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Shocker Sports Insider Taylor Eldridge Joins Jacob & Brady.
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00:00And now, digging deeper with the teams you follow, it's another Sports Daily Insider interview on KFH.
00:10And joining us now is Taylor Eldridge, who will be our Shocker Insider here before too long.
00:17An unscheduled visit.
00:18Taylor, hey, we're happy to have you on board here with Sports Daily.
00:22The new 8 to 11 time slot, advantageous for the night owls on the beats like you are out there.
00:28So, welcome in.
00:29And, I guess, unofficially here to Sports Daily.
00:33Yeah, thanks for having me on.
00:34I appreciate it.
00:35Good timing, too, for this one because there's a lot to cover, man, with the Shockers.
00:41We've got big-time opponents being scheduled.
00:45We have court decisions that may or may not impact the roster.
00:48And, oh, by the way, we get a contract extension, the first, for Paul Mills.
00:53Your story out right now at Kansas.com on the contract details of this.
01:00First thing, were you surprised at the timing here at all?
01:05You know, I was a little bit, you know, because I thought if they were going to extend him, it
01:10would be, you know, kind of soon after last season.
01:14So, you know, right before this season, you know, maybe a couple months later than what I thought if they
01:21were going to extend him.
01:22But, you know, I think if you're Kevin Saul and you believe that, you know, you hired Paul Mills, you
01:29believe in him, you think he's your guy, you know.
01:32And there's a lot of signs pointing towards, you know, this thing trending in the right direction.
01:37They're about to take off.
01:39You know, a lot of signs are pointing toward that.
01:42So, you know, I can understand it from his position why you would want to lock up Paul Mills right
01:47now.
01:48I think there is, you know, you know, I would understand some section of the fan base who looks at
01:54it and says,
01:55man, it's like we, you know, we haven't been, you know, close to an at-large bid yet, you know,
02:01for the NCAA tournament.
02:02That's been the stated goal in the program, you know, get this back to March Madness.
02:06You know, haven't done that yet.
02:07Maybe we would want to wait and see, you know, after this season, you know, to have him prove it,
02:14that he can take a team that, like we talked about, you know,
02:18all signs point to them contending for a conference championship, contending for an NCAA tournament bid.
02:24Let's see if he can actually take that team and, you know, fulfill that potential.
02:29But, you know, it's a little surprising, maybe like a five or six on the surprise scale.
02:35But, like, I totally understand it from WSU's perspective.
02:39If you believe in the coach, you think that, you know, this thing's about to take off, it does make
02:45sense to lock him up now.
02:47And, Taylor, Jacob and I were just talking, and I don't know if this surprised you as well, but I
02:53was surprised that there wasn't a buyout in the contract before.
02:57Did you already know that, or were you surprised by that as well?
03:01Yeah, you know, late in the original contract, you know, it's pretty typical, you know, like most contracts you're not
03:11going to get to the, you know, the last year or two.
03:13So you're either going to make a decision to extend him or, you know, probably fire him by year four.
03:21So, you know, it wasn't entirely surprising for that language.
03:25I mean, if he would have left after, I think, April 15th, this after, after this upcoming season, no buyout
03:33fee.
03:34But, yeah, now it's interesting because it's not really a three-year extension.
03:40You know, if you read the language of the contract, it's basically a new five-year deal.
03:44They keep the same terms, the same financial terms of the last two years of the original contract, and then
03:51they add on three new years, but the contract language starts over.
03:55So now the buyout number is way more than what it was.
04:00You know, if it goes south and, you know, things don't go well this season, you know, that's – WSU
04:06just made it a lot more expensive, you know, in that scenario.
04:11But, like I said, I think all signs are pointing towards this thing getting turned around, and, you know, they
04:16should have a great year.
04:18But, yeah, you know, that buyout number for Mills, you know, if things went south, it was 1.8.
04:25You know, if they were going to fire him after this season, now it's, you know, more than $5 million
04:30more expensive because the contract resets.
04:34And now you're paying out 100% of the remaining contract, you know, if you fire him after this season,
04:41and now there's five years – you know, four years left after this coming season.
04:45So it was a little surprising, you know, to see the buyout language.
04:49So I want to know how this stacks up, Taylor.
04:55I've looked, you know, outside of Penny, it's probably now I would assume more than the rest of the coaches
05:02in the American.
05:03I don't really care about that, though, because I think Shocker fans, I think observers, envision this program being far
05:15beyond comparing it to other teams in the American.
05:18No offense to them, but this is a – it's a vote of confidence because – no NCAA tournament, of
05:25course, but it's a vote of confidence to maybe enter a new threshold of where Wichita State's coach ought to
05:32be paid.
05:34It's an – the timing is so interesting to me because we love what they've done in the offseason.
05:40The success was good there last year, and at the same time, they haven't reached the success level they need
05:48to, but they also needed the protection if somebody poaches them away.
05:53It's really curious timing is, I guess, what I'm getting at.
05:57Yeah, and, like, I guess it should be pointed out, too, you know, if they do have an awesome season
06:03and he does get poached, I think, like you guys said last question, you know, WSU would not have gotten
06:11very much money.
06:12Now it's doubled.
06:14Now it's, you know, seven figures, you know, $1.5 million, you know, if Mills gets poached after this season.
06:20So there is a benefit for WSU.
06:23So, yeah, it kind of raises the stakes for both sides, you know, it makes the buyout higher for both
06:29sides of this deal.
06:31And, yeah, I'm not sure how it ranks in the American.
06:33I would certainly believe it's in the top four at the very least.
06:36I haven't seen – I don't know, like, what the new Chris Mack contract, you know, Wes Miller.
06:42Those are some, you know, big-time coaches that are coming back to the Americans.
06:45So I haven't seen, like, financial details for them, but, yeah, you know, it's definitely a commitment for WSU to
06:52say that, you know, this is what we're willing to pay our men's basketball coach.
06:56And, yeah, you know, you look at, you know, the length of the deal, you know, he's going to probably
07:01be making, you know, more than $2 million per year annually, you know, obviously not early in the contract, but
07:07over the course of it, you know, the average is going to be just over $2 million per year.
07:12So that is a pretty hefty chunk of change.
07:15And, yeah, it's definitely a commitment from Wichita State to say, you know, we think we have our guy.
07:21And, like I said, you know, all signs are pointing towards the Shockers taking a big step this year.
07:28But, you know, they haven't done it yet.
07:30You know, 24 wins, a nice run in the NIT.
07:34You make it to the Conference Tournament Championship.
07:36That was a nice season, a nice way to end last season.
07:39But still, you know, they weren't close to the NCAA bubble for an at-large bid.
07:45So that's kind of the expectation.
07:47You know, the tournament's expanding now.
07:48There's more teams.
07:50You know, the conference seems to be wide open.
07:52A lot of people have Wichita State pegged as the favorite in the Americans.
07:57So now there's, you know, a little bit of pressure for WSU, for Paul Mills specifically, because now he's got
08:03that big contract.
08:04You know, he's got the extension.
08:06And now I think there's a little pressure to deliver the goods.
08:10You know, I think by all means, you know, he's planning on it.
08:14But now I think it does add a little pressure for him coming into this season to deliver a great
08:21year and keep that win total going up
08:23and get the Shockers back in contention for a regular season title and also, you know, postseason one and get
08:31back to March Madness.
08:33Taylor, I want to touch on something that you mentioned, I think, is a good segue into shifting gears here
08:39just a little bit.
08:39When you talked about the Shockers kind of behind the eight ball last year when it came to any sort
08:45of at-large opportunities for the NCAA tournament,
08:48they pretty much had to win the conference tournament for that to happen and almost made it happen.
08:53But let's talk about the USC scheduling and how much that could help those at-large odds for this next
09:04season.
09:05Yeah, that was huge news for WSU because, you know, they have had some real difficulties, you know, putting together
09:15this non-conference
09:16because they know, like, this is a team capable of putting together in a large resume.
09:23And they're really working hard to give WSU the chances, the swings at, you know, quad ones and quad twos.
09:30And they really weren't finding anything close to home regional-wise.
09:35You know, they're going to power fives, trying to get a quad one, you know, on a neutral side and
09:41just could not find it around the region.
09:43So, yeah, I think Paul Mills deserves a lot of credit.
09:46Kevin Saul, you know, I know he works on the schedule as well.
09:49Those guys, you know, came together, thought, you know, thought a little bit outside the box and going west.
09:56You know, I think if you would have said this before, you know, playing USC in Lake Tahoe,
10:01not exactly, you know, what you would think of first.
10:04But this is a great upside swing for WSU.
10:08You know, you get a USC team that is absolutely loaded with talent,
10:12but you're getting them probably game two or three on the schedule.
10:16So, they're going to be, you know, still learning how to play with each other.
10:20WSU has the chemistry.
10:21They have the experience factor on their side.
10:25And, you know, it's going to be one of those games where it's pretty low risk for WSU
10:29because if you go out there and lose to a projected, you know, top 15 team,
10:34we'll see where they end up actually in the net.
10:37But, you know, top 50 for sure, you know, this is a guaranteed basically quad one game for WSU.
10:44If you go out there and lose it, no big deal.
10:47It shows you're willing to go out on the road and play a really good team.
10:50And if you win it, you already have like a quad one win under your belt the first week of
10:55the college basketball season.
10:57So, huge get for Wichita State, very low risk, all upside from where I stand, from what I see.
11:04And, you know, obviously you have to go out there and, you know, capitalize on it.
11:08It's a great opportunity.
11:10It's not going to mean much if they go out there and lose by 20.
11:13But, you know, if they go out there and compete well and, you know, if they pull out the win,
11:18they are sitting real pretty the first week in November.
11:22So, they still have, I think, five games left to add to the schedule.
11:26We'll see.
11:27I don't think they're going to get like another top, you know, 25 team.
11:31But, you know, never say never.
11:32I do think they are looking for trying to get another quad one swing on a neutral site.
11:38You know, a top 50 team in the net.
11:40So, we'll see.
11:41But, yeah, that's a big get for Wichita State.
11:44And, yeah, this non-conference schedule is definitely shaping up to be one of the best ones in a couple
11:51years for sure.
11:52For WSU.
11:53And it makes sense, too.
11:55Taylor Eldridge, Wichita Eagle, joining us.
11:57Our shocker insider going into the fall here and ahead of basketball season.
12:02Because they, without them, they're not going to have a chance to make the NCAA tournament without winning the American.
12:07Now, if they can get a couple more, maybe they would.
12:09Maybe they would have a strong enough non-con.
12:11Taylor, I want to ask you about the court decisions that are happening.
12:15Kenyon Giles, Karan Boyd, Emmanuel Okorafor, kind of front and center here.
12:20Now, I had been told earlier, much, much, much earlier in the offseason, that the Shockers were watching this.
12:29That's a long time ago, though.
12:31And they've since seemingly, I think, filled out the roster.
12:34Even if they could figure it out, even if these guys are ultimately granted eligibility, do the Shockers have room
12:42for them?
12:43Is there any world where any of those three guys could come back?
12:47Yeah, you know, I think the college sports world, you know, what's happened the last five years has taught me,
12:53like, never say never.
12:54You know, there's always crazy things have happened.
12:57And, you know, right now, you know, on paper, no, they don't have room.
13:01You know, they have a full roster.
13:03But could you get creative?
13:05You know, obviously, P.J. Kuznard's son on staff probably doesn't need a scholarship.
13:10You know, you could shift him around.
13:12Somebody else could, you know, you know, take a, you know, give up their scholarship, baby, possibly.
13:20So they could get creative.
13:22Would they do that?
13:24But I'm very skeptical because, you know, they brought in some big-time guards.
13:29And, you know, yes, you know, it sounds great on paper.
13:32Why would you not want Kenyon Giles or Karan Boyd back?
13:37But I just think that, you know, with the team that they have, you know, they've been playing together for
13:42the last couple months now in the summer.
13:44They have defined roles.
13:47And also, I don't think they have much rev share money left to give those guys.
13:52So, you know, they would have to take a pretty severe discount.
13:55And, you know, this is why they put their name in the portal back in April for this chance.
14:01So it should give them the ability to move on and hopefully go make some more money somewhere else.
14:07Because those are some good basketball players, all three of them.
14:11So I would be skeptical if any of those three come back.
14:15I haven't heard from anyone in the program if they are, like, actively pursuing that.
14:20Any kind of reunion, I would say very, very unlikely at this point.
14:25But, again, you know, with everything that's happened in the college basketball world lately, never say never.
14:32You know, Taylor, we've been talking a lot about the college sports bill and kind of the limbo that feels
14:37like that's been in for a long time.
14:39Seems like there's a lot of enthusiasm to finally maybe get something across the finish line this week.
14:45If not this week, it seems like that would be, you know, next thing up when they come out of
14:49recess.
14:49But, you know, for K-State and KU, kind of in a similar spot in the Big 12 as far
14:55as feeling like you're kind of just along for the ride on all these deliberations and whatever may happen.
15:02For Wichita State and the AAC, what's the feeling there with Saul and the university?
15:08Is it kind of the same feeling, just like we're just kind of along for the ride and we'll see
15:12what happens?
15:14Yeah, you know, probably in a way because, you know, without a football team, you're not really like a power
15:22player in the conference.
15:24But, you know, I think, you know, Wichita State still has that brand.
15:28So I think they are looked on favorably, you know, nationally.
15:31You know, people still recognize that logo is very distinctive.
15:35You know, obviously the Final Four and the Perfect Season, those runs have happened about a decade ago.
15:42But I still think that they're still pretty relevant on the national scene.
15:47So, you know, if Mills gets this thing going again at WSU and basketball, if they return to a, you
15:54know, getting back to the tournament, making some noise in March,
15:58you know, they have some brand power and they could control their destiny.
16:03You know, obviously conference realignment is always a big question.
16:07Wichita State has been floated out there, you know, for moving on by some, you know, conferences, you know, out
16:13west, out east.
16:15You know, they've been rumored and linked to conferences on both coasts.
16:19So, you know, if they get this thing rolling again, I don't know when the next domino for conference realignment
16:25will happen.
16:26But, you know, they could set themselves up favorably, you know, if you can say like, hey, we can come
16:32to your conference.
16:33We'll be a good basketball brand.
16:35That's kind of how they got to the American in the first place.
16:38So, yes, you know, without football, you are kind of in the backseat.
16:42You're not really driving the bus per se.
16:44But I do think WSU is set up somewhat favorably just because they had that national brand.
16:51It's not as strong as it used to be, you know, under Greg Marshall.
16:54But still, you know, there is some some identity there.
16:58And I think they're positioned a little bit better than the typical non-football team.
17:04Taylor Eldridge, Wichita State beat reporter.
17:07Great work at the Wichita Eagle.
17:09Go check out the contract details now that dropped this morning from Taylor.
17:12All the other great stuff.
17:13We're about a month away from regular weekly visits.
17:15Taylor, thanks for the catch up session.
17:17It's been it's been busy for the Shockers here the last couple of weeks.
17:21Yeah, absolutely.
17:22Thanks.
17:22Looking forward to coming on and talking more Shockers.
17:25And yeah, thanks for having me on again.
17:27You bet.
17:28There goes Taylor Eldridge.
17:30Looking forward to that man.
17:31It'll be nice to have him in with us to help, you know, make sense of what's happening there at
17:36Wichita State.
17:37Hoping also not we're still working on schedules is too far out.
17:41Hoping still for weekly Paul Mills visits, which are always fun.
17:46Um, so we're, we're looking forward to it, Brady, but a lot of interesting stuff there.
17:50It is.
17:51It's I got since kind of the same, kind of the same.
17:55We felt right.
17:56Yeah, it's, it's preemptive perhaps, but there's a reason it's preemptive.
18:01You can see it.
18:02It's the optimist coach.
18:04It's a good reason.
18:05Extinction.
18:05Yeah.
18:06Uh, and, and it's hard not to be excited about what they're rolling out there this year.
18:09All right.
18:10We'll come back a couple other stories.
18:12We need to get to are the Royals back, Brady, two wins in a row.
18:17Ooh, I have some thoughts.
18:19I watched a lot of highlights last night.
18:21Okay.
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