00:00Coach, you mentioned Arkansas.
00:02Give me a spin on what you think Calipari has done there in Little Rock.
00:07What's your takeaway on him building that program?
00:10I mean, he comes over from Kentucky.
00:12You know, he's a guy, obviously, every place that he's gone,
00:15he's the one-and-done king.
00:17He's the guy that believes that.
00:18The landscape, as you said, in college basketball has changed forever
00:21because of the money and transfer portal.
00:23The job that Calipari's done there in Little Rock.
00:26He's done a great job.
00:27Because there's another team that I wouldn't be surprised went to the final
00:31before, and he's got a freshman that nobody talks about who's as good
00:34as any freshman in the country in Darius Acuff.
00:37And they got another kid, freshman.
00:40They're two high scorers of freshmen.
00:41Now, they also have Trayvon Brazil, who's a 6'11 kid that's really good.
00:46They have Billy Kennedy.
00:47They have Carter Knox.
00:50These guys are – so he's got that combination that I was talking about
00:53before of young guys.
00:55You know, Cal's gotten away from strictly one-and-dones,
00:59especially nowadays with kids staying longer.
01:02You know, if you were a second-round draft pick five years ago, you were leaving.
01:07If you're a second-round draft pick now and you have eligibility left,
01:10you're going to make more money in college than you would make in the G League.
01:13They're staying.
01:14So, college basketball, the game itself is pretty good.
01:19And the reason why, it's gotten older.
01:21So, Calipari now has that combination.
01:23He's got some great freshmen, no doubt, but he's got some really good experience.
01:28DeJuan Wagner, I didn't mention him either.
01:29He's got some really good experience, upperclassmen,
01:33and that's why I think he's got a pretty good team.
01:36Coach, you really – you landed on something there that makes me think back to the days.
01:40You know, we started our conversation off talking about, you know,
01:44the days of the Big East here.
01:45Do you think Nill is making college basketball more experienced now?
01:50Do you think now you're seeing, like, maybe a little bit of the return where,
01:54you know, one of the things – and I wonder if you can help me out on this.
01:57Do you think you really still have to have a backcourt, a great backcourt,
02:00if you're going to go out on an NCAA championship?
02:03But for you, do you think, Nill, that's maybe one of the positives
02:06that you're seeing a more experienced college basketball?
02:11100%.
02:12College basketball right now, from just a game standpoint,
02:15I think is in a pretty good place.
02:18I mean, for years and years, everybody that was young left.
02:22They'd go in the second round.
02:24They didn't care.
02:25This Nill is stopping that.
02:27Now, who's going to leave?
02:28Yeah, the top 10, 12 picks are still going to leave to go to the NBA.
02:33No question.
02:34But that's it.
02:36Nobody's going to – if you've got eligibility left
02:38and you're a second-round draft pick,
02:40you are probably one of the best players on your team.
02:44And if you're one of the best players on a Power 5 team,
02:48you're making a million – couple million dollars
02:50that you're not going to make in the G League.
02:53So, yes, I think it is definitely going to make college basketball older
02:57and I think it's going to make college basketball better.
03:00Yes, we're still going to lose the top, top guy.
03:02Just like we lost Cooper Flagg last year,
03:04you're going to be the first pick in the draft.
03:06The NIL is never going to come close to that.
03:08But, you know, after the top 10 or 12 picks,
03:11guys are going to stick around.
03:12Looking right out.
03:12No.
03:12Thanks.
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