October 29, 2025 • 8 mins
Xavier men's basketball coach Richard Pitino joins Lance to talk about the team as it stands before their season opener.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Six, seven hundred wilw RL Kerry Or Sports Talk presented
by Kelsey Chevrolet. I'm Lance Pacallister. Happy to have you here.
Let's talk some hoops. My next guest ready to officially
embark on his first season at Xavier when the Musketeers
played Marist on Monday night, seven fifteen at Sentas. What
a pleasure to welcome in the head coach of the
Xavier Musketeers, Richard Patino Coach Lance McAllister. How we doing
(00:29):
doing great?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Lance? Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Great catching up with you and hearing your voice. Uh,
let's walk through this. You were hired March twenty fifth.
It's been a whirlwin of moving parts since. Are you
looking forward to finally just tossing the ball up and
coaching a game that counts?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah? I mean year one is always a little bit
challenging for obvious reasons. You know, when you don't inherit
a player who's made a basket, that could be a
little bit challenging from last year. We so we did
our very best to certainly put together at a put
together a roster, you know, and just build kind of
(01:05):
from scratch. But you know, it's a fun group they're
really good guys. They're easy to coach, they work hard,
they've got great attitude, and yeah, I mean, you know,
one of the reasons I took the job was just,
you know, the Cintas Center is such a cool building,
the Zavi your fan base really really cares, you know,
so we're excited to play in front of them.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Twelve new guys. As you alluded to, first time a
Xavier coach has not had a single returning scholarship letter
winner in program history. Coach, I don't have to tell you,
but I'll tell the fans. That's an awfully difficult recipe
for success, especially in the Big East.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, I think you have to explain the fans. And
you know it's a slippery slope because you don't want
to sound like you're complaining. But it's a new profession.
You know, the last four or five years when the
rules changed, and you know you've got transfers that can
be eligible right away. Normally, when there's a coaching change,
you are lucky to inherit you know, a couple of
(02:02):
players from the past regime where in the past you
inherited a roster. Then you kind of try to figure
out who you wanted to keep who you wanted to,
you know, maybe move on or whatever. Where now it's
you're starting over. So you know, it's all good. It
is what it is. You know, we're going to coach
our buts off on Monday and see when you're eyn when.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I was struck by something you said recently to Paul Fritchner,
and you said, what's happening today in the game isn't recruiting.
It's free agency. And it really truly is, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yeah, you know, you don't want to sound like disrespectful
to people when they bring up the past, but I
just think it's very, very important. And you're seeing it
in football right now. I mean, you're seeing programs like
Vanderbilt be really really good Texas Tech. You know, schools
that may not have been good in the past are
now elevating their spending in the NIL space. They're getting
(02:58):
really really good players. You know, the players are making
different decisions now on what you know, why they're choosing
a program. It used to be facilities, it used to
be private planes, nutrition or whatever. But you know, it
really really comes down to investment more than anything. And
you know, the cost of winning is high and you know,
(03:19):
I know Xavier wants to have a great basketball program,
but it's very very important that you know, we all
understand what that is moving forward and what the most
important thing is. And what I can tell you is,
you know, and everybody knows this, when you have a
winning basketball program, especially at a place like Xavier in
the Big East that doesn't have football, you're you're going
(03:40):
to get the return on the investment, whether it's through marketing,
whether it's through packed houses, all those things. But yeah,
I mean times have changed. You're seeing you know, the
number one recruit in the country is from Boston. He
went to my high school actually where I went in Boston,
and he's going to be HYU. That's not not going
to be YU program. But it's just guys are making
(04:03):
different decisions now, more so than they ever have before.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
You've had an exhibition game against Murray State, scrimmage against Toledo.
Were they productive? What would be a takeaway or two
from those opportunities?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Yeah, they were really productive. You know. I mean I
think moving forward, what I'd like to be able to
do is play one at home, play one on the road,
you know, to you get the jitters out to the
best of your ability. You know, I think people are
still trying to figure out how to take all these
exhibition games and so on. But for us, it's it's
(04:38):
just an opportunity to play with the lights on, play
in front of fans, see where what we're doing well,
see what we need to work on, and you know,
there's a bunch. I mean, we've had some good moments,
we've had some sloppy moments, but I think it shows
you more than anything like this is going to be
really really competitive and we're not to scratching claw to
get a win. But as I said before, both both
(04:59):
games were valuable in different ways. But what I've loved
about the team is the attitude is terrific.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Right now, when I talk to people about your team,
in most instances, they quickly bring up the name Trey Carroll,
the transfer from Florida Atlantic. Tell listeners about your impressions
of Trey.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Yeah, you never know with players, are they you know,
are they gamers? Are they not? And that's probably the
most positive takeaway from the two exhibition games was he
just seemed to turn it on to, you know, to
another level. You know, in these game situations. He's pretty skilled.
He can make the three and go in the post.
He could score his left hand, his right hand. He's older.
(05:42):
You know, he came from a really good program at
FAU to have gone to the final four, so you know,
we're very, very lucky to have him. He competes his
butt off, you know, he really really you know, he'll
die for a loose fall. He'll block a shot and transition.
You know, he's got a very high IQ. So he's
(06:02):
absolutely been very, very impressive in the first two exhibition games.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Xavier fans have been accustomed to seeing that pack line
defense over the years, over a couple of decades. In
a perfect defensive world, what will they see from your defense?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Well, we were fortunate in New Mexico. We had you know,
I'm not sure the exact number, but we were top
twenty defensively in every year of the last two years
and went to Amstobody Tournament. We were able to generate turnovers.
You know, that doesn't mean like we're going to be
flying all over the place like mad men, but you know,
the best way to score is to get out on
the break, and the best way to do that is
(06:38):
to have a great defense. So I'm not anti the
pack line by any means, but we just had kind
of a different style to what we try to do.
You know, we feel that it works. You know, obviously
it's going to be a work in progress with the personnel,
but I guess the difference is maybe a little bit
more aggressive, maybe a little bit more disruptive. But there's
(07:00):
there certainly are a million different ways to skin a cat.
But what's been funny is just kind of hearing the
differences because for Xavior, although they've had a bunch of
different coaches, they were all really part of the same family,
you know, Tree coaching Tree, and they all kind of
did it the same. Where we do it differently doesn't
mean it's better or worse, But you know, we built
(07:22):
really really competitive championship defenses the last couple of years,
and we've kind of in the same year.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
On the other side, I think you guys averaged over
eighty points a game last year, second most fast break
points a game last year, so you push the pace.
Do you have the personnel and bodies this year to
do that as well? Well?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I mean, we certainly built our best team in year
three and year four, and you know that'll be the goal,
you know, obviously Zavier moving forward. But yeah, we want length,
we want athleticism, and you know, we were second in
the country. Like you said in fast break points, a
lot of that had to do with good defense, you know,
So we're all about the defensively, disruption, getting deflections, blocking shots.
(08:03):
You know, that's something that I think Zavier didn't really
have in the past, was shot blocking. That would probably
be the biggest difference, although we didn't block a lot
of shots last game. But certainly we want no we
want rim pressure, we want disruption at the rim. And
if you're going to pressure the ball, you know inevitably
it's going to funnel it into the lane, and our
goal is certainly to disrupt it once it gets in there.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Yeah, I know you're incredibly busy. I appreciate you making time.
Best of luck and the opener and the rest of
the way, and I hope we can catch up again soon.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
All right, thank you for having me appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
All right, take care there you go. Coach Richard Patino,
Xavier Musketeers Monday night, Maris seven point fifteen from Sintas Center.
By the way, Xavier Athletics is celebrating opening week at
Cintas
Six, seven hundred wilw RL Kerry Or Sports Talk presented
by Kelsey Chevrolet. I'm Lance Pacallister. Happy to have you here.
Let's talk some hoops. My next guest ready to officially
embark on his first season at Xavier when the Musketeers
played Marist on Monday night, seven fifteen at Sentas. What
a pleasure to welcome in the head coach of the
Xavier Musketeers, Richard Patino Coach Lance McAllister. How we doing
(00:29):
doing great?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Lance? Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Great catching up with you and hearing your voice. Uh,
let's walk through this. You were hired March twenty fifth.
It's been a whirlwin of moving parts since. Are you
looking forward to finally just tossing the ball up and
coaching a game that counts?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah? I mean year one is always a little bit
challenging for obvious reasons. You know, when you don't inherit
a player who's made a basket, that could be a
little bit challenging from last year. We so we did
our very best to certainly put together at a put
together a roster, you know, and just build kind of
(01:05):
from scratch. But you know, it's a fun group they're
really good guys. They're easy to coach, they work hard,
they've got great attitude, and yeah, I mean, you know,
one of the reasons I took the job was just,
you know, the Cintas Center is such a cool building,
the Zavi your fan base really really cares, you know,
so we're excited to play in front of them.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Twelve new guys. As you alluded to, first time a
Xavier coach has not had a single returning scholarship letter
winner in program history. Coach, I don't have to tell you,
but I'll tell the fans. That's an awfully difficult recipe
for success, especially in the Big East.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, I think you have to explain the fans. And
you know it's a slippery slope because you don't want
to sound like you're complaining. But it's a new profession.
You know, the last four or five years when the
rules changed, and you know you've got transfers that can
be eligible right away. Normally, when there's a coaching change,
you are lucky to inherit you know, a couple of
(02:02):
players from the past regime where in the past you
inherited a roster. Then you kind of try to figure
out who you wanted to keep who you wanted to,
you know, maybe move on or whatever. Where now it's
you're starting over. So you know, it's all good. It
is what it is. You know, we're going to coach
our buts off on Monday and see when you're eyn when.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I was struck by something you said recently to Paul Fritchner,
and you said, what's happening today in the game isn't recruiting.
It's free agency. And it really truly is, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yeah, you know, you don't want to sound like disrespectful
to people when they bring up the past, but I
just think it's very, very important. And you're seeing it
in football right now. I mean, you're seeing programs like
Vanderbilt be really really good Texas Tech. You know, schools
that may not have been good in the past are
now elevating their spending in the NIL space. They're getting
(02:58):
really really good players. You know, the players are making
different decisions now on what you know, why they're choosing
a program. It used to be facilities, it used to
be private planes, nutrition or whatever. But you know, it
really really comes down to investment more than anything. And
you know, the cost of winning is high and you know,
(03:19):
I know Xavier wants to have a great basketball program,
but it's very very important that you know, we all
understand what that is moving forward and what the most
important thing is. And what I can tell you is,
you know, and everybody knows this, when you have a
winning basketball program, especially at a place like Xavier in
the Big East that doesn't have football, you're you're going
(03:40):
to get the return on the investment, whether it's through marketing,
whether it's through packed houses, all those things. But yeah,
I mean times have changed. You're seeing you know, the
number one recruit in the country is from Boston. He
went to my high school actually where I went in Boston,
and he's going to be HYU. That's not not going
to be YU program. But it's just guys are making
(04:03):
different decisions now, more so than they ever have before.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
You've had an exhibition game against Murray State, scrimmage against Toledo.
Were they productive? What would be a takeaway or two
from those opportunities?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Yeah, they were really productive. You know. I mean I
think moving forward, what I'd like to be able to
do is play one at home, play one on the road,
you know, to you get the jitters out to the
best of your ability. You know, I think people are
still trying to figure out how to take all these
exhibition games and so on. But for us, it's it's
(04:38):
just an opportunity to play with the lights on, play
in front of fans, see where what we're doing well,
see what we need to work on, and you know,
there's a bunch. I mean, we've had some good moments,
we've had some sloppy moments, but I think it shows
you more than anything like this is going to be
really really competitive and we're not to scratching claw to
get a win. But as I said before, both both
(04:59):
games were valuable in different ways. But what I've loved
about the team is the attitude is terrific.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Right now, when I talk to people about your team,
in most instances, they quickly bring up the name Trey Carroll,
the transfer from Florida Atlantic. Tell listeners about your impressions
of Trey.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Yeah, you never know with players, are they you know,
are they gamers? Are they not? And that's probably the
most positive takeaway from the two exhibition games was he
just seemed to turn it on to, you know, to
another level. You know, in these game situations. He's pretty skilled.
He can make the three and go in the post.
He could score his left hand, his right hand. He's older.
(05:42):
You know, he came from a really good program at
FAU to have gone to the final four, so you know,
we're very, very lucky to have him. He competes his
butt off, you know, he really really you know, he'll
die for a loose fall. He'll block a shot and transition.
You know, he's got a very high IQ. So he's
(06:02):
absolutely been very, very impressive in the first two exhibition games.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Xavier fans have been accustomed to seeing that pack line
defense over the years, over a couple of decades. In
a perfect defensive world, what will they see from your defense?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Well, we were fortunate in New Mexico. We had you know,
I'm not sure the exact number, but we were top
twenty defensively in every year of the last two years
and went to Amstobody Tournament. We were able to generate turnovers.
You know, that doesn't mean like we're going to be
flying all over the place like mad men, but you know,
the best way to score is to get out on
the break, and the best way to do that is
(06:38):
to have a great defense. So I'm not anti the
pack line by any means, but we just had kind
of a different style to what we try to do.
You know, we feel that it works. You know, obviously
it's going to be a work in progress with the personnel,
but I guess the difference is maybe a little bit
more aggressive, maybe a little bit more disruptive. But there's
(07:00):
there certainly are a million different ways to skin a cat.
But what's been funny is just kind of hearing the
differences because for Xavior, although they've had a bunch of
different coaches, they were all really part of the same family,
you know, Tree coaching Tree, and they all kind of
did it the same. Where we do it differently doesn't
mean it's better or worse, But you know, we built
(07:22):
really really competitive championship defenses the last couple of years,
and we've kind of in the same year.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
On the other side, I think you guys averaged over
eighty points a game last year, second most fast break
points a game last year, so you push the pace.
Do you have the personnel and bodies this year to
do that as well? Well?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I mean, we certainly built our best team in year
three and year four, and you know that'll be the goal,
you know, obviously Zavier moving forward. But yeah, we want length,
we want athleticism, and you know, we were second in
the country. Like you said in fast break points, a
lot of that had to do with good defense, you know,
So we're all about the defensively, disruption, getting deflections, blocking shots.
(08:03):
You know, that's something that I think Zavier didn't really
have in the past, was shot blocking. That would probably
be the biggest difference, although we didn't block a lot
of shots last game. But certainly we want no we
want rim pressure, we want disruption at the rim. And
if you're going to pressure the ball, you know inevitably
it's going to funnel it into the lane, and our
goal is certainly to disrupt it once it gets in there.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Yeah, I know you're incredibly busy. I appreciate you making time.
Best of luck and the opener and the rest of
the way, and I hope we can catch up again soon.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
All right, thank you for having me appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
All right, take care there you go. Coach Richard Patino,
Xavier Musketeers Monday night, Maris seven point fifteen from Sintas Center.
By the way, Xavier Athletics is celebrating opening week at
Cintas
Lance McAlister News
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