Roundtable time!!!

All right, let's do it. It's Round Table time. Camelot.

Camelot. It's only a model. Shh. By the way, Cal Santa Barbara's up on Baylor right now.

All right, so if you're watching on TV, they're on the screen. Spoiler alert. We've got Brett Friedlander, columnist Saturday Road, Brendan Whitted from too many places, but I'll get as many as I can. Bison Express, we're going to talk about Howard, and of course, our swarming sting. The big news is Michael Jordan, possibly, possibly going to sell his majority stake in the Hornets as a Hornets fan.

Brendan. It's a good day, isn't it? Not for me, honestly, no. You liked the state of the franchise?

No, but I mean, like, I think that they were moving in the correct direction. Look, the last few years, they just haven't been able to stay healthy. And I don't attribute that to Michael Jordan. Like LaMela Ball has been injured. Gordon Hayward's been injured. The main stalwarts of that team have missed significant periods of time. And so I don't chalk it up to Michael Jordan. It hadn't even been that bad in the first round.

The book night drafting aside, they've been pretty good. You look at Mark Williams, it looks like he's going to be a legitimate player. And just from a larger perspective, Michael Jordan is, I mean, he's arguably the best basketball player that the that yes, the world has ever seen. And the fact that he was able to be one he's the only black majority owner.

If I had a bell, I would ding it right now. That's the to me. That's the big loss. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, because this he's and he's also Michael Jordan, right? Like the NBA could could could have him as an example of hey, you were the best player in this this league's history and now you are an owner of an NBA franchise.

So not only for diversity sake, but also for the sake of actually like you. It'd be like Gretzky owning an NHL team or or any of that Mario Mario Lemieux owned the Penguins for for for a while. Brett, do you your thoughts on Jordan getting out of the ownership game? He's going to retain a minority stake it seems but right your thought on that. Here's what I say if they get the right ping pong ball and get the number one draft and Victor the French guy ends up on the team.

It doesn't matter who the owner is. That's a very good point. Talent does win the owners even Dan Gilbert was a good owner the second time not the first time the second time when they got LeBron James I'd look Jordan has not been just the numbers say Jordan is the team has not been successful as Jordan, you know was in ownership in my majority ownership just like Washington has not been successful with Dan Snyder as the owner of that franchise and I think the Washington Commandos fan base is way happier than the Charlotte Hornets fan base Brett you spent some time up there. What do you think they're going through today? Oh, I remember the the day when there was a waiting list to get tickets for what was then called the Redskins. Yeah, and now it's it's just a mess. So yes, I would say a change of ownership is is is badly needed there and a change of team name is badly needed there to commandos is horrible. It's terrible name.

I bet they were better off with the Washington football team. All right, Brendan. I know I am going to get to Howard.

I promise you will get to Howard before we're out of here, but I want to I want to actually make you squirm a little bit. This Duke team is pretty interesting in it. Yeah. No, they're they're they're really good and they're honestly they kind of remind me of Carolina from last year when they're they look like they're peaking at the perfect time to actually go and make a run of it.

Like I like I'm not one of those people that's like, oh, yeah, go ACC with once you was right out of it never gonna be that person. I don't trust those people at all, but it'll be at least interesting watching this team play who came in as like super-hyped as like when they first started off the regular season and then the conference play was like, okay, all right, nothing nothing major and that they got players back healthy and now they look like the team that they were reported to be and this is the sort of team that gets high the right at the right time. We all know that Marsh Madison isn't necessarily the best team all year is the best team in March. Yeah, they could absolutely make a run. Brett Friedlander from Saturday Road ACC columnist.

I asked the question this way. How has this Duke team in your eyes changed in the way you look at them in the last say six weeks? Two things. First of all, they've gotten healthy. They have only lost one game this season in which they have had all their scholarship players available together.

The other thing is the growth. I mean you look at Derek Lively the second he has become a true rim protector who's now adding an offensive element to his game. He's the guy who's now living up to all the hype that when he when he first arrived, he's now starting to play that way after missing the entire preseason.

Tyrese Proctor, you know should be in high school now, but he's become a confident legitimate college point guard and then you add Dereek Whitehead shooting the way he did yesterday. I mean the first half Shire's running out of bounds play for the guy and to me that really said a lot because you know now we trust him and when you keep adding elements like that, you know, I don't think they've reached their ceiling yet and that to me makes them an even more dangerous team than everybody's giving them credit for at the beginning of the year. I watched Duke and went how are they going to score? They can't they can't turn their there's nobody on the team that can beat their man off the dribble and then create havoc for a defense which creates opportunities for other people. So I thought John Shire is just going to have to call play after play after play and I think they're still doing that. But what I didn't believe was possible is possible and it's happening is that their defense is incredible. A lot of that is lively at the rim, but it's also the pressure that Proctor puts on the ball Roach is pretty good.

I don't think he's quite a Proctor's level in defending but he's good and Mark Mitchell gives them somebody who can help off of his guy and can guard basically anybody their defense is next level. The Venture X card from Capital One gives you premium travel benefits perfect for seeing Taylor Swift the era's tour presented by Capital One. Oh, I do love her earn five times miles on flights and 10 times miles on hotels through Capital One travel. Enjoy your stay in sweet 13. Whoa, 13. That's Taylor's lucky number.

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The electrified Jeep Wrangler four by e learn more at jeep.com Jeep is a registered trademark of FCA US LLC. And you know, John noticed that at the beginning. I mean when he when he assembled that team, the first thing he did and he spent most of the preseason working on defense because he knew that that was probably going to be half to what they have what they had to hang their hat on. And yeah, their best offensive play is still throw the ball at the rim and one of those big guys go get it. But I mean, they've added another element though. I mean, I mean Proctor has has become much more assertive.

They still kind of need a wing a guy who could attack off the wing. Maybe Whitehead continues to give them that but I just and I also love by the way the bracket that they have because I think that they're an absolute horrific matchup for Zack Edie and and and Purdue. So yeah tomorrow, I you know, I saw Tennessee. I've seen them. I just don't know that they've even got the offense even without deep Dukes defense to score enough to win that game. But I just really love the way they're playing and think they think they've got a real shot at getting to Houston.

That's it's amazing. I would have never ever ever thought that six weeks ago one thing about North Carolina and I'll start with you Brendan. I know there's conflicting reports of the whether or not I think is Dontre Stiles is in the transfer portal. There are some people some places reporting that he is some places are reporting that he's not I don't know.

It does seem like he's headed that way either way. What is the state of UNC basketball today? Well, yeah, we came to Styles it didn't seem like he had a consistent role on that team, right?

You know, I mean he would play, you know, he played major men in some games and other games you kind of barely barely see him as much, you know, what I think is a weird thing that we kind of don't see from teams at this level. They might have just gotten tired of being around one another and like usually you don't get that from from UNC teams. Usually somebody's either transferring. I mean not transfer but either graduating or going to the pros or something. This team has been together for a long time and we see this in the pros more frequently than we do it at big-time college programs now particularly with the transfer portal.

Well, like some guys just I mean you've been around one another for long enough. It becomes an issue and there have been a whole bunch of reports about what was and was not going on in that locker room, but they might just been around one another a little bit too long and and they had their their moment in the Sun last year, maybe a maybe a little bit overachieved came in with this this huge target on their on their back that maybe their their talent wouldn't wouldn't necessarily wasn't commensurate with their talent. And so they became this huge disappointment. Whereas if they had finished the season kind of where we thought last year that they would have barely make the nation's barely making the NCAA tournament and early an early loss them not making a tournament this year wouldn't be as big of a deal. They were preseason number one because they had all these people come back the exceptional manic but like maybe maybe they were just kind of a little bit overhype last year and walked into the season all right, and then some internal stuff kind of caught up with them.

They have no pros on the team. I think that that's probably I mean, I feel a certain way by RJ Davis sometimes when I when I watch him play. Baycott is probably going to play professionally. I don't know right where they're where that'll necessarily be.

It kind of gives me a second round draft pick kind of a kind of a vibe. But yeah, no, none of the top tiers on the sort of stuff that we're used to seeing out of Japan. I mean, I think I mean Baycock can play and in Japan he can play in Israel. You get I mean, there's really good basketball being played all over the globe. He can go somewhere and play but he's not an NBA player and Davis not an NBA player and Caleb love.

I think love is the best chance because he can be a game-changing offensive player, but he has zero consistency Brett. What do you think is going on there? Well or the state of the program if you will the point about them being tired of being around each other is a hundred percent spot-on. I was in that locker room after the Virginia game and I'm telling you they were they didn't look angry. They didn't look sad. They looked relieved almost like yeah, good. Let's go.

Let's get out of here. And that's why it mystifies me kind of that that I hear you know reports that they caught and RJ and Caleb considering coming back Adam. That's the worst thing could possibly happen for Hubert Davis. They need to blow this thing up because if you look at that core those three guys three years ago, they barely made the NCAA tournament. They got waxed by Wisconsin in the opening round Roy leaves last year. They have one good month and got an incredible amount of bracket luck, right St. Peter's in the in the in the Elite Eight and then this year they reverted back to the norm.

I mean, you know, you could bang your head against the wall so many times at a certain point you say it hurts and you stop doing it and bringing that crew back that core back you're asking for the same the same result. So I say, you know you build around Jalen Washington build around Puff Johnson and Seth Trimble bringing a couple of new guys off the portal so that you can play that positionless kind of free-floating style that Hubert says he wants to because if he doesn't Hubert's job may be the on the line if this happens again next year. Yeah, I mean next year become I know Gigi Jackson is still coming in right?

We haven't heard anything other than that. So look it could it could get squirrely if they don't have a good year next year. I think there'll be a little bit of heat on Hubert Davis, but Jerry Stackhouse doing what he's doing in Vanderbilt right now.

I don't see very I don't see Vanderbilt in the tournament yet. So I'm just going to have that. Very Stackhouse.

Stackhouse great. Brett Friedlander and Brendan Whitted here. All right, I told you I was going to talk to you about Howard and then I'm going to ask you both a question real quick. I saw you tweet that if Howard didn't get or if the the MEAC or the SWAC didn't always get it seems the best team in the tournament they might have a different story.

I give you I think you're right about that. John Calipari recognized early on that Howard was a different team. He thought they'd win their league. I know it was just after they played him and struggled but you're just just your thoughts on that was a game at halftime. Yeah, like look the stuff that usually hurts the the men majors or particularly HBCUs wasn't necessarily an issue for Howard the thin bench Blake knee who by the way won coach of the year in the MEAC Ben Jobe, which is Ben Jobe war which is awarded to the best minority coach and D1 basketball. He also that as well. But yeah, like the stuff that usually bothers them a thin bench he played 1010 guys or size you had several guys or six nine six ten on that team.

That wasn't an issue where you're you know, trying out a six six center and married on the on the office of a defensive rebound that that wasn't an issue the turnovers which have been an issue all year caught up with them. I mean, but they're really really good team and by the way that tweet I love you know, all the Joe Linardi's and hopping in my mentions telling me about like, well, this is actually how you know, this is how the brackets thank you. Thank you guys.

You guys are just fantastic. I never heard that before being from North Carolina. I had no idea how that data right?

It's all data. Yeah, take that 100% but no, I mean like we Howard won this conference is it won its tournament. So the MEAC and sweat get one a one a year and so you can do go through your entire year and this happened with Central a while back that I think that's the team that beat NC State that year.

They were good all year long. They be out of conference team and then they lost in the final or semi-final of the me a tournament and they end up going to the NIT. They made a little bit of a run there, but like regardless of how good your season is and who you play out of conference and how much success you have. They're only going to get one and if you're having to beat a team that a lot of people are thinking is going to repeat in Kansas.

If you got to beat them every single damn time. Yeah, you're going to lose most of the time. But then when you see I think Hampton was a 14 C when they beat Iowa State Norfolk State was a 15 C went well when they want like if you don't have to go against the absolute upper echelon, like if they were firm if they're playing in Virginia, like I'm not going to sit up in here and say that Howard couldn't have made a legitimate run to beat them. No, they're not going to be Kansas.

I'm not sure anybody's going to be Kansas. But if you keep putting HBCUs and this kind of pitching hole and then be like, oh, yeah, you don't have success. Yeah, that's why you're having to play the conventional champions happen with me at limit last year when the Howard women had to play USC South Carolina in the first round after beating incarnate word. It's like damn like this is yeah, the stuff is getting stacked against it. So that's tough. But but I'm so proud of this Howard team.

They did a really really good job. I final thing for both of you Brett you first at be freed ACC ACC columnist Saturday road.com would you if I gave you a million dollars, would you let Mike Tyson punch you in the face who million dollars a million dollars if you promised I'd lived through it. Yeah, I can't promise anything. I'm going to give you a million dollars after Mike Tyson punches you in the face. That's that's that's the question. You know what at my age, it's better than Social Security.

So and I'm on Medicare or we will be in a couple of months. So yeah, go for it. All right, Brendan, would you let Mike Tyson punch you in the face for a million bucks?

See this face? Absolutely not. I think I'm with you. I don't think I even at Tyson's age right now. Even at Tyson's age right now. I think I'm with you Brett Friedlander at and Brendan would it Brendan by the way at hu co cell. Appreciate both of you guys. Take care man. I wouldn't do it either.

I don't think I would do it either. With one of the best savings rates in America. Banking with Capital One is the easiest decision in the history of decisions even easier than choosing slash to be in your band. Next up for lead guitar. You're in.

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