2026 Final Four Roundtable

The Final Four is stacked, the storylines are loud, and the arguments are even louder. We sit down with our “Excellent Eight” roundtable to preview the 2026 NCAA Final Four on Easter weekend and we don’t just pick winners, we dig into why these matchups feel like a collision of eras: UConn vs Illinois and Arizona vs Michigan, with the title game waiting on Easter Monday.

We start with the question everyone keeps dodging: where does Danny Hurley actually belong in college basketball history right now? We compare today’s coaching job to the old world of recruiting and long-term roster building, because the transfer portal and NIL have turned coaches into public-facing GMs. From there, we talk surprise teams, who looks built to get back next season, and what “fate” means when one shot can rewrite a legacy.

Then we get practical. We debate tipoff times, why the Monday night championship frustrates fans, and whether the Final Four should live in a football stadium or return to true basketball arenas where sightlines and shooting backdrops feel normal. We also tackle the bigger development topic: is modern college basketball producing NBA-ready players, or are international systems winning because they teach fundamentals and decision-making earlier?

If you’re looking for a smart 2026 Final Four preview with NCAA tournament predictions, coaching talk, and what to watch when the pressure hits, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share it with your group chat, leave a review, and tell us: who cuts down the nets this year?

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Transcript

Welcome And Final Four Setup

SPEAKER_08 4:48

Welcome, everybody, to another episode of the Ride Home Rance podcast. This is your special guest host, Fiddy, filling in today on the ones and twos as we bring you the 2026 Final Four preview. It's another episode here on Ride Home Rance, it's one that we love doing over the past few years. We're bringing back the guys from the past and a large round table of continuance to talk about this great, great Final Four, which will be held this Saturday, the day before Easter. Easter weekend, bringing it home with the Final Four and the championship game on Easter Monday. Before we dive into the guests and letting them introduce themselves, make sure you peep all of our sponsors in the pre-roll and definitely check out the post roll for a little bit more information about how to get involved with ride home rants. Also, make sure you're peeping all of our guests from the past six seasons. We're in the middle of season six. It's unbelievable, approaching 300 episodes here between Mike and I being on, between the individual guests and all the roundtables. So definitely check all of that out. But let's check out today's episode of the podcast as we talk about all things Final Four with Illinois versus Yukon and Arizona versus Michigan as we break it down with a great, great panel of guests. So, guys, we're going to go around the horn here. You're going to introduce yourself. You're going to say your name. If you wear glasses, and which fast food restaurant has the best French fries. Let's start off with the newest dad of the group. And this man was once voted Mr. Eureka football five years in a row, but only played four years of football there. Ryan.

SPEAKER_04 6:24

Thanks for that intro, Fitty. Yeah. Ryan Barth, I do not wear glasses, and I would say the best French fries at a fast food restaurant. I'm actually going with Burger King. I enjoy their fries.

SPEAKER_08 6:38

Okay. The next guy I'm going to introduce once was said to be the next host of Sunday NFL Countdown. He was supposed to replace Chris Berman, especially after he retired, but he was so humble about it, he declined. Tony? Maybe coming off mute here in a minute.

SPEAKER_02 7:00

Hey everyone, my name's Tony. This is a lie. I actually don't wear glasses. I'm kidding. I do. I do wear glasses and the best French fries, even though I had Arby's a couple hours ago. I'm gonna go with McDonald's.

SPEAKER_08 7:16

Okay. The next guy, he was voted the best Pittsburgh Steeler to never actually play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. AJ.

SPEAKER_03 7:30

I thought I'd play for the Steelers by now, right? I have a pension and everything. No, I'm AJ Saunders, man, and uh I do not wear glasses. I do wear sunglasses, though. And my best French fries will be the waffle fries, man, a Chick-fil-A. Okay, gotta go with that.

SPEAKER_08 7:50

Solid, solid pick right now. The next guy was once voted best beard in all of Cleveland, eight years in a row, but only lived in Cleveland six years. Duncan.

SPEAKER_06 8:03

That's a wild one. Duncan Williams. I do not wear glasses, although I'm getting old enough to where I think I probably should. And best fries, underdog canes. I actually don't like them. Just get extra sauce and it all tastes the same.

SPEAKER_08 8:18

Okay. The next guy, it was one said John Madden and Pat Summerall called him for advice about how to talk about play-by-play and color commentary for football games. Bob.

SPEAKER_05 8:33

Thank you. Bob Gavalier here. I do wear glasses, also contacts. So when I'm lazy, uh not lazy, I put my contacts in, but I gotta say uh Chick-fil-A, the waffle fries.

SPEAKER_08 8:45

Chick-fil-A popular picks here. The next guy, his nickname was once given to him by legendary fighting alliine eye football player from the University of Illinois, Juice Williams. Luke.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

I wear, yeah, I do wear glasses. I'm gonna go with Chick-fil-A fries with the cane sauce.

SPEAKER_08 9:07

Okay. This next guy needs no introduction. He's the proud dad of Luke and his two sisters. If you look up the word goat in the dictionary, he is next to it, Mike.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

Mike Worrell here out in Illinois, not too far from Coach Barth, a little south of him. I wear contacts. And if the lighting is not good, I wear reading glasses. But when I go to bed, I take my contacts out and I watch TV and games in bed with regular glasses. So I wear I wear all of them. And I'm gonna go with more of a Midwest out here, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, uh restaurant, French fries, steak and shake.

SPEAKER_08 9:53

Wow! How about that? I haven't had steak and shake in years. And the last guy needs no introduction. He was voted Mr. Ireland seven years in a row in Italy, and he's never been to Italy. No, he's only been to Italy once and never been to Ireland.

SPEAKER_07 10:06

Drew. What's up, guys? Drew McLaughlin here. I do not wear glasses, even though I think I should start here soon. And I'm going with McDonald's fries and cane sauce.

Is Danny Hurley Truly All-Time

SPEAKER_08 10:22

Wow, how about that? I do not wear glasses. Everybody knows me. This is Fitty. And I would say probably the best French fries, man. Mr. Hero's waffle fries with the cheese. Excellent. Excellent. I see Duncan nodding his head. He knows about it, man. McDonald's very close second. We're not here to talk about French fries, although that could be a great episode. Talk about all the fast food french fries out there, man. We're here to talk about two great games in a national championship right after that. Illinois versus Yukon, Arizona versus Michigan, 2026 Final Four. Here we go. Guys, we're gonna start with you on this one, Ryan. This is for everyone. I'm gonna list some names and we're gonna dive into the question. Coach K, Bobby Knight, Rick Petino, Jay Wright, Dean Smith, Roy Williams, Adolph Ruff, Rupp, John Wooden, Billy Donovan, Jim Calhoun, Bill Self, Tom Izzo. Why is Danny Hurley better than those guys?

SPEAKER_04 11:22

Is that a question or a statement?

SPEAKER_08 11:24

That's a question. Why is Danny Hurley better than those guys? The reason is people say he's a top 10 coach ever. Does he have an argument to be better than any of those guys?

SPEAKER_04 11:36

That's a great intro to that. I mean, I can understand where you would say he would be in the top 10. You don't got to put him in the top five even. But with what he's done in the recent history of winning and winning championships, you can't argue that. Me personally, all the antics and extra stuff that comes with him, I think it's extra and a little unnecessary, but that's his style. And if you're going to argue winning, I don't know how you argue his passion either for coaching basketball. So yeah, I would say he's in the top 10, but with all those coaches, I mean, when you put championships next to their names, I don't know if that's how you judge a coach's successful journey, but if that's how you're going to judge it, then you would have to say he's going to be in the top 10.

SPEAKER_08 12:31

Okay. Tony, why, according to everyone, is Bobby Hurley a top 10 coach over some of those guys?

SPEAKER_02 12:39

Maybe I'd I'd probably say he's younger than a lot of those guys. He has shown a lot of passion and fire. Would I say he's better than a Coach K, a Bobby Knight? No. But if he continues to stay at Yukon and continues to rack up wins and championships, he can ascend up that ladder. Like some of those coaches that are on that list, I never got to see any games where they were coaching. But I did see games where Coach Kay, Roy Williams, and a lot of that for mentioned names, Bill Self, Kay Wright, et cetera, were coaching. But I believe Hurley is on his way.

SPEAKER_08 13:24

Okay. AJ, for you on this, is Danny Hurley a top 10 coach of all time? I listed a lot of guys with a lot of championships and a lot of wins. Is Danny Hurley top ten over a lot of those guys?

SPEAKER_03 13:37

I think he's in the conversation to say he's top 10 right now. I don't know. If he wins this year championship-wise, I think he'll probably be, he might even be top five, to be honest. Because of the fashion, a lot of people look at as what you did now as a coach. You know, I'm a coach, I coach football, and if you're not winning now, then Hurley's winning now, and that's what that's what matters. So I'd say if he if he wins this one, because that game the other night was crazy. If he wins this one, he he's he's in a conversation.

SPEAKER_08 14:11

For sure. Duncan, you're a longtime basketball coach. You're a former college basketball star. Duncan, and you've you heard me go on the the the Hurley rants before. Why is Hurley considered top ten over some of those guys?

SPEAKER_06 14:27

I I think a lot of people probably in this chat might give some type of answer that says probably why he wouldn't. I guess I'll try to go the other way, even though I don't even know what my actual answer would be. The college basketball climate has changed in the last five-ish years, more in the last five-ish years, as far as like recruiting and what a coach does overall and everything you do, as far as you're allowed to transfer up, down, left, right every year, as far as now all of a sudden you have to pay kids and now you have to talk to their agents just as much as you have to coach. You're you're much, much more of a public GM or a CEO than you are just an X and O coach. A lot of the guys on that list obviously dealt with things that made them a GM, but in today's world, you definitely are a CEO or a GM. But when Hurley got into coaching, it was more of the the basics of the college coaching, the recruiting, the X's and O's. And he definitely won that way. I mean, then it morphed obviously into what it is today, and he he won in the middle ground of going from high school to going to low D1 and then going low D1 to or you know mid-major, whatever you want to call it, to high D1, and he's won at every level. The conversation might be a little different, possibly, if they don't hit a 30-footer a day or two ago at a buzzer, but no one's ever gonna doubt the guy's success. So I like the fact that he's done it at three different levels that are drastically different. He's done it in two different markets and three different markets from 10 years ago to today that's been unbelievably different and has won it all of them, where a lot of guys on that list were when it changed five, six, ten years ago to a different way that it is now, a lot of them got out of it because of that. And he's found a way to be highly successful in all of it. Okay, good point on that.

SPEAKER_08 16:13

Bob, I want to go to you on this, and and and Bob, you know, you're just a little bit older than some of the guys on here, and you've seen a lot of these guys, and you've seen like coach Bobby Knight in his heyday.

SPEAKER_09 16:22

Oh, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 16:23

Right, you know, and you've seen guys like you know, Tom Iso Really in his 26 years there, and you've seen, you know, Billy Donovan over his great tenure there. You know, can can can you really put Danny Hurley in the same conversation with with some of these guys and say he's top 10?

SPEAKER_05 16:42

I don't think not yet. I I think I think we gotta give him a couple more years here. I I think, like I said, I think la the other game yesterday was more of bad coaching on Duke's part than more of good coaching on Connecticut. I think the couple of things Duke could have done to kind of pull that game away. So, but to get them there, it's a great thing. But I I think we gotta give them a couple more years to see what happens, uh, and then we could probably put him at that national level. But right now, I agree the the coaching, the the basketball has changed with you know playing paying players and getting transfers easily and stuff like that. And uh to me, it's easier to do that with basketball. You get like two or three good guys. Uh hard football's a little harder to do because you gotta build a team, but with basketball, you get like two guys that can play. You could probably be content right away if you get a couple of good transfers in. So, but I think a couple more years, if he does win one or two more, you gotta put them up there in an echelon.

SPEAKER_08 17:38

Okay. Luke, you're an up-and-coming coach, right? You you've learned a lot of basketball from your dad, who's coached a lot of basketball over time. You know, Luke, in your opinion, I know you're probably one of the youngest guys here, if not the youngest. You know, is Danny Hurley a top 10 coach of all time?

SPEAKER_00 17:54

If he wins this, I'd put him on Mount Rushmore, I think, but that's three out of four years. I also said if Patino went to the final four, he's on my Mount Rushmore with like Coach K and Wooden. I don't know who the other two are, but I mean they they went back to back in like the biggest just I don't think there was a close game when they went back to back. And if he can somehow beat Arizona or Michigan, I would put him on Mount Rushmore because I think those two have better teams than him. So he's he's he's inching closer just in this in his prime right now.

SPEAKER_08 18:29

Okay. Mike, the basketball, you know, genius on this show, the man who's coached over 400 games, the only man to have the slam dunk national champion and have a Division III team beat a Division I team. Mike, is Hurley a top 10 coach of all time? Is he better than Bobby Knight, the general?

SPEAKER_01 18:52

You listed a lot of a lot of coaches on that list. Probably about 15, or I didn't keep track, but those guys won a lot of games and a lot of championships. Hurley's as good as as any of them. I don't know about putt putting him ahead of them or on on your list or not. And and we have this argument all the time, Fitty, almost every podcast we do. How fake fate comes in a lot of these games where teams are even in these huge games. And I'm asking you now if you didn't think fate came into that win they had yesterday. And true true coaches will say he outcoached him. That's how they won. I I say fate had a lot to do with that. But I say Hurley's as good as anybody. And then I'm also gonna say he has a pretty good job, in my opinion. They won before he got there, big. A couple big.

SPEAKER_08 19:50

Absolutely. Kevin Awley and Jim Calhoun built that place.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

Yeah, some jobs you go to, they've never won. And that coach, to me, is remarkable. If you make that team into a winner, not taking anything away from him, but this job he has has a lot of tradition of winning big. So I don't know if I really answered your question, but I I say he's as good as anybody.

SPEAKER_08 20:14

No, it it definitely answered answered that. And if anyone's gonna say this, it would be Mike, right? Because when the Pacers made the NBA finals last year, they were saying Rick Carlisle is one of the greatest coaches in the NBA, it's one of the greatest coaches in the NBA. The Pacers now have 17 wins. How great was Rick Carlisle? It's the same thing with Danny Hurley, right? If if Duke doesn't really lose that game, we're talking about Danny Hurley being a bust here because he couldn't get back to the final four. So you're gonna talk about being fate, great, or whatever's in between. Think about that. Everybody thought Rick Carlisle was the best coach in the NBA last year. He won 18 games this year. So, how great is coaching compared to actually having the players and the magic and the fate to do it? Drew, round us out on this one. Is Danny Hurley a top 10 coach of all time?

SPEAKER_07 21:06

Yeah, I agree with most of the consensus here. I think it's, you know, a short sample size of what he's done at Connecticut. Obviously, you know, three out of the four years getting the final four is very impressive. Let's see if he can do it and see how the next 10 years go for him. All those guys you listed or have had longevity of success. Uh, if he keeps doing what he's doing and it started really great, he's definitely gonna be a top ten guy for sure.

Biggest Surprise Team In Indianapolis

SPEAKER_08 21:33

Okay. Talk about starting great. It's also been 50 years since the last undefeated NCAA national championship team, 1976. The great and late Bob Knight started his career with an undefeated national championship. Won five years later, and then won again seven years after that. The general. There's no one like him. All right, guys. Next one. This is for Duncan, Mike, and Luke only. Duncan, we're gonna start with you. Which one of these teams surprised you the most by being here in the Final Four?

SPEAKER_06 22:07

You almost, I it's crazy. You almost wanted to say UConn just just because they they weren't a number one seed, but you know Danny Hurley's got some gusto, so you know they're gonna have a lot of guts to them, and so it's not overly surprising, but I think most people are probably gonna say Illinois, even though major university, major money, major scholarships, they're not they're not exactly hurting in any aspect. I do love the story of being a head coach and not even getting your first head coaching job until you're almost 50 years old, and then within three or four years making your way up from a lower division one to a high D one, and then a couple years later making yourself to a Final Four. I mean, if anybody doesn't like that story, the guy was an assistant for like 25 or 28 years before he got his first head coaching gig. So who doesn't love that story? So good for them. I'll say Illinois, biggest look Cinderella story of the Final Four, if there is one. Okay.

SPEAKER_08 23:03

All right, Mike, who's the most surprising team to be here out of the four teams? I'm not surprised at at any.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

I thought, you know, you know, at the right break, and so things go your way, 15 or 20 teams could have got there. But I'll have to say Yukon again, I guess, on only base because they got whipped by St. John's pretty good in the conference tournament. But other than that, I'm not surprised by the other three. I'm not surprised. Well, fate wouldn't have come into it. They wouldn't have been there anyway, then Duke. And so I'm not really surprised, really, of any of the four.

SPEAKER_08 23:39

Okay. Luke, round us out on this one.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

Yeah, I'm gonna go. I'm probably gonna go with Yukon. I Illinois was Illinois three-seed. They got really good players, all the they got really good players. Yukon beat the one seed. I'm gonna go with Yukon on a on a on that buzzer beater. Arizona and Michigan, I think have been the best two teams all year, but for them to beat Duke, I'm gonna have to go go with Danny Hurley.

Who Can Return Next Year

SPEAKER_08 24:06

Okay. Just throwing this out there, big Hawaii fan here, would have loved to see Hawaii in the Final Four. Never would have happened, but it would have been a great experience for me as the only Hawaii fan for football and basketball in the state of Ohio and probably the entire Midwest. I did watch the game, though. If Hawaii doesn't start 0 for 11 shooting the basketball, they might have had a chance against John Calapari and Arkansas. But you know what, Mike? Fate happened, and and Hawaii just got manhandled. So it wasn't in the cards. Um next one, Ryan, Tony, AJ, Bob, Drew. Ryan, we're gonna start with you on this. Which more which one of these teams is more prepared to come back to the Final Four next year?

SPEAKER_04 24:52

You want me to go, Fiddy?

SPEAKER_08 24:54

Yeah, go ahead, Ryan.

SPEAKER_04 24:55

Yeah. That's tough. Because you just retention of your roster and obviously the turnover of your roster and today's landscape, but that was already touched on in the episode. As an Illinois fan, Fiddy, that's what you're gonna see back in the Final Four next year.

SPEAKER_08 25:19

Okay. Barth, how old were you the last time Illinois was in the Final Four?

SPEAKER_04 25:23

Eight. And I love and I watched the game. I watched it and I cried that night, but we're back. You know what?

SPEAKER_08 25:31

Nothing, nothing like waiting 25 years for the comeback.

SPEAKER_04 25:36

20, but I'm 21. I'm glad your math's there.

SPEAKER_08 25:40

You know, it's close. It's close. If you're gonna add that in, make it 25 years. It sounds, it sounds a lot more rewarding when you say 25 years.

SPEAKER_04 25:47

All right, I'll give you that. All right. I'm a Cubs fan. I know all about droughts, all right?

SPEAKER_08 25:52

Yeah, there we go. There we go. What about you, Tony? Who's more built to come back to this next year out of these four teams?

SPEAKER_02 25:58

I'm gonna. It pains me to say this as someone who lives in Ohio. I say Michigan. Michigan is they had a really good year this year, just like Arizona, but I believe Cola Pete's gonna go. Pete's gonna go to the to the league in this year's draft. Yukon, they'll probably Yukon will probably be close second if they keep the majority of their players. I can't say I know too much about Illinois. I'm sorry, but I gotta say Michigan has the best. Michigan's the best bet.

SPEAKER_08 26:34

Okay. AJ, what's your say on this?

SPEAKER_03 26:38

Yeah, I was gonna agree with the Michigan too. I I I'm pretty sure it might be the youngest group. I don't even know if they how many seniors do they have? Maybe three, four? Maybe like three juniors as well. They have a lot of freshmen. I don't know. Who pays the most money? We'll see what that happens. We'll see what, you know, the NCAA comes up with next. We don't know. So but I'm gonna say Michigan, man. I I've they play Arizona. I think whoever wins out of that one might they might take it, you know. But it's March Bad and so, you know, we throw up threes and we make them at the at the end of the game.

SPEAKER_08 27:13

So don't get too far ahead of yourself, man. We got our predictions coming up here. Don't get too excited now.

SPEAKER_03 27:18

I'm just saying I'm Michigan's curve, man. Michigan's gonna be.

SPEAKER_08 27:22

Curb your enthusiasm. There you go, Mike Warrell. There you go.

SPEAKER_03 27:26

I'll lean back after that one. I'll lean back.

SPEAKER_08 27:29

Bob, who has the best chance of coming back here next year?

SPEAKER_05 27:33

I think it's Connecticut. I think I think they're a year ahead of schedule. If you talk to Hurley, I think this team was. He thought they was gonna have a decent team this year, but I don't think he expected them to go this far. So I think Connecticut, with a lot of those guys coming back next year again, I think uh they're gonna be the team that uh is gonna be in a contention again.

SPEAKER_08 27:52

Okay. Drew, round us out on this, man.

SPEAKER_07 27:57

AJ stole the words out of my mouth. Who has the most money to spend? Uh you know, I you go based up tradition. Yeah, Michigan, they weren't there last year. Yukon's like like we've been talking about through the past four years, they built some consistency, and that's kind of their standard now, so you just gotta abide by that. And I'm gonna say Yukon. Okay.

Game Predictions And Title Picks

SPEAKER_08 28:23

Alright, guys. Now, AJ, when it comes back to you, you can give your prediction for this. Guys, who wins both these games and who is the national champion come Easter Monday? Let's start with Drew on this. We'll work backwards. Drew?

SPEAKER_07 28:40

Well, uh I tell you what, I think that the championship's gonna be Michigan, Arizona. That's gonna be a hell of a basketball game. I'm gonna say Arizona by two in that game. I'm sorry to my Illinois people in here, and I'm also a Big Ten guy, so I always go for that. But I just think Yukon's riding on some kind of high right now, where they're just gonna blow Illinois out of the water. You're gonna have an Arizona Yukon championship, and let's have another half court winner for Yukon. Why not?

SPEAKER_08 29:14

And fate brings it to Mike World to answer this next. Mike, is fate in the cards for Yukon to win another national championship for people to say Bobby Hurley is better than Bob Knight? Is that happening? What's your prediction? Can you hear me or am I on mute? No, we can hear you. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 29:33

I gotta be honest, I haven't followed the semi-pro Division I NCA basketball as much this year as usual, like I have in the past. But I agree with both games Saturday to be both both barn burners down to the wire. With Yukon, I think they beat Illinois Coach Barts with know this the last couple times they they've met. I'm gonna go with Yukon in a in a close one, and then and then Michigan somehow flip a coin. I'll take Michigan and at the wire over Arizona, and then Michigan. Yukon to surprisingly give them a good game, and but Michigan to prevail.

SPEAKER_08 30:16

Okay. Luke, you following up your dad on that one?

SPEAKER_00 30:20

I think Vegas has a line eye with the spread in Michigan. With the spread, they're both close, maybe less than three or four, but I'm gonna go for the I'm gonna go with the dogs to win, and I think Arizona to beat Yukon by a decent margin in the championship.

SPEAKER_08 30:39

Okay. All right, Bob, what do you got here?

SPEAKER_05 30:43

So I got Michigan winning it all with one of my brackets, so I'm gonna stick with that. I do agree with someone said I Michigan, Arizona, I think it's gonna be the championship game myself. I think those are the two better teams out of all the four. And so I got Michigan and uh Yukon with Michigan winning it.

SPEAKER_08 31:02

Okay, good call on that one. Oh gosh, okay. My like Siri just popped up on my phone. That was kind of weird. I'm just saying, oh gosh, okay. Duncan, how about you next?

SPEAKER_06 31:14

Uh, I think, like everyone, Michigan, Arizona is gonna be the important one. That's gonna be an absolute bloodbath. I think we're gonna have some home cooking. Michigan doesn't have to go far to get to Indy. I think there's gonna be a lot of fans there for him. I think the same thing will probably happen. Illinois, Yukon. Illinois doesn't have to go too far to get over to Indy. I think it's gonna be a little bit of a home game. So those two teams will win it out. I think Michigan's gonna roll the Alani in the championship.

SPEAKER_08 31:44

Okay. And oh, when you think about this too, this this Arizona-Michigan game, like a lot of nostalgia there, right? Like for us older fans, like you think the the Fab Five, you think Lute Olsen from Arizona. A lot of history right there between these two teams. Definitely probably the better of the uh of the two games. AJ, what's your prediction now? You really jumped the gun with the last one, AJ. So, you know, we gotta find out what's what's going on in your mind now for this one.

SPEAKER_03 32:11

Think since my last statement, so I I really want Michigan to win. When's the I don't even remember the last time they won a natty. It's been a minute, right? Does anybody know?

SPEAKER_08 32:23

They they forfeited their final fours before because they're ineligible players.

SPEAKER_03 32:27

Yeah, so they need to win this. So I'm gonna take them over Arizona just because I have them in my bracket as well, like Bob said. But this Yukon and Illinois game, if you're looking for an upset, Illinois can do it, but I don't know if they have enough, especially with hurly coaching like he is. I think I'm gonna take Yukon over that, and then Michigan's winning it all. So that's that's that's my take right there.

SPEAKER_08 32:52

Okay. Hot take Tony. What do you have going on with this uh prediction here?

SPEAKER_02 32:58

I said Illinois and Yukon is gonna be a toss-up, in my opinion. I could see I could see it going down to overtime. I could see Illinois pulling down overtime. Michigan, Arizona is the default national championship game, in my opinion. I think Arizona wins a close one, and then Arizona gets their revenge from 2005, because Illinois came from behind 15 or so points late in that regional final.

SPEAKER_04 33:27

One of the greatest games in tournament history.

SPEAKER_02 33:29

Yep. And uh Arizona will get the first national championship for a team west of the Mississippi since they last did it 29 years ago. I'm not saying this because I have Illinois Arizona winning it all.

SPEAKER_08 33:44

I'm totally not saying that because all right, Ryan, round us out on this, man.

SPEAKER_04 33:52

Yeah. Obviously, you know, as an Illinois fan, it's hard for me not to just say that they're gonna win it, but I do, and in my bracket, honest to God, I never do it because Illinois season, I mean, watching a majority of it. First point, I don't know how they're favored against Yukon. We have yeah, we have good players. We played them earlier this season. Granted, it was in November or December, one of the two, and they beat us by 15. But there were some guys playing for Illinois then that aren't playing now, and for good reason. But it's gonna be great basketball this weekend. I know that my heart says Illinois's gonna win, but with Coach Mike World talking about fate and how they won the game yesterday, it's hard to see them. And they had a horrible shooting night as well. So to put that fact in there, they were like four of eighteen, and I was watching the game with my dad yesterday, and I looked at him, I said, they're gonna come back and win this game, and then they're gonna come out and beat 12 of 18 shooting three on the game against the alliance. Back in 2024, you kind of went on a 30-0 run, and I watched the entire thing happen right in front of my eyes, and it was like I wish somebody would just gouge my eyes out instead of having to see that. But with all that being said, Illinois gets it done. We're going to the national championship, and then on top of that, Arizona comes back, and I think they get their revenge from that game back in 2005 when we came back from down 15 with three minutes to go. And I just think that Mike talking about fate, that's what happens, and I hate to say it. My heart obviously wants Illinois to win, but seeing it play out, that's how I see it.

Tipoff Times And Monday Night Debate

SPEAKER_08 35:50

All right. Now, maybe we'll see, you know, if it's Illinois and Arizona, maybe we'll see the ghost of Juice Williams from the fighting alumni football team. We're gonna need him. And then maybe we'll see the the great Luke Walton, the great Bill Walton's son Luke Walton, former Arizona Wildcat. Maybe we'll see them at the games playing each other, you know, cheering on their favorite teams. We don't know. Time will tell. Guys, I'm curious about this one. The games are Saturday evening at 6.09 and 8.49 p.m. We have some media guys on here and coaches. We also have people in different time zones, and this is being played in the central time zone compared to some of us being on the East Coast. So, Ryan, I'm gonna start with you. You know, your central time zone. Do you like these games on Saturday? Should they be played Friday? Should they be played on Easter earlier in the day? You know, what are your thoughts about a 6.09 and 8.49 p.m. Eastern Standard Time tip off?

SPEAKER_04 36:49

That's prime time, isn't it, Fitty?

SPEAKER_08 36:52

I mean depends on this prime time you're talking about.

SPEAKER_04 36:54

That's my prime time. I I lived on the East Coast for a couple years when I was in West Virginia with you, and I had to deal with all the time changes, and then even trying to remind myself that I got to be on here at 7 instead of year eight, and you just don't tell me that or remind me we're on Eastern time. So that's why I log in at 6:59. But no, I enjoy the times as I guess selfishly being a Midwest living in the Midwest and seeing it on those times and now having a newborn, I guess, trying to maneuver that how we're gonna have to get feeding time at a certain time, I guess. But anyways, yeah, I see I I enjoy it selfishly.

SPEAKER_08 37:33

Okay. Tony, media guy here. I want to hear your opinion on this.

SPEAKER_02 37:37

I am gonna have to agree with Ryan here. I I like the it's like a perfect time to have a game. You have the game at six o'clock and a game at nearly nine o'clock on a Saturday, Monday. I think that the national championship should be at 8:30, or possibly like 15 minutes after 8. Because there were times when I was younger that I never got to stay up and watch the end of the tournament. I've been an adult for almost 20 years, almost over for 15 years now, so I've gotten to see the end of every game. I just I like the times as they are for Saturdays, but Monday I feel like they could move it up to 8.15, at least for us East Coast folk. But I know the West Coast people are gonna be like, oh, it's gonna start at five o'clock. We're gonna have to get off work and sit in traffic. Well, it's three-hour difference. It's somebody benefits, somebody does not, and it is what it is.

SPEAKER_08 38:43

Okay. AJ, what's your thoughts on this?

SPEAKER_03 38:47

I'm I'm cool with the with the times on Saturday. I don't really have any problem with it. It's the Monday, man. What just move it to Friday or Saturday. Let all the guys be have a chance to go out and not worry about going to work the next day. Can we just do that? Like just dedicated, oh, this is the championship day, have it on Friday or Saturday. We can stay out late, right? Bring your wives if you want to. But Monday, man, I don't know. I've always had an issue with that. Because I, Tony, same thing. Like when you're when you're young and you're trying to stay up and watch it and you gotta go to school the next day. It's like, man, we just we're on Easter spring break and we gotta go back to school. Everyone hates that. But everything else is cool, man. It's 6.09 Yukon versus Illinois, 6.09 p.m., that's perfect. And then 8 49 for Michigan and Arizona. That's pretty decent to me.

SPEAKER_08 39:39

Okay. Duncan, you've coached in a lot of big basketball games, you know, during your time and you've played in some too. You know, what are your thoughts here, especially from the basketball coach, player, and basketball coach and player perspective on these times?

SPEAKER_06 39:55

Well, one, the players and coaches don't have any say. It's all TV rights. I mean, that's always gonna come to that. As a as a fan, strictly as a fan, I would, I'm gonna agree with AJ and what everybody else is saying. I wish the games were, you know, Friday night and then Sunday afternoon. That way you could probably do a little better, better scheduling and maybe enjoy them better instead of rushing on a Monday to try to figure it out. I mean, every college coach in the country is gonna go to the final four and then probably leave before the championship and be working on Monday from being there all weekend. So, and then you're trying to watch it Monday night and kind of is what it is. Fun fact, though, this year the Division II national championship is in between the final four games. So Division I plays Saturday at those times, and then they play again the championship on Monday. Division II has their national championship on Sunday in between them in the same town, not at LucasOil, to play at the uh the Pacers Arena. So same town right across the road. Pretty cool. The D2's doing that. They do that every like there's not really a datum. Between five and ten years, they'll play it with the Division I'm, and then all the other years they usually have a set site. This year they played the entire tournament down until the final four last week, which was in Pittsburgh. I went to the Elite Eight about 40 minutes from Pittsburgh. So I went to Elite Eight rounds, and the final four rounds was two days later, and then they're waiting a whole week and playing on Sundays. So kudos for that. I think that's pretty cool. All the D2 guys are going to play in front of a crowd that's got 15,000, 25, 30,000 people who knows. But I do wish the D1 games were probably a Friday night, Sunday afternoon.

SPEAKER_09 41:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 41:28

And also, fun fact for anybody looking to doing or watch anything on Easter that's not NHL, MLB, or also whatever random things will be on ESPN. The NIT championship is also Easter night as well. So you can watch Division II and the NIT. Bob, you're another media guy. What are your thoughts on these times?

SPEAKER_05 41:49

I thought you were going to talk about some religious programming that was on on Easter.

SPEAKER_08 41:54

Well, that that also will be on too, you know, but you know, tie a little sports in with, you know, with Easter. So and the springtime.

SPEAKER_05 42:01

So it'd be a good time. Yeah, my uh proposal was do we do the the format Thursday, Saturday, do the two games on Thursday night. You can still stay out a little bit and then have the championship game on Saturday. And that way, you know, they've these guys have been doing it the last couple weeks here, playing Thursday, Saturday, so they can use to doing it. And so I think that'd be a good thing. Six and then maybe an six and an 840 start or something like that would be good for the two games on Thursday, and then uh maybe eight o'clock Saturday night a championship game. I that I bet you a lot of bars would be full uh a Saturday night.

SPEAKER_08 42:36

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Good point on that. Luke, you're a basketball coach. You'd you you watch your dad coach a lot of games all over the all over literally the world. Uh, what are your thoughts on this?

SPEAKER_00 42:47

I don't have a problem with it. As a kid, I used to go to the games, and it's about you're there about five or six hours. It's a little different at the games. I probably fell asleep two, three, four times how long like the media timeouts are, like actually being there. But I I think it's good from a fan perspective. If you're watching on TV in a bar at home, like you have more time to get after it. And when Alana fans saying Sean May's sitting in the paint and they can just drink a little more after they lose a heartbreaker. That was the championship game, though. But I mean, I mean, money makes a makes makes college basketball go around. These guys will be fine. I think I bet every I bet every starter in the games on Saturday are making close to seven figures and the coaches, so they'll be ready to play, and it'll be a good quality of basketball.

SPEAKER_01 43:40

Okay, Mike, what are your thoughts on this? Hey, Luke, is the Division III championship there Sunday as well?

SPEAKER_00 43:48

Yeah, it is. So they have two weeks. D2 has one week. I don't know what you do for two weeks.

SPEAKER_01 43:54

Is that back to back, the D three and D3 two game back to back Sunday there?

SPEAKER_00 43:59

I think it's spaced out. Yeah, it's the same day, I think it equals.

SPEAKER_01 44:02

Okay, speaking of the NIT Fitty, I had a former player when I was at the College of Worcester, is the head coach at Illinois State, Ryan Peaton. So they're in the final four NIT, so I'm rooting for them. And growing up in Ohio, Eastern time zone all my life, and you know, we speaking of the time change changes and like Monday night football, we we were only allowed to stay up unless the Browns were on, you know, late. It was nine o'clock starts Eastern time. Then moving to Illinois Central time, like Coach Bar says, after being in Illinois, central time zone is great for watching sports at night. That hour time difference makes a huge difference. I realized that when I went back to West Virginia back on Eastern time and staying up late watching those games, that that hour that extra hour makes a huge difference, but I feel for all you east East Coast time zone guys, I went through my whole life, so I lived in Illinois, but you know, we're all sports fans, we're gonna stay up late for the huge games, so that's my take on it.

SPEAKER_08 45:15

Okay, Drew, round us out on this, man.

SPEAKER_07 45:20

Yeah, um I can't believe we live in a country that like 95% of people love sports, and our all all our championship games are on Mondays. I just don't understand it. I I'm I'm gonna sign a petition and go to DC and say every national championship needs to be played on a Saturday, and we're gonna riot until they they decide to do that because it's ridiculous. Saturday's fine, Monday's gonna suck. It is what it is.

Stadium Versus Arena Final Four

SPEAKER_08 45:46

And there's a hot take from the Mr. Irish himself voted that seven consecutive years being in Italy only once. So there you go. Dream of Global, everyone. Next one, guys. Next one here. Only a couple guys are gonna answer this. We're gonna go with Tony, Bob, Mike, AJ, and Drew, and we'll start with you on this, Tony. With these final four games no longer being played in college basketball arenas, uh, if we're talking Division I here, what are your thoughts on this? You know, should the NCAA go back to playing these games in true college arenas, or do you like them being played in football stadiums?

SPEAKER_02 46:23

Tony? I like them being played in football stadiums, just simply for the atmosphere itself. And you know, sometime down the line, Cleveland, I think, will eventually host the men's Finals Four when they get their new stadium up and running. It just makes for a different atmosphere, especially if 95% of the time, unless you go play on a tank or overseas, or you get to go play in the Bahamas or something, or play on a ballroom court or something. You're gonna be playing in an arena 95% of the time. So I I like it being at a stadium. Hopefully it just stays at closed door football, closed door football stadiums, because imagine having a game and all of a sudden it starts raining. I know they'd probably closed it if it did, but still. Sure.

SPEAKER_08 47:16

Sure, that's valid. Bob, how about you on this?

SPEAKER_05 47:21

Um, I I think as a fan in the media, I don't I don't mind it, but I'm sure as a player, sometimes it's hard. I've heard from players like that went to the Canton Civic Center and had trouble shooting because of the the backdrop and stuff like that. So I think as a as a player, they probably don't like this because of the back the backdrop's a little different, but um, I'm sure as a fan, uh, to get as many people in as you as you can would be a nice atmosphere to get the the crowd in there to have a lot of people available to get that. But if you're a player standpoint, I'm sure it takes a little while to get used to the backdrop sometimes.

SPEAKER_08 47:55

Okay, Mike, how about your thoughts on this?

SPEAKER_01 47:59

I was at the last final four that was in an actual basketball arena, 1996. It was at the Meadowlands where the Nets played. You know, it seated 18 or 19,000, maybe. I think Syracuse won it. So 75,000 spectators compared to 18,000. You just gotta follow the money. 50 some more thousand people you can get in. That's the bottom line. It's never they made a rule right about them. You had to seat 32 or 35,000. Basically, they're saying it's gotta be a dome. That's when so 96 was the last year it was in a regular basketball arena.

SPEAKER_08 48:38

Mike world drop on the knowledge, everyone. AJ, you want to your thoughts on this?

SPEAKER_03 48:44

Uh mixed thoughts on it. I mean The more money they can make, they're gonna get a lot more people in the the in the stadiums. I mean, it's been it's it's been in Indiana for how long? Indianapolis, I'm sorry, for how long, but you know, I would I would want to see it in a basketball arena where NBA plays like Madison Square Garden, somewhere like that. They probably had it there at one point, but I don't know. Like as a player, like when you're coming out and you're playing in an atmosphere like that, like how how fast can you get warmed up in that? Like it's it's a little bit more open. Usually when you're in a basketball arena, it's a little bit more closed in people are on top of you, just like if you're playing football. But in basketball, like I guess, you know, there's so much around, so much space around, so much air in there. It's like, man, like I can't get comfortable, I can't get on streak, you know. That's from a player's perspective. But as a fan perspective, it's probably cool because the atmosphere is huge and you've never been there before. So, I mean, I would rather have it in a freaking basketball arena, man. You know what I mean? It's close to you don't need that many guys or many fans in there to make it sound loud. Usually, I mean, it's 2020, they played freaking backdrop music. What the heck? I mean, I guess it's a money thing, too. It really doesn't matter to me, you know.

SPEAKER_08 50:02

Okay. Drew, round us out on this.

SPEAKER_07 50:07

Yeah, I think it'd be cool to be back in the basketball arena, like AJ said, if you played at Madison Square Garden or something along those lines, I think it'd be a cool aspect, but all in all, like everyone said, it comes down to money, and you're gonna fit 44,000 and they're gonna pay 400 and 500 bucks a seat. I mean, just do the math right there. So it always comes down to the bottom line, so it's always probably gonna be at a football stadium.

Xs And Os Versus Talent

SPEAKER_08 50:33

Sure. Okay. Uh next one, we're gonna go with Tony, Mike, Luke, Duncan, and Bob on this. And Tony, we're gonna we're gonna start with you. How much coaching goes into these type of games with strategy and game planning? Is it more about the X's and O's, or is this straight up just about the Jimmies and Joes? How much goes into this from a coaching standpoint? Tony, take it away.

SPEAKER_02 50:58

I think it honestly just is if I'm a coach, I'm playing this game like I play against the 16 seed or eight seed. You play to win the game, you strategize to win the game, you call timeouts when needed. And if you have to call timeout to stop the team from making a run, you do. Or you let the team ride if they're keeping the momentum. Honestly, I say it's when you get to earlier rounds, it's Jimmies and Joes because sometimes you've got teams that you can't easily beat by 30, 40 points. Then it becomes X's and O's when you're playing some of the better teams, the teams that can push you for 30, 35 minutes.

SPEAKER_08 51:45

Okay. All right. Bob, let's go to you next on this one.

SPEAKER_05 51:51

I think the final four is a little different. I think you prepare a little bit more. I think you know, you pick your certain plays that you like, and then like I said, it's I think too, it's all about getting kids hot. You know, I think it's a lot of in-game uh more adjustments. You get a kid hot, then you're gonna go to him a little bit more, running some plays for him. So, but I think during the tournament, I think it's a little more of just going with it, what you have, and then this final four, I think they'll adjust a little bit, but I don't think too much. I mean, you're gonna go with what you got you here, and you're gonna try to run with your horses and try to hope they they come come through for you for you.

SPEAKER_08 52:27

Yeah, I mean, a lot of validity into that. Luke, how about you?

SPEAKER_00 52:32

I mean, they they have what a week to prepare. I mean, they're gonna have the other team's actions and scout and all that down, what they're gonna try to do. They're gonna know what the other team's gonna try to do. So the the strategy stuff is really important. I think I think all the players are pretty good. The the talent's probably pretty even. It's probably gonna be the head coach and I guess some assistants too. The end game, I don't, I guess you can call it adjustments, but just like little wrinkles, what's working, what's not working. Don't some of these coaches with the media timeouts, they save their timeouts, and if they that eight, six-o run, seven-o run turns into twelve, then that could just lose them the game. So that's why I'd get the edge of some of these. Like, I mean, Hurley's been in a lot of these games. I mean, Dusty May's been in the final four. They're all good coaches, but they're all they're the the players are gonna make plays at the end of the day, but the coaching's important, putting them in a good spot.

SPEAKER_08 53:35

Okay. Mike, you have a better answer than your son on that one, Mike?

SPEAKER_01 53:39

Not really, just all four teams are great teams, and they're gonna do what they do, what they've been doing all year. They might put in a special play or special out-of-bounds under play, you know, scheme against a certain player that they may try to defend a little differently, but other than that, they're gonna play and do what they've done to get here. I mean, they have they all have really good players, and you know, all these games are gonna come down the wire, and fate's gonna be involved, and you know, tough shot or big play or steal or something. You know, something happens at the end of these games.

SPEAKER_08 54:18

Mike, I'm just curious on this before we go to Duncan to round this out. I just want I don't want a Mike World answer on this. I just want a legitimate answer. All right, who was more intense as a coach? Bobby Knight or Danny Hurley.

SPEAKER_01 54:34

That was a different era, Eddie.

SPEAKER_08 54:36

No, no, no, no, no, no. Who's more intense as a coach?

SPEAKER_01 54:40

They're both intense in their own way.

SPEAKER_08 54:44

Is Bobby Knight or Danny Hurley a more intense coach?

SPEAKER_05 54:48

I'll say Bobby Knight. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_08 54:51

Somebody said it. Okay, that's all I wanted to know. Thank thank you, Bob.

SPEAKER_01 54:54

I'll take the I'll say the general.

unknown 54:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 54:59

All right, Duncan, round us out on this about the X's and O's and the Jimmies and Joes with these final four teams.

SPEAKER_06 55:05

One, they got a little bit more time, right? They get a whole week, like Luke was saying. I mean, they're gonna know certain certain teams are different. All four teams that are there probably all have a different strategy. Some coaches will change everything they're doing offensively or whatever. They're more worried about what they do rather than what the other team does. Some of these coaches are more worried about what the other team's doing rather than what their team is doing. I don't think anybody's changing their style. They just have a full week to prepare as opposed to from the round of eight and sixteen, you got two days. From the round of 64 and 32, you got two days. I mean, not even really. So that second game, you have very little preparation, and that's more trial and error. But when you have a week, all of these guys are going full blow into whatever their style is. If they're changing all of their stuff and get new offensive, new defensive schemes, they'll do it. If they're all worried about what the other team's doing it, they'll do that. I think the only strategy that I'll that I'd be interested to see is because it's such a big arena, how willing most of these teams will say go under a lot of these screens to start, whether it be a down screen, ball screen, handoff, all of those, and see if the other team's gonna make multiple jump shots first before they start saying, all right, now we're jump switching or or now we're going over every screen on a ball screen or a down screen to get to shooters, just to see if a lot of these guys make them first and then they'll make adjustments during the game. I I would I would be surprised if that wasn't the play, as opposed to if I'm just playing a road conference game at one of these schools' gyms where I already know it's a road game. I'm going in already making these guys not shoot it or whatever, because you know they're gonna shoot better at home. That's that's the only probably difference I think might happen at this venue as opposed to maybe just a regular home or road game.

NIL Era And International NBA Rise

SPEAKER_08 56:50

Okay. All right. Good answers to that one, guys. Two questions left. This one is for AJ, Drew, Luke, Ryan, and Duncan. We're gonna see what you guys have to say about this. Are these players who are playing in this one and done era and this transfer portal era, are they truly equipped to be relevant in the NBA when they turn pro, or is this era hurting them as professionals? AJ?

SPEAKER_03 57:16

Hey, that's a good question. It depends on who the player is. You can tell if he's developed or not. Usually, guys that are NBA ready, they usually dominate the game. And you can tell. It's not that hard. I mean, I I even when like I coach football, I can see like when you talk about PA, Western PA football, like there's a guy named Keemon Spell who's a beast from a key sport. You can tell that he's college ready. He was college ready as a junior. When you look at wrestling, Jack's Forrest, he just he just left high school and won the NCAA wrestling. Like that's they're just ready. And some, some, some, some guys that are playing in college sports, especially basketball, you could tell some of the seven-footers, if they're if they're polished, they're just ready. Some some are, some aren't. They think they are. But they're they're not Steph Curry and you know, they're not Kit Kevin Gornett or LeBron James. But, you know, times has changed now where the three-pointers is is what's driving it. So if you can shoot and you're good on a low block, they're gonna be like, yeah, he's ready. He can, he uh has he has an edge to him. You know, he can get it done.

SPEAKER_08 58:29

So I'm gonna bring this up and say this too. You know, think about this as you're answering this. Is this the reason that the top eight, potentially 10 best players in the NBA are all foreign because of what's happened in college basketball? The Joker, Wemby, you can argue Joel Embiid, you can argue Luca, you know, you can say when he's healthy, Sabonis. There's a lot of other guys, you know, you could throw in there with the foreigners, at least the top five, you know, SGA. Is this basketball issue in college basketball m rising the international players to be the best players in the entire world? You know, Drew.

SPEAKER_03 59:10

Go ahead and But I think the biggest thing too is AAU. I think there's a there's a there's a type of spin to AAU that doesn't develop players at at a young age. It just, hey, you can shoot, good on a shoot, but you can't dribble. So you're just shooting now. When a complete player can do all things, you're not gonna be able to do everything because there's five guys on the court. But I mean, if you can do if you can dribble and learn the fundamentals and be good at just doing the fundamentals, because that's what basketball is. It gets you to the next level. You can always get better. But if you there's a lot of guys that skip the fundamentals just because they can shoot. That doesn't make you a great basketball player, though. A lot of the Euro guys are complete players because they work on the fundamentals, they got great feet work, they're getting to the basket, they know how to do multiple things because they have the fundamentals downpack.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:04

So good point on that, AJ. Drew, what are your thoughts on this?

SPEAKER_07 1:00:09

Yeah, I I think AJ made a great point with it depends on a player. If you look like a LeBron James, you know, that dude was ready to play in the NBA at 17. You know, there's there's no doubt about it. You look like a Cooper flag or a guy like that who's dominating right now, and just you know, guys, some guys are just ready for it, and then there's some guys that are not ready for it. And I I think in this NIL era now, it's almost like if you stay, you might make a little more money, I don't know for sure. So maybe these one and done guys maybe it'd be best interest to stay at the next year and and learn under a good coach, and you're still making six figures, you know. So you know, I I just think it depends on the player, but if if like like if if they're ready, you know they're ready, there's no doubt about it.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:03

Sure, sure. Luke, what are your thoughts here?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:07

I mean, there's the guys in the lottery draft, uh I mean, the top I would say five or six. I mean, Cooper Flag should be a freshman right now. Uh I mean DeBonsa and Peterson, I mean, those guys could play in the NBA like right now. They didn't even need to go to college, in my opinion. But outside of those top-tier guys that are like potential all NBA guys, then it's like a major drop-off, in my opinion. It's not, I forgot what the question was, Fiddy. What was the question?

SPEAKER_08 1:01:37

Is the one and done in transfer portal era hurting these guys in the NBA and contributing to the rise of the dominance of international players?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:46

Oh, yeah. I don't I don't I think the the NIL and transfers helping those guys that are like bottom first, second. I mean, the Yaxel kid, he wouldn't have came back five years ago. That's helping guys come back. Europeans are just, I think they're more NBA ready because they they're they're they're doing more development, not playing a bunch of games with AU and they're they're playing against grown men. I mean, I think Luca was playing in the Euro League at like 18 dominating. So, like, that's I mean, that's harder to score in that league than the NBA. So I don't think the NIL and transfer is hurting one and done's. I think Europeans just have a better developmental system.

SPEAKER_08 1:02:26

Okay. All right. Ryan, what are your thoughts on this?

SPEAKER_04 1:02:30

Yeah, I think Luke just hit it right on the head with the developmental piece of it. You just see what also uh Illinois and Arizona, they're they have Europeans that are leading their teams. And it's just, and I tell you, it is like it's an enjoyable brand of basketball to watch because they share it, they play together, they're making reads off of cuts and just trying to find correct matchups as well. It's a it's fun, it's a fun brand of basketball. And even that's with Illinois having they're talking about a lottery guy with Waggler. I think he's maybe a little light, but at the same time, he just he is a very, very good basketball player because he can handle it. I mean, he's a 6'6, 6'7 point guard. He plays really good defense as a or since the tournament started, and he's gotten a little bit healthy. And just all the European guys, they know how to play the game, they put themselves in good positions to succeed. And yeah, I just with what Luke said, and then being the proof in the pudding with what Illinois does, just being able to watch them all year long and how they've come and they've grown. And that's just not on the offensive piece. They've improved their defense, and uh, like I said, it's fun brand of basketball.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:44

I got an interruption, Fitty. Yeah, I don't think there's a lot of top, I don't think there's a lot of internationals in the top 20 in this year's draft, but would someone throw three, four, five, six million and get a top NBA player like Luca if he was in the next couple years? Or is he just gonna go the NBA?

SPEAKER_08 1:04:04

Sure. I mean, there's I mean, there's there's you know two sides to that. You know, and I'm gonna I'm gonna go to Duncan on this last, but I you know, here's my opinion, right? Like, I do think it has hurt the NBA because they're not going in ready. You've seen, and Mike's heard me say this since Giannis won his back-to-back MVPs, no American has finished in the top two, right? I don't think an American's gonna win an NBA MVP for the next 10 years, if not more. Because there's no way anyone's is coming in, even Cooper Flag is gonna overtake Joker or Wemby or the Greek Freak or SGA or Luca. I I think college basketball has ruined American basketball players because if you're starting a team in the NBA right now, who are you taking? Not an American, a foreigner. So, Duncan, you've you've coached a lot of you know guys in hoops and you've seen a lot of things. I want to hear your opinion on this. Is college basketball ruining American U.S. players in the NBA?

SPEAKER_06 1:05:09

I think college basketball is doing what they have to do to stay alive. They're run by the NCAA. NCAA makes the rules and we're just following what we're allowed to do. NCAA's trying to stay alive, you know. So as they the evolution of their rules and we're just trying to follow them. I I do think our our grassroots section and what's perceived to be good for youth, you know, transitioning from youth sports to being collegiate professional type sports hasn't hasn't gone the probably the best direction. If most kids nowadays are playing more travel basketball games than they are practicing basic basketball, which I I can't, you know, disagree sh stronger than that. I mean, if all you're doing is just playing and just doing game stuff, like how would you ever get better at a particular skill? And more importantly, is a lot of the guys have trainers that they do work on skills, but not once do they really work on when to do that skill or why to do that skill. And every one of these youth players, not everyone, because that's incorrect, a lot of them solely depend on just probably being a better talented guy than who they're playing against. And and it's almost like, well, what do you how far do you think that's gonna get you in any sport and anything? Is just are you just more talented than that guy when it's a team sport? When you can set screens, you can do different types of screens, you can do a ton of stuff when it's a team sport. So just being better individually talented, especially when you're talking about this you get the college level, a lot of that stuff goes out the window. It's who wants to play a better brand of basketball, and that's usually where the trouble starts. It seems like on the European side, uh they're teaching the game of basketball more than they're playing the game of basketball. They're teaching skills of when to do certain things rather than just this is a this is a move, just go do it. You'll figure out later when you should probably do it or not do it. They're putting emphasis on what is a good shot and what is a bad shot, not just get a shot. That seems like is what's making probably the biggest difference. Uh the second side to that, which somebody already said, is these international guys, they're elite, right? The the the transfer portal has has changed and it has hurt kids, but it's also helped a bunch of kids stay in college longer. And nothing's really wrong with that. They've also been paid to stay in college longer, which is a good thing because some of them are going to make money or a good bit of money playing professional basketball. A lot of these kids make a lot more in college than they'll make playing professional basketball. So that's probably a good thing. The other part to it is a lot of these internationals are playing professional basketball at 13 years old. And that's what some of these people got to understand. This is not new. It's been happening in soccer for 150 years. And now basketball's been doing it for 20 or 30, and now all of a sudden it's like, oh, when did this happen? It's been happening for a long time. Luku had a contract at 12 and 13 years old. You think he's the only one? I mean, there's thousands of them out there. He just was the one that, you know, got better and better and bigger and better. But these guys are playing with grown men, and their youth system is making this an all-day affair at 12, 13, 14 years old. So by the time they get 16, 17, they're just unbelievably ahead. Because at 13 and 14, if you're really, really, really good, you know who you're practicing with? Their top professional team. You're not practicing with the 16-year-old team. If you're really good at 16, you're practicing with their actual tier one, level one professional team. And you can't just be better than that guy and just go crossover, shoot threes, and it's easy. No, you got to figure out how to actually play the game. That's what's probably missing the most in our uh grassroots system.

What To Watch And Final Sendoff

SPEAKER_08 1:08:58

Okay. I appreciate you guys, you know, an honest take on that. So, guys, let's round out the show here, right? When the show airs, we're gonna have a couple days for people to listen to this and then get ready for the final four on Easter weekend here on Saturday. Now, what is something all the fans that are listening in to this episode, what's the one thing that they should prepare for or take notice of the most this weekend with the final four games and on the championship game on Easter Monday? So, what's that one thing that you want to point out between these games or whatever it may be that someone should really keep an eye out for? Ryan, let's start with you.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:38

Yeah, uh great question. Just as a coach watching these games, I'm always looking for the connectedness of the groups and the teams and how close they are. And big reason as to why these four teams are here is because they're all connected, they're friends on and off the court, and it all shows. And that's just the big reason why you see these teams having great success. They all get along and at the same time, they're competitive because they want to win, and that's why they're in the position. So as a fan or just anything, a coach, that I think that'd be something to look for, is how connected those groups are.

SPEAKER_08 1:10:16

Okay, Luke, how about you on this one?

SPEAKER_00 1:10:19

I would if I was talking to the average public basketball fan, I would note how big these teams are. Arizona and Michigan and Alina are huge because big men cost the most money and they have a lot of money. And that's the the Bass Yukonn's big and strong. They're not as long and lengthy as these teams, but these teams are going, these top teams this year are going away from just sort of shooting a ton of threes and Spacing it out when you can just go get the biggest big dudes with skill and then not give up anything in the paint. So I I would anticipate like this Michigan, Arizona, they're not going to shoot many threes. Allini probably will, but like these teams, these guys, these guys are humongous on these teams. And that's the I haven't watched a ton of college basketball this year, but when I tuned in to watch Arizona and Michigan and a little bit of a line, like these guys are huge, and I haven't seen as many teams this long and lengthy the past few years, it seems like.

SPEAKER_08 1:11:19

Okay. Mike, how about you on this?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:22

I agree with uh Luke. Like most most people don't know how big these guys are. And the NBA players. I mean, they're man of human beings, and to watch how they defend, how they get open, how they run offense, and watch watch the rebounding. You know, it depends how it's officiated, but it's it's a war on the boards of these guys, like and then you know, for years, you know, any college coaches, you get high school coaches, so and so can play for you, you can play division one. I mean, it's an eye-opener to some borderline players, like they think they can play on that level, and just watch these two games, you you could realize only a select you can play on that level. Okay.

SPEAKER_08 1:12:14

Good point on that, Mike. Duncan, how about you on this?

SPEAKER_06 1:12:18

It's tough to yeah, tough to tell like the average basketball fan to to the athleticism, the size, the strength. I think to to a coaching standpoint is how good their third through ninth man on every team is, and that they're willing to sacrifice their own game 98% for the betterment of the team. Everybody, every kid on every one of these teams could get their own shot off every possession, but they're all willing to completely sacrifice, you know, what they probably want. And they're literally all probably millionaires, but they're willing to sacrifice to get to a Final Four and have a chance at a national championship is is is pretty remarkable in today's age, but all those teams have that. They're all willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team, and that's what you don't see a lot in today's market.

SPEAKER_08 1:13:07

Okay. Drew, how about you? What's that one thing you want to point out to the people watching this or to take notice of?

SPEAKER_07 1:13:13

You know, one thing I've noticed with this this tournament this year than the previous past is how hard these guys were playing. I mean, these these games are like battle, like fucking blood, excuse me, bloods everywhere. I mean, elbows, it's bodies banging. It's it's intense basketball, and for uh average fan just to tune in this week, and I'd say you're really gonna see some really, really intense basketball, and it's gonna be it's enjoyful to watch.

SPEAKER_08 1:13:43

Sure. I'm gonna throw this out and and we're and we're gonna leave it like this, and Mike will get a kick out of this because I always say Villanova doesn't win them champ, doesn't win at least the first championship for Jay Wright without the best rebounder in the NBA right now being 6'4 in Josh Hart. He's the best rebounder on that Villanova team, he's the best rebounding guard in the NBA, and he's a top three rebounder overall. Mike Worrell's top pick in any NBA expansion draft for the World Warriors is Josh Hart. Just throwing that out there. With that being said, Bob, what's the one thing to look out for during this uh Final Four weekend?

SPEAKER_05 1:14:25

I think to watch, you know, they were talking about the big guys and how, you know, we said they don't work on their game that much, but some of these big guys can handle the ball really, really well. Some of them could be the point guards on the team, some of these big guys that play like a Michigan and and an Arizona, some of these guys, yeah, and what they'd like to do is they get the ball the top of the key, and then they get that running start and drive to the hoop, and there's no one gonna stop sometimes. So I think to watch these big guys handle the basketball as well as some of the point guards onto some of their teams, I think that's something to look at in this game.

SPEAKER_08 1:14:58

Okay, that's a really good point on that one, too. AJ, what's the one thing that everybody should point out, or you like to point out to everyone to watch this weekend?

SPEAKER_03 1:15:07

Uh maybe, you know, basketball IQ, how many turnovers, right? The defense. Right, that's always good to watch. You know, you like games to be closed, come down to the last minute, who has the ball last, who makes the last shot, because that's what basketball is about. I don't want to see a blowout, you know what I mean? Because then everyone's gonna be like, oh, we knew this was gonna happen. But close games, just have fun, man, watch the game, watch the achievement of passes, right? People getting open screens, how the plays develop. You know, that's good basketball. Right. The cohesiveness of the team, how they move on the floor, right? The pace of the game, you know, who keeps up with who. I'll just let them know that, man. And watch defense, man. I'm always a defensive guy. So we'll see what they do, man, how many blocks they get, man.

SPEAKER_08 1:15:55

Okay. And AJ brought up a really good point there. If you ever want to watch good basketball highlights to see high basketball IQ and really good defense, top NBA Steals guy ever, top assist guy ever. Check out John Stockton's highlights playing with the Melman Carl Malone and three guys out of Bethany Noon hoops. And he broke all those records with those guys. Check out the legend John Stockton, highest pride basketball IQ ever on his passes. Okay, hot take Tony, take us home on this one.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:29

I gotta say, Michigan, Arizona, the way they move the ball around, the way they can score seemingly at will, because they've been, I don't think Arizona has trailed in this tournament at all. They may have trailed against Arkansas, and I probably wasn't watching at that time because I was working, but just the way they run their offense, and UConn is one of those teams like that they're never out. They're never, they can be down, but they're never out. As we saw that Sunday was perfect evidence of that. Illinois, defensive team, especially the last eight minutes of their game. They knuckled down on defense, and you've got some um legacies there. You've got Koa Pete, whose dad played in the NFL. He's the youngest of seven, seven kids. He's again, he's probably gonna be in the league this summer. And then you got Andre Stoyakovich. His dad was special for the Sacramento Kings. And you got Dusty May's son hit a shot against Tennessee in the Elite Eight late in that ballgame. And last but not least, obviously, you got UConn, got that huge shot that was hit with like less than a second left. Every single one of these teams fought their tails off to be here. You got so many good teams, so many great stories, but there can only be one champion, and that's gonna be determined on Monday.

SPEAKER_08 1:17:57

Hot take Tony bringing us home on that one. That's gonna do it for this week's episode of the Ride Home Rans podcast as we break down all things Final Four 2026, one of my favorite episodes we do every year. I want to thank the excellent eight for being here, not the elite eight. We have our own panel of the excellent eight: Ryan, Tony, AJ, Duncan, Bob, Luke, Mike, Drew. Thank you guys so much for being here. We appreciate all eight of you contributing to all these questions and the ones that were specifically for you guys. We can't wait to see what happens in a couple of days after the show airs with the final four predictions. As always, if you like the show, be a friend and tell a friend. If you didn't like it, tell them anyways. I bet they like it just because you didn't. This is Fiddy signing off, and we will see you next week.