Eye On College Basketball – Mailbag Episode

Date: September 18, 2025
Hosts: Gary Parrish (GP), Matt Norlander

Main Theme

This is a classic mailbag episode of "Eye On College Basketball," with Parrish and Norlander taking a broad range of listener emails and questions. The topics cover NCAA coach Hall of Fame predictions, tampering in recruiting, listener feedback, origin stories of their show’s catchphrases, discussions about NCAA tournament expansion, and some deep-dive trivia and personal Mount Rushmores. The hosts blend college basketball analysis with signature banter and listener engagement.

Table of Contents

1. Listener Questions & Feedback (02:22)
2. Coach Hall of Fame Futures (15:28)
3. Tampering in Recruiting (25:33)
4. NCAA Tournament Expansion & Auto-Bids (30:01)
5. Trivia Time: Coaches’ Career Paths (35:49)
6. The Impact of the Players ERA Festival on MTEs (41:18)
7. Utah & BYU Coaching, Show Origin Stories (47:23)
8. Building Trust as Reporters (53:54)
9. Mount Rushmore of State Legends (56:46)
10. Lighthearted Listener Qs: TV Habits & Grooming (64:31)
11. Fictional “Family” Wrestling Match (66:59)
12. Dream Final Four Formulas (69:00)

1. Listener Questions & Feedback (02:22)

• Emails Segment: Norlander and Parrish read and riff on listener emails, including recaps of past win prediction accuracy and shoutouts.

  • Fun correspondence such as the BYU mascot speculation gets special attention.
  • “You don’t have to be a Mormon to be a fan of the school. Next, his girlfriend comments on the BYU cougar being a stud mascot. And I reply, yeah, I’m thinking he’s having a lot of sex.” – Email from Jim, Colorado (06:24)
  • “That BYU cougar, like, I’d bet my life on it, has done it a lot.” – GP (07:36)

• Mailbag Setup: Reminders about how to email the show ("shoutstocbs@gmail.com") and the recurring listener fact-checking on previous predictions.

2. Coach Hall of Fame Futures (15:28)

Listener Q: Which active coaches are future Hall of Famers? (Mitch, Minneapolis)

• Definite Hall of Famers (GP’s list, Norlander in near-agreement)

  • Scott Drew
  • Dan Hurley
  • Mark Few (“It gets close.” – Norlander (16:48))
  • Kelvin Sampson (debated but leaning yes)
  • Bruce Pearl (borderline)

• Toss-Ups

  • Rick Barnes, Bruce Pearl – “Barnes getting a second Final Four would get him a lot closer.” (17:23)
  • Matt Painter: On-track, esp. after recent accomplishments. “He’s among the most well-liked people in all of basketball…He’s heading there.” – Norlander (19:00)

• On the Way/Young Coaches

  • Todd Golden
  • John Shire (“I would bet right now that John Shire ends up in the Hall of Fame, GP.” – Norlander (22:20))
  • Ben McCollum discussed as a long-shot, “wild to say this… but it’s not outrageous.” (20:05)
  • Other notable names debated: Mick Cronin, Nate Oats, Tommy Lloyd, Dusty May, Sean Miller, Mark Pope, Randy Bennett, Greg McDermott, Buzz Williams, Jamie Dixon, Steve Alford.

• Criteria for Induction:

  • “You need to make a Final Four to get to the Hall with rare exception. Like, rare exception.” – Norlander (17:23)
  • “This is a hard list to get into. The names you just rattle off kind of speak to that.” – Norlander (24:01)

3. Tampering in Recruiting (25:33)

Listener Q: Is tampering still as hotly contested as a few years ago?

• Current Reality:
  • “It is more tolerated/slash accepted. Some coaches have been forced to adapt.” – Norlander (25:37)
  • GP describes literal contract-breaking by players and toothless enforcement: “Athletes can make this less of an issue. Although…another school came in and took him anyway.” (27:47)
  • “It still matters, still bothers coaches, but it is not nearly as volcanic a topic as it was in say 2022.” – Norlander (29:20)

4. NCAA Tournament Expansion & Auto-Bids (30:01)

Listener Q: Should we reduce automatic bids instead of expanding the tournament?

• Norlander: Would give up a few low majors if it keeps the field at 68 – “I am staunchly anti-expansion. I would do that trade-off to keep the field at 68.” (31:26)
• Parrish: “As long as we have 32 conferences in Division 1, part of what makes the tournament special…is that there’s a path for a team from every one of them to play in the big bracket.” (32:42)
• Both agree that conference representation creates magic (see: St. Peter’s, championship week).
• Expansion advocates’ real motives? “I don’t think the people actually pushing for expansion care at all about the mid majors.” – GP (34:23)
• Data-based argument for more mid-majors is weak bloat (Norlander); adding more mid-majors “doesn’t make it worth the bloat.” (35:02)

5. Trivia Time: Coaches’ Career Paths (35:49)

Q: Name the three winningest D-1 coaches whose first head coaching job wasn’t in D1.

• Correct Answers:
  • Bob Huggins (NAIA Walsh Univ., 935 wins)
  • Kelvin Sampson (NAIA Montana Tech, 790+ wins, active)
  • Rolly Massimino (D3 Stony Brook, 816 wins; but Cliff Ellis is a technical “gotcha” for GP (38:13))
• Discussion on Ben McCollum’s trajectory and growth potential. “If McCollum is who we think he’s going to be, then he will have a very good chance at being one of the four or five winningest coaches in history to not start his career in D1.” – Norlander (39:43)

6. The Impact of the Players ERA Festival on MTEs (41:18)

Listener Q: What’s the future for Maui, Battle for Atlantis, etc., given this new 18–32 team Vegas event?

• Analysis: Players ERA Festival will “undeniably” harm the traditional tournaments by attracting bigger brands with promises of payouts; “bad for the other tournaments that are competing against it.” – GP (42:53)
• Norlander: “18 [teams] this year. That’ll be…interesting. I just, it’s just too many teams…If they do do it…It will enhance the prominence of college basketball in November. I don’t think that’s deniable…” (43:15)
• The traditional MTE landscape “will look very different from 2021–2022.” (45:22)
• Battle for Atlantis (2026): “not a single team committed.” (45:23)

7. Utah & BYU Coaching, Show Origin Stories (47:23)

Listener Q: Is Alex Jensen the “real deal” at Utah? BYU’s Final Four odds? Where did “smash the like button like Brandon Davies” come from?

• Jensen: Hosts are skeptical but admit he was the clear top choice and could work if resources match ambition.
  • “Anybody with a strong opinion… is just guessing.” – GP (49:02)
• BYU: “This might be the best opportunity BYU has had to go to a Final Four since they kicked Brandon Davies off the team for doing it.” – Parrish (52:21)
• Origin Stories
  • “Smash the like button like Brandon Davies” came from a blend of show YouTube lingo, the infamous Davies suspension, and a GP joke (49:48–51:59).
  • “Most of us are having premarital sex…There’s more of us than there are of them.” – GP (51:04)

8. Building Trust as Reporters (53:54)

Listener Q: How do you get coaches to trust you and text you insider stuff?

• “We both came to this industry as reporters…When you have reporting backgrounds, it means that you’ve created relationships and sources.” – GP (54:07)
• Norlander: “It’s a lot of time, a lot of investment. Not always calling when you need something and getting to know them on a personal level.” (56:01)

9. Mount Rushmore of State Legends (56:46)

Listener Q: Build your home state’s Mount Rushmore: actor/actress, athlete, musician, wild card
(Rules: Must be born in the state)

Connecticut (Norlander)

• Actor: Katharine Hepburn
• Athlete: Chris Drury
• Musician: John Mayer
• Wild Card: P.T. Barnum

Mississippi (Parrish)

• Actor: Oprah Winfrey
• Athlete: Walter Payton (Jerry Rice a close second)
• Musician: Elvis Presley (also B.B. King, Jimmy Buffett, etc.)
• Wild Card: William Faulkner

10. Lighthearted Listener Qs: TV Habits & Grooming (64:31)

• Why does GP stand on his toes on TV?

  • “When we are doing stand ups, I am constantly standing next to people who are much taller than I am. And I somehow convinced myself that if I just like, put my right foot on my tippy toes…It’ll compensate for that.” – GP (64:55)

• Norlander hair grooming tips:

  • Listener suggests texturing powder; Norlander considers it, admits he has fine hair and tries new stuff. (66:06)

11. Fictional “Family” Wrestling Match (66:59)

Q: In a wrestling match—Tucker and Darian DeVries vs. Doug and Greg McDermott—who wins?

• “I told Greg this. He is a hoss… I will take the McDermotts in this.” – Norlander (67:55)
• GP agrees, citing “just size, I think, is advantage McDermott.” (67:55)

12. Dream Final Four Formulas (69:00)

Listener Q: What makes a “legendary” Final Four weekend?

• Norlander’s formula:

  • City: New Orleans
  • Teams:
    1. A true Cinderella/mid-major
    2. One/two-loss powerhouse
    3. A team with Nat’l Player of the Year/No. 1 NBA prospect
    4. A blue blood (Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, etc.)
  • “Some of those might overlap, but if you give me four scenarios…that is what I’m doing for my Dream Final Four.” (70:26)

• Parrish’s version:

  • Two blue-bloods, one undefeated mid-major, and one team with the projected No. 1 NBA draft pick. (71:24)
  • “That would be fun…we got just about everything covered that we need.”

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “This is a hard list to get into. The names you just, you know, rattle off kind of speak to that.” – Norlander on Hall of Fame coaches (24:01)
• “There’s more of us than there are of them. And then, yeah, they were like, you gotta…tell people to smash…that was the phrase smash the like button…And then the person that popped in my head who smashed, Brandon Davies, and that’s how…that’s how we got here, I think.” – GP (51:04–51:59)
• On NCAA tourney expansion: “Adding more mid-majors doesn’t make it worth the bloat.” – Norlander (35:02)
• “As long as we have 32 conferences in Division 1, part of what makes the tournament special…the season March special is that there’s a path for, for a team from every one of them to play in the big bracket.” – GP (32:42)
• On developments like the Players ERA Festival: “It will uplift the sport...but I just don’t like how it’s going to suck out and draw away from the others.” – Norlander (43:15)

Summary

• Tone: The classic mix of sharp basketball analysis and irreverent humor, with frequent callbacks to inside jokes and show catchphrases, and deep engagement with their passionate fanbase.
• Language: Informal, conversational, and occasionally self-deprecating; both hosts rib each other and the listeners.
• For new listeners: All the major current topics in college hoops—coaches, NIL-era recruiting chaos, tourney structure, preseason storylines, and the culture of the sport—are here, with ample context and color.
• Recommended Segments:
  • [Coach Hall of Fame discussion (15:28–24:01)]
  • [Players ERA Festival/MTE future (41:18–47:21)]
  • [Origin of “smash the like button like Brandon Davies” (49:25–51:59)]
  • [Mount Rushmore state legends (56:46–64:31)]

This summary omits advertisements and non-content sections as requested. It covers all major discussions and includes direct speaker attribution for notable quotes and timestamps for easy reference.