Meaningful Games & Alumni Weekend Energy

It’s a big one for Juniata hoops: Catholic on Wednesday, Alumni Weekend vs. Wilkes on Saturday, and zero room for coasting.

The crew opens with a great listener question on what alumni should feel when they come back—Coach Curley’s answer says it all: play hard, play with heart, play for each other. From there, it’s a look back at last week’s results, highlighted by a 62–43 defensive rock fight win over Susquehanna and a tough road loss at Scranton that sharpens the focus heading into a brutal stretch.

Biz hands out the game balls, the playoff picture comes into view, and Coach Nick Hager joins to preview Alumni Weekend—full schedule, postgame plans, and the always-heated Team Blue vs. Team Gold alumni game, complete with the drafting of new faces that adds fresh fuel to an already loud rivalry.

Meaningful games, familiar faces, new blood, and a program that still looks and feels like Juniata basketball.

Transcript

Cold Open

SPEAKER_04 0:00

This is Americ Studios Podcast.

SPEAKER_03 0:03

This week on the Junior Adam Men's Basketball Show.

SPEAKER_04 0:06

One of us moves up on the uh all-time coaching wins list at one of the curly man, you you got any uh prediction on this?

SPEAKER_01 0:14

I mean, I like the speed and quickness and uh playmaking ability of Tom's group, and I like the chemistry size and just the depth of uh business group.

SPEAKER_03 0:22

Hey football fans, you could win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement events in person in Canton. How do you kick this off? Grab Snapdragon Apples at your local store, then go to SnapdragonApple.com for official rules and enter. No purchase necessary. Ends February 28th, 2026. Open to U.S. residents, 18 and older, void where prohibited. I'm Tom Frank. I'm Biz. I'm headed Greg Curley. And this is the Junietta Men's Basketball Show. Welcome, listeners. I'm Tom Frank. I'm joined each and every week by Drew Beskid, aka Biz, and your Junietta head basketball coach, Greg Curly, as we talk all things. Junietta Men's College Basketball. Fellas, we got a we got a fun week ahead. We got Catholic on Wednesday. We got the alumni weekend after that. We have the alumni game first on Saturday, I believe. And then followed by our Eagles versus Wilkes at 2 p.m. It's gonna be a lot of Junietta action this week. That's fabulous. It is fabulous. I'm kind of excited.

SPEAKER_04 1:31

Yeah, I get a whole week out of it. A whole week out of it. Oh, you do get a whole week. You get two in a row. That's impressive.

SPEAKER_03 1:38

But before we get to all that, including we have a very special guest with us, another great coach. The very, the very talented and the very uh the very talkative

Listener Question: What Should Alumni Feel Walking In

SPEAKER_03 1:47

Coach Hager. We're gonna get into that. We're gonna get we're gonna let Coach Hager take over the mic and we're gonna talk last week's big win on Wednesday. But we got to get to a listener question. I think it's a pretty good question. It's from it's from Beth D. I don't know who Beth D is, but I like Beth D. She said when when alumni weekend hits, what's the one thing you want former players to see or feel that tells them, yeah, junior bat junior at a basketball is still junior at a basketball.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

I mean, that that's easy. How hard we play and how we act as a team. So our three things, how much heart we play with and how hard we work, and are we playing for each other, playing for the guy next to us? So our guys pick up and and Nick will tell you, you know, I remember we act, you know, a lot of times the night before guys, if they're in town, will stop and practice or whatever. And it's amazing.

SPEAKER_03 2:36

Oh, you will come into practice on Friday night?

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Yeah, if they're around, usually somebody floats in or out, uh, depending on what's going on. But they're usually pretty quick. They can pick things up. How about it, Nikki? We've had guys walk walk watch walkthroughs before and pretty much be able to peg like what what's going well or where we're struggling within five minutes based on what we're doing. So I mean, I I think they just I just want them to come back and and uh hopefully see what we look like at our best, you know, the feel and how we're approaching it. And the guys know, I mean, particularly this week, the challenges of uh Catholic and Wilkes, I mean, and uh quality teams those guys are. They they get all that, but they they you know want to see us play the way we play, and uh that's playing with a lot of heart, playing hard, and playing for each other. That's a pretty good answer.

SPEAKER_03 3:21

I like them to think when they come back, man, I wish I was playing in this era. I didn't have a podcast telling my step by step and and and breaking down and giving us game balls and and and helping us uh you know figure things out with Coach Curley. That's what I want them to think.

SPEAKER_01 3:39

It's better now, though. You've made a lot of those guys sound even better than they probably were through the podcast when they come back to those alums. So I think I think you have a lot of fans and the alums. And uh, if I remember last year, those guys just uh kind of positioning themselves to get be the next ones on so you can make them sound good. There you go. Alumni post post-game.

SPEAKER_03 3:58

I also do I do love when the alumni come back and they sit behind the uh bench and they start screaming and they get they get on the rafts, they get they get you know, they're cheering, they're they're bringing a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the game. I think that's probably one of the most fun games I would think to play as a player with all those alumni back in town.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

I mean, I that's my favorite part of it now. You know, we walk out there and there's kind of a wall of guys all sitting right there, they're peering in the huddle. Um and usually when we're sitting there waiting before, you know, guys usually have a few things to say. But they most of the time you if I look up and they're all looking in the huddle to see what's going on, they can probably tell you what they think is gonna happen next. So yeah, it's it's uh it's it's pretty cool. It uh tells you, you know, what you hope is that when guys get here, it's the the relationships that last. And when they're all sitting together and you see guys that play different classes that didn't even play together that might be hanging out just as much with each other. It uh kind of, I don't know, I mean, it reinforces what we're trying to do here and it makes you feel better. Not that you don't feel good, but but makes you it's a positive reinforcement of everything you're trying to do. And uh it's just a cool experience to be a part of. I mean, it

The First Recruit and Why Alumni Weekend Sticks

SPEAKER_01 5:05

makes you feel like you have a real program and you have something that that uh made a difference for guys for them to just take the time to come back and be a part of it to see each other, how much that means. Um it's it's a special thing. And that reminder, it never gets old. It's probably the biggest reason you do it. You know, our first recruit, Tommy McConnell, who whose dad, Tom, was the head coach of St. Francis that time. I remember when I when they came for the first recruiting visit, and I was I was a first-time head coach, and what he said is that what you'll appreciate about this is when um when you've been here long enough, the guys come back with families and and come back for alumni games and stuff, and uh, he's like, that's when you'll really appreciate what you're doing, and I I couldn't agree more. And the stuff that our guys are all off doing and and kind of the amazing things they do and the kind of people they are, it uh makes it feel good about being a part of this and and you know uh being a small part of bringing them together in some way, right? Because a basketball was kind of that that gathering point and it's stuff that matters. And you don't have guys invested in coming back if they didn't have good experiences and they didn't have some level of success. True. True story.

SPEAKER_03 6:07

Hey Nick, how many game before you came back as a coach, did you come were you able to come back and play in the alumni games? Or how many did you did you make it back for any?

SPEAKER_02 6:17

Or you were coaching, I guess, right out after so Yeah, I I mean when I was at Auburn for grad school, um I think I came back uh not for uh maybe for alumni one alumni weekend. Uh I think it was Canon, FERCO Open Spool, their senior year, so the year after I graduated. It was either alumni weekend or senior night. Um came back um and then did not the following year, but then I was back in PA for 2009-10, so I definitely made it back for that. So I was pretty much there for for everyone at all the other ones.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

Yeah, the hardest part is the guys that are all coaching, they're the ones that can't make it.

SPEAKER_05 6:53

Right.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

Yeah, the guys that the guys that go out coaching are the ones that never actually get to come back to that stuff. It's kind of an irony, but uh of the whole thing, but it uh so it's sort of stinks. But yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:03

Well, let's look at that. Any chance you can give us five minutes this uh this weekend there, Coach Hager? Yeah, you're gonna throw up you're gonna drop a shoes on? Should we draft it?

SPEAKER_02 7:13

As Coach Curly and I have talked about many times, it's a business decision to uh not partake in any kind of like pickup or anything. So I would be shocked if I I don't know. It might strike me in the moment for like a minute or two, but probably not.

SPEAKER_04 7:27

So I don't know, Tom. You might have to get him on your bench. We might somebody might have to have his rights at least. Hey, Furco's playing for God's sakes. I mean, come on, you're right there.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Furco just texted me tonight. He he went and played uh he played pickup tonight. He that guy is still playing regularly. So he's uh

Susquehanna 62-43: A Rock Fight for the Record Books

SPEAKER_02 7:44

he's ready to go.

SPEAKER_04 7:44

He's my guy.

SPEAKER_03 7:46

Team gold, team gold alumnus. All right, we'll get to that. We'll get to that, biz. Let's look at last week, though, because this past Wednesday, our Eagles had an excellent defensive uh performance to beat Susquehanna 62 to 43. Wednesday inside Memorial Stadium. Ty led all scores with 17 points, four rebounds, two steals, and a block. Joe Bruce added 10 points, a rebound, and a steal. Jaden Bilger had eight points, seven rebounds, and a steal. And your guy Malcolm Griffith, eight points, seven rebounds, an assist and a steal himself. Interesting thing, we closed the game on a 30 to 10 run that included holding the Riverhawks under 40 points until the final three minutes of the game. And I got a fun fact for you. This was the fewest points Junior allowed Susquehanna since the 1969-1970 season when the Rev with the Riverhawks out lasted Junietta in a defensive battle 42 to 34. Ooh. Yeah. You guys remember that game?

SPEAKER_01 8:53

We weren't even about to know that. That would be pre-sh, you know, pre-shot clock, too. So that that those scores, it's a little bit different. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:00

So so post-shot clock, you have the best defensive performance in the history of Juniata against Susquehanna.

SPEAKER_01 9:07

Yeah, I mean, that was uh, I mean, I think I described it, that was a rock fight, right? That's that kind of game. I mean, that was a uh that was both teams defensively, I thought, played really, really hard. And it was one of those where you know you can't flinch, something's gonna break, right? Or it would have gone all the way down the wire. But uh yeah, we we were able to pull late, pull ahead late. I thought we really played hard, and I thought we we played with some toughness. Uh we really played together, played consistent. Um you go back and watch, and and I thought we executed and played pretty well the first half. It doesn't feel like it. I mean, I remember Nick and I walking off at halftime. Either they're really big and physical, and we're cranking here, or this we're not. We look feel a step slow, and when you watch, it was just they're a big, physical, tough team. And so it feels like a little bit and you're running through mud, but uh, we kept at it, and I thought did a really good job defensively and on the glass. We really did a good job rebounding the ball, and we took care of it. So we did three things that you need to try to do to have a chance. And in the end, we made a few more shots than they did down the stretch. Uh, we had a bunch of guys coming to make big plays and big shots. So I mean, it was a cool we had a uh, you know, pretty good crowd. Um, we got a lot of support. Uh it seemed like a lot of football guys were out. Uh he was. He was. So that you heard the call.

SPEAKER_03 10:23

What is happening? That is what we called him out. He showed up. I'm proud of the president.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Yeah, and the doubleheader, uh, because it was a uh uh men's women doubleheader and brought out some more and just a Wednesday night home game with the students back and Susquehanna helped. So yeah, it was a good night. And it was the kind of win that you're proud of as a coach because you just kept at it. You just kept going and kept kept grinding and kept fighting. And I thought everybody kind of took that upon themselves and and really uh stayed at it uh all the way down the stretch and and uh so and pulled away late. And uh yeah, it was a really good one for a lot of reasons. Uh it was the toughest win we've probably had in that manner. Um, you know, we obviously the Drew game was a big win, and E Town was a big win, but we sort of scored with them. And uh uh this one was just both teams uh defensively, and they're big and physical. We did a good job in the interior guarding them, and they have a couple guys you can get loose uh on the perimeter, and we did a good job uh kind of tracking those guys down. I thought we did a good job at the point of attack. We we really kind of limited penetration and kept the ball out of the lane, which creates a lot of their stuff. Uh again, some veteran guys are really good players, so it was a good night. Um and uh with Coach Hager on him, a defensive guy that helps us.

SPEAKER_03 11:37

So I got a theory though. Now, that was this past Wednesday night. Did you leave the gym doors open? Like, was it so cold that the rims kind of like didn't let it didn't move? I mean, a cold rim could cause less scoring. Am I right?

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Well, hopefully it was the defense that caused less scoring, but it was I thought it was really good defense to be honest. Both teams played. You didn't think it had anything to do with the weather. Dude, I mean I also I think if you look, I don't think right now either one of us are shooting the ball real well, either team. So I think that was the game you could probably expect. Whoever shot it better was gonna win the game, and we did in the end. I I just think that's kind of the nature of that game uh and how it was gonna go. But honestly, coming in, they have a couple guys that can get going, and we were we were worried about that, and we did a really good job. Uh and you know, I think it was it helped to be at home. Uh I think probably the home team wins that game. Uh, but you know, the the the game down there, there were a lot of similarities. It was back and forth the entire time. Uh, I think it was pretty two evenly matched teams. Um, and I thought uh just how hard we played, how well we played together, uh, we really executed on both ends uh and were able to make timely shots and and honestly big stops defensively. So that was a really good night. Um, and it's a really good stretch of games.

SPEAKER_04 12:54

All right. Well, I'll give my cold theory to myself then. Uh just don't make it as long as it's not cold this weekend.

SPEAKER_03 13:01

I mean, Viz, I can remember meeting outside, outside in the winter in state college playing basketball. We'd clear off what was that park? What was that park that we went to all the time in State College? Green Hollow, man. Green Hollow. That's what it was. We'd play full court two on two in the in the in the

Scranton 82-67: Ten of Fourteen on the Road

SPEAKER_03 13:19

snow. And I felt like my shots didn't fall as much in the in the weather. Your shots didn't fall as much, period.

SPEAKER_04 13:26

Just a lot. We were a lot younger back then, man.

SPEAKER_03 13:29

Come on. When it was hot, my shots never miss. When it got cold, those rims that weren't forgiving. Hey man, I'll go with it. You're overwhelmed with it?

SPEAKER_04 13:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:38

Well well, Saturday. I think Saturday we just ran into a really talented Scranton team. They they we saw our three-game win streak and to the Royals 82-67 inside the John Long Center. John Long. I don't even like that name.

SPEAKER_05 13:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:54

Um Ty led led all scores again with 22 points. Malcolm added 16. Joe Bruce had 10. Jaden Ozzy grabbed eight. Eight boards.

SPEAKER_04 14:05

Come on, man.

SPEAKER_03 14:06

Ozai. I gotta get his name right. I'll get it right by the end of the year. We did make a we made a run in the second half, just couldn't get the deficit down below. Stayed with him. Double digits.

SPEAKER_04 14:14

Stayed with him in the second half. First half was the uh prover, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:17

Yeah. Yeah, we didn't, we just uh, you know, we didn't come out of the gates. I I didn't think we were uh I don't know about ready to play, but we we we just didn't have it. And uh, you know, it wasn't our wasn't our best night, whether it's you know, that was I mean, we're playing uh ten of our last 14 games on the road here, ten of twelve in a row.

SPEAKER_03 14:36

Um so we played ten of your last fourteen on the road?

SPEAKER_01 14:40

Yeah. So I I I think we you know this that was uh that was going on with this scheduling, hey. This was our fourth of of five games on the road. Um, and now we have three of our next four on the road. Uh so if you you start adding it up, um I I think uh, you know, playing three straight Saturdays on the road, you know, Puestra game, that was gonna be a home game, becomes a travel game. So I I do think that stacks up, but I also think second week of class, a lot of times I talked to you guys about that, that that can hit. And all of that stuff really can stack it all up and throw it away. We got outplayed. Uh they were quicker to everything. Um, you know, they were down basically their entire interior, including Sammy Tournebay, uh Ben A, who's one of the best players in the league, who will definitely be an all-league guy. And uh we couldn't take advantage of that. Uh similar to the Moravian game, I don't I we didn't seem to travel with our best stuff. Um and a lot of it is accredited as I think that's twelve two games that Scranton has outplayed us. Uh I think their guard play uh was exceptional. Um Spatola had, I think, 15 assists. Um their perimeter guys really are good shooters, and they shot 40% from three, and we've been really good at guarding the arc. Now that's where they shoot like 42% as a as a team. So I think part of what they do, I I don't think it's the best matchup for us. Um, but the bottom line is I didn't, you know, and coach would agree. I don't think we came out particularly defensively with the edge and focus that we had. We we got beat in some ways that we shouldn't be. Our communication wasn't great, our rebounding wasn't great. Um, so it was not a good night. And we have got to get it corrected quickly. Just a really, really tough stretch here still. I mean, with Catholic and Wilkes this week, it gets no easier. Um and I think they're both excellent passing teams and excellent teams that execute really well on the offensive end that'll challenge our defense. And you know, I can't we can't have 24 or 26 points at halftime and expect to beat those teams on the road. I think the second half was 42-41. We played them more even. Um, but you know, we didn't make shots. We we got a bunch of open looks early that we have to make in that game to get off to a good start. And right now we we're struggling, shooting the ball from the perimeter. And um, you know, you can win so many games we have, and we don't rely on that, and that's great. At some point, particularly how they kind of help and load the lane and stuff. We made some right decisions and got it right places, and we got to knock them down.

SPEAKER_03 17:03

Just that simple, Biz. Hey, you know, that's why he's the coach. Biz, what do you got for game balls? Because we

Game Balls: Ty Kozak Takes Both

SPEAKER_03 17:10

got a lot to get into tonight. I don't want to forget about your game balls.

SPEAKER_04 17:13

I never forget about my game balls.

SPEAKER_03 17:15

No.

SPEAKER_04 17:16

You still haven't bounced that thing outside, right? I have not, and I won't. Okay. I just checked. I don't want Greg to take it back away from you.

SPEAKER_03 17:23

I feel like at some point you will.

SPEAKER_04 17:24

No. Don't even don't even go there. All right, let's see here, and let's go back to our victory. Oh, I'm getting there. Hang on. Technology, it's not my friend. All right. Junietta, Sesquehanna. Well, the game ball on that one has to go to our friend Mr. Kozak again. I mean, the guy's just racking them up. 17, four boards, no assists. I'd like to see a couple helpers from the old uh Thai Meister. Two steals, though, a block. You got a block on us, right? Yeah, you've been asking for a block. I know we need a block, so he got me the block, which is great. Um, but you know, honorable mention Mr. Boger, Mr. Mr. Griffith, put up some solid uh numbers as well. Patrolling the interior. And then for our Scranton game. I mean, once again, it's gotta be Ty Kozak. He's got uh two of these bad boys. Hold on. So Ty's gonna take them both this week. Ty's taking them both. But uh Joe Bruce, man, you uh you got the honorable mention for the uh scranton game. He had some stats on there. Alright. Alright. Ty come back. Yes.

unknown 18:36

All right.

SPEAKER_04 18:38

Although that they won the uh Susquehanna game, but gotta work on those free throws. Free throws. I think you should

Scouting Report, Belichick and the Hall of Fame Snub

SPEAKER_04 18:46

bring game balls sponsored by nobody.

SPEAKER_03 18:48

What happened? I think you should bring in Biz to maybe uh little little pre-game coaching on Saturday. Maybe some free throws. I'm more of a motivator. Okay, not not actually gonna show it. All right, let's jump into this week. Tom Scouting report, as always, presented by Snapdragon Apples, Monster Crunch Legendary Flavor. Find Snapdragon at your local grocery store, the official apple of the Junior Adam Men's basketball show. And fellas, did you know if you buy them, if you scan your receipt, you may enter a trip to win to the Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony this coming fall. Snapdragonapples.com slash sweepstakes. Nick might want to start buying some Snapdragons. Know who's not gonna be there? I was gonna say the same thing. Bill Belichick. Billy. Hey, can I say something? I don't love Bill Belichick, but he got he got robbed. He should be he absolutely did. He cheated. The guy had six Super Bowls. Like you can't tell, oh, it's only Brady. Well, guess what? Guess

Catholic Preview: A Series Dating Back to 1925

SPEAKER_03 19:49

what? All the guys who played with Brady also just had Brady. You know what? He's gotta pay the pipe. No. No. I don't like the guy, but he should be in the hall of fame.

SPEAKER_04 19:58

All right, do you think Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame? Yes. Well, at least you're consistent. I do agree with you there, but yeah, Belichick, he'll be in, but a little smudge on the face never hurt anybody. I don't like it at all.

SPEAKER_03 20:12

All right, big week ahead. If for nothing else, I get the pleasure of being at back-to-back games, first on Wednesday at Catholic, then back at home versus Wilkes on alumni weekend. Catholic comes into this matchup 14-5, 10-2 in conference. They are coming off a loss on Saturday at Wilkes, who unfortunately you have to play the next game, 68-62. The Cardinals are led by a pair of very good senior guards, JC Ruoff, Roof, Roth, something like that, and Brian Herbert. Fun fact's not either. Our Eagles first played Catholic in 1925.

SPEAKER_04 20:53

Wow, you've been doing some digging, man.

SPEAKER_03 20:54

I do. I was digging around today. 1925. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

Huh. I would not have guessed that. That's great. 1925. Then we roll in the city. That was definitely pre-shot clock. That was pre-shot clock as well.

SPEAKER_04 21:09

That was pre-pre any kind of crazy.

SPEAKER_03 21:10

Was it like 12 to 10 peach baskets? I don't know. I didn't check out the score. I should have, so I messed up. After Catholic, which we're gonna have a lot of people at. Hey, by the way, do I get tickets? Where do I pick up my tickets?

SPEAKER_01 21:24

Don't I get game day tickets? Oh, there's I we don't get compliists anymore, but so you're on your own. I can float you with five bucks, though. If you need the money, I'll give you a lot of it.

SPEAKER_05 21:32

Five bucks, I gotta pay to get away.

SPEAKER_04 21:37

All right.

SPEAKER_03 21:38

Five bucks. I I this Catholic game. I know this is gonna be a tough game, but I cannot stand Catholic, especially at Catholic. That that gym drives me insane. Are you sitting under the hoop? I don't know. I'm gonna be about with a bunch of people. I'm bringing a lot of people to the game. They're very curious. They see, they see that, they see that. There's a run happening here. They want to get back involved. I expect the big junior had a crowd here.

SPEAKER_04 22:05

Like the Pied Piper man.

SPEAKER_03 22:07

Yeah. We got some players from the DC area. So we should have we should have some people there.

SPEAKER_01 22:12

We got alumni in DC. If you guys remember last year it was a it was a snow out or the snow weather game, so we moved it up and played it on an afternoon on a Tuesday. Oh yeah. Um so yeah, this will be important to our to our uh we have a lot of guys from that area, so they'll be excited to play. Um but um they're awfully good. And you know, you don't go to League 8 and and uh CJ Roof, Brian Abear, all those guys are as good as it gets at this level. You know, coming off a loss may not be the best time to play them, right? Yeah. In their championship caliber program, they're at home. I don't know what their home record is. I have to look at that. I'm not sure they have any losses at home this year. Um I think they do, though. I think they might have a loss at home. I think.

SPEAKER_03 22:52

Well, they're gonna have another one. They're gonna have another one on Wednesday.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

I mean, uh my my concern is more we have to play better than we did Saturday. We have to get we have to figure this out. Um I told you the stretch of games, uh, it's a weeknight game, then it's a it's not an easy trip for us. Um it's what most of our trips are, but I I do have concerns about that. So we've got to do a better job managing guys and getting them back up and ready to play. But the flip side is that is these are kind of games you want to play. I keep saying that. I mean, it'll be cool. We we should have a pretty good, we always have a pretty strong contingent down there when that comes out. And we just want to go play well. And it's the same thing that the question about what do you want what do we want the alums to see at the alumni game? We expect to see the same thing on Wednesday. I mean, that's we have to, you know, we've got six left, and we just we have to be playing our best. And we have to this time of year, you have to play your best. And I thought a little bit immature and a little young Saturday too, a little bit. I thought guys were a little tired, banged up. But that's where I talked about discipline the week before. That's why you need it. You're not gonna be feeling great all the time this time of year, particularly getting off the bus. It's the teams that have the discipline to go execute what needs to be done the way it needs to be done, the best way you can every single time. And we we just had too many holes and pockets where we didn't do the things we had been doing. And uh credit, Scranton, because if you make a mistake with them, they make you pay. And that's what really good teams do. Uh but I'm talking about the controllables. We could have, we we could have taken care of. We didn't do well. So we have to get back on the saddle and get that stuff figured out. You got to do that by managing, trying to keep guys fresh or rested and preparation and improvement. So there's a lot here we have to figure out in the next couple days. But I mean, if we can't be excited about the games we have left and the opportunities we're in, I mean, I don't I mean, if you paint the picture compared to where we were this time last year, where we were two months ago, um, if I told the guys we're going down to play these games and we're on the playoff hunt and we have an opportunity to do these things, I think we'd all take it. And so we have to keep that attitude and come back with that kind of energy. And hopefully the day off today was good. I think it was really good for the guys that

Six Games Left and the Playoff Math

SPEAKER_01 24:48

need it. We've got to come right back at it again and and be ready to go. So I just hope, again, we get around there and play hard, play really hard and uh play together. We need everybody locked in.

SPEAKER_03 25:00

You have six games left. Six games, man. What do you think the number is? And if I can't ask you this, I'll ask it to Biz. What's the number of wins we have to get to sneak in? Because we're at the we're in the eighth spot right now. We got to get up to the sixth spot, right?

SPEAKER_01 25:14

We take the top six. Nah, the the the standings don't take into account uh right now it's overall record why we're slotted that way. It doesn't take into account um who beat a higher seed and those kind of things. So I actually think that's different.

SPEAKER_03 25:26

Oh, because technically we could be in seventh.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

You're right, because we're tied with Susquehanna right now. Yeah. Yeah. And listen, I what I told the guys, and I can't, I'm not answering this question, but Biz can answer it. But I mean, what I told the guys, and I and you guys remember I've said it every single year. You just go play your best, and if you're a playoff team, you'll be a playoff team. If you're not, you're not. Like any idea that this should change how we approach things or what we do from an internal perspective and a coaching perspective, is wrong. We play every game we've ever played, every second we've ever tried to play to win. And so like nothing should really change. Now we're human and there's motivation and those kind of things, but that's honestly why we have to be better this Saturday. We had to be better at Moravian. And those are really, really good teams. So if you're not at your A level, you're gonna get beat. And you're gonna get beat blown away. And so we have to be at our A every time. And if everyone else is at their A, you know, somebody's winning, somebody's losing, and you got to stay even killed and keep at that. And so that's what my big concern is. And we do that enough times, we we hope things pan out. But second time in the league, you find out a lot of things too. Teams have game plans and opportunities to see things, and who does makes adjustments or where are guys? Some teams are playing different guys now, so it's uh a lot to lot to be figured out. Uh, our big thing is to try to get some rest and get back to where we were playing in terms of energy and effort. Fair enough.

SPEAKER_03 26:45

Fair enough.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

And we'll be right back. Welcome to Merrick Studios, where stories take the mic and culture comes alive.

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SPEAKER_03 27:37

And now, back to the show.

SPEAKER_00 27:39

Do you have an answer for me?

SPEAKER_04 27:41

Heger, you want to take a stab or uh too many words. All you Biz. I mean, we got we gotta go at least three and three. I that's what I'm thinking. Three and three is in the is in the heart of the picture. I think four and two. Four and two makes it a lot easier. Six and oh makes it real nice. I mean, Captain Obvious, yeah, absolutely. All right. Hey, just go out and play your best. The chips will fall, man. Like coach said, if you're gonna be a playoff team, you'll be a playoff team.

Wilkes, Plus Hager's Alumni Weekend Rundown

SPEAKER_04 28:11

I'm buying into the philosophy.

SPEAKER_03 28:12

Let's go. All right. After Catholic, we then roll into alumni weekend, boys. We got we got a lot, a lot of ground to cover here, including Team Blue, Team Gold, a rundown of all the festivities, including the big game versus Wilkes. Wilkes is 12 and 7, 7 and 5 in conference. They had a big win over Catholic last week. They'll play Susquehanna before coming into town. This is gonna be an interesting game. Is it just a coincidence that that the last couple years has been Wilkes for the alumni game, has it not? Uh it's been Wilkes or Scranton.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

It's just how what where those Saturday games fall? Well, they're gonna be Saturday games. So we if you notice, we have this consistent weeknight games based on distance. So it's gonna be the usual suspects. Um, if you guys remember, they hammered us last time we played them. So I mean they they gave it to us. So we we this is a tough week. Um, you know, the the three teams between Scranton and these two, uh, probably if you look across the season, they're the ones that gave us the most difficulty. And uh nothing's gonna change. Wilkes is in the heart of things too. They have the veteran group. I think they're getting healthy here. Certainly looks like, I mean, when you're anytime you're beating Catholic at home, that's uh a heck of a win. Um they've got arguably one of the better players in the league and Lucas Lesco. So it is gonna be an incredibly tough challenge and one that we need to go back again to and see if we can get up to that. And up there saying, We're gonna have to play, we're gonna have to keep getting better, and we're gonna have to play really, really good basketball. Um, we're gonna have to play both ends, and we're gonna have to be efficient in all areas, and we're gonna have to get some breaks. So uh, this is a big time week. I mean, these are championship caliber teams we're playing, and we're gonna have to play that kind of basketball.

SPEAKER_03 29:54

All right, folks, we got to get to what everybody really wants to hear right now. This is where the rubber meets the road. We got we got Coach Hager on here for a reason because we got to have a rundown of all the festivities coming up this weekend, and then we got to finish our teams out team gold, team blue, and get prepared. Defending champion team gold for an alumni game. You're damn defending champion, the team gold. All right, Hager, give us a rundown. What's what's the timing? What's going on? When? What do you know? Woo! Now we have a we have a nice little lunch or something in between here.

SPEAKER_02 30:28

And maybe we'll have um Yeah, we'll have uh some food, drinks, stuff like that for alums uh who are present. Um I think we have about 19 alums that are gonna be playing in the alumni game, 18 or 19. Um and a few others that are saying they're gonna be there but maybe not participating, just watching. But yeah, we'll have we'll actually have that in the Hall of Fame room this year. So we'll keep it all in-house in the same building.

SPEAKER_04 30:55

Oh, we don't have to go for a woman. We don't have to watch it. It's awful cold about that.

SPEAKER_02 30:59

Yeah, I kind of thought about that. So uh it it it worked out. Um so we'll be in the Hall of Fame room upstairs uh for uh between the alumni game and the Wilkes game. Um so guys can do what they need to do, come back. Yeah, we'll have food and stuff like that for guys and yeah, get ready to cheer on us.

SPEAKER_04 31:15

Uh do you have uh access to locker room and showers or anything? Are you gonna be sweating it up coaching? I mean, I coach hard, man.

SPEAKER_02 31:24

Some alums have uh they want to relive some some days there and get in the locker room, shower there, bring clothes with them so they can just shower and just stay on on site. So uh we'll we'll we'll set you up if you need it.

SPEAKER_04 31:37

Fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 31:38

And then following the game, I assume we're gonna go out and get some uh garage pail fries.

SPEAKER_02 31:44

Yep, uh that is secured uh upstairs at the Muddy Run uh tavern. Uh I think we have it from uh four o'clock until uh question mark. Um so yeah, we'll be we'll be upstairs, same place we've been the past couple years. Uh love that I like it too.

SPEAKER_04 31:59

Hey, do we uh do we still have our accommodations at uh Shea Curley?

SPEAKER_01 32:04

Yeah, I was gonna I was gonna have to uh double check with you guys and who's in so we can. Oh, yeah, we're in. I'm in. All right.

SPEAKER_03 32:10

We're in. We got the planet.

SPEAKER_04 32:12

All right. The crew will be excited. The crew will be excited always. Fabulous. Well, you know what's uh you know what else uh is uh Saturday evening. Is that the Duke, North Carolina? Oh, is it? It is we got some good hoops to watch too after we beat Wilkes. We do. And Team Gold wins. It's gonna be a great day. Let's go, Carolina.

SPEAKER_03 32:31

Anyway, all right, let's get to

Team Blue vs Team Gold: Rosters and the Draft

SPEAKER_03 32:33

business here. We gotta we gotta finish our rosters out. Yeah. Do you even know your roster? Yeah, I do. I got it right in front of me. All right. All right, before we get to that, let's have Hager run down Team Blue and Team Gold as it exists right now. Because we decided we are keeping the same roster because I'm irritated because I should have won that game.

SPEAKER_02 32:54

Uh Tom, I don't know. I've heard some guys requesting trades, so I'm not you try to bell at Cheshire if you have uh if you have the support of the the blue team right now. But uh I'll get it back. Don't you worry. As is, you have your captain, uh John Kelly. Uh then you have Kyle Ruggery, Evan Eisenhart, Michael Montecalvo, Damon Rickens, Seth Brewer, Jeremy Hayes, and Cameron Keck. That's team blue right there. That's a good team blue right there. Yep. Team Gold, headed by Captain Chase uh Hewstead. I also have Cole Bernardian, Gabe Gittinger, Dino Brown, Nick Rigby, Griffin Licarte, and Brent Furco.

SPEAKER_03 33:31

All right, so I currently have eight guys, right? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Babe, you have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Seven?

SPEAKER_02 33:41

Yeah. Chase, Gabe, Duck, Griff, Cole, Nick, Brent, Duck, uh, Duck did not uh sign up, so I'm not, I'm not sure if he'll be making it. Oh, the new duckster. Yeah. Interesting. Duck, duck down on him.

SPEAKER_01 33:57

Duck what we missed.

SPEAKER_03 33:58

We'll he'll miss this year.

SPEAKER_01 34:00

We'll get him. He'll appreciate this because yeah, I don't think.

SPEAKER_03 34:02

Now wait a minute. We're missing a few other guys on here.

SPEAKER_02 34:05

Yeah, so I actually pulled up the picture from last year, a post-game picture. So guys that so Team Gold also had Jeff Berkey, but he's he's not signed up.

SPEAKER_04 34:16

Yeah, Berkey, he always had a tough time with his kids.

SPEAKER_02 34:19

Yeah, he was a last minute uh because their uh game or tournament got moved, so he was able to make it. Um and then Team Blue, Zach Angle will be here, but he is not participating. He was awesome.

SPEAKER_04 34:31

He's already sitting out on you, man.

SPEAKER_02 34:33

Interesting. And uh I think that is about it for for that.

SPEAKER_03 34:38

All right. All right, so so on the board then we have one, two, three, four. We have five guys.

SPEAKER_02 34:44

Take my name off the board.

SPEAKER_03 34:46

I'm not gonna Oh, your name's on there.

SPEAKER_02 34:48

Yeah, it's awesome. I have I have a no in the alumni participation column. No, I didn't see the name.

SPEAKER_03 34:55

Okay, so we have four guys.

SPEAKER_04 34:56

Who uh who is it? Nico, Mason, Tyler, and Tim Smith.

SPEAKER_02 35:02

Tim Smith from uh class of 24. He's in the middle of the club.

SPEAKER_03 35:05

All right, now I get the number one pick, right? Uh yeah, man. All right, I got to talk to this guy a little bit at the Pilester game, and and you know, I think he really wants to play on the blue team. And I I gotta I gotta take him. So the number one pick in the 2026 alumni game draft, Mason Hardy.

SPEAKER_02 35:26

Mason Hardy, man. I knew you were going Mason.

SPEAKER_03 35:29

Hey, Mason.

SPEAKER_04 35:30

I mean, Mason is one of my favorite all the time. I love Mason, man. He can play. I mean, I got a lot of guards. It kind of stinks that I was hoping you'd go that way. Mason, I love you, man. You know this. But I mean, in talking and doing in-depth research at the uh Pulester game, it came to my attention that Mason hasn't really been playing basketball lately, but Tyler's been, he plays on two teams.

SPEAKER_03 35:52

Now, can I say why I went Mason over Tyler? Yeah, I mean, go ahead. I'm gonna say why. I realize Mason seems to have been playing a little bit more, but if you look at my roster, and I just two guys jump through, well, actually a lot of guys jump at you. Evan, Damon, Jeremy. Those are guys who like to shoot a lot.

SPEAKER_05 36:11

Right.

SPEAKER_03 36:11

So I gotta have a facilitator. And I think I think Mason plays that role.

SPEAKER_04 36:16

Jeremy runs his own company about facilitating, man. Yeah, but Jeremy likes to shoot the ball. I see a lot of I see a lot of competition on there. I think there's a gonna play into each other very well. There's gonna be a lot more trades requested, man. Hager's you're gonna have nobody next year. Anyway. I think that's good, man. I mean, you know, it's really toss-up, but I'm I'm taking the guy who's been playing ball. Like really. His mom even said Tyler's been playing ball. Well, his mom did lobby us hard. So Tyler, LapTina. Welcome to Defending Champion Team Gold. So who gets do I get the next pick? I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 36:52

Are we snaking this or are we doing that? No, we're not snaking it. I don't like snakes. So then you get the next one. All right, so I took Mason. So I have to, it comes down to Tim or Nico. That's interesting. That's very interesting. How tall is Tim? He's a six-foot guard. Point guard.

SPEAKER_01 37:10

So Nico have him by about he will be in shape and he'll be right anyway. Ooh, you're saying, what are you saying? Nico might not be in shape? No, Nico is definitely in shape. He's doing like work out. Doesn't he coach, right? He does. He's coaching right now with him.

SPEAKER_03 37:24

Yeah, he was at the plaster, yeah. Yeah. Okay, you know what? I'm taking Tim. I need I need a little more height. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go.

SPEAKER_04 37:32

You do need the height because I have a feeling Chase is just gonna he's gonna score his jersey number against you. All right, well, hey, Tim Smith, man. The man on the all-name team.

SPEAKER_03 37:44

I do have a very small lineup. Well, that's okay. We're gonna run you out of the gym. Uh you're not. We're gonna run you out of the gym. All right, Tim. My guys, they're they're hungry. Our shot clock is five seconds. Oh, that's great. Five second shot clock. You can have it. Shoot it. Touch

Five Second Shot Clock and the Red Flag Rule

SPEAKER_03 38:02

it, shoot it. We're just gonna press it. We will be pretty good.

SPEAKER_02 38:05

We're gonna press you to the shot clock for the alert.

SPEAKER_03 38:07

Yeah, we need a shot clock. We need and we need official refs. I felt like the refs last year a little bit biased towards me.

SPEAKER_02 38:15

I mean, Saturdays, I know a lot of the officials, I mean local ones, they're officiating tournaments and uh some youth uh games, so it's kind of hard to uh to get some people to come out and help. Um but yeah, the I mean I can ref they will do the you can't. They they will do their best to wherever we get, they will do their best.

SPEAKER_03 38:34

All right, so we'll have in theory gonna have two refs, a shot clock. What are we doing? How many how many minutes per half?

SPEAKER_02 38:41

Uh we'll do usual 20-minute halves. Probably do running clock. Running clock.

SPEAKER_03 38:46

Running clock, except for the last two minutes.

SPEAKER_02 38:49

Last two minutes of the yeah, of each half.

SPEAKER_03 38:52

We'll stop. And we have a new role that we instituted. We each get w one red flag per half that we can throw out, that we can throw out onto the court, and I can force Biz to take the free throw rather than one of the guys who's in there at them at that moment. And he can do the same with me.

SPEAKER_02 39:10

Now, do we want to limit that to the entire game except the last two minutes?

SPEAKER_04 39:14

No, no, no.

SPEAKER_02 39:15

No, you want to do the whole game? Okay.

SPEAKER_04 39:17

All right. Whole game. Hey, hey, the last two minutes aren't gonna matter. This thing's gonna be over. We're gonna go. You can think about the last five minutes and it wouldn't matter.

SPEAKER_03 39:26

I've been working on my free throws. Yeah. Put me in, baby. Here's the scary thing, though. I'm gonna put you in. You're you're not gonna have any timeouts left, and you're gonna have to run the last like two minutes of the game. Because uh, what's gonna happen?

SPEAKER_04 39:39

Hey man, is there anything are there any rules in basketball? Like if you fake an injury, like the NFL, there's no, I don't get penalized, right? Yes, you didn't.

SPEAKER_02 39:48

Just go just go foul someone close as you got to you. That's true. Just foul someone.

SPEAKER_04 39:51

That's a good point. Just grab somebody. Maybe I'll take Tom's philosophy and just knock him through the wall or something. I did have to put this team like that. I had to box out and post up against Tyoka Jackson. So if I could do that, I can take care of anybody. Got it. You got it, Bez. No doubt.

SPEAKER_03 40:08

All right. All right. 1015. Bez, are you coming in on the day of the game or are you coming in before? I'm I'm a day of guy. I am too, but 1015's awful early, Hager. That's about what it was last year.

SPEAKER_04 40:20

So I felt like it was like 1115.

SPEAKER_02 40:22

No. No, we went well, because we it switches year to year because the the game time's for the men's and women's team. So I think we were at 11 o'clock last year. And then the women were at 10. So we just flip-flopped.

SPEAKER_03 40:35

Um now let me ask you a question. Do the women do they have a do they make it a spectacle? Do they have like uh celebrities that are their coaches?

SPEAKER_02 40:46

Not that I'm aware of. No. They do have a pretty good uh core of alumni that come back. Do they? Yeah, I mean, and and a lot of it, I mean, relationships between you like the the alums between the men's and women's teams, uh, that come back, hang out, see each other, still talk and everything.

SPEAKER_03 41:02

So I think that's so you guys do talk to the women's team?

SPEAKER_02 41:05

Uh yeah. I mean, there's still I mean, like uh a lot of alums in the Pittsburgh area for for both men's and women's, DC and everything, Philly. So I think there's still some connections there. Keeping in touch.

SPEAKER_03 41:16

This is gonna be a good one, biz. This is a big one. This is tied all-time, one and one.

SPEAKER_04 41:22

All-time tied, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 41:25

One of

Curly's Prediction and Beer on the Line

SPEAKER_04 41:26

us moves up on the uh all-time coaching wins list at the next, and one of us does not. Yeah. This is a big one. Coach Curly, man. You you got any uh prediction on this? Any you see any edge? Anything? Yeah, I mean, you got you're looking at the roster, right?

SPEAKER_01 41:40

I heard what you had to say. I mean, I like the speed and quickness and uh uh the playmaking ability of Tom's group, and I like uh I like the chemistry size and uh just the depth of uh business groups. I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 41:53

My guys play here. They're all they play together.

SPEAKER_03 41:56

The cohesion is ridiculous. If this game is in the 80s or 90s, it's mine. If you can hold us if you can hold us below 80, you got a chance.

SPEAKER_04 42:07

The ultimate I've got the ultimate energizer battery on my team, man. Who who? Griff. That guy does not quit. True.

SPEAKER_03 42:15

You're missing Duck, though.

SPEAKER_04 42:16

That's gonna be a big hit to your team. Hey Duck, if you're listening, man, change your plans. We need you, buddy. It's gonna be a good time. All right.

SPEAKER_03 42:25

It's gonna be a great time. 10 15 a.m. Everybody who's out there listening, come on in for the alumni game. It's a good time. I think we're gonna have some alumni parents coming in too for this. Why not? It's a good time. And then and then we'll see everybody after the big Wilkes game.

SPEAKER_04 42:39

Always always fun. Just remember, my team is if you bring back the victory, Biz brings a bottle of beer to you. Tom doesn't.

SPEAKER_03 42:47

I'm gonna match your beer. Are you though? Yeah. All right. And I'm not getting cheap beer like Biz. Mine's gonna be a little bit higher. My guys requested Miller Lights. They're trying to keep they're keeping in shape, man.

SPEAKER_04 42:59

Carb, baby.

SPEAKER_03 43:01

All right, fellas. I'm looking forward to seeing the team on Wednesday, then again on Saturday. We got a full week. Jealous, man. You're gonna double dip across the board. Double dipping.

SPEAKER_04 43:11

This is what you look for, man. This is why you play. It's just like in golf, man. You play the better competition. You raise your game. Raise your game.

SPEAKER_02 43:21

Hager, any last words? Make a statement. Uh just I mean, quick shout-out. Greg and I, I mean, the past, I think this is the second or third year. Uh rename the alumni week into the Ed Mansberger alumni weekend.

SPEAKER_04 43:33

That's right. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 43:34

I know his family daughter has reached out about like the time and everything, so they'll be in attendance. Uh means a lot uh to us. Fabulous. So um yeah, I just want to make a point uh to say that again.

SPEAKER_03 43:46

Yeah, I think that was announced three years ago. And so this will be the I think is this the third? I think this is the third. Is it the third? I think so. Maybe it is the third. I don't know. Let's go with the third. All right. Yeah, the third year. All right, fellas. Stay warm. Get ready, Biz.

SPEAKER_04 44:06

Hey, what are we wearing your what are we wearing to the game? Are we wearing blue again? Are we going white? I think we you mean you mean for the actual Wilkes game.

SPEAKER_03 44:14

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think do we go with a whiteout? Yeah, let's go with a white out. Wait, what color is Wilkes? Wilkes has basically the same colors as us. We'll be wearing white though, right? Yes. All right, let's go whiteout.

SPEAKER_04 44:27

White out. White out. And for the love of drums. Was there a drum there this past week, Carl? Any drum? Uh no drum I was aware of.

SPEAKER_03 44:35

No, I did not. We have reached out to the Juniata music department, not affiliated with the college, about donating a drum for the game. So we're still working on it. We'll see if we can pull that in. All right. Cheerleaders. Gotta get to cheerleaders. I wouldn't mind meeting the president of Juniata if he's there. That doesn't make you nervous, Curly. It's late. It's almost 10 o'clock. We have our teams. The rest of the game. We have our games. We're on. We're ready. We're ready. Team Gold, man. Let's go. All right. Send us your thoughts and follow the show on Instagram at Junietta Basketball Show. Subscribe to the Junietta Men's Basketball Show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And until next time, until you see Team Blue beating Team Gold on Saturday. I'm top right. You're crazy. I'm biz.

SPEAKER_04 45:24

My coach Greg Currow.

SPEAKER_03 45:26

And that's Greg Current. If we could pull off two wins this week, yes.

SPEAKER_04 45:36

Game over. Amen. It's there. Meaningful games. Meaningful games. That's all you can ask for.