Seg 5 MBB Show Nov 6 w Mike Nardi

Coach Nardi on navigating thru injuries and the development of Center Eric Reibe

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're back on the Yukon Men's Basketball Coaches Show. Mike Nardie,
a kind assistant is with US, scored over thirteen hundred
points in his four year career at Villanova, then coached
there for ten years. Mike, this Yukon team that you
are looking at and you've been with them since the summertime,
is a work in progress. I think every team is

(00:20):
like that. A couple of guys not available right now.
Three guys actually terras Red Raylan Mullins and Jacob Furfey,
who all might be major rotation players for this team.
So as you look at the squad right now, what
can you get out of it? You know what I'm saying.
You really can't say, well, we're going to be really

(00:41):
good because we got these other guys coming along when
they're healthy. But you don't have that right now. You've
got to work with what you have.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Yeah, and I think this is a great opportunity for
our team, you know, to come together and really it's
got to be a next man up mentality, right there's
going to be and hopefully that there's not many but
things that you can't control during the season. You know,
guys get nicks and bruises and different things that come up.
So really you're hoping that this gives guys opportunity that

(01:13):
maybe they wouldn't have as much, and now they're getting
those reps and they're getting that confidence. So when you
add some of those other guys that you know, we
know are gonna be key contributors, now you have a
really deep team and you can play different styles. You
can call on a guy you know at any given night,

(01:33):
and you know that guy is prepared because of an opportunity,
you know, you know, because of where we're at right now.
So I just think it's a great, a great opportunity
for our team and other guys to step up. Yeah,
we were talking about Eric Raibo with Dan Hurley freshman
seven to one.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
What's your take on him? He seems like he's got
big time talent. It looks like he can do just
about any thing. What has he got to do to
get better as soon as he can and help the team?

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Now? Yeah, I mean, I think for any freshman coming
into a place, you know, like Yukon, it's the intensity
level every day, right, because there's a huge difference from
high school to college, right, And I think that's the
main thing is just being able to play hard for
a long period of time, right. And then you know,

(02:27):
the next thing that usually you know sort of comes
to mind is your defense, right, and you're rebounding, which
again in high school is a little bit different. You're big, right,
he's mobile enough. Coach kind of tells you protect the paint, right,
and that was kind of like his job. But now
you have to get out on a perimeter. You got

(02:48):
to be able to be at the level of screens, right.
You got to then go chase rebounds down. You're playing
against guys that are your size and maybe quicker, bigger,
more athletic, whatever may have you. So I think there's
an adjustment period for any high school guy coming in
to play at Yukon. But the one thing I'll say
about Eric is he's got a great work ethic.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
He competes every day.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
He doesn't get discouraged when he's not doing.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
As well as he would like to.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
He just keeps coming right, He comes back the next
day with a great attitude, he keeps competing. He's playing
against a big time center and Tarris Reid, so you
know he's going to have some ebbs and flows. But
I think his upside for us being able to protect
the paint, you know, move his feet on the perimeter.

Speaker 3 (03:38):
He's good in the post.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
He can back you down, he can score, he can
face you up a little bit, he can step out
and pass. So, you know, I really think when it's
all said and done, we're going to be extremely you know,
happy with where his development ends up being.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
And what he can contribute to this team. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
One thing Dan Heurley was talking about just a few
moments ago is the court sense of helping on defense
for your teammates, And that's an area to me. You know,
over the years, Donovan Klingon got really good at that.
He became a monster down there. I mean, can Eric
develop into that? Do you think he's seven to one boy?
If he can come over in a week side and
block some shots, what a difference we've seen right with

(04:17):
guys like Clinging, How that could change the whole team.

Speaker 3 (04:21):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
I truly think he can get there, and I think
he's working towards it. You know, I think he's got
a great mindset as well. When you when you are
playing as a freshman, you're kind of worried about making mistakes, right,
And I think on the defensive end, mainly because as
we said, you know it's a transition, right, so sometimes
you get caught in just guarding your guy instead of

(04:45):
helping everybody else because you know, let's face it, like
you want to be out there, you don't want to
look bad, right. But I think we're trying to get
him to see the big picture and really hold you know,
hold down the paint, be able to help you know,
guys when they get beat, be able to guard or
your guy one on one.

Speaker 3 (05:01):
So there's a lot of responsibility, right.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
But again, I think he's intelligent enough, I think he's
skilled enough, and I think he plays hard enough to
where he's gonna get there.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
Yeah, Eric grab is certainly fun to watch a freshman
for the Huskies. We'll be back with Mike Mike Nardi,
the Yukon assistant In just a moment is the Yukon
Men's Basketball Coaches Show on Learfield.