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The drive starts now on WSJS. Yes, it does. It is the drive right here on WSJS News Talk Sports for the Triad. Where I'm in a terrific mood. The new Spider-Man movie trailer dropped today.

I thought it was pretty terrific. I'm a nerd. We know this.

So, anything like that's going to put me in a terrific mood. But it's also a beautiful day outside. A little chilly, but a gorgeous day. Glad to have you in here. Because We got to talk some college hoops.

We got to talk some NC State as Jay Davis in our YouTube comments is already putting well-fated. In the comments here. Yeah, let's get to it.

So NC State, they uh Had a disappointing ending. to a disappointing season last night against Texas. In Akron. The first four with Charles Barclay and Dick Vital on the call. 68-66, the final.

It was a bit of a rock fight. A lot more so than we expected, just given it was a 102-97 matchup in Maui. Obviously, games, you know, teams change throughout the year, but uh, One thing is for sure, these Teams can be a NC State can score, but they also didn't defend very well. That's why that score looked the way it did in Maui, but last night obviously did not quite look. like that, but it was a tight one.

So getting into some of the details though. You know, I can't help but think back to the early stages of the season when. Will Wade had his introductory presser and he painted a ginormous target on NC State's back. With the red reckoning and the blood's red, not blue, and you know, put that on camera. They did make the tournament, so they got that check, got that done.

But Yeah. Just the way he hyped it up in a WWE type way, and a lot of people drank the Red Reckoning Kool-Aid. It painted a target on their back. It just did. And then you have Kadir Copeland doing his, he's channeling his inner Dylan Brooks every game, you know, staring at everybody, you know, on the other side of the court.

Something that. I get it. I again, I'm a former athlete, so I understand it. But it can come across a little corny. Our guy, Joe Gilio of the Ovius and Gilio podcast, calls it fake tough.

He's going to be a guest on tomorrow's program. We'll get his thoughts on all of this. But I thought it was interesting. The end of this game. was the epitome of NC State season.

States down 62 to 53. Under two minutes to go. Backs against the wall. This is it. And between Trey Holloman hitting some big shots.

Paul McNeil, a couple of massive threes in the corner, one on each side, one on one corner, one on the other corner, when they came back down. That got the pack within two. Then Darian Williams had a Texas answered those threes. Darian Williamson had a massive off-balance three to bring it within one. Trey Holloman gets fouled.

He ties the game at 66 from the free throw line. And then. With the clock ticking down, Texas bringing the ball up. It's ticking under 10 seconds. This is it.

It's crunch time. Man, what a shot. Traymon Mark did this. Yeah. And watching offensive rebound by Riemann.

Punch time here. Down to two. Mark to the lead.

Okay. He hits the third. One second left. Oh, and one. Mark puts Texas in front.

What a shot. That young man has he got a little more confident. He's clutch. There he is right. The two shots he hit that.

Yeah. That's about as clutch as it gets. NC State goes on to lose the game. Sixty-eight. To 66.

Also, what the heck happened between Sean Miller and his assistant?

Well, what happened was, I think one of the assistants started to. I guess he thought maybe the clock had expired. And I think the assistant started to go onto the floor or made like he was going to go onto the floor and celebrate. And Sean Miller, like video was captured of him freaking out and telling the dude, the assistant, get back, sit down, stay back. And, you know, people tend in the heat of the moment, they don't know what's going on and they interpret things the wrong way and they view Sean Miller as being a jerk, but it's like, No, he's actually trying to prevent you from getting any type of foul, technical, any of that stuff, so this score can hold.

He's not making it about himself, as some people pointed out on social media.

So let's get to the aftermath here. Will Wade, what is he known for? His post-game, not even just post-game, his press conferences, post-game, pre-game, coaches show, introductory presser. It doesn't matter. The guy's gonna bring it in front of the mic.

He's gonna do it. And there's been some moments. from Will Wade throughout this year where Ah The way he talks about his team, it can be kind of interpreted as trying to coach his team through the media. Sending a message to his team through the media. But then it gets to a point where it's almost like he's like.

I don't know. Like, if I'm a player on his team. I get maybe this is a love language of some coaches, but it gets to a point with some of the things he was saying about the defense while Acker's like. Why are you saying this stuff about it to the press? Like, why are you doing this?

Like, as a player, I don't know if I would love that and have the same level of buy-in if my coach is talking about me like that to everybody. But Will Wade. We got a couple of clips here from last night. He... Didn't mince words when he was talking about the transfer portal and.

You know They're already looking at next year because what's one thing we know about this roster and how it was constructed? They could score, they could shoot at times, it was very streaky. But defense was lackluster. And they struggled with size. They didn't have much size.

Van Allen Lubin can only do so much. Here he was already talking about what they're going to be looking at. Looking forward in the portal going into next year? Yeah, we're going to be better. We put this together pretty quickly.

You know We didn't spend as much time on a couple of things. We just looked at some analytics. The personalities and some of that stuff is very, very important. And we're going to do much more due diligence this year. And we'll have better mixture of things moving forward.

All right, so He's acknowledging What needs to be done in the portal? They're already thinking about it.

Now that was. The post-game You know, on the stage. And then a lot of times, like Steve Forbes did with us last week at the ACC tournament, you'll meet with your local reporters a little bit more so after the fact, especially in this type of setting, because we don't know if you're you know we're going to see you again for a little while.

So Will Wade, and this was put out by Pac Pride on YouTube. He met with reporters a little bit more after. uh the original availability and he talked a little bit more about the roster construction and he also He said something in this clip that made it seem like they've been thinking, and I get coaches, they have to plan ahead, but I don't know.

Something about the way he said it made it feel like he already knew that this was going to be a foregone conclusion, and he's already been thinking about turning the page. Here he was. kind of insatiable will to win, desire to prove people wrong. Um just had a a way about them that they wanted to to uh You know, I think to To go against the establishment a little bit. We have a bunch of guys here that are pretty comfortable, live a good life, and love being there.

That's just not how I am. And so there are you guys that fit a little bit more. How we want to be moving forward. How do you change that when you're operating in the portal to find? We do much better research now.

We've got a hell of a plan. I've been working on this for the last six weeks. We've got a good plan. What we're going to do, the type of people we want to target at each position. We're going to go.

find some guys that fit our our profiles.

So apparently, the guys they brought in did not fit that this year, according to Will Waite, right there. And the original question. Uh was You know, you you brought in guys at McNeese. That That helped you make a run last year. You know, why did that not work out with state?

This go-round this year, and that was kind of his response: oh, you know, didn't really, you know, those guys goes, those guys at McNeese were a little more chippy, a little more hungry. And, you know, the guys here at State, a little more comfortable. It just, again, if I'm here, of course, not going to be my coach anymore if I'm like some of the seniors here, but it's like, if I hear my coach talking about me like that to the press, that, you know, I'm a little comfortable. And, you know, I just.

Now maybe it's true, I don't know. But nonetheless, it's like... I don't know. That would rub me the wrong way as a player. And I don't know if that's going to bode well for NC State in the portal when players see.

The coach talking about the players that way, and the players deciding that are in the portal: hmm, do I want to go be a part of that?

Now money talks, and NC State will have cash. But again, it's like there's a lot of schools out there that are going to have cash and I don't know if I want to play for a coach that's going to talk about me like that. in the media. A disappointing end to a disappointing season. 336-777-1600 is the number to call if you want in.

On the program? One in on anything. Got reaction to NC State last night. Morgan Corson is the executive producer of the show. Morgan, did you catch any of this game last night?

And what were your thoughts? I caught around the first half of the game, around when NC State started making that comeback in the first half. And I thought that they had a chance late in the game. I watched the last four minutes on a replay. I thought they had a chance, but I don't think you can defend that last shot much better than what they did.

Um at least getting to the garden and getting hands up. Good up for Texas guard there. He was swaying, getting inside that, taking those few more steps inside the three-point line just to get a nice, easier shot in. But Texas had him almost the whole game. Yeah, it was a bit of a rock fight.

It was. And again, 336-777-1600 is the number to call. If you have a reaction to NC State, Texas last night, You can also chime in on our YouTube comments, the drive. with Will Dalton. WSGS Radio, we have our Xtreme.

You can get in on there as well, just like Jay Davis does right here, saying, I get the feeling Will Fade always puts blame on his players. Yeah, it's a.

Some might perceive that as coaching through the media, trying to send a message to the media. That's okay, maybe once or a couple of times in certain moments where you feel it's warranted. But like every weekend, every other game, every few games that happens, it's like, come on, this is getting a little old. You also have Booker. T sixty nine Talking uh wake navy tonight.

Says Navy, twelve and a half underdogs. That's the play. tonight against Wake Forrest. That is right at the Joel. The NIT tournament gets underway.

Wake hosting, they are the number one overall seed. We'll talk a little more about Wake Forest later on in the hour. But while we're talking ACC, let's keep it rolling here because we got a couple of ACC injury updates, starting with the one that matters here locally. Pat Gomba.

So the assumption was That Duke was going to get him back. Like, he wasn't going to play throughout the ACC tournament. And they were going to get him back to start the NCAA tournament. They will play number 16, Sienna, tomorrow night in Greenville. And Uh on Sunday, right after the bracket was revealed.

John Shire, he went on with the guys of the field of 68. And He essentially said, I'm paraphrasing here. He said that things were positive and moving in the right direction, but they would make a decision in a couple of days.

Well, let's see. It's Wednesday, so it's been a few. Here, John Shire was. Speaking to the media at the podium in Greenville. Where do things stand with those benchmarks you mentioned?

Yeah, I mean look he he's been progressing. You know as we've gone cl uh gone closer to tomorrow, I think it's very unlikely, you know, that he plays tomorrow. We're going to keep taking it day by day. And again, he's itching to play. but we're not quite there for tomorrow just yet.

Yeah, that's a bummer. It's um It's also raising some red flags amongst the fans wondering what's really going on here. Because if you recall Before the Carolina Duke game, I think it might have been Brendan Marks, our guy from the athletic. That just asked the question, and it was a good one that I was surprised it had not been asked yet. Hey, how did he do this?

Like, what. And it just apparently just started bothering him. Um You know, it just started bothering him. And so. He warmed up in a boot.

Duke Carolina game held him out, held him out of the ACC tournament to prevent any further. Irritation. There is some concern amongst the fans that maybe he's just done and they're not putting it out yet. I don't think that's the case. I think they want him back if they can get him back, but they also don't want to do any damage to his foot.

And so I think they're just being extra precaution. And I'm sorry. They don't need him to beat Sienna. Don't think they need him for that.

So if they can afford to hold him out. They're gonna. If it's going to benefit them later down the line. But again, I mean, the tone there from Shire didn't seem very. Great about where he's at, but we'll see.

Also, Michael Brown Jr. of Louisville, we got an update on him, he's been out for a little while. Um Okay. Star freshman. He's been dealing with his back injury, and he will not play apparently against number 11, South Florida.

And he's also not going to play if Louisville advances.

So that's a pretty. That's a blow for Louisville. It really is. And a lot of people have that Louisville game as a close one.

So this is a big hit for Louisville looking forward down their bracket because they're in a tough bracket as well. Yes, they are. Yes, they are. So a couple of ACC injury updates to pass your way. And again, the number to call.

If you have thoughts on any of these, 336-777-1600, we would love to hear from you. Coming up next, though. It wasn't just the first four that had all of our attention. In Akron? USA Venezuela.

Mm, mm, mm, mm. A familiar Aaron Judge showed up. And a few Panthers transactions. That's next on the drive, right here on WSJS. 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. Taking your calls at 336-777-1600 on NC State, Texas. Pat Gamba not in action for Duke against Sienna. Or the next topic. The USA Falling to Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic.

Mm-mm-mm-mm. Yeah. So This was quite a scene last night in Houston. And You know, it ended up being a one-run game, kind of like what we said. It was going to be tight.

It was going to be either 2-1, 3-2, or 4-3. I didn't see the offense exceeding 4 just because I thought it was. Really good defense, really good pitching, you know? Oh, yeah, really good pitching. Because it's the best in the world out there, quite literally, all in the same field.

And as Jeff Passon said yesterday, it makes for incredible baseball games. But USA they ended up on the wrong side of this. And this is quite a disappointment. What did we talk about last week with Darren Vought of D1 Baseball and of ESPN? uh who hopefully will join us on Friday's show.

uh to talk about exactly this. And You know, we mentioned that it was going to be a disappointment. If Team USA didn't come away with the gold, because this is the best squad that maybe they've had. Best pitching staff for sure. Aaron Judge in the lineup.

Bryce Harper. Bobby Witt Jr., Schwarber. That's power. That is just loaded. But Last night.

With um We got the call here with Joe Davis, who does an incredible job for Fox. And he captured this moment. And boy, did it sound great. Not for USA, but if you're just a baseball nut, boy, this should give you goosebumps. Uh Venezuela to the championship game for the first time.

Yeah, that was the wrong call. That was Venezuela, Italy. My fault on that. Should have been, but he did give an incredible moment where. On the final call, it was.

Venezuela is the best in baseball, and it was just an incredible moment. That again, if you're just a baseball nut like I am, it just gives you goosebumps. And It's unfortunate that Team USA came out on the wrong side of this, but Uh What I'm really looking at is the offense here. Because Aaron Judge, boy, this was an Aaron Judge that looked all too familiar. O for four.

And he struck out three times. Does that sound familiar? Oh, so familiar. You're a Yankee guy, right? Oh, yes.

We got see This is how we rectify the situation around here. Josh Graham, the former host of this show, now of Westwood One, you can listen to him on Westwood One Sports Night Wednesday through Friday, the Josh Graham show, Saturday to Sunday. I'm going to give him some grief and still plug his show. How about that? But he's an Orioles guy.

So I had to hear about Orioles. There were Oriol hats up on top of this. This thing in the background here had to see it. Had to see it all the time and hear about the birds, Orioles magic. Yeah, how do we rectify that?

We make a Yankee fan the host and get a Yankee fan, another Yankee fan as the producer of this show. That's how we do it. It's good stuff. Two Yankees better than one Yankee. You got that right.

But. Morgan. Uh our producer in training here, he pulled up some great stats.

Some great stats about Aaron Judge because we were having this conversation earlier in the day because we're both Yankee fans. I was like, doesn't that look familiar to you? Yeah, it does. Looking at his regular season average, Just for his career, he's 296, postseason average 236. But when you look a little closer.

Like 2022, it's the regular season of postseason. That is such a contrast because in 2022, these are all the most recent times the Yankees made the playoffs. 311 in the regular season in 2022, then dips to 139 in the postseason. You can't be paying a guy as much as you pay Aaron Judge to do that in the postseason. No.

Well, you can, but you You shouldn't you should yeah. Uh 322 average in 2024. 184. average in the postseason in 2024. It just, it's, it looked all too similar and I love Aaron Judge.

I love Captain. Team U- No, Derek Jeter's the captain. He's the captain. But for, you know. He's the current captain.

Hey, Captain. Captain America. There you go. Derrich Jeters, the captain, Aaron Judge's Captain America. There, I figured that one out.

But When the chips are on the table. Like last night in that stadium sounding the way it did. Phew. You need Aaron Judge to come through and be Aaron Judge. And it wasn't just him, by the way.

Looking at the rest of it, Bobby Witt Jr. He struggled. Actually, these three guys, Bobby Witt Jr., Kyle Schwarber, Roman Anthony, 0 for 9 with 4Ks last night. Unacceptable. Very much so.

It's disappointing how much firepower we had that wasn't being utilized. Same with Bryce Harper. He had the one-home run, but if he didn't have that, he'd be in the same conversation we're having right now. Yeah, I mean he He did all right last night I thought two of four. And his two-run homer was it.

That's all the offensive output in terms of runs that Team USA got. Yeah, and anything so we had a base runner before that, and no he just stayed on first. Nobody advanced past first to second base besides that home run for Team USA, which with all this firepower is just unacceptable. Yeah, it's it's not great. But I First take 336.

Shout out to him. Common of the day. Judge needs to buy a ticket if he wants to watch strike three in the World Baseball Classic. It is true. He struck out a couple of times looking last night.

Didn't love that. Striking out looking, as a former baseball player, striking out looking is the worst thing you can do. Period. Because you don't even give yourself a chance. That you just And now I get it if it's like an egregious call, 'cause I mean, what can you do?

But there was one at least one where it was like, dude, That's at the bottom of the zone. Y what are we doing, dog? But I will say this. And kind of the point I made with that final call from um Joe Davis. That wasn't the right call, but you get the picture.

You can just watch that and listen to that and hear that. And the rest of the highlights and the games throughout this World Baseball Classic, and you can take away that baseball is in a great spot. It is. The environment that they had in Miami last night was absolutely bumping. Whether it was USA fans, Venezuela fans, they all had like armbands too.

I don't know if you saw that. I did. There was like lighting up like it was like some cool concert, but man, the environment for these last three or four games, absolutely electric. And I saw a clip from the Japan region as well. Japan show up too.

Man. Baseball's in a great spot. It really is. Um That was quite a scene down in Miami. Uh at Lone Depot.

park last night. Also, very quickly The Panthers made a couple of transactions in the last. Couple of hours. both involving the Philadelphia Eagles.

So You got Chuba Hubbard. That's your main guy in the backfield. You got Jonathan Brooks, who was hurt last year. He's on his rookie deal, waiting for him. And hopefully, he's going to come in there and look the way you want him to look.

But with Rico Dowdle now being in Pittsburgh, The Panthers, they made another move. They added... A former Packers. And most recently, Eagles running back A.J. Dillon.

This is per Jordan Schultz. Dylan had 2,200 rushing yards from 2021 to 2023 with Green Bay, and just a little bit more information on him. He's a veteran guy. He spent five his first five seasons with Green Bay. He did miss 2024 due to a neck injury, but he joined Philadelphia last year where he had his playing time ended in week six.

Giants, that was the Giants game where he fumbled a kickoff that rolled out of bounds inside the Eagles' five-yard line. Not great. And then he lost a fumble later in that drive. And Dylan, he didn't see the field again until week 18 in the Commanders game when. you know, starters don't play.

So And he only played two snaps in that game. Not terrific, but I guess you do like the veteran presence to join that room.

So You got that you also in the last hour Uh Probably got the information that Andy Dalton has been traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2027. Seventh round pick and You know, we kind of assume that Andy's time was done in Carolina and pretty much. guaranteed it once Kenny picket. who we actually heard from for the first time earlier today. We'll bring you that in hour number two.

You know, Dan Morgan said they wanted to bring in a younger quarterback. to be the backup and They've done that with Kenny Pickett, but it was better business because there's one more year on Andy Dalton's deal, I believe, and it was just better business for them to trade him, the Panthers to trade him, than. Than to just cut him and eat that. That was better business for him.

So. Um Jay Davis in her comments here says that Dylan as a physical running back should be a nice compliment. I certainly hope he is. I mean. In the instance that Jonathan Brooks.

Doesn't work out. You know, maybe this is somebody that can come in there and make some good stuff happen in the backfield.

So, uh, behind Shuba Hubbard. But that's a couple of moves for the Carolina Panthers today that I just wanted to bring to your attention if it wasn't already. All right, coming up next. We saw the Charlotte Hornets back in action last night at Spectrum Center. After being on the road, ACC Tournament was in their building, as we know last week.

The Hornets beat the heat last night. And Lamello Ball. Man, he was on it again. That's next on the drive. You're listening to WSJS.

We're going to be doing one thing and one thing only. We make your commute worth it. Welcome to the drive.

So, we'll get to today's edition of stuff you didn't know you needed to know. As Morgan pulled. pulled together a nice list for us today. But before we do that We gotta talk about the Charlotte Hornets. I mean, come on now.

Hornets? They got it done last night against the Miami Heat. Beat him by thirty. one thirty six to one oh six to be exact. And This was a nice win for the Hornets.

So Miami has been a team that's been. A few, a handful, a small handful of spots in front of them in the Eastern Conference rankings throughout. this run that the Hornets have been on to ultimately be In the spot that they are at the 10 spot in the Eastern Conference.

So they're in the play-in mix. And the Miami Heats, a team that they just haven't been able to get past. 0 of 3 against them going into last night, but. L'OMEL OR BALL decided to be that dude. Lamello.

Man. 30 points. This was an incredible stat, by the way.

So Lamello Last night notched his um His 11th 30 plus point game. And 10 plus. Uh point or ten plus assist game. And in doing that for the 11th time, he's now done it as many times as all the other players combined in Hornet's history. How's that for a stat?

That's a really good stat right there. Yeah. It kind of puts things into perspective. Um Lamello had thirteen assists in total, but When LaMelo's playing like this, the Hornets, they're a tough out. They really are.

You also got some additional help from a 22 piece from Con Knipple, 16 from Brandon Miller. Miles Bridges had 14, Musa Diabate had eight, and Kobe White, the stud off the bench, gave you 24. But when the Hornets win. That gives us an excuse to play Eric Collins sound. We start with this, Lamello.

A pair of alley oops, the first to Musa Diabate, the second to Ryan Kaulkbrenner. Closing in on the two minute mark of our second quarter. We're getting 18 lead cases to the right! LaMelo playing with an edge. Just cooking.

And that was just the Alley Oops, by the way.

So then there was this clip. Where Lamello had one of his circus shots. You know, he shoots him from the half-court logo. He shoots him off one foot. And he also had an and one that was just a complete circus shot that you'll be able to see and appreciate.

See, this is a. a good reason to go watch us on YouTube or X. But Here he was. With an incredible and one. He's got Fontechio in front of him.

That means it's go time. I can't get enough of it. It's ridiculous. Lamello, here he was talking about that play. Uh with Shannon Spade.

Of FanDuel Sports Network after the game. This dude's something, he's a character. When you were falling down over there and you just threw that one. Me and my guy Mara, we be working on that.

So all my shots I feel like I work on. You work on those shots specifically, falling down and throwing it up? Because that was pretty. Yeah, low-key, honestly. I work on all my shots.

Eight. He, again, he's a big kid in every way, down to the point where he practically, like, what did we all do as kids practicing our sports? We did the circus shots or, you know, the in-the-hole Derek Jeter play, off-balance throw as baseball players, or whatever it happens to be. Lomello still does that. And guess what?

It serves him very well in actual games. It's amazing. I wouldn't have thought to practice that, but you've got to figure that out if that's part of your game or you want to be part of your game. You got to do it. You got to do it.

And Lamello. He's cooking with gas right now.

So are the Charlotte Hornets. And just taking a look at the NBA rankings very quickly and kind of taking a look at where things stand in the standings, because that's why they're called standings. You still got Detroit at the top. Ahead of Boston by four games, but the Hornets are At the 10 spot, Miami Yeah. the last team or the first team out of the first six there, they're seven.

They are a half game back of Orlando.

So now the Hornets are three and a half games back of Orlando themselves.

So They got to stay hungry. This has been a great run for them. They're legit. It's not a fluke. They've done it long enough to prove that and enough good team, and done it against enough good teams to prove that.

But as Kobe White pointed out after the game last night, they got to stay hungry. They got to stay it one game at a time. And that's how they're ultimately going to get. Up the field of the standings here, and maybe even skip the play-in altogether.

So we'll see. All right.

Now Let's get to stuff you didn't know you needed to know. Things you want to know, you should know, but you don't know. Oh my. The game within the game. What do you mean by that?

Let me give you an example. Time for stuff you didn't know, you needed to know. Really? All right, Morgan, what we got today? We got five more facts.

Love it. Clay Thompson once had a 60-point game. Off of 11 dribbles, he held the ball for a total of 90 seconds. the whole game. You know, it makes a lot of sense because Clay Thompson and his.

Prime. In that run with the Warriors, like he was maybe one of the best catching and just catch and shoot shooters in the game. That was his game.

So I could absolutely believe that stat 100%. James Hardin. once had a quarter where he scored 20 points. Which is normal, but he did it all on free throws.

Okay. So he pulled a Shea Gilgis Alexander there, you know, just getting, just getting fouled all the time.

Okay. Instead of a hacker shack, a hack of beard? Hack a beard. Jeez. Yeah, it was a hack of beard is 100% what it was.

The number 12 seed beats the number 5 seed in March Madness. 35% of the time.

Okay, uh you know, that makes a lot of sense because You know, that's... Those seeds are kind of They're not close, but they're close enough together that you could see. Based on a few subtle nuances, it going one way or the other, that a 12-seed could sneak up on a 5. That's where the magic happens in March. That's where the upsets happen, and are those seeds right there.

So that actually makes a lot of sense on that fact. Ricky Henderson holds the all-time MLB record. for most stolen bases with fourteen hundred six. He has more stolen bases than entire franchises in the modern era. And if he didn't steal a single base past the age of 33, he would still be the all-time record holder.

God. My guy was flying. Ricky Henderson was that dude, man. He was so fast. It's like...

He was that guy. that when he would get on base. You knew he was going to steal, and there was nothing you could do about it. He was that type of player where he could just assert his will in this way. And you knew he was going to do it, and you couldn't stop it.

It's just. It's incredible what he was able to do. And that's back when they still have the small bases. This is true. This is true.

I mean, heck, that could be a fact in and of itself, the base sizes. Oh, yeah. The last one. The 1974 10 Cent Beer Night Riot. We were talking to our boss about this earlier day because he's a Cleveland fan.

It was the Cleveland Indians and the Texas Rangers. They sold 10-cent beers, and as you might expect, fans got. They drink a lot. They drink a lot. Do they?

Chaos escalated into people streaking. fights, and objects thrown at players. The game ended. When fans stormed the field, And the Rangers defended themselves with the baseball bats. With bats.

The Indians forfeited the game, and Texas won. It is true. Ten cent beers, that's what it was.

Okay. Whether it's 10 cent beer night. Dollar beer night, wherever you're at. When you put those bad boys on discount, you better watch out. Oh, yeah.

You better have extra security because things might break loose. It reminds me of the dollar hot dog night the Phillies did, where they just started throwing hot dogs at each other. Yeah, I remember that. That's good stuff. That's been Morgan with.

Stuff you didn't know. He needed to know. Just imagining this. Like, if I'm a baseball player and I got to defend myself with a bat. PAAAAA Because the pants are getting out of hand.

The Triad's only live sports talk show, The Drive. This is what rush hour sounds like when nobody holds back. See? Back at it on a Wednesday drive right here on WSJS, and now. We welcome in the host of the Big Hitters Only podcast, Ross.

Martin Ross, how we doing, man? What's up, man? How's it going, Will? Just just up here. Just doing a show.

That's what we're doing here. Just doing a show. Get into it. Let's do it.

So, you and I were hanging out at the ACC tournament in Charlotte. Talking about a number of things while we watched Carolina go down by as much as 18 to Clemson and then. try to storm their way back. But actually, let's start with what we saw last night. We'll get to Caroline in a minute.

I want to start with what we saw last night. Uh NC State. Texas. It was a slug fest. It was a rock fight.

What was your reaction to this game and how it turned out for the PAC? Yeah. That's the way the season should have ended for Prince Will Wade and the State Wolf Pack. It was an ugly game for an ugly team. That's been pretty up and down and bad all season, especially with the way they closed.

Will Wade hated this team. The fans hated this team. And it was time to end the season, and that's what happened. They got to the tournament. They reach their goals.

Um I don't think anybody had any Idea, any expectation of getting to the Sweet 16 or even the round of 32 with this roster that Prince Will Wade put together.

So, yeah, better than last year, right? They didn't make the ACC tournament last year. He'll reload. He will reload. I do think.

He is a good coach and that he will build that program up. Um, so it'll be interesting to see what he does with the roster. They do have some good parts, they could return. Um, but the construction was so weird, and then he just couldn't get them to play. I mean, they didn't have any.

big bodies to really rebound and defend and They had a, you know, it was just very consistent.

So. Um hate I hate it. I hate it for NC State fans. That they are not no longer in the tournament. I detect a little sarcasm there.

Ross Martin here with us at the Big It's the Gitters Only Podcast. Great people. The Big Inters Only Podcast. How long have you been calling him Prince Will Wade? Where did that start?

Has that been a thing all year long? I started on Twitter. Oh, okay. Yeah, I started on Twitter pretty early on in the fall. It's a good nickname for him.

Yeah, I think so. What a body on that guy. Hey, it's body shape in, but what a body. It's something else. It really is.

Do you think that his players quit on him just because, like, when you hear the way he talks to the media about them, even last night, like somebody from ABC 11 was asking the question, like, you know, what do you, when you think of this team, what will you remember? And he kind of like rolled his eyes, you know, like he did. It's like, if you're a player, do you think they quit on him? Yeah, I have no idea. I mean, I have no idea.

I've never talked to him. Never. I've been to one of two of his press conferences. I have no idea about these players. I don't want to say anything that questions their character.

I just think that they just weren't like. Yeah, they just didn't have the right pieces. No size. And I think across college basketball, man, you're thinking about your next contract. And you're doing what's best for you, and you're thinking, like, man, they might not have me back next year.

I gotta start looking out for myself, and that's gotta be a distraction. You're not worried about contributing 10 minutes off the bench, you're thinking about, man, can I get up to? Boston College and and make a hundred K next year. You know, I think that's affecting. A lot of people, I mean, dude, everyone knew that team wasn't going to make it very far.

Same with Carolina and some other teams.

So you're probably thinking about, and your agent and your family's probably like. All right, let's get the season over with, and we got to find a place for you to play next year because that portal is already cooking. It's not open until April 7th, but it's cooking behind the scenes for these next three weeks until it does open.

So you got to find a place where you can get your money and get paid. Let's get to Carolina because there's a number of things there that I want to get to with you. Starting with. What we saw yesterday, so because Caleb Wilson is Is a second-team All-American by the AP. He has the criteria to go up into the rafters at the Smith Center.

What was your reaction to this? Yeah, I mean, deserving. I think it was funny. I didn't really think there'd be any negative reaction from anybody, but I got a lot of Duke fans in my mentions. Really?

And I kind of tweaked that out. Yes, because he didn't play. You know, he didn't play many games. You kind of think, I mean, he played enough, but like, you think about Michael Wilson, you're like, all right, well, yeah, he played. He was really good one year, but there's never been a player.

that's got their Jersey Rafters only played one year. Yeah. I mean, Hans Row could have gone in after his freshman year based on his accolades, second team All-American. Um, but he played four years, so his jersey didn't go up until his career was over. Kelle Wilson's gonna be the, I think, the only one.

Whose jerseys honored. Who only played one year, and even that, he played what two-thirds of the season?

Something like that. He was good at his stats are the best ever for a freshman in, you know, I think rebounding points, or you know, he's up there as best ever as a freshman.

So, awesome, deserving. I think Baycott's jersey should get up there. Yeah, I do too. He doesn't fit the criteria. And so, yeah, it's cool, man.

I mean, I just wish UNC fans could have seen him. In the tournament, AC tournament, in Cameron, and the N Sibley tournament.

Well, it brings up an interesting question I have for you. And I already asked it to you last week and got your reaction, which is why I'm going to ask it on air here. Is it only going to be freshman year for Caleb Wilson? Because he didn't get to do some of these things that he wants to do, like play in the NCAA tournament, like play in the ACC tournament, like play in Cameron. And the guy loves Carolina.

He does. And he He commented on social last week. He's like, run it back? Yeah. Yeah.

Is this like a Josh Graham B Dot social media take? Dude, there is no way he's coming back next year. There's no way. No shot? You don't think he wants it?

I mean, what are contracts like in your freshman year or your rookie year? I mean, the first lottery pick, I'm pretty sure they could get paid up to 20-some million. I mean, it's significant. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, he's going to be, I think, a top five pick.

I think he's going to be at the four or five mark. Um and Yeah, you start your career, you start. I mean you start making real money. You don't have to go to class. Your job is basketball.

You're not worried about going to. English 101 or the study of feminist literature, you're going in and you're hitting the weight room and getting jacked and ripped every day and traveling and living in a big city. And making it your job.

So I don't. Would you would you come back for A third. Of the money? I think if I really loved Carolina that much. And I think if I really did feel like I was that dude, and Caleb, and we know Caleb Wilson knows he's that dude, where he could stay one more year and achieve some of these things that he actually wants to do.

And not only that, but. This is an interesting way to look at it. I mean, this freshman class is loaded, man. Like You could go, and he's gotten hurt.

So I don't know whoever takes him. Will that impact his stock and maybe drop him down a couple of picks? I don't know, as opposed to what if you come back. And heck, you're the number one or number two pick next year. Maybe.

Yeah, I think this I think this conversation is more about Vesar. Yeah, I don't think I realized that he could come back. I don't know why I assume that he was dumb. People know that he has an extra. Uh, your eligibility.

So that's the one you need to watch. Yeah, I think you don't think we need to waste any more oxygen on Wilson coming back. You can leave that to BDOS Twitter. I will let B Dot do that because I do think he actually believes that he might come back another year. I think I saw that yesterday out there on the interwebs.

Ross Martin with us here on the big hitters only. podcast.

Now let's get to some something actual That's in front of us here, and that is Carolina taking on VCU. Uh in Greenville. How much concern do you have for this spot for Carolina? Because I do believe. Of the six versus eleven games, it is the smallest spread line.

Last I looked at it, Carolina was a two and a half point favorite. Maybe it's changed by now.

So that is the smallest one. We know Carolina here lately has been I mean, they got mashed against Clemson. They got, I mean, Duke is Duke. I get that, but that still wasn't great in Cameron. How much concern is there here?

Yeah, I mean, look, I'm not a VCU basketball expert, but um, I think there's concern anytime UNC plays basketball that they can lose with this team and this coach. I think VCU has a lot of good guards. They're well coached. I basically based this on what I talked to Adam Smith about on my podcast. Shout out.

I mean, they can shoot, they can drive. I think a stat he brought up to me was that they. have the Like one of the top 10 or top 15 highest percentage of distance from the basket. On Two-point shots or made twos, meaning. When they take shots, it's either a three-point shot.

Or it's a two-point shot, a two-point shot really close to basket.

So they're getting to the lane, they're getting layups, they're shooting high-percentage shots, kind of that Alabama model where it's two-point shots or layups or dunks.

So I think really fast. Three-point shooting guards have given Unity trouble. But I think Vesar, if he has a big game, they won't be able to handle what Vesar could do. Man, if they had Caleb Wilson, it'd be a no-brainer because they. VC doesn't have players that can compete with what Vesar and Caleb Wilson bring.

So, um, you Look. The spreads of spread for a reason. It's like what UNC team is going to show up, right? Are we going to see Powell come in and hit two threes in the first half? We're going to see Luca hit.

Of three in the first half, and then maybe go off in the second half. Is Trimble going to drive the basket and finish with 15 points and attempt eight free throws? Or they can disappear. Um And sorry, I've got some breaking news here.

So. Dude, I'm picking Belt. I'm putting BCU. I'm picking BCU. Do you think they win this game?

I think there's not much motivation for UNC. What you saw from Clemson. Does not, and against Duke doesn't really excite you.

So I think a team like VCU with a first-year head coach and a good coach, they'll be able to look at the tape and be able to pick up what they can do and see how teams beat UNC.

So I don't know, it's tough. I don't think UNC gets past the first weekend at all. If they do get past VCU, it's over by Illinois in the next round. And I'm picking I'm going to pick Caroline in this one. Uh it's tough.

But I think they'll pull through. I do agree with you. And I was talking about this very thing with David Glenn yesterday of the NC Sports Network about how like you just never know which Carolina team is going to show up. And that's not a good thing to have happen in the month of March. Like, that's fine if you need to figure some stuff out earlier on or, you know, in December or something like that.

But. At this time, you need to have it. All buttoned up, and it doesn't seem like Carolina always does. And listen, I went in the locker room. And, you know, when Seth Trimble met with the media, and Vessar met with the media, and Luca met with the media after the Clemson game, and there was a real.

Dejectedness in the locker room. The energy was very, it was a very dejected energy. And like, I don't want to use the excuse of, well, you know, they thought Caleb Wilson was coming back and they were getting ready for that.

Now he's not.

Now they're bummed out about it. But it's like, that does do something to you. How much of an effect do you think that did have on them psychologically or mentally, you know, going into the tournament? I mean, I'm serious. I'm genuinely curious.

With that Wilson? Yeah. Yeah, I mean because they played well without Yeah, they did do pretty good without him against some poor competition. But yeah, you have to give Huber Davis credit for holding the team together against Clemson regular season in Virginia Tech. Big win against Louisville, which I thought was huge.

They beat Virginia Tech and one other team. They lost the state. Um but Um Say it again. Beat Pitt. Did that.

Yeah, beat Pitt that first game. And Syracuse was in there too. Yeah, that. But, dude, you're losing your best player. And it's not just your best player offensively.

Like, he removed a lot of issues on the defensive event. He was your best rebounder, truly your best rebounder. He was an energy guy and your leader. And he I don't know how even to say this, but like he. Took a lot of issues and hit a lot of the scars of this UNC team.

And now stuff's being exposed, which would you expect when you lose your best player.

So you're seeing, I mean, they're just, he drew so much gravity on offense too. Like that high-low stuff with Vesar, finding people, he would get double teamed. And now Vasar's getting double teamed.

So that changes the math.

So, yeah, man, it's got to affect how you lose your leader and your best player on both sides of the ball. It certainly affects your team. And so, I mean, dude, these people aren't idiots. I don't think. I mean, I don't think Hubert thinks he has a team that's going to go very far.

You know, I don't think these players. I don't know if they think, I mean, you I don't know, they're six seed. Like, damn. I don't think they're like. banking on some foul for run.

This team doesn't have it.

Well, and what's interesting there is even with Caleb Wilson, they were trending towards four or five seed territory, which to me, like that's a whole nother issue. It's like The metrics aren't that much different with or without Caleb, which is very weird. Yeah, it's true. I don't know if that had to do with how well they played without him. I don't necessarily know how the metrics work all the time.

It can be very confusing, but. There's no doubt that if Carolina loses this game in the first round, like... Carolina fans are gonna be uh I mean, it was bad enough. It's going to be bad. Like, it was bad enough after the Clemson game, you know.

And God forbid you get bounced. I mean, think about this. If Carolina ends their season getting blasted at Cameron against Duke, blasted mostly and then until the comeback against Clemson in the ACC tournament game, and then you lose in the first round, like. That ain't Carolina basketball. Like, that's not the standard.

But I Would you agree, though, that Hubert Davis is going to be able to fall back on the, well, Caleb Wilson got hurt mulligan? Will that give him a mulligan, you think? Yeah, I mean, I don't know. I'm not in the room, but there's so many factors here. And I would encourage people to listen to my last two episodes on big hitters only.

We got deep on it with a couple of different people, Mike Hardson. Adam Smith and Andy Bagwell, just two different episodes. I mean like the Caleb Wilson excuse is valid. Like this team had Sweet 16 Elite A potential with Caleb Wilson. If everything clicked, you would think they kind of would have closed the season a lot stronger.

And you know, things could have gotten rolling longer and earlier. If they had Wilson, he's your best player.

So that is a valid excuse. You can't avoid that discussion. With that being said. Yeah, your seeds, your seed. And you look back to last year, you look back to the couple of years past when they didn't make the tournament, when they were an eighth seed in the first year, bubble team last year, 11 seed played in Dayton, and six seed this year, and they were the one seed with Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan with that great team that beat Duke in Cameron.

And so, I mean, just yeah, dude, six seed, eight seed, eleven seed is just not cutting it. This team had potential. There were still a lot of issues. Still a lot of misses in the transfer portal. Ky and Evans will go down as.

You know, as one of the biggest misses in the portal for UNC, alongside a Kay Tyson and Pete Nance and some other players.

So. I mean, UNC, the administration, donors have to be like: are we going to be serious here? Do you want to continue this? It's just like people have to realize that this is not working to the standard. And you can keep giving people more chances.

But like we've seen it now. It's five years. He's a solid coach. He is an average coach. He has the money behind him.

He has top five money.

So, you expect a top five product, right? You would. And even with Caleb Olson, I don't even know if this was a top five team. Compared to Arizona, Duke, Florida, some SEC teams as well, Yukon, who else was really good this year. I mean, this team was nowhere close to them.

Michigan got kind of lucky against Duke. Um, you know, had some big wins too. Like Virginia was a big win, Kansas, Kentucky, big win.

So it's like these data points, you have to consider them all. I do think he comes back. Yeah, I do too. I do. I just think you can't go 18 and 0 and have those big wins and those moments, those memories.

And fire him, but I think we're gonna have the same conversations early and often next year. And losing to VCU on Thursday would be a Another data point. 0-3 to close the season, lost to Duke, lost to Clemson, looked awful in the AC tournament, and then lost to VCU.

Now, if you beat VCU, all right, lose to Illinois, that's kind of whatever, you know, kind of expectations there given the roster. But then you kind of have like, all right, you know, round 32. That's not really the standard either, right? Standard, dude, here's the standard UNC. Will talk about on BHO.

Check it out. YouTube, Spotlight, Apple. It's number one seed, it's top three seed every year. Top three seed. Top two or three in the A C C Okay.

And then competing for a final four in a national championship. every four or five years. You're getting a one, two, or three seed. You're battling with Duke in Louisville and those top teams in the ACC. And then you're getting to the final four and giving your team a shot every.

Three, four, five years. Toward was with Roy, Tao was with Dean Smith. And That's how it should be. You give me a lot of time. You give me a lot of time today.

Yeah, we're actually up against it. Ross Martin, the big hitters only podcast. Follow his work at Ross Martin NC on X. Ross, appreciate the time. We'll do it again here soon, buddy.

All right, appreciate it, man. Enjoy tomorrow.