Tommy Sugar

This is The Drive with Josh Graham Podcast. For Internet Sensations, guys. Tune into The Drive weekday afternoons, 3 to 7 on WSJS. We've made it to a Friday Drive. It's WSJS, News Talk Sports for the Triad.

where battle lines are currently being drawn on today's show. The second Baltimore Orioles New York Yankees Series of the Year begins tonight in the Bronx. Hey WD, who won the first series between... those two this year. Just start the show.

The answer Of course, is Baltimore. That's the executive producer of this show, Will Dalton, who is a Yankee fan. I root for the good guys.

Now let's talk hoops. Even though it may not make for the most compelling sports talk segment, There is both humility and wisdom in admitting what you don't know.

Sometimes you have a read on things.

Sometimes you don't. After last night's... Game seven? is a complete toss-up. It has become a complete toss-up.

What does that mean? Hard to forecast at all. Who's going to win the game? That makes for really intriguing theatre. But just know, anybody today who was pretending to know What's going to happen in game seven after what we saw in Indianapolis last night?

They're lying to you. That's what they're doing. How could you? Have a good read on this. Writing off this Indiana team seems...

Like a giant mistake. Just look at how many miracle wins they've had in these playoffs. In every single round. Against Milwaukee in round one, they had one of those. Against the Knicks.

Multiple times. Against the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road. in these finals in game one. How they figured out to win that game.

Now it's a one-game sample. The measurement to decide the champion for the entire. NBA season that started in October, it's one single basketball game. That is the measurement. That is all we have left.

And the variables are endless. Of what could happen in just one single basketball game. The reason why you play a series. And so we can have More fairness. to have a better reg a better measurement of who the best team is.

But now that is all limited, that it is all condensed. to one game. The miracle wins Indiana's had. Look no further. How about just the monumental ups?

The blowout we watched last night. How could you pick against Indiana? After watching that, it's worth noting, by the way. Five of the last six game sevens of the NBA Finals. We're won by the team.

Trailing three games to two. In game six. Indiana So the team that won game six won game seven. And five of the last six Game 7s, including the last three. It is important to note, though, the most recent example.

Is the only example out of those game sevens. where the format is what we currently have. two two one one one where you alternate home games. in games five, six, and seven, rather than what we had before. Two home games.

For The higher seeded team. Then three games. at the lesser scenes uh lesser team site and in games six and seven. are at the higher seated team. Important to note that as well, just for full context.

So that's the Indiana side of it. Then there's Oklahoma City. It's Obviously. Not an upset. If Oklahoma City wins, Are we stunned today?

Are we stunned on Monday? If Oklahoma City wins this game in a route, They've been the best team all year. They're at home. They've won 80 basketball games. It should be easier to turn the page.

coming off of Yeah, yeah, yeah. And game six? than it would be if you lost, say, in similar fashion that you lost in game one.

So you should expect them to be ready. In fact, if we're trying to... narrow down The possible results in game seven that we might see. One that we can maybe eliminate that seems least likely. is Indiana wins at Oklahoma City the way that they won last night.

That would be by far the most surprising result. Indiana wins back-to-back blowouts and they win. the second leg of that on the road at Oklahoma City. We could probably eliminate that. Indiana can win, but if they win, it's going to be close.

Oklahoma City can win. Close they can win and a blowout as well. Regardless of the result, this is where you should probably fall on it more than anything else. Savor the spectacle of Sunday. This is the first Game 7 of the NBA Finals we've seen in eight years.

Wait, the math's not good. Nine years. Went to East Carolina. Give you a break. Nine years.

Nine times. That was the comeback. From 3-1 down, LeBron and Cleveland beating Golden State, that 73-win Golden State team in 2016. Cleveland! This is who you Ooh.

So, with all that said, Oklahoma City is the pick, but it's not Strong, it's not forceful. Don't Sarah McLaughlin me. If we're wrong here, it's tepid. It's admittedly tepid. With humility Trying to strive towards wisdom and admitting what we don't know.

Savor the spectacle. It's a complete toss-up. Game seven of the NBA Finals. On X at Josh Graham Show and at WSJS Radio. That's where we're streaming video in addition to YouTube and Twitch.

As mentioned, WD, he is taking your calls, 336-777-1600. Do you have more conviction than I have on Game 7 Sunday? I don't know if I had more. I I I got thunder. Because I mean In spite of what happened last night, because we know Indiana's good at home.

I mean, they've showed that pretty much the entire series. They've been good on the road, too. They have, but OKC has been really good at home. Mm-hmm. They've been pretty good at home.

Thunder take game seven. Not think I'm with you. Not by a wide margin. It's going to be a good game, but Thunder will get it done. Here's a series I do have.

Some conviction on and it might surprise you. When Coastal Carolina Ticks down. L S U in the College World Series. Championship series that starts tomorrow. You can call it whatever you want.

Don't call it an upset. The chants are not David. LSU is not Goliath. The chance They have not lost a single game. In two months.

They have an advantage on the mound. with a three headed pitching monster Hard to even figure out which of these three guys is the best. We suppose it's probably Jacob Morrison, that 6-8 behemoth, who was the Sunbelt pitcher of the year. While Coastal is a smaller school, Smaller in stature, do not call them a mid-major. They've won a national championship.

in the last decade as has. L S U but While they will be pigeonholed as being David and LSU Goliath, LSU is not Goliath. Don't forget. The SEC got how many teams into the tournament this year? 13.

13 NCAA tournament bids, only four. SEC teams. Advanced To the Supers. LSU wasn't even included. amongst those top teams.

In the Southeastern Conference.

So, this isn't a great year for the SEC and LSU wasn't even in that best group. of SEC teams. Not there with Vanderbilt. With Arkansas. What Tennessee Even though they beat Arkansas.

in the College World Series, give them credit, give Jay Johnson's program a lot of credit. But Paul Skeens and Tommy Tanks aren't walking through that door. This is not a dominant LSU team. Can they win? Sure.

They are favored after all. But Just like the regional round where they were playing on their home diamond. Coastal Carolina listed as an underdog. Coastal Carolina going to Auburn, one of those top SEC teams. went into their building, won both games.

They were an underdog there, too, allegedly. And here we go again. How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man? Coastal Carolina Underdogs again. And they are going to be National Champions.

This is a fabulous way. To end the college baseball season. If you want to know, What makes specifically college baseball special? It is The fact That a school like Coastal Carolina. Again, not a program because you're not in.

If you're a mid-major, then Gonzaga's a mid-major in college hoops. And we know that they're not.

So this isn't meant to Disparage in any type of way. But the fact, the reality. that a school like Coastal Carolina can go toe to toe. With a school like LSU, can be playing for a national bleeping championship. And the fact that they have a place that loves college baseball, that's put its arms around college baseball, a lot like a place maybe in the triad puts its arms around the ACC if only the ACC loved them back the way that it.

We're talking about Greensboro. You know the deal. It's special. It's different, it's special. And College baseball fans.

Should love the fact that these are the final two teams we end up with. It should be a tightly contested series. It seems destined that we're heading for a deciding game three on Monday night. The championship series starts tomorrow. Coastal Carolina is going to take down LSU in an upset.

So while we're tepid in our pick for the NBA Finals, we're coming in strong. on coastal being national Champion. It's the drive with John! Ash Graham, W. SJS Our bets last night went 0 and 2.

Because Betting on anybody playing for Oklahoma City. Not a smart play. Chet Holmgren had to get over 25.5 points and rebounds. 4.6 rebound. He scored those four points in the first five or six minutes of the game.

And we had him to do that and also to have a double double. That Did not happen.

So we were bound to set back Will. And How are we going to respond to that? By betting on baseball. in today's best bets. I'm not a betting duck.

Care to make it interesting? You know you do. You're on. Call me in on this. Your best bet.

But my money from the other team. This is Josh's best bets.

Okay. Press bets. Let's get into them even with that 0-2 record. That puts us where? 17 and 4?

For our last 21 NBA playoff bets, We'll take it. We like a couple of baseball bets right now before we Focus. on the NBA. WD, let's start with the College World Series. Coastal Carolina is a huge underdog against Auburn.

Not Auburn. LSU. They were huge underdogs against Auburn. We bet on Coastal. They won.

We bet on Coastal when they were an underdog in their own home. Home Regional in Conway. They won again. We made the mistake of not betting Coastal a week ago. We're not making that mistake again.

Coastal plus 155. Can you make $155 on a $100-hour bet to take the team that hasn't lost? In two months? I'm sorry, but I'm not scared of this SEC. I'm not scared of this year's SEC.

Coastal Carolina with their three-headed pitching monster that hasn't lost in two months. Is going to take two out of three against LSU and win their second national title in the last decade. Plus, 155, we are on the chance. W D We have to have a Yankee Oriole bet. Got to.

Are you familiar? With the Orioles 35 year old. Rookie. that they acquired from Japan by the name of Tomayuki Sugano. I've heard the name, yeah.

We call him Tommy Sugar. Tommy's sugar. Because Tomayuki Sagano is a little bit more difficult to say.

So, Tommy. Then Tommy Sugar. Tommy Sugar Has not been great his last two outings. I would know I was there for the last one. He didn't get.

Through the fourth. He hasn't pitched. Five complete his last two starts.

So, he's also not known to be much of a strikeout pitcher, Will.

So his over-under in strikeouts against the Yankees tonight. is only three and a half.

Now here's the thing. The Yankees average five strikeouts a game against right-handed pitching. Aaron Judge has been abysmal against right-handers of late because even though you won yesterday, you have lost six of your last seven games. Here's another thing. Tommy Sugar pitched against the Yankees in the last series.

He had eight strikeouts. Against. The Yankees. I don't need eight. I need half of that.

over three and a half strikeouts. For Tomayuki Sagano. the man we call Tommy Sugar. That is a best bet. for later.

And Will, I don't know what prop. We're gonna play. Four finals, game seven. But I just can't resist it. I can't do it.

I can't resist. The Pacers are seven and a half point underdogs. I'm taking Indiana plus the points. Give me that cash up, fam. I'm taking them plus the points.

I'm also sprinkling a little. On the money line as well at plus 250 because I love an underdog and I love in a one-game setting and I love particularly this team. When people write them off, they just always respond. I'm taking Indiana. Plus the seven and a half points.

I don't know if we'll have additional props. We probably will on top of that, but I'm taking the Pacers plus the points plus. Seven and a half.

So, in review, Will. What do you think? Coastal Carolina is an underdog, plus 155. We're going out on a limb there. Against LSU, Tommy Sugar.

Over three and a half strikeouts against the Yankees tonight, Orioles starter. And the Pacers plus seven and a half points. I like Pacers plus seven and a half. You're not on Tommy Sugar? I'm not on Tommy Sugar.

And um That Plus money coastal. Dale. I like that. Stop disrespecting the Chants. Stop it.

Is it the Chance or the Sean's? Seans. Gotcha. Hyrtle Beach. It looks great outside right now.

It really does. I mean,. First day of summer. If I didn't have to take Daniel to the doctor this morning. And find out he had an ear infection which kept him out of daycare today?

Oh, no. Do you know what Daniel would be doing today? I haven't tried. Would have been splash day at the daycare. My man loves being in the water.

Fortunately, it's Friday night. What's that mean, Will? It's Costco night, isn't it? Bath night. I don't go to Costco on the weekends.

You know better. Even on a Friday night? No.

Okay. Bath night. That's what it is.

So he's going to do some kicking and. Willow the dog spa. It is her spa. That is correct. She has one customer.

It's baby Daniel. Uh splash it would have been splash day at daycare. Don't have the heart to tell Daniel. On what he's missing out on. Why am I telling you all this?

Well, you can have your own splash day on a beautiful day such as today. The outdoor pool is open at the Kernersville YMCA office. It's open. And if you have a membership at the one on Robin Hood or another, one of the Northwest NCYMCAs around here. You get into all the locations included.

The Kernersville YMCA with the pool.

So take advantage of that. If you want to be a member at the Y, go to ymcanwnc.org as well. W. D. Nick Kurtz Former Deke.

Add it again. For the Oakland A's. This is like his third walkoff in a week and a half. If that here's, well, we had the video on YouTube as well. Courtesy of NBC Bay Area, the athletics broadcast, Nick Kurtz, bottom 10 4-4 tie against the great Josh Hayter.

Here's the pace. Birds destroys another baseball go-through hero here in Sacramento. This kid is unbelievable. No spotlight. All right.

Dallas Braden. We don't need to say anything. Do we? The home run was great. Drilled at batter's eye.

Like dead center. He's an animal. Who is the best? Wake baseball player. in the prose.

I mean Probably the answer. I don't know why the name is slipping me. Who is the guy for the White Sox? That is from Baltimore. Played for Wake.

When did he play for Wake? Gavin Cheats is what I'm thinking of. Cavin Sheets. He's pretty good. Nick Kurtz is well on his way.

That guy got drafted a year ago. I mean, I don't know what recording up to, but. What's the NL Rookie of the Year race? Look like Can you bet on that? Probably.

NL, rookie of the year odds. Because What's funny is Well, I guess he's in the American League because he plays for the 8th. The funny thing about that is, I don't even know if he's the best candidate on his team. Because they also have Jacob Wilson. who's just killing everybody who's in his path.

including the Orioles a couple weeks ago. Jacob Wilson, he might even be like the starting shortstop. for the American League. As a rookie. Yeah, he's he's minus five hundred odds right now.

Ah. Nick Kurtz, and I'm looking at this on the show. See, on the list? It goes. Jacob Wilson, Jack Caglione from the Royals, Jason Dominguez, go figure for the Yankees, Roman Anthony.

Roman Anthony is 20 to 1. Nick Kurtz is 40 to 1. 40 to 1 odds, maybe a little little sprinkle.

Well no little sprinkle. I mean, three walk-offs in a week and a half? That's nuts. That's something to look at. Uh while we're talking baseball.

The Atlanta Braves. Might be Back for real. Were you trying to play the. Robert De Niro as baseball. Al Capone there.

Yeah. There you go. The Braves Beat the Mets in the last two games they played against them by a combined margin of 12 to 1. They beat The m they swept the nets. And this was after taking two out of three.

Against the Rockies. They win that series against the Brewers too. They did. They did win that series against the Brewers.

So that's Three straight series wins for Atlanta. Three straight wins altogether, and they're playing the fish this weekend. The Marlins, who aren't very good. And here's the thing, they're pitching. Chris Sale going deep and shutting out the Mets?

Spencer Strider hitting his stride. Liking what we're seeing from the Braves. Started the season 0-7, then got above 500, had another lull, and Now they're 5 under 500 at 34. And 39. Don't sleep.

On Atlanta, don't write them off. An unexpected reason. To favor Bryce Young over Anthony Richardson just surfaced online. Another reason. This one might surprise you.

You might want to hear this.

Next on the drive. Ding ding boys, school's in session. Let's go now. You're on the drive with Josh Graham. Hold on tight till that's we get And I heard Let's see.

Me, who she be, I'm kinda Wait, they show me some more. Swerve on that corner, whoa, whoa. Me and I'ma show you how they don't What's the one that you What's this Jell-O Ball song called again? Tweakin'? Tweaker.

Tweaker. Tweaker. Tell me what. My bad. Gotta get it right.

Glad you got the clean version of that. Made sure to do that. This is terrific production. producer work on your part. of where this segment is headed.

Today's date is june the twentieth. two thousand twenty five. Want that known? It's a Friday. It's three forty seven in the afternoon.

Regardless of when you're listening or watching this, just want you to know the exact time it is. that we make this proclamation. Bryce Young. Versus Anthony Richardson is a rap. The Panthers were right.

Not to take Anthony Richardson. It's still a debate. CJ Stroud versus Bryce. C.J. Stroud, obviously.

In the driver's seat, having gone to the playoffs twice with the Texans. But There were there was a faction of people. Who Because of sheer physicality. Wanted Anthony Richardson rather than Bryce. In 2000 23.

Look at this guy. Oh my goodness. This, oh, he could be the next Cam Newton. Look how he lit it up. Oh, don't look at the fact that he lost to Vanderbilt in college.

No, no, no. The physical traits, that's what you need to look at. We can call the race today. See, while both Quarterbacks were benched. last year.

Richardson didn't have the late season comeuppance. that Bryce Young did. Hidden. Have the final month and a half, two months that Bryce did to close the regular season. Instead.

There was the Pat McAfee controversy of Is this guy prepared enough? Is this guy the leader you want in the building? And remember, Anthony Richardson. got banged up in his rookie season. Gardner Minshew started games.

For a first-year head coach Shane Steichen. And they were a win against Houston. The final week of the regular season, maybe the second to last week of the regular season that year, from making the playoffs. Lost the game. They didn't convert on a fourth down towards the end of the game in the red zone.

They still had a winning record. They won nine games.

So, what? While the Panthers, what Bryce Young stepped into, the worst team? In the NFL? Over a period of time since David Tepper took over the team in 2018. Anthony Richardson was stepping into a situation where you had A good supporting cast, a team that could win.

Gardner Minshew proved it. And Anthony Richardson was so bad that he was replaced by Joe Flacco last year. Bryce Young, he was benched too. But he had the comeuppance that Richardson did not. Which then brings us to the injury piece.

Where Bryce Young hasn't been hurt. Going, remember the physicality argument? You need to bring in Anthony Richardson. Anthony Richardson is a better option than Bryce because look how little Bryce is. He's just going to break like a twig.

Anthony Richardson, his first month in the league shoulder injury out for the year. And how did uh Anthony Richardson do in OTAs? Oh, he hurt his shoulder again.

Meanwhile, Bryce Young. He didn't miss any games due to injury last year. Missed one is rookie year, but there's some... Conspiracy Josh. theories about the road trip after a Monday night game, he might not have really been hurt.

But Anywho, we don't need to get into the conspiracies right now. Bryce hasn't had the significant injuries. It's Anthony Richardson. That h that has. Bryce Young.

He had he took more sacks than any rookie has. in years had in years Talking about 60 plus sacks? Hit 115 times. Might have been like 62, 63. Crazy!

Didn't it miss games? Didn't it miss games? So you might be thinking, Josh, O T A's was a few weeks ago. Why are you calling the race today? It seems kind of random.

Friday? June the 20th, 3 and what's happened to make you want to call this race? That brings us to what we saw on the internet last night. Let us introduce you. To Anthony Richardson.

The wrapper. The gang talking to me sounding like some activist. Talk to him every day, they tell me that I'm talented. If I cry out that I lose, that means I'm passionate. Shout out to Speed, pave the way for all this rapping.

Young trying to turn it up, yeah, I'm on Go Mo. Never turn my back on my brother, yeah, that's the broken. Cruising in my whip, the light going slow-mo. Got love in my city, when they see me, they want no photo. As a young man, I ain't never eat no peas.

On the field, I'm a saint, I be throwing like Jabris. Worry about no trouble, I ain't gotta worry if I don't flee. And f gang, I'm ten toes down, I'm standing on my feet. I love that. If I'm Shane Steichen and I hear that.

My first phone call. It is to Daniel Jones telling him he's the starting quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts now. Dude, he's got bars. He does. And his voice pitch is a little lower.

I kind of like it. You can hate on it. I kinda dig it. You sure about that? I kind of dig in.

You sure about that? Yeah. I mean, if he doesn't if it doesn't work out on the ball field I'd listen to some of that. Let's take a moment. Let's take a moment and imagine.

Just imagine. What Today's Show Is Like? If Bryce Young puts out a diss track. I mean Anthony Richardson diss track. See, here's the thing though, Bryce Young.

He's not. Rapping's not it. He'd be in the middle of it. Rather than talking about A minor, he'd be talking about this guy lost to Vanderbilt. Oh, my God.

I won the Heisman. I was in Alabama. You lost to Vanderbilt before it was cool to lose to Vanderbilt. I could see Bryce Moore as an RB type of guy. He's not rapping.

Not a rapper though. Anthony Richardson v. Bryce Young. Over. It's over.

Bryce Young. One that. battle on the field. Getting back to basketball. Still thinking about We're sending good vibes.

to the folks in Seattle. It is still staggering. Just imagining them watching the finals. You do they hate Oklahoma City? Like if you're Seattle, do you root that they lose every game?

See? The first time I had ever visited. The Excel Center in Hartford where UConn plays. I was at a shoot around, getting ready to watch Gino Oriama's Huskies play. And I had a chance to talk to Gino, and I just wasn't thinking this was not smart, not great awareness 10 years ago.

I was wearing a Carolina Hurricanes. Polo shirt. I'm a Keynes fan. Like the Orioles, but I wasn't thinking like. Oh.

They might view this as you trolling because, and I didn't realize it till I was in the building looking up at the rafters and I saw the whaler stuff hanging. I was like, oh no. Gino was cool with it. The assistant coach is longtime assistant Chris Daly, not so much. Sh let it let me have oh, you you you're gonna wear this?

shirt in Hartford. Come on, what are you doing here? And I imagine they feel that type of way. Like those fans in Seattle. They're awesome.

And They had a lot of success. Won the 79 title. You had the 90s teams with Gary Payton, Ray Allen, and the 2000s. And they have to hate watching OKC. A win away from winning a title.

It's hard to imagine. Or it's hard not to think about the what if. Seattle didn't move to Oklahoma City. Because Within less than a year before Oklahoma City moved to Seattle. These moves were made by the franchise.

appointing Sam Presti from San Antonio to be the GM. Drafting Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

So, what happens there? KD was in Oklahoma City for eight or nine years. Oklahoma City, not a traditional sports market in a way that Seattle is, with the success of the Seahawks, for example. Maybe KD ch i is a lifer in Seattle. In a way, he wasn't in Oklahoma City.

Maybe they win. Multiple titles. with Russell Westbrook and James Hardin. Hard not to think. And if the NBA does expand, you'd have to think that Seattle, now that they have that building that the Kraken playing, They're in line to get.

The first expansion team, but then again. Just like they got kicked in the nads a bit when they moved Oklahoma City, that could happen again if they want to expand to the East Coast and the West Coast. have one separately. Because you know As good as Seattle is as a proven basketball market, and their fans would be built in already. Owners want to go to Vegas, man.

If they could send one team to Vegas, are they going to send the other to Seattle? Don't know if that's a guarantee.

So, sending good vibes. the way of the supersonics. and the Seattle sports fan. On matters of college basketball in the NBA. There are few voices.

locally that we trust more than Terrence Oglesby. Who follows college basketball, the ACC? The hornets as well. Are you holding a Macho Man Randy Savage toy right now for those watching on YouTube, Twitch, and X? I don't know how this works out to where it ends up in the seat behind me, but my brother got me this for Christmas because he lost my actual gift.

So he just gave me a macho. My brother's 33 years old. Di I thought you were doing this because you knew somehow that Bacho Man Randy Savage was a family friend of ours. No, is he really? We were talking about this this week because my dad is a humble person, even though he talks way too much.

including bugging Randolph Childress on the golf course a few days ago. Um, he uh, yeah, your dad talks too much. He does. This is where I get it from. Hereditary, but but he doesn't talk about things that he should.

So I didn't discover until I was 15 years old looking through old family photo books. There was one photo of Macho Man Randy Savage, Lenny Pafo, his brother, and my dad and my cousin in our foyer. And I'm like, Dad, is this Macho Man Randy Savage? He's like, Yeah, that's Randy. And the reason we were talking about it is because my dad is also friends with the manager of the LA Angels, Ron Washington, who got us tickets last week to the Orioles game, had us in the dugout.

And it was getting to the point where he was inviting my dad, Washington was. To LA, and he said he'd pick him up at the airport, take him to and from games. And I'm like, who is this person that I've lived with my entire life? But yes, Macho Man Randy Savage. Friends with my dad back in the day.

I'll tell you what, the Carolinas are a breeding ground for greatness. Really? It's true. I mean, like sneaky greatness. Like, you don't really realize what's in front of you until like 15 years later.

And then you're just like, man. This is real. I can't think of a better segue to the draft where you talk about potential and a lot of guys within the Carolinas. Maybe a guy like Cooper Flag who's going to go: number one, if we can acknowledge it's not realistic. To expect Cooper Flag or Dylan Harper to be available at number four, where the Charwood Hornets are picking.

What do you view as the best case scenario? You're a guy who's done 30-plus breakdowns on prospects for the draft. You can follow Terrence Oglesby's stuff on X and check that stuff out. What do you view to be the best case scenario for Charlotte? And that could be a specific player or a trade?

Yeah. The more I'm reading, the more I just the ambiguity of all these different You know, possibilities after picks one and two have just been freaking unbelievable. The, Try to keep up with because there's some people like, well, Con Konipple makes great sense. And then Trey Johnson, he could lead the leading scoring. It makes great sense.

But they could also like try to move somebody and then trade back to get Malowatch. That would make sense too if you decided to do something with Mark.

So, best case scenario for me. You know, it's twofold because you look at whether or not they're going to hitch their. Wagons to the Lamello train. Like, if you're gonna hang with LaMelo, Great, but you need people to play alongside. I would kind of lean more towards Knipple, or I would lean more towards Vijay Edgecombe, which it's looking more and more likely he's going to end up in Philly.

But like. If that's the case, and you're going to stay with Lamello, those two guys make sense because they're very valuable world pieces, secondary ball handlers kind of guys. If you're looking toward the future, which has kind of been the steadfast argument with the Hornets a little bit, is like, hey, we're at sustainability, sustainability, sustainability, future, future, future. The highest upside swings are going to be Ace Bailey and Trey Johnson. But Trey Johnson, in my mind, I.

I'm not calling in Kobe Bryant, but his mentality in a lot of things is very similar. How he gets to spots, his ability to shoot it. He's kind of wiry, the same direction. You compared him to Jamal Crawford, didn't you? Low end, I think at worst, he could be Jamal Crawford.

Wow, and I love Jamal Crawford, I love Jamal Crawford.

So, and what was Jamal Crawford? A guy who comes off the bench and sparks you right away because he's thinking about getting buckets.

So, like, Trey Johnson's geared that certain way. And a lot of these things come down to the mentality of each player. Trey's there to score, and he understands he's there to score. I think he could score 30 points quickly. And just because he's so intentional about spots, he's a pro scorer at the college level last year playing for a coach that.

Kinda Kind of got him some shots, but really didn't that much.

So he had to do it himself. I think he's really good, and I think he's going to be even better in the NBA game.

So, how telling do you think? this pick will be one way or another About the The Charlotte Hornets. What do you mean by that? Because if you're going to go long haul with Lamello because he is so talented. you're going to pick guys that go beside him.

Edgecom. Obviously, he's there. Knipple. Like, if you're going to play it out and be like, well, maybe Nilbello's not the guy. Maybe we can swing for the fences here and try to get a superstar.

I think Trey Johnson's in that mix. That's the only way you draft Ace Bailey. You don't draft Ace Bailey if you're thinking that. That's going to coexist together with Lamello. I'll be honest with you guys, as much volatility is coming out of Ace Bailey's camp.

I'd be shocked if Charlotte took a swing.

Now, That's a pick Mitch Kupchek would have absolutely made. would have absolutely made. I don't think this front office is as apt to go after a guy. With as many, I'm not going to say off the court red flags because everything I've heard about Ace Bailey's been great. Yeah, because here's the thing: this is the stuff you have to parse.

And for those who aren't following it closely, he apparently interviewed poorly at the combine, but then again, take that stuff with a grain of salt. Yeah, but how much of a grain of salt we saw what happened with Shador Sanders in the NFL? He measured two and a half inches shorter than what he was listed at at Rutgers last year. He's reportedly refused to work out with any NBA teams that have asked. He has not worked out.

He's the only U.S. projected lottery pick that hasn't, U.S. base, that hasn't worked out with any NBA teams. Has any of that changed the way you view the player? But the The pl the player and the person right now very unpolished.

I think that's really what you if you could get some you know Ooh. Like, what takes off rust off a car? You know what I mean? Like, I don't know the right word for this. Help me out.

I mean, taking rust off a car, like a buffer? Like a buffer, if you could buff some of those things out and recode them and do all that, you're going to have a really nice car. But right now, like there's a lot of rust is the wrong word, but there's a lot to work with there. And it's going to take time to work with these certain things. And, you know, very unpolished, very unrefined.

He is an energetic kid, but he is a kid. He's very young. He's 18. And there's going to be some times you're in game 50 and there's an 18-year-old kid that's just like has his head back in the classroom. Like, my gosh, how long does this last?

But you're going to have to work through a lot of those things with him. And I don't think... Their handling of this changes that mind at all. That's kind of been the case with him, but he's always kind of been an off-the-beaten path guy. He played with AOT, which was an AAU team that was with Sharif Cooper and Isaac Okoro and all these guys years ago.

They got their Nike sponsorship pulled. He stays with them, and he's by far and away the best player on his team, but it's his team. Very, I mean, kind of looking for the same situation, maybe in Brooklyn, for example. Um, and then he goes to Rutgers, which is kind of an off-the-beaten trail destination for five-star recruits, not named Cliff Amorier. Like, it's kind of an interesting way that they're doing these things, and it's always been set up for him to be the guy, and they're trying to put him in the same spot as they put him in high school, as they put him at Rutgers, to where it's his show, he's going to get shots, but The learning curve at the MBA level is so steep because physically he's not quite there.

And there's going to be times where Ace Bailey's on the floor where there's going to be a lot of head scratching. Like, are you serious? Did you take that shot? Yeah, he did because he doesn't know any better. He thinks every shot's a good shot because that's always been what he's been told.

That doesn't sound familiar whatsoever. Terrence Oglesby is with us here. You know him, Field of 68. You know him, FanDole Sports Network with the Hornets. You did 30 evaluations on your, and you've been putting them out on X.

Conknipple. I c I don't know what your comp was, but I keep hearing And I don't know if you take issue with this, if it seems too far of a reach. You keep hearing Clay Thompson and Con Knipple. What do you think of that? Clay Thompson can run forever.

And he's a little bit more narrow. And he slides his feet incredibly well. Clay Thompson's a Hall of Famer. Steep comparison. I compared him to Sadiq Bay.

I think he's a better player than Sadiq Bay. Who do you think has a higher upside between Knipple and Kavan Malowatch? I think Malowatch is a long way away offensively. Oh. A lot of people were talking about his three-point shooting when I was.

That's every that's every they were talking about Mo Bamba's three-point shooting before the draft. And there was a certain analyst who said he was like a cross between Joelle and Bien and somebody else. I can't remember. Yeah, ridiculous. Um.

No, I think Malowatch is a long way away from an NBA five that you can facilitate and run things through, but he's still so young in his development that the upside is Malowatch. The floor is without a doubt Knipple. I think he has one of the highest floors in the entire draft because he's so stable. I kind of get past him. He knows how to play, and he's so physically strong.

The reason I can't get past him in Charlotte, I just look at it from a practical standpoint and. The upside with him is: well, what is he when Cooper's not on the floor? And in your building in Charlotte. We saw it. And I saw Jeff Peterson and Hornet's Brass there watching it.

Conknipple was. I think he averaged 14 a game at Duke this past year and around four rebounds. I think it was at like six rebounds a game and close to 20 points per game in the three wins without Cooper winning an ACC title. I can't get past that you had a front row seat watching it. And how much value that tape without Cooper on the floor must impact, must imprint them.

I think, you know, I did the Florida State game where Cooper went out with some. I can't remember what it was, but he. Hit his head or something. I can't remember. Oh, he got hit in the eye.

I poked in the eye. Yeah, he got hit in the eye. Yeah, he got hit in the eye. And Knipple just took the game over. He's making reads.

He was coming off ball screens as a ball handler. He came off a down screen and knocked down a shot. Like, he just does so many things well. Do I think he's going to average 30 points a game? No.

But you want to talk about a connective piece, a guy who could be a swing player in a playoff game? I think it's possible that he's that guy. Terrence Oglesby's with us here.

So let's get fun. Let's get nerdy. Let's look past the top five. Heck. Looking towards the edge of the lottery later in the first round.

Who is a first-round prospect? Terrence Oglesby absolutely loves and has conviction about. Oh man, that's to me, that's a tough one because I'm always looking at fit. A guy that I think could go, well, I'm going to give you two. Neek Clifford from Colorado State.

I think he just does so many things well. Jalen Williams came from Santa Clara. Neek Clifford's come from Colorado State. Their numbers are weirdly similar during last year in college.

Now, Nee is a little bit older, started at Colorado, but he was a role guy at Colorado. Defensive player goes to Colorado State, plays with Isaiah Stevens, who was on the heat on a two-way this year and kind of got better and better and better and shot the ball well. This year, he rebounds the ball incredibly well and becomes a decision maker.

So I would go to Colorado State's Neek Clifford. I think he's terrific. And then I'm going to be honest, I'm going to stay in the ACC, but the All Coast Conference version of it, I'm going over to Stanford. Maxime Renault. Love that, dude.

He's really good. And I think he's long-term oriented. Have you ever done an interview with him? Oh, I could go a step further. We're in the locker room.

After a game, I can't tell the full story here. WD knows. That's a good one. But out of respect to Max, but like after we got done with post-game, we're walking back to the locker room, and he just has this mode where he's like, okay, this is interview mode.

Now I'm turning off interview mode. And the level of charisma. is just so off the charts. It blew me away and instantly won me over how much his teammates like him, how he engages with people and how smart the guy is. I I'm all in on Maxine Reynold.

And he's long-term oriented, meaning he understands, like, maybe it's not exactly what I want. But at the same time, it's exactly what I need to do in order to stay at a certain place. Like, he got big money offers to leave Stanford. Big money offers. And he stayed there because he said, The education here, I've built something here.

I feel like I can finish really well here. And then he comes back and he was he lead the league in scoring? And yeah, multiple ACC coaches told me that they wanted him and they went hard after him, but the mom. But the mom said, no, he's going to Stanford. Yeah.

And good on him. And he understood that. And he perveyed that to me, or conveyed that rather wrong word, conveyed that to me whenever I. Interviewed him prior to the season. I think he's just awesome.

And in a league where there's a lot of seven-footers and there's not very many good ones. Like, I see him as a guy you can bring in off the bench. It'll change your offense up a little bit. You can run some variability with your fives because he can shoot the ball. I would say both of those guys are really good.

There's a couple that I'm lost with. Like, Carter Bryant's a nice player. Like He didn't do anything offensively at Arizona. Nothing. And he was a lob threat and a defensive player, which is great.

And he carries himself a certain way. Like he's going to be a pro, and he's got, I just, to pick him really high, I'm a little bit worried about. Um you know Liam McNeely, like he's touted as this great shooter. What did he shoot? 31%?

And it didn't hit anything in the NCAA tournament, those two games. And Jace Richardson, like bloodlines are great, and he had some good times at Michigan State and he shot the ball well, but like Putting too much value on dudes that are small, and I'm small, and I'm big. Pissed that I'm smaller. I'm 6'2. Like it wasn't going to work for me anyway.

It is so hard to be a smaller guy in the NBA. And then you go back and watch his film. It's like, just okay. But people love him. You want to go back to the best case scenario for Charlotte?

They have picks 33 and 34. Uh Either packaging those picks and getting Raynaud at the end of the first round. Like, I hope that's a guy that falls out of the first round just. Oh, oh, if they get Maxime Raynaud. Because again, you did all these evaluations.

So there might be some guys that fall out of the first round that Charlotte. targets going back to fit at 33 and 34. Yeah. I think Renault would b make perfect sense if they kept Mark Williams, which Conventional wisdom says they're trying to move again.

So, like, to be honest with you, this administration in Charlotte has been so tight-lipped, we have no idea what they're going to do. But the speculation runs rampant because I think people are excited. They've seen what they've done over the last couple of trade deadlines. If I were Charles Lee, I would want some variability at the five-spot because you look at their lineups: Mark Williams, then the Musa Diabate, then the Taj Gibson, it was like. That's all kind of the same guy.

Right? Like you can't really do much different. Yeah. From guy to guy. That's kind of where I'm at.

Let's close with this. Tamara Togles will be with us here. Getting to. We spent all this time talking about the NBA. There's a game seven on Sunday.

And sometimes you just got to admit what you don't know. We've been doing pretty well in picking games during these finals, and we've profited in our bet segment. We've had some fun. But I I'd be lying if I said I had any clue. Any clue.

I don't have a reed. I don't, here's how I'll frame it. What Does Terrence Oglesby feel comfortable saying will happen in Sunday's Game 7? What do you feel confident? This is going to happen.

Like, what result do you look at and say, yep, I feel confident saying that we're going to see that Sunday night? It's going to be close. That's what I will say. I would lean and I thought the Pacers would win game six because that building is crazy, but it's at home for Oklahoma City. I would probably venture more that direction just because they're at home.

I think it's going to be a great game. You know, the fun part about Indiana, if you can get past Indiana hate, and I think there's a healthy amount of Indiana hate for whatever reason, if you can get past Indiana hate and realize, like, hey, man, that team does not rely on officials. They play a certain pace. They push the basketball. They're deep.

They have guys that play together. I think they have seven guys averaging double figures in the finals, which has never been done, not just in the finals, but in the playoffs ever.

So, like, they're unselfish and they play the right way. And, like, for some reason, Halliburton has been the guy that now they're like, oh, well, he's not a superstar. I don't care if he's not a superstar. Like, why do we keep bringing up this topic of conversation? Why aren't we talking about adjustments that should be made going into game seven?

Like, I don't care if Halliburton's not a. Superstar, tell me why he's so damn good. Also, what's tell me why is the difference between a star and a superstar? Like, again, I. The guy's a star.

Nobody cares. People do, apparently. I'm with you. I think a lot less people care than what. Than the amount, the sheer volume of how much you're talking about.

I bet you Dagno and Rick Carlisle don't care. Probably not. I tell you what, I guarantee you, both of those guys think he's a superstar. I think Terrence Oglesby is a superstar. Field of 68 joining us here, and also.

Uh Hornets Vandal, you know from all these different places. TO. Fan of fun. Fan of fun, T.O. He played Pinehurst earlier this week, number two.

Got to get you on Sedgefield in Greensboro sometime. We'll have to make that happen. I'm let me know when. I'll come over. There you go.

We'll make it happen. We'll make it happen. Maybe we'll see who. Have you ever played with Randolph? Randolph Childers?

I'd love to see who wins between those two. Oh, that would be fair. I'm not good enough. The rumor I hear is that you're pretty good off the T-box. And I don't know if Randolph can outdrive you.

I'm pretty good off the T-box. That's good. I'm good off the T-bucks. That's about 100 yards an in. I'm a straight.

I haven't really been playing golf for all that long. I was not ready. Oh, it's not right. I'm going to get the text. I know he's out of town, but I think we're going to get the text from Randolph.

He's going to hear this somehow and be like, I got T.O. We'll figure it out. All right. T.O., thanks for doing this. Enjoy the finals, game seven, and the draft, and we'll catch up with you sometime down the line.

All right, appreciate it. Thanks, guys. Instead of just talking, why don't you listen? That's why you have people call in. Listen for a minute.

Oh, welcome back to the Happy Circle. The drive with Josh Graham. We almost got carried away with that conversation with T.O.

Something almost happened that has never happened in this show before. Not having time. To sing Rhinestone Cowboy. Yeah, we can't have that. On a Rhinestone Cowboy Friday.

That'd be false advertising. Thanks to the CO for joining us. If you haven't, subscribe to the podcast, search the drive with Josh Graham, iTunes Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your pods. Also, the YouTube channel. That's how you can watch the show.

In addition to listening, search once again, The Drive with Josh Graham. We'll see if we have time for taking to the house. But in the meantime, we sing Glenn Campbell. On On this Friday. Here we go!

Like a rhinestone cowboy. Riding out of the horse in a star-spangled road. Rodeo like a rhinestone hell. Can you Getting cards. and letters from people on Don't even know.

And off first coming over. Uh five. Let's Take it to the house. Passed the 15. Past the 10, past the five for the drive.

We'll take it to the One, two, three. The remake of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Only Instead of three bears breaking into the cabin in the woods, it's. A husband who's terrified to go home to his angry wife.

Well Yeah. That is a terrifying thing if she's angry.

So you'll be surprised to know that this, I actually didn't think it was at first. This was a flood of. Forty-four years old. He snuck into a random house. And broke in.

to avoid again going home to his angry wife after they had a bit of a quarrel. Good word. Thank you. Name's Joe. He broke into this house in Davenport, and there was.

It was. It was empty for a handful of days. I guess the owners were out.

So he stayed there for a few days. He cooked meals. and even had a luxurious bath. Police picked him up.

Okay. Not too long after that. What a way to soar into the weekend like a rocket ship. We did have time for Ticket to the House. We did have time for Rhinestone Cowboy.

Enjoy Orioles, Yankees. Enjoy game seven of the NBA Finals. And we'll talk to you. On a Monday drive. I like watching.