Luke Jones and Nestor get you ready to watch the Terps and Mountaineers with the WNST Baltimore Positive community on Thursday at Hollywood Barstool Sports Restaurant in Perryville. Let’s make West Virginia fear the turtle.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
maryland, teams, year, bracket, west virginia, play, big, terps, game, win, syracuse, willard, ncaa tournament, week, thursday, feels, lamar, people, money, worked
SPEAKERS
Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Looking back at W n s t test a little more and Baltimore positive we’re gonna be good to Maryland crabcakes represented by the Maryland lottery window day she back out on the road for you that you were in my Raskin global shirt today. It’s March Madness. Well I have friends and sponsors that are worked out we’re gonna be in Hollywood casino up at the Barstool Sports book and restaurant family friendly you can bring the kids go on out. It’s easy. big screens, big wings, big burgers, big beer, and big brackets Luke Jones. So as we get going here, take a moment from Lamar opening day. St. Patrick’s Day all that. Hey, man, the chirps are kicking things off on Thursday this this is fun to print brackets and and to have wagering facilities Mobley available to you a Barstool Sports and other places to make this as much fun as it was in the seventh grade back in the days of I don’t know, Greg Manning and Reggie Jackson and oh, I don’t know. Adrian branch.
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Luke Jones 01:07
Yeah, no question about it. And I think if you’re a Maryland fan, and you’re one of the Kevin Willard era, you’re heartened by this, you’re encouraged by this, I think any Terps fan going into this season, would have said if you can make the NCAA Tournament, knowing that you had some holdovers from the Terjun era, knowing that you had some transfers and knowing that this wasn’t truly a Kevin Willard team just yet. But making the tournament in year one, you’re checking that box and you’re saying I’ll take that, and I’m excited by that. So and that’s exactly what the Terps have done. You know, we’ve talked about it all year in terms of how well they played at home, how much they struggled on the road in the big 10. Although I know Kevin Willard has bristled about that saying that he thinks they played better than the record would indicate which there’s some merit to but at the same time, one in nine is one in nine on the road in the big 10. And you look at this draw, West Virginia and the first round and knowing that, Alabama looms in the second round, realistically speaking, if you can beat West Virginia, this is you’ll sign off on this and you’ll say, hey, great first year, great, great accomplishment for a team that did not have very high expectations. And I think just a year where you recalibrate some hope. I think one of the big complaints of the martyr Janiero was there being a very distinct ceiling for this program. I think the floor was we talked about the floor, that was fine. They weren’t having these god awful seasons or anything like that. But you just didn’t really think that they had that same ceiling that they had had 20 years earlier. So
Nestor Aparicio 02:46
I want to I want to address that because you mentioned that all the time in regard to Terjun. And I think that’s in regard to the fan base believing that whatnot. But I would say they were thought to be one of many in the big 10. And every year Wisconsin I’ll have a year at Ohio State we’ll have a year in Michigan, we’ll have some players and Michigan State will always kind of have players kind of like Duke in North Carolina, but we’re not going to be one of them. We’re going to be one of many, right. And that’s part of being in the big 10 I mean, the football program has got a long way to go. But right I mean, but it’s recruiting better, and nio the NFL think changes all of this. And I think it changes expectations. And the question for me and I learned this five months ago when Jay Wright is onstage looking young and you know, chipper had a lot of money and decided not to do this anymore in the prime of his career, or what could have been more of a beacon have coached him more years. Just didn’t want to do it this way. And Willard sort of understood it. It’s kind of like being a millennial or being an old fart or being a baby boomer, right, you know, go Boomer, right? There’s a new era and a new way this is going to be done. And if you’re not embracing that, you might as well be lefty Giselle, or Gary Williams or somebody else that doesn’t want to play this game, because this is a different game right now.
Luke Jones 04:03
Yeah, it is. And I don’t think anyone necessarily even has it figured out at this point in time. I think that’s what everyone’s doing. But in the same way, we were talking about AAU ball changing the landscape, I don’t know, 15 or 20 years ago, you know, at a time when it didn’t feel like Gary Williams wanted to do that. And look, that was his prerogative. And all these coaches are gonna make that decision, especially once you’ve been around the block a few times, but
Nestor Aparicio 04:27
8I’m exiting by the way, I just gotta throw that in. Yeah, finally, your guy. Mr. Ceric. You wore an orange creamsicle something on your head at some point and you
Luke Jones 04:38
not? Well, not that extreme, but I have a T shirt in my closet that says real men wear orange. Yeah, because I went to Syracuse for two years. In fact, great timing, because and then you heard about the weather. Oh, sure. Sure. But my freshman year was when Maryland won it all. And if you recall, they played the sweet 16. That regional final was in Syracuse. So I sat in the last row in the upper deck because as a poor college kid, that’s all I could afford was the very last row of the upper deck, but I was there for the win over Kentucky and I was there for the epic win over UConn. I mean, you know, the best game of the tournament for my money. But I had that, you know, as a freshman getting to watch the Terps up in Syracuse. And then of course, the following year was the Carmelo Anthony Jerry McNamara, McNamara championship team. So, but yeah, fun times there. But bringing it back to the Terps in the modern day,
Nestor Aparicio 05:30
you know, I mean, that’s like you, did you pick the good time to get in and out of Syracuse. I don’t say that much to you. And I know we talk about this on the year. Like if we did six to 10am radio every day, the whole world would know all this stuff about you over and over again. I’d be ribbing you every time something bad happened Syracuse or Beyhive. cheated and got away with it. You know, but the bay home Syracuse thing really is. I don’t know where the end of the end of the end is. Right. Like Bill Self had some health issues this week. Like, you know, the Roy Williams and the chef skis. And, you know, we’re at the end of that we’re in the beginning of this new thing where I don’t feel so bad on Thursday, when they tip off at some of the kids on the floor actually getting paid. Like it is skeeves me out on the radio for 25 years. And you know, I’m sitting up at Barstool Sports and Perry Ville, eating chips and dip the bartender’s making money, the casino, everybody’s making money except the kids dribbling. And I could never, I could never come to terms with that, especially having known so many of these young people. I mean, of all backgrounds, I covered basketball for 25 years. So every Walt Williams and every kid that went through this, to get an education and was there and, and didn’t make the NBA not like wolves, but other guys that just went to Towson or went to other schools and gave up significant portions of their lives. And everybody made money off a cop and in 1998, except the kids that triple A and B, you know, and one. And so that’s where I am. I’m happier with it. I haven’t figured it out to your point. I haven’t even like fully examined all of it. Because I have people coming to me for guests about NIHL money and try. Do How much do you understand it too much like a lot of parts of sports. You care as far as you you get dive in. And this week, diving into the brackets, right? And just trying to have a little bit of fun with it. But I do feel better about where college sports might be going. Then how greasy it used to feel. Yeah,
Luke Jones 07:40
in practice, I agree with you. Or I guess I should say in theory, I agree with you in practice, I’m not sure because nisl transfer portal, we’ve seen how that hips has changed the landscape so dramatically, where it feels a little more like freedoms. And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing for these kids. Let’s be clear about that. But from a fandom standpoint, I’m not always sure that that’s going to be what’s best in terms of maintaining interest or maintaining passion. We’ll see. You weren’t
8Nestor Aparicio 08:10
a perfect candidate. You were born like 15 years too late that in 1979 8081 when me and Kevin Act were getting together at Halliburton Middle School we get those Toyota ACC whole magazines dedicated to the season. And they’re just being a few teams. And one bid maybe two never three, you know, like and warring into those gay like, I don’t know, you know, getting the rabbit ears out on Channel 45 Could you could get the damn thing anyway. I mean, you know, the night that Graham lights it up I you know, I’m watching through a mess. So anyway, but but it has become much more for a guy my age that comes from that era. And that sort of focus to what March Madness has become a mean, dude, I remember magic and Larry, I remember taping the Joe Barry Carroll games when I got my first VCR and 1980 and 81 and Kiki Vandeweghe I mean, I Adrian Dantley I loved all of that stuff. It is different now were like the kid you’re in love with this year competing. I mean, we’ve dealt with with Suleyman, right routes seen against them. And then all of a sudden he turned right. How is that even possible? We couldn’t even register that in our minds. That’s all kind of over with now, I think for the business of college sports takes a different light for me this week with the brackets and I just think that needs to be said because I think it is a different ballgame.
Luke Jones 09:42
Oh, it definitely is. And again, when I say that, I don’t know what it means from a fan standpoint in terms of whether it’s going to help the sport help the product or not. I mean, it’s good for the kids and absolutely and a lot of what you just shared I agree with wholeheartedly so I think this matchup between Maryland and West Virginia. I mean, take a look at both teams leading scorer Jim Aireon transfer, Eric Stevenson for West Virginia transfer. I mean, you look at West Virginia, they have some transfer players. It’s a very senior laden roster, you know, Maryland having some of the same elements. So, you and clearly Huggins has been at West Virginia for a long time. So him and Willard aren’t an appropriate comparison. But it just speaks to how much the landscape can change year to year now and with Nio and you asked me a couple minutes ago, how well versed I am with that, not at all, I mean, it’s too tough trying to track the business of the NFL and Major League Baseball and Lamar Jackson’s contract saga and all that for me, it just helped
Nestor Aparicio 10:43
me know who’s playing Terps, right.
Luke Jones 10:46
8I’m not gonna sit here and try to pretend to fake that I understand the inner workings of how NFL is gonna work. Because again, I think it’s still evolving and seeing how it’s all
Nestor Aparicio 10:55
Maryland’s got a quarterback from Hawaii, whose brothers rich and famous and like, you know, I mean, anything’s possible, right? Like, literally. Yeah,
Luke Jones 11:04
I mean, I think that’s what makes us so fascinating when you throw in i o in there as far as market size, and how many? How many opportunities are there for college athletes compared to if they’re in a market where they’re kind of in the middle of nowhere, compared to here, where there’s professional teams everywhere you look right, and advertising dollars that are going out? All over the place every which direction? So I think it’s just, it’s something that Willard is gonna have to figure out. It’s something that all these coaches are figuring out. But in the meantime, understanding that big picture question and how important that’s going to be to Maryland success in the big term. I think that’s where you bring it back to the micro looking at the here and now and saying, making the NCAA Tournament and having an opportunity to win a game, you know, against West Virginia, which I think certainly the Terps have a puncher’s chance here. So what I guess the early line has has West Virginia as a slight favorite, which is fine. Now they they played in a very difficult conference, you look at their conference record, and then you remember all they played in the best conference in the country, whereas Maryland was in the second best, at least in terms of all the rankings and all the different things, metrics that you see. But you know, the following around, if Maryland can get through, we’ll come back to that same theme that we’ve been talking about, you know, Alabama will be playing what less than an hour away from Tuscaloosa. So it is what it is, they’re the top overall seed in the tournament. No, I don’t give Maryland much of a chance. But if you can win on Thursday, you get that early start, you know that 12 You know what, 1215 first game of the of the first round, which is fun. And then you get if you can win, then you sit back and watch everyone else. So we’ll see how it plays out. But certainly, you and I talking about this back in November and December. This was this was always a realistic, good goal for this team to have would be to make the NCAA Tournament and see what your draw is in the first round. And then you kind of go from there. So from that standpoint, definitely encouraging. Would like to have seen them maybe win an additional game in the big 10 tournament, you know, that played in Indiana team on Friday night. I mean, that was like a home game, you know, so close, you know, with Indiana traveling to Chicago, not a big surprise there right away till Saturday. Yeah, yeah, I mean, exactly. I mean, that’ll be nothing that especially those up Alabama fans, there’ll be cranky because they weren’t in the college football playoff this past year. So you know, there’ll be all excited for that. But, again, see what happens, you know, see what see what happens against West Virginia. If you win a game great, you know, compete against Alabama, see, if you have a chance late, I don’t give them much of a chance. But it is what it is. But in the big picture,
Nestor Aparicio 13:56
if you’re going to compete, compete, you know, get knocked out by a team that can win it all, or have a chance to shock the world, right? Like if you if you’re good on that day, and you can shoot the ball a little bit and we’re gym, which is really, that’s been the weird part for them has been road fans feeding off that energy at home, not being able to feed off that energy at all in regards to shooting in in regard to sort of patients and being little up on the road in general, you know, all the way around. I don’t know what that means for a little yellow puddle under their legs. But they will have been in the gym on Thursday and allegedly been successful against a similar team. We could talk so much about where teams land on the line. And to your point, my point every time we’ve talked about the Terps this year, whether it was back in January as they started to maybe pick up some momentum a little bit and start looking like a team that was rounding out and playing well at home and having big wins early in the year big point differentials where you’re like hey, beaten good teams by 20 points or decent teams programs by 20 points. You You looked at it and said, Well, you know, eighth line 967 Boy, the eight nine thing really changes their dramatically changes their prospects of still playing this time next week, in regard to home game one seed in the heart of it. I mean, they’ll get good barbecue down there. But you know, like, this is this is a really group of death kind of draw for them in regard to how it worked out that boy the six or seven, maybe shoot the ball one time beat Minnesota beat state Penn beat somebody, anybody at the end of the year live stay anybody, you know, win another game last week, the tournament, something to get yourself off the eight line, but I’m not a big bracket ologists as far as work, because I think the middle of it all tends to be a popcorn machine. It’s just where they kind of scored it out. They really got penalized that one and nine, hung them. I think when when it came time to put them on a line.
8Luke Jones 16:02
Yeah, I mean, and it just comes down to it. I mean, you know, when you go 10 An O at home in the big 10. That sounds awesome. And it is and it really reflected the kind of homecourt advantage they had. And that was heartening as far as the future and understanding big 10 teams coming into college park and feeling you’re hoping it feels like it did for ACC teams to come into college park 20 years ago. But yeah, when you go one and nine on the road, and you’re one win is against a lousy Minnesota team. Now it was a blowout. Yeah, it was one of those sleepy late Saturday night games at the barn in Minnesota. But yeah, you’re gonna get dinged. And I mean, you still look at Maryland’s overall profile. I think what they were number 31 in the net rankings and at rankings and three quad one wins they had I think it was about a half dozen quad two wins. I mean, you know, they they had a nice profile, but you do kind of look at it and say, Okay, what have you done away from College Park and Willard had cited, they did have a couple of neutral court wins early in the year. Although that feels like an eternity ago feels like three seasons know
Nestor Aparicio 17:13
what it feels like? It feels like Christmas. Right? I mean, I know was
Luke Jones 17:18
exactly, exactly. You’re talking back in late 2022 and eggnog
Nestor Aparicio 17:22
8and pumpkin spice back then man.
Luke Jones 17:26
Exactly. So from that Smar was healthy and happy. So from that standpoint, you kind of look at where they they fell. I mean, it’s it’s not surprising, if you looked at at the bracketology, kind of leading into Sunday night’s selection show they the eight, the eight seat is about where people thought they were going to go, you know, unlike I would even say like look at Penn State who had the really impressive run to the big 10 championship game, a lot of people kind of thought Penn State was going to be an eight and they ended up being a 10. And they draw a Texas a&m team that some people think should have been a better seat than a seven. So it’s all relative, right? I mean, everyone kind of, it’s easy to pick out a few teams, and you say that’s a favorable draw. But there are plenty of teams that are going to be unhappy one way or the other. But
Nestor Aparicio 18:11
everybody’s got to play Duke eventually, we used to say, right,
Luke Jones 18:14
sure, sure. By the way, be grudgingly, Duke playing some pretty good basketball at the end of the year. Don’t like giving them too many compliments. But so again, you show up, you play Thursday. Yep. See if you can get by West Virginia. I mean, you know, I expect that to be a close game. I think two teams that both played in a really difficult conference both have things about them you like and then things about them, you say, you know, that’s kind of explains why they were an eight or nine seed, right, as opposed to a six. So you see how it plays out? And then yeah, you’re gonna play Alabama barring a UMBC over Virginia scenario for the Crimson Tide, and we’ll see how it works out. So but if you had told me back in November, Maryland would be playing in the NCAA tournament, and they would have a, you know, an eight, nine matchup, I would have signed up for that gladly, and I’d say, hey, that’s, that’s a good opening year for Kevin Miller. The challenge will be then moving forward. How do you build on that? So
8Nestor Aparicio 19:15
it’s a better opening if they win, you know, three o’clock on Thursday, we move on and, and they get a big game, right? Sure. And you get a chance. All the Maryland disappointments every time I see Rex Chapman tweet, right, which is like every minute of every day, right? I think back to the year they had a chance and I was in robbed the billiards basement against Kentucky and I think about them having a chance against any of the bigger teams and that’s when it would really I mean, the season breaks through. If they’re playing basketball next next week. Still, somehow if they create a miracle, the only way to create a miracle is to put a one in front of you, I think, I mean, I don’t it doesn’t impress me, beating West Virginia and you can only go so far in the tournament. and hoping that the 13 knocks off the floor and you get, you get that edge right. And they have had that in the past where that second round game came at the expense of a higher seed. That’s not the case this weekend. And it will create energy Saturday if they win and they I mean they and again, it’s it’s a toss the game’s a toss all the way along. By the way, join us up at Hollywood casino in Perryville. We’re going to be at the Barstool Sports restaurant. We want to come out watch the chirps play in noon on Thursday, I’ll be there free copies appropriate one and two while they last anybody that wants them. And liquidating after 20 years on the integrity of the Baltimore Ravens and their leadership so please come on by grab it. I have a purple pen and a red hat and a mi oh, by the way, I still have my hat. Do you have your 2002 hat do you have your national champs white hat with the red brim I have mine.
Luke Jones 20:53
I know I have a T shirt. I
Nestor Aparicio 20:56
don’t know if I ever
Luke Jones 20:57
8got the hat. But I have the t shirt shirt. I
Nestor Aparicio 21:00
was really comfortable. And I wore it a lot because it felt good on me. It was nice cotton, but the hat I have I’m gonna bust that out. I might even bust out my Lamont Jordan Jersey before it’s so it’s all about that. Yeah, there you go. You get the money. I’ll promise you that. You know we get him on the program. Luke Jones can be found at Baltimore like anything else you want to say but the tournament you want to take, you know, you will take a stab at a picker. You want to sound foolish you just want to do that privately out on your app.
Luke Jones 21:27
I would think I don’t have any bold proclamations because again, I’ve been so enamored with free agency and Lamar Jackson watch and all that but look what’s gonna happen thing are, we’ll get to that. No, but my my upset alert. And I’ve been saying this, I said this before the draw and okay, maybe the draw is a little more favorable for them. I yeah, I knew they’d be a number one seed, but Purdue. I don’t know if they have the guard play to really live up to being a Final Four kind of team. I mean, they have ed I mean, Player of the Year all that I get that, but we know how guard driven. The play is in the NCAA tournament. And if we’re reconvening a week from now and Purdue was knocked out in the second round and what they’re gonna play the winner of Memphis Florida Atlantic, that wouldn’t stun me I’ll just say that I’ve seen a lot watched enough of Purdue over the last few weeks to think as a number one seed there’s some vulnerability there that a little more than than you’d like out of a number one seed but hey, yeah, we’ve talked about that with the big 10 All year how difficult it was to win on the road and and all that but I’ll give you that other than that, but I’ll pick Houston away and how about that there’s there’s some boring chalk for well
Nestor Aparicio 22:40
there you go and home games for them and the Final Four no less right so that would be something if they were to get there you know, I got my brackets out and like when I when I smell the bracket and I touch the bracket and I get the the four color pen and by the way de Preston’s coming off from WT op this week so I’m pulling out all the old nasty Nesta stops I’m I’m grabbing the phone and it’s amazing how many my friends are dead to talk college basketball and I’m not kidding you like people that I would love to have PB on this week and like some old school basketball people to bracket eyes with me and have some fun, but it is fun to look down here and see all these these dirtball programs that have disappointed Xavier you how many times I circled Xavier VCU good Sagol all of you these teams I mean Marilyn I was a bleeding heart term for putting them through to the aid every year dreaming how they were going to knock off Connecticut or Michigan State something right? And it makes me feel old school because I did you ever win a bracket pool ever in your life?
8Luke Jones 23:48
I think I don’t think a bracket pool No. Jump up. So yeah. I’ve won some fantasy football leagues over the years but not not an NCAA bracket pool. Now,
Nestor Aparicio 23:58
Mike fountain had a Kansas Jayhawk thing. And this was a year back we were drinking beer on Kane street back in the 80s. We’ll talk about that on their own area more red light. I can’t nothing I can be held responsible for that happened 40 years ago, but one thing I was responsible for was holding the dollars for the bracket pool. And he picked Kansas you know off the eight line nine line wherever they were that year, and they won and it was just like, I could never win a bracket pool. It was always a contribution. Which you know, I’ve had a lot more success being in rooms watching people win lottery scratch offs with me lately than I ever had getting the run around winning a pool because I never ever I got to the weekend one year, like I got to the final four. And I got blown up. I don’t know Connecticut or something like that. But for anybody that’s won a pool, please email me and tell me because I’m not convinced anybody ever wins the money. I’m convinced the guy from the house takes the money. That’s what I’m thinking. At least that’s the way it worked in Dundalk back in the 80s. So Oh, Luke Jones in his brackets can be found at Baltimore Luke. He is more focused on free agency tampering. Who did this? Who got the brackets and tampering all in the same week? How did we screw that up?
Luke Jones 25:14
I don’t know.
Nestor Aparicio 25:16
All right noon on Thursday we’ll be in Hollywood casino with Barstool Sports, having a little fun with the Terps we all deserve a little fun with the Terps we all deserve some March Madness. We all deserve a beer and some wings and some gambling in a casino out in the lobby. And free ample parking right at the foot of the bridge. It’s beautiful drive up, come on up. Berryville it is my casino of choice. I my wife and I’ve had fun up there. They have great bands up there. The barstool crowds grabbed me more than that bartenders, the staffs fantastic. Come on out on Thursday. Spend the day with us. We’d love to see you. We’re going to talk some more Lamar and some more Lamar and opening days couple weeks wait some more Lamar and green beer and probably a little bit Lemoore Lamar. I am Nestor we are wn st am 1570, Towson Baltimore. It’s March Madness. It’s brackets. It’s madness. We are Baltimore positive.com Stay with us.
