I'm Not Gonna Touch That

This is The Drive with Josh Graham Podcast.

Three internet sensations, guys! Tune into The Drive weekday afternoons, 3 to 7 on WSJS. So we're on a Thursday drive. It is WSJS, News Talk Sports for the Triad, where I'm just about ready to hand out some picks.

See what that cash out, fam. Football weekend starts in earnest tonight. We've got nine. Count them nine this week.

Nine time. Consider it free money. We'll run down the card and Graham's gambling a dozen minutes or so from right now. One of those bets might just involve Panthers Texans. And speaking of that game, as Bryce Young prepares to face CJ Stroud, you should know that in football circles, nobody's really worried about Bryce Young being a bust. And I'm not talking about Panthers fans overreacting on social media, or the fantasy football community that might have Bryce on their fantasy team, and they're upset he's not setting the world on fire. I'm talking about people whose livelihood is football. Those people are not concerned with Bryce right now.

And that includes the Carolina Panthers. Nor should they be concerned because, after all, they traded up a lot to get this guy and he hasn't really done anything egregious just yet to make you think he's not going to be that dude for you. The real reason why there is some angst around Bryce Young and him potentially being a franchise guy is how good CJ Stroud has looked early on, and Carolina had the opportunity to pick him.

They went through the process. Some suggested that maybe Frank Reich actually wanted CJ Stroud all along, but David Tepper didn't let him take him. That's not what happened. That's what I've been told all along, not just since this has cropped up with CJ Stroud getting off to a good start well before it would be convenient to have that opinion. That was being expressed.

And here was Frank Reich, I think, handling that subject very well yesterday. We got the guy we wanted to get. Couldn't be happier about that in every way. And I would say this, I'm happy for CJ. He's had six good games, and I have no doubt he'll have many more good games.

But I know this. When it comes to evaluating quarterbacks or any position, it's years, not weeks. You can't put a label on a guy after six weeks or even a year. My eyes and our eyes were on Bryce Young from start to finish. You look at the film.

You talk to the man. You get a sense for the leader, the player and what he is and what he can be and how he fits to what we want to do and the vision that we have as an offense, as a team and as an organization. We got the right.

We got the guy for us. If you dig into his tape, it's obvious that he's not playing poorly. Bryce is not playing poorly right now.

To be clear, he's made mistakes, even big mistakes. The interception in Detroit that wasn't because of the bad play call, a slip screen to Ian Thomas that Aiden Hutchinson had a freak play on. The one that was down the left sideline, that wasn't good. That's Bryce adjusting to the speed. Same thing for the Jesse Bates mistake in the first game where Bates, pun intended, baited him into an interception.

That's a vet, a very good one. A hashtag pro deek or deek pro making a play on Bryce. You had the two fumbles, one of which I believe cost Carolina that game against Minnesota. So some have been consequential, but the pros have outweighed the cons. None of it's what's been more glaring when you rewatch these games and you try to break it down and look at it critically and holistically. What's more glaring is the lack of protection and the lack of separation often by the wide receivers. Adam Thielen, he's got off to a good start. Who else receiving has gotten off to a good start? Nobody else. There are at least 10 plays a game where you look at it and say, Bryce didn't have a shot because the protection wasn't there or because at the head of his drop, right when the ball's supposed to be going out, you freeze the video, look around and ask yourself the question, where should this ball go? Who the heck's open?

Nobody? Well, darn. Take a sack or throw the ball in an area where maybe your receiver can make a play, but certainly the defender can't not. If you dig into the tape, it's pretty obvious he's not playing poorly. But don't just take that from me.

Here's C.J. Stroud saying as much. Honestly and personally, watching the film and watching every game of his, I don't think in any aspect or form he's playing bad. That's what people think if you're not winning or you have a turnover here and there. Bryce is playing some really good football.

I just don't think people watch in depth. If you're a quarterback, you know. So I think he's playing really well. C.J.

Stroud grew up with Bryce Young in Southern California. Now, with all of that said, you do need to win. And if Carolina loses Sunday, the critics are going to get a lot louder. If you think it's loud right now, let Bryce Young off a bye lose it home to C.J. Stroud head to head. Let that happen and see how much louder the critics get.

Actually, I'll go a step further. Let the Panthers lose the next two games. If the Panthers lose in a head to head between Bryce and C.J. and the games in Charlotte, and then Frank Reich loses against the team that fired him a year ago, also in Charlotte, while they have their backup quarterback in Gardner Minshew, that's when the conversation turns into, will Carolina win a game this year? That's when the conversation turns into, is Frank Reich about to get the Nate Hackett treatment or the Urban Meyer treatment? That's where that conversation goes. But Carolina has a good shot at winning this week.

And at some point you do need to start winning. And I think we're arriving at that point for Bryce and his rookie year. But in football circles, as you kind of heard from C.J. Stroud right there, nobody's really that concerned about Bryce being a bust or Bryce not performing well.

On Twitter, at WSJS radio or on X, that is, that's why we're streaming video in addition to YouTube and Twitch. Will Dalton, the executive producer of this show, who just so happens to be a Hornets hardcore fan, last night was the opener, how much did you enjoy watching that Charlotte win? I tell you what, I really enjoyed watching Brandon Miller.

Mmm. Because I messaged Dot, who's actually going to join us later. That's what we call a T, six man opponent. It is, because when Lamello threw that oop to Brandon Miller, I messaged him, I said, it's almost like that's exactly what we thought it might look like if they drafted Brandon Miller.

Oops. Maybe in the best case scenario. That's what last night was, without Miles Bridges. That was the best case scenario for what this Hornets team could look like. Lamello was not the story last night.

He was out there, but he wasn't the story, the post was. Mark Williams, he was the best player on the floor last night, for either team. Mark Williams was incredible in this game. Year two out of Duke, 13 and 15, three steals, the ultimate Deebo block, where he's just grabbing it out of midair when Trae Young put it up. He had, I think he was plus 19 in this game.

So good. PJ Washington showcased why he was worth the three year extension he got this offseason, 25 points, 12 of 18 shooting. The effort, we're talking about offensive boards, plays that he was making. He was very good in this game. And then you mentioned Brandon Miller. Just a solid debut, 13 points in 25 minutes, five of nine from the field, three of them being threes.

And they were careful with him. The fourth quarter was very interesting to me because this is crunch time. This is a close game.

This is a winnable game. And it wasn't perfect. Early in the fourth, he had a play in front of a bench where he threw it carelessly back into play. And it led to a home run layup that put Atlanta in front. But you know what he did right after that?

He went on an eight point spurt, hitting a couple of threes. And at that point, I'm thinking, you keep this guy in the game. You keep him in in the final five minutes. Steve Clifford decided differently. He decided, nope, we're going to pull him out here. We've liked what we've seen so far.

We're going to be careful with them. They put Terry Rozier back in. And Terry had the biggest shot of the game, had that floater on the left that put Charlotte in front for good. And they won the game. I thought Steve Clifford handled Brandon very well. Brandon, I thought it was a very solid debut where they didn't ask him to do too much. And you saw the flashes that you'd like to see. And it was just nice to see LaMelo and Gordon Hayward both out on the floor at the same time.

Haven't seen that a lot. Both had busy stat lines, doing a lot of things, a lot of things that help your basketball team win. This is not a bad team when they have their dudes out on the floor.

And if Miles Bridges at some point becomes one of those dudes that are out on the floor, then they can become a good basketball team, a team that can maybe even finish with a winning record, but obviously still a lot to figure out before Miles ever steps back on an NBA basketball floor. After another winning week, man, we love the board. Send me that cash out, fam. We love the board this week. Nine picks are on the card. Nine. Nine times. And Graham's gambling next. Four and three last week. 29 and 32 on the year.

Send me that cash out, fam. That doesn't sound very good. I agree, given our standard. Only one losing season in five, make it six years now doing this segment.

Went back and looked, W.D. This is the ninth week that we've been handing out picks, and we've only had two losing weeks. And you might think, well, then how do you have a losing record? Those were really bad weeks.

Atrocious. Was that one in six? One in six back to back weeks. That'll do it.

That'll do some damage. Here we are, three under 500, winning weeks pretty much every other week of the season. So we're going to keep that vibe going. And this is one of our most congested cards that we've given out so far this year. We got nine. Nine can barely fit it on this piece of paper in front of me. Nine times. Nine picks.

Let's do it. Graham's gambling. If you're not gambling. Come on now, let's talk some money. You're not trying. You are so money. You don't even know it.

But you do. Let's play some bats. I'm going to make you rich. This is Graham's gambling. Starting in college, let's go to the home of F-Boy Island, the CW. NC State getting 10 from Clemson. We suck.

We just got to do it. The Tigers, they don't deserve to be a 10-point road favorite against any ACC team right now. Not with that offense. The Wolf Pack is coming up a bye. We're going to trust Dave Doran. We're going to trust the Pack.

We're going to trust that defense to keep this game close. And given the fact it's on the CW, where last week Virginia upset North Carolina and the week before that, we saw an upset as Pittsburgh took down Louisville. Maybe that trend continues and the Wolf Pack wins this game and Dave Doran does television interviews where he's got something in a red solo cup. Maybe that's what we're talking about on Saturday. Wolf Pack, plus 10.

Send me that cash out, family. Louisville facing Duke. Cardinals are laying four and a half. Duke really went for it last week. Really went for it and might have bitten them in a major way, pulling Riley Leonard in the second half. Hopefully they didn't do more damage to that high ankle sprain that he was dealing with. We don't know for sure if he's going to play in this game.

Even though he played against the Knolls, only one carry and that's a big part of his game, the way he's able to run the ball. The fact this is back-to-back road games makes me think that Duke's going to be on the struggle bus given how much they invested in Tallahassee. Louisville was off last week, so they've been stewing for two weeks on that loss in Pittsburgh. I think Brom's team's going to be ready to go and I think with a hobbled Leonard or without Leonard altogether, Duke's going to really struggle with back-to-back road games here. I like the Cardinals to lay four and a half and win this game.

Send me that cash out, family. Two-lane Rice over 53 and a half. Maybe it's because I was in New Orleans last week and a lot of people were talking about two-lane more than you would think. I also watched Rice playing on a Wednesday or a Thursday night game and I was like, whoa, that's where JT Daniels is now? The guy who was at USC in Georgia and West Virginia? He's now at Rice and he's putting up points? And that's where a McCaffrey brothers at?

Luke McCaffrey? And this game's in Houston? Two-lane, really fun team, ranked in the top 25.

Willie Fritz, a great coach. Michael Pratt, going to score. I don't know how much defense they're going to be playing, especially on the road. One of these teams probably going to score 40, so I feel like I'm stealing money with two-lane Rice over 53 and a half, one of my favorite picks of the week.

Send me that cash out, family. Don't like laying points that often if you follow this segment through the weeks. But we're going to lay them and laugh when we see a trap being set by Vegas. Oregon, minus 6 and a half at Utah. Utah's fresh off the win at USC.

Oh, Kyle Whittingham, what a victory lap it's been for him. They won with their backup quarterback. Now they're at home, one of the toughest places to play is to play up there in Salt Lake City. Not at noon their time, though. Not a night game. And Utah doesn't score a lot when they're facing a defense that's half decent. USC's is not, hasn't been the last couple of years. Oregon's defense is legit. I don't think Utah's going to score a lot. I think Oregon will.

And that's why I have no issue laying them and laughing with the Ducks. Last college pick. Let's go to Madison.

Let's jump around. Wisconsin is facing Ohio State. Ohio State ranked way up there, fresh off that win against Penn State.

I think there might be some hangover factor after that. And one of the toughest places to play is Camp Randall at night where this game is set. And we're also talking about Luke Fickel going up against his alma mater, a place he used to coach as well. I think Wisconsin's going to make this a competitive night game in Madison. Give me Bucky. Give me the Badgers. Plus a big number against the Buckeyes. Send me that cash out, fam. To the NFL we go.

Yes. We're going with the Carolina Panthers. They're getting three and a half from the Houston Texans. I love a home dog in the NFL, especially if the number exceeds three points.

Note this. At Indianapolis, Frank Reich 4-0-1 coming off the bye as their head coach. This might be the easiest game on Carolina's schedule on paper.

What game on paper is easier than facing the Houston Texans at home, especially with them coming off the bye? They're also getting guys back. They're about as healthy as they've been since week one. The Panthers need to win this game. There's going to be a lot of urgency in Charlotte on Sunday as they honor Julius Peppers and Musa Mohamed Panthers plus three and a half.

Send me that cash out, fam. The Patriots. They won a game at the last second. The Dolphins lost on Sunday night football. Miami might have been exposed in that game. Who have the Dolphins really beaten this year? Not a lot of great wins on their resume. The Eagles might have exposed that, and they got banged up up front in that game.

Also, we don't know. Dylan Ramsey probably not going to return yet. Xavion Howard, I don't know if he's going to play in this game.

They got banged up. Meanwhile, now you're facing Bill Belichick. You're facing Bill Belichick and the Patriots. He's a pretty good coach, that Bill Belichick guy. And New England, statistically, gives the ball a lot to their tight ends, and Miami really struggles. It's stopping tight ends. Watch out for Hunter Henry and Kiseki. Kiseki who had that touchdown and a former Dolphin playing in this game. It's just a huge number. Nine and a half. Yeah, we'll take New England in the points.

Send me that cash out, fam. Two picks to close things out that you might like, but you'll probably hate. Seahawks, minus three and a half against the Browns. Back-to-back road games for Cleveland. They're not going to win in Seattle with P.J.

Walker. Panthers and Houston Roughnecks legend at quarterback going into that madhouse. Seattle, meanwhile, a lot healthier than Cleveland is. Lay the three and a half points. The Seahawks will win this game, and the Browns won't score a lot.

Send me that cash out, fam. And lastly, the 49ers are on a short week, W.D. 49ers might be without Deebo Samuel and Brock Purdy dealing with the concussion.

You might be talking about Sam Darnold, and they're facing Joe Shiesty, Joe Burr, and the Bengals. That's why we must take the 49ers and lay the points. 49ers minus three against Cincinnati. Cincinnati is a bad team on the road. They've gotten blown out a couple of times this year. Already on the road, San Francisco murders people when they're playing at home. The last two they've lost, they played on the road.

I think they return home, get some home cooking. Sam Darnold, we saw it in Charlotte. When he's well supported, pretty good. Not bad. I mean, he can play to the Brock Purdy-like level. Give you the Niners minus three.

Send me that cash out, fam. So in review, in college, state plus ten against Clemson. Louisville minus four and a half against Duke. Tulane Rice over 53 and a half. Oregon minus nearly a touchdown up there at Utah. Wisconsin at home plus a big number against Ohio State and in the NFL.

We're taking the Panthers, the Patriots, the Seahawks, and the 49ers. Nine. Nine picks right there in Graham's gamble.

Nine times. Ding ding, boys. School's in session. Let's go, man. You're on the drive with Josh Graham. You're in the cab. There's never going to be a time that I'm not rooting for CJ.

I guess, outside of, I guess, obviously, I guess maybe this weekend with the exception. Nice catch there, Bryce. Never a time I'm going to be rooting against CJ Stroud, except when they're facing my defense, Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. We have some useless, semi-useless Bryce Young Coordinator sound to get to in just a bit B dot the sixth man of Tar Heel basketball will be our 15 minutes from now But we mentioned this a few minutes ago and the stat is true because Jim Boeheim has retired and now is a television analyst for ESPN and Coach K and Roy Williams are no longer in the ACC anymore either That leaves one active head coach Who has won a national championship just won in the ACC. His name is Tony Bennett and Even though he's the head coach at Virginia He is quite fond of the triad specifically and that's where we started our conversation at ACC Basketball Media Day a safe place for honesty You won an ACC title in Greensboro. You're first you Obviously have been in the league long enough to know How important the triad is from a recruiting base to you recruited Greensboro Day and several schools in the area Your daughter goes to Wake Forest University University Just admit that you have a soft place in your heart for this area the universe. Absolutely I played for the Charlotte Hornets.

Yes, and met my wife. She's not from here my daughter, but more importantly my daughter Graduated from Wake Forest this year. Yeah, so Congratulations to her she's done but now certainly now This is a great great part of the the country and so many good memories I have and so many cool experiences that And it's you know, again, I'll give you a cool Memory I have it's playing for the Charlotte Hornets and the pastor of my church David Chadwick who played for North Carolina way back I was I don't know if I was I don't think I might have been engaged at the time took my wife and I To watch the Greensboro the championship game when Randolph Childress went nuts. That was my first cuz 95 Yeah, I grew up in Big Ten country.

They didn't have the conference tournament wasn't as Significant it was the regular season. That was just that was everything and I remember I was going to that game I played with the JR Reid was on our Hornet team and Mike Jominski and those guys would sit there and go back and forth And argue about Duke Carolina, so I got a taste and then I went to that game with my wife I'm like, whoa, this is this is legit, you know, and and I think about that often, you know I've been in well We won two conference tournament titles been in two finals championship games and like just thinking about myself As of whatever 24 25 like it's amazing. I remember where we sat way up and so those are good experiences So anyway, sorry to talk so much, but it's a good story Did you ever cross somebody up with the Hornets the way that Randolph crossed up Jeff McInnis that day?

No, I wish I probably was crossed up like that many times by mugsy or whoever but I just remember, you know Yeah, that the excitement of the game and you talk about an individual performance. It was second to none What is dad protocol for Tony Bennett at graduation or like going to a non? Basketball sporting event with his daughter. Do you have Wake Forest gear in the closet? Hey No, I said Virginia's paying the bills. So I'm not putting on Wake Forest. No, I Certainly have respect and it's such a good school I really mean that she enjoyed her time such a great academic school beautiful when you get on the Campus and seeing it and she really enjoyed her time and and so but no, I don't wear the Wake Forest gear I got to be honest given all that Tony Elliott endured with the football program.

How much did you enjoy? Seeing him win the first ever top 10 road game for Virginia football history in Chapel Hill. Yeah a ton special because You know no one can know but coach Elliott and those young men in that staff all they've endured and kind of the You know the grieving process.

It has a long tail. It really does and they've They've been compassionate and I know they've tried to do everything in the right way and they've really been competitive And in games, they just haven't been able to pull them out So to see them go in there and have that success and really just hear him talk about the joy of him observing his players In the locker room that that was that was emotional. That was powerful I got to ask you this on the way out. Tony. Tony Bennett is with us the other Tony here at Virginia We lost some music legend Tony Bennett this summer. You've told many stories of how people mixed you two up When that happened, did you get any awkward text messages or exchanges my daughter said a couple like oh gosh, you know I think but no and I I've met him a couple times and you know again It to have the life he hadn't lived as long as he have was it was amazing But um, he yeah, I think a couple people like wait a second they paused for a second But I wish he was still with us, but certainly what a what a legacy we'd all be so lucky Hope here's to hoping a few ACC championships from now when I search Tony Bennett on the computer That your name will pop up first one of these days Thanks for us spending the time and my wife told me to tell you that she says hi.

She's a virgin wah-wah teller Uh-huh. Thank you so much. Thank you. It goes Tony Bennett joining us from ACC media day B.dot the six man of Tar Heel basketball Think has just popped into the chat here to join us We'll play grammar school and just a bit it is kind of a crazy stat dot but it's true now that Roy Kay and Beyheim have all retired Only one coach in this league has won a national championship active, and that's Tony Bennett Carolina boys would like to do a little thing this year you did what I'm saying We need to talk about those Tar Heels we'll do that in just a bit get the grammar school But as promised I'll let you enjoy what we enjoy each week and that is useless sound from Bryce young from the Carolina Panthers if you're able to actually have this sound where dot can hear it got to figure out the logistics of that but Bryce young actually gave us a Grammar school type word in talking about CJ Stroud this week. It's a big week The Panthers are playing CJ Stroud. It's Bryce young at CJ on the same field They grew up together in Southern California and what a lot of people might not know is they grew up hooping together like they played, you know in middle school against each other and Apparently they're both like really into basketball and here was Bryce talking about that We probably played in basketball probably even more times than we know like we both grew up playing basketball So we probably been in more tournaments and played again We we talked about being on teams it we played against each other and like I don't think either one of us you remember every Time like just you know, just in SoCal. So yeah a couple times We're different we have different games like I'm more of a point like like I'm more of a point He's a shooter like he could shoot. He's got a strap. He's a shooter off the catch type of player I'm more on the ball.

So like But we've yeah now we're he could for sure. CJ Stroud's got a strap VDOT Yeah, that means CJ Stroud is the better hooper anytime a dude don't come right out and be like, oh, no I give him buckets that lets you know right there off the rip. He's telling you CJ Stroud is the better hooper He's like the Vashta. I could hear Vashta ask that question Carolina blitz does a great job and You know, he loves hoop because he was asked what his games like Bryce and CJ's and he said my game is a lot Like Darius Garland's that's what Bryce said Danny said that CJ Stroud's a lot like Michael Porter jr So he's not going like even all-stars and CJ was asked about Bryce too and said hey Bryce He's a pesti type like he'll hand check you. He'll foul you when he's playing one-on-one. You could kind of see that Yeah, that's the kind of guy that doesn't have the skill set that the CJ Stroud has That's the guy that just was in there doing all the little things as they like to say CJ Stroud is a bucket getter and I'm telling you he gonna come in the Bank of America Stadium and get bucket Sunday, too You know who wasn't interested in talking about CJ Stroud our guy our guide Thomas Thomas Brown wasn't all that interested and unfortunately Joe person our friend with the athletic was on the receiving end of getting rejected basketball style Really you talk about some of the anecdotes during the pre-draft with Bryce you have any cool ones during your time with CJ No, I'm not gonna touch that one.

I got a ton of respect for CJ and he is playing really well right now There's a great job as far as preparing them week in week out But there's no doubt that where I am We all are happy about Bryce being a quarterback and we'll keep building for them No, I mean just I'm not gonna touch that one. Nope, not gonna talk about no calls I'm not gonna touch that one. I'm gonna touch that one It's like when somebody comes up to me and says hey, what are your thoughts on the Middle East stuff?

That's going on right now. I'm not gonna touch that one Josh, you know, what do you think of the miles bridges stuff? I'm not gonna touch that one Good try to think Josh, you know, it's an election year next year.

Who are you gonna vote for? I'm not gonna touch that one I'm not gonna tell stories like hey just you you hung out with the guy pre draft stuff. You could tell a story No, you're trying to go viral. I'm not giving you and I'm not gonna touch that next question next question Panthers are beating the Texan Sunday, by the way That means they won't know. Thanks, you know every time Josh does that so Bandwagon they lose the freaking Virginia. Yeah, I've been on the Torrio bandwagon all year.

I was the one saying hi All right. Now he's on the Elliot kiddo bandwagon apparently, so now I'm a little concerned Right tell him to stop it chill man. We don't need your pixie dust. We don't need it I've told you that for three years man. Stop jinxing us We don't like it when you fake support us.

You are an ECU. I don't support anybody You are a contrarian. You are an ECU grad and none of that is like by the Carolina family Please leave us alone Josh Graham, please Let us just be 19 Frank and just go under the radar and you don't like any of our players grammar school is next It's the drive with Josh Graham WSJS I'm gonna let Armando Bacot decide this like what what do you want to do about this? I'll give $15,000 to the drive He was yesterday Originally, it was 10 then it became 15. He really wants to get rid of that Armando Bacot drop It sounds like he says that his teammates give him grief about it in the locker room quite a bit B. Dot six man of Tar Heel basketball continues with us It's amazing what's happened over the last four years with the evolution of that drop But he did say it was cool that we find somebody else to voice it Once that drop is officially retired Why wouldn't he just voice it himself and save himself? $15,000 that is the most obscene that lets you know that boy is making some NIL money. That's what I'm saying Just throw it around Instead of me just saying my name Instead of me saying my name. I'd rather pay you $15,000 Nobody asked him to kick it up a notch either. I did it. No, he just threw out the Up it up up it by five.

That's it. And he was saying maybe I could get Travis Scott to revoice it See if we could figure that one out by the way got some breaking news into the studio right now before we get to Grammar school the ACC preseason poll is out It's dropped in the last few minutes Duke as expected picked first in the league it commanded 51 of the preseason votes Miami picked second, North Carolina third Virginia fourth Clemson rounds out the top five interesting that NC State and and Wake Forest are the next two six and seven respectively on this list last place is Notre Dame second to last Louisville getting to the preseason all ACC teams Cal Philipowski Armando Baycon PJ Hall Reese Beekman North shot O'Mear is the first team second team Judah Mintz from Syracuse Nigel Pat Miami Blake Henson Pitt Tyrese Proctor Duke, Quinton Post, Boston College That's your second season all ACC preseason player of the year is Kyle Philipowski Getting a commanding number of the vote 35 of the 51 votes. Elliot Cadeau is your preseason rookie of The year I voted PJ Hall player of the year. I voted Elliot Cadeau Rookie of the year. I have Elliot Cadeau as my on the first team. I Have Hunter Salas from Wake Forest on that first team as well. Armando was bumped to the second team because I decided to do it Like a basketball team rather than just doing the five best players on the first team so I I had Philipowski and PJ edge Mondo in that spot, but That's the poll. That's what we have.

Do you have any issues with the way that it was voted? I'm a little disappointed that RJ Davis name wasn't mentioned on that second team But I can sort of understand that but I think that he'll do enough this year to get on one of those teams at the end Of the season. I liked Armando on that number on that first team.

I agree with EC. I agree with Philipowski Philipowski's a dog man Like I definitely believe he's gonna be the best player in our league this year Like and I'm just looking at the stuff Duke is doing over there Like I was looking at lively last night just dunking from the free-throw lines The biggest guy out there on the floor like he's a freak and I'm sitting there like this guy was playing at Duke last year Like could have played again this year like they're putting guys in the league that are top tier talent and just Of course, I'm six man a Carolina basketball man But just hats off to what the product of players that they're putting into the league you look at Paulo, Bancaro You look at cam he's over there now with the Lakers ball and like but up again now We got our guys now Cole Anthony played great last night 20 by 22 8 and no turnovers like he played well like so I'm not tripping but Duke, they're doing something different over there and I don't like Okay, I don't like I don't like it all but Philipowski. I do believe he'll be the best player in the league I like us at three. I don't have a problem with us at three. I'm glad we're in the top five And I'm looking to see where V tech finishes up You know what? Brendan Marx's reaction is from the athletic anytime RJ Davis gets slandered Such as him not being second team all ACC what that that's his reaction on our He's become a meme You could see I think you're trying to make him a mean I think that you're the you're the you're the only one pumping this He's a mean situation That's it.

Anytime. I have a take about Carolina basketball Carolina basketball fans respond that way All right. Now, let's get to grammar school.

Josh Graham has his own way of speaking And just when you think it can't get any worse Josh is going to attempt to learn B dots vernacular. I'm gonna put one in the air. It's time For B dots grammar school Brought to you by heritage hardwood floors when it comes to flooring they have no ceiling I was going to ask. Oh, sorry.

I'll let you do your thing Yo back up. Get out of here Heritage hardwood floors When it comes to floors, they have no ceiling. Big shout out to my folks over at heritage hardwood floors We're going to a game. We're going to a game at the game center this year. We're gonna make it happen Oh for sure.

Oh for sure. We're gonna be teed up this year in the games I just won a game over there because I'm the alumni coach and I'm the three-year in a row consecutive champions I'm coach never lost. They call me coach never lost So my caustic question was going to be actually more of a grammar school deal Seeing if you knew what a strap meant in regards to basketball, but since we already discussed that I'll instead ask you Former Tar Heels that gallon we learned is gonna be starting game one of the World Series tomorrow Can you tell me who's playing in the World Series?

Arizona Diamondbacks, that's the team Zach Gowen plays for versus See I gave him that hint I told him Zach Gowen and he knew exactly No, I knew that I know Arizona was in it because I was watching the Phoenix Suns game and their Commentators got excited during the game because they had just won It just beat the Phillies, I think but you knew the Diamondbacks you knew the nickname you knew about the snakes That's pretty good I'm gonna guess some um, please do The Diamondbacks and the I Don't know Texas Rangers guys just Texas. I never would have guessed that either Sorry Alright, what do we have? Disappointment That's what I have Did you know that I was there?

Then it was Texas who's in the World Series You didn't know he didn't know Disappointment you had me thinking about the firm where Wilford Brimley's like, oh, you know what she found Mitch Heartbreak, that's what she found. Okay. What do we have my own box? I got four letters Josh Graham It's your favorite in WTS In WTS, what do those four letters mean? Is one of them a curse word nope Mmm Cuz I was gonna say not with that bleep, but I don't I might be a new one Josh You might have made up something new right there.

Yeah, you might have just added to the lexicon in W T s 3 3 6 7 7 7 1 600 Do you know this one I think so, okay, I'm gonna use WD just for time purposes in WTS Nothing was the same Really to Drake lyric. Oh Okay, so we're like that. Okay, I'll go he is like that Is that gonna be your final answer? Yes. Yep, that is correct.

You're welcome. What context would you say that? What context would you say that like it why would I be texting anybody that say you get a promotion you get a job Promotion and I'll say congratulations Josh and you put in WTA Damn, right.

Nothing was the same. What's next? I already use my life one. All right How do you respond to this Josh Graham? If you see me and you trying to see what's up I'm out of this Can I go to say for a hint So say it one more time while he's running over All right If you see me and you're trying to see what's up Why would you say that just say it Oh That's just trying to get me to say things that WD can now pull It uses drop I Should have answered it like Thomas Brown in the press conference the Panthers go go touch that one.

That's what I should have said Not gonna touch that one. All right. Okay. There you go. What's next? I don't I'm not gonna take credit for that one Because I would not have gotten it right.

I would not have gotten I would not have said that so I know but WD was already a lifeline. So that's just I'm gonna take the L on that. This is for the win All right that artist The artist that sings that song He has a color in her name What is the color in her name? Just Now learned it's a female who sings that lyric Trying to think of artists that are hot right now I spice people are in on her darn right there it's not a color though Yeah, he does need to settle down he was listening to Doja Cat he's like, whoa Ariana Grande played in the station Yeah I'm trying to think because I'm trying to think of like newer acts because this is like a newer act.

Yes Like Lado is a newer one. All right, her name is two words and one her is fantastic Say it again, what was that last hint you gave me I said her her name is two words and one of them is a color Oh, you've already said that. Okay, I Don't know everybody in unison dot Zay WD say the answer on three one two three Sexy red. Yeah sexy red.

Yeah Let me google sexy red That's been grammar school We both lost this week It's unfortunate on the way out. How did you feel about the Hornets last night? They were everything. I thought they were gonna be and we don't even have miles bridges.

That's the thing It did seem like that was that was my takeaway. I thought it was the best-case scenario of what this team could look like Without miles where everybody was playing semi-efficiently. I thought I thought Mark Williams was the best player on the floor last night I thought he was awesome. You want to ask me what I thought and then tell me what you thought But you know, I'm sorry about this works.

I'll let you go now. I like to go Brandon Marshall I like mellow coming on in the second half. I did like mark being very active. I like JT Thor being active I like Terry Rozier active But he got to calm down on those turnovers and they just look like and Gordon Hayward is exactly what I thought when he's healthy We are a very very good team Keyword being when he's healthy like as long as he can stay healthy like he's tall. He's He covers a lot of ground. I really like this.

I'll just start here. I really like this on hornet's team I can't wait to see him tomorrow versus Detroit PJ Washington, man Whoo a beast gave him that money and he came out and got buckets Proven his keep and usually when guys get paid you don't see them chasing offensive boards the way that he did, right? I was all in the stands stepping on kids and stuff Yeah, and you know who didn't look great last night. Who's that? Scoot?

I I didn't even get a chance to see school. That's your boy though. Remember that don't come over This is the deal You you wrongly said that I was out on the mellow. I was not out on the mellow I was not in this case You would be a hundred percent right that I was out on Brandon Miller and in on scoot Henderson, but I I would be absolutely Absolutely positively wrong.

I don't act like I'm the guy that won't admit when I'm wrong We have like Sarah McLachlan music on a weekly basis that tells me when I'm wrong You're Josh Graham G-r-a-y-am two syllables you always find a way to find a way to stay in that gray area like you're Josh gray You just think so so that way that you're never wrong you might if I'm not right I wasn't completely wrong because and hogwash to that foolishness. You weren't all the way off on mellow But you were nowhere near all the way on on mellow. I was a hundred percent sold on mellow ball Well, I will agree with that You were more sold on the mellow than I was but that doesn't mean I was hating on the mellow I didn't you was about 60 40 mellow with Brandon Marshall. You was a hundred percent to none Brandon Miller. I loved the Brandon Marshall You know You you joined the show and in WTS Later say see you guys you got to finish it. You didn't say it.

Oh, oh, sorry. Oh, uh, it's Terrible Now comes the moment you have all been waiting for all right whenever you're ready this is the drive with Josh Cram Julius peppers Is being honored this weekend put in the Carolina Panthers Hall of Honor When someone asks me, what's my favorite Julius peppers highlight though? It's not a play on the field that I point to It's the brief one second that I've posted on my x-page that you could also find at wsjs radio where Julius peppers is just doing the very mid 2000 shimmy where you have the two arms up in the air behind Nelly and Apparently he was in the car with Nelly to rolling up to the club in the music video hot in here That's the greatest moment of Julius peppers career, which is saying something because Julius peppers Has enjoyed the greatest career in North Carolina sports history If you think I'm wrong, give me somebody else that tops the North Carolina ness Creating words here of what pep accomplished think about it this way the two most popular sports teams in the history of this state are the North Carolina basketball team and the Carolina Panthers Those are the two most popular sports teams in the history of this state Only one man has played for both of them and that's Julius peppers That's probably the case in point argument for pep He played for the two most popular teams in the history of our state. Imagine if MJ played at Keenan or Played for the Hornets rather than owning them poorly If we're talking about the greatest career in North Carolina sports history, can you top me if I come to the table with Julius peppers who played high school football incredibly well College football making him the number two pick in the draft by the Panthers in o2 college basketball for the Tar Heels to and Then for the Carolina Panthers where he's going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer it next summer as One of the guys who in top five in the history of the NFL and sacks He is our state's Paul Bunyan right before the internet really started to take hold you just heard these stories and there's some video to back it up, but Almost like Bo Jackson. You just hear people say things about him at Southern Nash and what he did on high school fields what he did and pick up games what he did in Chapel Hill and Him being in the Nelly music video kind of leads to that legend, you know as well So random the Carolina Panthers put out a 20-minute video in honor of Julius peppers this week and they talked to Ray Davis the his head coach the guy who got him to play football back at Southern Nash and here's one of those Paul Bunyan esque stories I've not seen many athletes in my lifetime to compare to Julius's athletic ability. Number 21 is retired and we gave him number 21 because that's his shoe size The biggest shoes we could find was a size 19. It didn't slow him down. He ran just as fast with the toes curled He wore size 19 shoes Because they couldn't find a 21 and that's why he wore the number 21 at Southern Nash It's stuff like that.

I I hear stories. I remember David Garrard was telling me a story how he was playing. It's a little bit older than Julius they're playing pickup basketball and in Durham and he was told that some guy was gonna roll up who was a freshman in college at that point and I think Garrard was a Senior or a junior and they're like man, you're gonna invite a freshman to play hoop with us come on, and then peppers rolls up and he's bigger than everybody and Just crushed him crushed him all and these are d1 athletes if Garrard was an NFL player for a long time even went to a Pro Bowl so Pep is different Julius peppers gonna be honored along with moose in Muhammad on Sunday and that's gonna be a very cool deal to follow at Bank of America Stadium We've got you'll hear from Clemson coach Brad Brown Allen a bit Tony Bennett a little bit later on B dot six-pan of Target basketball. Let's peek back to last night in sports Shout out to charwood FC Last night was the end of the charwood FC season the first time they made it to the postseason in franchise history this being year two they lost Five to two is the final in that that's right New York Red Bulls. Yeah, three to nothing at halftime They had scored on in the 10th minute pretty early on and it never really got better from that point on but still it doesn't take away from how much of a positive step this season was for Charlotte and You have more positive things to root for Charlotte now that the Hornets are gonna go 82 and L Off to a 1-0 start shut up.

That's something that Eric Collins actually said on the broadcast It's like oh the path for perfect the path for perfection is on The path for perfection that Charlotte is pursuing Hey good good for them. They won the game and here's the thing Watching hoop late light late night last night boy. I can get the words out of my mouth today Brandon Miller, he was more impressive than Scoot Henderson was Brandon Miller Here was the stat line if you were just looking at this on paper, you'd think Josh. What are you talking about?

This is a reach here. Brandon Miller had 13 Scoot Henderson had 11. I watched the games though. I'm telling you Brandon Miller was a lot better than Scoot Henderson was last night. Brandon Miller. His 13 points was on five of nine shooting hit three threes Played in some crunch time minutes eight point spur in the fourth quarter That did a lot of good things in this game Scoot Henderson He had 11 Portland got cooked in this game though was never close in the second half and here's the thing Scoot Henderson was a big part of the reason why it wasn't close he didn't score in the entire first half had four turnovers in the first half and And nine of the 11 points he scored came in the final six or seven minutes of this game nine time that Garbage time complete garbage time or scoot now we're not gonna leap to conclusions the same way we want it leap to conclusions when it comes to Bryce and CJ Stroud, we're not certainly doing that for basketball when these guys are a lot younger than they are in football, but Brandon Miller looked pretty good last night Looked pretty good.

And that's a very positive thing. And while we're talking about guys who look pretty good last night Derek Lively Spoiled the Victor webinama debut about that Victor got in foul trouble Gotta acknowledge that San Antonio was in control of this game until Victor started to get in foul trouble So this is certainly not an indictment on Victor Luka Donkic had the shot to put them away but Lively all over the place and If you watch there are a lot of people who watch the NBA but don't watch college basketball there are a lot of people that watch college basketball that don't watch the NBA I watch both and We're usually pretty good when it comes draft time at Finding the guy who's not gonna be taken in the first five picks and saying yep That guy's gonna work and that guy's gonna play for a very long time. Usually we pick out one guy I remember a few years ago. It was Davion Mitchell out of Baylor. Just loved the way he defended and that guy's a dude in the NBA one time I think it was Trying to think of a another example of this I'm still a believer in the guy out of Baylor who had the short Hair, that's very Cisco. Like his name is slipping me right now that guy He's gonna be a very good player for San Antonio, but Derek lively was our guy.

Usually it's not somebody that we cover But this year it was all in on lively. Just what you want in the NBA rim running defense if he could add some scoring then that's huge and He scored the basketball last night Zion had a good night, too If Zion's healthy That is a top four maybe top five team in the West by he had he had a moment there How many the only teams I feel comfortable saying are better than the Pelicans and the Western Conference for sure if Zion's healthy is Phoenix Denver and The Lakers you wouldn't put Golden State up there. Heck. No.

Hmm. Interesting if New Orleans is healthy if Zion's healthy Pelicans are better than Golden State is I don't know. I think that CP three thing's gonna work I don't think so. I think he gives some maturity to that team and he's a already Was that team the majority for any geriatrics and he can be a charity and he and he could be a closer When steps on the bench, I love Chris Paul. Yeah, I do but Closing from Chris Paul the guy who's known for playoff chokes that guy Again, love Chris Paul, but let's let's try to be reasonable here