The Women Who Change The Game

In honor of International Women's Day, we celebrate the women in sports who inspire us and continue to shape the game. We also look ahead to the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament and what it takes to prepare for March, and discuss Nolan Smith punching his ticket to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament as a coach.

A conversation about inspiration, preparation, and the moments that define the season.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Buckets and Birdies Podcast. Buckets and Birdies is a weekly glimpse into the worlds of basketball and golf.

SPEAKER_01 0:08

We'll also balance national sports trends with ACC Insights and provide a lens of notable happenings of sports in our home state of North Carolina.

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Two friends and industry professionals getting together to bring you 23 minutes of fun each week with shared experiences around buckets and birdies. He's Carter Bills, sports agent and seasoned consultant in the golf space.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Joining me on the mic is national champion, Tario Great, Marcus Guineard. Welcome to Buckets and Birdies.

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Welcome to another episode of the Buckets and Birdies Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

It's Sunday, March the 8th, and when you're here in this one, it will be Friday, March the 13th, Marcus.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

That's right. Every new episode drops on Fridays at high noon.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Thanks to everyone who's listening into this one and catching up with us for 23 minutes of Buckets and Birdies.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Yes, sir. We appreciate you.

SPEAKER_01 0:55

And as positive people who like positive things, we'll start with the quote of the day, Marcus, as we do always. And the quote today is leadership is a series of behaviors rather than a role for heroes. And that is from Meg Wheatley, the great American writer, teacher, speaker, and management consultant.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

I love that, Carter. That's great. You know, we talked last week about it being March. You got March Madness, conference tournaments, NCAA tournament coming up. When we think about it from a sports perspective, I think about it as, you know, putting your team in position to win by doing the things consistently to be great. And you can take that off the court and just think about all the small actions that you take every day that are really going to put you in a great position to be a good leader and to reach your goals and do big things. I agree. It's always the little things, but it's consistency doing things over and over in the right way.

SPEAKER_01 1:51

100%, no doubt about it. And shout out, Marcus, to International Women's Day.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Absolutely. Love that we got a quote from a big time leader, a big time woman. You know, I start to think about, again, as we talk sports here on Buckets and Birdies, a lot of the sports figures that I've looked up to in the past and that I've seen recently. Obviously with the Olympics just finishing up, I think about Alyssa Liu. Loved seeing what she did out there on the ice as a figure skater. Had the great fortune this past weekend of hearing Ashlyn Harris speak, uh, great women's soccer player who won a handful of national championships, was out representing the the U.S. women's national team as well and winning some gold medals out there around the world. Um obviously thinking about my mother, shout out to Anniece, traveling the world, um, inspiring people left and right. Um, and and then, you know, thinking about some of those big basketball players too. I mean, you were talking about Lisa Leslie and um and Cheryl Swoops and all those folks. And so just wanted to give a huge shout out to all the women out there, not just athletes, um, but all across the world, changing the world and making the world a better place.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

Man, that's awesome. That's awesome. I love that. And it makes me want to give a shout out too. I give a shout-out to both of my grandmothers who I was fortunate to be close to growing up, uh, fortunate to be close to my mother-in-law as well as my mom and my wife. So shout out to all the women out there. And yeah, it does make you think of the greats. I remember even being a kid, not just trying to mimic Ed Coda or Jason Kidd, but I was trying to cross over like Don Staley. I mean, she had it, right? Like some of the women out there um, I think have an effect on men more than they realize. Uh a lot of them know it, but I think a lot of them don't know it. I think I, you know, when I was on the soccer field, I tried to score like me a ham. And again, on the basketball court, I tried to move like Dawn Staley. And so I think uh a lot of women don't know the effect that they have on young men, but they do, and it's a it's a special thing.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

And, you know, just to shout out some golfers too. Um I've truly fallen in love over the last couple of years uh with Miss Nelly Corda. Uh, just want to shout her out every time I see her golf swing, Cassia, just pray that that there's a chance that I can have just 1% of that golf swing, just pure. Um, but yeah, just shout out to all the women out there. And and I know this is International Women's Day today, but um hopefully everybody out there understands that we need to be celebrating women every day.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

I love that. And off the top for me today, Marcus, too. I got to shout out by Alvin Wonder, the High Point University Panthers make the NCAA tournament by punching their card today for the second year in a row. Congrats to the High Point University Panthers. I know High Point and Panther Nation is pumped. Uh, I know you saw the energy when you were in that building. They're building a program there two years in a row now. First time ever in the tournament last year, Marcus. Last year, and now they go two in a row. Different coach, a lot of different casts, a couple of the same guys, but uh it's become a special mid-major basketball program. They averaged 90 points per game. I think the most in Division I college basketball right now.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Man, that's amazing. Uh, I know that when we went to that game, I was really impressed with how that team played. Uh, they were down a couple players, but but still uh did a great job um filling it up. Like you said, leading the nation um in scoring, which I did not know, which is kind of crazy. But um shout out to High Point. Uh love that they're building something over there. Great to see that excitement. You know, again, we talk about March Madness and getting to see some of these, you know, smaller teams that that may not have been on that that stage um as much as uh a Michigan or North Carolina or those kind of big time programs. So it's really great to see um those kids get to experience um the big dance, man. It's it's an amazing time of year, like you said, man, Christmas in March.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

It is, it is Christmas in March indeed. And for High Point, one of those players back that I mentioned is a guy named Terry Anderson, kind of a role player last year, moved in and became a first team all big South player this year, Marcus. About 19 points a game here in the tournament. Really impressive. Cameron Fletcher has not been available all season, but started his career in Kentucky, found his way to Florida State. Now at High Point University, he was a top 100 player out of high school. We had some great players when I was there. We didn't have any top 100 players out of high school. So that's a different thing for High Point. It's special, it's giving them a spark. They play two-point guards a lot of times, which I know is something that Coach Williams did, um, some when you were there and some throughout his career. But Conrad Martinez, who you were impressed by when we were in the Cobain Center, as well as Rob Martin, who really put on a show in Johnson City, Tennessee for the Big South tournament, uh, has been special. So I I love to see that. And I mention that because guard play matters in March, and guard play could take you to the final four. I don't know that High Point has a Final Four March in them, but I'm excited that they're there. I'm excited to see if we can win a game, Marcus. The Purdue Boilermakers took him out in the first round last year in Rhode Island. And uh that's what makes this so fun. Let's see who gets matched up, come selection Sunday next week.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

Man, you never know. And I tell you what, I'm not much of a betting man, but um, you know, you put some money on hot point to make it to the final four. Uh, I'm sure you're gonna have some pretty good odds, but hey, you never know, man. You never know.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

That's gotta be a solid return. You're right. Maybe we'll throw a couple dollars in for the show. We'll throw a couple for Pablo in there.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

There you go. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

All right, Marcus, and that takes us nicely into our bucket section. Sunday, March the 8th, today. A lot of schools in the mid-major ranks are secure in their spot, like high point. It's exciting to see what other schools filter in as the day goes on. This week, the major conference tournaments will take place, like the ACC tournament, as we know. So it's exciting to see what happens over these next few days as we march now towards selection Sunday here in a week.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Man, I'm fired up, Carter. I am uh super excited about this week. Gonna have a lot of big time games. Obviously, you know, we're gonna be uh focusing a little bit more on the ACC, but um, a lot of games, you know, coming up this week and weekend that are gonna make a big time difference for some schools out there. You know, you're talking about some of these mid-major programs and maybe some of the schools that that don't have the notoriety in the power for conferences. So, you know, you look at an undefeated Miami, um, you know, you're looking around at teams like the Naval Academy. Um, you know, there's just a lot of teams out there that have had great seasons, um, that are building their resumes and praying that they put themselves in a good enough position to have their name called on Sunday.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

That's right. How about Miami of Ohio, to your point? I mean, they could be a mid-major should they not win their conference tournament. They might even get an at-large bid, which would be special. And they've they've had a heck of a season. I don't think they've lost yet, right, Marcus?

SPEAKER_00 8:29

31-0. Perfect season. Um and, you know, they they are definitely creating a lot of buzz around those at-large bids, right? And and, you know, what schools get in, what it takes um to get to get an at-large bid. You know, it's tough when you have the Power Four Conferences um, you know, taking up so much space um in the tournament. And and rightfully so to a certain degree, right? But um I'm certainly glad I'm I'm not on one of these selection committees because I know that they have a tough job, but uh, you know, it's it's it's challenging for these smaller schools to to find a way um into the big dance. You know, that they've got to be nearly perfect, like like a Miami. But um, yeah, it's just an exciting time of year, and and I just hope that that everybody that that puts the great resume out there and deserves to get in, you know, finds a way in. And of course, that there's always gonna be a uh a relatively long list of folks who feel like they're snubbed. But um, good luck to all the teams this week and and hopefully everybody you know put puts a good resume on the table and can find their way into the tournament.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

So, Marcus, that takes us nicely into our game, into the buckets section of which bucket getter am I? Today, instead of one bucket getter, we're gonna focus on a collection of bucket getters. And over the last three years in college basketball, I want to look at who have been the top five winningest programs in Division I men's college basketball. So there have been some that have been more mid-major, some that have been more hot major to the points we were just discussing, and interesting to look at who they are. I'll give you how many wins, and you tell me if you can name the program.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

I I'd love to just get a shot at name in the top five, but I'll we can do wins and we'll do them one by one. That's fine.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

And if you name the program, we're not gonna discount you. If your program's in the top five, we'll count it. So the first one, to be fair, had 93 wins over the past three seasons. They're the leader.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

93 wins over the past three years. Um UConn.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

All right, UConn is one of them. I believe Yukon Marcus is 88 wins. So they're in third. Great guess. UConn won a couple national championships, right, in the last three years. Great guess. UConn Huskies in at 88 wins.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Um, Houston.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Great guess. Houston Cougars, Kelvin Sampson, number one. No national championships in that time, but consistent high wins. They're at 93.

SPEAKER_00 10:49

Um, all right, so then so that's number one. So now we're on to tech technically number two. Correct. And how many wins is number two?

SPEAKER_01 10:57

Number two on the list, Marcus, is 91 wins in the last three years.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

Oof, wow. Um Duke?

SPEAKER_01 11:06

All right, Duke, you got it. Duke is is in at number two in 91 wins in the last three years.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

So I'll be honest, that's uh why I I guess Yukon first, because I just didn't want Duke to be number one. So I guess I'm first. All right, so we got Houston one, Duke two, UConn three, correct? Correct. All right, so tell me how many wins are four and five.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

The fourth in wins is eighty-six, and number five is eighty-five.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Not that knowing that number is gonna help me, but um oh gosh, that's tough. Um, and you said we've got some mid-majors in there too, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:40

So at least a mid-major in there.

SPEAKER_00 11:43

Who's been a great mid-major over the last couple years, but hasn't won anything. Um Gonzaga?

SPEAKER_01 11:51

Gonzaga's a great guess. They are the the grandfather of the mid-majors, if you will, but no, not Gonzaga.

SPEAKER_00 11:57

So they're not even in the top five.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Um, I'll tell you how about this. The mid-major we've talked about on the show today already. They are going to their second NCAA tournament in a row. You went in the way, High Point is in there? High Point University, one of the top five winningest programs in the last five years.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

Wow. Let's go, Pampa. High point. Wow, okay. All right.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

They're they're fourth, Marcus, with 86. They're four. That's it.

SPEAKER_00 12:23

Oof.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

Iowa State. All right, good guess. A lot of wins in their conference. Fifth, though, they are a national champion in the last few years, Florida Gators.

SPEAKER_00 12:33

I swear I was thinking about get, but when they won, I just didn't see that. It's kind of out of nowhere, right? I well, I didn't feel like they got far in the other years that they didn't win, you know. So I did it. But at the end of the day, like NCAA tournament is just like one or two more wins, potentially, right? And so it's really kind of what they did during the seasons over the last couple of years. Completely fair. Yep. But anyway, all right, that's solid. So Houston won, Duke two, Yukon three, high point four, Florida five. That's it. That's legit, man. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Strong list for High Point to be a part of. We'll give them credit for that.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

Absolutely, man. Kudos.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

And you know, no bigger game this week nationally, as we look back just yesterday, Marcus, than the rematch of the Carolina Duke game. Obviously, it didn't go the way that the Tar Hills would have preferred. Tough set of circumstances when Caleb Wilson breaks a thumb only a few hours before the game on his other hand, right? And and we go in there and we put up a great fight in the first half, and the Devils proved too strong in the second. What did you see out of that game? What are your takeaways?

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Uh I mean, I saw the number one team in the country that did not have a great shooting night, but did all the other things, man. They could they crashed the boards, uh, they they they shared the basketball, they put an incredible amount of pressure on our defense, um, had us running all over the place, um, you know, made shots when it mattered, made plays when it mattered, um, and and really, again, just kind of kept their foot on the gas um all second half. And so just saw an elite team, uh, you know, just doing what they do at home. Um, if I'm not mistaken, they're they're perfect at home over the last two seasons. So um no surprise, quite frankly. Uh, you know, it's tough when you know you don't have Caleb Wilson out there. Uh, you know, you put a lot more pressure on Stevenson and Vesar to you know hold down the paint. Um, but but Duke was a little short-handed too. They had Foster go down, they had a big out, but um, you know, boozer just kind of proven to be a little bit too much of a load inside. And um I I think some of those um supporting cast members of uh of Duke's team really stepped up and played well. But um, you know, this this is this is March, right? Like we talked about, that there's gonna be these types of games gonna go a little up and down. Should North Carolina take care of business on Thursday night in the ACC tournament down in Charlotte, we'll be seeing the third matchup of Duke Carolina this season on Friday night. So, you know, no time to hang their heads. North Carolina's gotta get back to work this week and and and figure out how to you know be a great team down the stretch um in the ACC tournament. So not the result that they wanted, but um, again, that there's just no time to think about that at this point. It's time to get ready for the ACC tournament and be on.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

That's right. No time to hang their head at all. The ACC tournament is here. I'm sure the guys are probably headed to Charlotte soon, if not already, thinking about making their way there to get prepared and get used to that arena. But uh what an exciting time that will be. As you mentioned, we could see the third Carolina Duke matchup of this season, a couple matchups first. As we put a pin in the regular season, Marcus, the Tar Hills do complete what we talked about on our last podcast was the ability to go undefeated at home. And so they do complete that. They go 18-0 at home, correct?

SPEAKER_00 16:03

Correct.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Yeah, and a rec, uh I was gonna say a record at the Smith Center, correct?

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

Not bad. I mean, something to hang your hat on this season. It's been a solid season. It's not over yet. We still have dreams, hopes, goals, and aspirations, but 18-0 on your home court is something to be proud of. And the Tar Hills do take that into Charlotte. They go into Charlotte Marcus playing the winner on Thursday of a Wednesday game that will feature Clemson, the five seed, Carolina, the four seed, and Clemson will play on Wednesday, the winner of the first round Tuesday game of the 12th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies against the 13th ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons. So Clemson or Wake Forest and Virginia Tech, this is how crazy and big the ACC is now, but that's who we're looking to. We know Clemson's good. And we know, as we've talked about all season, the Hokies and the Demon Deacons are not teams you can sleep on. So either way, they're gonna be teams that are hungry. They're gonna be teams that if they're not already in the NCAA tournament, like Carolina or Clemson, they want to be, right? Like Virginia Tech or the Demon Deacons. So there's a big challenge before we look to Friday. Um, and I know Duke's gonna have a game before that too. So what do you see as we head into uh the early part of the week?

SPEAKER_00 17:19

You know, I think that you kind of hit the nail on the head there. There's gonna be teams that are are really trying to make a push, you know, these last couple of days of the season, uh, you know, to put their best foot forward to be in the NCAA tournament. So teams like Virginia Tech that haven't, you know, had luck on their side and have had a lot of tough losses all year, but are are scrappy and athletic and a very good basketball team. You know, you string together a couple of wins, uh, and next thing you know, people are looking at you a lot different. I mean, look at NC State a couple of years ago. Um, speaking of Virginia Tech, if I'm not mistaken, uh a handful of years ago when the ACC tournament was in Brooklyn, Virginia Tech was a uh a lower seed, uh maybe an eighth seed in that tournament, and and go on to win. So it is um it's a time where you gotta be, you know, on your P's and Q's and focused because these games matter. They're important, they're gonna be, you know, high stakes, um, high pressure situations, and so it's just a great opportunity to kind of tune up uh before the NCAA tournament. All right, Carter. Your favorite time of the show. It's time for Nets and Jackets as we transition from buckets to birdies. Um Carter, I will give you the year. You will tell me the NCAA champion and the masters champion. And your year today is the year 2000.

SPEAKER_01 18:42

The year 2000 would be Michigan State and Mateen Khaleev and DJ Singh.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Very nice. Congratulations, my friend. There we go. I love it. So you crush it. All right, Carter, so tell us what's going on in the world of golf.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

Well, this week, Marcus, another signature event. We've talked a lot about those recently. The season's starting to heat up, and this week it was in Orlando for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, one of the few invitations on tour that has the unique setting of a signature event that still has a cut, still still makes players keep it honest on the Thursday and Friday rounds in an effort to get to that weekend. And what a weekend it was. Daniel Berger, great to see him at the top of leaderboards, coming down the stretch after battling really years of injury. Marcus, a phenomenal player out of Florida State years ago, played his college golf with Brooks Kepka. What a great college team they were. And Daniel, a multiple-time winner on the PGA tour, has really come back out and said, Hey, I'm back. I'm here, but couldn't outlast Akshay Batia, the Raleigh native originally from Wake County there, who wins in a playoff at the Arnold Palmer invitational. Congratulations to Akshay on posting a big-time win here early this season.

SPEAKER_00 19:57

Very nice. Akshay's lefty, too, isn't he? Lefty. Good call. I like that. Yeah, I like him. Young guy. I love that. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

He did. Yeah, it came right out of high school, pretty unconventional for golf. Um, you know, a lot of folks told him, Akshay, go to college. And Akshay said, I'm gonna do this my own way. And he's he's found his path. He won early in his career. He's recently gotten married, he's becoming a young man, and he's winning more in his career in a big way. Um, he'll be a guy to watch as the Masters comes around. Next week, the players, Marcus, comes around. Uh, one of the biggest weeks in our entire industry of golf, the players' championships, where I'm headed to right now. I'm actually stuck in the centurium lounge here in the Charlotte Airport due to some flight delays. So thank you for bearing with me. But um, but yeah, headed down to players, which again, given all the weight that comes with a major championship week, the players is arguably the busiest week in the golf industry. And so lots going on down at Pontavidra Beach this week. Lots to be announced from the new CEO Brian Rolap, who we've talked about, that brings his NFL pedigree. Some great expertise and thought leadership into how the PGA tour can continue to evolve. So I'm excited to hear what he says. Some big announcements are scheduled to come down the pipeline this week, including what the schedule may look like moving forward, Marcus. There's been rumors that professional golf in a big way may not start until after the Super Bowl, so that they don't have to go up against those ratings and still conclude in August with a great playoff before college football and the Labor Day weekend. So definitely thinking about being bookended against football, which makes sense, but having a great spring and summer with golf. As you talked about, it's getting heated up and it's along with basketball, one of the most wonderful times of the year here in March and April.

SPEAKER_00 21:38

Yes, sir. Looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

I can smell the Azellias. The Masters is coming soon.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

Perfect. Carter, that brings us nicely to our Beyond the Box score, story focus.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

Everything Marcus and I talk about is beyond the box score, but each week we Specifically take a look at one story from the sports section of the North State Journal's Beyond the Box Score feature.

SPEAKER_00 22:05

The North State Journal is North Carolina's only statewide newspaper.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

For more on the North State Journal, check out NSJonline.com. And Marcus, this week, the North State Journal's Beyond the Box Score story focus takes us back to Tobacco Road and the Carolina Duke rivalry and to Nolan Smith. Nolan Smith, the former All-America for Duke, was just named Marcus the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year in his first year as the head coach of Tennessee State, leading the regular season, ultimately winning the tournament and punching their card too in the NCAA tournament.

SPEAKER_00 22:39

Just really excited to see a young uh black coach doing great out there. So congrats to Tennessee State. All right, Marcus, that's all for today. Thanks for tuning in to the Buckets and Birdies Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

That's 23 minutes of our thoughts for you. For Marcus Ginyard, I'm Carter Bills.

SPEAKER_00 22:57

We'll catch you next time.