No Place I'd Rather Be …
A podcast about St. John’s University (MN) basketball that features legendary coach Jim Smith as well as head coach and Johnnie alum Pat McKenzie ‘04. Hear from notable players and personalities that make this program one of the very best in all of Division III athletics. Whether a long-standing Johnnie basketball fan, a relative newcomer, or just a student of history, there's sure to be something for everyone on "No Place I'd Rather Be…"
Episodes
Hello! We're taking a break from publishing new episodes over the holidays. We'll be back with brand new episodes in January. Until then, happy holidays!
Thanks to Charlie, Parker and Eli for making the time to talk to the guys!
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:
- Sixth Man Enterprises
- The Sexton Family Foundation
- Bobbi and John Augustine
- Maggie and Marty McCaslin
- Steve Cummings at Nova Group for the use of their beautiful facilities
- Matt Johnson
- Rick DesLauriers
- Sue and Jim Bowe
- John Schultz
- Klerissa and John Church
- Margaret and Paul...
We’re back to our regularly scheduled programming this week as they guys caught up with sophomore guard Liam Farniok and redhsirt freshman Henry Tschetter. Thanks guys for making the time!
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:
- Sixth Man Enterprises
- The Sexton Family Foundation
- Bobbi and John Augustine
- Maggie and Marty McCaslin
- Steve Cummings at Nova Group
- Matt Johnson
- Rick DesLauriers
- Sue a...
We're off this week, but wanted to stay on track with our weekly updates on the latest with the Cardinal and Blue. So we decided to re-air one of our favorites from past seasons in anticipation of the return of the rivalry. Enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving!
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:
- Sixth Man Enterprises
- The Sexton Family Foundation
- Bobbi and John Augustine
- Maggie and Marty McCaslin
- ...
Today, the boys caught up with juniors Vincent Hillesheim and Baiden Bean, who talked some early-season ball with the guys, their roles on the team and some academic success stories. Thanks Vinnie and Baiden for taking the time!
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:
- Sixth Man Enterprises
- The Sexton Family Foundation
- Bobbi and John Augustine
- Maggie and Marty McCaslin
- Steve Cummings at Nova Grou...
Today, the boys caught up with new assistant coach Zach Filzen, who was nice enough to take some time to talk a bit about the path that led him to SJU. Thanks, Zach, for making the time!
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:
- Sixth Man Enterprises
- The Sexton Family Foundation
- Bobbi and John Augustine
- Maggie and Marty McCaslin
- Steve Cummings at Nova Group for the use of their beautiful faciliti...
We're back! Season four starts today with a portion of the second annual Tip-Off Party at Basement Bar. Today's show includes interviews with Kyle Johnson, Thomas Menk and Vincent Hillesheim as well as with head coach Pat McKenzie. The full video is available at our YouTube page @benchwarmersmediamn.
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:
- Sixth Man Enterprises
- The Sexton Family Foundati...
Hello everyone and welcome back! We’re here today with assistant coach Danny Quinn, who was nice enough to take some time Wednesday evening between team activities in Chicago to talk with the guys about the team’s travel plans changing due to the winter storm, some sight-seeing while in the windy city and the proper way to prepare a hot dog from a Chicago area native. Thanks, Danny!
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Support for benchwarmer...
Hello and welcome to the Season 3 finale! Today, we welcome Jubie Alade, Lucas Walford, Colton Codute, Kyle Sorensen, Oakley Baker, Ethan Novacinski and Sean Ryan from the 2020 team who were generous enough to tell us about their experience with the covid-shortened 2020 season and NCAA tournament -- with a couple assists from Mark Lewandowski.
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:
- Sixth Man Enter...
Hello and welcome back! Today, we welcome back Griffin Rushin and Luke Budzyn to the program, who were nice enough to take some time Tuesday morning to get into the weeds on defensive philosophies, post graduation plans and a little breakdown of the final two regular season games.
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:
- Sixth Man Enterprises
- The Sexton Family Foundation
- Bobbi and John Au...
Hello and welcome back! Today, we welcome a handful of parents of this year’s team for our second installment of our version of The Parent Trap. We can’t thank Dave Scwhob, Cathy Budzyn, Heather Bean, Brian Healy, and Jeanine Wagner enough for their willingness to put into words what their experience with Johnnie Basketball has been from the perspective of a parent.
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provide...
Hello and welcome back! Today, we welcome back Luke Healy and Kyle Johnson to the program to talk about the last couple games of the regular season and how practices can differ from early in the season to now. Thanks guys for making the time!
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:
- Sixth Man Enterprises
- The Sexton Family Foundation
- Bobbi and John Augustine
- Maggie and Marty McCaslin
- Ste...
Hello and welcome back! Today, we revisit a fairly notable piece of the legacy of one of our previous guests this season … Fr. Roman Paur and his relationship with The Rats. Along the way we have some contributions from Joe Deignan, Troy Bigalke and Mike Dady along with the usual crew. Thanks to those guys for their contributions!
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:
- Sixth Man Enterprises
- The Se...
Hello and welcome back! Today, we have the pleasure of welcoming back Andrew Wagner, Kooper Vaughn and Zach Longueville to the program to talk about their senior season. Thanks guys for making the time!
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:
- Sixth Man Enterprises
- The Sexton Family Foundation
- Bobbi and John Augustine
- Maggie and Marty McCaslin
- Steve Cummings at Nova Group
- Matt Johnson
-...
Hello and welcome back! Today, we feature the voice of Johnnie sports over the last quarter century -- Mark Lewandowski -- who talked with the guys about his start in radio, his transition to St. John's and some of his observations as he's had a front row seat for some memorable moments over that past 25 years. Thanks Mark for sitting down and talking with the guys!
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Support for benchwarmers media productio...
Hello and welcome back! Today, we have the pleasure of welcoming back Ryan Thissen, Blake Berg and Connor Schwob to the program to talk about their collective decision to return for a fifth year. Thanks guys for making the time!
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:
- Sixth Man Enterprises
- The Sexton Family Foundation
- Bobbi and John Augustine
- Maggie and Marty McCaslin
- Steve Cummings a...
Hello and welcome back! Today, we focus on the tail end of Smitty’s incredible run as head coach of St. John's basketball and welcome the only other person to occupy the coach’s office since 1964 Head Coach Pat McKenzie. Which ties directly to the very first episode of this podcast. Some of this might sound familiar, but this time with some fresh perspective from longtime voice of Johnnie football and basketball ...
Hello and welcome back! Today, we pulled from the archives to find some never before heard parts of our conversation with Smitty and longtime thorn in the Johnnies side, legendary St. Thomas coach Steve Fritz where they get into some of the finer points of their coaching philosophies, other coaches around the conference and some of the insights they gained while athletic directors at their respective institutions. Let...
Hello and welcome back! Today, there’s a bit of a different bent in store as we shift the perspective from the court to carpet row as we welcome ‘71 grad Mike Dady, who played for coach smith during his student days and served as Board of Regents chair from 1992-1995 as well as President of the Alumni Association and is the founding partner of Dady and Gardner PA, along with Fr. Roman Paur, who received both an underg...
Hello and welcome back! Today, senior manager Andrew Nerud joins the show to talk about his decision to come to St. John's, the transition from player to manager and some of the unique insights he has gained from seeing the game from a different perspective. Thanks Andrew for making the time!
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Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:
- Sixth Man Enterprises
- The Sexton Family Fo...
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