March 18, 2024 • 37 mins
Jim and Jess catch up w/ the voice of the Drake Bulldogs, Michael Admire as he previews the Cougs and Bulldogs playing Thursday in the Big Dance. Jess and Jim share their brackets, how far will the Cougs make it, plus we have Ian Furness stop by as he shares what he has planned for his show!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Oh my gosh, No, yeah, no problem at all. Happy to
join you. I do want tolike flood your listeners with a bunch of
me rambling on about Drake basketball.So I wanted to make sure that that
was good. But it's been agood day. We're soaking up, you
know, a third NCAA appearance infour years. It's kind of crazy around
these parts with that, with thatstat but yeah, all's good. Well,
(00:22):
Michael, we appreciate your time.And I listened to you talked to
Chuck and Bucky this morning at eighto'clock. And you know, they always
say, you're in the radio business, there's different listeners at different parts of
the day, and you're talking.You're talking to a couple of Washington State
koogs here, Jess McIntyre and myselfJim Moore, and we're excited about this
matchup, but we're a little we'renervous about it because you guys have experience,
(00:44):
you got three point shooters, andthere's a lot to fear with those
Drake Bulldogs, isn't there. Yeah, I mean I think it's a I
think it's a really good matchup bothteams with you know, I don't say
like two similar style, but it'snot you know, overly contradictory isle of
play. So I think that makesfor a fun matchup. You know,
a couple of teams that you know, started with some new faces early on
(01:10):
or there are a lot of newfaces early on in the season and have
kind of figured it out as theseason has gone on, had some adversity
along the way, and you know, made their way into an NC Double
A tournament, and so yeah,I think that's that's fun and one aspect,
But yeah, the straight team isbattle tested, if you will.
Had to win the Missouri Valley Conferencetournament to make their way into the into
(01:34):
the n C Double A tournament.As we saw, the bubble shrunk quickly
this this past weekend. So unfortunatelyIndiana State, who is a team that
was you know, twenty ninth inthe net, had a great resume.
We got them on on championships Sundayin the Missouri Valley Tournament and they're left
(01:56):
hosting an n I T game.So we're just to be on this side
of things. But I got astar in Tucker Devrees, got a big
man and Darnell Brody and I havehad some pieces really step up, especially
from the guard play down the stretchthat has helped push this team back into
the big dance. Thank you somuch, Michael Admar who does play by
play for Drake Basketball for joining ushere. Doesn't Ben McIntyre and Jim Moore
(02:22):
talking to you? And I meanyou just mentioned the one name Tucker DeVries
who strikes fear into my heart assomeone who is going for the koops.
I'm wondering the adverse side of thatfor you. Who scares you on Washington
State's team. Oh, that's agood question. Getting a chance to kind
of just start to dive in toWashington State the guy that kind of stands
(02:43):
out to me is Miles Rice.Maybe it's just like his personality and his
style of play. He just lookslike a guy that'll just be fearless when
it comes to the tournament. Butand hearing a little bit of his backstory,
love his story and what he's beenthrough over the last two plus years.
And to see him, you know, have this opportunity. You know
(03:04):
that what any challenges he'll face inthe n c HILLA Tournament will be nothing
what he's faced in life. Soyeah, it scares me when you got
a guy like that's playing free confidentlyand has you know, become very comfortable
and his style of play and youknow, guard play this time of year
(03:25):
is extremely important. And I gota little fear when it comes to,
you know, how he plays withIsaac Jones, you know, a little
if they get a little two mangame going. Drake has had some trouble
with the big man pick and roll. Luckily for Drake on one side that
Isaac Jones is that much of athree point shooter. That's where Drake really
gets nabbed is when you have apick and pop five. But Miles Rice,
(03:50):
he's the guy that really pops out. Hey, Michael, I enjoyed
the video that I saw today thatyou posted on Twitter about there's some sort
of slogan that the Drake bowledus havewhen things go bad. Essentially they just
say good and it's their way.It sounds like of like we're going to
handle all kinds of adversity. It'sno big deal. We're gonna come out
on top no matter what. How'dthat video come about and have the team
(04:14):
adopt that slogan? Yeah, soyou know it's maybe not We're gonna come
out on top no matter what,but we're gonna embrace whatever challenges come our
way and no matter what happens,we accept it with we accept it for
what it is and and good let'slet's take it on. So it's it's
interesting how that video came about.First off, the word kind of throughout
(04:38):
the year, it was like aplayful use of good and they're you know,
just the guys in the locker roomand you know good, good in
the weight room, whatever it maybe that they're kind of always just long
drawn out good, which is fun. You know, those kind of things
pop up throughout the season. Buton Championship Sunday, prior to prior to
(04:59):
you know, walk through in theballroom and prior to taking the bus over
to the arena, one of theassistant coaches pulled out a clip from the
Jocko Willink podcast. And I don'tknow if you guys have heard Jocko speak.
This guy is he's awesome and he'sa former military guy and he's so
good on a podcast. But hehad about a two minute clip from his
(05:23):
podcast where it was that he deliveredthat message. You know, when adversity
strikes, something goes wrong, youanswer, answer the bell. With good
and Drake was up by double digitsin the second half against Indiana State and
he saw that play out. Youknow, the adversity hit that team in
that game. Drake was up doubledigits and they lost the lead in a
(05:46):
matter of five minutes stretch. IndianState went on a nineteen to three run
and Drake was down with four minutesto play, just like that, and
they found a way to win thegame. And so talking to the team
app, you know, how didthat message in pregame play out in the
game, And we thought that'd bea fun thing to then turn into a
video, And now it is aT shirt. One of the local T
(06:11):
shirt companies has turned that into aT shirt, So I imagine there will
be some Drake fans wearing that inOmaha this weekend. Yeah, it actually
sounds like the personality of Drake mirrorsthe Kougs in some ways when it comes
to that fighting against all the odds, there's the underdog. And we have
our friends over at Simply Seattle whodo T shirts in that exact same way.
(06:32):
It can just be one moment inthe game that everyone gravitates towards.
So it'll be fun to watch youguys face our own beloved kooks here and
I'm just wondering, can you meanthat's just some great inspiration. But would
you describe the personality of the DrakeBulldogs as we have just fallen in love
with the personality of these koogs nowand when you say they seem to kind
(06:57):
of pattern each other, both ofthese teams and personalities, that was like
my first impression watching some of thevideos from Washington State and uh, you
know, seeing how they play andsome of the diversity that they had been
through. Yeah, it was almostlike a carbon copy. Coaches kind of
started about the same time with theirrespective programs as well, so there's kind
of that that correlation as well.But I think when you talk to coach
(07:21):
the coach Davs, the teams thathe wants to build at Drake are gritty,
tough, and together, and that'sexactly what this team has done.
They've gotten, uh they've had towin some gritty games. They can win
in multiple multiple ways with tough defenseor uh you know, they can put
(07:41):
up some points, they can theycan run with the with the best in
the country. Uh So, yeah, I would say those are kind of
the three words that have galvanized thisthe maybe even just defined the culture since
coach Davers has gotten here talking toMichael Admire's that played by play guy for
for Drake the Bulldogs taken on theKoup there in Omaha Thursday seven o five
(08:03):
tip off and it's going to beon True TV. What about the relationship
between the coach and his son.I mean, he's got the star player.
I mean there's a lot to talkabout there because I imagine that Darien
Devrees is a hot coaching candidate thereafter the success that he's had. Yeah,
I mean, on one hand,Yeah, anytime there's an opening in
(08:24):
college basketball, Darren's name has beenlinked to it. We experienced it with
Kansas State a couple of years ago. Jerome Tangen's up getting that job.
We've heard it with Slew Saint Louisover the past couple of weeks. I'll
go in the state. I meanjust anytime there's a name that pops up
or or a position that pops open, Darren's name has been linked to it,
(08:46):
no doubt about it. So we'reused to that and we'll just can't
see out all plays out, butwe feel comfortable that he wants to stay
in Iowa and likes and loves beingat Drake. So we're going to cling
on to him as long as wepossibly can. Uh. When it comes
to the relationship with Tucker and kindof that dynamic, obviously, UH,
(09:07):
they're they're really close. Uh theyhave Uh you know, this whole thing
started before when Tucker was in highschool. You know, started when Tucker
was in high school, and sohe didn't have that star player at first.
But Uh, now Tucker has youknow, come through the program,
seen it from what it was sixyears ago to now being a part of
(09:28):
it, and you know, beingin back to back in CUAA tournaments.
So I know there's a lot ofpride within that family of what they have
accomplished here. And then when wetalk about the coaching aspect of it,
you know, how does Darren coachTucker and tough situations. Well, he's
got a really good coaching staff aroundhim. Specifically, you got to point
(09:50):
out Nick Norton. He's a formerplayer at Drake. UH transferred from UA
B to play his final year atDrake and now is on staff UH with
men's basketball team. He's younger andcan just he connects a lot to the
players at Drake and specifically Tucker,and they have a really good working relationship.
(10:13):
And so Darren on one hand asthe head coach, and he makes
the calls and he calls the shots, but he leans on you, Nick
and some of the other coaches tomaybe deliver the message to Tucker because it's
a little you know, sometimes theeasier hearing a message come from somebody else
rather than your dad, when thatmessage has been coming your way for twenty
(10:33):
plus years. Boy, the starplayer, Tucker degrees twenty two points a
game thirty eight percent from three inconference play. Grew up in Omaha before
he moved, and so going backthere, I'm sure it's going to be
a fun night for him. Whatcan you tell us about his game?
I mean, clearly he's a goodoutside shooter, but I bet he's got
all kinds of fastest to his game. Yeah, that's the thing. He
(10:54):
can score at all levels. Imean, he can work in the post
if he gets the right man.He likes playing down, feels comfortable playing
in the post. His mid rangegame is very impressive. Uh, he's
got uh, he's got a fadeawayjumper that is really hard to defend.
Uh. You look at the championshipgame. Uh, Tucker had a really
(11:18):
tough second half, but you know, late in the game, they dropped
some action for Tucker. He getsinto the paint and makes the shot that
basically seals the game. So uhhe Yeah, he can score from all
levels, which make which makes himextremely dangerous. He's a really good rebounder.
Uh will bring the ball up attimes. And you know something we've
(11:39):
seen a lot this season is,you know, with a lot of the
new surrounding cast around him, allthe attention goes to Tucker at times two
three bodies will go to him.He has been so good at drawing that
attention and then having to wherewithal tothen find the open guy. And the
(12:00):
team is starting to feel really comfortablewith you know, when the attension comes
to Tucker like that, everybody knowswhere to find their spacing, where to
cut, where to be at onthe court. And so that's what's made
this team or really taking this hthis season to the next levels. How
that team is, how the teamis playing around Tucker when attention comes his
(12:20):
way. Michael Lamar are joining usplay by play for the Drake Bulldogs,
who will be facing off against theWashington State Cougars on Thursday night in primetime.
How many primetime games have you seenDrake play in and how have they
handled that spotlight if at all?If they just ignore it, I'd just
like to be curious how they feelwith that pressure on them. Now,
(12:41):
that's a great question. I mean, over the last couple of years,
more and more national nationally televised games. Uh. The Missouri Valley Conference has
a h you know package deal withESPN and CBS, So you know,
I have a handful of games they'llend up on TBS Sports Network, then
(13:01):
another handful of games I'll end upon the ESPN two ESPNU platform. Of
course, played you know with KevinHarlan on the call for Championship Sunday at
Arch Madness. So they've done thata couple of times. So the nationally
televised thing is one thing, butplaying in really tough environments, they've been
able to get a couple of thosegames this year playing at Indiana State,
(13:24):
sold out Holman Center, nine thousandplus. Team got down early with down
seventeen points in the first half,but came back, took the lead late,
led late in that game and endedup missing a couple of free throws
late that kept the Bulldogs from completingthe season sweep and winning a regular season
(13:45):
conference championship over Indiana State. Sothey've had some of those experiences. I
think, you know, throughout theyear, it was a little up and
down. Had a couple of rivalrygames with Northern Iowa where it was sold
out there, sold out at ourplace, and we won the home game,
lost the road game, lost theroad game at Indiana State, and
(14:07):
so it's been a little bit upand down some of those like big time
atmospheres, but at the same time, when it mattered most in Saint Louis,
big crowds again, Drake came through. So that was really good to
see some of the newcomers like atand Wright and Kevin Overton and Kolbe Garland
step up. You know, getthat experience early on, and then you
(14:31):
know, when those big crowds cameagain, season on the line, they
came through. Hey, Michael,do you think it's a motivating factors still,
even though you guys have all kindsof experience three NCAA tournaments in the
last four years, to play againsta power five opponent. Yeah, no
doubt about it. You know,it's really hard. I'm sure you've heard
(14:52):
this and it's probably kind of getsannoying, but it's really hard as a
mid major to schedule those big games. For example, we had a really
good tournament set up in the CaymanIslands. It still turned out to be
a really good tournament with Utah Statein there as well in Akron and Oakland
some other good schools, but oleMis and Wake Forest were supposed to be
(15:16):
in that tournament. But when theysaw Drake and when they saw Utah State
in that tournament, both of thosePower five schools backed out at the last
second, and so it we literallysaw Power five schools running from Drake.
So yeah, we also don't getthat opportunity in state anymore. Iowa State
(15:39):
and Iowa have chosen out to playDrake or Northern Iowa here in the state.
So several different times we've seen Powerfive schools run in the NCAA tournament.
You can't hide, you know,the selection committee, they picked the
games, and this is a bigopportunity for for our guys to you know,
(16:02):
play at power five school. Hey, Michael Carlos Rosario's on the roster
there. He used to be inPullman playing for Washington State. It looks
like he's just a role player there. Yeah. Yeah, well there's like
a little bit of a swap,if you will, of players because Joe,
YESIFU played at Drake before going toKansas and then to Washington State.
I know he's he got hurt earlyon. But we love Joe here,
(16:26):
miss Joe. He was a greatplayer for us, helped lead us to
our first NCAA tournament win in fiftyyears. He was a key player on
that team. So a lot oflove for Joe. And then yeah,
Carlos Rosario, I would say,yes, he is a role player,
but lately he has been a significantpiece for us off the bench, especially
in you know that tournament style threegames in three days. He's the guy
(16:49):
that spells Tucker Devrees for a coupleof minutes, and so when Tucker's out,
you know the opponents, you know, ears go up, you know
the radar goes up, like thisis our opportunity to maybe go on the
attack. And Carlos has been greaton the defensive end. Yet you're not
gonna see anything from his numbers withit with points or you know, anything
(17:11):
like that. But defensively he's beenhe's really come a long way this season,
and he's pulled down a couple ofbig rebounds during those you know,
five eight minute stretches of games wherehe's come in and helped to help spell
Spell Debris. I don't know ifwe'll see him Thursday night, but I
know he's excited. You know,when that name pops up, it's hard
(17:33):
not to have a little extra,a little extra juice. So yes,
I know he's excited to be ableto play his former team. Last thing
for you, Michael, and we'retalking to Michael Admire. He's a play
by play guy for Drake the Bulldogsfacing the Kougs and Omaha Nebraska Thursday night,
seven oh five tip on True TV. Two hour drive from campus to
(17:53):
Omaha, Nebraska. I'm expecting it'sgoing to be quite the road game for
Washington State. Your your squad travelwell, I've really traveled well over the
last few seasons. Again, allthis has been happening in like the last
six years since coach Debris got toDes Moines. Uh So that's why I
(18:14):
kind of keep referencing the last youknow, three, four, five,
six years, because everything has changedin Des Moines since then and has taken
a little while to kind of galvanizethe fan base, but man, they
have, They're bought in, they'reloving the product on the court, and
had a huge contingency again down inSaint Louis. It's really grown over that
(18:37):
six year span. You know,at the at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament,
there's a good alumni base in theor in Omaha, so you already
kind of have some built in fansin that area. It's a short drive,
of course, two hours away,and then I think it's going to
get interesting with just like the neutralcourt, neutral site set up. Iowa
(19:02):
State is also in that same session, so you have basically I eighty west.
They should just expand it to sixlanes, just one way for twenty
four hours, it's all westbound trafficfrom I eighty from central Iowa to Omaha.
Because there's gonna be a ton ofIowa State fans there. It's gonna
(19:22):
be almost overwhelming how many Iowa Statefans will be there. And then I
think there'll be a really good contingencyof Drake blue and white in attendance and
then you'll also see a ton ofSouth Dakota State fans come down, So
it'll be interesting to see how thedynamics start to shape in that neutral site
set up, because I do thinkDrake's gonna travel really well. We have
(19:48):
like nine hundred ticket requests already,so trying to fill those up as much
as possible. But then I thinkIowa State fans might turn and cheer for
Drake in that late game. Yeah, so it'll be it will be a
really fun environment down there in Omaha. Well, this promise is to be
a game that goes down to thewire, because Las Vegas is usually right
(20:11):
on this kind of stuff. TheKoops opened as a one and a half
point favorite, and Drake is nowfavored by one and a half. How
do you see it playing out?Oh boy, man, that's a tough
question. I do feel like ithopefully will go go down to the wire.
The Washington State, the lenk ofWashington State gives me a lot of
(20:32):
concern because I Drake has had someissues this season facing long, long teams,
big teams that can especially rebound onthe offensive board. So I'm really
concerned about that. Seeing the offenseget stagnant. But yeah, I mean
(20:52):
I think Drake has a chance.I really do. I think they've got
a really good chance coming up onThursday Day. But let's just put it
at that. I mean, Idon't know, what would you want me
to say on the on the Voiceof the Bulldog. Well, you know,
you could say, I think theGoog's are gonna win by twenty.
Why don't you try that? Oh, yeah, it's the boys. I'm
(21:12):
sure that would go over well forhim. Yeah, just pander to each
each audience that I'm talking to exactly. I'm usually I'm usually pretty good at
that, But now I feel likeit's going to be a really good game.
I hope it comes down to thewire, and yeah, I think
the Bulldogs have a shot to winthis one. They haven't made it to
the round of thirty two since theearly seventies, So yeah, there's there's
(21:37):
a lot of hope on the linesof this game. And I know locally
everybody's intrigued at what could happen withan Iowa State Drake, you know,
match up with a chance to goto the Sweet sixteen in Omaha. I
mean, yeah, local TV,that everything around here, everybody's pushing for
that. But I've started watching thisWashington State team and know how good I
(22:00):
know how good they are, howgood they're playing right now. Well,
you're nicer than me, Michael.You are really ignore him. Thank you
so much, don't you? Thankyou? Michael, appreciate your time to
say yeah, yeah, no,it was great. I appreciate you all.
There, he goes Michael Admire theplay by play man for the Drake
Bulldogs and again the Kook's taking onDrake Thursday in Omaha seven oh five tip
(22:25):
True TV. I yeah, Itold Kyle Smith earlier that I'm nervous about
this game. I think all Kookfans are nervous about it, and rightly
so. You look at Drake twentyeight and six, the star player,
they have, the shooting, theyhave, uh and then it's going to
be like a home court advantage forthem. They're in Omaha, just a
two hour drive from Des Moines.All right, Coming up next, we're
going to talk about the bracket.I want to see what Jessman thinks if
(22:48):
she's got a Cinderella in mind,who she has for the final four will
break all of that, or atleast some of it down When we return,
it's sh More with Jessment McIntyre infor Pock Sports ninety three point three
KJRFM. During the next segment,Ian Forness coming up at one o'clock,
and a special show tomorrow from thesnow Quality Casino Bracketology broadcast. Boy,
(23:12):
that sounds really important there from SoqualCasino, presented by Hunt A little sarcasm
in that, I'm trying to getthe sponsors out if you don't mind,
Yeah, no, please do that, but do it with less derision.
You know what, you know what. I'm glad you're interrupting me. It
makes me feel like Puck is back. Presented by Hunt Services, Twin Peaks,
the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling andSnoqualmy Casino. This show will help
(23:34):
you fill out your bracket and discusswhich games to bet on. In case
you think Ian and Jess can helpyou out, make sure you tune into
that show tomorrow. I know Icould use some help. I admitted to
you. I follow PAC twelve basketballvery closely, the national scene not so
much. It's a lot. Imean, look at our brackets. I
(23:56):
don't know if you've printed yours outyet or not. But oh no,
you do. I look like aprintout kind of guy. So I did.
I filled mine out today. TheKevin Shockey Pool actually signed up.
And I mean you're looking at sixtyfour teams and that's not including conference tournaments
that you have to pay attention totoo. So how did they do in
their own region and then all ofa sudden they're thrust into the northeast,
(24:18):
South and west or midwest? Ishould say where they're going to play?
So no, it's kind of impossible. That's why those bracketology shows can be
so helpful. Yeah, I thinkI told you driving up from Portland yesterday
or last night listening to serious XMguys talk about it, and boy,
there's just it. It's all overthe map. I mean, right now,
most of the talk is about theteams that didn't make it in,
(24:41):
and even I think it was MadDog that made the point of we won't
be talking about this once the tournamentstarts, right, But like Saint John's
has a case for making it in, there's all these different teams. I
guess Oklahoma was the last team thatdidn't make it in Seaton Hall, Indiana
State, Pittsburgh. But typically theseteams that are the first four out.
(25:03):
They're not going to factor in downthe road anyway. I mean, you
still think they can make a casefor getting in, so you understand why
they're upset about it. So that'sall the talk last night. But then
there was also talk about Yukon andHouston, the one seeds in North Carolina
Perdue. Will this be a yearwhere the one seeds actually come through and
we see all of them in thefinal four. I can't remember the last
(25:25):
year that's happened. It's been awhile, and we know how it's just
flushed with upsets, March madness,and we're all trying to figure it out
because we're all trying to win moneyin our pools. Well, yeah,
and it's fun. I'm more intothe bragging rights than the money that comes
out of it. And you know, it's almost like it could be equated
to Super Bowl Square sometimes where youcould watch basketball. But there's going to
(25:47):
be a luck of the draw pickwhen it comes to picking your brackets.
I will say I'm not pure chalk, but I have a lot of chalk
in mind. But I only haveone number. I'm sorry, Yeah,
I have two number one seeds.It's in my final four, and I
have a number one seed winning itall. Okay, who who's in your
final four? So I have Yukon, Duke, North Carolina, and Kansas.
(26:08):
So my number one seeds are Yukonand North Carolina. Yeah, some
people think Duke might lose to Vermontin the first round. You concerned about
that? I have them not doingwhat they have done in disappointment era in
the past. But I am alittle bit concerned about that, and I
almost picked that, but I wouldn'thave had Vermont going beyond the second round,
(26:30):
So I was okay with going withDuke. How far do you have
the Pac twelve teams going? Ihave Let's see, I've got Washington State
losing to Illinois, so I dohave them in the sweet sixteen. Oh,
you got them in the sweet sixteen? I do. You haven't beaten
in Iowa State? I do?All right, I do. How about
yourself? Well, I'm going tohave him go to the final four.
(26:51):
Is that okay with you? Ilove it? Yeah. Bring it on
the thing about the cougzough And everybodywas talking about this again last night nationally
the East, that East region isloaded. They feel like it was two
loaded like some of the other youknow, the regions aren't nearly as tough,
and yet Washington State Kyle Smith,we talked to him earlier in the
(27:12):
show. He's comfortable with Washington Stategetting a seven seed. Tough matchup early
on against Drake. Drake is nowa one and a half point favorite,
and then you got to face IowaState and just like you said, I
mean Illinois in the next round.After that, you also have Yukon in
that region. You've got Auburn thefour seed, and I was looking at
(27:32):
the odds for teams to win thewhole thing. Yukon's a favorite at four
to one. They're in the Koopsregion. And then the other ones,
Auburn's fourteen to one, Iowa Statetwenty to one, and Illinois twenty five
to one. If you want tothrow your money away like me, Washington
Washington State is one hundred and twentyto one, one hundred and twenty to
one to win the whole thing.Only one hundred and twenty to one.
(27:53):
That's not too bad for us.I mean, why not just throw a
five spot on it? Well,yeah, with those kinds of odds,
Yeah, go for it. Whynot five or tenor Yeah, I'm gonna
go with Washington State in the finalfour, no surprise to anyone there.
I don't care if it's the toughregion. We have a hell of a
team. If we're firing on allcylinders, and if Miles Rice can maybe
make a three once in his life, that might help on gym. I
(28:15):
know that, I know. Ilove you, Miles. You've had a
great season Freshman of the Year,but we need you to start making those
threes if we're gonna go any fartherthis season. I've got so I've got
the Koogs in the final four alongwith Houston. Houston's my favorite to win
the whole thing because I hear howgreat their defense is. It's not like
I necessarily want Kelvin Sampson to wina championship, but what the hell.
(28:36):
If I've got money on you,Calvin, go for it. I'm gonna
take Houston Illinois. I've got NorthCarolina, and I'm also gonna go with
a dark horse here, Cinderella team. I liked what I saw from Oregon
at the Pac twelve tournament, soI'm gonna go with Oregon on eleven seed
to surprise all the odds. Makersand the people who know what they're talking
about as opposed to me and gowith the Ducks in the final four.
(28:59):
Okay, that's in to me,but I love it. I love it.
It's insane. Well yeah, Ijust don't. I don't see them
getting out of the first round.But that's just me. Isn't there always
a crazy team in the final four? There is there is. It brings
me all the way back to StephCurry's tournament day is to tell you the
truth, and I think they onlymade it to the Elite eight with him
if I am correct on that one. But yeah, we have seen some
(29:21):
great stories. I just feel likeI always picked the wrong one in my
bracket, so I went a littleheavy handed when it came to my picks.
I do have Arizona also in thesweet sixteen. I do not have
Oregon advancing out of the first round, so there are some I have the
Zags losing to Kansas in just thesecond round, so I don't have a
lot coming out of our state orregion. Now you look at Gonzaga,
(29:42):
that's a Thursday game, four twentyfive TBS against McNee State. That McNee
State, I'm not going to sithere and tell you I know anything about
him other than Joe Dumars. Heused to play there a long time ago.
Uh thirty and three. Though.I don't care what your competition is.
If you have a thirty win team, it's going to be a formidable
(30:03):
task for Gonzaga Thursday again, fourtwenty five on TBS. So yeah,
it's all gonna play out. Itgets started, get started tomorrow with the
play in games Wagner against Howard,Colorado State against Virginia. Tony Bennett is
in the first four game. Takethe under in that game, Jess.
Anytime Tony Bennett's teams are playing,you want to go on the under there
Colorado State and Virginia. And thenon Wednesday, another first four game from
(30:26):
dayton all on True TV, Gramblingagainst Montana State, Colorado against Boise State,
and then the tournament proper getting underwayon Thursday. We're gonna be off
the air Thursday and Friday, andyou can catch all the coverage here on
Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM. Isn't that lovely? I love
(30:48):
that we have all the games.Oh man, it's gonna be fun.
Can't wait. I'm excited about it. I'm also excited about the guy that's
going to host the show at oneo'clock. He's going to join us next
that's Ian forness. It's Jim marJessman McIntyre Fox Sports Radio ninety three point
three kJ R FM. I'm good. I'm yeah, it's good. God.
I mean, if you would havetold me this in November, I
wouldn't have believed that they were goingto be in the tournament, like really,
(31:11):
like this team that was an nT first round exit team last year
and lost Rodman and Bomba, hell, even Carlos Rozario, who I think
plays for Drake, right, Imean, so yeah, I mean it's
yeah, I wouldn't have no soanything here is a bonus. It's awesome.
It's a great time of the year. I mean, I'll bitch about
some of the seedings and stuff.We'll do that more with Gary Parish tomorrow.
(31:33):
I mean, it's what Gonzaga gotwas a joke, Like, so
the Catholic School benefits from the MormonSchool not being able to play on Sundays
getting to play in Salt Lake likewhatever. But that did not sound like
a whatever. It's just stupid,But Godzach goes on the bubble through two
weeks ago, and now they're afive seed playing in Salt Lake. Really,
(31:56):
I like that Saint Mary's is inSpokane. They're not going to get
a heroes welcome there all. Butthe whole thing about protecting the seeds.
So Washington State doesn't play in Spokane, but but Drake plays two hours from
where their campus is as a tenseed. It's the same thing. Yeah,
(32:19):
that's a good point. It's theexact same thing. I'll tell you
why. I think it happened atone o'clock today. But yeah, hey,
you know what, whatever, screwjust go win a game. Take
a chance with Fowa State. Ilove the fact that everyone's betting against the
Coops. Now, that's the mosttypical thing in the world. We're the
popular pick to get beat, right, everyone's going with win. Yeah.
Yeah, the team to be winsevery year. Yeah. And the team
(32:40):
that you know, the Indiana Stateshould have been in. But then they
said big Steeler comes. All that'sgreat. Listen, bet against us,
bet against them all day. Now. If Miles Rice doesn't hit a shot,
they ain't gonna win. And hehas been really bad, like really
bad. I love the kid.But he can't. I mean, he
has got to hit a shot.And I say hit a shot, I
(33:02):
mean something other than driving to thebasket. And we we talked to Kyle
Smith about that. He's over hislast twenty two he has not hit a
three and more than a month.I know, I know, more than
a month. You can it's notlike he's got a good shot. Well,
I thought Smith was saying, justdon't hesitate, just shoot it.
Yeah. I thought Don McClain hada great point, one of the few
(33:22):
things on Miss with the Pac twelvenetwork not being around anymore. I Don
McClain's great, like the all timeleading score in the conference, and he
had a great point on Friday talkingabout he looks like he's aiming. You
know, now, if Don McClainagain, all time leading score in the
conference is seeing something like that,hopefully the Wazoo coaches are seeing it too.
I'd get Donald Watts over there rightnow. Hopefully he's there. I
(33:45):
mean, no one is better atcoaching kids shooting and stuff like that than
Donald had. He's worked with JalenWells this year a little bit that seems
to work out pretty well. Theyneed to figure that out. Because it's
like one thing to not hit athree in a month and a half.
Two then you can't be turning theball over on a two on one fast
break in a one point game behindyour back. Stuff, that stuff.
Just that game meant nothing on Fridayoutside and maybe maybe would have got a
(34:09):
six seed whatever, right, itjust didn't meant Yeah, I'd be nice
to want to do conference, butthat's what it meant. But he's got
to be better, and I thinkhe will be better. I think I
i'd rather him be you know wherehe is right now than then, you
know, on Thursday. So let'slet's get it fixed and ware we go.
But uh, hell man, thisseason. I watched him during halftime
(34:29):
the Colorado game, Yeah, fiveor six, when I was watching from
three, all warming up. Yeah, just effortless. Yeah, just kind
of like us in his head,Like I said, the range, it's
funny you say that. It's funnyyou say that, like I'm my bump
and run. My chips have beenso good. And then the other day
I had one of those on numbertwo at Druids, and not only did
I chunk it into the water likejust inexplicably, like kind of like when
(34:52):
Miles shoots and airball, I alsojam my wrist in the process. It's
like I just number two in thewater. Yeah, okay, I mean
so you're quite aways from the greenthere. No, it's just run it
up on the side there. Okay, I'm just a little bump and run.
No, just off the toe inthere. And you know, wrist
hurts afterwards. And you know,I'm old and I'm not an athlete like
(35:13):
they are. But yeah, it'sin your head. You can I could
hit that same shot on the rangea thousand times. It's gonna go in
the little bucket or right by thebucket. Nope, that's what happened.
Miles could hit that shot every day. And he's a bowler right now,
probably hitting ninety nine out of onehundred. But he's got to hit those.
So what Hey, great time ofthe year though, huh, what
a great time this is. Thisis the best time of the year.
That opening day. Next week yougot March Madness. First two rounds.
(35:35):
We're off Thursday and Friday. Doesit get any better than that? Perfect?
I think you mentioned there. Yes, we're off Thursday and Friday.
Off Thursday. Yeah, No,it's awesome. It's an awesome thanks for
letting me borrow dress. I didn'thave a chance. I didn't have a
choice choice in the matter of well, let me thank you anyway. What
does shift my little octopus hands?And I just got a text and since
she's working with you today, sothat's fine. Andrews and I rape together
(36:00):
a show somehow. So we're gettingIsaac Jones is going to join us from
Washington State University, the first teamAll Pack twelve selection. What a story
he has, so well we'll go. I'm fascinated to find out how a
guy from Ording ends up when actuallyValley College, which I barely even knew
how to program, like I knowPierce has a good basketball program, and
(36:22):
Tacoma CCE and Green Rivers has beenall right in the past. I didn't
even know when actually Valley had gota junior college program from there to Idaho
and now first team All Pack twelveselection. So we'll talk to him coming
up at twelve thirty or one thirtyroughly today we will do a little mollywop
and weren't gonna do it, butNathan just got back from spring training and
he's got some stuff we want todiscuss including what what they need to do
(36:42):
the final week heading into opening daynext week. So big show coming Upstens
love the Mollywop Yeah, oh goodthe Molly Whoppers. I'm glad, Yeah
they are? Yes, I Fornessais next. My thanks to Chris Kid
for running the show there from behindthe glass. Jesseman McIntyre, I really
appreciate your time. I'll be backtomorrow with booth at ten o'clock. No
shirt, no shoes, no dies. Anybody like to smoke some point I
(37:07):
was both on I was do lickyour face. I was both to rob
you, but you were born torob me first. What do you mean
my best for we like to songo mother rob Mercy. I don't think
that my nat
Oh my gosh, No, yeah, no problem at all. Happy to
join you. I do want tolike flood your listeners with a bunch of
me rambling on about Drake basketball.So I wanted to make sure that that
was good. But it's been agood day. We're soaking up, you
know, a third NCAA appearance infour years. It's kind of crazy around
these parts with that, with thatstat but yeah, all's good. Well,
(00:22):
Michael, we appreciate your time.And I listened to you talked to
Chuck and Bucky this morning at eighto'clock. And you know, they always
say, you're in the radio business, there's different listeners at different parts of
the day, and you're talking.You're talking to a couple of Washington State
koogs here, Jess McIntyre and myselfJim Moore, and we're excited about this
matchup, but we're a little we'renervous about it because you guys have experience,
(00:44):
you got three point shooters, andthere's a lot to fear with those
Drake Bulldogs, isn't there. Yeah, I mean I think it's a I
think it's a really good matchup bothteams with you know, I don't say
like two similar style, but it'snot you know, overly contradictory isle of
play. So I think that makesfor a fun matchup. You know,
a couple of teams that you know, started with some new faces early on
(01:10):
or there are a lot of newfaces early on in the season and have
kind of figured it out as theseason has gone on, had some adversity
along the way, and you know, made their way into an NC Double
A tournament, and so yeah,I think that's that's fun and one aspect,
But yeah, the straight team isbattle tested, if you will.
Had to win the Missouri Valley Conferencetournament to make their way into the into
(01:34):
the n C Double A tournament.As we saw, the bubble shrunk quickly
this this past weekend. So unfortunatelyIndiana State, who is a team that
was you know, twenty ninth inthe net, had a great resume.
We got them on on championships Sundayin the Missouri Valley Tournament and they're left
(01:56):
hosting an n I T game.So we're just to be on this side
of things. But I got astar in Tucker Devrees, got a big
man and Darnell Brody and I havehad some pieces really step up, especially
from the guard play down the stretchthat has helped push this team back into
the big dance. Thank you somuch, Michael Admar who does play by
play for Drake Basketball for joining ushere. Doesn't Ben McIntyre and Jim Moore
(02:22):
talking to you? And I meanyou just mentioned the one name Tucker DeVries
who strikes fear into my heart assomeone who is going for the koops.
I'm wondering the adverse side of thatfor you. Who scares you on Washington
State's team. Oh, that's agood question. Getting a chance to kind
of just start to dive in toWashington State the guy that kind of stands
(02:43):
out to me is Miles Rice.Maybe it's just like his personality and his
style of play. He just lookslike a guy that'll just be fearless when
it comes to the tournament. Butand hearing a little bit of his backstory,
love his story and what he's beenthrough over the last two plus years.
And to see him, you know, have this opportunity. You know
(03:04):
that what any challenges he'll face inthe n c HILLA Tournament will be nothing
what he's faced in life. Soyeah, it scares me when you got
a guy like that's playing free confidentlyand has you know, become very comfortable
and his style of play and youknow, guard play this time of year
(03:25):
is extremely important. And I gota little fear when it comes to,
you know, how he plays withIsaac Jones, you know, a little
if they get a little two mangame going. Drake has had some trouble
with the big man pick and roll. Luckily for Drake on one side that
Isaac Jones is that much of athree point shooter. That's where Drake really
gets nabbed is when you have apick and pop five. But Miles Rice,
(03:50):
he's the guy that really pops out. Hey, Michael, I enjoyed
the video that I saw today thatyou posted on Twitter about there's some sort
of slogan that the Drake bowledus havewhen things go bad. Essentially they just
say good and it's their way.It sounds like of like we're going to
handle all kinds of adversity. It'sno big deal. We're gonna come out
on top no matter what. How'dthat video come about and have the team
(04:14):
adopt that slogan? Yeah, soyou know it's maybe not We're gonna come
out on top no matter what,but we're gonna embrace whatever challenges come our
way and no matter what happens,we accept it with we accept it for
what it is and and good let'slet's take it on. So it's it's
interesting how that video came about.First off, the word kind of throughout
(04:38):
the year, it was like aplayful use of good and they're you know,
just the guys in the locker roomand you know good, good in
the weight room, whatever it maybe that they're kind of always just long
drawn out good, which is fun. You know, those kind of things
pop up throughout the season. Buton Championship Sunday, prior to prior to
(04:59):
you know, walk through in theballroom and prior to taking the bus over
to the arena, one of theassistant coaches pulled out a clip from the
Jocko Willink podcast. And I don'tknow if you guys have heard Jocko speak.
This guy is he's awesome and he'sa former military guy and he's so
good on a podcast. But hehad about a two minute clip from his
(05:23):
podcast where it was that he deliveredthat message. You know, when adversity
strikes, something goes wrong, youanswer, answer the bell. With good
and Drake was up by double digitsin the second half against Indiana State and
he saw that play out. Youknow, the adversity hit that team in
that game. Drake was up doubledigits and they lost the lead in a
(05:46):
matter of five minutes stretch. IndianState went on a nineteen to three run
and Drake was down with four minutesto play, just like that, and
they found a way to win thegame. And so talking to the team
app, you know, how didthat message in pregame play out in the
game, And we thought that'd bea fun thing to then turn into a
video, And now it is aT shirt. One of the local T
(06:11):
shirt companies has turned that into aT shirt, So I imagine there will
be some Drake fans wearing that inOmaha this weekend. Yeah, it actually
sounds like the personality of Drake mirrorsthe Kougs in some ways when it comes
to that fighting against all the odds, there's the underdog. And we have
our friends over at Simply Seattle whodo T shirts in that exact same way.
(06:32):
It can just be one moment inthe game that everyone gravitates towards.
So it'll be fun to watch youguys face our own beloved kooks here and
I'm just wondering, can you meanthat's just some great inspiration. But would
you describe the personality of the DrakeBulldogs as we have just fallen in love
with the personality of these koogs nowand when you say they seem to kind
(06:57):
of pattern each other, both ofthese teams and personalities, that was like
my first impression watching some of thevideos from Washington State and uh, you
know, seeing how they play andsome of the diversity that they had been
through. Yeah, it was almostlike a carbon copy. Coaches kind of
started about the same time with theirrespective programs as well, so there's kind
of that that correlation as well.But I think when you talk to coach
(07:21):
the coach Davs, the teams thathe wants to build at Drake are gritty,
tough, and together, and that'sexactly what this team has done.
They've gotten, uh they've had towin some gritty games. They can win
in multiple multiple ways with tough defenseor uh you know, they can put
(07:41):
up some points, they can theycan run with the with the best in
the country. Uh So, yeah, I would say those are kind of
the three words that have galvanized thisthe maybe even just defined the culture since
coach Davers has gotten here talking toMichael Admire's that played by play guy for
for Drake the Bulldogs taken on theKoup there in Omaha Thursday seven o five
(08:03):
tip off and it's going to beon True TV. What about the relationship
between the coach and his son.I mean, he's got the star player.
I mean there's a lot to talkabout there because I imagine that Darien
Devrees is a hot coaching candidate thereafter the success that he's had. Yeah,
I mean, on one hand,Yeah, anytime there's an opening in
(08:24):
college basketball, Darren's name has beenlinked to it. We experienced it with
Kansas State a couple of years ago. Jerome Tangen's up getting that job.
We've heard it with Slew Saint Louisover the past couple of weeks. I'll
go in the state. I meanjust anytime there's a name that pops up
or or a position that pops open, Darren's name has been linked to it,
(08:46):
no doubt about it. So we'reused to that and we'll just can't
see out all plays out, butwe feel comfortable that he wants to stay
in Iowa and likes and loves beingat Drake. So we're going to cling
on to him as long as wepossibly can. Uh. When it comes
to the relationship with Tucker and kindof that dynamic, obviously, UH,
(09:07):
they're they're really close. Uh theyhave Uh you know, this whole thing
started before when Tucker was in highschool. You know, started when Tucker
was in high school, and sohe didn't have that star player at first.
But Uh, now Tucker has youknow, come through the program,
seen it from what it was sixyears ago to now being a part of
(09:28):
it, and you know, beingin back to back in CUAA tournaments.
So I know there's a lot ofpride within that family of what they have
accomplished here. And then when wetalk about the coaching aspect of it,
you know, how does Darren coachTucker and tough situations. Well, he's
got a really good coaching staff aroundhim. Specifically, you got to point
(09:50):
out Nick Norton. He's a formerplayer at Drake. UH transferred from UA
B to play his final year atDrake and now is on staff UH with
men's basketball team. He's younger andcan just he connects a lot to the
players at Drake and specifically Tucker,and they have a really good working relationship.
(10:13):
And so Darren on one hand asthe head coach, and he makes
the calls and he calls the shots, but he leans on you, Nick
and some of the other coaches tomaybe deliver the message to Tucker because it's
a little you know, sometimes theeasier hearing a message come from somebody else
rather than your dad, when thatmessage has been coming your way for twenty
(10:33):
plus years. Boy, the starplayer, Tucker degrees twenty two points a
game thirty eight percent from three inconference play. Grew up in Omaha before
he moved, and so going backthere, I'm sure it's going to be
a fun night for him. Whatcan you tell us about his game?
I mean, clearly he's a goodoutside shooter, but I bet he's got
all kinds of fastest to his game. Yeah, that's the thing. He
(10:54):
can score at all levels. Imean, he can work in the post
if he gets the right man.He likes playing down, feels comfortable playing
in the post. His mid rangegame is very impressive. Uh, he's
got uh, he's got a fadeawayjumper that is really hard to defend.
Uh. You look at the championshipgame. Uh, Tucker had a really
(11:18):
tough second half, but you know, late in the game, they dropped
some action for Tucker. He getsinto the paint and makes the shot that
basically seals the game. So uhhe Yeah, he can score from all
levels, which make which makes himextremely dangerous. He's a really good rebounder.
Uh will bring the ball up attimes. And you know something we've
(11:39):
seen a lot this season is,you know, with a lot of the
new surrounding cast around him, allthe attention goes to Tucker at times two
three bodies will go to him.He has been so good at drawing that
attention and then having to wherewithal tothen find the open guy. And the
(12:00):
team is starting to feel really comfortablewith you know, when the attension comes
to Tucker like that, everybody knowswhere to find their spacing, where to
cut, where to be at onthe court. And so that's what's made
this team or really taking this hthis season to the next levels. How
that team is, how the teamis playing around Tucker when attention comes his
(12:20):
way. Michael Lamar are joining usplay by play for the Drake Bulldogs,
who will be facing off against theWashington State Cougars on Thursday night in primetime.
How many primetime games have you seenDrake play in and how have they
handled that spotlight if at all?If they just ignore it, I'd just
like to be curious how they feelwith that pressure on them. Now,
(12:41):
that's a great question. I mean, over the last couple of years,
more and more national nationally televised games. Uh. The Missouri Valley Conference has
a h you know package deal withESPN and CBS, So you know,
I have a handful of games they'llend up on TBS Sports Network, then
(13:01):
another handful of games I'll end upon the ESPN two ESPNU platform. Of
course, played you know with KevinHarlan on the call for Championship Sunday at
Arch Madness. So they've done thata couple of times. So the nationally
televised thing is one thing, butplaying in really tough environments, they've been
able to get a couple of thosegames this year playing at Indiana State,
(13:24):
sold out Holman Center, nine thousandplus. Team got down early with down
seventeen points in the first half,but came back, took the lead late,
led late in that game and endedup missing a couple of free throws
late that kept the Bulldogs from completingthe season sweep and winning a regular season
(13:45):
conference championship over Indiana State. Sothey've had some of those experiences. I
think, you know, throughout theyear, it was a little up and
down. Had a couple of rivalrygames with Northern Iowa where it was sold
out there, sold out at ourplace, and we won the home game,
lost the road game, lost theroad game at Indiana State, and
(14:07):
so it's been a little bit upand down some of those like big time
atmospheres, but at the same time, when it mattered most in Saint Louis,
big crowds again, Drake came through. So that was really good to
see some of the newcomers like atand Wright and Kevin Overton and Kolbe Garland
step up. You know, getthat experience early on, and then you
(14:31):
know, when those big crowds cameagain, season on the line, they
came through. Hey, Michael,do you think it's a motivating factors still,
even though you guys have all kindsof experience three NCAA tournaments in the
last four years, to play againsta power five opponent. Yeah, no
doubt about it. You know,it's really hard. I'm sure you've heard
(14:52):
this and it's probably kind of getsannoying, but it's really hard as a
mid major to schedule those big games. For example, we had a really
good tournament set up in the CaymanIslands. It still turned out to be
a really good tournament with Utah Statein there as well in Akron and Oakland
some other good schools, but oleMis and Wake Forest were supposed to be
(15:16):
in that tournament. But when theysaw Drake and when they saw Utah State
in that tournament, both of thosePower five schools backed out at the last
second, and so it we literallysaw Power five schools running from Drake.
So yeah, we also don't getthat opportunity in state anymore. Iowa State
(15:39):
and Iowa have chosen out to playDrake or Northern Iowa here in the state.
So several different times we've seen Powerfive schools run in the NCAA tournament.
You can't hide, you know,the selection committee, they picked the
games, and this is a bigopportunity for for our guys to you know,
(16:02):
play at power five school. Hey, Michael Carlos Rosario's on the roster
there. He used to be inPullman playing for Washington State. It looks
like he's just a role player there. Yeah. Yeah, well there's like
a little bit of a swap,if you will, of players because Joe,
YESIFU played at Drake before going toKansas and then to Washington State.
I know he's he got hurt earlyon. But we love Joe here,
(16:26):
miss Joe. He was a greatplayer for us, helped lead us to
our first NCAA tournament win in fiftyyears. He was a key player on
that team. So a lot oflove for Joe. And then yeah,
Carlos Rosario, I would say,yes, he is a role player,
but lately he has been a significantpiece for us off the bench, especially
in you know that tournament style threegames in three days. He's the guy
(16:49):
that spells Tucker Devrees for a coupleof minutes, and so when Tucker's out,
you know the opponents, you know, ears go up, you know
the radar goes up, like thisis our opportunity to maybe go on the
attack. And Carlos has been greaton the defensive end. Yet you're not
gonna see anything from his numbers withit with points or you know, anything
(17:11):
like that. But defensively he's beenhe's really come a long way this season,
and he's pulled down a couple ofbig rebounds during those you know,
five eight minute stretches of games wherehe's come in and helped to help spell
Spell Debris. I don't know ifwe'll see him Thursday night, but I
know he's excited. You know,when that name pops up, it's hard
(17:33):
not to have a little extra,a little extra juice. So yes,
I know he's excited to be ableto play his former team. Last thing
for you, Michael, and we'retalking to Michael Admire. He's a play
by play guy for Drake the Bulldogsfacing the Kougs and Omaha Nebraska Thursday night,
seven oh five tip on True TV. Two hour drive from campus to
(17:53):
Omaha, Nebraska. I'm expecting it'sgoing to be quite the road game for
Washington State. Your your squad travelwell, I've really traveled well over the
last few seasons. Again, allthis has been happening in like the last
six years since coach Debris got toDes Moines. Uh So that's why I
(18:14):
kind of keep referencing the last youknow, three, four, five,
six years, because everything has changedin Des Moines since then and has taken
a little while to kind of galvanizethe fan base, but man, they
have, They're bought in, they'reloving the product on the court, and
had a huge contingency again down inSaint Louis. It's really grown over that
(18:37):
six year span. You know,at the at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament,
there's a good alumni base in theor in Omaha, so you already
kind of have some built in fansin that area. It's a short drive,
of course, two hours away,and then I think it's going to
get interesting with just like the neutralcourt, neutral site set up. Iowa
(19:02):
State is also in that same session, so you have basically I eighty west.
They should just expand it to sixlanes, just one way for twenty
four hours, it's all westbound trafficfrom I eighty from central Iowa to Omaha.
Because there's gonna be a ton ofIowa State fans there. It's gonna
(19:22):
be almost overwhelming how many Iowa Statefans will be there. And then I
think there'll be a really good contingencyof Drake blue and white in attendance and
then you'll also see a ton ofSouth Dakota State fans come down, So
it'll be interesting to see how thedynamics start to shape in that neutral site
set up, because I do thinkDrake's gonna travel really well. We have
(19:48):
like nine hundred ticket requests already,so trying to fill those up as much
as possible. But then I thinkIowa State fans might turn and cheer for
Drake in that late game. Yeah, so it'll be it will be a
really fun environment down there in Omaha. Well, this promise is to be
a game that goes down to thewire, because Las Vegas is usually right
(20:11):
on this kind of stuff. TheKoops opened as a one and a half
point favorite, and Drake is nowfavored by one and a half. How
do you see it playing out?Oh boy, man, that's a tough
question. I do feel like ithopefully will go go down to the wire.
The Washington State, the lenk ofWashington State gives me a lot of
(20:32):
concern because I Drake has had someissues this season facing long, long teams,
big teams that can especially rebound onthe offensive board. So I'm really
concerned about that. Seeing the offenseget stagnant. But yeah, I mean
(20:52):
I think Drake has a chance.I really do. I think they've got
a really good chance coming up onThursday Day. But let's just put it
at that. I mean, Idon't know, what would you want me
to say on the on the Voiceof the Bulldog. Well, you know,
you could say, I think theGoog's are gonna win by twenty.
Why don't you try that? Oh, yeah, it's the boys. I'm
(21:12):
sure that would go over well forhim. Yeah, just pander to each
each audience that I'm talking to exactly. I'm usually I'm usually pretty good at
that, But now I feel likeit's going to be a really good game.
I hope it comes down to thewire, and yeah, I think
the Bulldogs have a shot to winthis one. They haven't made it to
the round of thirty two since theearly seventies, So yeah, there's there's
(21:37):
a lot of hope on the linesof this game. And I know locally
everybody's intrigued at what could happen withan Iowa State Drake, you know,
match up with a chance to goto the Sweet sixteen in Omaha. I
mean, yeah, local TV,that everything around here, everybody's pushing for
that. But I've started watching thisWashington State team and know how good I
(22:00):
know how good they are, howgood they're playing right now. Well,
you're nicer than me, Michael.You are really ignore him. Thank you
so much, don't you? Thankyou? Michael, appreciate your time to
say yeah, yeah, no,it was great. I appreciate you all.
There, he goes Michael Admire theplay by play man for the Drake
Bulldogs and again the Kook's taking onDrake Thursday in Omaha seven oh five tip
(22:25):
True TV. I yeah, Itold Kyle Smith earlier that I'm nervous about
this game. I think all Kookfans are nervous about it, and rightly
so. You look at Drake twentyeight and six, the star player,
they have, the shooting, theyhave, uh and then it's going to
be like a home court advantage forthem. They're in Omaha, just a
two hour drive from Des Moines.All right, Coming up next, we're
going to talk about the bracket.I want to see what Jessman thinks if
(22:48):
she's got a Cinderella in mind,who she has for the final four will
break all of that, or atleast some of it down When we return,
it's sh More with Jessment McIntyre infor Pock Sports ninety three point three
KJRFM. During the next segment,Ian Forness coming up at one o'clock,
and a special show tomorrow from thesnow Quality Casino Bracketology broadcast. Boy,
(23:12):
that sounds really important there from SoqualCasino, presented by Hunt A little sarcasm
in that, I'm trying to getthe sponsors out if you don't mind,
Yeah, no, please do that, but do it with less derision.
You know what, you know what. I'm glad you're interrupting me. It
makes me feel like Puck is back. Presented by Hunt Services, Twin Peaks,
the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling andSnoqualmy Casino. This show will help
(23:34):
you fill out your bracket and discusswhich games to bet on. In case
you think Ian and Jess can helpyou out, make sure you tune into
that show tomorrow. I know Icould use some help. I admitted to
you. I follow PAC twelve basketballvery closely, the national scene not so
much. It's a lot. Imean, look at our brackets. I
(23:56):
don't know if you've printed yours outyet or not. But oh no,
you do. I look like aprintout kind of guy. So I did.
I filled mine out today. TheKevin Shockey Pool actually signed up.
And I mean you're looking at sixtyfour teams and that's not including conference tournaments
that you have to pay attention totoo. So how did they do in
their own region and then all ofa sudden they're thrust into the northeast,
(24:18):
South and west or midwest? Ishould say where they're going to play?
So no, it's kind of impossible. That's why those bracketology shows can be
so helpful. Yeah, I thinkI told you driving up from Portland yesterday
or last night listening to serious XMguys talk about it, and boy,
there's just it. It's all overthe map. I mean, right now,
most of the talk is about theteams that didn't make it in,
(24:41):
and even I think it was MadDog that made the point of we won't
be talking about this once the tournamentstarts, right, But like Saint John's
has a case for making it in, there's all these different teams. I
guess Oklahoma was the last team thatdidn't make it in Seaton Hall, Indiana
State, Pittsburgh. But typically theseteams that are the first four out.
(25:03):
They're not going to factor in downthe road anyway. I mean, you
still think they can make a casefor getting in, so you understand why
they're upset about it. So that'sall the talk last night. But then
there was also talk about Yukon andHouston, the one seeds in North Carolina
Perdue. Will this be a yearwhere the one seeds actually come through and
we see all of them in thefinal four. I can't remember the last
(25:25):
year that's happened. It's been awhile, and we know how it's just
flushed with upsets, March madness,and we're all trying to figure it out
because we're all trying to win moneyin our pools. Well, yeah,
and it's fun. I'm more intothe bragging rights than the money that comes
out of it. And you know, it's almost like it could be equated
to Super Bowl Square sometimes where youcould watch basketball. But there's going to
(25:47):
be a luck of the draw pickwhen it comes to picking your brackets.
I will say I'm not pure chalk, but I have a lot of chalk
in mind. But I only haveone number. I'm sorry, Yeah,
I have two number one seeds.It's in my final four, and I
have a number one seed winning itall. Okay, who who's in your
final four? So I have Yukon, Duke, North Carolina, and Kansas.
(26:08):
So my number one seeds are Yukonand North Carolina. Yeah, some
people think Duke might lose to Vermontin the first round. You concerned about
that? I have them not doingwhat they have done in disappointment era in
the past. But I am alittle bit concerned about that, and I
almost picked that, but I wouldn'thave had Vermont going beyond the second round,
(26:30):
So I was okay with going withDuke. How far do you have
the Pac twelve teams going? Ihave Let's see, I've got Washington State
losing to Illinois, so I dohave them in the sweet sixteen. Oh,
you got them in the sweet sixteen? I do. You haven't beaten
in Iowa State? I do?All right, I do. How about
yourself? Well, I'm going tohave him go to the final four.
(26:51):
Is that okay with you? Ilove it? Yeah. Bring it on
the thing about the cougzough And everybodywas talking about this again last night nationally
the East, that East region isloaded. They feel like it was two
loaded like some of the other youknow, the regions aren't nearly as tough,
and yet Washington State Kyle Smith,we talked to him earlier in the
(27:12):
show. He's comfortable with Washington Stategetting a seven seed. Tough matchup early
on against Drake. Drake is nowa one and a half point favorite,
and then you got to face IowaState and just like you said, I
mean Illinois in the next round.After that, you also have Yukon in
that region. You've got Auburn thefour seed, and I was looking at
(27:32):
the odds for teams to win thewhole thing. Yukon's a favorite at four
to one. They're in the Koopsregion. And then the other ones,
Auburn's fourteen to one, Iowa Statetwenty to one, and Illinois twenty five
to one. If you want tothrow your money away like me, Washington
Washington State is one hundred and twentyto one, one hundred and twenty to
one to win the whole thing.Only one hundred and twenty to one.
(27:53):
That's not too bad for us.I mean, why not just throw a
five spot on it? Well,yeah, with those kinds of odds,
Yeah, go for it. Whynot five or tenor Yeah, I'm gonna
go with Washington State in the finalfour, no surprise to anyone there.
I don't care if it's the toughregion. We have a hell of a
team. If we're firing on allcylinders, and if Miles Rice can maybe
make a three once in his life, that might help on gym. I
(28:15):
know that, I know. Ilove you, Miles. You've had a
great season Freshman of the Year,but we need you to start making those
threes if we're gonna go any fartherthis season. I've got so I've got
the Koogs in the final four alongwith Houston. Houston's my favorite to win
the whole thing because I hear howgreat their defense is. It's not like
I necessarily want Kelvin Sampson to wina championship, but what the hell.
(28:36):
If I've got money on you,Calvin, go for it. I'm gonna
take Houston Illinois. I've got NorthCarolina, and I'm also gonna go with
a dark horse here, Cinderella team. I liked what I saw from Oregon
at the Pac twelve tournament, soI'm gonna go with Oregon on eleven seed
to surprise all the odds. Makersand the people who know what they're talking
about as opposed to me and gowith the Ducks in the final four.
(28:59):
Okay, that's in to me,but I love it. I love it.
It's insane. Well yeah, Ijust don't. I don't see them
getting out of the first round.But that's just me. Isn't there always
a crazy team in the final four? There is there is. It brings
me all the way back to StephCurry's tournament day is to tell you the
truth, and I think they onlymade it to the Elite eight with him
if I am correct on that one. But yeah, we have seen some
(29:21):
great stories. I just feel likeI always picked the wrong one in my
bracket, so I went a littleheavy handed when it came to my picks.
I do have Arizona also in thesweet sixteen. I do not have
Oregon advancing out of the first round, so there are some I have the
Zags losing to Kansas in just thesecond round, so I don't have a
lot coming out of our state orregion. Now you look at Gonzaga,
(29:42):
that's a Thursday game, four twentyfive TBS against McNee State. That McNee
State, I'm not going to sithere and tell you I know anything about
him other than Joe Dumars. Heused to play there a long time ago.
Uh thirty and three. Though.I don't care what your competition is.
If you have a thirty win team, it's going to be a formidable
(30:03):
task for Gonzaga Thursday again, fourtwenty five on TBS. So yeah,
it's all gonna play out. Itgets started, get started tomorrow with the
play in games Wagner against Howard,Colorado State against Virginia. Tony Bennett is
in the first four game. Takethe under in that game, Jess.
Anytime Tony Bennett's teams are playing,you want to go on the under there
Colorado State and Virginia. And thenon Wednesday, another first four game from
(30:26):
dayton all on True TV, Gramblingagainst Montana State, Colorado against Boise State,
and then the tournament proper getting underwayon Thursday. We're gonna be off
the air Thursday and Friday, andyou can catch all the coverage here on
Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM. Isn't that lovely? I love
(30:48):
that we have all the games.Oh man, it's gonna be fun.
Can't wait. I'm excited about it. I'm also excited about the guy that's
going to host the show at oneo'clock. He's going to join us next
that's Ian forness. It's Jim marJessman McIntyre Fox Sports Radio ninety three point
three kJ R FM. I'm good. I'm yeah, it's good. God.
I mean, if you would havetold me this in November, I
wouldn't have believed that they were goingto be in the tournament, like really,
(31:11):
like this team that was an nT first round exit team last year
and lost Rodman and Bomba, hell, even Carlos Rozario, who I think
plays for Drake, right, Imean, so yeah, I mean it's
yeah, I wouldn't have no soanything here is a bonus. It's awesome.
It's a great time of the year. I mean, I'll bitch about
some of the seedings and stuff.We'll do that more with Gary Parish tomorrow.
(31:33):
I mean, it's what Gonzaga gotwas a joke, Like, so
the Catholic School benefits from the MormonSchool not being able to play on Sundays
getting to play in Salt Lake likewhatever. But that did not sound like
a whatever. It's just stupid,But Godzach goes on the bubble through two
weeks ago, and now they're afive seed playing in Salt Lake. Really,
(31:56):
I like that Saint Mary's is inSpokane. They're not going to get
a heroes welcome there all. Butthe whole thing about protecting the seeds.
So Washington State doesn't play in Spokane, but but Drake plays two hours from
where their campus is as a tenseed. It's the same thing. Yeah,
(32:19):
that's a good point. It's theexact same thing. I'll tell you
why. I think it happened atone o'clock today. But yeah, hey,
you know what, whatever, screwjust go win a game. Take
a chance with Fowa State. Ilove the fact that everyone's betting against the
Coops. Now, that's the mosttypical thing in the world. We're the
popular pick to get beat, right, everyone's going with win. Yeah.
Yeah, the team to be winsevery year. Yeah. And the team
(32:40):
that you know, the Indiana Stateshould have been in. But then they
said big Steeler comes. All that'sgreat. Listen, bet against us,
bet against them all day. Now. If Miles Rice doesn't hit a shot,
they ain't gonna win. And hehas been really bad, like really
bad. I love the kid.But he can't. I mean, he
has got to hit a shot.And I say hit a shot, I
(33:02):
mean something other than driving to thebasket. And we we talked to Kyle
Smith about that. He's over hislast twenty two he has not hit a
three and more than a month.I know, I know, more than
a month. You can it's notlike he's got a good shot. Well,
I thought Smith was saying, justdon't hesitate, just shoot it.
Yeah. I thought Don McClain hada great point, one of the few
(33:22):
things on Miss with the Pac twelvenetwork not being around anymore. I Don
McClain's great, like the all timeleading score in the conference, and he
had a great point on Friday talkingabout he looks like he's aiming. You
know, now, if Don McClainagain, all time leading score in the
conference is seeing something like that,hopefully the Wazoo coaches are seeing it too.
I'd get Donald Watts over there rightnow. Hopefully he's there. I
(33:45):
mean, no one is better atcoaching kids shooting and stuff like that than
Donald had. He's worked with JalenWells this year a little bit that seems
to work out pretty well. Theyneed to figure that out. Because it's
like one thing to not hit athree in a month and a half.
Two then you can't be turning theball over on a two on one fast
break in a one point game behindyour back. Stuff, that stuff.
Just that game meant nothing on Fridayoutside and maybe maybe would have got a
(34:09):
six seed whatever, right, itjust didn't meant Yeah, I'd be nice
to want to do conference, butthat's what it meant. But he's got
to be better, and I thinkhe will be better. I think I
i'd rather him be you know wherehe is right now than then, you
know, on Thursday. So let'slet's get it fixed and ware we go.
But uh, hell man, thisseason. I watched him during halftime
(34:29):
the Colorado game, Yeah, fiveor six, when I was watching from
three, all warming up. Yeah, just effortless. Yeah, just kind
of like us in his head,Like I said, the range, it's
funny you say that. It's funnyyou say that, like I'm my bump
and run. My chips have beenso good. And then the other day
I had one of those on numbertwo at Druids, and not only did
I chunk it into the water likejust inexplicably, like kind of like when
(34:52):
Miles shoots and airball, I alsojam my wrist in the process. It's
like I just number two in thewater. Yeah, okay, I mean
so you're quite aways from the greenthere. No, it's just run it
up on the side there. Okay, I'm just a little bump and run.
No, just off the toe inthere. And you know, wrist
hurts afterwards. And you know,I'm old and I'm not an athlete like
(35:13):
they are. But yeah, it'sin your head. You can I could
hit that same shot on the rangea thousand times. It's gonna go in
the little bucket or right by thebucket. Nope, that's what happened.
Miles could hit that shot every day. And he's a bowler right now,
probably hitting ninety nine out of onehundred. But he's got to hit those.
So what Hey, great time ofthe year though, huh, what
a great time this is. Thisis the best time of the year.
That opening day. Next week yougot March Madness. First two rounds.
(35:35):
We're off Thursday and Friday. Doesit get any better than that? Perfect?
I think you mentioned there. Yes, we're off Thursday and Friday.
Off Thursday. Yeah, No,it's awesome. It's an awesome thanks for
letting me borrow dress. I didn'thave a chance. I didn't have a
choice choice in the matter of well, let me thank you anyway. What
does shift my little octopus hands?And I just got a text and since
she's working with you today, sothat's fine. Andrews and I rape together
(36:00):
a show somehow. So we're gettingIsaac Jones is going to join us from
Washington State University, the first teamAll Pack twelve selection. What a story
he has, so well we'll go. I'm fascinated to find out how a
guy from Ording ends up when actuallyValley College, which I barely even knew
how to program, like I knowPierce has a good basketball program, and
(36:22):
Tacoma CCE and Green Rivers has beenall right in the past. I didn't
even know when actually Valley had gota junior college program from there to Idaho
and now first team All Pack twelveselection. So we'll talk to him coming
up at twelve thirty or one thirtyroughly today we will do a little mollywop
and weren't gonna do it, butNathan just got back from spring training and
he's got some stuff we want todiscuss including what what they need to do
(36:42):
the final week heading into opening daynext week. So big show coming Upstens
love the Mollywop Yeah, oh goodthe Molly Whoppers. I'm glad, Yeah
they are? Yes, I Fornessais next. My thanks to Chris Kid
for running the show there from behindthe glass. Jesseman McIntyre, I really
appreciate your time. I'll be backtomorrow with booth at ten o'clock. No
shirt, no shoes, no dies. Anybody like to smoke some point I
(37:07):
was both on I was do lickyour face. I was both to rob
you, but you were born torob me first. What do you mean
my best for we like to songo mother rob Mercy. I don't think
that my nat
Puck & Jim Show News
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.