Big East Non-Conference Games You Can’t Miss This Year!

Big East Non-Conference Games You Can’t Miss This Year!

Thank you for tuning in to part two of Big East Energy Weekly with myself, Roosevelt Jones, and Casey Matthews. Yes, that Roosevelt Jones from Butler. Uh we’re going to talk mid-season report, midsummer season report, if you will, and a non-conference look to end the end the program. Really appreciate you. As always, fans of the Big East. Don’t forget to check out all of our shows on the Big East Energy Network. All right, we’re back. Uh, here we are with Roosevelt Jones, Casey Matthews, myself, Mark Zetto, talking some Biggies hoops. Um, all right, so when it comes to we’re going to turn to Butler right away. Um, first off, what are your initial kind of thoughts going into this season? Like what I I’ll just ask you a real like a simple one. What’s their ceiling? What’s their floor? Um, I think their ceiling is going to be middle of the pack in the Big East. Uh, a little bit higher and then I think um their floor depending on so many new guys like obviously they’re obviously preseason Butler always going to be ranked eighth, ninth, 10th in the conference. So that’s really uh what I think the four is going to be. But I think the talent that they have this year is going to be really good. Uh bunch of guys they brought in this year is going to really help out the roster. Uh actually I was coaching with uh the TBT team. All good dogs. And we actually scrimmage against the Butler team. And I I like the guys they have like the physicality especially the shooting that they have now is going to be way improved from what they have this past couple of years. And I think that he even said it himself. He said since he’s returned back to Butler, like this team they have this summer, it’s been his favorite team so far since he’s been back at Butler. Okay. Um, talk to me because and I and I hope to do this this year because and I I hope I can go to a lot of different uh places this year in the Big East. Uh, talk to me about HKL, man. Like I I I listen the this is how old I am. The first ever DVD I bought as a kid was Hooers. And so I I’m enamored with that Indiana basketball culture even though you know I give Indiana Hoosiers fans a lot of because of the way the way they are. Um but just as far just in terms of kind of the history of of that arena and like that’s an incredible home court like you know what I mean like so the advantages that they can get if they start to kind of get a little momentum. It’s a tough place to play no matter what no matter when it is. Oh yeah. So obviously as as soon as you walk into HKL you can you can kind of feel the history just all around you like the facility like I think I think it’s the best facility in the in the country so obviously I’m biased just because I played there uh for five years and I I love that place. I go there all the time and the fans like they love basketball and they also know basketball. So if you’re playing the game the right way, they’re going to know. They’re going to support you. They’re going to be there. They’re going to be there to cheer you on. But if you’re not playing the right way, they’re going to let you know. They’re going to let you know that also like walking out a little bit early, beat the traffic back home. So, they’re always like people that that are playing basketball the right way, which is toughness, gritty, like that’s that’s what they want there at Ho and like that’s what we’ve been building this entire time. And hopefully this year they can get it back to where it’s been. Casey, before I go to you, I have I have to ask Ro this real quick. Um, this this team, this current roster has some really cool names. I’m not even jo I’m not joking. Like it’s it if we did an all big East names team, I mean I think you put three guys from Butler on it. You got Michael Aay, uh, Finn Finley, Bisjack, are we kidding me? Drayton, uh, Johan Triori, like all these guys. E Xavier Robinson, like there’s there’s just I mean I don’t know if the play will match the aura of the names, but I I I I love it. And and Michael Aji gave Yukon fits again when he played against Gonzaga last year in the in M scoreard. He had like I think he had 28 points, made everything. That’s a guy who, you know, I I’ve been looking at like sleepers in this league. And to me, he is the ultimate sleeper because he’s not he’s not coming in with a ton of fanfare, but he’s 67. You could play him at the two, you could play him at the three. I mean, he’s big enough where if you need it and in a pinch, he could even stretch out to the four and play a smaller lineup. I like the positional versatility. Talk to me about Michael. Oh, so Michael, I think he’s really good. Obviously, when we scrimmage against him, he was the one of the first guys that really impressed me just with how strong he is, how he can get to his spots for his pull-up game, and then also his defense. He can guard multiple positions. Obviously, uh, he didn’t play, he probably didn’t play as much as he wanted to at Gonzaga, but I think if we can get what he did at Pepperdine when he averaged about 17 18 points a game mix with Gonzaga, uh, I think he has about eight at Gonzaga, we can get about 13 to 14 points a game from him. I think that’s really doable. I think that’s going to be uh, really helpful for the roster. And I think his ceiling is very high once he starts getting comfortable into Biggie’s play. I think he’s going to be really good for the Bulldogs. I love it. Um I I couldn’t agree with you more, Casey. Uh talk to me about Kraton. I know we’ve done this a few times, but um what’s the what’s the update on Owen Freeman? I know he’s been hurt. Like, you know, is he going to be ready for season? Like is that going to impact anything from like a roster, you know, from from the you know, essentially like the chemistry or anything that goes into because he’s new. Um I know you got some newer guys as well, but you’ve retained some some dudes, too. So talk to me about that kind of meshing of the new and the old. Yeah, it’s going to be interesting with Owen. I mean, I think he’ll be back for the season. I don’t think they’re they’re worried like super long term about that. Um, rehab seems to be, you know, from what I hear again, secondhand, what I hear, rehab’s going fine. What I think is interesting, we’ve talked about this on the Ro Jay show, is you’re replacing a guy in Ryan Cochrunner who was just one of the most dominant players uh in the league for a long time. I mean, it seems like he was in the league for 10 years. Um so to replace that spot where offensively um you know, everybody goes right to his defense because he’s you know, four-time defensive player of the year. I get that. Great defender. Changes the game on that side. Offensively though, he really makes it hard for opposing defenses because he puts so much pressure on the rim when he’s rolling out of ball screens and and you have to make decisions on how you’re going to guard that because what Crater refers to as the flip up, the alley, you know, throw. Uh he was so good at catching those and if he couldn’t finish it in the air and coming down with it and going back up with it, that’s a huge part of their offense. Now with Owen, he’s just not the same player. Not that he can’t catch lobs and those sorts of things. He’s just not the same threat rolling off of those ball screens like that. So, they’re going to have to figure that out. The other thing that they lost with with Stephen Ashworth leaving is a really dead eyee shooter at the point position, which Roosevelt can can break that down a lot better than than I can. But the when you have a point guard that can shoot like that, it really changes things because he’s no longer just an initiator, you really have to account for him. And when you lose both of those positions in the same year, to me, that becomes really tricky. Now, what they’ve brought in and Nick Graves, I I think on paper will be the point guard transfer from Charlotte. really good player, uh, good with the ball, creative, good core vision. I think he’s going to be just fine. Just doesn’t shoot it like Stephen. So, they’re going to definitely play a little bit differently. Um, you know, Josh Dicks, a transfer from Iowa, phenomenal player. I think he’s like finished like top 25 transfer, you know, this year. And then you have, you know, some some other guys, um, coming back. Jackson McAndrew, who I think is going to be a really good player. Uh, Jason Green is coming back. you um you added a few transfers as well uh beyond the other guys that I had mentioned. Like there’s just there’s a lot there. But here’s the thing. I know I’m rambling now, but here’s the thing that’s interesting to me. You you mentioned it about Owen Freeman. I have been on the soap box on the Kraton side that Isaac Trout needs to play the five because he’s not there’s just not going to be as many minutes. When you look at the other guys they brought in, they got they brought in Blake Harper, who to me is a very interesting player because he can score it, but he’s big. He can play a little bit in the post. To me, he’s at like three, fourish kind of player. Sure. Um, so there’s going to be less minutes for Isaac at the four. So, he needs to play the five and he can shoot the heck out of the ball. So, and you kind of have a a stretch five essentially or pick a pop five, it really changes what you can do offensively as well, especially since Owen really isn’t that. So, to me, this in an opportunity because now you’re going to have Isaac getting more reps at the five because they just don’t have as many bodies. They got an international kid. I always butcher his name. It’s Alexa. I always butcher his name, so I’m not even going to try. Um and then um so I think it’s an opportunity that Isaac’s going to get to play a little bit at the five in practice which I think will pay dividends. So all that’s a long answer to say I have no clue uh what what Kraton will be like but no I I do I mean in terms of ceiling I do think that if they reach their potential and with the caveat that St. John’s and Yukon does the same. Okay. Then I think Kraton’s ceiling is probably finishing third in the league, which is where I expect them to finish. Now, if Yukon St. John’s falter, that obviously opens the door, but I think those two teams are are just really really good. Uh the floor, I mean, man, maybe I’m just too high on my squad, but I I I think the I still think the floor is in that same three, four area. I just don’t think there’s other teams in the league right now that to me are a threat. Um, but and I know I’m also in the minority here. I think Marquette and I want to ask Rose about Xavier, but I Marquette and Xavier are those next two for me, whereas I know that’s probably up for debate, but what do you think about Yukon? I mean, I I know you’re going to tell us they’re they’re national champions, but um what do you what do you expect there? I think I think this is like a as far as in terms of the the culture of Yukon, it’s still really strong. Um, you return a guy who’s won two national championships in Alex. You bring in a top 10 recruiting class that’s led by Brilan Mullins and two international guys that showed out in the FIA 19 and under with Fury and Ryba. Uh, both lefties, both different skill sets. I heard Terrence Oglesby from Field of 68 talk to my buddy uh Jared Cutotler on Connecticut Scoreboard podcast talking about how Jacob Fury is going to be the biggest surprise of anybody in the Big East because he’s 6’6. He’s 210 pounds. He They’re like he’s like a rugby player, but he’s also really good. Like very crafty, almost like a Cam Spencer-l like in that respect. I hate putting those labels on guys because then our fan base starts to, you know, see those expectations. But I I interviewed Jacob on the Hoopscap about two months ago. Uh and he he he is the opposite of of Cam in terms of like his attitude, but the the mentality is the same. He’s the type of player that can get downhill. He can make shots. He’s a willing passer. You can put him in pick and roll. You can put him in DHO. You can put him in horn sets. He can just he can flare out to the wing. That’s what Dan likes, right? He wants positional versatility everywhere. And having a guy like that who is kind of under the radar, you know what I mean? Like people watch FIA under 19 like sickos like us that are on watching YouTube games of of of basketball uh internationally, but the the the normal fan is like who the hell is Jacob Hury? You know what I mean? So that’s that’s a name to watch. But also um to your point to both of your points about point guard um you know the this team can be elite if Silas Deari Jr. is hits his ceiling 65 66 point guard shot it pretty decent at Georgia last year was a 14 point point per game scoreer in the SEC the toughest league in the in the country last year as far as like amount of bids they got. So yeah, I mean their ceiling is Big East title, national champion, final four. Their floor is honestly like second in the Big East, maybe an Elite Eight or something like that, Sweet 16. I just don’t think with the talent that they have, if they like like all of these squads, knock on wood, there’s no injuries, then that they’re they’re going to meet their potential. I haven’t even said anything about Brilan Mullins who is, you know, for all intents and purposes, maybe a maybe a oneanddone. I don’t think he’s like Steph Castle in the respect that he could, you know, average 20 if he wants to, but I I don’t think I’ve seen and I maybe, you know, Rose, you can you can correct me if I’m wrong here. I just don’t I’m not a I’m not a trainer. I’m not a you know, a basketball guru, but I know if there’s one thing I could do on the basketball court is I could shoot the rock. And Brillin Mullins can shoot the rock. And it’s and it’s the type of release and the type of, you know, it’s so pure and that you expect that from an Indiana kid. So, I I just think his ability from range off the dribble, um, if he kind of enhances his game a little bit past just shooting, I think they’re going to be really special. And I’m excited because you kept Teras Reed, you kept Jaylen Stewart, you kept Alex Caravan, and you added all these pieces. So, that that’s that’s what I think. Um, as far as let’s let’s let’s go beyond the homerisism of all of our teams, right? Um, talk I I I’m one of my sleeper teams that I think could hit that four spot is Xavier. Bros, what do what do you think about what Richard Patino has done? I know it’s a complete overhaul, but if you look at that roster, it’s guys, it’s guys from smaller schools that are stepping up, but you guys, you know this having not having not having played uh, you know, for quote unquote before mid- major, right? Where like you have a chip on your shoulder and you want to show out to kind of prove that you belong in a in a big league or to play professionally. And he’s got all those guys. He’s got a bunch of guys who are hungry. They’re all huge, like tall, like there’s not I don’t think there’s a guy on his roster under 6’4. So, like he’s going with that, you know, length and just hoping that it all works out. What are your thoughts? Oh, yeah. My thoughts is I think they’re going to be really good. I know people will kind of give him flack for getting a lot of mid- major guys, but I I coached at uh Evansville, University of Evansville the last three years and like the Missouri Valley Conference, it’s a tough conference and like guys that leave that conference, go into high majors, they produce right away. Like no, they actually got one of my former players, uh, Gabriel Pazado. He was this past season, super athletic, like he’s going to be very fun in that conference. And I just think getting those type of players that’s hungry, wanting to play at that high level, and just being being able to want to be able to compete, have a chip on that shoulder, and you got a bunch of those guys all together. I think that’s going to make Xavier a very tough team to play against throughout the season. What do you think about Malik Moore? I think I think I think he’d be pretty good. It’s like I said, it’s just going to be interesting how like everybody uh gets put together and what type of offense he wants to run for them. Uh who’s going to be their main guy that steps up for them. So, I just think once they finally get all those pieces throughout the summer, get the uh get who’s going to be at this position. You figure that out throughout the summer then see how see how that goes. Yeah. See, for me, like I like Malik Moore. I’ve been pretty high on him. I was really hoping Kraton would would go after him. Yeah. um the kid he’s from transferred in from Montana and I I agree I think on some of these some of these guys that come in I mean they’re like you don’t see them on TV they don’t have the TV contracts like the Big East and the SEC’s and whatever. Um so you don’t see them but man there’s some really good players that just end up blossoming in those you know in the environments that they’re in and they they they play the minutes. That’s that to me is the differentiator there. Yes. is they they’ve played the minutes. Yes. And I you know again Rose you and I can have this conversation sometime from a coaching perspective. I really believe and totally different topic but at that level you almost have to recruit now like a junior college and and because and sell these kids on the fact that they’re going to play. And that’s the biggest differentiator is you might be super talented, but if you don’t see the court, right, you’re not playing and you’re not getting coached. Yeah. You’re not going to develop. 100%. Yes. Go ahead, Rose. Yeah. Sorry to cut you off. It’s like just like from a recruiting uh standpoint. Like that’s kind of the pitch like, hey, you can come here. Hey, play for one year. We got a bunch of guys. We already show a bunch of guys that play one year, produced, and look, they’re making 300,000 now. They’re making 400,000 now. like that. That’s our pitch. That’s our pitch now to come to a mid major for a year or two, be able to produce numbers and then go on a high major. Like like you said, it’s kind of turned into a joy. Bring them in for a couple years, one or two years, and then have to have the expectation they’re probably going to be going to a high major. Um real real quick because I wanted to mention this. You talked about playing time. Like it’s also really important like um this is this is going back to my Yukon guys. like a guy like Alec Millander played at IU Indie and he played a ton of games, won a ton of games there. That’s what they missed last year. And that’s what a lot of these teams kind of miss on sometimes in their transfer portal is like they need to find those guys that essentially have won have won a lot. Like you you you don’t know how to win until you start to do it consistently. And if you’re if you’re a program like Xavier, if you’re a program like Depal, you got to bring in guys that have won at the at the mid- major level to kind of see if you can create that culture of winning within the Big East. And so that’s a huge part of it. Now, do you want every single guy to be like a like an underdog story? No. You need to have some talent, too. But those guys are it’s like you can’t you can’t create a team with all five stars unless you’re Duke, unless you’re, you know, Kentucky. Uh, so when you have the resources at your disposal, we we talked about this a while back with the NIL stuff, it’s kind of like it’s kind of like Moneyball. GMs and coaches in in in this league are going to have to start to really focus on roster construction and being strategic versus just throwing all of their eggs in the fivear basket or the couple of four stars. So, you know, if you get five really good three stars that are hungry, I’ll take that over a couple of five stars any day of the week because they’re going to not cause any waves. They’re gonna they’re gonna attack the way you want to attack and eventually once they start to mesh, they’re going to they’re going to surprise some folks. So, yeah, I mean, there’s that’s what development’s for, right? You know what I mean? Like, every team has a director of player development. Every team has a coaching staff that wants to develop players. And that’s the way college basketball used to be. And I think we’re starting to kind of see that the positive side of NIL is that guys are going to stick around for two, three, four years. Hell, Kraton guys stay until they’re 30, right? So, you know, like we just, you know, we got to we got we got to make sure that guys stick around and now you have a better product. That’s my thought. Yeah. I and and I hope we see some of these programs that that that can take advantage of of this time and and really build like I as as much as it would kill me to to hear it from from our boy Willie V, I I’d love for Butler to to really build something and be competitive and I think it’s good for the league. I do. And and I like sure as a Kraton guy, I like the fact that it’s we got a pretty good shot at finishing third or higher in the league. Sure. But it’s it’s a lot of fun, you know, when you roll into Hinkle and they’re then they’re good and and it’s it’s Yeah. I don’t have a lot of good memories there. And uh so it’s like, you know, even even when they’re not good, they’re hard to beat there, but when they’re good, that place is like you said, it’s special, man. It is really really special. Um and but then also like I look at like Chris Holman at the Paul. I think he’s a heck of a coach and I think that’s a I don’t know if I’d call it I think you can go as far as saying it’s a sleeping giant. I don’t know if it you can go that far, but I definitely think it’s a program where where they’re located and the access to players that they have, that’s a program that could be built. And now they have that I mean, they have beautiful arena. like there’s just teams, man, that I’m like, God, I’m really hopeful that uh that they could take a step and really um start start to build something there because I, you know, there like the Big East tournament as we all know and um when you can go in and honestly say like this isn’t one of those games where you just roll the balls out and you know, you know who’s going to win, those are really fun. Really fun. So I I’ll give you a quick I’ll give you a quick funny story about um Depal which is I know Yukon fans have literally bought Depal season tickets so that they can go watch Yukon play and get big and also get you get first dibs on getting tickets for the Big East tournament when you’re a season ticket holder because they’re relatively inexpensive and so you sell the rest for whatever or you just eat it and because and and and PE teams are doing that Like I like fans fans have kind of done that and like they’ll post on social media just got my Depal season ticket renewal and I’m not I’m not on Depal. I hope they I I think Chris Holman’s a great coach and they’re one of my sleepers too this year. I think they’re going to be a lot better this year. But that that to me is hysterical. Like I’m going to buy season tickets so that I can get my tickets for the Big East tournament so I go watch Yukon and Madison Square Garden. Our our fans are our fans are psychos. Absolute psychopaths. We all know and I say that with and I say that with love because they they know it. You know what I mean? Like absolutely are are just just weird and awesome at this all at the same time. Um so I’m going to put up real quick because we want to do a quick non-con look. So I want to do St. John’s and um their non-conference because it’s it’s an interesting non-conference. And I see I see one um I don’t want to say potential upset, but like you know, look, St. John’s is going to be good. And while I’m pulling this up, Rose, give me give me your thoughts. We we’ve already had this conversation. What do you think about Patino and his roster construction, do you think that um the kid that they got I always forget his name. So Casey, if you remember, jump in here. Uh the point the smaller point guard that they got from I think he played at Mont. Yes, Dylan. I don’t I don’t know why I always forget his name, but Ian Jackson was initially the first guy, the big splashy pick. And people were like, “Well, we got our point guard.” And I was thinking like, hold on a second, he’s not really a point guard. What are we doing here? So, um, what are your thoughts there? And then I’ll pull up the non-conference. Uh, well, I think, uh, Rick Patino, he’s always going to figure it out. He’s going to get the he’s going to get the best out of everybody that he plays, like the, you know, the way that he coaches, like, he doesn’t take no Like, if you’re not doing stuff the right way, like you’re not going to be playing in this system. And I think with Ian Jackson, it’s going to it’s going to be interesting, man. that’s going to be does he does he want to be a point guard or does he want to be a scorer? So that’s that’s probably going to be the talk that him and Patina are going to have with each other and uh whatever which route he’s going to go is going to what’s going to be best for the team. So, it’s just going to be like what Ian Jackson wants to do because I think if he wants to be a point guard, he I think he could do it, but you know, kids, they want to get those points. They want to be scores. So, scoring points might be on his mind. So, it’s just going to be as is he going to go with the system or is he going to do his own thing? And then, you know what that leads to? We saw what just happened in the NCAA tournament where you wasn’t doing what you supposed to do. So, you sat on the bench. So, hopefully it’s not like one of those thing. hopefully in Jackson kind of get a mixture of being a point guard and also being able to get to his spots and figuring out for the uh for the Giannis. Okay. Um no, I’m with you. I we talked about it at length and and I I read something that Ian he’s he’s excited about playing point guard, but when you get in the doldrums of the season and he’s riding your ass because you’re not doing X, Y, and Z, then that’s when we’re going to see the rubber meet the road. It’s easy to say all the right things on July 31st, but we’ll see what happens on January 20th, you know, going into Hinkle or whatever the, you know, whoever. And, you know, he’s not meeting the expectations of St. John’s fans. You know, some of that pressure maybe starts to hit him. Um, this is St. John’s uh non-conference. Quinnipak’s no slouch. I say that right off the bat. They’re in Connecticut. They won the MAC. Uh, there was a player that I’ll look up who won the MAC player of the year that Yukon was looking at. He actually stayed back. Um, Alabama’s a great uh great game. Iowa State, Baylor, they’re playing in that players era tournament. They got some really good team. The Kentucky game is my my favorite game on the schedule, but if there’s one, if there’s maybe one or two like watch out, they’re going to give them a run for at least a little bit is going to be Quinnipak and maybe Iona. I don’t know what they’ve done in reloading since uh since Patino left, but that’s a cool game too having, you know, since he coached there. Um, what do you think about this non-conference schedule, Casey? You’re muted, brother. Sorry. First time doing the podcast. Uh, I don’t Yeah, I don’t see anything on here in terms of, you know, like you’re you’re mentioning Quinnipic. I own I don’t boat, son. Yeah, but rolling into rolling into Carnoska, that place is going to be absolutely bananas. I don’t I don’t think they’re going to have any problem there. The ones that um I mean one one I give I give them a lot of credit for building the schedule one and to go to Atlanta and play Kentucky which again I know it’s neutral but it’s not neutral. It’s going to be you know it’s going to be a lot of there’s gonna be a lot of blue uh in there. Um that’s interesting. I think Old Miss is is a team that could be interesting to play against there. Um I I think they’ll win. Iowa State like now and again that’s play that’s the player zerodale so they don’t really have a choice there but I think the schedule’s tough but man to start off your season there after you know after the Quinnipic game um and get Alabama like I know it’s at MSG I get that holy cow what a game that’s going to be. Yeah, they get hot, man. It’s tough. Yeah. To so to build that one to and to to build that schedule and to be willing to play that schedule to me is um Yeah. Interesting. Um I’m going to pull up Georgetown’s non-conference here in a second. Um the player that I was referencing was Amari Monroe. Um, I mean, he had NIL, not NIL, transfer offers from Kansas, Yukon, um, Ruters, like it’s a it’s a with the exception of Ruters, no disrespect, uh, it’s a who’s who of of teams. And honestly, that dude is a baller and he’s 67, he’s undersized, he plays in the post. I mean, let’s just say Zubie Edgeor is going to be in for a workout that day because that dude is a rim runner. Uh, and so, is he too small? Probably. but he can step out and shoot the three. I like him as a player. I liked him. If Alex Carman went pro, I think I think Yukon would have snagged him. Uh but I think once that decision was made um to to stick, he ended up staying at Quinnipak. Uh so yeah, I think that’s a player just to just to watch out for if you’re if you’re a St. John’s fan uh to kind of peek at. Um all right, let’s look at Georgetown really. We haven’t really talked about them much other than Patrick Euing being clutch. Um yeah, their non-conference schedule. We got to get Rashan on when he starts his show August 2nd to talk about this because I mean the one game isn’t it’s like an exhibition game. You’re playing you’re playing Kentucky exhibition. I the they’re playing North Carolina at on the road. That’s a good game. Uh but it’s also to me those are like perception games because it’s a it’s a it’s a name brand. Carolina is good and don’t get me wrong the I feel like the ACC is down. Uh you know Duke is here and everyone else is kind of like creeping. Louisville is probably ahead of uh of where um of where Carolina is. And I know down here in North Carolina where I live now, people if they’re listening to this are probably like, “Shut up, Mark.” Um but NC State’s on the rise. So like to me, like that North Carolina schedule, you know, scheduling them today isn’t the same as if you did it five years ago. I I just That’s just me. You guys thoughts? Yeah. I mean, here’s the difference though, right? Like we were just talking about um St. John’s. St. John’s is playing that schedule because they’re trying to make sure that they have a one or two seed in NC. Sure. And if you beat Alabama, if you beat an Iowa State, you beat some of these teams, like you’re you’re you’re putting yourself in great position for that. Georgetown’s doing almost the exact opposite. Sure. And they’re not scheduling great teams here. Now, obviously, North Carolina, that is a fun game to play. I mean, Maryland, I mean, Buzz Williams first year Maryland, that’s an interesting one. Um, shoot, Clemson. Like, they have some they they have some good opponents, but what you see on that schedule is scheduling what they hope to be a lot of wins because they’re trying to give themselves a shot and not take themselves out of contention um, you know, for an NCAA tournament bid by the time they get to Big East tournament play. So, it’s a different schedule. I I mean, people are going to be excited about the North Carolina game. There’s no doubt about that. Um, and then you don’t know who they’re going to end up playing in the ESPN events, but I don’t even know who’s in that those events. But, um, yeah, it’s just a different totally different vibe. That’s another team. Let me ask you this question, Casey. Like, cuz because I understand like, you know, you’re not sure about your team. You’re going to probably structure it a different way. But like then at the end of the year, if Georgetown has a decent Big East here and they’re like, you know, let’s let’s say they hit their ceiling and they’re like the fourth best team in the big or fifth best team in the Big East, they’re squarely on the bubble because they look at you look at this non-conference and I guarantee you it’s if we look if we had an analytics expert like Ken Palm or even Evan Meyer or something like that, they’re going to come in and say, “All right, well, where are your quad one wins?” You know what I’m saying? Like so if if Clemson is good, that’s a quad one win because they were good last year. North Carolina, that’s questionable. Um, you know, Maryland, I think, is going to be between a one and a two, depending on where it’s played. It’s played at the Exfinity Center, so that’s on the road. So, like, these are those are things that like frustrate fans. Like, you can’t get upset at the end of the year that you’re not in the NCA tournament when you didn’t schedule the appropriate amount amount of opportunities for your team to make a name for itself. It’s great to get wins. Great. It’s great for your confidence. That’s what my games are for. you know, but you don’t understand what I mean. I of course I think there’s a couple things obviously and these the you don’t know if these are contractually obligated games. They’ve already scheduled return games. I don’t know that. But the other thing to look at is that Maryland game and the North Carolina game are both road games, which to me should automatically make those quad one wins if they win them. But if you lose them, if you lose them, it’s not going to kill you. But if but like like the Clemson one, that one to me is a game that they they will have circled as this is a big opportunity for us to to to have something to talk about in March. But if you’re finishing fourth or fifth in the Big East, you’re in contention for an NCAA tournament bid anyways. Sure. It’s to me it’s just don’t screw it up before it starts. Yeah. Don’t lose to Morgan State. Don’t lose to UNMBC. get some confidence as you’re rolling in. I mean, Roosevelt, talk, you talk about that, man. How important is that as you’re going to conference play? No, I was just I was just getting ready to tell you like from the coaching perspective, like sometimes the the conference tells you to play these types of teams just because when you play the lower tier teams like a Morgan State or UNMBC, they tell you like you’re playing them, you have to beat them by 40, 50 points so you get those pound points. And that’s kind of why they do that now because they know the Big East is going to be so tough. So if you’re able to sneak some win in the Big East, but a also you do a you win all your non-conference schedules or only lose one or two of those games, like it helps you get closer to making the tournament. So sometimes it’s not it’s not always on the school. Sometimes the conference are want you want you to play those types of schools. Yeah, I don’t disagree. Um it’s a it’s a great point. Um all right. last one and then we’ll we’ll jump out of here. Um because I think it’s literally the it’s on par with St. John’s. Um we’re kind of frozen here for a second. Let me get this out of here. Um I’m gonna pause. I think we just came back. All right, cool. Um there you guys are. Let’s do this. All right, this is John Roststein, our guy. Um this is Yukon’s non-conference. I didn’t get the official. They’re playing BYU uh in in TD Garden. They’re playing Arizona in Hartford. Uh they’re playing Illinois at MSG at Kansas, Florida, MSG, Texas. The buy games are the buy games. They’re not losing any buy games. Um but these are the these are the tougher non-conference. You see, what do you see here, boys? A gauntlet. Yeah. Yeah. Looks like he’s trying to get get them ready for the NCAA tournament. Honestly, this is just me talking here, right? This to me is like I’m Dan Hurley and I don’t care what you think. I want to play this schedule and we want all the smoke. Like it. Hey man, hats off because it’s going to be an unbelievable. Like if you’re a Yukon fan, you have to be pumped. Absolutely pumped for this for this because there’s, you know, have you guys ever Casey, have you ever seen or Rose, have you ever seen that um last year or two years ago when they lost at Kansas by three, right? And you know, they end up winning a national championship, so who cares? But they they’re in the press conference. He’s got Tristan Newton with him and um someone asked about, you know, are you you know, are you trying to play these games more like these home at homes and stuff like that? And he said, yeah. He goes, we call everybody. He’s like, you know, and he and he started naming teams, Duke, uh, you know, Kentucky, Carolina, whatever. He’s like, sometimes we don’t get a call back. So, like, he always talks a little And then the best is I don’t know why this dude did it. I don’t even think he’s there anymore. I couldn’t even tell you his name, but the head coach at Bryant in Rhode Island, who by the way, remember Rose when we talked off air? That’s the only school I got an offer from before they went D2 D1 in basketball. It was a D2 offer. Hello. Um, what is his name? Jerry. But but e either way, the funniest thing he goes, yeah, he goes like we’re like something like we’re ducking Bryant or something like that. And then he and then he goes, “Oh, did they win tonight? Oh, yeah, they lost.” Or something like that. Like, yo, he doesn’t care at all. So, you’re you’re spot on. And he also listen like anybody, he kind of gets in his feelings sometimes and he and he and he goes on the attack and then he’ll apologize later. Um, and I think that’s the difference. He’s he’s self-aware and people hate him, people love him. There’s really no in between. Um, but yeah, this is going to be a tough tough schedule, but I think it goes to show you what people how he feels about this team. I don’t think he goes to Kansas if he doesn’t feel like this team is a top five team in the country. I don’t think he schedules Arizona. I don’t think he I don’t think he messes around with BYU because they got AJ. You know what I mean? Like, so yeah, like that that BYU team is going to be nice this year. Like, why why do that if your team if you don’t think your team can compete? you wouldn’t. So, yeah, I think you guys are right that this is a this is a gauntlet, but we’re excited. Um, I think it’s gonna be a great year, guys. Like, I I wish I wish we could fast forward to, you know, I hate to throw days away, but I wish it was, you know, in November and we were gearing up for, you know, these these non-con games and, you know, some of the like the feast week and all that that goes on during Thanksgiving. Uh, I’m just excited about it. Um, Rose, thank you so much for joining us today, bringing a awesome element to the program as a former player. Uh, and we look forward to your show and getting that all squared away and, uh, we’re happy to have you, Casey. Appreciate it. No, I’m pumped. Yeah. No, we’re pumped to get to hope hopefully get this going soon with with a a butler a butler uh pod on here. And um you know, I just uh yeah, we’re we’re excited and I I think uh it’s a great time to be a Big East fan. And uh look, just think look at all this stuff. I’m I’m more excited now that I have been. Again, I’m not wishing days away, but uh would it be awful? Actually, you know what? We got preseason NFL football on tonight. Like, oh yeah, man. It’s time. It’s time. We We’ve gotten through we’ve gotten through July where the baseball season is kind of like whatever. We’ll wait until it gets to the playoffs and then you know you got like you said football’s around the corner. Um there’s there’s there’s we’re about to be inundated with sports and that’s that’s the way I like it. Absolutely. And in terms of the Big East energy now we’re gonna have Georgetown launching and Butler going. We got we just Hey, if you’re watching this and you’re a Depal guy or a Xavier guy, whatever, man. Call us. Hit us up. Let us know. Marquette, we need a Marquette guy, too. Yep. Y gotta get we gota get these Midwestern guys. Rose, you gota hook us up. We gota help us out. I got you. I’ll start working on it. All right. All right, guys. This has been another episode of Big East Energy Weekly for Casey Matthews, Roosevelt Jones. I’m Mark Zenetto. We’ll catch you next time. [Music]

Here’s a look at Big East Energy Weekly’s episode, where hosts Roosevelt Jones, Mark Zanetto, and Casey Matthews discuss the upcoming basketball season. They highlighted top clutch players and previewed key non-conference matchups in the Big 12 and ACC. Don’t forget to check out more content on the Big East Energy Network! Is your squad built for March? Find out here!

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