FIRST BLOOD in the Portal — Gainey Gets His Guy & We React LIVE | Tuffy Talk LIVE

🐺🔴 The Justin Gainey era at NC State is officially underway — and tonight we are breaking it ALL down LIVE with the Tuffy Talk crew!

Christian Hammond out of Santa Clara has become the FIRST commit of the Gainey era, and Wolfpack Nation should be excited. We dive into who he is, what he brings to the table, and what this signing says about the direction Gainey is taking this program.

We also get into the full transfer portal picture — who's leaving, who Gainey is targeting, and whether Paul McNeil is coming back. The portal closes April 21st and every day matters.

🔥 TONIGHT'S TOPICS:
⚾ NC State Baseball is ROLLING — Pack9 recap and road trip ahead
🏈 NC State Football Spring Wrap-Up — Is 2026 a 10-win season waiting to happen?
🏀 Gainey's First Portal Commit — Christian Hammond breakdown
🏀 Transfer Portal chaos — who's in, who's out, what's next
🏆 NC State Athletics earns Top 12 in the Learfield Directors' Cup — the program is THRIVING

#NCState #GoPack #CollegeBasketball #TransferPortal #CollegeBaseball #TuffyTalk
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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 1:55

What's going on, Wolfpack Nation? Welcome to another edition of the Tuffy Talk Live Show. You got myself, Layden Smith, Greg Deleg Carson, joining us here. We are excited to be back once again and uh feeling a lot better here for sure. You know, as uh we finally have a lot of positive momentum across the entire NC State athletics, but also too as well, you know, the the weather's been great. Uh, you know, uh, you know, obviously uh Greg Deleg is feeling himself rocking a new addition in his background there. So uh uh, you know, Greg, you want to tell us a little bit about it?

SPEAKER_03 2:28

Yeah, it's a uh 2024 uh I I don't I don't know if it was like game issued or anything like that, but it's still regardless, it's cool. It's an authentic Pac-9 jersey that I picked up over the weekend for the uh Trey Turner victory over cancer research um extravaganza. So it was one of the cool items that that got auctioned off. I uh I had to tap out on a few items that got a little out of the budget. Um, the biggest item being a signed ball by Trey, Carlos Rodon, Mike Caldwell, and Dan Pleaseack, four of the five retired jerseys. That thing went over for over $2,500 for a uh assigned baseball. So I had to tap out on that one. And then there was a a helmet with all the players' signatures that was, I think, over like $1,500. So I got this one a little less than that. So I'm happy with my with my uh new edition. We'll get it framed up and uh add it to the fan cave.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

Yeah, like that. All right, good deal. Well, fun. So uh with that being said, Wolfpack Nation, we got a fun and great show here for you today. We're actually gonna be doing something a little different, uh, as we definitely still got a lot to get to here. Obviously, uh, with uh Justin Gainey getting his first edition in the transfer portal. Definitely talking some baseball now, which I know Greg Galleg has much more uh has much more of an appetite to actually talk about tonight. Uh, but also too, some other things as well. But but one thing which I do uh want to uh jump on here first and foremost here is uh some hot off-the-press news before we need to get into our uh into our more fun part of the show here, as uh NC State Wrestling uh comes into the portal red hot and gets a huge uh transfer. Jake Daly, uh the 2026 ACC tournament runner-up at 184 pounds, formerly from UNC, has gone across the triangle to wear the red and black. Uh red and white, you know. Sorry, sorry for all the you know the the the big alumni. The red and white official color accounts. Exactly. Um, but you know, again, obviously a a NCAA tournament qualifier. Uh again, AC tournament uh runner up here. Uh went 19 and uh six this past season, four and one in the ACC, only lost was uh to Virginia Tech. Um again, Greg, I mean I think you know it's it's I think a solid floor wrestler there, and especially once Hayden Hyde, Trent specifically. Like, I mean, that's that's the weight that Trent wrestled at for most of his career. Once Trent gets an opportunity to work with him, I mean, sky's the limit, I feel like, with this guy.

SPEAKER_03 5:07

Yeah, I think uh I think Trent's already playing, uh excuse me, paying early dividends, uh, coming back to back to Raleigh, and he's gonna have a probably a big influence on this new uh new transfer in, and it's nice to see him go from the dark side to the light side. So we'll take that anytime that we can get it.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

Yep, oh a hundred percent. So uh so again, you know, obviously love seeing that with with Pop and uh getting into the transfer portal, which is definitely not something that Pop is that it's really his MO, but in today's day and age, it's something that's kind of a necessity, especially especially when you're trying to compete at the at the top level. You got to get into the transfer portal, you know, for a couple pieces here for sure, but still rely a lot on development here too as well. Um, so with that being said, we are going to have some fun here. We're gonna play a NC State version of Family Feud. So uh so we got AI to help us out a little bit here, put together five questions, five rounds, uh, and uh we have uh uh six answers, I believe, for each one of them. Each one will have uh uh number of points, uh, and we're gonna have Greg and Carson going against one another. And so how we're gonna do it in terms of uh you know with the opening round is so basically from the moment I share my screen and show the question, I'll read the question and then basically we'll we'll test Greg and Carson's uh uh lag here a little bit. But first one, first hand I see raised, call it, and if it's on the board, then you get to play. We won't even ask about pass or playing, whatever. And then uh you answer as many as you can. But if you get three strikes, then the other person gets a chance to steal and get the points. So all right.

SPEAKER_03 6:49

Hold on before we get started. Hold on, before we get started, uh let's virtually shake our hands, Carson, like like they do on the Family Feed Feud. So we'll go ahead and virtually take like we're at the podium. All right, go ahead, Leighton.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

I love it. All right, so with that being said, our first question here name something you'd find at Carter Finley Stadium on game day. Greg? Mr. Wolf. Mr. Wolf is number four on the board here with 26 votes. Uh Carson, you got one to beat it? Concessions concessions is the number one answer with 38 votes. So, Carson, are you cool with playing? Uh are you passing? I'll pass. Wow, Greg, he's passing. Okay, okay, all right. So, Greg, so you got number uh one is hot dogs concessions. Number two, yeah. Oh crap, I messed up. Great. Well, hey, I messed up here, folks. I un accidentally unveiled the number two answer here. As I thought it went one, two, three, and then four, five, six. So boo-boo on my part here. So hey, Greg, guess what? You get so Carson here. I'll get Carson. You get you get the opportunity since you want it. Do you still want to pass, even though I basically gave you the number two answer?

SPEAKER_00 8:13

Uh no, I won't. I don't know. This is confusing now. Um, I'll take it.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

Let's go.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

All right, Greg. All right, Greg. So so number three, number five, and number six are out there. So what so what's another answer? I'm gonna go football players. Football players is a good answer, but didn't quite make it. So that is strike number one here. Give me another one. Hey, after they surveyed a hundred people, it just did not come up, okay? Well, I okay.

SPEAKER_03 8:47

Uh fans. No, and it's more of game day, you know, the experience. Okay, okay. Um the wolf pack chant.

SPEAKER_01 8:57

Not quite on this list. This is strike number two. Greg, come on, man. Dig into that, dig into it a little bit, man. Hey, think think think more think more tailgating. Oh, that's a little hint there.

SPEAKER_03 9:09

Um okay, uh grilling.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Grilling? Nope. Strike three. Carson, what you got, bud? Uh cars and trucks. Mm-mm. That's that's another strike there, folks. So we did we did so good to start off there, but uh number three, tailgate tents. Need those tailgate tents. Number five, some cowbells, you know.

SPEAKER_03 9:39

That is no.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

Hey, we let AI. That's that's the only one.

SPEAKER_03 9:45

It thought it you meant Mississippi State.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

Yeah, maybe, yeah, no, definitely. Yeah, it's it says right up there top, Greg. NC State.

SPEAKER_03 9:53

I know what it says, but we don't have cowbells. If this is is this cheerleaders?

SPEAKER_01 10:00

Uh Pac Pride flags, so some NC State flags. So all right. So uh this is why we should not invest in AI.

SPEAKER_03 10:10

Say no to data centers.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

Yeah, exactly. So all right, so same thing as last time. So so fast, fast get here. So uh once I name it, first one raise hand, gets it here. Name something NC State is academically known for. Uh Carson, what you got?

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Engineering.

SPEAKER_01 10:34

Engineering is the number one answer of 45 points there. Uh, the clear number one, actually. I'll give you that.

SPEAKER_03 10:40

I just want to say when people go rewatch this on on replay, you will see that my hand was up clearly first. But that's I didn't see it.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

I didn't see it in my in my in my venue here. Sorry, Greg. That's all right. All right, Carson. Uh, are are we playing?

SPEAKER_00 10:56

Yeah, uh veterinarian or vet vet school.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

Yep, veterinarians number five, and I'll make sure to click the right one this time. Veterinarian number five. Uh so right now you got no strikes. Number one, engineering, number five, veterinarian medicine. What's your next guess?

SPEAKER_00 11:15

All right, I'm sticking with STEM here. Let's go biology.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Biology is not on this list. Uh yeah, and yeah, no, I I need, I need, I need, uh, yeah, Greg. There, there you go. You you could be you could be my my sound effect. Carson, one strike. What you got next?

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Let's go education.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Strike two. Yeah, one more.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

Business.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Business. Strike three. Greg, you would you like to steal?

SPEAKER_03 12:06

Well, I I don't think I have a choice but to steal. So I, you know, I didn't go to NC State, so I'm already I'm kind of already screwed in this. Um, though I do know we have uh a history of these, so I'm gonna go R O T C.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Nope. That's another strike there, folks.

SPEAKER_03 12:28

So the Hunt Library is on this thing. I'm gonna be so mad because that's what I was thinking.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

No. Uh so number two, agriculture. Jeez, many duh. Yep. Number number three, textile design, making that's like what he got his degree in textile, number four, computer science, and then number six, architecture design. If he said design, I would have given that too as well. Our design school is one of the top in the country. So, hey, that's a little bit of uh now you now you know a little bit more.

SPEAKER_03 13:01

Well, you gotta make sure this points are split because I got the first one, he got the second one.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

Okay, okay. Uh, so so all right, so I'll keep I'll keep it. So so Greg got 191 and 191, and then let's see, nine plus I'm doing a little math here. 173. So 191 for Greg, 173 for Carson. So I'll have to I'll have to keep track of that here. So all right, uh 191 for Greg for Greg, and then 173. I said for 173 for Carson. Okay. So ignore ignore the scoreboard there at the top. So all right, next round, and this time I'm I'm laser focused. Now we got one for each, so I'm locked in. Name something a wolf pack fan does before a big game. Uh I saw Carson's.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

He had it. Yep. Tailgating.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Woo! Number one answer. 44 points. Let's go. All right, Carson, you passing a plan.

SPEAKER_00 14:06

Uh plan, sing the fight song.

SPEAKER_01 14:11

That's a good one. Let me double check here, make sure. You know, it's it's it's funny. You know what? I'm I don't like like two of these answers are kind of duplicated here. So I'm I'm gonna go in and say, you know what, Carson, you're right. Number three, I'm gonna give that one to you. So keep going, Carson. What you got next? Uh sing the national anthem. Can't give you that one, but strike number one here. What's your next guess?

SPEAKER_00 14:41

Watch the uh team run out of the tunnel.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Strike two.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

Get concessions.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

There we go. There we go. I'll give you that. Buy game day snacks. That's number six on the list. So right now, number one, tailgate. Number three, I'm I'm gonna put that as sing the fight song. Number six, buy game day snacks. What's your next guess? Poor game. Yeah, poor big game. And I'll give a little bit of a hint. Think think more of big football game. Not saying it's necessarily around football, but just like uh walking champions. No, that's a little too specific there. So I'm gonna have to give an X on that. So that's three strikes. Greg, what you got, bud?

SPEAKER_03 15:34

I I'm all right. I got one of two things. Uh I'm gonna go sing the fight song.

SPEAKER_01 15:47

Uh uh, Greg, uh, cars, that's that's number technical. That's that's I replaced that as number three. Okay, how about go take another guess?

SPEAKER_03 15:55

How about go throw up the wolves?

SPEAKER_01 15:59

Nope, not quite there. Uh very close though, uh, but not quite. Uh here, I'll show you what I'm what I'm talking here. So it's uh so at 61 points for Carson, which would put him at 234. Number two was Paintface Red and White. So kind of if I was said put on UNC state or whatever, I would probably give him that, but even though I did that for number three. Number four, trash talk UNC fans, right? I mean, got to trash talk UNC fans. Doesn't even matter if you're playing them or not. If you're playing playing Vanderbilt, it don't matter. You're trash talking UNC fans on game day. And then number five, you gotta check the weather, right? I mean, especially for a big football game. Gotta be able, gotta check the weather here. So all right, Carson. So you're at 234, my friend, heading into round number four. So here we go, folks. Let's jump into it. Number four, name something on NC State's campus that students love and think like, yep, Greg, I saw you first. What you got?

SPEAKER_00 17:00

It was Greg, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Uh the bell tower. The bell tower. This that that is on there at number five. Oh, wow. Carson, what you got? Carmichael Jim. Nope, not on this list. So Greg is passing.

SPEAKER_00 17:19

This is this is not accurate.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

Greg, what you got? You want to pass or play?

SPEAKER_03 17:26

Uh I'll play. I'll play. Um what you got? How about the hunt library?

SPEAKER_01 17:35

Oh, so close. That is gonna be an X, though. Okay. Alright. But but you're close. I'll give you a hint on that. Um strike one.

SPEAKER_03 17:46

How about like uh how about Tally? Tally Student Union.

SPEAKER_01 17:54

Yeah, that's number two. 27 votes there. So tally number two, bell tower number five. What's your what's your next guess, Greg?

SPEAKER_00 18:02

Uh let's go Reynolds. Yeah, Reynolds is on campus.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Yeah, but it should be on here. It should be on here, but it's not. So strike two. Okay. Greg, one more guess, bud. You got two strikes, Carson with a chance to steal.

SPEAKER_03 18:18

How about like the like the brickyard or the bricks in general?

SPEAKER_01 18:23

That is the number one answer. The brickyard. It's number one, 35 votes here. Pure eye. So um all right, keep going, Greg. What you got? Let's see, what else?

SPEAKER_03 18:34

Um all right, I'm just gonna go with this one because I know I like it, but I'm not a student. So how about howling cow ice cream?

SPEAKER_01 18:45

So think I I'll give you a hint. I'll that's three strikes. Okay, well, well, and and just and so okay, so fair enough. So, so I appreciate that, Greg, being being a man of true honor here that you're a good man. Carson, so so yeah, so the hint I was gonna give, so think more places, you know, like places on on N State's campus. So, Carson, what's your up? What's your chance to steal here, bud?

SPEAKER_00 19:11

Uh, give me Miller Field.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

Heck no, that's not on here. No, no, so that is 69 points.

SPEAKER_03 19:20

It's like Harrison Hall, isn't that a thing or something like that? No. What was that round building back in the day?

SPEAKER_01 19:26

Yeah, it was Harrelson.

SPEAKER_03 19:28

Harrelson, but it doesn't exist anymore. I know, but it's still it could still be a thing. I don't know. What do we got? All right. Hold on.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

I'm updating scores. So we're at 260 for Greg, 234 for Carson. So number three is a free expression tunnel. Uh yeah, that's good. Number four, DH Hill library, Greg. I said you were close.

SPEAKER_03 19:48

Yeah, I don't know that one. Again, wasn't a student.

SPEAKER_01 19:51

Number six, Court of Carolina.

SPEAKER_00 19:53

Oh my gosh, I should have guessed that one.

SPEAKER_03 19:55

I don't even know what that is. What is that? What is that? I have no idea.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

Oh, it's this it's this massive courtyard right next to the bell tower. It's um sort of in it's it's so there's there's Tompkins Hall, Caldwell, and Winston, which is like right next to the bell tower. Okay. Um, and like you have Hillsborough Street, the halls, and then on the other side you have the Court of Carolinas.

SPEAKER_03 20:19

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 20:21

Yeah, love it. Well, some things, some things were definitely missed by AI on this thing.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

Yeah, but hey, I mean, but you I mean you got me. I I think of all the ones so far, this is one that's definitely not yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:33

I don't know how I forgot about the free expression tunnel. That was it's not a library. So, okay, all right. So before we move on to the next one, is that library like should that library be over hunt?

SPEAKER_01 20:44

Uh it's tough. I I feel like I feel like Carson, it's it depends. Like DHL library has been there forever. Uh like it's it's and it's also too on main campus. Um, it's ripe, it's attached to the brickyard. So those are there's a lot of those pieces to it. Gotcha. But also it's very easy.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

Well, DHL is right next to the atrium, so that's why it's so popular right now.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Gotcha. Which for those that don't know the atrium is Carson.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Uh, it's this massive uh food court right next to the library. They got Chick-fil-A there, so enough said.

SPEAKER_01 21:21

Enough said, but with that being said, I mean, obviously, Hunt Library with the technology and with you know, just everything with it. If you haven't been to Hunt Library, it is insane. You gotta go for sure. So but it's on in the uh Centennial campus, which is separate from main campus, so you know, so you know it it DHL definitely fits with this list the brickyard, the student union, the free expression tunnel, quarter Carolina Bell Tower. It's like the you know, the main campus. Yeah, main guns.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

Except they left out they left out Carmichael Jim. That is not accurate at all.

SPEAKER_01 21:59

It's a fake. List, yeah, no, that's true. That's true. All right. So, with that being said, for round number five, we are so close here. We're going to do one shot. All right. First hand gets first chance. If you get the number one answer, you win it automatically. But if you don't, uh if you don't get number one answer, the other other person gets an opportunity to say, and whoever gets the highest one that they that they picked wins it all. We're going to do it that way, folks. All right. So for our last round here, our last question. Keep in mind that we're, yeah, I mean, you're 260 for Greg, 234 for Carson here. So, but with that being said, name something you'd see at NC State basketball arena. Greg.

SPEAKER_03 22:44

Let's go with uh I'll go Mr. Wolf again.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

That's that's pretty good. Number two, Mr. Wolf. Number two, Carson.

SPEAKER_00 22:55

You got the number one answer in you, bud? Let's go with the uh the giant wolf logo on the basketball court.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

That is a good one. But nope, that is not on here. Number one was the student section. Okay. So that's good. Yeah, again, yeah, it's a pretty good one here. So with that being said, Greg, congratulations. You won all the money. You won ten thousand dollars. You gotta look into it. So applause for you, Greg. Great, great. But hope you hopefully y'all enjoyed it. And uh, you know, Carson, better luck next time. So with that said, let's jump into the discussion here, folks. So, first and foremost, the thumbnail, the big news of today about four hours ago, the commitment of Christian Hammond here, uh uh point guard from Santa Clara, ranked top 60 in the transfer portal by most services out there. Um, and again, there's the first blood for new head coach Justin Gainey here. So, Carson, when the news broke, first of all, how much of a shock was it for you? You know, do you you know, were you were you shocked at the news? And do you feel like also too that a guy, uh a player with Hammond's style, with his archetype, could fit a Justin Ganey system?

SPEAKER_00 24:09

Yeah, no, I I I wasn't shocked at all. I was pretty excited. Um, you know, he uh Santa Clara was a 10-seed in tournament this year, uh, played a really close game against Kentucky, and um Hammond was the top guy on that team. Um he's 6'4, was a sophomore. He averaged 15.6 points a game, which was the highest on his team.

SPEAKER_01 24:32

Yeah. Well, and Greg, obviously the biggest, I think, piece uh when it comes to this Christian Hammond news is the tie to a former NC State men's basketball coach. Uh you know, and Herb Sendek, who's been the head coach of Santa Clair for a couple for a few years now, uh, you know, do you think that I mean, how how much do you think it helped the the tie with Herb Sendek to Justin Gainey, uh, you know, in NC State?

SPEAKER_03 24:58

I don't think it hurt, to be honest with you. I think that um that um Hammond could could have or could not have, I don't know like what the relationship was, like talked to Syndek about Gainey, um, as a kind of, hey, is this you know potentially a good fit for me? Um, just you know, don't know what those conversations are. But I would assume that everything would have been positive had he gone back and talked to Syndic. Um, but again, like I said, I don't know what kind of terms he left on. Um, it sounds like about all situations that he that Hammond's just looking for a bigger opportunity and and a bigger league and bigger payday. So I don't probably think anything was uh a rye there necessarily with the coach, but yeah, I think it's um it it definitely helps for sure.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

Yeah. Well, and first of all, too, two comments here that came into which I couldn't even see because I was keeping an eye on the answer key here. Why saying if you read this a lot, I'll super chat. Hey, you know, this is this is the challenge. I'm the you know, the challenge is met. Yeah, welcome. Uh, but also too, see even uh Anthony as well, even got the free expression tunnel, Carson and Greg. Come on, you know.

SPEAKER_03 26:08

So look, it it's not as easy when you're on the spot, like thinking of things. I agree, especially with after that first category, and AI was like all over the place. So I I I don't speak AI.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

True.

SPEAKER_03 26:22

But that one was that that one was pretty basic for sure.

SPEAKER_01 26:25

Yeah, but you know, one other thing as well, too, uh, which I think really stood out for me when looking at Christian's uh, you know, stats and performance is one performance in particular. I mean, uh in in the WCC uh tournament final uh versus Gonzaga, he scored 24 points. So I mean, love to see that a big game versus a big opponent, and he stepped up, scored you 24 points for your team, uh, you know, which again is very impressive. Uh, for sure. We did definitely need that. But that kind of leads me to the next uh question here, Carson. To this is you know, there's definitely still sounds like some rumblings around Paul McNeil for sure. You know, even though he technically put his name in the portal, he's still definitely very involved. And again, like everything that we talked about when it comes to the relationship that Paul McNeil had with Justin Gainey, uh, you know, you know, recruiting him, you know, originally, um, you know, is still 100% there. And also, too, because you know that NC State is let's let's say is is gonna do a lot of what it takes to try and keep Paul McNeil around here. Uh, so I mean, I I kind of look at even Christian Hammond's uh, you know, I mean, stats and say, I mean, again, 2.5 assists per game. So not really a you know, a big distributor kind of guard. So does that kind of make you sway at all? Of you know, is this maybe a little bit of you know a concern at all that you know Christian Hammond's style again going back to matching up with a potential return of Paul McNeil?

SPEAKER_00 27:59

Yeah, I think it's a little concerned, but at the same time, I don't think it's um that deep, especially considering that McNeil is already in the portal, he's already testing out the waters of several other teams. Um, and so I think this will play a factor, but not to the extent that some fans may think.

SPEAKER_01 28:19

Yeah, well, because I mean, you know, Greg, obviously somebody like uh, you know, Paul, it's it's I don't know. I could make the case both ways, saying, you know, I think having a guard that is a true uh threat to score and you know, from the three from mid-range going to the basket definitely can take some attention off Paul for sure. But I would I would definitely like a little bit more of you know, from a statistical perspective, showing of his ability to um, you know, pass the ball and get the guys into position to score as well here. So what's your kind of take on that, Greg?

SPEAKER_03 28:56

Yeah, for me, you know, Hammond shoots around 40% from three-point land, which is which is big. Um, you know, so if you don't know, granted, it's not at the volume of Paul McNeil, uh, but uh, you know, it is a it is a position where um it will it regardless whether McNeil comes back or not, that's a position of need as far as uh a shooter, right? And um depending on what else you get to pair with um him Hammond, um, you know, will he be a primary ball handler, would be a secondary handler? Um, you know, there's there's rumors out there that we may go after the Tennessee kid, um Brownwell, I think it's Brownwell is his name, um, who's another point guard type player again? You know, would he be a primary point guard or off two? Um so whatever you whatever you end up bringing in, you know, you want guys that can kind of you know slide over and and play multiple positions depending on what you end up with, obviously being this is the first guy we've gotten. We still have to get more folks. Um, and then you know, how long does the Paul McNeil thing play out? Does it because at some point you got to fill a roster out? And so if if if he's gonna hang around in the draft process for a while, um, I think that's another like two or three weeks, I believe, that it goes on for um in two or three weeks, there's gonna be a lot of portal movement. And then um, you know, if he does withdraw, well, all right, do we still do we still have money stashed away like we did last year to get um um gosh dang it, the season's already over and I'm already forgetting Darien Williams? Darian Williams, thank you. Um so you you so you gotta be you gotta be smart while while you're playing this. Like, is you are you playing the long game or are you playing the short game?

SPEAKER_01 30:40

Yep. No, well, and and I think you know, one of the funniest things to me over the last couple weeks is a lot of NC State fans kind of hitting the panic button so daggum early when it comes to gaining. Uh, you know, obviously taking you know his time uh you know from a and and you know, I think really doing a good job of of uh you know picking the right shots when it comes to picking assistant coaches. Specifically, again, I mean you're getting three assistants with SEC experience, and you're getting a guy that's been that's spent the last 16 years is a head coach for for North Florida, uh Matt Droyscle.

SPEAKER_03 31:13

So uh you know, one of those assistants is a national champion, like he's he won a national championship with with Baylor. Um, yeah. Like so I mean, I think the problem is that we haven't made a splash, if you will, right? Like, like nothing sexy, right? Nothing, nothing to like go, oh, like yes. Like, again, you like it's a it's a it's a marathon, it's not a sprint. So like let it all play out. And again, it's gonna be a little different. This is his first year, right? And so, you know, unlike the previous head coach, again, we're not we're not mentioning that clown's name again, but he had coaching experience, right? Like you knew what to expect from him, like you knew what his style was. Ganey has not established that identity yet as a head coach. So there's gonna be people out there that are like, okay, some people are gonna be a wait-and-see approach as far as players in the portal, because again, they don't maybe not know a lot a lot about him or his coaching philosophy. Um, and I think that's going to, I think there's gonna be some play in that. And and we may have to overpay for somebody uh if there's someone that we really want to get, because I think that that that will be a um that will be a thing that people will take pause as far as players maybe in the portal.

SPEAKER_01 32:26

Yeah, Carson, I mean, I think that you know, you look at Wade's uh uh transfer portal class last year, and it was definitely you know a lot of like just like Greg said, like those like sexy names, you know, with uh you know, Darion Williams, you know, first team, you know, all conference, uh, you know, Jerry Dang, a six foot-nine guy that can shoot three, you know, Matt Abel, getting Matt Abel, a five-star recruit, uh, you know, Darren Alumin, Terrence, Terrence Arsenal from Houston, Houston, like exactly the championship game. Exactly. So like these big sexy names here. But you know, Hammond, I think, is again, because just like Greg said, like, we don't really know a lot about what Ganey is going for. But like, if Hammond's the kind of recruit that we're that generally Justin Ganey is gonna get, somebody that's you know, yeah, not the sexy name, but somebody who is a proven uh you know, a proven player that can that can play at a big level in big games, uh, but also too brings you a lot of versatility as well. Uh, you know, I I I just for me, I I, you know, and I think it it's a guy that that has proved from watching tape that you know it's I just I just I see something different here. If it's about the less sexy and more of like finding those diamonds in the rough a little bit here, because it definitely does seem like more than likely that we're not we're not gonna be Louisville this year where you spend nine million dollars on two players. That's I'm I'm gonna put money saying that that's not gonna be Justin Ganey's results once the transfer portal is over here. Go ahead, Greg.

SPEAKER_03 34:06

Yeah. Um, I think the other part of the problem too West Coast guy, um, you know, your casual average fan is not watching WCC basketball. They're not staying up till midnight watching, you know, Santa Clara versus St. Mary or San Francisco State or you know, some kind of you know, you know, whatever that is. But I mean it's a good conference. I mean, got Gonzaga, St. Mary, Santa Clara, like like those three, there's three, that's a three bid league, um, which which is good, really good for a mid-major. Um and I I just think I think he's just gonna come in here and he's gonna be a steady guy. He's gonna give you, you know, 14 to 16 points a game, play clean defense, um, you know, just gonna do all the things right. And um he's gonna put your put your team in a position to to be in a lot of ball games. And I'm okay. I don't need I don't need flash, I don't need glitz. Um, those those type of players typically are gonna cost more. And when you have a budget of around nine to eleven million dollars, um, you have to be smart. And then again, like I said, do you keep a little bit um under the mattress for Paul McNeil if he decides to come back, you know, because you might need that that that money on a rainy day.

SPEAKER_01 35:18

Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. And so I I think really for me and and Carson, I'm interested in your take on this, and then we'll transition here. But you know, it it's just a little bit of just like like listen, like there is at this point, you know, you're gonna give Ganey as much rope as as as he needs it. Then they he knows what the job is, he knows what it takes to get it done. Uh, and he obviously has the fire in his belly to to do a a great, great job at it. So at the end day, it's like Greg mentions all the time we don't know what's going on behind those closed doors, we don't know what conversations are happening, but also too, again, the transfer portal is it's just it's chaos. It is literal the definition of chaos. There is thousands of players are in the portal. You know, I can't I can't even imagine what the staff is doing in terms of you know watching film, evaluating all these different players, you know, trying to figure out how we're gonna piece this whole thing together here. So again, it's just like, you know, listen, I I get it. Like, you know, you don't want to miss out on an opportunity to get a guy, but also too, as well as like, you know, listen, like there's there's there's gonna be leftovers, quote unquote, that are gonna be diamonds in the rough here. Like that there that's a hundred percent going to exist out there.

SPEAKER_00 36:36

Yeah. Yeah, I think it in in this day and age, um you you basically said it, it's gonna be not necessarily more difficult, but it's definitely gonna have its challenges recruiting in the portal if you've never been a head coach before, particularly if you're at the power five or power four, whatever um level. Right. I think if you're at a G5 level, it might be a bit easier just because you'll have um or not easier from the sense of like getting good talent, but more so the volume of players. Um with if you're if you're recruiting at the power five level, players are gonna be a lot more picky with what they choose.

SPEAKER_01 37:26

Yeah, true. That's a good point. So again, time will tell here for sure, especially like with Cole uh Cluel as well, you know, for his example, where it's kind of reading the tea leaves that you saw. There was uh uh a uh a crystal ball of prediction of him going to Virginia. Um, you know, again, it's just gotta give Gane the opportunity here. You know, he's he's still well within only the first couple weeks here of him being truly the head coach NC States here. So time will tell. Especially, I think once you get that second, third piece in place, you can start to figure out what this team is gonna look like here. Go ahead, Greg. Oh, and we'll go. Yeah, IPS.

SPEAKER_03 38:02

Yeah, IPS had something on Clover. I don't really want to get into the details since they had it behind their paywall, but it it sounds like um there's some going back and forth. It did sound like Virginia made an offer that was more than what state had initiated. Um, whether or not state would be willing to match that, that'll be something to kind of keep an eye on. But as far as that, I probably don't want to say anything else because again, it is behind their paywall. Good deal.

SPEAKER_01 38:29

Well, yeah, no, and and uh so obviously too, if if you haven't uh already invested and uh you know joined you know inside pack sports, pack pride, the wolfpack, or whatever you want to choose, uh it's definitely worth uh worth the couple dollars right now because there is so much news that's going on right now. It's it's it's it's ridiculous. So uh so with that being said, uh, you know, Carson, while we still have you for another 15 minutes, I want to talk some football here as uh N-Cootball just just wrapped up here, spring practice here. So I want to ask your your your thoughts here on one question here, because I don't know if we really talked about this before, but what's your thoughts of not having spring games? Uh, you know, I I I know that you know there's probably some opinions on that here, but I don't know. I'm kind of curious your thoughts here on on uh you know not having a uh NC State uh football spring game.

SPEAKER_00 39:19

I I have mixed feelings on it. Um on one end, you know, the spring game was really um good at keeping the hype going into the summer. Um you know, in the past we would have the spring game, and that would really elevate fans' excitement for the upcoming season, and now it just feels like the spring, you know, just goes by and you're not really thinking about football at all. Probably probably the main football you're thinking about at all is probably the NFL draft. Um yeah, that's a bit disappointing, but um, on the other hand, you know, if this is all we don't we don't know everything that's going on behind the scenes. If the coaches think that it's unnecessary um and that it can only hurt the team, like why why would you want to do that?

SPEAKER_01 40:17

Yeah. I so Greg, I do I kind of want to ask you it, you know, a more specific question too. Is I think a little bit have to a little bit has to do with I think from a fan perspective, like the big benefit of a spring game is you know, in the days before the transfer portal, is that you're more of going as a fan to see how guys are developing, see like like who's like playing with the ones, how are they looking, you know, uh, you know, who's you know stand, you know, standing out, things like that. But now with the transfer portal, you know, now there's so many new faces, it's there's just so much that's unknown for a fan. So like you know, I think as an N State fan, you're just going just to see NC State football play a game. Like, but I mean it just I think it just kind of has lost a lot of its bizarre sense. So, you know, I think that probably has a little bit to do with it. But Greg, what's your thoughts on not having a spring game right now?

SPEAKER_03 41:10

Yeah, for me, I I know why they kind of had started that whole thing, right, with the spring transfer portal. Like they didn't want to like expose people to tape and you know, and people like coming scouting and all of that good stuff, but but now that that's like not a thing anymore, like there's no more spring transfer portal, like why wouldn't you not bring it back? Um, I feel like that could be an opportunity where you could do some charity work or raise some funds for NIL. Uh, so for me, that's kind of a missed opportunity. But again, I I don't feel like Kate Coach Doran's really like in like he could care less about those type of things. Um uh but to your point, like I would like it uh just to kind of like you said, see who's running where, you know, who's on what team. Um, just kind of learning some of the new players, like last year, and um I was you know had the privilege of because of being a donor to one pack, like I got invited out to a spring practice, and you know, basically that kind of served as my spring game. And at the time, it sucks to bring this name up, but like Teddy Hoffman was a guy that was just showing out and showing off. You're like, oh, like this guy could actually do something this year, and then you know obviously we saw him do that, and um unfortunately we won't see that this fall, but I I I think that there's still opportunities for folks to get out there again, like I said, using one and uh one pack NIL, but I enjoyed it like going out and do a little tailgate, you know, just kind of hanging out, enjoying some nice weather. But um, yeah, I don't think it's uh I don't think the coaches are really into it. Um, I think they're they're they're very much more um judicious and you know running things because again, um you saw this past weekend where Noah Rogers got hurt at Alabama, and again, that can happen in a drill, but I think you know you want to try to limit the amount of contact these guys have. And um, but yeah, no, I I definitely miss it. It was something that I enjoy getting out to if I if I could.

SPEAKER_01 43:07

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:08

So I just know go ahead, Carson. I yeah, I just don't think the coaches really care much. They don't have it much on their priority list. Um, and so they're like, why bother at this point?

SPEAKER_01 43:20

Only thing I I actually the biggest thing I miss is I I I I wish they would bring back the alumni game. That was actually fun. I know it didn't have a lot of turnout, but uh, you know, watching the two or three in person that happened, uh, you know, watching Owen Spencer out there playing again, uh, you know, is fun. And uh, you know, so you know, just would would would be cool to see that once again.

SPEAKER_03 43:43

But that's a point. I mean, that's the that's a good like again, you can make it like a festival, if you will, and and and do, you know, charge ten bucks ahead and that goes to NIL. That's to me, it's easy money if you get even if you only get five thousand people out there at ten dollars, like that's still good money. Like like I I don't know. Again, I but again, I don't think that the coaches really care about that kind of stuff. Um it it just it doesn't it doesn't move the needle for them, it doesn't push their agenda any more or any less. So like it just doesn't let's be real, like even in the good years, I mean what we were getting out there, maybe four or five thousand people, like it wasn't you know, it wasn't a it wasn't a big deal, but I don't know, like there's still I don't know. And in today's, and then here's the other thing, even if you didn't want to do that, like if you give something that free to the fans, um to your point, get them kind of hyped up, ready, because right now it's been like I think we've had like two, maybe three coach dorm availabilities during the whole practice session. Like, there's not a lot of word coming out, not a lot of hype coming out, not like we have no idea what's going on. And again, I don't think it's necessarily, you know, like I don't think the coaches care about that kind of stuff as a whole. Like they have a team to get ready for for the season, figure out what they're doing. Um, and really it only matters when you have a quarterback thing, right? Because like that's what drives conversation for the most part is the quarterback. Um, let's be real. And so when you have a quarterback entering his third year, um there's no competition, there's nothing. So it's just kind of it's just status quo as far as people are concerned in the Murphy Center.

SPEAKER_00 45:21

Uh just stay, just stay healthy. Yeah, just like stay healthy, stay healthy.

SPEAKER_03 45:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:26

Oh, yeah. Well, and also, too, as well, you know, I I think that, you know, I mean, there's there's some positives coming out, you know, during Dorne's press conference, there was two players in particular that he called out, and uh Harvey Dyson from uh the linebacker from Tulane and then uh Popo, uh Raul Propo Popo Aguirre, uh however you say his last name, uh senior linebacker transfer from from Miami, who Dorne called very uh mature uh uh player, very experienced here. Uh so I I kind of want to ask you, Carson. I mean, I feel like that this roster for sure definitely has a lot of I think potent potentially untapped potential here. I think I think I think this roster could really go you know from one extreme to the other. Like it could be one of Dorne's best rosters he's ever had. It could be really rough to say the least if those pieces don't come together here. But again, just like Greg said, we just don't really know because we haven't seen or really heard much from practice at all. But also, too, only time will tell here. But I mean, Carson, you know, kind of reacting here, you know, hearing the potential, especially now that you're really beefed up in the portal on the defensive side, you got a couple of offensive weapons to help CJ here, and you and you retain CJ. That's a humongous win, if not the biggest win, but the entire transfer portal season. So, initial thoughts here, Carson.

SPEAKER_00 46:50

Yeah, yeah, going off of what you said, I think the biggest win is retaining CJ. I mean, if you look at if you look at every year under Coach Dorn, where we have where we have the returning quarterback from the previous year, we win at least seven games. Um and I know that's I know that's pretty low bar to set, um, but that's that's what we did last year, and with CJ coming back, who knows? You know, it's but let me tell you something. CJ was not the reason we lost five games last year.

SPEAKER_01 47:29

Not the reason. I would say Miami was a little bit of a struggle game for him. Uh, but you know, like, yeah. At the end of the day, it how talented he is is really what all that matters. Then they last season's last season, you know, but then they now you're returning in a very talented and experienced quarterback. I mean, again, this is a guy that Marquis Williams, former UNC quarterback, two years ago when we originally played him, said, like, I don't think it's a question of, you know, how good can he be? It's can NC State hold on to him? Uh, you know, so even you know, uh a famous UNC quarterback was even agreeing, like, yeah, this dude is super talented. And and there's a lot of talks of, again, like this is a guy that could that has the talent and the potential to be a first-round uh quarterback. Like, if he balls out this season, that's 100% uh, you know, on the table for him. His height, his arm, his scramble ability, uh, you know, so and so you know, kind of the big question I feel like Carson, again, we'll talk more about this as we get closer to football season here. But what's the one thing, Carson, you feel like that if it that you would that you hope CJ focuses on improving uh this upcoming season?

SPEAKER_00 48:38

One thing he focuses on improving. I would say not letting mistakes get in his head. Because if you look at games from last year, if uh the big one I think of is probably the Duke game and the Miami game, where CJ would probab would make one bad throw, it gets intercepted, and then you could see it in the way that he plays. He was not the same player after that play for the rest of the game. That's fair. Um and I I think that's a mindset thing. Um, but I think that that'll help with him naturally as he matures in the game because this is his third year. Um yeah, that's a that's I think a big thing that comes to my mind.

SPEAKER_01 49:27

Yeah, Greg, would you go with a different answer to that question?

SPEAKER_03 49:33

Um no, probably not. Like oh we we talk about the biggest concern. Is that what we're talking about?

SPEAKER_01 49:41

Like Yeah, big, biggest, biggest point of emphasis for CJ going into the season, like biggest area of improvement you hope to see.

SPEAKER_03 49:48

Yeah, just honestly, for me, it's you know, taking healthy risks, um, pushing the ball down the field a little bit. I thought at times we we we were more conservative. Um yeah, but I I don't know, like for me, and I'll use this because this has kind of been a point of emphasis for the baseball team. It's like trying to string like multiple hits, multiple hits, multiple hits, multiple hits. Like if you're a little bit more explosive, you don't need 20 plays to get down to the field and score a touchdown or kick a field goal or whatever. Like I would like a little bit more of explosiveness, but again, like I said, taking healthy risk, like throwing it downfield where only your guy can catch it, right? Like throw it to like the like to the boundary, uh, like instead of throwing it over the middle where you know it's like a center fielder going to make a make a play. Um, I I know yeah, when you give your analog, like you like to use hockey, I like to use baseball, but um just kind of putting it out there to where like look, either you get a pass interference, you get an incompletion, or you get a catch, like where you're not really putting your team at risk. Um, so I would like a little bit more of that. Like, I don't know how explosive we're gonna be. I don't know again, and I don't know if this offense is built for, like I said, 12, 14, 15 plays scoring, scoring a touchdown. So I would like I would like for us to be a little bit more aggressive, but again, you know, picking your spots, not just being reckless.

SPEAKER_01 51:17

Yeah. No, I I think that really for for this offense, and again, really the whole team in general, because like offense, yes, you are returning CJ Bailey, you are returning to Scott. That's great. But you know, you have a lot of new pieces. Now, there is definitely, I think, a good mix of possession receiver versus more of your speedster. Uh, but also, too, as well, there's a lot of familiarity. Obviously, Jojo Trader, his familiarity with CJ, I'm sure is gonna play a big dividend here. So, but again, it's still a lot of, you know, we won't really know much until game one uh in Rio de Janeiro, uh, Brazil versus Virginia, in terms of really how this team's gonna look. And really on the defensive side, uh, you know, again, a lot of new pieces there as well that we just won't really know a lot about. But with that being said, I mean, like the biggest thing which I love about this team is that this is a team when that the players you're getting are players that have proven ability. Like, like you know that they're going to produce in some kind of aspect for you, but it's just a matter of who can step out and be the guy, you know, who can step out and be that playmaker on the in the in the linebacking crew on the defensive side, you know, who can be that that wide receiver one for CJ this year? That's gonna be the big question here. And is it a change in guy? I hope not. Honestly, I hope one of the biggest things I hope this year for the offense is get you a wide receiver one, like get you that guy who is your guy. You know, last year it was just a lot of it could be Noah, it could be Wesley, you know, it could be Teddy, it could be Terrell, yeah. Like, you know, but like that just like not saying like, you know, you only have one guy to throw it to you, but just who's the guy that is like, you know, the guy that you you you strategize around, like you you make a play just to get this guy one-on-one kind of deal, and let CJ and and and him just have unmatched, you know, chemistry. That that's honestly one thing I think is a little bit plaguing for for this season here, but uh, but I did mention it here and tease a little bit at it, Greg, and I because I know uh you finally got your tickets here for Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. It's gonna be crazy. Uh so yeah, I mean it like just saying it out loud. I mean, it's it's it's it's I mean, you're only a couple months away here, bud, from from the game, man. It's coming up quick here. Uh yeah, just so the months. So the closer you get to it here, Greg, you know, from a football standpoint, do you concern at all that it could serve as a little bit of a distraction? You know, I mean, being that you're for the team, you know, that you're traveling, you know, in you know, from one continent to another. Uh, you know, uh you're playing an ACC opponent, like that's another thing, too. It's just like it's kind of like it's a mind game for sure. You're playing an ACC opponent, but you're playing them in a different kind in a different continent all together.

SPEAKER_00 54:04

Different time zone, everything, yeah. But Virginia will like Virginia will be facing the exact same thing though. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 54:11

It's a good point. It's a good point.

SPEAKER_03 54:13

Yeah, so uh for anyone that didn't know, like the game time has not been officially announced from anything that I know, but on my game ticket, it tells me that that game is going to be a nine o'clock Brazil time, so that will be an eight o'clock east coast time. So eight p.m. will be kickoff for people in Raleigh.

SPEAKER_01 54:32

And so do the math for me. So so 9 a.m. No P.M. Brazil?

SPEAKER_03 54:38

No, no, it's only there's only yeah, there's only one hour. Yeah, there's only one hour.

SPEAKER_00 54:41

They're an hour ahead.

SPEAKER_03 54:42

Correct. Okay, so it's gonna be an 8 p.m. game. Yep, so it'll be an 8 p.m. game for us on the east coast. Yeah, but nine o'clock local, like that's a late ass game. That's good, that game will not be over before midnight. Um, yeah. Uh no, we're I mean, I know I'm super excited. We got everything pretty much locked in. I just got two more things to to do, um, both important pieces to the to the trip, but we'll get those knocked out here in the next month or so. Um no, I can't. I look, I think it's gonna be fun from for for fans that are traveling down to it. I I don't know how much fun it's gonna be for the teams themselves. It's gonna be a business trip. I I don't see them, you know, hanging out on Coco Cabana Beach and drinking Mai Thai's and doing all that stuff. I mean, I'm sure they'll get a little bit of culture while they're there, but I mean, they are going down for for a game. And we'll obviously we'll talk about this more when we get closer. But yeah, no, I think it'll be fun. Um, I know we're looking forward to it. Um, it'll be game 55 in a row for me, which is incredible. Like, that's a kind of a you know, you weren't as I'm going through this journey of consecutive games, there's definitely games that will stick out in my mind, and this will definitely be one of them because one, it's 55, which is a good number to kind of remember, and that it's Brazil. Um, but yeah, should be should be a lot of fun. I I just hope that, like you said, like this team is gonna be ready and focused. And you know, it's it's it's so weird because it's game one and you don't know really what to expect, how clean it's gonna be, um, what you know, with all the other things that have to go on to this trip. It's it's gonna be it's gonna be it's gonna make for an interesting actual football game.

SPEAKER_00 56:23

When's the when's the last when is the last time we've opened a season against an ACC team?

SPEAKER_03 56:29

Uh it would probably have to be like back in like long time ago. I don't know if we ever I can't remember us doing an opening game against ACC.

SPEAKER_01 56:40

Um and I say that O'Brien years, if not earlier.

SPEAKER_03 56:46

Probably earlier. I think typically it's yeah, typically it's at a conference. Uh, you know, you start that out of a conference schedule. Um, yeah, I don't know. I that may I I will uh I will take that up and try to figure that out. But yeah, that's a good point, Carson.

SPEAKER_01 57:00

So, Carson, one more question. I'll let you go. I know you need to head out of here, but uh how how much of a swing to the season do you because like you know, how much of a swing do you think this opening game uh is gonna be for the NC State football season here? How big like how how big of a difference is it gonna be between a win and a loss?

SPEAKER_00 57:21

Oh, I think I think it's gonna be really big. If you look at if you look at our last four uh five seasons, um the ACC opener in particular gives a big indicator of how the season is going to go. Um last year the ACC opener was wake. Um and it was very back and forth, and then we pulled out in the fourth quarter against I mean a team that we had more talent than. Um but just very eh kind of game for them for most of it, and in return was uh up and down ACC season. Um and then two years ago, you just get blown out by Clemson, um, and then you finish ACC season with a losing record. Um and then in 23 you have the uh win against Virginia in Charlottesville with the game win field goal and you go six and two in the ACC. Um 21, the win against Clemson and you go six and two in the ACC. But 22, you lose against Clemson and you only go 500 in the ACC. So the first conference game is a big is always a big indicator of how the season is going to go.

SPEAKER_01 58:46

Yeah. Greg, anything you would add to that? Oh, yeah. Greg is doing some intel as we speak here.

SPEAKER_03 58:53

So it's funny, I totally forgot. Like it was um, oh, interesting. Um so COVID, we opened the season against ACC because we only played an ACC schedule to begin the season, and we we we snuck in Liberty. Um, but before that, so that was against Wake. Ironically, the last time before that was 2016, also against Wake. Um, and we won one and lost one. So there you go. Um, back to the question. I you know, I think it's important. Um, one, you have to think about like a win or a loss, that's a long plane ride back to Raleigh. And you want you want that win on a it's about a 12. I'm assuming they're gonna fly, you know, charter. Um, well, I know they're gonna fly charter, and I think it's about a 10 or 11 hour flight, maybe 12-hour flight. That's double what you would be flying from Callum back. So think about it in those terms. And so any um, yeah, yeah. Thanks, uh, Jonathan. Um that um that's a long time to stew on a loss um to get back to Raleigh. But um, yeah, it's a it's a it's a big it's a big thing. Um, I think we have like like Richmond after that, I believe, or I can't remember who who it was, but I think it's a buy and then Richmond. You're right, it is a buy, Carson. You're 100% right, um, which is nice because my body's gonna need it. But uh, but yeah, I think it's huge. I think it's huge. Um, thankfully you do have a buy. But again, even to that point, Carson, you you don't want to still want to loss for two weeks, you know, before you get back on a field.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:37

Um, you know, I mean look at look look at what happened to Florida State in 24. They lost that game, the Georgia Tech. True story. And had the had that bye week, and then only won what two games in 24. Yeah, didn't they lose like the next week too? Like to Boston College, Boston College, and then they lost to Memphis. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:59

Yeah. I I watched a couple of the games from from that football team specifically just for kicks and giggles here. It's it's uh good times for sure. Good times. Uh so with that being said, Carson, I'll let you go, bud. Appreciate you, man. And uh have a good rest of your week.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:14

So yeah, y'all too. Y'all too. Yeah, buddy.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:17

So with that being said, Greg, uh, unless you have any other big pieces here for football here, I'm ready to talk some baseball. Are you ready to talk some baseball? Yeah, man. Let's do it. Let's do it, man. Let's do it, yeah. So interstate baseball coming off of a pretty successful week. Uh uh, you know, win uh versus human cw and then uh winning two out of three against Duke. So a three out three and one record. You'll be pretty happy with that. Uh, you know, coming off of the week, you know, the the the last couple weeks we've had, and then adding in the Dude and news to it as well. You know, definitely rough. So, you know, I let's start right there, Greg. I mean, like, you know, going off a rough stretch even before the Dude news, and then you lose Duden for the rest of the season. Well, how much back up?

SPEAKER_03 1:02:01

We did come off the sweep of Notre Dame before that. So we we had been, you know, we won six out of the last seven after losing seven. True. Come on now. We gotta we gotta keep it real. We don't want to keep it real.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:11

That's true, that's true. But with that being said, so so the the the point being of like, you know, so Duden, you you lose him for the season, yeah, and then the team bounces back and has two huge wins over Duke. So, you know, how much does it really say about the culture and the and the the locker room, you know, to you know, put together two dominant wins over a really solid Duke baseball team?

SPEAKER_03 1:02:37

Yeah, you had um you had you know come the guys kind of rally around um Duden. Um, you know, just if I could just talk about him for a second, I think that's that's important because um this is a guy that has elite stuff. Um, you know, I I know Marone's the the kind of the guy that you know leads the team with you know the Friday starts, but you know, Duden or Marone could be that guy. Um a guy that you know he he came to state in a very coveted pitching class with Marone and Coop and some other guys that um you know they've had opportunities to move on. Um they've been they've been courted by much larger teams and bigger leagues, if you will. Um, and both Marone and Duden are very loyal to a T. Um, very both team-oriented guys that just believe in their guys, believe in finishing what they started. Uh, so you can't you can't say enough about him and his character. Um totally an NC state, an NC State guy. Um it's a tough loss. Uh, you know, emotional leader. You know, you see he's probably like when you watch pitchers from NC State, he's probably got I would say the most emotion. Um he's a very fiery guy. Um so yeah, big it's a it's a big loss um on the field. Um, but there's there's plenty of pitchers that can kind of pick up the slack. Um but yeah, it's tough, man. I I really I'm really I was really gutted when I got the news on Thursday. Um just like, damn, it can't be possible. Um a guy that you know is gonna be, you know, it's still gonna be drafted very high. Um, you know, we'll we'll lose probably uh a round or two. Um, but whoever ends up getting him is going to get a freaking steal. Um, a kid that's gonna work his ass off. Um but yeah, it's tough. You know, these guys, a lot of wear and tear on arms. Oh, and that's the other thing I want to talk about. Again, I'm gonna get long-winded on this. Um, Layton and I apologize. But um, you know, you there was some stuff out there about the staff overusing him and um from the cellbox, Greg.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:58

Go on that soapbox.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:00

Yeah, I know, I know, I know. I apologize. It it just frustrates me. Like, I know at the end of the day, we're all state fans here, and I I think we do ourselves a disservice. Again, there's times you can criticize this coaching staff that moves they make, in-game decisions that they did that that they decide to go with. Uh, this was not one of them. They did not they did not tear Jacob Duden's arm off his off of his ligament, like you know, it like elbow off the ligament. Um, but um it's just uh it's unfortunate. And and it is it's and again, if if anyone you know follows me on Twitter, I kind of laid it all out. Um, from what I was told. Um, if it wasn't the Saturday he did it, it could have been this past Saturday. It could have been two two Saturdays from now. It it wasn't a matter of if it was a matter of when. And it and it didn't happen because he threw 16 pitches over a hundred on Saturday. This is years and years of where um You know, it's like having a classic car, but you got to get a new transmission every now and then, right? Like, like the body is still good, but you got to give it a new engine. And that elbow is the engine of a pitcher. And um, so they're gonna get it cleaned up for him. They'll get him ready. You know, he'll he'll he'll go through everything, you know, be with the team. But um, yeah, just hate it for him that he couldn't finish what he started. And um honestly, um, from what I know, like that's what he's the most upset about. It's not upset that he got injured. You know, he he understands that that that's gotta happen when you're when you're playing ball, that injuries are part of it. Um, the fact that what he's mad about is he can't finish it with his boys um that he's fought so hard over the last three years to be with. And because this was always the year that it kind of, and it's not to say they still can't, right? Um, but this was kind of always the year that they had penciled that they could get back to Omaha. Um, right. And so for him, like ending his career the way he did, and look, he ended it on a bang. I mean, he pitched a hell of a game, seven and two thirds. Um, that was the game we talked about, the bullpen kind of you know, falling apart a little bit on him and didn't get him the win. Um, you know, you look at Ryan Morone, who's six and one, he's had some good luck, he had some runs scored for him. Duden just kind of didn't have those things. There was multiple games, I think at least two, maybe three games that he left with leads. In fact, I know it was three games. It was FSU, Georgia Tech, and Notre Dame. When he left it, left the game, they were up. Um, and he was in line for a win and just could we couldn't close it out for him. But uh, and and we're we're gonna talk about these games here in a second, and and Coop's kind of that same in that same same breath. But yeah, um, anyway, yeah, what was your question? I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:32

Yeah, well, first of all, I mean I want to make a point here. Then they also too. One thing I think N State fans forget too is that this is what Dude didn't ask for. Dude wanted to be a starter, like you know, he won he wanted the smoke, you know, and he got it. And guess what? He stepped up, and then they, you know, we did what any other baseball coach would do, which is if you're hot, you keep being hot. I ain't gonna stop you from being hot, you know. Like, yeah, I mean, like, sure, ideally you want to pull the guy two pitches or one pitch before you know he gives up the home run, but you know, it's it's you're never gonna know that. So, you know, then day you're gonna go until you get to a point where you start to see the potential, and then you take him out. So, but yeah, no, it it's then they what it's what Dude and wanted. He wanted to be in that position, and you know, it's it just happens. It happens. And and I I heard somebody else say that it was even a guy from FSU that threw six pitches this year and injured and knocked out for the season, you know.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:28

Like it just these kids are taking time bombs again. It's because of the culture of baseball. They play, you know, you know, even before they get to college, you know, they they you know, um, I was talking to to Duden's dad yesterday. Like, Duden's been pitching since he was eight years old, you know, 15 years, or not 15, uh math's hard. I think he's 20, 21 or 22, so it's like 13, 14 years, depending on where you're at. But that's a lot of wear and tear, you know, again, summer balls, fall balls, pitching in a bullpen. Um, you know, his mom mentioned, like, you know, he was they were talking to someone like when you talk about like high stress moments, like they count double thrip through because you when you're in high stress moments, you're you get more tensed up, and because of that, your motion is is a little bit different. And they say those pitches count like three, four times per pitch. Like it's just it's just a lot of wear and tear. And um, again, it's just part of the it's an occupational hazard, unfortunately. Um, it's again, it's not a matter of if it's just when. Um it just it just sucks that it doesn't happen after he gets drafted. That's probably the the worst part of it all. But every year you're seeing major league baseball pitchers getting Tommy John. It's not like this is a a new thing, it's it's not unique to NC State. Um, but anyway, let's talk about the games. So, but really good point.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:45

Well, and and also too, kind of leading into it here and uh a question here. Um, you know, is I mean, one of the big bright spots I felt like of of the weekend was Heath Andrews, uh, you know, stepping in to uh to a a a one of the toughest spots well exactly one of the toughest spots that you can imagine, which is stepping in for a gunslinger like Jacob Duden. And yeah, I mean, yeah, he had a little bit of a struggle there early in the second inning, but then answered with 14 straight outs of just dominance from there, and got a lot of praise, you know, from Elliott Aven after the game, who was really impressive with his fastball command. Uh, so you know, Heath Andrews kind of leads to a question, Greg, which I want to ask you, which I think a lot of NC State fans have right now, which is do you think that this dude in news, you know, could spark, you know, some answers potentially from from NC State Bullpen that struggled already this season?

SPEAKER_03 1:10:39

Yeah, um, I mean, to that point, you're gonna need guys to step up like they haven't stepped up before. And and again, at least for this weekend, you saw it with Heath Heath Andrews. Um, you mentioned he was a little shaky earlier, gave up four-on runs, but it sure didn't feel like it once he settled in. The first two innings um you know, gave up his runs, and then like it was it was zeros from there on out. And um yeah, he I mean he did give up, he technically he did give up the one, the one last run, I'm sorry, um in the in the six, or excuse me, in the seventh, because he pitched six and two thirds. But uh all all in all, I mean, just really, really good outing. He had six strikeouts, um, you know, just gave us an opportunity, gave up five hits over six and two thirds. Um really, really solid because it was like, holy cow, like it's in the seventh, and Andrews is still here, and he's pretty much chilling. Um, yeah, yeah, really, really good him. And then like like of course, the one Saturday Duden doesn't pitch, we put up 18 runs. So um any pitcher will will love to go out and pitch that. And I think that helps. Um, you know, you can go out and pitch the contact, um, you know, let your defenders go out there and make plays behind you. You you know, you can you can pitch more freely. You you don't have to go out and nibble around the plate and try to get guys to chase, just go out and throw strikes, hammer the zone and and and let your boys make plays. And and I thought we did a really nice job this week. And again, um for the most part defensively, um the really the one the one bad play in my in my mind was was Coop throwing to second yesterday and having a a wild throw that that cost us to run and you know potentially um kind of just derailed us for a sweep. But other than that, Coop pitched his ass off too. Again, just no run support. But um, you know, we'll circle back around to that because you know we can talk about game one, too. Um, and then just Mikey Ryan just again, just having another great offensive weekend. Um, he's a guy that's probably raised his average like 45 points in the last three weeks. Um been really good with the glove as well after kind of just trying to figure things out. But go ahead and give me give me questions, give me thoughts. Yeah, wherever you want to go, we'll talk about it.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:56

Well, first of all, I mean, you know, want to give a shout out here as well. I mean, I mean Coop uh, you know, has led the team this season with three saves, uh, you know, and uh so let's start there because I mean he's a guy that I think a lot of NC fans and especially us here at Tuffy Talk have said is a guy that's like hey, let's let's I think this guy has proved uh you know that he's capable and ready to take on more responsibility here. So you're a lot's gonna fall on his shoulders. Yeah, yeah. Do you think so?

SPEAKER_03 1:13:27

Well, I so yeah. I want to answer this as politically correct as I can just because of the relationships I have, but sure if if if it were me, yes, Coop has earned that right to start. Um but I also know that you you've got only three other than Marone, so Marone's obviously locked into a starter. Um you've only got three other lefties on the staff. Um one's kind of a you know, one's a freshman and Luke Hemerick, who's been really, really good, pitched really well um last week against uh Wilmington, um, albeit in I think a predetermined only two-inning appearance, because I think at that point the staff knew about Duden and kind of what they would need to rally around for the weekend. Um and I am curious to see how that approach continues this week, especially with ECU um an in-state in-state rival, um, a game that you you know, in the grand scheme of things, I don't really mean a whole lot from from a seeding in in tournament piece, even though it's a nice little little tick in the box. But um, I am curious to see how they approach the midweeks, um, especially now that Coop started on Sunday. Um, I wouldn't expect to see him because last week in the midweek, uh you saw Hemrick, you saw Sam uh Harris, you saw um you saw Ryder. I'm pretty sure you saw Ryder, you saw Nance, and you saw Coop. I feel like that's right. It might not, we might not have seen Ryder. I'm just I'm just trying to remember in my head. But um yeah, so I still think that that's gonna be a TBD, and I think it's gonna be like how do the first two games go? Like if you win the first two, you probably put Coop out there, right? If you've lost the series, um then maybe you see like a Hemerick out there. Again, I I think Hemerick has got a lot of good stuff. He's a freshman. Um, you know, maybe again, a little less pressure on him to kind of bring him along as you as you continue to bring him along. Um yeah, I still think that you could still see a pitcher by committee on Sundays, or excuse me, starter by committee on Sundays. But if it were me, I would run Coop out there. But again, they don't, I believe the staff doesn't feel like they have a lefty that they can fill 100% wholeheartedly on um out of the bullpen. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:54

Yeah, well, and I mean, because that's the that to me is really the biggest thing is really kind of all right, like just like you said, Greg, like then they everybody's gonna have to step up here. Uh, you know, obviously Barone's done, I think, full of full his part, you know, in the fact that yeah, he's six and one.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:08

I mean, he's killing it.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:08

He's six and one six and one, like like pitching every single pitch he could possibly pitch. But, you know, like you know, you got the guys like Keith Andrews, I think, you know, is gonna take a big weight from this for sure. I think, you know, like we said, you know, Coop, you see some more out of here. Is there anybody else here that you think is maybe a little bit of kind of a potential of you know seeing a big uptick now with this dude in news?

SPEAKER_03 1:16:33

Yeah, I think Ryder, yeah. I mean, Ryder took the loss yesterday, uh, but he's been pitching really well of late. He just gave up a home run. You know, it's based on what happens. Um, I think you're gonna see a Ryder Woodson. I'm not Ryder Woodson, my goodness. Ryder Gorino. Um Luke Himrick is a guy. I look, I still want to see more of Aiden Kitchens. I I he's been a guy that's been really good in his limited role. Um, he's a guy that you can see an uptick in usage. Um Sam Harris is another guy. Like you saw him like twice last week. Um, he's kind of been a guy that's been buried really another really good freshman. Um, again, you've got three freshman arms. I think you need Collins Black. He he he had a nice um he did a nice job yesterday, um, kind of shutting down after Ryder had given up the goal ahead home run. I think he's a guy that we need to see, you know, get in there. Um, you lost an arm, so you you need another arm to come back uh to kind of like um you know spread the spread the love and the wealth of the of the innings. But yeah, um there's definitely an opportunity for folks to step up and and to kind of take some roles and and run with them.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:47

Yeah, no, exactly. Now on the offensive side, so I one thing about this series that's one second real quick before you go there.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:56

I just wanted to mention go ahead with Marone and Duden each missing a start. Now, obviously Duden will miss more, they are in a three-way tie for strikeouts in the ACC. Like that's how dominant they've been. Um, I think each with either 62 or 63 strikeouts, or maybe Duden has 63, Marone has 62. It's something like that. But it's like like even even missing last weekend, Duden was still ahead in the ACC in strikeouts. Um, just and that the um the staff as a whole leads the ACC in batting average against uh I think at like 212, 213, something like that. Um so again, this this bat this pitching staff is is doing their job. Um, you know, we just didn't get we just didn't get a little we just didn't get a little support with the bats yesterday after scoring like 23 runs in the first two games again. That's baseball.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:45

Well, and again, that goes to you know the point where I was going, which is you know, it's talking about with the bats, how it's definitely been a once again a little bit of a jack-alone high, which I think part of it a little bit has to, Greg, is I mean, yes, it's definitely baseball for sure, but there's definitely been a lot of movement still, even with the uh the lineup. Uh, you know, there's been some significant tweets with tweaks with Andrew Wiggins definitely popping off here recently. Uh, you know, so kind of figuring out what do we do here with that uh DH spot.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:13

Uh really the big one.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:15

Is it is it do you think it's gonna be a little bit of just riding the hot hand, Greg? Or do you think that it could be solidified here soon?

SPEAKER_03 1:19:22

Yeah, you you you saw them kind of platooning that, especially mid-game with lefty righty, depending on who was on the mound. Um, you would like someone to just kind of just take that and run with it. It it feels like Wiggins could be that guy. Um, he just seems to kind of be clutch with home runs um lately. Like he I think he's got five on the season, and he's not even qualified uh for um to be able to even be on the leaderboard within state because he doesn't have enough plate appearances. Um that's how good he's been. Um so yeah, you have him, you have Bargo still kind of trying to work his way back through. You've got Novi has spent some time there. That's really the three that's probably gotten the most looks. Um, Wyatt Piffer has gotten a couple of looks here and there. Um, but yeah, I I it feels like it's uh probably a two-man race right now. Um, and and Wiggins is kind of the leader in the clubhouse, if you will.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:21

Yeah. Well, and so you know, obviously this this lineup for has shown a lot of promise here. Obviously, McHugh uh is on a seven-game hitting streak. Uh, he's reached uh base safely, 18 straight games. Yeah, and uh Sherman Johnson, even, you know, even though he's given us a little bit of not the you know complete strong, complete strength on the defensive side, he's giving you a 351 batting average, 433 uh with runners in scoring position, hit multiple home runs versus UNCW this past week. And then Ty Head, who already has 10 home runs this season, over doubling his uh his freshman uh numbers there. Uh again, it's just there's there's and I mean again, I mean the the biggest uh one of them all, in my opinion, which is Johnson, who's been insane. Uh you know, and and once again, I think it's just another, you know, another you know, letter on the cap for Avent of Man, like you definitely hit hit hit hit the hit the jackpot there for sure when it comes to getting that guy. Uh because he's a guy that I think any team of the country would love to have on their one through nine.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:31

Yeah. Yeah, a couple things there to to peel back. Uh Ty Head is like one of like only 20 players in the country with double-digit home runs and steals. Uh, so that's a that's that's a cool, cool little stat there. I think last time I saw he was setting like 17-18 in the country for for that stat. Um so that's pretty cool. Uh Rhett Johnson, like you said, just just a dude. I mean, he just he his approach is so clean. Like, he's one of those old school players where like he shortens up, gets gets a tighter stance, chokes up on the bat when he gets like he has a really good two-strike approach. Um, he's someone that I really enjoy watching uh play both offensively and defensively. Um I really like since they've gone Rhett Johnson, Luke Nixon one-two. I felt like that's been a really nice uh combination there. Um still trying to like like McHugh sitting, like sitting third. I like that. I I would really like to someone to figure out the four spot. I feel like that's a spot we keep kind of moving around. Four through six kind of feels like we're moving around a lot. Um, like maybe because like Mikey Ryan's been really hot lately, maybe move him to the four, but I feel like he's more relaxed down lower in the lineup, like he doesn't feel less stressed and and in the need to be quote unquote productive or you know, kind of um what's the word? Um press. He doesn't have to press. Yeah. Um, I I feel like Ty, once you dropped him down the lineup a little bit, he's been a little bit more relaxed. Um, so I would love for someone to figure out that four spot. Um, you know, you're yeah, again, you've ran over the last two weeks. I think I've counted like five or six different guys in the four-hole. Um so that's to me the two biggest things. Um yeah, still a lot of potential on this team. Uh, again, we mentioned it already. You're kind of through the tougher part of the schedule, though you are going on the road now for the next seven with uh a road game tomorrow at ECU and then at Wake and then another um um road. Uh you're off, I think, in the midweek next week. There's no midweek, and then I think you have the Virginia Tech Series, so that'll be your seven in a row, and then you'll be back home um for two of the last three weeks um for ACC play.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:52

Yeah. Now, one thing which I do, because uh I I want to give a uh tip of the cap to an upcoming uh uh milestone here for Coach Avan here. But Greg, uh, you know, before I get there, just to kind of kind of put a bow really on this, you know, obviously NC State is about to go on a seven-game uh road uh road trip here, uh going to ECU here tomorrow night, uh Tuesday night, and then playing at Wake Forest for three games, and then playing at Virginia Tech for three games here. Yep. Uh, you know, what's your kind of expectation, your your bar here for the seven-game stretch here?

SPEAKER_03 1:24:28

Yeah, so Wake is an important so we're real close. Uh we were sitting, we're sitting sixth, but we're only like a game or two out uh for fourth, which is the double buy in the ACC tournament. Again, still a little early to talk about that, but you've got series now. Um you have one more series against a a projected top four team, and that's North Carolina, and that'll end the season. Um, but you you got Wake Forest who is below us in the standings by a game. Um, you would hope to maybe go get. I think you can definitely win the next two series, uh, you know, taking two of three. Um Virginia Tech, even though it's on the road, it's not out of the question of a potential sweep. Um so but at a minimum, you should you should be able to win that series. They're they're kind of a bottom dweller. Um so you if you go, you know, four and two, five and one, something like that, uh, you're setting yourself up not only for ACC play, um, but now you're starting to you know position yourself for national or for seeding, excuse me, for uh for the regionals, and then also positioning your seeding for the ACC tournament. Again, um I feel like if you if you can get a double buy, that means you only have to play three. Basically, you're just playing a weekend series of that point. If you if you go all the way to the championship game, if you're if you're having to do much more than that, you're gonna have to just kind of scrape together some some pitching and with the loss of Duden that makes it a little bit more difficult. Not not impossible, but just a little bit more difficult. So I I think uh I would love four and two. Um, but uh anything over that, um give me give me some cherries on top.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:06

Yeah, yeah, good deal. Well, and uh, you know, any other kind of big big uh points you want to you want to make here on this uh baseball team here, Greg?

SPEAKER_03 1:26:17

Um no, just like again, just go out and keep doing your do your your thing. Um again, you know, we we already mentioned like Mikey Ryan has like just been really, really good offensively after kind of being on you know, struggling a little bit getting new player, new system, new teammates, um, you know, kind of you know holding the holding the fort down at short, which is not easy to do in and of itself defensively. And so it's one of those positions where you know it takes a lot out of you. Um so it's really been nice to see him step up. Again, you mentioned um Ty. Ty Head's been really good of late. Um, the Q's been hot, Luke's been really hot, Brett's been hot. Again, you know, I just just keep these bats going. Um I am, again, like I said, curious to how the pitching is gonna look moving forward, especially in the midweeks. Like how much of an emphas do we put on that vice the ACC weekend series? Um but uh yeah, no, I'll be uh I'll be out at Wake this week or down at over whatever at Wake this weekend, then I'll be out in Blacksburg next weekend before we get a weekend off because I will not be flying to Stanford. Uh so that's fair.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:29

That's fair. Yeah, good deal. But yeah, so Greg, so uh our our head skipper Elliott Avins, uh by my count, seven games from what 1100, I think, right? Seven wins away from 1100 career wins NC State, which would be the only active head coach to have that uh accomplishment of 1100 wins at their current school. Uh so you know, again, man, like I I think there's never a bad time to really give a hat tip to to head coach Elliott Avon here, a guy that That you know epitomizes what it means to be you know part of NC State. Uh, you know, a guy that loves NC State, you know, as much, you know, as as any coach loves their school. Um, you know, and I don't think it's a matter of if, but when, I mean, you know, they already have it as the Elliott Avon Clubhouse, and rightfully so. I think that is the biggest layup of a move of any move out there. But I mean, also, it's only a matter of if, but it's not a matter of if, but it's a matter of when the statue goes up in front of uh in front of the stadium here as well. Here, but uh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:30

Well, I think at a minimum, you see his number right next to Coach Esposito's. Um, I think you know, I think that's a at a minimum that happens. Yeah, if we go win um a natty, there's no doubt about a statue at that point. I'll I'll raise the funds myself.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:46

Yeah, give me HC title, shoot. I do. Yeah, first now. David, give me an HC championship. Let's get it. I know. Let's let's get there. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:56

But last last thing I want to say again about the the cancer research. Um, really great weekend. Um Milo, I don't know if anyone saw that video, but little Milo's had like cancer since he was three years old. He's six, and he got to ring the bell out there. And that was, man, if you don't, if you don't shed a tear, you ain't got a soul. Um, that was a that was a definitely a tearjerker moment, but good to see little Milo being healthy. And um, I think just a really great event. Bunch of bunch of kids out there, um out there, I think, battling some stuff. And you know, the event may be over, but you know, if it's in your in your means to drop a couple dollars to the B foundation, again, Trey Turner and Kristen Turner have teamed up with them. And um I think this was the third annual one, and I think it's just a really good event. And you saw the Duke players wearing yellow wristbands in support of it, and Duke's head coach out there taking pictures with with some of the kids. And it's big, it's bigger than baseball. And um, and then tomorrow will be the annual ALS strikeout for strikeout for ALS game. Um, ECU always participates in that sense. Um one of their coaches had gone through it as well. So again, another another great event that just goes beyond coach Avent, right? It goes beyond the the X's and O's and the wins on the field. You know, there's bigger wins in life, and that's just one of the things that he gets behind. So um not only a good coach, but a really good man as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:17

Yeah, no, 100%, Greg. Love it. And uh yeah, if you definitely can uh make sure to go and support uh victory over cancer through the Jimmy V Foundation, and uh let's continue to make a difference here, uh, especially being that it's NC State's own uh, you know, that that is uh what built this uh foundation. So make sure to go support here. But yeah, no, again, so uh uh you know love, love to see it. But also too, I mean, you know, and and more now that we got through the serious uh part, I did love in game three, Greg, the the women's golf uh uh hitting uh hitting a ball over uh home run. Uh that was pretty funny. I love that. Love to see that. And even like seeing the Duke players, you know, cheering uh for it as well. That was cool.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:59

So yeah, baseball players are big golfers too, so they can get behind that. They had a uh they also had a putting contest uh with the the baseball team versus the golf women's golf team. Uh they had a short putt and a long putt. Uh the the the the the uh baseball team won the short putt, actually dropped one, uh they dropped two in the hole, and then women got closest to the hole um in that. Um yeah, they did a nice job over the weekend with some promos. They get I got the uh the rally towel behind me. So we got the new rally towel. Um they gave away masters golf hats yesterday. I wasn't that pressed for it, so I did not worry about it. They only gave away 500. Um, so I did not get one of those hats, but they look pretty cool. Um yeah, really nice. They had some nice themes. The Friday night they had the with the uh with the with the spacecraft coming back into land, they had a space theme night. Um, I don't know if anyone saw Jacob Duding wearing Jacob Duden wearing the space frames. They they were pretty cool, the space glasses. Yep. Uh so they they with the Artemis landing, they had like the background on the scoreboard look like look like look like the moon, and then they showed the spacecraft landing in the water. So that was kind of a cool moment. And then they of course the masters theme on the scoreboard. They've done a really nice job this year with themes on the scoreboard. So I'll definitely give a little shout out to the uh game day uh ops folks for baseball. Um, they've done done a really nice job. Uh yeah, some pretty good, pretty good giveaways and making things fun at the ballpark.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:32:28

Oh, they got the new terrace open too. I don't know if you've seen that. That that opened uh last weekend. Uh that's cool. It's kind of a cool view. Um, I sat down in the field boxes again for for the second time. Um, just kind of a cool way to to sit. But again, it just like it's it's nice to watch a ball game from there, but I can't really be my rowdy self because it's just a different type of crowd. Um, but it was nice to steal some shade down there because that I think that is the one the one nice thing about that is you get some shade. But uh yeah, let's go get some good go get some big wins this week.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:02

Yep, 100%. So yeah, Barry, so uh you asked a question here around uh you know some basketball here, which uh we'll talk about before we kind of recap a couple other things, cross and state athletics here. But ask the question of any chance we get the big from from uh from Georgia from UGA here, uh big rim protector, uh, you know, and and saying if we're not pursuing any high-profile players, why don't we throw a bag at McNeil or April or or or Cochlor? And here's the thing is I I immediately say is we just don't know what's going on, you know, behind these closed doors, and especially in the transport era where everything changes, not by the hour, not by the minute, but literally by the second. Things are changing at at the speed of light right now. So I I I I fully think that we are trying to offer a bag, honestly, at McNeil. I I don't I don't think that's really much of a speculation. I think that's like there's no doubt, like you know, if you're talking to McNeil, you're knowing that it's going to cost you a few million dollars to to get him here. Um, so so yeah, I think that that is a hundred percent happening here. Well, so can I pause you for a second? Go ahead, Greg, please.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:10

Uh well, if anyone's gonna try to land him, it's gonna be our new GM, Patrick Stacy.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:15

I saw that. I just saw that too.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:17

Yeah, yeah, I just saw that too come up. Yeah. Um, but yeah, um yeah, I thought did did I miss something on the on the Georgia big guy? I thought I saw he's going to Miami.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:27

Is that a it it changes 100 miles an hour?

SPEAKER_03 1:34:34

Yeah. Um I thought I thought I saw maybe he was going to Miami, but again, I could be 100% wrong there. Um Yeah, so again, um to Barry's question, like you can throw a big bag at those guys, but do they want that big do they want your big bag, right? And so it takes two to tango. Um by all by all accounts, uh Justin Ganey has been talking to McNeil, Abel, and Clover. Um, you know, is our are we gonna God? I'm not even gonna use that stupid term, uh, a strong ass offer. I didn't want to say that, but you know, like are you going to make a you know, again, and I said it earlier, like if you really want a guy, you've got nine to twelve million dollars. Like if you really want a guy, you go pay for that guy. But then if you pay for that guy, you're gonna have to, you know, make adjustments somewhere else. Um and again, even if you throw a big bag, do they want to be there? Because again, um these teams, like these players want to know kind of who they're gonna play with, and you know, and and and you want to have, you know, be able to tell them, hey, like this is what we're shooting for, this is what we're looking at, this is what we think your role is gonna be. Like, is that is that what that wants that is that what that player wants to hear? Um But then again, you know, everything changes once you get on campus, and I can use the baseball. Like, there's been players in the past that got promised roles in baseball, and they, you know, they they they didn't come to fruition for one reason or another, whether they got over-recruited, um, they didn't develop the way they that the the staff thought they were going to. So you can do all of that stuff, and who knows what's gonna what what's gonna play out from that.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:14

Yeah. Well, and I mean the the example which I'll bring right to your attention, again, this is a different coach, and we won't even say his name, but you know, one of the previous coaches, his biggest transportal get didn't happen until late in the transportal process. Exactly right. You know, he was he was one of the last guys that we got, actually.

SPEAKER_03 1:36:31

So you know it was one of the better again, not saying this is how it played out, but the rankings showed him that he was one of the top top portal targets. So again, it's just about timing. We talked about it earlier, Barry. Like, how long are we gonna wait for Matt Abel to make a not Matt Abel, excuse me, uh Paul McNeil to make a draft decision? Um, again, he's in the portal, so he's being courted by other teams as well as we speak. You know, is he going to say, hey, I need X amount of dollars? And well, we have that kind of money to to match it because depending on where we're at in the in our process of bringing guys in. Um, so I I I I like to take the approach, and I think you know me, Leighton, that I enjoy following it. I don't get wrapped up in it too much, I don't get too high, too low. Um, I don't really get excited until they sign their their letter of intent and they're actually on campus. Um but it is fun watching it. Um but again, I I trust the staff. Again, this is a new staff. We don't know kind of their tendencies and what they're looking for. Um basically have to build a whole new roster. So yeah, you you've got, you know, we don't know who's gonna come back from last year's team. So it'll be, I mean, we haven't heard anything about Musa, we haven't heard anything. Um it sounded like Arsenal did go in the portal. Um, sounded like Breed went in the portal. Um so I I don't really know if we really have anybody on the roster, if you will.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:05

Yeah. Well, again, it's just it's just time will tell, really. And I've I've definitely taken the stance, Greg, here for sure. Of like, listen, just just just tell me, tell me when a guy commits, you know. But but before then, like it's just it's it's all it's so fluid. It's it's it's it's it's craziness. And and and but also too, again, it's just like you know, like, yeah, like you could be you could go the Louisville route where you just say, Listen, I know who I want to build my team around, I'm gonna go get those guys and pay an asserted amount of money to get them.

SPEAKER_03 1:38:35

And hey, they have different pockets than we do, though. Like, that's always been Louisville. Louisville's always had deep pockets.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:40

Well, because they've needed to be, because in order to could compete with your your in-state rival to Kentucky, Kentucky, you also have to have deep pockets. So, yeah, so but but also too, I mean, like at the end of the day, like if yeah, if you're not Louisville, you know, and and there's not somebody out there that you that you know that you can you can you can hit right now, it's gonna take really building pieces, you know, like you're you're not gonna have that centerpiece more than likely that you're building around from the get-go. You're more likely gonna have to build as you go here a little bit. So you take the archetype that Hammond gives you and you figure out, okay, what what do I need to put around him to put together a successful team, you know? And like if you get Boswell, then that's another piece that you got to figure out, you know, okay, how do I put Boswell and Hammond on on this floor at the same time with other pieces to be successful? You got to build as you go a little bit here.

SPEAKER_03 1:39:30

So yeah, I would say that was one thing that we didn't do really well last year with. Um, I I thought we didn't play Abel and McNeil at the same time enough. I they're arguably your two best scoring scorers um next to Q. But speaking of Q and Lubin, they just both accepted uh invitations to the PIT, the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which I always, when I lived down in the area, um, I lived down in the area for 30 years, I always enjoyed going over to that. Um, it's a lot different now because you don't have guys staying to their senior year, so it's it's not got the same kind of buzz that it used to. But back in its heyday, that was a that was a pretty damn awesome. Um for anyone that doesn't know, that's kind of like they do have the NBA combine, but this is like a weak tournament where local businesses sponsor these teams and these these um these um what are they not gosh dang it players, but what am I talking about? Drop prospects. Prospects, yeah. It's 10 o'clock at night and it's been a long day. But uh where these prospects kind of come in front of scouts and um kind of play a tournament together and kind of see how they how they you know interact and play. And it's it's a really fun tournament. It used to be really cheap to go to. I again I haven't been to it in years, but they literally play it in a high school gym in Portsmouth, Virginia, and it's just kind of a fun thing to go check out and get you know, meet people and get autographs. But again, I haven't been to it in forever. But so, anyways, congrats to those two that accepted invitations. Um, you know what it's kind of like now that I'm thinking about it, it's like the Shriners game or the East West game. It's kind of like VAT. Um, but it's like a it's like a two or three-day tournament that they play a bunch of games and they they they they um um get have a champion and all that stuff. Crown for sure champion. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:17

So uh to wrap this thing up here, got to give a shout out to a couple of things. So, first of all, it was announced uh after the winter sports were done. Uh NCA was ranked number 12 in the directors' cup rankings, which is uh the ninth straight top top 20 winter finish uh for NC State Athletics. And it's also too the the fifth straight for Boot Corps game, which you know, if you haven't put two and two together, is every single year that he's been here. Uh the winter sports have finished uh top 20 uh in the country. Uh, you know, so to kind of give a little bit of context around that is obviously men's swimming and diving and women both finished top 10 nationally, wrestling finished top 10 nationally. Women's basketball, indoor track, men's basketball also contributed to that as well. But I think the the solidified consistency that you get with swimming and diving and wrestling alone has definitely a good bit to do with that. And even again, the fact that men's basketball, women's basketball, you know, definitely didn't meet your expectations of contribution to that ranking. Uh it still says a lot that that you know, from to an athletic standpoint that you were still able to finish number 12 in the country, uh, you know, in in the winter rankings here. So huge hats off to uh you know the coaching staff uh for for these teams, but also too as well to Boo Corgan, who definitely does not give the love and appreciation that he rightfully deserves. So huge shout out there to Boo. Um but also too as well, I got to give a shout-out. Uh, you know, I know this is uh sport in particular. Carson wanted to get us to give a shout out to NC State Softball getting its first uh ACC series sweep since 2023 here. Uh, you know, yeah, it's definitely not one that's you know necessarily hot off the press, you know, that hasn't been a phenomenal season so far, but it's a season of, again, you want to see significant strides this year. You know, it's a team that didn't make the tournament last year. Right now they're sitting at six and eight uh in ACC. Uh, you know, so can you get above 500 ACC, which they see is extremely loaded this year as it always has been in recent years and will be for many years to come here. So can you get above you know 500 and ACC? I think that is a very, you know, okay. If you give me a couple of things, that should be the first goal.

SPEAKER_03 1:43:27

Yeah, that should be the first goal.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:29

Like if you give me that, okay, I feel I feel better about where we're heading, you know. And again, as Coach Leftwich is only getting, you know, more and more talented players that's coming to NC State. Um, you know, and so it's it's let's start to see kind of the fruit, fruit, you know, the the fruit of the labor kind of thing. Like you're bringing in great players now. Let's you know, start to see some some some positive movement here, and definitely an ACC series sweep is is something to hang your hat on here for sure.

SPEAKER_03 1:43:57

Yeah, yeah. I think in I I think you know that you know, talking to Coach Lefwich earlier in the season, that's that's just she's got she's got goals, you know, you know, and just it's gonna take time. She basically had to burn the whole thing down and and and rebuild it. And it's just it is not a thing that happens overnight. And um I just I I I I hope and I hope that she still continues to get the support from the administration that she can continue to build things. She's got a really good top draft class, or not draft class, uh top recruiting class coming in next year, one of the top in the ACC. Um, if the class holds holds tight. So again, yeah, these are just players that are gonna keep building and building and building. And and and and and you would think, based on the amount of talent and her her skill sets, that she can put this thing together and get it, get it moving down the tracks.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:51

Yep. So with that being said, we'll answer uh Barry's last question here and then we'll wrap it up here. But when will someone talk to Snell or some of the this year's players about uh the locker room chemistry at the players caught when that Wade was leaving in January? You know, I mean, uh I know they asked Lubin uh about it uh specifically of like when did he know? And he said, I mean, they didn't like to what he said publicly was that like that he didn't have wins. Now I I have full confidence and faith for sure. They knew to an extent before the season was over, uh they they caught wind of it, you know, like like you know, there was a a catch of Wade making a comment to a referee saying, Well, I'm not gonna be here long, you know, give me, you know, like do whatever you want. I don't care. Like, I'm not gonna be here long. Uh, you know, so you know, you you know they had to catch wind at some point, but I I just don't think you're ever gonna really it's just so much speculation.

SPEAKER_03 1:45:44

It's water under the bridge at this point.

SPEAKER_01 1:45:46

It's water on the bridge, like exactly. It's just like it's whatever. But again, like what whatever they they they're probably not gonna say much publicly, and whenever down the road something does come out publicly about it, it's gonna be absolute water in the bridge, and it's also due, like you know, who knows at this point, and who cares?

SPEAKER_03 1:46:02

Yeah, who knows? I mean, there's probably only a handful of people that really know what happened there. Um truly happened.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:09

Yeah, you can remember it's miss mischaracterized, Greg. Don't forget that.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:15

Yes, well, we know he's sleeping well at night, so that's all that matters. Um exactly. But look, I at the end of the day, if it comes out, it comes out. I I'm I could care less.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:25

It does it doesn't change anything for me.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:28

I get why people want to know, just because like the they kind of want to um exactly. That's exactly what I was gonna already say. This kind of just give a um a karma thing, if you will, or just kind of prove how much of a sleeve's scummy, snaky kind of guy he is, his reputation. Um, but I think I think I think it definitely took a hit just because of what the narrative was on the mainstream level. You saw people like um uh Stephen A. Smith, you saw um um who's the guy from the old guy from from Duke that um Jay Jay Billis, you saw um Seth Greenberg, um the uh yeah, every everybody, everybody. No one really had a good thing to say about it. And again, at the end of the day, I get it, it's a business decision. Like he can make those decisions. Was it was it sleazy and scummy? Yeah, absolutely. Um, but we we move on. I'm I am I am this isn't directed at Barry, but I'm honestly I'm over it.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:32

Like, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:47:33

Either you want to be here, get the hell out. That's kind of and I'm with that with players, coaches, administration. Like, if you don't want to be here, that's fine. Like, go find your home, we'll be happy. You only get one life, like go live it to your best ability. But you're not dragging me down.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:48

Yep, exactly. Well, I think we'll end it there on that. So, with that being said, Wolfpack Nation, if you haven't already, uh make sure to hit that subscribe button. If you enjoyed this conversation, do us a big, big favor, hit that like button too, as well as if either one of those buttons lit up for you, that means you need to hit it. So make sure to do that. But also, too, as well, if you're listening to us on iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to us, do us a big, big favor, hit that five star review. Really greatly appreciate that as well. And give us a fall tough you talk now on Twitter. But with that being said, y'all, we appreciate y'all. We love y'all, and as always, y'all go pack, baby. Good morning.