Former Gonzaga All-American Adam Morrison breaks down the Bulldogs' last two regular season games and much more
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01:29 Welcome to The Perimeter, Season 3, Episode 19, presented by McGillivray Environmental.
01:33 We got Brandon, the producer here.
01:36 I'm going to recap Santa Clara, I don't care.
01:38 I'm not going to talk about Portland, who cares?
01:41 And then we're going to go into the road trip.
01:43 Massive road trip coming up with San Francisco at the Chase Center where the Warriors play.
01:48 We've played there a couple times, the NCAA tournament.
01:51 And then the big one against St. Mary's.
01:55 Still a chance to catch St. Mary's to win the league,
01:59 but I think if we just take care of business against San Francisco, we'd lock up that two seed,
02:04 which is perfectly fine. You get that automatic buy in the West Coast Conference tournament.
02:08 So you only have to win two games instead of potentially three.
02:12 I'm going to talk about St. Mary's losing Justin Jefferson.
02:17 I think it changes the whole game plan and outlook on both sides of how we play them and how they play us.
02:25 That's a huge loss for him. It sucks.
02:27 It's obviously an advantage for us, but it sucks when a kid loses to injury.
02:30 He's having a great season. Remember, he had 16-11 against us.
02:33 He's kind of like their Anton Watson for them, kind of do-everything guy.
02:37 Can shoot it, can guard multiple positions, bigger body.
02:40 So it sucks for them. You just hate seeing a guy drop out like that.
02:45 So it's going to change the complexion of the game and schematically.
02:49 Get into the bracket a little bit. We're a team, you know, Linardi and Fox and CBS.
02:53 We've been talking about that last few episodes. Havis.
02:56 Then I'm going to talk about if, you know, who should be Player of the Year awards and stuff like that,
03:01 because I think Ram E.K. is making a great case for that. He's played terrifically.
03:07 But last game in the kennel, this, what was it, Saturday?
03:10 - Saturday night, yeah. - Saturday night.
03:12 Seasons flown by. We had that weird stretch though where we didn't play for a while.
03:17 You know what I mean? Or the, or let me say, the students weren't in there.
03:21 We played some games in there, but the students were there for like four of them, I think.
03:25 And they're always just a little bit different when the students aren't in there.
03:29 So that's why maybe in my mind, the home games are not as,
03:34 it seems like it's gone faster is what I'm trying to get to.
03:37 But Santa Clara, obviously, beat us January 11th down there, one point win or whatever it was,
03:46 and had a chance to win that basketball game.
03:48 So there was a lot, you know, rematch, all those things.
03:54 Santa Clara's hovering around the 100, right? And the net or something like that.
03:59 So it's still like a quad two win, and I know that matters.
04:04 So it was a great opportunity to get one of those.
04:07 And I thought our guys did an excellent job to start the basketball game.
04:12 Santa Clara, who I think is one of the better coach teams in the conference, Herbstinick's terrific,
04:19 but they always seem like they drop games that they shouldn't.
04:23 They're always around 18, like this year they're 18-11, they always win 20 games,
04:27 but you're always, "Man, I really think they can get to 24." You know, they'll lose a couple.
04:32 But just great roster. The O'Neill kid on the perimeter, it's kind of a pick-and-pop.
04:38 Four was great, he had 16 points.
04:43 Tilly, the German kid, the German national was good. He had 18-8.
04:48 6'8" from the field, 5'6" from the free throw line.
04:52 And then the big Gaffaro off the bench, who was the transfer from Virginia, he's like a 7-footer.
04:57 He was 5'5" at 10 points.
05:01 So to start the game, it was really high-paced.
05:03 Both teams were, I think in the first media timeout, if my memory serves, they were both 4-for-6.
05:10 And I think Santa Clara made one more three, so that's why they had the lead.
05:13 But it was a beautifully played basketball game from both aspects.
05:18 I thought in the first half, our guys did a good job of getting through their late actions
05:26 after O'Neill was making some threes and started playing a little bit better defensively.
05:31 But really, we're super efficient offensively.
05:33 I mean, we scored 52 points in that half.
05:36 Go 20-32 and 5-8 from downtown, so that's 62-62 on the percentages.
05:42 Graham was great.
05:46 Nolan was fantastic the whole game. He was 5-7. He was great in that first half.
05:51 It was nice seeing Dusty make a corner three to start the game.
05:53 - Yeah, totally. - And then he had just made other plays.
05:56 He had his better game in probably two months. 4-for-5, 2-2 from three, 10 points, four rebounds in 27 minutes.
06:05 He's got to give us more of a scoring punch off the bench.
06:09 Brayton's been terrific. He only played seven minutes, but a wing scoring punch.
06:14 And we're not saying like 20. Just go out and get 8-12 in limited shot attempts.
06:21 So if he can do that, it would really help us.
06:23 But that first half was a beautifully played basketball game. We were up 52-46.
06:27 And then much like in the second half, it was kind of a little bit back and forth.
06:32 The offense slowed down a little bit for both sides.
06:35 Both teams kind of came back to earth shooting the ball.
06:38 Santa Clara goes 13-35, only 37%. So much better job defensively.
06:43 O'Neal had 13 in the first half and finished with 16.
06:47 So we did a much better job on him in the second half.
06:50 Really closed out to his three-point shooting ability.
06:52 But he was 3-for-3 in the first half from three, and he ends up 4-for-6.
06:55 So obviously 1-for-3 in the second. We did a better job on him.
06:59 And then our offense slowed down a little bit.
07:02 We still shot 50% though, 14-28, and then 3-for-8 from downtown.
07:06 So we go 8-for-16 from three, which is obviously 50% terrific.
07:13 Minus one on the glass, which was okay because down there we were minus 13.
07:18 It was a big factor in the game. So we were much better.
07:21 Obviously you want to win it, but Owash is good.
07:24 They're the best size-wise team I think in the conference.
07:28 Cafaros, the big kid. O'Neal is. Tilley is.
07:32 Adamo Ball, who's their leading scorer, who only had 8 points,
07:36 but he goes 2-for-7, fouled out, had four turnovers.
07:40 He's a 6'8" wing. So they're built solidly.
07:45 And they're one of those teams that I say at the start of the year
07:48 when we talk about the transfer portal because it always comes up
07:50 and it's going to be a topic for the rest until they fix it
07:53 or if it stays the same it's going to be a topic.
07:58 They have the best--them and probably I'd say LMU
08:05 have the best opportunity to get pretty good guys in the transfer portal.
08:10 If you're like, "Hey, come live in the Bay and go to a beautiful campus."
08:14 And we're a good team. They always at least get the NIT or the 20 wins
08:18 and a coach that knows what he's doing.
08:20 So they have a bunch of transfers, but high-level ones.
08:23 Like I said, Cafaro played at Virginia.
08:26 Adamo Ball played at Arizona. You know what I'm saying?
08:29 These are not mid-level guys and there's nothing wrong with that,
08:34 but these are guys that went to big programs and either graduated
08:37 or just didn't like the role that they were going to have
08:40 in their last season or whatever.
08:44 So I thought it was a great win. I love the way we're playing right now.
08:48 Graham was terrific at 26 points, 9-13, 8-9 from the free throw line,
08:53 has 7 rebounds, played 32 minutes. Anton was great his last game,
08:59 5-9, 13 points, 5 rebounds. Ben Gregg has been terrific in the starting line-up,
09:06 didn't have a great game, but that happens.
09:09 Hit 6 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, so it wasn't terrible, 3 steals.
09:13 Ryan Nemhard, who I think has really solidified the transfer, I guess,
09:21 and taking over that one spot, the lead guard role,
09:27 in the back half of this season, especially in conference play.
09:31 Remember at the start it was like, "Man, he's not playing very good.
09:34 He'd be the first one to say that." He's been terrific in conference,
09:37 really shooting the ball amazingly. He had back-to-back double-doubles
09:42 with assists, had a great night, 7-13, 6 rebounds, 17 points, 6 assists,
09:50 only 2 turnovers, another great floor game.
09:53 Ben Nolan was terrific, 6-12, 5-7 from 3, 3-4 from the free throw line,
09:58 20 points, 5 assists, 0 turnovers.
10:02 Our backcourt's playing the best they have had for about a month,
10:05 all season, like tandeming.
10:07 It's finally coming to fruition because Nolan's reached 40% from 3.
10:11 Remember at the start, my hypothesis was that he was going to play better
10:19 just because he can be off the ball and he's more of a scorer-shooter,
10:22 and it took a while. Early it's like, "Well, maybe this is not the right fit,"
10:27 and it was easy to do that, but as the--what's the term?
10:32 Regressed the mean or whatever. As we got more data, it's finally got to
10:37 where we thought it was going to be, where Ryan's been a terrific ball handler,
10:42 assist-maker, obviously he's scored it better, and then Nolan's our
10:46 3-point threat, especially with Steele being out.
10:49 So I thought he was terrific. I like where this team's looking right now, man.
10:54 Honestly, I know Santa Clara's not the world beaters, but they're a good
10:57 basketball team. We're scoring at a great clip.
11:00 Our assist to turnover is great, 17 assists, only 8 turnovers, 7 steals,
11:06 so we're not throwing the ball away. And guys are playing with a lot of
11:10 confidence, kind of with the chip. We started playing good in conference,
11:14 but I think that Kentucky game really helped turn the tides as far as
11:19 confidence-wise. So, huge game coming up at San Francisco, the Chase Center.
11:26 I don't know why they did this, to be honest. I don't know why.
11:32 I get you make more money. That's got to be the reason, but it counts as a
11:38 road game. It's not a neutral, because San Francisco's the host,
11:42 and it's in conference play. So we get to play a neutral game that counts
11:48 as a road game that could become a quad-1 win, and we've played in that
11:53 building before. They never have, I don't think.
11:55 -Oh, really? Wow. Yeah. -Right?
11:58 -Yeah, that is interesting. -So it's just odd that we kind of get that break,
12:02 because that game is really tough to play at Memorial Gym. It's a weird gym.
12:08 A cool gym, but we've had some close ones. Remember last year, Rashear Bolton
12:12 had to have a tip-in to win? -Yeah.
12:14 -And then, even with our best teams, remember that one year we had
12:17 Rui and BC's crew, and I think Rui hit a couple jumpers late to win by 4?
12:23 We've had way superior, talented teams than them. And this is when Kyle Smith
12:28 was there, and Todd Golden, and obviously you see what Kyle Smith's doing,
12:31 a great coach at Washington State. But you're just like, "Man, we can't play good.
12:38 We don't play good in this gym for some reason." So it's a great advantage.
12:44 San Francisco's third in three losses, so in their mind, if they can win,
12:50 it'll be a split, and then there's the weird net, all the net stuff for the tiebreaker
12:56 goes into effect, assuming that we beat St. Mary's.
12:59 -St. Mary's, right. -That's assuming, though, right?
13:02 And so it's a massive game for that aspect, that if we can win that,
13:07 we obviously get to lock up the number two seed. And then, obviously we're going to
13:13 play St. Mary's just the same, because we need more quad ones, but it kind of alleviates
13:21 the pressure off that game a little bit, if that makes sense.
13:24 -It does, yeah. -So I'm really looking forward to it.
13:27 San Francisco's done a great job of always scouting us. Kyle Bankhead,
13:31 all the old Zag fans that listen to this, played with me my freshman year,
13:36 played at Walla Walla High School, and then walked on and ended up having
13:40 a really good career at Gonzaga as kind of a role-player shooter, good defender.
13:46 He's a great assistant coach now, so his scouts are always really good against us.
13:50 He knows our tendencies, he knows B. Mike, he knows Steven, played with all those guys,
13:54 obviously my former teammates, so that's a little wrinkle that people don't sometimes
13:58 pick up on the national media or the local media, even that it's weird playing your buddies
14:04 and weird playing guys that you know how he kind of thinks.
14:08 So it's going to be an interesting game. They've got a terrific club.
14:13 I like the Mogbo kid is really good. Marcus Williams, good as a backcourt.
14:18 They both average almost 15 points a game. They shoot it pretty good as a crew, 49%.
14:26 35 from 3, that's not bad. Plus 5 on the glass.
14:31 They average just under 80. We're in the 86s, so they score a little bit more
14:36 than other clubs.
14:40 - They just came off a really good game against St. Mary's.
14:42 - Yeah, they lost by 4, and so they're just good.
14:48 They've been good for 5, 6 years.
14:53 So I'm curious to see how they play us inside defensively, because like I said, Graham has been...
15:02 I think the stat I read was Graham's had 8 straight games with 19 points or more,
15:08 something like that, 8 or 9. So he's been just absolutely terrific for us inside.
15:14 And that's going to be an issue for San Francisco.
15:18 And then the start of games, I always, especially on the radio, I always talk about it,
15:22 but double team packages, I always talk about what's a team...
15:29 Are they coming on the strong side, or are they going straight one-on-one,
15:33 are they going to go... There's different color variations.
15:36 How we used to do it, white was off a bad shooter, red was...
15:41 I think blue was big-to-big, red was opposite side, and then I think black was
15:47 double from the bottom side. There's different ways you can do it.
15:52 So I'll be curious to see how they handle that, but our guards are going to have to
15:56 continue to play good. We have to play good inside. Like I said, that Mogbo guy's
16:00 fantastic as an inside presence. And yeah, it's going to be...
16:06 He's averaging 14, or 15 and 10. Great player.
16:13 Shooting 66%. So it's going to be a fun one.
16:18 I'm going to be like everybody else and watching it on television.
16:21 I'm going to be at my daughter's state basketball tournament,
16:24 so I'm going to miss this road trip. Obviously, I'll tune in and watch the games.
16:28 But it should be an interesting atmosphere in that Chase Center.
16:31 It's probably going to be like a quasi-home game for us, because we have a ton of fans
16:35 in the Bay Area. - I wonder how many people will travel down there,
16:37 because it's an easy trip. - It's an easy trip. It's a cool experience.
16:41 Go to the NBA arena. I think San Francisco's still a cool city.
16:45 You can say what you want, but there's some dumpy parts to every place in America, right?
16:51 So just stay out of the riffraff. You'll be fine.
16:54 But cool area. It's a nice time of year or two to go down there.
16:57 It's a little bit chillier than the other Californias, but it's still warmer
17:00 than everywhere else, right? It's still California.
17:04 - Definitely. - Yeah, hopefully we have a good output there.
17:09 We haven't played great. Well, that's fair. We played great in the neutral
17:14 when we played USC, but USC's not very good.
17:17 I'm just thinking of it cosmetically, or how did we shoot?
17:20 We shot it good there. Didn't shoot very good against UConn.
17:23 So I'm trying to go NBA arena. You could say Rupp is like an NBA arena,
17:28 so we played great there. The size of it and the look of it is kind of like that.
17:34 So that's always something just to think about. I know it's a weird thing,
17:38 but you're going to. It's completely different.
17:42 All these West Coast Conference gyms are small, and it's a thing.
17:46 It's not a major thing, but it's a real thing, something to consider.
17:51 So yeah, I'm really looking forward to that game.
17:54 Obviously, a lot of things for the Marbles or whatever I'm trying to think of.
18:01 Lots of things to play for. I don't know why that was so difficult.
18:04 - I don't like thinking in these hypotheticals too much, but if we lose this game,
18:11 there's a lot of pressure on Gonzaga to beat St. Mary's just to finish in second.
18:17 - Yeah, just to finish in second. - 100%.
18:19 I'm not a betting man. I don't bet on sports, but Pepperdine's not going to beat St. Mary's
18:25 to help us get them a loss to have a championship game
18:30 or that last game be a championship-type thing.
18:33 But regardless of that, let's just say we beat San Francisco, knock on wood,
18:38 and St. Mary's is going in.
18:40 I'm almost positive they've never gone undefeated in conference play,
18:44 so they're going to be playing for that, and they'd put a banner up for that.
18:48 So that part is going to be wild and raucous.
18:52 But again, San Francisco is going to be a tough one.
18:55 I like our club right now.
18:57 I think we have the advantage talent-wise and how well we're playing now.
19:03 But it's a huge game, and we haven't had a huge game
19:06 in the second-to-last game of the season in a long time
19:09 against somebody not named St. Mary's.
19:11 - Right, that's so true. - So it's kind of cool that
19:14 they're playing for something. They've had a terrific year.
19:17 We're playing for-- that buy is so crucial.
19:20 I don't think people understand just because obviously you play one less game.
19:25 But that first game, anything can happen, and you're playing a team
19:28 that's just desperate and has nothing to lose.
19:30 You're playing a Portland or Pacific or whoever, LMU.
19:34 It's like, "Fuck it, we're already a shitty year,
19:37 so let's just go out and let it rip, fellas."
19:39 And those are dangerous ones.
19:43 So that'll be fun one Thursday, and then coming up--
19:46 is it Saturday? I mean, St. Mary's in Moraga, Walnut Creek.
19:51 You know, it's the game.
19:53 The Perimeter will be right back after a word from our sponsor.
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20:26 St. Mary's in Moraga, Walnut Creek.
20:30 You know, it's the game for--
20:33 like I just described, first or second place in theory.
20:36 But I think it'll be solidified second,
20:39 and then I think it's a quad one opportunity
20:42 if you can win on the road at St. Mary's
20:45 that helps our tournament chances out a ton at large-wise.
20:49 And then it spoils their undefeated season.
20:53 You know, it's a real thing.
20:55 - I think--I mean, that would be--even if they won the WCC,
20:58 I think the team would be very proud of upsetting
21:01 their perfect WCC season. - Yeah, yeah, 100%.
21:04 Yeah, it's just a cool little nugget to have.
21:07 And I've talked about St. Mary's, especially the last season too,
21:11 like how much respect I have for the program.
21:13 But it'd be a fun nugget to take that away from them a little bit.
21:17 So yeah, St. Mary's, I think the key.
21:20 Graham's got to play terrific again inside.
21:24 But not having Justin Jefferson--
21:26 I prefaced this at the opener--16-11 against us.
21:30 He's 6'8", 6'9", moves like Anton, flies around.
21:36 They could post him up.
21:38 He's a capable three-point shooter, having a great sophomore,
21:41 just a good complementary, good player, you know what I mean?
21:44 Just like glue--like a good St. Mary's guy.
21:48 And that's not a knock, but like, oh, this guy's going to be good
21:51 for a long time in this system.
21:53 And I don't know what he did, but he hurt his knee.
21:56 I don't know what type of knee injury it is,
21:58 but nonetheless he's out for the season.
22:00 It sucks, but that changes the complexion.
22:03 Remember he played all 40 against us, and he had 16-11,
22:07 and he kind of negated Anton--not that he kicked Anton's ass,
22:11 but it was a wash, right?
22:13 And usually Anton's our ace in the hole on--
22:16 oh, he had 16-9 and four steals and three assists
22:22 and two block--you know what I mean?
22:24 And he guarded all your actions.
22:26 That's why you didn't score.
22:28 He kind of was that for them in that game
22:31 and really made it difficult for us.
22:34 If you think back at that first game, though, we lost what, 64-62?
22:38 - Yeah, 64-62.
22:40 - We controlled that game for 35 minutes.
22:42 And then you remember there were some really shitty calls
22:45 at the end of that game?
22:47 - Yeah, there was a handful.
22:49 - And it led to that incident with the throwing the stuff
22:53 and the counter club, and we covered that tremendously.
22:56 But I keep thinking, I'm like,
22:59 we didn't play very good that game.
23:01 The officials weren't great.
23:03 Not that you like to do that, but there was one clear violation,
23:07 and then the box-out foul against Anton was awful late in the game.
23:13 We controlled that tempo.
23:15 So going into this St. Mary's game,
23:17 if we handle San Francisco--let's just assume we do--
23:21 I still like our chances.
23:23 I know St. Mary's is hard to play at, but without Jefferson
23:27 and then the way our guys are playing now confidence-wise,
23:30 shooting the ball better, Graham's been fantastic,
23:33 and then they're kind of playing with a little bit of edge.
23:36 I like our chances, man.
23:38 I really do, not just because I'm a Zag.
23:40 It's just like if you just match up talent for talent,
23:44 I think we're fine.
23:46 I think we're going to have to do a good job against Mahaney.
23:48 I think he had 20 against us, but it was like a 7 for 17 20,
23:52 so it wasn't terrific.
23:53 You know what I'm saying? It wasn't anything wild.
23:56 And then we need to obviously take away Marcellonis,
23:59 who's been fantastic as the off-guard for them this year.
24:02 But losing Jefferson really hurts.
24:05 And then neutralizing Saxon, the big kid inside,
24:08 who's a better player than he looks,
24:10 and I mean that in the nicest way.
24:12 He doesn't look very effective, but every time we play him,
24:14 he had 14 and 9, you know what I mean, in two blocks.
24:17 And he played 38 minutes.
24:19 They didn't get in foul troubles.
24:20 He played smart, you know what I mean?
24:22 I understand that.
24:24 So I just like our chances, though, man.
24:27 I like how this team's playing right now.
24:29 I like how we're flying around.
24:31 I like how we're shooting the basketball.
24:34 We got a potential Player of the Year candidate in EK.
24:39 Nemhard is going to be a first-teamer, I think.
24:41 Nolan has a chance to be a first-teamer as well.
24:45 And then Anton as well.
24:46 Anton's had a tremendous season.
24:50 So I don't know, man.
24:51 I'm really looking forward to these games.
24:53 Obviously, like I said, I won't be in person,
24:55 which kind of sucks, but my daughter's playing in state.
24:58 So, you know, there's plenty--
25:00 the Gonzaga games will exist for almost forever,
25:03 you know what I mean?
25:05 But whatever.
25:07 So I'll watch them on TV and analyze through that lens.
25:10 But pretty excited to see what happens.
25:15 I was going to ask about the bench.
25:17 Like in the St. Mary's game, the last St. Mary's game,
25:20 each team had two points off the bench.
25:23 That's like--I don't see the Gonzaga with Braden and with Stromer.
25:30 I think that might be the difference maker right there.
25:33 That's a very good point.
25:36 Braden's played great all season.
25:38 It's a little bit of yo-yo, and some of it's just the minutes he gets.
25:42 Like he only had seven minutes last game.
25:45 I don't know if he didn't like the matchup or something,
25:48 but he had two points.
25:49 But he's had plenty of 20s and 15s, you know what I'm saying?
25:53 So you're exactly right.
25:54 Like if he can be a spark for us off the bench, it'd be great.
25:58 Dusty played good.
25:59 He had 10 points, like we mentioned, on the Santa Clara game.
26:03 But it wasn't just shooting threes.
26:05 So much better he got a tip in.
26:07 Like he had a hard rip and go, and then he made two threes.
26:10 It's like, see, that's what he should look like.
26:13 And hopefully this gives him life to continue to play well
26:16 because I don't think he's been bad.
26:17 It's just the offensive side just hasn't been productive.
26:20 But you can get lost a little bit when you're just a corner--
26:23 when they tell you just to be a corner three-point shooter.
26:26 I've got to make sure I'm phrasing this the right way.
26:30 Not placing you there, but that's where your shots are just coming
26:33 in the flow of the actions.
26:37 It's hard.
26:38 It's different.
26:39 And so he's adjusted to that.
26:41 But if he can be a fly-around guy-- but you're exactly right.
26:43 Like the bench thing is a big factor.
26:46 Our bench is better than theirs.
26:47 They'd probably tell you that right through your face
26:49 and say it in front of their own guys.
26:51 You know what I mean?
26:53 But it should be a fun atmosphere.
26:57 That's always a fun gym, man, even though it's hostile.
27:00 It used to be really vulgar, and then they toned it just a little bit,
27:07 just like everybody else has, just society in general.
27:10 You know what I mean?
27:11 Some of the stuff was pretty bad.
27:14 But they added-- when I played there, they didn't have this--
27:17 they actually have a nice big screen thing, and they added seats,
27:21 and it looks livelier and prettier inside.
27:25 And, yeah, it's always a fun occasion to go down there and play that game.
27:30 I wonder if tickets are hard to get, considering we'll be playing in San Francisco
27:35 and then just 25 minutes north, I think.
27:38 Yeah, it's north, I think.
27:40 So I wonder if there will be some Zag fans at the game.
27:44 Yeah, well, they allot a certain amount, but I'm sure most of the time
27:49 they give us the bare minimum, which is normal, you know what I mean?
27:53 Because your own fans will buy them out, and we do probably the same thing.
27:58 So it's a fun atmosphere.
28:00 I have a lot of respect for St. Mary's.
28:02 They've got a great team, but again, with no Justin Jefferson,
28:05 it just makes-- in my opinion, it makes it difficult.
28:09 I bet you-- I'd be curious to see what that line would have been,
28:13 and if you're talking Vegas, what it would have been two weeks ago,
28:17 and then with Jefferson, and then how much that changes that line,
28:22 because he was terrific against us.
28:28 So are we ranked?
28:31 Yeah, we're ranked now.
28:32 Oh, sweet.
28:33 That news came out just this morning before I wrote up the notes--
28:37 or after I wrote up the notes, and yeah, we--
28:40 20 in the AP and 22 in the coaches?
28:42 Yep.
28:43 Sweet.
28:44 Back to having a little number by your name looks a little better on TV.
28:47 Definitely.
28:48 That's about all it's worth, but yeah.
28:51 It would be nice to have-- because St. Mary's went up to 11 in the AP,
28:56 so it would be-- it's a pretty--
28:57 Yeah, no, 100%.
28:59 This is a massive road trip, man.
29:02 I mean, I don't even have to say that the fans listen
29:06 or don't even listen.
29:08 Everybody knows that this is a big road trip for us.
29:11 Hopefully we're ready to go.
29:14 I've got to bring up a topic, I guess.
29:16 Before college basketball, the Wake Forest Duke deal
29:19 when a kid got hit on his leg or whatever.
29:24 Philip Pileski, one of the better kids in the country, is a post player.
29:29 I've been asked or have been reading, should we ban court storming?
29:34 And if not, how do you prevent it?
29:38 And then what's the penalties?
29:43 I've been in a couple court storming situations.
29:46 My freshman year, we used to have the tournament at Santa Clara,
29:50 the West Coast Conference Tournament, and I was on the floor.
29:56 We scored a late basket, I think almost at the buzzer,
30:00 to beat Santa Clara at their place, obviously, and we go to the tournament.
30:05 We were still a tournament team, but it was cool.
30:07 Our crowd, our students were en masse down there storming the court.
30:11 That was awesome, a great memory.
30:14 I think I had a good game that game, probably like 11 or something, 12.
30:17 I played good for a freshman off the bench.
30:23 So that was cool.
30:25 And then my sophomore year, we lost to St. Mary's at St. Mary's,
30:29 and that was honestly a little bit scary.
30:32 Kids kind of run by you and stick their elbow out.
30:34 And this is before the camera age that they have now.
30:38 And then the shit people say to you is like they're baiting you to fight.
30:43 And so I understand both sides,
30:47 and I'm going to play devil's advocate on each one
30:50 because I think each one is logical and legitimate.
30:56 I stormed the field this year.
30:58 My cousin played for the University of Wyoming, started in left tackle,
31:01 had a great year, first team all Mountain West,
31:03 but I went to his first game against Texas Tech,
31:06 and they won at the literally fourth down, second overtime
31:09 where you have to go for two and score.
31:11 I stormed the field. It was awesome.
31:13 It was cool.
31:14 But most people that storm the court, kids, college-age kids,
31:20 we call them kids, but they're legally adults, have good intentions.
31:25 I firmly believe that even though society sucks in general,
31:28 but I think most people that go to sporting events at the amateur levels
31:33 are there to have fun, and it's a big deal,
31:36 but it's not that big of a deal.
31:38 It's not like NFL football games where half the guys are really drunk
31:41 and then they fight each other.
31:43 You know what I'm saying?
31:44 That's what I'm basing it off of, and not that the NFL is a bad product,
31:47 but every year you see just people beating the shit out of each other.
31:52 You're kind of like, "Dude, this is--you can't bring kids."
31:55 And like, "Holy smokes, man.
31:57 It's a team that you're not even involved in."
32:00 You're going to rant, and everybody's heard that rant.
32:05 So I get that part of it, like that experience is terrific,
32:10 especially for college basketball.
32:13 You want students to go, and that's harder than people think.
32:16 We're blessed at the Kennel that we have a culture of go to the games,
32:20 but some places don't, right?
32:22 And so just getting students there--you know, you could always blame alcohol,
32:28 so like the counter to this is don't serve alcohol to students,
32:32 even if they're our age, but how do you do that?
32:36 And you're losing a lot of revenue, and I think it's fine to have a drink at a game.
32:42 I can't remember the last sporting event that was a professional sporting event
32:46 or--yeah, professional sporting event that I went to, I didn't have a beer.
32:50 At least one, right?
32:51 I can't even remember.
32:54 I've been to Gonzaga games where I didn't get to have a beer.
32:57 But a professional game.
32:59 Can you remember not having a cocktail at least?
33:03 It's automatic.
33:05 Part of American culture.
33:08 So I understand taking away the fun side of things, right?
33:17 But then the way gambling is now with parlays and shit,
33:25 this is going to be a long-winded reason why I'm going against it now.
33:34 The way kind of the--you know, there's a certain--I guess the frat culture
33:40 would be the best way to describe it.
33:44 So like dudes want to be known to do something to another person,
33:50 especially an athlete, like I got this guy, that's a real thing.
33:55 And then just overall player safeties are--and then liability too, right?
34:02 I mean, I know it says on the back of your ticket
34:04 if you enter the playing surface, it's on you.
34:06 But if somebody ever gets morbidly injured, a lawyer is going to go,
34:12 "That doesn't matter."
34:13 You know what I'm saying?
34:15 You still should protect a fan.
34:17 You know what I'm saying?
34:18 You have to have precautions in place to protect the players.
34:21 Yes, exactly.
34:22 Or a fan.
34:23 You know what I'm saying?
34:24 Like when a fan goes on there and gets trampled,
34:26 I guarantee that family, if that happened, God forbid,
34:29 would win the lawsuit even though it says, "Don't go on the fort."
34:31 They would be like, "Nah, you owe us something."
34:33 You know what I'm saying?
34:34 Or, "We're going to litigate you to death and make this public."
34:37 Anyway, so I don't know what you really do because it's $100,000,
34:45 I think in the SEC if you go, you have to pay the other team $100,000.
34:50 It's a fine.
34:51 It's a fine.
34:52 Okay, so that makes sense.
34:53 But if you're a college kid, you're going to be like, "Shit."
34:56 You're going to run on the floor like, "Cool, write the check, guys.
34:59 I'm paying you fucking $20,000."
35:02 So five of us covered it.
35:05 $100,000, you're like, "Wow."
35:08 I think in some of the other leagues, it's like $5,000 to $10,000,
35:12 it's like laughable, you know what I mean?
35:15 Then people are like, "Well, you see sometimes they run out with those ropes."
35:19 It's always the yellow vest, whatever that company is, like facility people.
35:26 This is not a knock, but a lot of times it's older people
35:31 or it's like a side hustle.
35:33 So if I'm that person, would you risk your own injury or health
35:39 to stop a drunk college kid?
35:41 I wouldn't.
35:42 Then if they yelled at you, you'd be like, "Okay, fire me," whatever.
35:47 You know what I'm saying?
35:49 I'm not blaming those people at all, ever, because why would you?
35:55 It's not your job.
35:56 My point is if they're running out with a tiny rope and a stampede comes,
36:00 if they drop the rope, I'd be like, "Smart decision, man.
36:03 Screw that."
36:04 You know what I mean?
36:05 Why would you do that?
36:06 I don't know what--some people suggested you let the players get off the court
36:11 of the opposing team that lost, and then you let the students storm.
36:15 I think that's an okay solution.
36:18 In that moment, though, I don't think a college student's even going to care.
36:21 No, it's so hard.
36:23 I know.
36:24 I get it because Filipowski really legitimately looks like he could have
36:27 been injured, and then it happened to Kaitlin Clark this year
36:30 on the women's side.
36:32 She's the best women's player in college for sure, and then she drives
36:38 actually real revenue and ratings.
36:41 On the women's side, if she would have been out because of that,
36:44 there would have been--some heads would have rolled, and rightfully so.
36:47 Not just because it's her--it's just money-wise.
36:50 You get what I'm saying?
36:51 Yeah, money.
36:52 Any student athlete, but--I have to do the disclaimer because it's
36:56 today's society, but she's more valuable than some of the other gals playing.
37:01 It is what it is.
37:04 I don't know, man.
37:05 Like I said, I've shared good experiences.
37:08 I've shared one bad experience.
37:13 I think they stormed the court when I was in--at Meade my junior year,
37:21 we beat Ferris, who was really good.
37:23 I remember that.
37:24 It just popped in my head.
37:25 I think they stormed the court, and we won an overtime.
37:27 It was cool.
37:28 We stormed the court against--when I was at Mount Spokane and we beat Meade,
37:32 beat you, we stormed the court.
37:34 Yeah, it was fun.
37:35 It's fun, but it was like--it was a--it wasn't a ton of people,
37:41 and we probably stayed away from you, the players.
37:45 But this Saturday, I was thinking, as you were talking about this,
37:48 St. Mary's has a chance of going undefeated in the WCC.
37:52 They're going to storm that court if they win that game.
37:55 They've stormed before, not just my--they stormed whatever, a few years ago,
38:01 whatever, they've always stormed when they beat us.
38:03 And so I get it, man.
38:05 It's so hard because--but here's the other part is like if you're a student
38:12 or just a fan, and like the younger generation should understand this.
38:17 This is not me just trying to be an asshole, but like everything's
38:21 on fucking film, man.
38:22 How do you not know that?
38:24 So I think a deterrent should be, all right, if you storm and it's viewed
38:29 that you were either vulgar or you potentially injured a player either side,
38:37 we can expel you from the university.
38:40 100%, yeah.
38:41 And I think that would make it where people run on the court,
38:43 but they're just like, "I'm going to cheer with our team and just--
38:46 I'm going there."
38:47 Now, right in the moment, I think it's hard to do, to process all that,
38:53 but I think that helps because like when the deal happened with us
38:58 when they were throwing shit, they had--I think it was like 87 pictures of--
39:04 87?
39:05 Yeah.
39:06 Oh, man.
39:07 And people are like, "What?"
39:08 And you're like, "Yeah, man."
39:09 Like everything--I tell my kids that all the time.
39:11 Like not that they're doing anything nefarious, but like don't tell on yourself.
39:15 Everything's on camera, man, everything.
39:18 So I think that would help it, but I don't know.
39:21 The split kind of--I understand if you're John Shire being ridiculously upset.
39:27 He has every right to be, and then obviously Filipowski,
39:29 like you could ruin somebody's career.
39:31 But I got to play devil's advocate fan and positive experience.
39:35 It's like, "Well, that's a pretty cool experience too,"
39:37 but obviously you don't want to run into a guy.
39:40 I don't know. It's hard.
39:42 I don't know what to do.
39:44 But I think a $100,000 fine is like--that makes more sense
39:49 than the 5 and 10, obviously.
39:51 But the students--like you said, but the students don't even think about that.
39:54 No, you don't.
39:55 I didn't even know that they get--I didn't even know that.
39:57 Yeah, obviously I didn't know it until somebody--I saw an article,
40:01 and that's what it was.
40:02 Because, yeah, when LSU stormed against Kentucky the other night,
40:08 and somebody said, "A $100,000 check goes to Kentucky,"
40:11 and they--I mean that's probably like a hotel stay for them.
40:14 You know what I mean?
40:15 It really is.
40:16 It's like how much staff they have, and they're playing good,
40:19 so hopefully they continue.
40:21 But, yeah, it's an interesting topic.
40:26 It's one that I think there's logic behind both,
40:30 but I think the purveying thought that will win is just don't have people
40:35 on the playing surface, and that makes--I mean I can't really argue against it
40:39 because it's just like no shit, liability, injuries, potential fights,
40:45 even accidental stuff.
40:46 I think that kid for Wake Forest just ran into--the first kid ran into that Duke player,
40:54 but I'm not--I haven't overly analyzed.
40:57 I saw a couple clips, but I was like, "Well."
40:59 Oh, man.
41:01 I'm watching the clip now.
41:03 It's just like--well, yeah.
41:05 See, it's hard.
41:06 Flapowski is like--he's just walking across the court,
41:09 and the crowd's coming towards him, but he also put out an arm and like--
41:14 Yeah, see--
41:15 But he's trying to protect himself.
41:16 See, that's the thing is like I think--I don't know.
41:20 It's kind of like when streakers or whatever enter a playing field,
41:25 like I think like in the NFL I know that this is kind of not a logical take,
41:31 but like let somebody spear one of those guys one time, right?
41:35 Like just really form tackle them, and then same thing with the storm of the court.
41:40 Like if you catch an elbow from a player, man, that's on you.
41:44 That's on you, yeah.
41:45 Because you have to protect yourself.
41:47 It's just a weird topic.
41:49 I don't know what to do, but I think what's going to rule out is they're just going to ban it
41:53 or just say, "Hey," like make it really heavy.
41:57 Like you could lose a scholarship or you could lose a visit opportunity.
42:00 You know what I'm saying?
42:01 Make it to where like the other team's coach are like, "Don't storm the fucking court
42:05 if we win this game," you know what I mean?
42:07 But again, if you're a college student, why would you give a shit?
42:10 I wouldn't care.
42:12 You've had a few drinks, and it's exciting.
42:14 You're at a game with your friends.
42:16 It's something that you can remember.
42:18 You know what I mean?
42:19 I just talked about like three instances where it was fun,
42:21 and I didn't give a shit about the other team or if I hurt somebody.
42:25 I wouldn't care.
42:26 I think as a fan, like you have to be aware, and if you are storming the court,
42:29 you just need to be aware where the players are because you also wouldn't want to injure
42:33 one of your players because that could also happen too.
42:35 -100%.
42:37 -So yeah, I think it's watching them storm the court, it is like they're all coming
42:42 from all angles when they're coming out.
42:44 There needs to be some control here.
42:47 -Well, I know in Europe, and it's different, but for EuroLeague,
42:51 if you watch their games, they have that barrier, and then the players sit
42:55 behind the bench, and then there's another.
42:57 So fans are there, but they're 20 feet away.
43:01 And I've seen people suggest that, but it's like, "Well, you got to redesign
43:05 this stadium."
43:06 You know what I mean?
43:07 I'm like, "That's too--"
43:08 -You're talking about like adding barriers, and so there's a lot of infrastructure
43:11 there.
43:12 That's a hard thing to do.
43:13 -Well, and like if a court-side seat is worth a ton of money for a lot of programs,
43:20 and those pay a lot of bills.
43:21 And same with the NBA.
43:23 Well, the guy sitting at-- I used to know the family that sat right next
43:28 to the commentary table, half court in on the bench side for the Lakers,
43:37 and it was the-- Steven Jackson, he used to be at LA Gear,
43:42 really nice family, awesome people.
43:44 But they had four of those tickets.
43:46 Those tickets were like probably like $250 apiece, and he had them for like
43:50 20 years.
43:51 You know what I'm saying?
43:52 Like that-- you know, you just spread that all the way across,
43:56 and then the seats behind him, like you're talking $10 million or whatever.
44:00 You take that away, that's paying a lot of bills.
44:03 You know what I'm saying?
44:04 So it's interesting how you can solve it, but I'll be curious to see
44:10 if anything happens.
44:11 But they've talked about this topic for years.
44:14 -I think anytime someone--
44:15 -Anytime, yeah.
44:16 -Anytime someone gets injured.
44:17 -Yeah, yeah.
44:18 -But I also wonder like the Duke-- so the Duke coach, what's his name?
44:22 -Shire, John Shire.
44:23 -If it was Coach K, is it-- he's calling for that.
44:28 Is it getting more press than it is?
44:31 I mean, it's already getting a ton of press, but I feel like Coach K
44:34 says something like they might do something.
44:37 I don't know.
44:38 It is a shame.
44:40 So like they shouldn't-- the kid should not be-- he shouldn't be put
44:44 in that situation.
44:45 -Yeah, no, it's a no win for anybody.
44:48 But hopefully he's okay.
44:51 Yeah, so--
44:53 -The Perimeter will be right back after a word from our sponsor.
44:57 -Hey, it's Olive.
44:58 I just got my first ICCU debit card.
45:01 Now I just need some money in my account.
45:03 If only there was someone who could transfer in some allowance.
45:07 Wow.
45:08 [MUSIC PLAYING]
45:11 -But hopefully he's okay.
45:14 Yeah, so I think the last topic we're just going to go over
45:18 is where Leonardo has us in Fox and CBS.
45:21 Leonardo has us the last four in.
45:24 11 seed in the play-in game against Seton Hall,
45:27 so the first four in Dayton.
45:28 That would be kind of a cool experience.
45:31 Fox has us as a 10 seed.
45:33 I think a 10 seed would be amazing.
45:36 I don't want an 8 or 9.
45:37 8 or 9 sucks.
45:38 You want that 7, skip those, a 10, whatever else.
45:42 You know what I'm saying?
45:43 Like 8 or 9 sucks.
45:45 And then CBS has us the last four in
45:48 and has us in the first four in the Midwest play-in game,
45:52 so same thing as Leonardi.
45:54 So we've obviously moved up in the minds of the--
45:58 -Leonardi had us as the last four in last week as an 11 seed.
46:01 I mean, I feel like this will all-- it's all going to change
46:03 if we win these two games, win WCC.
46:06 We could end up probably getting a much higher seed
46:08 than what these are projected.
46:10 -Yeah, I just hope it's 7 or 10, 7, 10, 11, whatever.
46:14 But it's just that 8, 9 sucks because you've got to play a 1, obviously.
46:17 That's not a crazy take, but it's just--
46:22 that's what's happened to the--
46:24 unfortunately to the girls' program.
46:26 They've had great seasons, and then they get the 8, 9,
46:29 and it's like, God, do you feel bad?
46:30 Because their formula has been good,
46:33 and the league dips their RPI,
46:35 and so then they get in that 8, 9 game,
46:37 and then they have to play a buzzsaw in the second round.
46:39 It sucks.
46:40 But yeah, I think we're trending in the right direction.
46:44 It's still a great team.
46:45 What are we, 21-6 now or 22-6?
46:47 What are we?
46:49 -Man, I should have this on.
46:52 -I got it. It's 22-6, 12-2 in the West Coast Conference.
46:57 I really like where this team's headed, man.
46:59 It's not just fodder for the show.
47:02 I mean, we're playing good.
47:03 Guys are playing great in the backcourt.
47:06 I think our rotations are great with Ben Gregg
47:09 being in the starting lineup.
47:10 You know, Luca's been okay off the bench.
47:15 He didn't play last game,
47:16 but he's like the eighth guy that they trust enough to play.
47:20 So he's been fine, and yeah, man,
47:24 I'm just looking forward to these next two games coming up.
47:27 -Yeah, I was going to ask,
47:28 you mentioned WCC Player of the Year.
47:30 You mentioned Greg--not Greg.
47:32 -EK.
47:33 -Graham EK as being who you think should win.
47:37 -Yeah, I think he should be a candidate.
47:39 -I don't know much about the other teams,
47:41 but it does seem like he's in a spot right now.
47:44 He's just playing so well.
47:46 -Yeah.
47:47 -And sometimes it's not even like--
47:48 you don't even really notice it.
47:49 He's just like-- -It's quiet.
47:50 -It's very, very quiet.
47:51 -Yeah, but he's been extremely efficient.
47:54 He went 9-for-9 against Pacific,
47:56 then he was 9-for-14 against Portland,
47:58 then he was 9-for-13 this last game against Santa Clara.
48:02 I think it's nine straight games.
48:04 How do you always say it, but I never remember.
48:07 Nine straight games with 19 points or more,
48:10 so basically 20 a game.
48:11 -Yeah.
48:12 -He's been great.
48:13 I mean, he's got to continue.
48:15 I'm looking at the other kids.
48:16 I don't think Mahaney's played good enough for the same areas.
48:20 Marcellonis has played really good in league.
48:23 He could be a candidate.
48:24 And then the--what's the kid's name?
48:26 Mugbo or whatever I said for San Francisco is the other one.
48:30 But I think if you're just looking at, like,
48:33 numbers and, you know, it's got to go on the better teams.
48:41 Graham's that guy.
48:42 -Yeah, he's definitely--
48:43 -I think it's just kind of working itself into it,
48:46 and then we'll have a lot of first-teamers.
48:47 The Ganton will be for sure.
48:50 And then I have to dive into the Nemhardt and Hickman numbers,
48:53 but I think they'll be at least all conference.
48:56 I don't know if they have first or second team,
48:58 but all WCC.
49:00 So, yeah, man, I'm looking forward to this road trip, watching it,
49:06 and it's going to be exciting.
49:08 It's the best time of year, man,
49:09 when it starts to get into conference tournaments,
49:11 and games mean a lot more, and there's stuff to play for.
49:16 And, you know, you get any of these games,
49:18 your best guys have to play good.
49:20 This is kind of how it is.
49:21 Obviously, schematics and coaching matters,
49:25 but there's certain things.
49:26 It's like, hey, man, you guys got to go get it,
49:28 and that's how it works out.
49:30 So, yeah, man, we'll be on next week with a recap.
49:36 Hopefully it's, hey, we're the second seed,
49:38 we beat St. Mary's,
49:39 and we play Monday against the winner of this,
49:43 and then we can talk about that, talk about Vegas,
49:46 and then we'll have a better clue on, like you mentioned,
49:49 how it changes of your bracketology and stuff.
49:53 I think, personally, I think if we win these two
49:57 and then we win the semifinal game,
50:00 and it could be against San Francisco again,
50:01 that's another quad, which is crazy.
50:07 Let's say we lost in the championship game.
50:10 I think we're still in, it's just me.
50:12 - I do, too.
50:13 - We look like a tournament team.
50:16 At that time, we'd be 25-7, I think.
50:20 - It'd be hard to not include them,
50:22 especially with the net ranking.
50:24 Now we're getting into a net ranking
50:27 where we could be in the top 15, maybe,
50:30 if we beat San Francisco and St. Mary's.
50:33 I'd have to go into the history of it,
50:36 but I imagine any team under a certain amount
50:39 in the net ranking has probably never missed
50:41 in the time that it's been around.
50:43 - And then it's in the 30-unit blow or whatever.
50:45 No, that makes sense.
50:46 I think you're right, too,
50:48 that it'd almost be a purposeful thing not to preclude us.
50:52 But again, I've said it all year,
50:54 or I've said it for the half of the year,
50:56 just go win two games in Vegas.
50:59 That's all you gotta do.
51:00 And then you don't have to worry about nothing
51:02 and worry about seeding and we don't have to sweat.
51:05 We're going in the right direction, guys.
51:07 We're playing terrific.
51:08 Thanks for listening.
51:09 Appreciate our sponsors, McGillvary Environmental,
51:12 Idaho Central Credit Union, HDG Architecture.
51:16 See you next week.
51:17 ♪♪♪