Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the aftermath of nice March Madness win over West Virginia and the ugly exit to Alabama as the initial year for head coach Kevin Willard can only be measured in positive terms for the health and future of the basketball program in College Park.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
terps, maryland, mark turgeon, game, year, ncaa tournament, friends, big, willard, talk, people, win, watching, basketball, point, kevin, thought, bracket, purdue, gary williams
SPEAKERS
Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome back wn s t test of Baltimore and Baltimore positive we are positively into March and March Madness and the sadness that comes after the elation of beating West Virginia up there at the Barstool Sports restaurant Hollywood casino up in Berryville. We’re gonna be doing the Maryland crab cake tour. As promised, I have dates. It’s real I’m wearing the cost this shirt because cost this is one of the original purveyors of all things Maryland lottery from the 1973. They’ve been there since 71. Just like the shirt says. And on the fifth of April, we are going to begin to spring addition to the Maryland graphic door presented by the Maryland lottery in conjunction with our friends window nation, 866 90 nation get those windows if you haven’t gotten them yet, do what I did. And we’re going to start to crabcake toward Costas. We’re going to be fadeless on the sevens to open CFG Bank Arena with Bruce Springsteen and the Eagles. I had to go up to State College and do a little business research on the Springsteen show for the April 7 Show. We’re going to be fadeless that day, during the Maryland crabcakes. We’re bringing friends together. We’re gonna be kicking it off opening days, the sixth. So fifth, the cost is six is opening day. I’m not doing anything official that they have a lot of unofficial things. And then on the seventh will be at fadeless. It’s all part of the Maryland crabcake tour and the spring kickoff. We’re also getting the Pappas up in Bel Air in April for everybody north of the border up in Harford County, as well. And the Maryland lottery has asked me to hold up the 50th anniversary gold scratch off tickets to this is just a sample it’s not a real one. Look, Jones joins us now um I had a friend, Luke in middle school. He’s still a friend of mine, I shouldn’t say had a friend. He’s still a friend. His name’s Brian Poole. And so it’s pool with an E and Brian was traveling over the weekend. I see a man on Facebook and we had bracket walls back in middle school and I was always the guy that handle the dollar bills. I admitted this to Dennis last week. I admitted this to John Martin that you know I was involved in early March Madness brackets hearing in 1981 82 Kiki Vandeweghe a Joe Perry Carol, you can go back to this stuff. So if you want to go back 34 years, but the early bracketology is that we started choking early on my friend’s name was Brian Poole and Hopi here’s the segment if you know him throw him a note that we used to say my pool is a puddle. You know day one, day two. It is it is no longer a pool. It has dried up. And if you had Maryland, beating Alabama I guess yours is dried up but hey dude, if you didn’t have Princeton or if you didn’t love Fairleigh Dickinson perhaps over the weekend but a fun fun weekend of March Madness. And look, I’ll even say this that even in the Aparicio. Housel as late as Sunday, after a long night in State College, me and Ross Tucker, Eaton paterna peachy Paterno up there at State College, that my wife wanted to watch basketball all day Sunday. So we did hang out. We did March Madness. We did the great American thing. And we bracketed and I drank beer, I had wings. I did it all, man. And you had to get it all in because Marilyn was gonna last
8
Luke Jones 03:14
Saturday night. Yeah, and not exactly a big shock. I mean, you and I talked about this a week ago. And we were saying at the time, first of all, the fact that Kevin Willard gets these Terps to the NCAA tournament in year one, knowing what the expectations were knowing that the roster was some holdovers from our Terjun and some transfers portal, that that whole thing. I mean, that’s, that’s becoming more prevalent across the landscape of college basketball, but certainly for a first year head coach in a new setting. So I wrote it, I tweeted it at wn S T on our Twitter page that from the time they beat West Virginia. I mean, everything was gravy from that point, you know that the idea that if you were told a Terps fan back in early November, that you could sign up for an NCAA tournament appearance, and a first round when I think most people would be doing cartwheels. And I think that’s the overall sense of Saturday night, late, late Saturday night disappointment aside, which, I mean, it just came down this the Terps just didn’t make shots, what they went for or for made their first four shots and then went 15 of 50 from the field after that, I mean, you shoot 30% For most of the game, against the top team in the tournament, and number one seed, you’re not going to move on, and probably could have been a little uglier than it was if not for the fact that I thought were large stretches that game Maryland defended pretty well. So you know, I mean, it’s not surprising. I mean, you’re talking about a team that was an eight seed. So yeah, you’re gonna run into the number one seed most of the time unless you’re thinking you’re gonna play Purdue in the second round, as we found out and solve just what was a phenomenal upset that I think, you know, even some people like me who said watch out for Purdue losing in the second round, and we gave them too much credit, apparently, but it was outstanding. But overall, you know, to the point that you made specially the first round, I mean, the second round was good as well. But that first round of games both Thursday and Friday, the mix of upsets buzzer beaters are near buzzer beaters, you know, lots of drama late in games. That was as good of a first round as I can remember in quite some time. I mean, it was, it was outstanding. New Jersey liked it. Oh, yeah, no question. It when you look at that’s what was funny seeing so many of these teams, these upsets, you know, what’s a good tournament? And you see a team win. And then it’s like, where are they from?
Nestor Aparicio 05:43
My wife was wondering about St. Mary. She’s like, but that’s not the St. Mary’s and St. Mary’s County that we went down to I’m like, No, that’s not that one. Who are these guys? You know, and where did they come from? Yeah, look, I would just say this on the Terps and I went out I sat at the bar stool up in on Perry Ville, and they were trips fans there. But it wasn’t maniacal and it you know, I guess there’s environment for that and College Park and whatnot. And look man, I go back to them winning a national championship and sort of no one showing up for a parade. So I that was 20 years ago. So I I have tempered, how date deep the depth of the enthusiasm for Terps basketball or terms football or Terps lacrosse or any of these sort of niche things that Terps fans would be involved in that. That being said, this is a building block for whatever the next thing is, which is they couldn’t feel they couldn’t get people to go down to the gym for years. Turgeon had this, whatever the love hate thing about him was and that’s over with now, this guy is clearly stepped into good terms. And as one over should have won over everybody at this point, though, how does he recruit thing? I mean, this whole NIHL for every coach out there, it’s the wild wild west. I don’t know how good any of these guys are at being bagman for money. Like I mean, which is pretty much what this is at this point. Right. So So for all of that, we’ll figure all that out. You know, meanwhile, I’m going to be having a little free plug here for the Kinect X folks around here. In Hunt Valley, Gary Williams is going to be up on Wednesday we spend the day with Carrie here what’s on his mind about basketball in the modern day and all the things I’m thinking as I’m watching these young student athletes, male and female, I mean, watch some of the women’s tournament as well. We were into that fairly tickets and game for 12 minutes left and like there’s a chance put it on, you know, who knows, and and wound up getting sort of brought into the tournament a little bit, you know, the five foot seven point guard that we’re like, Let’s shoot for that guy, you know, so there’s a little bit of that that goes on for all of this. But then there’s okay one of the Terps built here. What’s the residue from my pal Jack crabby and our friends over at the fan? I actually had the lead. Leave Barstow a little early and I listened to the Terps game. I had no idea Johnny Holliday was ailing. So I want to give him some love. While I’m in the middle of the segments. Johnny is one of the really special people in my life. over 31 years of my career. I didn’t realize I saw on Facebook, but Chris Naki did a great job of calling the game on the fan. I’m gonna get crystal on at some point we’re gonna talk some basketball here. But the thing for me in the season that I take out of it as a guy that watched McMillan and Elmore and David Thompson hit his head on the backboard 50 years ago now, right, like literally, I would say that they had some memories and some magic that if your 18 year old kid went to Maryland this year, and was up there and you suck, and you got to come back and they had wins. They had big home wins. And they had a tournament win. That I would say if I’m your niece, or if I’m a 12 year old kid or Joey Knox kids that are teenagers, that if this is where it starts for you, if this is where you’re Walt Williams, your Len Elmore, your Adrian branch, or Greg Manning, or wherever Buck Williams, wherever your guy is, Joe Smith, who I saw was signing some autographs recently with my buddy, Walt Williams. So all of these people that come in this, somebody said, Kevin McClinton, the media of the day I was sitting at the barstool, just make a talk with a guy and no, I do. I was just watching the game BS. And for two, I was great. And he was like giving me old Terps memories, like I just get on a call. And I’m like, yeah, yeah, let’s talk about this, because I don’t get to talk about this much, because we didn’t talk about this much during surgeon. So this is sort of poking it, that maybe you want to get in the car and go see Northwestern next year, that we would want to be a part of it. And I think the memories that were made on the nights when they played well, early in the year when they flashed out a couple of big wins, and you’re watching on television, and then the big 10 happens and all they do is just beat down teams on the home court and it’s a big party. Everybody leaves feeling good and I’ve driven that road back after getting your ass kicked from Duke. It’s a long road. It’s a lot colder on the nine o’clock game. When Kerry’s pissed off throwing stuff and you’re driving home at one o’clock in the morning. I’ve been that guy. So I think being happy after winds and having moments, that’s what I think the trips 2223 season is was a jumping like a complete white wall, right, a complete brand new canvas for whatever the next thing is gonna be. It’s not about Gary and Juan Dixon. And God knows it’s not about that after last week in our comp and friends here, but like, I think it’s something new and I think that that part of it for me is Yeah, okay. I’ll accept it. I like it. Yeah, I
Luke Jones 10:43
think it gives you a chance to have some hope again. Let’s face it. What Kevin Willard and the Terps did this year was except for one season under Mark Turgeon was their ceiling, right? I mean, Mark Turgeon got the one sweet 16 We’ve talked about it, that’s the diamond stone, Rasheed, Sulaimon. That kind of that hired gun feel kind of a team that they had. But that was that was a seal a red underachieving team. Yeah, and look, let’s be clear, I mean, Kevin Willard winning a game in the in the NCAA Tournament and get into the round of 32. You know, that’s not the end goal. That’s not the end game here. But it’s a great jumping off point, as you mentioned, and I keep coming back to when I was even talking about this with a couple of my buddies, you know, going back to guys who are rooting for the Terps most of their lives. And, you know, there was this overall, this overall debate. And you and I talked about this a lot the last three or four years, you know, not that we talked a ton about the Terps. But when we would, we would talk about Mark Turgeon and how split the opinions were. And there was such a strong sentiment among some, and it’s not one that I subscribe to, it’s when I push back on a lot, quite frankly. But the thought was Mark Turgeon was doing as well as Maryland fans should expect to do. And I really push back on that idea of Wait a second. Look, I’m not saying that Maryland, under Kevin Lillard, or anyone who could come in here, right now is guaranteed or has some kind of birthright to be a perennial Final 14, let’s be honest about what it was under Gary Williams, I mean, Gary built, and there were sweet sixteens. And there was kind of that ceiling that was thought, okay, can they get past the sweet 16? And there were, there were thoughts in the late 90s. Wondering if Gary Williams could get a turf team passed that threshold. And then one Dixon and Lonnie Baxter come around and Chris Wilcox,
Nestor Aparicio 12:30
8Hey, man, fans, the expectations got so low, just when the tournament just lay out down in Greensboro for a weekend, we’ll lose in the 16, or the 32 will be okay. That I don’t know that I ever really believed they could win the national champion. I mean, you know what I mean, like I was, they were always the third best team in their own conference. And Gary was always fighting to be number two, like, quite frankly, for and there was always a Wake Forest, there was always a Florida State there was like, in that era, it was just, it was never like Maryland was the cream of the ACC crop ever. They always came in as something’s wrong with them, you know, that there’ll be there’ll be a greater reason to go play for Dean Smith, or Mike’s miszewski?
Luke Jones 13:16
Yeah. So I mean, the point is, they got to that, they broke that threshold, and they went to a Final Four, and then they won a national championship the following year. So the idea that Terps fan shouldn’t have hope and visions of being able to do that, again, at some point, again, not every year. But at some point, you get the right recruiting class A couple years back to back and you kept you catch lightning in a bottle, and you’ve got a special group of kids and the schedule falls the right way. And you get the right draw on the NCAA tournament. Why can’t that happen? Again? Why can’t you get back to a Final Four, again, at some point in time, so that’s where I think when Kevin Willard came in last spring. And look, I’m not saying that winning the press conference, is that important. At the end of the day, I think it’s oftentimes very overrated. And everyone’s going to state their vision and talk about having this great success. But it was a very different tone that he had, compared to what we had heard from Mark Turgeon. And look, I don’t want to beat up on Mark Turgeon too much here. But there always felt like there was a sense of self satisfaction that what we’ve done is pretty good. And it’s it should be good enough. And, you know, I just I never bought that and people who fed into that I push back on that. And I’m saying this much more as a fan. I mean, I haven’t covered Terps basketball regularly in a number of years. But just watching it just saying why can’t it be better than this? So for Kevin Willer to do that in year one, acknowledging there’s a lot of work to do. And I think you look across the big 10, with Michigan State being the exception as far as getting to the round of 16 round a 16. Now there’s even that talk of the big 10 and the style play in this conference. How does it translate to plan in the end See the boy tournament? I,
Nestor Aparicio 15:01
when we’re fairly dicking? Around, as you predicted a week ago, I think yeah, right.
Luke Jones 15:08
Yeah, well, I mean, I didn’t think Fairleigh Dickinson but whichever team it was going to be, and I thought, like I said, I thought it would be more of a second round, you know, one of those second round teams so that that pretty what
8Nestor Aparicio 15:17
he’s gonna dribble and shoot and give them a hard time. Here, you,
Luke Jones 15:21
you just look at the athleticism and the speed that you see elsewhere. And that’s what I think is going to be the challenge for Kevin Willard finding that sweet spot of yes, you want to win your conference, right. But also in a big picture sense. It’s not just about winning the big 10 tournament, or just about winning the Big 10. Regular season, you want to be able to compete in March and let’s face it, Tom Izzo and Michigan State being the exception and even them until recently, they had had a little bit of a mini swoon in terms of their March Madness, tournament success, you know, until recently here, there’s been that sense of okay, the big 10 Well, you know, you get seven or eight or nine teams in but how many are getting past the first weekend, this year is a great example of that. So I think for Maryland, you know, the big key for Kevin Willard, it’s just going to be continuing to build right, this was not the culmination, this was the beginning. And you look at the recruiting class coming in next year, and I’m not gonna get too much into it. But you know, to Sean harrismith, four star recruit out of Fairfax, and good, really good shooting guard prospect of some others that are coming in, you know, it’s a pretty well regarded class, you got to be able to do that every year, right? You have to be able to
Nestor Aparicio 16:34
recruit, as you’re, you’re gonna lose two or three of those kids. Because, right, there’s going to be a churn and burn,
Luke Jones 16:42
8no doubt, and that’s gonna be everywhere, right? I mean, we’re seeing the transfer portal just become such a big part of the landscaping, and look, the big time programs they can get someone to transfer into, you know, you have to be able to do both, right, you’re going to recall, you’re going to be Texas, no doubt, no doubt. And everyone’s figuring out the NIHL thing. And look, I’m not gonna sit here and try to say that I have some great understanding of how it’s gonna work. I think it’s evolving as we speak. And I think you’re even seeing big programs still figuring that out. And, and we’re even seeing smaller programs, do some things probably creatively that that are helping, that’s helping their cause. So, you know, it all comes together. And I think if you’re Kevin Willard, again, you’re encouraged by what happened this year. Let’s face it, this was not a great Maryland team by any stretch of the imagination, but I want to go back to something that you said that I think is a great point. And I think really heartens me for the future is how well they played at home. And you said it the memories they created whether it was beating Purdue of course or at Northwestern I just had so
Nestor Aparicio 17:45
many friends who took their kids down and a great Tiger and and left with a winner. Same as me and my dad in 1979 getting on the bus after Orioles games we went home winners I don’t know that I would have felt that way about the Cleveland Indians when I was 11 in 1979 if I lost every night right like so there is a part of luring hey the Orioles are about to do this too. Right? Winning is more fun than losing and this whole Lamar thing like all of that that’s going into this is if you’re not winning nobody’s common and like Maryland football will tell you that Merrill basketball the Orioles will tell you that like the ravens are about to figure that out if things go safety. I love all the sign Lamar sounds okay great. Like then it’s still gonna go win but that’s neither here nor there but with the chirps and their space in all of this now that it’s over. And Trump’s lacrosse season is always great. Posner loves it. Monday mornings, we talk a lot of trips across around here and they have a great pedigree for that and we’re all I’ve been here for 31 years on the radio, lacrosse. We’ll get there it’ll get okay, but it’s never going to fill up the football stadium. Same thing with soccer to some degree locally. But for the Terps basketball, that’s their big thing. It’s never going to be football to have at least shined and flashed. And given some of these memories. There is a thing about a kid wanting that bias poster on his wall when he’s 55 still right that you want people buying into the brand and I don’t. I thought for years how are they ever going to reinvigorate it? And I feel that way about the Orioles to some degree, but it is amazing a couple of gunner Henderson’s and a couple of ads. They Richmond’s and and all of a sudden 35,000 People are at the ballpark on a June night and people get into it. The chirps have a little flow going right now. And I want to figure out where that’s going. And part of that is give me some recruiting news. Give me some on make me sit up in in June and say, Talk Terps basketball that I don’t go to sleep. And I hear about it again in October, right.
Luke Jones 19:44
Yeah, and I mean, there’s a challenge to that. I mean, let’s face it. We’ve talked about this a lot short of the NFL which my goodness, you’ll turn on ESPN this week and look at everything that’s going on. You’ve got the NCAA Tournament sweet 16 This week, you’ve got the World Baseball Classic which has been We’ll get into that when we talk baseball, but it’s been really fun and engaging and injury, you know, controversy and debate aside that’s going on. And you know, as you mentioned the cross you got the NBA regular season winding down. Same thing with NHL, but they’ll talk NFL, right? I mean, that’s the one sport that gets oxygen year round. But if you’re Maryland, no, not. People aren’t gonna be talking Terps basketball every week between now and November, but there’s definitely some enthusiasm for it. And what you mentioned is something that Buck show Walter when he was manager, the Orioles would say all the time, and I really think back to 2011 2010 2011 note, you know, those first couple years, even 2012 the first time they made it, where no one really believed until you look up and they had 93 wins at the end of the season and said, Okay, well, there are a wildcard, but he would talk about this every time there would be. And typically, it would be attached to a giveaway, you know, like there would be a bobble head something, you know, Hawaiian shirt, and whatever it would be. This is
Nestor Aparicio 21:00
the book who ran the Arizona Diamondbacks. And pick the color scheme. So I will point that and he liked this guy’s that year, we keep going. But he
8Luke Jones 21:07
would talk about this when they would have a big a big crowd, right. And we’ve talked so much about attendance for a long time as it pertains to the Orioles. But really, again, other than the NFL, and even in certain NFL markets, it’s more challenging. We’ve talked about it with the ravens, they’re having to try harder to sell tickets at a time when they never had to do that in the past. But the point he always made, and if it would come after a win now they’d have a big crowd, and then they’d win. He’d say, this was a good night for the Orioles because there were people out there who said we want to come back. And that’s the idea. And that’s where when you go tenant oh and big 10 play on your home floor and College Park. There is more value probably to that. Then making it to the NCAA tournament in beating West Virginia, right. There’s probably more value to I mean, think about all those games, how many potential recruits or, or even kids that are in middle school right now or ninth grade and they’re saying hey, you know, College Park that’s, that’s, that’s an electric atmosphere.
Nestor Aparicio 22:05
Let me say this. I sat on the bar stool, like literally at the bar where I sat in the same seat every time I’ve been to Barstool Sports restaurant up in Berryville, at the Hollywood casino, and the guy said he had no idea. We were just two guys watching the game. And it was two hours into it. And we were talking old stories about going down to College Park. He said, You know, I was doing our soul McClinton play and he was giving me the Duke guys, I don’t remember what it was. I said alary and Bilous. This was a little 9192 a little later. But he had his memories. And 33 years later, he’s taken half a day off of work. It’s lunchtime. He’s got a beer and some say, and he’s talking about the funny had. And he’s sort of my age maybe a little younger than me. I think he was based on his memories, because we’re all all of our music. If you’re in the Lincoln Park and Foo Fighters, you’re younger than me, right? So it’s the same thing with sports. So I’m sitting talking to the guy for a couple of hours. And here we are two big kids all these years later. And all I could think about is being in Ocean City this summer, or being an exit or where you go up in Wildwood or Robus or wherever they legs and wherever you are, and you get to trips out on or you’re in the airport gets trips out on and the kid or wherever that kid is 1714 12 Eight, male, female, whatever they went to a game, they watched the game they had a when they were up late with dad mom watching the game, and they want to go or they went and had a great time. And they’ll say I want to go back again. Or I can’t wait for the Purdue game next year. Whatever that game is. That’s the thing that I think the trip season did that. Dude, I’ve been knowing you a long time. We I don’t think we’ve ever had this conversation about the reinvigorate not even with all the underarmor money. I mean, we’ve had awful deaths on campus down there. We’ve had football coaches come in and out, right. We’ve had all sorts of thing. Not a lot of bowl game, none of that right lacrosse championships and a lot of disappointments and Final Fours. But I don’t think we’ve talked about the basketball program having any seed of anything other than this circling drain of Mark Turgeon. And I did like the church nights, by the way, I thought that that’s a stick I missed a little bit, but was good. It was good. It was really good. But I would just say for for having that thing at the beach in the offseason and wearing that hat and it’s been 22 years. It’s I want to say 21 years since they won a championship right? When you’re 2122 Whatever it is, but either way, this is the next generation and, you know, kudos to to give it a memory even on on Thursday with me starting the tournament off that they won a game and it was exciting.
Luke Jones 24:42
No question. I mean, it’s we all think back to that. I mean, I had to think I even talked about this with a couple friends that you know the Terps be in the first game of the tournament. Of course they tipped off 1215 On Thursday, I thought back to being a kid and a few a few years with NCAA tournament was starting. It’s funny, I’d wake up that morning and not feel great. And I’d say my mom, I don’t think I can go to school today. I’ll tell you that happened a few years where, you know, I sit home and I’ll watch the tournament. Hey, I was a good student. So it was a mental health day. How about that, but, but no, like, just that magic of you fill out the bracket. No. And that happens every year. Right? I mean, and certainly, you know, the gambling element of it becoming even stronger is is part of that. But
Nestor Aparicio 25:30
8you know, watching the game, right, so I’m thinking how much of times changed here. I just had to go to Vegas to do that. Now I go to Hollywood casino, and I want to give a plug to them because this is kind of a funny thing, because you’re like it’s full 15 game. I’m sitting in there. I got a beer I got I got a salmon salad was delicious. And the and they have like, you feel like you’re in Vegas, right? It’s TVs everywhere. It’s beautiful. It’s modern, brand new used to be the green turtle. Now. It’s the Barstool Sports. And the Terps are on and the Terps are on in sports. And I’m watching this one television, but it’s on every television, and then like an hour into the game. After televisions got another game like oh, yeah, I had to like move. I literally had to move my body to a different place to watch a different television because I’m like, God, there’s like 67 other games going on here today. But I mean, at least that first hour, it was like all Terps and I thought that that was kind of a unique memory for me because you usually fly in and you’re as I would say to my friend Brian pool, my brackets already a puddle usually by the time the Terps play you know, but they had it and I was want to know what the Terps Oh my bracket
Luke Jones 26:37
your want to know and probably one on one right after that when Furman beat Virginia. Yeah, moments later which talk about Terps Feds I mean, you see and look old ACC rivalries Die Hard, right. So to see Virginia get knocked off just moments later.
Nestor Aparicio 26:52
Third, I sat in a bar in State College watching it snow with my buddy Craig Lesko. We had one beer and Duke was about to get eliminated. And I said to him, we’re not leaving. I said we would do gets eliminated. You remember where I said that? You remember where you are when Duke gets eliminated every year? And like, we’re only ACC decade half man like I can’t let it go loop you know?
Luke Jones 27:17
Yeah. And nor should you. I mean, it’s it’s it’s part of Maryland’s history right. And, and to be clear, this isn’t even lamenting, leaving the ACC because the ACC is not the same as it as it used to be when you look at some of the teams and rivalries and, and whatnot. But I think the overall point I was making about filling out a bracket and the the gambling element in the bracket polls and all that stuff, which everyone does. It’s fun. You know, even people who don’t follow college basketball, do it. It’s why that NCAA tournament is such a fantastic event, you can just dive right in. And you look at the numbers, right you see the seeds, and you know who you’re rooting for right away, depending on your bracket. Or if you just want to root for the underdog. It’s fun. You don’t have to be invested in the entire season to enjoy it. So I think that’s why it’s such a successful event. But it does hit differently when your team is involved, and your team has a chance. And that’s why I think even for Kevin Willard and the Terps, you know, I’ll be bowing out against a really tough Alabama team, which was not unexpected. They watched the rest of this nouns. Okay. What do we need to do to get better? What do we need to do to get better within the big 10? And also, what do we need to do to make a deep March run? And I think, going back to a point I made a few minutes ago talking about the big 10 in general. There are questions about the speed and athleticism and guard play. I talked about this with Purdue EDIS phenomenal player, right. Probably going to be National Player of the Year was certainly big 10 player of the year but the question was with Purdue and this applies to lots of lots of teams in the conference. Is the guard play good enough? Is there enough speed? Is there enough athleticism. And that’s where you look at some of these big 10 teams and you think of the plotting more physical style play. How does that translate? And I think that’s where you look at this thing. Over the last 10 to 15 years. Michigan State has been king of the conference and Kudos to Tom Izzo and we understand that but you do look at the big 10 Get all these teams in and only one gets out of the first weekend. If you’re Kevin Willard, your son, hey, there’s there’s a path here to you know, being right there with with Michigan State. And we talked about this a decade ago when the Terps were entering the big 10 Right. I mean, with Mark Turgeon, and all of that so now the next challenge is can you recruit and we’ll see what this roster looks like. I mean, Julian Reese improved immensely down the stretch foul trouble aside in a couple games, but he really played well. What’s going to happen with Jumeirah young, you know, does he come back? I mean, he’s certainly not a guy who’s going to be drafted into the NBA. You know that. Just as an aside since I bring him up. The one disappointing element of this was how much Tamir young struggled in the postseason. And not even bashing the kid because he was so impressed Orton to them just disappointed for him more than anything that he did struggle in the big 10 tournament and didn’t see him playing his best basketball at the end of the year.
8Nestor Aparicio 30:07
Did he wear down five more of those shots and they still would have lost by 10?
Luke Jones 30:12
Yeah, I mean, that’s, and again, the Alabama game, they started out hot and I was watching the Penn State. I was watching the end of that game, Penn State had a nice run a big win for them in the first round. Penn State was trying to pull off and upset but
Nestor Aparicio 30:27
everybody in the arena was watching wrestling and Bruce Springsteen, State College like it’s crazy United State College on Saturday, I bet.
Luke Jones 30:34
8I really was no question. But, but but Maryland. I mean, they just they didn’t make shots. Their offense wasn’t good enough. And we talked about that. I mean, this was clearly a team that defense kind of drove the car for them. So what happens next in terms of recruits and what the roster looks like, how do you use the transfer portal certainly need some more big man depth. I think that’s evident. You’d love what Julian Reese did, but after you know beyond him, you need more and just gonna be a matter of how does Kevin Willard build now that again, Mark Turgeon had the idea that what the Terps accomplished this year was good enough right? I mean, that was kind of his thought. So Kevin Willard, I don’t get the sense that there’s going to be that mindset I think he’s very pleased with what this team did this year in year one, but I think he understands expectations are going to be higher his expectations are higher so just a matter of how are you going to go about doing that? Because it is easier said than done.
Nestor Aparicio 31:31
That means they go tenant Oh at home How about
Luke Jones 31:35
how about win a few games on the road in the big 10? That would be a nice yeah, that would be some nice progress definitely have to work on that. There’s
Nestor Aparicio 31:41
no question Well, watch out for Michigan stay nice this weekend and the BRAC, because they could still get through this thing. And that’s kind of one of the things I would just say in closing on it with Maryland as you know, even in years where you were succeed or whatever with Gary, you felt like to some degree Hey, maybe they can punch here a bit but because they beat Duke at home back in February or you know, whatever that thing would be Michigan State just on the branding of it shows up and you know, Kansas State should be worried they should all be worried. He’s Luke Jones. He’s Baltimore Luka he’s gonna be doing Ravens. Lamar, still send it out wn S T Tex courtesy of our friends includes Baltimore Ford Dennis will be here on Thursday as well. He’s been out doing some fishing so good for him. We’re gonna be doing the Maryland crab cake tour on the fifth of April the cost us somewhere in my cost this gear and they’ll forget the 50th anniversary scratch offs I’ll have these to give away as well as our friends at wind donation 8669 donation to buy two you get two free 24 months 0% financing. We might have some new sponsors coming into the Maryland crab cakes are also classic five on with us now and our friends in Hollywood casino Barstool Sports. So new sponsors great things going on the fifth word cost this the seventh we’re going to be fade these are going to be a Pappas and other new sponsor up in Bel Air. And that’s going to be in later April too. So great stuff happening here. March Madness happening. And opening day right around the corner. I’m Nestor we are wn st a 1570, Towson Baltimore. And we never stop talking Baltimore positive
