Andy Grash (3:19)

Well, I think with Houston and I know Kelvin Sampson talked about this after the game. He challenged his gu at the free throw line instead. I, I had everybody making 153 free throws a day for a moment. Like last night where coach as you mentioned, all Duke had to do was make a player too. But Houston did a lot of little things in their comeback and let's unpack that a little bit because Houston Kim's comes back to beat Duke. The final was 70 to 67. But really the amazing part of this game, coaches Houston's 9 nothing run in the final 35 seconds. And also in there was a little bit of a questionable call. Cooper flag going for a rebound, trying to kind of tip it to himself a little bit. I know there were some questionable calls along the way, but coach, what was the one thing that really bit Duke in those final 35 seconds where they ended up snatching defeat from the jaws of victory?

Tim Welsh (4:21)

Well, it's clear, it's plain and simple to me what it was, it was clear that it was not being able to inbound the ball against the press and they didn't have a play. They kind of just were scrambling around and they tried to throw it over the top to Cooper flag. And you're not gonna be able to do that against Houston. I mean they're piranhas out there. They just attack the basketball and they're built for that moment. And you better be ready for it. You better have an exact play with 1, 2, 3, 4 options that are guaranteed that, that if the first three aren't there, then the fourth option is going to be there. And there's. Every coach has a go to play in that moment. But Duke didn't seem to go to it. They didn't go. They didn't have one. They didn't run the baseline. They didn't have much action going down the court. They had pretty much everybody in the back courts. Which means what if you have got three or four guys in the back court, that means there's three or four defensive players, which means it's a crowded area and they try to throw a lob pass and they kind of panicked. And that was the start of it. That was the start of a Houston. And Houston's got to make a play, though. You've got to steal the ball and then you've got. Then you've got to make a shot and give Houston credit. They did it. And then the missed free throws, they happen. We've seen it throughout the tournament. We saw Texas Tech miss free throws that cost them the game against Florida last weekend. And Proctor missed the free throw. And then I don't like the call at all on the free throw. I mean, it was 17 seconds to go. Most officials, Andy, in that moment are going to pass on that call unless. Unless Flag's little push or whatever it was causes a turnover, causes Duke to get the ball back and Houston retrieved the ball. You know, I don't know if everybody stopped and that's why they got it. But even Raph said it during the broadcast, that's a play on. That's a play on in that moment, you know, but on top of it, Andy, Juwan Roberts is like a 63% free throw shooter. I mean, which. Those numbers usually in that moment, in that typical spot, down, down one in the national semifinals, 17 seconds to go. You're 63% free throw shooter. I'm saying, okay, wait a minute. He's probably like a 45% 3 free throw shooter in this moment, but, man, I don't think he hit the rim. He just stepped up there. Veteran player. Toughness, confidence. And that's just. That's Kelvin Sampson in his program in a nutshell. Just step up to the line and deliver the win. And that's what Rober Sunday morning's countdown.

Andy Grash (6:50)

To Tip off on ESPN Radio. I'm Andy Grish along with the coach Tim Welsh. ESPN Radio is presented by Progressive Insurance. It's easy to bundle your home and car insurance@progressive.com. well, you heard Coach Welsh's breakdown of the end of the game. John Shire, Duke head coach on the losing side, talked afterwards about what he saw in the second half for his team.

Tim Welsh (7:16)

Houston's a team that doesn't quit. I mean, they're never going to stop. And so my messaging throughout the whole way with the team was, understand this team doesn't go away, so no lead is safe with them. We can talk about not scoring down the stretch, but for me, it's our defense. We give up 42 points in the second half. That's what carried us in the first half. I thought that the last segment to close the half was big. We gave them four threes and then some uncharacteristic plays we probably made and they hit some really tough shots. So for me, as I reflect in the moment, I look at our defense and that was disappointing because even if we're not scoring, usually we get stops to get separation.

Andy Grash (7:55)

Hey, Coach, I want to ask you though, like in that moment during the regular season, right, you would get to a point to where maybe you're, you know, up 10 against the team and you're subbing different people. Like, to me, during the regular season we will see teams blow leads or maybe they're up 20 and they sub out some guys and next thing you know, they find themselves in a five point game. Are we conditioning teams to understand, quote unquote, how to close out games nowadays considering we manage the regular season way differently maybe than we did 20 or 25 years ago?

Tim Welsh (8:34)

Yeah, I mean, Andy, the thing that's changed the game is pretty much every team is when you get to this point, every team has probably four guys on the court that can make a three. And that's where the leads aren't safe because you start banging in threes as we've seen Walter Clayton do throughout the tournament. No lead is safe. You saw him do it against Connecticut, you saw him do it against Texas Tech, you saw him do it again last night, and everybody knows he's taking the shot. But when you've got a great, great player like him or you have a great player like LJ Cryer or Cooper Flagg, those guys are going to make plays. The defenses aren't going to be good enough to stop them. And you have to, as John Shire, you know, John commented on his defense and he was correct. But they stopped scoring. They themselves stopped scoring. And on the last possession, they just didn't run good offense. I mean, that's not what got them here. And I think you, you'll, if you go back to Houston's win over Purdue when they ran that terrific out of bounds play to win the game, that's what they run. They practice that every day. And that's what Kelvin said. He said, I tell my young assistants that when you become a head coach, don't try to draw up something new on the last possession. Do something you're familiar with and your go to play. And that's where Duke has to have a go to play against the press. And that's where they have to have a go to play on the last possession when you don't have a timeout where everybody knows where you're going. And I guess that's what, I guess that's what they wanted to do, but certainly that's not what they normally do is clear out a side and let Cooper flag go one on one. And basically if you watch the play with every bounce, the defense shrunk. They knew he was taking the shot. So he was basically going one against four on that possession and he had no chance and they had no chance for an offensive rebound either because there was no movement off the ball on the weak side.

Andy Grash (10:27)

Well, coach, I think that's some good perspective because there were a lot of people who were saying, boy, I wish Cooper Flagg took a better shot. But when it's one on four, I think of it from that respect. Maybe that shot from Cooper flag wasn't so bad. This is Sunday morning's Countdown to Tip off here on ESPN Radio. We know that Houston stuns Duke. They are headed to the national championship game. That was the nightcap. We also had an all SEC portion of the final four yesterday too. We'll talk about that next. I'm Andy Gro the coach, Tim Welsh. It's Countdown to Tip off on ESPN Radio. Matt and Myron, the podcast.

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Andy Grash (12:58)

We went through half of the final four where Duke snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. And then there was Florida and Auburn on the other side of the Final Four. Welcome to Sunday morning's countdown to tip off here on ESPN Radio, the ESPN app, and Sirius XM channel 80. I am Andy Grash along with the coach Tim Welsh, and I'll tell you, coach, the sec, we know that they're a football powerhouse, but you know, I had been asking the question from the beginning of the tournament kind of what constitutes conference success because you can look at it say, you know, Houston out of the Big 12 and does that mean the Big 12 was a better league than the SEC this year? I think it's pretty easy to say no. But an all SEC half of the Final Four really does mean something. But for Florida, it means they're headed to the national championship game in coach, a game that I thought was thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end. It was, it was the perfect way to drive home why we wanted number one seeds in the Final Four.

Tim Welsh (14:11)

Absolutely. In Florida, uncharacteristically, I think at the half was fortunate to be only down 8. I thought they Auburn totally outplayed them. Florida turned it over. Auburn dominated in transition. They couldn't get going offensively. Florida because of the turnovers, but they hung around. They hung around. Their defense wasn't very good in the first half. And Bruce Pearl, you know, he lets his guys go. Chad Baker, Bazaro was just letting it fly. And they play loose. They play loose and free and that's the way they go and that's why they're where they are today, where they got to. But Florida came out of the gates after the half and just said, okay, wait a minute, now we're going to, we're going to guard you now. We're going to turn you over. We're going to rebound the ball in the glass and we're going to push the ball up the court and we have Walter Clayton Jr. And you don't. Well, and basically that's it.

Andy Grash (15:07)

Yeah, I was going to say coach and that was really the story for Florida, was it not? Walter Clayton Jr. In 35 minutes dropped 34 points, was 5 of 8 from 3 perfect from the free throw line. Not everyone could say that. Yesterday's coach and I have already sort of detailed. But in a, in a way, coach, this was the Walter Clayton coming out party. I mean, when you have people like Stephen A. Smith who are all of a sudden tweeting out last night, man, this guy can ball. You know that you've kind of arrived on the scene when you've got people who maybe don't consume you very often watching your game and saying, wow, I didn't know you were this good.

Tim Welsh (15:48)

Well, there's no doubt about it. He's established himself all season long as a great, great player. And you saw it in the UConn game in the second round where he rallied them again and in the Texas Tech game when they really were dead and buried and he found a way to get them over the top. And yeah, interesting. We all saw what happened last night in game last night. I heard an interview with Chris Beard, the Ole Miss coach, just breaking down the sec basically what a great league it was, how it was to coach in that league, what Auburn strengths were, what Florida strengths were, you know, the bigs, the two of everything. And then his final statement I think was telling. He said, and Florida, they have the best guard in college basketball at period end. And this was like this was in the first part of the game last night, before the game even got going on. And you know, and I don't think there's any doubt, I don't think there's any doubt he's the best guard in college basketball. He proved it again and again and again all season through the tournament. And how about just his facial expressions? He never changes. Yeah, the confidence he has and he just like they just ride his back. And Todd golden talked about it. He goes, we just expect him to do this. This doesn't surprise us at all. And it's been, it's so much fun to watch and it's going to be great to break that down Monday too. As far as how Houston defends him and where he can get his opportunities against the best defense in the country.

Andy Grash (17:11)

Well, I know a lot of people run Walter Clayton Jr. Including Corey Brewer, two time national champion. He won an NBA world championship. He joined the Game Night Crew talking about Walter Clayton Jr.

Walter Clayton Jr. (17:25)

He's been amazing.

Andy Grash (17:27)

What I like about him, he's clutching.

Walter Clayton Jr. (17:28)

You know, doesn't matter if the game's on the line, he's making shots. And when you have that clutch gene is, you know, you're tough, tough to stop. And I feel like he gives the.

Tim Welsh (17:38)

Rest of his teammates that kind of.

Walter Clayton Jr. (17:40)

Like they believe it's the belief he gives them. Like he knows it doesn't matter if.

Andy Grash (17:44)

They'Re down or not.

Walter Clayton Jr. (17:45)

He knows he's going to make shots and they know he's going to make shots. And he keeps willing them to wins.

Andy Grash (17:50)

Well, Walter Clayton gets it done. And then. Coach, there's the other side of things. How do we put this into context for the Auburn Tigers given the way they're built? They make this run to the Final Four, they end the year at 32 and 3. They weren't great from the free throw line. It is interesting the way coaches choose to build their teams, especially at that level. So where does this kind of leave Auburn at this point, Coach?

Tim Welsh (18:16)

Well, you know, one thing we've all learned about Bruce Pearley, he will not rest. I'm sure he's already up this morning and on the phones working the portal lines. You know, that's what these guys have to do at this point. They've got to go find players. They will get them. There's no doubt about it. They will reload. And obviously it's tough finding those great, great players like a Janai broom. But you know what? Bruce will find them. It's funny, last night at halftime of the game with Auburn controlling and in control, when Billy Donovan walked out at halftime to be honored as being inducted into this year's class of the Naismith Basketball hall of Fame, I said, oh, that could be a sign for Florida. Billy the Kid's in the house, he's on the floor and Florida's playing. And I think somehow, some way, the basketball gods came down and said, wait a minute, we're going to sprinkle a little Billy the Kid magic on the Gators after he won back to back national championships. And it came out, they came right out of the locker room. It was almost like Billy went in and told him, like, listen, you've got something to live up to if we want to, you gotta go get one. And they played like it in the second half.

Andy Grash (19:25)

Yeah, Florida shrunk that Auburn lead pretty quickly early into that second half to kind of let the, let the Tigers know that they were there. You mentioned Jani Broom, 15 points, seven rebounds. I know he's playing through some stuff. Like you could see that every time Broom would be walking to the, to the sideline during a timeout, there was clearly a hitch in the giddy up on the left side. And I, I think a lot of people last night, Coach probably looked at Broom and thought, wow, that's one of the best players in college basketball this year. I kind of felt last night wasn't representative of who Janai Broom really is. He looks beat up.

Tim Welsh (20:09)

He was, he was definitely beat up. They went one on one coverage and early with him and he, he, he took advantage of, he got to his, you know, he had, that, he had the bad arm. I thought it was really evident with him with the bad arm in his rebounding ability. I mean, obviously you can shoot with one hand and he can do that. He showed it last night. But to rebound the ball in traffic against those big guys from Florida, you've got to have everything you have. And I don't think he had it. I mean, he only had seven rebounds last night. Florida dominated on the offensive glass in the second half especially. They dominated for the game on the boards. And Brooms, he's been averaging, I think 13, 14 rebounds a game in the tournament, 11 on the season. He only got seven less. He only had seven last night. And I think that in itself will tell you that I don't think he was right.

Andy Grash (20:55)

So we had. We now have a national championship game of Florida against Houston that will be on Monday night. And of course we have a women's national championship game this afternoon at 3:00 that will be on ABC between Yukon and South Carolina. It is interesting that between the men's and the women's final fours we had seven number one seeds. The only number two seed was Yukon. And I don't think anybody in America looks at Yukon as a number two seed, especially when it comes to the women's game. It is Sunday morning's countdown to tip off on ESPN Radio. We'll take a look at the betting side of the national championship game next. I'm gresh with a coach, Tim Welsh. This is ESPN Radio. Matt and Myron, the podcast.

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Tim Welsh (22:19)

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Walter Clayton Jr. (22:31)

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Walter Clayton Jr. (22:36)

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Walter Clayton Jr. (22:43)

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Walter Clayton Jr. (22:46)

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Walter Clayton Jr. (22:58)

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Andy Grash (23:04)

Have us a final four. We have a women's national championship game and of course if there are games, that means we can bet them at ESPN Bet Sunday morning's Countdown to Tip off on ESPN Radio and the ESPN app. I'm Andy Grash. He is the coach, Tim Welsh. And joining us now, he's a part of the crew at VSiN is doing some stuff for ESPN as well. You can find him on X at G Unit underscore 81. Greg Peterson joins us for some gambling talk here on Countdown to Tip off on ESPN Radio. And Greg, I know that the the when the line opened it was it was a Florida opening as the slim one and a half point favorite. Let's start with what have you seen, Greg, in terms of line movement even though we're a day out from this national championship game?

Walter Clayton Jr. (24:04)

Absolutely. Things have been staying relatively segment here. Right now Florida is a one point favorite at most books. There were a few books that for like a few seconds they made Houston's very slight favorite after what we saw in that just historic comeback from last night, which that's just so one of the craziest games I've ever seen. But right now we are sitting with Florida being the one point favorite and that totals right around 141, 142. So they're thinking that first 70, 71 points is going to be able to win this game and just going to be an absolutely historic game in terms of what we've got between two of the top three teams in all of college basketball and how these two teams bounce back after both had to come back in the second half from yesterday.

Tim Welsh (24:43)

Yeah, Greg, my friend Andy here tells me that Houston opened as the favorite. What happened? Why the shift in most places?

Walter Clayton Jr. (24:52)

Florida opened up as a one point favorite. There were a couple places that opened up as Houston as a 1 point favorite and I think that that was just the elation of what we saw with Houston coming back from down 14 points against Duke and very rightfully so. And I would not be surprised if Houston closes as a favorite because as we know in terms of sports betting, people like to bet upon what they last saw. People like to be able to get behind a great story. And there's no better story than Houston taking down Duke because you either love Duke or you hate Duke. There's not a lot of people are very indifferent about Duke. So I wouldn't be surprised if we do see a little bit of movement. But I think that if you take a look at the full season numbers and what we've seen out of Florida, they do open up their rightful favor here. And we'll see what is going to be happening in terms of how the public perception now the money rolls in here in the next 24 hours.

Andy Grash (25:38)

Greg Peterson of VSIN and ESPN bet here with us on Countdown to tip off on ESPN radio. I'm Andy Gr along with the coach Tim Welsh. The total of 141 and a half is interesting to me because Greg, it feels like if both teams are on and and we forget defense, which at times happens in some of these games, 1/41 and a half feels to me a little low. What am I missing here in terms of the posting of that number?

Walter Clayton Jr. (26:10)

And I do agree with you, I feel like this is a very appropriate number in my opinion. If I had to play right now, I would be taking a look at the over. And I think the biggest thing is Houston just play so slowly. Houston is a bottom 15 team in terms of tempo. They're just really efficient. And we saw the shot making that was happening in the Elmo Dome with Houston last night going 10 of 22 from 3 4, LJ Crier being able to take over the game. And I think that with Houston as well, it's just the fact that if you look at that game that we saw last night for Duke, the big reason why they were able to come back in that game, I believe that Duke only made one field goal in the final six minutes of the game. So it really is just a respect factor in terms of the way that Houston plays defense. And this is a Florida team that they themselves have been able to be in some defensive clause this season. Like they were able to play a game in which they scored north of 100 points against Alabama. But just a few games earlier they played against Tennessee. And one of those teams in that Tennessee versus Florida game did not get to 50 points as well. So this is a Florida team that I like to call a little bit of a chameleon in that if you need them to play fast, they'll play fast. If you need them to play slow, they'll play slow. So they're essentially thinking that both teams get to about 70 points. If I had to play it, I will be looking at the over mainly because when you do get these tight games, when you do get into a nip and tuck spot like this for one, you could get overtime and two, if a team is down five, six points with a minute remaining, you do get those late double.

Andy Grash (27:31)

Greg, is there any value to playing either the first half or the second half or a little bit off of what you said? Because they, they, they, they can go slow, Florida can go fast. Is there any value in the halves market in your opinion?

Walter Clayton Jr. (27:48)

I wouldn't be looking so much as the haves as I would be looking more in game. That way you're able to get a little bit of a feel as how things are going. If you feel like, hey, Florida's up five points but they made some lucky shots. Maybe they've had a hand in their face and a Babel knocked out a few threes. You take a look at Houston or vice versa maybe uses made a few lucky shots to be able to start things off. I think that that's a better way to be able to play it because the biggest advantage that you have in terms of being able to micromanage the game, for lack of a better term is being able to see with your own two eyes. All right. What is happening in a game is one of these teams playing the other and being able to get a little bit of an advantage on the glass. Are we seeing maybe one of these teams is showing a little bit of a weakness that can be exploited or maybe a team is just getting the whistle to be able to go their way that maybe it'll go the opposite way in the second half because as much as we don't like to admit it sometimes there are some makeup calls that happen in some of these games as well. So I rather than taking a look at like the first half or the second half, I'd be looking a little bit more in game to be able to be able to maximize that value.

Tim Welsh (28:49)

Greg, no rest for the weary. Still trying to catch our breath from last night but we've got the women today and we'll absolutely be tuned into this. This should be a epic battle. Yukon six and a half point favorite. What do we like today and how are you looking at that game?

Walter Clayton Jr. (29:06)

Very interesting that you've got a title game in which we've got a six half point spread by the way, with UConn being the favorite. I think much of that is because when these two teams match up earlier in the season, South Carolina just flat out got punked in that game. That was an 87 to 58 but kicking and I do think that South Carolina is going to come back with a little bit of better effort. And I think the biggest thing is is whether or not you think that this is going to be a high scoring game. Right now this total is 132 and a half and the way that I played is a little bit correlated. If you think that this total is going to go under, you probably like South Carolina with the point because South Carolina all throughout the tournament they've been playing flow, they've been playing controls, they've been playing rock solid defense. Only one team in Maryland as we have scored north of 57 points against them. Meanwhile for UConn they've been running in and gunning it. They've been able to get north of W points in every one of these games as well. I just have to believe that South Carolina is going to be able in this game. Gino or we know that he's hungry for a title. He's had so many of his teams deal with injuries and he's not the best player in college basketball. Paige Becker, she has been amazing this year but I do think that for South Carolina, the way that they have been coached, the way that they've been able to play tough, tenacious defense, they're going to learn from that first time around. Don't know if South Carolina can pull off the outright upset but boy expect a better effort than when these two teams played earlier in the season. I would be looking at the six half if I had to play this at all. Just because when you get into these big time spots, typically you do get close games in these big circumstances.

Andy Grash (30:29)

Greg Peterson von host and of course he's a part of a crew at ESPN Bed with us here on Sunday morning's Countdown to Tip off on ESPN Radio. I'm Andy Grash along with the coach Tim Welsh. You got any, you got any nice combo platters for us? We have the women's game, we have the men's game. Any, any combination platters we should be looking at here.

Walter Clayton Jr. (30:52)

Now I personally am not the biggest parlay guy in the world. I always advise people to straight bet because the books they very much want you to do parlays and there's a big reason why they always flash up the person that has turned a $10 parlay into $10,000 because they do want you to be able to play those parlays. But in terms of the men's game, I do like both betting the over in the spot like I was talking about with the late game felling and I do like Florida. I do think that with Houston it was a historic comeback from what we saw. But I do think that Florida deep down they're just sort of Noah's ark. They have two of everything in terms of forwards, in terms of their guards, in terms of the way that they've just been able to maneuver through this NCAA tournament where they themselves were up against the ropes against Texas in the Elite Eight just to be able to get to the final four. They have a 13 point comeback themselves. So both of these teams are very battle tested. But I do think that in the end you've got the best shooter out there on the floor in Walter claims. So I will be taking a look at Florida along with the over in that game.

Andy Grash (31:50)

Well, great stuff from Greg Peterson. You want to give me a follow on XG unit underscore 81. Greg, thanks for the breakdown friend. We appreciate it. We'll catch you down the road. Thank you.

Walter Clayton Jr. (32:02)

Absolutely appreciate you guys. Thank you.

Andy Grash (32:04)

There goes Greg Peterson coach. It's just really funny to hear Greg talk about like how parlays and things like that last year, no word of a lie documented very much out there. I turned $23 and 86 cents into $25,000 on an opening night college basketball 10 leg parlay because I am one of those degenerati coach who thinks that at the beginning of the year is when the, when the Vegas folks on the bookmakers are going to be as off as they're ever going to be. So you might get Kansas, you know -40 against Mesopotamia State or something like that. And you just I wrote a bunch of those and threw a bet bonus in there and bingo bango. I think it was like a 12 legger on the opening night of the college basketball season. So I am proof that it can happen. But Greg is right. They want you to bet those parlays and get you in on those sucker.

Tim Welsh (33:05)

Well you know what they say Andy, the rich get richer. So I don't, I don't doubt that about you one bit. You know I try to just I.

Andy Grash (33:14)

I 23 bucks into 24 grand baby that I'M a wizard.

Tim Welsh (33:18)

The former coach and me just likes to have these conversations. We still try to keep our arm's length away, but I like to hear these stories.

Andy Grash (33:24)

You know, it's really funny that you say that because I was going to kind of ask you like, okay, for a coach, is this where it gets icky, a little bit of the, you know, because you had that you had to say for many years, you know, gambling is bad and don't, don't do it. Don't even go to the casinos, for crying out loud. And now it's like, well, let's talk about the line at halftime.

Tim Welsh (33:44)

Yeah, I think obviously it's just one more thing as a coach you still have obviously can't partake in that with your team and your team cannot as well. But you know, there is a line that has to be drawn. Just like everything else in sports thing. Times have changed as all we saw Juwan Roberts last night playing. He's probably like six years older than Cooper Flag out there going one on one. So if you got the fifth and six year players still playing in college basketball against the one and done guys. So times do change. But I like that the veteran players are still hanging around in college basketball. I think that's the one really good piece of nil because of the fact you're going to get the best of the best at the end. And we saw that last night.

Andy Grash (34:24)

And if you are a part of the degenerati like I am, others are, that's something that you look at in terms of, you know, teams closing out. What kind of maturity do they have? Are they good free throw shooters? It does tie into teams ending up having some experience. It is Sunday morning's countdown to tip off here on ESPN Radio. No matter what happens on Monday, we'll have a coach winning his first national championship. And what will it mean for one of these guys? We'll get into it next. I'm Andy Grash along with the coach Tim Welsh. It's countdown to tip off on ESPN Radio. Matt and Myron the podcast Lowe's knows.

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National championship game set for tomorrow night between Houston and Florida and one of either Kelvin Sampson or Todd golden will remember their first because that's what it would mean for a national championship for either one of these coaches. It's Sunday morning's Countdown to tip off here on ESPN Radio, the ESPN app and SiriusXM Channel 80. I'm Andy Grash along with the coach, Tim Welsh. You want to yell at us on X, you can tweet at us at ESPN Radio at the Real Grish G R E S H and at Tim Welsh, five and coach, we have two guys in Kelvin Sampson and Tom golden who, whomever wins it is their, their first national championship. And I, I don't know, Coach. I, I want your perspective, but for me it feels like it means different things to each guy, just in part because of their age. I think Todd Golden's 30 years younger than Kelvin Sampson. Sampson went into Houston and built a program. Todd golden trying to bring Florida back really, from the great heights of, as you mentioned a little earlier this hour, coach Billy Donovan. So what does a title mean for either Kelvin Sampson or Todd golden in your eyes?

Tim Welsh (37:37)

Well, first of all, you know, when you're young, you think you're going to get back. You think you're going to get back there. And that's not always the case. We've seen it a bunch. And you know, Todd golden absolutely has an unbelievable future ahead of him. I can see him at one point coaching the NBA. He's that type of coach and I think he has that type of mind that he could make the next jump if he wants to. Certainly done an unbelievable job in three years there. But for Kelvin Sampson, I think it caps off everything. Caps off just an unbelievable career. We talk about Billy Donovan being named to the hall of this year's class of the hall of Fame. Kelvin will be there at one, one day, absolutely 100% in my mind, whether he wins tomorrow night or not. But it would be for him. I think it would just bring it all together into one spot. I mean, obviously we know his son Kellen is His associate coach, his daughter Lauren, is the director of operations there at the school. They have such a family affair there. And. And we did a lot of Big 12 games over the years, and we did some American games. When they were in the American Conference, when they first. When he first got there, there was no program. There was no program. I remember, first time I asked him, I said, how are we looking this year? And he says, we have an intramural team. We could maybe win some games in the intramural league. And somehow he squeezed, I think, 11 or 12 wins out of that team. I don't know how he got the job late. There was no players. They had an awful arena. They had the old Hoffines pavilion. They had practice facility. And since then, we know what the deal is. You know, he built it from the bottom up with his coaching, his culture. He started to recruit better. They got a new arena, they got a practice facility. Fertitta is behind the program, which you need that as well. The owner of the Rockets and, you know, then they move to the Big 12, and people said, well, we'll see. It's going to take a while. It's a big jump from the American to the Big 12. Well, they were 19 and one in the Big 12. This. He. It's all about him. It's all about him. Guys don't go into the portal when they play for him. They want to play for him. They want to be coached. And if you go there, you better be ready to be coached hard. And he tells you that. And if you don't want to be coached hard, don't come. Don't come to the party, because this is how we're going to do things. And now it's come all the way full circle to the top. And I think for him, it would be obviously something that would be so special because of just his long career and what he went through at Indiana. Had to go and be an assistant in the NBA for four or five years until he could get back to the college game. And that was all very unfortunate and not right, but it happened, and he took it like a man, and he's built his way back up to the top. And it's just a great story.

Andy Grash (40:28)

It is a great story. And there's a Q word that I know that Kelvin Sampson loves to use. And after the win against Duke, Kelvin Sampson dropped that cue word when talking about his team, knowing they had a chance if they could limit Duke on the glass. I thought if we could hold them to 30 something from the field and we could be plus 10 on the boards. I thought we would win. Call me crazy, but I did. You know, I think we're top three or four in the nation and field goal percentage, defense, and we've always been a pretty good rebounding team. It took us a while to become who we are. But at some point, if you have a culture, your kids aren't, you know, quitting is not part of the deal. We're not going to quit. We're just going to play better. There you go. And coach, you mentioned it out of the jump. Kelvin Sampson, that Q word. Quitting is not a part of the deal. And it's really been the mantra for the program.

Tim Welsh (41:24)

It is. And every coach will say that. I'm sure on game day, in the middle of a game and a huddle, but when it's 5 in the morning and it's pitch blackout and it's 100 degrees in the middle of July and you're out on the baseball field and you're out on the track running sprints and that's where it starts and that's what they do. I mean, you see it. Every guy's around a five minute mile in the middle of the summer, you better be able to do it. There's no guys out of shape. There's nobody, nobody was gassed at the end of that game last night. They were as fresh as a flower late in that game because of what they do in the off season. And it's finally paid off for them. You know, they've put all the pieces together. They had to add Cryer, they had to add Uzan as a guard from Oklahoma, Cryer came from Baylor. But for the most part, those guys have all been in the program for a while and so they understand what, what they're up against. And he doesn't pull any punches. It's not like a surprise when you get there, he tells you what they're going to do and, and they go do it. And last night it all proved to be very worth it for them.

Andy Grash (42:24)

And of course, Todd golden took over the Florida program in 2022, and a couple of short years later, they're in the national championship game. Coach golden, how's it feel to get there?

Tim Welsh (42:37)

It's pretty incredible, man. You know, we worked pretty hard to get here and in three years been fortunate to build a great staff that is aligned and that works really hard for each other. And then we've just accumulated a great group of guys, you know, in our roster. You know, it took a little bit to get all these pieces together. But, you know, to a man, they all pull the same direction. There's no unselfishness in our locker room. You know, you see a guy like Walt, he gets asked all the questions and gets all the attention for a great effort like tonight. But there's no animosity there. There's nobody, you know, concerned about that. These guys are just trying to win a championship, and I'm proud of that. I'm proud of what our program is and, you know, the strides that we've made over these past couple years.

Andy Grash (43:14)

Coach, it's interesting that you mentioned you could see Todd golden coaching in the NBA. A little bit of an arc, almost like Billy Donovan from Florida.

Tim Welsh (43:23)

Yes, he reminds me of Billy Donovan. He reminds me of Brad Stevens. He has that great demeanor. I mean, last night he got a little. He got a little hot.

Andy Grash (43:31)

He was hot at those refs last year.

Tim Welsh (43:33)

Yeah, he was not, he was not happy in the first half with some of the calls. But, hey, that's, you know, he, he stepped up, and it's not easy on the other side looking down the sidelines and you see your mentor down there as well. And, but I, he, he held his own from tap to buzzer last night, and he did himself and his program proud.

Andy Grash (43:51)

Yeah. And Florida is back in a power position once again like they were in the early 2000s with a chance to win a national championship against Houston. So for Kelvin Sampson and Todd golden, it would be each, respectively, their first national championships, very much as coach eloquently put at different points in their careers. This is Sunday morning's countdown to tip off here on ESPN Radio, the ESPN app. You can also get us on Sirius XM channel 80. And coming up next, well, we gonna. We're gonna go inside the mind of one of the head coaches out there who knows all about the final four and Duke. Next, Matt and Myron, the podcast.

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