out of here, Jordan.
All right, how about, do you have an NBA team?
I guess I would root for the bigs, but I just more so root for players.

(01:03:55):
I like Steph Curry, Damler, Jalen Brunson, and those are my favorite players.
Brunson, there you go.
Did anyone see this coming?
Brunson, did anyone see this coming?
Plays off two feet, like you said earlier.
Yeah, that's, I kind of, I want to model a lot of my game.
One side to two points after him.
That's awesome, man.
All right, parting words.
Give advice, let's say give some advice to young players.

(01:04:20):
Young players, I would just say, I mean, whatever you, whatever you love, doesn't have to be
basketball, just give your best towards that and it's going to create relationships and
connections that you won't even imagine that you'll have the rest of your life and just
go for it every day because all the friends and the parties or whatever, like that's always

(01:04:44):
going to be there.
Like the better you get at things, the more it's going to be presented to you.
So I would just say go for whatever you're passionate about and don't have, don't be
embarrassed about it or have any regrets about it, just go all in.
And I think you'll be really happy with whatever happens from that.
What a message.
Beacon Falls, Notre Dame West Haven, we won't hold that against you.

(01:05:07):
The Bentley Falcons and we look forward to following you in the next chapter and we're
rooting for you hard.
We got another guy we're going to root for.
Make sure you follow us back.
Don't tell all your buddies, okay?
Very impressive, Zach.
Thanks for coming on.
We'll see you in the summer or something like that.
I'd love to.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
I'll come on, I'll get Aaron on there with you guys hopefully and we'll chop it up soon,

(01:05:27):
hopefully.
All right, man.
Go Yanks.
Thanks, Zach.
Go Yanks.
See ya.
Zach, best of luck.
Man.
I know what I'm rooting for.
Take it as high as you can.
We root for one of the teams you're visiting, but that was a hell of a job.

(01:05:54):
We got to do it again.
Come on, guys.
What the hell is the laugh about?
They have it.
You can call a tank.
I think Zach favored that one.
I thought it was father.
Are you going to be able to cut that out?
Yeah.
Let's talk some basketball.
Are we good then?
Yeah.
So we can just keep going.

(01:06:18):
I'll make it work.
Are you sure?
It'll blend right in.
All right, guys.
What's up with the driving along?
We're good.
What else are we doing?
We're going to do some 90s NBA talk and then we're going to do a little bit of the
same thing.
We're going to be a little bit of a drag.

(01:06:41):
We're going to be a little bit of a drag.
We're going to be a little bit of a drag.
We're good, right?

(01:07:04):
We're back, Zach.
Guys, X, is that what it's called?
Formerly Twitter?
Call it Twitter.
All right, Twitter.
I'm really bothered by this 90s NBA stuff that they keep on keeping on with.
Now the new thing for kids.

(01:07:24):
I had a 15-year-old son of mine tell me that he read that or saw a video that Jordan had
no left hand and he was playing against a bunch of plumbers that beat you up and they
weren't basketball players.
Can I just get your guys' thoughts quickly on how dumb young people are to not appreciate

(01:07:46):
what we watched, which was a league where you couldn't score because you were going
to be tackled if you were any good as opposed to what happens now.
Can I just get your thoughts on the 90s NBA versus today and the ridiculous debate that
it wasn't a good league back then?
So I'm jumping right in.

(01:08:07):
So there are different areas now.
Back in the 90s, there was hand-checking, there was hard of fouls.
The scores are obviously much lower.
The NBA wanted more offense.
Every professional sports league wants more offense.
They want a self-tick.
They want the casual fan to pay attention to it.

(01:08:29):
Their idea is more scoring leads to more fans.
It doesn't matter what's more.
The NBA has taken it to extremes where guys run with the ball basically sometimes now.
We had a free throwathon a few years ago.
They're trying to get rid of that a little bit.
But the scores now are in the 120s, 130s.

(01:08:50):
Every night you'll see multiple teams up there sometimes in the 140s now.
140s.
Pacers, yeah.
Yeah.
The guys are super talented.
They're super talented.
I'm not taking anything away from them.
Some of the shot-making today is crazy.
They're just different areas.
If they were playing by the rules in the 90s where you could hand-check and there was hard

(01:09:15):
fouls, there's no way the scores would be that high.
I'm not saying guys couldn't play back then, but it's just different areas with the officials
and the NBA wants out of their nightly basis.
Yeah.
I would agree wholeheartedly.
Who's to say who could play back then and who could play now?
You're the biggest Leary Bird fan.

(01:09:35):
I know he can shoot the threes, but it wasn't like a huge part of his game.
I think the evolution of the three-point shot has completely changed the game.
Like in the 90s, for me, you had the bad boy pistons.
You had the Rockets.
You had the Jazz, right?
You had a young magic team that really didn't live up to their expectations.

(01:09:56):
You had the bullies, the Knicks that were always competitive.
None of those teams relied on the three-ball and the open-style offense.
It was a grind in the half-court where you used the post guy.
Yeah, there's no post play.
There's no such thing as post play anymore.
It is tough to compare eras.
When you have these type of arguments on the social media stuff, it's based on almost your

(01:10:21):
age, right?
We're all similar ages, so we gravitate toward the 80s and 90s.
That's what we really grew up watching.
It's ingrained in our head.
I can't blame the guys that are younger that think today's game is better.
I just really wholeheartedly think when we were growing up, the game was better.
Everybody can shoot.
Everybody can pass.

(01:10:42):
There were still some high-scoring games, but there was also good defense.
They're just the shot-making from outside 15 feet to 20 feet.
That range in the post play was just so much better than it is today.
There's no mid-range game today.
Raise on Arondo.
We're tired today.
Firstly, we're tired.

(01:11:02):
We listened to a podcast with him the other day, and he was saying the NBA doesn't really
want it.
The stars don't want to play defense, but the NBA doesn't want low-scoring games anymore.
He says it kind of stinks for the...
He was talking about the 3&D guys.
The stars, he said, should be all-around players.
He even said they're not, which is sad, actually.

(01:11:24):
That sucks for the game, though, man.
That sucks for the game.
Yeah, but you play what you're taught now, right?
I mean...
No, I'm not disagreeing there.
They're different eras.
I hate the...
You can play in this or you can...
Well, Brown could play in any error.
Jordan could play in any error.
Bird.
Bird could play in any error, any day, any team.
I mean, whatever he wanted to.

(01:11:45):
Well, Brown is still the goat, but...
Oh, my God.
Of course he is.
Kidding me?
Not a Jordan to Dr. J.
Jordan couldn't guard him.
Well, Brown would snap him in half.
Oh, he would kill Jordan.
Come on.
Brown's not competitive enough to handle Jordan.
Of course he is.
All right, let's go.
Come on.
Get to some of them.
One limb bare foul.
The crybaby, dude.

(01:12:05):
He's a rare win to be as long.
Who?
It's a crybaby.
He played it at the lot, like Bird and those guys who were getting tackled to the ground.
He couldn't do that.
Who?
Well, Brown?
Of course he couldn't.
He's built like a truck.
Dude, he gets touched on the head.
He runs around like he got stabbed.
It's because they let him do it.
It's because they let him do it.
It's because he's defense.
Because guys like you will call him great if he doesn't.
He doesn't complain about every time he didn't get a call, he complained that Jordan rules.

(01:12:28):
Every time he called, every time he didn't make a shot, he'd go like this and he'd get
a foul call.
That wasn't the Jordan rules.
The Jordan rules was the best.
Well, Jordan rules were the pistons to put him on the ground.
But Jordan would complain and get every single call.
Well, Brown complains every call and he gets it.
You're wrong about that.
No, I'm not.
Jordan didn't complain.
You think Dr. J was a good player?
Yep.

(01:12:48):
Do you respect him as a basketball guy?
Yep.
He said if LeBron wasn't a ring chaser, he would put him at number five all time.
But because he is, he has him at 16 right behind Scotty Pippen.
That's what he said this week.
Boom.
Look at him.
Dr. J.
Oh, no, he doesn't like that.
Bobby Max.
He's not a real doctor, right?
I mean, we can get this out there, right?
I mean, he's a doctor of basketball.

(01:13:08):
He's got a PhD.
No, it's a nickname.
Player-hater degree in basketball.
Commissioner, let me ask you a question.
As a beat writer for UConn, the college game, let's just specifically UConn, back in those
late 90s with the Rip Hamilton and the stuff they used to run.
And I know Hurley runs fantastic stuff, but how can you compare college basketball when

(01:13:33):
you were on the beat mid to late 90s, early 2000s to what you see today at the college
level?
Well, for UConn now, it's definitely a defense.
I mean, that's been the difference maker in Hurley's infuse that defensive mentality
to them.
I mean, are you going to compare 2004 and this year's team?
I might go with 2004 talent-wise, but that team didn't play defense like that.

(01:13:56):
They had a Mecca racing shots of the basket, but I mean, they didn't guard like they do
now.
I don't know how much is different with the game.
Obviously, you know, we're relying on the three, I think now.
But as far as comparing those two teams and those errors, I think it's pretty similar.
I just think that Hurley's got something special now and UConn is special above everyone else.

(01:14:17):
So we're seeing that.
But I think it's pretty comparable.
That's fair.
When did they start the shot clock in the NBA?
I don't know.
I'm just passing.
My whole life.
More to three point was what?
Late 70s, 79?
79, 80s, first year for the 3.1.
Chris Ford?
It made the first three points.
Michael Cooper, Koopa Looper.

(01:14:38):
But when you're talking like the bird, the bird era, how many three pointers did he make
a game over his career on average?
I would say 2.3.
No, less than that.
Like one, one and a half.
It's crazy.
1.8 maybe.
That guy was a prolific shooter.
For some reason, I was looking up the 87 conference finals when they played the Pistons.

(01:15:00):
And game seven, the cell looks as a team was 1 for 6.
That's crazy.
87.
As a team?
That was year nine.
Year nine of the three point line.
Weird comparison.
They beat the Pistons.
They lost to the Lakers in the finals.
Nanna, of course.
1 for 6.
Nanna, who would you rather?
But like people love Luca's full bag, right?

(01:15:25):
There's no ways a better facility.
There's no way he's a better facilitator and scorer than Bird was.
And I think, you know, Luca's knock is his athleticism.
So if you're going to compare the then bird to the now Luca, I mean, I think Bird would
smash it today because he'd be better than Luca would be today.
And the court is, they play wider because they're playing further out.

(01:15:50):
Like, you know, so there's more lanes to pass into when you're, they played down inside
the, inside the three point line.
Oh, so why don't, Larry would carve junk up.
He'd be like Troy Aikman.
He's better than Luca at every single aspect of basketball.
And he was with second team all NBA two or three times.
Luca's not even all Maverick's defensive team.
I got a question for you guys.
And I'm basing it on like Lakers Celtics of the 80s because I love that style of play.

(01:16:15):
There was more fast break points back then, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know what I'm saying?
I just, I just remember the hit ahead passes, the Celtics would score in two passes, the
Lakers would score in two passes off a main or miss shots.
I just, I don't see that transition piece as much anymore.
Well, that's the difference now.
Like back then the teams would actually try to offensive rebound.

(01:16:37):
Like there's not many teams that.
Right.
So there's more guys in the paint and there's more.
Yeah, I got you.
Good point.
I mean, they shoot just, you know, like most teams now like maybe one guy.
Shot goes up.
Everybody's going back.
There you go.
Right.
And you've seen lots of stuff back three's now.
It's almost like women's college basketball imagine more of old NBA than anything else.
They'll post the post players, they'll make a couple of fast break, couple of diagonal

(01:16:59):
passes, Caitlin Cork last night is throwing those long passes in the fast break like that.
See more at NBA than the men's game to me.
All right.
All right.
Moving on to the next segment sponsored by Skygazer Brewing.
This is called Don Father trivia time.
It's called Don Father trivia.
I got my own segment out.
It's nice.
Nice.

(01:17:20):
All right. So we had a no hitter last night for the Astros.
So we'll have a couple of questions real at end.
I'll be quick though.
What and in MLB team has the most no hitters thrown.
Well, that's a good one.
Rangers.
Yeah.
No one.
Yanks.
Rangers or Yanks.
It's got to be a team that's been in existence.

(01:17:42):
It is like 120 years.
Dodgers.
I was going to go die.
Dodgers.
There's a Colfax.
What about the least three teams are top?
Three teams are tied with one.
Mets.
I know one of them.
Mets have one.
No, Mets have more than one.
Mets have two.
Johan and who else?
Shall we get another one?
Says two.
Oh, they had a team one.
Team.
They had a team one.
Yeah.

(01:18:03):
One.
Three teams have one.
Colorado.
Nope.
Expansion for one.
Marlins.
No, because.
Reyes.
Burnett.
Reyes is one.
Burnett and lighter.
One AO East.
Well, besides the Reyes.
There's Boston on everyone.
Come on.
Orioles.
White your tongue.
Blue Jays and one.

(01:18:24):
Who had it?
Henke and L West.
Padres.
Boom.
What teams have the most thrown against them?
The victim of a no hitter?
Socks easily.
Shouldn't ask any baseball questions.
That's a tough one.
I'm going to go.
It's going to be Eagles.
That would be would never get Eagles.
You would never get that.

(01:18:45):
Football's on my mind already.
I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Eagles.
So Bama got that.
No, we're pivoting to a Coward basketball.
Bama, their first time in the Final Four.
So who was the last team to win NCAA championship on their first trip to the Final Four?
Was it you, Con?
It was.

(01:19:06):
I was waiting for commission to be all over that.
When the eyes were open up.
What would they be in the summer?
Ohio State.
Skuny, Pan, and Michael Red.
Another Final Four team.
By the way, Purdue.
It was the one.
Purdue could be the second team ever to go from losing to a 16 seed to winning a championship
in the following year.
Virginia.

(01:19:27):
That was too easy for you guys.
It was too easy.
All right, all right.
You guys are all over it.
Another one, NC State.
Could be the first on ranked team with the one that title since.
I'm going way back.
Not way back.
I mean, our lifetime.
NC State.
Just not much after that.

(01:19:49):
Jimmy V.
Not much after that.
Oh, Kansas.
Kansas.
Danny and the Miracles.
Danny and the Miracles.
They weren't ranked.
88, yeah.
Not ranked.
Were the guy Newton in Atlanta?
Milton Newton.
Chris Piper.
Oh, I love this question.
So Matt Painter could be the fifth coach to win a national championship at his alma mater.

(01:20:11):
Who were the other four?
Roy.
Roy is one.
That was a good one.
I forgot about him.
Gary Williams.
Did Krajewski win one at Army?
Gary Williams at Maryland.
Great answer.
Gary Williams at Maryland.
What did Bobby Max say?
Krajewski to the Army.
That's true, right?
Not a lot of sheriff gifts.
This is the biggest.
Bayheim, the greatest coach of all time.
Jim Bayheim, yes.

(01:20:32):
Also won one.
So who's the other coach that did?
First son won.
That's actually team.
Hank Iba.
Dean?
No.
You went to the camp.
Did Wooden play?
Or was it an event?
I'm going to give 10 seconds.
No, no, no.
Give us a second.
Oh, you're going to.
Okay, I don't know.
Hang on.
I like the question.

(01:20:53):
Who do we have?
Who do we have so far?
Bayheim, Gary Williams.
Roy Williams.
Roy Williams.
And there's one more.
Krajewski.
Nolan Richardson.
40 minutes a heck.
A little hint, man.
A little hint.
Big East.
John Thompson.

(01:21:14):
No, he went to.
Went to Providence.
Yeah.
PJ?
Yeah, we went to.
Oh, they lost to Michigan.
Did he play at Philadelphia as well?
Was Rolly the point guard for the 42 Nova team?
Say it again.
Massimino.
No.
Oh, come on.
Louis.
Kevin Owie.

(01:21:35):
Oh my God.
Oh my God.
I've been Husky Homerville right here.
Nobody got that question right.
That's horrible.
Last quick question.
Good one, Don.
Last quick one.
Redeem yourself with the Bronx.
Zach Eadie, who's had a monster tournament.
He could have, you know, 30 and 30 in the last two games.

(01:21:56):
What if they lose to Yukon?
Would he win the most outstanding player of the NCAA tournament?
No.
No, because they don't do that.
Who's the last player that did?
The last player that did not win, but won the most outstanding player.
Steph Curry.
Steph Curry.
Who's Hakim?
Hakim.
Yeah.
Against Louisville.

(01:22:17):
When they lost to Louisville.
He averaged 21, 20 and 7 and a half blocks.
21, 20.
Didn't they also lose to Georgetown?
Hey, what number was he at Houston?
35.
Yep.
He lost to Georgetown.
What was his name at Houston?
The dream.
Hakim.
Hakim.
Oh, he changed it to Hakim.
Or is it the other way around?
It was Hakim, right?

(01:22:38):
It was Hakim, then became Hakim.
I think Angry's got some stuff, right?
He's got a lot of stuff running down there.
That was good, that was good, down Father.
This final segment.
Not bad.
Yeah, that was one of your best except the Eagles.
That last one.
The Eagles had the most.
This next segment is brought to you by TNT.
Angry J.

(01:23:00):
It's time.
Let's go, let's go.
For who'd you rather?
We're starting with Lottie, we're going to go that way.
Damian Lillard, Clay Thompson.
Currently your career.
Come on, Max's a system, you choose, just pick a guy.
Pick a guy.
You want to be a knicker, Parker?

(01:23:21):
Lillard.
Lillard.
Splash.
Clay, play some defense.
Mama Callum Clay also.
Mama Callum Clay.
Did play some defense.
Don't move.
Mama Callum Clay, I'm going to call him Clay.
I'm not going to call him Clay, I'm not going to call him Clay.
I'm going the other way.
Don Father, you're starting with Jason Kidd, John Stockton.
Yeah, Stockton.

(01:23:45):
That's tough.
I'm going to go Kidd.
I'll go Stockton.
I'm going to go Jake Kidd as well.
Loved him.
Oh, I'll end it with Stockton.
All right, Lottie going back.
He played with a jerk.
I don't like that guy.
I'm going Paul Pierce.
Molester too, by the way.
Paul Pierce.
Reggie Miller.

(01:24:08):
Hate to say it, Pierce.
Reggie.
Reggie all day.
Pierce.
Yeah, play some defense.
Paul Pierce.
We've been three so far.
They've all been three to two.
Hold on, you took the truth?
Oh, hell yeah.
I just want to say that the truth said that
Caitlin Clark's performance last night
was the best performance in the NC Tournament's history,
men's or women's.

(01:24:30):
I didn't ask him for commentators.
I'm not who I want for a basketball play.
Paul, stop it.
All right, here we go.
He's a terrible player.
Donfather.
Charles Barkley, Dirk DeWittsy.
Oh, angry, Jade.
These are great.
Neewitzky.
I got to go Sir Charles, man.
Bodywork, I go Sir Charles, I think.

(01:24:52):
No, I'm going Dirk.
Ooh, I'm going Barkley too.
Too tough.
All right, Lottie, here we go.
Rashid Wallace, Chris Weber.
NBA or college?
NBA.
NBA.
I'm going to go Weber.
I'm going to go Rashid.

(01:25:16):
Rashid got a title with the pistons.
Yeah, he was on that rip team.
With Ben.
Ben Gordon.
He came back to the Hartford.
That's a tough one, Jay.
I got to go Sheed.
I'm going Sheed.
Who you got?
I'll go Weber.
Him with the key.
When he was on the Kings, he was unbelievable.

(01:25:37):
Because the team was pretty good.
All this goes to show you is that we hit each other.
I know, and I should have beat the Lakers that one year.
We're talking women's basketball today.
We'll go Katelyn Clark, Paige Beckers.
Katelyn Clark.
Clark.
Go Paige.
I'm a home Marago Paige too.
Ready to again?

(01:25:58):
Paul Pierce is talking about her being so great.
This is probably really easy then.
Katelyn Clark.
Tarazzi.
Tarazzi.
No doubt.
Tarazzi.
Everybody.
Tarazzi.
How about Maya Moore?
Just for the help of it.
I'll still go Maya Moore too.
She won.
She won man.

(01:26:19):
Can I ask you a question?
You're doing a great job by the way.
Best female UConn player.
All time.
Tarazzi.
That's what it is.
It goes Tarazzi Stewie.
One, two.
Yeah.
I will say.
And Maya Moore.
I will say Tarazzi because he's one of the few people I've ever seen that actually didn't
have to take a lot of shots to be the best player on the floor.

(01:26:40):
Okay.
And you can't like, I'm not saying she's better than Michael Jordan, but Jordan had to take
a million.
Like Magic Johnson was a guy who didn't take a lot of shots.
Could be the best player.
Bird was the best.
Bird to your credit.
Yeah.
Okay.
I'm talking to think about finding another player that wasn't, that doesn't take much.
James Hard.
Yeah.
He wouldn't.
We got four to go.

(01:27:01):
Joe Johnson, Mitch Richmond.
Mitch Richmond.
Joe Johnson, like the next Hawks, Joe Johnson.
What a career.
I mean, long career, great scorer.
It's got to be Mitch Richmond though, man.
Kansas State, Jay?
Yes.
Mitch Richmond.
Run TMC.
Definitely.

(01:27:22):
I go with Joe Johnson.
This was career was longer.
Mitch Richmond was probably like a better player for a shorter time.
And this one's probably not great, but in honor of Ray John Rondo, because I was a big
fan.
Rondo or Geary Peyton?
The glove.
Yeah, I was like Peyton too.
Glove all day.
Glove me.
Man, I'm going Rondo.

(01:27:42):
Just because I love him.
I'm a homer.
I'll admit it.
Derek Rose.
Isaiah Thomas.
Isaiah Thomas.
Which Isaiah Thomas?
Yes, that's good.
Which Isaiah?
Zeke?
The good one.
Isaiah Thomas.
Or Derek Rose?
Yeah.
Derek Rose won MVP.
I know.
I just got to, I have to throw this out there.

(01:28:02):
Like, I got to go, I'm imagining a healthy Rose for 14 years.
I'm going Rose.
More electric.
I'm with you, Bobby Mack.
If he stayed healthy, I think he would have been one of the best of all time.
I'm going Zeke just because he was healthy.
I didn't even make the Olympic team.

(01:28:23):
I knew that was coming.
Oh, two titles.
Two titles.
I'm going to ask Emdre.
I would go Isaiah too.
And the last one, going back to John Stockton.
John Stockton or Steve Nash?
You guys, Steve Nash won a couple of them.
That is hard.
Yeah, I got to go Nash.

(01:28:43):
I'm going Nash.
Shackle saves shouldn't have won one of them.
I'll go Stockton.
I'm definitely saying Nash just because he's got more to it than the pick and roll.
I'll go Stockton.
I'm going Stockton too.
What a winner.
I'll go Stockton.
3-2.
More, Nash had more range.
He definitely was a better shooter.
Better passer.
Not even close.

(01:29:03):
He made a Murray Stottemare.
OK.
Meyer, good.
What the hell is that guy's name?
No, no, no.
No, no.
Murray Stottemare.
Mike, yeah.
I'm not saying, again, I'm not saying.
He made Brock Marion look good.
Is that his name?
It was Sean Marion.
Who's Brock Marion?
Yeah.
I think he was a wrestler and then with UFC and then.
Played for the Vikings.
The system that Nash played in.

(01:29:25):
With Dan Tony's system.
He made Jeremy Lin look good.
For two weeks he did, yeah.
Yeah, he got him a lot of money.
And he was also James Harden's coach in Houston.
Made a lot of point cards look really good.
But he didn't just play for that guy.
No, but that's when he was at his best.
He was pretty good as a maverick.
He was so good they traded him.

(01:29:46):
So you don't trade good players anymore?
Well, they do, but was he really a good player before he got traded?
Brian Dawkins, he got traded.
He goes free agent.
Oh, he was a free agent.
See?
Exactly.
Kermal got traded.
Fools.
No, Jay, those are tremendous, man.
All right, guys, last night.
I had him off again.
I'm ready.
Well, you only got a week before Jeff Fry.

(01:30:07):
But hey, guys.
Who wins?
Who's Jeff Fry on a Monday night at 9?
Who wins the Natty?
Let's go.
Come on.
Who wins the Natty?
Huskies.
Husky in the squeaker.
Huskies in a walk.
I think Huskies in a walk, too.
Angry?
Walk?
Con.
We're going con.
They guard, man.
They guard.
Guys, it was April 2nd when we recorded this.

(01:30:31):
Who knows when it comes out?
Studio engineer Kevin Ross is busy heading to Arizona.
He's going to watch the Huskies in person.
He's doing a hell of a job here.
And we want to say it's a sad ending to college basketball.
The only thing that can make it great is a Huskies win.
And the greatest sport of all time is underway.
And we're going to talk a lot of Yankees coming up in the next few weeks.

(01:30:54):
Angry J?
Soap it soft bar, right?
Special thanks to Zach LaPute for coming on today.
Zach LaPute, man.
Good for him.
We're going to root for him.
Dude, strong, too.
I love his highlights.
I can't believe how strong he was.
Zach, good luck, buddy.
Hopefully you shared this with all your buddies.
Thanks, get them all to follow us and your check will be in the mail.

(01:31:14):
Missile boys, out.