Thanks for listening to the Best of Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from twelve to three eastern, nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS one. Find your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowhern on Fox Sports Radio. No, it is a Friday and there is a lot to talk about live and finally, Sonny, Los Angeles, It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, Thanks for megan us part of your day. What a absolutely riveting can't take your eyes off at night. Michigan State, Kansas State, Ucla Gonzaga weird stretches. Ucla couldn't score ten eleven minutes, yet suddenly they were right back in it. That was fantastic your Michigan State Michigan State Spartans. That was a great game. That was one of the better games of the church. We may have seen two of the top three games in the tournament could have been the top two games in the tournament. You could argue that Kansas State game goes down in sweet sixteen. Lore is one of the greatest ever. It was unbelievable. It was a close game, tense shot making our guy Noel and very very rarely do I forget to eat dinner. I sat there for six hours and I was like, I poured a cocktail and I just sat there and I just watched basketball. It's so much fun. Heavenly so three seed Gonzaga rallies past two seed Ucla. We should make an official If those guys are in the tournament, you gotta put them in the same region. We'll take double servings of Gonzaga and UCLA. I mean, Ucla lost two players. For them to fight like that, incredibly admirable by the Bruins. But there's no reason, really, Gonzaga should be this good. Spokane, Washington, there's no recruits there. Washington State's kind of geographically isolated. They have a tiny gym, don't have you know, they don't have a ton of money. They're on a conference nobody's heard of, right Western Coast Conference. I mean, they should not be this good. They are right now a more winning program than Kentucky, the third Elite eight in four tournaments. Kentucky hadn't been doing an elite eight four tournaments ago. So this is all about coaching, commitment and culture. There's a lot of different ways to win. Kansas State had a bunch of transfers. I got no problem with that at all. That's how they're gonna do it. Kentucky Duke do five star recruits, and then there's like Villanova and Gonzaga, and this is what they do. Three and four star recruits. Guys stay on the team for years, and they needed them last night. A lot of juniors and seniors who have been in a lot of close games, and that's probably why they want. It's why eight in the last eleven years the Zags have been at least ranked second in the country and off in first. A lot of programs collect talent. That's not what they do here. It is a team. It is community. It's like a small town family, a small town marriage. They've all been together for years. Their publicity shy. Kentucky's a Hollywood marriage. It's all on the cover of magazines, but it doesn't last. The Zags may never win a title. I have no idef they'll ever win a title. If Mark few Lands and Anthony Davis are a Carmelo Anthony, then he will. They've gotten very very close. But I think it's more impressive than a lot of these big names that have won a single title. I think Mark Fus very much like Andy Reid. All the smart people knew Andy was brilliant. All the smart people knew he just never got a great quarterback, a great enough quarterback to win the minute. Andy Reid got Patrick Mahomes. He now dominates the sport. He was the smartest coach along with Belichick for years and years and years. All the smart people didn't knew it, and all the dopes didn't. Everybody gets that Lincoln Riley's a better coats than ed Orgeron and Jane Chiswick. Jim Harbaugh is better than ed Orgeron and Jene Chiswick. But those guys have titles. Because in college sports, the Georgia's the ls US. You know, there's certain regions in the country that are hotbeds for talent, and you can land a lot of it and don't have to be a world class coach and you can win. I mean, Kirby Smart is not on the NFL radar. He's a coordinator in the NFL Lincoln Riley could have seven jobs next year, maybe ten. He would be the top prospect for virtually every job that was open. The reality is is what Gonzaga is doing does not make a lot of sense. But this is why college basketball is really fun. There's a lot of ways to win. You can be a glamour program and get five star guys. You can be Kansas State and be most of your good players or transfers. You can do the Villanova or Gonzaga way. I do believe that Gonzaga eventually, and they're now starting to get top four or five players in the country. My guess is they will eventually land a star player, like a real star, and they'll win a title. Jalen Sucks was very good. They get closer and chet Homegren, they get closer and closer. But the reality is, think about Gonzaga. Think about this for a second. Is that in the forty eight years they had a basketball program him pre Mark few they made the tournament twice, just made it. He's never missed one in the West Coast Conference. This guy is a Harbaugh, a Lincoln Riley and Andy Reid in Philly really knows what he's doing. I think it's such an incredibly redeemable way to win. I've said this for years. It was impossible for me because I knew Jay Wright not to root for Villanova. I just love the way they did it. They would go and I think it was like the DC area. They get tough kids, blue collar kids. They bring him to Villanova. They play defense, they're coachable. You talk to NBA scouts about Villanova players, they all overachieve nbagfs. They may not give you an Anthony Davis, but Villanova guys overachieved, toughest nails, easy to coach, stayed in a program, super bright like that's just what Villanova does. And I find that style of all the styles. And I love Duke, I love Beeheim at Syracuse, but I find this Villanova Gonzaga style so redeemable, so much fun that a small town can do this. You know, you spend all this time, we worry about the big money in the New York teams in this and yet the Green Bay Packers just keep winning. Gonzaga basketball just keeps winning. Here's the shot by Julian Strouther and the reaction by the coach after Strawther. We'll get it in Salas picks it up. Clock starts eleven seconds, Salas across the top on pitch it back, scrawl deep free from the top of the key, got it stral from the top seven seconds, loft cattle on the run into the front courts drives the right side strip alire Skraler's got it fouled with the one point one to go. He's made that shot multiple times for us this year. We practice at play. It's Hey, that's Jay Wright's play used at the end of the Villanova Carolina game the championship. I mean, and so, I mean that's what we call it. So uh and he makes it all the time. So yeah, when he asked me, it was stronger, stronger words than what he used. I just said, yeah, yeah, make it. Make it not a shock. Gonzaga borrowed a page from the East Coast version of Gonzaga Villanova to win a game against UCLA, an absolute epic march madness classic from an incredibly smart, redeemable head down. Sometimes publicity shy they shouldn't win, they do, And uh, I think they have Yukon next. I think that's the that's on the docket next. Yukon may be the best team in the tournament. I was texting Mark Few this morning. They may be the very best team in the tournament. They're playing great, so they'll have their hands full. So years ago, when I used to be in local TV and uh I would be in local TV, I'd be a sportscaster, like in Portland or something, and h the news to didn't want to wade through a thousand tapes and I had to hire a sports reporter or I had to hire like a weekend sports guy. And I was like, I'm too busy. I don't want to do this. He's like, you wade through the tapes. And what I found was everybody can have a great nine minute tape. But when I found somebody that I thought was pretty good, I'd call and say, all right, tape your show to night and send it to me. I don't want an all star tape. Give me your six o'clock newscast the night player. Let's see what rolls. That's why I don't talk about pro days in the NFL Combine anymore. Anybody can look good at the combine. You eat right for six weeks, you work out, you have a trainer. It's the best shape you'll ever been be in the rest of your football life. But can you play hurt? Because that's the NFL. Can you survive when you're not as good as the guy you go up against a left tackle? That's the real NFL. If you have a bad position coach, or in a bad mood, or you got dinged up right knee, can you play then? Because that's the NFL, not a combine. So I'd like stopped talking about the combine. Occasionally we'll go on and on about the pro day, but I tend to think the pro day. Bryce Young had a Pro day yesterday. You know what it is. It's Instagram. You put on the filters, you get the right angles and the right light. Aren't I beautiful? Maybe? How would I know? It's not authentic? It's all fake. Maybe you're beautiful, maybe you're handsome. Who would know? It's not authentic. It's lighting, it's angles, it's filter, it's nobody knows. I don't know what Bryce Young's gonna be, But these pro days to me, are mostly nonsense. Is this guy good? Is that guy? Listen? I think Bryce Young is the most polished, refined, game starting ready quarterback in college football. I worry about a size but this is classic. So yesterday he wouldn't weigh in at the combine, he wouldn't throw Buddied Way in. And some people are speculating he put on weight for the combine and was willing to be weighed, but that's not his natural weight. So now he's back to his natural weight and he doesn't want anybody to weigh him. Back to Instagram, Back to Instagram. That's why I talk NFL regular season, I talk free agency, and I talk the draft. The Pro day stuff and the combine stuff. It's fool's gold. It's those NFTs fuzzy pictures. They'll be worth a fortune, sure they will. I will say this though. The kid's been a rock star. He was a high school football star in Los Angeles at fifteen years old. I think he'll start day one. I think he could win games. He's not big enough for my taste. But Nick Saban, after I tend to be somebody if you plan the sec you're playing against NFL players every week. Go watch the tape. Bryce Young's good on tape. That's probably I'd take him number one. Here's Nick Saban on his Pro Day. I think you should ask the people that had to play against the last couple of years and see if they think it affected his performance. So I really don't. I think he's so instinctive. He processes so well, he prepares so well. He's got a quickness in the pocket. He plays the position like a point guard in basketball. So and his production and consistency and performance have been off the charts, so most of the time those things will translate to the next level. I do think he is more naturally gifted and a better prospect in the NFL than TWA. I think he has a lot of comparisons that Jalen Hurts. He throws a better football at this point. They're both agile, smart, good leaders see the field, but pro day stuff. Just go watch the tape. It's the SEC. It's the best college football most years. Easily he chopped it up. My guess is he can chop it up at the NFL. I just don't know how long that's size he's gonna last. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app. There is this NFL story, though the Jets and Packers have not spoken this past week. According to Adam Schefter, green Bay wants a first round pick. I would too, NFI was the Jets. I'd give you my first round pick for Aaron Rodgers. I wouldn't give you a lot after that, but I get a first round pick and maybe something conditional. The Jets are Mike, we're not giving you a first round pick. So they made a move to get another second round pick. But according to Adam Schefter, that has nothing to do with Aaron Rodgers. They just got a stalemate. So the question this morning, we were asking ourselves what happens if they don't get Aaron Rodgers. And I gotta tell you something. I don't think it's the worst thing in the world. So let's say you start Zach Wilson. So let's look at the quarterbacks the Jets would face this year, and a couple of them twice, Mac Jones twice, two or twice with his great coach, and Josh Allen twice. It's Mahomes and Herbert and Hurts and Garoppolo, Russell Wilson now with Sean Payton, Dak Deshaun Watson, Daniel Jones, who's mad but a great coach. If you start Zach Wilson. That's a four win team. That's just what it is. That ain't terrible. Let's be honest. Aaron's not winning a Super Bowl with his team in the AFC in the last four years. His playoff record with the Packers is two and three. And they have a good old line, and they have a good run game, and they have a good structure, and they have a good head coach. And the NFC is lousy. And he's two and three and four years in the playoffs. You think you're going to the AFC and winning. No, he's a band aid. Here's where it gets interesting. You keep your picks, you move off him, you start Zach Wilson. Carolina Houston and the Colts should be bad this year, but they're drafting quarterbacks. How many teams next year are gonna need a quarterback and be bad? I think Atlanta and the Jets. If Aaron Rodgers doesn't come and there's two A plus plus prospects, if the owner, Woody Johnson goes to Robert Sala and their general manager Joe Douglas and would promise extend them publicly for another year or two. So I was Sala and Joe Douglas, I'd be like, I'm done with the headaches. Let's go Let's not do a one year band aid with Aaron. Let's go long term, Let's go into the tank. That's what Atlanta's doing. It makes two much sense to get Lamar Jackson for Atlanta. And what Atlantic is saying is there's better prospects than Lamar Jackson. Next year. There's two of them. And now the Saints have a legit quarterback. Carolina's got Frank Reich and may have a very good young quarterback. How many teams are going to stink in the NFL next year? The Colts in Atlanta and the Jets without Aaron Rodgers would be in a very short list of teams that need a quarterback and aren't good. And if I was Robert Sala or Joe Douglas and you gave me a two year extension and said listen, it's gonna be bad, because it would be bad. I mean, Zach Wilson in the NFC wouldn't win games. In the AFC, and in that division with Mike McDaniel and twa josh Allen mac jones with an offensive coordinator, I don't win any games. It's not the end of the world. So you know, the Jets have a right to dig their feet in and they are we're not giving you a first round pick, and the Packers are like, all right, that's a you problem. We got our quarterback here in the stable. We're good. So I don't think it's the end of the world. I think sometimes you get very lucky, and the Jets are very lucky. There's there's two A plus plus prospects, and you don't know there's gonna be three to four guys drafted in the first round. You don't know if there's there's probably gonna be next year. They're supposed to be a couple other prospects that are CJ. Stroud ish good prospects, not superstars, B B plus prospects. But I mean Aaron Rodgers. Who are we kidding here? It's a one year band aid anyway, Nobody knows what you're getting with them. You don't know, the pack don't know. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Eastern a Empacific. I hope everybody, and I know you guys all, do you appreciate Drew Timmy? I mean the two guys last night that put on a clinic are not really NBA. I mean they may I don't know. I drew Timmy's probably on a bench somewhere. He has got such good low post moves. He knows how to use his button, his body. I don't know if he's an NBA player. And markis NOL for Kansas State. He's tiny. I don't know who he guards in the NBA. Oh I put on an absolute clinic last night. And I'll say this before these March Madness games are crushing the NBA and ratings and the talent levels not even close. So it illustrates how important passion and desire is sport fans. Sports fans buy and large. They just want you to care as much as they do. And for the last six to seven years, NBA stars have been sending messaging out their bat signal, which is we don't care about regular season games. Okay, people tell you who they are, believe them. NBA guys are like telling you we're not really into the regular season. The stars and the audience is going all right. And I've said this before. The Western Conference, the entire Western Conference. The story right now is who's not playing Kaui, Paul George, k d a d Lebron, Luca was hurt, Kyrie. You never know who's playing Zion. If the Blazers lose a couple more games, they'll put Dame on the bench for the rest of the year. So, you know, I just think when you juxtapose the college basketball environment, it's not highly skilled. If you're really great. The two best guys in the NBA Draft this year aren't even playing college. Some guys Jalen Green from Houston, he went to the G League. I do think the NIL is going to drive some college kids who could go either way. It's going to drive them to college. You telling me I can go and get in March Madness and get ten, fifteen a million people to watch or go to a G league. Now the G leagues got better players, but it's only a year. Is it worth having better marketing and a little inferior basketball to be in a college campus? If I'm a dad or a mom, that's not even close. Yeah, I wouldn't know whose eyeon is. I don't sit on you know, digital all day looking up highlights of high school kids dunking. So I just think if you look at what is happening? The World Baseball Classic? What was it? It's passion? March Madness, what was it? It's passion, it's desired crushing the NBA ratings. And I'm an NBA fan, but you sent leagues send signals, athletes send signals. I mean, if you went to watch you go to you know, you went to watch a play, or you went to Broadway and the actors we're mailing it in, you'd know it and you'd be as bored as the actors. And so I think it last night, and this tournament has completely sucked me in. I think you'd. I think sports gambling helps a lot, the legalization the two things in America that we've always bet with sports, the NFL and March Madness. And it's not a coincidence. March Madness the last couple of years and the NFL is going up where a lot of TV ratings are going down, and I think we bet college basketball in March, and we bet the NFL. We don't really bet the NBA, so they're not getting that little push. We don't bet baseball as much. They're not getting the push the college basketball in the NFL. Are that's what we bet. By the way, we all internationally people bet soccer. Jmac over here, he understands it. Soccer March madness in the NFL is what a lot of people bet and have bet forever in Europe, where sports gambling has been more legal. That is their march madness, that is their NFL. So I think a lot of this though, the passion you see when you watch Michigan State Kansas State. There was a moment last night in the game with UCLA and Gonzaga and I don't know how much time was left, seven or eight minutes left, I think six seven, eight minutes and there was a they were battling for a rebound and it was about a thirty second sequence. The guys on the floor, I'm like, you're not seeing that Tuesday night in Denver. You're not You're not seeing that Wednesday night in Detroit. Just the passion and the level of desire, the sudden death part of it. I couldn't take my eyes off last night. I know the quality. I mean, the stars last night for Gonzaga in Kansas State are they don't translate to the NBA at all. It's okay, They're really it's its own thing. It's a three to four week passion sport. I'm totally in on it. But I thought last night was just a great all time night of college basketball on TV of basketball, just period, period basketball. It's great basketball night, five and a half hours of mayhem, and I'm I'm here for it. Colin, I gotta ask you, mister Noel, who was unstoppable against Kentucky and now Michigan State. Who who's he guard? That's a fair question. It was a kid at he took you a few years back named Tyler Euless down high school player. He got a cup of coffee in the NBA. I think there has to be a place on a roster in the league for Noel. He is that good. He's full of energy defensively five steals including the steal and the game winning play. The kid has the heart of a lion. I know that's, you know, trite and cliche, but watch this guy play. He will make things happen. Listen. I'm rooting for Drew, Timmy and this kid to get in like I think I would put that. I want to know I always say this about Tim Tebow. I mean I rolled my eyes at Tebow. I would love to have Tebow in my locker room. Tebow is a big, strong athlete, He's never as athletic as you think, but the work ethic the off season in meetings like he's a gamer, Like there's absolute value. I remember years ago when Parcels Bill Parcells took over Miami the Dolphins as the GM and they had won one game the year before, and Parcels rebuilt the roster. I think he named Tony Sperno was the coach, I think, but Parcels took over the front office and they went from I think one win to eleven. And what he really did is he took the bottom of the roster, like the twenty seventh player to the fifty fifth guy, and Parcels reshaped it and he went and got one of the tight ends was Fasano, if I recall. He went and got guys that were great in the weight room, great leaders, special teams, guys that would change the culture of Miami. I mean, they made some personnel moves, but the back end of a roster goes a long way, right like the because those guys aren't getting minutes. Those guys aren't getting minutes, they're they're not getting attention. They're not winning any games. Nobody talks to him to get that guy in the NBA, that tenth eleventh guy. For me, is he good in the room, good in meetings, good on the plane. I mean, I think that those two guys last night fit that bill. You know, I minority stake in a basketball team on a soccer team. So when we're looking in the offseason for players, Yes, the stats matter, we want to know the talent level, but a lot of that extracurricular stuff. Is he going to be one of the first ones in the weight room. Is he gonna be one of the first guys that practice the last to leave. You can't tell that watching games, but you can tell that by looking into the player's background. This kid, Noel has an unbelievable work ethic. There's a million videos of him on Instagram, I know. But there's not a single NBA player currently in the NBA that's relevant under six feet tall, and he's five eight, so it is I would have to check the rosters. I don't know that sounds about right. You know, there's probably five eleven tough to make the league. But again we're not talking he's not gonna be a starting point guard. Right, We're talking about a guy who can come off the bench, provide locker room support. Winning player. Add to that, culture stuff matters. Culture is huge. Lou Holtz, when he coached at Notre Dame, used to Oway's say this. He said, you know, the class is twenty five players a year, and he said, I want I want fifteen guys who are four and five star guys. And then I went ten guys who are talented but are dying to wear Notre Dame's jersey. He's like, if you're getting twenty five guys a year, you're only starting twenty two. So one recruiting class is all your starters. You're gonna get twelve to fifteen great players. Any better find glue guys. And I think that that's I don't think these guys project. I think Timmy, because he's such a profound score, has a better chance. I mean, he was a great high school score, he's been a great college score. Um, he's just I mean he's got, he's big, he's six nine and a half, great hands. Um just kind of a guy that can pick up six and a half a night. And it's never pretty. Um. So I and again He's highly coachable, highly functional. M I tend to think there's a spot for him somewhere in the NBA's mom and dad were both like athletes, so he comes from an athletic family. Yeah, I work ethic and culture. That stuff matters so much. You know that when you're building a staff here at the Herd, when you're building the boy, how about that stuff is huge. New England Patriots have had Matthew Slater. I think for night is he still on a team nineteen years New England special teamer. So he was a wide receiver at UCLA. He didn't have a lot of speed. I remember when he played at UCLA and he goes to New England and they just keep him as a special teams got and he's again, he's like a coach. He is literally like a coach on the field. And Belichick's always had one or two guys like that that he just keeps around. And Matt Slater's the classic example of they could find a faster guy, but he'll take young guys. You know, Udonis Haslem in Miami. By the way, Belichick understands culture. Is there any culture in the NBA? Honestly, the Warriors have better players. Miami's arguably the best culture. Mickey Arrison, Riley, Spolstra, Haslam Wade, It's the best culture. I mean, you know, in the playoffs, you do not want to face Miami. You do not. I don't care if you're Boston, you do not want to face Jimmy Butler and Spolstra's coaching, and they kept has them around for years for the plane, for the practice, for the room, for the meetings. That guys at the end of the bench. I know, fans, you could have a twenty one year old and you could say he could be this, and he could be that. Good luck. But I think if you look at the history of really good teams, the smart Calus keep guys like that around. By the way, when you've got the LA road trip and you've got the Clippers and the Lakers and everybody, all the young guys want to go out to the club. That's right, Yeah, young raw go to Miami. You know a lot of the teams get to South Beach flu because they're out and hanging out in Miami. And you think Noel is gonna be doing that or is he gonna be locked in we're practicing. I want to deliver you give. There's so much value in that stuff. Drew Timmy like he's a pro man that can make plays. I want him on my team. Good for you? Yeah, I I well, I want Jannis on my team, but I would certainly gout there. I'll take him if I could have him, Sure, I'll take Yeah. Two NBA Insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right into the NBA grape Vive, all happening in only one place, This League Uncut, the Few NBA podcast with me Chris Haynes and me Mark Stein join us as we team up to expound on everything we're covering. Hearing and Chason. Listen to This League Uncut with Chris Haynes and Mark Stein on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast this. Lamar Jackson situations a mass the NFL yesterday, the league office I've never seen this before, told teams do not negotiate with Ken Francis, apparently like a business guy that Lamar's friends with. Now Lamar is saying he's not negotiating, but he's, you know, he's talking to teams or something. I don't know who Ken Francis is he and Lamar apparently have a business deal. He's got this product and Lamar's the face of it. Here is the product. I'm not kid, This is not an eighties infomercial. This is actually a real thing. Confining outdoor training and a portable gym maximizes time and workout routines. With over two hundred and fifty plus workout routines, the entire gym brings you the flexibility to work out anywhere, anytime. Yeah. So, if you see somebody lifting weights in a nearby park, it's probably Ken Francis and Lamar Jackson. I'm gonna pass on it. I call him Jim's AnyWho. This is not what you want. It's gotten very noisy. Let me give you a list of noisy quarterbacks in the last year for variety of reasons. Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson. None of them are ascending. Let me give you some other noisy quarterbacks whose careers should have lasted longer. Baker Mayfield, Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton. The only thing noisy about Patrick Mahomes is his brother. That's it. It's like noisy does not win games, and I think it hurts Lamar. I think people are worried about it, and I think he's being punished because of the current momentum of noisy Kyler and Aaron and Russell has not been good. Aaron couldn't make the playoffs, tire fire in Arizona. So you know it's you start go look at the list for different reasons of the noisy quarterbacks. They're not ascending, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow. I don't get any of that head down focused. I know all you fanboys have been banging on this for years. I've never been wrong on this. The noisier, the young quarterback, the less I like it, Bryce Young, CJ. Stroud, really quiet, Bryce Young, pro head down plays Starr in high school, didn't hear a peep Starr. In college, you don't hear a peep. CJ. Stroud. Ohio State Buckeyes biggest program arguably in America, wins games, focused, coachable, gets better. So I just think this is a bad space. I mean, I'm just wondering at this point, does Lamar have somebody in his social circle that's like, bro, this is not a good look. From what I can understand the NFL League office said, don't take calls from this guy Lamar saying he's not negotiating. Athletes generally shield you from this kind of nonsense. Agents. That's what an agent's paid for, to get the noise away from you. He doesn't have an agent. The noise is funneling right toward him. It's the opposite of what you want to do. And again, on the heels of Aaron's noise and Kyler's people are like, no, thank you. Listen. It's a trend and it's a smart one. Go find Jalen Hurts, hard working, doubted, second round, aspirational, coachable. You're looking at a star. I mean, Jalen Hurts is what you're trying to find. And and for the record, it kind of felt like Lamar was that for three years. Whatever's happened is not good. I still contend no disrespect to his mom. You've got to hire a real agent. They keep you out of all this trouble. And this is nothing against this new fangled nineteen eighty sounding infomercial. You know, I don't like doing weightlifting in a park. I just don't. I like to do it in gyms and at home. But if that's your thing, Lamar may be really hitting on something that's gonna revolutionize working out. I wish him the very best. It's just way too noisy for me. I'm not going to bang on Lamar. That's pretty embarrassing though. I mean, I'm not gonna invest. You're a business guy, You're an entrepreneur. I'm not gonna invest. No, No, do my sit ups at home. One more Herd. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you like. Casey Jacobs and Fox Sports college basketball analyst, a star at Stanford four years in the NBA. You know, you know it is interesting. I think it's so redly I love I love Villanova's story. I think Villanova is the West Coast Gonzaga. Villanova would get blue collar, tough kids and they but demand they play defense. And I mean, like McHale Bridges kind of guys. Every coach I've ever talked to in the NBA is like, oh, draft Villanova guys. They're always smart, they play defense. Jay Wright coaches them hard, and I think sometimes college fans resent the fact, they're not going to be stars in the NBA, but you were. You were a star in college to the pros. How does Drew Timmy to you, Casey Project, I mean, what do you see him as well? First of all, calling thanks for having me on pay Back. Too good to see you guys. Look, I'm not so sure if Drew Timmy's going to be a star in the NBA. Con I don't know that. I do know that he's a heck of a basketball player and one of the best back to the basket low post players that I have seen in college in the last ten years at least. Okay, but you know the evolution of the game. You talk about it all the time on your show. Big guys who play back to the basket aren't as valuable now as they were ten, fifteen, twenty years ago. That's just the facts. You mentioned that Drew Timmy doesn't have perimeter skills, and I would agree with you if we're defining perimeter skills as a three point jump shot, although he did hit one for him last night, by the way, against the Celia in the first half. He does have perimeter skills when it comes to ball handling and passing. Them Collins. So, like you talk about Draymond Green with the Warriors, and I don't really want to compare Drew Timmy to Draymond Green. There there are two different players, but they do play the same position, and they do they are successful at dribble, handoff screen, yes, rolling to the basket, catching on the run, and being able to handle the ball. So we think about perimeter skills is just three point shooting, It's it's a lot more than that. I do think Drew Timmy on the right system, European style basketball where you're asking your bigs to handle and pass the ball, could absolutely have a place in the NBA. I think that's really smart. I know a lot you know, I know Draymond pretty well, and when people you know dog on him, I'm like, you're not watching Warrior games. He is such a catalyst. The other night against the Mavericks, he had two huge screens that got Curry laps and that was the friends in the game. So that's a really interesting comparison there. To your point, they're not the same player. But how about the guard from Kansas State. He is tiny. I'm not sure who would he defend. But we made the argument earlier. Could you put him at the end of the bench. He's a leader, big game, situational. What do you make of his game? Well, first of all, how fun was he last night? That was about as enjoyable of an experience of watching basketball. Those two games, Michigan State versus Kansas State, and you see, like Gonzaga calling, those games were back to back. I wish they were all like that, They're not all like that. Just incredible the way he was able to, you know, shake off an injury. You saw him turn his ankle, it was kind of a bad ankle sprand in that second half he comes back and not only does he come back to help his team and run the offense, he was dominant scoring the ball. He was dominant stealing the basketball. And before I get to Marquis Noel's NBA potential, Colin, there's something that a lot of media member haven't really talked about, and that was the end of the game defense that Marquise Noel. We talked a lot about that beautiful alley pass to Keyante Johnson and whether or not that was a called play or an off the cuff play, But go back and watch the last six seconds of that game, Tyson Walker, Michigan State pleading score goes up for a three point shot and Michigan State is down three. And what does Marquise Noel do? He reaches in and steals that ball. Calling, you know how risky of a defensive play that is. Do you know what kind of cohoness you have to have to even try and make that play? He steals the ball, steals the game. This guy plays with a type of flair and style that I haven't seen in a long time. Now to his NBA prospects, Look, he's little, he's tiny. Have there been players in the NBA that have gotten a chance, yes, but have they lasted very long? Not really? The one that comes to mind to meet calling that is comparable with Tyler Euless. You remember him for Kentucky and he got a shot, and he played a couple of years with the Phoenix Suns and now he's a college basketball coach. I think with John Calipari and Kentucky, but he did play a couple of years. I consider Marquisnoel in that similar mold as a Tyler. You. Yeah, if I had to recede the whole tournament again, I think Yukon may win. I mean, Arkansas's got dudes and they just hammered them. You know, here's the funny thing. UCLA's coach I really like this guy, he said yesterday, Listen, the transfer portals just different. And one of the things I like about college basketball that college football doesn't offer is regional balance. I mean, we got a Gonzaga, we got a Creighton who I like tonight, you got Yukon out East, I got a Southern team and we got a small team in Florida Atlantic. I love all this. Right. You can win with transfers like Kansas State. You can win with three star guys, four star guys like Gonzaga. The UCLA coach said the other day, he said, listen, man, the dying words of a CEO. R Well, we used to do it this way. The transfer portal casey to me and tell me if I'm wrong. I think it's saving college basketball. And I also because you can rebuild quickly. And by the way, players are better when they're happy. Players aren't good at a university where they're not playing. I mean, by the way, Austin Reaves for the Lakers, the kid was good. He didn't get an opportunity. Now he gets to start and he's really good. So I like the transfer port I also like paying guys because if a guy is great again, he's happier he doesn't. So I'm into this stuff. What is your takeaway though, on all the movement, all the money doesn't worry you. It did worry me a couple of years ago, Colin, But like you say all the time on your show, we're in the interesting business. Does the transfer portal make college basketball more interesting and absolutely better now? Does it make it more difficult though, for college coaches to build for the future. It does. It doesn't make it more difficult. If you're a high school right now being recruited, you kind of have to wait your turn. You don't even know if you're gonna get a scholarship offer. You kind of have to go a different route. You've met. You said that it's saving college basketball. That might be a little bit too much. But I am not afraid of this. I am not afraid of change. I'm not afraid of the anti hell, let's try and figure it out. The past, Colin, was archaic. The way we ran college basketball needed a change for over a decade. We're finally seeing it. For an analyst like me, it is really difficult. Every year. I got to study these rosters over and over. I don't even know who's playing on the team. Colin. Last year an average of five players per team transferred. That's a third of the roster. I believe it's going to be more. I believe it's gonna be over six or maybe even seven guys per team or transferring. So it is a merrygo round or a carousel, however you want to describe it. But what you're seeing in the tournament is still holding true. Colin. The older teams are Yes, Florida, Florida Atlantic is an old team. Kansas State Okay. They have a first year head coach in Jerome Tank. This is an old roster full of seniors and fifth year senior San Diego State. San Diego State has a twenty three year old and a twenty four year old and Adam Saco and a Buoka Rope. These are older dudes, and they're winning deep in the tournament because they know how to play and they've been there. By the way, the Big twelve has had a good three or four year run. I know Kansas got bounced but I'm watching Kansas State last night and I'm like, I don't know, man, that team is well coached, They're dialed in, they can go physical, they can go finesse, they got a star guard. I'm gonna just roll the dice and say, you can wins it. If I said to you, who's winning it, you could reseat it today. I'm gonna go, kN what do you? What say you? So, I've been on the Houston Cougar train from the start of the season, and they've given me very little reason to get off that train. Calling, But I totally understand what you're saying. Cohn now is playing at a different level over the last month and a half. But Houston, okay, first of all, calling the final four is in Houston, Okay, that's got to be a little bit extra motivation for them to play in front of their home crowd and home fans and all that. Houston is as old as any team we've talked about. That their backcourt is so good with Marcus ass who did not play in last year's ncable A Tournament, by the way, so he's got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder and wants to prove himself. Jamal shed is a senior point guard Tremon Mark. If you are experienced and old in the backcourt, Colin, I trust you. Okay, Yukon, they're good, But can I at least say that before this tournament started, they didn't have a single player wearing their uniform that had won an NCAA tournament game. Now they're playing amazingly well. But Houston two years ago played in the final four, last year played in an Elite eight. I think experience does matter just a little bit. You gotta have the dude, I get that. But Houston is the most experienced they've given. They've been arguably the most consistent, and it's just a matter of whether or not Marcus sass or their best player and shooting guard, is healthy or not with that groin injury. All right, you talked me into Houston, all right, Duke was my first one. That was a bad pick. Okay. Finally that final shot, the winning shot by Gonzaga, we can show it again. It was the Villanova play. And I think Villanova Gonzaga are they're kind of the very very similar. They make, you know. They one is known for defense, gonzagas known more for offense as a former player, is that a good shot or a bad shot? A bad shot that winning? So it is a good shot for Julius strothor always depends calling on who's taking it. If you have followed Gonzaga this whole year, and I know you have a lot of other stuff going on, you probably haven't watched Gonzaga play every single year. Julius Strother hit a shot very similar to this against BYU in Provo Utah. Now that screen or that shot that he hit against BYU was off of a ball screen, but it was about the same distance and length. Go on YouTube and look at it. This is a play that they draw up for him, whether it be a ball screen or on this instance, it was kind of a pitch back play. Like you said, the Villanova jay Wright play, which Colin, I don't know if you know that, Mark, you talked about it after the game. They call that play that they ran the jay Wright play. I don't know why they call it the jay Wright play. They should be calling it the Chris Jenkins play because it was Chris Jenkins who should get the credit. He's the one that hit the shot for Villanova in that Ncuba tournament. Final game in two thousand and sixteen. But like just just execution a player like Strather who has deep range like that. To me, it was a good shot for him, But for ninety nine percent of the other players in college basketball, that would have been a terrible shot. Casey Jacobson, how good is he? Stanford NBA? Follow him on shows throughout our net. We're good seeing you, man, You're so well prepared, so button up. I appreciate it. Colin, thanks bad me, Jay MC, you're good. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd week dayson noon Easter not a Empacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app. So in the NFL, you invest in positions of scarcity. Everything else just keep drafting players stay cheap. So yesterday, Lane Johnson, one of the best right tackles in the NFL in a decade, resigned an extension. There was concerns he could retire. He's coming back. He's going to play for another three years. They also had Jason Kelsey come back. And this is a really smart move because Philadelphia had to make some choices their GM. Howie Roseman, I thought after they won the last Super Bowl, they brought too many guys back. I thought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they won a Super Bowl brought too many guys in positions that don't matter back. I thought the Rams after they won their Super Bowl had too many expensive guys on defense. So what did the Philadelphia Eagles do? I think it's very smart. They lost a really good defensive lineman to the Niners. It hurts a little. They lost a good safety to Detroit, it hurts a little. And they led a cup linebackers go in Arizona and Chicago. Bad teams. I think probably overpaid four linebackers. But the guys who protect Jalen Hurts, they brought him back. The guys that Jalen Hurts throws too. They're gonna have those guys back. Running back. They lost one, they gained one. So linebacker, safety, running backs, buy and large. Keep drafting them. Kansas City, young and cheap on defense. One star defensive tackle. That's what the Rams are doing. By the way, if you've paid attention Aaron Donald and they're gonna surround him with young, inexpensive defenders, Philadelphia is smart. To me. There's five things in football you gotta get right. Offensive coach, quarterback, offensive tackle, weapons, and an edge rusher. If you get those right, everything else just keep drafting, keep going cheap. About the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, everybody bragged about they brought everybody back. They shouldn't have. They should have brought the most valuable offensive guys back and let some of those linebackers go. The Rams got two expensive on defense, and what happened last year The offensive line fell apart and they had no depth. You know, Philadelphia, last time they want a Super Bowl. Be very careful about bringing everybody back. This league now is really clear invest in positions of scarcity. There is on average one great quarterback per draft, on average, two really high end edge rushers per draft, three maybe two great offensive tackles per draft. Now, you can get wide receivers anywhere, but you can't get great wide receivers anywhere. You got those A J. Brown, DeVante Smith. Make sure you got them locked up. So the Eagles, it's not they let linebackers go, good defensive tackle go, good safety go. Those were good players for really good players. Made sure the center's back, the tackles back, make sure the receivers stay put. Running back lose miles Sanders bringing Rashad Penny totally replaceable. So it's not just bringing guys back. Who are you bringing back? Philadelphia has figured it out, don't bring everybody back when you go to a super Bowl. Kansas City is a great example. They let go, They let go a honey Badger, they let go of a great corner to San Francisco. They've had to move and get different safeties. They've moved D four, they've moved up. They got Chris Jones, and they're really young. And the Rams right now look like that's what they're doing. We're gonna keep Aaron Donald, get very young, very cheap, very athletic on defense. We're gonna move the money to the offensive side of the football.