The Big 5 Pod
Kyle Morello and Jake Copestick dive into all things Big 5 Basketball, the unofficial conference of College Basketball in the city of Philadelphia. The duo will be covering the La Salle Explorers, Penn Quakers, Saint Joe's Hawks, Temple Owls, Villanova Wildcats and the Drexel Dragons as they compete for Philadelphia Basketball bragging rights.
Episodes
114 episodes
Big 5 Season Preview With Aaron Bracy
The season is finally here! For one last preview, we call on our friend Aaron Bracy to help us break down who will take home city bragging rights as the Big 5 champions this season. Plus, we give our picks for Big 5 Player of the Year, Coach of...
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58:19
La Salle, Saint Joseph's and A10 Preview with Tyler Cronin
Tyler Cronin of 3 Bid League joins us to take a deep dive into the Big 5's two A10 teams, La Salle and St. Joseph's, before giving us his thoughts on who will finish at the top of the conference once March rolls around.#lasalle ...
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48:55
Temple, American Conference Preview With Luke Taylor
Luke Taylor of the Full Court Network joins us once again to share his thoughts on the upcoming Temple basketball season. This includes breaking down all of their new transfers and predicting where they may finish in the American Conference, be...
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1:05:13
Villanova, Big East Preview With Tommy Godin
Tommy Godin of The Full 40 Podcast joins us to discuss the start of another new era in the Big 5, this time with Kevin Willard and the Villanova Wildcats as they look to get back to being one of the premier teams in the Big East again this seas...
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59:15
Penn, Ivy League Preview With Ian Wenik
Ian Wenik helps us break down what Penn needs to do to get back to Ivy League contention in 2025-26, this time with Fran McCaffrey at the helm.#lasalle #Temple #big5 #saintjosephs #Villanova #drexel #penn Make s...
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56:02
Drexel, CAA Preview With Riley Frain | Big 5 Pod Episode 128
Riley Frain joins us for our first preview of the 2025-26 season, where we dive into Drexel's roster, where we think they'll finish in the CAA and preview the conference as a whole.#lasalle #Temple #big5 #saintjosephs #Villanova...
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59:46
Saint Joseph's Players Anthony Finkley & Derek Simpson Join The Pod!
Saint Joseph's forward Anthony Finkley and guard Derek Simpson join the pod to discuss how they've grown in their roles on the team, being leaders heading into the season, and who on this year's team can be difference makers on Hawk Hill!
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34:27
Billy Lange Steps Down As St. Joes Head Coach; Steve Donahue Named Permanent Replacement
Tyler Cronin from 3 Big League joins us for an emergency episode, as Billy Lange has stepped down as the Head Coach of St. Joe's to take a player development job with the New York Knicks. To replace him, Steve Donahue was named the permanent he...
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47:26
Zach Spiker Talks Drexel in the Big 5, Player Development and the Upcoming Dragon's Season!
Drexel Head Coach Zack Spiker joins the pod to talk about how it's been for the Drexel program to finally be in the Big 5, his role in player development, and his thoughts ahead of the 2025-26 Drexel season!Chapters:#las...
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1:04:58
Steve Donahue On Coming To St. Joe's, His Big 5 Upbringing and This Year's Hawks Team!
St. Joe's Associate Head Coach Steve Donahue joins the pod to tell us how he's adjusting to life on Hawk Hill, his excitement for this year's St. Joe's roster, how he became a Big 5 fan for life as a kid and much more!Chapters:0:00-...
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1:02:42
Shane Blakeney on Being A Leader, Being In The Big 5 And Drexel's Upcoming Season!
Drexel guard Shane Blakeney joins the pod as he gets ready for his 4th season in University City, where he'll be entering the 2025-26 season as one of Drexel's leaders on and off the court. We discuss Shane's upbringing in basketball, his journ...
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42:12
NCAA House Settlement Discussion With Jonathan Tannenwald
Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer joins us to discuss the groundbreaking settlement between the House and the NCAA over NIL regulations and how it will affect Big 5 teams and college basketball as a whole.#lasalle #Temple...
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52:15
Darris Nichols on Coming To La Salle, His Coaching Style, Recruiting and More!
A milestone episode for us here at the Big 5 Pod. We're joined by our first-ever active Big 5 head coach, La Salle Head Coach Darris Nichols! Coach Nichols talked with us about his excitement in taking the La Salle job, his coaching style, recr...
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1:06:29
Tristan Spurlock Talks Upcoming Season, His Path To Coaching and More!
We're joined by Penn Assistant Coach Tristan Spurlock as he talks about how he got into coaching after a long college and overseas career, his favorite Fran McCaffrey stories, his expectations for the 2025-26 Penn Quakers and more!#lasa...
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1:06:19
Saint Joseph's Has New Backcourt, Villanova's Roster Taking Shape - Big 5 Pod Episode 119
The transfer portal is officially closed, but that doesn't mean the player movement in college basketball is done just yet! We go over Deuce Jones transferring from Saint Joseph's to La Salle, Villanova landing a trio of players and other commi...
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46:21
Xzayvier Brown Leaves Hawk Hill, Other Big 5 Transfer Portal News - Big 5 Pod Episode 118
The transfer portal closes in just a few days, but there's no slowing down of names leaving and entering schools. This includes Xzayvier Brown, who, along with Associate Head Coach Justin Scott, will be leaving St. Joe's to go to Oklahoma. Plus...
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50:42
Florida Wins National Championship, Villanova introduces Kevin Willard - Big 5 Pod Episode 117
The 2024-25 college basketball season is officially over. We recap arguably the most exciting Final Four in recent memory, culminating in Florida winning its third national championship. We also discuss Kevin Willard being officially introduced...
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1:00:08
Shizz Alston Jr Talks Temple Basketball, NIL and His Favorite College Memories - Big 5 Pod Ep 116
Shizz Alston, Jr. joins the pod to discuss all things Temple basketball, including how the program can improve in this new era of NIL and the transfer portal. Plus, we talk about his favorite college memories and answer fan-submitted questions....
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1:06:17
La Salle, Penn Make Coaching Hires, March Madness Rolls On - Big 5 Pod Episode 115
It's our last episode of March, and we have a TON to go over in both the Big 5 and nationally in college basketball. La Salle and Penn both made new coaching hires, the transfer portal has opened and some surprise names have entered from the Bi...
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1:01:06
Conference Tournaments Underway, Drexel Eliminated, and a Coaching Change For Penn - Big 5 Pod
March is in full swing, and the Big 5 is as busy as ever. We go over Penn parting ways with Head Coach Steve Donahue, Drexel's season ending in the CAA Tournament and preview the rest of the conference tournaments for Big 5 teams.#lasal...
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54:48
March Is Upon Us As Postseason Looms For Big 5 Teams - Big 5 Pod Episode 112
March is here! The guys break down what that means for the teams in the Big 5, as postseason play is here for one team already (Drexel) and is just around the corner for the rest of the teams. It's the best time of year!#lasalle #Temple...
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50:35
Fran Dunphy Announces Retirement, Villanova Back On Bubble Watch? - Big 5 Pod Episode 111
It was a much better week for the Big 5 this week but the big news wasn't about what was happening on the court, rather who was leaving it. La Salle Head Coach and Mr. Big 5 himself, Fran Dunphy, announced that he will be retiring from coaching...
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48:34
A Somber Episode After A Disastrous Week of Big 5 Play - Big 5 Pod Episode 110
It was a brutal week of play in the Big 5, which saw the teams go 0-9 from Thursday-Tuesday, and with Villanova grabbing the only two wins outside of the Saint Joseph's-La Salle game since Sunday, 2/9. With just 5 or 6 games left in each team's...
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1:00:26
Villanova's Good Form, Erik Reynolds II's Scoring Record Chase And More - Big 5 Pod Episode 109
It's the stretch run of conference play, where each game becomes more important than the last and bubbles start to shrink. We talk about Villaova's good form as of late, Erik Reynolds II moving into second place on Saint Joseph's all-time leadi...
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36:02
Temple On The Rise, St Joe's Struggles and Villanova's Fall From The Bubble - Big 5 Pod Ep 108
We're back! After a couple weeks off, we go over all that's happened in the Big 5 as the calendar turned to February. This includes Temple's steady play, St. Joe's struggles once again in Atlantic 10 play, Villanova falling from bubble contenti...
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52:31