The Great Tricycle Scandal (2/6/20)

This is The Drive with Josh Graham Podcast. Tune into The Drive weekday afternoons 3-7 on Sports Hub Triad. There isn't a college basketball coach in the country with more freedom to speak on whatever subject he wishes to than Coach K. And this week, he's chosen to sound the alarm on the overall state of the sport, saying forward-thinking reforms are necessary for the sport's survival over the next 10 years but even beyond that.

And of course he's right. College basketball has been reactive, not proactive, for the last few decades and this has to change very soon. I say this as I attended a Greensboro Swarm game last night. I look at the way the G-League has changed in the last couple of years. Not just talking about the name of the league altogether but how they're getting set to unionize, how basketball at all different levels has become more accessible. I think college basketball, at least its leadership, has gotten fat and happy. But when I say college basketball, I'm really just talking about the folks in that office, the bureaucrats in Indianapolis at the NCAA. Coach K, he's advocating for somebody to be an advocate for college basketball. He wants to have an Adam Silver, a Roger Goodell, you fill in the blank for college basketball. Because the way it works right now, if there's an issue in the sport, the person that speaks on it is the same person that represents all the NCAA sponsored sports. That is Mark Emmert, the NCAA president.

If you have specific issues in your league, you go to your league commissioner, like John Swafford who was a guest on yesterday's show. This isn't new for Coach K either. Coach, I remember him saying this six or seven years ago. Hey, we need to have an updated, progressive, modern college basketball, not one that resembles what it was in the 60s and 70s. In terms of other sports getting commissioners as well, Coach K told stadium, he said collegiate NCAA football runs it big time in terms of the NCAA's attention. Quote, we don't do it. We don't do it.

It's sad, end quote. So football is fine. Football is the breadwinner in college sports. I'm not breaking any news there. But here's Coach K from, I think this is from Packer and Durham on the ACC Network this morning.

Just a couple days after he spoke on this issue initially following the Blue Devils win against Boston College. This is a billion dollar business and in the last few years it has changed dramatically with Condoleezza Rice's commission, the Knight commission. All these different things that people say get rid of one and done and it's all going to be OK.

It's not going to be OK. I think the one and done has been villainized. I was surprised that was the primary focus by that Condoleezza Rice led commission on basketball.

Hey, if we get rid of this, everything's going to be fixed. You had the recommendations involving agents getting involved, but it was only for certain prospects. And if they chose to go to college basketball versus the NBA or overseas, they couldn't represent that athlete anymore.

So what's the incentive for that agent to do what's really best for that kid? There were a ton of problems with that Rice commission that I don't think really solved a lot of the issues. When you look at players who go to the NBA, yeah, the one and done is going to allow Zion Williamson, LeBron James, Anthony Davis to jump from high school to the pros.

But there are just as many, maybe even more Kobe whites out there that didn't think they were going to be one and done players that were by the time the season ended. So I think we're going to find that the one and done, it seemed to be this big bad wolf, but it wasn't really the problem with college basketball. It would be great if you had a commissioner of sorts like Coach K is pointing out to help rectify a lot of these things, to be an advocate for specifically college basketball related matters. Robert Walsh is the producer of this show, Sawyer Dillon and the Law Offices of Timothy D. Wellborn Studios as well.

Learn about all the ways Tim Wellborn can help you online at timwellborn.com. You'll know when you need us. Speaking of the ACC Network, Jordan Cornett going to be here in about 25 minutes. We have an update on Brandon Robinson's status ahead of North Carolina Duke, which we'll get to in just a minute. Robert has a theory for why Coach K is sounding the alarm this week.

You've heard me say the phrase, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? So I think Coach K is kind of bringing this to the attention. We need someone to step up. So when he's done coaching, that can be his job.

He's trying to office manager himself like Pam did in the office. Is there somebody better than Coach K to fill that role? I can't think of anybody. He is one of the most powerful figures we have, if not the most powerful in college basketball. How about we just let Billis do everything? Like Billis is already the guy, it's perfect the guy who tweets out Young Jeezy lyrics each morning.

Every morning. He should be the person who advocates for college basketball, crushing referees and doing all these things. Could he still call the games? I mean, you're the guy representing college basketball.

You could kind of do what you want, right? Yeah, I mean he's making his own rules. So we'll go Coach K or maybe Jay Billis filling that role. Here's more from Coach K highlighting specific things that concerns him about the future for college basketball.

The world is moving fast. The G League is unionized. High school basketball is on TV quite a bit.

You know, those are competing factors. And the fact is that the NBA is a business and ESPN has a great association with the with the NBA. They're going to promote the things that will help the NBA.

This is actually something interesting that I'd like to explore. If it gets to a point where the best prospects and there are enough of them feeling like they're qualified to jump to the NBA. If they decided they'd be an ESPN to just broadcast a league of the best high school basketball players. How much success would that have if it was behind the promotion of ESPN? Because the NBA, they haven't been happy with college basketball. This year should be very alarming for a lot of reasons.

There are no great teams in the sport for one. The G League, Coach K said they are unionizing. They've taken steps, I believe, to begin unionizing.

I don't think that is gospel to this point, but it's bound to happen. That's what Adam Silver wants. That's what the players want. Usually when both sides want something, it ends up getting done.

But just going further, more kids are going overseas. The NCAA handing out NOA's after the FBI wiretapped their coaches. The NBA, they've been displeased with this. They don't like a Dennis Smith Jr. having to deal with negative headlines that had nothing to do with the NBA whatsoever. The fact that he was included in all this FBI investigation nonsense regarding NC State, Mark Godfried, Orlando Early & Company. It's not a good look for the league and Silver has spoken on it a few times saying that he's been displeased with it.

Is that something that would pick up traction? I think I heard somewhere else Coach K saying, hey, that's something that if they broadcast, people were going to watch that stuff. Like, if the NBA promotes it, if ESPN promotes it, you bet that's something that they're going to look at. On Twitter, at sportsubtriad, you can tweet the show there.

336-777-1600 is the phone number if you'd like to chime in that way. How about this? This is a quote from Coach K telling stadium, how many high school games do you see on TV now? I see in the future a high school mega league that has a TV contract.

Can that happen? You bet your butt it can happen, especially if those kids aren't going to go to college. The NBA is going to want to promote these guys. The NCAA, it is way behind on its business model. It reminds me of a lot of great businesses in America that got fat and happy thinking that their way of doing things is always going to hold up.

And then eventually they get passed by time. It's the innovative forward thinkers, even if you were already successful before, that survived. I brought up the example of IBM. They were not in the typewriter business in the 70s. Everyone that was in the typewriter business died, folded, if they viewed themselves that way. IBM viewed itself as the word processing business.

And as a result, they survived looking at technology and ways to push forward. Radio people, such as myself, people who view us, what we're doing here, as the radio business, I think soon will pass. Because just as many people are listening to this in their home on one of those Alexa's or one of those Google homes, listening to this on a podcast, then they are in the radio.

So it's more audio distribution than it is radio. The people that just view it as radio business are probably going to get passed by. College basketball needs to realize their business model was old. Back when it was just millions of dollars, it was bad. And I know it's not a hot take to say the NCAA isn't awesome, but back in the 70s and 80s, we had a lot of these same things in place.

The business has just gotten bigger with less regulation. Coach K is pushing for more of that. And if the NCAA wants to be around and not be passed by by the G League or a high school mega league or whatever the future is going to be, they need to stop being reactive and be proactive moving forward. The update on North Carolina basketball, the season from hell.

This nightmare season for the Tar Heels continues to get worse. Roy Williams says Brandon Robinson is going to be out for the next two to four weeks, which means he's going to miss the Duke game on Saturday. And if you look at the injury timeline for Robinson, he missed the start of the year with an ankle concern. Then he injured his ribs. He injured his foot somewhere along the way. And just when you thought he was out of the woods with those injuries, he gets into a bleeping car accident that he was not responsible for. He misses a game with his neck being hurt as a result. And now this is his ankle again.

So I really feel bad for him. You look at the injuries. North Carolina losing Cole Anthony for a month and a half. Sterling Manley, he had surgery on his knee last May. But then it didn't recover and he needed surgery again without playing any minutes. That happened in December. He's out for the year. Anthony Harris got hurt in the Yale game out for the season.

And you can add this name to the list as well. So it really just has been the strangest case for North Carolina. Nobody's going to feel bad for them because of the name of the front of their jersey and how much success that they've had. But it hasn't even just been the injuries. This is what I need to keep stressing to Tar Heel fans.

The grad transfers not delivering. That's just as much a part of this as well. We had massive expectations for what Justin Pearce and Kristen Keeling could do and neither have met those expectations. North Carolina didn't think Kobe White was going to be a one and done player.

Can you imagine what the backcourt would look like if it was Kobe and Cole Anthony? Those results, that's just as much of an influencer as well. So I'm fascinated to see what's going to happen. Saturday night will be there as this is day 4 of Duke North Carolina week. Saturday 6 o'clock tip.

College game day going to be in the Smith Center as well on Saturday morning. Coming up, the new guy responsible with fixing Wake Forest basketball. Speaking of things that are depressing, this is The Drive. The Drive with Josh Graham. He's confident, smart, witty, vicious, brutal, addictive, a monster.

This is an evil man. Maybe, but he knows his sports. Back to The Drive with Josh Graham on Sports Hub Triad. What's wrong with me?

Be in love with you. Jordan Cornett of the ACC Network now spending time with us. Jordan, I don't like making judgments on small sample sizes, but we've seen Cole Anthony for the first month of the season and the last two games returning from injury.

The Tar Heels getting set for Duke of course in Chapel Hill on Saturday. In what ways can you comfortably say today North Carolina operates differently with number 2 out on the floor? They definitely operate differently with number 2 on the floor and I think it becomes a guys forget who they are and become stardazers.

And I'm not knocking anybody by saying that. I simply mean that I've been in a position before in the game of basketball, when you have an elite star that's ball dominant, the game moves differently in a half court setting. And you become a guy that says we'll see what the star does and then we as role players will react to it. Well, in the time where Cole Anthony has been out, Garrison Brooks has emerged as a star. At times Armando Baycott has been star light. Now Armando Baycott hasn't had as much of a different numbers as Garrison Brooks has in the return of Cole Anthony. And that's because Garrison Brooks became the dominant option.

When times were turbulent, and there were a lot of them in games, they would get it to Garrison Brooks. Well, the ball is now at the top of the key with a dribble, dribble, dribble guy in Cole Anthony who is a gifted scorer, see the 26 he scored in the return versus Boston College, but then see the 5 and 23 performance the following game. There needs to be a cohesion between the two and understanding that there's going to be balanced touches between Cole and Garrison Brooks and it starts with the decision making and trust of Cole Anthony. Cole's going to be going up against Trey Jones in all likelihood Saturday night. Trey's an excellent defender who shut down his fair share of guards, Shamari Pons and Kobe White last year immediately come to mind for me. However, in Duke's losses, it's been dribble penetration from the guard spot that's killed Duke on a handful of occasions. How do you think the results of the Trey-Cole matchup Saturday will play into the bigger result?

Oh, absolutely. In every game, it's the Cole whomever matchup most especially with one of the top 20 players in the country and Trey Jones going against, when healthy, clearly one of the top 20 players in Cole Anthony. That's where this game could very well be won. If I'm North Carolina though, I'm thinking we have two big that are pro ball players as well going back to Baycott Brooks. We feel like we can challenge a foul-prone Vernon Carey who nearly fouled out their last game here in the last game they played and you look at the other bigs for Duke, Delaurier, Jack White. Do we have maybe an advantage on the inside?

And I would think yes. So if North Carolina is thinking where can they win this game, despite the shot blockers and the strong defense of Duke, I would imagine they locate the paint and say let's go there. So for North Carolina to truly win, you'll need a productive Cole Anthony, but you'll need an established inside because if you can get Vernon Carey into foul trouble, that makes this game an entirely different one. That guy is up for National Player of the Year and is a walking bucket.

And if you can make them vulnerable on the inside, all of a sudden this becomes a much more even matchup than anybody would have ever dreamed. It's Jordan Cornette with us from the ACC Network. Follow him on Twitter at, you guessed it, Jordan Cornette.

This weekend he's going to be on the call for Miami at Florida State. You're a native from Cincinnati. You went to Notre Dame.

So you have different perspective than some of our other guests we've had this weekend. Every day we've had a former Blue Devil and a former Tar Heel on to talk about what the rivalry means, Duke and Carolina, and the history of it. How much was this game on your radar screen growing up watching college basketball far away from here?

Are you kidding me? I mean, it meant everything. And I think that's why I can confidently say without wavering, this is the best rivalry in all of college sports. Not college basketball, not even just the small ACC in terms of the national scale, not even just basketball. Basketball, football, any sport you want to take collegiately, it's the best rivalry because it generates an interest from people from all across the country. Growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, I had to watch these matchups.

I had to see them because they boasted some of the best stars in our game. And the finishes in these games, no matter what the record was for Duke, what the record was for Carolina, one team more superior than the other, you still were going to have moments because of how many pros were on the floor, because of the hatred but mutual respect between these teams. The best moments and some of my memories of college basketball stem from this matchup. So I'm stepping up to one of the Carolinas.

My interest would have been the same. A very high one because I've always been locked in on this matchup. And just because Carolina is down right now, there is no reason for me to believe that this one won't deliver some great moments and be a very good game to watch. I grew up in North Carolina and this game is always appointment television. But the coolest thing was when I lived in Colorado for a short while, I remember it was the first Duke Carolina game and I didn't know if people were going to have much interest. But then there was like an event in the middle of the town where they had a viewing party for this game. And most of the people, they were saying, oh, yeah, yeah, we're all we're a Duke town here. We're watching Duke play North Carolina. And I thought it was just the craziest thing in this small town in Colorado that that was something that was on their radar screen even.

But I think he kind of spoke to that a little bit as well. Last thing, Wake Forest gave Louisville a scare last night, as did Boston College with Duke earlier in the week and the Tar Heels with Florida State. I believe I'm getting the best combination of depth, talent and experience with the Louisville Cardinals. So I give them the edge over the other two great teams in this league, FSU and Duke, of course. Where do you lean when you look at the top three? You know, Josh, it's a great question.

I think it's the one everybody's starting to focus on now, given there's a big drop off after three to where four or five and then where five becomes six on down. It's a very fair question to keep in mind. Louisville is a team that went to Duke and beat Duke. This is a Florida State team that went to Louisville and knocked off Louisville.

There is a domino effect there that it's hard to translate anything to come out of that, other than I can say this. These three teams share a common theme. They're the three deepest teams in the conference, without question, and three of the deepest teams in the country. All three teams play nine, even at times ten, guys who are very viable contributors to the operation.

Because of that, it separates them from the pack. It has me truly believing these are three legitimate Final Four contenders. Duke has a go-to guy in Brian Kerry. Louisville has a go-to guy in Jordan O'Rourke. The distinctive go-to guy for Florida State hasn't truly been identified.

Maybe Devin Bessel, if you want to go that route. But Florida State's ability to dictate how a game's going to be played for 40 minutes is different than Duke and Louisville. Louisville takes a little bit of time to get out, get started, but then they overwhelm you with the fact that they have nine guys who can legitimately score 20 points. Duke's spurtability. They could put up 20 in a blink and be up 15 in the game be-over. So they all skin the cap very differently, but the fact that they're so deep, different things stick out to me with all three teams.

And for that reason, I can't confidently say one is better than the other. I like all three for very different reasons, and all three have a very similar shot to get to Atlanta. This guy's great and he's all over the place. It's Jordan Cornett from the ACC Network on Twitter at Jordan Cornett. Watch him as he calls Miami at Florida State in Tallahassee Saturday at noon. Appreciate the time, Jordan.

I'm sure we'll be chatting sometime shortly. Josh, thank you very much, man. Appreciate you having me on.

You got it. Jordan Cornett, ACC Network. While that's going on, Robert Walsh and I, we've been kind of keeping tabs of what Roy Williams had to say at his press conference ahead of Saturday's Duke game, and Brandon Robinson, he's going to be out two to four weeks with a sprained ankle. The injury was sustained last Saturday against Boston College. Sawyer, what did you do?

Sawyer, what did you do to Brandon Robinson? You go to one game and this is what happens? Also, you were at the Georgia Tech game too. What are you doing? I think they were on a big losing streak when you were going to the games.

I ended up going to the Miami game and they get a win. Oh, that's right. I was up on a mountain. I don't think this is me. I don't know what I did. Maybe I tripped him by accident. Maybe he just bumped into me, twisted an ankle, knee, whatever it is. I feel like he's just made of glass right now.

I don't know if he's made of glass. I think it's just one of those things where this guy is being asked to do more than I think he signed up for when he went to North Carolina. But, if he sustained the injury last Saturday, that means it's already been about one week. So, if it is the shorter end of the spectrum, and B-Rob is a tough guy, there's a chance he could be back as soon as, maybe not next weekend, but the middle of the following week. But, he's not going to play against Duke. Roy says that he's in a walking boot.

Obviously, that's not a terrific sign at this moment. So, those are just a couple of things to take away from what Roy had to say a short while ago. Joel Berry, gonna be honored on Saturday. He was the most outstanding player in the Final Four a few years ago. Sawyer shaking his head, I think you probably think it was Kennedy Meeks.

That's usually the argument in place. We saw JB last night playing for the Swarm. And Sawyer, apparently it's locked in. I think I have enough confirmation to say that on March the 2nd, ahead of the second Duke North Carolina game, we're going to get JB back in here. And he's going to play you an NBA 2K. We're going to make that happen.

Let's make it happen. That gives me a little bit less than a month to prepare, and I've already prepared for about a week. So, I feel like I'm pretty sharp. Have you lost a game?

I have. I've lost three out of, I think, 20 something. How mad do you get when you lose a game?

I don't really get that mad. I used to get really mad when I was younger, and then I kind of realized, like, I get mad if I'm trying my hardest, but a lot of these games I'm not really trying. So if I lose, I'm like, whatever, back in the next one. But if I really want to win and I lose, I do get pretty ugly. Do you exit the game when you're down big early? Oh yeah, 100%. I'm not playing out of game.

That's terrible. I'm not playing out of game if I'm already playing. Man, just gonna quit.

I mean, if I can bring it back, I won't. But if it's like, you know, into the third quarter and it's like 60 to like, you know, like 42, I'm probably out of there. Would you rather him leave the game or like punch a wall or something?

I think neither of those options are good. Leaving is just fine. I don't think so. I always roll my eyes when somebody quits a game. Every single time. What's the last game you played?

Solitaire, Minesweeper? What is the last game that Josh Graham has played? NCAA 14. When was that? Yeah, well. Well, I mean, let's do the math.

Was it N14? It wasn't even when you played that game recently. It's been a while.

It's been a while since I've owned a game console. So maybe I'm not the right person to be speaking on this. Up next, we'll get to the stuff with the swarm last night and the beef that you guys have here. But Snoop Dogg takes aim at Gayle King. Keep it on the drive. Josh Graham has his finger on the triad sports pulse.

So wash your wrist when he's finished. You're on the drive with Josh Graham. Boy is a ton of people mad at Gayle King today. Are a ton of people mad at Gayle King today.

We'll just edit that out in post, Robert. She had an interview with Liza Leslie on CBS This Morning, and CBS really let her down. Because out of a wide ranging interview about Kobe Bryant, they only included the segment where they were talking about the 2003, 2004 allegations against Bryant, the trial back then. So if that's the only snippet you think or you see, you might think that that is what the interview was all about.

And it turns out that's not the case. If Gayle King isn't safe in 2020, I don't know who is in today's climate, especially nationally. Gayle King, she's about as soft and polite as they come. She's as good of an interviewer as they come. Like went after R. Kelly last year and handled that interview with Grace. She's one of the TV legends that we have. But, Kobe Bryant is revered in a very special way by sports fans and in entertainment and in culture, pop culture. So, when that's the only thing that's included, she starts getting flooded and dragged through the mud on social media to the point where she's responding saying, We talked to Lisa Leslie about a ton of things.

This was our way to address it so that it felt completely buttoned up. But that wasn't enough for even major celebrities, such as Snoop Dogg, who had this to say about the preview segment. The preview of the interview, which had Gayle King of CBS interviewing Lisa Leslie specifically about Kobe's 2003 court case. Snoop Dogg still have that pull?

Does he? Like, he's on TV with Martha Stewart. 30 years ago he was dealing with a murder trial. Now, here's Snoop Dogg just going on social media, probably sitting in his bathroom saying that they're going to come get Gayle King for asking about Kobe Bryant's court allegations. Or the allegations that led to him going to court. Like, I get it the day of where that reporter of the Washington Post gets swamped from Kobe fans and decent people saying this isn't the time for it. And I agree, that probably wasn't the best time. I don't think she should have been punished for it, though.

And in the case of Gayle King, a week and a half later, I think it's there if you're doing a wide-ranging interview for that question to be asked. But the way it was packaged really let Gayle King down. Now, that was just an incredibly crude clip from Snoop.

A lot of bleeps. Can you clean that up even more, Robert? Like, can you give me that repackaged again in a way parents would feel comfortable hearing that with kids in their car? Some food from Jason's Deli.

Is that clean enough for you? Yeah. When we do the Five Things at Five, which is brought to you by Jason's Deli. When we do that, I want to set up that clip with no context whatsoever. Just none.

This was Snoop Dogg talking about Gayle King, and we're gonna play that cut. That's all we're going to play. Cool. I'm down with that.

Alright, so that's the plan. Let's get to the Greensboro Swarm last night. So, we were hanging out at the game. Thanks to Doug Beamer for hooking us all up with tickets. We're hanging out on the baseline. And right before halftime, B.

Dot brings out Robert Walsh and Sawyer for a tricycle race. And I didn't think I was going to be involved in this whatsoever. Had folks at the Swarm saying I was a coward for not getting involved in this. When in reality, I'm on the air 20 hours a week. I think that's enough embarrassment of myself.

Where I don't need to go out in front of people and race on a tricycle. Especially when I have two guys who I think were perfect for that game, Sawyer and Robert. So B. Dot, he brings me out to center court. This is during a timeout.

Players are in their huddle. I'm asked, who do I think is going to win? And without hesitation, without being prepared for the question, I said Sawyer. Sawyer was going to win.

I liked the advantage I was getting with him. Robert is somebody who might be a little reckless. Can't really rely on him. He's not a franchise tricycler. What is this talking?

Can't depend on me? So I bet on Sawyer and Sawyer won. But Robert is putting it up an appeal. Robert believes it wasn't done in good faith. He believes something happened to his trike. He believes that Sawyer cheated in this game.

What is the case that you're making here for the game that nobody else cares about but us three? Okay, I can put childish things aside. I can be an adult here and say that nothing happened to my tricycle. I can say that.

That was me having fun, kind of just joking around. But my gripe is, at the end of this race, we had to toss an inflatable tire onto a cone. The key word there is toss, not place. Sawyer did not toss this thing. He literally dropped it onto the cone and I look over there and you and B-Dot and Sawyer are all jumping up and down gleefully before I even get to toss that inflatable tire one time. So I think it was rigged.

I think no one enforced the distance that had to be tossed upon. I think that y'all wanted to get me off the court because you knew it was my chance to shine. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Sawyer, I don't have anything to say to you. Don't take my name off the schedule ever again. That's it.

Take your name off the schedule? You wouldn't get it. It's a young kid thing.

What does that mean, Sawyer? It's just, you wouldn't get it. It's for younger people. Can you please explain to me what this is? It's just, it's like a meme. I don't know how to explain. Don't take me off the schedule with your trifling, I don't know. There are so many things that you guys say that I don't understand. Like B.

Dot was talking to me yesterday. I don't think that's something we can bring on the air. I feel like Josh is monk. Like he's so white bread. Like any, any like exposure to the outside world is... Well, no, I'm plenty exposed to the outside world. It's just, I don't sound it.

Right? Like it's, it's one of those things where like, how can I best utilize my caucacity in the best way here? Like, I mean, how should I best handle it to make this show the most entertaining it could be? I feel like B. Dot needs to present you with a word to get your vernacular up to speed and then have you use it in a sentence to prove that you know what you're talking about. Like every week B. Dot comes in, it's like time for B. Dot's word of the week.

He gives it to you and then you have to use that word applicably throughout situations. All right. Is that cool? I think we can do that. Are we going to get a word from B. Dot? Today?

Probably not. Let's, let's do a test run. Like, okay. So I'm presenting you with the word lit, L I T, to be exciting and full of fun. It is lit, this show.

I enjoy it. No, this show is lit. Not, it is lit, this show.

Are you like from Lithuania? It is lit, this show. Very lit. Oh, it is like a candle in here. Oh my goodness.

All right, try it again. So like, lit. What, what, what is lit? What's going on right now that's lit?

Oh man, I went to this brewery in Winston-Salem. It was lit. There you go.

Look, that's right. That's how you use lit. Thank you. All right. Not to, not to. I knew what lit was.

I didn't know what off the schedule meant. Oh, that's kind of like a meme. That's not really like a, it's just like. Yeah.

Memes on the radio work out very well. Even better when you point out that they're not working most of the time, but not to distract from the fact that I was cheated in this tire toss. It's all your reaction. It was just, it was honestly like I was, you know, telling the story like when I realized that I was neck and neck to Robert, I was like, why am I not just going faster than him? So I start pedaling and then it's just, I'm blowing him out.

I'm already out of my chair before he's even around the first turn. Which he admitted that he got out of his, his bike earlier. Did you not admit that you got out of your bike earlier than you should have? Well, I looked back, I looked back at the video and I saw that Robert actually got out earlier than I did. But what happened was I went out of the turn.

And so the baseline is probably about three to three feet, very short space away from where the front tire of my tricycle is. And I said, am I good? He goes, yeah.

And I said, oh, and he goes actually a little bit more. And I just said no. And I just got up because he's wasting my time.

I could have went ahead and gone. I just remember there was a moment and you could probably see it on social media where I was afraid because I was looking at you and you were making great progress. Then I went to look at Robert and Robert had steered his tricycle right and almost hit me.

I thought for a brief second, Robert, I love you. But I thought in that split second that you thought you were getting beat so badly that you were just going to go off script and try to run my ass over. Could you imagine what that would have been if I get hit by a tricycle and that's how the race ends?

I think I might have enjoyed that more than me actually winning. Your free oil change. Would you have been disqualified or would you still get that oil change? Yeah, Robert doesn't need an oil change. You liked that last night when Sawyer was like, oh, I need an oil change. I was like, yeah, I'm an adult.

I just get them changed on time. Josh was very gleeful about that. Yeah.

And so is Doug Beamer. So can I get a rematch? I don't want to do this stupid tricycle thing again. OK, he won. That's stupid. It's stupid because I lost. He won the tricycle race.

OK, he can drift better in these toy cars or toy bikes. How do you want a rematch? I want to do a real man's competition.

What's that? Pie eating contest. I mean, I can just go ahead and forfeit this because I'm only. You win. One to one. What's the tiebreaker?

All right. Cheese stick eating contest. Whoever can eat the most cheese sticks in one minute. I don't think I've ever had a cheese stick.

You're joking. You've never in your. OK, Baja Blast. And now you haven't had a cheese stick. We're getting so close to four o'clock, but I don't even care.

I want to hear why you've never had a cheese stick. You are listening to WSJS Winston-Salem, WCOG Greensboro, WPCM Burlington, WMFR High Point. Those signals making up Sports Hub Triad.

We're back on the air. It's the drive. You suck.

And yet you keep returning. Sports Talk. It's offensive and people can get hurt. The drive with Josh Graham. It's round.

On Sports Hub Triad. I'm begging. So Robert apparently has sound of me saying Duke in a very funny way. It's one of the things he does as the producer of this show.

Anytime I misspeak, he pulls it because he's not really an ally of mine. He's just somebody who doesn't mind being the court jester and the friend of the audience. And there's nothing on this show that entertains people more than agitating the host. It is undefeated Neville Oust. Chris Patola going to join us from ESPN in just a bit. Last night was another episode of The Bachelor. Second time this week. Had a three hour show on Monday. I still don't know why it was a three hour show. Last night was a two hour show that I didn't get to until after watching that debacle in Louisville. Wake Forest going up 15 then blowing that game. I had to listen to Dan Dokich for a couple of hours after watching the Greensboro Swarm inside the Field House. So I was up late till about one o'clock in the morning.

I'm taking notes on my iPad and I have three major bullet points I want to get to here. It is time for our Bachelor Minute. So it's another ongoing, never-ending series of The Bachelor. Will Pete push the limits of what's acceptable on national TV? Um, yes. Is Pete here with the intentions of hooking up with as many of the contestants as possible? Yes!

Or is it simply the free booze? Woohoo! Pete is on the clock. Welcome to The Bachelor Minute.

Alright. Four of the worst contestants are gone. Including two of Sawyer's draft picks. Victoria P, who you might remember. My girlfriend described as being a very hot 40 year old. Even though she's not close to 40.

Fake lips, fake nose, fake a lot of things. That was Robert's main observation from watching. She dipped out of a football game they were playing in the Brown Stadium saying that her doctor told her to do so. She bad-mouthed Alaya, who Robert called Scar in the mini wagon.

So Robert had issue with that as well. Victoria P, she's gone and she did not take it well. She's sitting there and Pete's like, I don't see you being my wife, was the line.

Pretty bold from Pete, I was proud of him. And she said, I'm worried for you. And was about to say something super mean that said, this isn't love. And Peter was trying to take her to her car and she's like, I could walk myself out. Clearly wasn't there for the right reasons. So glad that she's gone. Elsewhere, Sydney, she's kicked off the show. Which is kind of a shame because she was the dumbest one on the show.

And that's saying a lot Sawyer. She is not very bright in any way. I'm not really hurt by Sydney being gone. If I wouldn't have picked her I would have wanted her gone way before this.

It's just kind of like whatever. She's the one that said she was picked on in high school even though we have pictures from her yearbook where she's being celebrated as the top beauty. She said she was faced with such slurs such as Oreo girl. What a tragedy. Her life up to this point which has landed her on The Bachelor. Now she's off of The Bachelor, Sydney's out. Tammy and Makenna, they both got a date where one was going to go home like a wrestling match. Peter's like alright we need to solve the issue between you two. And then Peter sides with Makenna and kicks Tammy out only then to send Makenna home too after she had a bunch of like motivational speeches.

Oh I think we're having breakthroughs. Even though she never really even talks to Peter at all. She's 22 and she's completely heartbroken. So she's gone as well and I'm glad that she's gone. So four of the worst contestants are out. Madison is still around and she is the clear front runner. We saw Sawyer's Fist Puppy because he's the only one that has a pick left.

Nope, that's not true. Oh wait Robert has Hannah Ann, I forgot. I'm back and I'm better than ever. But Madison is the clear front runner here. She's a perfect contestant. No one in the house snipes at her because she's so damn likable. And then when she's with Peter, not bad mouthing anybody.

She hears screaming in the house like let's just walk somewhere else where we can just make out a little bit. Peter also like has given her gifts, introduced her to his family as the family renewed vows and gave her a framed photo of her with his family. Like it's so clear that Peter loves Madison more than anybody else. But that's what the Bachelor does to you. They build up these people to make us think that it's going to be her and the producers are undefeated.

Never lost. And it seems like she's going to be the next Bachelorette if I had to guess. I don't know who's going to win but it's just too perfect. It's two roses right now for Madison right at this moment. I'm concerned about her moving forward. Victoria F. and Hannah Ann. They both got roses on their one-on-one dates. Robert, Hannah Ann got you back into the game. She did. So you know what that means?

What is that? I'm back and I'm better than ever. Both of them are so manipulative. Hannah Ann's putting her hand on his leg saying, Oh yeah, this date's perfect. Could it get any better? Yeah, if I had a rose.

It totally could get better. Yeah, if I could get like a rose. And then the next time they go on the date, she actually gets a rose. She's like, you know, we haven't spent enough time with each other during like one of those cocktail parties. So she gets a one-on-one date in Chile the next time they're together. So she locked it up by saying, I'm starting to fall in love with you.

He fell for it completely. Hannah Ann, I think she's trying to get the bachelorette. I don't think she has much interest in winning this and being the bachelor, but I could be wrong or being the bachelor champion.

Yes, sorry. I hated that date. The Hannah Ann and Peter date made me so mad because… Kissing with their mouth open.

No, it's all due to Peter. So like a couple comes up to Hannah Ann and is like, wow, you look so young. And then it comes to Peter saying, yeah, she is like a little younger.

I don't know if she's ready for this. And then he asked her if she's been in love. And then she goes, no, I have not been in love yet. And then Peter's like saying all these things.

Like, I just don't know if she's ready. And then she says the right things but doesn't cry. And then Peter like takes time off. And then she starts crying. And then Peter's like, that's what I wanted.

Right. Peter is straight. He needs his women to be subservient and crying. Like Kelly, last episode, it was the one time Peter's been tasked with somebody smarter than he is. Like, she's just so clearly smarter as an attorney.

And he realized, wait a minute. She's not subservient because she's smart. Okay, we'll keep her around at least for now. That's what we're going to do.

History is going to look on the show so poorly. Yeah, it is. Victoria F is the F-ing worse. And she is the candidate here. In every Bachelor or Bachelorette season, there is the please just get to the fantasy round fantasy suite round contestant. That is who Victoria F is.

She has no shot at winning, but Peter wants to keep her around for the fantasy suite round. If you catch what I'm saying here. Is it three people in the fantasy suite?

Three people. Okay. Yeah. That's what Peter wants to do. We're going to keep Victoria F long enough because Victoria F has done nothing to lead us to believe she is interested in Peter or deserves Peter's interest. Other than the fact that she's attractive. Like, every single one of their dates, she storms off crying saying, I don't know if I can do this.

I don't know if I can do this. Each time. And Peter falls for it every single time with a rose. I do think because in the previews, it kind of led to there being a little bit of scandal.

I think Victoria and Peter hit the fantasy suite a little early and that causes. Whoa. I've been reading some stuff, you know, stop.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I think I think Sawyer just admitted. I think Sawyer just admitted cheating. It's saying Victoria has a history with other men. So we're going to see.

And if he would cheat at this, you know he would cheat at a swarm halftime game. That is the bachelor minute. All right. Let's get to it. Let me hear how I said Duke funny.

Like you guys were just rolling over in laughter. I talk on the air. How many hours a week?

About 20. And you're going to pick out the one or two sentences? A show where something comes out wrong? I'm here to tell you it happens all the time all across radio.

And usually the producer is with the host. They're aligned. Not you. You're just going to dig it up and make me look bad.

All right. Just play the damn clip. Next hour. It's going to be Chris Patola, former Duke assistant to talk about Duke on a Saturday. Talk about Duke. Hey, Josh, what do you what do you want to do the rest of the show? I think we should.

How do you say it? Talk about Duke. Yeah, that's what we should do.

We should talk about Duke. I don't get why this is funny. Okay. I'll play it again.

Maybe he doesn't understand. Hold on. Talk about Duke.

336-777-1600. Is this funny? Talk about Duke.

On Twitter at sports hub. Try it because I don't hear it. And all throughout all throughout the show and before the show, you guys are just playing clips that I don't understand while they're why they're funny. And maybe this is just a disconnect that I have. Maybe I need to get more acclimated with the kids who say lit. Right.

Yeah. And understand what is now funny because I don't get it. I don't get how this is funny to talk about Duke.

Yeah, I think you got to play the full thing because he says Duke. You say it the first time correctly and then it's just like your words just give out on you the second time. Next hour, it's going to be Chris Patola, former Duke assistant, to talk about Duke and North Carolina Saturday.

I don't think my words fell out. Okay. Look, hold on. Let me. Patola, former Duke assistant.

All right. So here's the Duke the first time. Duke. And here's Duke the second time. Talk about Duke and North Carolina.

It's really an incredible thing. How the maturity of this show really shifts. It vacillates from minute to minute, like going from the bachelor minute, something that's as highbrow as that, to this, to talk about Duke.

Gosh, I really don't like this tease at the moment. Where we're headed, because specifically this is what we're going to do to talk about Duke. Coach K, he wants a commissioner for college basketball to talk about Duke.

We'll explore that and we will talk about Duke next on The Drive. The Drive with Josh Graham. He's confident, smart, witty, vicious, brutal, vindictive, a monster.

This is an evil man. Maybe, but he knows his sports. Back to The Drive with Josh Graham on Sports Hub Triad. Chris Patola, college basketball analyst from ESPN, former Coach K assistant at Duke, kind enough to spend some time here ahead of Duke North Carolina, Saturday in the Smith Center. A few hours ago, Roy Williams met with the media and the biggest thing to come out of the press conference, the nightmare season continues on the injury front for the Tar Heels. Brandon Robinson, with a sprained ankle, is going to miss the next two to four weeks, which means the Tar Heels are going to be short-handed as they face a top 10 ranked team, their second top 10 ranked team they've faced this year. Upon learning that news, Chris, and we appreciate the time as always, how does Robinson's absence affect the way you view Saturday's matchup? Yeah, it's significant, I mean, because they don't have many bodies.

And by bodies, I mean warm bodies who are going to be able to give you something. And you're talking about a veteran guy who's been in that game before and is no stranger to it. So it's a significant loss. It's amazing, Josh, if you go down the line in this league, I mean, there's maybe one or two teams. Like, I throw Florida State in that category. You know, I can't even really think of another. That hasn't been impacted by injuries.

I mean, go down the line. Louisville's had their injuries. Virginia was missing Braxton Key. NC State obviously had their injuries. I mean, you go down the line in teams in this league, it's amazing. Look, the league is down for a lot of reasons. But one of them I think that, you know, you don't talk as much about because it comes off as an excuse is the number of injuries that teams have suffered. But, you know, it's a significant loss, especially with the game this weekend.

There's no question. You were on the Duke bench in 2010, the last time North Carolina didn't make the NCAA tournament. So especially after Tuesday night's game, where Coach K pointed it out that his team overlooked Boston College and that the only adversity they were facing, these are Coach K's words, was an adversity with me because he was telling them all week that this BC team was playing pretty well. How much do you think Coach K is reminding his guys not to listen to how bad everybody is saying North Carolina is?

Yeah, I think there's a lot of that. And I think, you know, one of the things that he always said, especially when we'd be in watching tape, he'd say it to us and almost as an affirmation to himself and us as coaches, was they're not going to be the team that we see on tape. There's just so much that goes into this game psychologically. It's going to be Carolina's best crowd that they've had all year. I mean, there's just so much psychologically that goes into this game that I can't tell you how many times, Josh, that the team, whether they were good or bad, the team that you saw on tape was not the team that you were going to see in person. And it was the same with us.

There were games where we played better than we actually were just because of the moment in the game. So I think he's telling them a lot. And I think the big thing that he is preaching to his group is that they are by no means a team that can just show up and beat anybody.

I don't care who it is in the league. So I think there's a lot of that going around. And especially when you go over there, again, it's going to be as hostile an environment regardless of what people think of Carolina crowds have been this year, it's going to be as hostile an environment as Duke's been in. And they're going to see regardless of who's in the lineup or playing or not playing, it's going to be as good as Carolina has looked on tape.

There's no question about it. Chris Patola is with us here from ESPN. He's on Twitter at Chris underscore Patola. Going to be in Dallas for Kansas TCU this weekend. When you are thinking about a specific moment, you became integrated with this rivalry or that you realize the magnitude of it.

Where do you go? Because that's something we've been asking people all week long. Every single day this week, we've had a former North Carolina player or Duke coach in your case, talk about what this rivalry means. And your background's a little bit unique because you didn't play at Duke, you played at Army before joining Coach K staff. So what sticks out to you when you realize, oh, I've always known this rivalry was a thing, but I didn't quite realize the gravity of it until this?

Yeah. I mean, there are a few examples. I mean, the first one for me, Josh, was the year that Gerald Henderson popped a hands throw in the face.

And, you know, look, I'm not I'm not I'm not I don't want to relitigate that moment. But what I will say is Gerald Henderson was a young freshman that year. And, you know, you could see the innocence on his face.

Again, a freshman playing in that for the first time, he had a best friend on Carolina Steve, Wade Ellingson. And look, did he did he try to make a tough physical play? There's no question about it. And did he intend to pop them in the face?

I mean, he certainly intended to pop them. But when he came over to the bench as the officials were trying to parse the whole thing out and figured it all out. And you saw hands, bro, who had been embedded in that rivalry was an older player.

You saw the vitriol from the Carolina fan base. And then, you know, again, I was I just remember this clear as day standing on the sideline, kind of just asking Gerald, what did you do? Like, what what was your what do you think, you know, just kind of while the crowd is just, I mean, just raining down things we can't say on the air to Gerald Henderson. That was the first moment, Josh, where it was just a clear illustration of this is for real. I mean, this is a real deal, massive moment that's going to live in the history of this rivalry. And you could see the innocence on on Gerald's face.

You know what I mean? And again, I'm not trying to absolve him of that moment. I'm just trying to describe the magnitude of the moment to the fan bases and the magnitude of a moment in that rivalry that will stand in time forever and contrast that with somebody who's playing in it for the first time. And it always that always stands out out to me. But there were I mean, there were so many moments, good and bad, that that, you know, I experienced just in the seven years that I was on on the bench there that that make that unique. And again, you know, the stats of this thing are they stand out in the you know, how equal this rivalry is. And look, there have been years it gets back to what I was saying at the top that there are years where Carolina has been way better than Duke and vice versa.

And yet this thing is tied after all the number of times that these teams have played. It's just, you know, it's that old adage, throw the records out and let's lace this thing up and see how it how it turns out. What do you remember? Gerald Henderson's reaction to all of it was once you guys got back in the locker room. It wasn't intended the way that folks had thought that I'm not a dirty play. You know, I mean this with all due respect to Gerald. Gerald wasn't like the toughest guy that we ever had in the program.

You know what I mean? So like a play to go out and nail somebody in the face was not necessarily his thing. In fact, that false bravado was much more Gerald. And so, again, I'm not absolving him or trying to excuse him from it. It happened and there's no question he was trying to make a physical play. But he just didn't want to be seen as that guy, you know, and as a dirty player. And I don't think I think the result, a bloodied Tyler Hansbrough, I don't think that was what the intention was because Gerald.

Now, look, I've been around guys who their intent was to bloody somebody's face. Gerald was not that guy. And yet, you know, he still is seen as that person. So that's what stood out to me. He didn't want to be seen as that.

I don't think he intended it the way it certainly came out. And, boy, it still is talked about to this day, though. Chris Patola with us here from ESPN on Twitter, at Chris underscore Patola. I mentioned the game you had this weekend. You had one last night, NC State, Miami. Good win for NC State. But I've seen a lot of teams get their confidence back against this Miami Hurricanes team. And I'm trying to figure out how much I should gleam from what the Wolfpack did in Coral Gables. How much do you take away from last night's game for State? Yeah, NC State's a puzzling group for me, Josh. And, you know, I preface all of this by saying they've dealt with their own injuries. And I think even when they've had, and I said this during the game last night, even when they've had everybody available, you know, Kevin Keats is quick to point out, it doesn't mean we have the continuity in practice and that we're preparing the way you need to prepare to play in this league. All that said, they're a puzzling group for me because, you know, look, you get a great performance from C.J.

Bryce. Devin Daniels has a great night. And Markel Johnson actually played well last night, you know, had a pretty complete game relative to what he's done this year. And Miami's playing without their two leading scorers. I mean, they're playing without one of the best guards in the league. They're playing without Cam McGusty. And yet that thing is, you know, it's a five-point game going down the stretch.

I don't understand that. Like, that's a game even on the road. If NC State is a tournament team, that's a game where you go in and you kind of run away with that thing.

You know what I mean? And I think there was a period there where Miami was kind of okay with that. And then NC State just kind of bogged down. And they got into this high ball screen stuff and it just was – it became a one-on-one thing and there wasn't really a whole lot going on. In Miami, all of a sudden, Vasilovich hits a few threes and, you know, and then those freshman guards, they don't know one way, you know, what side is up. So they just keep playing. And all of a sudden it's a ten-point game and it's an eight-point game and it's a six-point game. And it's just a puzzling group.

It really has. And I just – I don't think – I think not having C.J. Bryce for that stretch has been tough. I think he's their best player because with all the – he's not their most talented, but he's their best, most important player with all the stuff he brings.

Martel is so up and down. So it's been a puzzling group. I think their talent level is certainly, you know, tournament quality when you compare it to the rest of the field. They just haven't been very consistent. And again, I think the injuries have something to do with that.

But I think it also has something to do with the personnel and their best players have been very inconsistent this year. I was watching you on Wake last week and I even texted you this. You told a Kobe Bryant story that I hadn't heard from you before. I thought it was terrific. It was timely, of course.

And your memories of the late, great number eight and 24. It's back from the Olympic days when he was with the U.S. Olympic basketball team. Can you share that Kobe story with us for those who may have missed it? Yeah.

I'm glad you asked, Josh. This story is as true as you and I are breathing. It always was quintessential Kobe to me. He and I got to know each other a little bit, which is to say we had kind of a rhythm in 2008 in Beijing and then in 2012 in London where I would rebound for him before and after practice. And in 2012, he was definitely at the back end of his career. He was a year away from tearing his Achilles. And LeBron James had become the guy in the league. But I remember sitting in the meal room and I was eating with a couple of the players and a few of the staff, and somebody started telling a story that earlier that summer, Kobe had gone on a safari in Africa so that he could study how lions stalk their prey. So he went to Africa.

He went on a safari because he wanted to observe how lions stalk their prey. And I'm a cynical person. I call BS when I hear it. And I'm going, there's no way.

Get out of here. This is a myth. This is a rumor. It's probably started by Kobe.

There's no way this is true. So the next day, we're over there at the gym before practice and he's shooting free throws, and I'm rebounding for him. He doesn't talk a lot. And again, we weren't I don't we weren't great friends, but we were we would talk a little bit and he'd ask some questions about my military experience and all of that.

So I finally got up the courage to ask my sick Kobe. I heard this story yesterday in the meal room that you went to Africa to learn how lions stalk their prey. Is it true? And he says with a dead face and he keeps shooting.

He says, does it matter? And that was it. That was the end of that conversation.

Like I pressed it no more. And it just to me, Josh, like with Kobe Bryant, the reality and the myth were always blurred. And they were always blurred because they were believable. Like the myth was so believable because of who he was. So it was it was just I always remember that story.

It was quintessential Kobe. You're the best, Chris. Have a great call in Fort Worth. We'll talk to you sometime soon. All right, Josh, be good.