Are They From Duluth? (3-4-26)

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It is a gorgeous day outside. Here in the triad, it feels terrific. It's a, yeah. Spring vibes, man. Spring vibes.

Was it getting up to 70 today, I think? This is the kind of weather that I consider sitting on the mountaintop at a winery. Enjoy. The day. I'd kinda like to go do that.

Yeah. But you know what I'd rather do? Talk sports. Talk sports with you all out there. That's what I'd like to do.

So let's do that. We got to start with Chapel Hill. What we saw last night. Plenty to dive into from that game. I just hope we can fit it all in.

But getting to the game itself. Carolina They might be the best wild card team in the country. That's fair. And what I mean by that is when Caleb Wilson comes back, which Let's hope Knocking on wood here that he does come. For Carolina fans, for college basketball fans, let's hope he comes back for the Duke game on Saturday.

But the reason I feel like they're the best wild card team in the country is because if he plays And when everything is clicking for Carolina, I could see them going to the final four.

Now, that's a big if. Everything has to be clicking the right way. But when you really look at it, Like When Caleb Wilson's healthy, they really don't have a bad loss. Like, yeah, there was the Michigan state loss early in the year on Thanksgiving Day. Didn't I get beat by SMU?

They did.

So that was another one. But other than that, like, it's for the most part. It's been pretty solid with Caleb Wilson in there.

So And now When you look at how this team has responded in the way that they have. In Wilson's absence, in Vessar's absence, the couple of games he was out. They're now 5-1 after beating Clemson last night. And Caleb, he seems like one of those players that... Much like Seth Tremble back in December when he got hurt.

It's not going to be too disruptive when he comes back. Like, Seth was a big cheerleader on the sideline, a big leader on the sideline in the locker room. Caleb Wilson is the same way. Like, there was a joke each time Seth Trimble got up for the couple of hammers that he got, the one against Louisville and the one against Virginia Tech. There was like a, who got higher up?

Caleb Wilson or Seth Trimble? Because Wilson was just losing it on the sideline.

So. That's why I think there's no better wildcard team that could get to the Final Four than Carolina. But on the game last night, Seth Trimble. Didn't have his greatest night last night, but... For the most part here in Wilson's absence.

He's been playing some of the best basketball that he's ever played in his career. I mean, 30 against Louisville, 20 against Virginia Tech. Zayden High. Shout out to him. He's really picked up the slack in Caleb Wilson's absence.

Luca Bogovats, six threes last night. Six. Like, what was in the water last night? That was like 2013 NBA Finals, Mike Miller. That was the Miami Heat.

Yeah. That. Is the Luca Bogovats that I think people have been waiting for? Whether it's Carolina, whether it's the fans, like that was it. Maybe a little bit extra, but like that was it.

Six of 10 last night, right? I believe that was right. For Luca, you mean? Yes. Yeah, Luca was 6 of 10.

6 of 14 from the field. Nice 60%. Three point average there. And he hit three of them like over a very tight stretch. Like Hubert Davis was about to lose his mind on the side on one of those, getting fired up as that thing was kind of a ballgame late.

Clemson, they're a physical team. Much respect to Brad Brownell. I mean, he just, again, like sweet 16, elite eight over the last handful of years. Like, he finds ways to get the best out of his team. And I think he's one.

I mean, he's, I don't think, he's, I know he's one of the most respected coaches in the ACC. They hung around well into the second half. Didn't shoot the ball great from three in the first, but they did start to fill it up a little in the second, which is what got them back into it. And made a game out of it, TJ Godfrey or RJ Godfrey. That dude.

was on one last night. Career high, 22 points. His previous was 21.

So he was big for Clemson, but Carolina was able to hang on late. put themselves in terrific position now. Going into the Duke game Saturday, you're looking at a possible double buy next week in the ACC tournament. I think there is a Miami game that might have some impact on whether they get that double buy or not. More on that later on.

But It's pretty impressive stuff. By the way. 18-0 for the first time in school history. At the Smith Center. Which Seth Trimble, after the game, when he gave it, I don't have this clip, but to paraphrase it for you, uh, When he gave his senior speech, He capped it off with, I got one more thing to say.

And I know you guys are with me on this, talking to the crowd. I really, really, really hope the Smith Center is here for a long, long time. Wonder how Lee Roberts liked that. Probably didn't. Probably not.

Probably not. But that, as you can imagine, got the crowd pretty fired up. But, uh, 18-0 at the Smith Center. Here was Hubert Davis. Last night in the post-game presser, talking about what an accomplishment that is.

You know, these are things that we'll remember for the rest of our life. Um I'm just really proud of the guys. I've said this before, just I keep telling them I'm proud of them, but I am. You know, just. all the things that this team has had to adjust and to go through.

And this is the fifteenth game without Mm-hmm. Um either Seth Henry or Caleb in the line up. and for this team to do what they have done. this year. My hope is they're recognized for that.

Yeah. 18 and no. It's pretty, pretty cool stuff. And again, Down the stretch here without Caleb Wilson. Like, that's.

That's what's most impressive because, I mean, Carolina, they also had to beat a couple of NCAA tournament teams to do it. Clemson. I think they're going to be a tournament team. Uh Louisville, they are going to be a tournament team.

So that's That's all over the course of, you know, about three games that they got that done. A few more clips to get to here, though, from Hubert's. Press conference. He did speak on Seth Trimble. And You know, with it being his senior night.

A four-year player. He entered the portal two years in because he thought maybe a better shot would be somewhere else, but Seth ultimately came back. We actually heard from him on that last night. But first, here was Hubert Davis on Seth Trimble. What uh Um you know, example, testament.

to perseverance and being able to um continue and stay through the fight. You know, with the choices that these kids have every year to be able to transfer and Um You know, one of the things that always, not just Seth, but everyone, I said, you know, you have to find joy and enjoyment of how hard it is to be the best that you could be individually and as a team. It's difficult, it's hard. It just is. There's no way around it.

You can't go any place in the country. and everything go the way that you want. it to go. There's going to be cloudy and rainy and windy days and I really hope that Seth is Okay. being celebrated as much as he should.

And I think he is amongst Carolina fans. I mean, like I said yesterday. He represents everything that's great about college basketball, whether it's the staying four years, whether it's everything he stands for in his leadership, the way he plays the game. You got to still go out there and do it on the floor. And he's gradually gotten better every year, and he can drive to the basket like no other.

But he did. He did enter the portal. But he came back. And Seth Trimble spoke on that after the game last night. I really hope I'm not, but if I am, I think it speaks on just The character And the love and the passion I have for this university.

Uh you know, for being real. Me leaving my sophomore year would have been very, very logical. That's like a huge chance coming back here. Uh Five-star freshman coming in, best guard in America returning, lead point guard coming back. Uh the backboard was packed.

A transfer that Kay Tyson coming in. Uh but I take a chance because I try to I I couldn't leave. I I didn't I didn't want to. And I couldn't, the love I had for this place. And everything else was just too strong.

So the thing he was talking about there at the beginning, hoping that he's not, is the is a four-year player. Like, because there's been some conversation over the last couple of days, whether it was posed to him, whether it was posed to Hubert. Like, could Seth Trimble be The last four-year player to come to Carolina. I don't know why that's a. A topic?

I d I don't know. I'm not sure, I guess. Because of the one and done. Because of the one and done. But see, I would argue that NIL is going to cause more players to stay longer.

I really do.

Now, maybe not four years. Maybe you get two years, three tops out of the best players out there. Um But I don't know. That would be kind of crazy. If you didn't see any more four-year players, it really would.

So, yeah, Carolina. Big night for them last night. And big night for Hubert Davis on several levels because not only was it. Seth Trimble senior night. It was his son Elijah's senior night.

We saw Elijah start the game, and then he popped in there with 0.9 seconds to go when Seth Trimble was at the foul line.

So Hubert was talking about the emotions of that. Then, not only that, you had R.J. Davis in the building. There was a lot going on last night, a lot going on. And Hubert.

He said he actually kind of struggled to keep everything together yesterday. I haven't kept it together all day. I've been a mess all day. All day. I have.

And I just need time to like... It was Honestly, there was a lot to unpack. You know, obviously Elijah. Um And I could spend the rest of my life talking about him. and the impact that he's made on me and this team and this program.

Uh Seth. Um RJ. No. The game Um what was at stake? It's the last week of the regular season.

It's just a lot. Carolina, a lot going on there last night, gets the win over Clemson, and they head to Duke on Saturday. DJ Turner on On the ones and the twos over there, making the magic happen. Absolutely. Love that.

By the way, 336-777-1600 as we open the phone lines to you on your reaction to Carolina Clemson last night. Do you believe Carolina is the best wildcard team in college basketball? Or is it somebody else that we're not even thinking about? Jay Davis, you can also chime in on our YouTube comments here. Jay Davis, one of our regulars here.

Uh Said I should have took the hornet spread. Yeah. We'll get into that a little later this hour. Yeah. DJ over there getting it started early.

He also mentioned that Derek Dixon and Zayden High could be either one of those guys or both could be four-year players. I actually could see that. Um Satan High was this year Two? Because he wasn't around last year. But that's possible.

Derek Dixon, I could see it as well. Yeah, that'll be an interesting story to follow.

Something else, though. That is interesting to follow. Is the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament officially getting underway today? But it kinda bums me out though. 'Cause it's not in Greensboro.

Yeah. Where it's been forever. It's in Duluth. Duluth, Georgia. I didn't even know what Duluth was.

Duluth. Did you know what Duluth was? We're more well-trained. I'm way older than you. You are, and you're more well-trapped.

But I've heard lots of people say they don't know what Duluth is. We had to get West Durham to tell us these things. Also a clothing company.

Well, I knew that the Luth brand. Yeah, I knew what they were. Where do you think they're based out of? My guess is Duluth, Georgia. I have no idea.

I just thought you know what? You put two and two together because, see, that would be the part where I would go, are they from Duluth? And absolutely, they probably are. 336-777-1600. Where's Duluth?

brand from? Are they out of Duluth? I don't know. But it does bum me out, though, because Greensboro is going to support it better than anybody. No offense, Duluth.

You ain't the borough. You're not Greensbury, as our 530 guest, Connor O'Neill, calls it. Yeah. So we already got one game in the books today. Miami and Stanford, 12 Miami, 13 Stanford, 83-76 final.

In overtime, the Kanes. Moving along, so they'll face Notre Dame tomorrow at 1:30 in Duluth. Uh Cal and Wake Forest. Got a final there, 75 to 52. Cal got the win over.

The number 15 seeded Deeks. And then now, on my TV here in the studio, we got number 14, Florida State, and number 11, Georgia Tech with 4.10 to go in the first quarter. Georgia Tech leads 14 to 8. This is. It's the first double-digit seed, believe it or not, that Florida State's been in tournament history.

And this is the third ever meeting between these two, FSU and Georgia Tech. in the tournament. We'll keep you updated on that. Throughout today, throughout the whole tournament. We'll keep you updated on that as March Madness, even though it's not on the bracket.

March Madness starts when the conference tournaments start up and that That is right now in Duluth, Georgia. Saw a big a massive big speaking of Greens, bro, like Again. When you drive past it, and I went out there yesterday, again, shout out to the Piedmont Triad Sports Club. Me and Josh Graham went out there. There's a massive Big 12 logo on the side of the Aquatic Center.

'Cause I think they had their conference swimming meet or whatever out there. Yeah. It ain't right. Um Duluth is actually located in Wisconsin. Yeah.

Ah, okay.

So things aren't always as obvious as they seem. And speaking of women's basketball, if you want to see a throwdown, South Alabama, Coastal Carolina. Eight players ejected, one referee laid out on the court. This. was insane.

Championship. Uh the second round of the Sun Belt tournament. Uh I don't know why I said championship. Um Yeah. The lady ref had nowhere to go.

I mean, she was like literally holding it in the middle. I'm looking at her right now. In the middle. Like it. The official, some of the coaches, like they're all like almost standing around her, like boxing her in with like their, and she's just like, I don't mean to laugh, but she's out.

She is out. Women's basketball. Whew. It's physical outcome. It's up.

That's right. All right. Chapel Hill wasn't the only place some high-level hoop was going last night. It's happening in the Queen City, too. The Charlotte Hornets.

They hit another, yet another benchmark last night. We tell you what it is next to the drive on WSJS. We must talk. Go ahead. Talk.

Turning your ride home into appointment listening. Welcome to the drive. Um Oh, yeah. Good jams here too. Back at it on a Wednesday drive right here on WSJS.

So the Charlotte Hornets They handled their business against the Dallas Mavericks last night. I got Jay Davis in the comments here giving me grief because I didn't take the spread. Yeah. double digit spread what was it like fourteen and a half or something like that? I think so.

I think that was correct. It just didn't feel right, did it? And then they win by 27 and made you look like a fool. Yes, they did.

Okay. P.J. Washington making his return to Charlotte. Clay Thompson did not play. Cooper Flagg did not play, which we already knew Cooper wasn't going to play.

Yeah, I noticed Marvin Bagley didn't play either. No, he didn't. Um. But again So the so the thing that you're giving me grief about right now. is a benchmark that the Hornets have hit.

And that is, over the last five games, They have they are the first team in the NBA this year to win five straight games by fifteen or more points. Are you a believer yet? Oh, I've been a believer. Do you believe? Oh, you mean with my watch?

Do you really believe? I guess you'll find out at Dalton's Dollars here in a little while. I guess so. Listen, I thought about pulling the trigger on that, but I was just like, that's a lot of points. And I.

Want to have some little respect for Dallas. B leave. Yeah. You got to. You really do.

But I mean, on a serious note, the Hornets, what they're doing, all they're doing night in and night out is just. affirming and validating this run that they've been on. Since the calendar flipped to 2026. Like five straight, 15-plus point wins. First team in the NBA this year to do that.

They are 19-2. With this current starting lineup that features Miller, Ball, Bridges, Diabate, and Knipple. And if you're an NBA team. Like You're a pro team. You're getting paid millions of dollars to play basketball.

And you're three of 22 from three point land. You should be fired. That's pretty bad. That's pretty bad. Uh The Hornets, by the way.

They've also caught up. And by caught up, I mean they are officially 500. This is a team. That was They started out 4 and 13. Like, I'll give you the actual number.

So, they had a lot of work to do to catch up. And When you look back on the month of January, On January 12th, this is how much This is how much they needed to catch up. They were 14 and 26. Today they're 31 and 31.

So There's no telling how far they can take this. You know, at the moment, they are a play-in team, which is where at the start of the season. It ki we we all kinda had the consensus of You know, that would be a good If by the end of the year they could be a play-in tournament team, that would be good growth. That'd be pretty solid. But then Going the way they did again, four and thirteen start, and it got worse after that too.

Um You didn't know if they were going to get to playing.

Now, anything can still happen, but with the way that they're playing right now and with the consistency and the longevity that they've now done it for a solid. Over two months.

Now you can start to have real conversations about them. If they keep this up, Now that they're 500 and they've kind of caught up.

Now, if you keep this up, you might could miss the play-in and just completely leapfrog it and just be a playoff team.

Okay. Like, to put it in perspective. If you look at the teams six through ten right now in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia has 28 losses, Orlando has 28 losses, Miami has 29, Charlotte and Atlanta have 31. Yep.

That's three games that separate. six, seven, eight, nine, and ten. And if you want to go ahead and throw Toronto in there, they've got 26 losses. Yeah. There's five.

Games Separating From 5 through 10. This can be anybody's race. And they could really If they continue this role. You know, the sky's the limit. I'd also like to take this opportunity to gloat just a little bit.

So the former host of the show, Josh Graham. He scoffed at me. He mocked me. When I said this Hornets team, when I predicted, we were making predictions before the season started, I said, you know what? 38 wins.

Pa! He laughed at me. He marked me.

Well, they got 31 wins now. By the way, I think did you win the Carolina Panthers bet? How many wins did you say? I said nine. They got eight.

Okay. So eight wins was a push. If they did under that, I owed him putters if they went over. uh, he owed me putters, so So, whatever. It just balanced out, or did you have to dig it?

No, no, it was a push with eight wins. That's how that went. But Yeah. Also, when the Hornets win, it's just an opportunity for us to play Eric Collins sound. Here was Brandon Miller flashing the good stuff.

Frank Williams! That's my guy right there. It's my guy. Is that right? It's my golfer buddy, man.

How many strokes do you have to give him?

Well, we. Yeah, they're having a conversation about golf. And then Brandon Miller, wow. Yeah. Snuck a Grant Williams highlight in there too at the beginning.

Didn't even realize I did that. They had a pretty good game last night, too. That's right. Just too many highlights to fit them all in. It's overflowing right now.

But yeah, the Hornets. Here's another fun fact. Lomello has been healthy. and consistently available. For three months now.

That has to factor into this too. What did we all say? That has been the Hornet's biggest problem over the last handful of years. Since they drafted LaMello and then, you know, Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller, like nobody, they couldn't stay all healthy at the same time. It's a career high, I think.

Uh oh yeah. Oh it is. It is. Um Three months. That that blows his His previous Stretch out of the water.

I don't remember what it is, but I mean, we've been past that. That's how long he's been available.

So they've got the best record in the NBA since January 22nd at 15 and 3 now. Again. It's all in the numbers. This isn't just like, oh yeah, the hornet. No, no, they're actually.

The best team in the NBA record-wise since that stretch.

Now. They go to Boston tonight. And you see, You can't dismiss the record. They beat Houston. They beat Detroit.

This hasn't been one of these gibby schedules that everybody wants to say. No. And now Boston, second best team in the East. Yep. Uh And that's pretty impressive given they've done it without Jason Tatum.

So Charles Lee spoke last night about Not being the slightest bit satisfied with what he's seen, which I think that's a big reason why the Hornets have been able to do this and to continue to do this, is because. Not satisfied. You got to stay. It's easy to. You know, you're not as hungry when you've been fed.

But the Hornets, they've stayed with it. Their bench played really well last night, too, by the way. Ceon James, 13, like they played really well on the bench. Yeah. That's going to be an interesting one tonight.

In Boston. I'll be interested to take a look at the injury report on this. Maybe we'll do that a little later on. Um But did you see Cion getting this kind of playing time? Uh no.

I didn't Another surprise. Like, I'm stunned. I didn't. Because in the summer league. Like he wasn't getting a ton of run or not summer league, uh preseason I think it was.

Or maybe both. Like, he wasn't getting a ton of run. Liam McNeely was. I'm like, ah, okay. Cion might even be in Greensboro this year.

But then he comes out and he's been really good. He's defended a lot of times. He defended Shea Gilgis Alexander when they played the Thunder. He's been on the best player offensively for the other team a lot of times this year. Charles Lee has a lot of trust in Cion James.

Coach of the year. Hmm. I hadn't thought about that yet, but I think we should. T B D, let's put a pin in that. When you step back, who else is it?

I mean, and look what he has. and what he's been able to get this team to accomplish this year. It it's pretty spectacular. I mean, I don't want to just be biased and say he is, but when I think about it, like if he can, if they. Finish out the year this way?

He's going to win that run in a way. I mean, I don't think it's bias at all. I mean, based on what he's been able to do, you know, this 15-2 run, and if they continue to, you know, proceed this way. I How can it not be? I think you might be right about that.

That'll be a fun conversation to have a little later on in the season. Your one-stop shop for Sports Talk, Sports. Because somebody has to say what you're thinking.

Now, back to the drive. I gotta make a correction on something. See ya. I own it when I'm wrong on something. I admit that I don't know everything.

A lot of people do not do that. Uh So I was saying that after we were talking about the Stefan Diggs. Uh release. Earlier today, I thought Booty was the better receiver on the Patriots this year than Stephon Diggs. But Jay Davis, in our comments, points out that Stephon Diggs did have significantly more receiving yards than Booty did.

Which is true.

So just wanted to correct that. Booty did have more touchdowns though. Did have more touchdowns. Significantly more yards for Stefan Diggs.

So, again, we own it when we're wrong on things, it happens. We're all human around here. Uh let's uh Let's make some money or try to in Dalton's dollars. Stack it up, stack, stack, gotta stack it up. Hit the money.

Get the money on the zone. It's time to cash in. Welcome to Dalton's Dollars. Show me the money. Breaking down the board and building the bankroll.

Went one and two last night. One and two. I I'm okay with a 500 night. Obviously, okay with a winning knight. I don't like to dip into the red.

Don't love that. But here's what we had: I took. This was a little bold, but I thought Virginia was gonna be crispy. Even Steve Forbes thought that after the game. He was like, he thought they were going to play mad, the Cavs, last night.

Uh I took Virginia, 14 and a half point favorites at home against Wake. It didn't happen. Virginia only won by five.

So. Very much off on that one. Uh the one that I did get UNC Clemson. I liked Carolina at three and a half point favorites. Clemson, they came into last night 4-0 against the spread as an underdog this season.

3-0 of that was on the road.

So I was going against the data, but I just felt with everything going on last night, senior night RJ Davis, and the way Carolina's been playing recently, I like that. And We just scraped by. Carolina won by four. Made a little money. Show me the That's right.

That's right. The third pick that I had last night that did not work out: Hornets Mavs. I took Musadiya Bate. 10 plus rebounds. Uh He only had eight.

only had Eight. He'd done pretty well since his suspension. Had seven boards, 11 boards, 11 boards, eight last night. Is he considered a forward or guard? He's forward.

Okay. Yeah, he's. He's their five technically. He has more of a power forward frame, but he's their five, technically speaking. Yeah, he finished with eight last night.

Tonight, though, let's keep it moving. Let's keep it trucking. Mm-hmm.

So the hornets. They play the Celtics tonight. I'm not gonna get cute. I'm not gonna take the spread. I think the Hornets were, I think, two and a half or three and a half point dogs.

They're in Boston. I think this is right. Let me double-check it, though. But it doesn't matter because that's not what I'm going to do. I'm not taking the spread.

I'm just going to go straight up. Moneyline, Hornets beat the Celtics plus 205 odds. Stroving them! plus or six and a half. point dogs.

So there you go. I thought about it. But nah. I like I like the uh value I get just with taking a straight money line. Uh Thunder Nicks.

I'm gonna take the under. In this game, under two hundred and uh two hundred and twenty-two point five I get this at minus 110 odds. Strophy divided! The Knicks? They've quietly been one of the better defensive teams in the league recently.

They're third in defensive rating over their last 15 games, first over their last 10. And now the Knicks are seventh in the NBA in defensive rating for the season.

So yeah. Thunder Knicks, they're both top five in the NBA in opponents' points per game. Thunder remains number one in the league in defensive rating after allowing just 108 points to Chicago on Tuesday night.

So. I like the under in that game. Third of the bunch. Got a trio. Atlanta?

They're plus one underdogs at the Milwaukee Bucks tonight. I'm going to take that. You'll be the buddy! Minus one twelve odds. The Hawks are within reach of the sixth seed in the East.

They've won four in a row.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee, the Box, they're going to have Giannis on a minute's restriction. And we saw Milwaukee get blasted the other night. Was that Celtics took care of business? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Celtics handled that one pretty good.

I like Atlanta in that spot.

So that's what we got. Hornets money line against the Celtics. Yeah. Under 222 and a half points, Thunder Knicks. Go be the thunder!

Atlanta. One point dogs at the Milwaukee Bucks. Funny! There you go. Uh wanted to get to this Well, actually, first of all, we got to tell you about WSJS.com.

It's where you can listen to the show, listen to all of our programs there. Um Try it today with Jeffrey Griffin, 7 to 10 a.m. every weekday. You got Waking Up Proud, 9 to 11 Saturday mornings. Obviously, you can be listening to this show.

But you got Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd, as well.

So there's plenty to get into on WSJS.com, including all our Winter Wonderland of winning prizes. And just to name a few, I mean, you could go see the Twin City Thunderbirds. They take on the Athens Rock Lobsters. Rock lobsters. Great mascot name.

Terrific. That's Friday night, next Friday. Uh you could get in on that. Santana and the Doobie Brothers going to be in Charlotte in July, July 8th, to be specific. Wake Forest basketball tickets.

They welcome in Stanford on Sunday, Chicago and Sticks. Going to be in Charlotte July 18th.

So these are all the things that you could get into on WSJS.com. For those who haven't heard, Lou Holtz passed away today. I was about to get to that. And David Clemens wants to share his favorite quote from him. Dave, go right ahead.

What's up, WD? Yeah, I was just calling to I love Coach Holtz, man, and I grew up watching college game day final at like 2 a.m. in the morning. And him and Mark May would be on there. And I was in college at the time, I'd stay up late, and I fell in love with Coach Holtz.

And one of his favorite sayings that I ever heard, and it's simple, he said. The difference between a champ In a chunk. It's you. the letter you, right? And so the difference between a champ and a chump is you, meaning you control if you're a champ or a chump, man.

And that always stuck with me. I love Coach Holtz. He came from NC State back in the day. And then I also would say that I did love I forget the context, but I remember Ryan Day a couple years ago running off the field at Notre Dame and He he has took some shots at Coach Holtz, and I didn't really appreci I didn't really appreciate that, so I've never liked Coach Ryan Day ever since then, but I just wanted to say RFP, Coach Holtz, we love you. Yeah, I'll be curious to see, and thank you for the call, Dave.

I'll be curious to see if we get any type of statement from Ryan Day. I feel like. We will, I'd like to hope. Um but yeah, Lou Holtz. He was, uh, with the Wolf Pack.

Was over at NC State from 1972 to 1976. They went 31, 11, and 2 over the four seasons. He was there, four bowl games, and They won two, lost one, and they tied one of those.

So Lou Holtz passing away today at 89. Yeah, a couple of other things. He said, Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you respond to it. I love that quote. Twitters never win.

And do right, do your best, and treat others with care. He had some great quotes, and those will live on forever. Another segment, another bad take you'll argue about all night. You're on the Triad's longest-running live sports talk show, The Drive. Connor O'Neill of Deacons and Devils Illustrated.

Gonna join us. Yes. In a little over 10 minutes. Gonna get his thoughts on Wake Forest Outlook heading into the ACC tournament. Covers Duke, as we know, so we'll get his outlook on the job that John Shire's done here.

And Duke preparing to host Carolina on Saturday. But speaking of One half of that matchup. Carolina going to get a big win over Clemson last night. I feel that. UNC is the best They're the best wildcard team.

in the country. And what I mean by that is when Caleb Wilson's playing. And when everything is clicking. I could absolutely see them going to the Final Four.

Now, that's a big if on if everything is clicking together, Caleb Wilson has to come back and be implemented. We hope that that's the Duke game. College basketball fans hope that that's the Duke game because that's going to be must-see Caleb Wilson versus Cam Boozer part two. But A big piece of that everything clicking has been Luca Bogovatz. The Montenegro import, of course.

It was not, um It was not an easy year, or has not been an easy year for Luca. But The dude went off last night last night. You could call the Luca Bogovat's game six of ten from three. Six. Threes.

I can't emphasize that enough. It looked like 2013 NBA Finals, Mike Miller, like the dude. And he had a stretch. There was a trio of three-pointers in about a two and a half minute stretch. Uh that put Carolina up 59-55 with like four minutes to go.

Uh yeah, that's uh that's pretty good stuff. Hubert Davis was fired up on the sideline. In fact, uh in a quote, From Luca last night. This was. Via Noah Wisekoff at Torre Hill 24-7.

He said, Coach Davis called a lot of plays for me in the second half. He really pushed me to shoot the ball. I feel also it gives me, or it gives confidence to other players and leaves more space for other guys. They had to guard me differently in the second half because I shot it good. It's important to keep shooting, and Hubert Davis.

recognize that.

So Carolina When Luca scores 14 or more is 8-0. That's that. Like, I always love the numbers. I love the details, the numbers that can help tell a story. And.

A big piece of Carolina. being all they can be Is going to be Luca Bogavats' shooting. That's what they brought him in to do. That's why they're paying him to do it. That's why the whole ordeal.

With his eligibility at the start of, or right leading up to the first game of the year against central Arkansas. Was such a big story. It was such a big deal because you didn't know if you're going to get him or not, and would he even be able to play this year? It was a whole thing. Obviously, that got worked out, but.

That's a great point, and a great transition into a clip from Hubert Davis last night talking about. Everything that Luca has had to deal with this year as a Montenegro player, coming to a different country. And here was Hubert Davis on that subject talking about Luca last night. It's a huge adjustment. I mean, I just.

And really I can't It into perspective because I haven't been in that type of situation. I remember. You know, being in the NBA and getting traded and having to go to a different city within 48 hours, but I didn't have to go to a different country. where I knew no one and You had to adjust to new coaches. New country.

New school. New system. New teammates. That was Hubert Davis last night on Luca Bogovat's. And You know, when you look at his recent stretch, in fact, we talked to David Glenn last week about this.

Very subject. David Glenn is going to be a guest on tomorrow's program. Uh The last several games, like 20 against Clemson, of course, 12 in the Louisville game. Before that, 13 against Syracuse, 15 against Pitt. And that's.

That's after he really didn't start ACC conference play very good. Like he would sh he showed flashes throughout the year of his ability to shoot it. But I mean, he had a goose egg against Florida State, which was the ACC opener at home. He had a goose egg against Wake Forest, also at home.

So it just It was kind of up and down, but really... From the Virginia win on. He's only had a handful of four games that he scored in single digits. Everything else has been double-digit.

So. He started to figure it out. It's happening at the right time, and it's been a long journey for him. To get to this point.

So is he figuring it out, or is it because of the Caleb effect and he's actually getting more touches? He's certainly getting more touches. But I mean even Even before Caleb got hurt. Like, that's what I'm saying. Like, the Virginia game.

The Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Syracuse game, three straight games. He had double digits.

So he is getting more touches, more opportunity for these shots that he's getting off. But I mean, he's always had a quick trigger. Like, he's always had that. He just hasn't always. It all hasn't always gone in.

He's a big piece of it. Seth Trimble is a big piece of it. Jaron Stevenson is a big piece of it. And Zayden High has really filled in in a big way in Caleb Wilson's absence.

So for all of those reasons, with Caleb Wilson hopefully coming back against Duke. And I don't think it's going to be a big transition. I think much like Seth Trimble. He's not going to be very disruptive when he comes back, but there will be, I'm sure, adjustments that have to be made. When it's all clicking right for Carolina, I think they're the best wild card team.

in the country. So Be sure to check out our podcast channel. You can find that on Spotify. You can find that on Apple Podcasts, The Drive with Will Dalton. Just look that up.

Because, I mean, we get it. It's a couple hours. Yeah, it's a two-hour long show. I mean, you've got stuff to do. You maybe can only catch a segment or two or an hour's worth.

You gotta skip around a little bit.

So what we do.

So we compile the best. The best parts of the show, aka Connor O'Neill, when he joins us in about seven minutes. That's as good as it gets right there. As far as I'm concerned.

So you can get Connor, you can get all of that. You can get the Carolina take talking about the Hornets. All of these things are going to be in our best of podcasts. Again, search The Drive with Will Dalton. You can get that on Spotify and Apple.

podcast. Very quickly before we get to Connor O'Neill. I saw something. A.J. DeBanta said.

Here recently. said and quote I might not leave. Talking about BYU. He's gone. He's going.

Much like Cooper flag last year and how Caleb Wilson is going to, he's gone.

Well, BYU locked up a five-star yesterday. Oh, did I? Yes. I missed that. Um Yeah.

See. It's a nice thing to say. But what what I will say is a serious thing. It's kind of like what we talked about with Seth Trimble, him being a four-year player.

Some of you out there hate NIL, and I get it because it's. It's not what you're, you know. Depending on how long you've been following college sports, it's not something that you're maybe completely used to yet. But there is a terrific upside to it. And that is the fact that, whether it's A.J.

DeBonza, it won't be, but. Whoever it could be. Like, okay, we have some great players right here in our backyard that are results of this. R.J. Davis, Armando Baycott.

Look at. Isaiah Evans back for another year. He could have went to the draft last year. It was in his best interest to come back, but I guarantee you a big piece of why he came back. Was it the money?

Juke Harris is having an incredible year. He's getting draft. Feedback for sure. Maybe that's something we can talk to Connor O'Neill about here in just a few minutes. But if he comes back to wake for a third year, a lot of that's going to be what he's making.

Money-wise.

So Yeah. That's right. That's right. So I don't think, in that sense, NIL is such a terrible thing. Does it have issues?

Yes. Nothing's perfect. Does it need guardrails? Yes. Do you need to figure out some type of contract structure so players can't get poached?

Looking at you, Darian Minsa. Yes. But n again Nothing is perfect.

So. I think that right there, salary cap, that's another thing they probably got to get figured out here relatively soon. But, I mean, look, the NBA has its issues too, as we've talked about recently, but it's still a beautiful game to watch. Still the best players in the world. You're going to potentially see something you haven't seen before on a night in, night out basis.

So. You know. We can find negatives with everything, but that right there. A player like A.J. DeBonsa.

or coming back for numerous years. Even if it's three. That's a win. I think that's worth the NIL that you're paying these players. All right.

Connor O'Neill, Deacons and Devils Illustrated. Gonna talk some wake? Gonna talk some Duke? And who knows what else we might get into with Connor O'Neill, one of our favorites, when we come back on the drive right here on WSJS. We're going to be doing one thing and one thing only.

We make your commute worth it. Welcome to the drive. We welcome in one of our favorites now. Connor O'Neill, Deacons and Devils. Yeah, get that in here.

Deacons and Devils Illustrated. Connor, how are we doing, man? This isn't Dancing Queens, but what is it? What is this song? It's definitely like a Keevy song.

That's right. It's that song that when you would click on like a spammy YouTube video. That would just seem to You'd start dancing. Yeah. Gonna lift you up, never let you down.

That's gonna hurt you. Yeah, that's it. Gotcha.

So, Connor O'Neill. I hope I know I'm gonna let you down, Will. No, Connor, Connor, Connor, Connor never lets us down. Yeah, we're just hanging on to the, you're gonna lift us up.

Okay, that's right. I can do my best.

Well, let's start with Wake Forest then. Let's do that. A little bit of heavy lifting. A little bit of heavy lifting there. I mean, to their credit.

Like, I thought Virginia was going to be crispy last night after the game against Duke, which maybe we can get to in just a minute. But You know, Wake, they kept it within five ultimately. Uh with the ACC tournament next week, and obviously that's Wake's only shot to get in the big dance. How would you, and now Nate Kalmese out for the season? Got to make sure that's in there.

How would you say the Deeks are set up for next week? I mean, being realistic about this, I think they're set up to maybe win a game on Tuesday. If they can get through somebody on Wednesday, I don't know how much juice they'd have left to play a top four seed in the ACC. I mean, it's one thing, like... I know Steve has brought up a couple times.

The NC State team from two years ago, and even Virginia Tech from 2022. They played four games, and I think. They had to win one on a buzzer beater. They got hot, and they weren't going to be in the tournament if they hadn't won in Brooklyn. But I just like the thing that I keep thinking about with that state team from two years ago was.

All year, we saw, we watched that team play and said, man, they're just not. Adding up to the talent level. Like DJ Burns was dominant the previous year and Um I'm blanking on the names of some of their guards and wings. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like Michael O'Connell came alive in the AC tournament.

But anyway, like the story with that team before they got to DC was they had not played up to their potential. I don't even find myself saying that about this year's wake team. I mean, they're just, they've lacked the horses all year to really be a top. tier ACC team. And the misleading part of it was what they did in the first month of the year when they lost to Texas Tech, when they had JT Toppin, obviously, and then when they took Michigan to overtime and should have won that game.

And you look at those results and you say, This was a wake team that should be playing in the top half, but look at the season overall. It's just not been there. Like, Cooper Schweiger has not been what they needed him to be. Omaha Baloo has been really inconsistent on the inside. Tim Starrs didn't score last night.

Yeah. Yep. And Trey Spillers, who you're counting on for some consistent production, had four points and I think was two for five. And if I'm remembering the box score correctly, was something like minus thirteen.

So So be that as it may. There was a lot of question about this, about Steve Forbes, and you know what. Is there going to be a next year? What could it look like?

So, we saw the report come out last week that it sounds like he is going to get a seventh year. That's just reported by Jeff Goodman. They've got. What is it, the fifteen rank come uh Class coming in next year? Yeah, it's high.

The ratings boost for Quentin Coleman had a ton to do with that. He went from like the seventies or eighties to top twenty or top twenty five. I mean, what do you think next year could look like for Wake with Steve coming back for another year and that class coming in? Like, what does that look like to Connor O'Neill? It Looks like Another one of these seasons where there's so much pressure riding on it, and you have to get everything right in the transfer portal.

And. Their last two classes have not been great in the portal. This year, I've got. Cooper Schweiger has not been that good. The wings that they brought in, Miles Colvin and Makai Mason, have been really inconsistent.

Sebastian Aikens has been doing this. uh ever since really Nate's injury where he's had to play big minutes. Um The the year before, like two years ago. Granted, when you're bringing back Hunter Salas, Cameron Hildreth, and Afton Reed. You don't need to hit on as many transfer portal guys, but that.

That group didn't have like Trace Millers was the best one of that bunch. You really said Efton Reed. I mean, he was a seven-footer and he played good defense. He was a big rim protector.

Sometimes if hey, if you put Eften Reed on this team, that might be exactly what they need when you talk about the lack of production on the inside and the lack of rim protection. But. You just, you're looking at next year and saying, okay, you have these freshmen coming in. Unless they're like this year's freshman class, which is incredible, you're going to need to have some transfers to go along with them and supplement the production. And Based on where we think their NIL is, based on the payroll, which is all conjecture.

You're going to have to bat pretty close to a thousand in the transfer portal. And you're not picking from the top of the transfer portal because you're not in the deep end of the pool with. Whoever else is out there, whatever transfer portal gangsters are out there luring the top guys. It's just, it's. I don't want to paint too bleak a picture here because Springs Eternal, but like the.

The margin for error is just so thin. And Said all that, and then there's the aspect of what does Joukeris do? It's pretty clear he's going to enter the draft process. He told me that. uh ten months ago pretty much that he wanted to be doing that this year.

He's put himself in position to do it, and nobody should bat an eye. No. I mean, he's scoring more than 20 points a game. He's. done everything that he needs to do to at least get a shot at the combine and that kind of thing.

But Steve has said on the record with us a couple weeks ago on the teleconference, he's not going to put himself in the same position that he's been in with. Jake Loravia with Bobby Clinton, Clintman, and with Hunter Salas. And you're just towing up to the line of the deadline, and you're unable to recruit guys in the portal because they look at your roster and they say, well, Why am I going to commit to you if you're telling me I'm going to be the number one option? And then, if Drew Harris comes back, I know I'm not the number one option. just a really tough way to recruit out of the portal.

And so Juka's going to go through that process. Um I feel okay if if he decides to come back to college, if he would go to Wake. I think they've made him an offer money-wise that the difference would be a little negligible. uh between taking what Wake would give him and taking what somebody else would give him. But you never know.

You never know where his priorities are. I mean, he might want to go somewhere that has a better outlook for making the NCAA tournament next year. Like a team in Durham, perhaps? And that's the thing with Juke. I mean, you know, he is a homebody, he is from Salisbury.

Mm-hmm.

Wake sold him in the recruiting process on It being, I think, it was 37 or 38 minutes away from Salisbury to Wake Forest's campus, from his front door in Salisbury to Wake's campus. I mean, his family is at, I think, every home game, just about. We see him a lot. Yeah. I mean, he is a homebody.

I don't see him. Getting swayed to go to Florida or Tennessee or something like that. Like, I I think if he transfers, it will probably be somewhere in the state. It seems that some coaches Get the NIL. They get the recruiting aspect, and they seem to get the right guys to come in who fit together.

Forbes, again. Is going to have to roll the dice that whoever he brings in, they're going to gel and want to play together. That's tough. Yeah, I forgot all about the Bobby Clintman situation. Good grief.

And it's tough. DJ is tougher to do when you don't have. Access to pick. Right. All of the guys that you want.

And that's because of money. That's also because it's Wake Forest. It's an elite academic institution where you don't just get anybody with a pulse through the front door and enrolled in classes. Connor O'Neill with us here of Devils and Deacons Illustrated. Let's get to Duke.

Much more fun topic. Little bit. Little bit. Uh So I get it was two games ago, but we haven't had you since this. The Virginia game.

Mm-hmm.

I was stunned that this was like Not really a game, mostly from tip.

Now, a big piece of that was Isaiah Evans hitting, what was it, three triples before the first timeout? He was, the way I put it, was he was outscoring Virginia for about the first 15 minutes of the game. He was. And that brings me to the question. When he's hitting or when Dame Sar is hitting from beyond the Ark, I don't know who beats this Duke team, but it like I've already got them as my favorite to win it just because just they seem more tested than last year and they've been through a lot.

They're playing better as a team to me. When they're playing like this, is there anybody that can beat them? Or what do you see from your seat? Yeah, it's funny. I saw, I think it was about UConn the other day, but I saw somebody say.

You know, nobody's going to beat this team when they're shooting 50% from three-point range. And I thought, like, you could say that about maybe the top five or six teams in the country. Like, you shoot 50% for three. Of course they're gonna win. Yeah.

But yeah, I mean, to your point, um. For Duke to lose a game. Uh they have to go into a lull. Offensively, for an extended period of time. And based on what we've seen the last two years, that.

Period of time has to be the end of the game. Because they're good enough to figure it out when they go through a bad offensive stretch for four, six, or eight minutes. In the first half. I mean, even states 2-3 zones stymied them for a little bit. And that's why it was a close, it was like 14-13 at the under-12.

Yeah. Duke wound up with 47 points at halftime against state. And they just started, they figured out how to break the zone from the inside out. And then Isaiah Evans and Dome Sarr started hitting threes. And it's like, okay, well.

It's 47 to 30 and they're on the road against a We think it is a surefire NCAA tournament team. I mean, I don't think state wants to lose to Stanford and lose their first game in Charlotte and really test that theory. But. Yeah, it's really hard to see a weakness with this Duke team right now. The last game they lost, their weakness was their whole front court was in foul trouble.

So avoid that. Which is easier said than done when you have three guys that like to be as physical as they are prone to be. Um They're a well-oiled machine. What impresses you most about John Shire as a coach? Because it seems like something about we had Brendan Marks on several weeks ago, and he was like, If I could bottle whatever it is John Shire does in the month of January and sell it, I would.

Because it just, I don't know what it is. Like, they kick it in. It's four years under John that they have grown in that month, and they have he's gotten them playing their best brand of their basketball in February and into March. And that's kind of the one constant, or it's one of the constants. The thing I'm most impressed with this year is his flexibility.

Yep. Like The first three years, they were. His first year and last year, they were an elite defensive team because they had a seven-foot rim protector who could also switch onto the perimeter and not get burned by guards and not give up uncontested threes with Derek Lively and Kyle and Malowatch. They don't have that this year.

So, they don't switch one through five as much. They don't play as much of the same style of basketball that they played that made them elite. And they could do it some in that second year. It's funny when you look at the Ken Pom rankings and the efficiency numbers from John's first and second years. They're six.

They're. Ranked 16th in the country both years. To me, that second team that he had was so bad defensively in so many key spots and when they needed to be better. Um It's funny to talk about those teams having the same ranking because they're so different when you actually like. Think about what it looked like.

But Their defense is so good this year. without The seven-foot rim protector without the guy on the inside with a with a block percentage of 10% and and Just Crazy altering shots and who's got the like Gumby wingspan out there. The positional flexibility is better with this team. And I think John. Realize that positional flexibility doesn't mean we can switch one through five.

Like these guys are better off. fighting over the top of screens and and switching occasionally. But they mix it up throughout games. You gotta. Pay attention to it.

You probably have to re-watch it to really pick up on things. Um, He calls a lot more plays this year. Like the the offense, they call plays from the bench.

so much more often this year than they did last year. Uh it's very different. They just seem so mature. Like when you see Isaiah Evans at halftime, we've all seen the clip now on the whiteboard. And that's just one example of it.

But they just coach themselves. And that goes back to there was a clip that came out from their exhibition game at Tennessee, which. Exhibition game in Tennessee. It doesn't matter for your resume. It doesn't go to your win-loss, obviously.

But they learned so much in that game that it didn't matter when they were down. I can't remember what the deficit was at halftime, but they were down at halftime and they had locker room footage that they put on the social media channels of Cam Boozer telling everybody in the locker room before the coaches went in there. You know, if we just talk, if they're doing this, this, and this, if we just talk through this and talk and talk and. Like And that was an 18-year-old before he even played a game that mattered. Mm-hmm.

There are two things that I've noticed this year. Number one, Shire is probably one of the better coaches in making halftime adjustments. I mean, this team comes out rocking in the second half all the time. But in January, I remember questioning Saar and Kamenya defensively. They looked lost.

All of a sudden, these guys are locked in and they're playing so well. And now they're adding offensively. Like, what in the world do you do with that? With Saar, I think it was so much about Role definition and him finally figuring out how he can affect. And John said this to, you know, I'm not, I'm not.

This isn't all coming from me. John has said it's been a process to get Dame to understand here's how you can affect the game that doesn't have anything to do with scoring or really anything that shows up on the stat sheet. Like he picks up point guards full court now. We were even going into the previous game against Carolina, he was still a guy that you'd say, okay, he's going to be on the other team's best perimeter player.

So that means he'll probably be checking Trimble at the start of the game.

Now you can pretty much count on him being matched up against. Are they still starting Derek Dixon a point guard? They are. Yes. I count on him being on Derek Dixon to start the game on Saturday.

Um And he's kind of figured out his offensive role needs to be: unless you're on a fast break, go stand in the corner and make a corner three. Right. Your floor spacing. That's basically what you'll be in the NBA. To just get some early practice and work on corner threes.

I think catch and shoot corner threes, you might be shooting around 50%. That's a synergy number that I don't have access to. I rely on Brendan and I rely on Jordan Mann for those numbers, but. Yeah, his catch and shoot from the corner is is a lot better than every other place on the floor.

So you mentioned Dame, probably going to be on Derek Dixon on Saturday. It is Duke Carolina part two. Carolina got the last laugh the first time around. With what you've seen from this Duke team since then, what, seven straight wins? Yeah, seven straight.

Shai was talking about that the other day. All of the ones in the ACC have been by double digits. The one that wasn't by double digits was five against the team that you kind of if if Chalk plays out, that's who they'll see in the national championship game.

So how do you expect this game to look the second time around against Carolina on Saturday?

Well, I need the answer to is Caleb Olson playing. That's true. That's true. You don't know that yet. If he's not, I you know, you never go into this game thinking it's a foregone conclusion because that's the rivalry.

Yep. But man, Carolina's a different team with him. And Even with him on the court for the first five to seven minutes in Chapel Hill. Duke was running Carolina out of the court. It was like 20 to 4 or 20 to 6.

And then he started reining in a bunch of. Contested 18-footers that not only pumped life into the building, but like got Carolina moving at a different rate. Yeah. If they don't have that in this game and get down early. It might wind up looking like last year's game in Durham.

That was ugly. Yeah, that was nasty. I just all year when I've watched Carolina, I think that's that's the heartbeat. Um Granted, they've had, what, six games to figure it out without him? Five and one.

So they're different now than they were when they were first missing him, when they lost to who they lose to Miami. They lost Miami with him. With him. NC State was the bad one. The 24-point loss without him, genuinely.

And without him and Vassar is a lot of different than just being without Caleb.

So. Yeah, I don't know. Like I said, to start, I mean, for Duke to lose a game. I think they have to go into a lull offensively. I think their defense has been so consistent.

It's hard to see somebody. Mm-hmm.

beating them like ninety to eighty two. Uh it would take a complete unraveling, which It's possible. Anything's possible. But It's just hard to hard to foresee that happening. But if you're going to grind them out, if you're going to play on their terms and kind of have a low possession game.

You're going to need to be really efficient, and that means you probably need to hit double-digit threes. And they've been really good at running teams off the three-point line. Like Virginia was seven for thirty-five. Um it's just they they make They make the formula really complicated and really unlikely that that you're going to hit the marks you need to hit. Connor O'Neill.

Deacons. Devils Illustrate it. We appreciate the time, my friend. My pleasure.