Skip to content
TrackPodcasts
sportsMar 26, 202647:00

Hour 2: Does Draymond Have a Point About Wemby?

First Take

About this episode

First Take resumes with Draymond's strong Wemby statement! He is TIRED of the media only caring about one side of the ball! SAS tells us if he has a point... (0:00) Then, Adam Silver once again declared he is ready to stop tanking once and for all! Should we believe him? (12:00) Next, which one seed is on the highest upset alert heading into the Sweet Sixteen? (23:40) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get every episode summarized

Each time First Take publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.

Email me new episodes

Free for 3 shows. No card needed.

Hosts & guests

Transcript ready

593 searchable segments. Every word is indexed and playable.

Hour 2: Does Draymond Have a Point About Wemby?

First Take

0:00
47:00

Full transcript

First TakeHour 2: Does Draymond Have a Point About Wemby?. Machine-transcribed; use the interactive transcript above to jump the player to any line.

Right now you can get your favorite pizza order at Domino's for under 10 bucks for a limited time Domino's best deal Ever is back and it's just in time for the tournament. This deal is any pizza with any toppings for just 999 You choose the crust type the size you load on the toppings You can basically use this deal to make any pizza you want from New York style to handmade pan pizza to filly steak Pepperoni mushrooms jalapenos So when the tournament games are on whether it's your favorite pizza or pizza that's loaded enough to feed the whole watch party Get it for just 999 with Domino's best deal ever prices higher in some locations Select this online only offer from February 23 to April 6 size availability varies by crust type max seven toppings Six for New York style and pan crust stuff crust is extra excludes excel and specialty pizzas Minimum purchase required for delivery prices participation delivery area and charges may vary Here's our next ESPN hockey night double hudder tonight Quinn Hughes in the wild will face Matthew Kitchuck and the panthers at seven eastern then Conor McDavid and the oilers will take on jack iql and the golden Nights coverage dropped at the point at six eastern on ESPN 2

My first one would be that Defense is 50% of the game And that is undervalued so far in the MVP race Because I believe I'm the most impactful player defensively in the league So that was victor women yama earlier this week And then when be backed up as talk by dominating get again last night finished with 19 points 15 rebounds been a ridiculous Seven blocks in this first 123 98 win over the grizzlies now people around the league took notice of his comments earlier in the week including warriors Forward draemon green listen him I hated it and I absolutely loved it And the reason it's because the reason I hated it Is Because until winby said defense is 50% of the game. It was like oh man. No one realized that Right like no one realized that 50% of the game we play is on that end of the floor

So he comes out and make this profound ass statement And it's like oh Of course it is and everybody's like oh man. He has a great point. Hello You think So I hated it because he had to do that for that to then be said all of a sudden you turn on TV and everybody's like actually Maybe with me as the MVP and I can agree with that maybe he is But the fact that he has to come out and remind people hey y'all see what I do over there It's like an indictment on the game of basketball And everybody You know talk all of this stuff about all man you gotta play both sides and Everybody want to crush Luca donches when Luca doesn't live up to the standard of defense But we got this guy defending entire teams and no one took it into account Until he said well number one defense is 50% of the game An indictment on the game does draemon have a point when he says that jay will I see you shaking in your head? What do you think?

No, it's uh, it's not an indictment on the game. That's draemon's indictment on media And the way the game is covered and that's what he really means to say here because Fast of all people like the people on this show when windy or steven a or I talk about wimpy we're talking about We're having conversations about him maybe being the most dominant player in the history of the game And it always starts with what he does on the deepens of in that he blocks out the sun or every shot that comes towards the He can contest or deflect or change or alter shots around the rim We we're talking about him in a historical context with shack in the way even though shack wasn't as defensively mind it as He was like dominance on the deep midst of in so I to mean this has always been whether it's draemon with new media Where is draemon in the way the game is covered and it's such a Large Spare of people that cover this game. I don't know why draemon only focuses on those people that only focus on offense

Yes, offense sells yes offense mix the game faster Yeah, we're going to talk about why do we love Kay cunningham? Because he defends on both sides of the floor He dies up and he tries to give you buckets Why do we love jill and brown because he tried to strap up sga last night in the fourth quarter And he's a two-way player The players that we're talking about in the MVP conversation are playing on both sides of the floor And it's meaningful to them in the way their DNA is built So I think it's an indictment on media not on the game of basketball windy. What do you think? Yes, absolutely. This is again another strawman argument like I love the draemon is solo quesias I love when he has these post game sessions He did that earlier this year when he thought he might get traded hit a very raw Revealing discussion with the media about how he's feeling and like athletes doing that I think is amazing I wanted to keep doing that but this is Frankly, it's preposterous. Of course The MVP has been based on defense for generations. I mean shagel is Alexander is an excellent defensive player

All four years LeBron won MVP. He was first team all defense. Um How far do I got to go back he had chemilizer won Tim Duncan Michael Jordan I think he won six MVPs for those years. I think he was all defense Well, what do you think it didn't matter? Yes, Tenacumpo He's both of his MVPs. He was all defense one year. He won the MVP and the defensive player of the year I think a key or I think a cream-up duljabar Steven A I think he made all defense 11 times. I didn't look it up I'm sure a bunch of them came in the years when he won all those MVPs Yes, there are certain years when there are offensive players who may win the MVPs such as when yokeuch is won it Which I think is kind of the undercurrent. Maybe he's talking about here. I don't know But you know and like he he referenced Evan Mobley in this rant Last year from the beginning of the season to the end everybody knew we have a Mobley was having a great defensive season He won defensive player the year he once said he was second team all NBA This is a strawman argument. He wants to take pot shots go ahead But it's it's not based in reality the the media and the award voters have always recognized the importance of defense when selecting the top players

Yes, Victor said that but we all knew Victor was going to be a great defensive player that didn't sneak up on all of us It wasn't like we know none of us knew He was probably going to be the unanimous defensive player the year before he made those comments the other day So go ahead and take pot shots. I got it but but the results of how the voting is gone for generations do not match what he is just saying Listen It's it's a strawman's argument to a some degree not completely windy, but to some degree you're right and Jay's points are very very valid as well But can we really keep it a buck and talk about why Drey Martin Green said what he said Is because Drey Martin is somebody that at times feels underappreciated Do y'all know that Drey Martin Green is in this eighth year consecutive year where he hasn't even averaged double digits and points Eight straight years since he has averaged Less than ten points again And we call him a Hall of Famer a future Hall of Famer

We remember that he's a four-time champion and we also say Steph Curry and Clay Thompson and those boys don't have a championship without Drey Mongray So clearly This uh, there's some feelings there as an elite defensive player who was a former who is who was a former defensive player of the year Who was a top three candidate for defensive player of the year in this league on at least three or four occasions That's who Drey Mongray is and that's who the individual that was talking The problem that he that that he has is you know what the lack of recognition for those who prioritize defense And my point is how come you ain't blame in the league Look at the changes that was infused into the league the league wanted more offense The league has compromised defenders. You have all world defenders Hall of Famers who are retired obviously who've complained about what the league allows now Compared to what they did back in the day. They want to be able to put their form on you. They want to be able to get physical with you

Now you can get teed up thrown out of the game or at the very least get six fast for passing gas It's that damn bad Sometimes in the NBA circles things have changed, okay? How come he didn't bring that up Dreymon knows that Dreymon knows that the median guilty of that it's the league but he didn't say that Because he's new media and because he's new media He's looking at the old guard or conventional media and he's challenging us to cover the game in its completion Wendy I don't think he's completely wrong about that I do think there are cases he can point to where us as media members could do a better job and highlighting stuff You know with a bit with with with the same energy as they say keep the same energy. Don't lose energy Don't lose the intensity keep the same intensity I get that part But you're also writing highlighting that it hasn't been ignored We just haven't been as low-quacious about it as he would like us to be But here is where we drop the mic on Dreymon green when it comes to what he said

You know who else hasn't talked about it Dreymon you You've had your podcast views We don't hear you talking about that that much Because we listening to what you're saying you listen windy don't you don't you listen to what he has to say Jay Haven't we all acknowledged how knowledgeable and what a basketball so vaunt we believe him to be We've said all of these things. We've quoted him on numerous occasions on his podcast on his show That he owns We ain't hear you talking about that before So if you missed it What you knocking us for missing it for you do it for a living And you didn't talk about it that much That's all I'm trying to say I will say when I heard this sound from Dreymon green I felt like he was almost missing what we were saying like when we loved what when he was saying on Monday It was because he pointed out how many times he beat the thunder the defending champs He pointed out yes, what he's doing defensively

And he also talked about how scoring points a certain way matters more It was like the list he gave for his reasons of being MVP is why we all put it on blast and he did it Not because of what Dreymon knew all of that but that wasn't the point he wanted to make the point he wanted to make was the part about defense Because that's something he hangs his hat on and so somebody a contemporary bringing attention to what makes Dreymon green a whole of famous Dreymon point of that out and he's not wrong He's not wrong in terms of the fact that we could highlight it a bit more My point is you knew media bruh You got a microphone you got a camera when you've been talking about it You haven't Yeah, three of a four wippy came along and seven feet five and swatting everything out all over the place You weren't talking about that and you've been a top three candidate for defensive player the year on at least three or four occasions plus you won the damn award and you didn't highlight it what you talking about us for

You didn't do it. That's my point Also Jay will you're the only one who has not used Laquatius today, so let's try and work that in Coming up here on first take Adam silver with a strong message to NBA teams yesterday about ending tanking Are we confident that the commissioner has a quick fix? That's next time first take Harry Douglas here to tell you about confetti craze five-hour energy. It tastes just like the best birthday cake ever Vanilla buttery frosting vibes. It's basically a party in a bottle confetti craze makes it easy to turn Any day into a party with this delicious birthday cake flavor and big birthday energy And here's the best part all cake no sugar. I bring these tiny bottles everywhere to cake to five my day with tasty caffeine Books the funfetti flavor is back on five-hour energy.com or on Amazon crack open a confetti craze five-hour energy shot today As you know managing maintenance repair and operations is never easy

But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Granger has your back from professional grade products You can count on to fast dependable delivery They're there to help you keep things running smoothly plus their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions And because Granger no safety is always a priority. They're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities Call 1-800-granger click grainger.com or just stop by Here are tomorrow's women sweet 16 match-ups on ESPN and the ESPN app Notre Dame and Vanderbilt will tip the day off at 230 Eastern the North Carolina will take on number one seated Yukon Followed by Minnesota swearing off against another one seat in UCLA. That's at 730 night capped off by Duke and LSU Let's get to a quick take here on first take the Atlanta Hawks won their 14th game in their last 15 In the overtime last night against the pistons. Stephen A. Do you think the Red Hat Hawks can maybe win a first round playoff series at this point with the streak

They're on If if if you go up against somebody that sleeps on them They're talented enough where they could do some things and they're elevating and confidence and let's keep it a buck They're better since tray young is going And you know, you know, you're not trying to indict him because he can play and you know that but he's a volume shooter And what have you and obviously he's miniature in size and so he was a defensive liability a lot of times That's not the case now you look at these guys in a way they play and you look at Johnson Who's the clear star and leader for this team and what he can do on the basketball court? Atlanta is not a joke. They are not a team to take lightly You've got to come to play to beat them otherwise. You're going to go home They could pull an upset. I doubt it will happen But I'm not sleeping on the possibilities. I'm impressed by what I'm seeing from them I was impressed by Atlanta last night too. I watched this game. It was on ESPN But then they blew a 21-point lead like I thought they had this in the bag They had to win it in over time. It's those kinds of things they got to have how to get over the hump

I know it happens in a regular season. You're right For most part of this NBA season tanking has been a hot topic of discussion commissioner Adam silver spoke Wednesday on the subject Following the NBA board of governors meeting listen to this I Do think ultimately this is a decision that needs to be made at the ownership level It has business implications has basketball implications has integrity integrity and implications for the league So it's one that we take very seriously And we were going to fix it but full stop There is an aspect of team building That is Called a genuine rebuild You know rebuild with integrity The problem we're having these days is It's become almost impossible to distinguish between The tank and a rebuild Yeah, because usually we use the tank to start the rebuild but nonetheless do you think Adam silver can stop tanking windy?

I want to see the plan So I'm not going to say yes or no to that question until I see the plan He implied that the plan will be coming very soon here because He he is calling an un you know scheduled Board of governors meeting in May where apparently they're going to try to ratify this. I just want to point something out The first change to anti-tanking was in 1985. That's when the lottery system was begun. It's Patrick Ewing Correct. It was an envelope blah blah blah Since 1985 guys They have changed the lottery system four times So I'm going to give the first change being the lottery itself then four more changes That's five this will be six and my supposed to now believe that the sixth change will mean that it's going to work How do I know like you know, I will tell you this Right now Teams are incentivized to lose this is why I don't I'm not really attacking anybody who's tanking because These are good people doing the correct strategy thing It may be the wrong thing for basketball business But if you brought in a consultant you brought in the top business consultants in the world

And to tell them please evaluate what these teams should do they would advise exactly what these teams are doing The incentive is there to tank that is what they are doing strategically So what I would like to see is a system that incentivizes winning We could spend the next five hours listening to to to to ideas to do that But I want to hear an in system that incentivizes winning That's what I want to wait and then I will make my judgment on whether it can work even a Go ahead Jay. I'll go last go ahead Jay. Go ahead Jay I think You know windy to your point there there's some smaller things, but I'm with you on seeing In totality how Adam silver decides to go about this The one thing that we always talked about are you know like depth and taxes right and what are people know What do people mostly find around taxes they find loopholes and I think Constantly with this new revision there are loopholes that are always found and teams are always scheming and how to be in a position of a vantage

I think removing protective picks Arden win records or trying to find a way to incentivize the floor to win more Maybe you know once we get by the eight teams that are in the playoffs and synthesizing that 9 10 11 spot to increase probability for a higher But something drastic needs to occur. I just don't know if I trust in the league's ability and by the way I also just want to state for the record like the league in totality is pretty healthy. It's in a really good space Competition wise. It's one of the best I've ever seen right so I don't want this to overshadow That because it turns into that But they have to find to this and they have to find a way to not make this the main theme that continues to rear is ugly head To take away from the game being in a great place about the expansion in Seattle and Vegas about NBA Europe And about the youth leagues that the NBA is really focusing on continuing to develop this game Well, let's go through a couple of things and let's point to what Wendy pointed out and alluded to because it's very very important

When you're talking about modifications that took place. He's right first time was 1985 No, in the second was what second time was guys you ready for this Shay Jay Wendy 1986 Third time 1990 Fourth time 1993 so so think about how soon those things transpired is like damn you got to change it that quick That's how bad it is right and so it's not that it's bad flagrantly in terms of numbers It's just that you knew that there's something that needed to be done when you're talking about modifications that took place 2019 what do they do? They modified the curb taken by flattening the odds and making sure that the top three peaks All had an equal 14% chance at the number one pick in the NBA draft Do you know since that year the number one pick Has not gone to the team with the worst record since 2019 hasn't happened the team with the worst record is yet to win the draft lottery Okay, so again Mission accomplished, but still talking about the same problem

So what does this come down to guys this comes down to owners and it comes down to really deciphering what their objective is Some owners would prefer box office attractions to winning We don't talk about that enough. It's we don't talk about the dude that gets you to walk through the turn styles And how that's good for business why is that relevant to bring up because as we've seen the age of analytics Take fold and I want to be very very clear about what I'm saying here I'm not a guy that knocks analytics I'm a guy that knocks this notion that analytics is new and innovative and it just arrived It's been here for decades You know you had Pat Riley using analytics in the late 80s early 90s people don't realize that What I'm talking about is the dependency on it where you get people that never had any kind of association with basketball That are now running basketball teams and what's their claim to fame their numbers experts their data experts

The data analytics guys and that speaks the same language Jay looking right at you when I say this That speaks the same language as those owners Why would an owner love that because it gives the owner the impression he actually knows basketball You can't do that with a player that played the game Particularly at a hall of fame level that went through it But you never played the game you trying to talk to him about basketball decisions whether he's the coach or the GM That's a resistance that an owner an individual in a position of power doesn't want to have to deal with you Want somebody in a subordinate position that speaks your language that caters to the agenda that you have And if you have somebody that's box office let's say for example Steph Kirby wasn't winning four championships LeBron had it won four championships But let's just say they got deep deep deep deep into the playoffs all the time Do you know how many owners would have preferred that rather than having a team that want a championship with no

Star power with nobody that makes you walk through the turnstiles They just played a right way and they win think about the Detroit pistols We love Chanty billups rip Hamilton takes y'all prints Rashid Wallace Benny Wallace Lindsey Hunter and a crew We loved them a lot of people in Detroit loved them But when you look at the National and the global landscape of the Detroit pistons they didn't necessarily resonate They resonated during the bad boys days because they had Isaiah Thomas That's why is the bad boy pistons even as great as they were Isaiah Thomas was star power some owners prefer that Over just winning That's the challenge that the league has to work to overcome It's that element right there and only the owners can assist in staring it in the right direction I remember in February the NBA fine the jazz and the Pacers for Manipulating the integrity of the game or whatever it was they rested healthy players

The Pacers have gone one in 17 since that happened it did absolutely nothing and since the day they were fine They have won one game So I hope Adam silver can fix this but unfortunately this still remains well They're genuinely not good though this year they're genuinely not good this year I mean they went one and seven but they do we look at them and go like this I understand exactly doing both Yeah, it's a problem all right coming up next should Arizona be on upset alert tonight Which one seed is most in danger of losing in the sweet 16 that tips off tonight. We'll tell you that next Oh Right now you can get your favorite pizza order at Domino's for under 10 bucks for a limited time Domino's best deal Ever is back and it's just in time for the tournament this deal is any pizza with any toppings for just 999 you choose the crust type the size you load on the toppings You can basically use this deal to make any pizza you want from New York style to handmade pan pizza to Philly steak pepperoni mushrooms

So when the tournament games are on whether it's your favorite pizza or pizza that's loaded enough to feed the whole watch party Get it for just 999 with Domino's best deal ever Price is higher in some locations select this online only offer from February 23 to April 6 size availability varies But crust type max seven toppings six for New York style and pan crust stuff crust is extra excludes XL and specialty pizzas Minimum purchase required for delivery prices participation delivery area and charges me very Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start Thumbtack knows homes so you don't have to don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin Or what that clunking sound from your dryer is with thumbtack you don't have to be a home pro You just have to hire one you can hire top rated pros see price estimates and read reviews all on the thumbtack app download today You ESPN is now the home of major league baseball dot TV stream every out of market game live or on demand using the ESPN app blackout and other Restrictions do apply for more information go to ESPN dot com slash MLB TV

Let's go to a quick take now. You're on first take the nugget speed the maps 142 to 135 behind some big unbelievable Individual performances by Nicole Yokech and Jamal Murray Murray finished with 53 points and the joker at a ridiculous 23 points 21 rebounds at 19 assists It's like a different meaning to triple double Steven a what is more impressive in today's NBA Murray's 53 or Yokech's 23 21 19 Well, of course is Yokech's because it's a triple double the man can jump on to a curve and you can't stop I just continue to marvel at his greatness He can't jump onto a curve and there's nothing you can do about him He's an exceptional passer He's an exceptional scorer with a great feel for the game He never cheats the game with effort and he just wobbles up and he wobbles in and out of arenas just destroy One piece of competition after another there's no one that can compare with what and what he brings to the table I can't say enough about him But I also look at your mom Murray who I've always been a fan of and I am telling you right now

I don't give a damn who you point to in the Western conference if Jamal Murray is going to give you games like that Denver can beat anybody You cannot similarly dismiss Denver when Jamal Murray and Yokech are clicking yeah It has to be both of them because okay seeing San Antonio are that good and the Lakers are not anything to sneeze at either Uh, but if both of them are clicking they can beat anybody Yeah, uh right now the nugget's a game and a half behind the Lakers in the Western conference Let's go to the NCAA tournament tonight the sweet 16 will start we get to see the red hot Arkansas razor backs and the number one seed Arizona Wildcats go at it Arkansas won the SEC tournament they beat Hawaii and Highpoint Arizona won the big 12 tournament They beat Long Island University and Utah State three one seeds will be in action this coming weekend Which one seed should be on upset alert the most in the sweet 16 J. Well, what do you think?

I'm probably gonna go Michigan Just because I think the style styles make fights here, right? And Alabama is a team that's and I'll get into NATO's and my feeling about NATO's later Steven it will we have our next topic But I do believe Alabama style and which they're able to Flare out shoot a ton of threes can negate the sides of Michigan which Michigan Pumbles you with their interior presence. So I believe you know, I watched Alabama score 17 to 18 threes against Texas Tech their ability spread out all the bigs bring you on a perimeter and do things off the bounce Liberian Phylon I don't know if you're a watch this David should Pills get Phylon Phylon Phylon Phylon Phylon that's the name that you need to know tonight SA is a dude that can take over and potentially beat the number one seed of Michigan Wow, I get you. I'm not dismissing that. I will tell you for me personally It's your boys at Duke going up against St. John's

I think St. John's got a legitimate shot to take him St. John's again, they listen I'm saying I'm telling you. I mean, I'm just if they're able to get away With instigating a physical confrontation Jay And you have anybody on St. John's that can be a threat from you from three point range This game is going to come down to the wire and St. John's can do it And primarily because of the injuries that Duke has incurred Combined with the fact that the physicality That St. John's brings to the tables the coaching of a guy like Rick Patino who's gonna make you He's gonna try to make you use your bench Because it's gonna try to he's gonna try to drive you to the point of exhaustion It's gonna be really interesting to see what happens I know that Duke is the better team. They've been the better team all year But St. John's in went 30 games by accident And I think that if it's the officiating is going to be something to monitor

Only from the standpoint of what are you going to be allowed to get away with is it going to be called tightly? Or they're gonna be allowed to play and if they're allowed to play Obviously both teams it could serve both teams well But I think it'll serve St. John's better because it'll put him in a better position to push this wire to wire And with that reality being the case I think under those circumstances they can end up victorious Okay, go ahead as I can say one last thing shade. Yeah, I think Tonight tonight. I'm betting against the hype Of various a cup junior You know, so if if you're trying to sell me there is a cup stock I'm not buying it not tonight. No, I look I he's special could be a top three pick But I say if he if he beats Arizona is the best defensive team in the nation ever doing right Ivan the auction kickoff to kink off who is six seven long seven foot wingspan can literally block out the if he's able to do it tonight

On this type of stage. I'm gonna come on to show tomorrow. I'm just gonna bow down like if he's able to get done They're gonna be safe like I'm gonna bet against it tonight I know colapari well enough to know he's gonna call a lot of picks for screens for this brother to make sure you get that Six seven cat off of him no doubt about it But Bradley and burries are no joke either. That's a bad court to you know, that's that's something But those are that's a tandem rather than pay attention to so I get that and I get what you're saying because I do think that Arizona's the elite team I'm with you I picked them to win the national championship But I've seen stars ascend and take and take your places that you didn't think they could and my attitude is this You're saying you don't see that guy tonight. I have a weight and see attitude about the guy that night I've been waiting for this match up because I want to see if Darius A.C. of junior is going to be the same dude We've been talking about going up against Arizona tonight That's what I've been waiting to see Jay because I think that's going to submit his stature if he's average

And thirty and seven coming into this Jay if he shows up and drops thirty five thirty six tonight Against Arizona even in a loss. Let's say for example. It's a tight game Uh, in a play here. They're decides to outcome But Darius A.C. of junior is ballin and putting up thirty plus on these brothers I don't think there's going to be any more question marks about who the hell he is So we just laid out all the games that are going up against one seed tonight But in terms of most intriguing sweet sixteen game who you guys got if you want to go back to when you already brought up No problem. Jay most intriguing sweet sixteen game I'm going to watch the Illinois game Now I there is there's a lot of players in the draft, right That we're going to end up talking about when we get closer to the NBA draft But whenever I talk to scouts Stephen A is the one thing that almost gets used a little bit against Darius A.C. of junior Scouts love talking about positional height and size

When you think about what the league is now you have wings six seven six eight You have guards six five. That's why people love names like Kingston Fleming's who six four six four and a half The name and this game is Keaton Wagler now look I'm not saying he is this. I think people always complete when you say a name or you say this guy gives you shades of this guy People at home assume that he is like I'm not saying that But there are shades of Stefan Curry with the way Keaton Wagler shoots the rock from anywhere on the court for Illinois And they get up a lot of points in a hurry and positional size wise He's six six six seven and he can shoot that ball from anywhere So I think you're going to see a very dynamic game with the way ill Illinois is able to play and that's a game I'll keep my eye on Illinois against Houston. I don't blame you I don't blame you for that, but I'm going back to Arkansas Arizona I don't give a damn about anything compared to what I care about with this game I want to see what Darius A cup junior is going to do against Arizona

That's what I want to see air you got most people guy Arizona within the national championship Well, what you gonna do about it Arkansas and let me tell you something Darius A cup junior ain't the only reason That's the biggest reason for the intrigue as far as up concerned seeing what he's going to do But I don't want to use the word put on blast. I've known John colapari Over 30 years. I was covering temple as a beat writer For the Philadelphia Inquirer when he was a U-Mass with Lou Roe and Mike Williams and Marcus Cambian all of those brothers John colapari and I go back a long ways A dear friend of mine is an assistant coach on his staff long time assistant proves a flint Used to coach a Drexel his assistant coach in U-Mass and and and Arkansas now whatever brother I love dearly haven't seen in a long time, but got a lot of love for him John colapari When you consider the greatness of this man in terms of being a recruiter some of the great great players that he's had playing for him at Kentucky At Memphis

You know at U-Mass whatever again the Lou Roe's the Marcus Cambian's the Mike Williams the the derrick roses of the world You know John wall shake you'll just Alexander. I mean of the list always warning on and on That's right. That's right one Championship to show for it Zero final four appearances since 2015 This is John colapari we're talking about here and when you think about the elite Coaches in college basketball in terms of their names Cheshavsky comes to my Roy Williams comes to my bill self comes to mind j right comes to mind people like that John colapari Has been lumped in to that category by some and I'm saying no I need more the athletes that you recruit the big time plays. Yeah a lot of them are one and done Because those are the quality of cash that you get coming through your program I need a run bro from John colapari

Maybe not a national championship, but I need you back in the final four I need to see that you know what that that there's you know You know that there's a culminating point there's a fruition that comes to it to this all at the end I get to find a format You know you John colapari at some point in time, you know We all want we all want to hear from him We all want to get quotes from him We all want to hear him bless us You know what his soliloquies about the state of sports and college sports and all of this other stuff We know who to hell John colapari is and he deserves the praise and the acclaim. I love him. Love the death But I need a run Since 2015 Nah, no, I need more than that from John colapari and I want to see it from him too. So I'm intrigued by both stories both of them I'm excited for iso and hurly to go up against it michigan stay you con it's been a few years It's a big 10 team was in a final four as well. I feel like michigan states. Maybe our best chance All right coming up how appealing is the vacant North Carolina job

Jay Steven a both have a lot to say oh my goodness after this. That's a lot of riding In today's world planning ahead isn't always top of mind But not having life insurance can leave families facing difficult financial uncertainty during already emotional times In many cases loved ones are left managing expenses debts or long-term obligations without a clear plan in place Life insurance is one of those ways to help provide financial security and support when it's needed most That's where ethos comes in ethos makes getting life insurance fast and easy and it's 100% online You can get a quote in seconds apply in minutes and even get same day coverage There's no medical exam you just answer a few simple health questions online and coverage options are flexible With up to three million dollars available and some policy starting at around $30 a month ethos has also earned strong Customer feedback with a 4.8 out of five star rating untrust pilot based on more than 3000 reviews

Help protect your family with life insurance through ethos get your instant free quote at ethos.com slash sports. That's ETH OS dot com slash sports application times and rates may vary The UFL is back for season three. We'll have to kick off weekend matchup Saturday afternoon defenders Battle Hawks at noon eastern then Sunday night the debut of Columbus aviators who will take on Orlando storm at eight eastern right here on ESPN and the ESPN app So the attorney general for florida james uthmeyer made news in the sports world Uthmeyer was appointed attorney general in 2025 by ronda santis and is running for election in november to retain the job He says that the rooney rule and other rules designed to encourage diversity in hiring and interviews for coaching positions are illegal In a letter uthmeyer ass NFL commissioner roger cadal to confirm by may first that it would no longer enforce rooney rule practices

Or florida could take quote civil rights enforcement action and quote uthmeyer said yesterday NFL teams and their fans don't care about the race of the coaching staff They want a merit-based system that gives their team the best chance to win Stephen a do agree disagree your reaction to this Of course, I disagree and of course he's wrong. I'm going to be respectful He's the you know as attorney general you're the chief legal officer in the state of florida You know form a chief of staff for ronda santis who for the most part I don't think we can deny regardless of whether we agree a disagree Uh, he's he's done a pretty good job I you know I have a home in the state of florida and I'm here to tell you something right now I don't think they're doing a bad job. I just disagree with them on several points and this happens to be one of them Let's talk about the rooney rule for a second a rule that was implemented in 2003 And I'm going to read a quote from the fritz polyd alliance interim executive director michelle c maia ship once what what was said

By how once upon a time quote Talking about the rooney rule. It doesn't cap who a club can consider or dictate Who gets hired and it's not a hiring rule What it does is increase fair competition and ensure a true merit-based process by opening the door Beyond the traditional tap on the shoulder system. So the best candidates from all backgrounds are actually seeing Evaluated and can compete that is what she said Okay, so why are we here today? It's very very simple the political climate that we're living in And I think that it's fair to say that at this particular juncture Shay I would know a little bit something about that. Okay, I don't agree with what the florida attorney general is saying I think it's it's incredibly obvious that what they're trying to say it's that this is a system that's discriminatory Against white males and it's all very very consistent with the current administrations pushed to eliminate

Fair, you know policies that in any way give blacks an opportunity to completely be to to be in a fair and equitable system I don't think that's denied. I don't think that's capable of being denied as we sit here today in the year 2026 23 years after the rooney rule was implemented Regardless of the modifications that took place whether it be in 2009 to extend general manager interviews 2016 to 2018 that applied to coordinated roles 2020 required multiple minority interviews for top jobs And then they added in 2022 assistant pipeline incentives and draft position incentives There's still only three black head coaches in the national football league right now There were three in 2003 Where's your progress? Most importantly, where is the harm? To the white coaches out there who have gotten jobs or have been candidates for jobs in the national football league You can't point to a need for the attorney general to take this position against the national football league I personally think it's a bunch of pomp and circumstances. You know what a lot of bunch of noise signifying nothing

But instead of nothing one could easily argue It's them catering to a base with a bar of individuals out there who happen to be white males who feel victimized by a system They have run and they have benefit off of for decades and the mere notion of fairness needed to be implemented into the equation Where you're talking about not hiring folks just interviewing them Literally sitting down and talking with them not virtually not over the phone Talking to them face-to-face so you can meet them see them get to know them allow them to ingratiate themselves with you to a little to a small degree Just to have an idea of who's most qualified for a particular job They're resistant to that Now what does that tell you that tells you somewhere along the way that good old boy system that once existed They want to get right back to that where they don't even happy the jobs is not enough They don't want to even have to consider you for a job if they so choose not to

That basically is what they're saying 23 years after this policy started which started because of the porosity of or the scarcity of of of black coaches Despite the fact that when they got the opportunity their winning percentages were higher And they were still letting being let go at a quicker pace and obviously recidivism as it pertains to you know God's coming back and getting another job or whatever they were you know white coaches were benefiting from that more so than black coaches despite all of those realities Here they come again Going after the private industry that is the national football league that is not compelling you to hire anybody They're just saying you're compelled to at least talk to folks A diverse group of qualified candidates and give them a look see and because of that The attorney general for the state of Florida wants to push back on that Those are the indicative of the times that we're living in where they clearly seems people that are aiming to attack

The status quo because they want to return to the good old days That's what's going on here and unfortunately the attorney general of the state of Florida who one could easily argue Is doing a good job Sticks his nose into this situation where it really really doesn't belong But we should be surprised the irony of it all is that the books that are in the state of Florida are one of the teams that has a black head coach So maybe this relax maybe he doesn't like that Maybe he doesn't like that maybe uh come on. I don't know. I've never met him Coming up here on first take you don't want to miss jay will he's going to come back and has a Reaction to the bank it you and see job don't go anywhere O'Reilly auto parts can help take the guesswork out of your check engine ABS or maintenance light with O'Reilly veriscan the service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASC certified master technicians

O'Reilly veriscan can identify the most likely problem with just one scan if you need help O'Reilly auto parts can recommend a shop for you don't ignore a check engine ABS or maintenance light ask for O'Reilly Veriscan today a free service exclusively at O'Reilly auto parts All right, so jay will you and see fired hubert davis yesterday. How attractive do you think that job is I think it has a chance to be the most attractive job in America if the administration is willing to invest In basketball the way they invested in football They let go matt brown. They went out and got billbell check right yeah So now when you look at with all you hear is by NIL budgets and about a school like North Carolina You hear Kentucky spin in 22 million. It's time for North Carolina to reinvest into its basketball program They brought in Jim Tanner, which is a big time general manager I think the school needs a CEO to help that next head coach two names. I'll have for you steven a natives

Head coach Alabama playing the sweet 16 tonight offensively. I think to rejuvenate that program and I'll give you a name right I'm in Chicago right now there's Billy Donovan played here, you know One back-to-back championships of Florida Here with the Chicago Bulls. What better to do that than a guy who's been coaching in the Bronx NATO chess Billy Donovan know all I would say to North Carolina is this you know how much money dupes dedicating to its program You do the same. It's due North Carolina match Duke. You're right Hi everyone As you know managing maintenance repair and operations is never easy But for the ones who always rise to the challenge Granger has your back from professional grade products you can count on to fast dependable delivery They're there to help you keep things running smoothly Plus their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions And because Granger knows safety is always a priority They're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities

Call 1-800-GRanger clickgranger.com or just stop by

More episodes

More from First Take

View all episodes →