Preparation Over Momentum

The Eagles are heating up at the right time—and the guys can barely believe what they’re saying out loud: two big wins, a road win streak, and four wins in the last five as Juniata improves to 7–10 overall and 4–6 in the Landmark.

Before the hoops breakdown, the show takes a wildly entertaining detour when a listener asks about a Netflix free-solo skyscraper climb in Taiwan. Tom admits he couldn’t sleep afterward, compares it to a doorless-helicopter shoot over Manhattan, and the crew debates risk-taking, anxiety, and whether any of this makes someone qualified to scale Founders Hall. Landmark Conference socks also make an appearance… as elite snow-shoveling gear.

Back on the court, the guys break down a 66–49 win at Lycoming led by Jaden Bilger, followed by a statement 75–72 road win at Drew—one of the program’s biggest victories in recent years. Juniata handled pressure, dominated the paint early, and never flinched when Drew made its runs. Biz hands out game balls, celebrates full stat sheets, and continues his undefeated run as executive producer.

Coach Curley lays out the mindset for the stretch run: preparation over momentum, discipline over motivation, as Juniata enters the gauntlet—Susquehanna at home (blue-out, pack the gym) and a tough road test at Scranton. Big games, real stakes, and a team starting to look like itself at exactly the right time.

Wear blue. Pack the gym. Defend the house. And if you’re shoveling snow in Landmark socks… we want pics.

Transcript

Discipline Over Motivation

SPEAKER_02 0:00

This is Americ Studios Podcast. This week on the Junior Adam Men's Basketball Show.

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Discipline over motivation. I do believe that momentum and motivation play in to discipline and preparation. The Bisdom.

SPEAKER_05 0:18

The Bisdom. That's why I'm you're a different level, man.

SPEAKER_02 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.

Four Wins in Five, and a Road Streak

SPEAKER_02 0:46

I'm Tom Frank. I'm Biz. I'm the head coach Greg Curling. And this is your Junior Adam Men's Basketball. Welcome, listeners. I'm Tom Frankt, and I'm joined each and every week by Drew Basket, aka Biz, and your Junior Adam head men's basketball coach Greg Curly. We talk all things. Junior Adam Men's Basketball. That was a week, fellas. Two outstanding wins to get our record to seven and ten overall, four and six in conference. Road wins, mind you. We've won four out of our last five. Do you think we'd be saying that right now?

SPEAKER_01 1:26

What did I tell you down at the uh New Deck Tavern? They just needed that one win.

SPEAKER_02 1:32

You said that they needed one. You know what else were you going to say, Carly? Did I mess that up?

SPEAKER_01 1:36

Oh, sorry, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:37

Oh, we we've actually got a road winning streak now, too.

SPEAKER_02 1:39

These are all a road winning streak, too.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

That's the first road uh road victory this this collection has had, right? In two years.

SPEAKER_04 1:50

Yeah, I well we have uh so uh Alex Mullen and Alex Parsons are our two student managers. We have to have Alex on. He kicked for the football team as a senior, but we do need to have him on.

SPEAKER_05 1:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:00

Yeah. Alex Parsons, who's a freshman, um, or first year, I guess you say now, but uh I was explaining to him, joking around, coming back uh when uh after the E town game, you know, that's called a win streak. We've had those around here before. You've never experienced one of those. And on the ride ride home yesterday, that's what I was telling him. That's called a road winning streak. That that we've had those here before. So um it's crazy. It's wild how that can happen and how you can accomplish that. So no, it's uh obviously really good week. Um this time of year, that's what you're looking for. And more importantly, I thought we played really well both games and really uh we're able to establish ourselves, uh, played our identity. I thought um, you know, played really uh good team basketball, showed a lot of toughness. Uh I it was one, you know, we really um played really hard, tough, and together. And uh when you do that, good things happen.

SPEAKER_02 2:52

So they certainly first we

Sheetz Stops and a Parsippany Overnight

SPEAKER_02 2:55

gotta have we gotta have this. Is my question, not the listeners' questions yet. My question. Did you do anything a little different, a little special? I mean, that's a long ride back from Drew, right? That's that's your longest road trip of the year, isn't it?

SPEAKER_05 3:08

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

Would we what'd we do? Did we stop somewhere a little special? Maybe not Chick-fil-A, but rather somewhere else. What what do we do?

SPEAKER_04 3:15

Pizza? Uh well we did so um we always have stuff delivered to the bus, so we're ready to roll right away. So we had eaten. Um, and actually we we talked about it. We were gonna try to find a spot, it just didn't work out. So it was usual, like halfway sheets stop to get the rest of the way. Uh with the game moving up, we got back by like seven. We got back by like 7:30. Uh so it was actually that's probably the best perk for those guys is uh we get back with a win relatively early. Uh you know, you don't waste an entire evening again and and uh to get back to be a part of that. But uh is that because of the threat of snow?

SPEAKER_02 3:50

Like that's why they moved it up?

SPEAKER_04 3:52

Yeah, we moved it up because we wanted to make sure when we originally did it, it it said the weather might hit here around nine o'clock, and our women's game is after ours. So it was just to take precautions in case the weather's the front, you know, everything moved or or sped up that we could get the game in and get back safely. And it was obviously nothing started until well past when we got back.

SPEAKER_03 4:12

So you travel with the growth team or something like that?

SPEAKER_04 4:15

No, we we drip we traveled separate, but they play after it's doubleheader. So um the games are still kind of linked. They we played at one and they played at three. Um, I mean, I I should say it it is our longest trip, although last week in the Moravian took the same amount of time. Yeah, supposed to be long. So uh in much in much uh more difficult weather. But um, so yeah, it was uh so we went out Friday. Uh we had to go a little later because of class and working around on some class stuff, but we practiced four to six and then got in the bus around 11 or about around seven, and I think we pulled in to the hotel. Um we we played, we stayed in Parsippany. Um we pulled in the hotel around 1115.

SPEAKER_02 4:58

Hmm. Yeah. So is that is that typically your only overnight stay for a game or not?

SPEAKER_04 5:05

Yeah, for us, uh it has been. Um uh we we've none of the other ones, anything like below four hours. Um it doesn't really make a lot of sense. Most of our games are like three, three fifteen, uh, which again in our league, um this the the schools on the outer outskirts have the longest travel. Um, we're certainly one of them. Uh our challenge, again, for most of our non-league, we we travel the same distance. So that's right, kind of in our wheelhouse. But if it gets over four hours, particularly a younger, uh uh earlier

Free Solo, Founders Hall, and Landmark Socks

SPEAKER_04 5:35

start time, uh, that's that's pretty tough.

SPEAKER_02 5:38

All right. Biz, you want to get to our listener question? This is a very interesting one. I can't wait. It came in late last night. Late last night. Pretty late. Came in from Bobby F. Fellas, you look like the kind of guys who might attempt the free solo climb of Founders Hall. Did you watch and how did you feel watching climber Alex Honnard? Is that how you say his name? Scale the 101-floor skyscraper without safety gear live on Netflix last night. Did any of you catch it?

SPEAKER_04 6:11

No. Oh, I did. We did get a text from one of our co-hosts that I was having.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

What an interesting question that came in. I was having an anxiety attack watching this thing.

SPEAKER_02 6:24

Like you guys have to go back and watch this. It's the it's the craziest thing I've ever seen. And he made it. And he made it. Well, I hate to ruin it for you, but yeah, he didn't he didn't die. Well, wait, where is this skyscraper at? In uh oh god, that's a great question. It was somewhere far, far away. Well, it was live.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

So it had to be like daylight, right?

SPEAKER_02 6:46

He's not was he doing this at night? I'm telling you, he scaled this building, right? And it had I forget how many floors, but it was like 1600 feet. I don't know how big it was, but it was insane. And the very top was just like a little like column that went up to a giant ball that sat at the top. Yeah, and he did it, and some of the building went out, so he's like climbing out, and then would have to, and then it had these little dragons on each, like every 20 floors or something that he had to get over. Like it was insane.

SPEAKER_04 7:16

Well, you watch this thing, but you don't know where it was uh or how big the building was. Well, man, I think hold on, hold on.

SPEAKER_02 7:24

It was 101 floors, you're the one who's 101 floors, and it was in Taiwan. I mean, I'm telling you, I'm telling you, you got I I turned it on late last night just haphazardly, and I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Dude, yeah, the guy's obviously nuts. He's a guy, though, there's been a lot of movies about made about him. He's like, he's like the Michael Jordan of climbing. All right, we'll get him on. In the summer, he could be one of our guests. It was unbelievable. It gave me flashbacks. Can I tell you guys a little story? Uh please.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

I love your show.

SPEAKER_02 7:57

I did this crazy thing one time where I had to go uh I had to go do a uh a film about a building in New York. And we got, did I tell you guys about this? We got we got um licensed to take a helicopter and go through Manhattan to go over the building and do this thing, right? I thought, okay, this will be fun. I didn't realize that the helicopter didn't have doors, and we were we were gonna be standing on like the little the the railing that you know this thing that it lands on, and we were harnessed in. Dude. And so I'm standing on the side of this thing, harnessed in with a camera in my hand, trying to take pictures, and then our film guys on the other side taking pictures. It was absolute insanity.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

Uh so wait, no, just I'm I'm certainly not gonna probably go back and watch this, but so how did they like film this guy?

SPEAKER_02 8:48

So they filmed him by having guys on ropes that I guess were attached to the top of the building all the way down. So these guys were on ropes on cameras, and they were kind of following him up, and then I guess they had a helicopter or a drone or something also following, and then there were people in the windows as he would go up, and they're like banging on the window, and he'd give them high five. I mean, and his wife was there too, watching the whole thing.

SPEAKER_04 9:10

Yeah, nah. Biz biz, he makes it, don't worry about it. You don't have to watch it. He actually gets to the top. You still gotta watch it, though. You still gotta watch it. I mean Tom, you know why you like it? Because you're a risk taker like that. That's why you're enthralled by it. That's your you're like, like, that's like your kindred spirit right there.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

I'm telling you, anybody who's listening to this right now, if you watched it, add a comment. Because it, I'm telling you, it's the craziest thing you've ever seen.

SPEAKER_03 9:33

Huh.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

So that that was my night. Oh, um, I think we could maybe give a run to Founders Hall. Do you think we could do you think we could do that? How big's Founders Hall, Curly? I mean, it's big enough if you fall off, you're in trouble.

SPEAKER_04 9:44

So I there you go, it works.

SPEAKER_02 9:46

All right, there it is. All right, maybe alumni weekend. Hey, I'll say this about the landmark view.

SPEAKER_01 9:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

So we had a lot of snow. Everybody had got snowed. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Snow Mageddon right now.

SPEAKER_02 9:58

You know what I did this morning?

SPEAKER_01 10:00

What's that?

SPEAKER_02 10:00

I was looking for a good pair of socks to put on my boots and go out. Oh, you're a landmark socks. They were the perfect snow socks.

SPEAKER_01 10:07

Dude, those things are conference socks. They're the best.

SPEAKER_02 10:11

They were fantastic. I still have them on even. I'm gonna put it on the book.

SPEAKER_04 10:14

You know, there's not many guys that were shoveling their driveway in landmark conference socks. I guarantee. You could be one of the only ones. You're probably the only guy that watched watched that guy scale the the uh skyscraper and wear landmark socks to shovel.

SPEAKER_02 10:27

Biz, you could have been with me. I can't believe I texted you last night. I thought you were watching it. You made a comment. I thought you were watching it with me.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

No, I just made a comment. I was drinking my I was drinking my uh banana old fashioned and watching, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 10:41

I needed a banana old fashioned because I seriously I couldn't sleep that last night because I was thinking about that thing the whole time.

SPEAKER_04 10:47

I was I was watching the Lakers Mavericks. Kate and I were watching the Lakers Mavericks.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

That would have been a good thing to do as well. The Lakers came back on that one, didn't they?

SPEAKER_04 10:53

Yeah, the Mavericks blew it, man. They were they were up.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

Yeah, they did blew it. Good thing, uh, good thing Biz cashed his bed out before the uh comeback came in. So Brian did Bronny get in?

SPEAKER_04 11:03

Did Bronny score some points? I don't think he he might have been at been at a G League. I didn't see him even on the Roster. Well he's like he goes up and down, so he's a two-way guy. So I I think more he's home, he's plays more at home games than road games, probably.

SPEAKER_02 11:20

All right. All right. All right, enough about that. Let's

Lycoming 66-49: Bilger Leads the Way

SPEAKER_02 11:23

get into the recap. Fascinating basketball talk. All right, Wednesday. All right, Wednesday, behind 14 points from Jaden Bilger, our Eagles go to Lycoming and come back with a 66-49 victory. Bilger was seven and twelve from the field. Joe Bruce added 11, knocking down three triples and a crucial defensive rebound in the closing seconds. Malcolm added 11 points, and Ty had a tough start, but man, he played a pivotal role with nine points and the most important stat, seven of ten from the line, including two in the final 21 seconds to seal it.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

Boom. Tom, that was a must-win game by uh that was a must-win game, and we did it.

SPEAKER_02 12:03

Well done. We did it. And what I loved about it was it it was everybody else kind of picking up picking up the slack, even when Ty had a had a rough game.

SPEAKER_04 12:12

Yeah, and I mean like Ty didn't score, but but he didn't score. I shouldn't say he had a rough game. He didn't have a more of a scoring game.

SPEAKER_03 12:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:19

I mean, he had some I mean, when you're guarding Pardo and and Dylan Time and some guys on the wing that can really score and he rebounded the ball well. Um and he got the line. I mean, yeah. Um we do that well. You know, we attack, get to the line, foul foul trouble changes games. Um that actually impacted the last two games, our ability to do that, his ability specifically. Um, but we have other guys kind of joining him in that. So um, yeah, I mean it was a team effort. And uh again, uh we had a bunch of guys contribute. I think everybody played in that game, scored. Um and everybody scored in that game? I think the guy, I think uh if I'm if I remember correctly, uh the I think we played eight to ten guys, and all the guys. All of them scored, yeah. Yeah. So not everybody on the team, but but but uh balanced scoring is the best way to say it. And uh really moved the ball, really uh did a nice job uh playing inside out, established himself inside. I thought our interior, kind of the trio of Jaden Builder, Jaden Aze, and uh Malcolm Griffith really established himself and really played well. Uh and then I thought we did a good job on the glass on both ends. And

Defense Was the Whole Story

SPEAKER_04 13:24

uh the biggest theme, the theme of the week is our ability to defend. Um, those are two uh really high-scoring offenses that we played, and I think our growth uh continues to be on the defensive end, and we're we're getting more connected. Uh, you know, playing hard hasn't been a problem, but our focus and execution, I thought we've done a really good job of challenging all shots, challenging at the rim. Uh our connectedness is uh really good. Our our communication, our ability to kind of switch on the fly and ro our rotations is we're we're good. So if we can continue that and continue to improve defensively, um, you know what? I think I text somebody after that game, you know, it was a junior had a win. Um we're starting to look like ourselves, you know, take care of the ball, defend rebound, move the ball and play together on offense, and uh, you know, try to be tough and play together. And I think we've done that really well this week and uh we're rewarded for it. So super happy and proud of the guys. Um obviously this time last week was really disappointed in our performance and how we just approach the game at Moravian. And the the key thing for me, the outcomes of course uh are where we want them to be right now, but it's more uh the approach and how we've played and how we've attacked practices and how we attack the games um that match up with uh you know consistency and continued success. Uh I you know, we talked about that the Moravian game with the team coming in, you know, we got to get over ourselves and our failures and our successes in a game, the little small successes. Our guys, it's youth uh overreacted to those things, and you've got to get tethered to the team outcomes, and and that kind of creates a consistency uh and um you know uh uh uh keeps you uh grounded and moving in the right direction. And I I think guys um have done that, and that's what they're really most focused on, and and you could see it. You could see us play as a team, you could see our determination. Um, you guys commented on it in the landmark, like we we just in the at the Pilester game, you know, how hard we were playing and how committed, and you could see kind of the determination, guys. And that edge you guys talked about the edge. I mean, there was an undeniable edge, um, particularly yesterday uh with our guys. And uh, you know, we got some we've got some tough kids, and uh, you know, I'm proud of that. Um, that wasn't always directed in the right place the last uh year and a half or so. Um I think it again, immaturity and not understanding where that goes or thinking sometimes in high school you can kind of just impose your will and just blindly play hard and it works. And like matching that to what your real talents are as as it compares to who we're playing against and who you're playing with, and then matching that to um execution, and you know, it's not just enough to play hard. Um now you got to play hard with focus, um, connectedness and and direction, and they've done a really good job of that.

SPEAKER_02 16:12

Yes, they have. They're taking the ball to the hoop and the and the inside, you're right. We got kind of three guys who are starting to uh come come into themselves and dominating the in the paint, which is which is really cool to see.

SPEAKER_04 16:25

Yeah, I mean, uh again, we gotta go one game at a time, but I think that's being um a lot of minutes those guys have played. I think it's being sophomores halfway through their their the the season. Uh I think it's being big guys, you know, they their development uh is certainly different from high school. Um, and those guys tend to take a little longer. Guards usually can hit the ground running, and it's a less the transitions uh much less um, you know, if you think about big guys, number one, it's just probably where their development phase is. But number two is you're playing against a lot more big guys, a lot more athletic guys. Um, you know, in high school, you may play against one or two other guys like that, but you're not going up every night, every guy. And a lot of those guys can't stretch the floor. Um, you know, you play Drew, uh, you play like homing, um, you know, they're essentially playing five perimeter guys, um, but there might be a six-six guy that you're playing against that's his big, strong, and athletic that can post too, but but has perimeter skills. So those are all um uh adjustments. Uh and then uh just uh the chemistry and cohesion and and big guys are relying on others, you know, like the ball has to get to them and guys have to share the ball and you have to understand angles and passing, and we're we're still very much a work in project, uh progress on all those things. There's a ton of growth potential and a lot of areas we have to get better. Uh but for this week, um, you know, they really established themselves. Both teams we played um uh you know were switched a lot, and uh to this point we haven't been able to kind of attack or punish the switch inside. And uh those guys uh certainly demonstrated they could do that. Um uh but you know, when we play, we'll get to it. But Susquehanna, uh Scranton this week, and uh some others that have probably a little bit better matchups inside, uh it gets to be a bigger challenge. But that's that's the whole point. That's the cool thing about playing in the league. You're challenged in different ways every game, and you have to have a complete team. And uh I think we're taking steps in those directions um, you know, to get contributions from everywhere. Um I thought our backcourt play has been good, so we've been taking care of the ball. Uh, but that's you know, usually if you have a win, you've defended, rebounded, taking care of the ball uh, and getting the ball the right places.

SPEAKER_02 18:33

Outstanding win. Then we

Drew 75-72: 28-4 in the Paint

SPEAKER_02 18:36

made our way on the long trip to Drew University, picked up a big, big, massive win on the road as they defeated Drew University 75-72 Saturday afternoon inside Baldwin Gym. Ty Let all scores with 22 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Jaden added 13, seven rebounds, and three steals. Man, we dominated in the paint in the first half, outscoring Drew 28-4 inside. The Rangers kept it close but and kept coming back. But you guys, the boys just had a lot of answers. They just kept it rolling.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

Keep fighting it off, man. Fighting it off.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

That's probably one of your your, I would venture to say your biggest win in the last two years.

SPEAKER_04 19:13

Well, honestly, that's one of our better wins in my time here. I told the guys that uh just if you put the circumstances uh going on the road, um, how we did it. Um, because we did it with with the level of toughness. And um, you know, one of my college teammates was actually there for part of the game, and um, then he had to get going to work. But he he texts me, he's like, just love watching your your team, and like there's no bad.

SPEAKER_02 19:36

If he leaves a game when you're winning, I I don't care if you got work, man. You gotta stick out, you gotta see if they're gonna pull this off.

SPEAKER_04 19:42

Well, you love this. You know what he you know what he did? He opened a plate against sports. It's his it's his business. So uh Yeah, so Saturdays and weekends are a big deal. He had someone, um, and he's the owner, so he has staff, but uh he he likes I gotta be there on weekends, so I don't know how long I could stay. It depends, you know. So he's a business owner like you, man. He had to go. Um, but I it was just really cool to see him. Uh, and Jerry is a heck of a player. So um it was actually funny. I was thinking he still probably would have been one of the top guys on the court for that one, but uh uh he was that good. But um it was cool. He he texted me that he just loved watching our guys play, um, and there was no back down in them and their defensive intensity. That's the way you should play the game. That's pretty cool when you hear that, and a guy that that knew it and um was was a really good player. Um, but I would agree with him. Uh and I thought we set the tone. You know, they press the entire game, they bring waves at you, their uh elite scoring team, they were averaging almost 90 points a game. Um, you know, I mean, exceptionally good um offensive team. I just thought we just defended like crazy. Um we defended in rebound. I mean, we went after uh we we we played as complete a game as we have. Um we take care of the we took care of the ball for the most part. Um, you know, I mean we're we did not make a three-point shot in the first half. We were 0 for 5 from three and we were up uh five at halftime. And uh that's uh that's two things. Number one, I think that's understanding who we are um and playing to our strengths, and a little bit how they play, they take away the three-point arc, their switch out, they make you attack them off the dribble. Um, you know, but uh, I mean, Ty really set the tone and how he attacked and got us where we want to go. I thought what I just talked about before, we were able to establish ourselves with a little bit of the post-game in there too, um, which kind of hurt. I thought at times their switch. And then you got you had Trey Yon in there who can get down, get to the basket and create opportunities for those guys. And some timely three-point shots in the second half from Joe Bruce, you know, hit two big threes to just give you enough uh breathing room. Um, yeah, I mean, it was a complete team effort, um, you know, really led with Ty's efforts. Um, he really played exceptionally well. And then just like our entire group, how we handled their pressure, uh, you know, I I told them. Actually, at halftime, that was one of the toughest first halves I've I've seen. Like I I was like as I don't I don't know what the second half looks like or what happens, but uh that I mean you guys are tough. And I don't you guys have heard me for a year and a half. I don't think that one's come out of my mouth.

SPEAKER_02 22:13

You don't say that very often, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:15

Um but that was that was legitimately we were tough. And uh and I I thought you know, we we leaned in that second half, they made a bunch of runs out of it. We never relinquished the lead. I mean, they got it to one multiple times, and we were able to and what happened is we got stops. Like when we struggled a little bit or whatever, we got stops. Um and uh kind of then we're able to come back and push the lead. And it's kind of the flip when they're playing behind, when teams are playing from behind all the time, uh, it's just easier to win in the end, right? Even though it's close. I mean, their run gets them close, it doesn't get them over the top. That's kind of we've been staring at it from that side here for how long. Yeah, we're always the one trying to push back.

SPEAKER_05 22:57

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 22:57

And so when we're able to establish ourselves uh to start both halves and um and play that way, but it was also an awesome atmosphere. Um, they had a good crowd. Um, it's a small gym, so there's a lot of energy. Um, you know, just the style they play. It was a little chippy. It was going back and forth for sure. I liked it, Thomas. You know, they established themselves. I talked to you guys about how good they are defensively, how good they are on the ball. Um and we talked about it going in the game. Like, I mean, this is gonna be, you know, who's better at being who, you know, like themselves. And uh I, you know, that's the first time we've been able to establish ourselves against a really, really good team uh like that. Um so yeah, I mean that's those are the ones you that's why you do it. You know, I think that's that's uh fuel for the soul for our guys to keep going.

SPEAKER_03 23:43

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:44

Um uh

Preparation Over Momentum

SPEAKER_04 23:45

so yeah, uh what it is is a good week. Uh as once we get to Monday, this week is over, though. And and you know, I I the the momentum talk starts coming. Uh I heard it from the back of the bus, and I I, you know, I I bristle at that one. And I you know, I hey, we don't believe in momentum. I mean, we got to believe in preparation. Um, we got to get back and have great practices, hard work and an edge. And we've got to be able to go execute the next game. The unique styles in our league, every game is a different challenge. So how we have to win certain games changes. Now our approach can't change, and it's got to be led by the defensive end and our team and our toughness and our connectedness. But um, you know, one doesn't beget the other. It it's not this isn't like we roll in. I mean, we're not we're playing different teams, it's not a seven-game series against the same group. And if you follow those, a lot of times those swing dramatically. Um so we got to get um it again, we it's more proof of concept. It should be building confidence from doing um and being in those big games and being in those situations and making those plays. There's a real value to that for whatever that adds. Um, having a confidence to know if we play our best and play together, we have a chance and we can beat anybody. That goes a long way. We haven't had that. And I think that's a you guys know how powerful that is. Yeah if that's if that's momentum, I don't know. But I I that it doesn't, it doesn't it doesn't control the outcomes. I mean, bottom line is we had a play at Ravian last Saturday, we play at Drew this Saturday, and we're gonna be at Scranton next next Saturday, and we have Susquehanna coming in who is a whole different ball game, you know, with the with their interior game. So our advantages we just have shift a little bit. Um and so we'll we've got to re we got to go do it again. Uh, but I'm confident our guys will. Uh I mean the blessing is we had eight eight more games. Uh you can see them playing how well they're playing together, how much they enjoy playing together and for each other, and that goes a long way. Like if you keep doing that and you just enjoy the opportunity to be in big games, I think they're excited for the opportunity this week. I mean, that's the cool part of the schedule right now, right? Like you just say, man, these are like big time games. Like we play our rival on Wednesday night, who we lost at the buzzard to the first time. Um then we go to play a nationally ranked team on a Saturday afternoon home game or you know, road game. Um that's it's a pretty cool week.

SPEAKER_02 26:01

Uh preparation over momentum. That's what I heard, Biz.

SPEAKER_01 26:06

Yeah, I mean like preparation title of the uh podcast uh this week. I believe uh momentum feeds into preparation.

SPEAKER_04 26:15

Well, I mean preparation over over momentum and discipline over motivation. You know, those are the two things we need. So um, Biz, write that down. You can take that with yourself to work every day, buddy.

SPEAKER_01 26:26

I've written good. I've put it down. I've send it to beds. Yeah, thanks, buddy.

SPEAKER_02 26:30

And we'll be right back.

SPEAKER_05 26:31

Welcome to Merrick Studios, where stories take the mic and culture comes alive.

SPEAKER_02 26:36

We're not just a network, we're a family, bringing you smart, soulful, unfortunately conversations.

SPEAKER_05 26:41

And this season, we're bringing the heat in our biggest lineup yet. Whatever you're into, music, sports, business, we got you covered.

SPEAKER_02 26:49

Merrick Studios, where the conversation starts and keeps going. Check out our full lineup, including Unglossy with Bun B, Jeffrey Sledge, and myself, Tom Crank. Now streaming at wearmeritstudios.com.

SPEAKER_00 27:02

Master the art of lyricism with Pendulum Mink, the first school for rap. Learn elite techniques through immersive lessons, real world exercises, and guidance from hip hop icons. This is where MC sharpen their skills and glow boldly on the mic. Ready to level up? Visit pendulummink.com and start your journey today.

SPEAKER_02 27:21

And now, back to the show. I gotta remember

Game Balls: Bilger and Kozak

SPEAKER_02 27:24

to let you give your game balls out. So I'm turning the mic over to you. Wow, dude, we're doing that now. Dang, for sure. All right, then why not? Let's let's do it before we dive into what's gonna be a crazy week.

SPEAKER_01 27:32

Did we get this uh sponsored yet?

SPEAKER_02 27:35

I'm working on that, Biz. I'm working on that.

SPEAKER_01 27:37

Oh, let me get the game ball. I love a good prop, boys. All right, there it is. The game ball.

SPEAKER_02 27:44

You still haven't used that outside, have you?

SPEAKER_01 27:46

No, I have not. Okay, I'll just check it. I'm just gonna check each and every week. It's Snow Mageddon, man. I can't do that. Alright. So the Lycombing game. Curly was correct, being the coach, he was right that every player who entered the game did score a bucket. So how about that? However, the player of the game could be his first player of the game. Jaden Bilger. Bilger. Bilger? Bilger, Bez. Bilger. You're rubbing off of me, Tom. Alright, Jaden, you did uh you had a couple of steals, a couple assists, four boards, and 14 points to lead the way. Good game. Yes, very good game. Filling this you know how I like filling the stats sheet, right? That's my that's kind of my theme. All right, and then yesterday, let me get to the stats, but it's gonna be our guy, Ty Kozak. Has today. I just want to get to the box score here. Ty Kozak, what did you do yesterday? 10 of 14 from the foul line, Tom. That's what we like to hear.

SPEAKER_02 28:50

I'd like to get to more like 12 to 12 out of 14, but I'll take that.

SPEAKER_01 28:55

Four boards, four assists, two steals. Uh, we need a block. Ty, you gotta get a block one of these days here and there. And then 22 points to lead the Eagles on the road against well, me. Hey, did anybody uh happen to toss you a sweller or steal a chair? Anything?

SPEAKER_05 29:15

We didn't, we didn't uh I thought about it. I think it's cost one.

SPEAKER_02 29:19

I think that on your way out, right? I don't think it's asking a lot to just snag a chair.

SPEAKER_01 29:26

Yeah, hey, you know, like you snag it real quick, you make sure. I was gonna say your senior equipment manager, man. I mean, he's going out.

SPEAKER_02 29:33

You gotta just get close to one another as you're walking out, you're giving high fives, you snag the chair, and you run for the bus.

SPEAKER_01 29:39

Junior College game balls. I think Ty's leading the game ball list, though. I think he pretty much dominating on that. That's okay. So he could get the player, but he's earning it, man, all across the game. And like you said, driving. He was the only starter, Tom, that had free throw attempts. Really? Yep. That's interesting. The only starter now. We did have a few free throws from let's go back here.

SPEAKER_04 30:03

I mean, Jay Nase, I think, was seven for nine.

SPEAKER_01 30:05

Jaden was seven for nine. Noah was two for two. Only three guys shot free throws in that game from the Ethan. That's kind of weird, isn't it? Isn't it? I think it is. Is that right?

SPEAKER_03 30:15

Is that accurate? That is accurate.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

That's that's probably correct. By the way, Jay Nase, we got to give him a little shout out. Yeah, man, he played he played well too, yeah. Three steals, seven boards, and he was seven for nine from the line. So honorable mention coming on. Yeah. One day, Jordan, this could be yours. Oh. I like the I like the honorable mention ad.

SPEAKER_04 30:36

I like the honorable mention I'd say. I do too.

SPEAKER_01 30:38

I mean, yeah, like you can't ignore that, man. That's a like we preach toughness. And that's tough, man. Let's go. You know, you know what else happened? Let's go to a couple other numbers. Two and oh since I've worn the uh official Coach Warren uh Junior at a pullover, and we're four and one since we made the decision to hire an executive producer. All valid points. Michael Coot.

Susquehanna Preview: Pack the Gym, Bring a Drum

SPEAKER_02 31:02

Thank you. All valid points. All right, Bez. For our for our segment that is sponsored, presented by Snapdragon Apples, Tom Scouting Reports, Monster Crunch Legendary Flavor, find Snapdragon at your local grocery store, the official apple of the Junior Adam's basketball show. And fellas, did you know if you scan your receipt upon buying Snapdragon Apples, you can enter a win enter to win a trip to the Football Hall of Fame this coming fall, Snapdragonapples.com slash sweepstakes. Bez, I expect you to be entering because maybe you'll win. I will.

SPEAKER_04 31:33

I think it's the official apple of Drew Beskitt biz, too. I think it is. Didn't you buy that? You sent us the picture the snapbiz?

SPEAKER_01 31:40

I had Snapdragon apples. I can't 100% say that I bought them, perhaps. They may have been at at somebody's house, and I saw them and took a picture. A little misleading. Not necessarily I didn't say I bought them. I just sent you a picture, you assume. It's true. You know what happens when you assume, Tom.

SPEAKER_02 32:01

I know, I know. Two more big ones this week. In particular, we got teams above us in the landmark conference. First up, Susquehanna, uh. The Riverhawks, who are just one game ahead of us at conference at a conference record of five and five. That game starts at seven o'clock Wednesday. This is a home game. It is a home game. We better fail. Must attend. The gym. A must attend. Yeah. For all Juniata students. We need the cheerleaders. We need the prep the pet brand. Dark blue brand. Dark blue. We need the university. Uh we need the president of the university there. Like we need every single person there. This is a this is to me the biggest home game of the year to date. Everybody. Let's go. Everybody in town needs to be there. For the love of God, bring a drum. Yeah. And if we have a drum, I want to see at some point the president of the university banging on that drum. Maybe get them, you know, get the wave going. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 32:56

Don't they do that? You know what? They should start that. Isn't there? There's like what, maybe is it the uh Chiefs or somebody that smashed the drum before the game, like they got a Wasn't that Carolina? Drum. That could be. Whatever.

SPEAKER_02 33:09

I think it was Carolina in the playoffs.

SPEAKER_01 33:10

Yeah, the celebrity drum smasher.

SPEAKER_02 33:12

It was uh it was uh uh Cam Newton, I think.

SPEAKER_01 33:15

Yeah, I think uh smash the drum. There's a lot. There's we can there's a lot that can be done here. Let's go.

SPEAKER_04 33:22

I can't stand the drums. I uh you guys, this is like our theme. We need a drum all the time, and I can't stand the drums.

SPEAKER_02 33:27

It's it's you you you talk about momentum isn't real. This is momentum, and and and it's coming. It's coming. And we need to have better preparation, potentially, we got to figure out how to prep ourselves.

SPEAKER_01 33:38

Let me ask you this, man. You're a history guy. Like back in the uh Civil Wars, like the guys who led into the battle had the drums, man. You beat the drum. It's yeah. Those poor guys didn't stand a chance, but they went in with the bigger.

SPEAKER_02 33:51

I would hate to be that guy. Like you had no chance.

SPEAKER_04 33:54

Yeah, it wasn't the the bugler or the uh drum guy, you're in trouble. Or if you're the flag.

SPEAKER_02 34:01

It was a positioning and then you cleared out position when the war started was or the battle. I guess it seems like that that because we had these rituals, you shouldn't have been allowed to shoot the drum guy. I don't think you could, though.

SPEAKER_01 34:13

You side had a drummer. Nah, man, we're talking unwritten rules here. You sign out a drummer and they started it, and then that was like the drummer and the flag holder should not have gotten shooting. That was like the signal of the battle. It was like, you know, professional courtesy. They scooted around and boom, there it went.

SPEAKER_04 34:29

Well, the flags were the same thing. You know, the flags signaled signaled so because you couldn't communicate, you could use the flags to signal different maneuvers and those kinds of things across battlefields. Did you guys realize that, Biz? Did you know that, biz?

SPEAKER_02 34:41

Maybe we'll use the flag system or something. I think we should maybe try the flag system, but we also need a drum and the president of the university there, along with the cheerleaders, along with the pet band, along with every student on campus. Come on, Wednesday night, what are you doing? What are you doing? Like it's a Wednesday night. Like we're we're not at the end of the semester. Like blow it off, get out there, maybe even though it's a good one.

SPEAKER_04 35:03

It's actually, and because um we played the first game as a doubleheader, uh, it'll be a doubleheader at the women's team. So uh yeah, it's it's uh it should be a cool night. Um it's a big game. It's a big game for them. Uh it's a big game for us. It's a big game no matter what, whenever we play for us. Um, so uh it it listen, they're very good. Uh they're they're up and down a little bit, a little bit out of styles of play. Um, but they've also, you know, uh had some very, very big wins, super talented. We've been through it. You saw us play already, their depth inside, playing a couple different guys uh on the perimeter, uh, have a lot of depth, have a lot of different folks, and have a heck of a coach. Uh so uh it'll be uh another big challenge. The style and the approach will be different. We're you know, they're gonna pressure you in different places. And so now you see we'll have to see, you know, the the kind of entire depth or scope of our team. Can you win different ways? Can you win a different against different styles? And that's the next step. I mean, the good teams can. I mean, that's why you know Drew wins so many games or Catholic wins so many games. They can play multiple ways in different styles, and that's kind of the key to being uh, you know, really good teams can play however you want to play this one. I we can be successful in winning that and most of the time establish how we want to play. Uh, but more importantly, they have the the the uh roster balance and depth and ability to um, you know, either sometimes those teams win through an offensive game, they can beat this kind of stuff, or sometimes their ability to match up and defend anything um helps. So I think it's gonna be another big test for us to see where we are. We have to make sure we slow down and know where we are and just keep going and keep trying to get better. Um and and that's why it goes back to it's it's not it's not momentum, it's preparation, and it it, you know, it's it isn't motivation, it's the discipline to go do things right and stay at it. And dealing with success is is also is challenging as dealing with failure at times. So we have to get back to work, we have to get back in the gym and get focused, and then we got to bring the same kind of edge. Um, and and it can't just be a feel-good, here we got a game today. You know, we we were determined. Uh, and and you know, when you're chasing something, it's different, man. You gotta be, you know, once the the gun goes off, you gotta chase that rabbit, man. You gotta get after it.

SPEAKER_02 37:20

So and and an interesting fact, they they they've lost four of their last five. So they're they're kind of hungry for a win. They they lost a big one to Elizabeth Town on Saturday. Brandon Levite, Levite, is that how you say his name? He dropped his career high 30 in that in that game.

SPEAKER_04 37:35

So I mean, but they have seniors. I mean, they listen, they have seniors, uh, they've been through it, they've been in every conference, whatever championship. Um, you know, and Coach Marcinek, what actually concerns me is their struggles recently because he's such a good coach, and he is a he will change. So um, you guys know us, we're we're the turtle, not the hair, you know. But he is what I've always been uh uh respected about him is his ability to kind of adapt and change. So they may have played all man to man, they haven't played a possession of zone all year, but they could be all zone on Wednesday and do it well. And uh so honestly, as a coach, the anxiety and concern is it's just a matter of time until he figures out the right formula for his group. And that's just how it goes with him. And um, so uh half of me would be like, I wish they were it was the other way around for them because then we would have some certainty on what we're gonna get. I think the the not knowing what they're gonna have, the the coach's anxiety and how good he is, and they have players. It's a matter of ordering it for them and just getting the right chemistry and the right uh rotation and and then doing the right things. And he's he's got this unique ability to adjust. And our style is more we are what we are, we keep doing what we're doing, we stay at it, you know what you're gonna get. Um, we don't present the same concerns. You know, everyone knows what they're gonna get with us. That's also the challenge, right? You know what, you know what you're gonna get, but like can you mimic it or do it? With these guys, um uh yeah, he's just that good a coach. And uh there's a reason he's been there uh, you know, I think it's 37, 38 years now, won so many games and done what they've done. And then, you know, you go back to Billy Anderson and their their interior guys and uh the the players uh they have, um they're good. Uh they've just lost some games. Uh it doesn't change them being good. And so uh yeah, it's just a very, very big game, a challenging game. We can't get ahead of ourselves. We have to know where we're coming from here and where they're coming from. And you know, that still holds true until until we establish ourselves over a lot longer period of time and become consistently where we want to be. Uh, there's so many things we have to see again in different ways. And part of it sometimes is going through the stretch we've had and learning how to win and understanding that it does not mean that you're gonna get the next one. If that's the way it was, Drew would have beat us on Saturday. And that's just the way this stuff goes. So uh, but it it'll be it, it but hey, it's a fun one, man. It it's one that you know matters, and we're playing in games that matter right now, and we're playing against good teams that matter. Yeah, and we're showing that we have a chance to compete too, and if we play our best, we know we'll have an opportunity. Um, that's where we wanted to get and where we are. Um now it's what we do with it these next eight, and it's really gotta be about just celebrating that opportunity to play together, and it's gonna run out quick, man. Four weeks will go fast, and so you only have so many chances, and uh, you gotta, you know, just getting into games like we had Saturday, like it's man, nothing changes. It's it's just such an awesome experience. And so, like, man, that's the goal, get back in those things. That's why you do it. That's the payoff. And and the rest of the stuff goes away. That stuff is real, stays, and and uh, you know, to see what it does with the team. So we we just gotta get back to work uh with the right attitude. What what uh success does is allows you to get back to work a little easier, right? You don't have to waste a lot of energy and time to uh get guys to understand what you got to do and where you where you have to go to it. But we gotta go play the game again. Um, you know, it's still gonna it's still a basketball game. You've got to make shots, you can't turn it over, you gotta defend. If they come out and make a ton of shots with with their interior game, the balance they have is really hard. And that you've seen that against anybody. They've beaten some of the top teams in the country this year. So they've beat multiple national ranked teams. So and and a lot of it is dependent upon because of their lineup uh setup, you know. And so I have to get into them a little bit more, but certainly having seen them play and played against them and just where we are in the league now, you see a little bit and follow some stuff. Um I I our guys know we know we all know the challenge in front of us. But what an awesome week, man. You get to play Susquehanna and Scranton and they matter. I mean, that it's well, it's junior at a basketball, it's why you come to play here.

SPEAKER_02 41:39

So it's interesting to hear your your difference between

Adapt or Perfect: Two Coaching Philosophies

SPEAKER_02 41:43

coaching philosophy, meaning like one team has like the ability to change systems on the fly, where another team has the ability to perfect a system. You know, and like in which one, which which route do you take as a coach? It's kind of that's kind of an interesting, I never thought about it like that.

unknown 41:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 41:59

Well, and and I mean there's and everybody thinks you can move between those and and and and and it's not easily done. Um Yeah, I wouldn't think so. No. I think a lot of it's personality, and and there's some guys, you know, look in like I always say I have coach envy, it's like anything else, like like I kind of wish I could be like that, but that's not me, you know. And uh and he isn't like he believe me, he's not just like on the fly changing things. Like he he's he I mean, he's very intentional about what he's doing, but I've just always admired like particularly like those guys like from first semester to second semester have often like reinvented themselves. They have completely different lineups. Um, they'll change like to be more of like his own team versus a man team. Um, and it it it it kind of gradually happens. I mean, he doesn't, he's not now the guys that change it every three, four, you know, you don't honestly there's nothing stable there, but he's able to do it and maintain like an identity. And um part of that is their depth of talent, they do such a good job, get a good staff, they have just a really good roster every year, and he's got a lot of options. Um, and he has a way of like working through his guys to find guys um that I've I've always appreciated. Um, and then just like his strategy, he'll be a game planner, so like he'll see us and he'll do something to us that um maybe somebody others don't don't really have a game plan approach, they have a we do what we do approach, and this is how we do it. And um, and so it's always been he's made us, I think our system better and us better as a coach, and um because of that. And so I mean, that's why uh all that stuff goes out the door. I know who we're playing against, and they don't care if we've won four out of five. It's Susquehanna, they don't care. I mean, you know, they play Hopkins when they're 14th of the country, beat them. Like, in you know, like in their mind, it's like, okay. Right. Like, you know, we we're we're we're going toe to toe with Catholic and these guys all the time. And that's probably where we've been. When you're when two goods teams play, they could care less. Like they're just more worried about getting back on track. To beat the teams that are ahead of us. You know, they they're not worried about us. They're worried about, man, this we're not where we're supposed to be. We should be in the top two or three. And so um, I I think we just have to be, and that's maturity and understanding, and that's a credit to them and their program, their talent. So we have to go in with that kind of respect for what's going on with them. And that's not, you guys have seen it too. That doesn't mean we've had our share of success. Um, and and that's why it's such a good rivalry against them and doing the way we do it. Uh and uh Frank knows what we're doing too. You know, I mean, there's the other thing. Like, I mean, like, he probably just pulls out the same practice plan that he's used how many times and says, here's what we do and here's how we do it, and this is how we compet combat them. And sometimes that's an advantage and and and sometimes it's not. So um, yeah, I mean, from a coaching perspective, this is unique one. Um, it's probably one that gets you still doing it, you know, it kind of gets you excited, but it's never coach versus coach, it has nothing to do with it, it's gonna be our players.

SPEAKER_02 44:54

So and then we get another crack

Scranton's Rolling, and Wilkes Shocked Everybody

SPEAKER_02 44:58

at Scranton. We lost to the Royals, which by the way is the worst nickname in the landmark conference, 79-61 in early December. That seems like forever ago. Right. Scranton has uh they're on a roll. They they sit just behind Catholic atop the landmark conference, an eight and two in the conference, 15-2 overall. They smoked Wilkes last Wednesday night, but needed overtime to take down the Gouchers in Baltimore on Saturday. Oh they they got beat by Wilkes, right?

SPEAKER_04 45:24

Wilkes beat them. Good. No, no, no, no. I think they beat Wilkes, right? No. They beat I have that wrong. They beat Catholic. So they beat Catholic at home last weekend.

SPEAKER_02 45:36

I might have gotten too much snow, Biz.

SPEAKER_04 45:40

So double check me.

SPEAKER_02 45:41

And again, I don't know we're gonna double check that, right?

SPEAKER_04 45:43

I do not actually I don't go on and check opponent's scores very often, so I I could be wrong, but I think they beat Catholic.

SPEAKER_02 45:51

You are right. They got whoa. They I miss I I think I looked at this and and thought for sure it was the other way around. They lost to Wilkes 75 to 45. Holy snuggets.

SPEAKER_04 46:04

You talk about psychology, so they they had just beaten Catholic at home.

SPEAKER_02 46:07

They just beaten Catholic the week the week before that.

SPEAKER_04 46:09

And they got national, so they're nationally ranked right now. I think they were like 16th or 17th. So Catholic fell out because Scranton beat him. And they, I believe, were 15 and 1 and were ranked. And I've told you guys how good Wilkes is. Like Wilkes is that good. And everyone kind of looked at me when we played him. I I was like, that is that's a good team. And uh that's how good our league is. And then Wilkes turns around. If you're not ready to play and they beat him 75. I looked at that score and just assumed Scranton was the winner of that game. I'm listening if you're not ready to play the top teams in this league, I mean Wilkes is tough as all get out and and super talented, and then those kids know how to win. And that's a rivalry game, the Scranton Wilkes right there, those guys. Oh, yeah, they're close, right? They're close to very much.

SPEAKER_02 46:54

Well, they do have to go to Drew University that on that Wednesday before coming to uh they're at Drew, and then and then they come home and you go to you go to them on Saturday. So that could be interesting.

SPEAKER_04 47:08

Well, I I mean, um listen, they're they're I mean, you guys when we playing the first time, uh, you know, they they were too much for us to handle at that point. And uh so it's gonna be a huge challenge. Uh the Saturday weekend games at Scranton in the spring, it's a basketball place. They don't even have a football team, so uh there's always gonna be either Hall of Fame or alumni game.

SPEAKER_02 47:32

Wait, do we know if it is one of those games coming up?

SPEAKER_04 47:34

It's gotta be. I we don't even uh Nick and I we we didn't even look it up. Don't look it up. We don't want to know. We just go and surprise it. It's gonna be one of the two because we've played there probably in more either senior days, uh Hall of Fame days. That's totally disrespectful.

SPEAKER_01 47:50

Alumni games so disrespectful.

SPEAKER_04 47:52

No, well, if you think about it, there's only three Saturdays in the spring. I don't care that they put total disrespect. And we've played them so many times. Um, and you know, it they're no different than us. I mean, they they they're they have a particularly since Coach Danzig's been there as long as I have, like there's when they have an alumni game, it's the whole end zone filled with their guys, right? And you just go down the list of like, oh my god, you know, there's those guys, and um, and so there's an energy.

SPEAKER_01 48:18

If 32 Danzig did still live in Scranton, for God's sakes, what? Correct. Um and then before alumni game. Hell yes, we do.

SPEAKER_04 48:27

I mean, this is one of the top 10 winningest programs in the vision of history, so you didn't have to play for Coach Danzig to have a tradition and connection. And so, like, and then you get a Hall of Fame uh weekend there, and there's almost always a men's basketball player that's in the Hall of Fame because their their tradition is so good. So um, there's always it's cool. And I'm not saying it's just there's always a an energy on a Saturday game there that's that's palpable. It's similar to coming to our place. And what's funny is like their their coaches have mentioned have commented on that they that they like playing our place too because there's always an energy, and a lot of times our our games, like last year, our our alumni game fell on the Scranton game, uh, just because we only have so many Saturday games in the spring in the spr second semester. So it's like we trade off. Um, and so you add to that how good they are. Uh Turn Bean um is is uh one heck of a player. They have a complete roster. Spatola's a senior, been there four years, uh, great leader. Um, and they're exceptionally well coached. It's the same thing. So going to play Frank Marcinic's team, uh Susquehanna are going to play Carl Danzig's team. Uh Scranton, I mean, I I hate to tell our guys, but we aren't going to outcoach anybody. So um we're gonna have to outplay them because um they're they'll know us and um we know them. Scranton's does a lot of stuff really well. So they're a little bit more, you know, their scouts always challenging just because they do a lot of things. And uh it but it's all very simple and that that's brilliance in what they do. There it might just be this one little you know, rip screen or something they go to a million times, but they have 20 of those little things they can go to, and and they're very, very good at picking out which ones you can't handle. And if you can't handle them, like like the first game, there's a couple things we just couldn't handle. They'll just keep going to it. And uh, if you don't have an answer, you're in trouble. So that's why a lot of times being experienced and having maturity, like honestly, some of those alumni games, the guys behind me, I could look at them and say, hey, hey, they're running the zipper or whatever, and they'd be like, Yeah, I know. And I would look at them in their first two years, they got killed by it, and by the junior, senior year, they understood it was coming. And so that language develops over time. And that's why this is an important week for us, too, because uh this is where the recall comes in, the experience where our guys have played a lot more games now. Hopefully, that we're able to go back to things and say, hey, remember this, remember that. Um, we we uh there's you know, like we got beat on a couple plays earlier, and you know, we might call them uh name them after one of our guys that got beat on it and call it the uh you know the the best get cut because you got beat on that two times, you know what I mean? And we we do that kind of stuff, and it and and guys laugh. Some guys don't like it, but it's like you're not gonna get beat on that again the next two years, are you?

SPEAKER_02 51:07

Right.

SPEAKER_04 51:07

Because you're gonna always remember that. That's good.

SPEAKER_02 51:09

Yeah, I like that.

SPEAKER_04 51:10

Um, that's kind of how all this goes, and we're probably still a little bit behind on that stuff, but we're you can see us catching up. That's one of the reasons we've been able to build some success, our cohesion and understanding. Like even in that game uh against Drew, they're doing a few things against us that we can just name, and I can just say, hey, they're doing X. We have to do this, and our guys can can make the adjustment. Like they're like, Yeah, okay. Or hey, they're running. I had a guy, a coach, they're running this at me. What am I doing? And uh, well, you got to get above this guy, not under. Oh, okay. And then he got on top and it worked. And we had none of that context for the last year and a half. We couldn't even get guys to figure out how to play hard, let alone get in a stance. And now they're able, when they're locked in and focused and in that place, they're be able to they're able to that's when people talk about the game slowing down or like why um could Aaron Rodgers or Philip Rivers come back and have any chance because they've seen it a million times and they can make the reads. And so that's one of the things where our consistency in what we do helps because we're gonna do what we do, right? And the more we see things, the better we get at it, and it really is okay, do it, but we know what we're doing, and um, and then it just becomes about our execution. Um, but have we caught up far enough with two teams that are going for playoff runs, trying to win a championship, that have to win this week? You know, now we're getting into must-win games for these guys, um and now we're on the radar a little bit, so it's a whole nother. You're in that same boat, coach. Well, I understand that, but that also changes um their urgency as the team we're playing against. It changes their urgency, and it changes that um the the you know, you can say anything you want to a player a hundred times. You better be ready, better be ready. Oh, I don't know. We're they're not any good, you know. And that's not happening with these two teams. So um now we'll really find out. I mean, it's it's another growth opportunity for us to find out where we are, and uh but we have to go through this too and see where we are.

SPEAKER_02 53:08

You got a big I'm just

The Four-Game Gauntlet, and Defend the House

SPEAKER_02 53:10

peeking a little bit ahead to me, Biz. This is our my three most hated teams in the landmark conference Susquehanna, Scranton, and Catholic. Oh, you're going to Catholic, right? I will definitely be a Catholic, and we will both be at Wilkes. Yeah, baby. Because if I am correct in saying next week's show is the alumni game draft, is it not? I believe it is. We need to have to be we won't have teams, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So we got some exciting weeks of uh junior out of bat. This is this is the heart of the season right here.

SPEAKER_04 53:43

Yes, well, I mean, this is it. Yeah, this is it. All the work, everything you do. But I mean, think about the the streak. You just sword you just said. And Wilkes is right after that, so it doesn't stop. Susquehanna. Susquehanna's great and Catholic and Wilkes. Yeah. So I mean, the best thing we did is is uh get off to a good start in what we were facing, right? Um, but you could play exceptionally well for four games, and if they all play exceptionally well, right? Like and you don't get the breaks, I mean, this is the this is where you are. And so um I just think we all it that this is where being through it a million times and understanding, like I said, and and you know, not Aaron Kelly and Catholics, one of the you know, they're Elite 18, they're one of the top programs in the country right now. Um they're not gonna out prepare, and they're a do-what-they do team, and and and can we outdo them with what we do? That's a very, very, very tough task. Um, Wilkes, the ultimate kind of the toughest team, and are we can we and we weren't tough enough to play them last time. So, but I here's what I would say playing these four games um for for where we still are in our like trajectory, like and they matter. I mean, you you you can't like to be here, we have to get the most out of these opportunities, whatever it is. And we've talked uh like endlessly with our guys, um, and so our approach has to be right, our preparation has to be, our competitiveness has to be right, our spirit has to be right. We have to be able to um go in there and play our best, and that's it. And understand that we always say you got if two good teams play, one wins and one loses, it doesn't mean they're not good, right? And so the but the good teams walk to the next game and know they're good. And they look at what they didn't do well and they correct, and they correct from a point of strength because they want to change it and they understand that they're better than that, right? Um, or they know, hey, that was just a great game, a play happened. Keep going. Like this is what happens when you play good teams repeatedly, and so we have to demonstrate that maturity and we have to go through this. Um, obviously, it's really cool, it's cool for our followers and fans. I would think we have a good crowd on Wednesday. I mean, that's pretty cool. What? It was a pretty good thing. It has to be a big crowd. I'm sure we'll have I'm sure we'll have a lot of people in DC next week on Wednesday because we have so many guys from that area.

SPEAKER_02 55:57

Oh, we're coming. All of all of DC, Annapolis, and Baltimore will be there.

SPEAKER_04 56:02

And then and then the Wilkes game with the alumni game. It's always special for our program. Um, and then just like I said, the energy that'll be at Scranton. So, like, if you're a player, it like this next four weeks, um, and because we've put the work in and seen some success and we're chasing something and how it worked, but like, man, this is it, man. This is this is what you get to do. So we gotta go play our best one, our best.

SPEAKER_02 56:25

While you put the jersey on, baby, let's go. Preparation over momentum, discipline over motivation. That's what we're gonna end with, Biz, right there. Unless you have any words of wisdom to to end our episode.

SPEAKER_01 56:40

I mean, I think you hit it right there, but I do believe that momentum and motivation play in to discipline and preparation. The bisdom, the business. That's what it is. You're a different level, man. Hey, listen, man. These first of all, defend the house. Nobody beats us in our house. And then you know what, Scranton? Schedule, you can schedule whatever you want. You could schedule the presidential inauguration when you play Junietta, and we're gonna come in and ruin the hell out of it. So let's go. Get the attitude, boys. You have it, keep the edge. I have I do have one question. Mike McCarthy, are you on the bottom?

SPEAKER_02 57:16

I was just gonna say that. One word, Bez, one word, McCarthy. What do you say?

SPEAKER_01 57:21

Yeah, this is more than one word, but in the famous utterings of uh the one late great Myron Cope, yo. Hey, we'll see, man. I mean, you know, the guy hasn't even coached the game yet. Who the hell knows? If he brings in good coordinators, then I'll be happy. Hey, he's not he's not arrogant like the other guy that left, so that's fine.

SPEAKER_02 57:43

What do you think about the other guy becoming the defensive coordinator potentially at Penn State? Who? I I keep seeing rumors. Who? Mike Tomlin? That's what I keep hearing. Get the hell out of here.

SPEAKER_04 57:55

That's the Instagram garbage, like fake news stuff. Tom's fine.

SPEAKER_02 57:58

He's got his love child to take care of. I kind of want to see it just just to get biz in a in a full tizzy. We don't need it.

SPEAKER_04 58:05

Biz, let's not go here. Let's let's just Mike McCarthy was the question.

SPEAKER_02 58:09

All right, Mike McCarthy. We'll we'll leave on a high note. Hey, whatever.

SPEAKER_01 58:12

Let's see what happens. Let's go, pens.

SPEAKER_02 58:15

Let's let's get out there. Big game on Wednesday. Big game on blue today. Blue and blue. President, drum, cheerleaders, pet bands, we're all there.

SPEAKER_03 58:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 58:26

There it is. Send us your thoughts. I want to hear what people thought of the uh the uh skyscraper. Um, I know other people watch this. And also let me know if anybody else was wearing their landmark conference socks while you were shoveling snow. I am very curious.

SPEAKER_01 58:40

Do your players shovel snow?

SPEAKER_02 58:42

There's no way. This curly doesn't even shovel snow. He makes his wife do it. Oh boy, that might have to that is not true.

SPEAKER_01 58:53

You might have to cut that one.

unknown 58:55

That's great.

SPEAKER_02 58:56

Follow the show on Instagram at Junior Adam Basketball Show. Subscribe to the Junior Adam Men's Basketball Show on Apple Spotify with you listen to the podcast. And until next time, I'm John Frank. I'm biz.

SPEAKER_01 59:15

I'm gonna go start shoveling. I'm gonna start showing take a picture of yourself with the stocks and shoveling and then you and Tom can be on the same level.