The Gauntlet, the Growth, and the Game Ahead

The crew opens this week’s show with a detour into the wild world of Division I college football—predicting the playoff field, reacting to championship weekend surprises, and giving their early verdict on Penn State’s new head coach. Then it’s back to Juniata hoops, where Tom, Biz, and Coach Curley unpack a demanding stretch against Catholic and Scranton.

Coach breaks down the recurring second-half lapses, the defensive inconsistencies, and the bright spots emerging from young players stepping into bigger roles. The guys talk about the importance of the upcoming three-game home stand, the return they hope to see from Joe Bruce, and why these non-conference games matter for confidence and momentum.

And yes—the Palestra Happy Hour planning committee officially convenes as the Philly alumni army begins to assemble. A packed episode filled with big opinions, honest assessment, and the belief that the next step is still right there for the taking. Just win, baby.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

I'm Tom Frank. I'm Biz. I'm the head coach Greg Curly. And this is your Junior Atta Men's Basketball Show. Welcome listeners. I'm Tom Frank and I'm joined each and every week by Drew Basket AK Biz and your Junior Atta head basketball coach, Greg Curly, as we talk all things Junietta Men's College Basketball. It's been a minute. You are correct, sir. Well, Thanksgiving in there. Well turkey. And well, Thanksgiving was in there. And Biz, I hope you saw that I took your advice from the last show. I made a sandwich with the uh filling turkey. It's fabulous, isn't it? Yeah, it was it was it was quite good. It was an excellent suggestion. Thank you. Yeah. Um before we get to our recap, though, I got I got a few things for you guys. All right. We we had no listener question, but we had a uh listener comment, which we're gonna get to. But I have a question. Ooh. We're recording on Sunday, December 7th, post the Big Ten Championship, which which Indiana won, which still floors maybe. How did Indiana win the Big Ten championship? Because they're good. I guess. Yes. Duke beats Virginia, which I'm kind of happy about, but it's might screw the ACC. Alabama gets rocked. Yes. I think it's safe to say Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas Tech, Oregon, Old Miss, and Texas AMRN. Yes. And who are the other four? Who are the other four? We're going to predict it right before it happens. This will come out afterwards. So Oklahoma is what's that? Eight? Oklahoma gets us eight, I think. So I forgot Oklahoma. Oklahoma gets us eight. So who's our other four? Carly, you up on any of this? Have you watched any college?

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Uh I mean in and out, but not enough until down to nine, ten, eleven, and twelve. No. I'll give you the I'll give you the bubble teams.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Notre Dame, Miami, Alabama, BYU, JMU, Tulane. And I guess you could throw Duke in there as the winner of the ACC.

SPEAKER_03 2:15

Well, what it should be, it should be uh Miami or no. Well, Miami, Alabama.

SPEAKER_02 2:26

No Alabama for me. Alright. Miami, Alabama, and then well JMU and Tulane are definitely in. Are they definitely in? Well, I guess they could put Duke in there, but Duke's not going in above. So you think JMU and Tulane are both in? Yes. And then you're only going to put in Notre Dame and Alabama? Yeah. Well, the two conference champions have to be in. Are you sure of this? I'm sure. The top conference champs get in. So JMU Tulane, and you're going to say Notre Dame and Alabama? God know. I mean, it'll probably be Notre Dame, but it should be Miami because they beat Notre Dame. I'm saying Notre Dame and Miami know Alabama. Ooh. Why should Alabama get in? They got three losses. Yeah. But they have a win against Georgia. But they got rocked by Georgia last night.

SPEAKER_03 3:15

Yeah, it wasn't pretty. I don't know. It's going to be interesting.

SPEAKER_02 3:19

All right. Sorry, your ACC is gone. Well, that's okay, because we'll be back. Because I'm going to say it right now. Hokies win the ACC next year. They should. If they don't, it would be an unit. You have Messiah as your coach, so you should absolutely win it. If you don't, it's a failure. How do you feel about Coach Campbell? Do we know him? Campbell. I do. We go way back. I know D3 guys. Chris. Is he a D3 guy? Yeah, he played at Mount Union.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Mountain Union. He played with Nick Stiriani, as a matter of fact. I didn't realize he played at Mount Union. Yeah. Yeah, I would say so I root for those guys, so I'd assume uh he's gonna do well for that reason. But uh yeah, so I'm a fan of that one. Yeah, I like that then.

SPEAKER_02 4:06

Alright, I'm okay with it now. He's a D three guy. And they he he insisted they keep Terry Smith, which was a huge move on his part. Now he played there. Did he did he start co where did he start coaching? Do you know? Was it a D3 school? I would assume. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 4:21

I'd have to what's that?

SPEAKER_02 4:22

What'd you say? I would assume he started in D three, but I'm not 100% sure.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

Hmm. Well, a lot of those guys, because Mount Union's been so successful, um, and their coaches, a legendary coach. A lot of those guys have paths. They they could have probably started higher. I would bet I bet you he started in the Mac somewhere. Maybe he might be right.

SPEAKER_02 4:42

He's a Miami of Ohio guy like everybody else? He was coach at Toledo before he went to Iowa State. Hmm. All right. Well, a good hire then. It's a beautiful hire, and uh yeah. I'm looking forward to the So you're happy now, Biz. I'm very happy. We upgraded our coaching staff. We're both happy then. We are both happy. All right. We have a guy who can coach and develop. It's gonna be great. People that aren't happy, and I want to ask Coach about this old miss situation. They're going to the playoffs, their coach leaves. What do you do as a coach to get that team motivated?

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Well, they're going to the national playoffs, so I don't think there needs to be a lot of motivation. So I'm not sure. Yeah, but you but you lost so many of your stat. I mean, you lost your like leadership in a way. Yeah. Uh I I yeah, I mean, so it comes down to the quality of the leadership that's left, but as far as the players go, I mean, you got probably more motivation, more to play for. Uh I mean, you you're gonna have to fill the holes in terms of play calling and schematic. Which is a big hole, right? That's a way to they kept the offensive coordinator for the both coordinators are there. Yeah. And with is the the you know, when they lose some guys, but the size of some of those staffs now and the experience, particularly on like Elaine Kiffin's staff where they have so many analysts and stuff that have probably been in those seats, I don't know that it's uh listen, there's tough takeovers, but I think when you've got a team that good, I mean, talent helps you be a little better coach. So uh I think it's obviously disruptive, not ideal. The places that are coming off success and uh or even a little failure at the end there, but have continuity and belief uh I think have an advantage. But I I it's just a sad state. The whole thing with all the coaching and all of the changes, and you're hearing like Tom Izzo just talked about the other day, a lot of coaches are talking about it. I it's it's the whole thing is just so sad. I mean, the the whole It's ridiculous. Yeah, I mean, it is it is professional sports with no boundaries, which is bananas and crazy. But these are still 18 and 20 year old kids. Yeah, you know, they're losing an opportunity to impact these people. Um so now it trickles to the coaches, and um, you know, they're uh everyone's right in every scenario right now. You can leave, you can stay, and I don't know, uh so far away from um you know what we grew up with, but also what it probably should be. Um it's you know, all these all these people are still kids and developing into men, and now you just throw a lot of money and now you throw examples of um where you just get your own and do what you need to do, and that's the way you do it. Um I just uh as a guy obviously is a lifer at our level and what we're doing and kind of believes in the whole process and what coaching is really about and development of people and those things. Uh I don't uh you know I don't see that in all those cases. Um that doesn't mean uh you know they're all caught up in this too. I mean a lot of these guys didn't ask for this and they woke up one day and the job's completely different and uh really don't like it. A lot of them just but when you're making that kind of money and in those situations you make the best of it and you have to say the right things. But I know in just talking to some basketball guys on the back end that deal with some of this stuff, it's not I mean, it's th most of those guys never even got into it for those reasons, and so you're doing all this stuff and it's and I also think it'll attract the wrong people with coaching profession, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_02 8:02

Uh that's the problem I think that's gonna happen. It's gonna get people who are chasing money more than they are chasing what they want to do and their passion for these kids. I mean, how crazy is it that you're actually you're going like Lane Kiffin's never won a national championship, right? So you're literally going to the college football playoff where you have a decent shot of winning a national championship. Very good shot. Like, who was it? It was Patina. He sent out like a tweet or something, he's like, that'd be like me, that'd be like me getting uh St. John's the number one seed and uh change head coaching jobs in March. Like but do you think that he wouldn't do that? Like, what if they offered him an outrageous amount of money to go to Michigan State or Michig somewhere else?

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Well, I mean I'm sure Rick Potino has been offered an outrageous amount of money every year for the last 20 years. So I think uh he's probably now he's got his own issues and challenges, I think, in terms of we're talking about always being the the uh role model we want for our uh student athletes. Um but in terms of like his his kind of like value system in terms of coaching and loyalty and the development of folks. I mean, you gotta remember he's been people have been trying to hire him for years. Now he's left a few times, but um this is so this is on warp speed, the the craziest of this. Uh there, I mean, you know, when I first got into it, you know, what do you look for in a coach? I mean, all the mentors and stuff, number one, loyalty, number two, you know, that that stuff does not even uh register. Um but the unfortunate thing is I do think even uh you know uh I think fans have created this. I think administrators and their reaction to things, and it's all about the money and the dollar. It's not about developing student athletes at any level. Um I think it's it's a shame. Uh it's changed. I mean, like I'm like everybody else, yeah, it's changed. Uh, but it's a shame. And where where do we find these areas that we can develop young people uh to be leaders of tomorrow in different ways, um, you know, meaningfully. And uh people act like it doesn't matter. And uh I don't know. I think it matters way more than we think. And uh, we all have kids and they're growing up. I don't know. Society, sure. I think we'll find out.

SPEAKER_02 10:17

I agree with you. I gotta I got a good question for you though. I can't ask Coach this. I won't ask Coach this. Yeah, but I'll ask you this. Let's say let's say ESPN calls us tomorrow. Yeah. Says we're gonna offer you each a million dollars to host um our D3 podcast, but you can never speak of Junietta ever again. This is out. You're never allowed to say the word Junietta ever again on the air. Well, wait, all of us are in? Curly's in too? No, Curly's out because he's a coach. It's just me and you, so we have to leave Curly behind.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

I'm jumping in on this because this is preposterous because you're you're talking about the ability to move up and change your family's life and do those things. That's not what they're doing.

SPEAKER_02 11:01

You're okay with it.

SPEAKER_01 11:02

Well, Lane Griffin didn't do that. He's not Okay, okay, then we gotta Okay, okay. Let me think about it. These guys are different reasons, and people are leaving places and doing things where it's it's we're not talking about like changing. That's a lateral move, you're saying. Yeah, no one could ever get in the way of somebody changing or bettering their life in those kind of ways. No, no one's saying you can't tell me these guys are doing that stuff now, or those are the reasons.

SPEAKER_02 11:23

This is a Catholic calls us and gives us gives us each a hundred grand to go do their start their podcast, but we have to be like we have to completely flip. We have to be like pro-Catholic, anti-Junietta.

SPEAKER_03 11:43

No, you're not doing it, Biz. No. I mean you know, hundred grand. Now, if it was a million bucks, hey, you know, people get bought.

SPEAKER_02 11:56

100 grand, though. It's probably not gonna happen, so we probably never have to worry about it. But uh, I guess I'll be loyal too. You're loyal. Get the hell Catholic. Yeah. Million bucks, uh, that's a different story. All right. A million bucks. Interesting conversation. Interesting conversation. Hey, we do we gotta do address this. So we had Larry Christ reach out to us. Larry! Larry. Thank you for reaching out to us on Instagram. Biz, he wants to know the details on the uh the Palester Happy Yeah. We gotta start putting this together. It's it's already coming. So wait, what time's the game this time? Do we know? Five o'clock. We played. Oh, it's a five o'clock game. I like that. I do too. I do too. Is that the last game of the night or is there a game after? I think there's a seven o'clock game after us, I think. So we're the third game of four. I think so. Oh, I like this a lot, Biz. Yeah, man. I mean, I'm kind of thinking we're setting up by noon. I'm getting a hotel. I'm thinking we're setting up by noon at the Miss Miss Condo Tavern. Oh, we gotta get it. We gotta finalize the deal with them, but they're in. Oof. And that's walkable. It was walkable, right? Oh, yeah, it's right there. Yeah, it was walkable, yeah, yeah, yeah. Larry wings, man. Get the wings. Get the wings. All right, so more details. We're gonna have to get the details out early because we got a whole batch of parents and kids who didn't experience the Polester that last year. We're gonna have alumni parents and alumni themselves coming. Yeah, we I'm worried we might need a bigger place than Miss School Conduct Tavern. Hey, you know what? Shop us around and say, hey, we're gonna bring 20 people. So what kind of 20? I'm thinking we're bringing at least 50. All right. What kind of specials can we get? Yeah. And they gotta be maybe like blue and gold drinks or something, or maybe they put a little sprinkle in it. I'm thinking food, though. No, okay. I will, you know, I'll let you do the food, I'll deal with the drinks. Good enough then. All right, yeah, it's gonna happen. It's definitely happening. What's the date of this? It's in January. January 11th. It's it's right around the corner, Biz. I know. We're less than a month. We got to drop news before Christmas on exact finals.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

All right, let's do it. All right. I'm just worried. I'm worried by January 11th, uh, Biz might be hosting the Catholic uh pregame at Misconduct Tavern. Uh because are they playing there too? Well, I I don't uh there's eight teams. Remember, there's uh two women's games, two men's games. I I don't know the two that are out this year, but I I assume seven numbers, Catholic.

SPEAKER_02 14:18

Seven at least. Let's get this, let's talk. Is it both is it both men's games? Are they the two later games or is it mixed up, like boys, girls, boys?

SPEAKER_01 14:26

You know what? I I would have to go back and look. I'm not 100% sure. I think it might alternate, but um I don't know. We played at what two?

SPEAKER_02 14:34

Wait, we played early last time.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

Yeah, we played earlier. We played the first game last time, I think.

SPEAKER_02 14:38

Yeah. All right. So I here's here's what I suggest, Biz. Yes. After this week's show, we're gonna have a break, in essence, because we don't have another we have a game, we have a game this week, but then we don't have another game until Doc Green. All right. I think we have to have our our planning session. And maybe even we bring in some Philly guys, Philly guys who are listening, to kind of help out a little bit. Oh, yeah. Who do we got down there? We I don't know, but maybe we have some co-hosts for the evening that are Philly guys who are gonna be there. Evans down there, right? Biz will buy you a beer. Uh Biz will buy you wings and a beer on his new Catholic $100,000 deal.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Nick Rigby's out there, Tyler Tina's out there.

SPEAKER_02 15:20

Oh, that's right, Rigby's out there. He's an organized with the excellent co-host. Yeah, Rigby's an or organizer. Tell him to organize this stuff. All right, so we need to reach out to some of these guys. This this is.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

And Martin Azie's out there. There's more guys out there. Ooh, there's some. I'm missing guys. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

We're gonna have a big crowd. You're right.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

John Kelly's in Baltimore, but you know he's always Philly. So he's always.

SPEAKER_02 15:41

Oh, yeah, John Kelly will definitely come up.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

I'll pick you up, John Kelly, on the way. Well, he was at the last one, if I remember. I think that was the year after he graduated. Remember that? I think he and his dad were there.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

So we didn't know, we didn't really know John back then. Now we know. All right. I like this a lot. Oh, this is gonna be fun together. Woo! All right. Let's talk recap of last week. We had two games. We had Catholic, 86, junior out of 71. Our guys lost Wednesday evening inside Memorial Gymnasium. Malcolm Griffith, who is becoming a, I think, a favorite of Biz, had 12 points, three rebounds. Yeah, yeah. Ty had 10 points, three rebounds, two assists. Noah Bailey, perfect four for four from three for twelve points to go with three assists and a rebound off the bench. Now, coach, would it be accurate to say this was a game until probably the start of the second half? They went on a 21-4 run, made it 59-36. What happened there? What happened coming out of that?

SPEAKER_01 16:46

We we just didn't start the second half very well. Uh I think we came out and actually scored, and then they went on a 15 something. You know, we we just we're not defending um at the level you need to defend against these top teams. And uh hate to say it, but uh, if you're looking across the league, everybody's I mean, they're they bring different things to the table, but the level of the caliber play is pretty high, so we're gonna have to figure all that stuff out. We're just too inconsistent with it uh coming in and out of breaks. Sometimes our focus on our ability to kind of maintain levels is not there. Uh and or you know, these are veteran experienced, exceptionally successful teams that understand how important those five minutes are and understand how to kind of stay focused. And I don't know about taking it to another level, but at least maintain the level. And um we have not shown kind of the ability, maturity or experience to do that. And it's hard to you know constantly be in those positions, but yeah, we it was very much a game uh going into halftime uh and then just kind of came out and I just thought they stretched it out. Uh and uh we we just broke down too many ways defensively. Uh it's kind of been the theme. It was a little bit the theme of the last two and a half games. Uh and we've got to get that stuff figured out. We're gonna continue to work on it. But this is part of playing these games to realize, hey, you know, if you're not there's no plays off. Um you you have to max out uh physically and mentally every possession. Um you have to be able to execute at a high level defensively, like understanding rotations and where to be and when to be. Um we're not there with, and uh until we get that sorted out, uh we're gonna have some challenges. Um uh so yeah, that was pretty accurate.

SPEAKER_02 18:28

It's it's a deep league. I was looking at the standings this week. And then I which by the way, Dre Bez, I don't know if you saw this, but Drew lost on Wednesday in overtime to Elizabethtown.

unknown 18:40

Whoa.

SPEAKER_02 18:40

Kind of a bit of a shocker. Although Elizabeth Town looks like they could be really good this year.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

Yeah, they have veteran guards. I mean, they have I mean Federally, one of the top players in the league. I think that's the common theme with all these top teams, is they have uh guys that are uh, you know, first team all at league level, player of the year kind of candidates, and and uh one or two of them, um and at least and some experience uh at Keith places uh they all bring different unique challenges. So yeah, they're very good. Uh Moravian is very good. Uh I think they've been a little up and down. They had coaching change and one or two different pieces, but there's obviously super talented can score. They have Ratcliffe inside. So um yeah, it's it's uh there's no rest for the weary, and we have to correct a lot uh to have success. I mean, we're a much improved team. Um, I mean, we we're uh solid, we're developing, we're getting better, we play better together, we're doing a lot of things well, uh, but we're up against a standard of guys that are uh all pretty high caliber teams, and uh we haven't really shown ourselves to be at that level consistently right now.

SPEAKER_02 19:48

I mean, heck, you could say those four teams that you started with are could be the top four teams in the league, too.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

So, I mean, geez, it let's just gauntlet starts right away. Yeah, we'll have to see. I mean, so so much of this is how much we grow and get better from this. Um, and we've been inconsistent in those spaces. I mean, we have to uh be be better um in our daily preparation, our enthusiasm, our our excitement for the process. And uh, you know, we talked to guys, you know, we'd be tested here a little bit like uh I think when we when we shipped off, you know, we were leaving port, everybody's pretty excited to start the year. I'm not sure we even got there last year, so we got to make the journey, felt good. Um, but now you're in the uh open ocean and uh there's no light, there's no land in sight, and this is when it really hits and maybe hit the doldrums and don't go real far. Um this is this this is a challenge is can you can you sustain um your focus, your energy, your competitive uh endurance? Is it there? And then is your will to prepare every day there? And how hard are we preparing? Um and so we have I think we're learning those lessons and understanding margins are not big. Um I think you saw through those four games they all brought different things. Yeah, and I don't know if you really are objective. I'm not sure we had an advantage in any game um at any particular area. Um I don't think we're disadvantaged uh a lot, but you know, without advantage, then then you're gonna have to be really, really solid defensively. Uh you're gonna have to be kind of five versus one defensively and five guys a threat offensively. Um I didn't think uh well in the Catholic game, we moved the ball. We really offensively probably had our best outing in a long time in terms of how efficient we were, uh how we shared the ball, uh, what we did there. They're a top 20 defense in the country. So that was super encouraging, and I think we've made strides and steps, but again, we just can't consistently string stops together. We can't consistently put offensive possessions together. But I'll say our good possessions are as good as they need to be. And our you know, that's not where we've been. Um it's just we have to tip the scale and have as many of those as we need in a game to be successful. Um, and we can't kind of cave or give in, and it's not always cave. Um we do just inconsistent. Um our focus isn't always there. We lose focus off the ball. Um and we talk, you know, particularly on the defensive end, um, toughness comes off the ball with your ability to concentrate, um, your ability to recognize, anticipate, see, and stay engaged. And we do struggle with that. Um, and too many guys struggle with it consistently. And that goes back to practice habits focus. It also goes a little bit to youth for the speed of the game and understanding um you can't take there's no breaks. They right, and you have to execute over and over again, multiple efforts. Uh there's a standard of execution all the time. You have to finish possessions the right way with blockouts, you're not just going to be the biggest guy who goes and gets it. Um, and we're, again, not overmatching teams in those areas. So it takes a collective effort all the time. And that moving that many folks all the time to get them to that level is a bigger challenge. I think the great thing that we look at in the hope is that if you can get all five guys to play that way, um, then you can compete with anybody at any time. And as the rest develops and you find advantages and guys mature and develop more, um, now you got a chance to be in a different class as it's as a program and as a team. Uh that seems a little crazy where we are right now, but I I think you can see flashes and feel that, and that's where we need to be. Uh but our work isn't done. And I mean, right now, if you put it on paper where the league is, I you know, there's no if the the odds makers are looking at things, I mean, I I'm not sure where the advantage is for us. So we're gonna have to be able to upset teams, and we're gonna have to be able to do it consistently, and we haven't been able to do the things yet that allow us to do that.

SPEAKER_02 23:33

I mean, if you look at the standings right now, the top seven teams have four or more wins. And then the top five have six or more wins already. Some good teams. There's some good teams in here. Catholics sitting at the top at the only undefeated in the conference. But we got three teams at seven and one, including Elizabeth Town and Drew. And who you played in your next game is Granton. And we'll be right back.

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SPEAKER_02 24:49

And now, back to the show. Yes, Granton 79, Juni at a 61. This past Saturday, Ty led the Eagles with 17 points. He was uh nine of ten from the free throw line, so I did appreciate that. Um six rebounds, three assists, three steals. Uh Hurley uh put in 11 with two rebounds, two assists, two steals, and then your guy, Malcolm Griffith, contributed 10 points, two rebounds, an assist, and a block. We had a we had a we got to talk about this guy because we don't know a lot about him yet. Trey Yon got the start. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

Well, I mean added eight points. Yeah, no, Trey played really well uh Saturday. Uh and Trey uh uh I mean he's played he's one of the most consistent guys in terms of minutes and opportunity over the last year and a half. Um uh his his first opportunity to start last year behind Mason this year. We've had Joe playing the one. Joe was out um uh yesterday. Uh hope to get him back soon. But uh, you know, that that's a lot to overcome in that game, too. Um you know, Joe brings a lot to us, um, which gives us and you could see us miss that a little bit in that game, but I thought for the most part we did well. But Trey, in his own right, is a very good player um and really played well. Uh he he's a really he's a he's a pure point guard, uh, he's a very good defender, uh super athletic. So I thought he really probably um I thought Ty played really well yesterday. Um but it was another uh situation. You know, we we were 12 minutes in the game, it's back and forth, we're right there playing well, and then we just hit a bull. And uh it's a little bit um where we've been at times, and and I I just thought we, for whatever reason, uh we we kind of slow down offensively, lose a little focus defensively, um, whether it's youth, whether it's confidence, whether it's fatigue, whether it's rolls change because we're shorter guy. Um but you know, we just uh weren't consistent enough particularly defensively again. I mean they I think they rebounded 54% of their misses and they shot 51%. Like we're just not um consistently guarding where we need to. The Tourne Bay kid um who was rookie of the year in the league last year, um their interior root the Ruisy Tourne Bay are very, very good. Their whole team's very good. But if you remember, Scranton was in a very similar position to us for the last two years. Um we're a year behind them in all this, if if you guys remember, they're almost exactly the same spot. And so all of those guys playing for them now um have been through that. Um and um this is the the product for them. They're they're very, very good. And then the scout the night before, you know, I told the guys this is what a tough collective team, when we're trying to be five guys with threat five versus one, that's how they play. Um I mean the bright spots, they were forcing 19 turnovers a game, averaging 12 steals a game. We only turned it over 11 times. Uh we got to the foul line 31 times. We're 23 for 31. Um so there's and those aren't things we we've been able to consistently do. Uh but we didn't have an answer for turnabay uh uh inside. Um, you know, we we just didn't rebound the ball consistently and misses. Um and again, we had some breakdowns defensively and rotations and those things that cost us. And then the bottom line is we just didn't shoot the ball. We've been shooting we've shot the ball pretty consistently throughout the season. You shoot 33%, um, you're not gonna win the game. And um you can't shoot 33%. You gotta that game's gotta be 74-72 kind of game. Uh and we couldn't put that keep that pressure on them, score 28 points first half, give up 45, but you know, they hit a buzzer beater from three quarter court to to send it to 45. Um we it, you know, we when you're scoring with them, it takes a little pressure off things. Um so we we got outplayed. Um I think they're very good. Uh honestly coming in wasn't sure where they were, but they're they're they they have I mean listen, the bottom line is basketball, when you have five guys who can dribble past, shoot, and make decisions, those are when you have your best teams, and they have that. And their interior guys are are really just perimeter guys playing inside with some quickness and the toughness to match. So they're uh, you know, that kind of matches what we've looked like with some of our best teams. Um and we again, you know, that's where I I just feel like there's a learning curve for us. Um I think we're right there with them, but again, do we have advantages places? Uh not right now, and we have to work till we get those. Uh because uh, you know, upsets are hard to come by. That's why they're called upsets, and we we have gotta learn from the situation and get better. Um I I wasn't very happy with some of our toughness in yesterday's game, but uh, this was the toughest team. If we look through the the four games we played, like I thought Susk, you know, Sus Susquehanna, kind of the interior, the way they're gonna play inside out was the challenge there and what we learned and how you played inside and and how you're physical and a presence and play inside out. I thought Drew, um, they just had that competitive, like you know, they they see see them, they have a swag and they believe they're winning because of where they were and their pressure. They just pressure you the entire game. I think a Catholic probably is the best collection of of talent and execution. Like if you make mistakes, they execute and you will be you will pay immediately. And I think that was a great challenge. I thought Scranton just brings like team and toughness, man, like and and just guys are hoopers and and like competitors. And uh so I think if we can pull stuff from every one of those games and understand what it really looks like, what I would say is I don't think we're up to any of those standards, those those four things I talked about. We're not at the level of those teams in those areas. And but we're not we're not deficient. We're there, but we're not where we need to be. And I I've said it again where we sit right now, being solid or okay in terms of culture approach isn't going to be enough for us. We have to be elite. Um and we are not elite in in in those areas yet. Uh, but we are continuing to improve.

SPEAKER_02 30:40

I think you're right though, it's consistency because every one of those games you were in until there was that one moment. And then they they it I don't know what happened. They just had that stretch.

SPEAKER_01 30:50

Yeah, I mean, if you look at yesterday's if you look at yesterday's game, we really controlled um so unlike uh the the the Catholic and Scrant game, we controlled probably uh 16 or well, I don't know, 12, 14 minutes of the second half. Um, you know, we we were down and we we got it back to 11 with the ball and um had really first time probably strung a bunch of stops together, strung good possessions offensively together, getting to the foul line, playing together, moving the ball. Um, and then we come down and we turn it over and come down to the other end. Um they score uh on a breakdown, and then that kind of did it with four minutes left. But I mean, those were positives. Uh the the s likewise, the Catholic game, we finished very strong, played really hard the whole way through. Um, you know, I I didn't think we did that the second half of the Drew game. That was the first time we kind of got kicked in the teeth and kind of backed up. I mean, our most complete game to date was obviously the Susquehanna game. Um I thought our toughness was on point. I thought we were probably the team playing harder the majority of that game, but we haven't been able to do that against our opponent for three straight games. You know, we haven't been able to replicate that. And we have to play that way every game all the time. And that comes with our approach every day at practice, and that comes with our approach um every day towards a walkthrough or you know, maximizing everything mentally and physically, so you're prepared to do that, and that's just how you play. And and we we just are not there and we need to get there. Um now, I do think our execution, um, our challenge, the focus these games have brought have allowed us to improve uh because we're under dress and stress all the time, right? Like, and so uh I think and it's uh letting guys understand they need to improve, but what's our capacity to continue uh to kind of soldier on and keep going uh despite outcomes? Uh now it's gonna turn into kind of a competitive character choice. And you know, I I like where we sit with that stuff. Um, but you know, we talked about a little bit last year. Um, you know, I'm in six or you know, when you when you group 600 games together, uh it where they you know you just understand process when you're that age, right? And uh you can't kind of see past tomorrow and uh a season feels like forever and it it feels hopeless or worthless if if things aren't you aren't getting the results you want. That's what we have to guard against. But I do think these guys have seen success. They know they're improving and they know they're better. It's impossible for anybody to sit and watch. Yeah, I agree. And not number one, recognize the the the quality of the league. It's really hard not to recognize how good the teams we are playing. These are good teams.

SPEAKER_02 33:25

I mean, these are good teams and and and you guys are definitely have improved significantly. Um you gotta you gotta you're getting that swagger. I I think the next three games you're on a six-game home streak, which is kind of crazy. Um I think the next three games to me, and I you'll you'll you'll probably disagree with this, but are are absolutely critical. Like I think just because you're coming, you're they're non-conference games, gotta get some swagger back. You got a team coming in Wednesday, which we'll talk about, plus you got the Doc Green, which I always think is kind of a fun, you know, mid-season tournament to to like go after something and win a little bit of a mini championship and so so to speak. So I think I think the next three at home are pretty pretty darn important.

SPEAKER_01 34:05

Yeah, I mean, I uh listen the one thing I do know is like the league and stuff doesn't really start until the end of January. That's when uh end of January, beginning beginning in February is when um things separate in the league. And now with 18 games that might have shifted a little bit. I'd have to get a couple more years in with 18 games to see when that hits. But um, we used to always say that. Now, with more league, maybe that's a little earlier because you're getting through the cycle of the league. Um, but so there's still a long way to go with that in terms of things. Long way to go when you catch somebody, where they are. Um, like you said, all these teams are winning a lot of games. Everybody's up, everybody's playing well. Um, so for us to take this on the chin and stay positive and confident, I mean, I at some point, you know, those calluses make you what you are and make you uh tough enough to be there if you use it the right way and if you have that kind of will and desire and commitment. Um uh and you improve. Uh, you know, you can't you can go through it but not learn the lessons, not improve, not have that relentless pursuit of improvement in you, which we have to have. Um, and you're learning those lessons and understanding how to approach things better. Uh, and not necessarily, you know, nothing's gonna change dramatically, but our approach can, how connected we are, understanding how to play together, recognizing situations and circumstances, not making the same mistake twice that are either mental um or uh you know preventable in terms of come in and concentrate on what you're doing, uh, or understanding uh coverages and rotations and or understanding what they're doing against us, um, and here's how we have to attack that. You know, as long as we're uh moving forward in those things. Um, and I I think we have. I I think we've really improved sort of in a team space. I think we've improved um in kind of uh role and understanding of who we are, and and that's allowed us to be better. Um I think uh our work rate is high. Um, but you know, we have to be better at execution. We have to execute defensively consistently. Um we can't kind of give in when it gets a little tough for us if I've struggled in a certain area. Uh we we can't be motivated through scoring. I mean, Lord knows we don't score well enough to be motivated that way anyway. Um, but we have guys on an individual level that's still it's still there. You can fight it all you want, but that isn't how what winning looks like. Winning players and teams are motivated by one thing, winning. They don't care about the rest of that stuff. And when it's uh, hey, I put it in, I mean that that's uh this isn't uh, you know, like my kids are playing travel ball right now. That this is not where we are here. And so I think that that's the maturity piece. I think guys sometimes have to go through it. I think the humbling a little bit that hey bud, uh, you know, uh Turner Benet yesterday got 32 on us, right? And uh he's finishing plays that we're not finishing right now, you know, and he's finishing with the force in the in the in the the you know attacking thing. So number one, either you got that ability, you show you can do that consistently, which we haven't seen. And number two, then you better figure out alternatives, and that's to be solid, simple, and together and to do those things right over and over again. So um I think that's where we sit. Uh so it's like everything else. Um we've we're through these four games, we can't go back and change things, but we'll see where it gets us. I completely agree. Uh this next stretch is incredibly important. Our challenge for us is um we have our last week of classes this coming week. Then we have finals. Yeah, how are we gonna handle uh this break period? Is it to refresh, rejuvenate, uh clean up stuff, go to work on things, and come back more ready? Uh are we going to drift off into other places and have to come back and redo things? Um well, I mean, this is these are the We're not drifting. We're not drifting. I feel it.

SPEAKER_02 37:52

Yeah. I feel it. Let's look ahead. Let's look ahead. Tom Scouting report presented by Snapdragon Apples, Monster Crunch Legendary Flavor. Find Snapdragon at your local grocery store, the official apple of the Junior Adam Men's basketball show. We got Wednesday night, 7 o'clock, Bethany College Bison. That's out of West Virginia, biz, if you didn't know where that was. Actually, I did, because uh correct me if I'm wrong, but that is uh Kevin Curley coaching stop, I do believe.

SPEAKER_01 38:18

Am I that was his uh that was his first Bethany College? That was his first coaching stop. And if you guys remember my senior year, we played them. It was Kev's first year of coaching. It was my 21st birthday, and we played yeah, so that's when it uh kind of all started.

SPEAKER_02 38:36

I didn't realize your brother lived in West Virginia at a at a at a at a at a time in his life. Yeah. Very interesting. Well, bisons come in. Research by Biz. Spots good by biz. That's why you're the color man right there. Bison's come in at two and five.

unknown 38:50

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 38:51

Bison's come in at two and five following a 94-74 win over Penn State Beaver. Never even heard of Penn State Beaver. They'll play Mercyhurst in a in an exhibition game on Sunday just to warm up for the Eagles, I think. Um they're averaging 83 points a game and are led by a 6'6 sophomore forward, Jaden Jackson from Columbia, South Carolina. Big kid who's averaging 17 points a game. What else do we know about this team? I I think we need to look at this game and we need to put it all together, and we need to go out and just beat the hell out of license. Execute. Like I want a dominant game.

SPEAKER_01 39:29

Well, I I I I mean, uh we'll take a good performance and a win right now because they're pretty I want a dominant You just said it. I mean, they're averaging 83 a game, so they can score. They have uh uh some athletes. I have truthfully I haven't gotten into them yet. I mean, we've been in the midst of the league, uh, so that'll be today. Um I just finished kind of uh recapping and watching us from yesterday and really worrying about us, but um no, this is gonna be a uh a challenge. Their schedule's a little funky. They played they went on a West Coast swing, so they went out and played Whitman. West Coast swing. So like the Western uh United States Division IIIs, um, oftentimes they they basically uh pay teams uh guy like buy games to come out to play them. You mean Western as in like California? Yeah, state of Washington. State of Washington.

SPEAKER_02 40:17

So they're gonna fly them out there to play them.

SPEAKER_01 40:21

So those and they're all and so there's very few division threes out there, so they can't find enough games often. So what they'll do is they bring you, they they may help with hotels or flights or something like that. And teams will go out there and play like kind of Barnstorm, play two or three games. Um, and they're very good teams. Part of it is we talk about it, there's no division twos out there. So like your division one, you're playing at Washington State, or you might be playing at Whitman, right? Um, so like uh so there's uh a little bit, so they're good. And Bethany was in every one of those games. I mean, obviously you're you're flying across the country, not something um guys at our level are used to. Um so it's a pretty they they they had an exhibition with Bowling Green, they had an exhibition with Mercyhurst, uh probably guarantee games to help fund the trip they just made, if I had to guess. Um, and then they really had, I think, like two relatively normal games. Penn State Beaver is not a Division III team. They're uh they're uh um in the Penn State Commonwealth system. Uh so uh I mean that's sort of What are they considered then? Well they're they're not they play in the probably they play in the Penn State in the Commonwealth Campus League. So they're like USC and the It's uh um you know it's probably more a bye game along your lines. I don't know how Beaver, I I think Beaver's one of the campuses that'll close here. So that that whole thing has has shifted. Um so it that's a hard um there's no comps here to really know how good they are. They're in a good league where uh in a league where it's pretty athletic and they score a lot. Uh so and so that's a different style than we've probably seen. I you know, right now. So it it is this is this pretty big challenge. Anytime you got a guy 6'6 averaging 17. I think they had five guys in double figures last game. They have four guys averaging double figures. Um I think they got guys that get some shots up and are aggressive. Um, so yeah, I don't know. Uh I I would not um I mean look at our record. So uh I I think they're coming.

SPEAKER_02 42:22

They might be saying the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 42:23

Absolutely they are. And that that's uh that's a uh that's a mental uh uh challenge that and an opportunity they have. They're they're seeing W for them, and particularly coming off Mercyhurst, and you can't lose this game today if they play Mercy Hurst. What's the deal with Mercyhurst?

SPEAKER_02 42:37

Why is that an exhibition game? Who why is that? Well, they're division one now. Oh, they're division one now. I didn't even realize it. Yeah, as a matter of fact, uh a good friend, family friend of ours, their daughter was uh recruited by Mercyhurst to play basketball, and her first year they flipped to D1. So they went from D three to D one or D two to D one? D two. D two D two to D one. Yes. She's got recruited now, she's a D one hooper up there. So shout out to Mercy Hurst, let's go. That's kind of interesting. Um, and you're right, they played three games in the state of Washington Whitworth, Witten in, and then the Pugin Sound. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of wits. I know, I I I kind of was confused by that for a minute there, Bez. But that's yeah, that's a big trip out to Washington. Yeah, it is. All right. Going from Seattle, Tacoma to uh Huntington. Kind of similar. You've now seen all of it.

SPEAKER_01 43:31

You've seen all the site. You've seen the entire world.

SPEAKER_02 43:34

So wait a minute though. So you're telling me middle of the country, there's no division two, division three, we gotta go all the way to the West Coast.

SPEAKER_01 43:42

Well, I what I'm saying is the West Coast, there's not a lot of teams. Um there's not as there's not the density of uh of like universities and colleges. You gotta remember in Pennsylvania and Maryland is the highest uh rate uh or the most colleges and universities in like per square mile or whatever. Like the uh Pennsylvania and Maryland. Well, Pennsylvania has the most division three schools, but I think it also has the most private schools, colleges. Um and if you go the East Coast, uh just population density and those things, you go west, everything spreads out, right? There's less.

SPEAKER_03 44:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:14

Um and so west, young men.

SPEAKER_03 44:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:17

And and you go even farther west. Um uh there's just not as many. Uh now Midwest, uh, there's a there's a lot of division three schools, the Ohio, Indiana, uh those areas, but there's not as many division two schools. Um so there's also the most Division II schools in PSAC around here, West Virginia Athletic Conference. Uh there's a bunch of different ones.

SPEAKER_02 44:38

We're a smart state, Tom. Well, hey, put Maryland right in there, too. Yeah, Maryland. Yeah, we'll give you Maryland. It's all relatively the same right there, yeah. Relatively the same, Biz, except we got we got we got water and mountains. Well, we got water too. We got crabs. You don't have red, you don't have you don't have blue crabs. We got lakes. Crawfish, buddy. Crawfish Louisiana? Hell yeah, boy. All right, Biz. Let's get to our game balls here. The game balls. Well, before the game balls, I got two suggestions for the coach for his body. Okay. All right. Number one, you're gonna show him two videos. You're gonna show a video of Dennis Rodman getting rebounds because we uh we got out rebounded a little bit the last two games. Yeah, we're not doing the job on the glass, so I agree with you on that. And then the second one, you're talking about teamwork and what it means to be a team. You need to show them the video of LeBron James giving up his whatever it was, 2,000 game streak of scoring at least 10 points, where he could have shot the ball, but he passed it to Hachamura to hit the three to uh win the game. So that's selflessness from you know, the second best player ever, because Jordan will always be the best player ever, but you know, show him that and say this is what selflessness is. This is what Tina Keldman did he threw it to Hachamura, who was a wizard at one point to hit the game winner. That's sad.

SPEAKER_01 45:59

Well, I think I mean more than less than selflishness, it's just make the right play. And but who had the shot? We do not, I mean, we're we're way better, and we really when we share the ball, so I mean, the things we're emphasizing, when we move the ball, share the ball, when we're engaged defensively, like we're really there are really good stretches where we can compete with anybody and really with some of the stuff we do probably have advantages and are better. Uh our just uh we just revert too often to to uh reverting. Yep. Uh poor decision making or not making the right play at times or the kind of lack of energy and focus on that stuff. Um and I I think that's equal parts youth. Um I think it's you know uh not equal parts, it it's mostly youth. Uh again, I say youth um it's really hard when you're in it because you think you're on an even playing field. But uh, you know, though they had, you know, Scranton, Catholic, all that I think not I don't think any of them really uh played many freshmen, if any freshmen. Uh none in any key roles. And when we actually played against the younger guys in those stretches and we had our matchups and lineups, we outplayed them. Um but then we're we're on the other end of that the majority, the vast majority of the time, if not all the time. And so sometimes it's hard uh you know to see the clouds through the trees with um all the where we are, and you try to remember that. And there's we also none of us want to accept that, anybody, you know, you want to watch and see and perform, and what's that matter? But trying to uh balance that, um, you know, the whole thing with expectations is standard, they they have to be managed and reasonable, right, to make progress. You can't be crazy, but there's these are all things we can do better. The rebounding one could uh biz and the uh sound decision making. I I actually believe it or not, the uh the LeBron paid play was one that I was gonna forward on to the group. Um because we we we don't don't do that. Some of our youth and our some of our desire to make a play when we're in struggling in tough situations, we we will force. And uh all that happens when you force is nothing good.

SPEAKER_02 48:06

So all right. All right, so game balls. Sorry, a little tangent there, but not a good tangent, thank you. Thank you very much. All right, so for the uh for the Catholic game, you know, I gotta go. I gotta go with my guy, Malcolm. I was torn a fan favorite right here. He is, man. You know, he uh he started the game, played well. I was torn though, I I it was close to give uh you know some love to the bench. But uh, you know, we had to go with Malcolm on that one. Noah you get an honorable mention, my friend. Yeah, but that doesn't get you much. No. Well, neither does the game ball really, but hey, you know. Um and then for the Catholic game, I mean, it was uh Ty all day. That was an easy one. He carried carried the mail as much as he could in that game. Um I I thought maybe um uh Trey would maybe get in there. Uh he was there, but Malcolm uh I mean Ty was 17. Like he he lit up the uh stat line. You know him a big stat line guy. He lit up the stat lines. All right, fair enough. Yeah. Hey, so Carly, you don't have to answer this if you don't want Beth any to know, but blink once if uh if Joe Bruce is gonna play this week. He didn't blink. Oh, he blinked. All right. I can't tell if he blinked or not blinked. I don't know. We won't know. He might be falling asleep. I don't know. We'll leave that one to go. Let's go, Joe. Get better.

SPEAKER_01 49:34

Yeah, we need Joe back. No, I'm mesmerized by his bit by Biz's uh point-on evaluation of performances in these last couple games.

SPEAKER_02 49:42

I mean, uh Biz has really elevated his guys. I just sit in the background. You know, I don't speak a lot, but I speak importantly. You do. When you speak, it counts. That's right. That's a good voice to have, Biz. Thank you. That's right, man. I don't talk just to hear myself. Yeah, I like to talk just to hear myself. Oh, well, you know, everybody has a talent. That's right. All right, fellas. So we we got a big game this week. All right. This is the game. Yeah, I'm with you, Tom. This is where everybody puts it together, you know. Yeah. And then we go and we we take our finals, we ace those. Yep. Then we come back for the Doc Green. And the Doc Green to me is is is it's kind of like the equivalent of the NBA in-season tournament. Yeah. Right? Totally agree. Yeah. NBA Because we might have to try to get to a Doc Green game. Yes. Well, it's over break. I'm off. It is over break. I don't know if I had the same giant break that Biz does, but I'll I'll try. I save up my vacation days. Of course, I'm not running a company either. I don't have vacation days. Yeah, I know. We have no vacation days at our office. Take it when you want it. Oh, I like that. You like that that uh that concept? We'll have to talk about uh possible employment opportunities. All right. Let's go land our hundred thousand dollar uh Catholic deal. All right. And then we'll be more than that. Anyway, yeah, all right. More than that, we're not leaving curls on that one. Now, if it was a million bucks, half a million. I'd go for half a million. Yeah, that would change lives. Sure. All right, we'll see what happens. All right. But until next time, make sure you continue to send us your thoughts and follow the show on it. Let's get some questions out there. Let's get some more questions. Let's, hey, we're gonna get everything out about the big happy hour. Oh, yeah. So, Larry, thank you for bringing it up and we're ready to roll. It's gonna be fun. Guarantee you no other team's gonna be doing that, Obama. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. But I would invite other fans to come. Yeah. Why not? But they they're gonna get the worst seats in the house and we're gonna boo them the whole time. But but they can come. Throw chicken bones at them. That's right. Follow the show on Instagram at Junior At a Basketball Show. Subscribe to the Junior Adam Basketball Show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And until next time, I'm Tom Frank. I'm Biz. Just win, baby. Just win.