In short
NCAA women’s Final Four preview and analysis (UConn vs UCLA; Michigan vs Texas; South Carolina vs TCU), plus Illinois coach Brad Underwood’s background and scouting. Also discusses Geno Auriemma’s complaints about tournament shoot-around timing and basketball/rim variables, and a Browns proposed NFL rule change being withdrawn (“D.O.A.”).
Guests (backgrounds)
- Andrea Carter: Emmy-nominated ESPN basketball analyst.
- Brad Underwood: Illinois head coach; former junior college coach (Independence CC, Daytona Beach CC) and longtime recruiter.
- (Host Rich Eisen; other mentions include ESPN’s Andraya Carter and director Antoine Fuqua, but they aren’t interviewed in this hour.)
Key claims
- UConn’s depth and “plug-and-play” lineup (Sarah Strong bringing ball up; Jana L. Alfie for perimeter) plus Blanca Quinones’ bench impact beat Notre Dame.
- UCLA’s wear-down effect comes from Lauren Betts’ post presence; Duke couldn’t solve it.
- Geno’s scheduling/ball/rim issues hurt shooting quality and the “product.”
- Michigan’s sophomores show poise; Texas defense (Vic Schaefer) will test it; South Carolina’s ball-screen defense and guards’ confidence are key.
Notable examples
- Hannah Hidalgo’s season; AZ Fudd being run off the three-point line.
- A specific Betts sideline inbounds lob play.
- Michigan players bouncing back after slow starts (Silas Swords, Olivia Olsen).
- Browns: owners meeting proposal to trade draft picks up to five years later withdrawn.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VORecap of Previous Hour
1:15 to 1:45
Rich Eisen recaps highlights from the previous hour, including guests and topics.
Brad Underwood's Illinois Team and Tournament Insights
1:45 to 3:40
Discussion of Illinois' performance and upcoming match against UConn.
“We talked to Jay Billis in hour number one The great director Antoine Fuqua Who has got a movie, Michael, on Michael Jackson coming up later this month.”
Andrea Carter Joins the Show
3:40 to 5:32
Andrea Carter shares insights on UConn and UCLA victories from the weekend.
“I mean, for let's start with Connecticut.”
Analyzing UConn's Performance
5:32 to 7:24
Exploration of UConn's depth and player versatility, focusing on key players.
“Hats off to Duke for fighting against UCLA.”
Geno Auriemma's Critique on Tournament Setup
7:24 to 10:36
Discussing Geno's thoughts on media scheduling and its effect on players' performance.
“after that Elite Eight contest had been set up, talking about the way the tournament is set up.”
Implications of Media Coverage
10:36 to 13:05
Discussion on the relevance of media sessions in relation to player preparation.
“That way there's more time for shootarounds or whatever the schedule needs to be to have the players feeling ready to perform their best.”
Previewing Final Four Matchups
13:05 to 14:00
Excitement builds for the upcoming Michigan vs. Texas and South Carolina vs. TCU games.
“But I liked what Gino said in terms of you have media post game and then you have media the next day in the morning.”
Anticipating the Final Four Matchups
14:00 to 16:40
Discusses the excitement surrounding the upcoming Final Four games and player performances.
“But, yeah, we'll see what happens from here.”
Andrea Carter Joins the Conversation
16:40 to 20:45
Andrea Carter discusses her previous appearances on the show and the rivalry between Michigan and Tennessee.
“I think I have been the avatar for that throughout the first 15 minutes of this conversation.”
Interview with Brad Underwood
23:31 to 28:00
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood shares insights about his coaching journey and team dynamics.
“At the end of the day, I've said it helped my kids.”
Show all 20 chapters
Discovering Keaton Wagler: A Scouting Gem
28:00 to 30:24
Learn about the journey of discovering a promising basketball player, Keaton Wagler.
“the guy's career ended a little premature because of injury, but you know, I, you just don't walk into a gym and haven't touched a ball in a while and just make 13 in a row.”
March Madness Insights and Team Dynamics
30:24 to 34:26
Coach Underwood shares insights on March Madness and his team's evolution.
“Brad Underwood here on The Rich Eisen Show.”
Big Ten Conference Strength Discussion
34:26 to 35:18
A conversation about the competitiveness and strengths of the Big Ten Conference.
“You know, I just think this league's a fun league to be a part of.”
Wrap-Up with Coach Underwood
35:18 to 35:56
Final thoughts and reflections from Coach Underwood on the season and recruiting.
“And congrats on everything that's gone on for you and your family.”
Recapping the Exciting UConn-Duke Game
35:56 to 39:17
Hosts discuss the thrilling moments from the UConn-Duke game and their reactions.
“That's Brad Underwood, everybody, right here on the Rich Eisen Show, holding up that South Regional Championship trophy right there.”
Reflection on NCAA Tournament Drama
41:28 to 42:00
Discussion on the NCAA Tournament highlights and personal experiences.
“So, you know what I like the most around here?”
Cleveland's Draft Proposal Discussion
42:00 to 42:38
The hosts engage in a lively debate about a controversial draft proposal from the Browns.
“Oh, and then on top of it, I felt a breeze while watching the game outside.”
Proposal Withdrawal and Reactions
42:39 to 43:46
The hosts discuss the withdrawal of the draft proposal and share their insights on its implications.
“Sean McVay even said today it's dead on arrival.”
Miles Garrett's Trade Speculations
43:47 to 46:21
The conversation shifts to Miles Garrett as the hosts explore trade rumors and contract implications.
“that's what happens what if hold on what if they bring this back but you can't trade first or second round picks you can trade third through seventh five years out okay what if they amend it a little bit.”
Critique of Draft Choices Worth
46:22 to 47:38
The hosts critique the idea of trading multiple first-round picks and discuss the absurdity of such trades.
“He's a beloved Brown, like he flipped over his football card.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Get in the game with the college-branded Venmo Debit Card. Wreck your team with every tap and earn up to 5 % cash back with Venmo Stash, a new rewards program from Venmo. No monthly fee, no minimum balance.
0:13Rich Eisen:Just school pride and spending power. Get in the game and sign up for the Venmo Debit Card at Venmo.com slash college card. The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank N.A. Select schools available. Venmo Stash terms and exclusions apply at Venmo.me slash stash terms. Max$100 cash back per month. Protein is now at Starbucks, and it's never tasted so good. You can add protein cold foam to your favorite drink or try one of our new protein lattes or matcha. Try it today at Starbucks.
0:45Rich Eisen:This is The Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of The Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney +, from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. There are so many games that come down to the final shot. Ballin, three, he got it! Oh, he got it! This is the Rich Eisen Show. Michigan wins the Midwest region. Earlier on the show. ESPN College Basketball Analyst Jay Billis Coming up ESPN College Basketball Analyst Andrea Carter Illinois Head Coach Brad Underwood Director Antoine Fuqua And now, it's Rich Eisen Hey everybody, hour number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air We talked to Jay Billis in hour number one The great director Antoine Fuqua Who has got a movie, Michael, on Michael Jackson coming up later this month.
1:58Rich Eisen:He's on in studio hour number three of this program. Brad Underwood, who's fighting Illini, has moved on to take on UConn. What a game that was against Duke. A rough day for Duke, losing that way against UConn on the men's side of things, on the women's side of things. They look to seem to have UCLA's number yesterday in the Elite Eight contest in Sacramento, but UCLA pushed the pedal to the metal in the second half to join UConn. in half of the women's final four that will be decided tonight. Fort Worth, Texas, the site of Michigan taking on Texas at 7 Eastern time, and then South Carolina and TCU in the Sacramento region.
2:38Rich Eisen:That's going to be on ESPN tonight. And joining us to talk about all that and potentially something else is Andrea Carter, the Emmy-nominated Andrea Carter. Good to see you back here on the program. How are you, Andrea? Good to see you. I am great. You know, when I was asked if I wanted to come on the show, I was like, maybe not. But then I realized I'm not someone that ducks smoke. I'm not going to duck smoke. We had a little bit, and so here I am. We did. We did. But I want it to be known in reference to the Michigan-Tennessee matchup that we did get on the men's side as opposed to the women's side.
3:17Rich Eisen:I invited you before the game even tipped off. So it could have been me. It could have been me. having to be on the wrong side of the smoke, but we'll get to that in a second. It is good to see you nonetheless. What did we learn from the UConn and UCLA victories that we saw over the weekend? Wow. I mean, for let's start with Connecticut. I do think that Connecticut was tested in Fort Worth, just the games that they had to go through, even with North Carolina and with Notre Dame. You heard Gino say that he didn't like anything about that matchup with Hannah Hidalgo. And how special was Hannah Hidalgo on this run and Notre Dame?
4:00And a couple of things, though, with UConn. One, Sarah Strong's versatility, to me, just, I've spoken about it before, but, you know, Hannah Hidalgo, just as an example, is such a pest to guards when she's defending the ball. So what does Gino do? He just has Sarah Strong bring the ball up the floor. Because, yes, she's a post player, but she has guard skills. And so her ability to bring the ball up the floor and go through guard actions, the offense can still flow because she can play that position. I also thought it was really interesting. Notre Dame wasn't guarding Sarah Williams when she was on the floor at all.
4:31And so Gino in the second half goes with Jana L. Alfie instead because she's more of a perimeter threat that can knock down shots as a big. So the pieces and the depth that Gino has at his disposal, that's another thing that we learned. And Blanca Quinones, to me, was the biggest difference maker. In a couple of games where AZ Fudd struggled knocking down shots, give North Carolina and Notre Dame credit for running AZ Fudd off the line. Yes, she could hit mid-range jump shots, but her three-pointers are what kills opponents. They run her off the line. She had a quiet day. And Blanca Quinones comes in off the bench and is huge for UConn.
5:06So, to me, we learned a lot about Sarah Strong's versatility and also UConn's depth and the players and pieces that Gino can sort of plug and play as he figures things out. I loved what he said post-game about this being his 25th Final Four, but it's the first for a few of his players, right? He's like, this is 25 for me, but this is the first for Kaylee Heckle. This is the first for Blanca Quinonez, which I just think is really special. So that's what I learned about UConn. Hats off to Hannah Hidalgo. What an incredible season. Hats off to Duke for fighting against UCLA. And like you said, having their number for the majority of that game.
5:40but with UCLA, the impact and the toll it takes on a team to defend Lauren Betts, like to try and front, to try and push her out, it wears you down. Lauren Betts' presence, she's more mobile this season, but to me, her presence on the floor wears opponents down. Maybe they can keep her at bay for a first half, but then once her team locked in and was figuring out ways to get her the ball, the moment to me that I loved in that game was, I believe it was Charlize Ledger-Walker. It's a sideline out of bounds. Lauren Betts is posted up on the block, and it's a lob pass from the sideline to Lauren Betts on the inside.
6:16And it was at that point I was like, they just have no answer for Betts. So, yeah, I think Betts impact Sarah Strong's versatility, Gino's depth, and give UCLA credit. Like, that was a game where Duke had nothing to lose. All the pressure was on UCLA. They could have folded under the pressure that Duke was putting on them, and instead they got the win. So I was impressed by both teams.
6:37Rich Eisen:Yeah, that inbounds play, Andrea. My wife coaches my daughter in a league here in Los Angeles. And my daughter is a great inbouncer of the basketball. And one of her teammates is a left-handed, tall young lady. And my wife made a note of trying to install that very play that you're referring to. Because that was great. And, you know, Corey Close came with a ton of different ways to utilize bets in that second half. and free her up and get UCLA to the final four here. And so, you know, the one thing, though, that a lot of people are talking about regarding UConn and Geno from the weekend is what he had to say before the game against Notre Dame after that Elite Eight contest had been set up, talking about the way the tournament is set up.
7:30Rich Eisen:And I'd love to play some of this sound for you and get your reaction because he was talking about the poor three-point shooting that he had seen over the two previous nights in the women's game and then talked about the why. Know what time our shoot-around was yesterday? Six o 'clock in the morning. 6.20, I think. For half an hour.
7:56Rich Eisen:Now this morning, I just saw Notre Dame leaving. So they have media this morning. Their practice time is tonight at 5.30. What did you have to ask them this morning that you didn't ask them last night? Or us? Know what time our practice time is? 6.30 tonight. So we had to get our kids up, come over here. You already knew who we were playing last night.
8:24Rich Eisen:But we can't get on the court. And neither can the other teams. Walls had media at 7.30, I think.
8:35Rich Eisen:Does anybody who makes these decisions ever ask the coaches and the players, hey, does this work? Do you guys do this during the regular season? Is this normal? He also talked about new fresh basketballs being popped right out of the box and handed to the players, and that's why a lot of these balls are bouncing all over the place and potentially not going in the hoop. Do you agree, Andrea? I do agree with Gino 100 percent I mean I imagine as a player just putting my mind obviously I've never coached before but being a player shoot around times are important getting familiar with not just the rims but also what's behind the rims also the environment that you're going to be shooting in all of those things play into your performance in the game and also I remember when I was a player and this was during the regular season I don't remember it in the tournament but you know the referees would give us a few different basketballs and you would get to dribble with one and you could be like, okay, I like this one.
9:28And then the other opponent's captain would get to dribble with one and be like, I like this one. And you could choose which one felt the best. I don't know if they do that at the tournament. It doesn't sound like from what Gino's saying that that's something that they do. But to me, the scheduling aspect of it and how packed everything is and the timing of things and the shoot-arounds that are only 30 minutes long, it doesn't promote the best product on the floor because players and their familiarity with the arena is a big deal. I mean, it's the reason why NBA teams, WNBA teams, they get into arenas the day of a game and they shoot around.
10:06Even if it's just a one-on-one workout, a lot of players like to go and have time in the gym that they are going to be in and have time with the basketballs that they're going to use. I mean, think of anybody in any profession, you want reps with the tools you're going to be using for that profession, right? No business person is going to hop on for the first time and use an entirely new system that they're not used to, or a system that has little tweaks that they're not used to. You want to familiarize yourself with your tools. And so I agree with Gino. I hope they figure out something else, whether it's just media postgame and no media in the morning.
10:42That way there's more time for shootarounds or whatever the schedule needs to be to have the players feeling ready to perform their best. The situation is already so pressure filled. Like these games, it's win or go home. You're already nervous. The only thing that really can help you feel better to me when I was a player was getting out on the court, having time on the court to visualize yourself out there, to feel where you are, to see your teammates and just imagine playing in the game in that space. And from what Gino is saying, it sounds like that time is very limited in addition to new rims, in addition to new basketball.
11:17So it's like, how many variables are we going to give these players and then ask them to be great on TV when the lights are the brightest and there's the most pressure on their shoulders? So it's interesting. I do hope that from here, certain things are tweaked so that the players can be valued and the players can feel their best going into these games.
11:37Rich Eisen:Yeah, all that came from him saying about how important it is to grow the game, right? And he was saying, how can we grow the game when we're shooting threes like this? Because the shoot-around times are weird. And I understand the concept of more media could be helpful in terms of growing the game. But do you think someone's going to listen? I mean, as you point out, his numbers are ridiculous. Like 25th Final Four. It's nuts, you know, that somebody of his stature feels the need to utilize his media time to get someone's attention that should already be, you know, locked in on something like this, right?
12:18Yeah, it's especially interesting coming from Gino because all of these variables seem to affect other teams more than his considering how much success he has had in getting to the Final Four. Like his teams, you could say, I've overcome these variables more than anybody else. But I do think that it probably means even more because it would be different if a coach whose team doesn't make it or whose team loses or doesn't have success, then of course that coach is going to have some complaints or something to gripe about to try and give their players a little bit more of an edge, right? But Gino's sitting here saying, like, this isn't fair for anybody.
12:52And I'm having success with it, but I would like to see our product look better on the floor from everyone and from the competitors and who we're playing. And so, yeah, I do think it's interesting coming from Gino. And again, hopefully it changes. You know, I know you said the media, you know, that helps promote the game, But I liked what Gino said in terms of you have media post game and then you have media the next day in the morning. How much could really change overnight? Yeah, we talk about breakfast.
13:19Rich Eisen:How is your night's rest? You know, I get it. I see. Yeah. So so in terms of and the thing is, too, even if, let's say, you're interviewing the team and you don't know their opponent, you know, maybe you could ask, OK, ask a question about if you play this team, what's the focus? If you play this team, what's the focus, right? You got to find a way to get as many questions as you can the night before. And then maybe, maybe it's just something that we try, right? Maybe it's something that we try to do and see if that helps the scheduling. Because at this point, why not? But I don't necessarily, and I'm part of the media.
13:50I don't necessarily see the importance of media session at night and a media session in the morning. I mean, you're getting these kids up after they just played and they're late and they need rest and they need sleep to ask them more questions that you probably could have asked them the night before. That's just my opinion. But, yeah, we'll see what happens from here.
14:09Rich Eisen:Doubleheader to complete the Final Four tonight. Michigan, Texas. You're in Fort Worth for that 7 Eastern time, and then South Carolina and TCU after that. What are you expecting to see? I'm so excited for these matchups. I will say I've been blown away by your Michigan team. I said this in our show yesterday. I thought Michigan would be here, but I didn't think they would look as poised as they've looked on the way here. The way that these sophomores are playing, and I know we talk a lot about Swords and Olsen and Holloway. I thought Delphos was huge in that game. She's a sophomore as well. Dudley had some moments.
14:46For this group that's pretty young, the poise that they have will be put to the ultimate test against this Texas defense. I mean, this is a Vic Schaefer team. Vic Schaefer has had his hands in his defense no matter where he is, no matter what school he's at, whether it was Mississippi State and he had success there, now at Texas. I mean, this defense is relentless. So the poise that we've seen from Michigan, that'll be tested against Texas. But I'll say these Michigan players, they're fearless. Like Silas Swords is missing shots in the first half, and it's like she forgets all about it. She has the shortest-term memory.
15:21It's just not there. She doesn't remember any mistakes. the way she's able to put it behind her. I mean, Olivia Olsen a couple games ago, scoreless in the first half, 27 points in the second half. The way that they just move on to the next play, Michigan will have to do that against Texas. South Carolina will be tested. Their on-the-ball defense with ball screens will be put to the ultimate test. It's something that Coach Staley has talked to me about throughout the season. She's like, our ball screen defense has to get better. Our ball screen defense has to get better. There's no better time than now to have their ball screen defense down because Olivia Miles is, she's the truth.
15:58When it comes to using ball screens, Joyce Edwards will have to be phenomenal. That's Olivia Miles there. And Joyce Edwards will be tested a little bit. TCU has size on the inside with 6 '7", Clada Silva. Marta Suarez and Olivia Miles are on fire. But I was blown away by South Carolina guards against Oklahoma. If South Carolina guards, particularly Raven Johnson, Tessa Johnson, and Tania Latson, if those three play with the confidence collectively and the offensive aggression, that to me is going to be the key for South Carolina. Not just beating TCU, but potentially beating UConn and potentially winning a national championship as their guards and the confidence that we saw in their last game.
16:38Rich Eisen:Okay. Andrea Carter, you mentioned Michigan poise. I think I have been the avatar for that throughout the first 15 minutes of this conversation. Yeah, you have. Previously on the Rich Eisen Show, Andrea Carter, you were on this program on behalf of Reese's, and we had this exchange about a possibility of Michigan taking on Tennessee in both the men's and women's NCAA tournament. Hit it. If you're bracket bus for Reese's, you get Reese's and you also get to sing Rocky Top for me. So there we go. Oh, OK. So what do you so you have to sing the victors and Reese's for me, right? Is that what you got?
17:21There we go.
17:23Rich Eisen:OK, I like it. This is for both the men and women. Is that what you're saying? Correct. Yeah. Yeah. Let's do it. I look forward to the next time you're on the show, which is probably on Monday. What it looks like. Start researching the lyrics for Rocky Top. I'll send them to you, actually. All right. So, sure enough, our alma maters faced each other in the elite age on the men's side of things. I have here. Yes. The Reese's. Okay. because again i'm i'm trying to do you right right here andrea here we go do you um have the floor since uh there was a big win i i couldn't tell you a single word of this fight song you know what let me so let me just look what's the what's the michigan fight song even called does it have a name it's called the victors the victors yes victors victor here we go okay give me a second I don't even know the tune.
18:25Let me look up the list.
18:26Rich Eisen:I'll take a dramatic reading, Andrea. That's fine. A dramatic reading is good enough. Does it start with hail? Is that what's happening? It does. Hail to the victors. It's called hail to the victors. Go for it. Hail to the victors, valiant. Hail to the conquering heroes. Hail, hail to Michigan, the leaders. and the best. Hail! Did I get it? Am I on the right tune? No, keep going. Hail! Hail to the victors valued. Hail! To the conquering heroes. Hail! Hail to Michigan champions of the West. Does it just repeat itself? Yeah, it gets a little repetitive there, but that's good enough. There's no other lyrics!
19:18Rich Eisen:It's not a biggie song. There are some other lyrics but the bottom line is at least has like verse one chorus verse two like for as victorious of a organization that michigan is this is pretty subpar well no or or we call it short work like michigan made of tennessee on sunday could be that as well walked into that one sorry sorry salt in the wounds and just like that andrea's last day on the rich Come on. This is called friendly. This is what we do. No, no, no, this is great. This is great. I will see you next season. Matter of fact, how's baseball? How's softball? We can run this back no matter what sport it is.
20:04Tennessee's in everything school, in case you were wondering. Understood.
20:08Rich Eisen:Speaking of everything school, if Michigan takes care of Texas tonight, that's men's and women's just like UConn. But UConn does not have a team in the Frozen Four in the NCAA tournament like Michigan does. So we're on a roll. We're like butter, as Stuart said. I'll see you. Come baseball, softball. We'll run this back all the time. And I'll actually look up the song. I was so confident in Tennessee. I didn't even look up the song. Last-minute Googling by Andrea Carter, the Emmy-nominated analyst that we will be seeing tonight. I look forward. I'll be watching tonight. Thank you. You bet. That's Andrea Carter right here on the Rich Eisen Show.
20:45Rich Eisen:Kind enough to join us. Let's take a quick break because Brad Underwood is going to be zooming in right here. I don't know the lyrics of the Illini. Let's look it up. That's next. This is the Rich Eisen Show.
21:09Rich Eisen:In my line of work, I'm fortunate enough to travel quite a bit covering the biggest moments through the football season. While I'm on the road, I sometimes miss the comforts of home, which is why when I travel with my family, we always check Airbnb for places to stay. It's our home away from home, providing the comfort and safety that allows us to wind down and relax. Families like mine are looking for homes that fit their needs to make new memories in, and your home may be exactly what they're looking for. If you're looking to save up for a new addition to your house or a once-in-a-lifetime trip to see your favorite band in another country, for instance, hosting your house on Airbnb could help you reach those goals.
21:49Rich Eisen:It's easy to list your home for short trips or extended periods of time, allowing your house to earn you some extra money. Make your home work for you while you're away and enjoy the benefits of hosting on Airbnb. Your home may be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com slash host. Rich Eisen here. The April 15th tax deadline is coming fast, but don't worry. Hand off your taxes to a TurboTax expert today. You know how April feels. Everything speeds up. Games matter. More hoops and hockey schedules tighten. your phone won't stop buzzing. And somewhere in the middle of it all, there's that quiet little reminder.
Read the full transcript
22:28Rich Eisen:Taxes. You'll get to it tonight or tomorrow or after the weekend, and if you handle it the old way, you're refreshing your inbox like it's breaking news, waiting, wondering, hoping everything's squared away. That's a lot of mental bandwidth. With Intuit TurboTax Expert full service, you can match with a dedicated expert who understands your specific tax situation and handles your taxes for you, start to finish. You can do it all online or meet in person at one of their new tech-enabled store locations. Have your tax forms imported directly into the app and hand everything off to your TurboTax expert.
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23:30The Rich Eisen Show podcast. At the end of the day, I've said it helped my kids. They became very worldly. They had to learn to make new friends in every spot. And to this day, they've got friends literally in every spot. So it worked out great. But my wife deserves most of the credit. She raised our kids.
23:51Rich Eisen:What's her name? Susan. Susan. Brad Underwood here on the Rich Eisen Show, the worst half of the Underwood family after the Illini makes the Final Four here. And you're just talking about your journey. Community colleges too, right? I mean, junior colleges, universities, all over the map for you. Yeah, you know, I grew up in Kansas, and junior college basketball was a big deal in Kansas. And I played there in junior college for a year. I was fortunate. I played in the national championship game at Independence Community College and then had an opportunity to go coach in that league. And that was back when qualifiers and non-qualifiers had to go to junior college.
24:35We had great talent. But I was a 24-year-old who got a head coaching job in Dodge City, Kansas, and thought I knew everything and found out I didn't know anything when it came to coaching. And, you know, making$25 ,000 on the audio visual coordinator as well, you know, and that meant I inventoried all the VCRs on campus. But it was what you did, and you didn't even blink. And, you know, I cut my teeth in junior college basketball. I had, you know, I say this all the time. One of the best jobs I've had was Daytona Beach Community College. The only day it was a bad day was payday. But, you know, we raised our kids.
25:22We went to the beach on weekends and had a lot of fun in every stop.
25:27Rich Eisen:So I guess it makes sense that somebody that's as well-traveled as you would be recruiting people from Croatia, Serbia, Greece, right? I mean, you're Mr. Frequent Flyer, it looks like right now, huh? And let's not put any boundaries on where good players are. And NIL obviously helped change some of that. But they fit us. I love coaching those guys. They're extremely skilled. They're very, very competitive. And then there's just an unbelievable edge to those guys that they play with. They're excited to be here. They're excited to be in the States. They know how to have fun. We've got a lot of big personalities on this team that are Balkans, and it's been a joy to have them, a lot of fun to coach them.
26:18Rich Eisen:What's it like going into the living room of Peja Stojakovic, Brad? You're in awe. I mean, the guy comes on his visit with Andre, and he steps on the court and hasn't touched a ball and just nails 13 straight from the corner. Come on. Come on. Really? Yeah, it's a joke. And, I mean, he just, like, nobody does that. But, you know, I had great admiration for him, and I spent some time in Belgrade this summer doing a clinic, and you don't realize how big he is over there. He's the Michael Jordan of that part of the world and European basketball and his success is early. But just a great human being.
27:08He's done an incredible job of letting Andre be Andre and not Peja's son. And I've got great, great respect for him for that. And they're different players and they've got a great family and his wife is wonderful and supportive. And it's just been awesome.
27:28Rich Eisen:I was going to say, Brad, you know, Brad Underwood, Illini coach right here fighting Illini coach here on the Rich Eisen show watching and seeing him in the in the stands and just looking like he could give me a few minutes right now you're telling me he made 13 from the corner yeah yeah he just walks in the gym cold and and uh unreal you know and he I think he's more worried about you know where his next tennis match is going to be and and uh you know if if uh he's just laid back and, and, you know, the guy's career ended a little premature because of injury, but you know, I, you just don't walk into a gym and haven't touched a ball in a while and just make 13 in a row.
28:11And I don't, I think 10 of them didn't even hit the rim. So it's he's got a gift. That's for sure.
28:17Rich Eisen:So does his son. And then, you know, another player of note for you. Interesting that you say you're from Kansas and Keaton Wagler, found by your son, if I'm not mistaken. Jay Billis was telling this story about the kid, let me get this right, from Shawnee Mission Northwest in Shawnee, Kansas, which is probably not a large population. Can you tell me this story? Yeah, it's a suburb of Kansas City, and yeah, he played for an AAU coach that Victor Williams, who played at Oklahoma State and had gotten to know. I spent a lot of time in that area, obviously, And, you know, it was kind of a, it's not a shoe company AAU team and kind of off the beaten path, so to speak.
29:02But, yeah, we start watching film on this kid and he's winning a state championship. He's Mr. Basketball as a junior. And, you know, you see the obvious. He can really shoot it. He's, you know, can pass it. And my son goes to see him and just falls in love with him. And the first, we signed him and I had not seen him play in person. So we go to see him play. The night before in a tournament, he had like 36. And the night I go to see him, he has two. And I walked out of the gym and I was all smiles. And I called Tyler and I said, we just found an absolute gem. and the team they played was a high-profile prep school team, and they trapped him and blitzed him.
29:57They had five high major players on their team, and he never forced it. He never tried to be selfish or got out of character. He just made every right play, and there's tremendous maturity in what he did that night, and I just fell in love with him. And then here we are, you know, a year later, and he's MVP of the South region.
30:22Rich Eisen:Unbelievable. What a story. Brad Underwood here on The Rich Eisen Show. And, of course, you're scouting your next opponent since you were the first through. Tell me how you watched the end of UConn-Duke, Coach. I missed it. Well, let me rephrase it. You might be the only one in America. What? Yeah, so I'm doing my SIDs to blame. I got to throw Derek Burson under the clock. He's got to be doing Zooms, media Zooms. Yeah, sure. And so I'm doing Zooms, and I don't have the game on. Now, I'm doing the Zooms, and all the meanwhile, my staff would kind of poke their head in, and it would be Duke thumbs up.
31:06And so I'm not watching it. and then on top of that we got a young man on campus a recruit on campus as well so I literally get done and I walk down to meet the recruit and everybody's just freaking out and then I see all the highlights and so yeah it's I can honestly say I was not watching
31:38Rich Eisen:Okay. So when you saw it, what's your takeaway from it? Epic. Epic. The first thing I thought of seriously was Christian Lever. I said that's the same category. And then I felt bad for John, and we recruited Boozer, and we know what a wonderful young guy that is, and just a tough play. But, you know, and then I think March Madness, and that's why it's got the name Madness. Anything can happen. Everything's crazy. And, you know, you give Bobby a lot of credit, or Danny, excuse me, a ton of credit for not letting those kids quit down, you know, almost 20. But we played them earlier in the year. We know how good they are, and nothing shocks me with them.
32:31Rich Eisen:Yeah, and so you've got some tape, you've got some experience. What's your first blush thoughts on the matchup here? Yeah, they're all hard. I've taken the approach, whether it was Houston, whether it was – it didn't matter who it was, VCU. Every team is hot or has had a great year, and you're going to have to play well. And we're a different team. They're a different team than we were in November in the Garden. You know, Keaton Wagler played 10 minutes in that game. David Merkovich wasn't much more. You know, we were still trying to find ourselves. Andrei Stojakovic had only been back a game, coming off an ankle injury.
33:17Tomislava Vizic had tonsillitis and missed 16 practices. He was just getting back. That was his first game back. So we were a shell of ourselves. but that's a heck of a basketball team with a lot of experience led by one of my favorite players in the country in Caravan. And, you know, you know what? You're going to have to play well if you want to win.
33:40Rich Eisen:You know, and Coach, you know, I'm a Michigan grad, so let's take a moment for us here. Five Big Ten teams in the Sweet 16, half of the Elite Eight, now half of the Final Four. What does that tell you? What does that tell you? Great, great, great league. And I've said this many times. I think it's the best basketball league in the country, year in and year out. I think it's, you know, everything's a little bit cyclical. I think the Big Ten this year is having the year that the SEC had last year. It's an older league. It was a league with great guard play. It's great coaching. But the Big Ten is spectacular.
34:24And night in and night out, every building's sold out. The crowds are fantastic. They're intelligent. You know, I just think this league's a fun league to be a part of. And it doesn't matter top to bottom. Every night is a heck of a street fight when you have to go play on the road.
34:45Rich Eisen:Yeah, maybe we could turn this tournament into a Big Ten championship. What do you think about that idea? I will sign up for that right now. you won't have to convince me i'm in i'm in uh uconn and uconn and arizona are gonna have a little say in that but uh yeah it's uh the league was fantastic and and it's it's it's finally getting some of the respect and we've we've gotten a lot of criticism uh for not winning one in a while but we've had a lot of teams there and uh you know hopefully this year's uh this year's a year All right. Well, thanks for the time. Greatly appreciate it. Congrats on your journey.
35:23Rich Eisen:And congrats on everything that's gone on for you and your family. And, you know, I can't believe you missed that finish yesterday. Totally understand you throwing your SID under the bus. He deserves it. He deserves it. The tire tracks are there. But, man, you know, thank goodness for recording equipment, right? That's exactly. Believe me, I've seen it plenty already. But I appreciate you having me, Reg. You bet. Thanks for coming on here. And like I said, congrats on cutting down those nets. And we'll see you down the road. Thank you. Thanks, Reg. You bet. That's Brad Underwood, everybody, right here on the Rich Eisen Show, holding up that South Regional Championship trophy right there.
36:04Rich Eisen:Then he goes home and he's got to recruit. He's got to do media. Who else missed that final moment? Not many other human beings. That's crazy. I know. Where were you? Where were you? Were you home? Outside. We were hanging out in the hot tub. Nice. Hot tub television. Oh, master flex. Look at you. Where were you? On the couch, just stressing. I bet. Woke up the neighbors with a scream. Oh, yeah. I said some stuff that I can't say on Disney. Really? Couldn't believe it. I could hear my, as soon as I said it after that three went in, I heard my upstairs neighbor. You literally run to her balcony door like, what happened out there?
36:47Rich Eisen:I was just not. I wasn't. What did you say earlier? You got in my ear because Billis was like, you wondered what the win possibility. Oh, yeah. Billis was like, I wondered what the win probability was. Right. And so ESPN has it on the GameCast page. Right. With six seconds left. Yeah. Right before Caden Boozer turned it over. Unreal. It was 10 % win probability for Connecticut or on the turnover. I would think that's even high. Maybe it was after, maybe it was right as he turned it over. That's the lowest point of the game for UConn. That sounds a little high. I thought to myself, this thing's over.
37:26Yeah.
37:26Rich Eisen:I thought to myself, this thing is over. So as the second half started. 70-66 with 51 seconds to go and the possession not going UConn's way. I thought that thing was a wrap. At the start of the second half, it was 3.4 % when the score was 44-29. Damn. I texted TJ and Adam. They had got it to 5 at 67-62. Yes. I'm like, you guys nervous? Then they made it a two-point game. Well, then he immediately got an N1 after that. Right. And TJ did respond with the nah. Adam said, yeah, immediately. I held on. And I was like, nah. I shouldn't have sent that. It's your fault. As soon as I sent no or nah. Nah.
38:14Rich Eisen:You were like, nah. And I can see you saying it too. You're like, nah. Immediate N1 to cut it to two. What a game. You know my three words for that, right? That's true. That's true. That's true. I was expecting a lot more out of you text. No, it's all right. I know it hurts. That's why I was expecting it. I know it hurts. That's a shame. We had him do it. That's one of my favorite drugs. I might have sent that to five different text chains yesterday. Nice. And she should have. I believe that.
38:51Rich Eisen:844-204-RICH. Number to dial. The awesome director, Antoine Fuqua, is going to be joining us in our number three. We've got to go down a training day wormhole as well with him, as you all know. That's still to come here on The Rich Eisen Show.
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41:00The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
41:03Rich Eisen:So does your time. Hiring can quickly become overwhelming. From sorting applications to figuring out who's truly qualified, that's where LinkedIn Hiring Pro helps. It streamlines the process so you can focus on connecting with the right candidates, not managing the noise. Hire right the first time, folks. Post your job, your first job, and get$100 off towards your job post at linkedin.com slash eisen. That's linkedin.com slash eisen. Terms and conditions apply. So, you know what I like the most around here? Being right. Oh, God, it's so great. I don't have to be, but when it happens, it's just great.
41:46Rich Eisen:And I'm living my best life right now. Like I told you, Michigan makes the Final Four by curb-stomping Tennessee after Bruce Pearl says we can't punk them, and then we do. And then Duke gets Leitner'd in front of the whole country on the same day. For a Michigan fan? Pretty good day. For a Michigan man like me? Right. That's good stuff. Oh, and then on top of it, I felt a breeze while watching the game outside. Had no idea it was Bo Bichette's bat from Queens. Oh. So it's all working. It's all working for me right now. Yanks 3-0. Just wondering when it's all going to go maybe the other direction.
42:20Rich Eisen:Not yet. It will, but not yet. Man, you're going to cause a lot of people to root a game. No, I am not, sir. Rule resolution proposal number two at this year's owners meeting by Cleveland to allow draft selections to be traded up to five seasons in the future. Great idea. I love it. What a terrible idea it is. Come on. Terrible idea. Awful idea. Sean McVay even said today it's dead on arrival. And I even said when I heard it the first time and said it was terrible, the only thing I was wrong about it, I was like, of course it's Cleveland because they want to get as many draft choices as they possibly can get for the guy that they're going to – or they need as many draft choices in the future to go trade for the wrong guy.
43:04Rich Eisen:And I'm like, well, maybe they've got it – maybe I've got it all wrong. Maybe they're like, we're going to eventually trade Myles Garrett and this way we can get the most draft choices we can for Myles Garrett. Well, I said when I first heard this, not only is it a terrible idea, remember what I said? I said, this won't even make it to ownership. You did say that. Tom Pelissero reporting during the last hour, everybody. Our friend Tommy P., the Browns have withdrawn the rules change proposal. You cowards.
43:46it's not even making it to ownership but nice try gave us something to talk about for a week plus
43:54Rich Eisen:that's what happens what if hold on what if they bring this back but you can't trade first or second round picks you can trade third through seventh five years out okay what if they amend it a little bit. You want teams to save them. We want to save them from themselves, yeah? So let's do this. Let's save them from themselves. Oh, yeah. Oh, I got a sixth round pick four years from now. Isn't that great? What do you mean? They do it all the time. They swap seventh rounders. It means nothing. Or it's all working just fine. It's okay. It's fine. We don't have to change it. As for the trading of Miles Garrett, Andrew Berry, the general manager who I imagine was the brainchild of this rule proposal says just because they amended his contract does not mean they are trading miles garrett brown for life i think you guys know like standard practice i don't comment on player contracts i guess probably the easiest thing to say is if you know if we wanted to trade miles we wouldn't have need to make a contract adjustment so it doesn't have anything to do with that why did you do it so again i don't comment on player contracts i understand i understand the question of the interest, but it's just something that we've always felt.
45:07Rich Eisen:Not to comment on player contracts or contract management strategy. So can you state unequivocally that you're not treating Miles Garrett? I'd say this, Mary Kay. Miles is a career Brown. He is one of the faces of our organization. I think we've been very clear, both past and present in terms of our feelings. So I understand all the questions. I'll be honest, I don't really want to waste a ton more brought on the topic sure but you feel like you guys are in a good spot with miles we do yeah yeah that was higher register no no no no no listen why would they trade miles garrett to get out from paying him um unless they can afford him it's not like that they're cap hamstrung they're not so why would they trade him they don't have to unless somebody calls him up and offers them as many draft choices as they now legally can, which is the same as it ever was, which is why he's not saying, yeah, we're not trading him.
46:11Rich Eisen:He's a career Brown. It's like he flipped over his football card and started saying, oh, yeah, he's been on the Browns his entire career. Oh, yeah, he's the leader in sacks. Oh, yeah, sure. We love him. He's a beloved Brown, like he flipped over his football card. He's 6 '7". Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was the first overall selection. He was born in Texas. you know why would they don't have 95 they don't have to trade this superhero look at him it's absurd his arms don't even look real honestly he makes aaron donald look like gumby damn it so seriously oh he's like a supersized yeah donald it's crazy yeah but they don't have to do it they don't have to do it and so and and his answer was the reason the reason why we redid his contract to push a bonus later on shouldn't be read into that that they're clearing the decks to trade him because we could trade him without doing that.
47:10Rich Eisen:I know that. But you'd have to pay him the roster bonus so if you're going to trade somebody why would you be a few million in the kitty for it? Whatever. He doesn't want to waste breath on it then we won't either. But the one thing we don't have to waste our breath on anymore is one of the worst rules, proposals, resolutions I've seen in a long time. I want to write this down because I think. A long time. This thing is gone. See you later. See you later. Five first round draft choices. Could you imagine? Yes. There are some quarterbacks that are worth that. No. I'm going to write this down. Nobody's worth.
47:51Rich Eisen:Five first round. Let's trade for a kid right now who's in high school. in a draft that we have no idea where the draft choice is going to land or just how deep it is as a draft. Let's do that. Class of 31. Absurd. Positively absurd. Antoine Fuqua is coming up in hour three. I think it's. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. From 30 for 30 Podcasts. I don't know. He's on fire. Did you say someone got shot? Brian Pata, senior defensive lineman from Miami, gunned down. The key to this case, it's Brian. Brian, he scrapped it. An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with somebody. This might be a hit.
48:38Rich Eisen:You want the truth. They just want a conviction. We're placing the arrest. We had a killer amongst us. Murder at the U. Listen now.
From the publisher
ESPN’s Andraya Carter and Rich break down the NCAA Women’s Basketball
Tournament including UCLA’s return to the Final Four with a comeback win over
Duke, what UConn proved in earning their Final Four berth, why Huskies head
coach Geno Auriemma is 100% right in criticizing the NCAA’s tournament
scheduling hours, previews Texas vs Michigan and South Carolina vs TCU, and
pays off a bet by singing the Wolverines’ fight song to UM alum
Rich.
Illinois Head Basketball Coach Brad Underwood and Rich discuss the
Fighting Illini’s trip to the Final Four to cap off his wild ride of a coaching
career, his penchant for luring top European players to Champaign, what’s in store for the Fighting Illini vs UConn in the Final Four, and
more.
Rich reacts to the Browns rescinding their proposed rule change that
would have allowed NFL teams to trade draft picks five years out, and to the
possibility of Cleveland trading NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett
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