Season 1 Episode 16 6/22/26

A look back at the games at West Chester last Wednesday and a quick interview with Nasiah Molina after those. games. A look back at the perfect day at Berkleigh golf club at the first annual Squires Club Golf Tournament. Saturday's games at Executive and Lonnie Land for the Stvsh league game. Last but certainly not least, our in-house interview with Nasiah Molina and R.J. Seda !

Be sure to check out our Facebook page at 32 More Minutes with Mike and Paulie.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:13

It's a water one. It's a worth one is the one it's what gives up the door, it's worth giving, it's the worth giving up my job. Two more minutes.

SPEAKER_05 0:37

And now, thirty-two more minutes with Mike and Paulie. Hey guys, it's Mike.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Paulie.

SPEAKER_05 0:46

Welcome back. We're back. How are you doing tonight?

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Uh the Knicks won the NBA championship five games. How did I know you were going to start with the first one? First time in 53 years.

SPEAKER_05 0:56

How did I know you were going to start with that? Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

I'm good.

SPEAKER_05 0:59

Yeah, I bet you are. You know what though, Paulie? As much as I dislike New York, I was rooting for you. I was, you know, and I was a closet Knicks fan for you and for the Villanova guys because I love Villanova. And uh if those three weren't on a team, it would have been a real hard task to sit here and root for them. But I'll tell you what, they had some heart. They they they played like I've never seen a team play before. They were fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

I think it's just time to give Jalen Brunson, you know, guys 6-1, if that. It's amazing. Yeah, everybody disrespected him. Like you said, they had heart. Just like the Reading teams of 2017, nine, uh 21 and 23. Yeah. Um, you know, they stuck together, even though they weren't favored. Uh nobody believed in them. I didn't think they'd win the championship either.

SPEAKER_05 1:51

So and you're a diehard.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:53

So I didn't. I I'll tell you what, I they had everything I wish my Sixers had. They had heart, they had courage, they didn't back down from anybody. I it was just, and I can't believe I'm saying that about a New York team.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

No, I know. Sixers are it's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_05 2:08

All right, that's it. You know, but anyway, all right.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Yeah, let's go into red.

SPEAKER_05 2:12

Let's get in here. Let's get going from what we uh, you know, we started this podcast for our red nights. Uh, what a fantastic uh last five days, six days, you know. Um we we started down at Westchester, and um I'll tell you what, these kids, young men, I'm sorry, no, they're not kids, they're young men, they played their asses off. And I'm telling you, it's starting to show, Paul. You were there, you finally came, it's starting to show.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Yeah, uh, I was down to Plymouth White Marsh to see them a few times with you. Um the uh the Westchester League, they looked the defense looked 10 times better than what it did at any of them games at Plymouth White Marsh. Um just smothering defense. Um, if I'm not mistaken, Redding finished seven and one down in the Westchester League. Uh there's good teams down there, like like you know, uh Redding beat Bishop McDevitt game one that we were down there, yeah. 50 to 43, and then they played Friends Select from the public league.

SPEAKER_05 3:12

And they beat that, they beat them up pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 3:15

Yeah, and that Friends Select had some big some big kids. Um, but the defensive effort was just smothering. Uh everybody chipped in, you know, it was there was no selfishness. Everybody was scoring, everybody was doing their role, playing good D. Uh, there's some real good teams that were down there. Cook Cumberland Valley, who's in our district, was down there.

SPEAKER_05 3:33

Um I I see a mature, I see a maturing coming.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

Yeah, it's well it's coming together.

SPEAKER_05 3:39

It's um you know, there there was uh I to me, I thought last year there was a mature pro uh problem. Like, you know, they were young. They they were young. And now with a year under the belt with these younger guys, um, you're starting to see that they're starting to understand, they're starting to understand what this program is and and and what it the value of this program. And um I I think with me harping on these kids too, and you what what the what the value of this program is, they're starting to understand it.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Well, you can't be part of the program and be part of history and whatever if you don't show up.

SPEAKER_05 4:16

You're right. You're absolutely correct.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

And you know, we told some of the kids that that have missed time and stuff like that, you gotta show up. And listen, you can't show up 70% of the time. Yeah. Because at the end of the day, no matter how anybody wants to look at it for any school, I mean, maybe other schools do it differently, but I know what Coach P and everybody does. It's not fair if you have two kids that come to every single workout, practice, prayer session, what have you, a hundred percent of the time, let's say 98% of the time, you know, maybe the family went on vacation or whatever, and they're working and they're working their tail off. And then you have somebody else who, let's say last year was in the mix for varsity or started, and they just decide, well, I'm not gonna show up. I don't feel like showing up, and then just walk right in and say, Oh, okay, well, I started last year, I'll play over this kid and that kid.

SPEAKER_05 5:10

No, that's not how it works. Yeah, Rick's not gonna, I guarantee you, Rick's not.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

No, but why should you get rewarded for for just you know staying away? I mean, if you have a legitimate reason, like I said, if if if you know the family's on vacation or um you know other conflicts, but otherwise, uh you gotta show up, man. And you're seeing it with these younger kids that you know them them showing up and putting the work in, how much better they've gotten since last year. You know, you could just see it.

SPEAKER_05 5:41

Uh well, our one guest tonight, um, it it's evident he's he's really uh well both our guests. Both our guests, both our guests work, but the the one uh has has really opened some eyes, and we've talked about him uh show after show. Everybody has made a contribution over the spring and summer, and and I I'm really proud of the uh of the work these kids have done. I really I I can't say enough good things about him.

SPEAKER_01 6:07

Look, I I've I've been friends and known Coach P since I was a teenager, and since he's been coaching, even when he was an assistant, he believes 100% in if you put your heart into it and you work hard in practice and you show up, you're gonna get an opportunity. Absolutely. And the two kids that are gonna be on tonight, they're in the mix. Absolutely. Now, are we saying that, you know, um I you know I don't know who the starters are gonna be. I'm not the head coach. Um I could they start? Yeah, maybe they could start, but they're definitely gonna be in the mix here. It's not like they're gonna be, you know, they're they're listening they've been in the mix all summer so far. There's time to be had. For sure. There's a lot of minutes to be had there. If if you're playing now in these big time tournaments with Coach P and you're showing up, he's giving you the he's gonna give you an opportunity. I know for a fact. Well, that's somebody told me that. Yeah, there's a reason you're getting minutes in the spring. Sure. He he um he'll put it out there if you don't want to, you know, if you continue not to show up and you don't want to do certain things, he'll he'll give you he'll give you that chance to showcase yourself. Absolutely. And if you decide you don't want to, listen, you can't get mad at him or anybody else but yourself for not showing up and not working out. I mean, it's just you can't do it. You gotta just that starts first. You have to show up before you decide that you want to be in the mix. I mean, these kids are working hard, man. And I was told these workouts have been ridiculously crazy with Janet. I was told by some of the kids, and I was told by Coach P and Janet that they're working these kids hard, and that's the reason why they have three state championships in nine years because Reading, listen, guys, Reading basketball, we were talking about this the other night at Coach P's house after the uh golf tour, which we'll get into. You gotta understand something. The only program at Reading High that has a winning program is the basketball program. In the last, I think it's eight or nine years, no program at Reading has had a winning record. None. So the basketball program has been the most prestigious for over 100 some years. So what I'm getting at is you know, it all that hard work, you know, to keep these kids involved and keep them off the streets and make them better a better person and a better athlete and keep this program afloat and keep this program where we need to be, that's why they work so hard.

SPEAKER_05 8:41

Yeah, I I mean, and it's not just it's not just the coaches. It's a it's a uh a com um I can't even say the word, but it's a it's a group effort between the squires and and and coach and and the parents that are that parents.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

Parents are you know that that's first and foremost right, 100% like the parents have to be invested too. Absolutely. You know, it can't be like, oh, I don't feel like taking him somewhere today. I don't feel like going here. The parents have to be invested too. Absolutely. I mean, you know, I I know I know some of these kids have broken homes, you know, they're the the parents are together. I I listen, we've all dealt with that um as you know friends of ours growing up. Sure. We were in school, everything. It you know, you've seen it. Um but the parents are invested too, and um, you know, that's that's just you gotta show up.

SPEAKER_05 9:36

Yeah, I I you know what since my son has graduated and and I have you know nowhere to be with with his sports, that that this is my thing. Now I want to be a part of of helping out where I went to school. And I I understand the the the the issues that go on, and I hope that I can make a difference now that that I don't have any things keeping me away from the from the from the program.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

So I uh Mike, I saw a woman today at the grocery store. Um her son is uh I believe he's going to tenth grade. He was on the play last year, and she said he loves basketball. I won't you know I won't say his name. Um he loves basketball and everything, but then there was one time uh about a week ago, he's like, Oh man, I'm so tired from these workouts. I don't want to go to I don't want to go to practice today. She said, No, you're going. She said, You love basketball. Every time you come home, you pick up a basketball, you're outside shooting to 11, 12. Just because you're tired and the workouts are strenuous, you need to go. You need to show up. You need to continue to get better. And you know, that's a good mother right there because she could easily have said, you know what, you don't feel like going? Yeah, I don't feel like taking you. Because then at the end of the day, when he's not playing, who's the first person they're gonna blame? Oh, oh, Coach P and RJ and Coach Bankert, they don't like me. No, that's not how it is, man. That's not how it works.

SPEAKER_05 11:01

I I'm too tired to go to work.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Yeah, how's that gonna go?

SPEAKER_05 11:05

Uh so we don't have a home no more, yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

So it you know, at the end of the day, guys, just I know it's strenuous, man. Just got to put the work in. You'll see the results.

SPEAKER_05 11:14

The results will come. Putting the work, the results will come. Those scores down there in Westchester were uh let's see, we played Bishop McDevitt. It was 50-43, and game two was uh Reading 63 and Friends Select 51. Um, like I said, uh the they played phenomenal defense, and the the ball movement, it was I look, it's it's better. It's getting better, it's going to be a whole lot better. And you know what I was I was impressed about, Paulie was they're starting to rebound too.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Don't get me started. I know I'm getting a shirt made that says box out. I know you are. We talked about it. I've told everybody, you know, if if we could get the basketball IQ up, you know, and value the basketball, and we rebound, we're gonna be dangerous. Rebounding, you know, all these kids, including the two that are gonna be on tonight, they're considered bigs. Now I get it, they're not 6'9, but they're bigs. Yep. You know, they're solid, um, they're they're tall. So, you know, their main job is to get in there, bang, and get rebounds. Because I might, we saw, and obviously we'll get to the Allentown league. We saw in Allentown that the other team, there was a two-point game, uh, the first game Reading played with like a minute to go. Yeah. And the other team missed three layups in a row and got their own rebound, put it back up. And that was that was that was pretty much the game. That killed him, yeah. That turned the whole game around. So just box out, get a rebound. Um, because we have so many good shooters on this team, uh, especially Merriweather, who's one of the best shooters in the county. Yeah, he's not gonna make everything. Nobody, even Jordan never made everything, everything. So when Merriweather misses, if we could get that rebound and get another shot at a basket, that's what we need. You know what I mean? Because his shots aren't always gonna go in either. Um, but that allows him and Braun and J O and all these other kids to shoot outside and bring their defender out of the paint in case they miss or bring their defender out of the paint, you know, for somebody to drive. If we can continue to box out and rebound. That that's that's that's a huge thing.

SPEAKER_05 13:24

Absolutely. Absolutely. Hey, you know, I we caught up, uh, hey folks, we caught up with uh with Nsi Molina after the games at uh at Westchester, and uh Pauline and I got a chance to interview him. So we're gonna play this interview uh and we're gonna let you guys hear what he had to say. In one second until I get this thing fixed. Yeah, you know, I'll get it right one of these days. But anyway, here we go. Hey, this is Mike Paulie from 32 more minutes, and I got Paulie down here at Westchester tonight for uh for the games. Uh we got a we got a green interview for you tonight. We got Dia Melina. How are you doing this time? What about you? We're gonna we're gonna quickly press the how do you develop over the standard and playing together. You're full of work.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

Don't don't let anybody don't let anybody overpower you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_05 15:17

Yeah, keep being aggressive, and uh we'll look forward to seeing more minutes and and more points and more aggressiveness out of you. Thank you very much. Hey, thanks for the time, bud. Yeah, thanks for so yeah, we we it was we're really fortunate to catch up with him, and uh he was gracious enough to give us a minute, minute and a half. So yeah, we're really thankful for that. Um so I guess we can kind of wrap up the Westchester uh you have any more? Uh no, the cap on?

SPEAKER_01 15:49

We'll go to the golf tournament now because that was before uh Allentown.

SPEAKER_05 15:53

Yeah, or we can do the interviews or whatever you want to do, boy. Let's let's do the golf tournament. Yeah, oh my goodness, God. What a day that was. How about it? Holy smokes.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

Not only was the weather beautiful, uh listen, we we've done this before and we're gonna do it again. Like I said about 10 16 minutes ago, as I see on your thing here, Mike, about uh people starting to give Jalen Brunson the respect he deserves. We I and I'm and listen, we all do do this, we all do give this woman respect. Um, but Miss Wendy Boyd is a saint. She is absolutely a phenomenal human being for putting this together with the Squires Club. Um, all her volunteers were very helpful as well on Friday. Um, it was the first annual uh Squires Club golf tournament at uh was that Berkeley. Berkeley, Berkeley. Um, there was 84 golfers, uh, just a phenomenal time. Wendy Boyd did listen, better you than me, Wendy. I mean, because I know there's a lot that goes into that, but just an absolute phenomenal. And you know, guys, for the first time when somebody starts something like this, you think, oh, there's gonna be a lot of issues, a lot of problems. We never did just an absolute phenomenal day, weather-wise, phenomenal day with with the Red Knight family. Um, so many people came together to help out this boys program, and it just brings a smile to your face and a tear to your eye, like Matt Cauldron said on the podcast that time, how he wishes over at Wilson that they had this. I mean, it it's just an incredible thing that everyone does for these boys.

SPEAKER_05 17:26

Paulie, if there were any problems, you didn't notice him.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

I think there was a problem. My golf swing.

SPEAKER_05 17:34

Well, other than that, I mean, that is on video on Facebook. Yeah, unfortunately. But you know what, though? I don't care because we had such a great time.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

You know, it was phenomenal. We, you know, you didn't care how much of the time went by. I mean, uh, Lenny Stinson and uh Sean Stankowitz were driving around giving people you know drinks, yeah, keeping them hydrated and stuff, uh uh the raffles, um, the food, uh phenomenal food. I mean, it everything was just perfect. It was a great night.

SPEAKER_05 18:03

We were trying to get a total to on on how much that we brought in. I I'm sure it's a ton of money. Uh I'm sure Wendy or Coach Banker would yeah, I you know, we're probably well, as soon as Coach Banker comes back from vacation because he was off after uh the tournament to go down to down to the shore. Um we're we're gonna get you a total and and and we're striving for more next year. There's gonna be more events during the during the golf tournament, but it was such a huge success, and so many people put so much work into this event, and I'm so I was so proud to be a part you and Paul, Paul, and I to be a part of this event.

SPEAKER_01 18:47

Just a gorgeous day. It was just picture, you know, perfect day. Yeah, I mean, now now Mike was on his toes a little bit because I was driving the golf cart. Oh, geez. So uh there were a couple times where you thought I was gonna tip that thing, but I had I had a handle on it. But yeah, no, just a phenomenal job. I mean, like I said, you couldn't ask for a more beautiful day. It was like 80 with a uh a perfect breeze, wasn't too hot. Uh the food, the drinks, I mean, everything was just perfect. It was just a phenomenal day. And and you know, it was good that uh too, like before we went out on the course, Mike Coach P had the megaphone. He said, guys, we're here to have fun. He said, if somebody isn't having fun or letting you have fun, you come back and let us know and we'll deal with it. And there were no complaints. Everybody had a blast. It was just a phenomenal whether you knew how to golf or not, or you were good, or you stank, it was just everybody had laughs. It was a phenomenal time. And, you know, it wasn't even about us, it was all about doing all this for these boys that play on this basketball basketball team, you know, so that they can go to these tournaments and have meals before games and everything like that. Um just just a phenomenal day.

SPEAKER_05 19:56

You know, we I I haven't played golf in probably six or eight years, and Pauly never plays. And we our our well, we actually had a five sum because we took on a guy, and if it wouldn't have been for that guy, Pauly, I think we'd still be out there looking for our balls. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 20:13

Yeah, he I mean we were in the mix with everybody else.

SPEAKER_05 20:15

You know, I had a torn meniscus. Paulie has sciatica, we got a guy with cankles.

SPEAKER_01 20:21

Yeah, we had another guy that had bolts in his neck, bolts in his neck, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 20:26

And I'm telling you, we're still out there looking for our ball. I mean, our and we got a guy who who can take us to Roman without directions.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Yeah, but he couldn't get me to hold 10.

SPEAKER_05 20:34

But he couldn't couldn't get us to hold 10. So I mean, you know, we had good laughs, it was just it was you know phenomenal time. I I can't I can't ask for a better day, and and I'm I'm telling you, the the the volunteers, fantastic, fantastic job. I I I I I I there's not there are no words to truly tell you how how great of a job you did. Um thank you again.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

And remember, guys, volunteers they got paid for this. They were there 10, 12, 14, and they they were having fun too, doing, you know, you even a lot of the women or or or the men that didn't golf, uh, they were back under the pavilion having a good time, you know. Case people needed stuff, they were making sure they had drinks and everything like that. I mean, just just an absolute phenomenal time. And the crazy part is I think it'll be even better next year. It's only gonna get better. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 21:28

I mean, look, first time, I mean, like I said before, if there were kinks, I didn't know about them. And I'm sure there were, but once they're worked out and it gets better, it's only gonna get better.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

Yeah, it's a phenomenal time. Yeah, yeah. Wendy Boyd needs to uh if anybody out there hasn't praised that woman enough, I mean, just an absolute phenomen. Now, she'll tell you too, she couldn't do it without the help of the volunteers, which like we thank them. But I mean, this woman just from from letting everybody know and writing plays and what time they play. And um, you know, when the schedule's coming out and when the golf tournament is or a fundraiser or Squires Meeting or every anything. Anything. It's just unbelievable how much work this woman puts in to let everyone know, you know, the parents of the kids and the coaches and everything on what's going on to help this program out. It's it it's it's just it's unbelievable. It's it's it's it's a great thing. And and we're gonna have him on later on, not tonight. Uh, but Dr. Goodhart, who actually started The Squires, uh, he told us how he started it, and and and it's a phenomenal story. We'll let him tell it, but it's a great story. Yeah, it will bring a tear to your eye because it it is just a phenomenal story on how he actually started all this. And you know, everybody else is as has taken the realm now as as he's handed it over, but it it's just a phenomenal thing for these kids.

SPEAKER_05 22:54

And you know what, Paulie? I I guarantee you that Wendy and everybody on the Squires Club Committee is doing Dr. Goodhardt proud.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Oh, absolutely. And and and Preach, uh was it Preach, the president before her? Yep, preach. Preach was doing a great job too. And then uh, if you guys don't know who preaches, uh Kerry Bortz, he uh he does a lot of the good write-ups um on the Squires Club with stats and stuff like that. I mean, his articles are phenomenal. Um, he you know turned it over to Wendy Boyd and uh Wendy's husband was Dave does great articles and stuff. Dave does great articles as well, and you know, um and you know what?

SPEAKER_05 23:29

Dave Dave played a big part uh with Wendy and and getting this thing going on.

SPEAKER_01 23:34

Oh, yeah, Dave does a great job supporting her and helping out. Very nice guy, so personable. Um the kids love him, they love Wendy. Um just just a phenomenal, you know, when when when Dr. G you know handed uh you know had Carrie take over, and then Carrie asked Wendy if she would take over, you know, sometimes you think, oh man, stuff like this, you know, if a certain person ain't in charge, it could take a step back. But no, I it's it has stayed the course. And and those other two are still involved too. Yeah, absolutely. They show up and they're involved, you know, but uh just a great thing for these kids, Mike.

SPEAKER_05 24:09

Yeah, I I I couldn't agree more. Absolutely couldn't agree more.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Yeah, want to get our two guests on? I sure do. Let's do that, and then we can go uh into Allentown and the Stash League later.

SPEAKER_05 24:23

Sure. Um without a doubt, uh two up-and-coming really good players we got going on here. Uh 11th graders, I believe, right?

SPEAKER_01 24:36

Yep, so we have two more years of them. Yeah, great.

SPEAKER_05 24:41

What do you got?

SPEAKER_01 24:42

Wait, Nasiah, you're a senior?

SPEAKER_05 24:44

Wow, you're senior.

SPEAKER_01 24:45

Well, we're gonna reclassify you.

SPEAKER_05 24:47

Okay. Yeah, if they can do it over in Burks Catholic and move to somewhere else, we can do that too. Oh, wow, I thought he was a junior. I thought he was a junior too. Are you sure you're your senior? Are you sure?

SPEAKER_01 24:59

I'm gonna talk to your mom. Okay, so then him, J O, and Jameer for the senior. Wow, I didn't know that. Oh, thanks, Mike. We were at games last year, and you're like, that's my cousin. He's in 11th, he's going, he's in 10th grade. I'm like, oh, okay, cool. We got two more years of him. That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_05 25:14

Jesus might. I'm gonna have to talk to your mom about this, geez. You move up a little bit. We're not gonna stop this, we're gonna keep this going. You guys are all positioned. So, how you guys doing tonight?

SPEAKER_04 25:24

We're good, we're good. Doing good. Thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_05 25:26

Thank you for coming over. I really appreciate it. So, uh, what are your expectations on uh on on the year coming up?

SPEAKER_03 25:34

Um, keep on working hard and just don't stop showing up and try to keep on developing the program.

SPEAKER_05 25:40

Yeah, good. How about you, RJ?

SPEAKER_04 25:41

I think as long as we keep working hard, we're gonna keep getting better as a team and building that bond together. And yeah, it's just gonna keep getting better from there.

SPEAKER_05 25:48

Awesome. That's that's what we want to hear. We gotta we gotta keep doing it. You know what I mean? It doesn't stop, you know, in summer league. It it just keeps evolving through the year, through the season. So for sure. We're there. You know we're gonna push you when we're sitting on the side, yeah. You know that, right? Right. All right.

SPEAKER_01 26:06

You know I am.

SPEAKER_05 26:07

You know he is. I'm starting to get a little voisterous too because I'm getting these fancy sneakers like he does. So I think that's that's messing with my mind too. I didn't get thrown out this year. No, you didn't, but I I I I see it on the horizon for some reason. I don't know why. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:23

You almost got kicked out the stash when it looked like I know.

SPEAKER_01 26:27

We were kind of I was kind of fired up down there with my coaching debut. Uh it was some bad calls, you know. So Nasiaya, um what what is it like now getting this opportunity? Um, because were um was it your freshman year or sophomore year? Were you were you cut?

SPEAKER_03 26:44

My sophomore year, I was cut from the team, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Um so like what like what is it now being being able to get this opportunity, you know, to be in the mix on the varsity, possibly a starter or playing big minutes? Like what like how how is that now that you have this ability where you've worked so hard and now you're in the mix and you're wearing that uniform?

SPEAKER_03 27:06

Um I've just been really proud of myself for real because not a lot of people really believed that I was gonna make the team this year, and I was on the verge of transferring too. So I'm just really proud of myself that I made the team this year and I'm evolving my game slowly.

SPEAKER_01 27:18

Good. Oh, transfer. We don't want that.

SPEAKER_05 27:20

Yeah, what what what was that about?

SPEAKER_03 27:22

Nah, it was just in my mind for real because I didn't know if I was gonna make the team this year. And I ended up making the team, so I'm staying here. Hard work.

SPEAKER_01 27:30

All right, while we're on the air, where were you gonna go?

SPEAKER_03 27:33

I was thinking about Mifflin because I have people over there that live over there.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

Okay, so you want to lose? You don't want to win? No, not at all. You know, I mean, if he would have said Muelenberg, Burke's Catholic exercise, I still would have said you want to lose.

SPEAKER_03 27:44

Yeah, well, yeah, right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 27:46

But I'm I'm happy I stayed over here for sure. Okay, all right.

SPEAKER_05 27:49

How about you, RJ?

SPEAKER_04 27:50

What was the question? Sorry.

SPEAKER_05 27:52

What what do you project yourself?

SPEAKER_01 27:54

How how how do you want to how do you how do you see yourself you know, yeah, yeah, getting this opportunity that you know you're in the mix with the varsity and play big minutes and you know, like like like like how to you know, I gotta put it. Um, like the opportunity, how does it feel that you have this opportunity to put that jersey on and you're in the mix to play with this varsity squad?

SPEAKER_04 28:17

Like Nasia said, I'm kind of proud of myself because I only started playing basketball in like sixth, seventh grade. Oh, wow, really? Yeah, it took a lot of development for me to do to be able to like make a big jump from like just middle school to freshman and diversity. I mean, from JV to varsity basketball in just like a short amount of time. Oh and no one really thought I was even gonna make it past freshman, so that's why I'm just proud of myself for being a big thing. You should be you should be proud of yourself.

SPEAKER_01 28:38

Listen, guys, uh you you don't understand when somebody puts that jersey on and it says writing across their chest, man. Like you guys played in the Stash League the other night against former Reading players. It is just it's just like no other. To put that jersey on, man, is it it's it's it's a special thing. So you guys worked hard, man. Enjoy this moment, enjoy this ride. You got your opportunity, it's coming. Just keep working hard.

SPEAKER_03 29:05

Sure.

SPEAKER_05 29:06

So my question for you is now that you're a senior, okay. I didn't realize you were a senior, excuse me. Yeah, but if you have the choice, what what if you have the choice, what what's gonna be your number as a senior?

SPEAKER_03 29:21

Um, I'm gonna be number 11. I'm trying to get to number 11. Eleven? Yeah. Any special reason? Uh that's my dad's birthday. Like, that's his day.

SPEAKER_05 29:28

Okay. Okay. How is your dad? He's good. Yeah? I got to see him uh a couple weeks ago. He was oh, he always hugs me. Always hugs me. He says, How you doing, Michael? I always appreciate him.

SPEAKER_01 29:40

Oh, your cousins, right? Yeah. Well, yeah, he should hug you. I mean, ignore you? Nah. So now, RJ, what what number, what number are you gonna? Are you gonna wear the same number?

SPEAKER_04 29:48

I would want either my same number, 24 or 22, because it's like my family's favorite number. We've always went with it. So those two numbers. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 29:56

All right. Um, how about um what mindset? Well, we'll ask this is for both of you. What mindset do you bring into the game knowing your role is a big like banging down low, you have to rebound. Like when Coach P puts you in, whether it's a summer league, regular season, or whatever, like what's the mindset knowing, all right, I gotta go in there and bang that six foot six guy. I gotta grab rebounds, I gotta, they're they're relying on me to be that enforcer. They're relying on me to be physical and keep plays alive for everybody else. Or if I get it underneath, I gotta put it up and in. And I I so what what's the mindset when you go into the game knowing that that's your role?

SPEAKER_04 30:38

I feel like that's like a big part of how I get my minutes because my mindset is going in, like you said, making sure I'm trying to get those rebounds, boxing out, taking charges, just like doing what everyone else really doesn't do. So that's how I try to get my minutes and get the extra time on the floor. Okay, Messiah.

SPEAKER_03 30:53

I just try come on the floor with more of like a like a dog mentality and just try to take over and do what I could do for to uplift the team, especially when we're down low, everybody like in their own world, like gotta bring the team together and just play as a team.

SPEAKER_01 31:09

Okay, good. Mike, before you ask them a question, yeah, I'm really glad Nasiah said he's a senior because we would have been up at the Gigo senior night. Oh, man. And you would have said, Why, why is my cousin walking out senior night? What's going on here? Oh man.

SPEAKER_05 31:22

Jeez, I I I I'm blown away. I I really am because I didn't, I I thought he was a junior. I thought he was gonna be a junior. A lot of people think that you're you know, it's it's funny because I used to I used to go watch him play. See, little do you know, he used to be a baseball player before every sport.

SPEAKER_03 31:43

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_05 31:43

He was a baseball player before anything. And his mom used to come over and say, Will you help him with his with his pitching? Will you help him? And she never brought him over. I'm like, Well, what do you want me to do? I can't help him if he doesn't come over.

SPEAKER_01 31:57

See, show up. If he showed up, well, then he probably wouldn't be playing basketball too.

SPEAKER_05 32:02

Yeah, well, that's it. I would have had Nolan Ryan instead of, you know. But no, I uh I'm proud of him. I am super proud of him. I really am.

SPEAKER_01 32:10

Yeah, I tell you what, you know, and listen, I'm I'm the type of guy, whether it's with anybody, a family member, a friend, or I tell it how it is. You know, I'm one of them where some people might not like because I tell it how it is. And I'm not just saying it because they're sitting in front of me and RJ's parents are to the right of us, but and I remember even telling you the work these two guys have put in, and I said, man, those two guys got better. You know, because we go to pretty much we go to every regular season game, and then the summer we try to get to everything we can. I'm like, man, the work these two guys are putting in, like, and you see them diving for balls and boxing out, getting rebounds, and putting shots, and you're like, wait a minute here, we have two guys here that we didn't expect to be in the mix that can really help us out.

SPEAKER_05 32:53

Absolutely. That's why we put you guys together in the interview, because of that very reason.

SPEAKER_06 32:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 32:59

Because the the the improvement and and just what he said uh uh of being able to the the the improvement that you guys it it it's just unbelievable. I mean it it it it's so like transformational. It it it it just blew us away. That's why you guys are interviewed together, and and that's the sole reason why.

SPEAKER_01 33:22

If Coach P didn't believe that you two are could be a factor in a part to help us in big time games, you wouldn't be playing down at Philly Live against Roman Catholic and all these other schools. Um you know, he'd have somebody else in there. But I mean, it's just yeah, I I like I said to Mike, man, I'm like, man, those two, man, those two are got better, you know. Just just the banging with other guys, because you know, when you're in there against a 6'6, I know you guys aren't 6'7, but it's not about that, man. You gotta be physical and do do what's asked. That's what you guys are doing. That's why you are part of this, man. You're in the mix.

SPEAKER_05 34:01

Be proud of yourselves. You guys work too hard not to be proud of yourselves. But here's the question here's here's the answer. Just because you've worked hard doesn't mean you gotta stop. You can't stop. You can't lose it now. You can't lose it. You can't stop. Because if you stop, then everything you've done means nothing.

SPEAKER_04 34:18

Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 34:19

So Right.

SPEAKER_01 34:20

Yeah, just just because you you've getting this opportunity to put that uniform on in play and get in the mix, you can't say, Oh, I'm good. I'm gonna miss three weeks. Coach B and put up with that. I'm sure you guys know that. Yeah, not at all. Okay, you know what he's about now, right? Yeah, of course. Okay. All right. And listen, his credentials tell you it all. I mean, forget the wins and losses in the state championships. I've seen since he's been the coach, the discipline. The kids are passing more, more kids are going to college. The discipline up there since he's taken over has been phenomenal. Now, I get it. There's stuff behind closed doors at practice we don't see. I mean, we don't know everything that goes on in school that somebody might get you know in school suspension or a detention. But for the most part, man, he he has he he wants to he wants to make you guys men and have you guys off the streets and become good good people in the community. And that's it for first and foremost. But like I said, if he didn't believe in you two guys, you wouldn't be in this mix. Trust me, I've known him since he was about 12. And I know Rick. And he he he loves hard work and dedication. He sure does. He loves it.

SPEAKER_05 35:28

Yep. How about the fun questions?

SPEAKER_01 35:30

All right, you want you guys rapid fire? Yeah. All right, you ready? All right, we'll start we'll we'll start with Nessiah and then we'll go to RJ. Favorite favorite night snack.

SPEAKER_03 35:41

Favorite night snack? Nah, I'm not gonna lie, I've been on um like the Skittle Gummies. Day nice. Yeah, I like gummies. All right. RJ?

SPEAKER_04 35:50

Um I don't know. Ice cream. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 35:57

Ice cream? All right. What do you listen to before a game? Um, like a rapper or like anything.

SPEAKER_03 36:03

Music. Any music. Um I don't know. I like listening to Raw Weave. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 36:08

Yeah, yeah. Um it's an unknown rapper, but I'll say like Rima. Not a lot of people know him.

SPEAKER_01 36:15

Red jerseys or the black ones? Black. Yeah, the black ones.

SPEAKER_04 36:18

Everybody's clean.

SPEAKER_01 36:20

If you could sit and talk with anyone for 10 minutes, living or that has passed on, famous or not, who would it be?

SPEAKER_03 36:27

I want to talk to Alan Iverson, because that's my favorite player. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 36:31

I want to talk to Lonnie, just like ask him how I felt growing up, like in the same area and going through the same jersey as us. Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_01 36:40

Okay. All right, here we go. Paul always stirs the pot. Who wins one-on-one? Wait, wait, what you said? Who wins one-on-one between you two? Nah, I got me winning, man. I got me winning. All right, so if you play ten times, what would it be? I think I'm winning six times. Six times. All right. Mike, I thought I think when it's not raining outside, we're gonna have a competition. For sure, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 37:05

I'm gonna six times.

SPEAKER_05 37:06

I got a couple in too when you're done.

SPEAKER_01 37:07

All right. Who's the funniest player on the Reading team? JV or varsity? From last year, I'm definitely gonna say Ky or Kells. Yeah, Kyrie Kells. Kells? What about this year? This year, probably Gendry. Gendry. Gendry? Yeah, Gendry. Yeah, Gendry. Yeah, I could see that. Better atmosphere. Playing at Wilson or at Muhlenberg?

SPEAKER_04 37:26

Mullenberg. Mullenberg. No question. They all said that.

SPEAKER_01 37:29

Yeah. All right. Who's been your biggest motivator or supporter for you in basketball?

SPEAKER_03 37:35

I would say my mom and my grandfather. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 37:39

If I just say my parents and my grandma.

SPEAKER_03 37:41

Alright. Mike, you got some?

SPEAKER_05 37:43

I sure do. Favorite sport? Favorite sport. Basketball.

SPEAKER_04 37:48

Yeah, basketball.

SPEAKER_05 37:50

Okay. This one's for you. Well, this is for both of you. You only had it it happens all in one day, and it all happens at the same time. You have to watch a game seven, and they all come on at the same time. Baseball, basketball, football, or hockey. Which one are you watching?

SPEAKER_03 38:11

Football, probably.

SPEAKER_04 38:15

Basketball.

SPEAKER_05 38:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 38:17

Alright. Um the Knicks just won it. I can't. See?

SPEAKER_05 38:22

Summer or winter?

SPEAKER_04 38:24

Summer. Definitely summer.

SPEAKER_05 38:27

Greatest moment as a red night.

SPEAKER_03 38:31

That's a good question. Greatest moment.

SPEAKER_04 38:37

I would say since it was my first year last year, watching the seniors graduate and watching them like go off to their colleges. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 38:44

I don't know. I would just say like our practices, like our practices were just so like intense and high level, you ain't know if anybody was like laughing. They was mad. Well, people was all over the place. Energy was all over. Like everybody was laughing, mad, especially when we ran too. Some people didn't want to run, but we still had to dug it out as a team and work through it.

SPEAKER_01 39:02

Okay. Hopefully we change that to that you guys were gold medals this year. Yeah. For sure.

SPEAKER_05 39:07

Favorite food.

SPEAKER_01 39:08

Rice and beans.

SPEAKER_04 39:10

Mac and cheese. I'm good with both.

SPEAKER_05 39:14

All right, last one. Favorite pizza place.

SPEAKER_03 39:18

Um.

SPEAKER_04 39:21

I must say Maria's. Okay. I'm gonna say Nemo's.

SPEAKER_01 39:27

Okay, I'm done. All right. Guys, Mike would say dominoes, but go ahead.

SPEAKER_05 39:32

Oh, here we go. Oh my god. I knew he was gonna slip that in. There's a special reason for that, and we'll tell you all fair. Go ahead, Paulie. Tell him. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 39:42

All right. So, guys, so we went down. We'll even tell Shelby and Ralph that are sitting here. So we went to Allentown to see Reading play uh one Saturday. So myself, Mike, and Tremaine Jones, after the game was at 10 o'clock, and then the next one was until one. So we left and we said we're gonna go get the kids' pizzas. So as we're driving down the street to get pizzas, Mike's calling Domino's to order pizzas for the kid for the boys, and then we were gonna stop at the dollar store, get him a bunch of candy and stuff. So Tremaine thought, let me just call Coach P and make sure. Just let him know. He's like, Coach, you know, we're getting kids pizzas. And coach is like, nah, I already, I already ordered pizzas. Tremaine's like, all right, he's like, Mike, you got to cancel those pizzas. Mike was so down in the dumps. Like, like, like somebody called him and and and stole his pizzas. Mike, Mike called him up. He was so upset. He's like, we had an emergency, I can't make it. He wouldn't even come into the dollar store because he was so upset. So the whole day, me and Tremaine are just all over him about the dominoes and everything like that. But Mike really took it to heart that he had to cancel those five pizzas.

SPEAKER_05 40:50

Well, I was I was like, look, man, if I had a business and I just got an order for six pizzas, and then five minutes later I call back and cancel them, I'd be pretty mad. So that's why I was kind of upset. So that's why I did it. That's why his nickname now is Domino. Oh, God. Domino. Don't you even start? But guys, hey, thanks for coming over. Thanks a lot, guys. Um, yeah, please keep up the hard work and uh for sure. Hey, go red nights. Go red nights, go red nights. All right. Thanks for having us. Thanks for coming. Wow, Paul, what a great interview. Uh, those kids, uh, young men, sorry. Truly, truly great, great kids. Again, kids. Young men.

SPEAKER_01 41:31

Two great kids that work hard. Um, yeah, uh, you know, we can't ask for better kids that we get on this podcast. And and for everybody out there, we're gonna have more uh two at a shot. Um, we're gonna try to get pretty much everybody that's gonna be on the Reading High team this year, varsity, some JVs. So um you will uh you'll pretty much hear from every one of them.

SPEAKER_05 41:54

Yeah, I I think the the goal here is is we want you to to to know about them personally uh and know you know you they're they're just not basketball players. We want you to to to get to know them personally, even if it's on a podcast and and you know what they're about.

SPEAKER_01 42:10

Yeah, like what what are their likes and dislikes like we asked, or you know, who motivates them? Uh who's some of the idols that they they've seen that they'd like if they could meet him or talk to them. Uh and and you know, you heard RJ say, you know, Lonnie Walker, um, and Nasiah said Alan Iverson, and you know, then you heard that um RJ's parents, you know, the motivation in the support system, and then Nasiah, um with his uh was it his grandfather?

SPEAKER_05 42:38

Yeah, you know, his dad? His grandfather is uh uh Danielle's uncle.

SPEAKER_01 42:43

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_05 42:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:45

Yeah, so so I mean, uh, you know, you hear more just then, hey, we're out on the court and and we're making baskets and we're beating Wilson. You know, I mean, that's what we kind of wanted to do, to just you know, let these kids get to know them as people. Yeah, this is the the reason why this podcast is because of these kids. Yeah, you know. Um, and we're not gonna, you know, if we know anything else personal with these kids, that's gonna be behind closed doors. We're not gonna reveal it on here. But um, yeah, somebody you want to talk about where we had executive education?

SPEAKER_05 43:16

Yeah, that place well, they're building that football stadium on top of the parking garage. On top of the parking garage. I never seen that before.

SPEAKER_01 43:25

That's crazy. Yeah, it's uh uh running had two games there. Uh it was good to see JT Randall, former Red Knight. Yeah, super guy, super guy assistant. He was over talking to us and joking around and stuff. Uh just a phenomenal uh they have what about five courts in there. Um four or five, yeah. Bunch of good teams, some teams from from out of state and everything. Uh just and and ready will be in the Allentown throwdown at the uh toward the middle of the end of July. I mean, just phenomenal teams and tournaments up there that just get them ready for the regular season.

SPEAKER_05 43:57

Yeah, you'll be driving me up to that, Paul, with my crutch.

SPEAKER_01 44:00

That's right. Yep. Yeah, that's true. Just uh so the first game we played Abington. Abington was very good. Uh they were lengthy. They had a real good guard. I do not remember his name. I asked the one woman there. Uh he's a senior guard. Uh they're very good. They're from District One. Um, like I said, they had some height, some six six kids. Uh we we were with them throughout the whole game, and then uh like the last 45 seconds, uh, we were down two. They ended up winning by five, 52, 47. Is that what it was? Okay. Yeah, but but uh uh a real good um tough game uh for Reading that that's just gonna build for them. Uh that team's very good. Um, anybody from Philly District 1, uh, I mean, heck, if there's any openings, I wouldn't mind seeing them on our schedule. I think they're love to see them. Yeah, they're they're that point guard they had was really good. Yeah, they're tough. They're there were it was a real good competition for Reading.

SPEAKER_05 44:59

You know, I like you said, you said that on Saturday. You said you I'd rather see them lose to uh a team like that than to beat Twin Valley by 50.

SPEAKER_01 45:08

Yeah, absolutely, because when we get into the district tournament and the state tournament, we're gonna see teams like that. Yeah that are lengthy, that have guards that can shoot. Um, you know, anybody from Philadelphia area, man. I I I don't I you put them on the schedule, somebody says, Oh, are they any good? They're from Philly. End of story.

SPEAKER_05 45:27

Um it's nothing, nothing more needs to be said.

SPEAKER_01 45:30

Yeah, they yeah, and it was good too, because that team, they were banging with Reading. Um there was there was uh a lot of physical play, and you know, they didn't back down. It wasn't like a team that just yeah, that was a real good test for Redding. Um real good test.

SPEAKER_05 45:46

Yeah, uh well they could shoot. They could shoot a little bit. Um they would they were no slouch. Um and you know what though? That that couple hour layover, that that had to hurt.

SPEAKER_01 45:59

Yeah, that's tough. I mean, you play at 10. We were originally supposed to play, I believe it was 11 and 12, and then they changed us to 10 and 1. So you play at 10, and then well Redding played the night before at Stash League, and then you play at 10 in the morning, and then you sit around eating pizza and candy, and then we played I don't even know if it was one o'clock, Mike. I think it was like 1.30 too. Yeah, it was after.

SPEAKER_05 46:22

It was closer, yeah, to 1.30, quarter or two.

SPEAKER_01 46:24

Now that game, uh listen, the second game we were supposed to play three, there were three different teams, and we ended up playing Fells that we opened the season with last year. But they they told us another name. Yeah, there was some other team from down near Philly. Then they changed it and said it was gonna be Timber Creek from uh Maryland. Then they changed it and said it was gonna be a team from Delaware. And then as we're playing, they said, no, this is Samuel Fells from Philly. And we're like, all right. So I don't know why. I don't know if teams dropped out, whatever, but the Fells game, I'll tell you what, if I can have that officiating in the first five minutes of that game in Berks County, you guys will never in your life hear me yell at a referee. They were letting them bang, they were letting physical, and when I say physical play the first five minutes, I don't mean like blatant uh uh haymakers. I mean they were banging with each other. Two guys go up for a rebound, they're banging with each other. Like there's there was no ticky tack. Um people would have been fouling out in Burks County. Oh, yeah. That game would have took five hours. Yeah. Uh Redding did what they did to Fell's opening. They they they put Redding put this the press on him and stole the ball like four or five times in a row and made layups. And it got to the point where Mike had to tell the referee, hey, the guy over there keeping score couldn't keep up. He took two from us and gave them two. And it was going so fast that the kid that was keeping score couldn't keep up. No, he couldn't keep up. He was taking points away from us and adding points to them. But the defensive effort was by far, I mean, it was just phenomenal.

SPEAKER_05 48:02

Um that's you know what? That that might have been the best they looked.

SPEAKER_01 48:07

Yeah, and it's funny because probably the best they looked all last year was that same game. That same game. Um but yeah, they just uh uh they just kept coming at you in waves, just kept coming at you. And and like I said, there too, we were sharing the ball. J-O had five threes, I counted. Um, he was on fire. Um, but you know, bronze passing and Raven Rubio. Listen, I we told him after the game, we said, Raven, you're a big part of this team, man. We just need you to keep working hard and showing up. I mean, this guy, this kid reminds me of Steph Curry, not shooting wise. He's always moving without the ball. And he's cutting baseline or he's cutting through the middle, he's running running around the three-point line. His defenders getting to the point where he's like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_05 48:57

Uh, he comes up with big rebounds, he's his energy is just I I don't know if it's me or not, but I I've noticed I oh I th I it is me. He's quicker, he's gotten a step quicker than he than he was last year. I mean, he is his cuts to the basket just in this is in this summer, it's lightning fast. He is uh he has gained some speed, he really has.

SPEAKER_01 49:24

He probably is the fastest player in the team. I would think he is. Um if he's not, I mean he's top three. Uh but but you know, he's just just his energy, man. We just I'm sorry, go ahead, Bob. He's gonna be a big part. We need him to show up.

SPEAKER_05 49:38

You know, the that element of of Raben on that team, if you saw what he was doing, he they were they were dropping him the ball onto the basket, and he just lobbed that ball up. That was an element that was missing the whole spring and summer. And that was a big part of the game last year at the end of the season when he started playing, when he was getting his 10, 12, 14 points a game, is that they didn't realize the other team is that kid that's small was was they were just teardropping him in the inside there and he was laying that ball up. And I I think it took him by surprise. But he's uh I think he's grown a couple inches now. Excuse me, where it's it's it's even seeming a little easier for him now. And I hope people don't catch on to that that he's he's getting freed underneath that basket.

SPEAKER_01 50:32

Well, it's impressive too that he's so when I say little, he's not 6'5, and he's not afraid to go in there against big guys and and jump jump with him and grab rebounds. I mean, he's always cutting into the basket. He his energy will tick some teams off for sure. Yeah and force you to cover him. And like we we were saying after the game, we were talking to him, like he he's got to understand how big of a part he is because remember, when you have a shooter, when you have a sharp, a deadly shooter in Jay, now I'm not saying J-O and Braun and them can't shoot, but a deadly lethal shooter in Jay Merriweather who's capable of sorry, Miles, we love you to death, but if this kid gets the opportunity, he could tie or break your 10 threes in a game record. Um, he has that potential. Um, but when you have a shooter like that, and you have you know JO that that that that can shoot and drive the basket, and you have a guy that has to run around with Raven like that, man, that opens up a lot of stuff. He sure does. Um, so I mean, we just need him to keep showing up and working hard. Um yeah, he's gotta understand he's a b he's he's gonna be a big part of this if if he continues to play as hard as he is and show up.

SPEAKER_05 51:49

And you know what? He's no different than any other, you know, how we talk about you know you don't show up, you're not gonna play.

SPEAKER_06 51:56

Yeah, that's just the thing, man.

SPEAKER_05 51:58

And he's gotta show like he you gotta show up. And if you don't show up, you're not well, you know, you noticed he he got limited time.

SPEAKER_01 52:06

So he got limited time, and that's he's gonna earn it.

SPEAKER_05 52:12

He's gonna have to earn his time. It's not you're gonna you're not gonna walk on that court just showing up and you're you're gonna earn it. And and I think Rick was pretty adamant about that, and and and pretty uh not just adamant, but you know, he was well, I guess adamant is the word, but uh steadfast. He's not gonna change. He's not gonna change at all.

SPEAKER_01 52:36

So no, he's not, and I'll tell you what, we've talked about this kid, you know, uh before. This Adrian Duran kid who is going to be a ninth grader coming this fall. Um he was an eighth grade player on the freshman team last year. He's got the size. Um yeah, you guys gotta remember he's only 14. He's only going to ninth grade. So technically he's he's an eighth grader right now. He's until school starts, that's when he's officially gonna be at the high school. Um, but the bot the size this kid has, um, I like his rebounding. Uh there were a couple times he had a nice putbacks up and in. Um he's still a little raw yet because he's young. Um, the only thing, and I even said it to him, the only thing we we and it'll happen, it's gonna come. This kid is such a nice kid, Mike, that when he's on the court, we need like a little switch, or have somebody like poke him and and and and and get him to have a little angry side to him. Yeah. Um so that he can play with a little bit of an edge against these other big guys that are put trying to push him around. Um But this kid's gonna be in the mix, guys. He I he's gonna start JV and he will be in the mix for the varsity. He's gonna he's gonna be on the bench for the varsity, and it it's I'm telling you, this kid is big.

SPEAKER_05 54:04

Something's gonna happen. And it's it's it's it's it's gonna be like, and I hate to even say it, but it like somebody's gonna pop him in the mouth on the other team. That's gonna get yep. And it's gonna it's gonna get him riled up where okay, now I'm ready. Let's go. But you're right, he's too nice. And yeah, like he's he's you can see the body developing where look, like you said, he's ninth grade or going to be in ninth grade. He's 14 years old. Yeah, but you can see the development starting. It's starting. And with the the workout he's doing, oh, yeah, you can, you know, it's it's it's starting to happen.

SPEAKER_01 54:41

And I said to him after the one game, I said, Hey, listen, you're not gonna get suspended from school, you're not gonna get in trouble by mom and dad, you're not gonna get detention if if if you bang with these guys underneath and push them around a little bit. I mean, that's within your rights. Yeah. And he smiled and shook his head. He's he is uh now. I was told that um mom and dad were were told, I don't know, by doctors or whatever, that it's as it's you know how when you when you take your kid to the doctor, they say, you know, estimation he's gonna be this tall. They're estimating six, six, six, seven by the time he's done growing. So this kid has this, and he's not bony. He he he's he's he's got some meat on him. Yeah, he's uh but yeah, you're you you guys are gonna like seeing this kid. This kid's gonna dominate the JV level and then just only get better for varsity. He's uh he's getting big minutes like Nasia and RJ here. Um as a kid going to ninth grade and and like Tai Jay did last year, he's gonna be in the mix. He's gonna be he's gonna be used.

SPEAKER_05 55:44

Yeah. Uh I I can't wait to see him play with the I mean even with the JV, it's it's gonna be you know, it you figure ninth grade, you're usually what 10, 10th, some 11th. Yeah. So you're he's still playing with he's still playing up. So I yeah, I'm I'm looking forward to I I'm gonna catch a lot more, a lot more JV games this year than I did last year. Not that I didn't see a lot, but I'm going to see a lot more from the beginning because I I think he's gonna get a lot of time. Yeah, for sure. But uh, well, you know, moving on from later that day, our uh my well my my my my partner here was the uh head coach of the uh uh of the Reading High Summer League over at Stash uh over at Bear Park. And uh he did pretty good. The kids loved him over there and uh they fed off his energy. Unfortunately, you know, he ran out of little they ran out of gas. They had a long day there, but uh Pauly, Pauly was the head coach, man. He did uh he did quite a quite a great job over there. Really did.

SPEAKER_01 56:54

I appreciate it. I uh yeah, I want to thank Coach P for you know, he said to me, hey, you're you're coaching down the stash league. He said, Listen, kids love you, they're gonna feed up your energy. Just and I said to the kids in the huddle before the game, I said, guys, we're gonna run and we're gonna have fun. And they they were excited to hear that. Um we went up against um former running high players Kevin Haynes, uh Tay Walton, uh Gil Gilberto Benz, um Denim, Denham Adams. Uh they were tough. And I told the guys, I said, hey guys, you know, we started out, we were up 10-2. Um, and Kevin Haynes was was mad at his team, called a timeout. You know, they couldn't believe that the young kids were beaten. And I said, guys, hey, they're not gonna back down, man. They're former Red Knights, too. They know how they know how this goes. They got hurt like you do, and and you know they didn't back down. They kept, but it was a good challenge for our kids, you know. Um, and and you know, we ended up losing by six because RJ hit a three at the buzzer. We lost by six. Uh, we were within, no, we were back and forth the whole game. We were within two with about a minute and fifty seconds left. Um couple crucial calls down the stretch. But anyway, um yeah, but but my thing is with them kids is they didn't they didn't quit. They just kept fighting, you know. Uh even when they were down nine with about a minute to go, you know, they kept fighting, then they cut it to five. And uh they were trapping and then they were fouling when they had to. I mean, they just just the fight, you know, and I loved every minute to see in the fight because they could have very easily said, you know what? He's not our coach. We don't care. We have a long day. Let's just if they score, they score. If we lose by 20, who cares? They kept fighting, man. They they uh they didn't pack it in. No, not at all. And like I said, they went up against former Red Knights who were legitimate, and that Gil Benz is a he's a heck of a ball player.

SPEAKER_05 58:45

That's a kid they got the guy. I'm sorry, I kid that's the band that can shoot, right?

SPEAKER_01 58:49

Yeah, yeah, and and it was really windy, yeah, too. And um, but no, I mean, those former Red Knights, man, they all played big parts in in you know the varsity level at Reading. They've all they they know how this is. Yeah, they've won championships, you know, whether it was counties or districts, they they know how it is, man. They didn't give up. It was it was a good battle.

SPEAKER_05 59:09

Well, I'm sure you're gonna get an opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 59:12

I'm hoping. I loved every minute of it. It was great.

SPEAKER_05 59:14

To to Pauly's defense. He didn't have all his players.

SPEAKER_01 59:18

No, we didn't uh he didn't have Braun Braun, we didn't have Jameer Braun, Jay Merryweather, he didn't have uh the Saya, which would have helped.

SPEAKER_05 59:26

I mean, he would have had uh would have had some would have had some uh some length underneath. He would have had a point guard and helping bring up the ball. So I'm gonna give Paulie Mulligan here. Uh but but Paul did a great job. They fought hard for Paulie. One of them, yeah. And uh kudos to to the coaching staff for for letting him do this. And kudos to the kids. Kudos to the kids for working out, working really hard for Paulie. Pauly, Pauly works hard for you on the sidelines. Every game he's up there, and you did him justice by working hard for him.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:01

It was a great moment for me, guys. It was it was a good time, you know, to interact with you and and see everything. But you guys played hard. I loved every minute of it.

unknown 1:00:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:09

I can't say enough good things about these kids every week.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:12

It was great. So respectful, you know. It was just and and you know, I know there are people say, well, excuses, but they had a long day, guys. Let's figure their first game was at 10 at Allentown. Rick uh Coach P said they left at 8.15. So you figure the kids have been up since seven, then they were sitting around, and then when they were done in Allentown, they had to go right to the stash for five. And, you know, a lot of the kids even they don't look these kids don't like playing outdoors. I mean, nobody likes playing on McAdam. Um, but it was a long day for them kids, man. You know, you're playing a bunch of games and then you're resting, and then you're eating pizza, and then you're rested again, and then you're, you know, but they played good. You know, they played, they played, they played hard, they played great. Like I said, they were up 10 to 2, smacking them in the mouth, and until Kevin Haynes was like, hey, listen, you know. Um, but it was a good time. I enjoyed every minute of it.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:02

I hey I just keep seeing good things. Uh I I'm not I'm not concerned about anything right now. No, not one bit.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:14

No, no, we're good. We're uh we're just gonna continue to get better. Um, everybody needs to show up. We'll be good. We have got to remember they uh the boys were telling us here, I guess they have uh Northeast Philly this week. Yeah. Um they Philly live. The Stash League still goes another seven, eight weeks. Um, they're gonna have the Allentown throwdown. So there's a lot more basketball to to come here that these kids get better and build off of.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:38

So we'll be covering it, yeah, for sure. So hopefully we can get back on the air here and uh get you some more information. And uh again, uh we'd like to thank uh Coach P for all the access he gives us. We'd like to thank Wendy and the Squires Club and and all the uh all the the uh volunteers that helped out at the uh at the the golf tournament. Uh just everybody, everybody who helps out with the program, uh, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:11

Yeah, it means a lot to everybody.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:12

It means a lot to everybody, especially the kids. You're right, Pauly. So on that note, we're gonna let you guys go. Um again, thanks for your support, and we'll see you on the other side.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:24

Thanks, guys. Go red nights.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:25

Go red nights.