A Juniata Christmas: Effort, Lessons & the Doc Green

It’s the official Christmas episode of the Juniata Men’s Basketball Show, and it delivers a little bit of everything. Tom, Biz, and Coach Curley bring the holiday vibes early before Biz steals the show with a now-legendary Juniata-themed Christmas poem.

The conversation shifts to a listener questions about a 44-year-old NFL quarterback comeback, and whether Coach Curley could suit up one more time if Juniata ever needed him. The guys then break down a tough loss to Bethany, focusing on late-game execution, rebounding, free throws, and the hard lessons a young team must learn to finish games. Jaden Bilger earns Player of the Game honors, and “effort” becomes the word of the week.

The episode wraps with a full preview of the Doc Green Tournament, including a scouting report on Central Penn, a look at potential matchups with Stevenson and Franciscan, and a reminder of what it will take for the Eagles to turn the corner in the second half of the season. Holiday cheer, honest hoops talk, and a clear message moving forward: Be us. Go Eagles.

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:00

I'm Tom Frank. I'm Biz, Head Coach Greg Curly. And this is your Junior Adam Ends Basketball Show. Welcome listeners. I'm Tom Frank, and I'm joined each and every week by Jew Basket, aka Biz, and your Junior Adam Head Basketball Coach, Greg Curly, as we talk all things, Junior Adam End's College Basketball. Fellas, this is our official Christmas show. The holiday show. The holiday show. Quite away. I got my sponsored Swell. Oh, you had to Snapdragon Christmas. No way. Swirly Ben. He is Snapdragon. Pros Pro Curls. Yeah, we got hooked up here. So uh yeah, I got a little I I I snuck a little eggnog into my coffee.

SPEAKER_03 0:49

Uh I'm just drinking coffee. It's a little early, but you know. I had my nog last evening. I'm good. You know what?

SPEAKER_05 0:56

I actually had some egg last night for the uh well, I had to I kept drinking more and more of it as the uh commanders got down further and further from the Eagles. But Biz, I'm gonna give you a recommendation for some eggnog. All right. It was called Screwball. It was peanut butter whiskey eggnog. I've heard of the screwball. Oh, I had not heard of it. It's fantastic. Yeah, it's uh it's pretty good. I think maybe another sponsor for the show. Oh, all right.

SPEAKER_02 1:29

I know. Did you see? I I I only saw I only caught a sports center today, but uh The Eagles drive me nuts.

SPEAKER_05 1:35

I know my family's very split on it, but God, they I I wanted to win that game. And then when we got down to our third string quarterback, there was just no chance. That's a tough pill to swallow, kid. It is. It is. I had to venture away from the the crowd for a little bit afterwards. I was sulking a little bit. Yeah, that's alright. It's been a rough year. Yeah. It's been a rough year. Next year, buddy. Well, Biz, with that, I I feel like I need to turn the mic over to you. Oh, or maybe a little Christmas poetry.

SPEAKER_03 2:06

Starting the nut the uh pot the show off with a nice little Christmas. Let me put my reading glasses on there. Alright. Alright, a little rendition of 'twas the night before Christmas with a Junietta flavor to it. Wow, you guys are huge now. All right. Twas the night before Christmas and all through the nest. The players were home getting much needed rest. The nets were hung on the hoops with care, waiting for threes to rain through the air. The ballers were nestled all snug in their beds with visions of victories, danced in their heads. Coach Hager in his sweats, Coach Curly in his cap, they were drawing up plays to beat the half court trap. When down in the gym arose such a clatter, the coaches ran in to see what was the matter. What to their coaches' eyes should appear? The spirit of Ed's Mansberger came out to a cheer. The team is growing and improving, he said with a wink. More wins and success are closer than you think. The coach has a plan that has brought many wins. You must all come together, gel and buy in. More rebounds need snagged, more free throws need made. Give Max effort on the floor and you'll make the grade. On Griffith, Bruce, Kozak, Bilger and Hurley, on Little and Jon, on Oze and Bailey. And Ed proclaimed as he went in the night, Merry Christmas to all, go Eagles, let's fight.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

That was absolutely beautiful.

SPEAKER_05 3:43

Thank you. Not just a hat rack boys. That's that was very impressive. Very impressive. Put a split up smile on my face.

SPEAKER_03 3:50

Good. Let's go. Let's if there's you know momentum to be had, let's maybe that was it. Maybe that was it.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 3:58

I like it. Thanks. I think you need to record that. We need to take that little clip, uh, Curly, and I think you need to play it all over. Juniada, put it through the whole school audio system.

SPEAKER_02 4:12

I'm impressed. That was uh that was very good, Biz. Very good.

SPEAKER_03 4:17

Hey Tom, if any of your uh boys need like uh songwriters or anything.

SPEAKER_05 4:21

I'm I'm gonna pass it on, Biz. That was very well done, very can well constructed.

SPEAKER_06 4:25

Appreciate that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 4:27

Wow. Well, with that, I don't even know where we go next. I got a listener question, though. Shows over. I mean, what's over? I got a good listener question. This one is from Brett F.

unknown 4:39

Ooh.

SPEAKER_05 4:40

Brett F says, All right, what do you guys think of a 44-year-old getting off his couch and starting at quarterback for the Colts? And then the second part of that question is could you ever imagine playing one more time, Coach Curly? That's a great question.

SPEAKER_02 4:57

Uh, I have an idea who that is, but uh uh I don't know. I mean, uh now that we're getting this uh uh after the fact, and I guess he did all right. He didn't do terrible, did he? He said he was upright, but no, but he actually did pretty well.

SPEAKER_03 5:12

I mean, the they missed what a or the other team made a 60, or they missed a 60-yard field goal that would have won.

SPEAKER_05 5:17

Somehow they they lost that at the end there.

SPEAKER_03 5:19

I don't remember who who it was.

SPEAKER_05 5:20

Yeah, he started again this week, right?

SPEAKER_03 5:23

Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 5:24

Is he gonna go the rest of the year for that?

SPEAKER_03 5:27

He'll probably, I would guess he'll go until they're officially eliminated. I mean, they still have a shot.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

I just can't believe that was the first guy on the list, right? Like, I mean, all the quarterbacks out there. Yeah, well, you know what? But it it also goes to show you how much like NFL quarterbacking is from the shoulders up. It's all just how quickly you can process. That's a good point. And and like, and it's the same thing with like high-level point guards and most of the high-level basketball players in the NBA. It's really it's not the athleticism at all, it's the processing ability, it's the mental capacity to dissect stuff in a split second, see things that are gonna and anticipate and then be able to make the play. I I would think that would be the part that would go, right? Like the throwing and all that stuff, if you stay in shape, like most of those guys do, and you know, they're not it's not like he's going he's got a nine to five job. You know, he's coaching his high school team and taking care of what is that? He has like 12 kids, right? I don't know. Yeah, he does have a lot of kids. Maybe he had all 11 out there running routes. I mean, literally, you have a you have a whole football team. You have a whole unit. Um, so but like I just was like, how is he gonna like you know the windows you have to throw through and how fast those guys are and how quickly you have to process? I would think that would go the the fastest, but uh, but I I guess not. I don't know. It's amazing. And then you realize how phenomenal those guys are as athletes. Like just fun like amazing athletes to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_03 6:48

Yeah. Well, apparently he uh he talks to Sichen like every week. So he Steichen helps him with his offense and stuff, so he knew the offense. That's why they brought him up.

SPEAKER_05 6:59

That's why I guess they called upon him rather than somebody else.

SPEAKER_03 7:02

He knew he knew everything, so he could go in and just do it. Yeah. That's still impressive though.

SPEAKER_02 7:07

Uh he uh that's why I mean the familiarity with it is one thing, but like to be able to go out there and like the speed of the NFL game. Yeah, have the presence to stand in there, guys still coming after you. I mean it's unbelievable. Yeah, I I mean, now he's a fiery guy. I've always kind of liked him. He his his approach to stuff, like he's got an edge, and uh he's a tough guy, obviously. Um his whole attitude towards it was pretty cool. Like, why not? Give it a chance, give it a shot. Like, I have no idea what's gonna happen. Like, he didn't walk in like, hey, I'm gonna change the world. He's like, I I mean the opportunity presented, you either do it or you don't. My kids are watching me, what am I gonna do? So I'm just gonna go play and see what happens. But I wonder what he felt like on Monday, the day after.

SPEAKER_05 7:49

But yeah, I think it's the second game that's gonna be telling.

SPEAKER_02 7:52

Yeah, yeah. It's also the rules changes, you know, like those guys are protected at a level I mean, 15 years ago, could you do it? I I I don't know. I mean, you're gonna get uh and I don't even know for how you know how long that rules have been in. Um as for my coming back at 44 at 44, not right now, but at 44.

SPEAKER_05 8:11

Could you have if you had one year eligibility left, and let's say Junietta had a massive string of injuries, and you were down to like maybe like six guys, and you you had to step in.

SPEAKER_02 8:22

Just for the record, staff wise, we would have uh tagged Coach Hager first.

SPEAKER_05 8:25

Uh so he's Hager's got a bad knee though. I don't know, man. Yeah, Coach Hager says, hey, I can't do it because my knee's just not where it used to be.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

I have no idea. I mean, I guess if you're in shape, one game?

SPEAKER_05 8:41

Yeah, just it's a good game of the year. You need you need to you need to field five guys or you can't play.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

I averaged two and a half points a game, so I could probably go do that still. What position would you put yourself in? Uh what position would I play? I don't know. Probably three, probably where I was, but uh I don't know. I mean, I was uh I was a defender, rebounder, those things. I I I I don't know if that's easier or harder at that point. You know, if you're the guy that just reigns threes, maybe it's uh easier, but a little bit different. Might be a little easier then. As I tell the guys, as I tell the guys, I I we played in the 90s, man, right? Like, watch uh the the uh 30 for 30s about the nineties was a little bit different. The first the first drill we got, our coach taught us how to hand check legally, how you could put an open hand on their hip and control guys that way and stuff. So it was a little bit it was a little bit different. You might foul out. Uh maybe, possibly. Yeah, yeah. Huh.

unknown 9:36

Huh.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

Charges were a thing. There was no charge art, there was no challenge, vertical challenge. Yeah, it was different.

SPEAKER_05 9:41

It'd be a good gimmick for Junietta. Like, yeah, I think you could get a big crowd if they said that the you know, 51-year-old coach was gonna play because they had to. We only we were down to four guys. Oh, dude, SportsCenter would be there for sure.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

Yeah. Laiko has like there's a a rash of like 58, 50, you know, older guys playing Division III football right now. Laiko has a lineman that's 58 years old, was a is a retired guy that was a power lifter. He's back playing. I think there's a couple others. Uh, there might be another one in the league. So I don't know. Hoops seems to be a little bit more dispersed in a lot of jumping. Yeah. Um, a lot of Achilles get left behind uh as guys play pickup as they get older.

SPEAKER_05 10:21

So I don't think I think basketball would be a much harder sport to do. Yeah. Sticky question though. Yeah, thank you, Brad. Brett F. Huh. Wonder who that is. Hey, our questions come in from very unique people, Biz. Very unique people. Um we haven't talked since this, but our Eagles did lose a heartbreaker 65-61 to the visiting Bethany College in our last outing inside Memorial Gymnasium. Ty Kozak led the way with 19 points, five rebounds, two assists. Joe Bruce added 14 points, two rebounds, one assist, one steal, and a block. I know you like all those different stats, Biz. Yes. And uh William Littles Jr. contributed seven points, an assist, and four steals off the bench. How are we feeling? Now, this has been a this has been what a week and a half since this game. We've been off since the game, is that correct? Finals, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:13

We practiced uh so we we practiced uh Wednesday through Friday this past week. Guys went home uh uh for the holiday break on Friday afternoon. Um we had practiced um Friday after then guys went in the finals, so we watch we watched film with it and kind of dealt with it. Uh disappointed to be honest. Um, you know, I I mean we're up 10 with five minutes left with the ball on the free throw line. Uh had the ball multiple times to stretch the lead. Um we could call it inexperience. Um, but we missed if you include the front end of a one-on-one, we missed five free throws down the stretch. Uh we turned the ball over twice. Um and then, you know, we the their 33 off the bench for them, got it going, and he scored 10 points in the last five minutes of the game. And we had talked relentlessly that we can't let those guys go. Uh they're kind of apt at four shots. We just need to be with them and set in sounds. Um we we missed the front end of a one-on-one, don't get back in transition. They hit a three, five-point swing. Momentum goes, they see the opportunity to win. They're kind of that team, you know, they're averaging 83 a game. For 35 minutes, we did an excellent job defending them. We controlled the game. Um, but that's again another lesson for how quick this goes with teams that are explosive. Um, they have five guys that um, you know, can all score, uh including two off the bench. So seven guys could really score. We knew it. Um and you know, we kind of let them get going with a couple lapses before that where we didn't didn't get up on a handoff and just gave them a wide open look, missed, but they get to just dial in. Um and then uh other story, and Biz asked for it that we need rebounds, but we we got uh beat on the glass again. Um I think we gave up 13 offensive rebounds, which um was just too many, particularly given the the pace of the game. And I think 11 of those were by their guards. Um so we just we're just not uh physical or consistent enough in that spot. Um it's not an area we're gonna be great at, but we can be considerably better. Uh and we're just you know, our our effort in those areas, um there's just too many mental lapses and too too much loss of focus in that area where we stand around and wait for somebody else to go get the ball, uh, or we just kind of run in to get the ball instead of expand space and block out, and then the ball goes over our head. A lot of just stuff that we did pretty well for 30-some minutes. Um and then whether we thought the game was in hand, whether we got tired, whether I think then you know the pressure kicks in, you gotta execute. Um, you know, we didn't didn't manage it well. So uh frustrating, disappointed. I think when you walk when you step back in terms of playing uh both ends uh well, uh I thought we did that as well as we've done with this group for 35 minutes. Um, you know, we haven't been in the situation to have leads going in the last five minutes um often at all with this group. Uh it does remind me of every team we've really ever had. It's the same exact learning curve. These games are part of it. Um the difference then is you know the record might be different when you hit this game. And a lot of times it's this time of year where you just keep stressing you have to do these small things, you have to do them all the time, you have to do these things or they cost you. And whatever it is with players, sometimes there's this suspended uh belief that, well, that doesn't really, I can get away with this, or that applies to everybody else. Uh and so sometimes these are the tough lessons that seasons teach. Um again, the challenge is when you stack the the other the rest of the schedule where we've been recently. Uh what do we do mentally? If we separate those out, it's a simple process. If we just honestly were in a game again, uh we make one play and any of those stretches, uh, then the game is over before it happened. You know, it's completely different. You make the the two free throws, you get back in transition, you rebound the ball. Um the game ends completely differently. Um, but that's what the teams that win do, and they do it consistently, and we just haven't been able to do that. Um, so it it's gonna be how much uh we learn and and move forward. But we listen, we have to defend and rebound consistently, and we haven't been able to do either of those.

SPEAKER_05 15:29

I mean it's a good lesson learned, right? This is a young team, they gotta learn how to close it out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

Yeah, I mean it's a painful one. Um painful. But growth is painful. Um, but most of this is what are we gonna do with it? Um uh where does our attitude go with it? Uh I I think we came back and had a really good practice on Friday. I wasn't very happy with our last three practices before break. Um and so I think we're in that stage where we got to decide and figure out, I think, these next three, four weeks um from a development phase and and just where we've gone through and the things we've gone through, and we can talk about the lessons learned, but at some point we need to put them into play consistently. And guys got to dig down and do some small things all the time. The dirty work, I'm not sure we're completely committed across the board to that, each guy all the time. And it's a little hit or miss, and that's not being committed. Uh that that's that's kind of doing it when uh things go well. Now the positives are down the stretch. We did, we answered uh repeatedly, we put ourselves in positions to win the game. You know, we got to the foul line consistently, we executed pretty well. Um, we did get stops, a number of stops in a row. We just didn't get the key ones. Uh, but when you start, when you keep putting that pressure on yourselves and they have uh more playmakers, more scorers on the floor, uh they have a guy at every position that could create their shot. That's why I always talk that last three, four minutes. Advantage generally goes to other teams, not us, uh, how we're typically constructed. So we it, you know, we have to win the way we've always won. That came out um that was pretty clear from that game again. Uh now it's how how consistent we're gonna get bought in on doing that and how much we want to do those things. Um, and that that has been a slow process um and a frustrating process with this group. Um but in these moments, it's you're either gonna throw your hands up and say, Ah, that's it, that's all I got. And and if that happens, it spells doom. Uh, or you dig down more and you realize, man, we're this close. We just got to get it our stuff together. We got to finish. Uh, our keys be going into that game. Um, one of them was uh next play. We got to move to the next play and stay focused. We that that failed us late. Uh, and the last part was finished. We have to finish the game, finish the half, finish possessions. And I think that's that came the the reason those were uh two of our three keys was just because of experiencing these games over the years and understanding how important it was. And um unfortunately, uh a lot of times you have to learn the lesson that you have to finish to do those kind of things, and um so we'll see what we do with it. But yeah, it's it's it's very frustrating. Um I thought four and four, three and five with the schedule we had is where we needed to be going in the break. Uh, we didn't meet that goal. Um, so we have some work to do to make some things up. Yep.

SPEAKER_05 18:17

And that's and that that's the end of kind of really season one of this season, and now we move on.

unknown 18:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 18:24

Biz, before we move on, though. Yes. We still have to give our player the game, even in a loss. I don't love it, but we gotta do it.

SPEAKER_03 18:32

All right. Well, my player the game for this game is gonna be uh probably a little bit different than you may think it's gonna be, but I always like this. No, well, I mean, what's the theme, right? Rebounding, free throws, right? Yes. Free throws, that's what we gotta get. And the the the guy who uh came up with that on both ends, and you know, a couple blocks, some defense. Uh Jaden Bilger is gonna be my player of the game. Jaden Bilger.

SPEAKER_05 19:02

Nine boards is first.

SPEAKER_03 19:04

Nine boards, five of six on the line. That's what we need. You know, a couple of blocks. That's effort. Listen, here's a little nugget for your boys, curls. I've been uh, you know, words of bisdom is coming back, right? Listen, you don't have the skills, you'll never have the skills that Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant had. But there is one thing that you can have that they also had, and that's the effort. There is no cap on effort. You can give the same effort that those guys gave. So let's get out there. Look, go send some tape of those boys to your boys and let them see the effort. No plays off, max effort up and down the court. That's what I got.

SPEAKER_02 19:47

This has turned into the biz show. Well, this is like your flu game. You're not sick, but I mean, like you're you're in the zone. I'm not gonna I'm not I'm not showing them film of those guys. I'm gonna show them this biz.

SPEAKER_03 19:59

Hey, you know, it helps when you got a bottle of that helping. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:02

Yeah. If if if you want to, if you want to see a guy that's locked in and at his best, right? Who's his best for when his best is needed? Like, Tom, this is what you know. I mean who's at his best when his best is needed, biz, right now.

SPEAKER_03 20:15

This is the moment this program needed you. I'll never be Stuart Scott, but dang it, I can give the effort of Stuart Scott. It's an impressive show, Biz. It's an impressive show.

SPEAKER_02 20:24

We're proud of you, Biz. We're proud of you. Thanks, guys. You're the best. And we'll be right back.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

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SPEAKER_04 20:35

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SPEAKER_01 20:40

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SPEAKER_04 20:51

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SPEAKER_00 21:00

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SPEAKER_05 21:19

And now, back to the show. All right, so next up, next up, we got the Doc Green. Now I think we need to for we have new listeners, right? We have a we have a whole new batch of listeners, new parents. Hopefully, we kept some of the old parents who who kind of like to listen in. I think we did, man.

SPEAKER_03 21:36

I think we did.

SPEAKER_05 21:38

We should say hello to them.

SPEAKER_03 21:39

Hey parents, merry, merry Christmas to all our old parent friends. That's right. That's right. We hope to see you in Philly. We could see some of them in Philly.

SPEAKER_05 21:46

We better see some of them in Philly. I I hope. But I I think I think uh, coach, you gotta give a little bit of background for the new listeners on why Doc Green, why do we honor him every year with this holiday tournament?

SPEAKER_02 21:59

So So uh Doc Green um actually was a he played football, believe it or not, at Pitt, um like in the 40s, somewhere in there in the war air. Um he uh came to Huntington. I'm not sure if he's a Huntington native or not, but he was actually a dentist in town. Um, but he also coached the men's basketball team. And so he was the men's basketball coach at Juniana for a number of years. Um I think he at that time and kind of the the uh war era was the most successful coach here, um, was kind of a um you know one of those legendary figures bigger than life in a town like ours. And uh Jim Zalzig, who uh was uh my predecessor's predecessor's predecessor, so he coached before uh uh Rick Ferried um started this. Um so I was gonna have to get the exact how old the the the tournament is. Uh it's at least 30 years old. Um and so at at one time Doc's wife um would attend and give away the championship award and trophies and stuff, so that was pretty neat. Um but we've just kind of can you know kept that going for uh for good reason. Um and the people I still hear from uh some of the old timers that knew Doc and uh you know and hear the stories for him. One of the things they all talk about is he might have been one of the best athletes or the best athlete to ever be in Huntington, how good a player he was. I think he played professional football for a while too, but this was kind of like in the uh early days of kind of the NFL AFL kind of stuff. Um, and uh I wish I would have had a chance to obviously meet him, but so we kind of continue um the tournament in his legacy and have been fortunate to do so. Hot dog. I bet you those are some tough teams being coached by a football guy. Yeah, I guess he was like the general giant guy, you know, you know, like tough create, you know, but he was like super um like just a kind soul, good man. Um and so uh obviously when you're doing something like this after this long, uh it's a legacy you've met. I mean, it's one of those things with coaching. Um, you know, I mean, as as successful as he was in other places, it was the impact he made as a coach that uh kind of left a legacy that people remember too. So um it's the amount of people you can impact in these roles, and that's a credit to him, obviously.

SPEAKER_05 24:15

So he had but he was a dentist in town. Is the his is his little dentistry, does anybody know where it was? Was it like right downtown?

SPEAKER_02 24:23

I do not. Um we we should probably get Coach Black or or uh or uh Pat Frazier on here. They could probably tell you all that stuff, but you know, the doctor will have a green. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 24:35

Next year we'll I like that they've kept it rolling. Yeah. I think it's cool. So Doc Green will be Monday, December 29th, and Tuesday, December 30th. That's correct, right? Correct, yeah. All right. Well, we got to get into our scouting report here as presented by Snapdragon. Monster Crunch, Legendary Flavor. Find Snapdragon at your local grocery store, the official apple of the Junior Adam Men's basketball show. So our Eagles will next play Central Penn. Central Penn on Monday, December 29th at 7 p.m. at Memorial Gym as part of the Doc Green tournament. Here's what I know about Central Penn. It's a small, private, career-focused college. I don't know. Aren't most colleges career focused? Would it be in central Pennsylvania?

SPEAKER_02 25:21

These are more that would be more like technical professional degrees.

SPEAKER_05 25:24

Technical, it's been more like liberal arts. All right, all right. It's just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, founded in 1881. The school emphasizes practical degree programs in areas like business, criminal justice, IT, and healthcare biz. All right. Athletically. The Central Penn competes in the USCAA. What the heck is that? Wow, it's a lot of CAA. But what does that stand for?

SPEAKER_02 25:50

United States College Athletic Association? It's another collegiate league. Uh it's it's like NAIA Division III, or NAINCA and then USCAA. So they're not technically in Division III? No, they're for they play four-year schedule, uh, but they're not technically division three school at all. Oh, that's interesting.

SPEAKER_05 26:08

They are members of the Eastern State Athletic Conference. They're known as the Knights. Fitting nickname for a program built on discipline, structure, and doing things the right way. No flash, just fundamentals. They will come in here though at 0-12. 0-12. They're averaging 68 points a game. They're led by junior guard Deshaun King at 18 points a game. That's all I know about him. We can't let the 0-12 get in the way, though.

SPEAKER_02 26:37

Oh, I mean, that that includes like four or five Division I teams they played in there. I did notice they played a couple Division I games. They played multiple Division I teams, some Division IIs, and that's part of being USCAA. So uh then they're within their stuff. I think the concern I told shared with you, um, there's a good chance they have uh some new faces essentially when we play them. Um they have found some stuff here lately with their lineup. Uh they have two guards that have scored a lot of points. Uh yeah. That's where they get most of their points. I mean, I think they've had uh their two two guards have both had one each one of them has had over 30 in the last two games. Uh and I that if you followed early, they were playing a different lineup. They had a coaching change. Um, they're relatively new on the four-year scene. So um a coaching change as of the beginning of this year? Yeah, so they have new coaches. I think they've moved into this a long time. I I think they more competed at a uh two-year college level. And so this is newer moving to the four-year college level. Uh, they do the one common kind of opponent that did play McDaniel early at McDaniel, but that was an early game to give you an idea of the gauge and where they are. Uh but and McDaniel obviously beat them. Yeah. Um, a good McDaniel team. Um so we'll we'll uh we'll see. I have not I have not really gotten into them a ton and watched um as much as Coach Hager has. Um I need to get into some more. I've watched some. Uh they have some size. I mean, they they have some quickness. Uh, but I they're basically a brand new lineup. Um, so the stuff we went through last year with an entirely new group of guys is what they're going through. And I just go back like none of this stuff matters where we sit. Uh we need to go play well and win some games. And then uh coming over a holiday break or breaks, um, you know, places that sometimes are a little bit more transient, have guys come in that yeah um that could be problems.

SPEAKER_05 28:30

So wait a minute, explain that to us a little bit. So uh because it we're going into next year, that in theory they could bring on new players. There's a window here, is that right?

SPEAKER_02 28:40

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 28:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:41

Generally you're not gonna you can't enroll somebody until you get into now division three and NCA, there's rules. USCA, I'm not sure where they are, but you wouldn't enroll somebody until the last semester ended, and now they come in and it counts towards the second semester, so that's when their eligibility would kick in, they'd be ready to go. So over these breaks is when you'll see uh uh ads to rosters, changes in rosters. Um, some drop away, some add. Um, and it's not this is not unique to Central Penn. This is something we've always dealt with, these tournaments. And I I've shared the stories of you know, Lancaster Bible all of a sudden has a 6'8 guy that was an ESPN through top 300 guy out of high school um from Philly. This was like six, seven years ago, and they they were um I mean I mean the guy was I mean, we're watching ESPN like recruiting highlight tapes of the guy, and he was like 27. So um this happened a couple times in these situations. Yeah, moderate the same with the other teams in the tournament. Um, you know, we uh over the years have tried uh to see if we get guys enrolled or if it fits. Um are always looking at that stuff. Sometimes you just wake up and you get a call from a guy recruited before head coach, I'm not happy where I am.

SPEAKER_05 29:53

Um they'll transfer right in the middle of the years.

SPEAKER_02 29:56

So not with not all the time, but but it does happen.

SPEAKER_05 29:59

Um could they though be playing? Let's say just for instance, could some kid be playing for Scranton and at the at the end of this semester, which is right now, transfer and play at Junietta, or is it? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:13

So the division three rules, um so all the stuff that everybody's dealing with, division one, the transfer portal, people can leave anytime and those kind of things. Like you've been able to do that at our level all the time. There's been multiple instances where guys have transferred within league, um, which there used to be some stuff against that, but that changed at Division III a long time ago, too. I've seen guys be playing on a different team in the same league, um, you know, like at the end of the semester, and then they they transfer. It doesn't happen very often, particularly like in a conference like the landmark or the centennial or something like that, a little more academically aligned. It's hard to do it because you have to have the credits and you have to go through the whole process. And um, but um some places that um probably are are prying uh providing just a little bit more educational access and a little easier to come in and out, and they're they're they're geared to kind of jump start and give people those opportunities. Um, that kind of transfer opportunity is way easier. It's kind of the business they're in. Does that make sense? And so I think it just promotes or leads to there's gonna be more of that. So we have to kind of keep our eye on that and stay on top of it. Yeah. That's interesting. Barry. Yeah. Scranton, Catholic? Anybody? Anyone not happy? Euler, Bueller. Uh I mean, there's a lot to be involved in that. And I I mean sometimes you you're evaluating your needs and what you want to do. I mean, there's you know, you offsets of chemistry. I I've said repeatedly, I really like our team, but we can't we can't lose the game like we did against Bethany, you know, and then we can't practice like we did the last three practices. We have to decide what we're gonna be, and we have to decide consistently to do things. We we can't just not get back and transition off a free throw um and expect to win games. And that's uh taught, learned, seen on tape. Uh that has nothing to do with past records or what we're doing. That's just staying locked in and focused and understanding and valuing the things that win games. Yeah. Um, so um we need to get on board with that. And if we can do that, I think we're gonna be uh fine. But uh we we need to do that sooner than later. Let's go, boys.

SPEAKER_05 32:18

Come on. So so we play central pen. Give us a lowdown on the other game, and if we were to win, who we might who we who we might play uh the next day.

SPEAKER_02 32:26

Again, I haven't I'll I'll spend the next few days getting really getting into this before we get back for we'll have three practices to prepare. Um, but I do know um uh Stevenson, I think right now is six and one or seven and one. Um they have a new head coach. He was actually an assistant at Catholic. Um he he kind of walked into a pretty veteran team. I expected them to be pretty good. They play in the Mac, so they play in a very good league. They play a good schedule, so it'll be um essentially a landmark level game, uh, and and probably our top half landmark level. I don't know if they're quite the top two or three in our league right now, uh, but but that kind of game. Uh Franciscan is another uh pack school, so that's Bethany, Westminster. Uh so they're athletic, big, strong. You know, we've struggled with that. They may have uh the best Division III player in the country. Um so they're one guard. Uh at one point he was averaging 35 points a game. Um so I think he's been in the top top in the nation in scoring uh multiple years. Um and he is he's really uh physically developed more. I mean, he's a man and he's a wing. Um and they have some other really good players too. So uh they're they're talented. I think they might be five and two, six and two, somewhere in there, kind of in that same range. Um, they will be a top level uh or upper half, or you know, right now on a landmark I say upper half, and I can't even kind of find a delineation in my mind. It's probably the top seven schools out of ten. Um, but that's the level that that's the kind of player he is. I mean, he's an all-American level guy. I think we have a few of those in our league that we've played against so far. He's gonna be um in that uh vein. Uh, but I think they're way more geared to like scoring, and like he, I mean, he'll pull from the the hash mark coming across mid-court. And if he gets it going, um he is gonna be tough. He'll be as good a player as walked in our gym, probably. Um I don't know that there's better. And we had a kid a few years ago that uh uh from Oneata State that was the first team All-American that we played against. I mean, he this kid is that level. So do you do you change anything to play somebody like that?

SPEAKER_05 34:33

Do you ever consider, I don't know, like like a box in one or anything to like really go after that guy? Or is that is that just ridiculous?

SPEAKER_02 34:42

Um, I mean, uh I I think I've told the story on here before. One time in my career, we thought about a triangle and two, and it was a playoff game at Susquehanna. It lasted two possessions, and Nate Higgins was cursing me out running down the floor saying, get the hell out of this. And then we played man to man and held him below like 10 points below the season average. Um effort. Um, I think again, like I think a lot of times uh people think you just move in in and out of those things, but that's a lot harder. I think there's schools of philosophy as a you know uh as coaches, there's kind of a surprise and change world where that's what you do pretty consistently. You change things up, you give different looks, you run a lot of different things, and that's kind of the culture you create, and guys are used to that. That's how they expect to play. And then there's uh simplicity and execution groups that we do what we do, we're gonna stay at it, we're gonna do our thing, we're gonna live and die with some of the ups and downs. And I think that's who we just by default become. Uh, it's probably an extension of the coach and the coach's personality and how we just see things. And so it's not always been um whenever we've tried to do those things, it seems to it could surprise and maybe help, but more times than not, it's become out of character and it's never really worked for us great. Um no matter how much excitement or zeal we go into that. And sometimes honestly, it's a little bit frustrating as a coach because you like we're all coaches and you love all this crazy idea and you want to do that. Um, but I I think it has to do with a little bit like the feel for your team, how you do things on a day-to-day basis. Um, if we're preaching consistency and do what we do and execution and small things and details every day and what we do, then to shift in that in a moment um can be unsettling for players whether they say it or not. And they may even like it. Um, but there's it it's just such a contrast from you know, it's like spawning away from your best pitches against the best hitters. Like, what are you doing? You're just gonna um it's just gonna be um, you know, giving up uh uh one's grooving one down the plate or something or trying to execute something you can't execute. Um and then I'd say if you're a if you're a program that does a lot of that stuff, you probably come in, build in and do those kind of things. And like Nick Nurse in the NBA, he's known for all that, like crazy defenses and he changes and he does it all he does all these things. But I think a lot of times, uh particularly fans and other people outside that love that, oh, that's really coaching. Um you know, I don't know, though then there's other coaches that do what they do, right? And probably don't get the fanfare or whatever, but they're way more consistent in their outcomes over time, and that's a builder. Um, so I think it's a little bit personality, um, you know, and a lot of those things. So we never roll any of those things out. We'll do more subtle things that we'll try to do and within the game plan and how much help we give here and what we do there. I don't not sure to the mind's eye, people would understand um or see it unless you knew what you're doing within the room. So I haven't gotten into it enough to know that we'll do that. And sometimes we just say we're gonna just play our base defense because it's the old five versus one and one guy's not beating us if we're gonna get where we want to go. And then I also think there's a development piece to this, where you are as a program. Um, when you're in a development stage and you're trying to get places, are you, when faced with a big moment, gonna change what you're doing all of a sudden? That over time is not a great message and doesn't allow you to grow and teach. And again, when a fan sits in and expects to win the game you're in, you're not understanding that you might lose two down the road because you didn't do the right thing now. Yeah, and that's a very hard thing. I think Tom Mizo was talking about that the other night. It's a very, very hard thing for us as coaches. Like, like it's even like late in the game. Uh, do you keep guys in? Do you not put like we're not playing necessarily always to win that game. We're playing to win games, like down the road. Where does the development have to happen? Who do we have to play? Like, there is thought all the time. It's never just this game. What's it matter? Well, uh, it always matters, it's always a process, and those minutes um have value, regardless of what the scoreboard says. Minutes have great value. And so, uh, and these opportunities have great value. So a lot of it is weighing those things um and where you want to be. And some guys are just super comfortable living in that world. They don't overthink it. I just do whatever and let's just do it. But that's their style. So the players get used to that. Like that's what we do. Um, and we don't care about the outcomes and consequences. Others, which obviously we're wired differently with that. Um, that is just the contrast and style that it can be unsettling to guys. Whereas just go do what we do, and I would say largely over 25 years, we've played guys like this all the time. I talk about you know, we had NBA scouts in the gym for a seven-footer, we played them with a six-four guard the center. We didn't post double one time, we played our defense and held the guy 15 points below his average. Um, and that's not the only time that's happened. That's happened a ton of times with us. The blessing is we've played in a great league. We've played guys like this before. Josh Robinson at Susquehanna when we played him, and Coach Hager actually guarded him, um, was leading in the country and scoring. He was a division one transfer. Um, so we've we've been in these situations. How did Hager do? Uh well, regular season we got beat, but then we beat him in the playoffs here by 20, I think. Yeah, Hager.

SPEAKER_03 40:00

Shout out to Hager if I'm going up against these guys, man, I'm gonna be like, you know what, I'm fired up. Shut this dude down. Yeah, I think it's kind of a attitude you gotta have, man.

SPEAKER_02 40:10

Yeah, I mean, I I'd say when we're when we're where we're supposed to be, and this is where um time will tell here, when we've had our you know, we've had kind of the competitive spirit where it needs to be, most of our guys, we've been fortunate, didn't have to say a lot in those situations. Like, I think that's how we think we're wired um to really lock in and be ready to execute and do what we're doing and trust what we have. Uh if I said I think we're there right now, mentality and approach, no. And so that's why when you're in these moments, it's hard because we may try plan A and that may not work. Um, but plan B may not be the long-term solution either. So um here's the bottom line: we got to be five versus one and take care of our base uh areas. Like I said, um the Bethany game just came down to base fundamentals, things we should be doing all the time and doing them well all the time. It's not even it and if we had done those things well, we just win the game. You don't even notice, like we didn't need to make more plays. We made a ton of plays. We just needed to stay consistent and solid in the things that matter. And we have just not been able to do that. Um, and we just uh are not there. And so honestly, if you're asking me today, what are we using the dock green for to win in the landmark? So um, are we gonna make some crazy thing for that moment? Probably not. We'll probably try to be us. Um, but we're not doing a very good job of being us right now, and that's up to the coaches, and we gotta get that across.

SPEAKER_03 41:29

So yeah. Oh, there you go. There's your battle cry for the second half.

SPEAKER_05 41:34

Be us. Be us. Boom. This is gonna be a big this is gonna be a fun dock green though. You got some interesting teams in here. Uh it's Monday the 29th, Tuesday the 30th. Come on out to Memorial Gymnasium and get our Eagles on. Back from Christmas break for the games, right?

SPEAKER_02 41:49

Yeah, no, that's Stevenson uh Franciscan games. Super interesting. That is that's gonna be a good one. I mean, Stevenson's a top 20. Before or after you guys play, they'll play before us at five.

SPEAKER_05 41:58

Um and then you'll play the nightcap at seven.

SPEAKER_02 42:00

Yeah, they'll they'll uh um you know Stevenson's a top 20 defensive team in the country right now. That is gonna be as this guy, but they're Franciscan will press and change defenses and they're big, strong athletic. So um I haven't really seen Stevenson on tape. I just followed their outcomes. And I saw them some last year, so I'm familiar with some of the personnel. But um, yeah, it should I the way you said it, it it is actually really interesting. We've had some years where you kind of have an idea. Um, I think this one is completely across the board. I think the the kind of variety and um uh difference differing styles is pretty cool. Um, it should be some good basketball. Um, and there's gonna be some uh definitely some good players in the gym and some good teams.

SPEAKER_05 42:43

Uh I'm gonna say right now, I'm rooting for Stevenson for this reason. My uh my girls' basketball team is coached by two Stevenson alum. Oh, there you go. Two sisters who played at Stevenson. All right.

SPEAKER_06 42:56

So yeah, I'm gonna root for them.

SPEAKER_05 42:58

This world is connected, man. All right, fellas. All right, we got a big announcement to make on the show this week. Big announcement. A lot of parents have been asking about this, so listen up. Listen to look ahead a little bit at the big Palester game on Sunday, January 11th, versus Goucher. Tip-off is at 5 p.m. 5 p.m. So, Biz, maybe a little drum roll here. Thank you. This year's Pilestra Happy Hour will not be at the Misconduct Tavern. Oh, it's not gonna be there. Uh, unfortunately, they've temporarily closed the location much of the city. That is the closest to Palestra, but hey, no worries here. We're gonna be at a new place. All right, it's called the New Deck Tavern. It's located at 3408 Sandsom Street, just a very short walk to Palestra. It's a nice Irish pub, good food, even better beer. All right. Um, I have been dealing with the the Excellent person, Aaron, who is setting everything up for us. Let's go, Aaron. So we are going to be there at one o'clock from one to it to whenever we decide we need to leave to make sure we get to the game in time.

SPEAKER_03 44:13

Yes. All right. Well, the parents will have to leave. We're going to have our press credentials, right? Is this happening?

SPEAKER_05 44:19

Yeah, we need to we need to make sure. We need to get this all lined up, Coach Curly. Yeah. We got to have our press credentials, all of that. So, people, if you're listening, join us at the New Deck Tavern. You can check it out. It's NewDecTavern.com for anyone who wants to check out menus. But we are going to be there. And here's the interesting wrinkle. Oh, this is going to be good. We are not the only team that is planning on having a happy hour there. Apparently, I've heard through rumors, Drew University will also be there. Now, is Drew University are they are they the other men's game or is it a is it a girls' game that's Drew University? Do you know Curly? Uh that's a good question. This is late breaking news, so I haven't had time to research this yet.

SPEAKER_02 45:02

Catholic plays the first game at 12. I don't know who they play. Um maybe it is Drew. I don't know. So there might be an interesting game. Well, they would be coming after the game, too, it sounds like. So that's a whole different dynamic.

SPEAKER_05 45:13

This is gonna be interesting. This is gonna be interesting. So they they have a room there. We're gonna have a bunch of tables there. The new deck tavern. I'm quite excited about this.

SPEAKER_03 45:24

I'm very excited. And and I do want to ask the Drew people if you're coming, if you got an extra sweatshirt with my name on it.

SPEAKER_05 45:30

I mean Yeah, we need to have a Drew sweatshirt for Drew.

SPEAKER_03 45:33

And it wouldn't be Drew University, be my name, you know. Yeah, it'll just be your name. And yeah, if it just says Drew, we don't want Drew University.

SPEAKER_05 45:40

We just want one that says Drew. I mean, is that so hard? Anyway, I don't think that's a lot to ask. No, yeah. Or I still would like to get you a chair. Like, I mean, I think I gotta have a leftover chair or something.

SPEAKER_02 45:52

We should be selling biz merchandise. He should have biz sweatshirts out there.

SPEAKER_03 45:55

That's true, too. Biz University. Hey Junietta, let's get a little name. When I win the Powerball, hell, I could be a billionaire right now. I didn't even look.

SPEAKER_05 46:04

So so the other thing. Anyway. The other thing we want to say, anybody who's listening, alumni, parents, yeah, come on out. We got a lot of them there. We need we need Rigby. We need some of these guys who are in Philly. We we have an extra mic. Evan's in Philly, he's there. Uh, who else is there? The Laptina, he's there. Yeah, we have an extra mic because Coach Curly will obviously not be at the happy hour with us. He'll be getting the team ready to play.

SPEAKER_03 46:34

Oh, as far as we know, he may be at the happy hour. Who knows?

SPEAKER_05 46:37

Who knows? We do have an extra spot. Uh come on out. We want to get as many people on the podcast that day as humanly possible. Everybody. Everybody has a voice.

SPEAKER_03 46:46

This was one of our best shows ever, by the way, when we did it the first time. So yes.

SPEAKER_02 46:51

I I just received a text from Nick Rigby. He does plan to attend the game. Now he's coming back from DC for something, so he wanted to know what time this stuff would start. But one o'clock. One o'clock. There he is.

SPEAKER_05 47:03

Look at that. He's listening live to the podcast because we do stream it for certain people. Nick Rigby is one of those. And so he'll be there. He'll be there. That's our that's a breaking news. All right. Breaking news. Come on out. This is gonna be fun. Yes, sir. I gotta look up the menu. I don't know if they're gonna have the same wings that we're accustomed to. It's content. I know. That's all right. Last time we were there, you were going through some kind of thing. Oh, stupid diet thing. You're dieting. I was eating all the wings. You you really say I just didn't have cards, man.

SPEAKER_03 47:34

That's all.

SPEAKER_02 47:35

Are you are you in that phase now, or are we we get 100% full authentic biz? This is full authentic biz. We're gonna have that for the game.

SPEAKER_03 47:43

All right. We'll be cutting down a little bit, but hey, you know. All right. Ebbs and flows, guys. Ebbs and flows that's the big announcement.

SPEAKER_02 47:50

After uh, so we should have one more pod before that, right? After the document, oh definitely. Yeah, for sure, for sure. So we can uh hopefully uh again, any of the alums out there that are around are gonna be there. You need to hit us up so we know and uh we can share the information with you guys. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 48:07

And if they want to get on the show the week before, maybe maybe we give a little preview of what what's gonna be going down. We gotta get Katie on the show again. We gotta get Katie on the show. I think we need Katie on the show the next, the next, the next show. Yes. Greg, we're gonna show you. Yeah, I think that's we were awesome in the post-game interview.

SPEAKER_02 48:33

Press credential one and two. You're the you're the originals. You're uh you guys are the OGs of the press credentials for the Palestra event.

SPEAKER_03 48:41

Dude, that was awesome when we got to go into the locker room. The guy's like, Where are you going? We still look for a press credential. It was a great day. Tom goes anywhere, man. This guy's awesome. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 48:51

All right. So that's the big announcement. Yes, I'm excited. I am too. I am too. Thank you, Aaron, for setting all this up for us. Aaron, is it a Aaron or is it E-R-I-N? It's uh E-R-I-N. All right. Yeah, so we're assuming Aaron is a female. Yeah, hey. Well, I mean, you talked to her, so you should know, right? Well, we talked over over email. Oh, okay. So I haven't officially seen her, I haven't officially heard her yet. Or him. Or him. Yes. So that's our big news. Hot dog.

SPEAKER_03 49:21

Excited. Yes. All right. Well, let's win the dock green. Let's effort.

SPEAKER_05 49:24

Let's win the doc green. Let's go into season two.

SPEAKER_03 49:28

Rolling.

SPEAKER_05 49:28

40 minutes of hell.

SPEAKER_06 49:31

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I like it.

SPEAKER_02 49:34

This was an inspiring performance for you. If anybody's fired up right now, I am. I I come back to you. I mean, let's go. Like the time is now. The time is now. The hard right over the easy wrong, buddy. That's right. The hard right over the easy wrong, right?

SPEAKER_03 49:53

I like it. Well, fellas, hey, Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Happy holidays. Happy Hanukkah. It's going on right now, I guess. And uh, yeah. Happy everything. Happy everything.

SPEAKER_05 50:05

Yeah. That's our show. That's our ha our holiday classic show, our fourth one that we've ever had. Send us your thoughts and follow the show on Instagram at Junietta Basketball Show. Tell us if you're going to be at the happy hour. We're going to have a list. It's going to be very checked twice, too. That's right. Subscribe to the Junietta Men's Basketball Show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And until next time, I'm Tom Frank. I'm Biz. Go Eagles. Let's go. Effort.