How does it feel being a basketball coach at a football school (Duke) now?

John Shire is joining us here on the Adam Gold show as we get ready for the start of the basketball season. But I want to start here. How does it feel to be the basketball coach at a football school? When everything's cool, baby. When everything's, when everything's cool. All right, get it right.

That is, that is true. Just real quick, I mean the attention, the college game day showing up and everybody showing out the way they did. And frankly, it's a game that I kind of think they should have won. I love the football team.

They've done a great job. But I'm sure you caught some of that scene. Well, it's, it's coincidentally I've been at every football game except one. My, my, one of my best friends, if not my best friend from college, Brian Zubek was getting married that day.

Oh God. So had to be there for that, for the big guy. I was watching it from afar. I can't believe all the Duke football games I've been to in my life and college game day comes here and I wasn't here, but it's important to show up for the people that are closest to you. And I'm just really proud of our school. I'm proud of, you know, Mike Elko and what he's done here in a short period of time.

And, you know, really just proud of the football team, the effort, the fight, and, you know, you want to play away from crunching and that's sometimes the margin of error. That's all that it takes, but it was a incredible scene just to see all the people that showed up and showed up for that event. By the way, were there cupcakes at the Zubek wedding? You know what? I was a little disappointed with, with that part of it. He had his dance moves going and it was a beautiful ceremony.

But no, no cupcakes, no cream puffs. I'll get back to him on that. All right. By the way, the quarterback's apparently a hooper, but he's got a high ankle sprain now or some sort of an injury. Hopefully he'll be good to go for state this weekend.

John Shire is joining us here on the Adam Gold Show. This is year two. Obviously, you know that. I'm just reminding the people. And I asked you a few months ago, if there was something that you would like to have done differently, a decision, maybe not you want to have back, but maybe you would handle differently. And you were either not prepared or unwilling to give me an answer a few months ago. Have you thought about something during the year that maybe I should have done this as opposed to that? Or is that, is that helpful at all? Or do you not want to reveal it?

No, you know what? It's look, obviously if I, if I went through my first year coaching at Duke and, and I said to you that there's nothing I could have done better or differently, then something would be completely wrong with me. You know, I, I am really proud of you. We had after the year, just like any year I'll do this and you take a deep dive and do a total evaluation on yourself, on our staff, on our team. And so naturally, of course, there's decisions and games or actions that you ran or strategy or things like that. But as far as these, these major decisions, whether it's, you know, sometimes you think about recruiting or you think about whatever may be, there's nothing I look back on in that regard. Like I'm not dodging the question, just, you know, it's more so there's you making decisions and not always getting them right as part of it. And so just like anything you hope now this year, you make more decisions better, more decisions that are the best ones. And then that's how you keep improving. So for me, I'm proud of last year.

You know, I think it's been really helpful looking back. But of course, there are moments you wish you could do better. Are you a up three late game foul to avoid a three-point shot coach? It all depends on timing, how much time is left in the game. You know, I'm not a guy when it gets over 10 seconds, statistically one, it analytically would tell you that's not a great play to make. Right.

Okay. A lot of things can go wrong. You can also lose the game. And, but strategically, depending on who you're playing situation under 10, absolutely. It's a play we're going to look at, but it's not going to be where you're not going to see for me where it's always one way because there's, there's too many variables in play.

We spent a lot of time deep doing a deep dive into this. We do a lot of game situations in practice and situationally. Yeah. It's a good play if you execute it right and your team practices it and knowing when to do it versus when not to do it as a big thing. Yeah. And if the other team has like a 50 something percent three, three point shooter, yeah, probably want to do that. I have always wondered why you invite the possibility of a loss, a made free throw, a rebound, a putback and a foul, and all of a sudden it's a four point possession.

I would hate to lose that. I always thought, man, if you play good defense and you guys played good defense last year, your defense should be able to take care of that. Did you prepare for this season differently in any way, either as a staff or as a team? Yeah. Yes.

Yes. Uh, I think it starts with who you have coming back, who you have coming in. It's a very different team. You know, you have eight players that have been through a season at Duke versus two the year before. So two things come with that. One, you have experiences you've gone through together too. You can assume something's just going to happen because you're back.

And that's not the case at all. That's that's, this is how college basketball goes. You know, we had a great finish to the season last year. We had some really good moments, 27 wins.

We had a really good year. Uh, but if you look back a lot of those games, they probably could have gone differently. We could have won, but also they could have gone differently.

You can lose if you don't have an edge, if you don't win the details. And so with our team, a lot of this has been about the mental approach as opposed to just the physical approach. Like what's our mental fortitude. What's our mental, uh, just attitude as we go into the year of understanding, we're not given anything. And so our guys have been really good. They worked hard. Our four freshmen have been really consistent working every single day and just getting, uh, getting acclimated to each other, even though we have a substantial amount of our guys back from last year, uh, it's definitely, uh, been an important thing for me, Adam. John Shire is joining us here on the Adam Gold show. Duke basketball coach season starts just a couple of weeks. It's uh, it's amazing.

It's already here. What'd you learn from tennis from the game against Tennessee? I mean, those guys were grown men and they played like they were trying to play against their little brother and keep them down. Um, what did you learn from that game? What did your guys learn from that game?

Well, the game plan was clear, right? And you know, for us in that game, you know, it's, I, I forgot about it at times and I would have to remind myself when I watched the games back, you know, it's a five point game with four minutes to go. It wasn't like this game got out of hand and with all the plays in between, um, there's levels to this, like the NCAA tournament, it's, it's a different level.

The ACC determine is a different level, just, you know, even more so than ACC regular season, but then she double A tournament is 10 X, you know what it is going forward. And so the physicality, the different styles you can see, you know, for our group last year, we never saw anybody like Tennessee. We just did it, you know, their physicality, their size. Uh, and we were a big team, but they were stronger and more experienced and used it better than we did. And so for us, like understanding, even if it's a team that's bigger or more experienced, there's a physicality that you have to play with. And there's, uh, on offense, there's a next level of knowing how to get to the next play, how to create for each other, how to share the ball to, uh, to another level that we just didn't do in that game.

We spend a lot of time improving on that this all season. Uh, but I think more than anything, Adam, sometimes the feeling you have after a game like that can carry the most weight as you go forward into the, uh, rest of the season this year. Well, what is that feeling? How did that, uh, that feeling, the feeling of that loss, how did that impact Kyle Filipowski or Tyrese Proctor? I'm going to ask you specifically about those two guys anyway.

How did that fuel their summer? Well, it started with Mark Mitchell right before the game comes in the locker room. He's, he's a mess. You know, he felt he couldn't go and, you know, our doctors and medical team huddled up with him and made the call that he shouldn't. And, you know, like there's a, you know, it was a really difficult thing. You know, we started every game, Mark Mitchell started every game that year, except that Tennessee game. And so like the feeling that he had of not being able to be out on the floor, uh, flipped in, had his best game, you know, Tyrese had some really good moments and I think we're starting to really figure it out. Uh, but they were crushed afterwards. And the thing I'll say about all these guys, they didn't come to do just to go to the NBA.

They came to Duke to leave their mark here and then obviously wanting a chance to go to the NBA. And so it's translated to what they've done this summer. Uh, the commitment they've made flipped getting healthy has been a key thing. And he played all of last year, really not 100%, really from the beginning of the season. And he's shape-wise, he's not there yet, but he's getting close. Uh, but he's healthy. Uh, his, his body looks better than ever.

I know those two guys are ready to go for this year. Well, I'm going to ask you about, uh, I mean, where can Kyle get better? I mean, I realize health probably leads to a little bit more quickness because I know he had, uh, hip issues, but where does, where does Kyle improve? Well, you know, Kyle, look, he had a, he had a big time year as a freshman, right? Maybe I felt that he was as good as any freshmen in the country. And I know Brandon Miller had a terrific year as well. And he was right there with him, but for flip, it's just knowing how to continue to make your teammates better. He's going to get so much attention and he's a guy in high, in high school, especially terrific passer.

Yeah. I think his passing can show this year, especially if he sees double teams or people can give them different looks, um, and more consistency, you know, that's just the biggest thing, you know, once, you know, we got into ACC play, he really became such a dependable guy for us. There's some ups and downs and the more that you go on as a player, you want less of those. And I think Kyle will really show that this year. Um, and then the last thing for me, Adam, with him, just on the defensive end, he did such a, he was incredibly better, uh, from, by the end of the season versus the beginning of the season. Uh, there's other parts to his game that they go see on defense, getting in passing lanes, protecting our rim, being able to switch one through five, being able to guard, pick and roll different ways.

So I'm excited for him to show off his versatility that he has on defense as well. He needs to learn how to play through getting elbowed in the throat. Let's just, uh, let's be honest, uh, about that. Did he get elbowed or punched, uh, at UVA? You don't have to comment on that. I don't want to get you in trouble, John Shire.

Uh, all right. Let me ask you about Tyrese Proctor, who I remember, I think I told you this, uh, Chris Carowell, your, uh, your assistant and one of the greatest human beings on earth, uh, his son played against my son in a middle school basketball game last winter, and we talked after the game about Tyrese, who was kind of going through it a little bit. He, he had some struggles and he, and Chris said, he's about to go, he's about to kick on, and his second half of the year was spectacular.

What is his second year like? Uh, a full year of that, you know, I, I think Tyrese can, can have a chance to lead the country and assist potentially, you know, he's just a guy that can really do whatever it takes to win, you know, second half of the year, his defense was just locked down. You know, he would defend other teams, best perimeter player, um, his passing is elite. Uh, the thing that we've seen him do for years now in practice, and he did it the second half of the year, is his ability to shoot the ball from deep, getting off quick, off of the dribble, and he'll have a chance to really show that this year, and he's just a winner, you know, like the, the best thing you can do as a lead guard is, does your team win?

And that's really what Tyrese is all about. Well, let me ask you one more thing before we let John Shire go, uh, and I, in, in no way do I want you to criticize Tom Izzo here. Recruiting has changed, player retention has changed, and Tom had some, I thought, pretty strong words about the transfer portal.

Without, again, without commenting on what he said, what are your views on the portal? Is it good for players to have that freedom, have that, have that option? I mean, naturally, the more freedom they have, the better, right? I think the thing that it does is, is probably the only part of your life is because if you consider, you know, when you're a professional player, you can't just get up and leave. I understand the argument though, when coaches can do that, uh, for players, there is something to be said for when you fight through adversity, right? And you don't just give in when you don't play. Part of this is earning playing time, not being given something.

Uh, but I'm for the players having their freedom. Like if they're right, we have to adjust to it as coaches. I think the thing you've seen Adam over the last couple of years, a lot of kids put their name in the transfer portal and they don't end up at a better spot where they're playing more minutes.

You know, it turns out to be the same thing. You know, very few kids can transfer up, you know, where it's from mid-major to high major. That doesn't happen as often, uh, same thing, uh, high major to high major. Uh, and so for me, look, I think we need to keep adjusting and continue to put our players and our guys in a position where they have the opportunity. Like, I don't want our guys to be here if they feel like they don't just because they feel like they have to be here. I want them to want to be here. Uh, but of course the life lessons of, all right, you didn't play well, this game that's working double down how we can play better than the next thing.

You're not in the rotation. Here's what we have to do for this following year. This is a journey for a lot of kids. And, um, but again, I don't think there's anything, any going back at them. No, my focus is really on what can I control, how can we help these guys make smart decisions, stay the course. And then I can, you know, I completely understand if they feel like this isn't the best fit and they want to go somewhere else.

We'll always support them in that too, because it's their decision end of the day. All right. I lied. Give me a rule.

You would change a rule about the game college game that you would change. So take two for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. You could show off your skin again. And you know what that means each day as a tick to inhibitor. So tick to is the only one staley pill of its kind for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Ask your dermatologist about so tick to today and learn more at so clearly you.com.

That's so clearly you.com. So tick to decrevacitinib is a prescription treatment for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who may benefit from systemic therapy or phototherapy. Don't take if you're allergic to so tick to serious reactions can occur before treatment get checked for infections including tuberculosis. So tick to can lower your ability to fight infections don't start if you have one serious infections cancers including lymphoma muscle problems and changes in certain labs have occurred. Tell your doctor if you have a history of these events or if you have an infection or symptoms like fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough or if you have history of hepatitis B or C liver or kidney problems, high triglycerides or had a vaccine or plan to so tick to inhibits tick to which is part of the jack family people 50 and older with heart disease risk factors who use a jack inhibitor are at increased risk for certain side effects sometimes fatal it's unknown if so tick to has the same risks as jack inhibitors call 1-888-SOTYKTU to learn more. I'm not sure why we're so hesitant to not play like the rest of the world you know we're the only sport that has uh two halves yep we should play quarters you know we should play we should make the game more exciting just like the NBA you should be able to advance the ball you know when you have quarters it takes away um you know where all of a sudden you're getting the bonus with 12 minutes to go in and a half who wants to see that right right so anyway for me I would align our game just like the NBA uh the way the game is called um I would um the only thing I want to do you don't mess with the three seconds on defense like that's NBA is the one league in the world where you do that right you deserve it uh but for me this the way the game is played 24 seconds shot clock hits the rim we set it to 14 it's eight seconds in the back court uh creates a faster pace more exciting more offense um and I think that's what college basketball needs right now I agree and I would also get rid of live ball timeouts you shouldn't be uh put at a disadvantage if you play good defense and all of a sudden wait they can call timeout I got somebody trapped in the corner wait you can't call timeout I can't call time I can't call timeout if I hang a curveball can I yeah I'll tell you what Adam we're also going backwards like now you can now you can call timeout jumping out of bounds again they took that role away and now we're going back you can just without even having possession just as you're going out of bounds and you can call a timeout so um we need to get modern with our game and uh this is the time I think there'd be really good support I'm not sure what's stopping us from doing that I think it's where if we want to keep getting the top players in college if that's our priority if we want to you know be a sport that people really love watching and get excited to watch we need to continue to adapt and that's those are a couple easy ways to do it in my opinion John Shire I appreciate your time you've been very generous with that I will talk again uh soon hopefully but good luck at the start of the season and I can't wait to see you guys play thank you so much Adam I'll see you soon