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- [00:01]
Progressive Insurance Announcer
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- [00:22]
Dan Bernstein
Take the next 12 seconds to unwind and enjoy relaxing music. This ad break was brought to you by WIX because we know running a business can be stressful. Creating a website shouldn't be. Learn more@wix.com harmony dan bernstein unfiltered unfiltered
- [00:56]
Matt
on 312 sports it's dbu on 3. 1, 2 and we are brought to you in partnership with my bookie and today by Russ Armstrong and Chicago Window Guys and by giordano's@giordano's.com I'm really looking forward to Illinois and UConn because this is in a lot of ways a basketball fans game. If you really like watching coaches go at each other, this is going to be a test for Brad Underwood and let's lay it out there. I've, I've said it very clearly. I said it at the early in the season that my doubts about how far this Illini team would go were generally coincident with my lack of belief in Brad Underwood as a game tactician. And this is a fantastic chance for him to prove that the improvements that he's made in that are ready for prime time and that he has his team prepared for a very organized and structured opponent. The Dan Hurley Huskies are not just running around out there. This is not a team with just a very sort of basic idea. This isn't a Fred Hoiberg team or even in some ways a John Calipari team where it's like, look, we know the structure of what we do and I trust you guys to make good decisions and everything that we do. Plays are called, actions are run to generate specific opportunities against specific matchups depending on score, situation and personnel. For Illinois to win this game, they must do it defensively. And of course that's outside of hitting all your threes because it's college basketball and any individual college basketball game, if you shoot 48% from three point range or something crazy like that, which is possible over these 40 minutes, you can just have a great 40 minutes, you can win the game and everything else is taken out of commission. But if we presume that most things are within a reasonable range of percentages, I think the, the Illini can win this game by Being disciplined and intelligent on defense because I do believe the align I offense will always have a way to produce points if the ball's moving well enough. Because their, their level of talent, their ability to have players who can do enough against their guy one on one. What is what you'll see most of the time that makes Yukon really difficult to cover are a couple of actions that you've seen before. But I'll just let you know what, what the, the names are. There's a lot of five out that they run, meaning just what it sounds like that you have five guys around the three point line who are then running perimeter actions to allow for, for weak side cuts, for post duck ins that aren't necessarily moving down the floor and establishing people at the beginning of the action close to the basket. They run something called zoom action which is becoming more popular in the college game and in the pro. You see the pro game too with, with some, some five out stuff. What the zoom action is is a pin down screen. And that is a. It's a downward screen for a shooter on the baseline to begin coming upward and curling up basically around the three point line. Using that initial down screen off the ball. The ball handler will dribble to the same side and then run a dribble handoff action. A little screen handoff action with that cutter off the down screen. So it becomes almost like a staggered double. What that does is it forces switches what the switches do. The switches create mismatches and that's where they're really good. Connecticut is really good at recognizing. You got a small and a big. You got a big on a small, it's a big on a small. Spread it, back it out, let him back up and go to work off dribble penetration. If it's a small on a big turn post, back them down. And they're very good about understanding what they're trying to do against whom. If they start the second half and there's a guy out there with two fouls or three fouls and you'll see an action to get a switch to go after that guy, that's the kind of thing that they're going to do mindful of a foul situation. So Illinois either has to try hard to, to obviate the screen, to not get screened, to get, to anticipate it, to get up and over it and around it and defeat it, or if there is a switch, look for the chance to switch back and that way you negate the mismatch. But the only things you can do you can, you can go out and try to show hard, you can try to ice it, which is really hard to do with as fast as it moves off some of those pin downs. But it's either be more difficult to screen, make it not work because you're outworking them. But if you are forced to switch, look to switch back. There's another action that UConn runs. You'll see Hurley go like this. This is incredibly common in the NBA international basketball. It's everywhere that horns set. It looks like a, like a double high. There's going to be a ball screen set up just above or around either elbow. And the ball handler will have a choice. The ball handler can use the big on the right or can use the big on the left and then that will initiate the rest of the action. That is essentially another version of one of these typical NBA fashionable three man pick and roll options, which again is going to offer chances for mismatches. They will also slip some of those screens. They will also look for cuts where it looks like they're intending to screen, but the screener is just going to put his hand up and go to the basket. Watch off the ball to see what's happening because you'll get a pretty good indication. They run a lot of off ball stuff for Caravan. They, they make you really, really work off the ball. So communication is critical. Talk, talk, talk. Whoever is underneath the basket has got to be informing people on your left or you know, here on, on your right, on your back, telling people where those screens are and either undoing switches or working hard to be difficult to screen. And I think if Illinois can be disciplined and obviously hit their shots, I think they're in good shape in this game. I'm throwing out, just so you know. Well, what about that first game? I don't care about the first game. I don't care at all. And what I think Yukon won by like 13 or something like that. And Wagler wasn't waggler then. He had not become what he is. And I think, you know, their, their big guy on Connecticut hadn't blossomed into his usage patterns either. I'm not worried about that game. In freshman Reliant college basketball more than ever. You're a different team at this time of year and I think both teams are different teams even though most of the names of the players and the coaches are similar. But this, this will be if, if they're, if they're ready to go and aware defensively and obviously also no live ball turnovers anywhere near the middle of the floor. I thought against Iowa, Illinois was surprisingly clutchy with their ball handling, and they cannot do that. They've got. That's got to be tightened up. But this is. Watch things closely, look at who is guarding whom and when, because UConn likes to. Likes to set up. That's the other thing to. One last aspect of defense here is ev Sitch, Mirkovich, whoever is on their bigs, haul ass back.
- [09:31]
Dan Bernstein
You.
- [09:32]
Matt
You gotta tear ass back down the court because the bigs will look to run and they will opportunistically, occasionally look to beat you to a spot. And it's not. They're the first choice that they have. They're. They're gonna set up what they set up. But if that opportunity is there before they get set in the half court, if you have your head turned, they're gonna work that thing up the floor and, and try for a layup and an and one. It's opportunistic. It's not the basis of what they do. They'd rather slow it down and set up. But that doesn't keep them from recognizing when you stop to look at an official, when you stop to turn back to your coach. The minute your head is turned, your guy is gone. So it comes down to remembering that, communicating that, and just making sure that you don't end up letting somebody slip free.
- [10:20]
Dan Bernstein
So, yeah, it's going to be a real fun game tomorrow, Dan. And then, of course, both games are going to be great with Arizona and Michigan in the later of the two games.
- [10:27]
Matt
Yes.
- [10:28]
Dan Bernstein
One thing you mentioned about being able to get around the screen and to be able to outwork them, I think that that will play into Illinois's advantage here with the way that Boswell and Wagler and Stojakovic play off the ball. We talked about that in their last game. Their ability to play defense off the ball is going to be really key into helping break up that screen, get around that screen, get over the screen, whatever they need to do to outwork them. Now we'll see how that does impact them offensively, working that hard on the defensive side of the court. But we'll talk a little bit more about that, too, as we get into DBU picks, because I've incorporated the final four into my picks for tonight. Good.
- [11:04]
Matt
There it is.
- [11:06]
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- [12:16]
Matt
Illinois, as you know, took down Iowa. Michigan knocked off Tennessee in a beatdown. UConn sent Duke home at the buzzer. Your bracket might be cooked, as mine kind of is. Your bankroll doesn't have to be. Well, it totally is. The Final Four has live betting. You can catch these swings in these games before the odds adjust. Watch the trends, know the foul situations, know what's under the the way the shooting is going in the game and and then whether it's over, unders or anything else. If you know what you're watching, you can take advantage of it, be in it to win it. At MyBookie AG with the promo code DBU, that gets your first bet covered up to 500 bucks. If it misses, then you have your bet back. Bonus token and you can run it back. But you got to use the promo code DBU at MyBookie AG the tournament is heading down to our final weekend. Don't just watch it go big, win from it. Only at MyBookie I've asked this question many times before and I'm gonna ask it again. I don't expect an answer. So understand that this is this is only for a rhetorical concern, but what is John Schriffen thinking? What is the the current play by play person for the Chicago White Sox thinking? Nicknaming Munetaka Murakami south side Samurai let's just not with stuff like that. You know, given the given the choice of should I do this or should I not? That's one where you're probably better off not. And relying on a tired and trite Japanese stereotype because he even announced it's one thing if he, you know, it's one thing. He said it, it's no big deal. And he can say, well, you know, I tried. Landed with a thud and people were rolling their eyes at it, but won't use it again. The problem is, as chronicled here in the Sun Times, that John Triffin, during his second at bat, said, a lot of fans are coming up with potential names for Munataka Murakami. I floated a few by him, and if he does something good, something big here tonight, I might just break it out. He has agreed to one of them that I think is going to be a real hit with a lot of people. And he got an RBI single on the next pitch and he said, an RBI single for the south side Samurai. Nah, that's it. That's the one you workshopped. Maybe ask around a little bit elsewhere first and just kind of say, hey, what, you know what? How are we on this one? What do you think? Or just know better. Just know better. It's the last thing you need in a contract year where there were plenty of reasonable people that thought there was going to be somebody else in that spot this year. And every time something like this happens, you had Jason Benetti there, man, you had Jason Bonetti there. You had one of the best. The guy's going to be doing the national Sunday night game on NBC. And Peacock, and he was yours to build the relationship with your fans. And for some petty, weird reason, he was let go by the owner. Another petty, weird decision like the hiring of Tony La Russa that threw a wrench into everything. It just makes me think about that stuff. I don't want to get bogged down in that, but that was our latest edition of what is John Triffin Thinking?
- [16:09]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, I don't have a whole lot of skin in this game with the White Sox. I mean, I prefer the White Sox are better, you know, for the, for the city, for Chicago. I like to see better team there, but I personally am not invested into the team. A lot of what I've seen, though, on social media, Dan, are White Sox fans unhappy with John Schifferin, Sheffron being there to do the games? And it's like, like, how much more do you need to hear as an organization from your fan base?
- [16:35]
Matt
I don't know.
- [16:36]
Dan Bernstein
And then you, you brought up Benetti. And I was going to bring up Benetti as well, too. You had a guy that was not only at the top of his game and at the top of all the games of play by play guys in sports. But he's a great guy and he was loved by the fan base and he's what, what more do you want?
- [16:54]
Matt
And he grew up a White Sox fan in the south suburbs. Right?
- [16:57]
Dan Bernstein
Like what? Like what more do you want? So again, I'm not, I'm not personally invested. You know, keep running that guy out there. But your fan base is telling you all you need to hear. And again, you have another organization run by the Reinsdorf family that what should be done and what people are saying and clamoring for is just being ignored. And it's unfortunate because it's a great fan base.
- [17:21]
Matt
On Fridays we bring you Friday feedback. Friday on Fridays we do Friday feedback. Friday, you see how that works?
- [17:29]
Dan Bernstein
I wanted to do it on Thursday and you said that's probably not going to be a good idea.
- [17:32]
Matt
No, I didn't, I didn't like the branding. So there are a lot of attentive listeners who every day here at DBU and forward progress, OWC and now off the ivy from the 50 who always have thoughts that, that come in via email. Dan@312sports.com matt@312sports.com and I wish I could save everything for FFF, as we put it, but I can't. So I try to go through this. I try, I try to make these selections a representation of the popular topics of a given week or just stuff that I find fun and well written. We're going to start with this from Nick, who says, guys, based on your comments regarding Kevin o' Connell and talking about their quarterback room said, I was reminded of a Reddit post which I attached and the article from the Athletic from which it's sourced. And my favorite quote from Kevin o' Connell is this in the article. Too many organizations are in a hurry to decide if their young quarterback is the answer or not. They abandon their, their plan. Well, either Kevin OConnell didn't want JJ McCarthy, which is unlikely, or he decided that the lack of college experience plus the injuries that had him missing most of his first two seasons equaled a failed project even he couldn't deal with. That's a good catch, Nick. That's a really, really good catch. As we were trying to say, you know, we did ask the question, what is he, what is he thinking? Or what is he talking about?
- [19:24]
Dan Bernstein
Well, I mean, you just had to listen to his words and that's, that's the only intelligent response to have to everything he said. Because he just said a lot of words and there wasn't a whole lot said within all those words.
- [19:35]
Matt
It's like he wanted to hear himself keep talking until he heard something that made sense out of his own mouth.
- [19:40]
Dan Bernstein
And then he finally got to the point. I'm not going to say anything worth hearing, so I'm just going to stop.
- [19:44]
Matt
It never, never quite got there. And then it just. The words ended. James says somebody spent $10 million on Michael Jordan's mansion in Highland Park. A house so stubbornly unsellable it became a landmark for indecision. And this person decided the solution was strangers, streams of them. A museum in a neighborhood within sight of a McDonald's within range of that unmistakable fry smell. Nothing says curated greatness like a Quarter Pounder drifting through your moment of reflection. This is not adaptive reuse. This is architectural absurdity. And then he brought us the greatest hits. Jobs, justification, generous claims about community benefit. Chicago's seen this script like the Bears with Kevin Warren leading the chorus. The same routine. Stadium subsidies, suspicious math. Back in Highland park, where wealth meets willpower and lawyers live locally, this turns quickly. Tour buses versus zoning boards, selfies versus cease and desists. That house already said everything it needed to say. That house is too specific, too strange, too stamped with someone else's story. And it sat for 12 years. And through it all, steady and smug. The fries keep frying. If no one wanted to live there, who exactly is lining up to visit it? Very good. Thank you.
- [21:24]
Dan Bernstein
Great question. Especially when you can't speak about, mention or even name the person that did live there.
- [21:30]
Matt
You're not allowed.
- [21:31]
Dan Bernstein
Like, that's just. That's unreal.
- [21:33]
Matt
Want you to. I thought this was really cool. And Gary said, I thought we're. I saw where Keaton Wagler was listed as number five in nil money for the sweet 16 teams. It didn't make sense to me. I naively thought, why would Illinois pay a then unknown $1.7 million? So I poked around. Keaton Wagler has made most of it from sales of his own merchandise. And that is exactly how Nil should work. His performance made him famous and he gets part of the loot. And if you compare this to this list, Cameron Boozer, 1.1 million roster compensation that comes in from branding and merchandise. Samsung, Jordan Brand 2K Crocs. And there's Keaton Wagler. 600,000 roster compensation, 900,000 branding and merchandise commercial. The Illinois NIL store number one national seller for Keaton Wagler. I thought that was really cool.
- [22:46]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
- [22:47]
Matt
That is cool and good for him. That feels, that feels right, you know?
- [22:52]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. It's like the emailer said, that's. That feels like how it's supposed to work. There was good.
- [22:58]
Matt
Yeah. There was a lot of feedback regarding the Jaden Ivy story. This was Ward who says it is sad. It's infuriating to me the support that Jaden Ivy was getting on socials. Ivy clearly needs mental health help, not praise for speaking the truth or the quote, unquote truth. These are the ramblings of a delusional person. My daughter, who's 29, is bipolar with psychosis and I've heard similar ramblings from her years ago when she was not stable. These supposed fans of Jaden Ivy are blinded by misguided religious beliefs. Well, Ward, thank you for that. And there is a great essay by Parker Malloy that I reposted on Blue sky that does the best job of describing what these, these self serving grifters saying, you know, free Jaden Ivey, what did he do wrong? Aren't understanding what the people closest to him, including his wife, are saying. That he's deeply troubled and needs help. Yeah. That the people closest to him are caring about him. And the people who are looking at him as just the latest culture war pinata do not genuinely care about his well being. They only care about him as content and is about a mirror in which they see themselves reflected. That's, that's my words. And we've been noticing a lot of that with everything that's come in.
- [24:39]
Dan Bernstein
It's interesting too, Dan, that just doing a little bit more reading about Jaden Ivey going back to his days at Purdue. There were, there were things that, that would have caused people caution even, even back then in college. And it wasn't enough to stop the Pistons obviously from drafting him when he was a top five pick. But then we've talked about this at length over the week and in OWC with Julia Poe as well with you and Jason about the Bulls lack of due diligence in getting him from Detroit. So Detroit let it slip a little bit from what they heard in Purdue. The Bulls really had no really smart business decision to bring a guy like that in. Had they just done any type of work with what was happening in Detroit.
- [25:24]
Matt
There was a lot of feedback coming in about all of this, Kevin. And Jefferson park says, gentlemen, great work this week. Our sports ARU was opened Sunday with the blessed sound of Jason Benetti calling Sunday Night baseball his booth a fun and easy time that always made for a great game experience and anti John Smoltz, if you will.
- [25:47]
Dan Bernstein
Fire it.
- [25:48]
Matt
Get him out. It becomes locally pertinent again with the dork they replaced him with on the south side, getting his nuts caught in the door regarding his nickname for Murakami on the basketball side, Everything about Jaden Ivy has already been said, but Julia Poe should be everywhere. Her appearance on OWC was sharp, informed, clear as a bell, and most importantly, incredibly humane. She gave Ivy way more grace than he deserves and brought a holistic understanding to the situation that the Tribune should be proud of when they're not blaming the war in Iran on teenagers being out past 10pm on a Wednesday. Arturis Karnashovas and Mark Eversley not having a job will be my eternal refrain when discussing hoops for the foreseeable future. But this beat of Julia Poe, Joe Cowley and even Casey Johnson should survive whatever administrative changes come for as long as they can stomach it, he said. I'll leave it to you, as I can only assume Dan is still getting yelled at. No, she was. She was cool, I think. But she did like I say, Beth did have to ask, you know, whether or not she actually swore, and I had to tell her. Oh, oh yes, you did.
- [27:06]
Dan Bernstein
Well, I blame you fully for that interaction.
- [27:10]
Matt
I. I'm not saying you shouldn't. I don't.
- [27:13]
Dan Bernstein
Just saying. That's you.
- [27:15]
Matt
Can I read a question from a Bob? I always ask permission.
- [27:20]
Dan Bernstein
Let me see when the last time we did one.
- [27:21]
Matt
Yeah, it's a Bob and Morgan park too.
- [27:25]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, it's been 15 days. We're clear.
- [27:27]
Matt
Okay, good. So we're clear on a Bob.
- [27:29]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
- [27:30]
Matt
Guys, love your suit. After listening to your discussion of the ABS system in general, and CB Buckner in particular, got me wondering if there could be an unexpected byproduct of ABs. Just as players now will know which umpires are getting calls overturned the most, the umpires will know which which players are challenging more often than others. I can't help but wonder that this will if it'll cause umpires to call more borderline pitches, strikes against hitters and balls against pitchers or catchers who challenge their calls more often. Yeah, you keep the challenge if you get it right. But no hitter or catcher is going to be right 100% of the time. If an ump is pissed because a hitter keeps challenging him, that player might lose the benefit of the doubt on borderline calls. So I like the thought, but that's the point.
- [28:19]
Dan Bernstein
That's the point of abs, right?
- [28:20]
Matt
The point is an ump who even tries to respond that way will be sniffed out by the system.
- [28:28]
Dan Bernstein
Right.
- [28:29]
Matt
That ultimately it's going to show you. Right. Wrong. Yes. No. And what the danger is that an umpire is going to start developing a reputation for reacting vindictively and say, well, you know, if this guy keeps losing, he's gonna. He's gonna start getting mad at guys, that he starts to spiral here.
- [28:49]
Dan Bernstein
Right. Because we. We've seen that. We've seen umpires in particular, there's a few that you could mention that do act vindictively, and this counters that. And that's the whole point to it. So while it's a. It's a fair question to bring up, as I. As I'm reading the email originally, I'm like, picturing an umpire getting ready, putting his shoes on, and going through a chart of our. All right, this guy's challenged me seven times. This guy's challenged my colleagues 12 times. I gotta keep an eye on these guys. When are they batting? Today in the batting order. All right, I'm look for number three. I'm going to look for the seven hitter. So I had that vision, but I just can't see that being a part of it because ABS counters all of that completely.
- [29:23]
Matt
That's the point of it, is no matter where you play it down the line, the salvation is in the objective truth. Right. Period. As it often is. It's like, well, I think this, and I think that it takes all of that out of it. Yeah. And I would just respond to people who've been saying, like, what are you saying about there were a lot of angry umpires? And let me just restate the point here. No umpire, not Doug Harvey, not Steve Palermo, not Nestor Shylak, not the greatest umpires of all time, nobody, no human eyes and brain are capable of calling pitches correctly in Major League Baseball. It's not possible. And that's okay to admit that. Do you know how we know it's not possible? Because of framing. There's something called framing. It's even in the WAR stat. Now, a catcher's ability to fool an umpire, a catcher's ability to make human error and human fallibility, a point of making an asset to one's game because you're good at taking advantage of human fallibility. It's called pitch framing. If pitch framing didn't exist, the game would be fairer and you'd have more balls in play. John Smoltz, you'd have everything you want. You'd have fewer strikeouts because strikeouts are bad. Right? Right. So even if we appeal to these sort of atavistic baseball instincts. Getting it right ideally should be part of making everything better in that world. Smokey the Bear Then you know why Smokey tells you when he sees ease you passing through. Remember, please be careful. It's the least that you can do. After 80 years of learning his wildfire prevention tips, Smokey Bear lives within us all. Learn more@smokeybear.com and remember, only you can prevent wildfires brought to you by the USDA Forest Service, your state forester and the Ad Council.
- [31:44]
Dan Bernstein
Wherever you go,
- [31:48]
Matt
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- [34:06]
Dan Bernstein
Buddy, I got to disagree with you, man, because it's, it's. You can't say it's impossible to call balls and strikes because it's not impossible. It's impossible to call every pitch correctly.
- [34:16]
Matt
It's impossible to call it well enough. Yeah, I'm not saying you're blind on every pitch.
- [34:20]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, I know.
- [34:20]
Matt
Yeah.
- [34:21]
Dan Bernstein
But.
- [34:21]
Matt
Well, no, no, no. Fair that. It's fair for you to stop me there, but the fact that the fringe of the zone is so amorphous that the zone changes and they don't see the fringes.
- [34:36]
Dan Bernstein
Well, yeah, and I'm not disagreeing with you because there are guys that are paid more because they can frame so well and there. And there are guys that are much better at it than others where you don't see a 10 inch movement, you know, you might see a 2 inch movement and it's so subtle and so well done that an umpire will call a ball a strike. But. Yeah, but to say that it's impossible to do is not. Is not accurate. It's impossible to call every pitch.
- [34:58]
Matt
It's impossible to do. It's impossible to do well enough to. That's not affecting outcomes of games.
- [35:04]
Dan Bernstein
I agree. I agree. That's what, I agree with that. Yes.
- [35:07]
Matt
I'm not saying they're completely blind.
- [35:08]
Dan Bernstein
Is a. Yeah, I know. We just want to make sure.
- [35:10]
Matt
Okay, fair enough. Tim says, Dan, remember when you bought that discounted candy bag at Mariano's and it was filled with Those gross, awful KitKat flavors?
- [35:20]
Dan Bernstein
I remember that show. Yes.
- [35:22]
Matt
Now, I'm wondering if your story about the stolen Kit Kats were any of those the gross flavored ones and were you guys ever able to try that nut Rageous? Yes, tried nut Rageous. Very good. We got a lot of. When we were talking about the. The not only the KitKat chocolate changes or the Reese's chocolate changes, but the KitKat heist. I would. Nobody would steal a truck of the Halloween Kit Katsu.
- [35:50]
Dan Bernstein
Couldn't give it away.
- [35:51]
Matt
No. Oh no, they couldn't. They couldn't give it away. Mariana's. They couldn't give it away. I was the only idiot that bought those because I'm like, oh, it's a bag of Kit Kats. Like, oh, these are the alternative flavors that were witches brew.
- [36:06]
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
- [36:08]
Matt
And those were marshmallow flavor cream, Marshmallow and possum. Fresh possum. No, the green one was a marshmallow. And then there was breaking bones. And that was white vanilla cream. Those were eh.
- [36:33]
Dan Bernstein
That was the reaction it caused.
- [36:35]
Matt
And the. I did not have the last one. And the other Halloween flavor that I did not have was. It was orange colored white cream.
- [36:48]
Dan Bernstein
Well, I have to check. I saw one of my sons. I won't say who. Jackson. I found a jewel bag of Halloween candy in his closet still. So I'll rummage through that and see if there's any of those flavors.
- [37:00]
Matt
Do that and see. Yes, bring it in. I'll try all of them on the air if you want. The last one I did not try Ghost toast. Crisp wafers in cinnamon toast flavored cream.
- [37:15]
Dan Bernstein
Well, I'm a big cinnamon toast like crunch fan, so that maybe that has potential. It's probably not good now because it's April and if it's in a bag upstairs in his room, it might not be good still. But I'd be willing to give that one a try. That sounds like the best of all three or four. Whatever you mentioned there, outside of possum, that's my favorite one.
- [37:36]
Matt
I just. I like saying Ghost toast. It sounds like something should be chanted. Ghost toast. Well, there's the tradition at the field house. Once again, for some reason they're chanting ghost to toast. I don't know what it means. I'm. Yeah, I'm good on Halloween Kit Kats for a while, I think. And I can't have them until after Passover anyway because I have to have all this shitty Passover candy. It sucks. Oh, did you eat the fruit slices? No, that's for Hanukkah. The fruit slices were good. Those are. But like Passover chocolate, like the.
- [38:11]
Dan Bernstein
I mean the fruit slice slices. Candies that have been around forever. Like those Candied. Yeah, right. That's what you're talking about.
- [38:16]
Matt
Yeah, but the Manischewitz ones. But the ones we had, whoever brought the ones over last night, they were outstanding.
- [38:21]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, did. Did you ever get your apple and walnut salad together?
- [38:25]
Matt
We did. We made it the second time worked the first time it tasted like turpentine because the walnuts went bad.
- [38:32]
Dan Bernstein
We had to see walnuts. All right. Did it take you six hours to cut up 12 apples.
- [38:37]
Matt
No, it didn't. It didn't because I bought larger apples, so I figured I'd buy fewer larger apples. That made them much easier to peel.
- [38:46]
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
- [38:47]
Matt
Yes. So we. It took us a little time, even though we do it every year because we forget what we've done every year and then we make the same mistakes and we. And we forget sometimes where a part that we need for the food processor was hidden.
- [39:00]
Dan Bernstein
That's first. First. I've heard of bad walnuts. I've heard of bad baits, but.
- [39:04]
Matt
Exactly. I did not know that like the. Something happens to the oil in the walnuts if it turns and it created some kind of compound that had a. A paint or like. Or turpentine quality.
- [39:17]
Dan Bernstein
I wonder if. Did you have them for a while? Were they probably to extreme temperatures at some point? Shouldn't have been some way.
- [39:23]
Matt
I don't know. Maybe we just grabbed a bag that had been. I. I don't know. That's. That's likely.
- [39:30]
Dan Bernstein
Discount nuts.
- [39:31]
Matt
Yar. That is. That is the likeliest explanation. I think that somehow they just. They just went wrong on us. A note here from Liz, and Liz is talking about Puka Nakua. Liz says agents have to stop blaming the media when they represent athletes who are chronically online. Puka Nakua hangs out with streamers whose main goal is to create content and engagement. Puka went live in the locker room and denied it. While still on live, Pukinaku is seen with influencers and Instagram models. It's not the media. It's people sharing content in which he is featured and commenting on Reddit or Instagram. Agents have to find new scapegoats for their clients.
- [40:33]
Dan Bernstein
Great email.
- [40:33]
Matt
That is a great email.
- [40:36]
Dan Bernstein
Yep.
- [40:36]
Matt
That is. That is a terrific catch. Yes, Dan.
- [40:40]
Dan Bernstein
Walnuts can go bad and turn rancid due to their high oil content, which you've mentioned. They typically stay fresh for three to six months in the pantry. So you probably just had an old bag of walnuts.
- [40:50]
Matt
That must be what it was. I had an old nut sack. Yeah.
- [40:53]
Dan Bernstein
Because you can. They last longer in the fridge. You can freeze them for up to two years and they'll. They'll be good, but. Oh, wow, that's interesting. Rancid walnuts smell like pink paint thinner or turn bitter or sour.
- [41:05]
Matt
Is that what they said? Really?
- [41:06]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, that's what it says. And this is regular Google, not racist.
- [41:09]
Matt
Wow. Okay. Well, yeah, you're spot on. Yeah, I was right. Yeah.
- [41:13]
Dan Bernstein
I was questioning your sense of smell when you said they smell like Turpentine or paint thinner? No, they did. Yeah.
- [41:19]
Matt
All right.
- [41:20]
Dan Bernstein
Well, there you go. You had an old bag of walnuts,
- [41:22]
Matt
I had an old nut sack and there's nothing I can do about it. Yar Troy says. Guys, I want to point this out. It didn't come up when you were talking about Puka Nakua, when you mentioned the name of his attorney, Levi G. Mcathern II Great. Yes. Guys, guess what? He wears a cowboy hat.
- [41:43]
Dan Bernstein
He's a cowboy hat lawyer.
- [41:45]
Matt
He is.
- [41:45]
Dan Bernstein
Yep.
- [41:46]
Matt
He is indeed.
- [41:48]
Dan Bernstein
Thank you, sir. I'll go to jail.
- [41:49]
Matt
Thank you. That. That is a big beefy man with a stash and a goatee and an ill fitting blazer and a black cowboy hat with the sides turned up. Stetson.
- [42:01]
Dan Bernstein
Yep.
- [42:01]
Matt
Yeah, that's. He's got a. It almost does not fit his head. It looks like it's. It' screaming to get off his poor head, but Levi McCathern wearing lawyer.
- [42:13]
Dan Bernstein
We get a conclusion. Do we have an answer? Cowboy hat lawyer or cowboy hat surgeon? Which one do you prefer?
- [42:21]
Matt
Oh, lawyer lawyer.
- [42:22]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. Right. That's.
- [42:23]
Matt
In that instance that created the whole. Then socks hat attorney. Socks hat lawyer. Like, which would you rather?
- [42:32]
Dan Bernstein
Well, my favorite socks hat wearing person is the. The terrorist.
- [42:37]
Matt
The international terrorist. Yes. It was the guy in the back of the truck actually. In isis, right? Yes.
- [42:42]
Dan Bernstein
That had a white Sox hat on. Ghost socks.
- [42:45]
Matt
Just go Sox. I told you that.
- [42:48]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. We're gonna call him Southside terrorist.
- [42:52]
Matt
Lastly, Dave in Seattle, I had to take issue with something, Dan, that you said on DBU regarding the physical mental health issue. When there are brain issues. I'm not a doctor. I didn't play one on TV. I haven't stayed in a Holiday Inn Express in 20 years. My wife works closely with the Parkinson disease community. She is with the Northwest chapter of the apda. The number one thing they tell people to do to help slow the progression of the disease is exercise, which is obviously physical, but right after that, it's keeping up social interactions. It turns out not being lonely helps slow the progression of the disease. Good mental health helps with a condition that is undoubtedly physical. Now, if. Dan, if you were just making the point, the NFL isn't ready to deal with this whole topic. I'm with you 1000%, but it wouldn't surprise me if addressing holy mental issues did have some effect on how much a person exhibited the symptoms of CTE or other neurological conditions. That's an absolutely well made point, Dave. We were talking about Cam Scatterboo, right?
- [43:57]
Dan Bernstein
Yes. Yeah, I made the comment about having a psychotherapist there, especially when you have a workplace that deals with, you know, smashing your head into things and.
- [44:06]
Matt
Right.
- [44:07]
Dan Bernstein
And creating head trauma. Yeah. And you made a good point. That's a great email. Follow up on it. Yeah.
- [44:11]
Matt
And that was because the. It is now mandatory for NFL teams to be in compliance with league rule. They must have a full time therapist on staff. All, all the time for players and staff of the NFL team. Which I think is great.
- [44:25]
Dan Bernstein
Right. Where what we Learned was, was 8 of the 32 at least had a full time staff position already. 8 of the 32. So the others may have had some capacity of a therapist there, but not, not a full time person on staff. So now that the league mandates all of that, that's, that's a very good thing for the NFL.
- [44:45]
Matt
Right. I think I said something flippantly like, well, if they're bashing their brains in physically, what difference is it going to make? And his point was, of course it can make a difference and it certainly can't hurt and obviously could help. So I'm glad you said that, David. And thanks for sending it in. That is Friday Feedback Friday. And let's be honest, these games this weekend on the college basketball slate are worth getting your setup just right. As interesting as they are, this time of year is great. Don't leave your game day food in question as you are making plans for your evening on Saturday or even on into Monday. Whatever you might be doing, you need something that delivers. And that's why you go with Giordano's because it gives you the full lineup. Whatever kind of pizza you want. Or maybe multiple pizzas, deep dish for something loaded. Maybe some people want a tavern style pizza that they want to grab and circle back and go grab again. Or maybe it's just classic thin crust. Add in wings because people are going to want wings. The cookies, warm cookies and the game day deals. You have an actual real spread. No scrambling at halftime, no bad last minute decisions. It is food that shows up the way you expect, the way it's supposed to. As unpredictable as these games are, your setup doesn't have to be. So get set to order your delivery@giordano's.com or visit a Giordano's location near you for pickup grab. The perfect game day spread. They've got game day deals happening now. I know they're up on the 312Sports app as well. It's Giordano's. Your bracket may bust your pizza.
- [46:26]
Dan Bernstein
Shouldn't you know I do want to mention real quick, the 312Sports app. Since you bring it up, three new contests available to you on the 312Sports app in the Apple App Store or Google Play if you haven't downloaded it yet. So go and get that. We have RPM Steak. That's a dinner for two at RPM Steak Il Portulino as well, in the heart of River North. And then RJ grunts. And then there is a concert. Tickets to see Wu Tang Clan.
- [46:53]
Matt
Yes.
- [46:54]
Dan Bernstein
With Bone Thugs and harmony in concert September 4th at Credit One or Credit Union One Amplitheater. So go to the 312Sports app. And then the. The promo word, the code word there is April, month of April. Just put that in. You have a chance to win some of those. Those dinners, some of those restaurants, and then of course, the Wu Ting Clan and Bone Thugs and Harmony in concert. So do that on the 312 sports app. So get it, register. And then you can try to win some prizes.
- [47:24]
Matt
And one clarification. It's Bone Thugs n Harmony. Because I would think that Bone Thugs and Harmony might be a cover band.
- [47:33]
Dan Bernstein
Is it N or is it.
- [47:35]
Matt
It's N. So it's not. I used to do this.
- [47:38]
Dan Bernstein
Like, you love harmony.
- [47:39]
Matt
I used to do this with my college roommate. There was in. In the Northgate Mall. Excuse me, South Square Mall in Durham, North Carolina. One of my favorite places to eat was this. It was near the food court, but wasn't in the food court. I don't know if it, like, couldn't get in the food court. It was called Mr. Barbecue N Stuff.
- [48:01]
Dan Bernstein
Mr. Barbecue Stuff.
- [48:04]
Matt
Yeah. And they.
- [48:04]
Dan Bernstein
What was the stuff?
- [48:06]
Matt
Well, that could be any of the other things. Count. He would always ask me, did you get stuff? Because I would. I would get barbecue and then it would be Brunswick stew. It would be hush puppies. Or they had these huge fried chicken drumsticks. They only did drumsticks, which I loved.
- [48:24]
Dan Bernstein
Okay, so if you ate there a lot, it sounds like. Yep. Were they too good for the food court or not?
- [48:31]
Matt
I don't know.
- [48:32]
Dan Bernstein
To make it in the food court. What's your decision on it?
- [48:34]
Matt
I never got an answer.
- [48:35]
Dan Bernstein
Maybe you eat other things in the food court.
- [48:37]
Matt
Yeah, it was just the regular stuff in the food court.
- [48:39]
Dan Bernstein
Okay, so there was food then, Right.
- [48:41]
Matt
Happy walk.
- [48:43]
Dan Bernstein
So they were. They were better.
- [48:44]
Matt
I.
- [48:45]
Dan Bernstein
They were too good to be in the food court.
- [48:47]
Matt
But I would sit in the food court. Well, then I'd be like, you know, I. I went out of the food court to get this. I'm eating the Good stuff in here.
- [48:55]
Dan Bernstein
People judge you for eating out of the food court. While eating in the food court.
- [48:58]
Matt
I've got Mr. Barbecue stuff. So good. It's so good. And you can't. It's whatever outside of North Carolina as much as it's. The people try to reproduce Piedmont Carolina barbecue. Yeah. I can do a pretty good approximation at home even without a smoker because it's not too heavily smoked, but it's hard.
- [49:21]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Isn't North Carolina the mustard based sauce as well?
- [49:26]
Matt
There's several. The one I'm talking about is not. It's apple cider vinegar based sauce.
- [49:31]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. But North Carolina, Am I incorrect on that? They are known for a mustard based.
- [49:37]
Matt
That's Eastern Carolina.
- [49:38]
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
- [49:39]
Matt
No, shoot. That's west. That's. That's out toward Asheville. That's western Carolina.
- [49:43]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. Yeah. But the mustard base comes from Carolina.
- [49:46]
Matt
Okay. Yes. It does not. My personal favorite of the Carolina sauces, mine would be Piedmont style, which uses the apple cider vinegar.
- [49:54]
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
- [49:55]
Matt
But that's not really why you're here. You're here for the top 10 list.
- [49:58]
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
- [49:59]
Matt
And I have been tasked with putting together in honor of this weekend, Final Four weekend. And there are still some legendary coaches out there. Some not so legendary coaches out there as well. This is my list of my top 10 favorite men's college basketball coaches in my lifetime. My favorite. And it's based on completely subjective reasons that have changed dramatically. If you had asked a 19 year old Dan Bernstein to put this list together, it would be wildly different.
- [50:40]
Dan Bernstein
Would coach K have been on the 19 year old Dan Bernstein list?
- [50:44]
Matt
Yes. Okay. Absolutely. He would have. And probably near the top of it. You notice I did not reveal whether or not he's on this list.
- [50:55]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, yes, you did though.
- [50:56]
Matt
You did reveal it. I kind of did.
- [51:00]
Dan Bernstein
It was revealed.
- [51:01]
Matt
Don't worry. Yeah. Damn it.
- [51:03]
Dan Bernstein
But I'll keep it to my. I'll keep it between us.
- [51:05]
Matt
Yes. Don't tell anyone.
- [51:06]
Dan Bernstein
I won't. Thank you.
- [51:08]
Matt
I'm an idiot. Honorable one. One honorable mention.
- [51:13]
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
- [51:13]
Matt
Because he wasn't a college coach for that long. He was the college coach at Detroit Mercy and I think they made the tournament and he was hired as the. It was a folly to make him the head coach of the Detroit Pistons. He did not do well. So he ended up pursuing a career in broadcasting. And I'm glad that he did. Dick Vital gets an honorable mention because people forget that. Yes, he did coach. He actually.
- [51:42]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, I had forgotten about that. So wait, Detroit Mercy?
- [51:45]
Matt
I don't know. What. What is it called now?
- [51:46]
Dan Bernstein
I don't know, but it sounds like a bad cbs, like, drama, I think. Next on Detroit Mercy.
- [51:53]
Matt
Mercy. We're losing him.
- [51:56]
Dan Bernstein
Fine, let him go.
- [51:57]
Matt
Well, find him.
- [51:58]
Dan Bernstein
Right. That's the. That's the problem with the hospital. They don't try to save anyone.
- [52:03]
Matt
Right. Losing him.
- [52:04]
Dan Bernstein
Doctor, he's dying.
- [52:05]
Matt
Well, what do you want me to do about it? We lost enough of him today. And I gotta go. I gotta make a subway run.
- [52:12]
Dan Bernstein
Cowboy hat on, walks out the room.
- [52:15]
Matt
Yep, that's it. I think now it's University of Detroit is what they call it, but at the time was Detroit Mercy, so. Honorable mention for Dick Vital. Number nine. I got to put my guy in there. And I know.
- [52:27]
Dan Bernstein
Is that. Wait, what about. That's your honorable venture.
- [52:29]
Matt
Oh, no, no. Excuse me. You're right. Number 10. Sorry, number 10. I am doing this because of my level of respect for the basketball sensibilities of Terry Bors. Okay? And I. Terry really, really knew basketball. I think basketball and baseball were the sports that he really sort of groked in a way that was natural to him. And Terry Boers adored Lou Henson, and in large part, he loved Lou. Not only because Lou was a sweetheart, but Lou hated Bobby Knight. Lou Henson resented Bobby Knight, and I will admit, Bobby Knight was a brilliant coach. He was a pioneering coach, tactician, and in some ways, as sadistic and abusive and awful as he was, he was great at what he did. But Lou Henson never had respect for how he did it. Lou Henson was the first to refer to him as a classic bully, which I still think is the best description of Bobby Knight. And because Terry thought so highly of Lou and what Lou stood for as a college basketball coach and what he felt the job meant. Lou Henson is my number 10.
- [54:00]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. We're coming up on six years. It'll be six years in July that Lou Hansen passed. Had him on the show. And, you know, it's funny, you mentioned his name, and I went right to him. I had his number. You know, he was that kind of guy where he just. Yeah, you want to reach out, reach out anytime. Here's. Here's my number.
- [54:14]
Matt
So that's.
- [54:15]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, that's a.
- [54:16]
Matt
That's a nice memory to bring up. You still have Tim Beckman's number?
- [54:19]
Dan Bernstein
Of course.
- [54:20]
Matt
I know you do. Of course you do. Don't. And don't think you don't text him. I know you do. Number nine. Not a good coach, but knew a lot about basketball. Knew. And they knew a great deal about the history of Basketball. It was a fantastic recruiter, great talker, great motivator. Pat Kennedy. Pat Kennedy is my number nine personal favorite. Yeah, he and I closed some bars, man.
- [54:52]
Dan Bernstein
I bet you did.
- [54:53]
Matt
We, we, we put on some exhibitions. Ambitions of like, classic basketball. Marriott lobby, everybody's asleep. The bartender's leaving, and we bribe the bartender to leave us a bunch of bottles of open Pinot Noir. That was, that was like the go to move like we got. We're up in four hours. I know, I know, but we were making lists and then. And then athletic director Bill Bradshaw. Whatever. Oh, you there an open bottle of wine back there? You bet your ass there is. Pull up a stool here. And then we would, I don't know, we would end up writing down, you know, our favorite. This, our favorites. Like we were doing a podcast. If you had recorded. You want a basketball podcast? And then, then you get Bradshaw going with baseball. He was a bigger baseball fan than anything else because he played college ball. And, and Bill Bradshaw would start talking about, you know, Roberto Clemente. He'd talk to you, you know, so long, long, fun, wonderful nights. Pat Kennedy was, was, was a part of a lot of that stuff. He's number nine, number eight. And you're going to notice a theme here. I have a type in large part, when it comes to basketball coaches. Number eight is John Calipari. That, that, that dude could do it all and has done it all for a long time. He's done it all for 40 years now, going back to UMass and Marcus Camby, where he made his name, being around him when he coached the Nets and got his taste. You know, the Bulls played the Nets in the playoffs one of the years, and I was covering him and being able to have to. To talk ball with him. I loved looking at his, his board at practice. They would leave it up and just the, the being able to understand the stuff that he ran, how that transferred to college, how he was able to turn collegians into professionals. That's an unbelievably valuable skill. And I know he's. He's had national championships, banners have been pulled down for NCAA violations. I don't give a shit about NCAA violations. I've learned to understand what was real and what wasn't real about the ncaa. And that's going to inform a pick a little bit later on. Number seven, Eric Musselman. I met Eric when he was in his. He was like 32. I can't believe he's over 60 right now. It blows my mind that Eric Musselman is over 60, but part of it is just realizing how quickly I've aged. I'm going to be 57 in June.
- [57:31]
Dan Bernstein
That's correct, yes.
- [57:32]
Matt
And I lose track. And Eric Musselman, when he was coaching the Rapid City Thrillers, absolute ball of fire. And I was a little scared of him because of his dad. And Bill Musselman was a truly intimidating presence. It was a. It was a scary dude. And I've talked to Eric about this, like, why? How are you so much unlike your dad? And he always said that he just is probably more of his. Got more of his mom's makeup, more of his mom's hard wiring. But it didn't take away the coaching intensity. It just comes through differently. It comes through more joyfully. It comes through with less anger. And Eric has found a home in college more so than the pros. And I know he had his issues that he's dealt with as far as some substance problems that are in his past now, but as far as just a pure, natural ability to coach a game, to see and feel a game, he's got it. He also was a brilliant personnel guy, always on the phone, even before cell phones, he always had, like, a desk phone with a cord brought to him at a practice so he could trade somebody. His. The stories about his phone bills when joining a team are legendary because of the international calls to find guys overseas that nobody knew about. I don't know when he slept. I don't know how he's able to stay in the kind of physical condition and look as young as he does sleeping three hours a night for his entire life. But the guy just wins. He's. He's a great coach. That's Eric Musselman. Number six is Rick Pitino. Pitino is still doing it. He is. He's. As he has aged, in some ways, he seems to have gotten better. And he was another one who knew the game and just sounded like the game. Pat Kennedy comes from Rick Patino. Billy Donovan comes from Rick Pitino. A lot of the aspects. Things to me that sound like basketball come from what Rick Pitino did at Iona, at Providence. And in moving through the ranks, Rick Patino was the first to realize that three is more than two. And when he got to Kentucky and realized, oh, this is this. Only 19ft, 9 inches, whatever this is, why don't we shoot this every time? Rick Patino was ruining the game by just shooting threes. Then Rick Patino went to the Knicks and the Knicks like you're going to run up and down the Floor and shoot threes all game. This is tiring. I don't want to do this. Another guy who went back to college because that's where. That's where his stuff worked. But his stuff is permeated now with the help of some of what Mike d' Antoni has brought in. But. But he's still good at it. He won a national championship at Louisville, you know, late in his career, and he turned around. St. John's even with other old coaches, are doing nothing but retiring and complaining. I can't do this at nil. I can't. The players are getting paid. What can I do? The transfer portal. What can I do? Rick Pitino knows what he can do. He can still win.
- [60:52]
Dan Bernstein
And he's 73, just got new contract, so. Got a lot more money with St. John's I think he's the second highest paid coach in the Big East. But one thing I'll always remember about Rick Pitino, horse guy, big horse guy, big time. And I remember he had a. He had a two year old horse he sold. God, I want to say for like, for like 14 or 15 million. And I remember. Remember talking about that, and I just. Yeah, that's. I always. When I hear Rick Patino's name or I see him on TV, St. John's game, I always remember just him as a horse guy. That's the first thing that comes into my mind with him.
- [61:27]
Matt
Yeah. And the answer is having sat next to him and you say, are his suits really that nice?
- [61:33]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
- [61:34]
Matt
Yeah. And if I can tell without even touching the fabric, just like looking at the intricacy of the fabrics of his suits and ties, like the thread count on that man is. Is insane. It looks like individual artisans stitched every little bit. And. And now with all these guys, everybody in their cheap quarter zips now, that man knows how to fill out a suit. Rick.
- [62:01]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. I don't know what, We've never talked about that.
- [62:03]
Matt
I don't like that in basketball suits.
- [62:06]
Dan Bernstein
I don't know. I like. I miss the suits.
- [62:08]
Matt
I do, too.
- [62:09]
Dan Bernstein
I miss suits on the sideline or on the court. I mean, I'm sorry. And I, I like that. I like. I liked seeing basketball coaches in suits.
- [62:17]
Matt
I did, too.
- [62:17]
Dan Bernstein
And I don't like seeing them look in like they're athletic joggers now with their. Yeah, the three quarter zips and. Yeah, but put a suit on and a tie, that's a basketball coach.
- [62:28]
Matt
You're not a rural high school athletic director.
- [62:31]
Dan Bernstein
Right.
- [62:31]
Matt
You're an NBA coach. I don't mind in college. I like, I like NBA coaches with, with not just wearing suits, but an arms race. They're all gazillionaires. Right. So show it. I want to see your sartorial splendor. I want to see if you want to dress like Craig Sager. Dress like Craig Sager.
- [62:50]
Dan Bernstein
I want to see suits again.
- [62:51]
Matt
Yeah. And part of the reason the Craig Sager thing caught on was because, you know, he, he, he could banter with the coaches about whose tie was more expensive. Yeah. Now you can't do that as well. So that was number six was Rick Patino number five. You may not have heard of this man, but Monte Tow is number five. M O N T E T O W E Monty Tao was a college head coach only incidentally for these purposes. He coached University of New Orleans starting in 2001 and he also was the head coach at assistant coach UNC Asheville. He was, was the point guard of the NC State national champion team. He threw all the alley oops to David Thompson and he was officially listed at 5 7, which I think is generous. He was the head coach of the Raleigh Bullfrogs and he gave me my first job.
- [63:52]
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
- [63:53]
Matt
My first full time job. He was head coach and GM of the Raleigh Bullfrogs and he hired me to be the play by play guy and to be the, eventually the PR director and also when I was sort of de facto assistant coach and also scout team point guard on occasion as I found out was my job because of stuff that he taught me about basketball and taught me about being a professional and being, being on time for stuff and learning the rhythm of the pro game, the culture of the pro game, how to understand players a little bit better. And I've. And, but he took a chance on me. He took that shot on me. So I definitely won't forget it. He also really good coach who is, I believe he's semi retired now, but incredible competitor. One of the shortest players ever to play in the NBA when he played for the Denver Nuggets. 75, 76 and 77 for the Denver Nuggets. He was an all star in the ABA in 76 and like I say, I owe him a lot for taking that, that chance and getting me started with my first full time job. Mari Tao is number five. Number four is somebody Monty knew very well and somebody also connected to others in this list and that is Jim Valvano. I was lucky enough to be able to be able to cover Jim Valvano and his days in the accident and yeah, he ran into trouble again. With who? With the ncaa. But I, because I worked in North Carolina for five years, I was around a lot of people who played for Jim Valvano. And I know what he did for guys. I know that what mattered to him wasn't necessarily the National Collegiate Athletic association. It was the lives of his players and the quality of life and the growth of his players. Jim Valvano was a real one. And again, I don't know that he was ever a great tactician or great coach either. The guy won that national championship. Nobody knows how he actually won that national championship, but he did. And he did a, a weekly basketball analysis show for wtvd, the owned and operated ABC affiliate there when I was interning for them. And one of my jobs on Fridays was to go to his house in Cary, North Carolina and help him set up and, and help everybody set, help to help the staff and get, get that shot ready. And you, you learn a lot about somebody when you're actually in their home. And he treated everybody there the moment you walked in like he was hosting you. You were family and there's always food out. But he didn't have to do. And he would always say to his wife, oh, get somebody. Can we get a drink for this person? Can we get this please? Go down the basement, go down the basement. And it wasn't the sprawling mansion either. It looked like a, like a upper middle class house that, like one of my friends houses around the corner up in North Trail in Deerfield, that that's what the house was like my parents house. And he'd say go down the basement. And it was like your friend's house basement. And there was a dartboard and a pool table. And when you heard Vinny Del Negro when he took the Bulls job and he talked about having players over for popcorn and watching games with his players and all that and it sounded silly at the NBA level because it was. But I've been in that basement because that was Jim Valvano's basement that he was talking about. And I know people who played for him, what he meant above and beyond just the game. Jim Valvano is number four, number three on my list of favorite college basketball head coaches is the late great Gene Sullivan, who coached Loyola to the Sweet sixteen with Alfredric Hughes in the early eighties. And perhaps the most important thing that Gene did in coaching was when he was the top assistant at Notre Dame under, when, when Austin Carr was their best player and his entire job was to design an offense that gave Austin Carr, the best chance to score every. The team's best chance to score. And that was him getting a shot every time. So what. What you now know as double stack, what you now know is these shoulder to shoulder double screens on either side that have morphed into various things. He was the first to popularize that. He was the first to create the double stack offense. And that is used all over and was. It's out of fashion now, but it'll find its way back as things always do. He, as a broadcast partner of mine, again, taught me things about the game I did not know, taught me things about the game's history I did not know. Was a selfless and affable professional partner. And I'm proud that he and I together won an AIR Award for best play by play performance for a game that DePaul had at St. Louis. It was. I'm really, really proud of that in large part because it came in working with Gene Sullivan. He's my number three. Number two is the example of somebody I would not have had on this list at 19 years old because I didn't get it. This is somebody I thought was the bad guy. This goes for number one, too. And you learn that these last two are people I thought were villains who were the furthest thing from it. Jerry Tarkanian is number two. Jerry Tarkanian understood better than anybody else that the NCAA was a joke, that amateurism in major college basketball was a lie and was exploiting the players and in large part exploiting players of color. Jerry Tarkanian knew that better than anyone. And he went so far as to mount an expensive and quixotic lawsuit against the ncaa. He had the guts to do that and found the wherewithal, the time and the courage to actually do that. Because Jerry Tarkanian, who was painted as, as this, this rogue because he was working outside the boundaries of the ncaa, he knew he was because he thought the real villain was the NCAA that was exploiting free labor to make billions of dollars. And he said it and he wasn't afraid to point it out. Jerry Tarkanian, the longtime UNLV legend, my number two favorite college basketball coach of all time, and my number one is another example of somebody who took, took me becoming an adult. And it also took the stuff that I learned about him after he retired from his hall of Fame career and what he did with his time on earth before his death. My favorite college basketball coach of all time now is Dean Smith of the University of North Carolina. I knew him as a Villain because he was the head coach of the rival. And that everything, you know, Mike Krzyzewski was good, Dean Smith bad, because he represented the wrong shade of blue. And as I was around both Mike Krzyzewski and Dean Smith, and I mentioned this before, I was very lucky in the ACC then to be around also Jim Valvano and Bobby Kremens and so many of these classic names, classic coaches, that again, I saw the way they treated people. I saw the way they carried themselves. And Dean Smith was a better guy than Mike Krzyzewski is. And what I learned after the fact, and I knew some of this, that when Dean Smith took the job as a young man, replacing the legendary Frank McGuire at University of North Carolina, Dean Smith, some people thought, you know, he's too religious, he's too churchy, because he was a devout Baptist, raised in the church and part of the church. And there were some thoughts saying, you know, it's just, you know, he said some things about looking at his job and, you know, I hate these words when I hear it from one of these phonies like Dabo Sweeney. I'm not just a coach. I'm a minister. My coaching is a ministry. And coming from a lot of these loudmouths, it really isn't that they like to think it's that or they use that, and it's not true. Dean Smith meant it in the way that he took care of his players and the way that he never stopped taking care of his players and his community, his flock, essentially, of these young men grew and grew and grew and grew over time. Dean Smith referred to basketball as just a game. It was just a game. It was just bouncing the ball. But what did Dean Smith do quietly while he was coaching and then not so quietly after he was coaching what he said was the most important work of his life? Dean Smith crusaded against the death penalty. He believed it was inhumane. He also believed very strongly that the American justice system and the American criminal justice system was racist. And he argued this. He argued this in front of panels. He argued this in front of judges. He made it his late life's work to bring attention to a racially biased system of American justice. And that led him to want the death penalty ended. He also spent his time working on civil rights, working for inclusion, working against voting restrictions, and he did this in the South. Dean Smith did this in the south, and he made people incredibly uncomfortable. Dean Smith was the most powerful person in the entire state of North Carolina, outside of Jesse Helms, for a long time. And those two people could not have been from more opposite ends of the spectrum of humanity. Dean Smith was a wonderfully human person and sensitive and aware and deeply, deeply kind. I learned that over time. And what I also learned about when Dean Smith talked about religion in his life, it reminded me of what of Jimmy Carter? It reminded of all Jimmy Carter wanted to do was literally with his hands, build homes for people who needed homes. It was his his ministry. His idea was about taking care of people who needed care. And that stuck with me for a long, long, long time and still sticks with me and separates from the what I saw the supposed good guy in Mike Shashefsky and how different that was from what I saw from my favorite college basketball coach of all time, Dean Smith. March Madness is already delivering upsets, blowouts, buzzer beaters. If your brackets busted, it doesn't mean you're out. Well, your bankroll doesn't have to be because of the final four and live bets catching the swing before the odds adjust. You don't need a perfect bracket, you just need the right read at the right time. So if you're going to be in it, be in it to win it by heading to MyBookie AG. And don't forget this is key. The promo code DBU for Dan Bernstein unfiltered and your first bet is covered up to 500 bucks. If it misses, you then have a bet back, bonus token and you can run it back. We're down to the final four. These are the last four teams. Don't just watch it go big. Win from it knowing that my bookie's got your back. MyBookie AG. The promo code DBU. It is only at MyBookie and that leads us to DBU picks presented by my bookie. I don't have any college picks for you. I believe that my partner does. I'm going to bet on what I thought I saw in the last game for the Bulls when maybe finally that last gasp of trying to win, the last gasp of grinding and grinding and grinding may have been stomped out of them. I'm going to give the 15 and a half and take the Knicks tonight. I just. It may just be that they've finally come to the end of whatever competition and competitiveness Billy Donovan's trying to get out of them. Knicks -15 and a half is my DBU pick.
- [78:24]
Dan Bernstein
All right, well, this is a first in doing DBU picks. Remember, since I've started college and NBA games, I'm 42231 right now.
- [78:35]
Matt
Dan, it's really impressive.
- [78:37]
Dan Bernstein
Really.
- [78:37]
Matt
No, seriously, that is.
- [78:39]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, no, I'm very, very happy with it. Very lucky. I would say so. I have. I have two different. Two different games I'm going to play today, so. Or for the weekend. So tonight I'm also. This is a first for us. I'm also taking the Knicks and laying the 15 and a half. We've never had the same pick before. I'm going to pair that with Houston laying 17. So I'm going to go Knicks minus 15 and a half, Houston laying 17 against.
- [79:04]
Matt
Who's. Who's Houston playing?
- [79:05]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, God. Now you had to ask me. It's the second. I didn't have it written. My notes. I knew you were.
- [79:09]
Matt
Oh, sorry.
- [79:09]
Dan Bernstein
That's.
- [79:10]
Matt
Sorry.
- [79:10]
Dan Bernstein
No, that's all right. You got to look it up right there real quick. Sorry.
- [79:14]
Matt
No, it's okay. My bad.
- [79:16]
Dan Bernstein
No, no, no, it's. Yeah, because I. I had. I wasn't planning on doing NBA stuff until we were talking about it before the show.
- [79:24]
Matt
It is the Joe. The Jazz. Okay.
- [79:26]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, the Jazz. That's right. So Knicks minus 15 and a half. Houston minus 17. So that's one. That's one. Get one. One match I have right there. And then looking at the final four, I am looking forward to an all Big Ten championship game. So we're going to go Illinois minus two and Michigan minus one and a half. So I think Illinois and Michigan will cover those. Illinois minus two, Michigan minus one and a half. Here's. Here's my dark horse for the Illinois game. I think. I think there's a couple of things. Look at the Illinois game. It's their. Their defense and the rebounding is going to carry them through. They have Merkavich, Stojakovic and Wagler that you have to contend to stop. For me, it's Kylan Boswell.
- [80:14]
Matt
Okay.
- [80:15]
Dan Bernstein
Boswell's the guy, I think, and his production has dropped as the tournament's gone through. I'm going to look for Boswell tonight to go 10 and five assists. So 10 points and five assists in Illinois's win over UConn on Arizona and Michigan. I think Michigan's interior defense is going to force Arizona to shoot more on the outside than they want to, particularly from the three. Now they're efficient shooting the three. They just don't shoot a lot. They don't make a lot. They just don't want to. And I think Michigan's defense is going to force them to shoot more outside shots than they really want. It's going to be a very competitive game. You have two of the best teams in college basketball playing each other in Game 2, but I'm going to give it to Michigan and their defense and their ability to push Arizona out of the paint, force them to shoot longer shots than they really want or feel comfortable with. So we're going to take Illinois -2,
- [81:03]
Matt
Michigan -1 1 1/2 DBU picks presented by my bookie Lock in your picks now with my bookie. Bet on anything, anywhere, anytime. Have a wonderful weekend. That is Dan Bernstein Unfiltered Brought to you by Giordano's Pizza by the Chicago Window Guys, our buddy Russ Armstrong and in partnership with my bookie Dan Bernstein,
- [81:25]
Dan Bernstein
unfiltered unfiltered on 312 sports.
- [81:32]
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