I'll sit down and watch this game." And then we lose the game, and you're like, "Fire the coach." Mark, you have the floor.

Yeah, I mean, I, uh, so this was right after we lost to TCU.

Um, I, you know, I, I was a little fired up about the reaction to everything.

I think last year was, uh...

Last year, the rollercoaster that the program went on, I thought, like, actually when the dust settled was a pretty successful season, and I, I do not think the standard for Ohio State basketball should be losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

By, by no stretch of the imagination do I believe that.

Um, and Jake Diebler doesn't believe that, and I don't, I don't think that should be what we aspire to be as a program.

I think a lot of fans, the fans who weren't happy were probably the fans who are more into football than basketball.

What do you got for L?

Oh, my God.

Lasagna soup.

I would like to.

[laughs]

All right, no, I mean-

It is, it, it's...

They, they, like, they would not...

Like, they had bad years.

Like, they would miss the playoffs, but, like, the Pacers would just, like, refuse to tank.

And so this year they finally are like, "We gotta play the game.

We're gonna... 'Cause we have Haliburton out.

But-

[laughs] If you-

You also gotta assume, how many of the 1000th best, 1000 best throwers are playing baseball or maybe even another sport that get out of your...

Maybe, maybe the 1000th best thrower is actually the-

Yeah, yeah.

So, uh, we got an unsolicited text yesterday from Malisek, and it just, and me [laughs] and White Sox Dave, and White...

And Malisek was agreeing with yo-yoing and White Sox Dave.

White Sox Dave proceeded to make his argument somehow much worse [laughs] over text.

I'll, I'll read it.

He now has more-

It's the second largest gold- You need a Saudi prince to fall in love with Hot Wheels and gold.

Yep, yep, yep.

And let me ask, let me ask you this, uh, doctor.

Do you think non-conference games should be weighted as, as strongly as, like, later in the season conference games? And I ask you that 'cause we're in, like, the transfer portal era and all these teams are new, and a lot of times at the end of the year you're looking at resumes and you say to yourself, like, "This team beat this other team in November," but, like, in November they weren't the teams that they are now.

And I just, I don't, I don't know, I just wondered your thoughts on, like-

He always kills it."

it."Yeah, I said, I said KB killed on Mostly Sports today.

I just...

I wish he was...

I wish you were more confident, only in that, like, your perspective on sports is incredible.

Yeah.

You have such a, you have such a unique perspective, and I, I want you to share it with everybody, and you're hesitant to share it because you don't fit.

Like, when we're talking about the NFL Draft, you're, in your brain, you're like, "I don't know what the Titans are going to do at four, so I have nothing to say here."

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Yeah

Is Jon Scheyer a bigger disappointment than Hubert Davis?

I mean, i- it is a th- it's, it's, it's legitimately a thing, and I don't, I don't know what he does to fix it.

I don't know how you address it in the off-season.

I...

This isn't something, you know...

Like, some coaches will have a team that can't score the basketball, so they're like, "All right, we gotta focus on this.

I gotta, I gotta retool the offense.

What are your takeaways from Cam Boozer's freshman year at Duke and what it means for his NBA future?

They played perfect

...

the last game that they played of the season they've looked good.

So I, I have, I have to walk it back a little bit, but that's kind of been the, that's been the thing with Purdue is like they're good...

They're, they're obviously...

They're not a bad team, but, like, they're the preseason number one team.

They have the preseason number one player of the year in Braden Smith.

Mm.

So if we could start there, like, what jumps out to you beyond the obvious NBA talent of how different they are from last year's team?

Yeah.

I mean, Duke last year I thought was one of the great all-time college basketball teams, which seems crazy 'cause they didn't win the title, and I think they were playing in, like, a weaker ACC where, like, people were locked in on Cooper Flagg all year, but it wasn't...

They weren't, like, a phenomenon.

And every time I would talk on my show about how good Cooper was and, and the really the entire team at Duke, uh, there was some pushback that, like, the 2019 Zion team felt like this cultural thing, and last year's Duke team didn't.

And I just say that to say that, like, 2025 Duke was way better than 2019 Duke.

I thought last year's team was one of the great all-time teams, and they frankly choked in the Final Four and should have, should have won the national championship.

Um, but are you more concerned about, like, the drop-off from the structure of who they were as the national champs as opposed to the drop-off from who Duke is now?

I'm not rooting against Duke, but if I were to ask you, with four teams left, they're all number one seeds, if you could provide a reason that each of them will win the national championship, and let's start with Duke and go with Duke first-

Yeah.Yeah, Duke's the easiest one.

Uh, they have the most NBA, future NBA players.

They have the best player in the country, uh, the best d-, th- the best draft prospect obviously, Cooper Flagg.

But even...

We saw, we saw them win the ACC tournament when he got hurt early in the first game.

Um, a- a- and that's because they have so many other talented guys around them.

Like, wha- what needs to change here?

... pretty, was pretty down at that point.

Um, so I think this idea that like Duke hasn't played anybody with a pulse is just wrong. But I will, I will at least admit that they have not played, you know, your, the, the Floridas and the Bamas and like, you know, they haven't played those teams over and over and over. Anyway, I, I, I have Duke winning the national championship because I think Duke is, uh, I think Duke is in a position... When I was ta- when I was making the, the, the reference to 2015 earlier and I said this tournament feels like the 2015 tournament, I think Duke more than any other one seed feels to me like the, the, the equivalent of that Kentucky team, where yes, of course, they can lose, but I think that, I think that they're a little bit better than every other team, uh, in this field. So I, I'm, I, I have Duke coming out of the east and I have Duke winning the national championship. And I think Cooper Flagg has had... I, I don't... I, for some reason, he, the, the hype is somehow there, but it's also I feel like it's not as great as it should be for this kid, because he is unfucking believable. He had an insane amount of hype coming in. He's delivered on all of it. He leads Duke in every single category. He does everything there is to do on a basketball court well.

And Mark Few has made like 1000 sweet sixteens in a row.

Yeah, right. Um, Houston has... I've been like a Houston critic a little bit through the years, uh, mostly just 'cause they, they always are, they always look great in the regular season. But, uh, there for a while they were playing in the American. Now that they've joined the Big XII, they're absolutely dominating the Big XII. They stepped into what was the best conference in college basketball and just fucking own that conference now. Um, I, I think this Houston team's as good as any Houston team's been in this stretch with Keldon Sampson's had. They, they, they can score, they, they have multiple guys who can score. Like, Malique Wilson's like a dude that just is a, is a bucket out of nowhere. LJ Cryer's like the best scorer. Eusan's, uh... But, but they... Like, Wilson's like the microwave guy of like... If you want to be concerned about Houston, but you're, you're worried that you need a guy that can just go get you one, they have an answer for that. They have an answer for, uh, you know, three point shooting. They have great point guard play. They obviously play just phenomenal defense. I f- I really, really, really love Houston. Um, so yeah, I, I think Houston finally gets a breakthrough. They... And, and makes the final four. They made one in 2021, but I don't count that one.

... and Richardson in your backcourt. You get two Dookies, Knueppel and Flagg at your forward spots. Who's your five?

Uh, at my center position I'm putting Derek Queen of Maryland, um, who... I gotta be honest, of all the guys I said, he might be the one that I- I have a slight concern about. And my concern would only be that, um, he's not quite as- as dominant of a force defensively as I would like him to be. Um, but I absolutely love this kid and I've loved him all season from the start. I- I think his very first game at Maryland he had a 20-20 game to- to open his career. Um, he- he- he grabs boards, he's got a great, great feel for the game and I think, uh, i- if you need, like, one game to get exci- to watch to get excited about Derek Queen, I would just go back to his last game that he played, the very last game we saw of him. Uh, they lost to Michigan, Maryland did, at the buzzer, uh, in the Big 10 tournament. I think Derek Queen had 31 points. Yeah, there it is, uh, he had 31 points, um, but it- it was the way he was going about it. He's going up against two seven-footers at- at Michigan and he's putting the ball on the floor and- and- and hitting jump shots and, uh, you know, he's just got such a great feel for the game. He's comfortable taking any shot. I think the- the- the worries I have about him is I would like for him to be a little bit more explosive. I think, uh, the three-point shooting, he is capable of hitting threes. He's only hit four on the season. I- he- like, he's not shooting it particularly well. The- the- the jump shot looks good for a big guy, you know, like, he's not a... He's obviously not a guy that's, uh, going to make his living behind the arc, but he is... If he can get to a point where he's- he's capable, I think you can be excited about that. Um, but yeah, I- I think Derek Queen is, uh, you know, he... An- and the way I talked about VJ Edgecomb, I think he's a guy that I think, uh, ideally, if this was 20 years ago, he comes back and, uh, you know, irons out some of his kinks and- and- and shows the NBA scouts that he is capable of- of hitting threes and he is a little more explosive than we thought he was and he can be a defensive force. Um, but I think... He- I put him on my sure thing team because I think his feel for the game is enough for me to believe in him. I think you just watch him and he- he's a guy that's played a lot of basketball in his life, but understands, uh, you know, where his teammates are and- and- and how to put the ball in the hole. Derek Queen, dude. Uh, Marcus Morris was on the Selection Sunday show with Yahoo! Sports, and I forget if we said it during the show, but he compared Derek Queen to DeMarcus Cousins like a slightly smaller version of Boogie. And I thought it was a really good comp because with Boogie, ball handling five, great creator, you know, generating shots from the perimeter. With Derek Queen, the comp I had for him was Nas Reed, um, as one of them or Zach Randolph and, like, it's not often you see a dude who's 6'10", 250 that keeps his handle low to the ground, like low center of gr- gravity, spin moves. He can... Like, he's just got every move on drives to the basket. He moves like a guard in a true big man's body and the at-rim finishing, like, if you're betting on hi- him to figure out the three-point shot, you're betting on the touch 'cause, dude, like, h- how many crazy layups has that guy hit this year, Mark? Right.

So we got your starting five. Who's your sixth man?

Mm. My sixth man is Auburn's sixth man, uh, Tahod Pettiford, who is a kid that, uh... He- he... This is an example of a player that makes me just... This is why I love college basketball and- and I don't pay as much attention to recruiting as I probably should for a guy who covers the sport, um, I- I just, uh... I don't know, there... I- I've been burned too many times to, like, be- be living on- on these- these recruiting boards and- and- and learning everything about every top 100 kid. I'm like, "Let's just, let's just see what they can do on a college basketball court." So I didn't know a ton about Tahod Pettiford until I watched... Early in the season, Auburn played Houston, who's also a one seed in this tournament. They played Houston in Houston, and for those of you who don't know any- much about Houston basketball, Houston slows the pace down, Houston, uh, plays incredible defense and Houston, uh, wins a ton of games playing that way. They just, uh... They're really, really good at controlling tempo and- and- and playing lockdown defense and it's impossible... You have to move the ball side to side, you have to have a guy who can penetrate into the... And- and- and beat their guards off the dribble, which is- is easier said than done. And, uh, for about 25 to 30-ish minutes of this game, um, it was a- a rock fight when Aubur- early in the season, Auburn's playing Houston, it's just an absolute rock fight, two great defensive teams. And then Tahod Pettiford comes in in the second half and just decides he's just gonna be a one-man fast break and just- just create all sorts of offense, and he had a Houston defense, which is one of the best in the country, just running in circles and trying to keep up with him, and he's hitting, he's hitting threes, he's- he's- he's pull- he's hitting pull-up mid-range shots like, uh, you know, like it's, like- like he's- like he's making layups. He is getting to the rim and finishing in transition now. He's an undersized kid. He's not the biggest kid in the world, but he is an absolute lightning rod and if you watch Auburn, especially in big games, he- thi- this kid is a- a big game player where, um, every time they play a- a marquee team, which Auburn played a lot of them this year, he balls out. He- he- he's... There's no shot that he's not comfortable taking and- and not capable of making. Uh, he's just a natural scorer. I do worry about his- his size a little bit, but, uh, you know, if you're doing, like, the- the lazy comparison thing of because he's left-handed, you know, I get like the Brandon Jennings feel watching him where I'm like, "Yeah, you're small and left-handed, but, like, you can score from anywhere on the court," and I just, I... It- it... You're just a joy to watch. Like, I- I just, like, I watched Tahod Pettiford play basketball and I'm like, "I am having a great time." I just say it- I'll say it in an empty room, KOC. I'm just, like, sitting on my couch and I'll just say out loud, "I'm having a great time right now."