SleepHawk Worldwide
SleepHawk Worldwide
SEC/ACC Challenge: UNC Basketball Looks To Get Back On Track Against Alabama
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In this episode of the Sleep Hawk Worldwide Podcast, hosts Brandon Staton and Tyler Hansbrough dive deep into the North Carolina Tar Heels' performance at the prestigious Maui Invitational. They analyze the team's tendency for slow starts, emphasizing the importance of defensive intensity and the positive contributions from young players like Drake Powell and Seth Trimble.
The discussion then shifts to the upcoming marquee matchups, as the Tar Heels prepare to take on SEC powerhouse Alabama and ACC foe Georgia Tech. Tyler breaks down the keys to victory, stressing the need for the team to play with discipline and energy from the opening tip.
Additionally, the hosts address the recent firing of head coach Mack Brown and the controversial flag planting incident between UNC and NC State. They offer their insightful perspectives on the implications of these events and the need for more respectful rivalry dynamics in college sports.
This episode is a must-listen for any college basketball fan, particularly those following the Tar Heels' journey this season. With in-depth analysis, player insights, and a look ahead at the team's upcoming challenges, this podcast is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the world of NCAA basketball.
Key topics covered in this episode:
- Maui Invitational recap and initial thoughts
- Challenges and positives from the Maui games
- Pre-game routines and player preparation
- Upcoming game against Alabama
- Georgia Tech preview and conference play
- Mack Brown's firing and the future of Carolina football
- Flag planting incident and rivalry dynamics
Don't miss this comprehensive and engaging discussion on the Tar Heels' season so far and their path forward. Tune in now to the Sleep Hawk Worldwide Podcast!
and now the sleepwalk worldwide podcast. Here are your hosts, brandon staton and tyler. What's up everybody? Welcome to the Sleephawk Worldwide Podcast. This is Sleepdog with the Big Hawk.
Speaker 2What's up everybody. It's the Big Hawk, excited to do an episode with my guy Sleepdog. I've got a great pod, a lot to cover and I'm excited.
Speaker 1Always a great day to be a Tar Heel, kind of a tough week, though. Hills Law go to Maui. We talked about that last episode. We're going to dive into a quick recap to kick things off here. In just a second Beat Dayton in a close one. Big Hawk called it Dayton, not a team to overlook. Auburn lost kind of bad, michigan State lost in overtime. All these games were on at 15 o'clock am. They were tough for Sleep Dog to tune in for. But I have done my due diligence in trying to unpack what went down. Got Alabama coming up next on Wednesday. We'll jump into that. We'll talk about also Georgia Tech on Saturday. Both of those are home games, 7.15 and 2 pm respectively. But yeah, and then before we get out of here, we're not going to lead with it. But if you're hiding under a rock and don't know that Mack Brown has been fired, we'll chat a little bit about that and flag planting and a couple other things Carolina related. But first things first, let's jump into Maui Invitational recap.
Speaker 1Big Hawk Heels go 2-2 in Hawaii. First game was not part of the Maui Invitational against Hawaii. So you know we talked last week about hey, there's a huge slate. I mean, look at what happened to UConn, right, if you're a Carolina fan, best advice I can give you look what happened to UConn. Okay, but he'll come out of there. Probably would have rather lost one game instead of two. But you know, being a good Dayton team, I think you know, had some matchup problems against a great Auburn team. And then you know Michigan State's going to be close, no matter what they are in the rankings. So I don't know what do you take out of it, what do you make out of it? And you know where do you think the heels go from here?
Speaker 2You know it's Sleep. I've said this before this season. I just think that from the get, we're going to be a much better team here in a few weeks versus when we started. We talked about this team. There's a lot of guys getting, you know, more minutes than they've ever gotten. There's a lot of unproven guys. We have a couple of very talented freshmen that are still developing and actually playing extremely well. When they do get in, you know so we knew it wouldn't be a smooth start, but you know so do not hit the panic button just yet. There's some positives to take away and there's some negatives that we've got to fix. But the first thing, listen, the Hawaii game. We've talked about it. We've got to be good at what we do. When we win, we're much more talented. We outmatch them physically and athletically and we did that. And I thought that was a good game for Hubert to schedule, just to get guys to Hawaii early, get acclimated to the time zone, the travel, everything and you get right into it. So that was a good win. And then we start the Maui Invitational.
Speaker 2The first thing I will say is, if you really like the Maui tournament, you better enjoy it while it lasts. In the new era of college basketball when everything's for a profit, teams aren't going to go out to Hawaii. They can make more money if they have home games. So enjoy this tournament. The future of the Maui Invitational is a little bit up in the air. There's a lot of people who are a little bit optimistic, but I have my questions. I've always enjoyed the tournament as well. Optimistic, but I have my questions. I've always enjoyed the tournament as well. I think it's a great kickoff to college basketball season as well. But you know, let's talk about sleep and I will kind of I'm going to lump all the Maui games into one segment. So I'm going to, you know, dayton, auburn and Michigan State the one, you know.
Speaker 2One kind of thing that I'm seeing reoccur from game to game is we've got to get to better starts. We can't get down 20 or 30 points and just dig ourselves out of a hole the whole game. It's exhausting and you can't do that and expect to win against good teams. And you can't do that and expect to win against good teams. We've got to get off to better starts. We got down big against Dayton. I thought we were just going to get the doors blown off of us and then we come back and win.
Speaker 2And the one positive I will say about us getting down big in a lot of these games you saw it at Kansas, dayton, michigan State, all these games is we are still fighting. We have not given in one time. These guys have battled back. They've given themselves a chance to win about every game that they've got down big. So that's a positive. If we can just figure out this start and get off to a better start of the game, I think we're going to really put ourselves in a better position to win some of these big time games. Now we got to get some wins and we need some big time wins. So we got one coming up. That's going to be super important.
Speaker 2But the other thing I will say is we've got to bring it defensively. We've all got to be connected. I still think this team plays its best basketball when they're really getting after it defensively. They're pressuring the other team, they're forcing turnovers and I think that's going to be a huge factor for this team.
Speaker 2Initially before the season, I thought the biggest area of concern or the main focus had to be our pace of play. But it's not. I think, defense. We have to bring it defensively Every single night. We have to set a tone because this team plays better when they come out and they pressure the ball, they force teams into turnovers and we're actually rebounding as a unit because we lack that size. Even though rebounding was a big concern for us preseason. We've done better than a lot of people have thought and we're rebounding as a unit a little bit.
Speaker 2I know Janiyah Broom, for Auburn kind of had his way with us, but he's done that against every team that he's faced. Auburn to me, uh, they've arguably played the best schedule, uh, the toughest schedule. They have the best wins and they're they are the best team in the country. So, uh, that loss isn't as bad as what it seems. Now, the Michigan state loss uh, you know Michigan state still, you know, struggling a little bit. And the one head scratcher about this sleep is Michigan State is not a good shooting team. They're just a grind. You know what they are. They're going to beat you up on the boards, grind you down, play smart.
Speaker 2Tom Izzo basketball and I just felt like this was our opportunity to get a big win. But kind of dug ourselves a little hole and they made plays in overtime and won the ballgame when we didn't, and that's what it came down to. But my main takeaways are we've got to get off to better starts, we've got to bring it defensively and I'm not sure what we're going to do to fix the starts. I could see us tweaking a little bit with the starting lineup, because you just can't come out every game and get you know behind or put yourself in such a big hole and expect to, you know, for us to fight back and you know every single game. I mean it's just going to get exhausting and it's really going to wear on you throughout the season. So we've got to figure that out, whether that's you know, adjust the starting lineup, maybe move Drake, I think you know positive from the Maui's. Drake played unbelievable.
Speaker 2I still think these freshmen in in, you know, in Jackson and Drake Powell, they're playing unbelievable and they keep getting better and better. And Drake showing us a lot, he can do a little bit of everything. He has athleticism, he has a little bit of size, you know. He just needs that experience and I think he's going to end up being a much bigger piece of this team than I actually originally thought and I think we'll see that here in a few weeks as he continues to develop and play well. And the other positive is Seth Trimble. He continues to bring it offensively, he's been consistent. He's turned himself into a two-way player. He can bring it defensively. He's one of the best defenders in the country and offensively he is a threat. Now he's playing with confidence and I take that away.
Speaker 2And my last point, I'll touch on RJ. Listen, rj's going to figure it out. He's going to find his rhythm. It's not like he's been playing bad, but this RJ Davis, he has an absolute torch and, listen, he will turn it on and it's not going to be long before. It's that RJ that's lighting it up from outside anywhere, and I expect that to come around soon. So that is my takeaway from Maui. I'm not hitting the panic button. I still think this team is trending in the right direction and they battled their team chemistry and their body language with each other is still very good and this team is very close. They're playing hard, just got to figure a few things out and I think you know we'll be that tough team that everyone thought we would be.
Speaker 1Yeah, so you mentioned the. You know the slow starts and that's the one thing I mean. I guess in Dayton was it 21 point lead at one point in time is at least 19. Heels are down 18, I think in the first half, at halftime, down triple digits at some point or another in all three of those games in the first half. So you know how does it.
Speaker 1I guess my question for you is how does it happen? Or like, why does that happen? You know, like you know, know you're prepping for this. Are you just cold? Is it just a byproduct of being in a different place and kind of out of rhythm? Um, you know, you know, because even though you're 7, 30 tip there, um, you know it's, it's one o'clock in the morning. You know, and mean I get that. You showed up a few days early but there's still a little bit of a lag. That's got to be there. And you know this isn't the NBA. You know you're not doing West Coast road trips and stuff like that. So you know, but you know, is that to blame or is it something more strategic? I don't know.
Speaker 2You know, sleep. It could have something to do with lineups or guys just kind of still figuring it out. But you know what? There's no excuse. You've got to figure that out and I'm not sure if it's on the guys. As far as doing something different in warm-ups, whether they're preparing or they're going harder, you need to have a good sweat. You cannot start the game expecting to. You know, warm up or, you know, get game ready. You better be game ready when that ball tips and the competition that we've, you know, started the season with.
Pregame Warmup and Game Preparation
Speaker 2We have arguably one of the toughest schedules in college basketball and I love the fact that we scheduled the way we did. We're not ducking anybody and you've got to give Hubert credit for that, and you know you have to reward teams that play tough schedules as well. But you know you've got to get off to a better start. I don't have that answer, whether it's changing the starting lineup, you know, holding guys accountable or simply, as you know what, we're going to change our pregame prep. We're going to start playing one-on-one. We're going to play a little bit of basketball before the game. We're going to get after it. That way, whenever the ball goes up, we're ready to go, and I think they need to look at that. But you cannot start the games like we've been starting and expect us to win these.
Speaker 1So that's interesting. It brings up an interesting question from someone like me that hasn't been through it right. So what goes into the pregame? Is that a player decision? Is that a program decision? Is that the strength coach decision? I mean, how does the pregame work and when does it start, and maybe walk us through that?
Speaker 2Yeah, so it's. It's a different for each player. You know, a guy like myself who was at Carolina starter, was going to play heavy minutes. I would always kind of dial back my pregame you know warmup or routine right before the game. I always showed up to the arena especially when we're playing at the Smith center, uh in the morning, and I got a ton of shots up, kind of dialed in my shot, my post moves, a ton of free throws and I like to shoot a lot of threes, oddly enough in my pre-morning game routine. But that's what I did.
Speaker 2But right before the game sleep, my partner before the game was Mike Copeland and we used to go. We had a post-up routine. I would hit right hooks, right left and I would have like a go-to move. I was trying to dial in right before the game and usually that was a pound-pound right hook, catch, right hook, duck in right hook. If anybody remembers, I love my right-hand hook and so then I always had my counter move, my go-to move, my right-hand hook. And so then I always had my counter move, my go-to move, my right-hand hook. Whenever the defense took that away, I went right to my turnaround jump shot over my left shoulder and I dialed that in and then I would go and shoot a lot of free throws.
Speaker 2But some guys they like to come out and they like to get a little one-on-one action. Just because Guys you know they like to come out and they like to get a little one-on-one action, just because I wasn't a one-on-one guy, you know one-on-one pregame guy, just because you know the game was so physical and you know I was a kind of a bully post player. That kind of wore me down. But a lot of guards, you know, or post players, will like to get a little bit of one-on-one action before the game. It kind of gives get a little bit of one-on-one action before the game. It kind of gives them a little feel that way they can finish through contact or shoot over a contested hand and just stuff like that. It varies from player to player, but obviously something's got to change for these guys and would you?
Speaker 1so? Let's say you, uh, you know, obviously you had your go-to moves, your go-to counter move, but how much much did pregame prep play into that? So let's say you've got a sophisticated opponent like Duke, right, and you know that they know that what your move is and what your counter move is, I mean, how do you adjust based on maybe an understanding? I mean because in baseball, right, you can. Maybe an understanding, I mean cause it's like baseball, right, you can kind of, like you know, throw different pitches, uh, it, it, it, it in in, I guess, in basketball, but like football, you can run different plays. But I guess, when it comes to an individual player, there are strengths and weaknesses and you know you can expect good teams to force you to your weaknesses and away from your strengths. So how does that you mean? Does that? Does that change anything about the pregame warmup or do you kind of, is that very routine based no, it didn't change a thing for me.
Speaker 2I always felt like you'd get me that ball on, that, you know, left or right block, I'm going to figure out how to get to my go-to and I can figure out how to score A lot of times. You know, it might not have been a right-hand hook but it was very similar going through contact. The shot might have been a little bit different but I was trying to hone it in and you know, sometimes you know I'm such a superstitious guy. When I played at UNC there was a checklist of things I'm going through in warm-ups, like I've got to make a certain amount of free throws. I've got to make a certain amount of free throws. I've got to make, you know, certain amount of post moves, touch on my free throw line, jump shot, maybe top of the key three. Just make sure all those are dialed before the game. That was. That was huge for me and I never wore a a a warmup shirt.
Speaker 2I always wore my Jersey because I liked that game feel or you know, I wanted to, you know, simulate or mimic the game setting as much as possible. Um, but uh, you know, if, if I'm playing a big game, you know it's like Duke and I'm I've got a little extra energy, I'll stay out there.
Speaker 2kind of honing in my right hand hook and it's kind of an odd you know know way to describe it. But I wanted to stay until it felt just right, like I'm talking about, like I'm getting my right hand hook and it's just going through not touch of the rim, just just nothing but net. And I like to get that feeling right before the game. It did something for my confidence and, uh, you know, usually when it was dialed in like that, uh, I was ready to go and I would do that before the big games, but usually some of my best games I was just extremely relaxed, maybe a little bit tired, wasn't too, you know, overly energetic and I go out there and I would have never guessed I played that well, based off of how I felt pregame.
Speaker 1See, an idiot like me would be like, well, I don't want to waste all the good ones. It's funny how you think about superstition and go through it and I think as a fan, right Like you know, I consider myself like a pretty knowledgeable fan and it's just one of those things you don't ever really think about and it just like me asking these questions is like totally organic, like it walked me through warmups, right, like I mean I don't think most people think about. They just see guys out there goofing around shooting jump shots and, you know, having a good time, and there's a rhyme or reason to it, especially, I would imagine, you know, prior to right tip, when everybody's already you know, kind of filing in the stadium and stuff. It's interesting. It makes me curious as to whether or not individuals or the coaching staff can do something to adjust these slow starts. Look, they can't let off the gas now, as if they could anyway. I mean they got to start hitting the gas at some point.
Speaker 1But next game up Alabama Wednesday at the Smith Center 715 tip. That is the SEC-ACC challenge now, not the what used to be the Big Ten. Yeah.
Speaker 2Big.
Speaker 1Ten. Alabama's currently sits at number nine. They're six and two. You know knocked us out of there last year, I think it was. You know they're scoring 88 points a game. So good shooting team, I mean. You look at their stat sheet and it looks an awful lot like Carolina's from a team perspective. On a game-by-game basis, they just lost to Oregon in a close one and they lost at Purdue earlier this month. So you know what are their I I guess vulnerabilities. Big win against Houston, beat Illinois, beat Rutgers lately. You know what do the Tar Heels have to do to get back on track here?
Speaker 2Yeah, sleep, and you just mentioned it, they're not ducking anybody either. They played a very tough schedule. They beat a lot of quality teams. I mean beating Houston, that's a tough game. Houston brings it Calvin Sampson his defense is unbelievable that is a big time win Beating Illinois Purdue Alabama is one of the best teams in the country and they also knocked us out of the tournament last year, and so there's that factor as well. So whoever scheduled this game I always love it when they do this, you know it adds a little extra drama. They entered our gear last year.
Speaker 2Let's bring them to our place. So I'm excited about this game. This would be a big opportunity for us to get a big time win. Now, a lot of people think Alabama is one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the country. And, for anyone who doesn't know, nate Oates is one of the most analytical coaches in college basketball. Maybe in basketball he loves to shoot threes. I mean, he is a volume three-point shooting coach and the one thing we must do we must bring it defensively. I mean, he is a volume three-point shooting coach and the one thing we must do we must bring it defensively. And we cannot allow them to get hot. We cannot allow them to, you know, have easy buckets and get hot from the outside. And another thing why we need to bring it defensively Sleep is because, if you look at their last few games, they've really struggled with turning the ball over and I think one big key factor for us to get this win against Alabama would be to make them, or force them, into turnovers, pressure their guards, get after them defensively, have our rotations on point. If you look at it, they had 15 turnovers against Houston, they had 20 turnovers against Rutgers and then their recent loss 15 turnovers against Oregon Now Oregon. What they did that we should do is, when Alabama turned that ball over, they capitalized on it. I think they had let's see here 17 points off of Alabama's turnovers, which is key. And also, when you pressure the ball and you're connected defensively whenever you force the team to turn it over, that is just like starting your offense and that's the way we want to play fast pace, forcing the other team to turning the ball over. That's only going to benefit us and the style that we want to play, and it's going to lead to high-quality buckets, uncontested layups, all the things that we want, and this is going to be a big-time recipe for a dub for us.
Speaker 2And the other thing I'm looking at is Mark Sears, who was arguably the second best player in the SEC last year behind Dalton Connect. He is a big time guard. He's an All-American. Some people have him as a preseason player of the year candidate. Him and RJ these are two All-American guards, two of the best guards in college basketball. Jay, these are two All-American guards, two of the best guards in college basketball. They're meeting in the Smith Center and it's going to be a duel and I'm looking forward to that matchup. Mark Sears also a very good defender. We have to contain him and not let him get hot. And you know what Sleep this is going to be kind of. You know you're going to hear this a lot from me.
Speaker 2No sluggish starts. We got to bring it from the tip. We can't get behind 20 points in the Smith Center. We've got to protect our house, we've got to be connected and we've got to start the game with an energy and a discipline from the tip. We can't come out here and just be lackadaisical and expect to get a dub against a team like Bama.
Speaker 2Bama is also one of the deepest teams in college basketball.
Speaker 2They have one of the best freshman recruiting classes in the country. They also got a lot of good portal pickups. We were after Cliff Amorea who I considered. You know he's not playing like I thought he would, but he is athletic, he's a veteran, he can get up and down, he will run. We can't let him, you know, get it going, but he is a big-time player and he, you know, is arguably one of the best players in the portal last year. He's at Bama. And also we can't forget about Grant Nelson. What he did to us in the tournament that still haunts us. We've got to contain those guys and we can't let other people be an X factor for Bama. They are deep and they have multiple guys that can get hot and give us issues. So we've got to bring it from the start, we've got to bring it defensively and we've got to be connected and push the ball and play with pace, and I think this would be, you know, three big keys for us to get this win against Alabama.
Early Tip-Off Strategies and Hotel Selection
Speaker 1Yeah, bama's, you know, maybe I think top 10 in the country in points and rebounds too. Rebounds is going to be an interesting one in this one, something we talk about a lot where those are going to come from. But Sears is interesting too because he's having kind of the same start as RJ right lot where those are going to come from. But sears is interesting too because he's having kind of a same start as rj right like, excuse me, not shooting the ball as well, uh, from the field. So, as much as I don't want to see this happen, it could be a fun coming out party for for both those guys and just go at it, you know, and maybe this could be the thing that launches and gets them back on track. But that's going to be a good one. A little earlier than your typical midweek start 7-15 at Smith Center, love it. Going to need some people to show up for that one. Big Hawk, you'll be on the radio for that one, right? Yes?
Speaker 2sir, Tune in guys. Tar Heel Sports Network. Give us a listen. You won't want to miss it.
Speaker 1Bring your headset if you're going to the game too. Dubbing over the, I always try to time it up right so I can listen to the radio broadcast of the TV, and ultimately I just wind up figuring out what's going to happen before it happens. And then on to Georgia Tech. So we'll have them on Saturday. Obviously, this is a weekly show Tar Heel, sleephawk, worldwide Faithful, so we'll go ahead and jump into the Georgia Tech. Is this the first conference game this year?
Speaker 2Yes, it would be the conference opener.
Speaker 1Yep, yep, yep. So, yeah, what do we got to look forward to there? Well, sleep.
Speaker 2Georgia Tech's a little bit unknown to me and the reason why I say that is because they haven't played the toughest schedule, which a lot of teams at this point in the year don't. We obviously have played one of the hardest schedules in college basketball. We don't duck anybody. But they're also a young team and if anybody remembers, damon Stoudemire played at Arizona NBA player. He's a head coach there. This is his second year. They were a young team but inconsistent. Last year they beat us, they beat Duke, they beat Clemson and then they lose to a team like Louisville who was last year. Louisville was arguably the worst team in ACC history. So peaks and valleys for them. They do have three returning starters. That all pretty much. If they didn't finish in double figures last year, they're close to it. Double figures last year, they're close to it. The three guys, nathan George, bay Nadingo and Kweiss Reeves those are the three key guys for Georgia Tech. I just absolutely butchered that and I got to get their names right before the radio on Saturday. But when I look at this game Sleep, this is kind of. Let's focus on us Now.
Speaker 2Alabama is one of those teams where they have players where you've got to know what they do. You just can't roll out there and expect it. You've got to understand their offense. You've got to guard certain people, take away certain things and then play well to get the win against them. I think against a team like Georgia Tech you've got to do what you do best and you've got to focus on yourself. You can't get too caught up into looking at personnel taking away certain stats. You've got to make sure that you bring your game and we can't get off to a sluggish start.
Speaker 2Just like I've always said, we've got to bring it defensively and we've got to play with pace and share the ball and take high-quality shots and I think we win. Another thing I will say is when we bring it defensively I'm also tying that in with rebounding that's going to continue to be a concern for us because we don't have that one marquee low post guy that cleans up the boards we're going to have to rebound as a unit and as a team and sometimes that's a good thing when you have guys that are boxing out. Doing their defensive principles and closing out defensive possessions with a rebound or a turnover is going to be key for us and we can't let that. We've got to stay focused on that, because if we do that, that's how we're going to win and we're not going to have that guy like Armando or Harrison Ingram last year, that's just going to come in and have these big rebounding games. We're going to have to rebound as a team and a committee.
Speaker 1Yeah, I'm scrolling through Georgia Tech's schedule. They got absolutely mollywhopped by our boy, wes and cincinnati. Cincinnati's playing great right now, um, so be excited to kind of see how that goes. So yeah, I mean, look, georgia tech, it is what it is, it's one of those games. It's kind of like, I mean, it's not, as I wouldn't put it, on par with the Hawaii game. You know, georgia Tech's obviously better program than that. They're four and three to start the season. So are Heels right? Like, yeah, play them all. But you know we've played a decidedly different schedule and you know, but conference play comes around, man, you can't overlook anything.
Speaker 1And did the early? I feel like I asked this every time there's a game that's not at midnight. Did the early tips ever bother you guys or anybody that you know? Cause I mean, this is a two o'clock tip on Saturday. You're starting, and we talked about this last season. I remember he's starting to get into that. I don't know, dude, I'm too old to know when winter break is or whatever. Um, and look, these kids play at carolina, right, you got to be better than that. Um, or above it, right, but 2 pm, kind of you know. You know, obviously we will have alabama behind us. At that point we'll know you whether we've lost three in a row or got back on track. Right, um, you know, but, but sometimes it's just I always wonder whether those early, early games bother people.
Speaker 2You know, sleep, it is a mentally challenging uh aspect and uh, it's a great question. A mentally challenging uh aspect and uh, it's a great question. I will say, uh, I hated the 12 pm starts. I mean, we had to get up early and you know, thinking about it now, me and you were texting at like 7 am this morning in college, brother.
Speaker 1Like you're like 12 pm, brother, I want to be asleep yeah.
Speaker 2So you know the, the, the pre-game warm-up and all that stuff getting ready for the game. That would happen really early seven-ish or something like that and uh, you know, I felt like I could have used a little bit more rest. But in the back of my mind I was always like, well, the other team's doing it, so I can't be this mentally weak if they're doing it. I've got to be better at it than them and I've got to bring it today there.
Speaker 2There can't be any excuses. I don't care when we start or how early I have to get up. The other team's doing the same thing, so I can't let that get to me or throw off my mentals, because the other team is going through the exact same thing. And also, for playing in the Smith Center, they're not staying where they usually, they're not sleeping in their own beds, they're in a hotel. Much more difficult aspect so the early starts yes, it is tough, but it's tough for everybody and you got to be mentally stronger than that. You can't let it get the best of you or use it as an excuse. You've got to bring it. I don't care what time, where we play or what time You've got to bring it, and you can't let that be an excuse.
Speaker 1Can either be a recipe for another slow start or a recipe for a fast one, since they're sleeping in a. How to put them? Did they pick their own hotel when they come into town, Like when an opposing team comes into town? Do they pick their own hotel or does the program have an established visiting hotel sort of partner?
Speaker 2I would never pick the hotel. Coach Williams was probably making that decision. I'm not sure. No, I mean like yeah, does.
Speaker 1Carolina have like a hotel where all the visiting teams stay? Or does the visiting team have somebody that's calling around like my wife whenever we try to go on vacation, like, uh, yeah, they, hey, you guys got you know 30 rooms. Um, cause I, if I he's put them at the Ramada. They was like, yeah, let's, let's put them down there the least. But then I guess what goes around comes around.
Speaker 2No, the team picks it. And the reason I know that is because I tried to get the points for it when I was in the NBA and I know that I was like, hey, can I get the Marriott points? I know you guys are buying and they wouldn't do it, but it was a good try. That was the biggest hog thing ever hey man can you? Imagine how many Marriott points.
Speaker 1It'd be a lot of points. It'd be a lot of points, that's a lot of points. Flight miles yeah, my buddy Dustin would figure out how to make that work. What you should have done, what he would have done, was call back Marriott afterwards and say, hey man, I stayed at Marriott for the last three days in three different cities and I didn't see the points on my account. And somebody that answered the phone would just be like oh my gosh, yeah, I see you stayed there and they probably just give you the points. Should have just called them. You probably could have called them.
Speaker 1Oh man, let's touch on the change of foot at the football program briefly and as well as this flag situation. So Mack Brown I think it was announced Monday, tuesday last week has been fired by the university. I don't know anything about what's going on here Less than zero. So this is largely opinionated as opposed to steeped in any fact. But I'll tell you a couple things. I like Mack Brown, I like Bubba Cunningham, who's the athletics director, and I think it was the writing on the wall and Mack said so as much in his presser after the NC State loss that it was time they said they started looking for coaches.
Speaker 1After the James Madison loss, you can just feel it coming. It strikes me as very, very weird that they fired him and he said that he had asked in his presser I'm paraphrasing because I watched it once and I didn't watch it all the way through that he asked to stay on through the rest of the season and they, they decided to fire him instead of basically waiting another week, because the bowl game is not what they're talking about. Mack basically said hey, I want to wait until after the state game. And you know, it just rings really, really weird to me for several reasons. The only way I can justify it in my mind is if they felt like they had to get a leg up, because, man, once coaches start dropping, then, dude, it is a free-for-all to get a new coach Right. And I mean like, unless they were like, hey, dude, these whatever five, seven days we can't afford to lose Because we can't risk somebody else getting fired and hiring somebody that quickly. But they roll out the list and I'm like, I mean, short of Arthur Smith, I didn't really see anybody on that list and we talked about this in our group chat. I didn't see anybody else.
Speaker 1That really made me think come along and do better than Mack Brown did, and I think at the end of the day, dude Mack Brown's the best coach, best football coach Carolina's ever had Twice. They're the all-time pantheon of football coaches at Carolina. Mack Brown is number one. And Mack Brown is number two in his two stints here. So I don't know. My first thought is just asking you what your thoughts are on it and how he was treated, and then maybe we unpack some of his pressure a little bit, because I thought he just handled the whole situation well. And I thought he handled it well from the standpoint of saying he was pissed about it. I thought it was a really what do they call it a vulnerable press conference where he was just honest and that's what people in the media always beg for and I thought he was honest against himself and against, maybe, the decision that was made too.
Speaker 2Yeah, I thought he did a really good job handling the presser and you know I love Mack Brown, I love Bubba. I hated it to see how this kind of went and listen, we don't know what the behind the scenes are, or if you know somebody else is kind of, you know, forcing somebody, or if you know, financially there was more of a benefit to fire him during the season versus let him go after that. I'm not sure about that, but I will say is I thought mac did a good job of representing the university, uh and uh, he is a great tar hill and I've talked to mac, I've met him a few times and every time I've met him and talked to him, uh, I walk away being like man. I like mac brown and I hated for him to kind of go out like this and lose his last game as the head coach against one of our biggest rivals. It's a tough way to go out and to get fired. I mean, it's been a challenging year, especially with us losing the player Ty Lee Craft to cancer, and I think it's been a tough year for Mac Tylee Kraft to Cancer. I think it's been a tough year for Mac and he was getting a little bit older. It's probably the right move for both parties.
Speaker 2But I'm with you, sleep, there wasn't a lot of big names or big splash hires on that list. I like Arthur Smith. He's young NFL experience. He's somebody I get a little excited for and also other people are excited when you drop Arthur Smith's name and so I think that's like a no brainer. I think if he wants a job you've got to seriously consider him and you know pretty much hand him the job if he wants it, because I think kids will really like his NFL experience and he'll figure out. Recruiting right now in college sports in general recruiting is not the same and it's not the recruiting that you know everyone kind of remembers. It's a little bit different. It's a little more money driven, kind of like free agency. So I'm not sure. I want nothing but the best for Mac. I thought he's done a good job of representing UNC and he's a heck of a coach and you know.
Speaker 2I just hope that this you know, last season didn't ruin you know, him coming back and still being involved and being around the program, because I think having him around and a guy like that to bounce ideas off of or kind of talk to or you know, represent the school I think that's a good thing. So I really hope it didn't ruin that.
Speaker 1Yeah, and I don't think it will. I think he's above that. I think there's something at play that the average people just probably don't know about. And it was a difference of opinion Because, like I said, I think Bubba Watson, I think Bubba Cunningham has done a great job as as athletics director. Um, I've I've met him a couple of times. He's you know, he wouldn't know me from apple butter, uh, but he's always been very nice to me and and and that means something you know when you're you just carry your engagement with random people.
Speaker 1Uh it means something, uh something at a place like this. And you know I would venture to guess that, look, it was just a hard decision that was going to piss somebody off one way or the other. I think Mack Brown. Look, it's easy for fans to get mired in the losses and we haven't had. You know, Mack came and everybody was so excited we thought we were going to win national championship or something. We had two great quarterbacks under his watch totally changed everything about carolina. I'll never forget the first game where mac brown was been dude it was electric man, like that miami game. The first game he came back dude might have been the most fun carolina game of a football game I've ever been to, and there's been some good ones. So, look, he's done a lot for the program.
Speaker 1The landscape is changing. There's a reason all these legacy coaches are leaving for the NFL or retiring or going to broadcasting and stuff. There's a reason teams like Georgia are, you know, like losing, you know almost losing to Georgia tech and stuff, stuff like that. Like the whole landscape is different and um, and I don't know, in a weird way, man, it just sort of levels everything aside from the fact that, like, but carolina's got a lot of money, but there's a lot of schools out there with a lot more football money. You know what I mean. So, um, look, it's just as a fan. You want to see the team win.
Speaker 1But I think when, when you have someone like mac brown, you've got to take a step back and say, hey, man, like this was a disappointing year. But you know, I think, before he showed up, if you said, hey, you're gonna have a winning season and be in, be in the running, you know, have something to root for past the first week of the season, for the next six or seven years, are you cool with that? Like? And you know, I think everybody says yes. So, uh, hindsight's, 2020. But, yeah, I think you made a great point. I've never met Mack Brown personally, but he seems like the kind of guy that anyone would want to play for. He represents the school well. He's always pleasant in all of his engagements with the media, despite the fact that sometimes you get pinned in these situations where things aren't going your way, and he always keeps his composure. I thought he was very composed in that presser and, again, I think he was really, really honest about it.
Speaker 1And he even said he was like after the JMU game they started looking for coaches and me and my wife we thought that was the right move. So you know that he was back in the background supporting the whole time. And I guess that's the question I just have is, like, why not let mac brown retire, um, since he was clearly going to do it? Because I think you know the nil is what's what's just, just, as I, you know, call it, call it an equalizer, I don't even know it's the right way to put it, but, man, it's just, it's created a lot of like and again like once the kids get paid, but it's created a lot of turmoil.
Speaker 1Free agency and he brought up a lot of good points too about you know, hey, if your coach goes during the season, now all of a sudden you got all these people calling them and doing all this and that and adding to all the pressure, and he talked about how, how their I don't remember if it was his graduation rate or the scholastic side of the team is one of the best in the country. I didn't realize that. So maybe he's just making it up, I don't know. One when.
Speaker 2Cam was there.
Rivalry Flag Planting Etiquette Debate
Speaker 1Yeah, you got that right. So anyway, man, it's just a real bummer, I think, to see it in the way it did for Mac. But I mean, that's the way it's going to end. What do you think we're going to go win a national championship, write a book about him, and that's just not going to be Carolina football and that's not a knock on Carolina football, it's just not going to happen and it does. It's not a knock on Carolina football, it's just not going to happen and it does. It's a bummer to see them go down to state the way they did. I mean, come back almost win and then you turn around and Tar Heel it away. Man, but anyway, everybody loves Mack Brown. I think I don't know anybody that's like upset that. Um, you know that he, you know I, I just get.
Speaker 1Go on and on about how I don't know that you're necessarily going to get anybody better is like what I don't get about the whole situation. Maybe you will, maybe it's time for a change. Maybe somebody else is younger, with fresh blood, understands nil, okay, fine, but you throw a dart and try to get somebody better than mac brown to coach your football team and I'll, I will stand corrected, um, but that brings me to the state loss and this whole flag planting stuff, and apparently you know they did it a couple years ago. I was there and then, like now it's this big thing like they almost got in a fight. Who else almost got a fight over it? Uh, somebody last night it just seemed like, yeah, it seemed like every rivalry there was a.
Speaker 2There was almost a brawl. They almost got in a fight. Who else almost got in a fight over it? Somebody last night, Michigan, Ohio State yeah, it seemed like every rivalry. There was almost a brawl over this flag situation.
Speaker 1Oh man, what do you make of this? Who are you for? All right, take State out of it. I mean, on one hand, they just won. You want to keep them from planting the flag, keep them from scoring a touchdown over the middle and the end of the game, right? But on the other hand, it's like act like you've been there before, kind of thing. Well, they've been there.
Speaker 2Unfortunately, I think there's a side of winning with class and also, you know, state hasn't had the best year, and I'm not saying we have. There's a. Whether you've had a good year, bad year, you shouldn't be planning your flag on another. You know your rivals, you know.
Speaker 1You know field 50 yards.
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah 50 yard line is a sign of disrespect and I'm not about that. And we can't have these kids, you know, getting into brawls on TV or you know throwing blows. There's a lot of emotions in these rivalries. Kids have put a lot of work into it. You can't have them. You know getting injured, somebody getting knocked out uh, at minimum I mean, that's just something like you know who knows what could happen if one of these you know big linemen, you know all these are D1 football players. This isn't just an ordinary brawl. These guys have the potential to do some harm and you know a lot of damage to somebody else if they get a clean blow in. And you can't have these kids brawling on TV like that. Somebody's going to get hurt. And the NCAA. If it was me, if I was running the show, I would have came out today and said, hey, listen, you don't bring your flag. You don't bring your flag with you anymore. We're putting an end to this.
Speaker 1What do they do to the flagstaff?
Speaker 2That's where they got it, they don't, they got it, I don't, they don't. They don't bring it or they use it before the game and then they pack it up that that flag cannot enter that field once the game has started and all this pre-game stuff is over. You can't have that sleep. This is like I'll ban the flag and also the other question sleep is if you're a football player and you're about to get in a fight, why would you take your helmet off? Yeah, that's pretty stupid on, and the reason I'm laughing.
Speaker 1The reason I'm laughing is not. I mean, I totally agree with your take. It's like so stupid, like why? But dude, we're getting old. It's like we're sitting here talking about oh no, kids don't need to be roughhousing in a 50 yard line and playing your flag. I, I agree with that. But I kind of can't help but laugh at myself because I'm like I mean, these kids just gonna do what they're gonna do. It's like we were tearing down the goalposts and everybody was up in arms about it's like, yeah, somebody's gonna look up things, somebody's getting killed by one of those things. Um, there's a reason everybody wears their seat belt and we don't smoke in restaurants anymore. You know, um, yeah, it's uh evolution here. But um, no, I agree, it's just look and it does.
Speaker 1It'll come across as salty and maybe it is because, I mean, state just has so little to live for that. This is their thing and I think that's why it draws so much ire. Uh, and you see, the same thing. I think that happened at Michigan-Ohio State game. Right, like, I don't think Michigan's had a very good year and they get a big win over Ohio State that still has something to play for. But at the end. You're just like you know it's so petulant, like but is it this new form of like trash talk? You know what I mean? I just yeah, I I think there is a certain level of respect that you got to have um for anybody, but I don't think most teams sort of quote unquote have respect for their rival. You know um, so and sleep.
Speaker 2I want to just add one thing that's on the head coach as well. A good head coach doesn't allow his team to do that. And uh, you know, neither team you know had a season to brag about. Uh, but if you're a head coach, you can't allow your players to act like that, uh. And also, if you were about to go to a bowl or had a big you know, suspend them game, suspend the player, yeah it will suspend them.
Speaker 2But also you don't want one of your main players getting hurt in a ball because they decided to take the flag and you know, go to the 50 yard line and plan it and all that stuff. That's just a look at me type of thing.
Speaker 1Yeah, that's the thing.
Speaker 2That's the thing, it's just, I would have done the same thing if they planted a field and I was a football. I would have gone down there, took their flag and thrown it off. I don't care who it is. I understand it, but somebody, whether higher up or the head coaches, they need to step in and say this isn't allowable.
Flag Planting and Seafood Cheer
Speaker 1Yeah, and I think that's the last piece I'll say on it is that's the part that really sets it off. Right, is you're going to come run through all our guys or whatever, and this isn't a carolina nc state thing, this is like the whole motif of it all. Right now, right, you can come stick the flag in the middle of the field, in the middle of our guys, and then, when I take it from you, because I'm standing on business, you want to to fight about it. That's the problem. Look, if you're going to come, try it. Okay, you want to bring it up here, go ahead. But if you get knocked out, if I snatch it from you, don't cry about it. It's kind of where I go with it.
Speaker 1Again, I'm literally not going at State in particular on this, but they did it last time and it was an issue. And again, I'm literally not going at state in particular on this because, but they did it last time and it was an issue. Mack Brown spoke to it and I do. I do think it was a classless thing by state. I think it was classless. What is it? Michigan did it and hell, probably everybody's going to start doing it now. Maybe we are getting old, but so is planting the flag at the 50-yard line of somebody else else's whatever, I don't know man. Anyway, look, alabama man, we got to get back on track here. If you're really you know, you know you're really feeling down, just order a box of crab cakes, dude. Start eating those things, man, I'll cheer you back up. Get them now and get them by Christmas time. They ship them right to your door. I can't tell you. My dad listens to every episode. Now I usually get him some for Christmas. He loves it. He's still got the t-shirt.
Speaker 1Jimmy's turned 50. Jimmy's turned 50, by the way, they got a documentary about themselves on YouTube. Check it out Jimmy's Famous Seafood YouTube channel. I mean electric documentary. You got anything else? Big Halt, stay safe, stay safe, thank you.