32 More Minutes with Mike and Paulie
A weekly show solely based on Reading High School Basketball.
32 More Minutes with Mike and Paulie
Season 1 Episode 14
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A look into the Plymouth Whitemarsh spring league games this past week . Also, sitting in with us is PA. and Berks Couty Hall of Fame coach , Wilson High's own , Matt Coldren. Great conversation and opinions from his perspective.
Be sure to check out our Facebook page at 32 More Minutes with Mike and Paulie.
And now, thirty-two more minutes with Mike and Polly. Hey guys, how you doing? It's Mike. It's Paulie. Thirty-two more minutes is back. We can't wait to uh get this thing started. Um, we we've been off for what two, three weeks now, Paulie?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, seven more months.
SPEAKER_02Oh, and then we'll then we'll be back every week. And Paulie, you know, we'll we'll be as happy as I don't know.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, the Spike Lee of Reading High Basketball will be in attendance. Everybody will say, Oh, here comes that fat loudmouth. That's me.
SPEAKER_02Well, you know, I I'm not I I'm guessing I'm I'm uh a close second right behind you. There because they're starting to get to know me because I'm around you, so that's a good thing.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, well, I didn't get thrown out this year, Mike, so that's but you know what, Paulie?
SPEAKER_02What we're talking about today is uh, you know, I I thought you were gonna get tossed uh the other night at the uh the summer league game there.
SPEAKER_04I mean, you know, when you're playing emotep and they have all them big kids, and and uh when Redding throws up a shot and the kid's hand goes up through the bottom of the net for a goaltend, and the referee tells Coach Bankert, uh I I I didn't have a good angle on it. I didn't see it.
SPEAKER_02You didn't see it. We saw it all the way down at the other end of the court. So uh, but anyway, um it's good to be back. Um hey, we have a special, special guest joining us for the whole show today. Um newly, newly crowned Hall of Famer, Berks County Hall of Famer, the Wilson High basketball coach. I'm already getting shivers here.
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SPEAKER_02Matt Coldren, how are you doing, Matt?
SPEAKER_01I'm doing great, Mike. How are you?
SPEAKER_02Great, great. Um, we're we're ecstatic to have you. I I I don't know how Reading Nation's gonna take this, but uh who cares? You know what?
SPEAKER_03Fair weather fans.
SPEAKER_02That's it. Matt's a great guy. Um look, I dislike Wilson as much as the next guy from Reading, but Matt is a quality, quality class human being.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. I appreciate it. And I gotta tell you, this setup you guys have here is pretty awesome. Thanks.
SPEAKER_02Well, it it I'll tell you what, Matt, you I don't know if you know the story, but the the story was uh Paulie and I were over at a summer league game at Bear Park last year, and I said to him, I said, Paulie, I said, You and I ought to do a podcast, and we'll call it 32 More Minutes with Mike and Paulie. And Paulie's eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning. And I went, dude, what did I just get myself into? And then I didn't really mess around with it, I didn't talk about it. And all of a sudden I went, if I don't do this, then I'm just a talker. I got I gotta get this somehow figured out. And I think by what was it, Paulie? The first right before the first game, yeah, we had this all set up, and I had to learn systems, I had to learn stuff I've never done before in like three weeks. So from where we started to where we are now, I I'm pretty proud. And I think Paulie's probably pretty proud of what we got going on here.
SPEAKER_04Oh, yeah, you're a professional at this man. You're you're the uh you're the product, you're like the Stephen A. Smith of uh First Take, you know?
SPEAKER_02Well, I I'll take that as a compliment.
SPEAKER_04Well, no, don't really take it as a compliment. Stephen A. Smith is he can be annoying.
SPEAKER_01You're not. He is annoying. He is annoying. But I I just want to say, as an outsider, um, I think it's fantastic um what you're doing. Um I know both of you love reading high basketball. Um, and there's a lot of people in the city of Reading that love basketball. So this is perfect for everyone. Uh, I listen to every episode, um, just because I like the two of you one, but two, I just I like hearing about hoops um and just the history of Reading. Uh and I we had talked before this broadcast that I have I have a little bit of history with Reading with my grandparents when I was younger.
SPEAKER_02Let's just little little uh uh story here. Um a couple episodes back, I said uh we had mentioned that it was a guy that listens to our podcast while he's working out. Uh the jig is up, okay? It's been Matt. Matt listens to our podcast. So yeah, that's that's who uh I I wasn't gonna uh tap names or anything until we got him on here, but it it's been Matt.
SPEAKER_01So well, I have a complaint about that. Um, you guys haven't been doing weekly ones because the season's over. My cardio has kind of sucked because that's that's my cardio. It doesn't look listen. Um when I lift, I don't listen to music and whatever, but when I'm on the treadmill, I need help, and you guys haven't helped me much in the last two or three weeks.
SPEAKER_02Well, let me tell you something. The cardio uh the the podcast hasn't helped our cardio either.
SPEAKER_04So yeah. Well and Mike, the jury's still out. Remember when we played up at the Geigel against Muhlenberg, and we had that 10 10 minute 10-15 minute delay because the fire alarm went off. We had to wait for somebody to come. Yeah to we were playing with the work at Muhlenberg. I uh I have connections with that. Yeah, see, I we we think he's the one that pulled it so he can get over there and uh you know scout because miraculously the next game we played then, they beat us.
SPEAKER_01So I mean, yeah, you know what's funny that I I got to watch the whole second half of that game. See?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, there was a ploy behind that, I'll tell you.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that's why he beat us. And then he almost beat us over there. We had to be go into overtime to beat him.
SPEAKER_02Yep, yep, yep. You know what's funny is I got to talk to Matt more this year than I ever did. Um, and I remember talking to Matt before the varsity game up at the Geigle, and I'm sitting up top, and I don't know why I was up top. I think I you know what I think I was I was not feeling well or something, and I didn't want to get seen on on TV because I'd I maybe maybe not have gone to work that day. But well anyway, um Matt was up there and Matt says to me, I don't know if you remember this, Matt. He said, I hate when they go into overtime. Do you remember saying that to me?
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, JV games. Yeah, yeah, I do.
SPEAKER_02And I guess it's because it it's it's a timing thing, like yeah, it's it's you're you're you you kind of got everything down to a science where you have this much time to do this, this much time to do that, and then with that overtime, it kind of delays what you want to get done.
SPEAKER_01It does. And I, you know, they're young kids, so information that you're feeding them it doesn't stay in their brains too long. Um, but just like even if you have a great motivational pregame speech, um, and then you get these kids hype and they're getting ready to go out, and then next thing you know, the JV game goes to overtime, and it's like everything you just said is is out the window. Um, because now they're standing there for another 10 minutes watching the JV game finish. Um that we have a running joke with our JV coach, Coach File, like if you know, even if you lose, we don't want overtime.
SPEAKER_04I'll tell you what though, Reading Wilson JVs, oh we always say it. We set the tone. Yeah, it sets the tone. It's it'll come down to the wire, and you're like, all right, that set the tone. And then when the varsity comes out, it's like you didn't miss a beat.
SPEAKER_01There's a lot of truth to that. There is. Um, and I I would I would say for me, more so the Reading Wilson game than any other game that we play during the year. Um, because it just hasn't I think it has an effect on the crowd.
SPEAKER_04Oh my who does not enjoy Reading Wilson? Listen, for everyone out there, this man now I have records back to 05. I I don't have his first four years. He's beaten Reading 21 times. Okay, to beat Reading 21 times is impressive. I don't care with a team who has four losing seasons in 125 years, he's beat them four times in the county final. He's beat them in it their only district title in school history, he's beat them. So that's a rivalry uh over anybody else in Burks County. How can't you enjoy it's like a Carolina Duke? Seriously. I mean, back when Reading used to have student sections, I mean, them and the Wilson student sections would go back and forth, you know, with chants and stuff like that. And then Wilson would always say, Oh, we beat you in football. That's the only way they could get us back with that. But I mean, the robbery is just phenomenal. And I'll tell you what, it ain't it ain't going anywhere this year because they're loaded like we are. It's gonna be good.
SPEAKER_01Listen, I appreciate you saying those nice things, but I still have a losing record against Reading. So I think it matters to me that I have a losing record.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, well, you you know, you you beat us in some big time games, you know. Big time games that that we just feel four and one in the county final against us? Yeah. I mean, come on, that's I've lost some big time games against you guys as well.
SPEAKER_02Uh note to Rick Perez, he may not leave the studio today.
SPEAKER_01I do I like it here, Rick. I do.
SPEAKER_02I mean, we're not letting him out the coach anymore. So anyway, you know.
SPEAKER_04Well, then they're definitely not gonna beat us. Yeah, he's got the game plan against us. We know how this goes. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I we're in fact, we're gonna try to try to get it out of him and see what we can see how far we can get with this and and bring back the information for you, Rick.
SPEAKER_01Hey, I I want to I want to talk about Rick for a minute. Um, Rick and I have a pretty good relationship, I feel like. Um, so I had the pleasure of being Rick's um assistant coach um when he was a senior at Wilson. Um I believe his mom remarried. Um, so his senior year, he came over to Wilson. Um and again, just started a relationship there. He coached with me for a short stint. Um, and I think he just has a fantastic job at uh Reading. I I've competed against Reading as a player and a coach. Uh one of the significant differences I think Rick from all the other great coaches that Reading has is man, those kids run through a wall for him. Um they just play hard. Um, and you and you can't replace that, you know, just the effort that those kids give um as a direct result of of him.
SPEAKER_02I mean, just listen to the opening of our show. That that what you hear is the halftime of the semifinal game to go to the state championship. And every time I play that opening to our show, my hair stands up on my arm. He affects me not only as a fan, but as a guy just listening to the opening. I can listen to that 25,000 times a day. Yeah, and I still get the same effect. He has that it there's something about him that he he just he gets these kids' attention. He does, he knows how he knows how to push the right buttons.
SPEAKER_01You know, Reading High basketball aside, I I think the Olivets had one of the greatest decisions they've made um was to put him in charge. Because, you know, my wife and I went to um their fundraiser a few weeks back, and just his presence and his comfort of talking to everybody there and and getting people to donate money for these children who need it. Um he just does a wonderful job. I think he was he was put on earth um for that job. Yeah, I really do believe that. Um he impacts so many children in the city of Reading.
SPEAKER_02Um you know what though, uh Matt, not only the city of Reading, but he impacts kids all over. I mean, look, he has impacted my son to the point where my dad, well my dad, my son always asks, hey, is Rick coming on the show? And Rick will always say, Hey, how's Cohen doing? He loves Cohen. And he's going to co Cohen's going to his camps and and and he set up interviews for my kid for school to interview Lonnie Walker for a social studies program. I mean, they have a they have a relationship that a coach and his player would have. And Cohen's, you know, a a miffling graduate. So believe me, he does affect the kids in the city, but he absolutely affects the kids outside the city.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I agree. Oh, listen, I I've said it. 2021 was you know, that that the heart when they were down 13 to 2 against five D1 starters, the heart and just, you know, not giving up. I I bel I truly believe that's what won them that state championship because it was 13 to 2. Everybody's that the game was over.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_04You know, and and and Woods dancing around like, why are we even here playing this? This is like a scrimmage. And and it was, you know, he inserted Joey Chapman off the bench, and it was like they just got that, you know, everybody just said, listen, let's just put everything out on the table here. Um, Rick always told me that I don't know if they still do it. They used to, they used to do something where they would they would all walk out out of the front of the giggle and they would run up to the pagoda. And then he would see who has that heart that can make it up to the pagoda without complaining, without stopping, without, you know, not being able to do it. That would that would show him who has the heart from beginning to end to finish this job.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I like that I think the biggest thing that he brings to the program um is just relentless. Those the kids that play for him are relentless. Um, and obviously, when you have kids who played that hard, and then you have talent, like they've had um a couple, you know, they've had three state championships, those teams had talent. When you have talent and relentlessness, like you you can't stop it. True.
SPEAKER_04You know what's funny though? We have all this talent, three state titles, but we still, for the last 25 years, can't figure out how to defend your backdoor. We can't figure it out. And I'll sit there and I'll say, here we go, backdoor. There it is.
SPEAKER_01Let's let's think logically though. Um, you know, when you're relentless and you play hard, you are setting yourself up to be occasionally beat um backdoor. Um, but I would say the aggressiveness overtakes the two or three backdoor layups that we get because you probably turn it over 10, 12 times for results and points the other way. So, you know, when you do certain things as a coach, you understand that you're opening yourself up to get beat in other areas. Um, but I I would say that Reading's aggressiveness outdoes, you know, you say the backdoor. Um, and I know the backdoor bothers you. So if we hopefully get one this year, I'm gonna thank of you, Paulie. Okay, you'll point over where to look forward to.
SPEAKER_02You'll know exactly where to look for him at the at the Geigo and over at Wilson. Yep. But you know, I I always say to Paulie, I said, Cauldron always the the way the key to beat Reading was you slow them down. And you set that uh uh you put the zone out, and when they start shooting, and and when they can't finish your basket is exactly where you got where where you want them. I'm I'm assuming this is no, I'm not a basketball coach, because they can't get back and set up. So you slow them down and you play they and it happens all the time. I say to Paulie, here comes, here comes, slowing them down. And next thing you know, the game's 41-40. You know, it's not that 81-35, it's 42-41. I'm thinking, here we go.
SPEAKER_01All right, well, I gotta tell you, listen. Well, first of all, a a coach, um, your goal is to put your players to be in the best position they can to be successful. Um, and not every year, but you know, there's a lot of years where Reading is just more talented, um, bigger, stronger, faster. Um, so you have to slow the game down so that your kids can be successful.
SPEAKER_03Correct.
SPEAKER_01Whether that's playing zone or, you know, sometimes we'll even I call it dummy press where we're pressing, but we're really not. We're just trying to eat four or five seconds off each possession, you know, and over a game that amounts to two less minutes that reading can, you know, push the ball up the floor or whatever.
SPEAKER_02Well, I never thought of it that way. It's it's I'm I'm assuming you you learned that from uh from your from your guy Reggie. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Reggie's wearing the same offense too, right? Yeah. And listen, I I always joke when you guys talk to me about, and I love Reggie. I mean, I'm I'm doing what I am today because of um two coaches in my life, Reggie Weiss being one, um, and the other, which I hope we can talk about later on, is a former red knight, um, the late Steve Hawn, who um was my assistant coach at Cootstown University. But those two um taught me a lot. Um, but you know, I just I think you just gotta put kids in good positions to be successful. And if it means slowing the game down, um, that's what we need to do.
SPEAKER_02Well, you're a master at it.
SPEAKER_04An absolute master. Yeah, you ain't kidding. We know what's coming. All right, so let's talk on a more important note. Congratulations. Yeah, I appreciate it. Uh inducted into the uh Pennsylvania and Burks uh Hall of Fame. Uh you hear some of these stats here, man, are crazy. You uh you remain second in career free throw percentage, 87.8% in Quittown University school history, and fourth in three-point field goal percentage. Uh you averaged 15.5 points a game as a senior. Oh, was that was at Wilson, correct?
SPEAKER_01Yes. So I have a bone to pick with you about that one too. Which one? The the the free throws or no, the will the when we get to my senior year at Wilson.
SPEAKER_04Okay, so now um this you were talking about Steve Honds. So the the success that you've had um as a coach um and as a player, who who who like who do you credit for that?
SPEAKER_01You know, um growing up, uh, I was very fortunate at Wilson um to have played for um and worked with um people like Reggie Weiss, um, Tom Friedle, who a lot of people don't know about, but he was my coach as a junior um when Coach Wise had to take a year off. Uh when I was in junior high, Dave Stafford, who was a Reading legend, um, was at the time the high school coach at Wilson. So he through his summer program would bring all the junior high kids along. So, you know, I learned so much from them, um, just about hard work and grit. Uh, I wasn't the most athletic um guy. Um, you know, uh, truth be told, I went to Cootstown University um to play basketball. And my first week month of school at Kutztown, I was questioning myself. Uh I was going to our open gym workouts, you know, and there were kids from all over, you know, Philly and Jersey and whatever who were coming out for the team, who are on scholarship for the team, doing windmill dunks, you know, dunks off the backboard. And that's not me. Um, so I quickly learned, you know, it was like I had a uh a mental change. Um if I wanted to play and I did, I had to change my mindset. So I became that gritty, nasty guy of practice that no one wanted to um go against. Uh, I think my first year, a lot of the my teammates weren't a big fan of me. Um they're trying to dunk at practice and scrimmages, and I'm taking charges. Um, I'm diving on the floor for loose balls, and they're getting mad because I run into their legs and take their legs. You know, I wasn't being dirty. I was just, it was my way of thinking, like, hey, I'm a good shooter, but I can't run and jump like these guys do. So I I gotta figure out a way to get on the court. And that was my way of getting on. Um, my freshman year, again, another reading contact here. Um, I was the backup guard behind Prinel Evans.
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01Um Purnell was a good guard at Reading. Um, but we came back from Christmas. You usually get like two or three days off for Christmas during basketball season because the season's going on. And for personal reasons, Prunnell um didn't return to Cootstown. So halfway through my freshman year, I got an opportunity to start um and I didn't relinquish that. You know, I was graduated and started for three and a half years and certainly wasn't the main guy. Um, but I I I thought that mindset kind of helped me coaching now. Um it I knew I wasn't as talented. I'm coaching kids today who may not be as talented as kids at Reading Um or the Mhoteps of the world or Coachville's of the world. Um, so I can kind of relate to them.
SPEAKER_02Hey, Paul, you know who he sounds like?
SPEAKER_01Who?
SPEAKER_02He sounds like a Reading High basketball player.
SPEAKER_04Sure does. You know what I mean? Yeah. I mean he and he does bring it into his coaching. Like he said, these guys are Duncan and he doesn't have the height and he can't do that. So, like, there were plenty of times where he'll admit it, he went up against Reading and he's like, listen, Reading's got their their first top seven might be way more athletic than my top seven, but then he found a way to implement his way of coaching to hang in that game or beat Reading. And especially like when Lonnie played, I mean, you that team was just, you know.
SPEAKER_01Well, yeah, and listen, Lonnie, Lonnie's a generational guy, um, but Lonnie had some good teammates. Oh, for sure. Lonnie had some really good teammates. Um, and I again like I know we've been talking about slowing it down. That when I had players like Stevie Mitchell, um, you kind of gotta let them go. Um, there were a lot of times where when Stevie was playing for me, we'd have timeouts, and before I go into the huddle and talk to the kids, I'd ask Stevie, Hey, what do you want to do? Do you need a pick and roll? Do you want a one four low so that you can just cause he was in the game. He knew, you know, I trusted him. Um, so he'd give me his feedback and then we would go from there. So, you know, and I've had some players in the past where We we weren't as slow as as we are some other years um with our offense. Um and my hope is this coming year, I think we're gonna be able to push the ball a little bit. We have some athletes, so um, we'll see how that plays out. But if I could go back to talk about my college experience real quick, um Steve Hahn is the guy who helped me um with that change in my mindset. Uh and again, if you're a Reading fan, you you've heard the name Steve Hahn before.
SPEAKER_02Steve Hahn coached uh right after Binder.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. But he he sensed a little bit of unhappiness, not unhappiness, but he could see that something was different in me. So he sat down with me and we kind of talked just about you know what's going on, and I explained to him, you know, uh, I'm basically a little bit intimidated. I can't dunk like these other guys can and whatever. And he looked at me and said, Listen, you're here for a reason. Um, you may not be able to dunk and do these other things, but you do some valuable things and you know, do those things well and you're gonna play. And that's what I did. You know, I I guarded. I actually had the luxury of every day the uh my backcourt mate, Locke Jennings, um, at the time when we graduated was the all-time lean scorer at um Coots Town. So I got to go against him every day um and I pushed him and he made me a better player. Um, you know, before it was over, I was guarding the other team's best player. Uh and because of him getting so much attention, uh, I was getting wide open looks, and I was a pretty good shooter. Um so I took advantage of those opportunities. Can you still shoot today like you could? Yeah, um, I hope my kids are listening, my players. I can outshoot all of them. Wow. You're a better foul shooter. I just cannot. Oh my god, yeah. I just can't um move anymore. Um, I know you and I joked about the um the league um that uh is it the Bear Park League? Yeah, Baba Waitlist. Yeah, Baba Baba does a great job with that. Um I would love to I'm I'm 54. I'll be 55 this summer. I would love to play in it as long as they could promise me that they're playing zone. Because I I can't the feet don't move like the mind wants it to.
SPEAKER_04Well, you know what, Matt, you you just said about how you know you're regarding the the the best player on defense. But that's one thing that since you've been coaching, especially against Reading, you always have real good defensive teams. You and Snip always have great defensive teams to where you don't let even when Redding had Lonnie, you didn't let Redding score 90. No.
SPEAKER_01You know, again, that's something uh I was influenced by Reggie um growing up in high school. Uh you know, you're you're gonna have games, and it's it's kind of ironic how it happens. It seems like it's not just one guy who's off at night, it might be the whole team, but you're gonna have nights where there's a lid on the basket. Um so if you're playing good defense all the time, you're giving yourselves an opportunity to have a chance to win. If you're a poor defensive team and you have an off-night shooting, you're gonna get blown out. Right. Yeah, so it's been consistent, you know, and and again, I'm I don't have the luxury all the time of, and I'm not complaining, I I love coaching at Wilson, but I don't have the luxury of coaching kids that are just basketball players. Right.
SPEAKER_02Um other sports, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I've had a lot of kids who are great football players, great soccer players, and basketball was their second sport. So I had to use their athleticism per se to our advantage.
SPEAKER_02Now, when you played, did you you played with with Kerry Collins? I did.
SPEAKER_01That's that's my gripe with Paulie because I I've heard on this podcast the Redding Wilson, the Don. So when Danielle Marshall beat us uh his junior year, I was a senior. It's always the Danielle Marshall versus Kerry Collins matchup. But I was the leading scorer on that team, Paul. Oh, see, okay.
SPEAKER_04So he was both now. Was that the year we beat uh we beat you could say that? Yeah, you be a special. That was a real good game, though. It was close.
SPEAKER_01It was very close till the end. Yeah, yeah. Um, you know, I want to bring this up because we talked about the history of with me and Reading. So I I grew up um going to Reading High basketball games with my parents, my grandparents, um, my grandma, my poppy, um, Russ and June Cauldron. Um, you know, I remember going to Reading High Games when I was in elementary school and watching the Gary Mingias, um, the Eric Keys, the Rodney Hodges, um Binder, uh, Brian D. Miko. I mean, I I vividly remember driving up 183 with them to get on 78 to go to the farm show. And, you know, so that rich history is why I fell in love with basketball. Um, I grew up at the time, not knowing because I was a Wilson kid, but Wilson wasn't huge in hoops back then. Um, but I just I I loved basketball. Um, so that's where my love for basketball came from.
SPEAKER_02That's awesome. Yeah, that's that's freaking awesome. Because you know what, Polly, as he said that, I'm thinking of my grandfather and I making that same trip up 183 to 78.
SPEAKER_04I remember my dad getting me out of school early when I went to Riverside to go see Reading playing a big playoff game.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, hey, my my grandpa picked me up at Northeast Junior High, and it was my uncle who had lived over in Sinking Spring at the point at the time, my grandpa, and it was a triple header at the Harrisburg Farm Show Arena with Reading, York, Carlisle, Harrisburg, Steelton, and I believe it was Lebanon, I think.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, probably.
SPEAKER_02Lebanon is always you you got six teams up there, and it you're paying what, two, three dollars at that time to see Billy Owens, Jeff Lebo. Uh just think of the talent that was at Rodney Brookens from Steelton. Yeah, I mean, it was insane of the just insane the talent that that you know we drove to see, but it was well worth it. You know what I mean? Well worth it.
SPEAKER_01My point of bringing that up was um, so when I was a senior, um, our second game, well, our first game, so I was on a the team at Wilson that I had, we fought more than we did anything else. Um, yeah. I mean, we we had an ugly game with Reading at home, um, where one of my teammates who um did stuff sometimes that he shouldn't have ended up punching John Young Marshall and the fans got it. It was an ugly night. Um, but so the second time we played um Redding at the guy goal, I actually had at the time was a career high, scored 29 um points against Redding, but we lost. So my point of that was my grandfather would probably was probably the happiest person um in the world that night because his grandson had a great game, but his red knights won. Oh yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like he he was happy for me, but he was even happier that you know that Redding still won. But yeah, to your point, so we then wound up playing Redding in that um county final. Um and I believe Danielle Marshall had 14 block shots. Yes, and I'm gonna guess eight of them were on me. Um, because I shot very well against Redding at the Geigle, so they kind of ran me off the three-point line, and every time I drove, it was like a SWAT fest for him.
SPEAKER_04Well, yeah, I mean, yeah, he was that good, you know.
SPEAKER_01And he was just so long.
SPEAKER_04Oh, yeah, he was so long, skinny and long. Now, now, um, so coaching and playing. You obviously love playing at the giggle more than anywhere.
SPEAKER_01Uh, yeah. I mean, I atmosphere why, yeah. Atmosphere. What about yeah, what about Marts Hall? Do you like do you like yeah, I like Marts Hall. Um, it's just, yeah, I I don't know if I've been involved in as many great games at Marts Hall, but I think the venue itself is beautiful. Um, I mean, I I've had a couple what I call top five wins for me as a coach, and one of them happened at Marts Hall um earlier in my career. Um, we had played Hazleton in a state playoff game, um, who at the time, I believe, was 27 and one. Um and we upset them um only to have to play Chester down at Norristown, which is another like I talk about two different venues. You go from Pottsville to Norristown. It was like night and day, but um, yeah, but no, I I love playing at the Geigle. Um I think what they've done over the years just with the paint job and everything, it's it's really it's really a special place. It is.
SPEAKER_04Well, I don't know if Mike, did we mention this? So when we were at the Reading High uh senior banquet, um it's gonna take 18 to 24 months. They're gonna redo the floor, new bleachers, the ugly brown brown and they're gonna be red and black, the seats up top. Um, they're taking all the drop ceiling out, and it's gonna be rafters, new LED lights, uh, new locker rooms.
SPEAKER_01I don't I don't know what I would do with those chairs, but I gotta be honest, every time I play it, no, but every time I play at the Geigel, um, and not only play at the Geigel, when I go to the Geigel to watch a game, as just as a fan or to scout, um, there's not a time that I go there that I don't look up at mid-court, high, um, across from the benches where my grandparents um sat. They were ticket holders, um, and that's where I sat with them.
SPEAKER_02I do the same thing. Yeah, I do.
SPEAKER_01I look up there, and I I just wish once in my life I could see them up there um when I was coaching. Um, but you know, the women had other choices.
SPEAKER_04It will be different though, looking up to them seats and to be different colors. I mean, because we're so used to oh yeah, you know, all these they were ugly colors. They're orange some of them, aren't they? Yeah. So so so Matt, give us a little bit on what we can expect. Uh I know it's summer and you probably uh on your team coming up this year.
SPEAKER_01Um, so I I'm excited. I I love I love to compete. Um, but I gotta be honest with you, is um the last as I gotten older, the last 10, 12 years, I really enjoy the offseason um for a couple reasons. Um it's an opportunity to play everybody. Um realistically, you can't play everybody during the season. Um during the season, you want to win. Um, but I I just I'm looking forward to the summer because I I think we have so many kids, and I I'm not being like I I have 10 to 12 kids that have an opportunity to start. Wow, so I'm excited just to see which ones take advantage of the summer uh and so forth. Um truthfully, I know I said we're we're gonna be pretty young again. Um we're not we don't have too many seniors. Uh one of the seniors we have, Michael Glover, um love Michael, but I want to do what's best for him. Not sure if he's gonna end up going to college early, which by the way, I don't know how kids do that today. How did he graduate early? But you know, Michael's got a great opportunity to play football somewhere. I'd love for Michael to play for me this year, but I mean, you know, I don't know if that's gonna happen. But we have other guys that I'm just excited. Um I'm excited. I don't I don't want to give you specific names because there's 12 of them that really have an opportunity, you know. And the message that I left with them um not too long ago before we started these workouts was don't be comfortable just because you started last year. There are guys on your heels. Absolutely. And you know, if if they're gonna outwork you and be better than you, they're gonna play. For sure.
SPEAKER_02Hey Matt, I'm sorry. I I just wanted to ask you a question about um, you know, when we talk about KTB and and and the program coming up to Reading uh and and the the value and the importance that KTB has brought to Reading High Basketball. And and I I said this before when my son played for Mifflin, we were over at Northwest Junior High, well middle school now, but and I closed my eyes and everything I heard and everything I witnessed sounded like what would happen at the guile. So they they they they imitated they they they try to play the same role like what what they do at junior high is what they do with the high school.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_02Do you uh do you guys have that same philosophy of emulating the the the young kids emulating the high school kids to keep them in the same I I guess parameter is the wrong word, but I know what you're saying? The same mindset. Do you do you I even practice the same way?
SPEAKER_01Hypothetically, I I mean I any coach would like that. Um I have a hard time with trying to tell, truthfully, trying to tell a parent what they should be doing with their child, to be honest with you. Um we we've had the fortune of some of our kids in my program have played KTB. Um, but I have others that have played in other AAU programs and so forth. Um so when you're a parent making the decision to spend money, um, as the head coach at Wilson, I don't think it's fair for me to tell you where you should be going. I understand. Um if if you asked me my opinion, I would tell you. But on the other side of that, Mike, I I think it's valuable. So what I've really enjoyed about the kids that played KTB in my program is it's different from how I coach. And I think it makes kids more well-rounded, to be honest with you. Okay. Um, so I think as many different experiences a young could a young kid could go through is only going to help many end. Um, you know, I would say almost to my advice, not that he needs it, but to Rick is maybe a kid who's played in KTB all those years, maybe one year for an AAU program, he should go somewhere where it's more um slow down oriented or set oriented. Just, you know, because when you're in college and in certain levels, there there are times and games where you've got to run sets. And as a point guard, that's a totally different mindset, as opposed to just pushing the ball, or you know, when you're running sets, taking control of everything. And um, so I would prefer kids to be more well-rounded. Uh we just hired a new freshman coach um just last week, and he was asking me, Hey, what do you want me to run? And I told him, I just want the kids to learn how to play basketball. I don't want them, you know, strangle hold in a certain offense or whatever. I want kids coming to me that had a wide range of experiences, you know.
SPEAKER_02See, I I I was always under the assumption, like, and and I always use this analogy that, excuse me, Mifflin baseball kind of runs their program. Um and and and and the coaches see, I actually said this to uh the late um my god, I can't think of his name. Paulie, who am I talking about? The coach Mifflin.
SPEAKER_01Zuber. No, no, oh Kyle Conrad. Yeah, Kyle Conrad.
SPEAKER_02Oh, Kyle Conrad, super, super human being. Oh, yeah. And I was his mother's neighbor. And I said to him, Kyle, one day, I said, Kyle, can I ask you a question? He said, sure. I said, I'm coaching the in-house team. I said, Do you know who the best sixth grade player is right now? And he went, no. I said, Well, he's on my team. He's on my team. And I'm not saying that because he's on my team. I said that the point I'm the point I'm getting at was that do you go down to the lower and watch the junior highs play? So they and I always said, I said, once you do that, Kyle, I said, then these kids know who you are and they understand you're coming down to see them. And I think that Rick does that. Rick does he goes down to the KTB, he goes down to the junior highs, and he says, you know, they know who Rick is because you know, hey, this is Reading High's coach. That was Mifflin's coach. Do you do the same thing?
SPEAKER_01I try to. Um, I don't think I do a good of a job as it as I should. Um it's I this is a poor excuse, but life gets in the way. Sure it does. Um unless you are coaching yourself or you're a spouse of a coach, like it's a lot of time. Um and it's hard, especially when you have kids at home. It's hard to have been at work all day, um, go to practice, and then try to explain to your wife. Try to explain to your wife again, like I'm gonna go watch a junior high game so I can, you know, look at some kids. And so it's a it's a balance you gotta do. It's it's you know, like I said, life gets in the way. Um, I obviously don't probably get down to those games as much as I could to see the junior high kids and uh even the youth league kids, but I I try to do it a little bit.
SPEAKER_04So am I wrong here? I I I think Well, I I think two things have have ruined high school sports. I think AAU has ruined has ruined it because you know, now you play all summer, but a lot of your kids aren't together with with their core team, you know, they're off playing AAU, and then you're trying to implement them back into you know ha having a chemistry with their teammates come November, and they're not used to it because they only played two games over the summer because they'd be playing AAU ball down in Florida or Virginia or whatever. And the other thing is parents. I I I've I've I coached my son's basketball and baseball team, and one parent came over to me uh for her kid for baseball, and she said, Coach, I have to ask you something. Listen, there's this travel team that wants my son to play. I said, and I looked right at her and I said, You want my honest opinion or what? I said, You do whatever you want with your finances, but your son's not good enough to play AAU. He doesn't even play on my team. He he's scared of the ball, and he told me twice he doesn't want to play baseball. So you you you know, and that's the thing too. Everybody, I think a lot of parents nowadays think that, you know, over in Wilson, they think that their kids Chad Henney, Carrie Collins, and Stevie Mitchell. At Reading, just because you dribble basketball, they're Lonnie Walker. And it doesn't, it that's not how this, you know, if your kid comes home from school and he's playing video games instead of being out in the yard shooting for two hours, you can't be mad that the coach cut him. But all you know, right away it's the coach's fault, or it's it's it's you know, his friends' fault. And at the end of the day, I think AAU, I my personal opinion, I think AAU ruins a lot of these kids.
SPEAKER_01I I don't know about ruins, but it hurts. It does hurt. I I have a lot of issues with AAU one. Um one of which is just the financial part of it. Um I I I don't know the exact number, but I might my daughter played travel lacrosse, so we we spent a good penny on that. Um, but just the fact that I hear these kids are going to spooky nook and they're getting, you know, the parents are being charged twenty dollars to park and then eighty dollars to get in. Like, like what are we doing? Like um unreal. Yeah, it's unreal. And you know, let's I'm gonna be honest with you again. I I think what gets me in trouble sometimes with people um is they they sometimes they don't want to hear the truth. Oh, yeah. Um listen, listen, we're in Berks County, uh, and all you gotta do is look at the history of and we've had great players, um, but the number of high-level D1 basketball players that have left this area is very, very small. Yeah, and there's nothing wrong with that. Like, there's nothing wrong with going to an Albright or Alvernia, or where Ruben is and Miles are at at Westchester, like that's good basketball. Yeah, um, you know, but I just think every kid and parent thinks their kid's gonna be D1. You know, I have a lot of kids that I and again I love my kids, but you know, you look at their Instagram or their Snapchat names, and it's D1 this person and D like play the game because you love it. Um not for the notoriety, like absolutely you know, and you know, my the other thing is I have kids who spend thousands and thousands of dollars on travel and AU basketball and they're failing three subjects. Yeah, you know, how about you spend that money and go to some you know, Sylvan Learning Center or somewhere and get a tutor? Um, but they don't, you know, it's just it's it's kind of backwards. I just wish kids played basketball because they love it. They love it, right? Yeah. If a scholarship or a uh college offer comes, that's just like icing on the cake.
SPEAKER_04Well, they I don't think they realize how hard it is to play division one anything. They think that it's that everybody could get division one. It's so hard to be division one. There's so many great players that went division one and you know, didn't like there was a kid from Immotep last year. He he went division one, he doesn't start. And you say to yourself, wow, that kid was that good at Immotep, he don't start. Well, because there's kids around the country that are better than him. Yeah, yeah. It's you know, it's it's it's it's amazing how it is. Um, you know, everybody thinks that their kid well, I'll give you a quick story. Well, I was down at Bear Park last year, and a buddy of mine was refereeing, and he said, I refereed a game last week at Spooky Nook. He said we had to stop the game because two dads in the stands were fist fighting on whose kid was better. They were in third grade, Matt. Yeah. He said, This is a third grade game, and the one kid said, the one kid stole the ball from the other one, and the dad was talking trash, and he's like, My son's better than yours, and they got into a fist fight and they had to cut third grade. Yeah. I mean, in sixth grade, the kid might say, Listen, I don't want to do this anymore. It's too much pressure. My dad's you know what I mean.
SPEAKER_01It's hey, I I want to throw one more thing out there, and this is not a knock on AAU, but I I want to say, so we I have a lot of kids who are playing in a tournament every weekend, okay? Um, so uh it let's say you play four games in a weekend. Um if you if you've been to an AAU tournament, it is bang bang. Like game after game after game after game, you know, there's no downtime in between games. Um per team per teams there are, but I mean when one game finishes, you get like four minutes to warm up and the next game is starting, and so on. So let's just say you get 20 shots to warm up. Okay. So if you play four games, 20 times four is 80. All right. And let's just say even you're the gunner on a team and you you get 20 shots a game, you're talking about uh 160 shots you took the entire weekend. Where if you're high school coach or even you're you go to the local YMCA and you go in there with your friend or your dad and you spend two hours shooting, you can get up a thousand shots. Yeah. Easily. Easily. If you're motivated and you want to do that. Um, and I I just think at their age, um, yes, there's value in playing games, but I think kids don't do enough of reps today. Um you know, I just don't think they put enough time in and doing reps, and that's why you have kids who aren't the best shooters, yeah. Uh miss layups and you know, foul shots and things like that.
SPEAKER_02Um that's why I I think that to me, and I I guess I'm gonna be the third one of degrees here. I I've been uh not a proponent of AAU, and just because if you look at just look at the the the collegiate and and the the professional basketball, your European player who's been playing since he's 16 has been playing with fundamentals, where AAU they're showcasing it's it's a showcase of one and two guys. So one and two guys, where this guy from the Europe uh European League or or overseas or wherever he's at is being developed the way we used to develop. And now it's like the United States has fast tracked everything, everything's a fast track where it's it's almost like you hopefully that that it's going to be cyclical or it turns the tide turns again where people start uh appreciating the fundamentals of the game versus well, let's let's fast track this guy. And I think that's why European players are taking over the leagues and taking over and I said with NIL you're getting these collegiate guys coming over from Europe and instead of them playing in Europe for minimal money, they're coming over and playing the collegiate leagues, and they're making you could say hundreds, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of dollars. And I think that makes the game better. And and in turn, you look at the look at just look at the NBA. Who are your best players and where are they from? You got Wembayami, uh you know, he's from France. Yeah, fundamentally sound. I know he's 7'7 or whatever he is, but you got uh the the center from Denver, Joker, yeah, you know, Donchik, you know, these guys can shoot, these guys can pass.
SPEAKER_01Where it's more amazing that, like you just said, how big they are and how skilled they are. Like that's that's unheard of.
SPEAKER_04Well, they asked Kobe, they asked Kobe years ago uh why are the foreign players better than American players when they come over? And he said, Because the fundamentals, they're like a year or two ahead than the fundamentals over here in the United States. He said they focus on the basics first instead of just going right to the main thing. And it and it's true, I mean, you know, especially in baseball, I mean, all these Dominicans and Puerto Rican, I mean, they're they're taking over baseball because they're playing year-round. Over here, sometimes it's hard to play year-round because of the weather and stuff like that. But it's like you said, Matt, you know, these kids got to put the work in. Yeah, and at the end of the day, when they come out for your team or Rick's team or whoever, and they don't make the team, what's the excuse? Oh, well, the coach. Yeah. Oh, it's always the coach. Well, what'd you do over the summer? What you played video games, you went swimming, and you didn't shoot the basketball one time.
SPEAKER_01That's not the coach's fault. And I again I'm not saying that's because I'm a coach, but my my favorite is when I hear that, because people say it to me all the time. Not to me about our kids, because people don't want to say the truth to you, but all of uh families in other schools say to me, Yeah, our our kid got cut because of the coach. And in my mind, I'm saying, yeah, I don't know of a coach who wants to lose. Yeah. So if your kid was good enough, I I think he would have been playing. I really don't know if you guys know a coach that likes to lose. No. Um I don't. Um, but do you know if if I could just say one thing to any parent or player who's gonna listen to this podcast, like listen, being able to play basketball after high school is a privilege. Um truthfully, being able to play division three basketball means you're good. Being able to play division two basketball means you're good. You know, I I I to be honest with you, if I look at our all-county team this past year, other than Kingston McCoy, I don't know if there's a guy that could step in at all Brighton Alverney and start right away. You know what I mean? Like Division III basketball is good basketball, so is division two. Um, and I think we were talking earlier before the broadcast the podcast, um, with the transfer portal, that has affected high school kids being recruited. Um I had I had the luxury of coaching Maddox Gruber, um, who in my opinion is top five or six player for me that's ever played for me. Um and great kid.
SPEAKER_02Great, great, yeah. Great.
SPEAKER_01You're right. Um, great athlete, great kid, but his um recruiting was very small, and and division three coaches were honest with me. They are looking at the transfer portal first. They all want older, experienced kids, and then whatever they didn't get, that's what they go for from high school now.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, because they have a job to do, they want to win too, you know.
SPEAKER_01Correct. Yeah, that's their livelihood. Yeah, you know, so Maddox was fortunate if he ended up at a great program at Widen, um, and he's gonna have a great four years there. Um, but like like I said, it was crazy just to think about, you know, he's top six player for me, and they weren't like knocking down the door every day. Not that he was not good, he's very good. It's just that the landscape has changed a little bit. Teams people are waiting to see who's throwing their name in a transfer portal and so forth.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I'll take that kid. Yeah. At the banquet, I went over to him because he was at he was there, you know, uh, and I went over to him and I I you know shook his hand or whatever, and I said, Thank God you graduated. And he just started laughing, like, geez.
SPEAKER_01You know what's crazy about him? I know where he he if you saw him on a football field, you'd be like, Oh my goodness. And even basketball, he was super uh he's little, he's like little nine, but yeah, you would never know it.
SPEAKER_04And he's so successful, he does. Oh, don't worry. We had enough of him on the basketball court.
SPEAKER_02We know he worked with my son over at Victor Emanuel uh Victor Emmanuel. Yes. And uh after the the Reading Wilson game, the last one over at your place, he was over it was after the game, and we're trying to get uh trying to get the book. I was trying to get pictures of the book for uh for our podcast. And uh, I guess after the game he came out, and he comes over to me and I'm like, Yay, what's up? He says, Hey, Mr. Eshbach. I'm like, how the hell does this kid know me? And he says, Oh, I work with Cohen. I'm like, wow, I felt I felt really really super, super fantastic, young, young human being. And the sky's their limit for that kid. Really nice kid.
SPEAKER_04Well, and his dad's 6'8, right? 6'8, 6'9, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we've had a couple of misfortunes with that. Like, I I used to say misfortunes, but um, we've had a couple guards over the years who've had dads that were super tall, and their sons just weren't yeah, they got a different gene, I think. That's right, yeah, yeah. Um, but yeah, I gotta tell you, Mike, you made me smile there because um again, I'm as competitive as they come, but the older I've gotten, um I I I am more proud of just the things that my players have done absolutely after they left me. Um, you know, the fact that you said that Maddox is a great person and he came up to you, like that means more to me than any any points that he scored. Um, you know, I I've coached so many kids over the years who um come back, uh call me coach, um, their kids call me coach. Um, and they're just successful in life. They're great dads, um, which is the most important thing. Absolutely. So that's that's what I'm most proud of, to be honest with you. And I think I mentioned that um at the Hall of Fame speech. Um I I appreciate being honored. Um I'm I'm in the Hall of Fame, not because of me, because of other people. Uh, but I'm just so proud of the the kids that I was able to coach and all the great things that they're doing.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, you know, you have a good, you know, like I'm I've known I coached against Glover in baseball. My son played against him. And uh his dad's an awesome guy too, always comes up to me. And every time Redding's playing, Wilson, you know, Mikey Glover comes over, says, asks me how I'm doing, shakes my hand, gives me a hug. Uh Nashar, um, you know, you you got you got a good group of kids over there too, you know. They're very respectful. Um I I I I never see any, of course, all the kids on the court when they're playing in a rivalry game, they draw back and forth, but I never see any I never see any antics and stuff like that from your team, but like we did over at Muhlenberg. But anyway. Um, but no, it, you know, even though it's a rivalry when they play Reading and they hate each other, it's you know, there's there's never any anything that goes down. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01I I I I don't think I'd stand for it, Ron. But um, you know, listen, we are, yes, we are the basketball coach, but like on like I said to you before, like I think Rick was put in this earth um for that all all of its job um to help all those youth in in the city of Reading. I really think I was put on this earth just to to help kids, guide them. And I think every coach needs to do that. There's a a bigger picture than just winning basketball games. Amen. Um let's be we we live in a world, a hateful world. Yeah, um, you turn on a news every day and you're reminded of it. Yeah, um it's just violence everywhere, it's it's sad. Uh so just the fact that we can have kids who one respect each other and um don't talk trash and whatever, you know, that that's something I'm striving for. Um besides the fact, listen, if if you're gonna allow your kids to talk trash, at some point in a big game, it's gonna cost you because you're gonna have an official that's not gonna put up with it. Um and when you're in a one or two-point game and you dunk and then you show somebody up and you get it, that tea could cost you the game.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, but I just think we need to teach our kids um to love more um and just to be kind. And I I think if we as a human race would help each other out more, it would be a much better place. Well, absolutely 100%.
SPEAKER_04Matt, real quick, well, that last thing. Um, so when you get your schedule, is the first thing you look at is your opener or when you play reading?
SPEAKER_01Um it's it's my opener, and it's it's my opener only because of I understand going into each season. Um, one, um, I have a lot of kids that play football, and I I I have a good idea of how well the football team is going to be. So I I know this coming fall, Wilson's gonna have a very, very good football team. Um, so I want to be really leery of the date that we start off on. Um and I didn't do a good job last year, man. We opened up uh at Central Dolphin with a super young team, and that that was like an avalanche.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, but too many.
SPEAKER_01Uh there ain't too many teams that would have beat them, man. Yeah, but nothing like throwing throwing your young puppies into a burning building. Sometimes that's the way you gotta learn though, man. Yeah, yeah. Um it's funny though, I when I went back and watched that game, um, it wasn't like a 10-0 run here, 10-0 run there. It was like a slow bleed um for lack of a better analogy. Like we were down four the first two minutes, then we were down eight two minutes later, then we were down like it was like a slow like death. It was bad. Now do you got them again this year? Are you doing a home home with them? Yeah, we are. We are doing a home home. It is the opener. Um so I need to work on well.
SPEAKER_04We'll come over to that if Reading ain't playing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they're they're they're going to be maybe better than they were last year, to be honest with you. They look they lost the Jelani Easter kid, but oh boy. They have a big 6'7 kid uh who I'm sure is gonna improve this summer, and the two Starling guards, and um, yeah, they're loaded. They're loaded. But to answer your question though, with the schedule, I I try to look for the most competitive schedule I can get. Um truth be told, we um we've upset some people in districts and states over the years where I've tried to schedule certain teams and I'm not gonna mention them on the air. Um, but there's been a few powerhouses I've reached out to and they're just not interested. Wow. I just I want to put our kids in a in the situation where when we do get to big games in counties and districts, they're prepared. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um well we we don't uh hold back. Coadesville won't play us.
SPEAKER_04Oh yeah. They I they they dropped me a couple years ago. Yeah, well, RJ Dixon said to me the other night, I said, What would we play Coesville again? He said, Nope. He said, because they got they got a tournament, two-game tournament for NIL money this year coming up, which I get it, but you lost the first round at home to Chambersburg. Don't I get this Hiller kid's one of the best in the nation, but that's it. You have nothing else around you. And they lost four, they lost four starters from this year's team. So other than him, they're really not gonna be that good. But I get it. You know, he's the showcase, and you know, understandable.
SPEAKER_02So I I have one more question for you, Matt, and and I don't even know how you're gonna answer this or if you want to answer this question.
SPEAKER_01I'll answer anything.
SPEAKER_02Okay. The morning after you beat Muhlenberg, and we all know you teach out at Muhlenberg. Yeah, what was that walk through the hallways like?
SPEAKER_01Um first of all, I I uh I I have the great fortune of working with the the basketball players at at Wilson. Um but I've truly, truly have loved my years at Muhlenberg, and I have so many great relationships with kids. Um you know, I had the fortune of coaching um two of Rick Perez's children, um, Liana and Caleb, um, actually had them twice, and then I got to follow them. I changed jobs as the dean of students at the junior high, so I kind of they kind of went with me. So I've been with them um for a whole ton of years. But it's kind of funny. Junior high kids talk a lot of trash. Um, so leading up to the game, I was being pretty much abused every day, and I don't I don't say much to them. Um but I can tell you the day after, and I didn't say a word. I just made sure I smiled a little extra and asked them how they were doing and so forth.
SPEAKER_02That's the first thing I thought about, Matt. I'm going, boy, if I was Matt Cauldron and I was walking through the holes of Muemberg the day after, I guarantee you I'd be peacocking all around those whole.
SPEAKER_04If I was him, I would have worn I would have worn Wilson gear from head to toe and maybe sent me home, but hey, whatever.
SPEAKER_01Our superintendent, um, was who's a red knight, um, Dr. Alan Futrick. Great, great, great man, you know. Good football uh quarterback at wedding, yeah. Um he and I don't think it's because of me, but he's made it very clear um that anything that we wear as a staff at Muhlenberg um should be Muhlenberg. Okay. Um now we occasionally have like to promote um college and so forth. We have college days and stuff where I'll wear my Carolina stuff and so forth, but um yeah, I I probably should have worn like a Wilson shirt just for just for fun. For me, yeah, yeah, just for fun. Underneath I know a Redding guy that wears a certain shirt underneath sometimes, Mr.
SPEAKER_04Ed Lilly. I'll call you out, Ed. Come on now. You're my boy, Ed. We saw that Ed too. We did see that. Well, you know what? You know what's funny, Mike? So so Ed said to me, he said, You wouldn't wear a Wilson shirt just for tonight for Cauldron. I said, Listen, I love Matt, but absolutely not. There's no way not happening. I can't do it.
SPEAKER_02Matt said to me, Paulie, just for tonight, I can't do it. See, let me tell you something. If if somebody in my family died and I was ruled a home in Wilson, I would sell it the next day. Really? I would sell it the next day. Unless I was your neighbor, Paulie, but there's no way I would now, I'm sorry. That's that's one of the I look, I lived in Exeter, I lived in Mifflin, I lived in Reading. There's no way in God's green earth. If I have to go to a nursing home, it better not be in Wilson. I live in Wilson, I live in Wilson.
SPEAKER_04And during basketball season, I have my Reading High basketball flag hanging out. Man, I get some I get some turned eyes, but hey, probably what's your address?
SPEAKER_01I don't have a bulldog on the front like everyone else, you know. You know what? We actually have two. I don't know why we have two. I can give you one. No, we're good. You know, those stone ones. I think you get them like when you play against Muhlenberg and Burke's Catholic, all right, I'll take one. Hey, you know, you're talking about Muhlenberg, um, because this relates to you guys. You know, I had the great fortune of coaching, and again, following him through junior high. Um, one of your red nights at Muhlenberg was Javon Merriweather. Great kid. Awesome kid. You know, I I vividly remember because when you when you teach in elementary school, you have parent-teacher conferences, and I remember Brad coming in with his wife, and um I was flat out recruiting. I'm like Brad, like there's some really great homes over there in um in West Lawn. So Brad moved, but he has moved to the wrong district.
SPEAKER_04Well, well, I'll tell you what, Matt.
SPEAKER_02Um that's a great segue, Pauly. That's a great segue for uh Wednesday night.
SPEAKER_04Wednesday or J. Oh, yeah. Well, see, see Matt, I'm I'm glad you said that because I hope you have somebody that can defend him. He was 12 for 15 from three-point range in two games the other night. The one game he was seven for seven. And I mean, this kid was draining.
SPEAKER_01I wonder how much that had to do with recess with me during back in the day. Oh, well, well, hey, we were a good player too. So we used to play kickball every day at recess. Oh, wow. Yeah. So if they ever start a kickball league, like I'm gonna be the coach of both of them. That was fun stuff. And I will tell you it's coming. Caleb Perez might have been the greatest kickball player in Muhlenberg elementary history. Oh, yeah. That little bugger would I'd have to call his mom once every three weeks. Hey, I just want Kristen, I just want to let you know that Caleb um may need stitches, like he dove for a ball. Like the kid would dive on blacktop all the time just to catch balls. Well, look who his father is.
SPEAKER_03The whole team dives on the floor of a macadam and everything in the summer for balls. Awesome.
SPEAKER_02Hey, uh, Matt, can you you wouldn't stick around for the rest of the show? Yes. Can I just say one more thing? I know I'm absolutely please talk.
SPEAKER_01I I talk too much sometimes. No, no, no. Absolutely. Please. I just want to say to you guys, um, it meant a lot to me um that you guys took the time and spent the money to come out to the Hall of Fame um banquet. Um, anytime, man. Yeah, I I appreciate the respect that you guys have for me. And I it's it's mutual. Um I I've said to you many times before, I wish um I had fans like you do, um, like Reading does, you know. Um, so thank you for that. And this is for the whole red night um squad out there. Uh I I think probably the thing I'm most jealous of as an outsider, um, but proud of for you guys is that Squires Club. I don't think you understand how important that Squires Club is to those kids and to that program. Um I don't think that program would be where it is with without it. Wow, that's true. I really believe that 100% from feeding those kids to just being fatherly and motherly figures to those kids. And I mean, when I heard oh god, uh the story about you know, sending gift packages to the the freshmen who are sophomores who are away at college and so forth, like you're you're changing kids' lives. Like that is so important. Um, so you know, as a as a fellow human and coach of another team, like that's awesome. Congratulations to you. I'm I'm jealous, but I'm so proud of what as at Berks County and of what you guys are doing for for your program and those kids and supporting them and just the financial back, you know, backing and everything. It it makes a huge difference. So kudos to you and keep up the great work.
SPEAKER_02As as members, as Paulie and I are, well, you know, we'll thank you uh on behalf of the Squires Club.
SPEAKER_04Thanks for the kind words, Matt. Before we let him go and finish this, Mike.
SPEAKER_02Sure.
SPEAKER_04For everybody out there, listen, all you fair weathers and everybody that says, Why do you talk to Colger? Not only is he a hell of a guy, but this man, now uh he he can't now because of a vacation that was, you know, changed. He was gonna golf, and we'll talk about the golf outing coming up. In the in the first annual golf tournament for the Squires Club, this is this is a rival that's that's that's willing to golf in a tournament and help proceeds go to the Reading High basketball program. So For anybody that has something bad to say about a guy who's willing to help out a team that's going to play him twice a year or maybe more, grow up.
SPEAKER_02Amen. Amen. Pauly well said. Matt, thanks again for your time.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. I appreciate you guys. And again, I I sometimes I get a little winded and I get off task with what I'm talking about. But I appreciate a time. Anytime I can talk about hoops, absolutely local hoops. We'd love to have you back on.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Please come back on anytime. Awesome. Thank you, Matt.
SPEAKER_04Thank you, Matt.
SPEAKER_02Again, thanks, Matt. We really appreciate your time. And uh yeah, it was great, great conversation.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, thanks, buddy. We really appreciate it. And the kind words for you know us and uh the renting program and the squires. And you know, Mike, you said about getting him on again. We'll get him on again after we sweep them.
SPEAKER_02I hear you, buddy. That sounds good to me. But uh hey, moving forward, that was I'm telling you, and you know, Paulie, we have you know spring games, and we've gone an hour six, hour seven, and we haven't even talked about a game yet. Yeah, so but great, great conversation with Matt. Um so anyway, um on Wednesday night, Paulie and I took a trip down to Plymouth White Marsh to see our guys uh playing in their spring league, and uh they opened up with Plymouth White Marsh and uh finished a night against Emotep. Quite a night, quite a night, Paulie. What do you think?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, uh White Marsh is very good. Um couple guards that can shoot. Uh we had no Raven Rubio, uh no Brandon Dunn. Um we uh it was 4140 after the third quarter. Um Redding won 6652. Uh very, very good game. And Mike, you're you're telling you what, your cousin Nessiah.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah. I'm telling you what.
SPEAKER_04He played some, he had eight points, hit a three, he blocked a shot, which I thought was one of the most terrible calls in a basketball. I mean, he just jumped and blocked this kid's shot into the wall, and they called a foul, and like the kid just didn't fall. He was still standing there. Um he played some big minutes.
SPEAKER_02Um You know, I I hope that's the turning point for him. He has worked so hard to get to this point. And I'm look, I'll tell you, there's a story with Nasiah. A couple years ago, he came up to me and he said, Yeah, I didn't make the team. And I went, uh, and look, the kid was dejected, he didn't make the team. And the kid plays baseball too. I said, You're still playing baseball? He said, Well, you know, I I I really want to play basketball. I said, Well, listen to me. I said, This is what you have to do. You have to work like you've never worked before in your life. And once you get to that point, and if you make the team, that doesn't mean you can't stay, you have to stop working. You have to continue to work and work and work. And the kid did it. Yeah, and he played this year. He started on JV and um he looked decent, but he looked timid. And he yeah, he for some reason, I don't know what it was, but something clicked from the end of the season till I saw him play that night Wednesday night. I've never seen that kid more aggressive. Yeah, but more. I mean, this kid, I and I'm telling you, go after the ball. This kid was going after the ball like I've never seen him. I am super proud of this kid, and if he continues to work in this manner, there is a big spot on that rotation for him.
SPEAKER_04Well, I'll tell you what, you know, obviously, you know, we're not sitting here saying he's Joker.
SPEAKER_02No, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_04But he played, I'll tell you what, he's gonna be in the mix. If if he if he's if he's getting in big minutes for the summer league, um, I'd tell you what, he played, he was diving on the floor. Yep. Put it this way he did everything we would want from a kid with his size. Absolutely. Get me some rebounds, dive on the floor, just rough some people up inside. Um RJ Seda had some had some uh uh minutes in there too. He was playing, you know, he was playing big with and Jameer Jacob. Uh Jameer looked good. He did. Andre Rodriguez uh off the bench. I mean, we you know, I'll tell you what, and and and Nisaya and RJ Seda and and and Andre Rodriguez, they're they're gonna get better as the summer goes on because they're in this White Marshall League, and then I believe we go to Westchester League uh with the Stash League down at Lonnie Land. Uh and then we also have um Allentown League. So, you know, the more and more they you know, guys, all I gotta say to you, you three young young kids, you know, because the other ones have you know started and whatever, just show up. Show up to practice, bust your butt. Um, there's gonna be a spot for you because you three played some big time minutes uh in those two games the other night. And and did good when you were in there, you know. Um you're only gonna get better, but it's it's like Matt Kouldrum was saying sitting here, you know, you got you gotta practice. And you know, the more you keep coming out and showing up, and you know, you're gonna get your playing time. I mean, you guys they play big minutes, Mike. Yeah and it I tell you what, if we had a player of the week for them two games, Javon Merriweather was 12 for 15 from three-point range in two games. Yep. I mean, Mike, I I Mike, you know, normally I I I clap and whatever. I don't know if I clap one time. I just the reason why is because I just kept putting my head down and shaking my head back and forth like what what's happening here?
SPEAKER_02I I I'll tell you, you know, they said last year he was struggling and he was working on his shot, and we talked to his dad later in the season, and it actually continued and it keeps on continuing. He went back to the way he used to shoot.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And don't go back to the way you were. Continue in what you're doing, Jay, because that shot looked as pure as I've ever seen it. It was fantastic. And it was funny because I when we were sitting, when it went off his hands, you could tell as soon as it went out of his hands, pretty shot. It was beautiful. It was going in.
SPEAKER_04Tremaine was telling me that Bron Braun's on an AAU team with uh uh with MLTEP players and stuff. He said, this team that Bron Braun's on, he he said they run everything differently. Where Bron Bron Braun's scoring like 20 a game. And I noticed too the other night, he you know, he had some some nice drive to the lane, laying him up and in. Um not saying he didn't do that before, but he seemed a little more aggressive on offense. Um I don't even need to talk about Justin DeCastro. We we just know what he's he's probably you know, I I obviously we we gotta hope health stays involved and whatever, but he's probably gonna be the favorite to win player of the year.
SPEAKER_02I was just gonna say that.
SPEAKER_04Um his shot's gotten better too, if if it could have. He was um, you know, and against PW, they you know, reading Redding turned up the heat. Um, and I remember the one time out we're sitting right behind the bench, Coach Bankert said something to them about like being complacent. He's like, You're not playing like the name on your chest. And when he said that, you know, I don't remember having him on here before saying it, yeah. I want him to have it a coach job somewhere. He said, No, he's at the right place where he's at. And saying that, he it's true, he belongs at Reddit. Coach Bankard said that in my my hair on my arm stood up because I'm like, wow.
SPEAKER_02I I I I I'm gonna kill myself for not writing this down, Paulie. But when we talked to Coach Bankard and Coach Dixon at the end of the game, I had asked him a question.
SPEAKER_04Oh, I remember you.
SPEAKER_02I I said to him, What could he take away from tonight's game?
SPEAKER_04Yes, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Do you remember?
SPEAKER_04I I you just no, I I don't remember what they said because because you know, I was uh you know, I was talking to Tremaine and then, but but I asked you what you said to them, and and you respectfully said, is it okay if I use this on the podcast?
SPEAKER_02And now I can't even remember what the heck it was.
SPEAKER_04And um, yeah, you said about taking I I I I think one of the things um Coach Bankert said, you said that he said was uh he said, Hey, we came down here on Plymouth White Marshall's Court, a team who won the district, who'd won the toughest district in the state, district one, right, and got to what the quarterfinals of the states, he said we came down here and beat them by double digits. Yeah. And we also were talking during the the Immotep game. Uh so Redding was Redding was listen to this, folks.
SPEAKER_03This is unbelievable.
SPEAKER_04Tremaine was saying to me, Immotep made like the first eight, eight or nine shots. I mean, they were on fire. Um, and Redding was down 22. And I and I all I remember saying to to Brad Merriweather and Tremaine Jones and Mike, I said, listen, I don't care about the score. I just don't want them to give up, lose by 35-40, and look like they're like scared. I just want them to fight.
SPEAKER_02Paul, do you remember what happened?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, well, Merriweather hit three threes in a row. Well, they were down 20 at halftime, three threes in a row to cut it to 11. And, you know, we kept telling them like there was one time Justin, right before halftime, took it to the lane and this uh eight foot seven uh MOTEP 25-year-old uh jumps out of nowhere and swats it. And we said, Jo and Jameer, look, just keep going to the basket and your cousin Nasiah. Yep, and we said, just keep going to the basket. Listen, they're the same age as you. They're just a little taller. Maybe a lot taller, but you got to keep banging with them. You can't be scared of them. And and and reading, you know, reading ended up losing. Okay.
SPEAKER_02They lost by, well, okay. This is where we have a debate here.
SPEAKER_04So the scores said 6450.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_04There were two blatant. And again, listen, they lost, so I I get it. It doesn't matter if it was 10 or 14, but they had two blatant uh goaltens. The one the kid put his hand up through the net and blocked it, and the referee said he didn't see it. Yeah. Um so reading, I have you know, reading lost by 10, but you know, Reading battled the adversity. I mean, guys, not only was Immote, you guys know what MLTEP brings, not only was Immotep in the state final last year, they got like three, six, seven, six, eight kids, and they're all sophomores and juniors. And I I that's probably the first time I'm ever gonna say I was happy when Redding lost because they showed me that they didn't back down.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. You dude, you you didn't say it, uh you said it perfectly, perfectly because the win didn't matter to me at that time. No, because when we were down 22, Pauly, I'm sitting there going, oh boy, you know.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it was pretty bad, guys.
SPEAKER_02These kids were down 22, cut it down to 12, they went back up 22, yeah, and cut it to nine.
SPEAKER_04Nine. We cut it to nine, yep, and they called timeout, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Single digits, they had them so worried, didn't they? And next thing you know, they it it kind of reading, I think reading ran out of gas there because they had to make two comebacks.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, they it it was when Immotep hit their first eight or nine shots, just for Reading to come back to get within nine, yeah, just took so much energy out of them. And we only had eight players. I don't know how many they're gonna be on the varsity for the summer and stuff. But I mean, I mean, Imhotep's big, they're loaded, they got a really good guard that's in the same grade with Braun Braun. Uh, because him and Braun go at it on the AAU team. Tremaine was telling me, Braun covers him. But Redding battled them.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, oh, absolutely. Very proud. Every one of those kids.
SPEAKER_04And I get it. Summer, this other, everybody's gonna say whatever. But if that's the measuring stick, emotep, I I I was very pleased that Redding, Redding, Redding didn't back down. They reading could have folded and said, Oh man, we're not in. And listen, here here, here's the kicker that's even worse. It's like we were talking, me, Mike, and Tremaine, Brad were talking. Redding was done playing White Marsh, and they had like five minutes to warm up, and then they played Immotep on another court. Who didn't play yet? Right. So it's not like Redding had an hour break, they had to play right away. They had a five-minute warm-up and they played right away, and Immotep just got there. Yeah. So, you know, to play two games like that, man. But um I said, Braunba played, J-O, they all played good, man. And like I said, those three young kids, man, Nasiah, RJ Seda, and and Andre Rodriguez, man, just keep it up because you will find yourself in the mix.
SPEAKER_02You know what else I took from it, Paul? I took from it like watching that emotep game. I really think now maybe this is just me, and maybe this is just my bias towards Rick. I don't know. But I really think that it's starting that the the old way they were is starting to leave them a little bit more, and they're starting to buy in more to to the way Rick and and this yeah uh this coaching staff does things. Am I reaching here?
SPEAKER_04No, no, no, not at all. Because like I I said to Coach Bank and RJ the other night, and I and I say it on here, I don't, you know, I don't have a filter. They're bad habits the last two seasons. Terrible habits. And even the guy who is in charge will admit that to you. That if he looks back on it and says, you know what, that we have to get out. And I get it, some people might say, Well, when's that gonna happen? It's slowly starting to happen. Yeah, you know, when you get into a habit in life, you know what I mean? Yep, it takes a while to kick that habit. You you you think about going back to that habit or whatever. But they're slowly coming out of that habit. Um, I think the summer is gonna help them with all being together and and and Rick and Bankert and RJ being there. Um, you know, remember, they only had 90 days with Rick. Yep. And um, I saw it the other night against Himbletep, I'm telling you, it was just I was in I I was impressed. They kept going inside, banging. I mean these guys, these dudes are huge.
SPEAKER_02I'll tell you what. I I and if you're getting that kind of production and that kind of work from Nisaya, oh yeah, I'm telling you, dude, we we're in pretty good shape.
SPEAKER_04We we need we need we need to we need to get better rebounding. We do not just forget Emiltep, how big they were. Even against PW, PW didn't have much size, but their guards were very good. They were quick, played good D. Um, we need to box out. We need to get rebounds. Um, when I say Imoltep's huge, you trust you're gonna see them down the road. Yes. They're not going anywhere. Um, I mean, you know, unless you want to go into this next segment, maybe we won't see them down the road, Mike. With the uh the vote going on.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about that. Um, there was a big vote. Um the uh Pennsylvania Senate, if I'm not mistaken, was it the Senate or the House of Representatives?
SPEAKER_04I think it I think the it has to go to the Senate to finalize.
SPEAKER_02It has to go to the Senate to finalize, but they're actually talking about splitting the uh the Catholic League uh and the public league and making them separate playoffs now. And I I wish that well, look, I love listening to Matt talk about basketball, but I wish we could have got his point of view on on this and other things like the three-point, uh, I'm sorry, the the three shot clock. But uh yeah, um I I don't know how I feel about it yet. I look I I I I get people are gonna say it's not fair and they can recruit. I get that, I understand it. But and Paulie and I have extensive conversations about this. We're talking about uh look, we talked about Exeter. When Exeter played Emotep for the state championship, if they play anybody but emotep, they're the state champions of that of class five, was it four or five, whatever it was?
SPEAKER_04Yep, for sure. Five, I think.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so if you put them in their own league and uh am I happy? Are you playing the best uh team available? I I don't know. I mean, Reading played the best teams, they played Catholic League teams to get to the state championship and to win the state championships. And am I proud of that? I'm ultra proud of that. Do I want it changed? Do I do I think the title is a lesser title without them?
unknownNo.
SPEAKER_02I don't think so. But I still want to play the best people, probably.
SPEAKER_04I think you still will, because at the end of the day, if also if if the PIAA does something where they make the transfers um more strict, you know, instead of just being where, oh, you don't play in the playoffs in your senior year, uh, then these kids will stay at the Chesters, at the Central Dolphins, at the Harrisburgs, instead of always saying, oh, I'm gonna go to college, uh college, I'm sorry, uh, I'm gonna go to the Catholic school. Um, and remember, Central Dolphin beat him Otep. So, and they're gonna have everybody back next year. I still think you're gonna, I mean, you could still play them schools too, and the in, you know, non-league. Um, but it it it it is if you go back on how many girls and boys the Catholic and publicly have won, I mean, they're just so I mean, Reading the other night against Emotep, you're just watching Emotep and you're saying to yourself, dude, they're just they're just too much. Like, it's not that Redding's not good enough to beat them. It's just at the end of the day, when you have when you're bringing in three, six, eight kids and five D1 kids from all over, I don't know. I mean, I think we're kind of biased on a different end because we've beaten those teams to win state titles, but I I guess if you're an Exeter, you're you're the other way.
SPEAKER_02You know what I mean? I I I look I get did didn't they get blown out in that state championship by like 40? That's what I'm saying. So I understand.
SPEAKER_04We're gonna win five state more five more state titles if if you take Immeltip and all that matters. I I think you're right. We're fine with it. Um the golf tour? Or do you want to finish it?
SPEAKER_02Go ahead, finish your No, I just I just wanted to say that I I I'm still look, I I I get about being fair and and about having you know being equal, but I I guess like you said, Pauly, I'm biased because we beat these teams. Yeah. And but I understand the other side of it like a like an Exeter or you know, whoever. If Wilson had to play somebody like that, and I I like look, I'm still not happy that this thing you you got to travel across the country across the c across the state in a in a state playoff where I to me I think it should be east and west. I that's just me, but you know, who knows? But I get it, I understand it. I don't know how I feel about it yet, but uh, you know, hey everybody's entitled to their opinion. Yeah, and and hopefully, you know, hopefully this thing gets resolved and and everything's happy, and everybody's happy and and everything works out. So but um, you know, hey, I just wanted to uh kind of wrap up the show, and not that uh just because it's last it doesn't mean anything, it means a ton. If you uh remember save the best for last. Yeah, if you remember how much Matt praised uh our Squires Club and how we jealous of he was, uh jealous of him, how you know how Wilson doesn't have something like we do. Um please, this is this is uh the first ever uh Squires Reading High uh golf tournament up at Berkeley Country Club, or it used to be Berkeley Country Club. Um we're gonna raise a ton of money for those kids and for what they want to do. And and and believe me, it's gonna be a fun day. It's gonna be on Juneteenth. And uh hey, Wendy was talking to me earlier, she said, get your reservations in, and uh they're still accepting uh uh advertising. Uh if you want to sponsor a hole, uh we're having uh not only the hole, you're having um geez. Oh, the great raffles and basket basket raffles. Um I I believe the price was 400 for a foursome, and if you wanted to play solo, it was 125. So it's gonna be a great day. Um, please get up there. Uh give Wendy a call. Get on the Squires Club uh Facebook page. Get your reservation now because they're going fast, and this is gonna be quite the event that I see going on for years to come.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and listen, if you guys love golfing and have buddies to golf, you're gonna pay to go golfing anyway with your buddies. Come on out, man. It's a good time. Even if you're not, I mean, it's still gonna be a good time. If we don't golf, it's gonna be funny.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we're gonna be laughing. Look, I don't drink anymore, and I'm sure I'm gonna make people laugh and oh yeah. But let me tell you something. This is this is what you get for, you know, if you get a force. So you're paying a hundred bucks a piece, you're getting the day of golf, you're getting snacks, you're getting drinks on the course, and then they're having a sit-down dinner.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, you're having laughs and and you're supporting kids. Yeah, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02That's the most important thing.
SPEAKER_04You're supporting kids that look forward to this and need this and everything like that. It's it's for it's it's a good cause, man. Come on out, seriously.
SPEAKER_02Please get a hold, and uh, if you can't get out, support it through uh advertising, support it through sponsoring all.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and and and and if if you can't get a hold of Wendy, get a hold of me or Mike or somehow. Please we'll we'll get it out.
SPEAKER_02Put it on our Facebook page. Uh give us a message, and we'll get you connected. Somehow any way we can do it, any way we can uh support the kids we're we're in. So hey, we ran a little long again, Paulie. Uh but it was Fun. Hey, good time. Great guest with Matt. And hopefully this is the first of more to come for over uh on the offseason. For sure. So on that note, we're gonna let you guys go. Hey, have a great weekend, and we'll talk to you soon. See you guys. Go Red Knights. Go Red Knights.
