Transcript: ESPN Conference Call with College Basketball Analysts Dick Vitale and Seth Greenberg

ESPN college basketball analysts Dick Vitale and Seth Greenberg participated in a media conference call today. The 13th season of College Gameday begins Saturday at No. 18 Duke prior to their matchup against Miami (8:15 p.m., ESPN). Rece Davis, Greenberg, Jay Bilas and Jay Williams will be live from campus this Saturday. Vitale will call a number of top games for the remainder of the season, including the matchup between No. 12 Louisville and No. 10 Florida State on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN).
Transcript of the call is available below.
Q. I’d just like to get your thoughts on Ja’Quan Newton from Miami, who’s having a sensational year, and obviously what a big game with Duke coming up.
DICK VITALE: Well, you know, he’s certainly a big-time scorer. Coming out of high school he was unbelievable down there in Philadelphia. If my memory recollects, I think he broke every record in the Catholic league as well as at his school, where they’ve got a great player, the kid going to Kentucky, Green.
But he’s a scorer, he’s a penetrator. He’s not really what you call a legitimate point guard, he’s a guy that’s going to get in the lane and create some offense, and he’s done a great job for them with Jimmy Larranaga. He’s not like what they had last year with Rodriguez, a true point guard. McClellan was their scoring guard. He was one of the premier sixth men in basketball.
He’s a guy that’s going to put points on the board for you. He’s not afraid to take the big shot. He attacks. He’s always in attack mode. So he’s a very positive influence on that Miami team.
SETH GREENBERG: I’m a big Newton fan, just real quickly. He’s a city guard. He’s more a city guard than a Philly guard in a lot of ways. When I think of Philly guards I think of the kid that’s going to Kentucky this year, Quade Green, but Ja’Quan Newton is a guy who’s a ball guard. He’s a scoring point guard that can make plays. He’s got a great feel, and Jim gives him a lot of freedom, and when that team gets stuck, the ball is going to be in his hands, and he’s going to go make a play.
Q. A lot has been made of the coverage of Grayson Allen around here. I just want to get your thoughts on how you guys, how we have covered Grayson Allen, and where we might be missing the mark, where we’ve gotten things right as the media.
DICK VITALE: Well, I think first of all, number one, I think he has really created the problem. He created a problem. It’s not the first time, not the second, the third time. And right now he’s created a monster for himself. He’s put an incredible monster on his back that he’s going to have to deal with everywhere he goes, and unfortunately, some people get carried away.
I’m a great believer in giving people second chances. I’m a great believer, I’ve made mistakes in my life. I think many of us on this call have made mistakes in your life, and today with the scrutiny, it’s unbelievable, especially today in the day we live with the social media, with the Twitters and Facebooks and everything that’s happened out there.
You just see it right now what’s going on in the NFL. A player in the locker room is there, Brown, their star player, and he’s putting on Facebook, streaming a locker room quote by coaches, using locker room language, et cetera, which, you know, has created a nightmare for them getting ready to play the biggest game of the year for them, and the same thing now with Allen. Everywhere he goes, people think it’s cool to get on him and think it’s cool to jump all over him, to ridicule him.
And then they talk about punishment, all right. They talk about punishment. I don’t know this for a fact, but I was a coach, and if I had to leave my team because I had to go for surgery, I’m not going to allow the new coach to have to put up every day with the scrutiny of an evaluation, when will he play, will he be eligible, will he — not eligible, will he be taken off the suspension, when is he going to come off. So Mike Krzyzewski, who has a little better record than I do, is a Hall of Famer in every way, I happen to know Mike really well from my work with him with the V Foundation, and he decided to discipline the kid by himself as a teacher, as a coach, working with the kid one-on-one, and he disciplined him.
A lot of people don’t know all the discipline that went on, but he disciplined him but he didn’t want to burden Jeff Capel to have to deal with every day when will he will he start, when will he play, will he play today, will he play tomorrow, and I just think that — I know myself, I find it really mindboggling, cursing out a kid, and you expect some of that, but some of the stuff you read and hear is absurd. I even heard somebody mention something of the fact that in today’s day and age, somebody should punch him out. Give me a break, preaching violence. What is that all about? What is that all about?
I think sometimes people get a little carried away. He’s made a mistake. He’s responsible. He’s accountable, and he should definitely be accountable for what he did, but he’s going to have to live with that. But I think the time comes for some people to have a little feeling and understand that sometimes kids do make mistakes.
SETH GREENBERG: The only thing I would add to that is I think where we’ve missed the boat is — yeah, the kid is accountable for his actions, but to me it has nothing to do with the number of games, and I don’t even call it discipline. I think more importantly than discipline, obviously he has an issue. I was most disturbed by his reaction when he was on the bench when he was taken out of the Elon game. You saw a young man in pain. You saw a kid that was hurting, and instead of discipline, look, what he did was wrong, but I think the one thing we’ve got to be cognizant of and aware of is that let’s help him, because in the game of basketball, you can react in that way when things don’t go your way or the pressure, which he’s under tremendous pressure, but more importantly, what’s going to happen 10 years from now if something happens and unfortunately he reverts back to making a bad decision.
You know, to me, look, I believe the league should have handled, quote-unquote, the discipline part of it because I don’t think that’s really the issue, that that should be handled by the league, but more importantly, let’s help him, and someone needs to back off and help him create a mechanism to deal with whatever is pushing him to behave in that manner. I think we lose sight of that because there’s things bigger than basketball, and there are things more important than the number of games he’s going to sit out. More important than that is finding a mechanism for him to deal with whatever gets him to react in the way he’s reacted.
DICK VITALE: I want to echo those sentiments. I think you did a great job, Seth, in the studio when you broke down, whether it was the scrutiny that he may have kicked a kid when he came back, you talked about his leg flailing, about going over a screen, legs come — I mean, everything is being watched.
But I agree with what Seth said about — and I think that has been done. I think there’s been conversation with people that really understand the emotions, what goes on in life and trying to help him in every way. But it’s up to him to help himself, obviously. But I’m telling you this: If you guys want to read — I thought the best, best take and the best column about his scenario was by a writer named Greg Doyle from out of Indianapolis. I would recommend to anybody on this call to read that column.
I was so impressed when I put up on my Twitter handle the link to it, and I said I hope the Duke basketball staff and the Duke people let Grayson Allen read this take, because it was basically about getting help and it was about reaching out, how he had to in his career as a journalist.
I just can’t say enough, and to be honest with you, I’m rooting for the kid. I root for anybody that really sincerely in their heart wants to — fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you, as the saying goes, and I just really hope and pray that he turns the corner and that he understands that he can’t act in that manner because it’s going to be unbelievable what he’s going to have to live with, especially if he goes to the next level, the NBA.
Q. I’m just curious for both of your takes on Miami’s success against Duke under Jim Larranaga. I know teams change from year to year, but is there something that you’ve seen that’s a common thread in that success that Larranaga has had against the Blue Devils?
SETH GREENBERG: I think there’s two things that Jim does. Jim has become a disciple of the Dick Bennett philosophy a little bit. He’s been able to own the tempo of his games. He’s had very good guard play. To play against Duke you need good guard play. To play against and have success against Duke, you’ve got to play more off spacing rather than sets, and then you’ve got to attack that spacing because they’re going to guard the whole floor. To play against Duke you’ve got to take them out of transition and set your defense, which they do a great job of. They play with great floor balance.
And they’ve had athleticism, size and experience, and the teams that beat Duke, they have athleticism, size and experience.
Miami has been able to stay old, which is important. You see Mike Brey has had some success against Duke. They’ve been able to stay old.
Miami has had success against Duke; Notre Dame, they’ve had good guard play. They’ve played on space, high ball screens, spread ball screens, attacking people off the bounce, getting paint touches off the dribble, and you know, finally you’ve got to be able to set your defense and keep them in front, and I think that’s the key to playing against Duke, and I think Jim has really done a good job of identifying it and executing it.
DICK VITALE: Well, I think to jump in here, I think Jim also has had pretty good talent. He’s had pretty good talent and he’s getting the maximum out of his talent, especially on the perimeter. I remember doing a game a couple of years ago when they played Duke, and it was probably one of the worst beatings I ever seen Duke take. I don’t know if you remember that, they just ran up and down the court. Larkin and company was lay-up after lay-up. I never seen anything like it. I mean, I never seen a Duke team whipped that badly.
I don’t know if you remember that, but anyway, guard play is essential. There’s no question. And last year he got Rodriguez, McClellan, you’re strong on the perimeter. I don’t know if that kind of guard play this year. I know Newton is a very good scorer. I had them recently. I had them in a game against Notre Dame, went down to the wire, and making good decisions at the end of the game was the difference, and certainly Notre Dame, that is one of their great strengths. Any time you’ve got a formula where you’re making free throws, leading the nation, and you’re least number of turnovers, assist-to-turnover ratio is No. 1, and you’re not turning the ball over, you’re making threes, you’re always going to have a chance to win, and in the Miami game with Notre Dame, Miami at the end of the game made some bad plays.
Obviously they’re going to take a hit. Seth, you may not notice, I do not know, is Amile Jefferson back? Is he going to play?
SETH GREENBERG: No, right now he is not back. The one thing is you don’t — here’s the deal. The one difference in Duke right now is Duke has had a full week to practice this week. If Duke was going to get fixed, this is the week they’re going to get fixed —
DICK VITALE: But they’re not going to get fixed without Jefferson. He’s that important to that team. Would you agree with that?
SETH GREENBERG: Totally agree.
DICK VITALE: He’s so valuable, but I agree with you. Having time to prepare is always a great asset, but I think Duke needs Jefferson badly, not only his rebounding, not only his scoring ability around the basket, but he’s a leader, he’s a winner, he’s been to the big moment, and I didn’t know he was out still this week, so you say he’s out this week?
SETH GREENBERG: Well, they haven’t cleared him. They haven’t announced that he’s back, so if they haven’t announced he’s back, you’re under the impression that he probably has not been cleared yet.
DICK VITALE: Oh, wow.
Q. Between Malik Monk, De’Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo, Kentucky’s sort of big three, which of those three do you see having the highest ceiling at the next level of basketball?
DICK VITALE: Well, I’m a big fan of both the kids, obviously, Fox and Monk. I think you talk about Fox at the point guard, he’s just got to work on his range as a shooter and become more consistent. In transition he’s dynamite. I think he’s got an incredible potential in terms of his defensive ability with the long arms, the size he brings to the point guard. So I really like him.
But I love Monk. Monk is not what people would call — I know he’s made seven threes in games and nine threes or whatever he made when he had his 47-point game. I think the 47-point game to me, to me, was without a doubt in my 38 years at ESPN, the best performance ever, ever for me, by a freshman in a major game. Scoring 47 points when your team needed every one to win, away on a neutral court, national television, and to make every big shot was so special. He’s got to be a little more consistent, but I think right after that game, I may be wrong, but I believe he came back about 1 for 9 against Louisville shooting the three. A little more inconsistency there, but he’s explosive. I think both kids are going to be multi, multimillionaires, baby, big time.
I’d like to be their agent, man. I’d love to be their agent.
SETH GREENBERG: I’m just saying, they’re all going to be really good pros. I man, Bam has a specialty. In the NBA game, he’s going to be up to rebound the ball. His physicality will not be a detriment like it is at times in college. But Fox in terms of transferrable skill, speed, position, impact, you saw him at the end of the game last night. He’s so good off that high flat ball screen, which obviously you live with in the NBA, and his ability to — he’s got a lot of different lay-ups, which is another thing that I think you need to be good at when you play in more open floor. All three of them are terrific, and all three of them have their own identity.
It’s hard to say which is going to be the best. Monk is kind of a poor man’s Russell Westbrook. I think Fox is a guy that’s just so explosive in the open floor. I want to say John Wall or whoever. And I think Bam could end up being a Charles Oakley type player. They’re all going to be very good NBA players.
DICK VITALE: You mentioned him being a poor man’s version of Westbrook. I’d love to be a poor, poor-man’s version of Westbrook, that guy. But Adebayo inside is absolutely strong, physical, tough. I don’t think we’ve seen really anywhere near how good he’s going to be. To me, and I’ve talked to John Calipari about it, I don’t believe he gets enough touches around the basket. I think he’s got to get the ball more inside. He’s got good top step moves.
I’ll tell you the one thing all three have. I’ve been around doing a couple other games, been around kids all my life. There are three quality young guys who want to get better, who are coachable. I mean, Seth, you’ve been around as a coach, I’ve been around as a coach, and I’m telling you, there are a lot of guys maybe that have star potential ability, but they aren’t willing to listen. They aren’t coachable. These three kids respond. They’re not worried about stats. They’re not worried about all the — you saw last night, Calipari takes them out of the game because he took a bad shot, et cetera. There was no pouting and sulking. Goes back in, does the job.
And to me, that’s a quality — when you put that quality with ability and talent and skills and areas you can’t teach, the quickness, jumping ability, you’ve got something special.
Q. I cover a lot of mid-majors, and aside from Gonzaga, any mid-major teams jump out at you that maybe having that George Mason kind of run getting closer to March here?
SETH GREENBERG: Middle Tennessee to me is a team that could do something special. They’ve got three guys that can play anywhere in America.
DICK VITALE: You beat me to the punch, Seth. I was down there to speak at a banquet, watched them practice, and I was going to say the same thing. I think Kermit Davis’ clubs, they’re very athletic. They’ve got a great three-point shooter. Potts is it? He can flat-out shoot the three, and I’m telling you, they’re a very dangerous team.
But again, they’re going to have to win their league’s tournament to get into the tournament.
SETH GREENBERG: Here’s the thing with Middle Tennessee. I look at this team, and they’ve got Potts, they’ve got Upshaw, and they’ve got Williams. They’ve got three guys that can play anywhere in America. They’ve got wins over Vanderbilt, they’ve got wins over Ole Miss. They sound good. Those teams aren’t playing as well right now.
But if you see Middle Tennessee in your bracket, you’re going to have to play against a team that plays this 1-3-1 zone, back to a 2-3. You’re talking about an athletic team. You’re talking about a guy that has coached and is not just a great — he’s not a good coach, he’s a great coach, terrific game coach. His teams play as hard as any.
I think they’re really good, and I’ll tell you kind of off-the-beaten-path type team, because I don’t — St. Mary’s could be a team because of their ability to shoot the ball. Jock Landale has become a tough matchup. They assist on 66 percent of their field goals. They’re a great passing team.
But out of the MAC, if Akron gets out of the MAC, I’m just telling you, Keith Dambrot can really coach, and he’s got an experienced team. He’s got a big kid Johnson who’s a big-bodied kid that carves out space. They play hard. They’ve got a physicality about them. Akron is a sneaky good team.
DICK VITALE: I thought St. Mary’s last year got a raw deal. I hope they don’t get one this year because it is going to be tough for them to beat Gonzaga, and Gonzaga is that good. They are that good.
But getting back to Middle Tennessee State, I was down there and I went to their practice, and I’m telling you, I was blown away by their talent. I was blown away. As you mentioned, Upshaw, all you’ve got to do if you don’t believe Seth and I, pick up the phone, I’ll give you his number, I’ll give you his cell phone, you call up Tom Izzo and ask him about Middle Tennessee State.
Q. My major question for both of you is just kind of talk about your early-on favorite right now to take the National Championship.
DICK VITALE: Yeah, that’s a real good question. I think we live in an era right now, if I had to look at some of the schemes that was going to open up, I thought we were going to have an opening comment, and I would simply say, what makes this year’s number one, we’ve got the real scrutiny and a watch on Villanova. Can they pull a Florida, can they go back-to-back. Initially I would have said no, but I’m not so sure saying no now. They’ve got a bunch of winners with Hart, Jenkins and Brunson. Those kids know how to win. They’ve got a coach that knows how to win. They make threes so well. They’ve got a star player. So again, that becomes a theme to me to watch when we get into the postseason. Can they go back-to-back?
UCLA, the resurgence of UCLA has been unbelievable.
Saying all that, Kansas, do they ever lose? 52 in a row at home. Everybody talks about Baylor, people are talking about West Virginia now in the Big 12. You’ve still got to go through Lawrence, man. You’ve got to go through Lawrence, and Bill Self to me, nominated for the Hall of Fame, I hope he gets in because he’s so deserving for his achievements what he’s done.
But saying all that, the team that I think, the team that I think, if they just make a commitment, which I think they’re going to do, I really do, on the defensive side, and they’ve got enough bodies, they’ve got enough talent, they’ve got enough coaching, I’m going with the team in Chapel Hill. I’m going North Carolina.
Had them the other day against a very talented, deep, physical Florida State team, and they responded big time. They’re athletic. They’re going to score, man. I don’t care what you play, they’re going to score. The question is can they control it on the other side of the floor, and they’ve got a star in Berry, Jackson, they’ve got Meeks on the interior, Pinson is back. They’ve got guys coming off the bench the other day against a Florida State team that can rebound. They got 25 rebounds out of Pinson and out of Maye. Maye gives them 15 rebounds and gives them that energy. People are like, oh, he’s just another player. He’s not just another player. He provides things that you don’t get in the statistical sheet.
So I go North Carolina. I’m going Tar Heels all the way, Chapel Hill.
SETH GREENBERG: You’re looking for a rematch, Coach, like the football game. To me the one thing I would say this could be the year because of the way the rules are, and I’m a really big believer, and I think the rules are set up for an offensive team. If you think about all the freedom of movement, if you think about the five-second call, you think about you can’t bump cutters, you think about you can’t tag rollers, you think about you can’t body guys off of screens. The rules are basically set up for the offense. Most times the defensive game plan is what you give, what you’re going to take away.
Having said that, I think that UCLA is going to have to be in the conversation because of just how good they are offensively. I think that they have a dynamic leader, obviously, in Ball. They’ve got great shot makers. They’ve got depth up front. They’ve got six starters.
You know, again, it’s hard to pick against Villanova. It’s hard to pick against North Carolina. It’s hard to pick against — but I just think the way the rules are right now, UCLA is poised to be that type of team.
DICK VITALE: And that’s why I went with Carolina. Same basic philosophy. I think it is definitely a scenario where the scoring has become dominant, and I think that a team like Carolina — a kid out of UCLA that doesn’t get any publicity is TJ Leaf. That guy is unbelievable. He’s a double-double guy, and the other day — and I may be wrong, again, the numbers run through your head like crazy. I think Steve Watford’s son made more threes than he ever made in his career at Indiana in one game. Didn’t he make nine threes in one game? Didn’t he make nine threes recently, Seth?
SETH GREENBERG: Yeah, he did. He’s really something else. I mean, he’s playing with the perfect guard.
DICK VITALE: Yeah.
SETH GREENBERG: All of a sudden Alford can come off screens. He can run the ball. He can do things he does well. He doesn’t have to initiate offense. Even Holiday runs offense prior to him. So the games become easier because of Ball, and Coach is exactly right, the games have become a lot easier, because Leaf is a terrific passing front court player. He’s athletic, long, and he makes the game easier for everyone in the front court. They’re really good.
DICK VITALE: I remember two years ago, Seth, I did a game at UCLA, and a guy in LA, a writer or whatever, ripped me for saying that Alford would have a chance to possibly play in the NBA. Well, I’m not going to back down on that because I’m telling you, anybody who can shoot the ball like he can shoot the ball, he can help a club coming off the bench with his range as a shooter.
Q. I was going to ask you both about Kentucky’s defense, and when you were talking about the national title teams that offense could work in their factor, is maybe Kentucky’s defense getting better, not as important as everybody in the state of Kentucky seems to think right now, and it’s what John is emphasizing? Can they be a contender just with their offense?
DICK VITALE: You and I talked about this a couple days ago when I was down at Kentucky to do a game. Remember we talked there before they played Texas A&M I guess a week or so ago, whatever it was. Boy, time flies.
But obviously to me, when you’ve got the kind of talent he has, the depth factor, and he can reach kids about, hey, you want to play, you’ve got to guard people or you’re not going to play. The situation is they’re always going to be a contender. As long as John Calipari is on that sideline, he’s got a very simple formula, one. John Calipari equals positive coaching. You put that formula with incredible talent — not good talent, incredible talent every year. Just saw where he’s got another blue chipper, the kid I saw play, Diallo, I went to watch him play two weeks ago in another tournament. He’s going to be special at Kentucky. You think about that kind of talent, Fox, Monk, I think they’re the best backcourt in basketball. I really do. They’re going to have a chance. I mean, they’re going to guard people good enough — maybe not great, but man, they’re going to put pressure on you with the points they’re going to put on the board.
It’s tough. I’ve always been a believer you’ve got to have a staple on the defensive end. I know I’ve been a believer in that in my career, but as Seth said, and I’ve said about the offense today getting a lot of favors out there, I think Kentucky falls into that UCLA and North Carolina scenario.
Who would ever think like, for example, you score 92 or 95 at home against UCLA and you lose the game? Or you score — you’re going to get 103 to beat North Carolina because they had 100, and you would say that’s going to be a nightmare, an achilles heel. But I’m not so sure about that. I’m not so sure about it as I was maybe earlier in my thinking process.
SETH GREENBERG: The number one thing about Kentucky defensively, they’ve got to figure out how to guard a middle ball screen with Bam because they’re getting tortured with it. If you think about the loss to Louisville, they absolutely ran a little false motion, they came up and set a middle ball screen and they just attacked them, and nothing else they’re going to get him in foul trouble. So I agree.
Look, I think that an offensive team per se is going to have a chance to win a championship, but there are flaws in Kentucky’s defense now. Last night, their inability to guard the ball, last night their inability to guard ball screens. They’ve got to get better at it, but you know, he’s starting four freshmen, and John knows what they have to get better at because as opposed to UCLA and maybe even North Carolina, although they can score Kentucky, they don’t have as many shot makers as UCLA and North Carolina. So if you don’t have as many shot makers you surely need to probably tighten up that ball screen out of the lane a little better.
DICK VITALE: They’re starting to get positive play out of the kid Gabriel, and that’s going to be a plus. By the way, I read your article today. Thanks for sending it.
Q. I know you’ve already talked a little bit about Miami, and I was hoping you could expand a little bit more and share your thoughts overall on Miami’s team and the strengths and weaknesses you see there.
DICK VITALE: Well, you know, I did Miami just recently. Obviously making the decisions at the end of the game is going to be a big thing they’ve got to be concerned about because they’re so inexperienced on the perimeter. They were dominated last year by Rodriguez and McClellan, so that’s a concern for them. Not to be so up and down, be able to be more consistent. They go to Syracuse and they get pounded at Syracuse the second half. Jimmy was not happy with the performance at all. He said defensively that was the one time we really broke down defensively, going up there, and then they come back, they go on the road after the loss to show some character after the loss to Notre Dame, and that’s certainly not a bad loss because we’re seeing how good Notre Dame really is, and they go on the road, and they beat Pittsburgh, who’s really had some good moments this year, and they beat them by 26, I believe, blew them away. So consistent.
I love — a positive with them is the kid Brown. I think he’s going to be a terrific player. The kid Uhl has got things you can’t teach, the size, the athleticism, has to learn to create space to get free for his shot. He has to learn how to score, how to get up and use that speed and quickness in transition. But they’ve got a lot of parts there.
Newton we talked about earlier, can score. They’ve got a lot of points to be a very dangerous basketball team, but I do not see them at the level I saw the year they were, I thought, sensation at with Larkin and company.
SETH GREENBERG: I just think they’ve got to take better care of the basketball. They turn it over at a high percentage. 20 percent of their possessions end in a turnover, and that’s not Jim Larranaga basketball. The only other thing I’d add is they really don’t get anything from their front court per se. They’re so perimeter oriented. They need to get some type of consistency from their front court. He’s been spotty at best, and that’s what happens when you don’t have guys to play through some in the post, you’re going to end up on your perimeter game, and their shot selection at times could be a little suspect, but I’m a big Reed fan. I think he’s a terrific player. He’s got a physicality to his game. He’s got a versatility to his game. But the one thing I would say is as good as Murphy is defensively, he doesn’t give them really anything offensively, and I think if they can get something a little more consistent in their front court offensively it would make the game easier for their guards.
DICK VITALE: The only kid they miss from last year, nobody talks about him ever, the defensive kid in the middle, Jekiri. He blocked shots, he took away — he created all kinds of trouble for people, trying to get in the lane and all. Not only was he blocking shots but just with his intimidation factor, always thinking about the shot blocking, and that was big.
Reed, I felt so bad for him on the turnover against Notre Dame, the ball slipped out of his hands and just was — you felt bad for the kid.
Q. Do you think Northwestern is going to end up making their first tournament ever when all is said and done? And how do you think that’s going to be covered with — I mean, there’s so many Northwestern alums in the media, and there’s not — but they don’t have a huge following here. They don’t really draw very well. They don’t get a lot of local coverage, so how do you think they’ll kind of balance that out?
DICK VITALE: Well, I’m going to tell you this: I’m rooting for them big time. I’m rooting for Northwestern big time. I know a lot of the prominent alums would be really excited, Mr. Musburger and all the gang down here. They would be really excited to see them get in.
Getting in — it’s in their hands. They’re in the Big Ten right now in a scenario where they’ve got to win some games. They’ll get opportunities against some good teams. The one thing the Big Ten doesn’t have, what I would call — Wisconsin is the closest to me the team that’s separated a little bit but not by much.
I think they’ve got a great opportunity. They can’t let this slide. They’ve got some quality wins and they’ve got to continue to win to be a part of the big dance. I would think it would be a great, great moment. I know Mr. Collins would feel that way, that’s for sure.
SETH GREENBERG: I think they’re going to get in this year. I like their team, and talking to Chris, I think the interesting thing is they finally have some depth, and depth is so important, especially in a long season. They’ve got depth. They’ve got athleticism. I think getting Law back and having him be productive has been huge for them. Scottie Lindsey is giving them obviously an athletic guard, and McIntosh is really good. They have Big Ten players. They have Big Ten depth. The only thing they can’t do is they can’t have a bad loss.
Especially this year, I think they’re going to be an NCAA Tournament team —
DICK VITALE: I’m hoping they are, too, Seth. I saw them in a loss against Minnesota at home, lost a heart breaker that game. Those are the kind of games, though, you’ve got to win on your floor.
But I really do. I think this year you’re going to see them part of the dance. I don’t think they’re going to slip that much. I think you’re going to see them get enough wins to be able to be a part of that big tournament.
Q. The other Big Ten team here, Illinois, another top road loss yesterday, the alumni, fans are getting pretty upset, clamoring for change. Where do you see the future of the Illinois program going?
DICK VITALE: Well, you know, Illinois, I’m good friends — one of my neighbors right here now coaching was a former Illinois player, and I thought the best team that never won a National Championship in my era. I used to love the Flying Illini, which I nicknamed them, Nick Anderson, Battle, and certainly you think about that team with Marcus Liberty, Lowell Hamilton, Steve Bardo. They were special, and beating Michigan, I believe, don’t get me wrong, but I think twice during the year. Michigan beat them in the semifinals of the Final Four.
But talking to them, the big key has been trying to get the Chicago kid, trying to get that star player, and I know you run into problems with academics and all that, but man, that’s almost a must there. You’ve got to be able to — I find it hard to comprehend how you watch a DePaul or you watch an Illinois, not being able to be up there. I don’t say be top 15 or even top 20, but to be in the question — being there in the argument about being a top 25, top 30 team, I just think when you’re in a city like that, you’ve got to be able to go out and get players. I mean, it’s all about players. I mean, he can coach. Groce, he knows the game, it’s about players. You’re not just going to out-coach people. I love John Wooden, I’m looking right now, I’m very proud to say I was the first recipient of the pyramid of success award I’m looking at in my office here, but I’ll be the first to tell you, you line up when you start a game with a big redhead Bill Walton or you line up and you have a guy named Lewis Alcindor, you’ve got a chance to win. Mike Krzyzewski has won those national titles, you take a look at the players. Any great coach will tell you, you have to have players. Belichick winning those titles with the Patriots, being able to coach great players to get them on their strengths, weaknesses is what it’s about.
So with Illinois it’s about people, it’s about players, it’s about talent, and right now their talent level is not as competitive as the people they’re playing.
SETH GREENBERG: I think it’s a tough deal. One, Chicago basketball is not as good as it’s been. Number two, because of the global nature of our game, per se, it’s the Kentuckys and the North Carolinas and the Dukes and everyone else coming into Chicago or suburban Chicago and getting —
DICK VITALE: Hey, Anthony Davis is pretty good in Chicago, Jamar Parker is pretty good in Chicago.
SETH GREENBERG: Getting the best player out of Chicago, which is — who beats Duke and Kentucky for players? I mean, that’s difficult.
I think the concern that people are having is he’s dealt with a ton of injuries last year, and look, you have no control over injuries. It’s the inconsistency of their team. I mean, obviously they’ve played well enough in certain games, but they haven’t been consistent. It takes time and takes multiple classes and takes player development. He didn’t forget how to coach, but they do need to be a little bit more consistent and they’ve got to continue to recruit and put classes on top of each other. They’ve had some situations where they’ve lost guys, and you can’t do that when you’re building a program. When you’re building a program, the one thing you can’t do is lose momentum, and unfortunately right now they’ve lost a little momentum, and it’s hard to get back.
DICK VITALE: Well, you know, saying all that, I’m going to tell you, based on experience, coaching at Rutgers, coaching at Detroit, there’s certain kids you can’t lose. You just can’t lose them. I don’t care about Kentucky coming in. When I was at Detroit with Tylers and Longs and Duerods and those kids, and you were the witness of my first recruiting trip ever, ever in my life, Mr. Greenberg was there because I was recruiting his brother. I’d like to think I was relentless and tenacious and believed in what I was selling. I watched a little bit of — there’s a program now 40 years ago, Rutgers team, Phil Sellers, Mike Dabney. I went in and sold those kids about staying home and playing in their area, and you’ve got to do that. You can’t let Davis get away. You can’t let Jamar — I don’t care about Kentucky coming in. I don’t care. We’re here. We’re going to give you something right in your home territory. You’re going to be special, and I don’t think they’ve done that job in selling that, and a lot of the people feel that way. But John is an excellent X’s and O’s guy, but you know, as well, that’s why you and I should take the South Florida job, we’ll go in and we’ll recruit some big-time players and we’ll turn South Florida into a power.
Can I just lay out something, if they want to use they can, in terms of mid-season. We’re doing a mid-season show, and Seth can jump in and disagree with me or agree with me, whatever, but I’m going to lay my mid-season super six, six players who I think have really been great for their teams, and may not be the best player per se, but these six guys have really stood out to me. So my Dickie V mid-season super six, I’m going to see one kid on Saturday, I’ll see them down there and I love his game, he’s been terrific for them, performance against Virginia was off the charts, Dwyane Bacon, Florida State.
Seth mentioned earlier the catalyst Alonzo Ball, UCLA, his versatility, his size, his passing ability, his ability to get the ball to the right people is special.
You go to Kansas, they don’t win like they’ve been winning without the unbelievable play of Frank Mason on the perimeter, veteran player, 20 points a night.
You go to a kid down at Purdue, gets no publicity. He’s had four 20-20 games, Caleb Swanigan has been unbelievable for the Boilermakers.
I think and also you close it out by sixth one, you’ve got to look at Villanova, why they’re where they’re at, and it’s the performance, the leadership, the ability of Josh Hart. So those would be my super, super six mid-season. Agree or disagree, Seth?
SETH GREENBERG: No, look, you can’t go wrong with any of those guys. They’re all terrific players in good programs, on good teams. You can put a Kentucky kid there like you could —
DICK VITALE: Did I mention Monk? Monk is on my team as one of my six. I gave you five. Malik Monk is definitely there because of what he did. I’m glad you brought that up. Monk, I gave him the slightest edge because of that 47-point game mid-season. I can’t get that game out of my mind. I think that’s one of the unbelievable forms — I remember one game was unreal, Madison Square Garden. I still believe it’s the record. I was at Seton Hall as Oscar Robinson put 56 on the board. Seton Hall scored 54 and they scored like 100 points. I’m certainly undermining what Oscar did, but 47 in a game where you need every point to win against an elite dominant team like Carolina, that to me is off the charts.
SETH GREENBERG: My last thing I would say is the one team no one ever talks about who may deserve to be in the conversation, West Virginia is incredible. West Virginia is incredible, because you know what, the people that are picking up your newspapers or in your podcasts or on your radio shows or whatever, they can’t name three guys on their name.
DICK VITALE: You’re right about that.
SETH GREENBERG: What they do is impose their will on the game at every level.
DICK VITALE: Well, what do you see? I’m going there Tuesday night for their game against Kansas.
SETH GREENBERG: That’s a big time game. How about that?
DICK VITALE: Yeah, Tuesday the 24th I’ve got Kansas at West Virginia.
SETH GREENBERG: Well, they press you on makes, misses, free throws, dead ball, they trap a ball screen, they trap a dribble handoff. They press you when they shoot it because they attack the glass like it’s a press.
DICK VITALE: With their guards, thought, they’ll be able to handle pressure do you think, Graham and Mason?
SETH GREENBERG: I’ll tell you one thing, can they, yeah, but you’ve got to be good, and the one positive that Kansas has going for them against West Virginia is they’re playing basically four guards or a hybrid forward in Josh Jackson. But we don’t talk about them because we don’t know who they are. We don’t know Miles, we don’t know Carter. They’re not sexy. But they’re —
DICK VITALE: Their coach is not sexy, either.
SETH GREENBERG: The one thing that they’re different is last year they turned it over a ton of times. They turned you over and then gave it right back. This year they take better care of the basketball. They’re much more efficient offensively. They are really, really good, and because we don’t know who they are and we can’t identify with their players, I’m not sure they’re in the conversation enough.
DICK VITALE: And 800 wins, a great, great achievement.
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