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Graydon Prescott 0:17
Hey everybody, and welcome to another episode of sports prep live, sports prep live, where we unbox the mic and talk excellent in athletics.

Welcome back to another episode of sports prep live. I'm your host, great and Prescott and today, we have a few things to talk about. Obviously, it's still March Madness season, NCAA Tournament, both on the men's and women's side, but a little bit more local. UNLV, they have hired a new men's basketball coach, guy by the name of Josh Pastner. He was a coach at Georgia Tech for seven seasons, ACC championships, and also NCAA tournament or tournament appearances. So KB and I are going to have some opinions on the hiring of passenger, what we think he should or will be able to do with this program, and then we will move on to the NCAA tournament and who we think, obviously, the men's final four set. There are still six teams remaining in women's Yes, so we're gonna have our opinion. We're gonna have our national championship picks. Both of my picks are still alive, so I feel pretty good. And yeah, we'll see. We'll see. So KB, obviously, is here. Welcome back, per usual. Thank you. Glad to be here. Yep. And let's start with Josh Pastner, yes. So unfortunately for for the sports prep Live Crew, here, we record on Mondays, and the show airs 6:30pm on Mondays. Problem with that is, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. A lot of, a lot of stuff is going on, sure. So we recorded Monday last week, like we always do, and Josh Pastner decided to be hired Tuesday, and I had to wait six days to talk about it.

K.B. 2:13
And he was in the hunt, but we didn't know there was, there were others in the hunt as well, and I didn't think that he was going to be a finalist. But interestingly, interestingly enough, I'm actually happy that he is. Because I think, with respect to the landscape of college basketball, obviously, the the huge impact that n i L is having on collegiate sports, I think he gets it, and he's going to because he gets it. He's, you know, not above going out there to press poems and press the flesh and meet some of the business leaders and the alumni who are in a position to donate to the University. He's not above going out to doing that work. And I'm not suggesting that Kruger was above that, but obviously it didn't happen enough, yeah, I know. DJ, and we talked a little bit about it last week. DJ, I think made $200,000 last season in i L, I think he doubled that to $400,000 which was reported by the outstanding reporter for The Las Vegas son, Mike Ramallah, I think he had 400,000 this year. I expect that number will probably even double again. He may be over a million dollars this upcoming season, not sure if he stays. Hope he does, but there are a lot of opportunities out there for him. And I think if there was more emphasis on that, that and the fact that obviously the program wants to see some success in the postseason. They'd like to be in March Madness and have some success there, and we haven't had that in a little while. But I think resources helps get you there. It helps get talent through the door. And it seems coach past Coach Pastner, is really going to be focused not only on fielding or courting the best possible team that he can to make a run for NCAA championship, but also making sure that he has the resources to do that. And he's he's got a really solid reputation as a recruiter. He's been a broadcaster, so he knows a lot of the ins and outs of the media world and how to utilize that to help uplift the program. So again, unexpected from my vantage point, there was a former coach who I do believe had the nod. He was an assistant coach and went out to Florida, of all places, and you know, is really good at recruiting. He was on the short list. I know DJ was a big fan of his. He didn't make the cut, but passenger seems like he's going to be all right. And I'm expecting everyone to give him a good shot, give him a chance. I think he's going to be able to do some things to reignite the basketball of. Passions and success in this program,

Graydon Prescott 5:03
former national champion as a player with the 1997 team at Arizona, which featured Mike Bibby and Jason Terry. So a couple of guys that are kind of NBA sure royalty. I wouldn't say they're in the category of greatest players, but they do have some notoriety in the NBA, and Jason Terry got assassinated by LeBron with one of the best dunks ever. That's what he's most known for. So yeah, he has championship experience as a player. He was an assistant coach on the Memphis team with Derrick, rose in 2000 Correct correct made it to the national championship game and lost to Kansas and ACC Coach of the Year with Georgia Tech back in 2017 he has a winning record as a coach. I think his overall record is 267 and 187 so he's one about rounding up 60% of his games that he's coached. He made it to the NCAA tournament four times with Memphis and got

K.B. 6:01
tutelage under the great John Calipari. So, you know, we know, you know Calipari knows basketball. Yeah,

Graydon Prescott 6:07
yeah, absolutely. So I think this is a good addition for UNLV passner, 14 total seasons as a head coach. He's been to the NCAA tournament five times, twice to the national Invitational Tournament. He has a winning record in the national invitation Yes, and in the NCAA Tournament, where it is hard to win, he has two, two wins against five losses. So not, not the greatest record, you could argue. But there's not a lot of coaches on the market that have NCAA Tournament experience, whether that be as a player championship or as a coach or an assistant coach, and as an assistant coach, he did manage to make it all the way to the national championship game with Derrick Rose team, right? So I think this is a positive addition. He's not he's not afraid to get his hands dirty, go do the recruiting,

K.B. 7:06
talk to players, and he is a solid recruiter, uh huh. And

Graydon Prescott 7:09
he issued a statement upon being hired. He said, This has always been a dream job for me, and I fully recognize the significance of UNLV in the landscape of college basketball. The program holds great importance for both the Las Vegas community and the region, and I'm eager to reunite Rebel nation with the goal of restoring the program to national prominence. So it's very clear saying all the right things, yeah, it's very clear in his statement that he has his eyes on the prize. He's focused. He's focused. And I think that's very good rep for him, I think that UNLV, this is a good look for the program. Sure, sure, it's a good hire. He had no previous ties to UNLV. This dude is from West Virginia. He played basketball at Arizona. He was an assistant coach at Memphis, head coach at Memphis for for force, or for seven seasons, excuse me. And then he coached at Georgia Tech.

K.B. 8:01
He knows his basketball that the big challenge for him now is, can he hang on to the talent like he's a big time recruiter? Can he hang on to the talent that has entered the transport portal? Right? That is the hugest, and I would imagine he's treating it as such. That is the hugest challenge that he has before him, or the most immediate challenge that he has before them, before him, is, can I hang on to the talent that has entered the transport portal? And it's not going to be easy. You know, starting with with with DJ, like he's had some out a couple of outstanding seasons. I think we mentioned last week that Houston is in the hunt, and I believe UCLA was in the hunt, and San Diego State is in the hunt. Like he's got some some blue chip programs that would be very interested in having him, you know, join their basketball club. So hopefully we can hang on to him. And I don't think it's just the resources with him. DJ wants to win, and he's played well enough that he should be on a winning basketball team. So I totally understand that. That's just pure athletic competitiveness. He wants to win. Hopefully they can keep this roster, maybe add a couple of pieces, and come next season, we be in a position, we meaning the UNLV rebels, be in a position to really advance. You know, don't have to win the national championship in year one, obviously, but being a chance be in a position to to do some damage in the March Madness next season. Yeah.

Graydon Prescott 9:30
So I am looking forward to seeing what we hear, speaking of March Madness, going forward from UNLV, now, a turn to March Madness. We got we got the Final Four set. We got Duke all the one seeds as j by list, correct, correctly. This is the only other time other than 2008 when four number one seeds made it to it doesn't happen a lot. It's happened one time we've

K.B. 9:59
had those. Cinderella stories interrupt, you know, the the pathway or the the march for some of those number one teams in the past. Yep. So 2008

Graydon Prescott 10:08
actually, the year that Josh Pastner, as an assistant coach, got to the national championship game. Okay, 2008 Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina and UCLA all made it to the final four. Right here. Auburn Duke, Florida, Houston, with Auburn facing Florida in the semifinal game in Duke facing Houston. Duke will play Houston on Saturday, and I believe Auburn will play Florida on Saturday as well. Auburn in Florida will play first, and then Duke and Houston will follow two and a half hours

K.B. 10:38
later. But let's end in that Monday, yes, yeah, championship Monday. Right

Graydon Prescott 10:43
now, I'm just gonna put this out there. Since the beginning, I have picked Duke to win the national you have, and

K.B. 10:50
I'm sticking by it, you and a lot of people, yeah,

Graydon Prescott 10:52
that's true. It's a very popular pick this year. I just think they, they're cut above everybody else. I don't know how another team would like really, especially with what they did to Alabama, who had just scored 113

K.B. 11:06
was surprising on BYU. That was surprising. I

Graydon Prescott 11:10
really don't see a way that, unless you, unless Duke has a bad shooting night and you just hit everything, I don't know how another, another team that's left is going to be able to really beat this Duke team, because Florida has beaten Auburn. Auburn has beaten Florida. Auburn hasn't beat Duke. Duke's beaten Auburn, or Duke in Florida haven't played. And I don't think Duke and Houston have played, but if they have Duke one, but I'm 99% sure they have

K.B. 11:40
here is the thing that gives me pause to jump on this Duke bandwagon. It's another and this is a bandwagon that it is a bandwagon, and it can carry a lot of people. They have shouldered this burden. They've played outstanding basketball all season. There is not a negative thing to say about this Duke basketball team. I was talking to you earlier, prior to the show, and you made a point that I absolutely agree with this is one of the best Duke basketball teams of all time. Yeah, like they are just flat out ballers, led by a freshman who should still be a senior in high school in Cooper flag. This kid is just sensational. Everybody knows that now. They didn't know it when we initially started talking about Cooper flag during the time he was here in Vegas in high school, playing for the border league. But people that have listened to the program, they know now and as does the rest of America, but those of you who have been longtime listeners, you knew about Cooper flag, down there two seasons ago, as we've been talking about, put that aside for a moment. What concerns me about this narrative, that it's Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke is this is not a series. It's one game. You got two hours, and in that two hours a lot can happen. So I do expect Duke to win a national championship this year. I would not be at all surprised if they win the national championship this year, along with millions of other people. But here's the thing that I think separates or sets me apart, I'm looking out for someone like a Houston or a Florida to surprise us. And Duke has had this great run, and they've been blowing people out. I just, I'm not sure what's going to happen if Duke gets into a nail biter. All of the pressure that comes with that. I mean, it just impacts people in all sorts of different ways, and they haven't really had to deal with that. So if they navigate that, well, not saying they're going to have a close game, but if they do, look out. That's what it's going to get really interesting. I will probably turn the TV off if it's a blowout anyway, but if it's, if it's a nail biter, look out. Anything can happen. And some of these teams that are left among these Final Four, particularly Florida and Houston, play really good defense. So we'll see. We'll see.

Graydon Prescott 13:59
All right, I'm of the opinion that Florida has been in too many games where they should have lost, and the argument could be made, but did not, but did not. The argument could be made that it's their grit that has gotten them to these victories. Yes, I am of the opinion that it's just terrible late game execution on part of Texas Tech and UConn was questionable. It was better than Texas Tech. But if Texas Tech is up by nine points with two minutes and 50 seconds left, 75 to 66 and they shoot not a late clock, like a middle of the shot clock, three pointer, three possessions in a row and then Florida gets hot at the right time. Specifically. Walter Clayton, that's just bad late game management on Texas Tech. But

K.B. 14:48
I have a question for you, would you rather have excellent post or excellent End of game execution and lose? Or would you rather have questionable execution and pull out the victory?

Graydon Prescott 14:59
Okay? What? What? Florida had good late game execution while trailing and won, and Texas Tech had horrible late game execution. Yeah, but I don't then I'm making a win is a win? Is a win? In other words, you are, you know, you're kind of faulting them for being in situations where they don't have the I'm faulting them for execution. No, no, no, the Florida late game execution was fine. Okay? Texas Tech handed them a win like there's just no way up nine with the ball with less than three minutes to go. But you've

K.B. 15:37
kind of castigated them a little bit because some of those victories have been close victories, you felt like they should have been a larger margin of victory and but, and I focus on the fact that they won, and if you have arguably poor late game execution, and you still win, and maybe you're playing against someone who has great late game execution, maybe they came back from A larger deficit, pulled it within, you know, single digits, but you still manage to eke out the victory. I think that builds grit. I think that builds character. I think that that builds experience. And the only caveat I have for a Duke is if they haven't been in that situation a lot this season, and they haven't what happens when they are when they have the pressure of a nation, the expectations of a nation, on them, everybody suggesting, everybody feeling Duke is going to win a national championship and to be in a tight game and only have a few minutes left on the clock, we just don't know how that's going to impact decision making for the kids on the floor. If they don't have that scenario, they're going to win it. But in that scenario, I just don't know what's going to happen. That's

Graydon Prescott 16:47
all All right, fine. I'm still betting on Duke without I would not expect otherwise. Yeah. Anyway, Sweet 16 recap, Auburn beat Michigan, and quite the uneventful game. Michigan State almost got beat by Ole Miss, and then they did get beat by Auburn and Jace, our guy, he struggled against Auburn, but Auburn was just too big for for Michigan. Correct? Texas Tech now, this was the best game of the Sweet 16, because they were down by 16 points with 10 minutes left. Late game execution, yes, sir. But lost art, no. Texas Tech one. Arkansas lost, okay, yes, late game execution, yes. In overtime and Arkansas lets Dave on Williams, Bishop Gorman alum, shoot a three up. Texas Tech down three. Arkansas is gonna let them shoot a three with with a couple seconds left? Why? Why would you let them shoot at the foul? Just foul. But shout

K.B. 17:43
out to Darren Williams, because he hadn't played particularly well in that game. So yeah, he had a bad game. Yeah, talking about grit, you know, the the ability to step up, take that shot, because it was the only one there. They gave it to you. They they played off a little bit too much. And big shout out to him for stepping up, and he was big time during the later stages of that game and over time and helping them pull out a victory. So you know that just goes to show you. Just never know. He just stuck with it. Stuck with it. Wasn't having a great game. That particular game, he's had a really great season. So it happens, but in the moment that mattered most. He stepped up and helped his team pull out a victory over a higher seed.

Graydon Prescott 18:25
Yeah, yeah. No, no. Arkansas was it was 401. Okay. Text, Text, like three, okay. That is correct. That is correct. Then Duke played Arizona, won by seven 100 to 93 Caleb love, he was at North Carolina A few years actually, beat Duke in the 2022 final four. Caleb love had 35 points, and Arizona fought hard. They cut a 19 point lead to five with two minutes left against Duke. But you know, Duke having the grit that you said that they don't have and the experience that you said that they don't have, did not say they don't have it haven't had all season. Duke wins the game by seven. Cooper flagging with 30.7 assists, six rebounds, three blocks. Yeah, that's that's the player of the year, right there.

K.B. 19:10
Yeah. Kayla love is tough, though, that's true. Caleb love has a bright future in basketball. Alabama

Graydon Prescott 19:15
walked all over BYU. Not much to talk about there, except them hitting 25 threes. Not

K.B. 19:20
sure if they'll do that next year, but we'll see. Houston probably

Graydon Prescott 19:24
had the best inbounds play I have ever seen to beat Purdue. That was just genius. Okay, so it was 60 to 60 with 2.2 seconds left, and Houston's taking the ball out under the hoop, and they wait about three seconds, and then they set a screen for a guy to get the ball at the elbow, knowing that the Purdue defender is just going to double team as soon as he the inbounds defender is going to double team as soon as he catches it at

K.B. 19:50
the elbow. Bear with him, ladies and gentlemen. We know this is not a visual medium, but

Graydon Prescott 19:54
go on. Okay, let me paint the picture here. I see it in my head, right? So, per. Do in the Purdue and the black jerseys, Houston, in the white jerseys. The score is 60 to 60, with 2.4 seconds left in the game. Okay, Houston, on the left side of the court is inbounding the ball under their own basket. Purdue, defending Houston, runs an action to get a cutter open at the elbow. The left elbow. They inbound the ball to the left elbow. Now they do this because they know Purdue is going to send a double as soon as they catch it, thinking that he's just going to shoot the ball from the elbow or try to get a shot for himself, correct? So Purdue, the inbound defender, goes to double on the ball handler once it's inbounded. Now the the genius about the play was because Houston knew that Purdue was going to double team, so he throws it right back to the inbounder, and they get a dunk with six tenths of a second left. Wow. And Houston wins the game because Purdue had no time outs left and they had less than a second and they had to throw a Hail Mary. Didn't work out. Houston wins best inbounds play I've ever seen. Okay, so you got to go watch that. And then Tennessee and Kentucky quite the uneventful game. Tennessee events their losses in the regular season. They won by 13, and that was the men's Sweet 16. So best two games were Houston, Purdue and then Texas Tech in Arkansas. So

K.B. 21:14
how has the women's bracket looked in NCAA Tournament?

Graydon Prescott 21:20
Now, for me, this is more interesting here NC State and LSU played in the Sweet 16. NC State being a two seed, LSU being a three now, I said before the tournament, you're not going to see as many big time upsets and women's until we get towards those sweet 16 matchups with like five seeds, one seeds, two short, two seats, four. It's a top heavy tournament on the women's side, and this year it was really top heavy on the men's two. But historically, there are more upsets in men's basketball than women's now, with that being said, you're going to hear a lot of the high seeds playing in the Sweet 16, but that's completely normal for women's basketball. NC State two seed versus LSU three. LSU wins the game. Anissa Morrow, who I will say I wasn't very respectful in saying that she should not be a first team all American. Anisa Morrow,

K.B. 22:09
just not over Madison. Bucha, yeah, right. And that's understandable,

Graydon Prescott 22:12
yeah. And she she's a great player, and she had a great collegiate career, 30 points and 19 rebounds, against the two seated NC State, LSU wins the game by seven. That, to me, was, was one of the more impressive performance. Yeah, that's a statement. Yes, that was probably the best non page Becker's performance of the tournament so far, individually. Like no story lines around it, you could say, okay, Haley van Lith and what she's doing, but just no story lines straight basketball best non page Becker's performance of the tournament. Anisa Morrill party,

K.B. 22:44
I would agree with that. It was impressive. Yeah, it was impressive. And she is impressive. It's just we felt like Madison Booker should have edged her out as a first team. Yeah, and she did. And yes and she did. I don't know what ESPN was thinking.

Graydon Prescott 22:55
Yeah, UCLA, Ole Miss, nothing really to see here. Ole Miss has and since about 2021 and every year, Caitlin Clark teams in the tournament. Haley van Lith at Louisville, Ole Miss is scrappy. They're going to give you trouble. They're not a team that you want to see. And UCLA did, probably did the best job of anybody that's played Ole Miss. They just took care of business. UCLA has a great defense. Lauren Betts was spectacular. She had 31 points, and UCLA number one overall. See, they just took care of business against the fifth seat at Ole Miss. So I thought that was a very, very impressive performance.

K.B. 23:35
But, and this is all interesting, but the most interesting storyline to come out of women's college basketball in the last week. We're

Graydon Prescott 23:43
getting there. Okay, we're getting, we're getting, it's big news. We're getting to the play caused by the play. It was big news. Um, wow, just let me go down my line. Earth shattering, please. Let me go down my line. It's just hard to wait. Fine. You know what? We'll skip to it. Kansas state's playing USC. And the storyline he is, of course, talking about is Juju Watkins. Juju Watkins and man a moment

K.B. 24:10
of silence for Juju Watkins, yeah, NCAA tournament run this year. Yep. Not for the not for Juju Watkins, just for her,

Graydon Prescott 24:18
just just for her run. She did. She didn't die. She's okay. Well, she was, I wouldn't say she's okay, but she's alive, and she's in fine spirit. So quick moment of silence here, just

K.B. 24:28
for the run, um, she's and I, you know, it's tough for me to talk about this play.

Graydon Prescott 24:34
Let's rip the band aid off. She tore her ACL and it was her fault. It kind

K.B. 24:39
of was she hate to say something like that, but I love

Graydon Prescott 24:43
Juju. I love Juju. Watkins. Love the way she plays basketball. I'm a huge fan of USC. She's

K.B. 24:49
incredible. I know she is incredible and but this play

Graydon Prescott 24:53
and let Kiki stepped up in this game against Kansas State and dropped 30. Rice is tough. Um. Kiki irifin, I think is her name?

K.B. 25:01
Oh, yeah. I'm thinking UCLA. Yeah, Kiki rice is UCLA. She's tough too, yes. But Kiki or USC,

Graydon Prescott 25:08
third team, all American tough, but juju, so it's and I think she's a freshman. No, Kiki is a graduate. I actually because she was at Stanford for you for a few years, okay, for she pulls there's a young lady on there who was a fresh candidate, Kennedy Smith. That's it. That's it. Kennedy Smith is nice too. Called Out. She was the number one player in the country last year. She's tough. Came to USC to play with Juju and Kiki now, but on this play. So again, let me try to paint a picture for you guys. Please do so. It's 13 to two. USC is in the lead, and Juju Watkins gets the ball on the right side of the court, attacks the basket. If you're viewing the game on television, the basket is going to be on the left. She's on the right side of the court, though, from her perspective, and she drives down with her right hand, technically a two on two fast break, because she had a trailer, but she may have thought two on one on two, fast break her against two defenders. Did have a trailer? Yes, wide open. Trailer. Wide open. Two defenders, quite literally, on her hips, left and right. Yes, she's not going forward into a defender. She's not there's not a trailing defender, it's her and two people on her left, like she was trying to take a euro or something, which I don't know why. She would have done what she should have done was either found, found the trailer and dumped the ball off for a layup, or which, technically it's not the right basketball play, but you get a chance to go on a set offense, and nobody gets hurt. Just stop and pull it back out and reset. You're up 13 two. Yeah, yeah, 13 to two. You're not gonna lose the game. And Juju decided that. And again, this is kind of a Juju Watkins play, because she's always aggressive and she's she's a shot first player we all know which we respect, yeah, we admire. There's nothing wrong with that. But it's just this one play, she drives into two defenders. And you could see right away from her reaction and from the replay, it was bad. She just twisted her left knee.

K.B. 27:03
And to see it, you saw it buckle. It's crazy.

Graydon Prescott 27:07
You could see it, and it looks like the slow motion zoomed in replay, you could see the knee just pop. And I

K.B. 27:13
would want to say to all of the AAU kids out there, boys and girls, if you watch this play, I think every coach will tell you, and Juju is an outstanding player. And I think nine times out of 10 she would have found the open man. In this case, the open woman. Even though she's an aggressive player, she is a scorer. I just felt like on this one, and I, as I was watching it, I could almost feel like, okay, something's gonna go wrong here, and it was just that obvious that the pass should have been made. She didn't make the pass. She goes down, torn ACL, we feel really bad for her. UCLA, or I'm sorry. USC did win the game. Yeah, they won a game after that, but a really tough break for a really impressive young lady, Juju Watkins, all right,

Graydon Prescott 28:02
and wrapping things up here on the women's side, UCLA got their revenge against LSU and the Elite Eight. USC and Yukon are tipping off tonight, unfortunately, without juju, if it was with juju, there could be an argument to be L that. That would be the championship game. Pre championship, Haley van Lynn Yes, got her team to the to the to the elite, yes, and they got a chance to go to the Final Four tonight. Texas big game right

K.B. 28:30
here, took down Notre Dame twice this year. She is balling. And then

Graydon Prescott 28:34
Duke and Maryland blew it against South Carolina blew it late game. Execution has been a theme in both the men's and the women's tournaments, Duke and Maryland both blew a four point lead going into the fourth quarter against South Carolina to lose. I was very frustrated about that. And one more thing before we go big, big time, shout out to a former guest on the show, Cheryl COVID Coach K at Bishop Gorman. She's in Brooklyn coaching the McDonald's all American game. Nice, her and the staff. Mike Wright, Coach Lou and Coach K, they're over in Brooklyn, coaching the women's McDonald's all American game for the West. So a huge shout out to her. Big congratulations. And yeah, that's all we have for you guys today. So thank you everybody for tuning into this episode of sports prep live. I'm your man great in Prescott, and we will see you all next week, hopefully with nothing that we have to say. Tipping off tonight, although the problem is the national championship game is going to be on Monday, so tipping off tonight. Thank you everybody. Have a great week. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of sports prep live. I'm Graydon Prescott, and don't forget to catch all of our episodes on Apple Spotify or wherever you get your podcast, and be sure to follow us on Instagram or Twitter at sports prep live. Thank you.