Hour 1: Utah Jazz lose in OKC | Chris Jones Living The Dream | Tim LaComb on BYU & USU
Good morning DJ and PK it’s 975 The Zone welcome in on a Thursday morning a game day the NCA tournament starts in Earnest big day BYU playing this morning will they win we’ll ask Kim pommeroy kenpom.com is going to join us coming up at 8 o’clock all right we’re right now
We’re going to Pivot we’re going to talk NBA the Utah Jazz are beaten in Oklahoma City two-point game going to the fourth quarter and they get blown out by the middle of the fourth quarter the Thunder are laughing on the bench and with three minutes to go pretty much
Everybody who mattered for for the Thunder was out it was that kind of game for more let’s get to the best of the Jazz postgame show your Jazz recap here on djm PK 975 the KSL Sports Zone The Jazz dropped one last night in Oklahoma City
To the Thunder 119 to 107 Colin ston led the way for the Jazz 25 points and seven assists uh but not enough big game from Chad holgren for the Thunder 35 points 14 rebounds for him Shay gilis Alexander with 31 and Oklahoma City pulls away late in the fourth quarter to pull out
The win let’s get to the postgame sound and let’s start things off with Jazz head coach will hardy I was really proud of the team’s effort competitiveness of the first half was probably as good a half of basketball as we played in a while um which shows some growth and
Maturity from the team um turnovers hurt us tonight for sure fouling on defense hurt us a little bit I think there were too many possessions where we got caught with our hands in um the plays where you’re sliding and you bump those plays happen all the
Time um those are kind of gray area plays and it’s it’s hard because you’re giving maximum effort on the ball and guys are hard to keep perfectly Square so some of those don’t bother me as much um but I think being late to help swiping
Late we hit Chad late a few times um around the basket and like those things are things that we can clean up but I think tonight was a a really good example of progress from the team not every person played their best game um you know offensively we took 15 Corner
Threes which is as many as we’ve taken um or the most we’ve taken in a game in a month so it showed progress in the spacing and the passing to the corner um you know we didn’t shoot the ball particularly well tonight that’s a good team we just played but I think there
Are far more positives from tonight’s game than negatives we just had a stretch of the game that got away from us um and credit to Oklahoma City I mean they’re they’re as good a team as we’ve seen this year um Mark’s doing a heck of a job and um
You know they deserve credit for the win some of that the fou with you’re like late on the possession is that come from being late to get back yeah you know some of the the plays getting back in transition I felt like weren’t necessarily because of lack of effort I
Thought we had too many plays where we made bad decisions at the rim and those plays at The Rim where you’re playing over the top of chat and sometimes a second Defender those lead to run outs and then we have guys on the ground or guys that
Kind of their momentum takes them out of the play and they have an advantage going back the other way and they’re really hard to guard in transition um that plus you know some of the live ball turnovers I mean they had 10 steals so those plays are hard to coach
Schematically I think overall though I didn’t I didn’t feel like we had too many moments of like just poor effort from the team I think it was some of the turnovers some of the rim decisions hurt us some of the like their hands in on those files what’s the the practice
Drill to fix yeah I mean we work on it a lot it’s um it’s hard it’s hard to not go after the ball at all um you know they have a lot of crafty players the league is full of them we have a few of them and you
Know it just takes so many reps to break yourself of that habit you know that being said you have to go for the ball some I mean you can’t guard players in the NBA today like this the whole time the skill level is way too high so there’s a fine line
Um the ones that are tougher for me are like the secondary Defender getting their hands caught in like we’d like to shift and show help with our body and not be late and use our arm um because it the guys on the ball they do need to use
Their hands some you can’t just say put your hands behind your back or put them back it it doesn’t work that way so it’s really the secondary Defenders that’s the part we got to clean up more than anything um and a lot of that just takes some
Time and repetition think that Colin is getting stronger as the season goes on and like like using the defenses momentum whatever way they’re shifting on the floor to get yeah he’s colins’s very impressive um I think he’s made such big strides this season um in terms of his reading of the
Defense and understanding of how he’s being guarded how the team’s being guarded he’s shown great progress in terms of I felt like when he kind of turned the corner and all this discussion started happening about him and his playmaking he was doing a really good job in between the games of making
Adjustments seeing things watching film learning and now we’re seeing him have the ability to do it in a game and I think that’s the next level for him um he’s really coachable he sees the clips at halftime he listens during the timeouts um and he’s really showing the
Ability to apply it on the Fly not ke’s best offensive game did you like the not really um I feel like you know they they were putting high level Defenders on they had Dort on him for a while and that’s exhausting um his mix of physicality and footwork and
Intelligence defensively is is rare um and I thought that Keon got caught in between too many times where I think he saw the pass but he maybe saw it a half a dribble late and then just sort of got caught taking some tough forced shots
But um he’ll look at the film um and I have no doubt that he’ll bounce back tomorrow there is Will Hardy let’s now move on to the players here is Colin seon energy leadership relentlessness how are you just doing it all right now um I would say just coming in like you
Said just bringing energy and just seeing how the game is flowing and trying to impact as much as possible and just I feel like just trying to go out there and just make my teammates better you know we’ve talked about this before but I continue to Rave about your
Decision making how it has grown how are you balancing your scoring and your assisting because it’s impressive I would say just keep making the right reads over and over and don’t overthink the game if the game says shoot shoot if the game says pass pass and just go out
There and do those things and I feel like everything else will take care of itself okay this was a controversial moment in the game coach said you’ve only asked to sub out like twice in two years did you tell him you got tired tonight oh no I don’t I just needed one
But then uh I ran ran uh up and down um during the free throw and I was like oh I’m not tired and then uh I was good to go so uh don’t let Co coach fool you I know that was on me false alarm with Colin seon getting tired all right
Competitive into the fourth quarter you’re without your leading scorer Lowry I I know these aren’t moral victories but how do you guys look at this from being competitive against one of the best teams in the west oh it just shows how we match up um we not full-handed
We’re missing guys and for us to to go out there and play a full 48 um ups and downs but to play a real good 48 and play hard it just shows like we’re going to be one of those teams thank you Colin thank you that’s Colin seon 25 points tonight
For uh last night for Colin 12 of 19 shooting he also dished out seven assists let’s now hear from Johnny juang Johnny how can you describe your day today where did you start your day at what time and how did you finish playing a really good NBA game uh so all right
We played last night got the win with the Stars in Michigan uh woke up left a hotel at 4:30 6:00 a.m. flight 10:00 a.m. flight got in like 11:15 got some rest eight nap eat again come to the game get ready and play drop some threes how can you
Describe the way you’ve improved your three-point shooting it’s really starting to show um yeah no it’s been great work with the coaches I mean we hammer it every day get a lot of work in a lot of reps everything Full Speed game like um and then just tighten it on the
Details you know a repeatable shot some I can shoot every time so it’s been it’s been really good you know we were talking tonight a little bit about how you’ve reinvented some of your game from college you know you were like more of a mid-range guy had the ball in your hands
How hard has it been to kind of remake your game at this level um I would say just catching the Rhythm uh on the floor uh in the NBA game and once I’ve kind of you know I got some experience under my belt last year so all summer I was able
To work and I I knew what to do and then this year you know just couple games early to get in the mix and then feel the rhythm and the pace and I feel like it’s been easy you know all the work that you put in every single day it’s
Just kind of like you know let it show stay cool play with you know Pace Rhythm and then it’s all it’s all the work really y there were other couple moments tonight that I was blown away by your footwork defensively do people give you enough credit for how your defense has
Come around and really gotten better um I think many people are coming around it’s definitely some I’ve been working on a lot too so uh I think they’ll come around yeah thank you so much all right thank you yep that’s Johnny juang he played for the stars on Tuesday night
Flies out of Michigan plays for the jazz on Wednesday plays 20 minutes nine points three of six shooting all of them were threes but the Jazz come up short against the Thunder they lose 119 to 107 uh up next Jazz back out of tonight they’re in Dallas to take on Luca and
The Mavericks that game will tip off at 6:30 pregame begins at 5:30 there’s the best of the Jazz postgame show when we come back Chris Jones is talking about the return to Utah for his son Ryland who will play with Sanford and try to upset Kansas today
Great story for a guy who starting high school ball here in Utah played at Utah and Utah State and has now gone all the way to Alabama to play his final year of college basketball that’s next stay with us good morning DJ and PK proudly presented by Murdock Hundai Utah’s
Number one hyy dealer for 18 years in a row Chris Jones joined in yesterday’s show we’re going to replay a few early risers he played at the U he coached at Utah and Utah State and his an assistant his son played at both schools and now Ryland Jones former Olympus High star is
Back with Sanford to play Kansas in the NCAA tournament ah it’s a dream come true returning home for the tourney here’s Chris Jones with PK and I Chris good morning hey guys how are you good so Chris are you the guy are you the guy
At the uh at the golf tournament who who wins the drawing and gets the uh the most expensive gift are you the guy at the Christmas party who walks away with the best gift or are you the guy who says I never won anything because it seems like right now your family really
Hit the lottery here in the NCA tournament well I’ve never won anything when it comes to those things but uh we did hit the lottery if it uh if I waited 30 years to win something I was glad to win this because uh when uh we were sitting around Sunday watching the show
You know my my parent uh and my wife’s parents were here and my dad and when it showed up I’m like the first thing I said is they just saved us 10 grand everybody started everybody just started laughing and I was like holy heck and uh
Yeah my wife had the computer out and we were getting ready to be on Delta and delta.com and like okay where are we going and uh lo and behold we we hit the jackpot so uh I uh I knew a couple of the I knew a couple of the guys on the selection
Committee uh this actually the Samford ad Martin Newton is on the committee and um and then Tom WIIL the Big Sky commissioner who I’ve know Tom for a long time he’s on the committee that night I texted him I just texted him a a thumbs up and a prayers grateful Emoji
Said Thank you and uh they both do what they both do what I was talking about so it was uh pretty cool yeah that’s Jonesy that’s just got to be just the best case scenario I mean that that that that had this has a little Hollywood in it when
You think about it a kid from Utah in his third school all the way over uh on the east coast and common home uh when you talk to him how was he oh he was you know they uh they uh they did a deal where they you know
Homewood in where uh where Sanford is there outside of Birmingham it’s a great that’s an unbelievable place I’ve learned to uh learned to love in the last year great little outdoor Community little restaurants bars they all are all in on everything sfer does I mean they
Had a block party going on it was about three blocks worth of people and restaurants and everything was going on they had music going and they were outside and when they uh when they showed their you know when CBS jumps to their to their uh video feed of them
They were all outside and you know Ryland was in the back row but I kind of saw him jump up and he had a smile on his face that uh that just you know brought a lot of uh good emotion to us so he was I knew
He was fired up when that happened and then he just text me a little after he said unreal I can’t believe it happened so he was ecstatic and uh you know the cool thing is his teammates were really happy for him and a chance to come home
And you know none of them ever been to Utah before so they were like right right how yeah what do we wear how much snow is there or you know they were they had no clue yeah so uh no it was it was uh it was kind of a fairy tale to be
Honest with you and um we’re just very thankful and grateful and uh fortunate that he uh that they that sford gets to come here so Ryland grows up uh a high school basketball star here in Utah so the fact that he goes to the U or he transfers to
Utah State I think everybody gets how that works but for a fifth and final year of basketball to end up at a Baptist School in Alabama at Sanford University H how did that work you know a year ago you know obviously you know a year ago um he had major
Injuries problem were concussion issues and he was you know medically disqualified to to play anymore at uh at Utah State and and so it was a little scary and we had to figure out if he was going to be able to uh play anymore and
So we my wife uh you know he said he wanted to try to play and so we did some work and made sure he was uh healthy and did a ton of he visited about four different doctors a year ago in this time in this spring and uh independent
Neurologists and neuros pych people and they did all the studies and the Imaging and the workups and you know they all came back and gave him a clean bill of health and so he went into the portal he said I want I want my basketball career
To finish on my Note and on my terms and not laying on the floor and boying with a concussion and so uh he went into the portal and uh it was a little scary going into the portal you know a kid coming off of you know three concussions
And you know his stats weren’t very good because he had all kinds of games where he played three minutes and had no stats but it all adds up you know to playing a game and so that your stats don’t look good sometimes and so he went to the
Portal and uh he was actually down in California when he was in the portal with his girlfriend hanging out and uh you know it was crazy the amount of people that reached out to him and reached out to me and his former coaches and you know the portal i’ I’ve only
Been on the other side of the portal where I’m the guy calling kids in the portal and um families in the portal you know when I was coaching in college and now you’re on the other end of it where people were calling you inquiring about
Ryland and so it was crazy just I mean it was bizarre and um he had a lot of awesome schools call him everywhere from you know the Northwest to the Southeast and all and everything in between and he just fell in love with Bucky and the coach there and you know Bucky reminded
Him a ton of both of his High School coaches you know he played for Matt Barnes at Olympus High School and you know Matt was Matt was a fantastic coach and great for Ryland and and then Logan Brown his coach at Logan High for a year
He just like that he reminds me of those to and I’m said hey man you this is all about your deal and he just fell in love with Bucky and what they had to say and um you know Bucky told him hey there’s a lot of schools where you can go to that
They’ll probably be in the NCA tournament it’s a foregone conclusion you know but why don’t you come here and help us go somewhere where we’ve never been before and uh he just loved that he just loved it and they were going to be good anyway Sanford they had they had
Good pieces coming back and but they needed a point guard needed a that was older experienced kind of been through it and uh they they uh they were great and he just loved Bucky and how he talked to him and how he approached things and um they had a perfect
Master’s program for him and away we went and uh we’re just thankful that it happened so people in this community who are into basketball they know Chris Jones and I obviously I’ve known you for 30 years and with that in mind I’m wondering how many people are hitting you up for
Tickets you know we we had a we had a pretty good uh pretty good barrage of requests there for a little while but everybody you know they get it they’re all sensitive to it they’re all like hey I know you’re going to have a ton of
People calling you but if you have any extra let me know and they were great about it and um we’ve been I think ryland’s been able to get around 25 or 30 tickets from his teammates and so they’ll be a they’ll be a good little section there cheering for the Bulldogs
You said uh end his basketball career on uh on this note is he’s not going to play uh professionally overseas or do anything is this it I mean who knows I mean you know is is he does that work out does that happen you know that’s
Kind of the next chapter and I’m sure if I’m sure if that situation approach approached him and that was put in front of him he might consider it but um you know that’s so hard to do there’s so many good players and and uh you know
That wanted do that so you know he doesn’t know what he wants to do he’s just hoping to win a couple win a game here and and go from there and sure I’m he would love to play if the if it’s presented itself in a in a in a good
Situation but you know he’s ready to uh he’s ready to play The Jayhawks Tomorrow and and see where that goes and hopefully they get a chance uh to uh be in the game at the end and and see what happens Sanford 29 and five a lot of
Winning 15 and3 in conference and then obviously win the Southern Conference and I’m sure you’ve seen this team and you’ve talked about just now how it was a good team go a little in depth tell us about the team um you know they they they’re very interesting the coach there Bucky I’ve
Mentioned him he he’s a he’s a huge when he was little he loved watching Rick patino’s team’s play at Providence and Kentucky and back in the day and then his kind of mentor was an old Rick patino guy and so he grew up with when patino was pressing
And picking you up full court and doubling you everywhere and 94 feet they basically pressed you when you got off the bus and uh he he just fell in love with that style and so that’s what he did when he coached in high school and they had a ton of success he won
Multiple state championships in Alabama and so he’s like when he got to Samford Samford had been you know they had been nothing for 20 25 years and so he’s like we have to be different we have to be unique and nobody does what you know they do anymore nobody
Presses full court anymore all game long and plays 10 or 11 guys and so he just implemented his own version of that system and I’m telling you they do when you get off the bus you better be ready to get pressed and uh that’s what they
Do and they play 10 or 11 dudes and they Shuffle you in and out of that lineup and um you know the mo Ryland I think is first or second on the team in minutes at around 24 or 25 a game and you know most teams their their top players in
Minutes are somewhere in the low to mid-30s and uh if not a little higher but they you know 24 25 minutes and you’re in there for three or four or five minutes and you get after it and you press and you pick up and um and
Then on offense like like Bucky told him hey I don’t care if they score on us but that ball better get out of the net and be going the other way really fast and so they’re they play at a really high Pace they get that ball up and down the
Court um they shoot a ton of Threes but it’s not crazy it’s they have a it’s they take good shots it’s not just fire the first one that presents itself it’s like they take really good shots and all five guys out there can take them and
And make them and so they just do uh they just they’re just unique and then when they get back in the half court people break their press they they mix in zone they play two different types of Zone they switch man to they switch in their manto man they’ll double the post
They just they’re just different and so when when teams play them they have to uh they have to be ready for a lot of different things that they don’t generally see and so um it’s just it’s fun it’s fun to watch them play and they got a bunch of
Guys that have sacrific and guys that could maybe be scoring four or five more points a game but you know they do it for each other and you know everybody likes to say that hey we got to play for each other we got to do it for each
Other but when it happens when it actually happens it’s really fun to watch a team come together and do it and you know there was a group of about 15 of us a lot of my friends and buddies we went down to Asheville a few weeks ago
To watch the socon tournament and uh it was just fun to see in in live live action and in person and um he just they just get after it and they love their coach they love each other and they got a lot of they got a lot of cast of
Characters out there that are that are fun to uh that are fun to watch Chris since we have you on and since a lot of our listeners are uh going to be filling out brackets which is uh you know an educated guest at best the way the game works these days uh do
You have anybody in this tournament you consider a lock and it doesn’t have to be to go deep in the tournament there may be something you think this team will get to the Sweet 16 if you’ve got somebody maybe somebody you think this team’s getting knocked out early despite
The fact they got a great seed any any tip you have for our listeners now even if it’s just for a couple of games they’ll take it well I I I’ve never obviously all the years I coached at Utah Kentucky was our Nemesis but I think Kentucky has a
Chance to win it all that’s my I know they’re not a an underdog but you know there’re nobody’s picking them generally to win it but I think you know they Bugaboo over the last whatever seven eight nine years at Kentucky they haven’t been very good on offense well
That changed they’re an elite offensive team and they can score with anybody and uh they can put 80 90 100 points on the board and and their defense has gotten better the last month and so you know obviously Yukon is a fancy pick because
They they have it all and if I had to bet money on it I’d probably bet on Yukon to win the whole thing but a team that would give great value to getting to the final four or getting there to the end I probably would say Kentucky tell us about your son’s life
Experience Jonesy because this is a Utah kid right and he’s obviously the only kid from Utah on the roster and you said these kids haven’t been to Utah most of them I called up the roster obviously are going to be from the south the surrounding states around Alabama
Florida Georgia and of course Alabama so just from life experience has he talked to you and if he has about just a different exposure he’s gotten sort of if you will another way of life you know what I’m getting at down there because it’s different than what it is here yeah um incredibly
Friendly so friendly so nice go out of your way go out of their way to help you um you know he even he even start he even has a few of you know he says y’all now and a few of those things and a few of the little saying and um but just
Incredibly friendly people I mean you know my wife was down there a bunch traveling to see him play and I I got down there a time or two but I couldn’t get down there very often CU I was in the middle of my season but um I mean
They’re so nice I mean everybody just is like they’re just nice they just go out of their way to help you and at restaurants they they they they cater to you everything you need and you want they’ll do anything for you and you know it’s a slower Pace nobody gets to work
Up over things and it’s just simple it’s simple and it’s it’s really it’s really nice to see and no rat race and you know there no nobody’s just on your case about this or on your case about that just good simple people who go out of
Their way to help you and they they love their obviously as you can imagine now I will say the the where sford is in in this in this area just outside of Birmingham Homewood and Mountain Brook and just a little area really really really nice place um and they love Sanford but
Alabama is religion and it in terms of like Alabama football I mean I was down there on an Alabama football weekend and the whole town stops it could be a Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock and you own a a store well no you’re closed you’re closed on that Saturday because you’re
Watching Alabama football and so like it’s kind of funny there’s a ton of Sanford basketball fans but Alabama’s their religion and just you know as you guys as you guys know Alabama football is is uh something unique um but the area is great the people are great
Ryland’s learned a lot um loves the weather you know 40 degrees was the coldest it got you know this winter and that was kind of cold um but yeah just a just really good people easy to talk to Easy to be around so he’s really enjoyed meeting all those new people from every
Walk of Life and it’s been really cool for him well congratulations on uh on the success and I know as a parent uh you know you just can’t be more proud of your kid when they uh roll the dice and bet on themselves and go do something
Different and it turns out great and then you save 10 grand so you win too yeah we all win and so yeah so we’re just uh kind of like right we were thinking last week of this time we were going to be somewhere and figuring it
Out and doing new things and I’m just sitting at my house getting ready to you know get get to work and get some things done and and now uh so now yeah a lot of time on our hands and saved us a lot of money there you go all right well enjoy
The games good luck uh 13s take down fours once in a while we all know that can happen and we know this particular four seed is going to be without their leading scores so good luck yeah yeah thanks guys I appreciate your support there is Chris Jones when we come back
Former BYU coach Tim lome is talking NCA tournaments stay with us good morning DJ and PK it’s 975 The Zone Tim lome joined us late in yesterday’s show to talk NCAA tournament uh so some of the time references are off because well it was yesterday but his points about the NCA
Tournament where he thinks the upsets are who he thinks is a a dark horse to win it all and what he thinks of the locals well here’s Tim with p and I Tim good morning good morning guys Tim it is that time we need all of the college basketball
Genius you have built up over the years all that college B basketball Acumen people are filling out brackets you got anything you got anything they can lock in even just get a team to the Sweet 16 or hey stay away from this I know they got a great seed but this team
Is going to flame out early anything you have the people who are guessing at the brackets right now and that is really what we all do you can’t know this stuff but when you’re guessing at your brackets yeah you got something to give him a little
Edge yeah what I have found over time is I think the least the least amount of of information you know that is probably better um typically it’s the person who picks by color of uniform Andor mascot that seems to thrive um this time of year and I mean I it doesn’t you don’t
Have to go back very far last year to a ton of upsets when you have San Diego State Florida Atlantic um in the final four it was just crazy so I don’t know man as I filled this thing out I looked at all those names and thought um you know I
Can make these picks but whatever’s going to happen is going to happen um I can tell you to avoid Virginia like the plague good good call thanks coach I I think that they’re uh their style of play Let’s just say it’s Antiquated and um I think that that one is probably on the
Top of everybody’s mind because it wasn’t just the committee that you know pulled them out of nowhere every single bracket Toge I ever looked at Virginia was nowhere near uh the tournament and so I think the committee got off to a great start last night um showing
Everybody that in fact they did have no idea what they were doing I’m wondering what it’s like to be a coach right now you know we’re we’re on the pr precipice of this thing starting and for so many everybody has Big Dreams some dreams are veryy you
Know win a game get to Sweet 16 get to final four wherever you are on the totem pole so to speak what were your and your coaching staffs that you were involved in emotions as you get ready to play well it’s funny because every time selection Sunday
Rolls around you know you kind of relive that time and I just remember it being a blur most years um and particularly was chuckling last night via text with a couple of former colleagues at BYU remembering the one of the last uh when we beat Iona that
Year and we went to Louisville we literally a couple of us rented a car to get over there earlier and and drove there but so much of the tournament you know for the people in it um and coaches particularly it’s a blur because you get those seedings on
Sunday um you know at the very earliest you you could play Tuesday which we saw last night in the first floor um but it’s just a quick turnaround and you’re trying to learn everything you can about a team you’re going to play you spend a lot of time on the phone talking to
Other coaches in their league to try to get some Intel watching a ton of tape obviously and then preparing your guys and preparing your guys is a little more than just x’s and those it’s a pretty big deal um you know in the charter flight big plane shows up to pick you up
Most of the time and they fly you back and everywhere you go you’re getting police escorts to and from I mean it’s a pretty special time and so I think it’s the teams that a are really talented and then B who really lock into the experience not get sidetracked by all the
Fanfare um and just try to go make it as normal as possible and I think that that is what every coach is probably involved with about now um I’m excited because a bunch of my buddies are in Salt Lake um as I sat and watched the bracket so you
Know you’ve got that too you got a bunch of uh you got social things and so it’s a it’s a big week um but as special in experience honestly in coaching as as you can have uh walking down that you know that last time walking down from
Your locker room out to the floor seeing the blue carpet um that the NCAA is known for and and going out there and knowing that you’re one of 64 teams that everybody’s celebrating in March I love a good conspiracy theory I try and have to go off the deep end but
I can’t help myself Kansas did they know McCullers is out the whole time and they didn’t want to announce it because they didn’t want the selection committee to uh to drop them down a couple lines or uh Hey the things just happen the way they happen and uh now sford has a
Chance to pull an upset or a better chance to pull an upset yeah I would think that there was some information withheld Ian there’s a lot of money on the line here and um you know you went you win one round and and your league gets upwards of $2 million
So you’re talking about big money and and um I will I will just say it this time I will say it this way it’s not the first time that Kansas has I don’t know usurped a rule or two to have success on the basketball court or to have success you know in the
Basketball arena which is um you know getting into the tournament getting that bid uh getting that seed but I I would have to think he hasn’t practiced in six weeks and according to Bill self and I would have to think they knew pretty well not sure you know what was
Disclosed not was not disclosed but I imagine there was probably some games being played BYU’s had a great season so far very surprising good for them but I think to label it as something you want to remember I think they got to get this win here against Duan you know obviously
They’re seated to get it I think they will get it so it won’t be that big of a deal uh but uh and terms of pressure you know they haven’t won a game in a big long while I don’t think Pope has won a game uh how much do you think they can
Feel that and use that to a positive not a negative um so I think I think it can be a special year with or without the win um they made a huge jump from the WCC to the P to the Big 12 and I think that you
Know it would probably be unfair because I think everybody had them just absolutely getting their head kicked in this year um and they didn’t you know they finished they finished really well and uh they beat Iowa state who’s a two they beat Kansas who’s a four um you know they
They had they had a a really magical year but that being said I I do understand because I have lived I lived it a lot I mean I think BYU when I got to the BYU in 200 s the last win by the cougs was early 90s yeah or
Late 80s 93 something like that 93 there you go so it was 93 to 200 and and we I think we wenton a game in nine 910 right so I mean that was a long long stretch this one has only been you know only but
2012 uh was the last time the team won so think I think like you do PK I think they’ll beat du Kane I think it’ll be a good game I think du Kane’s well coached they got a lot to play for but I think BYU offensively is just too much for him
Um and then it gets really fun because you go from everybody thinking you should win to your chance to go out there and really make some hay um as a a six seed beating the three and getting to the Sweet 16 and I think it’s set up
Pretty nicely for him so are crossed I’m hoping they have a great week they deserve it and um I think this team has done what’s really difficult they broke through a lot of barriers they broke through a lot of what people thought of them um to actually go out and make something good
Happen I think Duane’s like 2 and 10 in the last 12 games when they’ve given up 70 points and by’s got a lot of Firepower and ought to be able to get to 70 points and that’s pretty much a winning number against duain so I’m
Going to pencil him in my bre bracket to win that first game and then I get to the second game and I don’t know anything about Illinois following watching Jazz Utes cougars and Aggies there isn’t that much time and that goes to a few high-profile NBA games or it
Goes to a few high-profile big 12- pack 12 Mountain West games and that that’s pretty much all the time I got what do you know about them what are the odds if BYU gets the first one then get to the second one and get to the Sweet 16 well they’re they’re really well
Coached um Brad Underwood’s the coach there and you know we had a great great run in Texas uh as as a coach coming up um he got this job at Illinois and he is uh he does a great job I mean he’s recruited a national team they got a really great score a
Former Texas Tech ra Red Raider teren Shannon who really kind of put the team on his back Big 10 tournament they able to win that thing so they’re going on great moment momentum I think the one thing is uh that I look at with them is
They don’t guard great um and I think that BYU has shown has a the ability to really make people work defensively and break them down uh when you have a passer like Ali Khalifa and then Shooters the way be you has to spread the floor you know they can beat anybody
On a given night now the caveat is are those threes going in um because I think that’s watching BYU this year that’s really the they don’t live and die by the three um but I would say that they get most of their meals from three and
So it’s important for them to get that um they still have an inside punch in fouse who can really you know at times get you a lot of baskets down low but I think it’s a good matchup because it’s a team that likes to score um they’re not
Going to hold the ball and and I think BYU if they can run their stuff and make shots I think they can have some success let’s go the agies Texas uh Christian TCU uh they scare me you know they obviously in the Big 12 they played a great schedule they’re playing top teams
Literally every week obviously even in the non-conference they had an excellent schedule there uh I think if the aies play their game they got a chance but and maybe it’s just typical of an eight- N is in my mind I think it can go either
Way uh I do too uh Jamie Dixon Coach T T tcu’s got a lot of uh really big dudes they can really clog the lane up um you know Utah State wants to score with great and they want to throw the ball in there but it’s also a weapon to have
Somebody that you need to have two people guard and great is that and so really it’s going to be can Utah they get some traction on the offensive side I think they guard well uh and they rebound well so I think that that bodess well for them the 8 9’s always just one
Of those coin flip type games um but I like the way the AIS have played this year and I think that there is a level of trust and understanding um it’s really going to come down to uh can they execute their stuff you know can they they did not play great against San
Diego State in the tournament and I think that that is one of the concerns TCU is a little you know built a little like them they have big guys they want to knock you around so they got a good opportunity to kind of practice against the team they’re going to see um they’ve
Got to execute better they’ve got to maintain their scheme better I thought they kind of broke down in the in the second half against San Diego State um and then as always they got to be able to make enough shots to keep TCU on us
To be able to kind of play that inside outside game I have a funny memory um when I was working for Rick jerus at Utah as a manager um often times one of our jobs was to take his car to the airport and go get guests who were
Coming in to see him or see the team or um and you know I I gave rides to uh Al Maguire you know one year and but one particular time he told me that two coaches from northern Arizona were going to come out and I went and picked
Him up and it was Ben howand and his assistant young Jamie Dixon um and so it’s just kind of funny to to think back that far of all of us driving in that car and um Jamie’s gone on to have this incredible career at Pittsburgh and now
TCU um but it’s just fun the basketball World continues to Circle and uh and here Jamie Dixon is playing against Utah State djm PK remember catching Breaking Benjamin and stained on their 2024 tour as they make a stop at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheater on October 5th get your tickets at livenation.com
Starting today or listen to The Zone all day on Thursday March 21st for your chance to win Breaking Benjamin and stain on their 2024 tour keep listening for tickets right here on the Zone when we come back what is trending all the headlines next
Hour one of DJ & PK for March 21, 2024:
• The Best of the Utah Jazz Postgame Show
• Chris Jones, Longtime Basketball Coach
• Tim LaComb, Smith Entertainment Group
