The Dunk City Podcast
USCBasketball.com's Chris Huston and Mark Backstrom co-host the Dunk City Podcast, the only podcast that's devoted solely to USC basketball. Weekly during the season, intermittent during the offseason, the DCP is the "podcast of record" for Trojan hoops, featuring inside information, special guests and expert analysis.
The Dunk City Podcast
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Chris, Mark and Sky discuss USC's three-game losing skid and how the remaining games on the schedule shape up. Plus, some stories from the Kevin O'Neill era, Nick Young's favorite Maroon 5 song, and how the roster is already shaping up for next season.
The Dunk City Podcast is the podcast of record for the USC basketball community. You can find all episodes at DunkCityPod.com, USCBasketball.com or on Apple Music, Spotify and wherever you stream podcasts. Look for clips on YouTube and TikTok as well. Please like, follow, listen and review. Contact us at USCBasketball.com@gmail.com.
Welcome back to the Dunk 16 for the first time.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to the Dunk City Podcast brought to you by uscbasketballcom. Chris Houston here with Mark Backstrom and Sky Liam Trojans coming off. A three-game skid Just finished up with an 85-95 loss at Rutgers on Sunday afternoon over in New Jersey. This followed a 88-71 loss to number 20 Maryland in College Park on Thursday and this followed up on another loss, at this time at home to Galen Center last February. 15th Saturday, 15th Saturday 66-69 loss on Filipino Heritage Night in Galen Center of all nights, to lose by three points to Minnesota. I never thought it would be that night.
Speaker 2:So the Trojans now are looking at a record of 14-13 overall, 6-10 in conference. And you know it's kind of funny. I have this belief system that generally your first gut ends up being closer to the truth than you know the revisions. And we originally we had this team at five and 15 in conference and then we kind of had a nice, you know, improvement across the board and it looked like we were going to leave that prediction in the dust. But it may not be much better. So just your guys' overall thoughts on the state of the team right now after these three really tough losses, and what do you think is sort of left to be salvaged in the remainder of the regular season. Mark, you want to start out?
Speaker 3:Been a little busy since the last podcast. Did I miss anything? I don't know? Jeez, what a tough stretch of basketball. What a tough stretch of basketball. You know we kind of found three different flavors of loss. You know we had just the absolute axle falling off the car, if you will, against Minnesota. I mean, that's probably the toughest one. I think that's probably the toughest one since, and probably more than that, that stupid loss to Seton Hall last season. Is that the one that we lost at the last second, or am I no?
Speaker 2:Oklahoma, Oklahoma kind of a situation.
Speaker 3:Then we get this outclassed to a nice team. I think Maryland's a really nice team, their guard I love that one guard. He's so polished just to wherever he wants and it's just money and it's a good, wellbalanced team. You know, I can I can accept that loss. It wasn't really a fun game to watch, obviously. Um, and then rutgers, just just, I don't know that defensive effort was so bad, just so bad. I think that, yeah, I have a little. The only game that was the worst defensive effort was the iowa game. Um, that's understandable, because that's kind of Iowa's brand.
Speaker 2:All gas, no brakes.
Speaker 3:Rutgers is a nice team, but if you watch that game hopefully with the sound off, which we can talk about a little later that's pretty much.
Speaker 2:That's pretty much how I watch it with the sound off. I think Good choice, Good choice.
Speaker 3:You know it's, it's they've, they have some talent, but it's, you know it's. It's certainly not a team that's you know that's unbeatable and you know, in in the first half of the first half I kept on thinking how would this be a quad one win? I don't get this. It didn't look or feel like a quad one game.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, sky. What are your thoughts?
Speaker 1:Rutgers is not an easy place to play. I think that's the farthest trip for USC this year. You know, the measuring stick that I kind of use, rightly or wrongly, is like how's it going across town? And the reason is it's two LA teams in the Big Ten for the first year. For the first time ever, ucla has an advantage because, according to pundits, they had a bigger NIL budget this past season. They also had turners and a coach who's been there building the program for a while.
Speaker 1:Ucla also lost at Maryland, at Rutgers and at home to Minnesota. Now they they played Rutgers and Maryland earlier in the season but all those games the just lost UCLA also lost and I think USC was punching above their weight earlier in the season. Kind of in that first, basically first half of Big Ten play, you know there were some really nice wins and even some games that weren't wins but were still competitive, and now I think they're kind of coming back to earth and all the travel and all the guys who have to play a little bit out of position and six foot seven wings who have to guard seven foot posts, I think it's just catching up to them now.
Speaker 3:I was at that minnesota game.
Speaker 1:It felt a lot like the cow game weirdly with it. Offense just died in the second half and I I just attribute it to kind of just the fatigue both mental and physical yeah, you both, you guys both raise great points.
Speaker 2:Um, I, I really think, if you typically look at it, you would think that the introduction of a new program into a conference would probably, probably, arguably, yield better results in the early going than it would in the late going because the league adjusts to you a bit.
Speaker 2:Now you could argue the other way. You could say usually, you know, do you adjust to the league in the first half and get better in the second half, but I think usually that's going to work out better if you have, sort of like, maybe a more well-balanced team than USC has, and so USC is already at a bit of a disadvantage, going into the season without a true point guard and without much depth at bigs or any kind of true guys, bigs who can, who can defend and, and you know, protect the rim. So, um, so, yeah, so I, I think that, um, I think that what you know Sky pointed out coming back down to earth, uh, and you know, mark, just uh, like, like you mentioned, finding ways, different ways to lose is kind of reflective of that coming down to earth, I think. So I think, sky, you wanted to add something there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just if you look at the last, actually, if you look at pretty much like all of these Big Ten games just purely on the schedule, looking at the rosters, looking at the experience, I feel like the only games in conference that USC lost where you really felt like they should have won were Northwestern and Minnesota. Yeah, and obviously Northwestern has the asterisk because there was no Claude. I still don't think that's an excuse.
Speaker 1:Maybe the first Oregon game, I mean, if you look at what Oregon's doing now you could say that. But look, oregon has Dana Altman, who's been there forever, a great coach. Oregon has super highly recruited players. You know, if you look at that from a purely just like scheduling, like if you were an odds maker, you'd probably put a Wargat on top.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I think that, like you said, the wearing down factor it's a long schedule A lot of these guys don't have. You know, a lot of these guys have a lot of tread on their tires to some extent and, like you said, just being outmatched on the physical end. But but the funny thing, you take all that and I posit to you guys that that really it seems like once Desmond Claude got hurt on that, on that trip, the momentum and the kind of cohesion that the team had, just sort of it took a hit as well, and it hasn't.
Speaker 3:Really they had not looked as good as they did before Claude got hurt, right yeah, I, you know, um, the other thing, um about, about Claude too, is you know, when we were in our last pod, I, I can't imagine that we would lose to Minnesota. Just stay out of foul trouble. And my gosh, I don't want to fault a guy for playing hard, because most of his fouls are just excessive effort. They're not just like all right, he's slow with his feet or anything like that and he's reaching. He has some of those too, but a lot of them are, I mean like one of them, he's diving for a loose ball.
Speaker 2:he has some of those too, but a lot of them are, I mean like one of them that he's diving for loose ball you know, oh, the, the, the Minnesota game was absurd because I think I think Chibuzo Albo had our first foul, like with eight minutes left in the first half, committed USC's first foul and finished the first half with with six fouls.
Speaker 2:Minnesota was not in the bonus at halftime and the second half USC got called with 13 fouls. Uh, minnesota was not in the bonus at halftime and the second half usc got called with 13 fouls. And it's which is remarkable, because this was a game in which they were leading most of the game. Do you know what I mean? Like, like it's. It's like if, if they were behind, they would have been called for 30. Do you know what I mean? Like it's just like there's no. Um, it was just one of those situations where where, like situations where Minnesota needed everything to really break their way and they needed to go to the foul line a lot, and the refs just sort of handed that to them on, just a lot of just ticky-tack, inconsistent foul calls in that second half, especially as Minnesota crawled their way back.
Speaker 1:Just to bolster that point of yours, chris, in these last three games USC's opponents have shot more free throws than all three of those games, and this is a team that takes it to the hole. I mean, you have Claude, especially, but also Yates, and then you have guys like AG and Cohen who just pretty much live around the basket. Yates obviously is a little bit of a hybrid, but he, you have guys like AG and Cohen who just pretty much live around the basket.
Speaker 2:Yates obviously is a little bit of a hybrid, but he takes it inside a lot. No, absolutely. I mean it's kind of a shame because Minnesota was obviously a game that USC couldn't lose and I think we'll probably go back and look at the Minnesota and Northwestern games, like you mentioned, games we should have won and that if we had won then we're probably looking at a little bit different situation going into these last few games. But as it stands, disappointing loss to Minnesota Really played, I think you know Minnesota played kind of grinded out and sloppy and we sort of played down to their level and then, like you mentioned, mark Maryland really just outclassing us. You know it's kind of funny In the first half they were dominating us so thoroughly in those first five, six, seven minutes that I was like when it was 30-27, at one point in the first half I was like how is this the same game?
Speaker 2:It didn't seem possible. But you know that was a game that I didn't expect to win for, for just a myriad of reasons. But but it was good that I think at a certain point we were able to get our, our young guys once again on the on the court to play some key minutes.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know one thing I at the end it got, I mean at the very end, not to sound like Fletch in that one stupid scene, but at the very, very end it got away from us at Maryland. But you know I did take some heart in that. We really got punched in the mouth and tasted our own blood twice at the beginning of each half and we did come back.
Speaker 1:You know it wasn't just like wasn't like the obviously team or the obviously scenario, it's like all right, we got headed and that's it, and we'll just kind of coast on here.
Speaker 3:I mean twice, you know it. It looked really grim.
Speaker 2:I mean I we've only had an early tko once this year, and that was against.
Speaker 3:Uh, saint mary's the same yes, yeah's is the only game. Punish me to see that in person thank you Exactly.
Speaker 2:The beatings will continue until morale improves. But yeah, that was the only game All year, for the most part, even if the game has eventually Extended out To double digits or whatever. Usc really kept it as Close as one could keep it for a significant amount of time. Same with Purdue that game was within contact for probably longer than it probably needed to be respectably wise. So yeah, at least there is that to hang your hat on.
Speaker 3:Who did you say committed the first foul against Minnesota?
Speaker 2:Chibuzo Abo committed the first foul.
Speaker 3:Oh, is he Okay? Yeah, I don't know. After watching the game I thought his name was pronounced Agbo. Don't know if you caught that during the broadcast.
Speaker 2:Oh, I didn't catch that actually. Is that what they were calling it?
Speaker 3:He only said it about 20 times, until I basically had to throw my phone away.
Speaker 2:I couldn't take it anymore. Oh my gosh. So there wasn't much to speak about, you know. I will say this. You know, did you guys notice that Jalen Shelley? He looked so quick out there these last couple games that I've seen him that I almost didn't think it was him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there was a play actually, I think it was in the Purdue game. Yeah, because that's when he started getting more minutes and he, just from about the three-point line, drove the lane and sliced through everybody for a layup and I'm like whoa, he can do that. It was a really good read of the defense and he was able to execute it perfectly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, he's a really intriguing player because he really has a lot of agility and he's got some snap in his cuts pretty encouraging stuff. Okay, so those two games and then of course, this last game, rutgers we pretty much I think we all thought that we were going to win this game. And I thought we were going to win this game when, early on, it looked like Desmond Claude was getting to his spots, as I like to talk about. He was getting to his spots. I mean, he was pretty much dominating Williams I think it was Williams who was guarding him 25. Early on he was dominating. But you know I think you mentioned this guy he's probably not fully healthy. He seems to be. His conditioning doesn't seem to be when it was and he's not finishing as much as he did in some earlier stretches. Mark.
Speaker 3:Interesting notes on Claude against Rutgers. One thing I've been tracking is just his turnovers. Not to pick on the guy because it's On the job, training for him at point guard and leading the offense, but 7% turnover ratio against Rutgers, by far his best in a long, long, long time and I would say probably not a coincidence only 28 minutes. I think about the 32-minute mark. He kind of just hits a bit of a wall there. I don't think it's a coincidence. But you know there is no plan B, because plan B is like all right, here goes a slow. That's what it's not. It's not the, the spurt of death, here's like the slow, whatever of, of, of, of, of. You know extreme pain and inconvenience by the other team, yep.
Speaker 1:The other flip side of that, though, mark, is only two assists against rutgers and, uh, three assists against maryland. You know, yeah, from your starting point guard, I think you probably hope for a little more than two assists.
Speaker 3:True, true, yeah, you know to chris's point too about him getting to the spots. Um, I just kind of check the numbers real quick. We're not really a three-point team. We don't take a ton of them, you know, we're good. If you To Chris's point too about him getting to the spots, I just kind of checked the numbers real quick. We're not really a three-point team, we don't take a ton of them, we're good. If you look at these little in-game graphics when they're competently broadcast, you'll have these nice little gems about our points in the paint or even just attempts in the paint, which makes this really frustrating. Last six games we've kind of gone the. We've been on the wrong end of that whole. Lute Olsen, maximum that Tim Floyd also had.
Speaker 3:Last six games, our opponents have made 111 free throws and we have attempted 106. That's not one game. That's that's called a lifestyle. I think at this point.
Speaker 2:it's not going to work. Yeah, it's frustrating.
Speaker 3:It's not like we're settling for a bunch of bad shots. I don't know if it's officiating, I don't know if it's welcome to the Big Ten.
Speaker 2:But you know, also, in Claude's defense, the other players on the team were not really showing much aggressiveness from the offensive side, right? I mean, if you go look at, you know, desmond Claude and Wesley Yates shot the ball 40 times, right. Everyone else shot the ball 26 times in that game. St Thomas again showing his usual admirable restraint, right, but sometimes I think this is one of those games where he probably needed to shoot a little more. Josh Cohen again shows, you know, good little efficiencies in there, and same with Rahsaan Eji. But I think we needed someone else to step up in this game.
Speaker 2:This was really a game that I don't care if it was on the road, given the situation where winning that game was a real must-win, to still sort of conceivably sniff their way into the tourney, it's a really disappointing outcome. But I do think it really did settle one thing, which is that that it's pretty clear, barring a conference tourney run, that this is not going to be a tournament team and and that we're we're seeing sort of like the we're coming to the end game of a kind of a fun experiment, right, and it was fun, and these guys pretty much gave it and are giving a gallant go at it and they, they played hard and they comported themselves well and nothing to hang your head over. A very unique situation all these new guys coming in playing for one year in many of the cases.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, what are your thoughts on that sort of overall big picture assessment of where we are?
Speaker 1:I think it's kind of like a bunch of factors all hitting at the wrong time. At the end of this season, you know, you had Claude's injury, then you had like a flu that swept over the team and I was there at the Minnesota game and Claude looked sick to me actually in that game, you know, at the end, where he had a chance to, I think it was to tie and the ball just slipped out of his hands like out of nowhere.
Speaker 3:That's right Very uncharacteristic.
Speaker 1:It just you know. The other thing that crossed my mind, and this is Musselman's strategy and he's used it to great effect at times, but he was playing his guys really heavy minutes earlier in the season, sometimes of necessity, and he cited, like Tom Thibodeau, which is one of his best friends, I guess, and Thibodeau is famous for doing that in the NBA, just riding his guys, and a lot of people are not fans of that and they don't think it's successful. And you know, the Knicks were playing really great earlier in the season coached by Thibau, and now they're kind of waning.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 1:I just don't know. I'm not the sports science guy on the team, but I wondered if that has any effect.
Speaker 2:Well, it might.
Speaker 3:Sorry, along those same lines, I'm very curious and you know I'm the nerdy CPA who is even scared to go to a basketball game in person. So I'm asking this rather than maybe positing this. But you know, if one thing you hear about and I guess it came up in the context when about the recruitment of St Thomas, other coaches were saying Mus is going to coach you really, really, really hard, and I'm wondering, as nobody had played for Musselman before, I'm wondering if that kind of is a factor of why there's just kind of a worn-down team towards this point. It's just, you know, is this a lot more coaching and just a grind than they've seen before and they're just not used to it.
Speaker 2:Could be. Yeah, I think that's a valid observation as well, because, because you have the natural grind at the season, you have a natural grind of some of these guys having already played a lot of time in their career and and then you have the. You know the intensity and the the hard work ethic of of Eric Musselman, so legendary. You know, this is not a walk in the park when you go play for Eric Musselman, right, and there's also the mental sort of challenge that comes along with that as well, that can wear you down over the course of the season, although it's interesting. You know you guys are mentioning minutes.
Speaker 2:I have a great stat from Wesley Yates III when it comes to minutes. This guy I didn't realize this, it's kind of wild Nobody on the team has more 40-minute games than this guy. He has had six 40-minute games since Iowa Jeez, the Iowa game. He is averaging 37 minutes per game since the Iowa game. Um, he hasn't played fewer than 30 minutes since the sea sun game back on december 18th oh my god like you know guys, you know, get some, get in foul trouble and have to sit out and play less.
Speaker 2:You know, play 28 minutes, not him, you know what I mean. Like he hasn't really gotten. Now, it could be that the stats, for some reason. I just looked at the stats, usctrojanscom. Maybe those stats are wrong, but I don't see how they would be. But uh, but yeah, it's kind of remarkable that he ends up being the guy with the most minutes. And, of course, over his last five games he's averaging 21 uh points per game. Um, and you know two of them against ranked teams, 17.2 points in conference. He's almost shooting as well. Well, from three point land in conference, as he is just regular field goal percentage 51.6 versus the 52.7 overall three point land, which is all to say that it doesn't seem like the grind is taking too much of a toll on on Mr Yates. He seems to be getting stronger as the season goes on. Mark.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the other thing too. You know again, cause I'm too scared to go to games as a CPA that lives in Orange County, but I've caught on on, I think three or four times on the broadcast. Different, different analysts will mention that coach Pondexter is putting him through insane workouts before the game too. So this isn't just you know, show up. This is kind of like round two after round one of battling the lions inside the gladiator den there, which is interesting because you remember I don't know if you remember when we had him in the offseason, what was the one phrase that Coach Pondexter used to me when you asked me about his success in the NBA? What was it? Psychopathic workouts, Right.
Speaker 3:That stuck with me, and when I've heard that that that was the first thing I thought of psychopathic workouts.
Speaker 2:I tell you, I mean it's, if that's what they're doing, then it's. It's really showing up with uh, with mr yates, because, because he just doesn't seem to slow down, 17.2 points in conference. Yeah, you're looking at a guy. Assuming he comes back to USC, is probably going to be the star of the team next year. So, sky, what do you think about that whole kind of what Mark was just talking about there?
Speaker 1:Well, I think you know it's great that you brought up that interview with Pondexter Mark. I remember that interview. I didn't remember that quote but we now have like a multitude of different sources basically all saying the same thing about Yates. Andre Carrera said he was one of the hardest workers on the team, that he does it because of an intrinsic desire. He doesn't do a workout because the coach tells him he does it because he wants to get better and do the absolute best he can, tells him he does it because he wants to get better and do the absolute best he can. Um abo recently in a post game, said wesley yates gets mad at himself when he misses shots in practice and in scrimmages. Um, and you know, after the ucla game, yates was there, uh, in the post game and he said, according to him, that he tries to make every single day 10 free throws in a row, 10 times.
Speaker 2:Holy shit, oh my God.
Speaker 1:And he also said after that game that he was planning to go right back into the gym after.
Speaker 2:I was thinking you were going to say one time I was like me too. I try to do it once before I can leave the gym. He said you can go back and watch it.
Speaker 1:And I don't know, you know if he's checking these off or what, but he said I tried to make a hundred free throws every day, 10 in a row, 10 times. Wow.
Speaker 2:That's amazing.
Speaker 1:He's a good free throw shooter too, I mean he's 78.6.
Speaker 2:So here's a question I have for you guys about Yates. He's averaging 17.2 in conference shooting, 51.6 from three-point land, 52.7 from just regular field goal percentage. How much runway has he given himself for improvement if that's the case, like, is he going to shoot 55% next year? You know what I mean? He's playing 37 minutes per game. Uh, since iowa, right, he's not gonna play more minutes per game next year, right than that?
Speaker 3:so I think it'll I think it'll be in a different facet of his game. You know, with claude leaving, he might be just the natural lead guard and it's like all right, now you can.
Speaker 2:Now you've got everybody scared on their back foot, now you can create for others too well, unless you just give him, unless you just create more volume for him, right, you just, you know, just let him, you know safety shooting for that you happen to be shooting 10 times a game. Now let him shoot 15 or whatever he could easily be a 20 point a game score.
Speaker 1:I think seems like it. Yeah, and but, mark, you almost took the words out of my mouth that you know. Turnovers have still been a flaw in the ointment at times. Um, he needs to tighten up his handle a little bit to play that lead guard role. It reminds me of mac mcclung not that they're similar players but that's a great dunk contest that's a great observation, very kind of similar bodies and stuff too.
Speaker 1:They do. Yates is actually taller and stronger, which plays to his advantage. But you know, mcclung can light it up, he can make highlight dunks, he shoots a pretty good percentage from three and after he won the dunk contest, everybody's saying why is this guy not in the NBA? Because he's basically just they call him up to do these dunk contests every year. And everybody says look, you can find players who shoot 40% and above from three. You need a guy who's going to give you reliable defense every time.
Speaker 1:Play within a team concept and not turn the ball over too much, and I think that is the area where yates can really grow that's a great way to look at it, because obviously everyone focuses on offense, so it's not just about the offense, there's a defense.
Speaker 2:I'll tell you what. If they needed, if he needs any inspiration on how to great play, great, uh, man-to-man, uh, in your face defense those, those maryland guards, when they were playing, especially early on the game, I mean I just couldn't believe the intensity and the trouble they were causing. I mean I could believe it because we don't have like the greatest ball handlers, but nevertheless, just the tenacity and the stick-to-itiveness that they had in that game was really remarkable, probably the best defensive guard play I've seen all year. Do you guys agree? I mean against USC.
Speaker 3:Yeah, in terms of how he'd been defended.
Speaker 2:Just from like a pure man defense, from a man defense perspective, like on the perimeter. I don't remember any other guards playing better man on ball, you know, like on ball defense against us.
Speaker 1:Well, Mark, you love Cronin's defense, kevin Willard and Cronin, they're like best friends. So they employ some similar defensive concepts.
Speaker 3:Right Makes sense they also go to the same barber too, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and about three of Cronin's assistant coaches.
Speaker 2:Do you guys know that right now we have not had an overtime game?
Speaker 3:Yeah, when you were saying the 40-minute game, I was thinking is there an overtime in there?
Speaker 2:No, well, that's what got me started. I looked and the last time USC has gone a whole season without an overtime was 2016. Oh, wow. So there's a little note for you basketball fans out there. We were talking after these games via our usual text chain and Mark was mentioning something about being out somewhere at the cigar lounge, making know, making, you know sailing ships with his cigar smoke and having it, you know, float off through the window and all the kind of things he usually does when he's chilling with cigars, and. But he had some other thoughts and, mark, I'll let you take the floor here for a second and say your piece, okay, Well, now the pressure is really squarely on me.
Speaker 3:Say your piece, okay. Well, now the pressure is really squarely on me. This better be good. You know one thing I was thinking, and I've made this point, maybe just not directly before and maybe not in this context, but you know, before the season, as the roster was being assembled, you know, I noted, and then I think it was, I think it was actually Coach Lee you know, I said it looks like everybody does like one thing really, really well. And he said, yeah, that's, that's very much it. So you know, philosophically, you know that that means innately you're going to have limitations, unless there's just a crazy alchemy. Is that the right word?
Speaker 2:No, that's right.
Speaker 3:Alchemy, alchemy maybe if I pronounce it right, it'll sound correct um you know there's a, there's a good alchemy that just you know, that's unforeseen. You know, I guess my first question in this, in this, you know, cigar hour vein is given, I don't want to say the roster makeup, but the very specific skill set of this roster. Looking back now, was there certainly going to be a definitive shelf life for this roster and its success?
Speaker 2:Well, there had to be right, because a huge chunk of them were just here for one year. Right, I mean within this season within the season?
Speaker 3:was it? Was it inevitable that that in a you know, in a conference that's, if not awesomely coached, which it might be, but very well funded, and you've probably got a bunch of analysts that can break things down was it inevitable that, like you know, within x number of conference games, other staffs would know okay, player a do this, player b do this.
Speaker 2:Josh gowan is yeah, you know, yeah, since. Well, here's the thing, since we now have the the benefit of hindsight to now look at whatever, uh, 27 games with this team, plus some, plus some exhibition games, to get a sense of who they are, what they are. Now, if you go along with the premise that everyone is good at one thing right, or at least one thing the problem is like, let's just say that there's one player who is really good at one thing but is not very good at all the other things yes, and they're going up against the thing.
Speaker 2:Yes right and and here's the thing, like there, there is the factor of, of wanting of like, like we talked about, like rishan ag figured out his role and what he needed to do and saint thomas figured out his role and what he everyone figured out their role. The problem was is that I think a lot of the other coaching staffs have also figured out those roles, so this you know. So they're like saint thomas is not a guy we have to worry about shooting very much. He does this, just do this on him. This guy over here has decided he's only going to do this, and so it works great in a sense, because it enables it enables the team to play better together in a short period of time, but it might end up making you easier to defend and scout.
Speaker 3:Yeah, what do you think?
Speaker 1:Scott, it's kind of funny. I was thinking the exact same thing earlier when we were talking, because I was double-checking the box score against Rutgers Chibuzo. Abo didn't even attempt a three-point shot. That's crazy, you know, that's clearly his bread and butter is the three. It just might not be there anymore because, like you said, chris, teams know okay, that's what he does he bombs from three-point range.
Speaker 2:But also he's very particular too. Even at that he's sort of the direction of the wind has to be right and there's got to be the glare of the fog lights, whatever, or the hot lights, the lamps. They have to be at a certain angle. But yeah.
Speaker 2:Once you take away that three-point shot from abo, he's not going to bring you a whole lot more, and teams know that. And and once you maybe like, once you sort of like, um, really try to keep saint thomas from from pick, you know, from like, uh, working the passing lanes, stuff like that then he's really not going to do much after that. So it's just, everyone has their scout on each guy and it's probably easier to deal with someone who's only committing to doing one thing versus having to play a player who is good at a variety of things, like Kobe Johnson, who's an incredible defender, an incredible shooter uh, an incredible free throw shooter, an incredible stealer uh, an incredible rebounder, passer, three-point shooter, darker, degraded everything yeah, I'm just kidding, kobe, you suck you got us both.
Speaker 3:Um yeah, and I along those lines too um it, literally I think if I don't want to say he was the most important player to lose, because I don't certainly don't think it's a case, but I think a really just a vital thing happening here was the loss of terrence williams, because if you had him and abu on the court on the same time, I think it's just geometrically so much different and whatever kind of shelf life I think we might've had, or maybe that I don't know, maybe that just undoes the shelf life Cause, literally, if you've got guys on both sides, it's just it's. It's different geometrically.
Speaker 2:Well, you don't get the same Wesley Yates.
Speaker 3:Right, okay, you're skipping ahead the notes, but that's okay. Yes, but um, yeah, I mean it seemed and again I'm not going to say that he's, I mean clearly does, does. Claude is the guy that really is the one that we cannot live without. Um, but boy that just you know, with so many specific skills, it just seems like you know you've kind of just like the table's kind of lost one of its bearings there you're kind of like a three-legged table yeah, no, that that makes sense.
Speaker 2:Uh, do you guys know that that there's certainly a chance? Do you know that saint thomas is a true senior?
Speaker 1:yeah, um, I know we talked about this in terms of him possibly having some eligibility.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Is that? I mean he played like 14 games, I think his sophomore year.
Speaker 2:Is that too many to come back? I don't know, it might have been a little. What do you? Well, the other thing is so he didn't. He missed the COVID year, right?
Speaker 1:I think he's. I think, everybody, everybody playing now is essentially post-COVID, except.
Speaker 2:I think there's still somebody. No, but no AG was there in 2019.
Speaker 1:2018 was his first year, so he's actually played. Okay, when you start.
Speaker 2:He's in year six.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when you start Division I basketball, when you start playing, your eligibility clock starts Right, and so I think he was injured and registered freshman year Sophomore year. He played one game and was injured again. So then he played a year at junior college but his eligibility clock was still running Right. So he's only played three actual seasons of division, one ball, but he did play one game earlier. So that's his fourth season and there's a possibility there that you know he could get a waiver for that season to come back.
Speaker 2:Maybe I don't know if that's something he's thinking about or not. Right, that's a good question. Would you guys, if you were Eric Musselman, would you try to fight for those extra years for those guys?
Speaker 1:Me personally. I think yes, because you have senior leadership who knows the program, you have known quantities and guys who I think both of those guys are the types of guys who will do whatever they can to help the team win, accepting whatever role that may be yeah, mark along, yeah.
Speaker 3:Going back to one of the points I was making earlier, I think especially so, you know, as this was everybody's year one under musselman, I think there's so many dividends to be yielded from a guy that's in year two of the program. Like you know, as this was everybody's year one under Musselman, I think there's so many dividends to be yielded from a guy that's in year two of the program, Like you know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Not to say that we didn't have leadership, but you know, it's, it's. You're going to have a lot more voices saying, hey, this is how it goes under, you know in this program now guys where nobody knew that there was no template before.
Speaker 1:Now you've got at least half the roster hopefully that knows what the template is.
Speaker 3:Sorry, but one more thing. That's why it's so important for even guys like Shelley and Patton to stay on. I mean, you just need it's a critical point not to jump to the mid-March pod, but the continuity of culture is going to be so important here.
Speaker 2:It would be nice. And what's actually funny is if you actually take into account the possibility that especially St Thomas I think St Thomas is the more likely of the two you know for them to make a hard pitch to do it then you're actually almost. You're actually looking at a roster. That's almost. We can almost account for all of them. You know, unless someone leaves and shouldn't leave, right, you, the three freshmen coming in in, uh, jerry, easter, lz, harrington and elijah arenas, you've got uh, arguably desmond, claude, arguably wesley eight, that's five right there. Then you've got uh, shelly I always want to say shelly and byron, like the poets but uh, shelllly and Elohim and Patton, right. So you've already got eight right there. And then you're going to, and if you get St Thomas, that's nine. And I don't know, I don't think I'm missing anybody.
Speaker 1:Well, are we talking about AG and Williams, too, as possibly coming back?
Speaker 2:All right, williams 10, ag maybe 11. So it's like now you're looking at, only is it 15 slots now or 13? Is it still?
Speaker 1:13? It's 13, but both USC and UCLA and probably a lot of other teams are carrying 14 scholarship-level guys.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know I really like Rashawn Agee, but if I'm, you know I think you're looking at two slots at that point for these two bigs you're bringing in. That USC is going to go the transfer portal route for these bigs. Now, unless you're assuming someone's going to leave it's like you would hate to just have two slots for bigs and then suddenly find out that you're like in on three bigs or something like that. You know what I mean, Because you probably need three bigs and then suddenly find out that you're in on three bigs or something like that. You know what I mean, Because you probably need three bigs and so you probably want maybe you can't get three bigs. That's a lot of bigs to get. But the point being is that we actually may have a decent idea of what the roster will look like next year, although it's still a long way to go. We don't know who the, who they want to keep and who who wants to go.
Speaker 3:So Well, if bigs and COVID years, does that mean, is Tayshaun Sherry still available?
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, we were texting about Tayshaun Sherry. You know to your point, chris Muscleman in the past does not seem to have been a guy who is afraid of stockpiling talent and letting them fight for minutes. In my mind specifically, I remember he recruited or I don't know. You know I don't want to characterize the situation in any particular way, but Keon Mennefield had a promising freshman season in Washington, transferred to Arkansas under Musselman, basically never played again in college, right yeah that's true.
Speaker 1:That's true, but he saw something there that he wanted to be a part of that program. So I think Musselman's recruiting is going to be vastly different this year in the transfer portal, because one of his major issues was guys who talk to them and they'd say who am I playing with? And they just don't even know what the team's going to be like or the culture. There's no proof of concept, there's zero roster. So I think hopefully it will be easier to pull from the portal and say, yeah, I want these two bays, yeah.
Speaker 3:Go ahead, mark, can I ask? You a question about that point. You've kind of intimated, if not explicitly said, and I might push back on this a little bit. It sounds like you are putting Shelly and Patton in the perimeter category and it seems like Shelly's kind of.
Speaker 3:He's okay. Shelly, in particular in these last couple of games, has shown the ability to. I mean, you know he's not going to be confused with Moses Malone, but you know he seems capable and unafraid of or he seemed at least, you know, in a couple of these spots unafraid and willing to do some of the dirty work inside.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, he's like a lesser skilled but quicker Kyle Anderson. In a sense you know what I mean. Remember Kyle Anderson UCLA.
Speaker 3:I was going to say you're quicker than Kyle Anderson too, are you not, right, right I?
Speaker 2:mean that kind of goes without saying. You know, kyle Anderson would come in third in a race with a pregnant woman.
Speaker 2:You know, uh, you know, kyle anderson would come in third in a race with a pregnant woman, you know, um, but uh, but uh, yeah, no, it's just you know the kind of similar kind of size and, uh, you know, not like a great shooter, but but pretty solid shooter, kind of solid at everything, offensively kind of, does some rebounding uh, and can distribute the ball, can handle the wall pretty well, but not a point guard, uh, kind of a jack of all trades a bit, but he's definitely more, I mean obviously obviously more athletic uh, but uh, yeah, very uh, you know, like, but he can do those things like what you, what you're talking about, mark, he can go down low, he's a guy who can guard. You know they'll say he can guard one through five, but I mean he probably can guard two through four, which is nice it did.
Speaker 3:Didn't patent lose a lot of the offseason, or am I confused here? He?
Speaker 1:did. We weren't even sure if he was going to play this year.
Speaker 3:He had a hip yeah, so I like it, I like it yeah, he could be rim protector light, not Josh Morgan, but not Josh Cohen either, to kind of put it in the balance here.
Speaker 2:He's kind of like a he's not really a rim protector, he's just kind of like he's a good shot blocker for his size. I would say yeah, yep, right, because he's probably like a true six seven. He's probably a true six. I think he's listed six eight. He might be six eight, but he seems like he might be a true six seven and you know, he can jump out of the gym kind of. He's kind of pogo steak and he's super long arms. So he's kind of has that natural ability. Um, but uh, but maybe you know, I don't know, maybe he could be like that. That shop locker that oregon had during there is a Bell, bell was a great shot yeah, he was a great shot blocker for them.
Speaker 2:He wasn't really that tall. I think he was like 6'9" and he blocked shots like he was 7'3". But yeah, having that in your repertoire is something is one reason why I think that Patton's got a great future. I'm really excited to see him develop, but it's going to be really fun to watch.
Speaker 2:Like you mentioned, the transfer portal, not only do the prospective bigs know that, there's Desmond Claude and Wesley Yates, so you got to start. I get a star backcourt potentially, and then you've also have this top five recruiting class coming in right. So you've got these high-level players, more guards, more wings. Elijah Arenas, who is an outstanding prospect. Jerry Easter is an outstanding prospect. I mean I think either one of those, any of those three guys, could really help the team next year. So I think if you're a big and you're like who am I going to play with? Who's my coach? What's he got a good track record of doing, I mean you've got to be like, wow, if I can get there and be the starting power forward or a five-man on that team, I mean you're going to get a lot of opportunities as a big man coming on that roster.
Speaker 1:You know I saw a clip recently on Instagram and I was going to post on the message board and I still will get around to it, but it was Baron Davis hanging out.
Speaker 3:I was just about to ask you about this.
Speaker 1:You see this clip, Mark.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, Next on my notes here, Please my notes. Yes, yes, Literally. That's the next on my notes here. Please go ahead.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're at. I don't know where they are. It's a bar or a restaurant or some kind of. They're out in public. It's Baron Davis and Kenyon Martin and Nick Young and Gilbert Arimus, and I don't know if this was like a setup, because it's all being filmed. But Baron Davis is like man Gil, why is your son going to USC instead of UCLA? Usc is like a very mid-school, mid-tier school and Arenas is like no, they're not. They have musclemen now. And then all the other players start jumping on Baron Davis saying this is their world, not mine. No five-star kid wants to play UCLA for Cronin. And Kenyon Martin actually thrusts his hands together towards the camera saying he handcuffs them. And the funny thing too is that Baron Davis instantly admitted defeat. He's like okay, I didn't know that. Okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's funny you bring that up. By the way is is Nick young, just like buddies with Gil arenas? Is there some kind of yes, they play together on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they were both. They both played. They both played in the Valley. They're both Valley boys. Uh, nick Nick. Well, they weren't, nick, I was at Cleveland. Yeah, I played at Cleveland and and Gilbert was over at I think he was at Grant, uh, in the Valley. So they both played in that sect, they both they and also they were all friends with, like like, um, you know, jordan Farmer helped helped.
Speaker 2:Uh, nick, you know, study for the SATs Right, so they're they're a good buddy, so that that whole crew that that played in the Valley, uh, we were all pretty tight during that era. So, by the way, I should do a little Nick Young story, because I was the basketball SID Nick Young's freshman year. It was Nick Young and Gabe Pruitt and there was, I remember, one time we were waiting at the airport and Nick had these headphones on and he was bopping his head back and forth and uh, and I asked him what. He asked him what it was and he was kind of being shy about it and eventually I I just had to like lift, lift the headphones up and it was, and it was like maroon five, he was jamming out to Maroon 5.
Speaker 2:This love has taken its toll on me. Yeah, he was having a good time. Nick Young man, great guy. I remember the coaches really, when he was coming in they were really excited about him. But the question was always whether he was going to qualify and the fact that he qualified and did well and has made, you know, lots of money over the years is good for him Really, you know it all worked out, it's great.
Speaker 3:Hey, one thing going back to the bigs coming in, I'm wondering too a factor you know with with just the, the high school recruiting. Clearly you know going very well and going across sports football is absolutely killing it. I'm wondering it does. Does it seem like house of victory finally has like alignment with the people they need to be aligned with on the other side of the um wall?
Speaker 2:if you will. And well, I I think it's not. Well, here's the. The problem is that none of this is transparent. So it's like we, you know, we're all like wondering like what's going on. And it seems like you know, like when you follow like an nfl team, like you know what their south, you know what their like budget is, you know their, you know their salary cap. Like you know what they could spend, right you, everything. Every time they sign guy, it's like out in the open what they paid him, right, the contracts are publicized.
Speaker 2:But with college football and specifically USC and I talk to USC people all the time about this where it's like it seems like they're doing it seems like this is happening, everyone's like, it seems like this must be happening.
Speaker 2:Or it seems like this is like, everyone's like it seems like this must be happening, or it's, you know, it seems like this, this is like what's the outcome of that?
Speaker 2:And but there's nothing actually any concrete. So it's like you're talking about house of victory, but I'm hearing that, like you know, what they're really doing is sort of setting up for this whole salary cap that they're going to have for college football, but it's actually going to cover all of sports, right. So USC is going to get $20 million to divide amongst its sports and it's going to put X percentage to football, x percentage to men's and women's basketball, maybe a stray bit here and there for a great track sprinter or a great baseball player you know something like that here and there. And then, of course, there will be just regular NIL, which schools will no longer be involved with, supposedly in theory, and so then players who are marketable can then still market their name, image and likeness on top of what they're contractually obligated to get from the school. So that seems like that's actually what's happening, but no one knows, because no one's like actually I don't know. They don't ask athletic directors how this whole thing works, and athletic directors don't don't offer, don't offer it up.
Speaker 3:They don't have a leaflet, just saying in case you're wondering.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's everything's very vague. I mean, don't you guys find that Like everything's, just like you know, it's everything's very vague. I mean, don't you guys find that like everything's, just like you know, it's very inconclusive, like how things are operating that's why I have somebody that that is close to the program named chris houston, because I don't know.
Speaker 1:I mean, imagine how it is for the coaches and for a guy like muscleman coming into a new conference, into a new university, into a new state and, yeah, it'll be interesting to watch him work the next few years yeah, well, he seemed to have figured something out with, uh, with this recruiting class.
Speaker 2:Uh, it really helped that. I mean, this is the 2025 class. The 2026 class in california is redonkulous, I think the first, I think the top five players, uh, the recruit list of the top 100, they're not necessarily all from California, but they're all playing in California high schools as seniors. Most of them are from California and there's something like seven of the ten. So it's like an incredible California slash West Coast class. So USC is already going to have a really nice 2025 class coming in. Uh, so if they can I mean you're looking at a great potential. If you can, if they can really blow out the 2026 class and get a few of those key guys you're looking at kind of stacking a couple classes back to back. If you can hold enough of those guys together, add the people you want from the portal, you're looking at some potentially very good teams in 25 and 26.
Speaker 1:I don't see why he shouldn't be able to do that. I think it was really smart for him to sign two LA players in his first class here Absolutely Full class, I should say.
Speaker 2:For sure, for sure. Well, the Trojans will take on Ohio State on Wednesday. That game is on the Big Ten Network 7.30 pm. At Galen Heroes and Hoops Night Sponsored by Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the Buckeyes played. I watched some of their game on Sunday. Was it UCLA? They were playing, yes, and that didn't work very well, did it? I think they lost to UCLA.
Speaker 1:Right, they did, although they kept it pretty close in the first half and then UCLA pulled away in the second half.
Speaker 2:Yeah, not. You know, from what I could tell of watching Ohio State, they seem to sort of be kind of a zombie team. You know, like this part of the year there's like these zombie teams. There's like Rutgers is kind of one of these zombie team. This part of the year there's like these zombie teams. Rutgers is kind of one of these zombie teams. Usc is kind of a zombie team. These teams that are about like 500 with a couple good wins on your record, certainly not pushovers. They can beat you at any time but they're not really like, they don't really have the zeitgeist going for them. But the, you know, just depending on the night they could, they could blow you out of the water or they might just lay lay over. And it seems like hopefully the Trojans, with a showing in front of the home crowd, can can take it to the Buckeyes and and close out the season strong. What do you guys think about this game?
Speaker 1:Just to be clear, Chris, we are differentiating between a zombie team and zombie program.
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely. This program has green shoots bursting forth like spring itself. Shoots bursting forth like spring itself. But the team itself I say with all love and respect, but at this point it's playing for pride and playing for a good, strong finish to college careers and a strong finish to first seasons you know.
Speaker 1:I think that, um, I was very confident when we did our last projection for the final few games of the schedule.
Speaker 2:You were seven, seven and seven, and oh, I was six and one mark was five and two yeah2.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm like looking at the schedule like so is it just they're going to lose all the games now. Oh my God.
Speaker 2:I really don't know.
Speaker 1:I think they're going to get at least one more win in it's either going to be. Ohio State or Washington, maybe both.
Speaker 2:I mean I think the odds are Ohio State and Washington. I mean they're both home games. Washington's not very good, ohio State's not that good. It doesn't mean they're guaranteed wins, but I have to think that USC would be the favorite to win both those games.
Speaker 3:You know what? I would not be surprised by winning any of those four, all of those four. Yeah, that would surprise me. But you know, no singular win of those four would really surprise me. Yeah, real quick. On Ohio State I say this advisedly because we don't want the same outcome as the Minnesota game, but against Minnesota we did a really, really good job at shutting down their big guy, dawson Garcia. Really good job at shutting down their big guy, dawson Garcia. And I bring that up because when I look at this, at the metrics for this team, they really look like a one-man show. Bruce Thornton BPO 100 is 64. The next best on the on the team, of anybody that really plays, is 56. So he's by far their most efficient guy. His Biscar is more than double the second guy on the roster too.
Speaker 3:So, if Musk can just you know he's this Thornton kid's a guard, so it's not going to be the same game plan but if he can kind of figure out a way to make this guy's life miserable this feels like you know a very winnable game.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree, let's hope.
Speaker 1:You know, I want to say. One thing that I have appreciated about this podcast is just that we are kind of uncovering the joys of the Kevin O'Neill era.
Speaker 3:I knew that would get a laugh.
Speaker 1:But you know, there were like some fun moments of the Kevin O'Neill era, despite the, you know, being outweighed by the embarrassing and terrible moments.
Speaker 2:I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the first year. They made the tournament. That was kind of fun.
Speaker 1:Right. So going back to that and I'm saying this now in all seriousness this team actually reminds me a lot of Kevin O'Neill's first team, because that team kind of started off the season integrating a lot of guys. They went on this eight-game win streak, including two ranked wins and a win at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, and then they actually were ranked 24th in the coaches poll. But right after that USC announced that they were going to what was it? Self-ban the team from postseason play and the team kind of sputtered to the finish line and that kind of feels like you know, after that Minnesota loss, that's how this week felt, where the postseason odds are shrinking vastly and it's kind of like how are we going to get to the finish line now?
Speaker 2:Musk should do like a General Sherman announcement, like he'd say like, if you know, like, as Sherman said, you know, if nominated, I will not run. You know he was asking if he'd run for president. If nominated, I will not run. He was asking if he'd run for president. So I'm saying he should just self-ban the team at this point.
Speaker 1:Oh, there you go. Yeah, I am banning us. We were right there.
Speaker 2:I am banning us from postseason play.
Speaker 1:We should just ban ourselves.
Speaker 2:It's kind of like a Cronin-esque kind of strategy to get a lot of fire under your team.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, like when he threw himself out, I meant to get two back-to-back technicals. That was my strategy to lose.
Speaker 3:I mean His latest one. He actually started yelling about the fans.
Speaker 1:He blamed the fans in the stadium for his team.
Speaker 2:Oh my God. Well, I was going to suggest Sorry real quick, since this guy is feeling charitable here.
Speaker 3:Well, you know, I'm just gonna suggest um sorry, real quick. Yeah, you know, since guys feeling charitable here, how about? How about we end each podcast with what's your, what's, what's one of your favorite memories from the kevin o'neill era?
Speaker 2:um gosh we can't make it through the season I don't think if we well, first of all, I have to, I have to figure out what. What are the actual memory, what are the? What are memories? Uh, and then I mean I think favorite-wise, because he was the year with Vucevic where they won the first four, they won the they got into the first four, they lost the first four.
Speaker 1:They lost to VCU. Vcu, who made the final four? Who?
Speaker 2:made the final four. And then actually I think my favorite stretch was when Garrity. It was when Garrity kind of had his Linsanity stretch.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that's the season I'm talking about. And his first game was against number eight Tennessee and they blew him out.
Speaker 2:That's right. But I remember Garrity was just playing lights out, he had like a five or six-game stretch where he was just really good and then he just kind of petered out from there.
Speaker 1:They were banned from postseason play.
Speaker 2:That's true. They didn't respond to the banning.
Speaker 1:What's one of your favorite moments, Mark?
Speaker 3:Well, this probably might not be a surprise to those who know me. The best I got to say nothing encapsulates it more. So it's my favorite for this. We win our first um pack 12 tournament game and what happens? He's having a couple drinks and he gets in a fight with an arizona alum and he's suspended. And that is kevin o'neill in a nutshell. That's the whole era in a nutshell, right there and that was the.
Speaker 2:Bob can too era right um. That was the.
Speaker 1:Bob Cantu era right. That was the first Bob Cantu coached game, but it was not the start of the Cantu era, it was one of many future Cantu coached games.
Speaker 2:Bob was. You know, back when I was Bob was, he was first like a staffer under Bibby. He was, like you know, just like an admin guy and then he eventually worked his way up to becoming a like the third assistant, I think, like in his last and Bibby's last year. And then also, you know, there was a guy named Dusty May who was the video coordinator. I said Dusty was a good guy. We used I mean we used to go get you know me and me and other co-workers We'd go hang out with Dusty, go get burger and fry over at Little Galen. Who would have thought that of the three of us me, my co-worker and Dusty May that Dusty would turn out to be the most successful and Mike Pieri would?
Speaker 1:follow in his footsteps being a video coordinator for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Is that right? Well, yeah, we're mixing and matching errors now, but that is right. They promoted him to like summer team coach. Oh my God, so he's incredible, wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all right. Well, I guess I think we've, I think we. So we talked about Ohio state, and then, of course, we have Oregon on Saturday, another big, big network, a big 10 network game up in Eugene 1 PM. You know the ducks aren't great this year, but it's always tough to play. What do you guys think?
Speaker 1:The court is less hideous, so hopefully that'll help.
Speaker 2:Wait, the court. What do you mean? The court is less hideous. Did they get rid of it?
Speaker 1:No, yeah, they redid the floor. It's still hideous, but you can see the lines now, so that helps.
Speaker 3:Oh wow, I haven't watched an Oregon game up there yet this year, so I didn't know. Yeah, they're all over the map, which is weird for a Dana Altman team. So who you know? Nothing would surprise me there. Literally a 20-point win or loss would not surprise me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sounds about right. Well, I think that'll do it for this week's edition of the Dunk City Podcast. We had a little bit longer gap than we typically have between podcasts, but life kind of got in the way between podcasts. But life kind of got in the way. And plus, it's a lot harder to come on and talk about losses, kind of how to lick our wounds a bit, get fired up. But luckily there's a lot of great things going on at USC basketball nonetheless. Of course, women's basketball is doing fantastic as well. We've got to get our gal CeCe on here again. Give us a women's basketball update. Well, I think, otherwise, that'll do it. Anyone else have anything else to add before we end up? End the podcast.
Speaker 1:One more thing I did want to say about Kevin O'Neill. I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2:He's no. Dave Miller. Oh boy, oh boy, all right, well, that'll do it. Uh, we will. Everybody out there, thanks for listening. Uh, be sure to like, subscribe, do all the things you do with podcasts on all the various platforms, and we'd appreciate that. And we'll see you on the message board USC basketballcom and see it, galen, fight on, fight on.
Speaker 3:Everyone take. See you at Galen. Fight on, Fight on Everyone. Take a lesson from Matt B.
Speaker 2:And, as always, fight on.
