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Did you say that? I got shot. Brian Pata, senior defensive lineman from Miami. Gun down. The key to this case, it's Brian.
An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with Tabak. This might be a hit. You want the truth. They just want a conviction. We had a killer amongst us.
Murderer you. Listen now. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show.
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Now, on with the show. And the Michigan Wolverines are on their way. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Upon will head to the national championship. The Rich Eisen Show.
The UCLA Bruins have won the Women's Basketball National Championship. Today's guest: ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg. The Ringer NFL draft analyst Todd McShea. Comedian Jeff Ross. And now, Rich Eisen.
Well, hey everybody, welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show, right here in Los Angeles, California, City of Champions. Congrats to our friends in Westwood, the UCLA Bruins, just absolutely destroying South Carolina to take the women's. Basketball championship and cut down the nets in Phoenix. We'll talk about it. Corey Close's team, one of our friends of the program, is celebrating last night and today.
Congratulations to the UCLA women for making history. We'll see who cuts down the nets tonight. And I'm nervous as a cat. 844-204-Rich is the number to dial on that front. Seth Greenberg is going to talk about what we saw this weekend on the men's side of things.
We're also going to have, as you know, football is always on the brain here. It's getting ready for the NFL draft. It is draft month in our first full week here in April. Todd McShea of the Ringer is going to join us for the latest of his thoughts on what we're going to see in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, later on this month. We're going to do our show from the Great Steel City for draft week later on this month.
And then we throw open our in-studio doors for the Roastmaster General himself, Jeffrey Ross. We'll give us a few laughs. He has got a great Show for you to see. It is the television version or of I guess the live presentation that he had on Broadway of his incredible one-man show, Take a Banana for the Ride, it's available now on Netflix. He also announced late last month that in May, the latest roast is going down here in Los Angeles in May.
Kevin Hart will be roasted, and we'll talk about all that with Jeffrey Ross. 844-204, Rich is the number to dial right here on this program. Good to see you, Christopher Brockman. How are you? Hey, Rich, nervous.
Michigan's eight-point favorites tonight. That's why I'm nervous. Over Reaction Monday, you and I recorded that prior to the show. That's out there for everybody to take in on our YouTube channel whenever you wish. The first one of the month of April with the draft coming up later on this month.
Good to see you. Mike Deltufa. I remember you. Yes, Richard. How are you?
How are you doing? Good to see you. How are you, T.J. Jefferson? What's going on, sir?
Candles lit. Candles lit. I'm not, I'm just joking.
Okay, very good. 844-204-RICH, as I mentioned, is the number to dial right here on the program.
Okay.
So, this past weekend, Susie took Taylor to the women's final four in Phoenix. My two boys were out. And about for uh For their Spring breaking, hanging out with friends on the East Coast. Oh.
So I was all by myself watching Michigan take on Arizona after UConn made the national championship game again. taking care of Illinois, sitting there watching the game by myself. And Michigan tips it off with Arizona in one of the most anticipated matchups, not just of the year, but you could say in the history of the Final Four. I don't know who this Ken Palm is. Ken Palm.
I don't know who Ken Pom is. I don't know if it's short for anything. I have no idea. Who you are, Ken Pom? I don't know what it is.
I don't know who it is, but all I keep hearing is this is one of the biggest Ken Pom matchups in the history of analytics. These are two great Ken Pom teams. Kenny P. That's all I kept hearing about this Kenny P fella. I'm like, okay.
Good to know. Michigan Tips it off. And I began to get tipsy. 10-1 run to start the game. Bottles of red?
I look down at my phone and some. Individual in my life texts me. In Invisible Inc. Not you, I texted the group in Invisible Inc. Also, a warning, Rich, you shouldn't look at this.
Look, I told you what to do. The coolest of the coolers. An invisible thing says, This is over. Yeah, in his defense, though, he did tell you not to look. I told you not to look.
This is over. But you're telling someone not to look makes you want to look. I wouldn't have knocked that. And within seconds of that happening. I know, yeah.
The Big Ten player of the year, Yaksa Lendeborg picks up two fouls in five seconds. And I'm like, what do I do with this? Moron in my life. How many syllables? Putting that out there.
How many syllables was the curse word? The cooler. And then he comes back in the game because Dusty doesn't just let the dust settle on a player who is in foul trouble. He trusts his players to do the right thing, puts him back out on the floor. And all he does.
is drive the lane and have his leg and foot find the biggest foot on the floor for Arizona. This Crevas fella Seven foot two in all. I imagine his foot. Is proportionate. Sixteen, seventeen, no doubt.
And Yaxel's leg and ankle finds that foot and it turns. And I'm thinking to myself, are you kidding me? As he's now limping off the floor. My fellow Wolverine, although she probably she probably feels like I do and I call jet games. Don't talk about that.
But Tracy Wolfson giving reports. I almost texted her. I know you're busy, Tracy, but you know, are you saying it's the me too? It's not the ankle, it's the knee on top of it. Yeah.
Yaxel's limping around. He goes back to the... Locker room. He comes back out for a couple minutes limping with a towel over his head. And then goes limping back to the locker room.
And I'm like, what in the hell's happening? As Arizona goes on a 9-0 run, I wanted to call you, Brockman. At that point in time. Yeah. And then that's the closest the game ever was.
28-23. Yeah. Arizona makes a 9-0 run. And this is when Michigan without Yaxel. A perfect pass.
To Roddy Gale, who comes in and throws one down on the aforementioned seven-foot-two Crivas for what should have been an and one, but he jams it down to make it a 30-23 game, and Arizona. Wasn't even in their wildest dreams as close as five points the rest of the way. As you know, I like sitting in a rocking chair if I can while rooting for my teams that actually affect my emotions, which Michigan basketball is one of the few left in my life to do so. I had no idea. I'll say this.
I had no idea that the three letters BTA would be applicable to this game. And I've been talking about this team. Since jump Seeing how versatile Michigan's basketball team is I was talking about this back in November and December.
So I'm not just late to the party here. I was on this just when the rest of the country was watching them dominate teams like Gonzaga by thirty points in that Vegas tournament thingy. in December And we all know Tommy Young comes from Gonzaga and Arizona. playing that style of game. And Michigan Beating up on Arizona by 18 points.
It is tied for the biggest BTA. One seed to one seed in the history of the men's tournament. And it wasn't even that close. This game was over with eight minutes to go, and Arizona was scoring to make it. As close as it appeared.
This thing was a wrap, and it was without the Big Ten player of the year in the first half. And somehow, some, I mean, Trey McKinney doing his thing, and Adai Mara, grown-ass man. Speaking of UCLA, which again, congrats to the women. The men's team last year had a Daimara. And Michigan takes him in the portal and has turned him into a seven-foot three monster.
with post-action And Soft touches around the rim and Big Ten, the Big Ten player, defensive player of the year. His stat line is something To behold, 26 points, 9 rebounds. And A couple of blocks. Unbelievable. Performance by Michigan.
And Yaxel comes back in the game and nails two threes just when the Crew is talking about how he's limping around and looks like the shadow of his former self. After the game. Tusty May. was asked, why'd you put him back in? And his answer is classic.
Well apparently you guys missed the Yukon Duke game. The game was already decided and we were playing Duke tomorrow. They were up nineteen, correct, in the second half? And who won?
So these being out and you're playing Arizona, one of the best teams I mean, statistically the number one or two team all year in the country with and you're up twenty with ten minutes left, with eight and a half minutes left, we didn't feel quite as confident as you guys did that we could just Hank, you know, put the kids to bed. And he came in, and just Elliot was in foul trouble, and so he just held it down.
So, yeah, we obviously felt like the game was still at hand. I mean, there's few guys that. represent what I love That I I I I can't love more than this guy. and how he holds himself and how much I trust him. There's so many other coaches or managers.
I'm like, really? Is he really doing that? Even when you're you're hitting him saying, Are we playing Duke tomorrow? You might be like, Well, actually it's Monday and this was Saturday night. No, because of the chain smokers, this thing didn't start till 9.20, but odds for another segment in this program.
And by the time he's talking, it's after midnight. Another thing that Michigan, I'm like, can this game start? That'll be later on when I get on the. the porch and yell at those on my front lawn. That's later on.
But This team coming out as red hot as it did against Arizona and then not taking the pedal off the metal. You don't usually see this in a Final Four game for various reasons. One of them is because these kids are playing inside basketball arenas the entire season, and now they show up in a football stadium and it's tough to shoot. I don't know if you saw this during the game. Did you see this report during the game?
I have the photograph straight from Michigan basketball. Dusty May, before getting on a plane to Indianapolis with the team, took the team outside and put a. Basket. On the field at Michigan Stadium. A temporary hoop.
Put it on the field at Michigan Stadium and had them shoot at it to try and get some sort of perspective of what it might be like to be shooting in a football stadium. And Michigan came out on fire and shot 48% from the field. against Arizona. 48% from the field. God bless this man.
And what he has done for this team. and school. And I I can't tell you how happy I am. With what he's done with everybody at his disposal. and how he's comporting himself in the process.
Now then. This is why I'm nervous. Because who are they facing? It's not Duke, who they've already faced this year, it's not a Big Ten team. Which was possible because of how many Big Ten teams made it in Michigan.
became the first team in the history of the Big Ten to beat everybody else. This year, they beat every other Big Ten team in the conference. It's amazing how, in this day and age, they play everybody now that it's expanded to what, 25 teams in the Big Ten? But it's Yukon. And Danny Hurley.
who is right now the modern day Coach K. Yeah, the best tournament team in the last few years. Let me say this. They have. Since they've gone on this streak, since Danny Hurley at 2020 sort of pulled a Deion before Deion did say, get us now, because you're not going to be able to get us from here on out.
Um they don't lose when they hit the Sweet 16. If they hit the Sweet 16, they hit the pedal of the metal and they cut down everybody's nets. And This kid, Alex Caraban. I don't know if you see this. Tunak.
He will join four other individuals. who have played and started in. Three men's national championship games in four years. The other four are named Patrick Ewing. 82, 84, and 85.
Christian Leitner. 90, 91, 92. Grand Hill, probably, right? 91, 92, 94. And Danny's brother Bobby, who played alongside Leitner and started in 90, 91, 92.
That's who they're taking on. Tonight, Terrace Redu played for Michigan. 6'11. And solo ball, he's hurt himself, but he says he's playing. With that mid foot spring.
Yaxel's supposed to be playing tonight. Two. And Danny Hurley knows. Danny Hurley knows. Doesn't matter.
that Michigan just put BTA to Arizona's wagon. Caboose, I guess I should say.
Okay.
Doesn't matter. All you gotta do is tip it off tonight. and be better in the 40 minutes that the clock is ticking. You don't have to be the best team. You don't have to have the best season.
To win this tournament. You know, these are. All one game, s game seven, single game elimination. There's been plenty of times in the history of this tournament where the best team hasn't won it, you know. You just got to be better for one night.
And obviously, for us, we need to play the game a certain type of way. You know, we obviously can't get into a certain type of game with with Michigan. you know, incredibly dominant team, you know, incredibly well coached. Talent up and down the roster, physically imposing, all those things.
So the good thing for us, it's not a seven-game series. Just got to play one game on Monday night. That's right. And he's the perfect kind of crazy, as you know. As you know, You think he's tight?
The only thing that might be tight Is his lucky suit that he keeps wearing? You hear about this? He's wearing the same suit. He doesn't get beat in this suit. Stench to it.
This is what he had to say about his lucky suit falling apart. Suits in bad shape. You know, I'm not gonna lie to you guys. You know, the pants. Pants are fine.
It's the jacket that is really the lining is a problem. There's like. Three holes when I stick my arm in the right. Actually there's like three different places and if you could see it It's like the lining is coming through. It's actually going past the dress shirt.
I'd say my biggest problem is that the lining and the jacket is a complete mess.
So I'm gonna have to get a tailor. In the offseason. Yeah. Yeah. First class problems.
Sounds worried, doesn't he? I love it. Yeah. Sounds like a guy has won 99 and 74 in his record at UConn. That's preposterous.
But here's the thing though. Dusty May's record at Michigan. He's now 50 games above 500 since taking over 63 and 13 and As you saw last Saturday night, who was sitting courtside scouting Yukon and Illinois? Oh my goodness. Everybody getting ready to just heap abuse on Dusty May prior to taking on Arizona.
Oh, you're scouting your next opponent. You got to beat Arizona first, and you're spending your time before the game. It's because. Everything, the cake was baked, people. The only thing he had to overcome was the Chainsmokers concert.
Because tip Took fifteen minutes longer than expected. Damn DJs. And and he's also Pretty chill himself. Do you see this moment he and uh Dami Hurley had? When they sat down, I believe, for uh CBS and Turner.
Rubbing heads with him, too. Let's go. Ha ha ha.
Some crazy ass Jersey guy who's impossible to beat this time of year in Yukon, taking on the kid from Indiana. Vindicate us. Two totally different guys, like the odd couple right there. That's like Felix and Oscar of coaches. Let's go.
Whoop! And all I'm saying is this. In advance. is I'm getting ready for this game tonight. Can we not have a rock concert?
For 15 minutes, we don't want it. Nobody wants it. Nobody. Tip it. Before Nine o'clock Eastern.
Can we do that? Yeah. All right. There's a front lawn, and I want you off it. That ball goes up.
I'm trying to find out if there's a concert tonight. I don't want it. I'm going to Indiana to perform. Don't want it. Nobody wants it.
Rich, what if it's a bad thing? I couldn't believe that. Tip is supposed to be. 8.50. Uh no, it's twenty after nine.
Why? And I like to change smokers. I almost took up change smoking. There you go. I Rich, let's take a break.
Seth Greenberg coming up right here on the rich eyes and show. I'm fired up. Talk about this. Talk about UCLA. Cutting down a net in Phoenix.
Let's do it. Uh The Ridge Isis Show Podcast. Rich Eisen here. The April 15th tax deadline is coming fast, but don't worry. Hand off your taxes to a TurboTax expert today.
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Rich Eisen here. Every time I travel for a major sports moment, whether it's a playoff run or a huge prime time matchup, I see firsthand what happens to a city. Hotels fill up fast. Energy builds. Everyone wants to be part of it.
Now imagine that. On a global scale, the FIFA World Cup is coming this summer, people, and with it, thousands of fans traveling to host cities across the country. If you happen to live in one of those cities and you're planning to be away, maybe you've got your own summer trip lined up. This could be a practical opportunity. While you're gone, you could list your space on Airbnb and welcome traveling fans who want to experience the FIFA World Cup in person.
You're not changing your routine. You're not committing to anything year-round. You're simply making the most of a moment when your city is in the global spotlight. I know when I'm on the road for a huge event, having a comfortable home base makes all the difference. And that's what fans will be searching for.
If you've ever thought about listing your space, this summer is a great time as we welcome FIFA World Cup fans. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com slash host. Seth Greenberg here on The Rich Eisen Show, our friend from ESPN kicking off this segment right here live on the Rich Eisen Show on ESPN Radio and ESPN and Disney Plus. Good to see you, Seth.
How are you, sir? Great. That interview was incredible. With Corey Close? Absolutely incredible.
I'm going to give you a Coach Wooden story real quickly. My wife went to UCLA. Might probably all play golf there, but. I guess when Coach Herrick won his national championship, we were at the airport. I go to the game and I come back a day early.
My wife comes to pick me up, and there's this elderly gentleman sitting on a. Could a bench? outside the airport, waiting to get picked up. It's a coach forward. All right.
So my wife gets out of car and She had met Coach Wooden like when she was a student doing some community service type things, and she introduced herself. And he said to her, Oh, yes, I remember Karen. He remembered her name. He remembered her name. And then we saw him again another time in the airport.
And at that point, we had a child. And he was, didn't you just have a child a year ago? It was the most incredible thing in the world.
So that interview was. Priceless. It's a little great job she did. No doubt. And her players were dynamite.
And you could see. When you go to a Final Four, this is what you have to do. You have to dominate, you have to succeed, but you also have to just take off. And you saw UCLA. Take off and beat Texas and then beat up South Carolina, which really took it to Yukon.
So they are the true champs. There's no question about it. Seth. Incredible. Absolutely.
Absolutely incredible. And Lauren Betts, their best player. Our dad actually went and played at Long Beach State after I was there, who was a very, very good player at Long Beach State, which is just a small world. Right, and now Corey's got Lauren's sister, Sienna, to maybe try and build another team with as all of these seniors move on. And I'll talk about this later on here in this hour.
Let's just jump to the men's side of things. Your impressions of the weekend were what? Seth. You know, I mean, one game was overwhelming. The other game was what we expected it to be.
The Illinois Yukon game was a grind. I thought Danny's team did enough things to find a way to win. Taking care of the basketball was at the. The top of the list. And then Michigan did what they've done most of the season.
Let's be honest. I know you're out, but I mean, they've treated the NCAA term like a bunch of guarantee games. I mean, the teams that have gotten beat should get like $100,000 checks and move on because, I mean, that's pretty much how they've treated the NCAA tournament. Just dominating with Yaxville, without Yaxville, made no difference. The size, the length, the physicality, the ability to protect the airspace, I call it, whether it means whether it's lob dunks tomorrow or whether it's protecting the front of the rim.
And then the ground game to me was Elliot Cadeau and the forcing of confidence that he played with. They were absolutely spectacular, but UConn did some spectacular things as well. Starting the game, getting the ball to Paris Reed, Mullins getting off to that great start, and then Mullins, he made another pretty big shot. Dan Hurley made two great decisions. Coming out of timeouts, he got the ball to Tarrace on the block when they were struggling.
And then Mones makes that big shot. I'm excited about tonight. It's going to be a big fat game. Yeah, I mean, you were talking about how Michigan's treating the NCAA tournament reminds me of UConn a couple of years ago. As a matter of fact, Michigan does have, you know, does have to come up with a big win tonight to even match or surpass UConn's margin of victory in cutting down the Nets a couple of years ago as Danny started this ascension to make the final game three times in four years.
So. I give you the floor on how UConn can cut down a net again tonight. Seth. Well, first it starts with how you're going to guard Elliot Kidome. And it sounds silly, but you got to make him a scorer, you got to take the assist out of his hands.
And what I mean by that is because if you don't take the assist out of his hands and you overhelp, it's a lob to Mara, it's a kick out, spray out to three. Uh, it's an angle because you're in rotation because you're helping on, say, the ball screen or the drive, and now they're on the offensive glass. I think the first thing is you've got to make him a scorer. You can't let him score and make plays for other people. And that's going to be interesting.
The second thing is Yaxel, how healthy is he and how much does he play?
Now, if he plays and he's 80 to 100%, UConn doesn't have a matchup for them the way they start the game.
So I expect early in the game Jaden Ross and Jalen Stewart to come in because they need to defend him with size. They need to defend him with length. They need to keep him off the glass. The third thing they got to do, I think, is they got to UConn's going to have to make nine threes. I think they've got to make nine threes.
Wisconsin made 15. I think they've got to make nine because they have to play this game in the 60s. This has got to be a possession game.
So you've got to multiple actions. I call it actions over actions. Move the Michigan defense. And part of moving the Michigan defense is inverting it. And what I mean by that is you got to bring those bigs.
from Michigan away from Nebaska to create some driving lanes. And then. Host them up.
So, you know, if you can bring them away and make them two-way, so they got to come out and help on the dribble handoffs, the spread ball screens, all those types of things. And then bring Tyrus Reid into the block after you've moved them. That will be really pivotal. And then finish possessions with a rebound. If I was drawing on a whiteboard before the game, those are the things that I would remind our guys.
Take Elliot Caddeau out of the game, which is so, so important. Multiple bodies. They've got to save multiple bodies in the paint. Limit them to one shot. Take away the air game, which is the lob game.
Stay at home so we can block out and rebound the basketball. And let's control the tempo of this game, keep it in the 60s. What's Dusty Mae thinking? to cut down the nets. What does he do?
Yeah, it does oppose our identity on the game, use our length, use our activity, have discipline defensively, because Sukan is going to make us defend.
So, like, we can't bite on that. We've got to stay disciplined defensively. All right. Basically, force them to shoot a contestant shot, limited to one shot, play ahead of the defense as much as we can. But, If we don't have anything, then let's dictate the shot.
Let's not let. Babe. UConn packing it in or not overhelping. Let's not then dictate the shot we take. Let's not then dictate our Elliott.
You're going to come off the times. You know what? You might have to back dribble. We might have to swing it one more time, move them one more time again. Let's dominate the glass, dominate the paint, and dominate the air.
You had to dominate the air by when the ball goes up. I would make Terrace Reed guard early, try to get him in foul trouble because the backup to Terrace Reed is limited. For sure. The one question I have for them is Dust teammates' defensive game plans are personnel-driven, which means... You're going to decide what you're going to give, what you're going to take away.
And I have a tape that I used the other day. You know, like they play, you know, Iowa.
Well, Josh Sturtz, you're not catching the ball. I mean, Bennett starts, you're not catching the ball. We're denying you the basketball. We're making you work to get the ball. Where against Michigan State, what they do against Jeremy Fierce, they pack it in the lane.
They forced everything to make him a jump shooting team. The thing with UConn is hard is because he got to go to Caravan. I think they're going to really make it hard for him to catch the ball. But that's going to be Morris Johnson. I'm interested to see how they match up because they play.
Caravan all over the court. Which is an interesting thing, and then, like, Mones, you're going to probably same thing, you're going to probably deny him or force him to catch him a step further out.
So I'm interested to see how Dusty matches up with the shop makers because At the start of the game, UConn's got three big-time shop makers on the floor: Caravan, Solar Ball. And Mullen.
So, to me, that's going to be a really interesting thing to watch. Yeah, I mean, if Ball is not healthy, it might be difficult to. Body up Cadeau, right? Like, that's going to be an issue. His health will be an issue about what they can do potentially to.
To guard or no, no, Silas Demery. I think Silas Demery is going to be on Cadel. And he's hurt. He's hurt too. He's a little banged up, too.
And he's banged up too, but he's got good size. He's got strength. He's got length. The question is, and this is like solo. This might be a game Solo doesn't play as many minutes, even though you need his shop making.
Because if Solo plays, then Solo. is going to have to guard Burnett, which means Mullins is going to have to guard Yoxel and that's a bad venture. Unless he's not 100% in his own right. He was even talking about how he might be a corner three guy. Oh, and that and then he's guardable.
Like if he's just like the 38-year-old guy in the YMC playing the pickup is what Dusty said. That was a great line. Unfortunately, I was that guy about 24 years ago.
So, I mean, I can understand that. I mean, not a lot of wiggled in my game back then.
So, but if he's a spot-up guy, he becomes a little easier to defend. What do you make of Dusty being out there for Illinois, Yukon, scouting, charting? The first half of that game, Seth. What'd you make of it? To be honest with you, I would have been out there.
I agree. You hadn't seen him up close. There's one thing to watch in film. There's one thing eyeballing him. He's not eyeballing him, he's eyeballing Danny.
You know, what Danny's doing. You're trying to get a feel for. You know, the chess game that you can do. Yeah, what can you pick up? Tell me what you can pick up from something like that, watching Danny Hurley.
Seth, what have you picked up? What? situations he reacts to. What situ what makes him make a sub? What what what situations He overreacts to even, to be honest with you.
Isn't that all of them? Yes. No, you know what? He's a complex dude. Yes, I know.
He's a complex dude. But you know, and I think I said this to you the other day on the show. He is A lot of ways. Misunderstood because down deep as competitive he is, and how he creates these causes. We all as coaches create causes.
He goes to an extreme, you know, he calls them wars. You know, you know, it, but. In that moment in time for you. That's his approach. But Away from all that.
The human being he is away from all that in terms of two players off the court. To the community that he's working in, to the work he does at Children's Hospital. He's a a very different guy, but His circle of life and his experiences. He's seen the highest highs, he's seen the lowest lows, he's come out on the other side. That's his motivated and whether it's the fear of failure or whatever.
But away from that, Like he if people get to know him, he's an incredibly A genuinely, genuine human being that is really considerate. He just gets back blank and crazy when the ball goes up in the air. That's what happens, you know. That's what happens in in uh heat of the competition.
Sometimes you can catch yourself and comp and comport, and other times you can't, uh, as his compatriot.
Well, no, as his compatriot as his compatriot on the women's side of things could not. Over the weekend, to be quite honest with you, Seth. But that's for again for another day. At the end of the day, am I crying myself to sleep or am I just having a nice little glass of red to Toast it all. I think you're gonna I I I suggest you get I and I know you do because I know you don't you drink cheap wine, so I know you got a good bottle of wine somewhere in the house, no doubt about it.
I would think you'd probably be cracking open a pretty nice bottle of Wine and maybe a blend or something. And toasting Hail Pit Victor.
So I just think they're better. As Danny is a savanna, and one last thing: Alex Carabin, if they do win. Alex Caribbean will be the last and last. Four years at the same school, no transferring. three national championships.
stayed the course.
Okay.
I don't think there'll ever be another Alex Caravan because the guy that's going to play any base state to save school. You know, since if he wins, since UCLA, there has not been another guy with three national championships. Although I do think that you will end up opening that bottle of wine because I just think that Michigan's just that good, as good as Dan is, and as hard as they'll play, and as much as they'll compete and prepare. I think Michigan, when Michigan's at their very best taking you to that next level. A lot of things would have to work for Connecticut to beat them.
Seth, thanks for the time. Thanks for the last few weeks, and I look forward to getting you on again real soon. Thanks again, Seth. I really enjoy our chats. Thanks again.
Thank you. Thank you. Seth on Hoop, Seth Greenberg, right here on the Rich Islands Show. And again, that's hearing that is. When you hear that, hey, you're supposed to win, you're going to win.
Gets me nervous. Again, um Even against your Seton Hall team, Mikey, in 89, we were not, we were the sixth seed. We were Cinderella. We had a new head coach. We had an interim head coach.
We weren't supposed to win. Nope. And every single time Michigan's been back, even with Bilon, we were the team that was not supposed to win. It's the first time you were. It's the first time.
Hopefully this first time for everything and it's the way I'll be comfortable in the future. Draft season is here, and everybody's talking about franchise players, blockbuster trades, and the moves that can reshape a team. And when it comes to your home, Pella Windows Indoors is the kind of pick you can trust, especially after another long winter with your old windows. Discover why Pella Windows Indoors is a trusted choice for homeowners everywhere. Visit Pella.com/slash Eizen today.
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Back here on the Rich Eisen Show.
So, Corey Close was the first ever guest in the history of Women's Sports Now, a show about women's sports that we launched last year here, hosted by women for women and men, talking about women's sports all the time. And season two news is coming up on that front very shortly. I don't want to jump the gun. But the reason why I bring this up is after Corey appeared on Women's Sports Now, she came here. on this program.
And last year, after her team got bounced out of the Final Four by UConn as they they just rampaged their way to the national championship last year, had this to say about winning it all potentially. What would winning a title mean to your kids? What would it mean?
Well, I think, you know, one of the biggest gifts Coach Wooden gave me is that when you have the kind of success he had, it validated the way in which he went about his process. And it encouraged me that you can be at the highest levels of excellence and you don't have to be demeaning. You don't have to be like win at all costs. You don't have to be transactional with your kids and push all the right buttons to elicit this response or against each other. And I was like, okay, it is possible to win at the highest levels and to treat people well and to hold high standards and not do it in a demeaning way.
For me, To me, for me personally, it would mean it validates the process, and I would get to pay that forward to somebody else. That you don't have to, you know, you can do things the right way, you can do things with integrity, you can be. Fiercely competitive and still care about people and invest in their hearts. And so, for me personally, that's the way I think our players, it would maybe mean something a little bit different. And the fact of like they walk down those hallways every day.
And there's a trophy case in the Hall of Fame that has 124 national championships. I laugh because it's an insane number. It's an insane number. And none of those are women's basketball.
So the chance to put that, like when I first got here, I took a picture. There was an empty space in that trophy case. And I took a picture of it and I put it right next to my desk. That we were going to create, we were going to have uncommon women willing to make uncommon choices, yielding an uncommon result, which is fill in that empty space. And so that would be really meaningful to them.
Well, guess what's going to be in that space now? Mm-hmm. And guess who's gonna have their own banner? Hanging from Pauley Pavilion next to John Woodens. Corey Close and the 2025-2026 UCLA Bruins.
First Championship won by UCLA. On the women's side of things, ever.
Well, there was one in the mid-70s, but that was before. For some reason, the NCAA acknowledged women's basketball. But um She got it done. As did the rest of her team. who are just all coming together at the right time this year.
They beat Texas on Friday night. Texas the only team to beat UCLA this year. And they did it. and dismantled Texas, which dismantled my wolverines. In the Elite Eight, and then took on South Carolina, which.
took apart Yukon. in the final four and that Other Final Four game on Friday night, and then UCLA just destroyed.
South Carolina. Destroyed the way. and took a halftime lead. And expanded on it in a 25-7 masterclass of a third quarter, and all the seniors that. Corey Close has had in her locker room and in her program.
She played them all. and they scored all but four points of the seventy nine. in winning it all. and family all around. Family all around, whether it is on the screen you could see Gabriela Jakez, who is just unbelievable.
She does everything, she scores. She runs the Floor, she defends. She does all the dirty work. And she had a stat line of 21, 10. And Five.
Her brother Jaime scored, dropped 32 on the heat and then flew out to see her in Phoenix. And we all know Jaime. Made the, Jaime made the final four on the men's side of things.
So that's the UCLA family, and then the Betts family, Lauren. Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and Sienna bets. her younger sister. They won together. as a a family and Lauren pets.
Unbelievable. These storylines are remarkable and this was coach close I believe, is this the one where she's got the net and the goggles? The champagne goggles on her championship hat had this to say after. It's not about me, it's about watching these incredible young women be dream chasers, to watch them grow in ways that they will remember and it will stick with them for the rest of their lives. And it's about their work and their habits, yielding.
And we say this: we want to recruit courageous. I'm kissing me choked up. Yeah. 'Cause there's a lot of times where we wondered if it could be true. I said, I wanted to find uncommon, courageous women that were willing to make uncommon choices that maybe possibly could yield an uncommon result.
And today it did. It's like Coach Dale waving the leather Satchel that has his game plan in it. That's what Corey Close has been at 15 years, longest tenured coach at a single school to win. A first NCAA title. And she did it with a team that won by 28, third largest margin of victory in a title game ever.
29%. They were suffocating defense. 29%. That's what South Carolina shot from the floor. And in terms of, you know, uncommon.
um something all too common that Young people in our day and age deal with, certainly young women as well. Depression. Lauren Betts wrote this remarkable Players' Tribune story. Um I believe March 19th is the date. She a remarkable story called I Want to Be Here.
Because when she was a freshman in Stanford transferring into UCLA, She was battling depression. She checked herself into UCLA's hospital. 'Cause she had a a bad bout and knew she had to do something about it. And that title means so much. I want to be here, meaning UCLA.
I want to be here, meaning being present and being positive. And I want to be here, meaning. Not the nightmare alternative. Being so open about it. Madison Booker, who is a remarkable player for Texas, shot three for 23.
In that semifinal loss to UCLA. And afterwards, Lauren Betts talked about how. Madison should be given grace that she's a human. This is what she had to say in winning a championship with her. Sisters on the court and her sister literally.
I think it's just buying into the process. You know, we have everybody you could possibly want on a team and you were so skilled at every single position. But I think, you know, the maturity to come in and sacrifice yourself and your ego and be able to put that aside for moments like these, it makes it so worth it. Because at the end of the day, no one's going to really care how much you average this season. Like when you have a freaking ring around your finger, no one cares.
Neat stuff. Oh, look at that picture right there. Pretty cool. Lauren Betts holding the championship trophy.
Well, she deserves what she has become and what she stands for, and the rest, Kiki Rice as well. The game she had. Thirty one minutes ten points and The others, Niepkins, Leisure Walker, Dugalich, who's just everywhere. Corey Close, put them together. Put them together and they bonded together, and man, they took off.
They crushed Texas. Held on at the end, it got a little tight. as Texas was defending all 94 feet, Um and then took out South Carolina after they took out Yukon.
So well-deserved, and I, you know, speaking of well-deserved, just great human Corey Close is going to get to look up in that pavilion. See all of John Wooden's banners and look up and go. That's my team. The young lady who has a 22-year-old assistant met John Wooden. and visited with him every other week in his apartment in the valley.
Is carrying on his and UCLA's traditions. Congratulations to her and everybody part of that program. Just inspiring and awesome. And um Truly. Ones to root for.
The Ridge Eisen Show Podcast. Mm-hmm.
