Sunday Mornings with Matt and Myron – Hour 1: "Father First"

Date: February 15, 2026
Hosts: Matt Jones & Myron Metcalf (ESPN Radio)
Guest: Tom Crean (ESPN College Basketball Analyst, former college coach)

Episode Overview

This energetic first hour of "Sunday Mornings with Matt and Myron" revolves around three main axes: the state of NBA All-Star Weekend (and its waning buzz), the exceptional landscape of this year’s college basketball season and freshman class, and a warm, hilarious look at Myron Metcalf’s infamous Instagram bio—culminating in some lighthearted self-reflection and ribbing. Tom Crean joins for in-depth hoops talk, and the episode stays true to its inviting, conversational, sometimes irreverent tone.

NBA All-Star Weekend: Where’s the Excitement?

[00:34 – 12:09]

Main Talking Points:

• All-Star Game Scheduling & Visibility

  • Matt Jones expresses confusion and mild outrage over NBA All-Star Saturday events now airing earlier in the day and being difficult to find across streaming services.
  • Matt: “The NBA, that has to be the worst job of getting someone excited about an event. Why did they have it so early in the day?... It was over at 9 o’clock or 8:30.” [02:23]
  • Myron agrees, noting the lowest buzz he’s ever seen for an All-Star Weekend.

• Format Fatigue

  • Matt lampoons the shifting format of the All-Star Game: “Is it tiddly winks? Is it flip? I mean, what are they doing?... How did the USA get two teams?” [03:05]

• Player Apathy

  • Discussing Anthony Edwards’ brutally honest quote on All-Star effort:
    • Anthony Edwards (via Myron): "Yeah, it is what it is at this point." [04:22]
    • Matt: “At least he’s honest. He’s like, ‘Yeah, you know what? We’re not gonna care.’”
    • Myron: “I think there’s a lot they can do.” [04:44]

• How to Fix All-Star Weekend?

  • Myron would end the celebrity game (“I don’t know what a celebrity is anymore, Matt. I turned on the celebrity game and they were like influencer people.” [04:56]) and suggests holding events in college towns or basketball arenas where fans would “never see these people” and the atmosphere would be energized.
  • Matt concurs: “If you took the All Star Game to [a college gym], don’t you think you’d get a lot of people because... they would never see these people, right?” [06:33]

• Influencers, Drew Ski & The Changing of the Guard

  • Matt and Myron debate the increasing presence of Internet personalities like Drew Ski at major sports events, finding humor in older generations’ struggle to keep up with who’s famous now.
    • Matt: “He’s at everything. Drew Ski is everywhere.” [08:02]
    • Myron: “He’s Internet famous…NBA invited 200 influencers to All Star weekend.” [09:19]

• Dunk Contest Discontent

  • Matt and Myron agree this year’s dunk contest was exceptionally bad.
  • Myron: “That was the worst dunk contest I’ve ever seen...it’s not fun to watch. Get rid of it and let’s try something new. It’s embarrassing at this point.” [09:47]
  • Matt wonders if dunk contests are doomed by the natural progress of athletic feats—what once seemed superhuman is now routine.

• Context Shift via Social Media

  • Myron: "There was also a sense then, too, Matt, we didn't see these guys all the time...No social media. There wasn't a lot of access." [11:12]

Memorable Moment:
Matt’s confessed to skipping Valentine’s plans for the dunk contest—only to discover it was already over:
“I literally didn’t get a date for Valentine’s Day so I could...watch the dunk contest. And then the dunk contest wasn’t even on and I was like, you’re telling me I skipped Valentine’s Day for Gonzaga-Santa Clara?!” [11:29]

College Basketball Deep Dive: The Freshman Renaissance

[15:48 – 22:23]

Main Talking Points:

• The Year of the Freshman

  • Matt: “Big storyline in college basketball is how many great freshmen there are.”
  • Focused discussion on Darren Peterson (Kansas)—extraordinarily talented but occasionally absent, raising questions about his motivation.

• Darren Peterson’s Talent vs. Instincts

  • Matt: “Some people think Darren Peterson might be the most talented guard…since Kobe.”
  • Myron: "I was just with Darren Peterson a couple days ago…Part of his problem is his body language isn’t great...That’s a big part of the backlash." [17:53 / 18:15]
  • Bill Self (via Myron): "He’s the best player he’s ever coached." [19:19]

• NBA Perspective on Peterson’s Health/Motivation

  • Myron relays conversations with NBA execs:
    • "Darren Peterson was No. 1 on our board in October, December, and now...He could come on our roster right now, tonight, and score 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists...They would take Darren Peterson even if he missed two seasons." [20:09 / 20:52]

• Strongest Freshman Class in Decades?

  • The hosts tick off a murderer's row of first-year stars: Peterson, A.J. DeBonts (BYU), Cameron Boozer (Duke), Caleb Wilson (UNC), Mikhail Brown (Louisville), Nada Men (Tennessee), Kingston Flemings (Houston), Darius Acuff (Arkansas), etc.

  • Matt: “Nine guys who might have been in the top three picks in nearly every draft and there’s nine of them this year.” [21:50]

  • Myron: “Yes, that’s why you should tank. I am pro-tanking.” [22:01 / 22:10]

Expert Guest: Tom Crean on "The Best Regular Season in Memory"

[25:01 – 34:14]

Key Insights:

• Best Regular Season Since...?

  • Matt: “I think you could make an argument this has been the best regular season…since 2003.”
  • Tom Crean: “I do. It’s got everything…an incredible amount of freshmen...games, teams, parity, high quality matchups…the most reasons ever to keep players in school.” [26:37]

• International Player Impact

  • Tom: "Europeans were always coming over...now it’s nothing. People are spending a million dollars on a buyout for somebody from Europe..."
  • “There's many, many reasons to keep players in school, for the agents to keep a player in school. I don’t think it’s going to change. But this year's really special..." [26:59]

• How Should Kansas Coach Bill Self Manage Darren Peterson?

  • Tom: “It's a complicated situation. Bill's managed it well...If I’m Bill Self, every day I’m having good conversations with him, that his energy is high, that we know that we believe in him…” [28:14]
  • “He got exposed a little bit yesterday with pressure…as far as skill, talent, natural ability, he’s the best. But…there’s certain things they got to get a lot better at.” [29:46]

• Can Florida Repeat as National Champion?

  • Tom: “Yes, I think they can...Their offensive rebound at a 40% rate, which is really high. So you’re gonna miss threes, but you’re gonna be able to rebound your misses.” [32:10 – 33:52]
  • Breaks down the Florida/Kentucky game, noting Kentucky’s own high-level freshmen.

• Hilarious Sidebars

  • Matt and Myron roast Myron for seeming to know every coach and program—and every city in Florida. “You fit to vote?...You out where in Boca Raton? Okay, so you’re known in Boca Raton is what you’re saying.” [34:35]

Segment: The Instagram Bio Roast – "Adventurous Homeboy by Night"

[37:54 – 46:49]

The Viral Moment of the Episode:

• Matt Discovers Myron's Instagram Bio

  • Bio begins: "Sports writer by day. Adventurous homeboy by night. Father first." (Father first, but it’s third in the list.)
  • Matt: “You are in your mid-40s and you’re still calling yourself a homeboy? I think at some point, one ages out of homeboy status.” [39:59]

• Adventurous Homeboy...Meaning?

  • Myron: “I think I wrote that 15 years ago...I was in my dating app era and I was just trying to be mysterious and intriguing.” [40:13]

• On ‘Father First’ Placing

  • Matt: “Father first, but it’s listed third. Was there ever a moment that you thought maybe put Father first, first?” [41:57]
  • Myron (laughing): “Not my best work...I have not touched that bio in, like, 13 years.” [42:09]

• Favorite Foreign Films and Silk

  • Matt: “Lover of foreign film and fine silk. I love this. Tell me your favorite foreign films.”
  • Myron lamely attempts to name foreign films and insists, “I knew a guy who dabbled in silk.”
  • Matt: “So you’re telling me you sit in your room as a father first with your silk pillowcases and you watch foreign films?...That doesn’t sound like an adventurous homeboy to me.” [46:48]

Quotable Quips:

• “I’m a storyteller. Did I maybe, you know, exaggerate the narrative a bit for the sake of the art? I did, maybe.” (Myron, [45:06])
• “Adventurous homeboy. Silk lover Myron Metcalf, next on ESPN.” (Matt, [47:13])

Tone: Light-hearted, self-deprecating, unfiltered banter; perfect Sunday morning radio.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On NBA All-Star Disinterest

  • Matt: “It is clear without question that people, the players don’t care.” [03:58]
  • Anthony Edwards (via Myron): "Yeah, it is what it is at this point." [04:22]

• On Influencers & Celebrity Game

  • Myron: "I don’t know what a celebrity is anymore, Matt. I turned on the celebrity game and they were like influencer people." [04:56]
  • Matt: “Drew Ski is everywhere.” [08:02]

• On Tanking in the NBA

  • Myron: "I am pro tanking." [22:10]

• On Instagram Bios

  • Matt: "At best, you’re a home man, not a homeboy." [40:32]
  • Rachel (call-in, producer, or co-host): "Are you looking for an adventurous homeboy?" [40:35]

Segment Timestamps

• [00:34] – Show start, NBA All-Star confusion
• [02:45] – Critique of All-Star scheduling and player effort
• [04:44] – Can the league fix All-Star Weekend?
• [09:19] – Rise of influencers/Drew Ski
• [09:47] – “Worst dunk contest ever” debate
• [13:57] – (Transition/ad)
• [15:48] – College basketball, standout freshmen, Darren Peterson deep dive
• [25:01] – Tom Crean joins, best season in decades, Florida repeat?
• [37:54] – Instagram bio roast: “Adventurous Homeboy by Night”
• [47:18] – Outro/teaser for next hour

Summary Takeaways

• NBA’s All-Star Weekend is at a crossroads: Scheduling, player disinterest, and influencer overload have sapped its former buzz. Hosts and guest are stumped for easy fixes—except perhaps moving events to college-centric or less star-saturated venues.
• College basketball is thriving: This freshman class may be the deepest in 20+ years; the parity and spread of talent are making for a thrilling season.
• Darren Peterson remains a consensus NBA No. 1 pick despite questions about passion and injuries; the league values his skills too highly to quibble over absences.
• The show’s chemistry and humor shine brightest when Matt ribbing Myron about his Instagram persona, revealing both the host’s wit and the balance of bravado and humility that defines the program.

For New Listeners

This episode delivers a blend of sharp sports insight and endearing, relatable banter. Whether you’re here for hoops analysis, cultural critiques, or just to hear Myron try to explain his love of “fine silk,” Hour 1 is both substantial and sidesplitting—setting the tone for a Sunday in sports and smiles.