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00:00At this time of year, he is America's darling.
00:03On the Make It Right, Call Kyle Wright hotline.
00:05Meredith sent me a text. He's in a Friday Beers post on Instagram.
00:09That's how legendary John Fanta is.
00:13And he joins us on that Make It Right, Call Kyle Wright hotline.
00:16Fanta, good morning.
00:17Good morning, guys. Happy Madness. What's happening?
00:21Same to you. NBA on NBC, Barstool Sports, the field of 68,
00:24all over college basketball. He's Mr. College Basketball.
00:27I think he's part of the reason why we're seeing a recession.
00:30I think he's the biggest part of the reason we're seeing a resurgence
00:32of college basketball before the tournament.
00:34John Fanta joining us on the show.
00:37Yesterday, let me start with this.
00:39I started the show with the college broadcast from High Point.
00:42Did you see it yet?
00:44Yes. Incredible.
00:45Okay, Jimmy Roselli, you've done it.
00:48You're one of the best when it comes to the game of basketball.
00:51John, you said it was incredible. What did you like most about it?
00:55Just the raw emotion outpouring from those two.
00:59And, you know, there's a special sense of pride when it's your alma mater
01:05and when it's your school, and especially when you're a current student there
01:09because, you know, you have to put it in a little bit of perspective of, like,
01:17I went to Seton Hall.
01:19Oh, I had class with a couple of players.
01:21And so those are your classmates out there on the hardwood,
01:25just giving your school the most exposure it's ever had.
01:30That's the NCAA tournament, Ken, is that for a school like High Point,
01:35you know, it's a beautiful campus,
01:38and it's got a million different great traits, I'm sure, for admissions and all that.
01:43But that's to a very, very selected group of people.
01:48When you win an NCAA tournament game, now the world knows about you.
01:52That's the opportunity that Akron has today.
01:55That's the opportunity that Miami University seized the other night.
01:58And how about their fans?
02:00And how about that atmosphere in Dayton?
02:02The NCAA tournament is a front porch for these types of schools,
02:08that this is their chance to break through.
02:12And, you know, Jimmy even said, the broadcaster even said,
02:16High Point breaks through to the round of 32.
02:20That's an amazing call, awesome emotion.
02:22It's what March Madness is about.
02:25Wisconsin, Wisconsin will be just fine.
02:28You know, I mean, their football program needs a lot of work,
02:30and their basketball program struggles in the NCAA tournament.
02:33But that's where March is different.
02:36Because comparable to that in any other college sport, it can't happen.
02:41But in basketball, David can beat Goliath.
02:45It can occur.
02:47John, yesterday you had a 10, two 11s, and a 12 seed, all advanced.
02:51You call so many of these games throughout the season.
02:55Can you even predict or foresee the chaos that unfolds every year in this tournament?
03:05Not one bit.
03:07Not one bit.
03:08You really can't.
03:10You could try.
03:11And look, here's the thing, fellas.
03:14Last year, we did not have that.
03:17You know, we had 112 over a 5.
03:20It was McNeese over Clemson.
03:22And I happened to actually be on site for that game.
03:26And it was kind of a unique situation because Clemson just wasn't themselves.
03:29And so it wasn't that stunning of an upset.
03:34But the tournament needed some sort of a response on its first day.
03:39Because instantly, you know how this, you know how everything works.
03:42Last year was sort of vanilla.
03:44And then people are, and then we ended up getting some really high-level games late in the tournament.
03:49But people are like, ah, it's not the same if Cinderella doesn't show up.
03:52And so then what happens is people are like, well, then she's dead.
03:55Like, it's not going to happen.
03:57There's too much disparity in revenue sharing and an NIL in college basketball.
04:02And the little guy can't win anymore.
04:04Is it harder?
04:05You know, yes, it is.
04:07But out of all the things that happened yesterday, it's the, you know, the multiple 11s and 10s winning and,
04:16you know, a 12 winning.
04:18The most stunning thing was Siena.
04:20You know, they didn't even win the game.
04:22But, guys, Siena has a 50th of Duke basketball's operating budget.
04:30A 50th.
04:33And they shouldn't be able to, I think that line was close to 30 points.
04:39For that to be a game with four minutes to go is just stunning when you consider how much Duke
04:45just rampaged through the entire ACC.
04:48So that's why this event is magical.
04:51Truly anything can happen.
04:53And I don't think the chaos in college sports is going to change that much because at the end of
04:59the day, whether you're a basketball junkie or not, it's a make-or-miss sport.
05:06So a team can come out.
05:08I mean, this is why Akron can win today.
05:10They're top 15 in three-point percentage.
05:13A team can come out and make their first four shots, and all of a sudden the entire arena is
05:18rooting for them.
05:20John, I want to know, is just making the tournament good enough for Ohio State basketball?
05:28Well, it's good enough for Jake Diebler and staff and their program right now to keep going because it had
05:35been a couple of years since we had seen that.
05:38But it's not good enough in the grand scheme of things, Ken.
05:41No, now, Ross Bjork and the leadership team there have said that they're going to commit more resources.
05:51Now, look, that's not an end-all, be-all, but I do think that there's a reason why he's saying
05:57that, and one of the reasons is Ohio State used to be a top-five basketball job in the Big
06:04Ten when Thad Mata had it humming.
06:06I mean, you could have argued at one time it was the best job in the Big Ten, and I
06:09don't think anybody would have really argued with you.
06:12Right now, that job is not.
06:15It's not.
06:16It's not even like a top-eight job in the Big Ten at the moment, in my humble opinion.
06:22So they've got to get it back to that, and I think they're going to get it back to that.
06:27But Jake Diebler is a guy who, I'm telling you, wears it on his sleeve and wants this to go
06:37well.
06:38But when you have a player of Bruce Thornton's caliber and you can't win a tournament game, it's disappointing.
06:45Yesterday was a disappointment for them because they didn't do enough down the stretch,
06:49and I thought that the last five seconds there, or four and a half seconds where the shot that they
06:54got just wasn't good enough.
06:56So it's fine for them to get there, and nobody's going to be getting calls and losing their jobs at
07:05all.
07:06But to answer your question, if Ross is telling the truth and they're going to increase their money,
07:13they better not just make the tournament next year, they better win a game or two
07:19and get this thing back to where it needs to be.
07:22Because Ohio State Hoops has tradition.
07:24They've got a history, you know, in the last quarter century.
07:27They've got a rich history, you know, going to national championship games.
07:30You've got to be better than just barely making a tournament and losing in the first round.
07:34John Fanna joining us.
07:36The NBA on NBC, Barstool Sports, Field of 68, everything when it comes to the game of basketball.
07:41Do the Cavaliers have an Evan Mobley problem?
07:47I would say that, yes, they do.
07:51It feels like an elephant in the room that people don't want to have to acknowledge, myself included,
08:00because, you know, I think Evan is a guy that I respect, and I think a lot of people respect
08:08what he can do on the floor.
08:10But the fact is, is that the offense just hasn't evolved enough.
08:13To the degree that we thought it would.
08:15Like, early in his career, I remember thinking to myself, oh my gosh, if this is what he is right
08:19now, what's going to happen in three or four years?
08:21I think you would agree, correct?
08:23Yeah.
08:24It just feels like, it just feels like that, that accelerator has not occurred.
08:30And, you know, the more that you watch, you're sitting there saying, all right, does this puzzle work?
08:37Does the puzzle work between him and Jared Allen?
08:39Does the puzzle work on the offensive end of the floor?
08:42Where in the NBA, and this is why you had to go and get Harden, in the NBA, you've got
08:48to have multiple people who can go and get theirs every single night.
08:53Not on any given night.
08:55Every night.
08:56Like, and that's the problem for the Cavs and Evan Mobley.
09:01Is that this league, when you get serious and you want to be in the mix for a championship, which
09:07the Cavaliers' expectation coming in the year was to win a title.
09:11It can't be, okay, well, it happened tonight and then it will happen in three games.
09:16No, you got to, you have to be consistent when you're at his level and you're at this stage.
09:23So, you know, I just, I think that the Harden move was not just because of Darius Garland.
09:32There's multiple things.
09:33And look, I was somebody who obviously was critical of Darius Garland, but it's more than that.
09:40It's more about the fact that, you know, this core four that was in place, there were flaws, there were
09:48more flaws than just DG.
09:50And I just think we're waiting and waiting and how long are you going to wait?
09:54Because it's one of those things where I'm all about seeing things through.
09:58But I just feel like with Evan, things haven't taken off to the degree that we all thought that they
10:05would.
10:06Darrell has a pointed question for you about something that might have went down yesterday.
10:10However, I have to get you on record about this.
10:1130 seconds.
10:12I got 30 seconds to ask you this.
10:14Do you believe that we should go into the season with the quarterback room as is?
10:19And if not, give me one name you'd like to go to the front of the pack.
10:26Man, oh man.
10:27That's my will burn.
10:29Yeah, right.
10:31I didn't think that they should do that.
10:37And, you know, but I don't want any part of an Aaron Rodgers.
10:42And I don't, you know, the idea of an old veteran going with this franchise at, I don't love it.
10:51Because I just think there's a little bit of boom or bust nature here.
10:56And I don't, do I believe in the boom necessarily?
10:58I'm not saying I do.
11:00The smart move would have been to go and get a veteran, in my humble opinion.
11:06But, so, so to answer your question, yeah, it's not.
11:09But the problem is I don't have an exact name to say, like, this is going to be the answer
11:12to all the problems.
11:15So, I don't think that they're going to, you know, they're not going to do that.
11:18I, unless you guys believe differently, I don't see it.
11:21And I think this is the reality of the situation.
11:23And it's either going to be Shador being solid or maybe, maybe things do boom or not.
11:31John, I need to know how long it took you to get out of the doghouse after Bill Raftery
11:35threw you under the bus.
11:36Ooh.
11:39Not long.
11:40Well, for something you didn't even do, by the way.
11:42I just want to point that out.
11:43You know what's going on there.
11:45Well, the story, the story goes, Bill and I had never worked a game together.
11:51Okay.
11:51And Bill is obviously a living legend.
11:54You know, I mean, he's the only person that could come on the air yesterday for the tournament
11:58and Grant Hill, you know, Bill says, happy March, everybody.
12:02Here we go.
12:03And Grant Hill looks at him and goes, yep, this month it's especially taxing on my liver.
12:07And then they get into the open and talk about stars.
12:10And it's just like, this is great television.
12:12So, Bill, you know, I'm 25 and I get a call, hey, you know, you're going to work with Bill
12:18Raftery tomorrow night on UConn and Creighton.
12:21And I just remember, like, I was floating on my way to Hartford because I get to work with
12:26somebody you just, you just don't, you don't ever think like, oh, I'm going to actually
12:29sit next to him for a game.
12:31So, we get to the restaurant the night before the game and Bill is there and having a great
12:37time and so am I and, you know, having a glass of wine and two or three glasses of wine.
12:44And we have, you know, the next day rolls around and, you know, we were at the, we were
12:49at this steakhouse across the way from the arena and we're calling the game and we're in
12:53the second half and there's a very long discussion, very long review.
12:59And, you know, the official like comes over to Dan Hurley and they're chopping it up.
13:05And, you know, Bill just, no context, crowd kind of going crazy.
13:10Bill goes, look at them continuing to chop it up.
13:13Kind of like you and the bartender last night.
13:18And I'm just like, I'm in a, you know, again, I'm like, you know, I'm a rookie here.
13:23I'm 25.
13:23I feel like I'm Monty the color man from Major League.
13:30And within seconds, my phone dings and my wife, who I thought was sleeping, my girlfriend
13:36at the time, and she says, you know, it was not a clean language.
13:42What the, you know, what is he talking about?
13:45Oh boy.
13:46And I go, he's kidding.
13:48She goes, sure he is.
13:50See, I didn't know when this had happened.
13:52So I was wondering how serious you two were.
13:54Cause like in my, in my day, it was Facebook official.
13:57I don't know what your generation does to make it official.
14:00So we were already Facebook official.
14:04Beautiful.
14:05Absolutely.
14:05People knew people.
14:07So I got a couple of text messages that night saying, Hey, be careful out there.
14:12I'm just like, thank you, Bill.
14:15Hey, real quick.
14:16Can I ask you another question here about the, about the tournament?
14:18Obviously.
14:19Do you know anybody who's actually gotten a vasectomy during the tournament or for March
14:23Madness?
14:26No.
14:27I'm telling you it's, it's pushed on us by big vasectomy.
14:30You think it's a lie?
14:31You think it's, yeah.
14:32I don't know anybody who's had it done.
14:34Everybody's like, Oh, I'm going to get it done.
14:35And they never do.
14:36I got mine in the middle of summer.
14:37Can I, can I correct me if I'm, if you strongly disagree, it's fine.
14:42To me, it's like when people say, Oh, you know, the burn jerseys when LeBron left the
14:46first time.
14:47And it's literally the same camera shot 25,000 times of the same, of the same one
14:52jersey burning.
14:52And by the way, I know the guy that did it.
14:55Right.
14:55That's the vasectomy thing.
14:56Vasectomy?
14:57No.
14:57The burn jersey thing.
14:58Oh, okay.
14:59I'm saying like, that's when people, when people are like, Oh, you got to get a
15:02vasectomy.
15:03I mean, it's like, okay, well, I like, you might know one person and then that
15:07becomes the example setter.
15:09And it equates to like 300 people.
15:12It's like the amount of people who say they went to Len Barker's perfect game.
15:15I think it was a Don Draper somewhere just going, you know what?
15:19Let's get these vasectomies out there.
15:25Yes.
15:27Yes.
15:28Out of all the directions that I thought that this would go, this was not the one.
15:32And that's why you guys are special.
15:34Oh, John, you're the special one.
15:36Hey, I wish we had more time.
15:37Thank you for that.
15:38I know you're busier than hell.
15:39Can I ask you two a question?
15:41Yeah.
15:41Sure.
15:42Do you, did you have a name for a quarterback?
15:44Cause I'm just genuinely curious.
15:46Yeah.
15:46His name's Shador Sanders.
15:47I'm just going to go with him.
15:48Yeah.
15:48That's it.
15:49Yeah.
15:49That's where I'm at.
15:50There's no, right.
15:51The cover's bare.
15:52I just don't want to waste my time with anyone right now.
15:54Like let's see if this guy can do this thing.
15:56But John, we've known each other for a very long time.
15:59You know, I'm nuts because I went so haywire yesterday.
16:02On another quarterback situation.
16:04It made me like more open to Ty Simpson somehow.
16:07Like something broke in me.
16:09And I'm like, okay, let's talk Ty Simpson now.
16:10Like I'm more willing to do that.
16:12Don't do that to me, Ken.
16:14Weirdo.
16:15Don't wish that on me, Ken.
16:16I don't think, I don't think on that one.
16:19But I mean, look, I don't, if they draft one, you know, I mean, I expect them to probably
16:24two because they've, again, they drafted Dylan Gabriel in the third round.
16:28So, but I, but I just, yeah, it's going to be, it's probably Sanders that's staring at
16:33us in the face.
16:34They'll make training camp interesting.
16:36We are proud of you.
16:37We thank you very much for your time.
16:39I'll talk to you when you come back to town, obviously.
16:41And we will see you.
16:42We will talk to you.
16:43We will watch you.
16:44I don't know why I'm sounding like Lester Diamond from Casino.
16:47John, all the very best to you and yours.
16:50Thank you guys.
16:50I look forward to seeing you, if not sooner, definitely this summer.
16:54And thank you for, Daryl, we'll talk to you, being willing to talk with the kids this summer.
16:59You're going to give them a great message.
17:01It's going to be a lot of fun.
17:02Anything for you, John.
17:03It's going to be a lot of fun.
17:04John, take care, my friend.
17:05Thank you, guys.
17:06The great John Fanta on the Make It Right, Call Kyle Right hotline.
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