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Now, on with the show. Coach, what do you think went wrong? What do you mean? This is the Rich Eisen Show. Up Seth Madness, VCU.
The Rich Eisen Show. Oh High Boy Panthers, Stunt, Wisconsin. We played somebody now. Feels unreal. Cause I know how good of a team we had, but nobody would play us.
Earlier on the show, actor Josh Dumel. Coming up. Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Weber. NFL Network Insider Tom Palisero. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
Back here for hour number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. 844-204, Rich is the number to dial. Chris Weber will be chiming in shortly. And then Flynn Klayman, the head coach of High Point. Will be joining us in hour number two, Tom Pellicero, and hour number three.
It's a What's More Likely Friday, 844-204 Rich is the number to dial right here on the program. I started the show talking about the madness from Thursday. We're seeing what's unfolding here on this Friday. The women's tournament has now joined the men's tournament.
So there's basketball all over the place, wall to wall. We'll keep you up to speed on all the pertinent information and all the pertinent. Um updates that are coming. I started the show talking about how man Sienna almost had a I'm seeing a post of a shot of the restaurant Five Guys.
Someone's saying that's the Sienna roster. They only played five guys until the very, very, very end. Pretty good. And you guys were saying don't don't don't root so openly for Sienna because You know, I was rooting crazy here. I was very excited.
I wanted to stop the count like it was, you know, like an election. I wish I were recording. I was going to say, you're lucky we didn't film you. That's all right. I don't care.
I am a wine. No, I'm saying I wish we would have. It would have made great sense. Great TV. I was ready.
I mean, again, I'm 9,700,000 and change in the ESPN bracket. I want to see what number. Cool.
Okay. There I am. Again, that's a hell of a foam finger right there. We're tied.
Okay. I'm 9,766,907. Everybody? Um, and I was ready to for that to be, it didn't put an infinity sign. I don't, I don't care.
Because I have Duke in the final game. I was ready to just torch that bracket. I don't care. That's how. I feel.
That's how the hatred right there, man. You got hate in your head. I know. And again. That's the way I feel.
And there's reason for it. We got history. We got beef. Spider-State. Look, I'm not.
When Chris Weber joins us, he's the personification of said beef. What's beef? All right. Um And you're like, hey, back off. You got your own situation.
You got Howard University later on. I would give you a little scare. That was what they did, 'cause they dropped in ten threes in the first half. Oh, I could think of it as Taraji coming in the studio after they made the upset. That's really okay.
That's the only Howard University alum that you're talking about.
Well, no, there's a lot, but in particular, very, very illustrious alums. There's a lot of great, but she got first.
Okay, got it. Very good. You're all about power. Shout out to Marlon Wayne. You're all about power.
Um then the second half had. Second half half. Yeah, second half half. Morris Johnson Jr. didn't miss a shot.
And at a double-double. Is that good? That's a rarity. That's a rarity. I think only six men have ever done what he did last night, and they took care of business.
And I did breathe a sigh of relief. I was watching the game from the back seat. As Taylor sat shotgun, Suze took all three of us, two was behind the wheel. Taking us to Taylor's All-Star Semifinal. She did advance, in case anybody's wondering.
Excellent. Survived in advance that one as well. My bracket. You let Susie drive? Oh.
You be careful, Seth. Yeah. Ha ha ha! You be careful. It's got DJ.
Now, the only reason I say that is because I know you guys are different driving styles. This is what you allow her to do. It accuses me of backseat driving. Hopefully, on occasion, I might be guilty as charged. Yeah, I don't need my phone blowing up right now.
Hopefully, Susie's not listening. Yeah, you just let's see. She knows how I meant it. I got a happy birthday. You're not going to get it.
We need to go full Bryant Gumble. Moving on. I have to take off the glasses. Susie knows how to do it. I just went, you put too much real in the real sports conversation, right?
At any rate, yes, she was driving.
Okay. I'm watching a game. And I was beginning to breathe a sigh of relief. All good.
Now comes Saint Louis, though. Holy Rick Majerris, Batman. Larry Hughes, TJ. Dude, man. In comes St.
Louis, two teams of the three that scored 100 points in the first round on Thursday. The eight nines are always on the point. And Robbie. Fabula. Cream Abdul Jabbar.
Larry Nerd. Larry Nerd. I don't like that one. I do. It's pretty good.
You know what I mean? Pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. Milk Chamberlain.
Milk Chamberlain. He didn't do much last night either. I know. 12, 5, and 5. That's not bad.
And look at that Bruce. I know. The Bruises. The Billicans were balling, man. They told Georgia to sit down.
Man. Sit down. Georgia. They got whacked sit-down. Milk.
Milk change. I'm a little nervous. Pretty good. But um. I'll be honest with you.
I'm happy to have survived and advanced. I'm a little nervous. It's okay. But in the meantime I shall buoy myself Don with uh the spite. The Ohio State got bounced.
Oh, and those Ohio State fans, they love to tell you basketball doesn't matter. We're a football school. They'll just parachute in to march. And this parachute in. And then complain that their coach doesn't have a call with four seconds to go to try and bail themselves out.
of a first round loss to TCU. Did you hear what Jalen Rose had to say on the commentary on Ohio State being bounced? Let's hear it. Oh, yeah. This was great.
Before we introduce his fellow member of the Fab 5, Jalen Rose, you have the floor on The Ohio State being one and done.
So I was hearing you talk about Bruce Thornton playing 100-plus games. This is his 136th game in his first NCAA tournament. Wow. That's number one, why you don't pick Ohio State for basketball. And then, number two, it's only right that they're the second best.
basketball program in their own state.
So why don't we just call Miami, the Miami University. No, I can't do that. Two words. No notes. No notes.
Two other words. Chris Weber. Yeah. C-Webb. What's up, C-Web?
How you doing? Notes. Game notes. You have notes. You're calling games.
You called four yesterday. You got two more to go for just this first round and second round action, but. I mean, Jal Jalen really, uh He he really he really had the floor and he took it. That was fantastic. I mean, I I didn't hear any lies told, uh, you know, uh, in in his assessment right there, you know, and that's, you know, Ohio State, you know.
We know what Michigan has done to them in the past in football. But yeah, I had them to lose that as well. I actually talked to Jalen about that before the game, and he mentioned that joke. But I tell you what, I agree. The Miami.
You don't Versus, because they are better than Ohio State now. But this is always the fun time of year, man. And watching those games yesterday brought so many great memories back. And even Jalen, I changed a couple brackets because he picked a couple upsets. And oh, yeah, one of his upsets was the 8-9 game.
I'm sorry, I've been studying my notes. I forgot who it was. He picked Duke to lose, but he also picked St. Louis to advance to take on Michigan. You probably picked that one.
What else we got here? What was the big upset? The big upset was High Point over Wisconsin. No, he didn't pick them, but he picked another upset. Man, DCU over North Carolina could be one of those.
That's what he picked. That's exactly what he picked. And I was like, Jay, I don't like North Carolina either, Jay. Are you sure? And he was right.
I hear you. I hear you. All right, let's talk about the games that you called. You're there in Oklahoma City. And man, Nebraska had never won an NCAA tournament game ever, and they made sure.
That was going to end in emphatic fashion. On Thursday, Chris, how impressive did Nebraska look to you right there in front of you? The fans or the team? Because they're going. Two aspects.
Let's talk about the team first. The team is great. Fred Hoiberg, I've known him probably since I was about 16 or 17. And so he used to play tough on the court. And so you knew his team was going to have, they were going to take his character on the court.
It's fun watching his son, who was a walk-on when they didn't win a game in the conference or won one game in the conference. And now he's starting, he made all conference. And so watching them come in, win their first NCAA game, it was special. They're the first team in the power conference not to have won a game. And so so exciting to see them, their players, and the heart that they have.
But I'm more impressed with the Nebraska fans. Because I woke up yesterday at five in the morning because I were about six in the morning and I saw people by the pool with beers already. This was this place was packed, I mean, with all Nebraska fans, it was red literally. And I think a lot of us mention this: coaches and players, ex-players. I've never been in a first-round game that was.
In the neutral site, and it was the home site of the team that came. I mean, even if it was, let's say, Michigan in the Midwest or UCLA in the West, I've never seen anything like this. It had to be 17,000 Nebraska fans here. And it was so impressive because they partied from 6 a.m. yesterday to after the game.
I came in, and they were in the bar, you know, waiting for everybody else.
So, I hope, matter of fact, all Nebraska fans, I think we need to give Nebraska fans a scout and report. Yes, they do. Know you're excited. We know you're excited. Just get some rest today, Nebraska fans, because I don't know if they're going to make it to the five o'clock game.
It's a rest today. It's a Saturday. That's right. Against Vanderbilt. There was a walk, but there was no shame, right?
It was a walk of fame. For them, pretty much, after they took care of business in such a manner against Troy. And them against Vanderbilt is going to be a fun game, right? In front of you again on Saturday? Oh, yeah.
I can't wait to see the game. It's going to be a high-paced game, a lot of scoring. And that's what you really like about Nebraska. They shoot the three, they'll turn you over. But Vanderbilt, they escaped one yesterday.
And so I think they're going to come back and play well. But they're going to be on the road. Vanderbilt understands, talk to their coach. This is a road game because Nebraska, man, they travel well. And in terms of that, I mean, the state of Texas, as we all know, not too far from Oklahoma City, and it'll be Houston against Texas AM in the other.
A round of 32 game there in Oklahoma City. How do you see that matchup looking? Track meeting. Texas AM coach already said, he said, listen, we want to be like Houston. We want, this is the program that we want to be, and we can't get caught in a half-court matchup game with them.
And so to me, that says they're going to run, press, and let it fly and try to stay in the game. And that's what I love about this time of year.
So many different styles. It's more, you can have more than one strategy. You can win with more than one strategy. And when guys coach their teams to their ability, like Texas AM, maybe the tallest guy is six foot six in that starting lineup. It's fun watching them try to get their pace and their play to establish their identity and who they are.
So it's the best time of year, man. All right. How concerned are you about our alma mater here? Chris. Uh You know, injuries happen, and for us, injuries happen at the worst time.
I still feel good. I still feel good about us getting to the sixth, sweet 16, getting healthy, and being able to adjust. Because once we get to the sweet 16, we'll have some time to practice, put some new things in. But right now, some different guys are going to have to step up, and the big fellas in the interior are going to have to control the paint because we're not 100% healthy.
Well, I mean, you know, Kayson being out takes away a guy who can get to the rim. and also a guy who can facilitate And it feels like there's so much on Cadeau's shoulders now. to facilitate the offense. And there's been just a lot of perimeter. Shooting, which I know is a forte of Michigan, and that's a way that they can bomb away and beat you.
But it just seems to me that um There's been a lot of very significant perimeter defense being played against Michigan. And then in terms of defending, Purdue just had Had a pick and roll game they couldn't stop. And I'm I'm wondering if that's a blueprint that we're going to have to Keep an eye out for. You know the game, man. Great observation.
Yeah, right now in the tournament, it's all about guard play. You cannot win without great guards at this point. You need guards that can get their own shot, guys that can get open and get others involved. Without our full, healthy roster, sometimes Jackson has to go to the four, the five, or play in different positions. And then what happens with trapping and other things?
So, yeah, we're. Godot has so much pressure on the shoulders, and hopefully, he goes out there and relaxes and lets it fly. But he's looking for someone else to get him involved to penetrate and to kick it back to him to get a couple wide open shots. And so, you're exactly right. We're going to have to watch out for a lot of trapping, but more so on the defensive end.
Not pick and roll at the top of the key, getting other guys involved. But yeah, our guards, they're marked men. They know that they have to take the ball out of their hands to make sure the big fellas don't get it. And so that's going to be an area of alert. But I think we'll be fine, get to the 316, make some adjustments, and come back and roll.
Who did you pick to win it all? I had two brackets.
So the one with the heart. The one with the heart. Yep.
Okay. Yep, I got one with Houston and Michigan, with Michigan winning, and one with Houston and Michigan and Houston winning. Oh, okay. What do you like about Houston over anyone else?
Okay. I've been there before. And when we lost our first year, Next year was, you know, nothing was fun. It was like the parties were cool, the school was cool, all that. But no, we have a focus.
The only thing we want to do is get back to the tournament. And then after you get back to the tournament, the only thing you want to do is sweet 16 and final four. And that's what I sense from Coach Sampson. One, I believe in him because of him. Two, when you look at Kingston, I think he's one of the top guards in the country.
When you talk about him and A. Cup Jr., who I absolutely love from Detroit. And then you talk about the senior leadership on this team with Sharp and others. I really like this Houston team. They play physical.
They get up and down the floor, they know nonsense. Yesterday they shot five or ten from the Three-point line, and they're just a joy to watch because they follow the mentality of their coach, and so they play no nonsense.
So that's why I like them. And the same reason why I love Michigan: their heart, their unity, the way they play together, the tough competition they've had all year, what we've had to overcome. And that's why I think we can overcome this injury. I just think that we got to get to the Sweet 16, get home, adapt, figure some things out, and get right back to it. When you said at the outset of our chat, Chris, that some memories were flowing back with you sitting there.
um you know court side headset on Um, were there what memories, if you don't mind sharing? Great memories. I mean, memories of uh playing in a locker room, playing, bringing video games on the road. Jay and I used to bring the Tecmobo on the road, and whoever would lose or win, the other guy would have to bring the bags to the game. And so, all these fun distractions that kept us in focus because you know, I'd rather be thinking about Tecmobo and being mad that you know I lost with Joe Montana and throwing the rice every time than you know, actually thinking about everything that's going on.
Or, how about when we played in Atlanta? We were so upset that we were the six seed, we got screwed. Um, and we go to Atlanta and uh, I meet my hero, Muhammad Ali, and he brings us in this room, the whole team, and he talks to us, he takes me in the room to the side and talks to me by myself. We build a relationship, you know, uh, that was awesome. Watching some of our favorite players play, and you know, so this is just uh exciting time.
So many memories uh come back up, and it really just depends on you know, kind of where you are. If you're in the locker room, a locker. Memory comes up if you're in a hotel, a funny hotel memory would come up.
So it's a great time of year. All right, I got to follow up a couple of these. What did Muhammad Ali tell you? What was that conversation like? Wow.
Um.
So he brought us in the room. He knew who we were as a team. His agent and those were telling us. He was able to communicate really well, but still maybe tough to understand at times. He did a bunch of magic tricks, believe it or not.
He brought the whole team in and did magic tricks. And we were sitting there looking like, we cannot freaking believe this. We're all on that floor. Wow. Yeah, we're sitting on the floor in this room just chilling and hanging out.
And he took me to the side in the back. And I'm sure maybe he talked to other guys, but he took me to the side and just said, you know, went like this, proud of you, proud of you. And I was, I called my dad and said, man, Muhammad Ali told me he's proud of me. What more, you know, what more do I have here?
So it was awesome just being able to talk to him and him knowing who we were and encouraging us. And really, that's why you hear Jeron talking about shock the world. That's, that was, you know, because we were in there with float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, you know, so it really. Really cool to be around the greatest of all time. He wasn't jealous of your shorts length?
No, no, no. He wasn't jealous. He wasn't jealous of the shortly. From what I heard, I heard his wife told us that he liked our swag.
So that's cool getting it from Mr. Swag. You bet. Absolutely. And then the follow-up: who played Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl?
Because that was the winner, right? Oh, that was the winner. Probably Jay, but probably Jay, but I know I was in Montana. I was the 49ers. I forgot who he was.
Yeah, Jay was a Raiders guy at that time. Jay, yeah, I believe, yeah. You know your Tecmobo. Oh, he was. Chris, listen, where you were only just a little bit after me in school.
I mean, Bo Jackson, Walter Payton, and Tecmobowl, but Bo Jackson was unstoppable. No, it was not Bo Jackson. You just brought a memory. It was the Bears. It was the Bears that he played with.
It was, because their defense was just ridiculous. That's stupid. Before I let you go, Chris, I have not spoken to you about the NBA topic over the last couple of weeks, which was Bam Atabayo's 83-point night. And your two cents on how he got it? Does it matter your two cents?
Chris. It does not matter how you got it. And The Washington Generals, man. You, you know, so first of all, he got it. Doesn't matter, and he's the man.
Okay, so congratulations, man. He's a power forward.
So I'm gonna put that to the side. And You know There's only certain players that deserve 44 free throws.
So I don't know what the hell. Who was guarding and why would you file? that many times. And so to me, I love Washington. I played there.
The fans are great. Because they're so great. They're They're taking for granted. And so I just hope that Washington gets it right. They try to excite people by bringing in older players or getting Trey and getting Davis and things like that.
I just hope that that organization understands the community that they're servicing and serving. We used to play. Teams there and in Landover Arena or MCI Center that we call it the phone booth, or I think it's Verizon now. It was incredible games going up against Jordan and other teams there. And so To see them be this bad for this long is just really disrespectful.
And so to me, I was happy that Bam did it, hopefully to put a shining light on how terrible the Washington generals are. Um They're just terrible.
Well, and I understand what you built there and how it's hard feelings on that front, but just a little pushback on you're being respectful of Bam. You had no issue with the fouling, even though he was at one point telling his teammates to stop fouling. But no issue how he got from 70 to 83, essentially, Chris. No, no issue because you got to take that advantage. And you know, Bam plays the right way all the time.
And so he played the right way all the way through. Again, my concern is, you know, with the Washington Generals. Why would. You know. You could have called your own double team.
You know what I mean? Like, there's other ways to do it. Like, it was no pride from Washington. It was almost as if they were giddy to be in the same court with a man that scored that much on them. And so that really pissed me off.
It really pissed me. You you see how guys today they'll get in the fight like uh A team will be up 12 now. All game, you've been all game, you've been complacent and just resting on your laurels. But at the end of the game, a guy dunks it, and now you want to fight him because it's like, hey, don't disrespect our team. You don't play the right way.
Well, it's another side to that. It's guys taking pride in the fact of saying, hey, you got 60, you got 70. We're not going to let you get another point. And so again, to me, Bam did what he was supposed to do. And I think even Bam would tell you, and other players would tell you, like, if you're the other team, you're supposed to try to stop me.
It was just, it just didn't seem like there was any pride in the play of the Washington Wizards. And that's what stood out to me as much as the great performance of Bam. Because, hey, he did his thing. Chris, it was great seeing you do your thing on TV yesterday and listening to you. And I look forward to two more games from you on Saturday.
And we'll chat next week. Appreciate it.
Sounds good, brother. Right back at you. Tell everybody, tell the crew I said, what's up?
Well, that's up, Craig. They hear. They hear you. I know I feel like that's it. I'm sorry.
I feel like I monopolize Chris every time because, you know, it's just, you know what I mean? Are any of your brackets still intact?
Well, TJ, tell them. You're the guy who chose High Point. We got the High Point coach coming up next. No, it's just, it's not a game. You know that, C-Web.
It's not a game. I don't do this for fun. You know what I mean? High point. Talk that stuff.
Come on now, G. You know, it was just a lucky thing. Like I said, I knew a 12 usually will upset a five, it seems like.
So I picked two 12s, and I'll just be for real. I picked them not really knowing they were going to win. But yeah, I knew they were going to win. And you picked a not clawed or chat GPT or nothing like that. No, no, no, I'm messing with that stuff, man.
I've seen Terminator too much. I'm with you. I'm with you now. Yeah. And in terms of my bracket, put it up on the screen, Hoskins.
There it is. I'm 9,766,907. As I said, that's a hell of a foam finger right there.
Okay. Okay. I'm 64%. That's pretty good. That's pretty good.
My head's busted. I'm done. Except for my two teams. As long as Michigan and Houston get there, I might be on the ground. I'm with you.
I'm with you. I'm with you. And I hope the heart one is better than the other way around at the end of the day. We'll see what happens. We'll chat next week.
Take care of yourself, Chris. If you can, call and get some IV trucks to come to Nebraska because these fans out here, I'm telling you, I don't know if they're going to make it to the end of the night Saturday. I'm telling you, that's going to be a storyline, but I don't know if TNT will let me bring it up. They are party. All right.
They are. They're turning that corn into alcohol. That's what they're doing right now.
Okay, very good. Moonshine. There you go. Take care, Chris. Chris Clear.
Chris Clear. Oh, yeah. Really near the bottom of the barrel, baby. All right, we've got to beat it on down the line. The high point coach, Flynn Klayman, is going to be joining us next after bouncing Wisconsin.
That was a blast with C-Web. Don't go anywhere. The Rich Eisen Show rolling on. Save money and get a better view of the road when you replace your worn-out wiper blades at O'Reilly Auto Parts. Right now, save $10 on a pair of Rainx Latitude Wiper Blades.
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Number to Dial. This is awesome. We're excited to have him here for the very first time on the Rich Eisen Show. He's the head coach of high point basketball, fresh off of Beating and bouncing Wisconsin in the round of sixty four to advance to the round of thirty two. Flynn Klayman is here on the program.
How are you doing, coach? Doing good. Doing good. How are y'all doing? I'm great.
I'm not going to lie. I'm going to start off first. I'm glad to see a smile. Yeah. Game's over.
Game's over. Okay. You are locked in, man. You were locked in. After that.
That's my job, right? To be locked in and try to win and go for the win, you know. Like we said, we weren't here to just show up, you know. We were here to try to try to compete, try to win games.
So we got one done. But yeah, I mean, that was a crazy moment, obviously, surreal moment because it's my first year coaching, you know, and to be doing this in your first year is it's a lot coming at you at once. But Just an amazing day that we'll never forget. Yeah, I bet. And, you know, I imagine you are well aware of your team statistics and things of that nature.
I'm assuming. I shouldn't just say that, that you're aware that that was Chase Johnston's first two-point conversion, correct? Yeah, it was. You know, when he and he went viral after our conference tournament game about it a little bit. And obviously, this took it to a whole nother level.
But for him to make his first two-point shot like that, those are the moments of March that you just can't even make them up if you tried to go all the season and not make one. And then to be shooting threes from the logo and running off balance. And then to seal the game, you got a wide open two-point shot. And I'm thinking when he had it, I got a little nervous. I was like, man, he doesn't know what to do here.
He might smoke the fucking pass the iron or something. But he calmed down. He didn't even knew how to make a layout. That is so funny because I could not believe that statistic when Brad Nessler, who was on the call, nailed it at the moment. And then it was what?
the longest 11 seconds of your life after that, coach, pretty much? After that, I mean, you're just thinking at that point, man, if we get one more stop, we're winning this game. Like, and history is made. And that's really what you're thinking in that moment. It's like, wow, okay, we're here now.
You just keep trying to stack possessions and compete with a great team like that. And next thing you know, you look up and it's just you're one stop away from getting it done. And we did it.
So I'd love to get to your message that you were clearly delivering. Uh post-game, not just in the interview. Uh live on T V, but at your podium. uh about the scheduling for programs like yours at High Point. and programs that you mentioned around the country, mid-majors and things of that nature.
And scheduling issues. People are not putting you on their schedules, coach. That's what's happening. Yeah, I mean, it's, and it's not like, I'm not like blaming the high major schools. What I'm saying is the net system needs to be fixed.
And I'm really not probably smart enough to know how to fix it. But if you're a mid-major and that 75 to like 125 net ranking, then Forget getting a game with anybody, including like some say, well, you got to go on their home floor.
Well, they won't even let you come play at their home. Like, and it's impossible to get one.
So then the just my thing is I love college basketball. I love the fact that we figure it out on the court in college basketball. Like everybody can have their opinions, and that's what the sport's all about for fans to have opinions. But how can they really have true opinions now if you're saying the best of the smaller schools never get to play the big boys in the season?
So we have to just clean up the system in a way where they're incentivized to play those games. That's what you have to do. Like if I was a high major coach, I'd schedule the exact same way. And we're in a position too at high point where we can buy some games. Like we're not just going to go out and buy teams that aren't going to help our net.
So that's the point of it is the system should be better in a way where we can incentivize these teams to play really good teams like us at our level because that's what the fans need.
Well, and again, you've been there and you've done that at various schools as a player. at Colorado State and Troy and obviously southern Utah. Is where you were before you got your gig at high point. Has it gotten progressively worse? Do you think throughout the years?
Yeah, since the net's become a thing, it's gotten tougher. And you schedule you schedule to make your net better.
So you need quad one or you need quad four. That's what that's it's really that simple. And if you're a really high-end quad threes, then you're they're never going to play you. It's just not going to happen. And it's not smart to do it.
So I'm not, again, like I'm not blaming any schools in particular for doing that. I'm just saying I think it'd be better for the fans and better for the game overall. If we continue to make college basketball a sport where everybody can have their opinions, but we're going to get to play games. We have to be able to, like, I believe it would be good. You know, and we talk about expansion and those things.
Like, I'd be all in for expansion if it's more inclusive to adding a few teams. You know, like a team like a Belmont, you know, who missed the tournament. Or, like, imagine if Miami of Ohio, they were like one of the last teams in this year, misses the tournament. Because of you know, because they lost one game.
Well, obviously, we saw they deserve to be in this thing, and there are other teams that deserve to be in this thing. And I just like it. I think that's what the fans would love. That's what we love about college basketball. Flynn Klayman here from High Point University here on The Rich Eisen Show.
So, what was it like in your locker room? after that win. Oh, it was unbelievable. I mean, just the moment of my life. I mean, just so proud for these guys, my first team, you know, to ever coach.
And we set out with big dreams from the start. You know, we had a tough act to follow with last year's team that won 29 games and went to the NCA tournament for the first time ever. And we had to replace, you know, 96% of our scoring this year for these guys to come together and to get 30 wins, first 30-win team in the history of our league, now 31, and then to get the first tournament win in the history of our program. It's just. It's just unbelievable.
Who reached out to you from your life, from your your again, you're you you played and then you got into coaching um and then your opportunities have come Um uh obvious you were Not obviously, but you're an interim head coach in southern Utah. And then your predecessor leaves for Creighton. You get the gig. I'm sure your journey. Um led to some interesting Texts, calls, anything like that that you're willing to share with me?
I mean, it was I'll say I'll share this. It's too many for me to even get back to it right now. I mean, it's the most I mean, it's in the thousands, you know, and I'm I some of my I definitely got some texts from some of the great coaches that I played for from uh You know, obviously, now not just played for, but worked with.
So, Alan Huss, you know, who's the head coach in waiting, Creighton, laid the foundation for this program.
So, how we're operating this program, I got to obviously get a close view as the associate head coach of how to operate this program. And we're doing a lot of the same things now.
So, Todd Simon, who I played, coached for at Southern Utah, who was the head coach at Bowen Green. And then, you know, I played for a lot of really good coaches: Tim Miles, Nico Medfed. These guys were at Colorado State when I was there.
So, just great to talk to a bunch of people too, just personally, who coaches who helped you come up. And it's just great to see the community of people that actually helped you get to where you are and then talking after a moment like that. Are you aware of the social media reaction to your post-game demeanor and statements? And the way that you were sort of laying down the law on behalf of you and everybody else that. uh comes into a tournament like you do.
Coach? I'm aware that there's some talk. Yeah, like I'm, I mean, I just try to be myself, be authentic. I don't really care if there's a camera there or not. I think I honestly think that's the most important thing to getting your guys to play hard is that you're authentic in what you do and you're not changing and switching up.
And that one thing that I've learned studying great coaches throughout history is like you can have different personalities, but if you're authentic to who you are, your team's going to respect you and play hard for you.
So I try to just be who I am. I'm intense. I want to do big things. I want us to win big. I want, you know, we dream big here at High Point.
We want to advance in this tournament. That was our goal. People thought that was a funny goal for us. You know, it happens.
So we're not worried about dreaming big and falling short. No, we're going to go for it. We're going to go for it all. And we're proud to be High Point Panthers.
Next up, before I let you go, coach, Arkansas, John Calapari's Arkansas Razorbacks playing as well as they have. And of course, You've got Acuff Jr. Darius Acuff Jr., who a lot of folks are pointing to as potentially a first overall pick in an NBA draft. I could see you're smiling already. That's a big game that you can go hunt.
Correct? Yes?
So, when I'm watching the film of these, well, when we were watching the film of Wisconsin, I'm thinking, man, this is a super talented team. Like, this is a very good team. Like, we haven't seen anything like this. And then, when we're watching, now when I'm watching film Arkansas, I'm like, all right, this is a Calapari talented team. Like, there's this thing.
And he's going to have the best basketball players in the world on his team, the most talented. A Cuff obviously is a perfect basketball player. You know, he's a perfect basketball player. And that's the only way you get in that conversation to be a top pick in NBA draft, right?
So, and they got talent all up and down the roster.
So they got multiple NBA picks on their team.
So, you know, we're going to go out there. We're going to give it our best shot again. We're going to give it our best shot again. It's really a dream come true to be in a second-round game coaching against John Calapari, coaching against a program like Arkansas who's won national titles. Just going to go out there and compete, enjoy the moment because we can play too over here.
Well, not to tell you how to do your job, but Chase Johnston leads the layup line to start, right? Correct? He's the first guy on the layup line prior to this game. No, yeah. I mean, we're going to just, we'll probably just start drawing up ISOs for him to take people to the rack now at this point.
Feed him, coach. Feed him. Congrats on the win, and I appreciate you taking the time because I know it's not just about this one win for you and your program. And I wish you the best of luck. as you take on Arkansas and for you and your program beyond.
Thanks for the time. Appreciate it.
Thanks for having me. You bet. That's Flynn Klayman of High Point right here on the rich eyes. Sir, boom. All right.
And when we come back, Akron's trying to join High Point step for step, if you will. We'll give you an update on everything going on in the March Madness men's and women's world of note when we come back on this busy Friday. As you know, managing maintenance, repair, and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Granger has your back. From professional grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery.
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Hour number three has got what's more likely? Tom Pellicero first up talking about everything going on with the NFL. And I want to know what. the Miami Dolphins plan is right now. What it has been, what it is, how it's playing out, where it's going from here.
Um I also want to know where my bracket's going from here. Again, as you know, we started this show by saying I'm number 9.7 million in change. We're tie. I know we're all tied. I get it.
I'm in the 4 million. But the reason why you're at 4 million is you nailed a high point. The coach, how was that that coach, man? That was fun. Yeah, liking that guy.
Right, I mean, I'd take him at the cues right now. Let me tell you, there's some big schools going to try to pry him away from high points right now. Right now. Yeah. whether I can separate from 9.7 million Or devolve into worse.
is hanging in the balance right now. Santa Clara two-beat Kentucky. Oh. And they're on top of Kentucky by one with eight minutes to go and the ball. As I mentioned this.
I have also chosen Akron to make the Sweet 16. Oh, yeah. And they're down by five at the half to Texas Tech.
So if I'm right. I'm advancing. If I'm wrong on these two, see ya. It's not going to be, you got to have enough of these right if your chalk advances. You know what I mean?
See what I'm saying? That's the key to these things. Right now I'm looking up and I'm seeing Santa Clara's coach clapping and I think he's part of the Ball Brotherhood, which is, I didn't know that. I would have definitely chosen them to maybe even go to the Street 16 had I known that. Yeah.
Yeah. Um Wright State and Virginia just tipped. And so there's that. Arizona is up or big early. No, it's just a 10-point lead now on Long Island.
You're hearing what people are saying online about Arizona versus Long Island? No. It's the battle of who's got the best iced tea. Let's see that. That's really good.
I did not see that.
Well done. That is great. Everywhere. That is great. Well done.
Who's got the best iced tea? Arizona versus Long Island? Arizona's cheaper. More affordable. Is it Long Island the next day?
You might not fit.
Well, isn't Long Island iced tea? It's got a lot more in it than just preservatives or whatever. Might not fair. Arizona ice is like 99 cents. Got it?
You know what I mean? So I'm seeing that. They were big in the 80s. Good one. Texas Tech starts with a three to take an eight-point lead on Akron.
That's not good. I can't have it. I'm in fuzzy navel. Virginia, right? Fuzzy Navel.
Wow. I brought that one before you go, jell-o-shots. Let's take Jeffrey in San Francisco, California. What's up, Jeffrey? What's up?
Listen, we have Hall of Fame controversy, Rich, so I'm calling in. What? For TJ. What's that? Dennis Rodman, after wrestling one match in the WWF, and I grew up on wrestling as a PA kid back in the day.
But Dennis Rodman, the WWF Hall of Famer with one match. TJ. This is outrageous.
Well, I know this is something that Rich don't want to spend a lot of time on, but yes, Dennis Rahman, it was announced that he is going to be inducted into the WWE Wrestling Hall of Fame. You know, he didn't really have many WWE matches. He did a lot in WCW with the NWO. He actually skipped on a bull's practice, Rich. Excuse me, you say I don't want to talk about this, but if there's anything that I can change.
Well You know, if there's anything that I can add to a subject that includes me, I'll do it. All right, yeah, I'll let you determine that. But yeah, because we were just talking about the pandemic moments ago. Uh the last dance. all 10 episodes.
I didn't appear until episode 10. And the reason why I did appear is because I did the Sports Center lead-in of Rodman leaving the Bulls in the middle of the finals to go wrestle. That's the lead in.
So I know the answer to this question. How about that, TJ? I forgot who I could have handled this. I forgot who I was dealing with, Jeffrey. Didn't he go wrestle with Hulk Hogan?
Yeah, it was he and Hulk Hogan against Diamond Dallas Page and Carl Malone. Yeah. Excuse me. Jeffrey? Yeah, Jeffrey, I got to admit, it was a little weird to see him get inducted, especially when someone like, you know, Cindy Lauper still.
As a matter of fact, I'm going to save that for no contest wrestling.
Okay, save it for no contest wrestling because there's lots coming on that front on the ESPN2 front, on the WrestleMania in Vegas front. Thanks for the call, Jeffrey, in San Francisco, to point out that I not only don't mind talking wrestling, I can talk wrestling. Hour three on the other side. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. From 30 for 30 podcasts.
Brian Pata, senior defensive lineman from Miami. Gun down. The key to this case, it's brought in. An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with Tabati. This might be a hit.
You want the truth. They just want a conviction. Being placed under arrest. We had a killer amongst us. Murderer you.
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