Recreating Tre Jones' Shot

This is The Drive with Josh Graham Podcast. Tune into The Drive weekday afternoons 3 to 7 on Sports Hub Triad.

There was a big upset in the ACC last night, more on that in a few minutes, but let me start with this. What you don't say is often more illuminating than what you do. Panthers owner David Tepper is notoriously loud and he doesn't shy away from many topics, but he was non-committal earlier in the week when asked about Cam Newton's status with the team. That tells me he wants to move off of Cam, but it would hurt his business to say so publicly.

It's hard for him to hide things. I think that's a big part of the reason he moved off of Ron Rivera in early December before the end of the season. He didn't want to act behind Rivera's back, he said.

He thought that was less noble, less honorable. In this instance, they need to get something back for Cam, so we can't just cut ties like he did with Rivera. Also, he was asked if he was fielding phone calls, inquiries from teams. Said that, I don't know, my wife answers the phone, which is a witty way of him avoiding tampering. He can't say he's fielding calls or else that would be a violation of NFL rules. They can't trade Cam and they can't have trade talks, technically, until next month. You need teams to believe that you're going to keep him. So I fully understand Tepper's play here, but if he wanted to keep him, if he truly wanted Cam back, he would have said it.

Which goes back to what I started with. Sometimes what you don't say is more illuminating than what you do. If you're in a marriage and your wife comes up to you and says, are you cheating on me? Come on, you're being silly? That's ridiculous. Why are you asking that question?

That's not committal. I remember when Mitchell Trubisky was coming out of North Carolina, Larry Fedora, he was on the draft circuit going on all these shows. And of course the question you're gonna get, if a team drafts Trubisky, what type of quarterback are they getting? And I remember the line he kept saying was, oh Trubisky's a quarterback who's going to play a long time. Notice he didn't say, oh this is a perennial Pro Bowler, this is a guy who's gonna lead a team to a Super Bowl, yada yada yada. This is a guy who's going to play a long time.

You can't go out there and bash your player, it's your player. But I thought it was more interesting what he wasn't saying versus what exactly he was. If you missed Tepper earlier in the week, here's what he said when he was asked directly about the quotes Cam Newton gave CBS Radio on Radio Row.

This was just a few weeks ago. He said he absolutely expects to be a Panther based on his conversations he's had with Marty Hearney, with new head coach Matt Ruhl, and Tepper. This was Tepper's response. Listen I'm not a doctor, you know, and I said it a million times, is he healthy and how does he, I mean, he's not a doctor. So, you know, there's a lot of different things can happen, but first is, is he healthy? Tell me that and then we can talk.

We all agree on that. If Cam's healthy, yeah, then we could talk about what type of player he is, but Tepper could have added, Cam Newton's our guy. When he is healthy, we expect to have him back.

When he gets healthy, we expect him to be our guy. Tepper did not say that. Tepper's a very smart businessman. He doesn't shy away from things.

What he didn't say there tells us everything. Also, it's not hard to read between the lines for what's best for Carolina. The best thing for the Panthers is to move off of Cam. I get the other side, oh it's low risk, it's only one year, 19 million dollars, make it 21 million dollars, it's not that much of a hit for a starting quarterback, he's only 30, he has many years left in the league. The moment Luke Kuechly decided to retire, this became a full rebuild.

A full rebuild Greg Olson didn't want to be a part of, so they mutually part ways. Carolina needed to save some cap money. Remember, Kuechly, even though he retires, 11 million dollars is going against the cap because of Kuechly this year.

Dead money. Carolina could do nothing about that. Cam, he can give Carolina 19 million dollars of cap relief. His contract 21 million dollars the cap hit would be 19 mil this season.

They can relieve themselves of that. Once Kuechly retired, this became a full rebuilding project. Don Terry Poe, they have to decide by March 15th if they want to pick up his option. If they decide to release him by then, they save themselves 13 million dollars. Why is money very important right now during a rebuild? Christian McCaffrey's likely gonna be looking for a contract this offseason.

You're gonna have to pay that. James Bradbury, one of the best corners in football statistically last year according to Pro Football Focus. His contract's up. I doubt you really, during a rebuild, won a franchise tag.

Somebody like that. Taylor Moten likely gonna be looking for a new contract. You got to take care of tackle. You have to take care of your biggest star, who's one of the best players in the league. You got to take care of somebody who's been producing in the last few years, like Bradbury, rather than worrying about someone who hasn't been on the field the last year and a half, essentially, in Newton. So I get he might be the most talented player to play in Panthers history and there are still so many people that love him, but it's the right thing to move on.

I think David Tepper told us all we need to know about where he's at with it. He wants to move off of Cam 2. On Twitter at sportsubtriad, if you want to chime in, what do you think the Carolina Panthers should do with Cam 3 3 6 7 7 7 1 600 is the phone number, if you want to chime in. I mentioned there was a big upset in college basketball. I told you to watch out for Georgia Tech yesterday. They upset Louisville.

The Cardinals, I believe them to be the best team in the ACC still, regardless of that loss. They need to figure out one thing between now and March Madness. They need to figure out what they're doing in their backcourt.

They need more from Jordan Moira, their star, but they need to figure out what's going on in the backcourt, because late in the game, David Johnson, he was terrific. One of the best freshman talents this year in college basketball, but he's kind of an enigma. I can get that right.

Kind of an enigma. Nailed it, Robert. Robert Walsh, the producer of this show. That's all you're Dylan producing today. David Johnson, he's the key to the team's success. Late in the game, he constantly got to the rim to keep Louisville in it, yet he's not starting for this team. Fresh Kimball's getting a ton of minutes, and he's not producing. He's not scoring. He's the one in a two-point game, despite Johnson getting to the rack every time he pleased. He's the one with the ball who's slipping and turning it over on Louisville's last possession. It doesn't go to LoRa. It doesn't go to Johnson.

It's Fresh Kimball. I still don't understand it. I don't understand Perry being there either.

They need to get that right. They need to understand their roles in the backcourt. The frontcourt, it's fine. Sutton, Enoch, Malik Williams, great players. The backcourt needs to follow suit with Ryan McMahon, one of the better six men this year. He understands his role perfectly, and he's good at it.

Just ask NC State fans. Runoff screens, shoot a bunch of threes. Don't try to do too much. Don't play out of your role.

View it like a TV show, right? Have guys and or actors and actresses, they understand their characters and the role that they're supposed to play. If somebody falls out of their character, Robert and I, we were just talking about this before the show, Seinfeld. Like, could you imagine if Jerry tried to be Kramer or Elaine tried to do Costanza, tried to play that role? It just wouldn't work. You gotta stay in line, and if somebody, two or three players, are uncertain of what their roles are, how do you expect them to play them?

And also, how do you expect things to work? That's what happened with Louisville last night. And with Jordan Mora, he's become small in many big moments this year. Six points at Duke. They won the game, but he wasn't the reason why. Eight points and a loss to Kentucky. He was great versus Florida State, but a lot of the points he scored was in garbage time, a home loss to the Seminoles. Last night, he only scored two points. Didn't get a ton of shots, but he wasn't really assertive. He wasn't an alpha on the floor. He wasn't very tough, which isn't something we said a lot throughout the season with this Louisville team.

Also, this isn't all conjecture from me sitting here. Chris Mack was asked about Jordan Mora's effort as well. Jordan Mora's game.

And this is what the Cardinals head coach had to say. I mean, they put a, you know, 5'11", six-foot tough kid on him, and we run post-up plays. Jordan can't figure out how to be tough enough to hold a guy off and lay the ball in. That doesn't sound like a coach who's standing up for Mora. He expected more out of him. He expected more leadership, more toughness. He expected Mora from Jordan Mora.

Probably a fair way to put it. We'll talk to Wes Durham about this game a little bit later on in the hour. One of the faces of the ACC Network might have some NFL thoughts too, considering he's also the voice of the Atlanta Falcons. He'll be in here in about 30 minutes. However, we got into the CP3 Academy in Winston-Salem this morning with the effort and aspirations to recreate Trey Jones's miracle play in Chapel Hill last Saturday. We'll tell you how that went, next on The Drive. The less you expect of Josh Graham, what is wrong with you?

The less you'll be disappointed. You're on The Drive with Josh Graham. I stand behind saying Trey Jones's miracle play in Chapel Hill at the end of regulation last Saturday is the most difficult basketball feat I've ever seen. I'm not saying the most meaningful. I'm not putting it next to Ray Allen in terms of importance hitting that three in the corner in 2013. Michael Jordan clearing Russell and Elo in the playoffs in the 1990s. I'm not saying it's nearly that iconic, but the sheer feat of hitting the front of the iron after stepping two feet to the right on the foul line in order to know what direction it's going in. Retrieving that ball in that spot and then hitting a jumper to tie the game in Chapel Hill as a Blue Devil.

It is one of the more incredible things I've been lucky enough to watch in sports and I was in the Smith Center last week. So we had a bet, a wager earlier in the week that we've actually followed through on here. Aaron Gabriel, who's an assistant producer on this show, he said that give him 15 minutes he could recreate that boy. 15 minutes he could get it done.

I thought that was ridiculous. I said if you do that I will be willing to commit some sort of shame and the shame I committed to is something that I hate more than anything else and that is Christmas decorations being put on a car. Specifically my car.

I hate it when it happens in December. I've committed to doing that the last two weeks of February if Aaron could complete that in 15 minutes. If Aaron could not do that he would have to write a song with his band and play it on the show the topic of which is me.

Have to create a song about me. Well the results are in. We were at the Chris Paul Academy in Winston-Salem this morning. It was finished at around 915 this morning.

Do we have some build-up with this? Aaron Gabriel got it done. Aaron Gabriel completed the play. We'll put a video of it on my Twitter page at Josh Graham Radio.

You can also see it at Sports Hub Triad. It took him 10 minutes and 15 seconds. Aaron was being defended with the air quotes loosely by Sawyer on the play. He got it done after 10 minutes of 15 seconds.

I called up with him on the floor right after he completed the play and here's what he said. I'm standing here with Aaron Gabriel who just after 10 minutes and 15 seconds hit the shot to recreate the Trey Jones shot. What was your motivation in getting this done? Well you know I just want to come out here give 110% you know we've been working really hard on the shot trying to get the timing down trying to get our spots down but you know well hard work pays off and we're here baby we're here let's go. What was the most difficult part?

The most difficult part was by far hitting off the rim and getting to go where I needed it to go but a little perseverance no problem Josh got it done. What kind of decorations you want on your car my man? What you want? Antlers, a little Rudolph nose going there. You're sweating pretty hard right now. Was this harder than you thought it would be?

Well you know here's the thing Josh it's nine o'clock in the morning I'm kind of out of shape I'm old you know what I mean I'm a slim fella but don't let that fool you. I smell a lot of couch time a lot of couch time invested here. You heard it here first that's Aaron Gabriel. Aaron's not in studio today I really don't know why but he's now joining us via telephone. Aaron how satisfied were you to accomplish this feat? I was real satisfied. I was happy with myself because I talked myself into that uh into that situation then you know you want to show and prove after you talk yourself into something like that. Were you worried at any point?

No I wouldn't say worried because I had plenty of time just matter taking my time with it and getting the look I needed knock it down. How would you characterize the defense that Sawyer was playing? Oh man Sawyer was playing just the tightest defense.

The tightest defense I could have ever imagined. I thought it was you know I just was like man how many people are here on this court thought it must be at least three people and I realized remember it was just Sawyer but uh just smothering defense smothering. Congratulations Aaron we'll talk tomorrow get him out of here. Sawyer I'm just so ticked at you.

Like me? Yeah I'm looking at the video and it's it's on social media now if you want to watch this like you just tried to dress this thing up I'm watching it like you could have maybe stretched your hand out and maybe grabbed the ball before it landed beyond the three-point line Aaron embellished it a little bit too to grab it and make sure it was behind the three-point line and then the effort you made here like you just you you barely even put a hand up you put the hand up after the shot was up to make it look good just garbage. Look I mean we know if I want to strap somebody up they're not gonna score so it had to be like a little realistic where maybe you know like I was trying to act like he had a chance to get it off and I think I maybe just fell asleep on the throw to the rim I don't know why I didn't reach out my hand there because usually I would. I put out a poll last night and you could chime in on this at three three six or at sports up try it or three three six seven seven seven one six hundred if you had to recreate the Trey Jones shot at the end of regulation in order to escape a gym do you die in that room? 71% of people said yes but they die in that room it took Aaron 10 minutes and 15 seconds to get it done and quite frankly I'm not even mad I'm impressed the same way Ron Burgundy wasn't mad at Baxter for eating what like an entire wheel of mac and cheese if I remember correctly.

Just cheese no Mac. Oh no Mac just a wheel of cheese I'm not mad at Aaron a little bit proud he got it done he made a shot earlier in the 10 minutes but he took about five seconds to get it off and also it was very embellished Sawyer not getting a hand on the ball and letting it go beyond the three-point line. I feel like you are mad because you keep coming back to Sawyer's defense like if you weren't mad you wouldn't be mad at Sawyer for playing bad defense also listen how defeated you sound at the end of this interview.

You heard it here first that's Aaron Gabriel. Defeat if that was ever a voice. I hate having Christmas lights on a car I've never had them on my car mostly because I don't like putting things down like I was talking to my girlfriend last night and you know. You were gonna put her down? You're gonna put Sarah down? No I wasn't gonna do that we took the Christmas tree down it takes forever to do these things because it's something that I find cumbersome I don't really have much interest in that and also everybody shares the road so like don't make me look at your car with Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer on the front and some elf legs on the back and some antlers on the top like get out of here with that now this is gonna be on my car and not only is it gonna be on my car it's gonna be in February so Jenny and other people in the office around here they're looking up things to put on my car now it is uncomfortable Wes Durham gonna be here in 20 minutes yes Robert is that uncomfortable that Wes Durham's gonna be here at 20 minutes no my whole thing is I mean look at it this way you negotiated yourself down to two weeks which was smart because at first I was trying to bargain my way into a whole month wasn't gonna let that happen and even if you thought Erin was never gonna make it you would not push it to a month so I will commend you for bargaining yourself down to two weeks and I thoroughly look forward to decorating your car on what are we saying Monday is that we're doing this I hope I hope this is done as quickly as possible Monday looking forward to it I gotta give Sawyer some props to like I undersell Sawyer at point big North Carolina fan who you know friend was friends with some of the hoopers but he also he also is a hooper himself Sawyer like when he started to stroke it like he played one-on-one with Aaron like those he was dropping NBA length threes with regularity like he hit I think five threes before dropping his first his first two which was a driving layup to beat Aaron and a game to 11 so if you were going to use a word to describe Sawyer's game just like a little extra credit for B dots grammar school what would you call Sawyer well mellow ball ask I'll accept that he's a bucket there you go that's what I was looking for yeah he's a walking bucket I walked out you guys are still just hanging out because they opened the floor up for us at the CP 3 Academy in Winston-Salem how much longer did you guys play like I went to go work what were you guys doing we probably stayed for like an extra like 15 minutes and just got some shots up and Aaron was feeding me I was trying to go for like the Trey young type shots and they were they were draining it like five straight and then believe that Aaron can vouch for me but uh no we got some shots up he I tried to throw him a couple more alley-oops I don't think we got a successful one and then we both had our separate ways it's not the substance of what David Tepper said about Cam Newton that makes this a massive story this week I'll tell you three things that are responsible for this thing blowing up next on the drive providing you with a kind of sports programming that makes some people laugh but most people just wits you're on the drive with Josh Graham you despite that speed bump in Atlanta last night I still think Louisville is the best team in the ACC West Durham is now in with us from the ACC Network and Packer in Durham here's my case for the cards Wes I like a team I can trust from three-point range and I see a team that has four shooters over 30% from three on the year Enoch doesn't take a ton but he's over 30% Ryan McMahon coming off the bench I love what Sutton's done all throughout the year Jordan Wara even though he wasn't good last night with only two points 43% from three that's my concern with Duke so I trust the three-point shooting from Louisville a little bit more than I trust Dukes and the cards they are more experienced and they are tougher than Florida State is I think FSU they missed a lot of foul shots in Cameron that was a game that was right on a silver platter for them to win Louisville went into Cameron and won that game a few weeks ago so right now again it's trying to split hairs when you look at the very top of the conference Louisville Florida State and Duke but I like Louisville out of the three when you are evaluating the cards at this moment what or really when you're trying to evaluate what you like headed into March what raised what traits do you value most one experience I think the experience of going to the tournament really counts Louisville was there for 40 minutes last year and lost to Minnesota in the first round the team who I really like at the end on this whole deal if you ask me it's a week-to-week thing it's funny you're asking this because Packer and I were talking about this this morning and this week I like Duke and you're asking me why do I like Duke because Duke took the shot Saturday night of the rivalry game found a way to win geographically or whatever they found would geometrically they found a way to win wild yeah it was wild but then they they held on and then 48 hours later beat arguably the toughest team they're gonna play all year from a matchup standpoint I mean Louisville's tough and Louisville won the game at Cameron but this is a different kind of game the game Florida State Florida State has more bodies in Louisville you know that I mean we all do right and they forced Florida State into a tough night and I think there's something to be said about what Duke did in the 48 hours and what I will say about Louisville and I don't disagree with any little immensely talented regardless of last night but now see here's the thing Josh I'll say about Chris Mack he's in a spot now where he has to take last night and make it work for his team and Saturday at Clemson and last year Wes you reference where they only played 40 minutes in the NCAA tournament everything changed because of lack of toughness they blew that lead against Duke and I remember asking Chris Mack when they finally beat the Blue Devils a few weeks ago what did you feel the difference was this time around when the league got away and you still found a way to win he said toughness that was it and they didn't have it a year ago and we saw how things kind of spiraled out of control for them after that loss in the Yum Center this year they had tough losses against Florida State and Kentucky but then what did they do started winning a ton of road games last night being the exception of course yeah I think I think what they have to do is they have to understand well in particular Jordan war has to understand he's got play every night and I think Chris Mack you know kind of hit the hit the nail on the head after the game last night when he talked about they put a 511 or six-foot guy on him and he couldn't get the ball I love that love that love wanted to because and I think he's telling war hey look now you got to go be the leader of this team the other thing I like about Louisville is I like the combination of Enoch and Williams and what they're able to do and I love David Johnson he's gonna be fantastic in this league but they don't have the experience of March they're gonna have to win a game no matter what happens in Greensboro Josh they're gonna have to win a game in the tournament in the NCAA tournament Duke even though they're like a brand new team has the best leader in the league and Trey Jones right I mean when he leads like he did Saturday in Chapel Hill and Monday night in Durham and you know occasions like that Duke's gonna be hard to beat and look I think they're contenders I think Florida State is a load I think Trent Forrest was dictating that game Monday night a little bit your hand you're hitting on the biggest thing Wes and I'm gonna go a step deeper here you mentioned Trent Forrest you mentioned Trey Jones we talked about this sitting in a hotel lobby in Charlotte in October I liked Louisville before the season your concern was the backcourt how everything was gonna fit together because while everyone's focusing on war because he's the ACC Player of the Year front-runner in some minds in the backcourt you didn't really get much from Perry and you didn't really get much from fresh Kimball particularly on that last shot David Johnson was great and you mentioned that but it does seem like they need to figure out some of the roles Ryan McMahon he knows his role and he plays it well the rest of the guys in that backcourt I still need more from David Johnson consistently and they need to sort things out there well and these problems are exclusive to the three teams at the top because the other teams all have issues that they're gonna have to deal with that are gonna be controlled in the games they play see Louisville lost last night but Louisville didn't hurt themselves because VCU lost to George Mason and what Seton Hall lost to or something I mean you know the reality of it is is that Louisville yeah bad loss but teachable moment for Chris Mack NC State has a loss like that and NC State season might be in danger you know like the other night somebody said did NC State keep their allowed their tournament hopes no but they're still in the conversation they're not in the tournament but they're obviously not out of the tournament right same for Notre Dame losing it Virginia are they out of the tournament no but they're not in the tournament either and Louisville and Duke and Florida State aren't gonna have these conversations because in my opinion one of the three is gonna win the tournament in Greensboro and it'll be a and you know this it'll be a big league upset if not if these three aren't in the semifinals Friday night either in the Coliseum West Durham's with us here you can watch him on Packer and Durham in the morning on the ACC Network follow him on Twitter at West Durham speaking of the ACC tournament we're gonna be broadcasting there for a day for the women's tournament in a couple like us yeah then we're gonna be there all week long all week long the following week and the sounds like us are you gonna be there for the NCAA tournament the following week no all right no we're gonna actually you know what Packer and Durham's gonna do a spring break trip the first week of the NCAA tournament we're having spring break in Bristol oh not Myrtle Beach no no I've been to the ocean gale I don't need to go back to Myrtle Beach I'm in good shape I go to Myrtle Beach it's gonna be 36 a day for six days Josh the the North Carolina National Sports Media Association sports writer the year Ed Harden was with us yesterday and he had something interesting to say about the Greensboro ACC tournament it's the first time the tournaments returning in five years this is some of what Ed had to say what he found interesting about this year's tournament the difference is you have nine eighties in the league now who have never stepped foot in Greensboro Coliseum they're gonna be looking at Greensboro as a test to see if it survives is the new ACC tournament too big for Greensboro we don't think so certainly not in Greensboro and the ACC claims that will always be in the rotation but I'm not so sure that will recognize the rotation when it finally comes out this is this is the biggest ACC tournament Greensboro has ever hosted it's the most important how big do you believe this tournament is to the city of Greensboro oh I think it's huge to the city I know it is I mean I was born in Greensboro you know I'm still connected to some of the folks in the area who are with the Greensboro Sports Council and the Sports Foundation and Matt Brown the people of Coliseum do a phenomenal job but it's a great facility it's the largest remember this Josh it's the largest facility in the rotation okay I mean the ones that are on the books Brooklyn Washington Charlotte and Greensboro it's the largest facility that's important to remember might not be the sexiest street address okay but it's the largest facility and the other thing is it has history I don't disagree with Ed that nine ADs are gonna step foot in the building since the since the event was last there who weren't there and I think there is something to be said about that but the hospitality factor in Greensboro second to none okay you know the tournament is in Greensboro before you ever break the city limit okay and that's important to the ACC the Greensboro also provides one of the more unique aspects about the tournament that I think count people can park at the venue you know I mean that's heading the same ease get some barbecue before you walk I mean but look I'm on go look one of the joys of my career in this business is doing the ACC tournament the Greensboro Coliseum and walking through the parking lot with some of my friends at Georgia Tech and they run upon a tailgate of Clemson fans or run upon a tailgate of Wake Forest fans or whatever in the parking lot of the Greensboro Coliseum and they end up having a blast and that happens in Greensboro Greensboro has a spot for the ACC tournament and I think the ACC tournament has a spot for Greensboro the test of Greensboro is this the tournament has gone now to a quicker rotation because remember this is the first time it that they've gone to Greensboro and it's been one and then back out of town right yeah and it's the longest it's the longest by the way gap we've seen or excuse me the only gap between Greensboro ACC tournaments we've seen since it left Raleigh in the 60s was the seven-year gap from 88 to 95 there was another five-year gap but John Swofford was with us last week and said this is probably gonna be the norm yeah because the event now has picked up momentum in other markets I mean trust me I was I know of the ACC tournament 1989 in Atlanta Duke Carolina playing the Omni it's three quarters full and the late Commissioner Gene Carrigan turned to several people in the media and said if we can't sell out the Omni with Duke and Carolina we're not coming back to Atlanta well he was right they didn't come back to the Omni the next time the tournament came back to Atlanta they had 41,000 people at the Georgia Dome okay I mean I happen to be in Washington in 1987 when state beat Carolina in the championship game at Capitol Center in Landover Maryland and I remember leaving the building that day thinking it wouldn't come back to Washington and I was right it didn't come back to Landover it went to Washington I mean in oh five we went to the at the time I think called Verizon Center yep and and it was good was it great no it was different and I got to tell you when it went back a couple of years ago I wasn't at the event I was at the SEC in Nashville that year for IMG and to be honest with you Washington won the event again with that performance Greensboro will win the event again in my mind because I know what Greensboro does and I know how valuable the event is to the community and it means something to the community and yes it's the home of the ACC but Washington Brooklyn Charlotte have all done very nice jobs to make the event attractive it's different yes but it is attractive in those markets and if you've got four really good five really good markets you ought to take your event there and I think that's important to the conference it's important to the to the future of the league as much as Greensboro is important to the history of the league I don't think it's gonna leave Greensboro I don't think this is the last event in Greensboro I think it is an event though that needs to be shared through the footprint of the league and Ed's right this will be 27 times the tournaments been in Greensboro Josh but here's the thing this is a new ACC this a different ACC you got to share the number one event the league has with more of the footprint it's important to be in Brooklyn important for Charlotte important for DC as well West Durham from the ACC Network I'll let you out with this two simple questions if you had to recreate the Trey Jones shot at the end of regulation in order to escape a gym do you die in that room no I could hit the front of the rim with the ball on a bullet the problem is I would probably tear sprain or injure something getting to the ball to pick it up well our assistant producer his name's Aaron he said he could do this in 15 minutes so we went to the Chris Paul Academy this morning and he he did it in 10 minutes of 15 seconds so I lost a bet and I have to do something that's my worst fear and my worst shame what I hate Christmas decorations on cars in December let alone February oh you look good though your car's gonna look good antlers Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer nose on the front for the next two weeks you know what they say Graham don't write checks your body can't cash West it's uh it's so good to hear from you we'll see you in Greensboro in a few weeks thanks for doing look forward to it anytime Josh yep that's West Durham follow him on Twitter at West Durham and watch Packer and Durham in the mornings on the ACC Network a lot of fascinating stories heading into Greensboro the first ACC tournament in five years most notable but then North Carolina having a historically bad season which is set to be Roy Williams first losing year he's had as a coach altogether since he was Dean Smith's assistant in 1978 so you know the Tar Heel fans they're gonna come out but can North Carolina make a run yeah well that remains to be seen you are listening to WSGS Winston-Salem WCOG Greensboro WPCM Burlington WMFR High Point those signals making up you guessed in sports hub triad he was never voted most likely to succeed you're such a loser but then again were you the very concept is unimaginable you're on the drive with Josh Graham it is time that time you look forward to every year it's the Josh Grammy Awards so many beautiful ACC basketball teams this year so many beautiful players who's the best who's the team that you think deserves to be wearing the crown I don't know quite what we're going for here is it the Grammy Awards the Oscars or a beauty pageant who knows it's the Josh Grammy Awards and in 15 minutes we're gonna be giving away three pairs of Wake Forest basketball tickets as the dekes face the team that just upset fifth ranked Louisville last night the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on top of that you'll be getting a four pack of tickets with each pair to go see the ACC Hockey League Championships this weekend first category ACC Player of the Year a lot of people say it should be Jordan Mora as we look at the contestants the nominees for this award Jordan Wara's right there and he's had a very fine season for the Louisville Cardinals oh but there are a pair of Blue Devils among those finalists Vernon Carey and Trey Jones having great years as well my winner for the ACC Player of the Year is Vernon Carey top five and scoring top five and rebound when it comes down to it I think he means a little bit more to the Blue Devils than Wara means to the Cardinals Louisville has Sutton there in the post and Enoch and Malik Williams who could score in the paint and pop out for a three deep back court to the stoop teams young and they've had to grow up fast and Carey has been a go-to just reliable player in the post all throughout the year so he's my ACC Player of the Year how about we jump to ACC Rookie of the Year obviously you probably think it's Vernon Carey because it is Vernon Carey but I want to give some love to a couple other freshmen because it is a loaded category this might be the most loaded category of any Landers Nollie top three in the league and scoring out of Virginia Tech on top of that you got David Johnson who's had a lot of standout performances this year such as the game he played in Cameron putting up 19 points before getting injured Patrick Williams at Florida State's had quite a year Joe Gerard the third at Syracuse a really good freshman player but it's gotta be carry in that spot ACC Coach of the Year your nominees Mike Young picked 14th out of 15 teams in the conference right now five and eight still an outside chance for a tournament run in Greensboro also Chris Mack he's gonna be involved in that conversation Louisville still the front-runner to win the Atlantic Coast Conference and I'm just gonna go ahead and throw Mike Krzyzewski's name in there because it's his birthday and the winner of ACC Coach of the Year oh my gosh the winner is Mike Krzyzewski crazy enough coach K hasn't won ACC Coach of the Year since the year 2000 ever since he started recruiting the one and done you've had naysayers say oh you should definitely win with this team you should just wax everybody this year's Duke team has been old school coach K he said that multiple times this year there have been points they've faced real adversity they've been consistent all throughout the way so coach K he gets my nod the Josh Grammy for ACC Coach of the Year coach you have to accept the award they like you they really like you ACC defensive Player of the Year the nominees you got Trey Jones there Stephen Enoch from Louisville and Trent florist from Florida State it is gonna be Trent florist winning my ACC defensive Player of the Year he was an honorable mention a year ago in this category he leads the conference in steals he was the best player on the floor in Cameron on Monday night 18 points 9 rebounds 8 steals and a tremendous player and in the last category my most improved player in the ACC it's Buddy Beyheim I've made jokes about Buddy Beyheim I've said if Syracuse's third best player is named Buddy Beyheim it's probably not gonna be a good year for the orange but putting the nepotism stuff aside he's gone from 16 minutes a game last year to about 36 minutes a game this year he's playing a ton of minutes and he's scoring 16 points a game on average he's been efficient in spots he might not be the best player on this Syracuse team but most improved I think he belongs there so those are the Josh Grammy Awards 2020 Vernon Carey Landers Nollie coach K Trent florist and Buddy Beyheim the big winners of the night your chance to win Wake Forest basketball tickets in 10 minutes another big story the Houston Astros apologized sort of I just want somebody to come out here publicly and take full ownership of this this morning that didn't happen you know it was a Altuve speaking for a few minutes you had they brought out Alex Bregman they were a little choked up for a couple moments but they spoke for about 90 seconds and that was it Jim Crain's talking two sides out of his mouth he's contradicting himself they're denying that anything that happened affected the actual results which if that's the case why are you apologizing in the first place your thoughts are welcome on that and more at sports up trial at twitter three three six seven seven seven one six hundred let's go to Wayne in Greensboro once it on that subject Wayne's an Astros fan Wayne how'd you feel about the press conference this morning the initial press conference was a joke but what was important was that afterwards the players went to the locker room the media with their mics and their cameras were all out in and they had an hour to talk and ask any question they want and they'll be networks had cameras and reporters in there and it was a much better environment for forgetting responses some of the players weren't as articulate as others to make sure I get my point in and I admit I'm a little prejudice because I'm an escrow fan but Carlos Correa said we broke the rules period we regret it we apologize for it there's no excuse for it and then a reporter asked if they used any electronic bezier on players in 219 and Correa answered that's a lie no one used any devices on their bodies no no no you know I don't lie it would it would be a guess my integrity again 100% guarantee you no devices on anybody's body well hopefully that bears out thank you for the call Wayne because in the name of integrity I think Alex Cora well he embodied that with the Boston Red Sox and he just got outed like when you talk about integrity if we had this conversation three or four months ago managers with integrity give me the list you probably go Alex Cora Dave Roberts as one of the top two you're going to list and Cora he was a part of this as well so I really don't know what to believe anymore you could be forceful all you want Ryan Braun he was forceful in denying what he did until he got busted so I would like to take them at their word but unfortunately they don't deserve the benefit of the doubt anymore with this Robert the headline that I want your reaction to something you're mad about IOC officials this is the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo they have reiterated the Olympics are still on despite fears of the corona virus which has been the big rage the last couple of weeks internationally in the health world what's your issue with the corona virus it's not so much with the virus as it is the same thing that happens every couple of years like going as far back as SARS what year was that like 2003 every couple of years we boost up this thing and make it much bigger than it really is why flu swine flu the avian flu Ebola MRSA oh yeah whatever happened to Ebola that's my point they it pumps up and why they do this is because after this goes on and I've got the facts to back this up when one of these come through oh I love conspiracy theory it boosts the stock market in medical sectors and other sectors that go to health care so here's the numbers for you when SARS came around in 2003 in a 12 months after that there was in those certain sectors like health sector public sector all that kind of stuff there was a 20% positive change in the stock market same thing with avian flu 18% swine flu 35% Ebola 10% and Zika which was the to the Zika virus yes exactly a 17 and a half percent change so these flus which are real I'm not denying that it's real I think it's a strain of flu but they boost the media coverage and all the coverage around the world for this and all it does is benefit those companies and I think in a month we won't be talking about this I hope you're right me too 3 3 6 7 7 7 1 600 is the phone number if you want to win tickets to go see Wake Forest Georgia Tech next week don't forget they're gonna be honoring the 1995 Wake Forest championship team that was a one seed in the NCAA tournament they vote I'm gonna be on back in the Joel Coliseum it should be a neat sight it's the 30th year of the Joel so they're doing a lot of commemorative stuff this year if you want to win tickets to that game we have three pairs of tickets 3 3 6 7 7 7 1 600 is the phone number and with every pair of tickets you'll be getting a four pack a family four pack to the Winston-Salem annex this weekend to see the ACC Hockey League Championships over the weekend that's where we're gonna be broadcasted tomorrow as well again the number 7 7 7 1 600 we're making you a winner next on the drive he may not be beautiful and we do sit around all day and talk sports and yes Britt McHenry we feel great about this is the drive with Josh Graham our next guest covers a lot of ground it's CL Brown who covers the ACC's big four around here every time I go to a game I'm sure to find CL who you can find on Twitter at CL Brown hoops and on top of that his website CL Brown hoops.com you covered Louisville for a long time before covering all the teams here in the triangle and the triad the ACC big four so I'm interested in your perspective on what we've seen so far in the conference who has things most figured out among the ACC's elite teams Florida State Duke or Louisville that's a good question I still despite their loss last night at Georgia Tech I still think maybe Louisville does I think I just think they have so much they have the depth they have experience you know they have a standout go-to star kind of player in Jordan Wara the point guard position was kind of the question mark coming into the season and I think freshman David Johnson is going to be a star whether that necessarily happens this year in the tournament maybe not but he's shown enough especially when they won at Duke that he's he's a next-level talent and he's go ahead and he showed that last night to CL he was great down the stretch and then the last possession they're down by two it's it's fresh Kimball losing the basketball and I'm just thinking to myself they have everything figured out here it's obvious Johnson he's the most talented player they have in that spot and he's the one that makes them great how has Louisville not figured out a way to build things around this guy well that's a good question I'm not sure that Chris Mack wants to do it that way to be honest and and honestly I'm not sure if he did just go ahead and throw David Johnson in the starting lineup although postgame I understand when he was on what Bob Bob Delvano last night he mentioned something about possible changes to the starting lineup so I don't know if he was speaking specifically to point guard or something else but I think some of it has to do with knowing the personnel on your team and having to manage you know manage egos manage personalities and if say moving because I felt if I felt Darius Perry when he was originally starting I kind of felt like he might be a guy who if you had to if you took him out of the starting lineup and made him come off the bench that would rattle him now it hadn't seemed to be the case since since fresh Kimball moved into that starting spot but but I don't know to answer to go back to your real question I don't know if if coach Mac I don't know if that's gonna be his mo just to kind of go ahead and give David Johnson the keys and run with it I don't think he could go wrong that way but I just don't think he's gonna do it we've known Chris Mack to be a culture-changing coach dating back to his days as an assistant in Winston-Salem under skip Prosser he's the one that infamously created tie-dye nation and came up with that concept that of course picked up steam all those years and the 2000s stylistically and culturally how has Louisville look different under coach Mac versus Rick Pitino you think oh wow I think they're a bit more blue-collar not to say that under Pitino that they weren't hard workers I mean they you know they they still were kind of it wasn't like all flash and shiny object under Pitino but I just think they have a different level of they just grind differently you know I feel like there's a little bit more of an attitude kind of just like we're gonna do this work kind of attitude with them that wasn't necessarily always present with with coach Pitino's teams and I and I think some of that had to do with Pitino who kind of came with the certain amount of splash you know what I mean sure like when they went on the road it was all five-star accommodations like they didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express you know what I mean like they they when they traveled it was all first-class kind of stuff and I don't think that a little doesn't they're not doing the same kind of things under coach Matt CL Brown with us here follow him on Twitter at CL Brown hoops Rita stuff CL Brown hoops calm watch some of his work there as well so we know you got Louisville Florida State and Duke we're gonna be NCAA tournament teams from the league Virginia they're likely going to get in as well I'd be surprised if they're not in how many teams today NCAA tournament teams do you feel comfortable saying the ACC is going to get well comfortable as of right now I only feel comfortable saying three I do agree with you that Virginia is trending in the right way and I think Virginia will get a fourth slot and then I think it's possible for a fifth slot to be solidified and NC State I think went a long way and you know trying to secure that with the win at Syracuse that was kind of a separation game kind of win for them to go on the road and get that but obviously they got to keep it rolling I'm not a big fan of Syracuse to be honest like I don't think they didn't really have any great non-conference wins and their wins in conference they haven't maybe that maybe winning at Virginia was probably one game that they won that they quote-unquote weren't supposed to win but but that's it like they really don't have to me any marquee great win for you to be like oh you got to watch out for this team so I think state can can get that fifth slot I'll come I'll close on this CL because you're talking about NC State last year I think we were having a discussion and we thought that this last year's team was a year away and of course Jalen Lequeu we thought was gonna be a part of this NC State team that was a big loss baby Westbrook a top 30 player for Kevin Keats and there are some other things that have happened to the offseason that have set things back injuries have played a role as well what do you point to as being the primary reason NC State in some fans minds have been underwhelming this season well I think some of it just has to do with he doesn't have the depth that he normally has and and he had they haven't played the style that Keats really wants to play like they haven't been pressing for you know entire games because he's got ten guys and he's rotating them in and keeping everybody fresh they've kind of had whether it was you know early seasons DJ Thunderbird being suspended or or injuries that have happened Jericho Helms comes to mind when he got hurt against Wake Forest like there's just been things that have kept them from having they haven't had the depth that they've had or have the depth that Kevin Keats once and so they're not totally playing the style that he wants to play right now so I think that more than anything else more even more than kind of the inconsistencies of a Markel Johnson you know I think that more than anything else is why they haven't they're not in a position right I feel like right now we should be saying NC State is in but they haven't played that way so yeah I think I think they still can though I think they still will get get the wins they need to be an at-large team CL thanks for the insight it's good to hear from you all right thanks you got it that's CL Brown he's on Twitter at CL Brown hoops and you can read this stuff CL Brown hoops.com