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00:00After a big night in college basketball, Rob Doster joins us,
00:04co-founder of Field of 68.
00:06Rob, we always like catching up with you.
00:09And I know U of H – by the way, I forgot.
00:14I wondered, would you be at that Creed spot?
00:19Rob, is Creed down – is that down your alley, Rob?
00:23I'm not going to turn down a four-pack of Creed tickets
00:25as long as it comes with a six-pack of cold course lights.
00:27I'll tell you that.
00:28Come on.
00:29And listen, hey, look, I see what's going on here, boys.
00:33Clint, I can read through – I understand.
00:35I know what's going on here.
00:36I don't hear from Ron since last year's Final Four.
00:39And then the day after Kansas whoops up on Houston, he's like,
00:43let's get Rob on the way.
00:45I thought you – that is not true.
00:47Boy, you read that subject.
00:48You're right, boy.
00:49I see you, Ron.
00:50I wanted to get you on when your boys got us at Lawrence.
00:53I mean, it just – I mean, it was October.
00:55I mean, nail on the head, man.
00:56That is not true.
00:57I mean, you got him figured out, bro.
00:58You got him figured out.
01:00That is not true.
01:00That is not true.
01:00Hey, Ron, you just got to hide that a little bit of a bit.
01:03I understand the hustle.
01:04Just hide it a little bit.
01:06All right.
01:07Hey, man, before we get to specifically last night, I mean, that was a tough stretch.
01:14At Iowa State, home to Arizona, at Kansas.
01:17I didn't expect Houston to lose all three of those games.
01:21It is odd to me from a talent perspective – I said this earlier – this feels like potentially
01:26Kelvin's best team, just from a talent perspective, his best team at Houston.
01:32Are you majorly concerned with this team and their ability to get to a Final Four?
01:37Because that's what the expectations are.
01:40No, not really.
01:42Like, the top of the Big 12 is ridiculous, man.
01:44Like, there's four or five teams, probably four right now with the injuries that BYU and
01:48Texas Tech are dealing with.
01:50They can get to a Final Four in the top of that conference, and Houston just having to
01:53go and play the other three of them and lost to all three.
01:56Like, someone's going to lose those games if they play, right?
01:58The thing about Houston is they're built a little differently than a typical Houston team,
02:04right?
02:04Like, they're kind of reliant on talented backcourt players that are going to make the
02:10NBA, but they rely on making tough jump shots.
02:12And sometimes when you have to deal with the kind of defensive backcourts that you see at
02:17Kansas, at Iowa State, and at Arizona, it's hard to rely on a steady diet of Kingston Fleming's
02:23pull-ups and Emmanuel Sharp hitting 28-footers.
02:25So, I think they get a little more from Chris Cenac.
02:29Like, and, you know, once you kind of get to March and you don't have to deal with these
02:34monsters that you see in these other conferences, they'll be all right, man.
02:38Like, Kingston Fleming's, he kind of hit a freshman wall here, but that dude, I'm telling
02:41you, if there's five better players that come out of this draft than Kingston Fleming's,
02:46I will be absolutely flabbergasted.
02:47I love that kid's game.
02:48I love the way he plays.
02:49I love what he's about.
02:50And it's Kelvin Samson.
02:51If you guys are going to bet against Kelvin Samson, I'll be on the other side.
02:54I'll be making the money.
02:54Hey, so with that said, where do you see the Cougs fitting in and making a run here?
02:59Do you view them as a legit contender, or is it somewhat of a pretender?
03:05I don't think they're a pretender.
03:07I don't think they're in the same tier as Arizona, Michigan, and Duke.
03:11I think those three teams have kind of separated themselves a little bit.
03:15And I think, I mean, look, Houston, when it comes down to it, in a tournament, you win
03:19with guards.
03:20Like, you win with really good guards.
03:22And what Houston has is three really good guards.
03:23Kingston Fleming is going to be a top-ten pick.
03:25Myles Uzan is going to play in the NBA for a decade.
03:27I think Emmanuel Sharp is the guy that'll get the lead.
03:30And you've got three of them in your backcourt.
03:32So they'll be able to play with anybody and hang with anybody.
03:34And it's Kelvin Samson.
03:35And they guard.
03:37I don't think that they are.
03:38I wouldn't call them a favorite.
03:39Like, last year, there was a tier of four teams, and Houston was one of the four.
03:43This year, I think there's three clear-cut teams above everybody else.
03:46And Houston's in that next group.
03:48So they can absolutely make a Final Four.
03:50If I'm betting everything I got, like if I'm taking my mortgage payment, Clint,
03:53and I'm putting it on somebody to win the Final Four,
03:56it's going to be one of those three teams, Arizona, Michigan, or Duke.
03:59Real quick, still with Houston, as I see people texting in,
04:03as you're discussing these three guards,
04:07Milo seems like he's had the toughest difficulty to adjust to these three guards.
04:13And Fleming, because he just doesn't look the same.
04:16Like, he scored seven pretty quick points last night
04:19and then was just done the rest of the way.
04:21And there was, I think there was an argument late last year that he might have been,
04:25you know, their best guy.
04:27I know LJ was there, but he was a huge piece to this team.
04:32Is there a way they can find that version of Milo's?
04:36I mean, I think it's there.
04:37The problem is Milo's is almost unselfish to a fault.
04:43And what I mean by that is he is, if there's someone better than him
04:46or if he feels like there's a situation where being the distributor
04:50or being the teammate is going to be better for them overall,
04:53then he's going to be the one that's willing to sacrifice.
04:55Like, you saw that early on last year.
04:56It took him a while to realize, like, hey, you know what?
04:58I'm the alpha.
05:00Houston's at its best when I'm the one with the ball in my hands making a play.
05:03And that's when they kind of made their run.
05:04And this year, Kingston Flemings has kind of taken over that role.
05:07And he's there when you need him, but he doesn't need to be the Superman.
05:11He's happy being Robin.
05:13And sometimes that can be a little bit to his detriment.
05:15So I think that it would help if he was more aggressive on the nights
05:19when Kingston Flemings isn't making shots and Emmanuel Sharp isn't making shots.
05:23But to me, that's part of why I think he's such a valuable piece.
05:27He's not going to rock the boat if he's not the one getting shots.
05:31He's happy to be the guy that is there to help set those.
05:33Does that make sense?
05:34Like, he is very much a great teammate.
05:37And sometimes you want to just shake him and be like, hey, man,
05:39like, you're going to play in the NBA.
05:41Like, you need to be able to take over these games.
05:43And as soon as he kind of gets back into that mode,
05:46I think they'll be better off.
05:49Rob, we watched the opponent they played last night,
05:51and they have, at least one of their players,
05:54have become the talk of, hell, I want to say college basketball,
05:58but it got real hot last week, Rob, with Darren Peterson.
06:03And now this thing became a national story.
06:06And we watched him play last night, played 30 minutes.
06:09He's played mostly the full game, back-to-back games.
06:13I want to – and I hear you guys speak about him at night.
06:17Again, catch it every night, man.
06:19They're doing great stuff, field of 68, every single night.
06:22I catch you guys talking about it.
06:24Do you feel like this thing has gotten overboard with Darren Peterson
06:30and where people are going now?
06:32It's questioning if he likes basketball, if he loves the game.
06:35Do you think this is going overboard up to this point?
06:38Yeah, it went from we can have, like, an actual conversation about this
06:41when it was just like a college basketball story
06:44to now we got first take and Stephen A. Smith
06:47and Kendra Perkins, these guys talking about it,
06:49where they haven't really watched it, and they don't know the context.
06:52They just see this guy subbing himself out.
06:54And to me, I think what's happening there is –
06:58I think it's as much a mental thing as it is a physical thing.
07:01Like, he dealt with cramps at the start of the year,
07:04and he actually had a hamstring injury.
07:05And I think it's more he's – nervous is the wrong word,
07:10but I think there's, like, an anxiety thing about I don't want to deal
07:12with what I dealt with before.
07:14So as soon as I get close to feeling something like that,
07:16I'm going to pull myself out, especially if we're up by, like,
07:1918 against a team that we're supposed to beat, right?
07:21So I think that's part of it more than anything else.
07:23But the idea that that dude doesn't want to play, man, like, he's a dog.
07:27He's a competitor.
07:28He works.
07:29I think the other part of it is he just – the people that have his ear
07:34are the people that are focused on the amount of money he has a chance
07:37to make in the future.
07:38And that's a good thing to protect a player that could end up –
07:41like, if he ends up being as good as we think he could be,
07:44like, we're talking about a guy that might make a billion dollars
07:46in NBA salary, legitimately a billion dollars.
07:50And I understand the need to protect that.
07:52But I think it's gotten to the point where it's now –
07:55it's not just protecting him.
07:57You are now hurting him in the sense that he hasn't been able to kind of tell
08:01his story and what's going on.
08:02Like, how many times have you seen him in the media?
08:04How many times have you seen him do, like, a sit-down?
08:07Yeah.
08:07All these other guys are doing one-on-ones.
08:08Like, we can't even get him on the show, right?
08:11Like, we've had AJ on.
08:12We've had – literally everybody else in college basketball will come on.
08:15We haven't been able to get Darren yet.
08:16And I think that is part of what's hurting him.
08:18Like, he hasn't been able to get out there and say,
08:20this is what I'm dealing with.
08:21And everyone is just kind of left to speculate.
08:23Yeah.
08:24You know, the crazy thing to me, Rob, I'm just a casual fan.
08:27Watch it from time to time.
08:28And I've got to listen to my co-host talk about Kansas all the damn time.
08:31So, it's part of his story.
08:32Especially today, right?
08:33Yeah.
08:34Oh, yeah.
08:34Oh, yeah.
08:35No.
08:35I'm humble, man.
08:36Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:37But, you know, the crazy thing is the craziest part of the whole story
08:42is people that think that he's doing it to literally save –
08:48you know, to keep from getting hurt, just generally speaking.
08:51Like, the easy thing for him to do would be to tap out and just not play.
08:54Yeah.
08:55I mean, and say, hey, look, I know how good I am.
08:57I know I'm going to go make a billion dollars.
08:58Rob Doster said so.
08:59I know I'm going to go make a billion dollars.
09:01I don't need this damn Kansas basketball team.
09:03So, just the outlook of, hey, man, he's tapping out of the game
09:07whenever he wants and it's just a matter of quitting.
09:10That mindset to me has always been weird just from a casual fan.
09:15By the way –
09:16He's hurting himself by playing, Clint.
09:18Right.
09:18Yeah, that's what I was trying to say.
09:19Right.
09:20If he got hurt, like, let's say he shut it down after 15 games or whatever,
09:24which is like, listen, I got a hamstring injury that I keep re-aggravating.
09:27I'm not going to make this thing any worse.
09:29I'm sitting out.
09:29I'm done for the season.
09:30I'm going to go get ready for the NBA draft.
09:32A lot of people would have done that, and he's probably more likely to be the number one pick
09:36than this kind of in the lineup, out of the lineup, trying to play things.
09:39So, I think he – the issue is that he hasn't been able to come out and say,
09:44this is what I'm dealing with.
09:46And one of the things that we see, and I think the perfect example of this is Tyrese Halliburton
09:49last year, right, in the finals, where he kept saying, I'm dealing with the calf thing.
09:53I'm dealing with the calf thing.
09:54And everyone's just kind of like, you're not hurt.
09:56It's not really that much of an injury.
09:57Just play, man.
09:59Stop talking about it.
10:00And then, boom, he pops his Achilles because he's dealing with that calf thing, right?
10:03So, until you actually see the person get seriously injured, people on the outside look at these
10:08athletes and they say, he's not that hurt.
10:10Just go play through it, right?
10:11And, Clinton, you've dealt with this, man.
10:12You played at a high level.
10:13You get it.
10:14If you – when your body's not right and you can feel it, these athletes, these guys that are at
10:18that level,
10:19people understand when something's not feeling right or working right or not going the way that it's supposed to.
10:25And I think that he's – Darren is dealing with that, and I think he's probably a little bit too
10:29sensitive to it at this point.
10:31But he's also 18 years old and listening to his dad and listening to his agent.
10:34Like, when you were 18 years old and a freshman in college, you're probably still listening to your dad more
10:38than you would when you become a 23-year-old pro, right?
10:40So, the context of what's happening there, it's gotten to the point where it's – I mean, it's completely overblown
10:45now, man.
10:46I really think it is.
10:47And I think now you're going to see him just kind of push through it, and I hope it doesn't
10:49result in an injury that could actually impact his career.
10:52Rob, the last thing here and on this, because the part that gets me, as you talked about it, he's
10:58– there are people behind the scenes that he's maybe listening to.
11:03Do you believe that – because Bill Self – and I told Clint the other day, like, this is like
11:08Nick Saban.
11:09Like, I don't – I just – I got a hard time, and I've watched Bill Self coach at Kansas
11:13and in Illinois.
11:14I got a hard time believing Bill Self would just say, hey, man, this guy – this guy's tapping out
11:19just because he doesn't want to play anymore.
11:21And Bill Self just going to keep rolling him out there like that.
11:24Do you feel like his hands are tied and he doesn't have a lot of control in this situation?
11:31Or is Bill Self also kind of step-for-step in a lot of this?
11:36I don't know if he's step-for-step in it.
11:38I do think that Bill is in an awkward spot because he is – he's trying to protect the relationship,
11:43and he wants the kid to play in March.
11:45So I don't think he can come out here and just be like, man, this kid is soft.
11:48Like, I just – I need him to play.
11:50He's being soft.
11:51He's not going to come out and say that.
11:52But he's also not going to sit there and fully defend the kid.
11:56And I think you're starting to see some of that frustration creep out a little bit.
11:59And I think what we saw – it really showed through to me, Ron, I don't know how you feel
12:03about it,
12:03but on Saturday when Cincinnati kind of ran away from it, it looked like that was the first time where
12:08everybody else on the roster was just kind of like,
12:10man, I'm so sick of dealing with all of this Darren Peterson stuff.
12:14Like, play or don't play.
12:15And you kind of saw, like, a team that is that good defensively should not be giving up 84 points
12:20to Cincinnati, point blank, period.
12:22But then they were able to rally.
12:24They were able to come back.
12:25It kind of felt like once things got as bad as they did at the end of last week that
12:29they kind of closed ranks
12:31and they said, look, we've got to fight for them.
12:32This is one of our guys.
12:33We've got to fight for them.
12:34Darren, you've got to fight for us too.
12:35So we'll see what ends up happening here.
12:37I will tell you this.
12:38If DP is playing the best that he can and you've got Melvin Council,
12:42with the way that team can guard and build self, I might be seeing you in Indianapolis.
12:46All right, now do them hogs, baby.
12:47Now what about them hogs, Rob?
12:50I'll tell you what, man, Darius Acuff is special.
12:53Clint, he is special.
12:55Like, that dude, the way that he can control a game, the decisions he makes offensively.
13:00Like, this is a guy that kind of came in to college with a reputation for being, like, getting a
13:06lot of points,
13:06getting a lot of stats, empty calories, not winning games, right?
13:10And it's completely different since he got there.
13:12I think when you score 49 points on the road in double overtime, play 49 minutes when you've got to
13:19take the boot off, right?
13:21He had a boot on his foot.
13:22He took it off to go warm up and get ready for the game.
13:24And then you go and put up 49 points in double overtime, play 49 minutes.
13:27That tells you everything you need to know about that kid.
13:30Coach Cal is at his best when he has stud guards like Darius Acuff.
13:36I think that team can make a Final Four.
13:37I also think there could be a four seed that gets beat in the first round of the NCAA tournament
13:41because you just never know with these Arkansas teams.
13:45Sorry, that's just the way that it is with this group.
13:47But if I might be seeing you – let me ask you guys this.
13:50If we get an Arkansas-Kansas game in Indianapolis for the Final Four, you guys coming up?
13:56I mean, I'll spend the money.
13:58I may.
13:58This hasn't felt very well for me.
14:01I would be there.
14:02I'll commit.
14:03I'll commit.
14:04No, I'll be there.
14:06Arkansas-Kansas, you're not going to be there.
14:08I'll go to Indianapolis.
14:09You waited until Kansas won a game to get me on the Indianapolis.
14:11That is not true, Rob.
14:15You think I wasn't trying to get you a number after the Arizona game?
14:18You think I wasn't trying to get you after the Arizona game?
14:21Clint said, don't threaten me with a good time, Rob.
14:24Rob's like, ah, I don't know.
14:25Hey, we're still – he's young.
14:26We're still bringing him along, Rob.
14:27We're still bringing him along.
14:28Hey, man.
14:28Hey, man.
14:29I just had to get a new garbage disposal, man.
14:31I don't know how – I don't know if I can swing that Indy trip.
14:35All right, Rob, man.
14:37We'll talk to you, man, as we get closer, man.
14:39It's getting to be that time, baby.
14:42It is, man.
14:43It is.
14:44Great talking to you, fellas.
14:44All right, man.
14:45That's our guy, man, Rob.
14:47Money.
14:48I mean, they're good.
14:49Him and old Goody, man.
14:50Every night, boy, they got that feel.
14:52You want to talk about somebody going an independent route in a media game
14:55and knelling it on the head, man.
14:57They've done a hell of a job with that field of 68, man.
14:59They work extremely hard.
15:01They're good at what they do.
15:02They're consistent.
15:03And they're killing it, man.
15:04Field of 68.
15:05Check them out on social media.
15:07Yep.
15:07Easy to find.
15:08Thanks to Rob Doster for joining us.
15:11As you said, field of 68 every night.
15:12Field of 68.
15:12Field of 68.
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