Houston Chronicle's Joseph Duarte Talks Houston's Tragic Loss

Houston Chronicle's Joseph Duarte Talks Houston's Tragic Loss

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Joseph Torte excellent coverage. Is always one of the few
legit members of the media that covers the Houston Cougars.
First the Houston Chronicle with us here from the Matt
Thomas show.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
Ross.

Speaker 1 (03:37):
All right, Joseph, let's get to it. Take us through
your life. When the games ended, you go to the
locker room, you go to the press conference, you go
in there. You know you've been in some tough locker
rooms before, but size it up for the audience that
couldn't get into where you were last night.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Well, typically they opened up the locker rooms, Matt pretty
fast after it game. We there was probably close to
one hundred plus media members and Houston's doors to their
locker room remain closed for about forty minutes, maybe thirty
five minutes after the game. Delvin Stampson was in there

(04:15):
for a really long time, just talking to the team.
I think he wanted to let some of the emotion
get out before we all came in. But once we
did get in complete silence. I mean, you had guys
crying out loud. I mean, I hadn't been in one
of those, and at least on a college level, I've
seen the pros. But you know, they were hugging each other, crying.

(04:37):
Guys were sitting alone at their locker room with towels
over their head. I mean, you could you could hear
pin drop and it was it was a lot of disappointment.
A lot of it was right there for the taking
type of feelings. But yeah, that was I mean, you've
you've been around this school a really long time. This

(04:59):
this is just another chapter to not able to get
over the hump.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
You had a really good seat for the game, and
I think part of where you were will also be
part of the things I'll ask you about. But ultimately
as being as close as you were to the action,
what the again, the Cougars got done to them last night,
what they did the Duke on Saturday. And look, it

(05:25):
wasn't a pretty game throughout. Both teams were some forty percent.
The game was completely diffinitely officiated in the second half
as compared to was to the first. And we'll get
to that in a second. But the late game execution,
the inability to get the Cougars to get into their offense.
Did Florida put the clamps on or did something happen
from the U of H side? That you're like, I
have not recognized this from them at any point this year.

Speaker 2 (05:47):
Yeah, the stuff that they did well this year, or
that at some point, even when things weren't going their way,
they found a guy to step up. You know, That's
what Kellen Sampas did up game. You know, maybe we
worry about a little better, maybe we don't have that
stretch where the shots aren't falling. In the past, you

(06:08):
can have those stretches and beat a Utah or you
beat a you know, BYU they didn't have anybody come
to the rescue. And you know, I don't know if
it was so much what's Florida data. I mean, you
got to give them credit for how they played in
the second half, but just the characteristically uncharacteristically bad play

(06:31):
at times. I mean the turnovers, four critical turnovers in
the last couple of minutes, you know, two big ones
there at the end with Emmanuel Sharp. It didn't look
like the same team. And you know, if you're a
Houston fan, for the first twenty eight minutes maybe thirty,
you felt like this was your year, like it was
about to happen. I mean, it was that close. And

(06:54):
as you pointed out things that we're not used to
seeing or them overcoming. Just just ripped it all apart.
I mean it was it was really don't I don't
know how to describe it math. I mean, just yeah,
it all on the fold there. I mean, it was
just I couldn't believe what I was watching, Joseph.

Speaker 1 (07:16):
This is you know, this was Kelvin's best shooting team
perimeter wise since he's been there, and from my vantage point,
I was pretty close. I felt pretty lucky where I
was sitting. There were shots that were leaving guys hands
that I knew on takeoff they don't on a chance
in hell, they were dropping. I mean some of the misses.
I mean, Sharp was really off, Uzon was off. I mean,

(07:37):
and then you got in the low block where Roberts
couldn't finish last night.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
Yeah, I mean it was you know inside outside. Uh
you know there was one sequence where I think he
got two or three shots back to back with the
tips and tip outs, and none of the balls even
King was hitting the rim. And I wish I could
say that. Okay, you know, the the playing an adult,
but you know you played it in Indianapolis. That was four

(08:04):
games you had played in a don't, so I don't
think that had anything to do with it. And then
on the flip side, Matt, you would think that if
somebody told me that they're all American Garb Walter Clayton
Junior was not going to have a field goal for
the first thirty three minutes, I would have said, you
know what, Houston's your national champion. And so from that,

(08:27):
from that standpoint, the defense was really good early on.
I thought they had some hiccups, was dealing with Richard
and the threes that he was making, But you're right,
you know, came down to offense. He came down to
that role that they had. I think it was twelve
out of thirteen misses at one point that just wasn't

(08:47):
going to get it done. And then the game changed
with the officiating. I think there were twelve or sixteen
fouls called in the first you know, I don't know
if it was eight minutes or so the second half
compared to the total that was the entire first half.
So I'm sure that played a role. Because Tugler ended
up bowing out Francis had for you know, that's the

(09:09):
position that they couldn't afford to have guys in trouble
and on the bench.

Speaker 1 (09:15):
Joseph Torte from San Antonio and joining us here on
the Matt Thomas Show at ross. So you are right
behind the scorers table and Florida gets not only one
technical foul but from the bench and then one from
a player on the court, and the tone of the
game clearly changed. First of all, how much jawing was
being said by that Florida bench that eventually the officials said,

(09:38):
I got to tease some people up. And then from
your perspective, was there anything that you saw that said
this game was going to be officiated completely differently in
the second half than it wasn't at first. I'm not
saying it was an advantage one way or the other,
but it made it a very choppy, uneven, hard to
watch game, beyond the fact that both teams were not
shooting well right.

Speaker 2 (09:58):
On the first part. You know, I was behind to
the side of the Houston bench, so I wasn't really
on that side. You know, they go, uh, Todd Golden,
he he was pretty animated throughout the game. He was
he was not happy with with some thing, so he
was the vocal and I think that sort of was
part of the technical on the bench and then the
other one. I thought it originally was on the Condons guy,

(10:23):
but apparently the other guy it looked like he spiked
the ball and he did it right in front of
the rest and that triggered the other tech. And I
don't I think Houston missed two of the free throw
attempts or at least one, and that and that was
another thing, Matt. They didn't make free throws. Jay one
Roberts hits both in the biggest win of the program's

(10:45):
history against Duke, but down the stretch other guys and
and and him as well. You know, they couldn't make
their their free throw. So, I mean, there's a lot
of things you can point at. I don't know. I mean,
certainly the the being in the bonus as early as
as Florida God that that played a role. Uh And
and I think that that certainly had an impact on

(11:07):
how Houston was able to do things. But you know
that last play, uh, you know, the Lorenzo Charles dunk
and eighty three was was such a huge play to remember.
But you look at last night, that was pretty a
really devastating shot that you know, emanueled. The plan was
for Emanual to get that three and I don't think

(11:28):
he saw or thought that Clayton was going to close
that fast. And he went up and was like, oh no,
and he kind of stopped and then mid air and
they had to let the ball go and that ball bounced.
It felt like an eternity just watching that ball bounce,
and there was nobody from Houston nearby to be able
to get on it. I would have maybe fouled there

(11:50):
and at least you get a few seconds, and who knows,
we're gonna if you get it, if you get one
more shot at ten. But it just it just all
sort of just that those three seconds, well three or
four seconds. We'll just live on because they they didn't
even get it, and they difference to miss the shot
at the end. They didn't even get a shot.

Speaker 1 (12:07):
Yeah, the reality is the right play would have been
to go ahead and grab the ball, get called for
the travel. Then you foul Florida immediately, hoping they miss
one of the two free throws. Now you're out of timeout,
so you have nothing to do. I mean we're talking
about the percentages are very slim, but at least you
would have been given an option. But in Emmanuel's defense.

(12:28):
That's the last thing you're thinking. It's about, Oh, I
don't want to commit a traveling violation in the last
two seconds of a ball game, knowing that that would
have win the way they ended.

Speaker 2 (12:37):
So yeah, I will tell you how many times I've
seen him on that particular play where if he has
enough time, he'll sort of lean in and he'll draw
contact get to the foul line. And that's sort of
you know, if you're not going to get a clean shot,
that's you want to be in that position or you know,
be able to maybe drive in the lane there and

(12:58):
do something. I mean, all that was just taking off
the table. And I think that it was similar to
Purdue where they try to move Lja to draw some
defenders his way and free up free up a guy
unlike that. That game, Uh, Florida had a guy in
in position and in the vicinity and just took everything off.
And if you go back and look, Kelvin stands there

(13:22):
just like a statue. I mean, he watches It's it's
really sad to watch because he he watches it all
unfold and there's just no reaction. I mean, it's just
kind of a stunned look. And I think that's the
biggest takeaway from last night that they said that he
felt like this was the team to win it. They

(13:45):
felt like they were constructed to go through the tournament
and win it. And he's still searching for it. And
and I talked to his wife after the game. She's
been with him the entire time, and she said, this
was going to take a while to get over every
you know, the Michigan game and stuff. You know, the
second round, you know, you get over those. This is,

(14:06):
you know, down to the last few minutes of winning
a national championship, and he's still looking for once.

Speaker 1 (14:14):
And the cruelest thing of it all, Joseph wrap things
up here, is that that would have been his eight
hundredth victory. Instead, he's going to win his eight hundredth
game against god knows who, I mean, some small d
one that you know by game, and that's just gonna
have it nearly not as much of an emotional situation
for him. If he had won the eight hundredth in

(14:34):
here at the Alamo, don't.

Speaker 2 (14:35):
Would have been great. I mean, who's been a storybook?
He wins eight hundred, they win a national championship, you
know he's not hanging it up. You know he's got
two years lest I mean that was never the issue
going into the last game. Uh, they've got a They're
gonna lose a lot of guys. They lose five guys,
they lose Crier, they lose Francis, they lose Roberts, they

(14:56):
lose Wilson, guys like that. So but they also have
the three of the highest rated players ever to coming in.
They'll probably go portal shopping for a couple of things,
and then you bring back your point guard and Sharp
will be back. So I've already seen them as early
number one and on some you know websites. So it's

(15:20):
not a doom and gloom. This was the window and
now it's closed. I think it's built. They certainly have
put themselves in position to be built for the long haul.
It's just when you get to Monday night, that's your chance.
That's how the Dukes win back to back. And you
got teams like the Duke and North Carolina and Yukon,

(15:40):
and you know all Houston wants is won. I'm sure
that an alum, that's what you want. You just want
one well, not to be greedy if it works out,
you get a bunch, that's great. You just want one,
and there's been seven trips to the Final four and
it's been bad timing and bad luck.

Speaker 1 (15:58):
You deserve some time off. I owe you a large meal,
take care that family years, and safe travels back to Houston.

Speaker 2 (16:04):
Thank you, buddy, have a good one.

Speaker 1 (16:05):
We'll see if Joseph towards a Houston chronicle with us
from San Antonio.