TCU's all-time assist leader Alex Robinson Jr. joins the pod and talks about his recruitment, his teammates at TCU and discusses legendary Horned Frogs.
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00:00 - All right, now on Frog Fever,
00:04 we have a very special guest.
00:06 We have the all time leading assist leader
00:08 in TCU basketball history with 672.
00:11 Also all big 12, 13 in 2019,
00:14 one of the best guards and players
00:16 in all of TCU basketball history, Alex Robinson.
00:19 So Alex, we thank you for coming on.
00:22 We know it's tough on your schedule, but we appreciate it.
00:25 - No problem, man.
00:26 Thanks for having me guys.
00:28 - Yeah, this is awesome.
00:29 This is so cool for us.
00:31 - Thanks man.
00:34 I'm looking forward to it.
00:35 - Yeah, so to get right into it,
00:37 we kind of want to start with the start
00:39 of your recruiting journey.
00:40 Obviously you're a big time four star
00:42 with a lot of offers from lots of different types of schools.
00:45 Why did you choose Texas A&M at first?
00:48 - I didn't want to leave Texas.
00:50 And to be honest with y'all,
00:52 TCU was the only reason I didn't go to TCU
00:57 'cause at the time they didn't even have a stadium.
00:59 They didn't have a locker room.
01:02 They didn't have anything.
01:03 And so when I went on my visit,
01:05 they wouldn't show me anything.
01:07 And I was like, that's what the practice gym looks like guys
01:10 I'm gonna see the rest of the stuff.
01:12 So I took a couple more trips, places and places.
01:17 And I went to A&M and they had,
01:22 the lockers had, you could watch TV.
01:24 It's the first time I ever seen Synergy
01:26 so I could watch my own,
01:27 I could watch anybody's highlights.
01:29 I could watch as many,
01:30 it was the first time I haven't even heard
01:32 of the program before.
01:33 So I was like, man, this is like a win-win situation.
01:38 I mean, there's this facilities.
01:41 I knew a lot of the assistant coaches
01:42 that were there at the time.
01:44 And so for me, it just made sense.
01:48 I can stay in Texas.
01:49 My family could see me.
01:51 You're on a big stage.
01:52 And I was playing with some other guys,
01:56 some other great players.
01:57 So that's kind of what kind of led to my decision.
02:02 I didn't really want to leave the state at all.
02:04 So it was kind of out of TCU and Texas A&M,
02:08 but I wasn't a huge fan of Baylor.
02:12 So I couldn't, but they,
02:14 I think they had, I think at the time they had,
02:17 I think they had either Xboxes or they were PS3s.
02:22 It was one of the two in every single locker.
02:24 And then they had a big flat screen
02:27 when you sat down and took a poop.
02:29 And I was like, ooh, that's-
02:31 - That would be nice.
02:33 That would get me over there too.
02:34 - So y'all see, y'all see all the,
02:38 you know, when I'm weighing out the positives and negatives,
02:41 I'm like, man, these two schools here,
02:44 and then TCU's like, hey, we play at the Wilk,
02:46 you know, where you play high school games at.
02:49 - I see where you're coming from.
02:53 - And then, and I really liked Florida State as well.
02:56 That was the one out of state school
02:59 that I really, really liked.
03:00 And when I was about to go on my official visit,
03:03 there was a guy named Josh Gray,
03:05 who was the number one Juco player in the country.
03:08 And he was dropping ridiculous numbers at the time.
03:11 And he, like this, bottom of the ticker,
03:14 I'm like chopping it up with my pops.
03:16 And then I see, I see Josh Gray
03:19 commits to Florida State.
03:22 The head coach was here yesterday,
03:25 like at the crib, like what's going on?
03:28 And then, so I was like, man,
03:32 I'm just gonna go ahead and go to A&M.
03:34 So I went to A&M and as soon as I committed,
03:36 it said, another ticker came across the screen.
03:39 It said, Josh Gray commits to LSU.
03:42 How did he commit twice?
03:45 - Yeah.
03:46 - But that, you know, that's why,
03:49 and I don't regret the decision at all.
03:50 I loved going to A&M my freshman year for sure.
03:53 - So, what is it, obviously your mom played at TCU,
03:59 but what was it that brought you back to TCU
04:01 and Jamie Dixon eventually?
04:03 - So I was involved in something that was,
04:09 that kind of affected my personal life at A&M.
04:14 I didn't leave A&M for basketball purposes.
04:17 And I just kind of wanted to be by my family.
04:20 So I was like, man, and Rutgers was on me hard
04:25 when I had the former NBA coach, Eddie Jordan.
04:29 And that was hard for me to turn down
04:31 because the role that they were promising me
04:33 and the things they were gonna probably allow me to do.
04:37 But, you know, for me, it's like proof in the pudding.
04:40 At the time, Coach Johnson was letting Keon just rock out.
04:44 Like he could do what, he could do no wrong.
04:46 He was just letting it fly.
04:48 He could do whatever he wanted to do.
04:50 And so for me, I was like, man,
04:52 I'm gonna just go back to the crib, you know?
04:55 And Coach Johnson just kept preaching to me like,
04:58 hey man, if I had, if I had,
05:00 and the funny thing is, I don't think anybody noticed
05:03 that he might get upset if I tell y'all this, but oh well.
05:06 So he was like, he called me up after I committed to A&M
05:11 and was like, oh man, you made the wrong,
05:13 you should've came here, you know, da, da, da, da.
05:16 He was the only coach that did that.
05:17 So I was like, oh man, he was really rocking with me.
05:20 And so I was like, all right, you know,
05:22 things don't go right then for sure.
05:24 I'm gonna consider TCU.
05:26 And so that's ultimately kind of what led me
05:30 to pick the Mover Ruckers 'cause how much he cared
05:33 that I didn't go to TCU.
05:35 And one of his big things was, he was like, man,
05:39 like I got Keon and then I got K. Rich.
05:43 K. Rich goes down with the injury.
05:46 And then he's like, if I can get everybody at one time,
05:48 we'll be set.
05:49 I keep getting these really good players.
05:51 And so I was like, yeah, that's probably my fault,
05:55 but you guys didn't have a locker room.
05:56 So, you know, you can't really blame me,
06:00 but that's what led me to come to TCU
06:01 after just kind of how he responded to me
06:05 not committing here the first time.
06:07 I was like, yeah, I got it.
06:08 You know, he gonna show love.
06:10 That's what I thought.
06:11 - That's a cool story.
06:13 - So that's what led me back to TCU.
06:15 And then ultimately, you know,
06:17 we got the new stadium and all that.
06:19 And at that point, I didn't even care.
06:20 I didn't care if they had a stadium,
06:22 but we ended up getting that new stadium finished
06:26 that same year.
06:27 And well, they might've been in it my freshman year.
06:30 Well, they had just gotten in my freshman year.
06:32 And then Jamie ended up coming.
06:34 And I even took a trip to visit Jamie in Pittsburgh
06:37 and he kind of ruined the 4th of July for me
06:40 'cause the 4th of July fireworks were so amazing
06:43 in Pittsburgh.
06:44 I go, somebody's like,
06:45 oh man, the 4th of July fireworks are so awesome.
06:47 I go out there, I'm like, what is this?
06:50 So I tell him all the time,
06:51 well, you ruined it for me, man.
06:52 It was so good.
06:54 If you guys never seen 4th of July in Pittsburgh,
06:56 man, it's awesome.
06:57 It's unreal.
06:58 - I gotta try it out.
06:59 - Oh, 100%.
07:01 I would say Jamie had it hooked up.
07:03 We were in the Steelers stadium,
07:06 the pie and stuff.
07:06 It was cool, but man, I was like, man,
07:09 I tell him today, man, you ruined 4th of July for me.
07:12 I feel like I gotta do something special
07:13 every 4th of July 'cause of you.
07:15 - Yeah, he's a hell of a recruiter.
07:18 Yeah.
07:20 I wanna talk about that 2017 season.
07:22 So it was your first season playing with the Frogs
07:24 and obviously you guys won the NIT,
07:26 one of the coolest moments
07:27 in TC basketball history, I'd say.
07:29 Were you hyped because you,
07:31 'cause the NIT is obviously a weird feeling.
07:33 Like, were you hyped because you won the NIT
07:35 or were you more pissed off
07:37 or like a weird feeling
07:38 that you didn't make the NCAA tourney?
07:40 - It was kind of a mix of both.
07:42 I was really hyped.
07:45 Like, I kind of have,
07:46 I might have a little bit more school spirit
07:48 than most guys that probably come
07:50 and play in athletics.
07:52 Just 'cause I'm like, you know,
07:53 I'm from Fort Worth.
07:54 My family's from Fort Worth.
07:55 I went to all the camps when I was little.
07:57 I was at camps when Santee was playing.
07:59 And you guys still there?
08:03 - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, cool.
08:05 - So for me, it was,
08:09 a part of me was super happy that,
08:12 I mean, it was our first post-season championship
08:14 in program history.
08:17 And so that was just like, man,
08:19 like we're a part of history now.
08:21 This is crazy.
08:23 Like we won this thing.
08:24 And then another part was kind of upset
08:28 that we didn't get into the tournament that year.
08:31 And it felt like it was less resume-based
08:35 and more of just a lack of respect as a program.
08:39 'Cause I felt like we beat really good teams.
08:41 We ended up beating Kansas that year
08:42 and they were number one.
08:43 And we lost to Iowa State in the Big Tour Tournament.
08:46 And I think we beat Iowa State twice that year.
08:48 And I think that was probably the one.
08:52 And they said we needed to get
08:53 at least 20 wins in the season.
08:54 And I think we had that going into the NIT tournament.
08:59 So, you know, we were kind of upset,
09:02 but at the same time,
09:04 since we had never won anything as a program,
09:07 we were excited to go and prove to everybody
09:09 that we deserved to be in the tournament.
09:11 And I mean, I think it's still a record
09:14 for the largest margin of victory in NIT history.
09:17 I think we proved that.
09:19 And then it was really cool to see,
09:22 you know, Brandon's little brother get in the game
09:24 and do a windmill dunk.
09:26 - I remember that.
09:26 That was awesome.
09:27 - That was crazy.
09:28 - That was so awesome.
09:29 - We really put out, you know, made our mark.
09:32 And then, you know, the support TCU has
09:37 and everything, everything the athletic program did for us,
09:40 they put us on all the jumbotrons and screens in Manhattan.
09:45 Like, this is stuff like you just dream about as a kid.
09:47 And TCU was able to provide that for us.
09:50 So for me, yeah, a little bit was like, man,
09:54 you know, we got the dub,
09:56 we proved to everybody that we should have been there.
09:58 And then the other part of me was like,
10:00 we finally got a trophy in that case.
10:03 So it was mixed emotions,
10:06 but majority of it was just happy
10:07 that we finally got something we could put up there.
10:10 - Yeah.
10:12 Yeah, I remember that windmill dunk so well.
10:14 That was awesome.
10:15 That was such a great moment.
10:17 - And he's such a humble dude.
10:18 He's like, oh man, that was all y'all.
10:19 I'm like, bro, you don't understand.
10:21 That moment right there really set it off.
10:23 Like nobody expected that.
10:25 You came in and just, full windmill too.
10:28 It wasn't no little baby windmill.
10:30 - Yeah, it was.
10:31 - Extended that dance.
10:32 Oh my.
10:32 (laughing)
10:33 That was just really cool, man.
10:35 You don't really get to share moments like that
10:36 with your brothers.
10:37 So that was dope.
10:38 - And then the next year, 2018,
10:41 you guys are the sixth seed in the tournament.
10:45 It was the highest tournament seed for TCU since 1998,
10:48 I believe.
10:50 It ended up being a loss in the first round,
10:51 but what was that season like?
10:53 And how cool is it being a sixth seed
10:55 and bringing the program back to the NCAA tournament?
11:00 - Man, that was really cool too,
11:02 especially 'cause we thought we should have been
11:04 in it the year before.
11:05 So for us to get there, kind of prove to everybody
11:08 that yeah, we deserve to be there.
11:11 That was big for us.
11:12 And then once we were there,
11:15 maybe the lack of experience got us.
11:17 Also, we were going against another Hall of Fame coach
11:21 who knows, I mean, Dixon and him know each other
11:25 very, very well.
11:26 And I think he mentored or helped Dixon out along the way
11:31 in his past.
11:32 So they were very familiar with each other.
11:34 So I'm sure there was a little rivalry going on
11:36 between those two.
11:38 And they had really good players too.
11:41 I think there's like three guys on their team
11:43 that ended up going to the NBA.
11:47 And man, I'm not gonna lie,
11:48 we were very confident that year too.
11:50 We felt like if we beat them,
11:52 that we would do well and beat Michigan State.
11:56 And Syracuse stole that from us.
11:59 They ended up beating us and then they beat Michigan State
12:01 and they went to the 16.
12:02 We were like, "Dang, should have been us."
12:05 But like I said, lack of experience might've played a role.
12:09 I don't think the lights were too bright.
12:12 There was no other team in the Big 12
12:16 that kind of gave us that two, three look.
12:19 So I think Baylor ran two, three a little bit that year.
12:24 But we just, I mean,
12:24 I think we were the number one three-point shooting team
12:28 in the country that year.
12:30 So nobody really wanted to take the risk
12:33 of really playing us two, three that long.
12:35 And they were super solid in that two, three.
12:37 And honestly, I think it was just,
12:40 if we played them 10 times,
12:42 we'd probably win nine out of 10 times.
12:44 But just that night, man, we just couldn't hit shots.
12:49 We just couldn't hit shots.
12:51 But the whole experience was super dope.
12:52 I've never experienced anything like that.
12:54 They showed us a lot of love.
12:55 And just like the NIT, TCU had us set up to,
13:00 man, you just felt like a rock star.
13:02 So yeah, it was dope to me.
13:04 - That's sick.
13:06 In 2019, you specifically too had a sick year
13:09 where you became TCU's all-time assist leader
13:12 and one of the best point guards in Big 12.
13:15 I think you're fourth in Big 12 assists all-time.
13:18 Since like '93 or something like that.
13:20 How did you know that you were gonna be such a good passer
13:25 and take pride in that?
13:26 And how did it feel knowing you were a part of TCU history?
13:29 - Man, honestly, man, when I was being recruited,
13:35 I felt like I was more considered a combo guy score.
13:41 And when I first got in TCU,
13:44 a lot of our sets and stuff,
13:47 they automatically kind of put me at the two guard.
13:50 I had to develop those habits,
13:55 but I was so good at getting the lane and finishing
13:57 and I was athletic enough where,
13:59 and my game, obviously I'm nowhere near Kyrie Irving,
14:03 but I would use that type of explosion
14:07 and not to dump, just kind of get hay time
14:09 and be able to finish.
14:10 Maybe I should have dumped a couple of those.
14:12 I think I got one nice one versus Baylor.
14:16 I should have got, I should have did a lot of those,
14:18 but it's okay.
14:19 So with just being able to get in the lane
14:25 and just taking my knowledge from what I've learned
14:28 from the great coaches that I've kind of played under
14:31 like Stansberry and there's just things
14:36 that they would teach me what to look at.
14:38 Like if I get in the paint,
14:39 I just started figuring out things.
14:40 Like every time I go up, this guy steps up.
14:44 So instead of shooting the ball now,
14:47 I want to be able to prove my value as a point guard.
14:50 There's no guys in the NBA that's six foot playing two.
14:54 So I was like, man,
14:55 and this was just kind of like my narrow thinking
14:59 being so young and not having a mentor
15:02 and stuff at the time.
15:03 I was like, man, I got to figure out a way
15:05 to be considered a point guard, a good point guard.
15:10 So instead of shooting those shots,
15:13 I learned I just started dropping the ball off.
15:15 I'd start finding ways.
15:17 And the only reason I tell people
15:18 the only reason I feel like I was such a good passer
15:21 is because a lot of those times
15:23 I probably could have scored that basket
15:25 and I would wait a half a second
15:28 for the defender to fully get over there and I kick it.
15:31 So it's just like things like that.
15:34 And you see it like a couple of early games that we had.
15:39 My sophomore year, I would go on quick spike scoring spurts,
15:43 things like that.
15:44 And for me, it was really hard to figure out
15:47 how to put it all together to score and assist,
15:50 like do it all at the same time.
15:52 And like I said, I was trying to figure it out all on my own.
15:55 So I just was like, man, I'm just going to be
15:58 a fucking great passer.
15:59 That's what I'm going to be.
16:01 And so that's kind of what started it, man.
16:03 And then I look up and they're like,
16:07 hey, you're like fifth,
16:09 you're about to pass Jamie Dixon for assists.
16:11 And I'm like, crazy.
16:14 And then we play Iowa State.
16:16 I think Jaylin had got hurt.
16:17 And the next game I had my opportunity to start.
16:20 And I mean, I look up and somebody's like,
16:25 hey, look, you get one more assist,
16:27 you have the school record.
16:29 I'm like, what?
16:30 I was like, oh, hey Vlad, come here, man.
16:34 Pick a role, lay up, lay up.
16:37 Don't pass it, I don't care.
16:38 Don't pass it, lay up.
16:39 And I think he actually gave me that 17th assist.
16:44 And then I don't know if it was K Bridge
16:47 or Chris Wajabane, but somebody was like,
16:50 hey, you got eight points, you got to go get a lay up.
16:52 Double, double, double, double.
16:54 I smoked the lay up.
16:56 I was so happy.
16:58 I was excited, man.
16:59 I was like, man, I'm going to have 10, 17.
17:02 Like, this is really crazy.
17:04 And I smoked the lay up, legit.
17:05 Like, it was over the lay up.
17:07 And I just--
17:07 Damn.
17:08 --win the game.
17:09 And so then I look up and they're like, hey,
17:15 you're about to tie a Santee.
17:17 And I'm like, what the fuck is wrong with you?
17:21 It was surreal for me.
17:22 But like I said, I didn't expect it, especially not only
17:27 being there for three years.
17:30 And to even be top five in the Big 12
17:34 is crazy because there's a lot of good point guards
17:35 that played there four years.
17:37 And some of them, four and a half, five.
17:39 So for me to be even close to number one is crazy.
17:44 And then it makes me think, damn, maybe I should have just
17:48 said, man, forget that they don't have locker rooms.
17:51 Just go to TCC.
17:54 What if I did this four years?
17:57 As soon as I broke the record, I was like, man,
18:00 what if I-- if you think about it,
18:02 if I did four out--
18:03 I'd be number one in the Big 12.
18:04 You know, a lot of things I went through.
18:07 But man, it was crazy.
18:09 I couldn't believe I broke it, to be honest with you.
18:11 You were also-- so you were a teammate of Desmond Bain,
18:17 I think, his first three years in college.
18:19 Was there a point in time that you
18:22 realized that he was going to be really good
18:24 or had a chance to be really good?
18:26 Yeah.
18:28 After his freshman year, his sophomore year,
18:30 it was like sophomore-- his sophomore,
18:32 seventh from my junior year, I was--
18:36 we were at open gym.
18:38 We did something.
18:38 I don't know what it was.
18:40 I can't remember.
18:40 I actually remember the day that he was like, hey, man.
18:43 He's like, hey, dog, you a pro.
18:45 I said, what?
18:47 He said, nah, you--
18:49 [LAUGHTER]
18:52 And it's just--
18:55 I feel like I'm pretty realistic.
18:57 Like I said, I'm thinking, man, I'm six foot.
19:00 Like, yeah, I really got to make an impact.
19:02 But for him, his work ethic, you could just see it.
19:05 Like he invited everybody to come to the gym,
19:07 and he was always in there.
19:08 And he never was like, ah, nah, I ain't working.
19:11 And the best thing was his humbleness and his humility,
19:16 man.
19:17 He didn't care if you walked in and he
19:19 was working on his left hand.
19:20 He didn't care if you knew he had a bad left hand.
19:23 Like he was in there working.
19:25 And then next thing you know, you blink,
19:28 and now he can do the same thing with his left
19:30 that he can't do with his right.
19:32 And I think that's kind of a big thing that a lot of guys
19:35 kind of have to get over, the pride aspect of it.
19:38 He had no pride.
19:39 He was just trying to get better and just lived in the gym.
19:42 And so you kind of see those traits out of somebody,
19:45 and his demeanor and mentality and stuff.
19:48 Like, oh, yeah.
19:50 So going into that season, when he was hot, I'm like, dude,
19:54 it's coming to you every time.
19:56 I don't care.
19:57 I'm just trying to win the game.
19:59 I don't care.
19:59 Nobody's saying, all right, so-and-so don't
20:02 want to shoot shots?
20:03 Cool.
20:04 It's going to you, because I know you're going to shoot it.
20:06 So--
20:07 [LAUGHTER]
20:09 But for real, man, so that's kind of--
20:15 like I said, you could just kind of see with guys.
20:18 I was pretty surprised Vlad didn't get the opportunities.
20:21 But he's doing great.
20:22 He played in EuroLeague for a while.
20:25 Honestly, I think he's still in the EuroLeague.
20:27 But I had a lot of great players around me, man.
20:30 Arguably, if you include Vlad, I had three NBA guys around me.
20:34 So my job wasn't too difficult. And maybe
20:38 if Fisher doesn't go down with a few injuries, maybe four NBA.
20:46 My job wasn't too difficult.
20:49 Speaking of D-Bay and guys you played against,
20:51 you gave out your TCU Mount Rushmore on Twitter
20:54 the other way.
20:54 And it was Kurt Thomas, D-Bay, Lee Nalon, and Corey Sante.
21:00 Can you elaborate on that?
21:01 And why'd you lead guys like your teammate, K. Richoff,
21:05 who got his jersey inducted in the Hall of Fame the other day?
21:09 Oh, for sure.
21:10 No, that's my dog.
21:12 But I like to call myself a realist.
21:19 And you just got to look up the numbers, man.
21:22 Like Sante second in assists, second in points.
21:25 That's unreal.
21:26 That's unreal.
21:27 He was number one until I broke it.
21:30 But he was second all time in points and assists.
21:33 He could do everything.
21:36 There's nobody on that list, anybody else put on there,
21:39 that's done that.
21:41 And then you have Lee Nalon.
21:44 Lee Nalon was here.
21:45 He had the same route that K. Rich had.
21:48 And Lee averaged 25 and 10.
21:53 That's unreal.
21:54 Unreal.
21:56 For him to be able to do that, come out and do--
21:58 and if you've seen Lee Nalon play, he was a dog.
22:02 He didn't care who you were.
22:03 He didn't care what your status, your accolades was.
22:06 He was coming at your neck.
22:08 And then, I mean, Kurt Thomas just kind of speaks for himself.
22:11 And D-Bay has the most threes in TCU history, I believe.
22:15 And I mean, his last year kind of solidified that.
22:20 Mount Rushmore, for me, I think he just
22:25 took over the whole Big 12.
22:27 To me, he probably, if we win a few more games, which
22:31 is his fault, necessarily, he's probably
22:34 leading for Big 12 player of the year that year,
22:36 if probably a little bit better team around him.
22:40 So that's kind of why I put them forward.
22:43 My Mount Rushmore, just--
22:45 man, their accolades is just crazy.
22:48 And I don't think Lee gets the recognition
22:50 that he probably deserves.
22:51 I don't think Shanti gets the recognition
22:53 that he deserves from possibly the TCU fans and stuff.
22:58 But what them two did, I know it was a while back.
23:02 But man, it's just unreal.
23:05 I wouldn't want to guard Shanti.
23:07 What do you tell him?
23:08 Hey, look, he can shoot and pass.
23:10 What do I do?
23:12 Good luck.
23:13 Yeah.
23:15 Yeah, it's impacting the coach, too.
23:17 Yeah, and there's a game.
23:19 And I don't think-- and this is the thing that--
23:21 and I can say, I've seen K-Rich--
23:26 I mean, I think one game, he had 18 rebounds versus UNLV.
23:30 And I was like--
23:31 in the game, it felt like he grabbed every rebound.
23:35 So I was like, bro, how many rebounds this guy got?
23:38 And they're like, 17.
23:39 What the fuck?
23:40 17?
23:42 That's unreal.
23:43 So he--
23:44 It's like you and assists.
23:46 I was like, bro--
23:48 the fact that he was doing that as a 3-4, not a 5, and all that.
23:53 And I remember somebody saying, Nick,
23:57 he's not that athletic, is he?
23:59 We ain't seen him jump for them rebounds.
24:01 He's athletic.
24:02 He's smart.
24:03 He knows when to use it.
24:06 And nobody getting that rebound over him.
24:08 But man, there was this game that Lee had 45 points,
24:12 50 points.
24:14 You know how hard it is to score 50 and 45
24:17 in a college basketball game?
24:18 And he did it twice, in the same season.
24:23 Unreal.
24:24 So that's why I have Lee, Santee, D-Bang, and Kurt
24:28 in my Mount Rushmore.
24:30 But like I said, K-Rich could--
24:33 and he could interchange with any of them.
24:35 I wouldn't be upset if K-Rich was in somebody's Mount
24:37 Rushmore, for sure.
24:39 Like I said, that's my dog.
24:41 But I got to give respect to those guys.
24:44 I haven't seen anybody at TCU score anywhere near 45.
24:48 And once they get to 45, Lee scored 52.
24:52 So half of 100 teams scored 50 points total this day.
25:00 I think we scored 51 games.
25:03 That's why I picked them for it.
25:05 Yeah.
25:07 This is a similar question, but I'm
25:09 curious if you can tell us your all-time TCU starting
25:12 five, like one through five, with positions and stuff.
25:16 Oh, man.
25:17 That's tough.
25:18 You can put yourself on there, too.
25:20 I can't do that, man.
25:22 I got to--
25:23 I go Santee, point guard, for sure.
25:27 Then I got to go D-Bang at two.
25:29 Then I got to go K-Rich at the three.
25:31 And I got to go Lee Navine at the four.
25:33 And then at the five, I'm going to go--
25:40 I guess I got to go Kurt, because Kurt's in my Mount
25:43 Rushmore if I can't--
25:45 Yeah, you can move.
25:47 And you know what's crazy is K-Rich D-Bang played
25:49 on the same team.
25:51 And then you got Lee Naline and Kurt Thomas
25:56 played on the same team.
25:58 They got the team count.
25:59 I see what you're doing.
26:01 Hey, I guarantee you, if we could do that,
26:05 we win the National Championship 100%.
26:09 Are you at least coming off the bench there in the six men?
26:12 I would hope so.
26:13 Yeah.
26:14 I hope so.
26:15 But if I'm seventh or eighth, as long as I win the championship,
26:19 I'm good, especially with the new NIL deals.
26:22 Slide the dollars, I'll be all right.
26:26 I like that.
26:28 All right, so after your TCU career,
26:30 you bounced around seven different G League teams
26:33 in two different leagues in other countries,
26:35 Austria and Africa.
26:37 What is life in the G League like?
26:39 And did you prefer it better or worse
26:42 than this Australian League or the African League?
26:45 I mean, G League is fun.
26:49 For me, I hurt my back pretty bad that COVID year.
26:54 I was part of a three-team trade,
26:55 and then I hurt my back really bad in Austria.
26:59 But I was just blessed enough to have good relationships
27:03 with some of the guys and some organizations,
27:07 like the Pacers and the Nets and the Jazz and all that.
27:13 So for me, it wasn't necessarily about performance.
27:18 It was free rehab.
27:22 I don't have to pay to fix all these bulging
27:25 discs in my back.
27:26 So they all welcomed me with open arms.
27:32 And I think probably the most fun
27:33 I had that the year after I hurt my back was in the G League.
27:40 And I didn't think I had an agent that year,
27:42 for the most part.
27:43 They would just call my phone.
27:44 And I'm like, all right, what's the situation?
27:48 OK, y'all got so-and-so's dip for a few weeks or whatever.
27:52 Y'all need me just to come fill a spot.
27:54 I'm like, yes, free rehab.
27:57 That was kind of my mindset with it.
27:59 But it was honestly, like I said, it was really cool.
28:01 And I'm glad them guys are getting bigger checks.
28:04 I'm glad them guys are getting better living situations
28:08 and all that.
28:09 Because even though I had a pretty good situation where
28:12 I was at, I know a lot of guys didn't have great living
28:15 situations.
28:16 Or I think the Cavs G League team,
28:20 practicing in a church for a little while.
28:22 So the league has grown a lot, which
28:25 is very good because there's so many talented guys that
28:27 play in there.
28:29 I think my favorite place to play, though, was in Australia.
28:33 It was really Americanized.
28:36 But they're like, they just--
28:40 they treated me so well.
28:42 And they helped me really, really get back on my feet.
28:47 I feel like I was a guy who didn't get injured much going
28:52 through college, or at least it didn't affect me enough
28:54 to not play.
28:55 So I didn't really necessarily understand
28:59 how bad a back injury is or how long it lingers.
29:04 So in Australia, they really helped me get back healthy,
29:09 obviously with the G League as well.
29:11 But then I got my strength back.
29:14 I started dunking the ball again.
29:16 And I started lifting weights and all that stuff again.
29:18 I fell in love with the process and all that.
29:22 Then I started getting patellar tendonitis and Achilles
29:24 tendonitis and all that.
29:26 And honestly, it probably stemmed
29:28 from being my first full season back from a back injury.
29:34 But then after that, I kind of--
29:38 my biggest thing was my dream was to coach.
29:42 And so for me, it was like, man, I had one foot in,
29:45 one foot out.
29:46 And I had one foot in, one foot out after my rookie year
29:51 because that's what I really wanted to do.
29:53 I wanted to kind of be able to have a spotlight, shock
29:56 a smart, at a younger age and see if I can really
30:00 rack some wins up and maybe catch a guy like Dixon
30:03 or Behan or somebody like that in wins.
30:06 So all the advice is, oh, you're a young man.
30:11 Keep playing.
30:12 Keep this.
30:12 Keep that.
30:13 And after Australia, I was like, yeah, I'm done.
30:18 I want to go into coaching.
30:20 And then I got offered to play in the BOW, which is NBA TV.
30:26 And so I was like--
30:28 I have my son and stuff now.
30:30 I was like, oh, this is an opportunity for my son
30:32 to kind of see me play basketball
30:33 before I really hang it up.
30:35 So I went out there and helped the team, the first time team,
30:37 get in the playoffs and then came back home
30:40 and now became a full-time dad.
30:44 But I really love my pro career, my pro journey.
30:49 Hopefully, I can get into coaching soon
30:52 and really leave my mark with that.
30:58 Yeah, so on that topic, you're working with a lot of guys,
31:02 like training guys right now, like Trey Tennyson,
31:06 a guy for TCU who's lighting it up right now.
31:08 I know you've worked with him.
31:10 Can you talk to us about what your plan is for the future
31:13 and what you kind of want to do?
31:16 For the future-- I mean, hopefully,
31:17 if the opportunity ever opens up, like I said,
31:20 going to coaching, I don't care where it's at.
31:24 That's just kind of something.
31:25 When I'm interested in things, I get super laser-focused.
31:29 And sometimes, that's the bad thing.
31:31 But coaching and strategizing how to get wins and recruiting
31:38 and all that stuff interests me so much.
31:40 I'd be super laser-focused in that field.
31:44 So for me, it's just everything, for me,
31:47 is learning how to get better at my craft
31:50 and trying to kind of put my knowledge
31:55 into some of these other guys.
31:56 And hopefully, it'll make the same mistakes I did coming up.
31:59 So like Trey, me and Trey were in the gym all summer
32:03 this year.
32:04 And it was crazy because I didn't expect it.
32:08 I didn't expect it at all.
32:10 I thought we'd be in the gym for a week or two.
32:12 And then he'd be like, mm, I'm good.
32:15 You know, I'm straight.
32:17 And weirdly enough, then you just look up.
32:21 And I'm like, damn, you've been here every day
32:24 the whole damn damn it all summer.
32:27 His work ethic is unbelievable.
32:29 So I'm not surprised at all.
32:30 And I was telling people about his work ethic.
32:33 So I'm not surprised anything that he's doing,
32:36 especially [INAUDIBLE] ball-wise.
32:38 I'm most proud about the way he kind of handles himself
32:42 under pressure and things like that now
32:45 because that was kind of my main goal is for him
32:46 to be able to--
32:48 if they take away your three, could you
32:50 get to something else that's not a layup?
32:53 Could you get to a pull-up?
32:54 Could you master the mid-range game?
32:56 Could you be a three-level guy?
32:58 And I think he's proved that.
32:59 I think he's proved that very well.
33:01 And now if you close out on him and he won dribble pull-ups,
33:06 now the big has to step out because he's making those two.
33:09 And then now you got the drop-offs.
33:10 Now you got the heavy layups, all those kind of things.
33:14 And honestly, he's ran the--
33:15 when they put him at point guard,
33:17 he's done a very good job of taking care of the ball
33:20 and not turning it over and still finding a way to be him.
33:25 And he's had some really big games for us.
33:28 My goal is to kind of help whoever
33:31 puts on a TCU uniform just because, like I said,
33:35 I didn't just go there to play basketball.
33:36 It's like a family thing.
33:38 I'm a true TCU fan, even if I didn't even
33:42 go play basketball for TCU.
33:44 So whenever those guys need help or they
33:46 want to get in the gym or whatever,
33:48 I'm always open to it.
33:49 So I mean, hopefully, some more of them call me
33:52 and I can help them out.
33:53 We can get some more dubs.
33:55 Yes, sir.
33:58 All right, this has been awesome, man.
33:59 I think time's running out here soon before we let you go.
34:03 But if we had one last question, what
34:05 is your prediction for this season's TCU basketball team
34:08 when it's all done after this year?
34:11 Man, honestly, man, I think we go pretty far.
34:17 I think we lead.
34:18 I think we surprise people.
34:19 And I think we hit the sweet 16 for the first time.
34:24 I like that.
34:26 And the reason I say that is because we
34:28 got the experience with Jacoby and Miller.
34:33 I think that teams, for us especially, we're so athletic.
34:41 What I mean by athletic is we're a mismatch for a lot of teams.
34:44 We get up and down.
34:45 I think we're number one in fast break points.
34:47 Our big gets up and down unreal.
34:50 Trey could get hot at any moment.
34:52 I think Trey-- that was in Africa at the time,
34:55 actually, in March.
34:56 And I was watching.
34:58 I think Trey had 25 in the second half.
35:01 We have a lot of guys who are confident enough
35:04 to change the game.
35:06 I think Jermeir had 30 and Baylor off the bench.
35:11 Those things like that, all that kind of stuff
35:13 matters when you go into the postseason.
35:15 We have a lot of playmakers, man.
35:17 They could all go off at the same time.
35:20 All you need is one or two of them to really have a game.
35:23 And we're so good defensively this year.
35:26 We didn't really show--
35:27 Texas game, we kind of gave that one up.
35:31 They were just more physical than us going in.
35:35 So I think we lost the rebound battle pretty bad.
35:38 But games like that, we lose those games.
35:43 They didn't beat us.
35:43 We beat our [AUDIO OUT]
35:45 When you're in the tournament, man,
35:46 you don't think about that kind of stuff.
35:48 You really play every possession like a shellac.
35:51 So I think with the makeup of our team, how deep we are,
35:56 the fact that we can score in the low post,
35:58 the fact that Miller has a mismatch, we can attack.
36:02 The fact that Jacoby's a mismatch for a lot of guys
36:05 with his weight and his mid-range game,
36:08 the fact that Trey can get hot at any moment
36:10 and get really, really hot, the fact
36:13 that Jermier can be a three-level guy
36:15 and get hot, the fact that Avery can also be a three-level guy
36:19 and get hot.
36:20 I mean, I like to see a little bit more lobs from us.
36:25 I like to see more dunks.
36:27 But man, I really like our chances
36:29 at least making it to the Sweet 16,
36:31 kind of doing something else TCU hasn't done.
36:35 Yeah, that's awesome.
36:37 Well, it's about to kick us off here.
36:39 But we really appreciate you coming on, man.
36:41 This is so cool.
36:42 Yeah, this has been awesome.
36:43 Appreciate everything.
36:44 And this is big for us having you on.
36:47 So this has been great.
36:49 No problem, man.
36:49 Anytime, man.
36:51 Anytime.