Portions of this show are recorded. Strap in
and be prepared. I'm just gonna say go to lunch
and tell the boss I'm coming down with something.
And then head out to the ballpark for happy hour.
Coming down with duck fever. Or beaver fever.
Or beaver fever. Whichever one. Interesting guests.
Kelly Graves. Mike Parker. Coach Mark Waskowski.
Melissa Lombardi. Always happy to talk to the
great Scopal Damas, Eric Scopal. Sharp opinions.
This isn't last year. Version 8 is going to be
different than version 7, which is different
than version 6. And some smiles. Also, Dominic
Hellman. Two home runs this weekend. Mayo. Mayo.
Yeah, or Hellboy. Either one. The other one.
We're going to see which one sticks. We're going
to ask him. Okay. It's Danny Havel. I had security
on me, like, immediately. Like, give us your
phone. You can't be filming him. What are you
going to glean from filming people bowling right
now? Justin Grossweiner. Okay, the six and seven
-year -olds. I got them. I could beat them in
a race. Danny and Justin starts now on Fox Sports
Eugene and Fox Sports Newport. Hello, Navas,
and welcome. Hi, it's out to Delta Tri and the
Crystal Palace. Fox Sports, Eugene. Fox Sports,
Newport. Live from the Bigfoot Beverages Studios.
It is a full boat two -hour show. It's not the
fastest 60 minutes today. It's the fastest 120
minutes in sports talk. Thanks for tuning in
to the Danny and Justin and Steve show here for
a Thursday. Weekend Eve, we've got NCAA basketball.
We're going to talk you all the way up to that
at 4 p .m. Right here is March Madness' coverage
from Westwood One. We'll be on the air. You can
follow us on Twitter at Danny and Justin. Also,
wherever you pod, whichever your platform is
for music and or podcasts, Danny and Justin,
fastest 60 minutes. I am Danny Hamill. Right
over there is my tag team partner, Justin Grossner.
We call him Baby J. And over here to my right
is Steve Mims. Goose on the loose here in the
studios. Hey, what up, boys? Hi, Danny. You're
all sunbaked. Yeah, you do look pretty red. You
came from Scamania Lodge up in the gorgeous town
of Stevenson, Washington, just over Bridge of
the Gods. My wife and son and I spent the last
three days there. It was great. And Justin, you
just got out of your sick bed. Yeah, my Iron
Man streak is over of never missing a start.
I finally missed a start. Y 'all abandoned me
for two days. I had to hold down the fort on
my own. I got through it. But now it's... Wait
a minute, three -man, two -hour? This is like
big boy radio. This is like some real stuff going
on here. It's stunning is what it is. It's absolutely
stunning. And as I remarked yesterday, it's different
doing dad joke when nobody else is here in studio.
I don't get the immediate gratification of the
reaction, the eye roll or the little laugh, the
little titter. That's not a little feminine.
A little titter from Justin over there. Or the
eye roll. So how are you feeling there, buddy?
I'm feeling pretty good. Are you going to be
hacking and running out of the studio like you
were on Monday? No, I shouldn't be. That was
pretty brutal. I was doing my best to stay and
try to give people what they want. Just couldn't
do it yesterday and the day before. So happy
to be back today and feeling pretty good right
now. Nothing super crazy. So there we go. Major
League Baseball kicked off last night with the
Yankees and the Giants. Did you watch that, by
the way? I watched a little bit of it. So I was
slammed with husbandly duties. My wife and daughter
are making their way back from Southern California.
And so there was laundry that needed to be done.
There was lawns that needed to be mowed. There
was dogs that needed to be walked, which I have
to walk Bella every day. Otherwise, she's on
a timer. You know dogs have a timer for food
and for their walks. Like noontime comes around,
I haven't taken her for her walk yet, and she's
looking at me. Or she'll walk out into the living
room, look at the leash and where her harness
is. We don't tie it around her neck. It's one
of those big harness things. And it's just like,
Dad, let's go, dude. It's time. Tick tock. Let's
get it going. So, no, I did not watch the baseball
last night because, frankly, I don't care about
the Yankees. Did you hear the reception about
the Netflix stuff? I heard it was bad. It was
really bad. It was about as bad as you can get.
They missed the first ABS challenge. They missed
a pinch hit. It was not great. I can't tell you
how many times I heard them say. What better
way to be here and start the season than on Netflix
or something like that? They couldn't stop promoting
themselves, and they had the worst score bug
I've ever seen. But I'm just saying this, that
you can blame Rob Manfred and Major League Baseball
for awarding rights to someone without having
the standard to follow it. In other words, if
I'm going to give you my product, you're going
to pay for my product, then you need to prove
to me that you can adequately portray that product
out there. Because I'm assigning you rights,
you've got to hold it to a certain standard and
the standard that I set for it. That's not great.
They made sure to give him an interview, though.
Not a great question one, though. No. So you
watch this. I did. I got to take issue with people
say, oh, they didn't get the first ABS. You don't
know when you're going to do the in -game interview
that happened to come during the Vitello interview.
So I can't cut to it. Take a different camera.
That's a producer's job. Cut away from maybe.
But I mean, that one that doesn't bother me.
Yeah. And, you know, me as a journalist, if you're
bringing on Rob Manfred and one of the questions
was, you know, there was nothing about like the
issues that are going on in baseball, which baseball
is mostly positive. I wouldn't like that. I didn't
like the intro. I'm like some people. I turned
it on at five and there was a comedian on who
was like pumping up the crowd. And it was like,
yeah, I got some other things going on, like
536. I just kind of want to watch the first pitch
of the baseball season. So I didn't like. But
then I turned on NBC today at 10 o 'clock for
the Mets. Yeah. And they were singing the national
anthem at 1015 on that one, too. So maybe I'm
just old and I expect things to start when they
do and they don't. But that was goose is a grumpy
old man. They definitely dragged it out. You
basically have to add 20 minutes on anything
you look at on any scoreboard. Hey, this game
starts at five. It starts at 520. And you got
to try to figure out where it's at. Like I say,
I don't mind. I like the Netflix. I do get I
don't get Peacock. I get Netflix. So I was able
to watch that. I was I liked watching. baseball
on NBC at 10 a .m. I'm like, this must mean that,
like, because I don't watch TV in the morning
at 10 a .m., this must mean that a game show
or a talk show or a soap opera has been preempted.
This is great. We've got baseball that's trumping
those things now. So it was very cool for me
to watch Mets Pirates on NBC at 10 a .m. I thought
that was cool. And I know people don't like it
because you have no idea what it's on, and I
don't either. But eventually you can, like, Google
and find out, and if you have it, you have it.
If you don't, you don't. The thing I like as
well that baseball season's here is now when
I get in the car, there's going to be a game
on, and I've got SiriusXM, so I love listening
to the radio calls myself. So I was listening
to Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer from the Cubs radio
network as I was driving in today. Although,
what's the score now of the Cubs game? 8 -4.
Still in the eighth. Top of the ninth. Top of
the ninth. All right, so they're running out
of outs, and Wrigley goes. Would you stop with
the sly smile, by the way? I think baseball talk
would have gone a lot better today if the Cubs
were winning, but I'm going to let you guys determine
how much baseball is winning. No, no, we're positive.
We're fine. There's 161 games left in the regular
season. He loses the Nationals in the home opener.
That's not a good one. That's not great. And
it was frigid. It was frigid at Wrigley Field,
although Pat Hughes was saying there's been worse
weather. and I think they got all four seasons
today because when it started, it was 70 -plus
degrees, and I was listening to Saul Galvin as
well coming in. By the way, Oregon women's softball
started their three -game set against Northwestern,
and that's in the north side of Chicago as well,
and they got run ruled. The game is over. It's
11 -3, the final game one against Northwestern.
So Ducks drop only, I think, their second game
in the Big Ten. Were there snowflakes? No, but
it was getting dark. And that's the one thing
that Saul was saying. It was like 3 .30 in the
afternoon. He said that it was almost like it
was at night. And that's going to happen when
you get the, especially the clouds coming off
Lake Michigan. So we will, by the way, hear from
Melissa Lombardi. I recorded this interview yesterday
afternoon before the Northwestern games. this
weekend and it was the best time for her you
know it was after we were done with our show
yesterday so we'll we'll play that in the three
o 'clock hour we got kelly graves coming up here
it's a two -hour show reminder to people we got
don't don't be going away it's two hours today
We'll keep them, Goose. I'm not going to do dad
joke in the first hour. People are going to know
that the show's not over. But thank you, Mr.
Agent Man, for helping us out. Kelly Graves in
this hour, Melissa Lombardi, and our good friend,
Zach Neal, will be joining us in hour number
two. What's his nickname? Cadillac. Cadillac.
Cadillac, Zach. Always get those nicknames. So
we'll talk a lot of football. We'll talk some
baseball today. We're going to talk NIL. Because
there have been movement already. Another Oregon
Duck men's basketball player has entered the
portal. Desrick Lindsey is in, along with Kwame
Evans Jr. and Jackson Shelstad, along with the
senior graduates, Takai Simpkins and Nate Biddle.
Dane Altman's running out of players, and there's
still more that could declare. And I still think
that there's some... question if Taj Reza will
honor his commitment to Oregon if there's an
exodus. So we'll talk about that in the second
hour as well. So we're going to tease. That's
what's called the tease, keep you around. So
lots to go over, but we get two hours to do it.
So there we go. Where do you guys want to start?
You want to start with baseball? Let's start
with college baseball. Oh, by the way, Justin,
that opened. It was excellent. Thank you. That
was very good. It really captured what we do
on a normal basis here. I felt good about it.
Well done. There was some good reception in the
studio. That was nice. It put a smile on my face.
Mark Waskowski's team is down in La Jolla, California.
Well, they were because now they're heading up
I -5 towards L .A. to Santa Barbara as senior
Drew Smith, freshman Braden Jaksa. Both hit towering
home runs. And number 20, Oregon, pounded UC
San Diego at Triton Field. That was a 12 -4 win
for the Ducks. And they will open their three
-game series at UC Santa Barbara tomorrow. Ducks
did not waste any time as they go to 21 -4 and
finish the two -game sweep of San Diego. San
Diego is like 100. or plus in the RPI, they're
9 -13. They're in the big sky, I think. They're
5 -1 in the big sky, so that tells you something
about the big sky. But Oregon? They're WCC, right?
I think San Diego's WCC, right? UC San Diego?
I don't think so. Oh, no, you're right. UC San
Diego is not. Yeah, because I get San Diego,
UC San Diego, and San Diego State messed up.
Okay. My bad. You were correct. That's why you're
a part -time host. No, not really. I'm just kidding.
Thursdays only. So the nice thing is, is the
Ducks, there was some concern a few games ago.
Maddox Maloney had to be pulled out of the last
Northwestern game after getting hit on his hand
at the plate. He was right back in the lineup
the other day. So everything's good there, which
is a relief for Oregon fans. And by the way,
Jax Jimenez, Maloney, and Gabe Miranda all reached
base four times. against San Diego in the last
game. You had something, Justin. So UC San Diego
is going to be in the West Coast Conference.
They're currently competing in the Big West.
Big West. See, I was wrong. You were wrong. Justin
looks it up. The ironic part of all this, and
this takes it away from sports. Now you're going.
They are going to the big WCC, so you're right
in that respect. Okay, go. Is my son's a senior
in high school, and two of the schools he applied
to are UCSB and UC San Diego. So I've seen both
those on recent visits. Oh, you've been to the
campuses? Yes. Both very nice. UC San Diego is
huge. Probably. There's like a med school, and
it's gigantic. UCSB is a nice school. I don't
know if he's gotten into either of those. I think
UC schools take forever to hear back. I don't
think I served in that. And the other one was
Pepperdine. And when we were at Pepperdine, I
saw Mark, it should be called Mark Wasikowski
Field because he won a national championship.
That was another one that we visited down there.
So anyway, it's funny to hear Mark Wasikowski
is taking his team through my son's college recruiting.
And there's no baseball with my son, but it's
just through his college recruiting for academics.
How did his brackets go this year? He has done
very well in the women's, not as well in the
men's. Okay. He did well in the women's? Yeah.
I mean, all you got to do is pick chalk for the
men's. He has like 20 variables that he has,
like one based on RPI, one based on, he's done
this like three, four years in a row. So we're
kind of putting the data together. Satellites
linking up, computers are whirring at NORAD.
He might be Lunardi by the time he graduates
from college. We get about eight years of this
data. He might be ready to roll with it. Look
at you, and Dad's already counting the ducats
that come with that. Yeah, it is. We really do
like that Mark Waszkowski's team starting to
hit the ball as well. That was one of the things.
And as I mentioned on the air earlier this week,
is pitching is still going to come in. You literally
need 10 to 12 good arms if you want a collegiate
staff that's going to maintain through the rest
of the season and into the postseason especially.
But the bats have to come alive. They've started
to do that. Non -conference swing, it's... strange
for a team like Oregon or anybody in the in the
middle of a conference season or just starting
a conference season to have basically a week
off of not playing any conference opponent but
that's what they're doing with this swing down
through Cali because it'll go through the weekend
now and then they'll be on the road they'll come
back for one single game against Portland and
then on the road against Michigan and then they'll
return home but they'll be up in Portland for
a game against the Pilots as well. So they're
going to squeeze in some Big Ten play. How about
that for my memory? That's a good memory. It's
all true, by the way. I'm looking at the schedule.
It seems like kind of a tough trip, honestly.
You're moving around a lot there. You're only
going to be home for a little bit. So Santa Barbara
is like 51 in the RPI. So that's going to help
a little bit. That's one of the few ones that
is going to help them. Hopefully. Well, and they
start that tomorrow. So softball we just talked
about. We'll get the final stat line, but they
lose to Northwestern 11 -3. We'll hear from Missy
Nails a little bit later on in the program. Men's
golf, after coming up short at the Duck Invitational,
they finish second, and they pack their bags
right away and jump down to Stanford. They're
competing at the Goodwin Tournament. Sophomore
Raleem Salem carried his best score of the tournament
with a 68 in the final round. Aiden Kraft finished
a 5 under 66, and that got him runner -up. He
finished second in the medalist honors on the
home turf. Ducks are joining a field of 18 teams,
including 14 teams ranked in the top 50. This
is going to be a tough tournament. The Goodwin,
named after former Stanford golf coach Wally
Goodwin, who coached in college. At Casey Martin.
Because Casey Martin, Oregon golf coach, played
at Stanford for Wally Goodwin. The tournament's
called the Goodwin. Things all tie together.
By the way, a guy named Tiger Woods was on that
team, too. I think he was a pretty good golfer.
I think he was a pretty good golfer, if I remember
that. I heard he's making a return. So, Justin,
what's the final score of the Cubs game? Is it
done? It is not done yet. It is now just starting
the bottom of the ninth, and I think it's delayed.
It's actually 10 -4 now. I think they got a two
-round homer. They're done. Yeah. It's not looking
great. And by the way, Oregon women moved up
their start time against Northwest. I don't know
if this affected them or not. No Elise Sikulski.
She got hurt in the non -conference game against
Indiana. And no status update on that. But if
the Ducks are down to three pitchers now, that
messes with your rotation a bit. Although Lindsey
Grein came in, closed out Indiana. That was a
crazy game, guys. They were down 7 -0 and ended
up winning 24 -12. Yeah, it was a crazy one.
But I think as much as anything, what concerns
me is not just the fact that you're losing a
really good pitcher, but you're losing innings.
And you don't want to see Lindsey grind. I think
her last year was a career high for her, and
it was just under 200, 191 or something like
that. And she pitched four innings against Indiana.
You don't want to pitch her too much. I think
that's the concern for me is that you can have
one pitcher that can carry you, obviously, but
you have to have them fresh by the end of the
season. It's a discussion point getting a fatigued
arm near the end of the season, and that was
kind of where Sikulski and Taylor Spencer and
others came in to kind of help relieve the load.
They've got some depth. And Maddie Millhorn,
a fantastic freshman pitcher. She got a few innings
today as well. So we'll see how they recover
tomorrow, but they wanted to get it in because
there was weather coming into Chicago, and so
that's the reason they moved it up to an 11 o
'clock West Coast time first pitch. They'll continue
the series this weekend just outside of the Chicagoland
area at the ballpark at Rosemont in Rosemont,
Illinois, where the AUSL Chicago team, the professional
softball team, plays. So it's a nice facility
they've got there. All right, so let's take our
first break. Why not? We got the coach, the big
kahuna, Kelly Graves in the wings. Ducks are
going to be on the sidelines watching the rest
of the NCAA tournament after getting bounced
by number one seed in their region, the Texas
Longhorns. But now the offseason has started.
There is already a player in the transfer portal.
We'll talk a lot about the dollars and cents.
of how you build a roster in today's collegiate
atmosphere. This is going to move into the next
conversation we have about Oregon men's basketball
all this hour on a two -hour edition of the Danny,
Justin, and Goose show on Fox Sports Gene, Fox
Sports Newport. Coming up top of the hour, we'll
have an interview that I did yesterday with Melissa
Lombardi as the Ducks fall to Northwestern in
the first of a three -game set. in the Chicagoland
area at Rosemont. And then we'll have Zachary
Neal on, our number two. Two hours of the Danny
and Justin radio program with Goose, Steve Mims
sitting in with us as well. And let's head on
over to the Oregon Man Clinics hotline at 541
-343 -5673 and welcome in our good friend, the
head coach of the Oregon women's basketball program.
We call him the Big Kahuna. It's Kelly Graves
joining us. Coach, is the exhale now started
from one session now to the next, active playing,
and now you're... Deep into the offseason, two
days in. Yeah, not yet. I mean, I've just been
as busy this week as I have, you know, during
the season. It's spring break for our kids. Most
of them went home. But those that have been around,
you know, we're finishing up some player meetings
and, you know, looking for the future. So, Coach,
back -to -back appearances in the NCAA tournament,
back -to -back second -round appearances in the
NCAA tournament. I know you wanted to finish
a little bit higher in the Big Ten. You were
close in a few games with some really good competition.
You made a nice run in the tournament. Have you
been able to have time with your staff to reflect
on, you know, how you would grade out the season
with the young women? Not really. I mean, we
haven't done anything formally as a staff. I
mean, we informally meet every day. They're all
still here. You know, there's always work to
be done, even if the season's over. But I think
they would share my sentiment. It was a good
season. I mean, it really was. We weren't picked
all that high in conference coming into the season.
We had a lot of question marks. We didn't go
out and just get a bunch of portal kids to plug
them in. We kind of went with the players that
were already on the roster that had lesser roles.
you know, and hope they would step up and have
great years, and a lot of them did. And collectively,
I thought we got a lot out of this team. I truly
do. And then, you know, to again make the NCAA
tournament, to win a game there, and, you know,
obviously it didn't end the way we wanted, but,
you know, Texas is just so much better than us.
That would have taken a Herculean effort, you
know, to have gotten that one done. But like
you said, a couple wins in the Big Ten tournament.
Yeah, and an exciting season. I think there's
a lot to celebrate for sure. And you've obviously
faced teams like Texas before in your time in
the NCAA tournament. But for this group in particular,
it was obviously a good measuring stick moment
for them to see what it's like to face a team
like that and the physicality and the speed and
everything they can do. How much do you think
that's going to help this team? And even just
you evaluating the team going forward, having
faced a team as good as Texas? Well, hopefully
it gets our kids excited about next year, about
what they've got to do better. I remember back
in the tournament in 2017, I had a group that
made the Elite Eight. Sabrina was a freshman,
and Ruthie, and all those kids were on that team.
And in the Elite Eight, we got beat by Connecticut
by 40. And I know that that drove that group
in the offseason. You know, they're not going
to let that happen again. And, you know, a few
years ago, we were the Texas. You know, we were
doing that to other teams. So I think it'll be
good for our kids to, you know, hopefully inspire
them, motivate them to, you know, to work harder
in the offseason. And like I told them after
the game. We had three or four – well, we actually
had a lot of games, but we had three or four
really tight ones that we could have won. We
had the lead in the last minute, and of course
we had some where we were behind in the last
minute and won. But I was just saying if we would
have had two or three of those wins, then we're
probably a host in the tournament, and we don't
have to play a team like Texas on their home
floor in the second round. Maybe you play that
team on a neutral. neutral floor. So I think
that's one of the bigger takeaways is maybe we
can do a little bit more in the regular season
to earn a better seed and be in a better position
come NCAA tournament. Kelly, you talk about kind
of what the offseason looks like now, and obviously
it's changed in the last 27 years you've been
doing this. But where are you at now in terms
of player? I mean, are you negotiating now with
players in the portal to come in? Are you negotiating
with your current players? Are their contracts
going out? I'm just curious what in terms of
retaining the roster, can you do things now?
Is there a time you have to wait to? What does
this week look like when other teams are still
playing? The portal isn't officially open. How
much can you? you do in terms of confirming?
Do you have players confirming we're back? Do
you have to wait on that? What's that look like
for a coach? Well, we had a number of players
whose parents were in Texas. And since this is
spring break this week, they didn't have to come
back and go to school. We allowed them, if their
families were there, to just go home or go with
them, whatever they were going to do. And so
we had some player meetings down in Austin late
that night after the game. And then we've had
those that did come back. We have met with them
here. And at that time, we ask them what their
intentions are. And I've had kids that in this
meeting. You say, oh, yeah, coach, I'm really
excited about next year. Can't wait. And then
a week later, I get a call from, hey, coach,
by the way, I've decided. You know, so what they
say here, you know, you take with a grain of
salt. I mean, I trust my team and love my team.
And I think, you know, for the most part, they're
all coming back. Now, you know, we've had to
make a decision as a staff on a couple of players,
one of which has already entered the portal.
And that was actually our decision, not hers.
You know, that's the part I don't necessarily
like about the new way of doing things. It's
different than the old way, but, you know, it
is a business. And, unfortunately, we have to
do things that way. And it's uncomfortable for,
you know, myself. And I talked with Dana Altman
the other day. We talked for about an hour. And,
you know, we're old -timers. We like to see this
journey through to the very end with these young
people, and it's just become more and more difficult,
even if they have a great experience here. That
has nothing to do with kids transferring anymore,
whether they liked it or not. A lot of them like
to just transfer to do it. Or the tampering part,
right? I mean, you may have somebody who tells
you on Sunday night, hey, this has been a great
season. Kelly, I'm back. And on Tuesday morning,
the assistant of the assistant of the assistant
at some other school texts and says, hey, what
are they offering you? Because here's what it
is. Do you have to, when you have those exit
meetings, are you throwing out numbers at that
point? Does it have to get that specific because
you know that some other school may come in with
numbers that they think they can, you know, lowball
you or go higher? Well, sometimes we do, sometimes
we don't. I think we're pretty upfront with,
you know, their compensation, you know, to them.
And like I said, we've been, you know, pretty
forward in terms of, you know, retention bonuses
and raises and those kind of things. But, you
know, I've gotten to a point, if that's what
it's about, see ya. You know, I mean, honestly,
I... I just can't worry myself about it. I have,
you know, we're certainly not the richest school
out there. We have a limited budget. I'm not
going to lie to you. But, you know, if somebody's
going to go somewhere else because they can make
a few more bucks, then God bless you. I'm not
going to, you know, I'm not going to negotiate.
I'm not going to try and beg you to stay. I just
think we're beyond that. I want players that
want to be here. And, you know, you do better.
And that's what I loved about my team. We had
nine players that all returned last year, and
they played like it. You could see a real chemistry
on the court and off the court. And they played
real hard, and they played for each other. And,
you know, we may not have been the most talented
team, but, you know, we made up for it in great
synergy on the court. The big kahuna, Kelly Graves,
joining us, women's basketball coach at the University
of Oregon, the postscript of a season that was
successful, over 20 wins, again, back to the
NCAA tournament. And the coach now looking at
his roster construction for next season as the
kids are on spring break. And, Coach, let's start
there. And you talked about this recruiting aspect
before with us on the program about, you know,
it's a character and it's a culture thing. People
throw those words around a lot. But here at Oregon,
it seems to be one of the standards. that you
set for everyone. So when you take a look at
your roster, and again, I know you haven't done
the full evaluation yet with your staff, although
you talk every day, where do you think the biggest
needs are going to be for 2026 -27 for your program?
Well, I don't know yet. Okay. You know, that
remains to be seen. I'm not exactly sure who
all is coming back, and then that will tell us,
you know, what we need. If the entire roster
stayed intact, you know, most of our starters
are back, right? Right. All four of our five
starters would be back. We have a transfer in,
a Mallory Hire, who spent this last – quarter
with us the last half of the season, and she's
an outstanding player, you know, that can step
in at that Mia Jacobs spot. You know, I think
the Texas game and some others along the way
in the Big Ten, we probably need a little bit
more size. Now we have, you know, EK coming in.
She's about 6 '5", coming in as a freshman. She's
a really good player. In fact, congratulations
to her. She was just named to the Nike Hoop Summit
World Team. And so that will give us some additional
size. But, you know, we might need to get a little
bit more. You know, just kind of, again, fellas,
I hate to. puts you off, but it just kind of
depends on who I end up keeping here. It's fair,
Coach. I mean, and that's the whole thing. In
this day and age, I mean, going back even five
years, you would have had probably something
a little bit more set, right, at this time. You
would kind of know because kids wouldn't be flying
in and out and going down to Texas or going to
South Carolina or getting an offer from whomever.
I mean, that just wasn't a reality five years
ago. So, I mean, it kind of delays what you can
do, correct? It does. Yeah, it does. And the
portal opens up officially for us on April 6th.
It's kind of funny because, you know, you'll
be least surprised on April 6th because everybody's
announcing now on their own social media feeds.
So by the time you get to April 6th, everybody
will already know who's going to be in. And,
you know, and that's too bad. You know, I have
some good friends. I reached out to a couple
of my good coaching friends, one of whom I've
known for 40 years. And, you know, they're losing
a ton of players. You know, one's lost eight
players already. And I just, you know, you can't
take it personal. And, you know, sometimes it
just. You know, it happens. And I just feel bad
for them because they're going to have to, you
know, retool the entire roster for next year.
And that's sad, quite frankly, because a lot
of them, wherever they go, the grass isn't going
to be greener elsewhere. There's just as many
negative stories out there about transfers as
there are positive ones. Well, and the grass
is damn green in Eugene, as we know, right, Kelly?
Well, we like to say that. I guess there was
a football coach that once said that. But doesn't,
I mean, what we saw from Ahis this year and from
Katie, and you talked about this, that, hey,
we had players who maybe didn't do as much last
year. We kind of poured into them and they came
out and were really good. Doesn't that give you
some proof now with those ones who maybe didn't
play as much, but you can tell them, hey, there's
a proof that we can kind of build this. Does
what Katie and Ahis did help you with others
who maybe whose parents look and say, hey, you
didn't play as much that, hey, stick with us
and we can get you to this level that we've seen
some others do. And it's not just a promise.
It's something that you saw in every game this
year. Well, certainly. And those two are what
great examples and what great seasons those two
had. And if they stick around, and I sure hope
they will, and everything tells me that they
will, but that's something you can really build
on. And, yeah, so, yeah, we have a track record.
There's no question. If you look out. Throughout
my time here, we've had a track record of players
getting better when they stay in the program.
Last year, Philly Che is a great example. Stuck
it out and had a heck of a career for us and
is now making a really good living in China.
I love my group. They were a pleasure to coach
this year. They really were. They were a pleasure
to be around on a daily basis. I love their growth.
And I think we have more growth potential. You
know, you look at those two, Katie and Heath.
They're not even close to being finished products.
They've still got a lot of growth potential.
So if they can grow, and you heard Katie in her
press conference say that, you know, she made
great strides between her freshman and sophomore
year. And she says, and I expect to make the
same kind of strides, you know, before next year.
That's great to hear your players say that, those
kind of things. And I believe them. I think it's
true. Well, and, Coach, I had Eric Skopel on
yesterday, and we talked about your program,
and I made the comment, and I think Eric kind
of expounded on it, is that I see the same kind
of chemistry between Katie and Ahis that I thought
I was seeing on the floor with Sabrina and Satu
or Sabrina and Ruthie. And that is a great comparison,
but that's an awful lot of pressure on those
two young women. But I see that same kind of
chemistry, and, I mean, they had great success
together. Oh, no doubt. They're going to be one
of the bigger, you know, most productive duos
in the country coming back. And I think the one
thing that they did, you know, by playing a couple
games in the NCAA tournament, they got a lot
of time in studio in terms of people watching
them, talking about them. So there's going to
be a buzz around this team next year. You know,
not many teams can say they're returning four
starters, you know, off an NCAA tournament team.
And so I think that. That will generate some
buzz around the conference, around the country,
and certainly around this community. So we're
really excited about those two. as well as, obviously,
many others. Sure. Absolutely. Well, Coach, we
always thank you for your time. I mean, we're
going to talk more in the offseason. I know you'll
be working on the golf game, and then you're
going to be flying all over the country. You've
got to find those last few pieces after the dust
settles in the transfer portal. So thanks again.
What a great season. It was a joy watching your
team and their camaraderie and the way they got
along. I think I mentioned that to you when I
was able to watch them up close during a game.
And best of luck in the offseason. We look forward
to next year. Well, I appreciate it, guys. And
listen, you guys do a great job, and I really
appreciate all the attention you've given our
team. I know that during the season you guys
talk about us a lot, and I really appreciate
that. So, yeah, we'll do it again sometime maybe
in the offseason. I'm sitting here watching a
split screen. I've got four baseball games. I'm
a huge baseball guy. Red Sox, right? And to me
this is opening day, even though I know there
was a game last night. been pretty fun. So you're
a Boston fan, right? I am, yeah. Have been for
lifelong, man. Freddie Lynn was my favorite player
when I was a kid. All right, well, you're talking
to a couple of them. You wouldn't even remember
that name. Are you kidding? I even remember the
splendid Jim Rice, Freddie Lynn, and Yaz in the
outfield. Jim Rice and Freddie Lynn, yeah, they
came up right together. Carlton Fisk waving that
ball around the pesky pole. Come on, man. We're
about as old as you are, Coach. You've got a
couple 50 -plussers in here today, Kelly. Okay,
all right, all right. But thanks for thinking
I'm a lot younger than I actually am. All right,
bud. You got it. fellas all right I'll talk to
you later man thanks Kelly there he goes the
big kahuna I feel young all of a sudden I feel
great now I feel energized that Kelly doesn't
think I know who Fred Lynn is they must think
I'm in my 40s I'm ready I could start throwing
out names like crazy right now so I mean I didn't
watch him play but you know Ted Williams the
splendid splinter you were close I guess I I
was. I would say just missed it by that much.
Just a bit outside. Just a bit outside. All right,
old Harry Doyle. All right, we come back. So
Coach Graves kind of set the plate for us. Let
me just tell you, there's not many coaches who
will be honest like that, especially in the middle
of it. That was really cool. I hope people understand
and appreciate that interview gave you more info
than. Most coaches are giving you right now.
Absolutely. So we're going to discuss and we're
going to focus a lot on the men's program right
now because there's another name in the portal
and who else could be leaving Oregon. We'll talk
about that on the flip side. Danny, Justin, and
Steve. Fox Sports, Eugene. Fox Sports, Newport.
This is what happens when you have a two -hour
show. You can... Well, we could have done that
in a one -hour show because it happened during
the first hour, right? I can say that. So we're
not going to talk the NL yet. We're going to
talk that and the transfer portal in the last
half of the next hour since you have us for two
hours because we have breaking news. Breaking
news from Corvallis as Scott Barnes, as being
reported by James Creppi of the Oregonian, Scott
Barnes, who has been in Corvallis almost a decade
as athletic director, serve as AD until August
31st. And then he's going to become a senior
advisor for athletics through the following year.
So 2026 through 2027. So his reign, so just hired
a football coach, just fired and hired a basketball
coach. And now he's going to step away. The whole
fiasco with blueprint, the NIL, the collective,
that kind of, over anything that Scott Barnes
wanted to do. The hiring of Trent Bray after
Jonathan Smith left, that was a failed experiment.
No offense to Trent Bray, like the guy, just
maybe the wrong position. And he has been, Scott
Barnes has been a lightning rod for Beaver fans.
Is that fair to say? Yeah, I would say that's
fair. And now I think there's some, honestly,
I think there's some dancing in Corvallis right
now. Feels to me that the president of Oregon
State is not a huge athletics person. Correct.
She's made that clear and came in and sort of
trusted everything there. And kind of as Scott
Barnes, who was getting older and had a great
past as an athletic director at other places,
it was kind of a place for him to just kind of
do it without anybody overseeing it. I think
there were too many missteps. He lost the fan
base. It got to a point to where the fans were
out on Scott Barnes. And as an AD, you can normally
kind of keep them as though, hey, our baseball
is good. As long as something's good and down.
There were so many things, whether it was him
hiring Bray and having to get rid of him so quickly.
Hiring Tinkle and not just firing, I'm sorry,
not extending Tinkle, but that was years ago.
Firing Tinkle and doing it so sloppily to where
Wayne came out looking so much better than Scott
in that, that it was a huge PR hit. Even though
you can make an argument for getting rid of Wayne
Tinkle, Wayne put in a thank you to the newspaper
and Oregon State never put out even a thank you
to him. It was such a ball drop there. As you
mentioned, the blueprint and the Blaylock deal
all falling apart. I think eventually it's like,
hey, we can. screw up a couple things and that
president who doesn't care much about sports
isn't going to care about it. Eventually, so
many of them, I think even the president caught
on like, hey, wait a minute, this doesn't seem
like our fans are with us. And it just got to
a level to where I think there was no chance
he was going to survive. Well, the fan base and
the donors. Well, and correct. I would have to
assume that. because of how much money is going
into sports and how much sports affects revenues
and all the other things in a university it's
just a certain point if you're not going to have
any success And they're just hemorrhaging money,
I'm assuming, in terms of these other programs.
And it doesn't seem like they have as much money
as we thought they would in terms of— With the
breakup of the Pac -12. Exactly. And everyone
thought that there was going to be this golden
pot that both they and Washington State were
going to share. And what ended up happening is
that was not the reality, unless they're hiding
something somewhere that none of us know about.
But every mistake that the athletic department
made—and it's easy to point to the top, but leadership
is where it starts. And I think everybody in
the athletic department in any organization amplifies
what the leader is. So if you're using that as
the example, then everybody else in that organization,
there's plenty of blame to go around, but every
single mistake was amplified when they started
stacking one after another after another. Let
me tell you what's really tough about this, though,
is now you have... a coach in football and men's
basketball, your two biggest sports, who are
both going to be going into their first year
working for an athletic director who did not
hire them. And you always hear this, you know,
you want to have this camaraderie with your AD.
So now you've got Jamarcus Shepard going into
a year. And, again, the AD is not his guy. The
basketball coach who has hired Justin Joyner
came in two weeks ago, and suddenly he's like,
well, wait a minute here. I thought this guy
that I was interviewing with. So to put you in
a tough spot where either of those guys have
any success, do not jump on Jamarcus or Justin
for leaving somewhere else because the guy who
brought them in and, like, Justin Jensen might
feel like. Wait a minute here. Why did you have
this guy hire me if you were going to get rid
of him two weeks later? I would have kind of
liked to have known that the guy who's hiring
me was somebody else. That could be a little
bit of a difficult conversation with him. There
was four years remaining on his contract. I don't
think this came out of the blue. Scott Barnes.
Scott Barnes. There's four years left on his
contract that they're apparently come to some
agreement that they're buying out. My biggest
concern for those new coaches is... This is their
first head coaching position ever for both of
them. And Oregon State, with a president who,
again, you just said it a moment ago, admittedly
is not a sports center. Not a sports gal. Okay.
So what I'll be very curious about is the committee,
the search firm that's going to go look out and
grab a new AD or recommend a new athletic director
for Oregon State. What's that going to look like?
Are they going to find someone who has not been
an athletic director anywhere else? or a senior
athletic director. Where is that going to come
from? Is it going to come from the SEC? Is it
going to come from the Big Ten? They are on the
advent, the step of the Pac -12 coming back.
And you have to hire for where you're at. I think
that's one of the things about Scott Barnes is
that he's coming from the old Pac -12 and then
the independent, you know, a couple of years,
not independent, but, you know, the Pac -2 basically
for a couple of years. And those are just past
eras at this point. You have to work with what
you have now. You can't be looking. Back in the
past and regretting what's happened, you just
have to move forward. Well, I think this could
be the first step in a clearing of the house.
That's what I'm saying. In Corvallis. It's going
to start with Scott Barnes and then— What's left
to clear? I mean, you've got a new football coach,
basketball coach. No, I'm talking about within
the administration of the athletic department
is what I'm talking about. I don't think there's
going to be anybody in the current administration,
associate athletic directors, that are going
to be even considered. for the top job you wouldn't
you wouldn't promote one of his guys no you would
bring in somebody new and like you said like
the the salary i mean scott barnes was the highest
paid athletic director in the new Pac -12 at
over a million. That's not going to happen. I'd
be curious. No, it's not going to be anything
like that. It's going to be, again, as we've
seen with the football coach and basketball,
you're going to get somebody on a budget, so
you're not going to get a standing athletic director.
You're going to get somebody who was the assistant
athletic director at one of these schools coming
in and pay them less, and you're going to hope
that they gel with your new football and basketball
coach. Danny, Justin, and Steve. That's the voice
of Goose, Steve Mims. He pops in once in a while
when he feels like it. Or when I'm gone, or when
Justin's gone, or we're not doing big bets anymore,
so when we start big bets up again. For now,
I know. That's one of my favorite segments. We're
not going to have to do that on Fridays anymore,
but I'm going to be sad because I liked doing
it on Fridays. Two -hour show today, so we're
far from done. We've got Melissa Lombardi at
the top of the hour. Interview I taped yesterday.
So we'll have that, and then we'll also have
Zach Neal in our number two. He might have some
thoughts on what happens. Listen, it's different
now because Oregon and Oregon State are not in
the same conference anymore and haven't been
for a few years. But what happens up in Corvallis
sometimes does trickle and does flow downstream
into Eugene. And their success, and listen, Scott
Barnes was one that said, we don't want to play
the Civil War anymore. As well, he was the one
that came out and said, we don't want to play
the Civil War. So I'd be very interested to see
this next athletic director for football go back
to Rob Mullins and say, hey, you know what? Can
we move schedules around? And can we get that
game back again? Because that was originated
in Corvallis. That did not come from Eugene.
But that's also not what the fan base wants.
And if you're the new athletics director, I don't
think the first thing you want to do is come
in and say, let's redo something that wasn't
popular. Why do you say overwhelmingly that the
fan base doesn't want the Civil War anymore?
I think they know that they're not going to win
that game, and I think most organizations, I
mean, Angie Machado has talked about it, that
she has said, like, hey, most of the fans are
like, we don't need to play this game. I mean,
I know it makes us some money here, but the idea
of continuing to play this team that's at a different
level than us, a game we used to be competitive
in and think we could win, and now we just sit
there and take the payout for it is not what
they want anymore. It was a short three years
ago that Oregon State dashed national championship
hopes for Oregon. Up there in Corvallis. Yeah,
but the world's changed since then. The world
has changed since then. That was a Pac -12 game,
Danny. There used to be this thing called the
Pac -12. I'm shaking my stick. I am old, aren't
I? Well, there it is. 63 -year -old Scott Barnes.
Four years left. But he's hanging on for a year.
So this is the other interesting thing. Listen,
I doubt they even talked to him in that last
year. But are you bringing in the new guys saying,
hey, because like right now at North Carolina,
we've seen with this North Carolina, Bubba Cunningham's
the AD. They've got an AD in waiting, and Bubba
is like kind of holding his hand through the
end of it. That is the most Southern athletic
director name ever, by the way. Is Scott Bards
holding the new AD's hand for the next year and
saying, hey, here's how I do this and how I do
that? Or are you saying, yeah, hey, Scott, your
office is now on the seventh floor. The new AD's
on the first floor. floor and if he wants to
talk to you he'll come up but you don't need
to come down and tell him anything unless he
asks you to come in i don't think justin do you
believe and i'll open up for both you guys i
would have loved him in a fly on the wall when
this conversation was happening but i don't believe
for one minute that the administration meaning
the president wants scott barms to be anywhere
near the new athletic director that this is mainly
another way to give him another year in PERS
because that'll be 11 years, and I don't know
if that makes a difference. There's something
else that's going on here financially, which
is the reason that he's being named a senior
advisor for athletics. I just don't think they
want anything to do with Scott Barnes anymore.
I agree, unless there's, like, paper. I mean,
if you bring in somebody who was an assistant
somewhere else and, hey, we've got this guy who's
been an athletic for 30 years. Again, maybe he
can show you where the pencil sharpeners are
and some of the contracts. No, but, like, some
contract -type things. But, yeah, he's not going
to be having you be, like, his – he's not your
mentor. But if you have questions on, you know,
how to fill out some paperwork or something,
Scott can probably show you that. Secretaries
can talk to each other. on that, but I also believe
that James Krepia is going to get to the bottom
of it. Because if there's going to be a piece
of paper because it's a public institution and
there's a buyout, it's going to spell out exactly
what the buyout is and what the rules are. Or
the belligerent beef. Have you seen the belligerent
beef? They're all over it, man. That dude's going
to be all over it, too. I guarantee you that
guy, because this is going to have to be the
separation agreement with Scott Barnes. It's
going to be public. And whether it be James Krepia,
who does a great job, or the belligerent beef,
whoever that might be. Show yourself, belligerent
beef. Show yourself to us. Come on the show,
belligerent beef. And we're going to find out
what that thing looks like. And if that parachute
is super large, Beaver fans are going to need
a little bit longer to get over it because if
Scott Barnes somehow walks away with $3 million
or something, that's not going to leave many
people happy either. And that's going to hurt
you in your search for another AD because you're
going to have to pay that. Again, we've talked
about this with coaches, is that if you're going
to get rid of somebody, you know you're not going
to make a lateral move. You need to make a move
up. And I don't think the ceiling is going to
be very high for folks. who root for the Beavers,
to think that Scott Barnes, whoever replaced
Scott Barnes, I think a heartbeat is going to
be necessary, and that's going to be about it.
How about Pat Casey? Can we get Pat Casey back?
Ooh, that would be a very popular choice. Can
we bring him back for like a five -year run?
I don't think Pat Casey will. I know he's coaching
with the Brewers and Pat Murphy right now, but
can we get Pat Casey to come back for like five
years? As a Cubs fan, I would not be upset about
that. Look at you stirring the pot. You know,
you're in here temporarily, you know, for this
week. Well, maybe I'll be back longer if I've
got scoops. All right, kids. Next hour, top of
the hour, you're going to hear from Melissa Lombardi,
my conversation with her yesterday. Zach Neal
in this next hour as well. Hour number two of
the Danny, Justin, and Steve show as we wind
you up to the NCAA tournament. Pre -game starts
at 4 o 'clock. Fox Sports Eugene, Fox Sports
Newport. Hour number two, right around the corner.
It's Danny, it's Justin, and it's Steve. Here
on Fox Sports, you deem Fox Sports Newport NCAA
Tournament starts anew with Sweet 16. We'll have
it right here with Westwood One's coverage coming
up at 4 p .m. Let's head on over to the Oregon
Man Clinics hotline at 541 -343 -5673 and welcome
in. Nails, it's the coach of your Oregon women's
softball program. It's Melissa Lombardi. Coach,
how's the Midwest? How's the weather there? Because
it's been raining here. You know what? It's good.
It's actually going to get a little colder as
we get into the weekend, but thus far it's been
beautiful. Okay, so I got to ask, have you ever
been a part of a game like your team experienced
on Monday, the downs and then the ups, and then
the record -setting day that your team had? Have
you ever been a part of that? Not one that looked
like that. That was a doozy, but it was just
awesome from the beginning till the end. So as
the team goes down, okay, first of all, let's
start in the first inning. Elisa Kolsky goes
down after, what, one batter. And that obviously
is not something you can sit and plan for. It's
not in your game plan to go, hey, guess what?
We're going to have to rush somebody else out
there. So what did that look like for you strategy
-wise with, like, who was going to be up first?
Yeah, I had Taylor warming up a little bit in
the bullpen, but she was not ready. So she had
to kind of hurry up and get out there. And then
from there, you know, we were able to get everybody
to warm up. But sometimes this happens, and when
it does, you just got to figure it out, you know,
next man up. So down 7 -0, the team just started
fighting back. What did this game tell you about
your team that you didn't already know? Just
the resiliency. This team is so resilient. I
think they've dealt with a lot of different adverse
moments throughout the season, and it's just
a part of it. It's a tough game, but it's like
how you handle it, what's the next right thing
that you do, that's what I care about with this
group. And they did a lot of really good next
right things throughout the entire game after
that. 24 runs. I don't need to run you all the
way through it. You know all the records. 21
hits, 23 RBIs. The only other time that Oregon
won while giving up 12 or more runs was against
Oregon State back in 2015. So I guess this team
is proving to you that they can win in different
ways, which might be helpful down the stretch.
Very helpful. It's important that you know how
to win in different ways. I look at the game
prior and... we needed two runs, and that was
going to be enough, and we were going to do it
in the top of the seventh and then defend the
bottom of the seventh. In this game, we needed
a lot more runs than that, and that's okay. Just
figuring out what it is and knowing that we can
do it. So, Coach, and it's Melissa Lombardi joining
us on the Oregon Man Clinics Hotline from the
Midwest as they get ready to take on Northwestern
in a set back in Big Ten play. So the game against
Indiana was actually a non -counter when it came
to league. So can you walk the fans through how
scheduling works sometimes, especially playing
somebody who's in the Big Ten, but really not
playing them when it counts? Yeah, you know,
we will get our conference schedule. And for
our spring, we are currently on spring break.
The beginning of our spring break, we are going
to play Purdue. And at the end of the break,
we're going to play Northwestern. And we're not
going to come home. So for us not coming home,
we wanted to try to find one more game in between
the two. And Indiana is right here. Sure. So
now they, you know, just become a non -conference
game. even though they're in our conference.
But their RPI, their strength of schedule, like
this is a great team to play at, you know, at
their place and get a big win. So, Coach, you
checked that one off the box, and now you've
got Northwestern Square in your face. This is
arguably going to be one of your longest road
trips of the season, not counting postseason.
During the regular season, you know, you had
the preseason. action and now in conference play.
So talk about how you adjust schedules because
on the road, you know, you're not in your familiar
surroundings. You don't have your batting cages.
You don't have your weight room. You don't have
any of this other stuff that you're kind of used
to. So how is that navigated when you're on the
road? Well, the good thing is, is that it's spring
break. So usually anytime we're on the road,
we have a study hall either every day or every
other day. And this group not having class, it
allows us to do some other things, and just kind
of take a break from that. All of our coaches
are excellent. So our strength coach is with
us. So she finds places for us to lift. Coach
Marder, you know, finds places for us to hit.
And we may not be at home, but the places that
we've gone to are wonderful. They've been excellent.
So it's been a really good trip. We've had a
lot of fun. It's been nice going to... the big,
you know, into some new areas for a lot of us.
So it's been a good trip. It's been a great trip.
Yeah, Chicago, I don't know if we've talked about
this before, but that's my hometown. I was born
in Wheaton, so I'm very familiar with everything
you're going to be experiencing out there. Make
sure you have some thin pizza rather than the
deep dish. I know everyone's going to go deep
dish, but go thin pizza because that's real Chicago
pizza, okay? Yeah, you know, we were at, actually,
we got the opportunity to go to Lindsey Grind's
home, and her parents did a Taste of Chicago
for us for our meal. And so we got pizza, all
types of pizza, hot dogs. All different type.
The spread was unbelievable. So it was great.
That's fantastic. So let's talk about softball
and on the field. The bats are starting to come
alive. I think that's been a work in progress
all the way up through this. But I want to start
with Kayla Jones. And for someone who, if you
take a look and you size them up against somebody
like a Riley McCoy or an Emma Cox, you would
go, where's the power going to come from? So
I'll ask you, where does the power come from?
I mean, Kaylin Jones' swing. K -Dub is so strong.
She is so strong. I mean, all these guys, like
what they do in the weight room with them. Coach
KJ is phenomenal. I mean, I know on my other
calls with you, I've always talked about how
it all starts in the weight room. Right. And
you're seeing that. Like, you could look at K
-Dub and think that she doesn't have power because
maybe she's not as tall as the others, but K
-Dub is just as strong as everybody else. And
what I love is that she has her ability to slap,
to power slap, to soft slap, but then also take
one out of the yard. It's been great. So your
entire lineup, top to bottom, it's still in your
mind. Do you have kind of a set lineup now or
is there still a couple of positions? I know
everything's in competition throughout the season.
If you don't have that, you don't have a team
that's fighting to win all the time. So but do
you have a core now that you feel comfortable
with? Is your lineup shaping up the way you want
it? Yeah, I think it is shaping up. I think we're
starting to find who as far as leading off and
then just from hitter to hitter. There's always
competition throughout the year for sure, and
sometimes there's just certain matchups where
this might be a better matchup one day than the
next. But, yeah, I like the way we're swinging
right now. I like the way these guys are all
working together right now. I think we're in
a really good place. Where has been the biggest
difference from the beginning of the season to
where you're at now, whether it's offense, defense,
or even off the field with this team? You know,
probably a little bit of everything. I just think
the more that they play together, the more they
just really understand and get each other and
know that they've got each other's back. And
that Purdue game, it was such a pitcher's duel.
And Lindsey, you know, we gave up that one run,
and she was frustrated coming in. She didn't
want to give that run up. And the entire team
was like, Lindsey, we got you. We are going to
get that run back and more. And they did. They
came back and put two on the board. So I just
think the confidence that they give each other
by having each other's back, it allows these
guys to feel like they don't have to be perfect.
They can just play. And if things go their way,
celebrate and then move on to the next moment.
If it doesn't, then we got you, and let's move
on to the next moment. The leader of the Oregon
women's softball program, it's Melissa Lombardi
joining us on the Danny, Justin, and Steve program
today as we wind towards the weekend. Northwestern
Square in your sights, Coach. So what do we expect
out of the Wildcats? They're a really good team.
I feel like I'm a broken record, but it's just
all the teams in the big. They're coached well.
These guys are coached well. They always swing
it. They've always got great pitching. Their
defense is solid. So it's going to be a tough
matchup. You've got to come in from the first
pitch to the last, and you've got to stay on
it. We're not going to have one big inning against
these guys. It's being consistent with what we're
doing. throughout the entire game. Is the Big
Ten, so in comparison, obviously you don't have
a ton of ramp to compare it to, but you think
top to bottom the Big Ten is a little bit better
this year than they were last year? Yes, I do.
I do. I think the Big Ten, like, it's, you know,
it's up for grabs. So it's about understanding
how to sweep weekends. And that's what you're
going to try and do this weekend right outside
of Chicago. So, Coach, is your team building
more confidence as the games go along and as
the season goes along? Because you played incredibly
stiff competition. One of you had some heartbreaking
losses as well. But learning from that and then
growing from it and building, do you feel like
your team is getting in that groove and that
confidence groove? Yeah, I think this group's
in a good place. has come from the beginning
of the season to now. It's been fun to watch
these guys grow as individuals and then also
as a team. This group, I've been bragging on
their power all year long, and we've seen it
here and there, but now you're really starting
to see what this group can do. And they're a
fun group. They enjoy the game. They enjoy playing
with each other. I think sometimes you just have
to go through something to get to what you want
to get to. And coach, for you as a coaching staff
with you and Sam and Alyssa and Sydney and, you
know, and I'll throw Kaylin in there because
she's a very important part of this strength
and conditioning. So as a coaching staff, when
you sit down and you evaluate the talent that
you have, and we already talked about the lineup
a little bit, is where do you see or you see
certain position groups growing? as the season
is moving on or that you need more attention
in a certain area or not? And how does that evaluation
process work for you? I think the biggest thing
that we can do is just get out there and compete.
Like what I want is this group to just flat out
compete and leave it all out on the field. And
when they do that, that's when it's easier for
us to grow. Because then you can look back and
go, it was good enough and this is why, or it
wasn't good enough. And this is why. So as long
as they're in competition mode, that allows us
to continue to move forward regardless. And I
think that's really important. All right, Coach.
Well, a long road trip. I'm sure you're probably
tired of the breakfast buffets, aren't you? Yeah.
We're excited. We are excited to finish strong
this weekend and then get back home. All right.
Well, we'll look forward to welcoming you back
with Open Arms, a couple of big series coming
up, especially in the month of April. Best of
luck. All right. Thank you. There she goes. It
is your head coach of the Oregon women's softball
team. It's Melissa Lombardi. When the guys and
I come back, I have no idea what we're going
to do next, but hang on. We'll do it together
on the Danny, Justin, and Steve program. There's
nothing wrong with your radio. You haven't gone
back in time. 3 -16 on a Thursday afternoon weekend.
We're going to talk you all the way up to Westwood
One's coverage of the Sweet 16 March Madness.
Four games tonight, four games tomorrow. We'll
do the same thing tomorrow. Just Justin and I
tomorrow. Goose is here with us. Hi. Steve Mims,
formerly of the Registered Guard and other things.
You start a new job tomorrow. Do you want to
say that? No, no, no. Sorry, I'm not supposed
to say that. There might be people listening
who don't know. Oh, God. Okay. Sorry. I apologize.
Oh, good. Speaking of which, though, another
person who used to work at the Register Guard
is our next guest. Former co -worker of mine
for a while. And let's head on over to the Organ
Man Clicks. What now? Late nights at the RG.
Yes, yes. Taking in Harrisburg versus Monroe
football scores. Those were the days. Were there
any poker games or a speakeasy at the bottom?
There was a Papa's Pizza at about 1130 after
football scores came in. I don't know if Zach
was old enough to go out and enjoy the drinks
at that time, but he would join us for those
sometimes. The great Zachary Neal. Can I introduce
you first? I'm sorry, everybody. Unless you and
Mims want to sit here and just have a conversation
for a half hour, Justin and I can go get a soda.
That's fine. I mean, we'll just live in the glory
days. Those are fun times. I don't think I was
old enough yet to go get a drink, but I may have
had an ID that said otherwise. Did it say McLovin
on it? That would have been great. He is the
Oregon Ducks beat reporter for USA Today's Ducks
Wire. Also, the co -host does a great job on
Believe in Oregon podcast, also a Ducks Rising
podcast. He's a U of O alum. He joins us. We
call him Cadillac. It's Zachary Neal. You can
follow him, Zach Neal, at Zach. Zachary C. Neal
on the old Twitter. Zach, it's not ever an offseason
for college athletics, especially when you talk
football. A lot of basketball chatter. So I'm
going to leave it up to you. Where do you want
to start? I mean, because I think front and center
for us, we just had a conversation last hour
with Kelly Graves about the women's basketball
program and how NIL and Transfer Portal and,
you know, people signing contracts like we're
in a business office have really changed the
tenor of the game. So maybe basketball. where
we start for Dana Altman because another defection.
I can call it that. That's what it is. Now, there's
five players that are officially not going to
be back. Two of them are graduates. And then
Deserick Lindsey, Kwame Evans Jr., Jackson Shelstad
all have entered the transfer portal, and I don't
think it's done yet. Do you? No, I don't think
it's done at all. I think there will be at least
a handful more names. Who knows? Maybe some coaches.
I think coaches are going to leave. Yeah, that's
the pertinent conversation right now. I think
that the men's program is definitely at an inflection
point. Where they go from here will be interesting
to see. I know there's a very loud group of Oregon
fans on social media that want Dana to leave.
You know, I don't... I don't know where I stand
on that. I don't think he can be fired. I think
he deserves the respect to if he's going to leave,
leave on his own accord. I don't think Rob Mullins
would ever be the guy to say that, hey, we're
going to get rid of you. He's been there for
so long and been so successful. I just don't
think you'd do that. On the other hand, do I
think this program could use a new face, a new
jolt of energy? I'd be lying if I said no. But
I think that it has to be on his decision to
leave if he wants to. I think the interesting
part of this, Zach, is that we don't know the
behind -the -scenes, and it's NIL, right? I mean,
if he had Kentucky's $22 million or North Carolina's
$14 million, he probably pays Kwame Evans and
Jackson Shellstead, and they're back, and probably
grabs two other guys in the portal, and he's
a preseason top 25. If he's got $6 million or
$7 million maybe that we're hearing, then you're
not going to get there. So is it almost like
a question of... Whoever the coach is, you kind
of got to have the funding. I mean, it feels
like Dana's history and his staff, if they've
got the money, but it almost feels like you either
got to fund him and tell him you've got the money
to go or then you make a change because you can't
go into next season as a dead man walking. You
can't go into next year with a terrible roster
knowing that the fan base is kind of tuned out,
the attendance is going to be down, and you're
going to have another 10 and 22 season in a loaded
conference. It feels like you either have to
fund him now and say, we're giving you the money
to go get players. or you make a change because
you can't have another season like next year
or else it's just basically six months of everybody
saying Dana's gone. Yeah, I agree. And it's partly
the funding and it's also partly the evaluation.
I mean, you look at Oregon's roster this past
year and you look at what makes a successful
college roster. You got, you know, two to three
core pieces and then fill around it with the
transfer portal. That's just what today's day
and age is. They had that this last year. Of
course, injuries really took a toll down the
stretch. Some of the transfers they brought in
just didn't work out. Sometimes that happens.
Sometimes you just miss. So I think going forward,
yeah, you do have to say up front how much you're
going to fund and how much you're going to help
out. But it's not that they don't have enough
NIL to be at least competitive. This is Oregon.
It's a big program. Yeah, they may not be spending
$22 million on their roster, but they're enough
to win more than 12 games. I can tell you that
right now. So they've got to better evaluate
some of their players. Now it's just, you know,
where do you get those core pieces? Are you bringing
in 10 new transfers this year and going from
there? I don't know. That's tough to do. But
we'll see. I don't envy anyone in the decision
-making places right now. Zach Neal joining us
on the Oregon Man Clinics Hotline. It's the Danny
and Justin and Goose show here on a Thursday
from the Bigfoot Beverages Studios, Fox Sports,
Eugene, Fox Sports, Newport. But, guys, when
we have this discussion, and I'll come back to
this, It's easy just to point to money and say
that was the reason. I think there's something
more fundamental going on. I think that money
plays into it, but it's not the be -all, end
-all. I think that there has been a real concern,
whether it's legitimate or not, that, quote -unquote,
the game is passing Dana by. And so I'll throw
it out there like that, because if you would
have gone back to Jackson Shelstad, who is an
Oregon kid, and say, I'm going to give you X
amount of dollars. to stay because he came back
and people don't remember this a very short -term
memory nate biddle and jackson shelstad and kwame
all said they wanted to come back and play for
dana another year and then it imploded i said
it was a train that ran off the tracks that caught
on fire and then was at the bottom of a lake
the fire was out but you're now train is at the
bottom of the lake so i'll ask you jack zach
has the game passed dana by yes or no I don't
know. See, but if you're pausing, then there's
not just saying. That's the question, though.
It's easier to say yes than no right now. I mean,
he used to be the guy that could go to the transfer
portal and get these guys before anyone else,
not before anyone else, before most people were
doing it, and that's how he found that extra
edge. That's how he aligned the Rubik's Cube
and did Dane Altman things in February. Now everyone's
kind of doing it. It's kind of like when Chip
Kelly found the key at Oregon early in the decade.
And then everyone started to do it, and that's
when everyone caught up to him. So how do you
find that next thing? Is Dane Altman the guy
to find that next thing or take this program
to the next level or even get it back to the
level it was at? Because they've been really
successful under him. They just had a couple
of down years, and I know last year they went
to the tournament. I still don't think they were
as good last year as the record showed. I don't
know. That's an easy cop -out answer, but I don't
know where you go from here. So positives for
both sides. There's negatives for both sides.
I'm with you, Zach. And I think another part
that goes into this, and we talked about the
modern game now, and I think Dana on the court
has adapted to the modern game. And like you
say, he was actually ahead of the field in terms
of bringing in the grad transfers and mining
Canada with Mike Menega. That's falling off.
I mean, we've seen since the Shelstad, the last
two recruiting classes two years ago, it was.
Jamari Phillips, who has not happened, and last
year was Frakes, who redshirted. So they basically
haven't had an impact freshman in two years.
My question would be, in a season -ending sit
-down with him, A, do we bring up the idea of
a general manager? Do you have to have a general
manager now, especially if you're Dana, who's
not known as the one who's always been the most
out -there recruiter? He's had guys on his staff
doing that. And, again, you get to his staff.
It's a staff that's won a lot of games, but it's
also a staff, a lot of people who have left,
and he's brought back, and he's been loyal to.
And I wonder if there's a point where you look
and see McKenna and Fish and Stubblefield and
Jamison and those. Do you need to mix that thing
up a little bit? So I guess I would just say
without – do you think maybe you need to redo
the – You're running out of voice. Redo the chain
of command there, whether it becomes a GM or
bring in assistants. I think, yeah, that's definitely
a solid question. I'm wondering what Stubblefield
is, what his role is in all of this. I know that
he was a huge addition to bring back. He's Dana's
right -hand man. He's an incredible recruiter.
I don't know. I think that there's a lot of hard
questions that need to be asked and answered
this offseason. Football -related story that
I know you covered earlier in the week on Monday,
but kind of a bit surprising for sure. With Kenyon
Sadiq signing with Adidas. And it's definitely
a surprise. But I guess the question is, do you
think this means anything? Or do you think this
just happened to be one of those things? I think
people forget, by the way, that Adidas' headquarters
is up in Portland. So it's not too far away from
us here in Eugene. But do you think it means
anything? Or do you think this just really came
down to dollars and cents? I don't know, man.
No, it's a weird story that I feel like – I mean
people talked about it a little bit when it came
out. I don't know. I forget what it was. Monday
probably. Yeah, that's kind of weird. It's kind
of flown under the radar since then. I would
love to ask him or ask someone in the know because
it definitely caught me off guard to start. He
seems like an Oregon guy. It seems like he would
go with Nike, but hey, maybe Adidas did just
come out with a bigger check, a bigger bag, and
he went with them. It's not like he's the only
one going Adidas. You look at that list of, I
think, 14 players assigned with him. Yeah, some
of the top guys in the draft, a lot of first
-round draft picks. It's like, okay, it makes
sense. They're making a push for this draft class.
But, yeah, that one surprised me a little bit.
I'm curious to see what the numbers look like
on that contract. So Oregon will resume spring
practices. Spring game is on the 25th of April
here shortly. And, of course, the draft's going
to be on the 23rd. We've got a big party up at
the club at Autzen. And I think the biggest buzz
is coming out of the combine and then the pro
day is Dylan Thienemannstock shot up, especially
because of his 40 time. Kenyon Sadiqs. Didn't
need to even hardly go any higher, but it shot
up a little bit more based on performance. And
then the question mark to me, I think both of
those guys, and correct me, Zach, if I'm wrong
at the end of this question, I'll keep it shorter.
is that Sadiq and Thieneman, to me, seem to be
locks in the first round, especially if you take
a look at the teams and what their needs are
going to be. The one that I really have a question
on is Emmanuel Pregnan because offensive linemen,
they're not a dime a dozen, a little bit better
if you're a tackle rather than a guard. However,
I think he's sneaking up people's charts as well,
and I think based on needs, he could actually
go in the first round. Your thoughts? He could
potentially. I agree with you that Thienemann
and Sadiq feel like first -round locks. Pregnon
is that one. I mean, I've looked back, and from
my research, Oregon has never had three first
-round drafts. They've had two several times.
I think they tie that again this year. If I had
to put money on it, Pregnon goes second round
probably somewhere in the mid to late 30s. But
it'll be interesting to see. I mean, I talked
to... Name drop, Bucky Brooks from NFL .com.
Yes, this is a Believe podcast. And he was talking
about, you know, Dienemann shot up. He's got
him going, I think, number 18 or 19 to Minnesota.
He actually had Sadiq lower. He had him going
number 29 to Kansas City. No. Whoa, that is the
lowest I have ever seen. But he said that, you
know, some teams just aren't as sold on his abilities
because of smaller size tight end. I'm more open
to the fact of him. going somewhere in the 20s
and maybe dropping a little bit still first round
but maybe not that 11 18 range uh but i don't
know this is also a the time of the draft calendar
where there's not a lot going on and we're kind
of making up storylines. Just ask Dan Orlowski
what he thinks and you'll kind of get what stage
we're at here. Let's make up another one then.
I love doing that. So just looking at this class,
Oregon over the last few years has had guys,
Bucky Irving, I think Tez Johnson did better
than his draft position last year. I think I'll
give you my answer first. I think it's, for me,
going to be Malik Benson's a guy that I think
wherever he gets drafted, it'll be a better value
than where he is drafted. Is there a guy that
you look in this class that you say, hey, whoever
gets this guy, wherever it is, he's going to
get a good player? Yeah, I mean, Malik is a good
answer. I think that he's got an NFL, you know,
future ahead of him. I've been surprised to see
how high Bryce goes in some of these mocks. I've
seen him in, like, third round, like in the 90s
range. That seems incredibly high to me. I think
he's more of a fourth, fifth -rounder, special
teams player. But I'm interested to see what
his NFL career looks like because we know him.
We've seen him play in Oregon forever. He's going
to be that guy. Effort is not going to stop his
career. Maybe he doesn't get the shine down the
road that some of these other huge... physically
gifted linebackers get, but he's going to be,
you know, one of the hardest working special
teams players to start his career. We'll see
where that gets him, but I'm just, I'm fascinated
by what his career turns out to be. All right,
Zach, last question for you, and it is still
staying around the draft. For Dan Lanning and
what he's been building in Eugene for his program,
and part of the selling point is what Alabama
built and Georgia built and Texas has built,
is that you come play for us, you are going to
get a great opportunity to play on Sundays. And
that's been proven out, and Justin just mentioned
several of them. But this could be another half
-dozen, eight. 10 players getting drafted again
out of the Oregon program. So draft day is becoming
more and more important for Dan Lanning's recruiting
process, isn't it? Oh, absolutely. I mean, you
look at, it's only the number of guys getting
drafted, I think. Yeah, you probably have eight,
maybe nine this year. You look at the guys that
got drafted that came to Oregon for only a year.
And yes, some opposing fan bases say, yeah, you
didn't develop those guys. Those aren't homegrown
talent. Look at someone like Malik Benson or
Jaden Kennedy and then go into the transfer pool
and say, hey, this is what you could be. Those
guys had no draft stock last year. They came
to Oregon and played for a year. Now they're
for sure getting drafted. I mean, that's such
a selling point for this program. And then you
look at all the guys that could have been drafted
this year but decided to come back for another
year. I mean, there's a chance that this draft
class could have had 14, 15 guys in it had everyone
declared. Fortunately, another good sign for
the program, they wanted to come back for another
year and say, hey, we're going to compete for
a national championship again. So, yeah, this
is turning out to be one of the most intriguing
and important days for Oregon football. Ducks
Wire, you can catch him on the Believe in Oregon
podcast, Ducks Rising podcast. It's the great
Zach Neal. Follow him on Twitter, Zachary C.
Neal, N -E -E -L. Zach, I'm glad you have a valid
ID now. You can break it in with Steve any time
you want. Always appreciate your time. Congratulations
on the move. Keep everybody safe and happy, and
we'll talk to you soon. Let's get Steve some
water first. No, he's fine now. Get him some
water. I didn't think the question was ever going
to end. He's trying to get it out. I wanted to
help him so bad. He pushed through. I'm back
to good. I'm back to good. As I always tell you,
Zach, tell your better half, Mac, I said hello.
I will. Thanks, guys. Thanks. We'll see you.
There he goes, the great Zach Neal. Always a
great insight. I say that pretty much from all
the guests that we have. Well -deserved. And
be able to have fun while we're doing this. Don't
take life so seriously. Steve almost died in
that interview. Zach's voice often sounds like
he's got a little parched, too. He's got kind
of that throaty voice. He's got a distinctive
voice. It sounds like he's parched a lot, too.
Maybe I was just trying to do my Zach impersonation.
That was kind of funny. I thought you were going
to pass out. You turned red as a beet. When we
come back, we are going to dissect the transfer
portal, NIL, the money. You've heard from Kelly
Graves. You've heard from Zach Neal. Now you're
going to hear from us knuckleheads. Us chuckleheads
are going to be... I also want to talk about
the first games tonight in the Sweet 16 that
you're going to hear right here on Fox Sports
Eugene, Fox Sports Newport. Well, baby, Jay's
got his work cut out for him. He's going to have
to have a two -hour podcast uploaded wherever
you platform your music and or talk. Danny and
Justin, go search that. You don't want to miss
Kelly Graves' great interview with Coach Graves
talking about what Oregon is going to do to evaluate
talent and pay people. That was as honest as
you'll hear a coach say, and that's the thing.
You normally get a lot of coaches speak at this
point. He was very honest, I thought. And that's
why we love the Bakuna. But we've got him, we've
got Melissa Lombardi, and we just finished up
with Zach Neal, which was very entertaining because
Steve almost lost his life during the interview.
So I'm not going to read. You go back and listen
to it again. It's all on Memorex. Don't relitigate
it. I'm not going to. So in this segment, let's
talk a little bit more about the transfer portal,
NIL money. Because Oregon, and I don't think
I'm going, I'm not stretching this at all. Oregon,
as a university, as an athletic department, made
the decision years ago that they were going to
heavily invest into the football program to win
a national championship. pushing all of the resources
they can that direction. So then programs like
men's and women's basketball, men's baseball,
softball, they are, I'm not saying they're fighting
for scraps, but there's a lot more demand on
the coaches and assistant coaches' time to go
out and try and raise funds or have their own
little, like Mark Wasikowski's got the Diamond
Ducks. So Joe Giansanti is behind that along
with, I think, I think Pat Kilkenny is a part
of that as well. So they're a fundraising arm
for baseball, specifically for baseball. Softball
is looking for something like that. We just had
a discussion about money for women's basketball.
Same thing for men's basketball when it comes
to going out and recruiting players, keeping
players, going out for the high school. What
I'm saying is not that those other sports are
at a disadvantage, but in some respects they
are, and a lot of schools go that route. So I'm
not saying good, bad, or indifferent for the
University of Oregon. So I'm just throwing that
as the starting point for you guys. Agree? Disagree?
So first off, this is one of the most difficult
things to discuss, whether it be radio or media,
because we don't know the answers. Normally we're
used to contracts and things we can FOIA and
get public records. These are not public records.
An exact example of this was we just had Kelly
Graves on, and he said, hey, we're not the richest
people out there, just to let you all know. And
then we had Zach Neal on, and he said, hey, Oregon's
got money, this and that. So that just shows
you that we don't know what that number is. Maybe
Kelly's got a certain amount that he knows that
sounds like a lot, but that's not a lot compared
to what South Carolina and the others are doing.
And maybe Zach's talking about, hey, Oregon's
got enough, but is it Kentucky money, this and
that? So we don't have the exact number, which
makes it difficult. And that was my point to
get to with Zach there was it's tough to have
the Dana Altman discussion without knowing how
much NIL money they have. Because you could have
John Wooden and if you gave him two nickels as
his NIL money and. The worst coach in the world's
got $22 million over here. The other guy's beating
John Wooden. So it's no longer just, hey, you've
got to have relationships and this and that.
So that's the part that's difficult in the Dana
Altman discussion for me. And as I told you earlier,
I think you have three options with Dana Altman.
One is you've got to fund him. Look, right now
he needs probably $10 to $12 million to put together
a roster that can beat in the Big Ten next year.
The Big Ten has six teams in the Sweet 16 tonight
and tomorrow. They're not getting any worse next
year. They're still funding. If Dana Altman has,
and I have been told. Seven to seven and a half
million is their NIL this year. If that's what
he's got, that roster they have is not going
to be good enough to compete. It's going to be
another middling season, and then it's a dead
coach walking season, which is your biggest disaster
as an AD because nobody's in the stands and nobody
cares about your team. So you either fund him,
or if you're not going to do that, then you fire
him, and then you try to rejuvenate your crowd
base by saying, hey, we've got a new young coach,
but the worst alternative is the dead coach walking,
which is my fear, is they're going to tell Dana,
hey, we're not going to get rid of you after
one bad year, but you've got to get this thing.
going, but do it with this budget that's ninth
or tenth in the Big Ten. Then he comes in ninth
or tenth, and the fans are like, hey, this team
isn't good. So to me, it's a fund him, fire him,
or it's a dead coach walking, and I fear that
the worst case scenario is it's going to be part
three. Yeah, I think the biggest thing for me
is that I just think it's going to be hard for
them to rebuild a team that's going to be competitive
based on where the roster is right now. So it
does seem to me that you have to fund them. Or
else you're basically going to end up with a
team that's, I think, going to be worse than
9th or 10th. I think they're going to be closer
to where they were this year because looking
at where their roster is going to be right now,
it doesn't seem like it's even what it was this
year. Between graduation and transfers, half
the roster is already turning over. Correct.
And more likely. And more likely. So I'll throw
out Sean Stewart, Wei Lin, Jamari Phillips, and
I'll even say Devon Pryor. And then I am still
concerned, and I brought this up the other day,
about Taj Ariza. Because he's the five -star.
There's only three players in the class, and
one of those is a football player. Kendrick Harrison
is that. I'm not counting him. So there's basically
two recruits coming in from the high school level.
It's just Ariza, isn't it? No, there was another
kid. Look it up. I think there's one more. Sneak
in there and take a peek. But, yes, Ariza could
ask out at some point. He could say, this isn't
the team I said I was signing with. He's a five
-star, and as a freshman, he could go to most
programs. I said two, right? Most programs. It's
just those two. Okay, Kendry and Ariza? Taj,
yeah. And Taj? Okay. And one of them's not joining
the team until January 25th. And not in Dana's
system. That's not going to work. I'm not counting
him. They tried that before with Eric Armstrong.
It did not work. I would have to get to know
young Taj Ariza's game a little bit better because
his dad was a 3 and D guy. So I'm not going to
sit here and say he's the same game as dad. Either
way, if he's a five -star, he's scoring. I'm
assuming that he's going to be a scorer. I think
it could go either way with a guy like that because
you could either sit there and say, hey, you've
got the keys to the kingdom. You're going to
get as many shots as you want. You can get your
minutes. You're going to be able to have room
for being able to fail a little bit. But couldn't
he do that in a lot of programs? He could. He
also could like Dana Altman. He could like what
they have here. I hope that's the case for Dana's
staff, be able to show that he can still do that
because it's— Crazy for me to say he has to go
out and prove himself, but it's almost like he's
got to go out and prove himself right now and
to the fan base. And the only way that happens
is success on the floor. You can't have a moral
victory next year. That is just out of the picture,
and that's the corner that's been painted. But
this is accelerated because of the money, because
of the portal. This is not the way that coaches
used to recruit and maintain rosters. Not even
close. No. And as Baby J said, he has to rebuild
his roster. Again, if you have $15 million, you
can do that. You can go out and get players to
do that. If you have $7 million, now you're getting
a bunch of 500 ,000s and you're not rebuilding
it. So that's the thing. We've seen Rick Pitino.
Got St. John's right there. He was all of a sudden
had the money guy who's there with St. John's.
The teams that have that, you can rebuild it
with money, but you can't tell Dana, hey, do
what you've always done and bring in some young
guys and we'll build this thing up and we'll
add in a couple guys here and there on your $6
million budget because he's not going to be able
to compete with Illinois, Michigan, and the others
in the Big Ten doing that. But money isn't the
only factor here. It plays an important role.
Okay, have you ever? Whatever Jackson Selstad's
getting somewhere else, you tell me if Oregon
didn't go one more dollar than he went. to come
back? No, I'm not saying that. But what I'm saying
is this. Have you ever made a bad hire before?
Have you ever paid somebody? Nobody's ever put
me in charge of hiring anybody before. I'm not
as important as you, Danny. Stop. My point is
that you can spend money on someone and it's
the wrong dollars that you're spending. Kentucky
had the highest salary. So money is not the only...
It is a factor. I'm not dismissing. I've been
saying that for since this has all happened.
However, there is the other part of it, and Kelly
Graves has had success, and you heard him say,
if you didn't, go back to the podcast and listen
to it, and he said this multiple times on our
program, right, Baby J, where it's like, if I
sit down with a kid and all they're about is
how much you're going to pay me, thanks but no
thanks. I don't care how talented you are because
that's not what I want to build within this program.
Now, if you come up within the program, you've
proven yourself, and you have earned, More of
what that means, I say go for it. Jackson Shelstad,
I think was, and this is me talking. This is
not, I haven't had a conversation with Jackson
Shelstad. I think he looked at what happened
this year and he doesn't see a way out except
for going to another team where he can have more
success and know he's going to go to the NCAA
tournament. That to me is my theory. I think
so too. I think that, I don't know. I kind of
felt like he might leave regardless of what was
going on though. It just felt like. Some team.
I don't know. For some reason, the team that
comes in my head is Arizona. I just feel like
Arizona is going to offer him a bunch of money
or something like that. Probably will. But who
knows if Tommy Lloyd's going to stay there. I
think the thing I just keep on thinking about
with Dana Altman. North Carolina's calling Tommy.
Go ahead. I think the thing is with Dana Altman
is the reason I go back and forth about it is
because, like we're saying with Scott Barnes
and all the hires the Beavers have done, you
kind of have to hire for where you're at. And
it does feel like. And we're now transitioned
to a new era than when the Dana Allman era started,
obviously. And so on one hand, it's hard to say
how that transition is going to go because we
haven't seen him with the right funding. We haven't
seen him with the roster. We haven't seen him
put it together. Right. But at the other side,
it could be easy to see why it could be attractive
to hire somebody. in this new situation and say,
well, here's what we have now, and here's what
you're going to have to work with, and let's
see what you can do. But see, then you're talking
about a different coach, and the dollars are
still going to be the same. So it's the whole
Penn State argument that we had in football,
is if you're going to get rid of a James Franklin,
you cannot make a lateral move. in the coaching
ranks. You need to make a hire that's going to
move you up. But to me, I don't even see it as
a coaching thing. I think Dana Altman, in terms
of the best coach available, he's got to be the
best coach that Oregon has available to them.
But in terms of the roster building, and this
is something that you talked about, I don't know,
a few weeks ago when you were on the show, they
might just need to put somebody that is able
to manage those sort of things around him. And
then just let him coach. That might be the best
solution to all this. But I could also see why
it could be attractive to a university, especially
because I agree with everybody. He should be
able to determine when he leaves. But he's also
not going to be around here forever. It's not
going to be another 10 years of Dana Altman.
So whenever the transition happens, it has to
be a smooth one. And the biggest problem, and
we discussed this last time too, is you bring
in a GM tomorrow, that's for next year. These
teams have already started. The players in the
portal have already said who. It would be hard
to hire a GM now and say, hey, get this a great
roster next year because those relationships
haven't been built. You bring in a GM, and it's
hard to, because most of the guys are already
in and out of the portal on that one. there.
I would also say, yeah, if you're getting rid
of Dane Altman, who are you bringing in? Because
you're not in the North Carolina pool. You're
not in the Tommy Lloyd. You're not in the Dusty
May pool. You're not in that one. You're in a
different pool, and I don't know who that person
would be that gets us around. Last thing, two
years ago, Kelly Graves was in the same spot.
I know he was. They were not good. There were
people asking if he should come back, and he
bounced back with two straight tournament ones.
Right. And Rob Mullins had the patience on that
one there when some people were saying, hey,
the game's passed. Kelly Graves, bye. And Kelly
brought in Deja Kelly, was a big money person
that they paid a decent amount. Sophia Bell and
Katie. And they got it going there. So you give
Dana that opportunity. But again. Kelly had some
funds there because Deja Kelly was an expensive
one. That was a three -time All -ACC one. Do
you have to, I think if you're expecting Dana,
what's the old definition of insanity, doing
the same thing and expecting different results?
If you're expecting Dana to have a roster like
last year and do better, it's not happening.
So you have to have more funds for him. So that's
why I say you either have to fund him or you
get rid of him or next year is just going to
be basically going through a walkthrough of this
year and you're just putting it off for a year.
So are we diminishing the effect that coaching
can have on teams? You say I can just go be the
New York Yankees and buy a roster or the Dodgers
and buy everybody up and just throw everyone
out there? I think you could win 90 games with
the Dodgers this year. I didn't want to bring
up the Dodgers. But so, I mean, there was an
old adage is that some of the greatest coaches,
and this was more related in football than anything
else, is that I could take my roster and my team
and beat you with my guys, and then I could take
my same exact roster and with your guys and beat
my guys. If you think that. But, you know, who's
the great, you know, the North Dakota State coach,
if you think he could take his roster and beat
a team that had a worse coach. The great example
of this is Texas Tech football. If you look at
people ranking the top, and there's a lot of
postseason football polls, like rank the top
25 college football coaches. Joey McGuire's not
on a lot of those. He made the playoffs this
year. But people are like, they just bought the
guy a roster, and he's the guy who puts them
all together. People don't look at Joey McGuire
as one of the top 10, 15, 20 coaches in college
football. They just say he was able to go out
and buy a roster. roster. So, yes, we have reached
a point to where maybe it's the Barry Switzer
with replacing when Jerry Jones got drunk and
said, hey, I can hire Barry Switzer to do it.
And he did it. If you have the talent, that coach
can do it. For one year. For one year. But you
also can't tell Dana Altman, hey, we're going
to give you this amount and everybody else in
the league has this amount and you've got to
go beat them. It doesn't happen that way. Well,
so that's what I'm saying. There has to be a
balance somewhere between the coaching and the
funding. And I think that's where the trick comes
in. in for successful programs. And that's where
I think some of this gets lost in the conversation
because it's like, well, we can just throw money
at it. Well, not necessarily because if I don't
have the right guy doing the X's and O's stuff,
it doesn't matter how much money I throw at it.
And Zach made that point too. Zach had said,
hey, you know, it's, yeah, it's, and he kind
of shot back on what I said, but he's probably
correct. Hey, yeah, you can put money at it,
but they had money and they got some guys that
maybe weren't, you know, Waylon wasn't a great
fit for Oregon and Devin Pryor wasn't a great
fit for Oregon. And yeah, you can put money.
I remember me and you were. in here doing the
show, Justin, the day Devin Pryor. And it was
like, hey, well, he only averaged three points
at Texas, but he's a former four -star, it looks
like. And maybe that was what Oregon thought,
and it turns out he wasn't more than that. I
do think that one benefit that you have in basketball
versus a football program is that one player
means so much more in basketball. We talked about
this. It was in our open for forever. You get
two or three of them, you're set. All of a sudden,
you have a completely different team. Hence the
$10 million roster. If you get three $2 million
guys, all of a sudden you've got a team. I would
go top -heavy. I would absolutely go top -heavy
if I'm Oregon right now. And look, Ariza's a
five -star guy. Those are $2 million to $3 million
guys right there. Like I said, I was told last
year they were in the $7 million to $7 .5 million,
but half that was the three guys that they brought
back. So they didn't have as much. And then TK
Simpkins was the top guy that they got in there
for like $7 .50. So now you're at like $4 million.
So now Dana, with the rest of the roster to put
together, only have like $3 million, whereas
other guys are filling out their roster with
guys that are making $2 million and $3 million
at a time. So you're telling me that they freed
up a lot of cap money? Yeah, in the last couple
of weeks. They did, but again, even if you now,
if you're, again, if we're at the $7 million,
and even if you do what you, I want to go top
heavy, okay, so you go two $3 million guys, and
then you're filling, you know, it's the old fantasy
and fantasy baseball. I know, it's like that,
yeah. It's scrubs and stars. Stars and scrubs
theory in fantasy baseball. Hey, we want, I want
Otani and Judge on my two guys in the auction,
and then I'm just going to fill out the roster.
Who are your $1 guys? Exactly. They need some
good $1 guys. But then there's one injury, and
it blows up the entire process. I think that's
still what you have to do, because it's, seems
to me that you're more likely to build a team
that's going to be able to do something with
a couple guys than a bunch of pretty good guys.
And that's generally, obviously you want a good
all -around team, but you can't have both. You
can't have your cake and eat it too in this situation.
Well, Dana's coming back. He's got two years
left on a contract that paid him $8 million total,
$4 million a year. It's guaranteed. So that was
one of the reasons I think that there was some
pause. It was just like, okay, again, if you're
going to go out and get somebody, you're going
to have to pay Dana the $8 million, and you're
going to have to get somebody who's going to
move us up and move us forward without committing.
more resources to it, or maybe not. Again, we're
not in the room. This is all supposition. This
is all conjecture on our part. But from the outside
looking in, that's what it appears to be. I mean,
there is a beautiful new football facility, practice
facility. I mean, how many players could that
have bought? Now, that money was earmarked by
certain donors to be able to go do that, but
that's the investment in the football program.
That's when I started this whole thing is that
Oregon has made a commitment, and I'm not just
from the outside looking in. I'm not saying it's
good, bad, or indifferent. They have made an
investment. and a commitment to the football
program. They've got a beautiful new basketball
office. That new building next to MKU. It's been
there for a couple years. It's beautiful. It's
fantastic. Can you believe Matt Knight Arena?
How old is it now? It's 2010, so 16 years. 16
years old. That's crazy how old it is. And you
know what? If this team is not good next year,
it's going to be a ghost town, and it's going
to be miserable. So that's why I say you can't
do the dead coach walking. You either fund him
or you fire him. Don't have a dead coach walking.
All right, real quick, I'm just going to go around
the table real fast. The first of the Sweet 16
games tonight starts here in a few minutes right
here on Fox Sports. Eugene Fox Sports in Newport.
Who wins between Texas and Purdue? Goose. I've
been in on Purdue all year. Purdue, you're wrong.
I like Braden Smith and Purdue. They got a true
point. I like that in this situation. Nebraska,
Iowa. Ooh, all Big Ten right there. I would say
Nebraska. Wrong. I am not a Hoiberg fan. I'm
going to go with Iowa. If you don't like us,
the Bulls? And you're still angry about the Bulls?
Still, still. Arizona, Arkansas. I think it was
one of the best games of the night. This is one
I want to watch. It's going to be a 6 .45 tip
our time. Yep. Give me Arizona in that one, but,
yeah, that's going to be a fun one. Okay. Give
me Acuff. I don't know. He's just electric. I
wouldn't count him out. Well, Arizona 7 .5. This
is about when Arizona always falls apart. It's
always Sweet 16, Elite 8, one of those two. I
don't have them moving on, so I'm taking Arkansas
there. And then Houston, Illinois, which is another
intriguing game. Yeah. I like Illinois in this
game. I've been on Illinois all year long, but,
man, this time of year, give me Kelvin Sampson
over Brad Underwood. It feels like they're ready
to win the big one at some point. Yeah, Houston.
But I'll take Illinois. Oh, a joke! I got fired
from the bank today. A woman asked me to check
her balance, so I pushed her. Dad jokes! What's
a mountain's favorite type of pet? It's a mountain's
favorite type of pet. It can't be a mountain
lion. It's a peaking dog or a peaking something?
It's a rockwiler. A rockwiler. Did you get the
satisfaction you were looking for? Absolutely.
A peaking duck is what I meant to say. A peaking
duck. We need to have a groan button on the hotkeys
over there tomorrow. Two hours. Thanks, Goose.
Yeah, that was fun. Thanks for having me on.
All right. Tomorrow on the program, we're going
to have Stitch Head talking about baseball, and
he's going to be at the Oregon USCB Series. So
put a smile on your face. Someone else, they
deserve it. So do you. God bless. Basketball
next. Peace.