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February 28, 2025 13 mins
CBS Sports' Brad Nessler joins The A-Team, before he calls Houston-Cincinnati tomorrow at The Fertitta Center. He talks about what makes this program so good this season. He also gives Kelvin Sampson's program the ultimate compliment. The guys also get into a little bit of college football, like when Brad talks about his history of calling games that involved one of the Manning's. 
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Great pleasure for us and you guys as well, listening
to be joined by college basketball college football voice for
a decade upon decade upon decade, and you'll have the
call of the Cougar's Bearcats game tomorrow afternoon over at
for Tita Center. Brad Nessler joins us here on the
A team here on Sports Talk seven to ninety. Brad,
it's a great pleasure to have you on the program.

(00:20):
You're going to be in the arena for one of
the best teams in the country. They were preseason number four.
They've re elevated back to the number four spot right
now as you head into play this weekend. Have they
been every bit as you expected when another strong Kelvin
Sampson team hit the floor of this season.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Yeah, for sure, Adam. Good to talk to you and
good to be in Houston. I was going to go back,
and I thought about before I left my office in Atlanta,
check back and see if I could find my bracket
from last year, because I think I took Houston doing
it all last year and obviously that didn't work out,
but I don't think i'd be that scared to do
it again, So, you know, unbelievable record on the road

(01:02):
at home, just losing games a couple in overtime, one
and double overtime, and then to think about the teams
they've lost to sensational season. So happy for Calvin. I
have known him a long time and I think he's
one of the best coaches around and one of the best,
maybe of all time, and so happy to see they're
playing as well as they are right now.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
It's gould be fun to do this game, and the
timing of it obviously not too far off from the
conference tournament and then the ultimate NCAA tournament. A healthy group,
healthier than they've been at other times. I imagine what
we see Saturday is kind of what he always talks about.
And Brad, you brought up their overtime losses, the early
season losses. He puts those games on the schedule for
a reason. He wants his team to be best late

(01:43):
in the season, to learn early, get better and improve throughout.
And it certainly feels like that's the team you're going
to see on Saturday.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah. I don't know that they had big heads to
start with, but I think Calvin thinks that it was
a humbling effect to lose a couple early and start
four and three and then put the string they had together.
I just really like watching them. I've watched enough tape
and I've watched them last couple of games you know
that they've played, including Texas Tech earlier this week, and

(02:09):
I just like the way they play them both ends
of the floor. I mean, you know, it's always been
a sample of Calvin that they play lockdown defense, and
they've got that again this year. But the offensive end.
It's fun to watch these dudes play offense now because
they've got some shooters Crier and Sharp and Juzan, and
I think they've got it all. They don't have a

(02:31):
you know, you look at them and go, they're not
that big, but they're long, so they're big enough in
their length. I think that that makes up to the
fact that they don't have a seven footer laying around.
Maybe not that many people do anymore. I don't know
Cincinnati's got one, but he's a defensive player mostly. But
I think they've got everything they need. Just enough depth.
You know, everybody, every coach would like to be a

(02:53):
little bit deeper, have one or two more bench guys
that can come in and take minutes up, but I
think they've got the makings of a team that could
go all the way.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
Talking to Brad Nessler here on Sports Talk seven to ninety,
you know, so many programs, whether it's football or in
this case, college basketball. You know, you have the blue bloods,
you have the traditional powerhouses, and then there's some cycles
therein U of H is such a fascinating thing to
me because it's it wasn't looked at as a basketball
school for so long, going back to basically Vice Slama Jama.

(03:23):
You know, they had some good seasons, but is it
kind of satisfying for someone like you who has seen
all the ebbs and flows of college basketball to see
this particular program come back to this type of prominence.

Speaker 2 (03:38):
Absolutely, any of the switch conferences do so well in
the AAC and then come into the Big twelve and
everybody said, well, you can do it against those teams,
but you're not going to be able to do it
against the Kansas and the Baylors and whatever. And for
them to come in and do what they've done in
the first two years, I think it's just absolutely remarkable.
But you know, just thing about Calvin and I did

(04:01):
a lot of his games back at Oklahoma, and I
did not know him before then, and then you know,
knew the situation in Indiana and how that ended so weirdly,
and that's just something that would never happen obviously now
and then to get the chance that he got, and
I know he was thrilled to get it, and I
know it didn't take long for schools to want him.

(04:21):
But I always enjoyed being around him, loved watching me
to practice. Love the fact that it's, you know, like
a family atmosphere. I mean, he's got the whole group involved,
not just Kellen, but you know, Karen and his daughter,
and I mean, everybody's in on the act. And I
think that makes for a culture that kids really enjoy.
And I know, you know they're getting paid now, I
get it, but there's still kids and when you're around

(04:42):
that kind of atmosphere and you keep winning year after
year after year. I mean, Calvin's gone through like four
athletic directors I think since he's been here, I don't
know how many football coaches and there he is. So
that's the kind of program he's put together, and it's
just really remarkable. I Mean I look at it and
I go, man, that's awesome. I mean, that's like is
a worthy or Chefsky worthy, or you know, the guys

(05:04):
that have put in the time and gone through so
many victories and some low points too. But you know,
I look at Houston now as they blue blood program basketball, lest.

Speaker 1 (05:15):
Certainly should be with what they've done during his tenure.
There second best record in college basketball over the last
eight seasons with well over two hundred and thirty wins,
a home court advantage that essentially is unmatched anywhere in
the country. This will be game number one point fifteen
at Fortita Center. They are already one hundred games over
five hundred there, one oh seven and seven, and Brad,

(05:37):
you and Jay will make the call on Saturday. National picture.
Obviously they are in it. From what you've seen, games,
you've done, some of the experiences you've enjoyed this season.
Who stands out as the other teams along with you
of h that present an idea that, yes, our team's
going to win the national title. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
I mean, obviously look at the whole SEC and you
kind of wonder Auburn's on top there and what the
SEC has done is been nothing short of phenomenal. But
the only problem is they're starting just to get to
the point where they're beating up each other now, and
they'll keep beating up each other through the tournament, and
that will kind of, you know, square things away there.

(06:17):
But I got to think Auburn and Duke are number
one seeds, and after that, I think it's I mean,
you know, there's Jerry Palms are bracketologists, and I get
three emails a day from him and I read them.
All confuses me every time, you know, last four in,
next four out on the bubble, the whole thing. But
I think after Auburn and Duke, I got Houston. I
got Houston as a one right now. If I was

(06:39):
one of those guys. I'm not one of those guys.
But if they went out, they win this game tomorrow,
they eat Kansas Monday, you know, they have a good
showing in the tournament. I mean, I don't see how
they're not a number one seed. The rest is going
to be a combination of I don't know, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee,
Michigan State, Saint John's. I don't know how that's all
going to work out. Like I said, you know, you

(07:01):
look at the SEC and all of a sudden Florida
Beach Tennessee by twenty, and then the next time they
played Tennessee Beach, Florida by twenty. So I don't get
at Florida, Austin, Georgia. The other night, Alabama's going to
put one hundred points on you. You just have to score
one hundred and one to beat them. I don't know.
I think anybody could win the deal, but Houston, Houston's
right there. So you know, that's where my mind is

(07:22):
at right now. And I look around the rest of
the country and I try to figure it out, and
I just don't see where I could say this thing's over.
I mean, so and so is going to win. And
you wouldn't even have said that last two years with Yukon.
But yeah, I think it depends on what part of the
country you live in, and that's type of thing on
who you think is the best.

Speaker 1 (07:39):
Yeah, I said the same thing about you, of aged. Basically,
when they beat Arizona on the road, I said, if
they went out before the conference tournament, to me, they
would be locked in as a number one. In talking
about the tournament and in talking about the last four
in and first four out, what would you say to
the possibility of an expanded again, Na mint Field, I

(08:01):
don't know.

Speaker 2 (08:03):
Same way I think about the expanded football field. I thought,
you know, that worked out pretty well this year. There's
some king Senate that they can straighten out with reseeding
and all of that. But hey man, it's all about
money and the networks and whatever. So you know, if
they add four more, six more go to I don't know.
I don't know what they're thinking about going to. I
thought it was okay the way it was, but I

(08:24):
go back to where it was. I'm not going back
that far. I'm going to tell you how far how
many teams were.

Speaker 1 (08:30):
It wasn't this many, no question, And since you brought
it up as well, Brad, I think most of us
believe it did work out on the college football side,
and what we were given was entertainment and lots of
it through this tournament, even though you know all the
teams that one opening week went to the home spots,
and you know what we saw the following week with
where everybody was seated. But you know, just one quickie

(08:52):
on the college football side, did you like how it
really played out? Do you feel like what we ended
up with was Yeah, this this team was playing the
best football as we got to the playoffs and they're
our national champion.

Speaker 2 (09:04):
Yeah exactly. I mean I had, you know a house
that in Ohio State. Not being in the Big Ten
championship that I did. You know, that helped them, and
it helped other teams that didn't have to play in
the conference championship games. I think, you know, if they're
going to expand it, I think they should get her
to get rid of the conference championship games. I know
that's all about money, and you know, cities want that game.
And I get it. I mean, I did so many

(09:25):
SEC championship games and they did the Big Ten this year,
and I've done Big twelve and I've done Pac twelve
championships when it was a Pac twelve, and I get it.
But you know, if they're going to keep expanding, it's
going to expand the season, and it's it's going to
drizzle into I mean, you know, we're almost doing the
Super Bowl now, and first week of February, we're going

(09:47):
to be in the last week of January at football
if we keep adding teams and adding playoff games. Otherwise
they just have to change the whole approach, and you know,
have eight games the first weekend or sixteen games the
first wee weekend, whatever they go to and just play
it out that way. But it's all about money, and
it's all about the two biggest leagues. Y SEC in
the Big ten are going to tell them what to do.

(10:08):
So we'll wait and see.

Speaker 3 (10:10):
I have a co host who went to ut He
is wearing a Longhorns polo. He has a daughter going there,
and I have a step daughter going there. So a
lot of invested in Austin. I know there's gonna be.
There is turnover already, and there's going to be after
what happened this last year and they had a great
run and fell just short. But I have to ask

(10:30):
the question that everybody always asks, is Texas really back?

Speaker 2 (10:34):
Yeah? I think so, I do. I'm a big Stark man,
you know, so I think he's done a really good job.
It took a little while to get on track. But
now with the nil and all the money that's coming in,
the best teams and Texas is always going to be
one of the best teams. They're gonna have the best players,
so they're gonna have the most money and they're gonna

(10:54):
have the best coaching and they're gonna have the best facilities.
You know, the rich are just going to get rich. Eventually,
it's gonna be ten teams every year. I don't care
how many teams you go to the playoffs. It's gonna
be the same ten teams plus a couple more that
just have a nice run for some reason or the other.
It's not like one hundred and thirty three teams are
gonna have a chance to win the national championship. Kidding

(11:15):
yourself on that. So uh, it's the same teams every year.
And the guys that got the money and Logorns got
the money, and so is A and M and so
it's Georgia Ohio State and so yeah they're back. They're
back far enough and now it's gonna be fun to
watch Arch play. The only thing the only bummer about
me not doing the SEC anymore. I wanted to do

(11:36):
one Texas game when Arch started because I would have
covered Grandpa, both uncle and Dad. Uh not Dad, both
uncles and then Art. There have been a four generation
deal for me to do football games from Archie on
down to Arch. That's a tribute.

Speaker 1 (11:53):
Question, Well, believe it or not.

Speaker 2 (11:54):
I was.

Speaker 1 (11:55):
I was lining that up, that question, very question up
for you looking at the was there any pop possibility?
Where do the Longhorns? How do they get to your network?
How can they find their way there? This year the
Ohio State gamed open and everything else says it isn't
going to happen.

Speaker 2 (12:10):
That's probably not going to happen. But I did one
of art She's games at his very final year. He
was with the Vikings and it was probably even a
preseason game, and I was doing the Vikings. And then
obviously did Peyton and Eli both at college and pro level,
and I really wanted to do that. I met Arts
at the Manning Passing Academy when he was either an

(12:31):
eighth grade or a ninth grader, And you know, he's
thrown to all these guys that are seniors in college
or either seniors in high school or incoming college players
that were quarterbacks and all that stuff. So I met
him when he was a little curly haired dude. Now
he's put together pretty good, and I wish him the best.
I'm the whole family is friends of mine, and I
hope he sparkles in his chance next year.

Speaker 1 (12:51):
That is the expectation for sure, and he knows all
about that. You're certainly going to have a great time
tomorrow afternoon at for Tita Center. We're all looking forward
to it as well. I we'll enjoy the call there,
and I really appreciate you spending a couple of minutes
with us.

Speaker 2 (13:03):
Brad, you got it, Adam, have a good one and
thanks for having me. And let's see everybody show up
tomorrow and see if the Cougars can go get their
twenty fifth wins.
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