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Miles Simon
Now let's get this party started.
Fox Sports Radio Announcer
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Jason McIntyre
Here we go, hour number two on the Herd. What a great first hour. Chopping up some World Baseball classic. Bryce Harper, dignified, carried the offense. The rest of the bats were sleepy. Goodness gracious. Of course we had Texas winning the first big game in the NCAA tournament. Nice game winning shot. Wait till you see the highlight of their coach nearly costing them at the end. And special guest, we had Matt Leiner. Next up, I mean, goodness gracious, five minutes from now, Miles Simon. If you love the NCAA tournament like I do, you know Miles Simon is a absolute legend. I mean Jim Nance was one of the great calls. Simon says championship. I mean come on, that was classic. I could see it in my head right now. I just tease you guys. That was the first tournament where I won a bracket contest because I loved that Arizona team with the guard play. And my biggest bet was that Arizona beating Kansas in the sweet 16. It was. I remember where exactly I was in college when that happened. Just I have such a memory for the NCAA tournament. So I'm going to geek out here and give you my top five players in the NCAA tournament. This is difficult, obviously. 68 teams and you have a ton of great players and there's probably going to be some eye rolling. J Mac, how did you leave this guy off?
Fox Sports Radio Announcer
So Here we go, number five.
Jason McIntyre
I'm going to go with Michigan Star Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendebord. 23 years old. Just an awesome story. I think we got into it a little yesterday. He didn't really play high school basketball. You know, he had some off court issues that were not great and he just proceeded to become an awesome player. Went uab and of course there was a bidding war. Yes, a bidding war we got into for him. Michigan lands him for 5 million. He d turned down a Kentucky offer from for over $7 million in the $7 to $9 million range. He says he goes on to be the Big Ten player of the year. There he is hitting a game winner against Wisconsin over the weekend. Michigan should be the Favorite. They're not Duke injuries and everybody bets Duke. But Yoxel Lindaborg, I have as the fifth best player in the NCAA tournament, number four. All right, we're going to go with the superstar guard from Arkansas, Darius Auff. Guys, if you haven't seen him, he feels like Derrick Rose, Allen Iverson, like that is not hyperbole. And oh, by the way, he's a better shooter than both of those guys. Look at this. Sidestep 3. He was unbelievable in the SEC tournament, unbelievable all year. If you want to have some fun during a commercial break, go look up his 49 point effort in an overtime game this year, folks. That right there, he looks like Penny Hardaway pulling up in transition, just popping a three. His bag is deep. I don't know that there's a more dynamic guard in the, in a college basketball this year. He's my number four.
Fox Sports Radio Announcer
Number three.
Jason McIntyre
I'm going with Cam Boozer. I know I ticked some people off on Monday when I said he's on a Jokic type trajectory. No, he's not. 611, 280. But neither was Jokic, okay, when he was 18 and a half or even years old when he got to the league. Boozer's 18 and a half and the numbers are staggering. Top 10 in scoring and rebounding, 57% on twos, 40% on threes. Guys, he's a special talent. He's not going to wow you with the athleticism as some of the other guys. You know, Caleb Wilson, obviously from unc, stood him up head to head. He's hurt so he's not playing. So I don't have him on this list. But I'm just telling you, Boozer makes winning plays. I think it was Casey Jacobson who was on and said he was like, Boozer was four time all state, three time state player of the year. Some ridiculous, like, how are you state player of the year as a sophomore? Okay. The guy is just an unbelievable player. His dad obviously. Carlos Boozer, Cameron Boozer checking in at number three.
Fox Sports Radio Announcer
Number two.
Jason McIntyre
All right, this is going to surprise some people, but you guys know I like Arizona a lot. Arizona has a lot of weapons. I love Koha Pete from his first college game, okay, where he dropped 30 against defending champ Florida, which by the way has an NBA front line. This guy I've been in love with, I see a little Paolo Banchero obviously doesn't shoot the three nearly as well. But as a passer, high iq, you know, I think I could see him running a lot of high Post stuff in the NBA. Great finisher. And the key here is Kohipit is unselfish. They have a lot of great players. Two good guards. They got a seven foot big. They got a wing Karchenkov who's outstanding. Maybe the best glue guy in the country. And Pete just fits in seamlessly, finishes it with both hands. I'm just telling you, man, you watch this kid, you can be like, he looks okay. When it matters most against the biggest opponents. Koa Pete's going to cook. And finally, number one. Sorry to step on you, AJ Debons of byu. I mean, I'm enamored with this kid. We're going to have some fun talks for the next three months about who's the number one pick. I think for me, it's going to be DeBonsa. They lose Richie Saunders, probably their second best player. Huge loss. All Debonsa does is step up. You can't stop him going to the hoop. His pull up three could use a little work, but, man, this kid is special. 3 level scorer, unbelievable athlete, great finisher. Did struggle a little against Darren Peterson. And no, Darren Peterson's not on the list. Sorry. I have Debonsa as the best player in the NCAA tournament. All right, without further ado, let's get to our guest. I'm sure he's going to critique this. Arizona's finest. Let's bring on Miles Simon, college basketball analyst at Fox Sports and champion with Arizona in 97. Miles, are you excited for March Madness?
Miles Simon
I couldn't be more excited, man, to get the tournament started tomorrow. Man, it's going to be so much fun watching so many great teams and great players over these next few weeks.
Jason McIntyre
How many times have you and your kids and your friends watched the one shining moment where you were the star and all over it? Come on, man. I know you're going down those YouTube rabbit holes.
Miles Simon
When people send it to me, that's when I watch it. Unfortunately, like, my kids don't care that much. So, like, that kind of hurts my heart. Like, they know. My daughter's 15, my son is 12. They know what I've done. They've been, like, around Arizona a little bit. So, like, people tell them, like, your dad was this great player, but, like, the kids, they don't care. They, like, live in their, like, own world, in their own moment. But I want to go back to, like, how much money did I win? You, like, dude, I heard you talking like that Kansas game. I want to know, and where's my cut?
Jason McIntyre
I was you and Bibby And I love Dickerson. I was a young college guy, so not. It was not like six figures or anything close to it. But I remember that tournament was unbelievable. You guys had such a great run. And I want to start before we critique my top five. Do you. Is there any player or backcourt in this tournament that you see could do what you guys did in 97? Because when you listen to the analysis, everybody's like, well, you need good guard play in March. Well, yeah, no, no, Sherlock. We got that.
Miles Simon
Yeah. The backcourt that reminds me of our team is actually the Houston backcourt. Kingston Flemings. Okay. Star, star freshman. Mike Bibby. Star freshman. Okay. Sharp, really good shooter. Maybe I score a little bit better than him, but he probably shoots it. He probably shoots it a little bit better than I do. And then Milos usan. USAN is an absolute stud for that team. Super versatile. And then you bring Mercy Miller off the bench. That's like the Jason Terry off the bench for our team. So that backcourt actually reminds me of our, our Arizona team.
Jason McIntyre
I like that. That's good. That. That's spicy. All right, let's go to my top five players in the tournament. I had your guy co opied in there. Listen, if I could have put Buries or Bradley in, probably would have added them. No Darren Peterson. Did I miss anyone? Anyone jump out? Braden Smith is about to break Bobby Early's record. I couldn't put him on there again. This is not an NBA projection. This is just top five in the tournament.
Miles Simon
Yeah, I think, I think one guy I would add to that list is Thomas Hauck from Florida. So they win the national championship last year and he was like in a role, player role for that team. Nine points per game. But now he's in a starring role for Todd Golden Squad. He went up from 9 points per game to 17 points per game this year. But the things I love about him and I got to spend some time around him and last time we were on this, I talked about Nike Basketball Academy or Braden Buries, Braden Smith, Linda Borg, were all there. Like, I coached this guy this summer and his basketball iq, his athleticism, how hard he plays, how physical he is. He. He's good on both ends of the floor. He can knock down threes. I think he's going to have a star type run in the NCAA tournament over these next couple weeks.
Jason McIntyre
Some people are off Florida because of that Vanderbilt loss. And for the record, I did have Florida in that game. Vanderbilt murdered. It was like by 30. And it kind of exposed the backcourt I like the kid who transferred from, I think Princeton and bit of a chucker, but I don't know about Florida. What. What do you have them doing?
Miles Simon
Yeah, I have Florida going to the national championship game. I think Lee. Yeah, I think Lee and Fland have been. Have been good enough. Like, they. They went on a nice run, nice winning streak in the sec. Okay. Winning. Winning that league. Yeah, they had a. You know, they laid an egg against Vanderbilt and give a lot of credit to Vanderbilt and what they did against Florida. But this team will be juiced up and ready to go. They have a tremendous front line and like I said, led by Hauk, Condon, Chinu. Those guys are really, really good. I think Florida and Todd golden are going to be tough. Be a tough out.
Jason McIntyre
So let's just hear it. So you have them going to the Natty. Who round out your final four for us?
Miles Simon
Oh, my Final Four. I go. I go with Arizona, Michigan, Yukon and Florida.
Jason McIntyre
Yukon. Okay. You got to say more on Yukon. I don't know about that.
Miles Simon
You're not sold. I like, like, solo ball, like Braylon Mullens, the freshman off. Freshman off the bench. And then Taurus Reed. And then there's something to be said about championship coaching. Like, Hurley's going to have these guys prepared. They can. They can really. They can really defend. I think they'll be able to score. I think they'll be able to score enough. And then Demery at the point, he's kind of the key for that. If he plays well, sets the tone at, like, point of attack defensively, I think UConn gets to the Final Four.
Jason McIntyre
It's weird. Like, you know, some people go full season data, and then some people are like, let's start around February 1st. You know, you got your team gelled, you got the league play. They haven't really beaten anyone in a while, you know. And the way they ended St. John's
Miles Simon
didn't they just beat St. John's but
Jason McIntyre
then they got smoked by them at the Garden, and I'm like, yeah, they also smoke that.
Miles Simon
Yeah, they also smoked St. John's remember, St. John's missed 20, 24 shots in a row against Yukon. That was as impressive of a performance as I've seen from anybody.
Jason McIntyre
Interesting. So. So go ahead. Go ahead.
Miles Simon
And I was gonna say, if you look. If you look at their region like it is, the east is the toughest. Is the toughest region like it really is. And they could. They could match up with St. John's again. But remember, Duke is hurt Caleb Foster and Gangba is out. Foster for sure. Gungba, we don't know when he's coming back. So that you got the number one seed, that. That's going to be out. Kansas, I'm not sold on in that region. They've been too inconsistent. Michigan State is good, But I'll take UConn and UConn in that matchup, and then maybe they could see St. John's if St. John's beats Duke. So I think UConn has as good a chance of anybody to. To get out of that region if
Jason McIntyre
St. John's beats Duke. Whoa, Miles, dropping some haymakers here. I don't know. I'm kind of. I took the points with northern Iowa. The St. John's is weird. So they look awesome in the Garden. Right. They got the home court advantage. They got the crowd all juiced up. Now they got to go across the country to San Diego to face Northern Iowa. They're not going to have the fans. I don't. I'm. Maybe I'm overthinking it. I don't know.
Miles Simon
Yeah, you're definitely overthinking a Zubie. Zubie. Edge of four. Rick Pitino is a master in the ncaa. In the NCAA tournament. Hopkins is tough. Mitchell's really good. Like St. John's St. John's is rolling. And I mean, they are going to be a hard out in the tournament. They're so. They're so good defensively. They're very athletic at all their positions and just tough to defend.
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, they made UConn look pretty mortal in the Big east tournament. I mean, that was a. Was a 20 point game, basically. You see some of the highlights on the screen. They looked incredible. I just. The shooting ability, like, I think they're really low in twos and three. They just aren't a great field goal shooting team. But again, they had, like four transfer starters, I believe.
Miles Simon
Yeah, I think defensively, like, if they get to that matchup against Duke, they're gonna. I think they're gonna cause Duke a lot of problems, especially with Caleb Foster. Caleb Foster being out. And I know Duke played very well in the ACC tournament. Boozer's an absolute stud. Evans is really, really good, but I think that Caleb Foster piece is going to be a big missing piece for this Duke team.
Jason McIntyre
How much does peaking at the end of the season matter? I know we've seen some stats. If you lose your first game in the conference tournament, you never win the championship. But I'm just talking like, you know, Florida lost badly. Yukon Lost badly. But you don't seem deterred at all. That's not going to like stop them. Is it a motivational ploy?
Miles Simon
Like, I'll tell you, it doesn't, doesn't bother me at all because I lived it. Okay, so the year we won the title in 1997, okay, we ended up finishing fifth in the Pac 12. Now there's a little kind of like caveats or Pac 10 at the time. There's a little caveat to that. So like going into the last weekend of league play, we were up in the Bay Area playing Stanford and Cal, who were two very, very good, two very, very good teams. And we were, we were in like a three way tie for second. We got swept in the Bay Area, so we lose both games. There's no PAC 10 tournament at that time. So that was our last two games going into the, going into the NCAA tournament. So we lost, we finished fifth. We had nine losses on the seat. We were 19 and nine going into the NCAA tournament. Like, but that didn't like, like kids, they don't, they don't think about that. They, they, they really live in the moment. Like they, for the most part, like as a coach, you talk about like next play, okay, we got to go on to the next game. We learn from, we learn from those losses and then we move forward to the next task at hand, which is now the NCAA tournament. Regular season's over. Everybody now pretty much has the same record. So I don't put too much stock in, too much stock into that, like bad momentum.
Jason McIntyre
Interesting. We, we haven't really talked much about your Arizona squad, the current one. This is a loaded team and I think they could have four guys drafted in the first round. There's a lot of talent. But then there's questions about, well, Tommy Lloyd in the NCAA Tournament. You know, I'm not going to bash the guy, but he hasn't exactly delivered. Maybe I'm being politically correct. I don't know. Is the biggest concern for Arizona the lack of three point shooting? They just don't shoot them or is it maybe their head coach? That's a question mark.
Miles Simon
Yeah, I don't think the three point shootings are concerned because they've been dominant without it. They have like the most Quad one wins. They've, they've beaten all the best teams basically that they played on their schedule. I think the biggest concern is just maybe like that they feel some pressure that they have to get to the Final Four because there's no Arizona team that's been there since 2001. But this team, but this team is like ready for anything. And what I've loved about this team is that they can win in different style of fights. So like they, when they play the Houston Cougars and they were down a couple bodies at Houston, like they can grind it out and beat a really good defensive team. Or you play Iowa State in that great semifinal game in the Big 12 in the Big 12 tournament and you play this high scoring game where you're like matching shot for shot and there you see the Jaden Bradley shot to end it right there. Like they can win different styles of fight. They're big, they're physical, they really defend. They have a closer in Jaden Bradley, which I think you need in the NCAA tournament. Like he's hit, he's hit big shots all season long against UCLA, UConn and then obviously the biggest one against Iowa State there. I'm not too concerned about Tommy Lloyd because I've, I've watched the adjustments this year. He's continued to get better as a head coach. And then they have, they have all the right pieces and chemistry this year and the leadership to go, to go all the way.
Jason McIntyre
Let me drill down on Arizona for a sec. So there's this European thing happening around college basketball, especially at the top teams. So Arizona has Krivos, the big guy from Lithuania, Karchenkov who I love from Germany. The shooter, Del Orso is from Australia, I guess. Just tell me a little bit about what you think is happening with the Europeans. Illinois, we're seeing it. Arizona, a lot of kids coming over from, they play professionally from like 16, 17 years old. Now they're coming to college and they're huge factors.
Miles Simon
Yeah, what's happening is the money. So like before these, the top European prospects were just staying, let's say like Luka Doncic or Jokic. They're staying within like the European club system with the Real Madrid's or Panama. And that's where they were growing their game. And they get, they get paid like they get paid a salary. They were, they were professionals at 18 or 19, but now you have a crevasse or Karchenkoff who can come over. And I don't, I don't know the numbers that those guys make, but 300, $400,000, whatever the number is at a Power 4 school. So now these young guys are seeing this chance play on, play on some of the biggest stages, you know, in basketball. And so it's like almost a no brainer for these guys to come over and make six figures, develop and then get ready, get ready for the NBA. And Tommy Lloyd is a master of that. That was, that was his niche at Gonzaga, you know, like Ronnie Turioff and all these guys. He was Ronnie turf I bring up because he was like the first, he was like the first one. But he brought a ton of the European influence over to Mark Few and the Zags.
Jason McIntyre
Let's go back to Duke real quick and Cam Boozer. I made a comparison. I said, listen, he's not, he's not Jokic, the two type MVP, but he looks at 18 and a half like somebody who could turn into a Jokic. High iq, great passer, you know, deceptively athletic, gets all the rebounds and when it matters most in the clutch, he delivers. Just your thoughts on Boozer as a player now and what do you think he can be?
Miles Simon
Man, I'm a huge fan of Boozer and you kind of hit it on the head. Like it's not just the scoring for him. He's, he is so versatile. He is an elite passer. You see in the ACC tournament they're playing him at the point guard. He's bringing it up. He's initiating the offense. Okay, then, then when you need a bucket, you can go to him in the post just like you could with his dad, right? Because he's 610. And if you want to double team in the post, he's going to find the open shooters like on the, on the weak side of the floor. And then he's a guy that just brings his hard hat every single night. He's such a competitor. He's always been a winner, whether it was in high school or the Nike eybl. Him and his brother are USA Basketball. Like I love guys who just win, win, win, like over and over again. That's what this guy does. And I think in the NBA, I think he's going to, I think he's going to be an NBA all star because I think the things that he's going to really improve on, he's going to be like a versatile like four man who's going to be able to handle the ball okay. Even probably run like some inverted pick and roll. I think he's become a better three point shooter once he gets to the NBA and really stretch out the floor and, and then when you have his like competitive drive and then the, like the way he plays every single night, like that's a guy and that's a guy you want on your team and like to be the face of your Organization.
Jason McIntyre
All right, one more college question before a pro. You know, we've. I'm workshopping this. I don't want the number one pick in the draft because there's so many good players, and inevitably, living up to that number one pick is going to be difficult when there's like six or seven guys who could go number one. I overall think AJ DeBonsa has surpassed Peterson. But I'm curious what you think of DebonSA. And, you know, you were around for the Danny Manning and the Miracles run. I think. I think DebonSA can really do some things in March, overall, critique his game for me.
Miles Simon
Well, first of all, there's not six or seven guys that can go number one. And, and I'll just tell you, DeBonsa, he. He's the guy. He, he's not. He's number one. He has separated himself from the, from the rest of that group. And so I've called about four or five of his games. I was at the Big 12 tournament. This guy is the, he is the real deal in, in all aspects. Okay. We see the stuff, like on the floor, he's, he's, he's six, nine. He's taken over the point guard role. Like, Rob Wright is, like, kind of announced as the point guard, but DeBonsa is the guy that has the ball in his hands making all the decisions for this, for this BYU team. He's seen double teams, he's seen triple teams. He's seen it in the post. He sees it on pick and rolls. And that's. And he's handled, handled it all, like, exceptionally, to still lead the country in scoring. Right. And the ceiling for this BYU team, when you look at the bracket, I'm with you. I think they can make a little bit of a run. And now a big part of it is him, but also a big part of, okay, they're going to play Texas and then you maybe look at Gonzaga for the next, for the next game, but their defense has gotten better. Yeah. Okay. So, like, coach Kevin Young has done a good job when Saunders went out, okay. And Saunders, no defensive whiz by, by any means, but he, but he, but he's had to adjust. He's playing some smaller lineups where they, where they switch one through five. He's playing Dominique Diamonde, who's kind of been like a beast on defense, getting steals, agitating guys. He's like a 6, 6 athletic wing, and the team has kind of bought into that. And so defensively, that was always my concern with them. If they can Guard well enough, this team can score, and you put the ball in DeBonta's hands, a majority of the time, good things are going to happen, and he could have a magical run through the first weekend. And then when you get to that second weekend when you have the best player on the floor, a lot of great things can happen.
Jason McIntyre
Totally agree. All right, let's wrap up with a question about the Lakers. A team you know, well, they're starting to gel big game against the Rockets. There was a lot of questions. Oh, I don't know if Luka, LeBron and Reeves can play together. And it didn't look great for a moment. J.J. redick seemed to have pushed all the right buttons. Miles, they're on fire right now. Again, you know the team well. You can, you can talk about how you do, but I'm just curious your thoughts on Luka Reeves, LeBron and everything.
Miles Simon
Yeah, the things that I'm seeing from the Lakers is, number one, is that they're bought in on both ends of the floor right now, and that's why they've won nine of 10. Okay, most, most importantly, but the person who's bought in the most and the guy that they needed to is LeBron. Okay? He has a little injury, he comes back from injury. The Lakers had found like a little bit of a rhythm, but him, and you can see it, like, in the games, accepting being the, like the third option, that's big for the team because you're talking about arguably the greatest player ever. Accepting being the third option and letting Luka and Austin Reaves be the engine on the offensive, offensive side of the ball, that's. That's huge for this team and that's uplifting to the whole group because now, okay, if LeBron is bought in, then Deandre Ayton, you bet you better buy in. Marcus Smart, Jared Vanderbilt, Jake, Larry, like all those guys, there's no reason to complain anymore, right? And then the other factor, since January 18th, they have a top 10 defense. And the thing that has changed, they are playing the most zone in the NBA in that time. Now, I don't know if that's sustainable, to win it, to win a championship, but they're playing the most zone. It's been super. It's been super effective for them. And then like when, when things start to work, like playing zone more consistently, you get, you get better at it than the guys buying. They built. They. It like breeds confidence within the group. And you can see that, like when you watch that Rockets game from a couple of days ago, and we'll see what happens tonight. Like, they were just double teaming Kevin Durant so the game plan. And you could see KD getting frustrated, right? And like, because he kept having to give up the ball, they weren't going to let KD play a one on one. They're going to say, all right, Tari Eason, other Thompson, you're going to have, you're going to have to beat us. And it didn't happen. You can see the Lakers confidence growing game by game.
Jason McIntyre
It's almost like you were on the staff there or something. Good stuff.
Miles Simon
I've been around the organization a little bit.
Jason McIntyre
Yes, he has. Miles Simon, college basketball analyst. Great stuff, man. Enjoy the madness. And the NBA as well. Thanks, Miles.
Miles Simon
Thank you, man.
Jason McIntyre
All right. Great stuff from Miles Simon. Yes, he was on the Lakers staff, folks. The guy is good. All right, Coming up next. Oh boy. Come on. Is this real? One former NBA star thinks the MVP race is over. I don't. Rachel has the news. I don't know about that. It's coming up next year on the
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herd one more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.
Jason McIntyre
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod, pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sportsbook and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight fire with Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Jason McIntyre
Learn more atelectric for all.org the March
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Jason McIntyre
Network back here on the herd. Buffalo Bills fan. Avert your eyes. Don't see the bottom of the screen. You know I picked the Bills for the super bowl this year. They let me down. This was your year. You were the chosen one, Anakin. Remember? Obviously. All right, let's I'll stop riffing. Rachel Nichols with the news.
Miles Simon
No, no, no.
Jason McIntyre
Turn on the news.
Fox Sports Radio Announcer
This is the herd line news.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
I think that's post Bet Bitterness on your part.
Jason McIntyre
No. Second cup of coffee of the day. And I'm not a 2 cup guy, but, you know, late night last night. Celebrating the championship.
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NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
God. Let's talk about the NFL. A professional league.
Jason McIntyre
Yes, a professional. One that matters, one that people care about. Please.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
You know, in this off season, the Raiders made Tyler Lind the highest paid center in NFL history. And they are, of course expected to draft quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Linderbaum talked about the importance of that center quarterback relationship shortly after joining Las Vegas. Take a listen here.
Tyler Linderbaum (quoted)
I think the relationship with the quarterback center is really important. You know, communication, understanding, you know, actions and putting the team in the best position possible on that play. And, you know, it's certainly important. And, you know, we got to have a relationship. You know, Lamar and I certainly had a relationship. And I think it comes down to it's very important, you know, and that starts throughout the week. You know, with your preparation and game prep. You got to be seeing the same things that the quarterback's seeing and vice versa. And I think that's what's going to, you know, build a strong unit.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
So he's making his case for why center's such an important position there. And look, there are definitely some raised eyebrows. Jason, when he signed that deal, he's making 9 million more per year than the next guy, right? So that it's not like a gap of like, oh, a couple million or like, oh, this was record breaking 9 million more per year. But you know, you heard what he just said. Do you think it's worth it?
Jason McIntyre
Why would you overpay someone by 9mil? You could overpay them by 3mil and nobody would be like, could overpay him by five, nine.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
Well, look, I mean, we don't know what the Ravens offered him to stay, but I can't imagine it was eight. So I bet it was more like a, you know, a mil or two over to make him, you know, look, the next guy down is in Kansas City, right? So like, if you said, hey, we're going to make you the richest center in the league this year, you could still do that with just a couple million more per year. They made him the highest paid guy in NFL history and they did it by 9 million a year.
Jason McIntyre
So I'm looking. He was a first round pick in 2022 per pro football Focus. Not the Bible, but it's just one data point. He's graded out as amazing every single year. Like we're talking top five center. He's given up a total of five Sacks in four years as a top three center. I mean, why would the Ravens let him go? And this just points back to Lamar Jackson and having to pay him and then navigate the rest of the roster. It's a huge loss. People never factor in the offensive line losses. They are so enormous. That's why this Trent Williams situation at left tackle for the Niners, like so Linderbaum, that's huge. This is huge for the Ravens, but even bigger for the Raiders because usually, I mean, you come into an all pro center from a winning organization. I like this Mendoza, by the way. We haven't talked about Mendoza. How much do you like him as a. Besides his LinkedIn profile, how much do you like the kid and his prospect?
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
I like him a lot. I like his approach, which I think is underrated as how important that is. Willingness to learn, I think is a big deal. And you know, look, Matt said it earlier, he's a lot bigger guy than people think. Right. His physical gifts are there. So I'm excited to see how he goes there and I'm excited about this. I agree, by the way, that this is an incredibly important relationship. I hate it when people call this a non skilled position. Guess what? You made it to the NFL. You're skilled, first of all. Second of all, that relationship, you are the center of the guy that sets the line. You're the on field advisor about coverages you know, the guy's seeing and everything. Especially with a young guy like Mendoza who's. This is all going to be new to him. These exotic blitzes and all the other stuff. And you know, Jason Kelsey, what he did for Jalen hurts, right? I mean, even if the ages are reversed, Tom Brady needed David Anderson in those last couple Super Bowls. That was a big deal. So I think, I don't know, this is a place I would spend money
Jason McIntyre
on that Kelsey hurts poll. Where'd you get that from? Damn, that was good on the fly. Okay.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
We have a great staff.
Jason McIntyre
Kelsey's a legend.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
Yes. Yeah, well, makes a difference, right? All right, let's tackle NBA. The Thunder beat the Magic last night. SGA continued that record, that beat and wilt record scoring streak. Now 40 points in this one, but scores at least 20 a game. And listen to what former NBA champ Vernon Maxwell says. This is why SGA is the runaway mvp.
Vernon Maxwell (quoted)
According to him, doing what he did just with that alone, which we talked about right there, 100 plus games over 20 points in a row. Ain't nobody's done. Never, never ever. I mean, you see, ain't Nobody had dead since wealth 62.
Miles Simon
Yeah. That's crazy.
Vernon Maxwell (quoted)
Tell you so you know that. You know how hard that is to do.
Jason McIntyre
I'll let you go first.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
Well, I was gonna say. You look like you're allowed to say there. Look, first of all, Vernon, we've learned every record could be broken, so I would. I would put that aside for a minute. But, you know, do you. You. You obviously do not think that SGA is a runaway mvp. I can give you my opinion.
Jason McIntyre
Define runaways like it's. No, there's not even.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
That's what he just said. That's what he just said.
Jason McIntyre
What does that mean? Like, blowout city? Or is there worth a debate that we could engage over Jokic Wembanyama someone?
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
Right. So there are years, certainly, but by the time you get to them, there's only a month of the season left. Everyone knows who the MVP is going to be. It's just kind of done. I would argue that it's not set. I mean, look, I think Shai will win. I think he has a strong sort of momentum through the season. I do think this record matters. I think Vernon's right about that. But there has been a real push coming on for Victor Repanyama, and everyone was like, oh, Shai Jokic, Shay Jokic. Jokic has really slipped a third in this discussion with the injury he had. And, you know, Aaron Gordon not being there, and he hasn't looked quite the same back from injury. Jokic still, I think, you know, if not the top. One of the top players in the entire planet, but Wembanyama, man, I mean, the way he makes an impact offensively and defensively changes the calculus and the geometry of the game in a Steph Curry like way just because of his physical gifts and what he can do. There's a case, and I think a lot of people. I'm a voter, and I think a lot of people are going to make sort of the same calculation I might make, which is if the spurs catch or overtake the Thunder in the standings and they're three games back right now, that, to me, is going to be a real calculus in my book.
Jason McIntyre
So that the only issue is that's like a team thing. And I think the Thunder are just so deep when J Dub has missed, what, 50 games? Yeah, yeah. And like, it doesn't matter because they've got an amazing roster. Where are the SGA defensive highlights, Rachel? Do we have those queued up? Can we get those real quick? SGA defense? Because all I hear is, oh, Luca doesn't play defense. What about sga? Okay, he tries.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
I mean, it's not his greatest skill. His greatest skill is, look, they hide
Jason McIntyre
him on the worst offensive player on the other team.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
Nobody should look at any of this discussion as a rip on sga, right? This guy, he's like a metronome. He's so consistent. He's always there. He's super clutch, right? Those baskets he hit the other night, like he is there. And he's a great leader and sets the tone for that team. So he will probably win this year and he will be a worthwhile two time mvp. But I will tell you, you know how high I am on Wemby. You know how much I think he's going to accomplish in his career. This could be the last year that MVP is up for grabs for a while.
Jason McIntyre
I think he should just give your
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
vote to Wemby because I think he's got such a bright future for this season. Jason.
Jason McIntyre
So here's my. Let me ask this, Rachel. So SGA misses 15 games. Thunder probably still go 11 and four.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
I mean, he missed.
Jason McIntyre
Wemby misses 15 games. Yeah, they're below 500. So, I mean, like I, and I love Castle and Harrison Barnes and company have been good. Wemby just impacts the game, I believe, more than anyone in the league.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
And, and also, look, if voters are human beings, right? And there's people. Oh, you guys vote the narrative, you can put that aside.
Jason McIntyre
They're kind of right about that sometimes. I'm not saying you, but in general.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
No, no, I get it. Again, voters are human beings. And also there's so much judgment room. And what's Val, what makes a valuable player? Some people. People feel it's this. Some people feel it's subjective. Right. That kind of thing. One of the subjective factors is just when you watch a game, how much are you wowed by this guy? And Shay, again, his strongest, strongest attribute is that he is consistent. And that is not to be underrated because knowing what you're going to get from your star is hugely important. But Wemby, man, I mean, he's so flashy, he's so energizing. He's literally doing things we've never seen before. So I do think there is that factor among some voters of being like, I don't know, man, at some point, who affects the game more, by the way?
Jason McIntyre
Head to head, spurs or Thunder?
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
So three or one?
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, yeah, forgot about that. So defense. Wemby, head to head. Wemby.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
Okay, but records SGA, 20 point. 20 point. I mean, number one seed in the number one seed all year.
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, that's fair.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
20 points a game.
Jason McIntyre
Whoopy. Damn.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
N oh boy.
Jason McIntyre
It's impressive. Yeah. SG SGA is awesome. I get that. I would vote Wemby.
NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
Therehere we go.
Jason McIntyre
JMac Rachel with the news.
Miles Simon
Wow. Well, that's the news. I'm a little rattled.
Jason McIntyre
They're saying stuff, I guess. They're really hot. To get to this next story, the Buffalo Bills super bowl window continues to shrink. Something happened this week that it's not great. We'll talk about that next year on the Herd.
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tournament brings volatility, upsets and momentum shifts. With webull predictions, you can trade strategic positions on college basketball outcomes, react to matchups, and assess probabilities as the tournament unfolds. Whether your bracket is busted or you're on the way to the top of your leaderboard, bring your strategy to your trades in real time. Get started by downloading the Webull app today or visiting webull.com event Contract trading is speculative and may not be suitable for all investors. Customers should carefully consider the associated risk before investing. Visit webull.com disclosures Innovation is what gets
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NBA Analyst (likely Rachel Nichols)
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Jason McIntyre
back here on the Herd, saw this Jalen Waddle trade from the Dolphins to the Broncos and I started to ask myself, well, that's not bad. They didn't give up much, the Broncos to get a really good receiver. And then I looked at the Buffalo Bills and I was like, wait, they got DJ Moore from the Bears, but they seem to give up a little bit of draft capital. I don't think those receivers are separated by much. Waddle obviously younger and you know, we start talking as a team here and it's like, well, okay, so Josh Allen is inching toward 30, hasn't been to a Super Bowl. He's been. Health, health has not been an issue for him, which is great, but he takes a pounding. I I started to wonder, so is Josh Allen going to gonna win a Super bowl in Buffalo? They seem to think that the problem was the coach McDermott, so they fire him. But maybe it was the GM making all these bad moves, missing on a lot of draft picks. Now he did hit on Josh Allen. You could just take that one forever, go to the owner and be like, hey, I got us Josh Allen, MVP of Elite. But what about the rest of the roster and so somebody on our staff is like, well, I don't even know if Josh Allen's gonna be a Hall of Famer. And so the Oscars happened over the weekend, and you guys saw Paul Thomas Anderson, had that great movie, One Battle After Another, and he finally won an Oscar. He's 55 years old. Did you know he had been nominated for 11 Oscars himself, had never won one? Guy's been making movies since Boogie nights in the mid-90s. Sometimes you just wait forever. John Elway, the great Broncos quarterback, keeps getting to a Super bowl, keeps getting his teeth kicked in. Finally, at 37 years old, they get the coach, they get the running back, everything comes together, and Elway wins a Super Bowl. Terrell Davis, obviously, the Mile High salute. I love doing that thing, even though I wasn't really a Broncos fan. And you start to look and you're like, well, Elway at least had offensive skill position players, the three amigos. Who could forget those guys? And you look at the Bills and you're like, is. Is Josh Allen going to get the supporting cast? Has the GM done enough? And the problem is, and I think I said this the last time I was hosting, like, I. The super bowl window seems to be shrinking. This past season was the year, right? Chiefs down. Mahomes hurt. Ravens miss. Lamar dinged up. Joe Burrow hurt. Bengals miss. I was like, patriots, Broncos. Where the hell did these guys. Jaguars. What's going on here? And I just. We know the AFC is ridiculously loaded. NFC is top heavy. You got the Rams. Then there's, you know, a little space, and you've got, you know, the Bears are there, the Lions, the Packers, obviously, the defending champion Seahawks, Niners, probably Eagles. It's just a lot of good, but not great. The Rams are the only great team in the nfc. You look at the AFC because the quarterbacks are so spectacular. Burrow, Mahomes, Allen, Lamar, Jackson, Justin Herbert. But the teams are more well rounded. The Patriots, the Broncos, I don't know. Do the Jags qualify? I don't know. The Texans have a really good roster as long as CJ Stroud doesn't vomit all over himself in January. Like, the AFC is just stacked. And frankly, I don't know if Josh Allen's going to wait around the way he plays until 37, like John Elway, to win a Super bowl, he hasn't got to one yet. And, you know, I don't want to dig too deep looking at the schedule, but, like, I mean, if they don't get there this year, then you start wondering, well, then you got to pay James Cook, you know, and what is Josh Allen going to stay healthy into his early 30s? You know, the way his, his style of football, you know what happens once late November, December against the big opponents, 10 to 15 carries for Josh Allen, he's taken a pounding. And then in the playoffs, Josh go save us. And Josh didn't have a great game against Denver and still had them in the mix and the defense couldn't get stopped. So I just, if I'm a Buffalo Bills fan, I'm a little nervous going forward. Not have we wasted Josh's prime because you've had some great playoff runs, but are we ever going to get over the hump and get to a Super bowl and win one? All right, final hour. Coming up next on the Herd.
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Jason McIntyre
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Date: March 18, 2026
Host: Jason McIntyre (J-Mac), Guest: Miles Simon (Fox Sports/Arizona NCAA Champion), Rachel Nichols (NBA analyst)
This hour of The Herd dives fully into college basketball with March Madness on the doorstep. Host Jason McIntyre leads with his personal passion for the NCAA Tournament, unveiling his top 5 players to watch. He’s joined by legendary Arizona guard and Fox Sports analyst Miles Simon, engaging in a lively back-and-forth about tournament players, sleepers, coaching narratives, and NBA parallels. The show closes with spirited debates on NFL contracts and the NBA MVP race, featuring Rachel Nichols.
This hour is a fast-paced, expert dive into March Madness, brimming with sharp player analysis and strong opinions. McIntyre ranks his top NCAA stars, Simon dissects what makes winning teams and players, and both forecast how the tournament will shake out (including Final Four predictions and coaching breakdowns). The show shifts gears seamlessly to tackle NFL contract values and then debates whether Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Victor Wembanyama should be this year’s NBA MVP, blending stats with the “eye test” and awards calculus. If you missed the episode, this summary covers all the big debates, name-drops, and expert picks you need for watercooler credibility — plus some memorable soundbites to boot.