[laughs]

It w- it, it wa- it is, man.

To see him out on the court, I, I'm happy to see him o- on the court.

Um, I'm happy he g- he's getting this opportunity with the Kings, and we've heard nothing but good things about, about his return.

And I like what I seen in the eight minutes.

In the eight minutes, we, we seen the little, a little step back, you know, mid, you know, low mid-range shot or whatever.

We seen him go, you know, attack Draymond one-on-one back to the basket, shoot, shoot over him.

[laughs]

It's funny

... you know, we, we looked at, we looked at, you know, we did a kind of a dive into Minnesota and, um, you know, looked at their, at the program and it, it, um, you know, the, they like PJ Fleck because he's, he's one more there than anybody else.

Um, but i- if you look at him in context of the entire conference, it's nothing great.

Um, so he wins games that he should win, and he occasionally wins games he, a, a game or two that he shouldn't, you know, that he wasn't favored in.

Michigan, um, you know, I, it depends which Michigan team shows up.

Um, and I think they've had some, some, some trouble adapting to Kyle Winningham's, you know, offense and, and his program.

And, um, and I think Kyle's had some trouble adapting to the bigger stage.

This is-

[laughs]

Um, you know, we, we looked at, we looked at, you know, we did a kind of a dive into Minnesota and, um, you know, looked at their, at the program and it i- um, you know, the, they like PJ Fleck because he's, he's won more there than anybody else.

Um, but if you look at him in context of the entire conference, it's nothing great.

Um, so he wins games that he should win, and he occasionally wins games he, a, a game or two that he shouldn't, you know, that he wasn't favored in.

Michigan, um, you know, I, it depends which Michigan team shows up.

Um, and I think they've had some, some, some trouble adapting to Kyle Winningham's, you know, offense and, and, and his program.

And, um, and I think Kyle's had some trouble adapting to the bigger stage.

This is true

What do you think this team's going to look like?

As much as I hate to say it, man, that was a great hire.

And, you know, it was interesting that they excluded the athletic director from the hire.

And they nailed a really good coach and he is doing a great job.

If you talk to high school coaches in the area, he's really made inroads there.

The team looks really good.

So I would take the six and a half.

Are you the same? Am I silly for being optimistic? Are we riding the USC bandwagon together? What are we expecting from this team in 2026?

uh ucla another team with a lot of hype thanks to this head coaching hire uh what do you think this team's gonna look like

as much as i hate to say it man that was a great hire and you know it was interesting that they excluded the athletic director from the hire And they nailed a really good coach and he is doing a great job.

If you talk to high school coaches in the area, he's really made inroads there.

The team looks really good.

So I would take the six and a half.

I think that's, I would be on the over on that one.

I don't think they'll win the conference.

Are you the same? Am I silly for being optimistic? Are we riding the USC bandwagon together? What are we expecting from this team in 2026?

What sort of things did you hear coming back from the field?

I mean, I'm pleased to say that generally the comments are positive.

The competitors were really pleased with the sites.

That was obviously a big thing.

We talk an awful lot about offering a level playing field.

And so that was high on the priority list.

We wanted to do that.

Mark, is there any one story that we haven't heard about that our viewers should hear?

Just overall, what's your assessment of what you saw from some of the young guys for the Kings during Summer League?

Yeah, I think I like what I've seen.

I like what I've seen, especially from, you know, let's start with the two rookies, Darius Acuff and Manuel Sharp.

I actually missed Alex Carabin.

I've seen the one game where he had the three points or whatever, but I missed when he had 21.

So I can't speak on him too much or whatever.

I got to see more of him.

I think a guy like that would do wonders being in the locker room with Darius Acuff.

Just overall, what's your assessment of what you saw from some of the young guys for the Kings during Summer League?

Yeah, I think I like what I've seen.

I like what I've seen, especially from, you know, let's start with the two rookies, Darius Acuff and Emmanuel Sharp.

I actually missed Alex Carabin.

I've seen the one game where he had the three points or whatever, but I missed when he had 21.

So I can't speak on him too much or whatever.

I got to see more of him.

I think a guy like that would do wonders being in the locker room with Darius Acuff.