Roundtable time with Vashti Hurt and Brenden Whitted!

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Remember, visit 5hourenergy.com and use code 5HETRAVEL to save 20%. Uh, North Carolina will be in the final four. Yes or no? I started off with a tough one. Yeah, I'm glad you started with that. You didn't even warm me up first.

Just straight to it. It really depends on their region, but if you're holding me to the fire, I'm going to say yes, I like the way they've been playing. More importantly, I like the drive that they have. Uh, after yesterday's win, uh, Elliott Cadeau told me in the locker room, we haven't won anything. Like, we weren't, a lot of us weren't on that final four. Uh, you know, Armando Baycott has, they said they haven't won an ACC tournament. So winning matters to them, which is quite a juxtaposition to what I heard in the Duke locker room yesterday. But, uh, they seem to have a drive and they have a chemistry. The Tar Heels are having fun. Uh, they shoot the ball well. Uh, they have that post-presence and more importantly, they are dogs on the court and that's what you need in March. I think they have the perfect mix of what you need to go far in the tournament. Uh, usually when that happens, you know, there's always a hiccup, but since you're making me say it now, I'll say, yeah, I liked them.

I liked them as a final 14. Yeah, we weren't, we're not messing around here today, Vashti. We're going right for it. Uh, we have, and we have three teams to deal with, uh, with varying levels of expectations. Brendan, uh, would you agree that North Carolina is going to go to the final four?

Yeah, if I was going to put bread on it, that would, I'd put them in there. Uh, and, and mostly for the reasons that I illuminated, right? Like she, like, I think that she, uh, her talking about what they were talking about in the locker room is the most eliminated thing for me. Cause I'm watching them from, you know, from 30,000 feet and I can, it, that stuff that she's talking about, it shows up on the court.

You know what I mean? Like you, like you, you talk about Harrison Ingram, you talk about, um, like Cadeau is, is a guy I've really had to come around on. Like when I was the first part of this season, they were playing him like at the primary point guard. And like, he was really handling the ball a lot. And what they've done is kind of move him off one because he's a fantastic cutter. Like that dude is an athlete with a capital A F like for real, like that, that movie makes with the up and under going down near full speed.

That's that sort of body control. That is a great athlete and he, and you see it on the defensive end. And so it's, it's good to, to like, for me to see the, the growth in some of these players and with the coaching and how they handle some of these guys, like that, those are important things that while you may have the talent, even to begin with, you don't know where you need to be. And now, although he's not a great shooter, his speed and his ability to change, accelerate, de sun, right. And some of you don't always see from young players and his ability to finish at his size.

Like those are the sorts of things that I look at in terms of everybody seems to know their role and, and, and are more than eager to fill it. Here's the thing about Elliot Cadeau that is so impressive to me. Everybody knows not only is he not a good shooter, he doesn't really want to shoot and yet he can still get to the rim, which means either y'all are dumb or he's good enough to get where he wants to go anyway.

And I don't think these people are dumb. I think he's good enough to get where he wants to go. He's also part of this too. Okay. Good. Well, no, I'm saying like, if you, if you give him the runway, cause what the, the, the response can be, Oh, well, why don't you just sag off of him? But if you give a great athlete that sort of a runway, you're kind of giving him a fast break in a half court opportunity and that can get bad for you really quickly. He'll get to the cup. So it's even as a bad shooter, there is still some gravity that he, that he generates just off the strip of his game.

Yeah. You don't, you don't really play off of him. You guard him close, but you guard him to drive and not, and not to shoot. So, I mean, look, he's been, I thought even though maybe the box score didn't say it, I thought he was a key component of the first win for Carolina over Duke in Chapel Hill. And he was a big part of what we saw, even though Cormac Ryan had an out of body experience.

And I want to get to that and I'll throw it back to you, Vashti. Two years ago, Brady Manick was a revelation at the end of the year. And that run was very much Manick infused. The way he played defensively against Paulo Bancaro in the, the game that ended coach K's home career.

Not a, not a great night for the folks. Brendan is enjoying this. Not a great night for the folks at Cameron, but the way he defended Paulo Bancaro was, was game-changing and he also provided an attitude. Cormac Ryan, well, he's a very good defender. There's no doubt about that. Much, I think people probably underrate him for that.

But his attitude as well as Harrison Ingram has really shaped, I think this team you played, you know what that attitude is like, right? Adam Goldin studio with my man coach Pete through to capital financial advisory group on your website. And I love the term financial termites because there are always things eating at your money that you can't see. So you don't want financial termites termites in the financial world, our risk fees, unnecessary commissions, all the bad things that we see. And we hear about on TV are happening many times inside your portfolio. You don't see, so you need a financial exterminator. Well, for the next 10 of you call, we'll put together for you, your very own total retirement plan at no cost. Call 888-843-0013 or text Adam to 600-700.

Adam Gold is a paid spokesman investment advisory services offered by capital financial advisory group, North Carolina registered investment advisor. Oh, absolutely. And, and I, and I would not, I wouldn't say that Ryan is the Brady manic. Honestly, that, that team, that Brady manic led team was, was crazy because they had so many ups and downs that year. And, and that season Brady manic was the only one that was really holding people accountable this year. Everybody's a dog on that team, but if we're talking about maybe somebody who we didn't expect to be the guy to me, it's a, it's a Harrison England more than a Klomak Ryan just because Harrison England makes them go.

And that's kind of what Brady manic did that year. He was, he was the, the beat, you know, the baseline, he was a baseline on that, on that team, a good baseline makes the song. And that's kind of what Harrison Ingram is to UNC. He's the baseline. And no question that, that RJ Davis is a melody. He's, he's had that he's, he's, he's what you pick up on, but England is a, is a, is a baseline and, and he's been playing great. Even when he doesn't score a lot of points, you know, he gets rebounds, he's diving on the floor.

He sets a tone and that's, that's the reason why they've been playing so well. Who's the rhyme? Who's the rhyme, Brendan?

Oh, wow. Um, I mean, I just want to finish it. I want to finish the track. Baycott doesn't, Baycott doesn't give me rhymes. Nothing about Baycott gives me rhymes.

Like that's the next guy you have to mention, but it's like, nah. I mean, I appreciate the alley. I really do.

I really do appreciate the alley. It's just, oops. Very, very nice. This is a, this is a way, look, I had high expectations for this segment to begin with, but it is exceeding my expectations already. We haven't even gotten to Duke.

So something that, Brendan, you were talking about, I think Vashti, you mentioned it too, leads me to this. Trophies matter, right? Winning something matters. So Carolina won the regular season, which we can play around with all day long about what it means. They won it by two games, so it matters. They played Duke twice, right?

You don't play, we don't have enough games to play a true round, Robin. So we probably played too many conference games anyway. But the first trophy is this one.

So it should matter. And in other sports we have, LeBron James wanted to win the NBA in-season tournament. He wanted to win it, maybe because he wanted to win the first one.

Maybe he knew the Lakers wouldn't win the next one, the really big one. So you got to win something. So this could be a pelt on the wall for UNC. Did Duke, as a group, and I'll start with you, Brendan, do you think Duke took this one seriously?

I don't know how you don't take an agency tournament. They won it last year, right? Yeah. I mean, but it's not like that team's full of a whole bunch of NCAA tournament champions. You know what I mean? That's really been your, that was their first trophy, right?

Last year. And nobody wants to lose the state, right? Let's keep it a stat, bro.

Like you, you lost the state who has been pretty mediocre to bad at several points. Like that's, that's, that's right up the street. Nobody wants that.

Nobody wants that. And so like, I can't see them being disinterested. I thought they just, it played really poor. Like Phil McCalsie was fantastic. He's been their guy at 28, 14, uh, McCain and Roach though, combined three or 12, 13 points for four turnovers.

Like that's, that's rough. You needed more from the back court like that. They don't get much from their bench. Like they, you have your starters have to shine.

Uh, and they just, both of them kind of laid a monumental egg when they really needed them to be better. I thought it was funny cause I saw the clips afterwards like roast, like, yeah, we're going to have a players only meeting. Hold on fam. You're going to announce publicly that you're going to have a players only meeting before you do it. See, that's already a problem right there. Like that's not the whole point of players only meeting is for it to be the inside group. You over here, give it, you know, tossing it up on the timeline. Like there's already disconnect. And that's generally what I feel now. Like I mentioned Philip Koski is great, but you didn't get anything from the back court.

Like them all being on one accord. It feels like it's been a while since we've seen a solid, great stint of Duke basketball. Yeah. Uh, nobody wants to lose to stay. That was Brendan Witter. We have to save that.

Uh, vast, vast die. You've been at so many of these games. It's really uncharacteristic of Jeremy Roach to play a big badly in, in back to back big games. He was really good in the game at Carolina earlier this year. He and McCain were really the two best players for the blue devils in that game. Uh, Roach was uncharacteristically poor in the game against Carolina at Cameron. And he was, I know he's what I did five points last night, a nine factor, a nine, a non factor in the game.

Uh, what do you get the, what do you, what do you sense from him right now? Duke will go as far as Roach takes him. I have been talking about this and I really thought, you know, Jeremy Rose is from DC. It's something about coming home to hoop, right?

We're hearing that, uh, the guy from Pitt and I'm not, I'm, his name escapes me, but he's from the area. He's hooping. When you come home to hoop, this is when you put on a show. I sat right behind the Duke bitch, right in front of the Duke family.

Jeremy had a bunch of family there. And for him to go one for six from the floor, one from four from three, three turnovers, forces and excusable. Uh, and for him to have that on the heels of what he had, how he played at UNC. When after the game, he told me this was on me. He took complete blame for, for the, for that loss.

I don't know. I mean, he's the one who's going to have to get it together. So the policy did what he needed to do. Even Mark Mitchell, who had a bad showing at care, I mean, against Duke at Cameron had 18 points. So it's going to be Jeremy Rose.

Jeremy Rose needs to have a player's only meeting with himself because he's going to be the one who's going to make this team go. When they went to the final four, he was the one who played very well. And that's why they were able to, to have that streak. And he mentioned in the locker room yesterday, he said, well, this is like that final 14. We lost the Carolina. We lost in the ACC tournament. So I was surprised, like they surprisingly were like, well, and he literally said, we didn't come here to win the ACC tournament. And I'm thinking, even if you feel that way, this is not what you say, because you really want to win every game.

But the point was they had bigger aspirations. They're really, they're not going to come to fruition and unless they, unless he is the one to, to leave this team, he's a senior, he's a veteran. He's the one who's been there before. And he's the one who's playing, you know, like mid and he's going to have to step it up and he needs to have a meeting with himself. If he doesn't get it together, Duke will have a first round, a second round exit like they did last year when they ran under Tennessee.

No question. They ran into grown men at Tennessee. They should have stayed home there. He should have stayed home there. Like if you don't, if you don't want to win, stay home, just kick it.

You are at the crib anyway, just go hang out with your family. Vashti was, Vashti was able to, you know, give a, a coherent opinion without disparaging NC State. I think that's very cool. Brendan couldn't quite like NC state Adam. I really liked that team. I don't know why Brendan just hated on NC state, but DJ burns is one of my favorite players in the ACC.

He's likable. He really is bringing back post play. DJ horn is a good guard. I just just, you know, everybody knows NC state is going to NC state and that hasn't happened yet. So the fact that, you know, they're still kind of rolling, you know, there is, they're a team with nothing to lose.

That's the most dangerous, like in any room, the person with nothing to lose in a fight, they're the most dangerous. I like NC state. They're playing with a lot of, lot of edge, a lot of like, Oh, you know, who, who, who, who knows? I think, I think we'll see red and blue on Saturday night. And I look forward, I look forward to that, a little North Carolina takeover.

All right. So, I mean, we all know that NC state's going to have to win that game Saturday night to get into the NCAA tournament. I'll ask, I'll close on the same question I asked about Carolina, about Duke Vashti.

The blue devils will be in the second weekend of the, of the NCAA tournament. Yes or no? Yes, because I think Jeremy will have a come to Jesus moment with himself. His own, his one, his sole solo player meeting. A meeting of one. He's going to have to go to the upper room and figure it out, but I think he will. Brendan, same question.

Duke will be playing on the second weekend. I'm really trying hard for my hate not to come out, but I can't tell, I can't tell this analysis of his hate. It is, you see, I'm having to come to Jesus moment with myself right now. Um, nah, I don't think so. I really don't like, I, I, for real, I'm just, I just don't feel it.

Like maybe I'm just being prison on the moment. Cause I know that this is a talented squad. They have that this is a talent team. At least their starters are. Um, but I just, I, I think that they're, I think they're an above average team. I just don't think they're an above average do team and maybe I'm judging them based off of what the, the lineage has been and not themselves and which is unfair. And it's against whomever you're playing, but I just don't feel anything special from this team at all.

Uh, all fair comments by the way. And you mentioned without, uh, without taking another shout at state, uh, very close. I thought you were going to go back to it. Uh, they were like, they're playing with it. Nothing to lose.

I thought about that. I'm like, Keith's ain't coaching. Like you got nothing to lose. Like I'm, I'm, I'm pulling for you.

I am pulling for Keith's on the real. I am. Cause I don't know how much longer this is going to this whole, not making the turn.

Everything's going to rock and rally. Well, that is true. Two, two out of seven years is not good. Uh, even though we had a pandemic, you know, kill one year and they probably should have gotten to bed, uh, one of those other years.