 Welcome to another episode of In the Zone. I, of course, am your host, Chris Broussard. And boy, do we have another exciting show for you. We have Evan Daniels, the FS1 college basketball insider. He's going to break down everything from the NCAA tournament, including how the best individual prospects, DeAndre, Aitin, Trey Young, so on and so forth, project as future NBA players or maybe even stars. Then, of course, we've got my man, Jason McIntyre, back for another fun episode of Knock Down Jay. But first, as always, we're going to hit you with a top five. Now, this week, Wednesday, March 14, to be exact, Steph Curry's 30th birthday. So in honor of Steph, I want to hit you with a top five things you need to know about the two-time MVP. Number five, Steph should have been the MVP of the 2015 NBA finals, the first championship that the Golden State Warriors won in this era. Andre Guadala got the MVP, did a great job. I know when Dre got moved into the starting lineup in game four, it changed the series and the Warriors won the next three games. But guess what? They were guarding Iguadala at the three-point line. Timothy Mosgov was standing under the basket. He was wide open. And for all the great things Iguadala did, he did them as a role player. I know he gave you 16 points, but Steph gave you 26 points on average in that series. People think Steph didn't play well. He averaged 26 points, six rebounds, and five assists a game. And we go to those three pivotal games. Remember, Cleveland was up 2-1. So the last three games were huge. In those three games, Steph Curry averaged 28 points on 49% shooting, including 45% from three-point land. Where is this myth, this narrative that he didn't play well come from? Number four, Steph Curry admittedly a bad defender. No defending him there. But he's not as bad as you think. He has ranked 70th in the NBA in defensive real plus minus. That's one of those metrics now, the analytics, guys' love, and it's legitimate. All right, 70th among point guards in defensive real plus minus, not good. But guess what? Better than Rajan Rondo, better than Kairi Irving, better than Matthew Delavadova, who is known as a defender, and better than George Hill, who's also known as a good defender at the point guard. So again, he ain't locking nobody up. They hide him on defense. Other teams look to put him in pick and roll to get him switched on them so they can exploit him. But he's not as poor of a defender as his reputation says. All right, number three, Steph Curry, inch for inch is one of the better rebounders in the league. I know that's shocking because he's viewed as a finesse player. He's viewed as soft and cuddly and all that. But he is one of only four players, six, three, and under, averaging at least five rebounds a game. Think about that. Four players in the league averaging five or more rebounds, and Steph Curry is one of them. The other three, Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry, and Chris Paul. All three of them known as Bulldogs, hardcore, tough players. You might have to put Steph in that category as a Bulldog, a hardcore tough player. And that might be a little bit of an overstatement. But he's tougher than you think. Number two, Steph Curry is one of only four players in NBA history to average 30 points a game on fewer than 21 shots a game. That is incredible. Michael Jordan didn't do it. And he was efficient. Kobe Bryant didn't do it. Shaquille O'Neal didn't do it. George Gervin didn't do it. Allen Iverson, I mean, all these great scores. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar didn't do it. But little old Steph Curry did it. The other three, Adrian Damley, got to give love to him, great score. The other guy, Carl Malone, second leading score of all times in terms of total points. The other guy, Kevin Durant. We know he's an all-time great score, one of the best handful of scores we've ever seen. The number one thing you need to know about Steph Curry on his birthday, he is the Warriors MVP. Most valuable player. Yep, I said it. Kevin Durant, I will tell you this. I believe it in my heart is the Warriors best player. Great defender now, obviously great offensively. But their most important, most valuable player is little old Steph Curry, and here's the proof. In the last two years, without Steph Curry, the Warriors are 13 and seven. That's a 53-win pace, not bad, but not great. Without Kevin Durant the last two years, they are 25 and five. That's a 68-win pace, that's historic. Steph Curry, the way he spreads the floor, the way he stretches the defense with his shooting range, the way you can't get all up on him because he'll go by you with his handle, finish in the mid-range, finish at the rim, is a great passer, and then is constantly moving without the basketball. He is their most important player, he is the system. He makes the system go. Steve Kerr told us that earlier in the year. And here's the thing, the Warriors, without Steph Curry, if his ankle problems persist, if God forbid, he suffers an ankle injury in the playoffs that keeps him out, the Golden State Warriors, for all their greatness, for all their talent, will not win an NBA championship without Steph Curry. All right, back again for more trouble, is my man Jason McIntyre. Another segment of Knockdown, Jay, really one of my favorite parts of the podcast. How you doing, man? I'm excellent. Coming off last week's victory and all the friendly comments I got on YouTube, I'm ready for you. Is that what you call it? You won one of the three segments, that's a victory, I guess that is a victory, that is improvement. All right, all right. What do you have for me this week? Just bring it on. Why don't we start with your buddy, your best friend, LeBron James? Let's start there, shall we? I like LeBron, great player. Cavs sputtering when they came out West, lost to the Clippers and Lakers, two lottery bound teams by double figures. It was bad. Clippers are currently in the playoffs. They're gonna be lottery bound, we know that. Really? Yeah. And when you look at LeBron's off season and he leaves the East to go to the West, you know, there's so much talk. Wait, wait, you saying that as a fact? I mean, nothing's a fact, we're not in July yet. But if LeBron does go West, I want to ask you about LeBron's legacy. To the Lakers and the Rockets or whatever. Yeah, Lakers, Rockets, whomever. Even if they don't get to the finals, I don't think it dings his legacy whatsoever, as opposed to staying in the East and getting the finals and losing. I'm just so over this whole, well, his legacy's gonna be damaged. Chris, he has established his legacy. He is in the discussion with Michael Jordan. True or false? Just a true or false? No, his legacy is set as an all-time great player. Right, as an all-time in the same discussion as Mike. Well, he's second best player of all time. I think in most peoples, he's top five for most people. I and several others have him second best to Jordan. I think he'd have to do a ton to surpass Jordan. I largely agree with him. But that's pretty much settled. But that's my thing. If he goes West, Lakers, Rockets, they don't win a title. I don't think his legacy is damaged and then he falls below Kobe or Korean. No, I wouldn't say, well, who knows? You never know the way things play out. Could he fall below them? I don't know. I wouldn't think so. I will say this. When you go, let's say it goes to the Lakers. Everybody else on his level, except Elgin Baylor. If you put Elgin Baylor on his level, everybody else on his level who's played for the Lakers has delivered a championship. Different eras, but yes. Jerry, no, erasmeras. Oh, erasmeras. Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, they all won championships. In LA, getting to the second round means nothing. Kobe was getting to the second round toward the end of his career and people were saying, well, towards the end of the Phil Jackson era, they were still getting to the second round and it was nothing. It was not good enough. It was down. I'm saying if LeBron comes here and they just get to the second round and they're out, does it mean he's not the second best player ever? Maybe not, but it is a nick on his legacy because everybody, the Lakers, they are expecting a championship when you come in. And they make it one. Now, they might, but let's say it goes to Houston. And you're with James Harden and Chris Paul and they're great. And they're ring chasing. They're great. If he goes and joins those two and still doesn't win a title or get to the finals, that again doesn't look good. I'm saying if you stay in the East and you play for Philadelphia or even you stay in Cleveland, if you get to the finals, a lot of people are saying, better not to get to the finals than to get there and keep losing. I would disagree. You go as far as you can. If LeBron goes three and eight in the finals, they get there three more times and loses. That is still a tremendous accomplishment. Three and eight people would kill him. Say he's lost eight times, but that's 11 trips to the finals. Magic Johnson. How many of them were straight? 10 of them, right? No, so far seven. It could be 10 if he stays in the East. He can just keep the string going. Who knows? But it's seven right now. That's impressive. That's my point. Look, only four teams in NBA history have even ever gotten to four straight finals. Teams, that's how hard it is. Right now, the Warriors are trying to do it. You see the mental exhaustion, the emotional exhaustion. For one player to do it seven straight times, that is a great achievement. Is this not the same discussion as better to have loved and lost than to have never loved ever, right? That it's good too. Is that Shakespeare? I believe it's Shakespeare. I don't think you did it just as well. So, I mean, listen, just getting to the finals is great. That's an amazing accomplishment. So why go to the West then? Well, hold on. You just said Superteam Era Schmera. It doesn't matter, okay? Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, those were the two best teams in the league by far for a decade. Michael Jordan didn't have to face those Superteams, okay? What the era that LeBron's in right now, he is facing arguably the best team of all time. These Golden State Warriors right now, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Clay Thompson. 12-1 last year in the playoffs, okay? They're looking utterly dominant. I don't see how losing to an all-time great team is gonna damage LeBron's legacy. He's already up here. No, it's not gonna damage it. But if he can't catch Michael Jordan. It would be a black mark on his legacy. Oh, no, it's not. You're still in your prime, and you're going out in the second round. In June, if he's no longer a factor, name me the last player who was the face of the NBA who wasn't a factor in June. Let's see, face of the NBA, not a factor in Judea. Derek Rose? He was never the face of the NBA. So what, Steve Nash wasn't the face of the MVP? I'm gonna give it to you. Since Dr. J was the first face of the league in modern history, he was in the finals a lot with the Sixers. Then it was Magic and Bird, obviously in the finals a lot. Then it was Michael Jordan, stayed in the finals. Then it was Shaq and Kobe, in the finals. Wait, you said they got bounced in the second round. What? Didn't you say they got bounced in the second round? Kobe, you said Kobe Bryant was bouncing in the second round with the Lakers. I said toward the end of his career with Phil Jackson, Shaq and Kobe, they were in the finals. LeBron, when he got to the finals in 07, that's when he kind of became the face of the league. My point is, the face of the league, it's been LeBron, then it kind of became Steph. How many guys were the face of the league at 33 years old? That's another great thing for him. He's still the best player in the world in his 15th year at 33. I would say Kevin Durant's the best player, but you know, that we're splitting hairs. Again, I don't see how it's hurting him at all. It's not gonna take him out in the top five players of all time, but still, are you playing the win? Okay. Yes, you are, but you're also playing to be happy, Chris. On some level, maybe he's not happy. You have no, look, leave the happiness alone. Why? We have no idea what makes him happy. We have no idea what makes him happy. Exactly. You know what makes a basketball player happy? Winning. Yes, we know that. Winning. But there's more to life than basketball. Clearly for LeBron, he's in movies. He's going to be young. He's a global brand. What are you talking about? What are you talking about? There's movies. We're talking about basketball. Yes, winning. You don't bring movies, rap, commercials. I don't want it. Basketball. You can have everything he wants. If he's not happy and Cleveland with the owner and see what makes him happy, you can get out of it. You have no idea if he's happy and Cleveland. Don't bring up the happiness because we have no idea what cities, no, my point is we have no idea what city's gonna make him happy. All we can judge it on is basketball. He might not be happy playing with Jordan Clarkson and Rodney Hood. We don't know. It's his prerogative. Exactly. My point is that he has nothing to go to the Lakers and try to build back the Lakers legacy up and restore that brand. Legacy to the second round? Well, why is he going out in the second round? We're talking about the Warriors' baby being in jeopardy because of a Steph Curry injury. Okay, Steph Curry goes down next year. The Lakers going out in the second round. They're better than the Rockets. Oh, stop it. They're better than the Rockets. With Lonzo and Angelina and Grima and Paul. The Rockets look phenomenal. What are you talking about? Hey, I'm saying, what I'm saying is... Oh, Chris Paul's gonna look phenomenal 34 next year, is he? He's doing it right now. Yeah, right now is one thing. Is he gonna do it next year? LeBron got the same age issue. Paul, LeBron's never had an injury in his career. How many surgeries Chris Paul had on his knees? I don't know about surgery, but he's had injuries. There we go. But my point, you just gonna sit here and say, oh, he's not gonna play with you. Well, you're bouncing LeBron in the second round. That's unfair. All I'm saying is this. My point is this. It's better to continue to get to the finals than to go to the West. If he goes to the West and gets to the finals, great. I'm just saying it's better to get to the finals and lose than to not get to the finals. LeBron goes to my argument. Okay, hypothetical, since that's all we're dealing with. LeBron goes to the Lakers. They win the title. It's great. Then is he above Jordan? Are you putting him above Jordan? No. So he cannot get above Jordan and he can't go below Jordan. You know what would be a... What can he do, Chris? You know what would be a bigger achievement? If he wins the finals in Cleveland. Oh, he's already done that. Do it again. Oh, jeez. Do it with these. Oh, yeah. And again. We're gonna have to say stipulations on how LeBron can get better. He might not. You need to win a title with George Hill. That's what'll take you over the top. No, no, it's silly. No, what I'm saying, I'm not saying a title with the Lakers wouldn't be great. I'm saying if he can beat this Warriors team or that Rockets team with this Cleveland, if he can't, fine. Cause that's be a tremendous accomplishment. That's a lot to ask. But if you want to pass Michael Jordan, that's what I'm saying. Beating those teams with Paul George and the Lakers would not be as big as beating them with the Clevelands. You're getting them out in the second round. No, I'm not. I'm not. I'm saying that if they go to the West, there's a better chance he doesn't get to the finals than if he stays in the East. Total disagreement. Let's go to Neil as a scorecard. How's it a total... He wouldn't have a better chance of... I don't think... Staying in the East wouldn't give him a better chance to get to the finals. But his team's not going to beat the team from the West. Not with Joe L.M.B. and Ben Simmons. They'd have no shot. So now you want to add the Philadelphia fans. A good find. Where's Philadelphia fans? In the East or the West? Joe L.M.B. going to play back to back next year. Do we know that? Is he healthy? Can Ben Simmons make an outside shot? I'm talking facts. You talking hypotheticals. You got people getting injured. Chris Paul, Ben Simmons, Joe L.M. No, let's talk about who's on the court. Injuries kind of do happen, Jimmy Butler. They could happen to anybody. Exactly. We got... So we can't discuss anything if we're going to just say everybody could get injured. Liza, Bob, Brandon, Ingram, Paul, George could get injured. Anybody could get injured only, Chris. So don't give me the injury stuff. So what do you want them? I'm talking about who's there. Settle this, man. I don't know who you're going up. We know he's got to pick for Settle this. All right, let's go to the producer for the scorecard. He likes you, man. All right, Neil, what do you have? First off, it was Lord Tennyson. Not Shakespeare. Lord Tennyson, thank you. But, Macintay, you lost it with the happiness stuff. It's Broussard. Thank you. Oh, jeez. Thank you. Let me speak to LeBron real quick, because I know he's a big fan of yours. You talked to Maverick Herter. I think Rich Paul just called you here. LeBron, you do what's best for yourself. Don't worry about this legacy nonsense. Okay, that's all talk and all noise. You do what's going to make you happy. If that means coming to Sunny LA and playing in front of Jack Nicholson and winning an Oscar like Kobe, you do what's going to make you happy. All right, Broussard, back to your podcast. That was completely unnecessary. Everybody feels that way. Do what makes you happy, of course. Forget about legacy. But you're assuming being in LA is going to make him happy. What about being in Northeast Ohio where he grew up, huh? He's been there for a long time. So what's wrong with that? Stop, stop dissing Northeast Ohio. I know Mr. Ohio. I used to live there. That's right. Leave it alone. All right, one nothing, Macintay, here we go. Number two, James Harden. I will give you props on this. James Harden's going to win the MVP. You called that a long time ago. Congratulations, Chris Broussard. You are professional. However, interesting discussion that you brought up. Mike Dantonis had two amazing point cards. James Harden and previously Steve Nash. Yeah, he's got Chris Paul. Chris Paul as well. In the James Harden versus Steve Nash debate. Who's better? Well, Steve Nash, obviously. I mean, there's no doubt about it. Better career field goal shooter, Steve Nash. Better career three point shooter, Steve Nash. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Better free throw shooter for his career. Steve Nash, lower. Steve Nash. You actually brought up free throw shooting. 90%? Was David Robinson better than Shaq? If you want to compare David Robinson. Was David Robinson better than Shaq? If you want to compare that, you can. Steve Nash, higher percentage shooting right here. Gosh. Go ahead. From the foul line three end field goals. Steve Nash, first team all NBA. Same as James Harden. Assist five for Steve Nash. Five times led the league in assist. James Harden once. They're Steve Nash. Twice MVP. How many MVP's Harden got? I mean, we're giving him one. Let go ahead and talk. No, I just wanted to put that. When you're done, I'm about to obliterate your argument. James Harden eventually will get there. But for now. No, no, no, don't sugar coat it. Don't soften it. Well, assuming it doesn't get injured. Because you know what you're about to get ransacked. No, not on Steve Nash without question. Better career than James Harden. There's no doubt about it. Yeah, there is no doubt. James Harden already. If he doesn't play another NBA game. Oh, that is a falsehood. It's not even called. No, look. James Harden is better than Steve Nash. Period. The end. Well, back it up with stats. No, I'm going to back it up with facts. Facts, facts, facts. I don't just read numbers. Stats are facts. I watch the game. Stats are finalized. I can watch it and see. I got an eye test to go along with my numbers. All right. Now, look, Steve Nash. Steve Nash, great player, don't want to take anything away from him. But let me say this. This is the truth. If he had not played for Mike Danton. If he had not run into Mike Dantony toward the middle of his career, he would not only not have been a two-time MVP, he would not have been a Hall of Famer or he's going to be a Hall of Fame. He would not. Here's the fact. Chris, you said you're going to bring facts. That's a big if statement. I'm about to bring facts. He played his first eight years of his career without Mike Dantony. Dallas. For three of those years, he didn't even start, right? Three of his first four years didn't even start. Started in Phoenix, then went to Dallas. Seven of those years, Steve, the great Steve Nash, didn't even average more than seven assists a game. For seven of his first eight years, he did not average seven, more than seven assists a game. Okay. That was playing for five years with Dirk Nowitzki won an all-time great scores and another 20-point score for several seasons. Michael Finley still wasn't giving you eight assists a game. Okay. That Dallas team, his last year in Dallas, the reason Mark Cuban let him go to Phoenix, which probably was a mistake. I'm saying probably and I'm going to tell you why. He averaged 14 points, eight assists a game. And they went out in the first round to Sacramento in five games. Dallas actually got better when Steve Nash left. Within two years, they were in the NBA finals without Steve Nash. Then Nash goes to Dantoni. Now, Dantoni in his style of play, his system, he, if you're the right type of point guard, you're a downhill point guard, you're an aggressive attacking point guard. That's my point. Jeremy Lin looked sensational for Mike Dantoni. Ray Felton averaged 17 points and nine assists a game for Mike Dantoni in New York. He was an all-American in North Carolina. Steve Nash gets there with Dantoni. Perfect fit. The rest is history for those two. Now, James Harden goes to Mike Dantoni. And before he even gets with Dantoni, Harden makes four All-Star teams. Nash only made two All-Star teams before he hooked up with Dantoni. Two All-Star teams in eight years. My point is that he was on the... People thought he was on the decline until he got to Dantoni and Phoenix. And that system energized him just like it did with Jeremy Lin, Ray Felton. And now, let's look at it. James Harden versus Steve Nash. Under the same coach, in the same system. So, wait, let me just clarify. You wanna compare just their time under Dantoni? I just compared their time under other coaches. Under coaches, okay. And it's clearly Harden. Harden made four All-Star teams. Nash made two. So we have two discussions. Hey, who was better without Dantoni and who's better with Dantoni? That's what you're gonna say. I'm using both of them to prove to you that Harden is a better player. Wow, what a reach. That hard... Your only argument is two MVP's. Is he better than... And all the stats, all the shooting percentages. Did he ever have his 30 points a game? Fine, scoring. It was shooting percentage. Who's better shooter? I'd say scoring over shooting percentage. Oh, really? Nash is a great shooter. Better shooter than Harden. But with Steve offered. So is John Sunvold. You never heard it. Wait, did they ever leave the league and assist five times? Did they leave the assists league? James Harden, under... For team all NBA, John Sunvold? Get out of here with that carpet. Under Mike Dant... You never heard of somebody. I have heard of a Miami heat shooter. Yeah, I know the guy. I don't even know if he played in the NBA. He did play for the heat, yeah. Look, he was great in college, all right? This is the point. Under Dantoni, James Harden gives you 10 assists a game. He's amazing, he's amazing. Essentially the same as Nash. Nash gave him 11... Nash has led the NBA. Harden led the league last year. He's only played in two years. Nash, one, two, three, four, five. Did Nash ever lead the NBA and assist without Dantoni? What does that matter? Did he? No, who cares? He led it five times. Under Dantoni. Oh my gosh, who cares who his coach was? Harden has played two years under Dantoni. He's led the league and assists once under Dantoni. Last year, 11 assists a game. First time ever as a point guard. Now, Harden is not only... He's given in his two years under Dantoni. He's 30 points and 10 assists a game. Now, what's better, 30 and 10 or 15 and 10? But that's not the argument. What's better, 30 points and 10? Obviously. I want to hear it from you. 30 points a game, 10 assists a game, or 15 points and 10 assists? What's better? Obviously the 30. Chris, we've got... Let me, no, I'm not done with you. I'm not done with you. The Houston Rockets right now with James Harden running a point under the same coach that Steve Nash had. The number one rated offense of all time. A quarter of a basketball river. The number way better. Under Nash, Phoenix was ranked sixth all time offense and 15th, that's it. Under Harden and Dantoni, Houston number one this year, number 12 last year without Chris Paul. So, Harden's team is better offensively. His statistics individually are better offensively than Nash. All you got for me is field goal percentage, free throw percentage, that's why he's better. And three, and assists, and all NBA and NDP. Yeah, he let the assists in the NBA and assists five times. Yes, but he averaged 10 or 11 assists a game. Same as Harden. Don't tell me about who led the league. Tell me about what the number was. We've been debating the entire season on here. This is the most illogical argument I've ever heard from you. What is your argument? You're trying to... That Nash shot better from the field. We're looking at the career of Steve Nash and the career of James Harden. We're not saying, oh, without Mike Dantoni, hey, okay, take Shaq away from Kobe. What the hell was Kobe without Shaq? He was nothing, and then he got Paul Gasol. And then he got Paul Gasol. He was nothing, he was nothing. Without Shaq? You just said that. I mean, that's what you're saying. Kobe Bryant was nothing without Shaq. Until he got Paul Gasol. Really? Yeah, he scored an 81 and they were losing the first round. What are you looking around for? There's no way you're gonna help him. As you just said, Kobe Bryant was nothing without Shaq. He was a scoring machine. He was Dominique Wilkins. And then he got Paul Gasol in one title. Dominique never scored 81. Dominique did not score 81. Dominique never averaged 35 points again. Dominique did not average 35 points. Dominique never won an MVP. Never won an MVP. All right, Kobe Bryant did all that. So I just said that exact same stuff to you. Steve Nash led the NBA and it's just five times. Steve Nash has two MVPs and you're dismissing it. Chris, you're the same argument. Because I gave you, I showed you how Harden's team has been better than Nash's team. 100%. No doubt, there's no argument there. I gave you how Harden's, But this is Steve Nash versus James Harden. I gave you how Harden's individual statistics are better than Steve Nash. Well, I disputed that with facts. 30 points isn't, with shooting percentage? That's it? So shooting percentage doesn't matter now. Okay, good. I'm not saying it's a no. I'll throw that away for later. What I'm saying is points per game and assists per game are they Trump shooting percentage. Can you give me the order of what Trump's what? Where's MVP? Where's leading the league in assists? Can you just give me the order? You're gonna win, who leads the league in field goal percentage now? Is it DeAndre, Jordan, some big man? Different era. Different era. Oh, Eric Schnerer. It's always a big man. Okay. Look, I'll give you, Steve Nash is a better shooter than James Harden. There's no question about that. 100%. But James Harden is a better player than Steve Nash was. Again. That's the crux of the matter. I don't think this- And I can prove it team-wide and statistic. Listen, this is a tough one because Nash played 18 years. James Harden, I believe, is his ninth season. So it's like we're comparing 18 versus half of the career. I'm not even looking at the end of his career. Here's what I'll give you. You're the only concession I'll make. I'm looking at the current. James Harden will end up with a better career than Steve Nash. But at this juncture, no. Steve Nash, better than James Harden. That's not the question. Yeah, what's the question? James Harden is playing at a higher level right now than Steve Nash ever played at. No, I'll disagree. He's averaging twice as many points. He's averaging twice as many points. So points is everything. So, hold on. He's giving you the same number of assists. The point cards lead the league in assists five times and it doesn't matter. Chris, but no, I'm not saying it doesn't matter. My point is when he led the league in assists, he was averaging 10 or 11 a game. James Harden under Mike D'Antoni averages 10 assists a game. Whether it leads the league or not might depend on another player. I'm just saying the statistic is the same. And on top of giving you the same number of assists Nash gave you, he gives you twice as many points. How can he not be better? Don't give me the two MVP argument. Shaq only got one. Was Nash better than Shaq? Oh, come on, stop. Was he better than Kobe? Nash better than Shaq. They're not even the same position, that's silly. And don't give me the MVP argument. Did you really put Steve Nash's name in the same set? Look, if you give me to Nash, to him. Hey, he's not going to, he's fine. No, he's going to save his last one for me on the final one. I wanted to give it to McIntyre. Then he had the Kobe line at the end. Kobe's nothing without Shaq. I even, I got to give it a bursar for that. Also, Clint Capella leads the NBA. Look at that, I love how he's bringing stats up. So, Clint Capella is better than Kevin Durant because he shoots a higher field goal percentage. Really? That's what you're saying, that's what you're saying. Okay, no, I've never said that. You just, that was your argument. When I'm comparing Steve Nash, point guard shooter to James Harden, point guard shooter, Nash for his career shot 5% better. That's significant. Let's move on to the final question. Let's move on to the final question. Another loss for, we saw, you're about to get it. You're about to get it. You're about to get it. You're fucking shit. I'll give you a bit of a layup here. Coach of the year for the NBA. There's still 17 games left. Things could happen. I got to say, there's a lot of great coaches this year. Mike Dantoni, who we just spent 15 minutes on. Been pretty good. Terry Stotts in Portland. I mean, they're the number three seed, playing some inspired basketball. Doc Rivers with the Clippers. I mean, they lose Chris Paul on Blake Griffin. Doc Rivers, I would say this is the best job Doc Rivers has ever done. Better than with the Celtics. I mean, he had a super team. You had Kevin Gardner, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce. This has been tremendous for Doc Rivers. And Alvin Gentry of the Pelicans has been out of his mind, losing cousins, and they're still in the playoff race. However, my vote's going to Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics, okay? They lost their number one scorer last year, Isaiah Thomas, their number one defender. You really using that? Well, can you allow me to build my argument? They lose Isaiah Thomas. But you're leaving out significant facts. Chris, Chris, Chris. They lost their starting back court. Can I just jump to that? They lost their starting small forward. They lost their number one bench guy, Kelly Olinik. Basically, three of their top four players gone. Kelly Olinik, that's a part of your argument. No, no, I'm saying when you're a head coach and you have a team that goes to the Easter Conference finals and then you dump half the roster and he's now back number two seed with 19-year-old Jason Tatum and 20-year-old Jalen Brown. Gordon Hayward goes down in the opener. Everybody writes off the Celtics and Brad Stevens has them number two in the league. Kyrie Irving's been tremendous. He was an MVP candidate briefly. Oh, Kyrie Irving, who did he replace? Isaiah Thomas. I would say Brad Stevens, without question, is my vote for Coach of the Year. The floor is yours. Look, Brad Stevens and all those coaches you mentioned, but I think Brad Stevens would be ahead of those guys. Terry Stott's great, all of them that you mentioned have done a great job. And don't forget about Quinn Schneider in Utah. Quinn Schneider, yes. Now I did leave one name out because I know you're going there. I don't want anybody to think that I'm disrespected. No, it's some good, great coaching jobs. Look, if Brad Stevens wins it, you're not going to get an argument from me. He's done a great job. I don't think you did justice to his argument, but I think you did a great job. Well, you saw all the things you could have thrown in. I'm just saying, like, you throw in, he lost Isaiah Thomas. Well, he gained Kyrie Irving. I mean, I think everybody would take that. You know how tough it is? I don't know. You don't have much coaching experience. I coach a first grade basketball team. So I know what it's like to lose a bunch of starters after a total new group. But now you're still contending for the playoffs, but continue, continue. Yeah, yeah, okay. Here's my, I would go with Dwayne Casey in Toronto. You've been tremendous. He is, I thought most of the year is going to be Brad Stevens, but I think now I'd have to go with Dwayne Casey. Here's why. First of all, he's got the Toronto Raptors on a 61 win pace. Boston started tremendously, especially without Gordon Hayward, they were 22 and four. Since then, they're 24 and 17. Good, but nothing spectacular. What was it, after the 16 game winning streak? Yeah, I don't know exactly. What's the longest win streak Raptors had this year? Do you know? I don't know. I know they won like 15 of their last 16 or something like that. Okay. Now, the Toronto Raptors are the only team in the NBA that's in the top five in offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency. That is phenomenal. I mean, Boston is an imbalanced team. They're the best defensive team in the league, but they're 16th in offense. That's what makes it stunning that there's second in these. But the Toronto Raptors, I mean, you got a great backcourt in DeMar DeRosa and Kyle Lowry, then a bunch of guys that people really haven't heard of. What, timeout? That's incorrect. I mean, you got Serge Ibaka and Serge, I'm not saying they're not, they can't play. Four of their five starters are back. Yeah, but they won 51. They're back, but they weren't, like Serge Ibaka's a good player, Jonas Valenchunis is a good player, but not spectacular players. He doesn't have the same talent that a lot of these other elite teams have, but yet they are the most balanced team in the NBA. I mean, great offensively, great defensively. Who's got better talent? The Celtics or the Raptors? Probably the Raptors, they got two All-Star, although it's close because they have Horford, Horford's an All-Star, so both have two All-Stars. And then a bunch of role-players. Now, here's the thing too. DeWayne Casey has switched up his coaching style a bit. I will, yes. And that is tremendous. Last year, the Raptors only, they were in the bottom 10th in three-pointers made per game. They only made eight three-pointers a game. Only about eight teams made fewer three-pointers per game than the Raptors last season. Now, the Raptors are actually tied for sixth in three-pointers made per game. And you said it yourself, same players. Yeah. Same players. Casey told them, get in the gym, start working on the three-point shot, and now they make the same amount of three-pointers a game as the Golden State Warriors. Think about that. No, no, I'm impressed with Casey. From hardly ever hitting the three to now hitting it all the time, that is tremendous. So I think the case is clear cut. You have the most balanced team in the league. You've chained, you've added something to your game, the three-point shot. You know, I just think, look, look at some of the names of these guys. Even you, a Boston fan. You haven't even mentioned Fred Van Fleet yet. I love that guy. Fred Van Fleet, DeLon Wright. He was nice. Pascal Syacum. I don't know what that is. Jacob Pogel. I mean, guys, nobody's heard of. And then if, O.J. Anyawubi. O.G. Anyawubi. He was nasty at it. O.G. Anyawubi. He's an O.G. I mean, he got, he got freaking O.B. Wain Kenobi pumping off the bench. That's a great line. They might be the best bench in the league. You're almost convincing me. That way, Casey Derz deserves credit. I love Brad, but come on. You can't, you can't fuck the North. You built a case for him as like a tactician as X's and O's guy. And Chris, I gotta be honest. There aren't a lot of black coaches in the NBA. We don't say that about black coaches enough. Well, that's what he's done. We should. And what he's done in Toronto has been tremendous. I mean, I applaud Casey a lot. You almost, almost convinced me. I clearly convinced you. No, no, almost. I feel bad. Almost. No, here's my problem. This has been a beat down. No, no, no, no. Let me, before you. If you give it, he's gonna give it to you. Because he loves Brad Stevens. No, no, no. But this has been a straight up annihilation. Before we go to the scorecard. They won 56 games two years ago with almost the exact same roster. Okay, so they may win 61 this year, maybe 58. So are we seeing that much improvement or maybe are the calves just coming down a little bit? We've seen a steady ascension for Brad Stevens and Boston. I don't know the answer. Maybe 51 or 52, 53, 53. With a, they might not even win that this year. They might not even win that this year. They changed the entire roster. But they're best players. They lost their best player and they got a player who's better. And they lost Gordon Hayward, who was factored in and they were gonna be dominant. They didn't have him last year though. Exactly, they were gonna have him this year. Expectations massive. We're almost leaving the expectations. Stevens has been great. There's no doubt. This is a tough one. I mean, I think I'm right as usual, but. I don't know that you think you're right. Give it to him, man, because it's been solid. No, I don't want to pity Victor. Please, no, give it to him. Give him this one. Give him this one, but. It's close, but when McIntyre brings up Kelly or Lenick, I got to go with Russo. Oh, no, you did not go there. That's why they call it knockdown, Jay, my man. This is unbelievable. I'm not going nowhere. I'm not going nowhere. I'm back. Nah, look, man. You gave it a good battle, but you fought uphill. You picked arguments that. This Steve Natchez or anything. Hold on, let me just recap. Let me recap. You told me that LeBron is better off not going to the finals than going to the finals in the East. But I think he's gonna go to the finals in the West. But that wasn't the question. He might, he's that great, but that wasn't the question. Then secondly, you actually tell me Steve Nash is better than James Harden. No, I'm sorry. At this juncture, he is. It's a fact. I mean, I hit you with all these numbers that you can't refute and then you try to go with. The field goal percentage. Retro percentage. Every shooting category that matters. 3% does not come up. True shooting percentage. Steve Nash. I'm gonna be a word Steve Nash. All NBA, Tide. I mean, come on. And then you, you know, you just, you bring up. I just love NBA and winning debates, man. This is so fun. What are we doing next week? Commenters are gonna come stronger. I feel for you, man, because I know he wanted to give you the boss. I don't even need it. He wanted to give you Nash, too. I'm like LeBron. I don't need no super strong. I'm just gonna go out and keep doing triple doubles. I'm gonna do my thing. Did you hear what he said? It was three, nothing. Me. What were you, you just not even listening to that. Look, my man, Jay Mac, I love him. Look, he's got perseverance. He's got diligence. Remember the DeWayne Wade commercial? He keeps getting knocked down, but keeps getting up. That's my man, Jay Mac. He will be back next week, despite this beat down. He'll be energetic. He'll be confident. He'll be smiling. And he'll bring his best. I'll win, but he'll bring his best. I like that in you. I'm teaching you the game, my man. Signing off for knockdown, Jay. My man. All right, we're gonna welcome in our guests for today, Evan Daniels. He's an FS1 college basketball insider. He is the host of the sidelines with Evan Daniels podcast. He's a recruiting insider for 24 seven sports. And he knows all things about all the stars in college basketball and high school. So we're just gonna pick his brain as we head into March Madness. And we'll certainly relate it to the NBA. So Evan, welcome to in the zone, man. I'm glad to have you here. Man, I appreciate you having me on, excited to do it. And yeah, this should be fun. All right, so of course, we're fresh off selection Sunday, Evan. So give me your biggest takeaway from the bracket. I think my biggest takeaway when I first looked at the bracket and figured out who was in the tournaments and who was, it was the NCAA selection committee's criteria in terms of making the tournaments. And I'm specifically Chris talking about the teams right there on the bubble. And it was clear that the committee really took into account teams that had signature wins under their belt. Teams like Arizona State and teams like Oklahoma. You know, Oklahoma finished the season 18 and 13 and they really sputtered down the stretch, lost eight of their last 10. But they, in the non-conference, they beat teams like USC. They beat Wichita State when they were number three in the country. They had wins over TCU and Texas Tech. And they beat Kansas. So I think even though they sputtered down the stretch, the committee took those big wins into account and they obviously put them in the tournament and same goes with Arizona State. You know, they were really good in the non-conference 12 and one and beat Xavier Neutral Sight and beat Kansas at Kansas. But then they really struggled in the Pac-12 play and actually had a losing record in conference where they were eight and 10. And a school like USC who finished a little better, they were 14 and seven in the Pac-12, didn't get in the tournament. So I think the committee really took into account the teams that had those signature key wins. I gotta keep it real with you. I don't understand how USC is not in the tournament. How do you finish second in a major conference, second in the conference tournament, and then they put in a team that's ninth place, Arizona State. I know they had the wins over Kansas and Xavier early in the season, really early November and December, but it just seems, it seems to me like that belittles the conference schedule or the conference regular season and even the tournament. Do you think, my feeling is the only explanation really is that they took into consideration some of these teams like Louisville, Oklahoma State, and I don't really have a problem with them being left out, but those two and USC who were named in that federal investigation for wrongdoing in collegiate athletics, what's your thought on that? You think that played a role? Well, somebody asked the committee chair and I can't remember who I saw, I thought on Twitter. I know they've denied it, yeah. They don't know about it and they denied it and I don't know. I mean, it's a fair point, obviously. I didn't think that Louisville did enough to get in the tournament. I kind of agree with you or I do agree with you on USC. I mean, they were 23 and 11, they finished second in their league, 14 and seven. I think with them is they didn't have that signature win that the committee was looking for, but at the same time, I'm with you. They finished pretty strong. I don't know, when you have a record like that in conference, especially in that league, they made it to the Pac-12 championship and played a pretty decent game against Arizona, who I think is a team really coming on, but I think it's also of notes is the committee really didn't value the Pac-12 that much. Arizona won the league and won the tournament and I thought they were under seated at four. I thought they were at least the three. Yeah, yeah. Now, let's cut to the chase. Who do you have reaching the final four and why don't you break down? Why would each team? Yeah, I went with Arizona, Xavier Villanova and Duke and all kind of walked through why Arizona, and we'll just stick with them. So I was just talking about them. One, I think they have the best player in the tournament. I think they have the best prospect in the tournament, of course, referring to Deandre and he's been an absolute man child as of late in the semi-finals and finals in the Pac-12 tournament. He scored 62 points and reeled in 34 rebounds. I mean, it's absurd what he's been able to do. And I mean, think about it this way, two weeks ago, Arizona didn't know if they were gonna get their coach, Sean Miller, back due to a report that came out that ended up having some holes in it. And then Alonzo Trier is ineligible. Now they got both of those guys back and Deandre Aitton's playing at a different level. I just think that team is really turning it on at just the right time. I do think that they're in a pretty tough, they could potentially play Kentucky in the second round and Virginia in the sweet 16. And obviously both of those games would be tough tests. But I think Sean Miller's got his team playing their best ball right now. And I also think Deandre Aitton's the type of guy that you can ride to a final four, he's that good. All right, so you had, so that's Arizona. Tell me about why you picked Villanova for the final four. Yeah, I actually think Villanova is the best team in the country when they're fully healthy. This is a terrific group. They have a terrific coach in Jay Wright, but I think it starts with their point guard. Chris Jalen Brunson, you can make a case, is arguably the best point guard in the country. There's not much he can't do on the court. He's such a good facilitator. He plays at such a good pace. He changes speeds. And he's a tough competitor. He can see the floor, deck of vision. And then they also have one of the best perimeter prospects and players in all of college basketball. Gail Bridges, he's six foot seven. He's long, he's really improved as a shooter, shooting at a 40% clip. I actually think he's gonna be a lottery pick come June in the NBA draft. So this is also Jay Wright's best shooting team. That's at least what he told me. They're right around 40% clip from three. And they have, they've really struggled with injuries about the year and they've finally got everybody healthy. And they're playing their best ball. They beat David twice, he's a one-fee. They beat Tennessee. I'm a big fan of the Saviour team. I think they're gonna make the final four. Yeah, so tell me why about Saviour, yeah. Yeah, Saviour coming out of the West. And I actually think that lower pod and maybe even the West is one of the more weaker regions. But I like this David team. 25, I think it's Chris Mack's best team at Saviour. And they have a really good scoring punch. But they're two seniors, Trayvon Bluett and JP Mekira. And Bluett has really improved all facets of his game. He's raised his points averages. He's shooting at a better clip this year, over 40% from three. And I think their point guard plays continued to improve Quentin Gooden is a bigger lead guard. He's strong, tough, physical. And he's improved as a shooter, especially late here in the season. And when he's making shots, I think they're a different team. And then Innis Cantor's brother, Kerem Cantor, has really emerged in the post and he gives them a versatile threat that can step out on the floor, that can score it on the block. They've beaten Cincinnati, they've beaten Seaman Hall twice. I like the Saviour group quite a bit. Okay, finally your fourth pick for the final four was Duke. Tell me why you like them. Yeah, I think this is probably the most talented team in the country. And they've been Chris pretty up and down throughout this season. They're 26 and seven. They lost in the semis of the ACC tournament to a rival North Carolina. They actually lost to twice, but I think talent prevails. And I think especially in the NCAA tournament, a lot of times teams with the most NBA players and the most talent, the team that wins. And outside of Deion Reed, nothing Marvin Bagley is the best player in this event. He's six foot 11 and he can do it all. He's much like eight and is a guy that you can really ride to win. And he's that good. And next to him in the post is Wendell Carter, six foot 10, those two play off each other really well. But they also have experience in Grayson Allen on the perimeter. And I think he's starting to play a lot better. I think the X factor here is Trayvon DeVall. If he can facilitate and get paint touches and create opportunities for others, then I think they can make a deep run. And this is a team that does have concerns, Chris, on the defensive end. The last nine games, they played 93% in zone. And I think that's ultimately why North Carolina is able to knock them off because they were getting wide open threes out of that zone. But at the end of the day, I just love their talent. And I do think that sweet 16 matchup potentially against Michigan State is gonna be one of the games of the tournament if it happens. Yeah, no question. All right, so who you got winning it all? I'm going with Villanova. Get this. So they've been dealing with injuries throughout the season, Phil Booth, missed some time, Colin Gillespie, missed some time, Jermaine Samuels, missed some time. When they've been at full strength and had their full roster available to play, Villanova hasn't lost a game this season. Wow. I mentioned their shooting. I think that they're one of the best shooting teams in the country. And their pieces fit, Chris. I mean, when you have one of the best point guards, one of the best perimeter players, experienced guards, and then a freshman post player and a Murray Spelman that gives them a different look from a scoring standpoint and can really rebound through all that in. And you've got one of the best coaches in college basketball, Jay Wright. I'm picking Villanova to cut down the nets for the second time in three years. All right, so I'm filling out my bracket based on you, based on your knowledge. So you will be getting a ring for me if it goes around. Especially early now. No, I'm just kidding. But look, as you know, In the Zone is mainly an NBA podcast. So we want to break down the tournament from that perspective. You mentioned De'Andre Aten, the seven footer out of Arizona who's on many draft boards. He's the number one pick, many mock drafts. Tell me how good Aten is and how you think his game will translate to the next level and what type of player he'll be at that level. I know this is gonna, this is probably gonna sound crazy, but I'm gonna say it. I think he has hall of fame level talent. Yeah, I heard somebody else say that too. So yeah, I've been hearing that quite a bit now. I'm gonna take claim for saying it before that person. You know who I'm talking about, right? I know you're referring to. I tweeted it a couple of weeks ago, but if you were trying to draw up a post player's body, you couldn't draw it up any better than De'Andre Aten. He's got these big, wide, strong shoulders. He's got really long arms. He's strong, you know, he's just starting to lift weights. He lifts the weights for the first time in his life when he got to Arizona. He's quick off his feet, he's nimble, he's athletic. And the thing about De'Andre Aten, Chris's, if you saw him early in high school, you saw a guy who didn't really know who he was. You know, he would tell you that he was a small forward in high school. He didn't play hard. Honestly, I think at times he was bored. So there was a lot of question marks about De'Andre Aten really coming into the summer. Did he get it? Did he understand how to play hard? Was the light gonna come on? And really in the summer, you know, word out of Arizona was that it was coming on quickly. And I think Sean Miller has done and deserves a lot of credit for this. He's found a way to make this kid play hard, but he's also improving at such a rapid rate. His footwork has improved. His offensive ability has improved. He's always had the potential to be a shooter. And I think he has range out to the college line right now at about 22 feet, but he can make them from mid-range too. His mechanics are pretty good. He's got a little bit of a line drive ball, but he's going to be a really good shooter in time. I just think he's the full package for the modern day post guy. And I think he's really honestly, the easy choice is the number one product heading into the draft. Does he remind you at all of Joel Embiid, who's kind of taken NBA by storm? That's not a bad comparison. I think he's probably, I think he's going to be a little stronger. You know, Joel came on a little late later, I guess. But yeah, I think that's a fair comparison. I think Embiid's footwork is probably a little better now and he's a little more polished in terms of his moves, which I mean, that's no knock on Deandre. He's still pretty young. But I think that's not a bad comparison because I think Embiid can impact the game on both ends of the floor. And I see a lot of Deandre and being similar in that regard. All right, the guy that took the college basketball season by storm or at least the first three quarters of it was Trey Young at Oklahoma. A lot of people thought he, you know, was reminiscent of Steph Curry, certainly has been. I thought early on he was a guy that might have to be considered for the number one pick in the draft. I was talking to a pro scout today. He told me his opinion, just one guy's opinion, but his opinion was that Trey Young was a backup point guard in the NBA. What is your take on Trey? Obviously he struggled lately, but what's your take on him? Yeah, I mean, that's not an unfair opinion. I would assume that that scout probably would reference his strength, probably references who he's gonna guard, which I think is probably the biggest concern with the Trey Young. All that said, he's had a ridiculous season. I mean, he's put up, the numbers he's put up have been absurd, especially to his first 20 games. And right now he's in a 27 points, 8.8 rebounds. The 3.0% has dipped some, he's at 36%. And I think when he was in high school... 8.8 assist, yeah, just... Yeah, yeah. The thing about him in high school was that he had a reputation for being a volume shooter and a volume scorer, and really more, at that time, kind of a last resort passer now. Some of that had to do with, he was always the best player on his team. Also, well, Mo Kahn, he played with... In A, he played with Michael Porter, but those two guys took all the shots. But I think the area he's improved the most is his ability to create opportunities for others. So he's a much better passer than I realized he was. And obviously, the first part of the season, he shot the ball a lot better than he is now. That percentage has dipped, part of that's through to shot selection. That's something he's gonna have to sure up when he gets to the NBA. He's better than I gave him credit for. He was a guy we had right around the 25 spot coming out of high school. But he's definitely tailed off some to the end of the season. But this is a kid that has ridiculous range and he can really create and he can really handle the basketball. And he's shifty, man. He's really crafty and he's got those nifty finishes at the goal, the high glass finishes, the floaters. And he's a lot of fun to watch. Yeah, I gotta tell you, I'm glad Oklahoma's in the tournament. Whether they deserve it or not, we can argue about it. But I'm glad they put them in there because I do wanna see Trey Young in that tournament. You mentioned Marvin Porter, or I'm sorry, Michael Porter, Jr. Obviously, he missed most of the season with an injury. He's back now. Do you think he can play himself into maybe a top five pick in this draft? I do. And I actually have him right around that range on my personal big board. I think I had him at five or six. And, you know, obviously, if he's able to have a game or two in the NCAA tournament that sticks out, and I think a lot of the NBA scouts will go try to see him play because they only had an opportunity really once during the season to see him. But it's hard to find six foot nine, pushing six, 10 perimeter prospects with the athletic ability and the shooting scoring ability that Michael Porter possesses. And I think coming out of high school, he was probably tracking us right there with Aten Bagley. I mean, you could make an argument between those three. I had him three again. So he's right there and, you know, look, we still have a long ways to go and he's gonna look great in workouts, Chris. Like those individual workouts and that the NBA guys are gonna see this summer, he's gonna look terrific in those settings. And I think, as you know, once draft time gets here, needs are gonna play a major factor into the order. And, you know, outside of Luca Doncis, the top of this draft, there's not a lot of perimeter scores. You know, Aten's a big man and has the power forward. I mentioned Doncis, he's a perimeter prospect than Jaren Jackson, the power forward. And those are all the guys at the top. So I think teams that are looking for a wing player with skill and athletic ability are really gonna like Michael Porter. Now, there's some issues. You know, he's not very strong. He needs to get better off the bounce. And people have questioned his toughness at times, but his talent, his raw natural ability, I've heard some comparisons to Kevin Durant. Is that are those fair? I mean, not that he'll be that good necessarily, but type of game. Yeah. Yeah, it's that type of game. I'm not big on comparisons, especially to to Hall of Famers. But I think I think I think I know where you're going with that. And I think that that's pretty fair. And that's how he plays. He's got he's got the ability to play like some face up for, which obviously Kevin can do too. But he's a he's a perimeter score and he's in that mold. Yeah. You mentioned Luca Donczyk. Do you know much about him? I know obviously he's not in college basketball or anything like that. But do you know much about him and what type of prospect he is? You know, unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to see him play in person, but I've gone through a lot of tape of him on synergy. And I mean, this is a kid that's playing against grown men and has been is currently with Real Madrid. And from Slovenia, he's six foot seven. He's skilled. He can score the ball in a variety of ways. I think he's improving as a shooter. He's not consistent from long range from what I've seen, but has pretty decent mechanics. He's a good passer. But, you know, I think with him and the argument for him is he's playing much higher level competition than what college basketball would be. No. And over the summer, you know, he was on the Slovenian squad that won Euro basket and and won a gold medal. And I mean, he was a huge part of it. And, you know, he was Euro League MVP of the month back in October. I mean, he's this kid is internationally has a lot of respect and he's really talented. Now, there's always a player in the tournament, you know, who watch plays great. And in his draft stock sores, you think about Derrick Williams back a few years ago with Arizona as a second pick, Michael K. Gilcrest, you know, a lot of people thought he might go number one over his teammate, Anthony Davis, he played so well in the tournament. Give me a player who you think could be the star of the tournament and see his stock rise. This was a tough one because some of the guys that I kind of pinpoint for this type of question are on teams that I don't think can make deep runs. Someone just throw a couple of names at you. Colin Sexton, I think, is going to go in the top ten in the in the NBA draft. In fact, I think he's going to be the first point are taken off the board just because of his moxie, his toughness, his his grips. He's honestly outside of Josh Jackson and Kid Gilcrest. He's up there as like the most competitive players in high school that I've ever covered. Daniel, who does he who does who does Sexton remind you of? His game. Oh, that's a great question. I'm not huge in comparisons unless they really stick out. He he's kind of in the Allen Iverson mold. OK. You know, I didn't see Iverson in high school, but I would guess that he's a little stronger than he was in high school and not as quick, but he's just a relentless driver. So he's more of a scored first guy. Yeah, he's definitely a score first guy. And I mean, he is relentless. He gets paint touches whenever he wants. He's a really good finisher through traffic, through contact, and he's really improved as a long range shooter. But I mean, Chris, I don't know if you like trash talkers, but he's the best I've seen in high school, really the best I see. I got a good story for you. Yeah, for sure. So last year, he's playing against Penny Hardaway's high school team. And he's matched up with Penny Hardaway's son and he's cooking. And next thing you know, he's at the free throw line talking crap, Penny, while he's shooting free throws. And they're going back and forth, John, throughout the Penny Hardaway. But NBA legend. I mean, this dude doesn't back down from anyone. I just know he can get a little too, too into the trash talk and too into that aspect, but he just plays with such toughness and competitiveness. And I think he's going to be the first point they're taking on the draft. Interesting, interesting. Any other names? Yeah, Daniel Gafford over at Arkansas is a kid that's starting to emerge. And I don't think Arkansas is going to make a deep run, but he's averaging 12.6 rebounds a game in just 22 minutes. And this was a kid that was more thought of as a top 30, 40 guy coming out of high school, but he's really emerged six foot 11 runs rim to rim really well. It's got a nice set of mitts. He's active. He's quick off his feet. He rebounds. There's a lot of tools to work with. So he's a guy I would keep an eye on. Lonnie Walker is another one over at Miami. Six foot five perimeter player. He can score it. He's a very, very good athlete from Pennsylvania. And he can shoot it too. But I think he's another name to keep an eye on. I was going to ask you for it kind of an under the radar guy, kind of like a Donovan Mitchell who, you know, has come out of, I don't want to say kind of out of nowhere, but certainly nobody expected what he's done this year with the U.S. Jazz when he came out of Louisville. Is there a guy, or maybe it's one of the three you named earlier, but is there a guy like that that you could see in the draft? Yeah, I think the guy right now, and he's really quickly emerging and he's a big name because he plays for a really good team. It can talk. Shay Gilgis, Alexander for Kentucky is really starting to ramp things up. And I think he's a big reason that Kentucky is starting to hit their stride late. And this is a kid that wasn't a McDonald's All-American. He's a Canadian. He's got really good size for the position. He's 6'5". He's got long arms. He moves really well. They play him on the ball. But he's averaging 14 points, five assists a game. What I like about him is he competes on both ends. He's a two-way guy. He can guard multiple spots on the defensive end. And then offensively, he does a really good job of getting into the paint, facilitating. And the knock on him in high school was that he couldn't shoot. Well, he's 21-53 on the season, 40% clip from three. So he's really emerging. And I think if Kentucky is going to make any kind of run in the tournament, he's going to be a big part of it. And I think that he's moved his way into the top 20 in the draft easily. Okay, cool, cool. Let me ask you this before we go. What you see there was this big Yahoo Sports Report a few weeks ago about the federal investigation and things that are going on with the NCAA, the scandal and everything. And in covering the conference tournaments and just covering the NCAA basketball this year, what's kind of the scuttle butt? What is the feeling, the sentiment around the nation when you get around these big-time programs, with all this stuff going on? Well, I think there's a lot of... I don't want to say scared people, but there's a lot of cautious people. There's a lot of... Look, ever since the FBI investigation started back in September, it's been the talk of the sport. And it's really been a black eye and a cloud hanging over the sport ever since. And once the Yahoo story dropped, and then it's just been one thing after another. And I think that it's been a bad look for college basketball, but I think the thing is, is I think that anyone that's covered it or been around it or been in it have known that stuff that came out in the FBI investigation was happening. But it was very surreal to see it on paper and to see assistant coaches getting arrested. And, you know, look, I talked to... The day that thing came out, I probably talked to 25 coaches. And every single one of them, not one of them said that they thought any of that stuff those guys were doing was illegal or they could get arrested for it. Now, unethical? Yeah. But no one thought it was illegal. And, I mean, honestly, that FBI investigation is shaking up all of college basketball. Do you have a strong opinion on what changes should be made? I wouldn't say that I have a strong... I wouldn't say that I have a strong opinion. I do, and now I want to preface this by saying that I don't think it fixes guys getting paid or not paid. I think that the NBA should open up and it sounds like they're going to to allow kids to go straight from high school to the NBA. I don't think that fixes the issue at hand. I've seen a lot of people touting that the players should have representation and be able to have a solution and facilitate deals in college. And I think that's a decent idea to explore. But I'd be lying to you if I said I had a perfect way to fix all this because I think at the end of the day, Chris, if somebody wants to get ahead in a way that's not morally sound or would be looked at as unethical, it's always going to happen if there's a way. Do you think there'll be major changes coming after this season or this school year? I mean, I think it's possible. I don't think that I would know. I mean, it's not something that I would be privy to know. But I think something's got to happen. I think the NCAA knows that something has to happen. And I think, you know, from your conversations and NBA circles, I don't want to put words in your mouth. But the conversations I've had with guys in the NBA is that sometime in the next couple of years that the one and done rule is going to go away and they're going to, in some capacity, allow kids to go from high school to the NBA whether they have to start in the G League or go a different route. But it sounds like the NBA is, at least Adam Silver is making a push towards that. Yeah, I think that's definitely coming and I think they'll let kids play in the G League. Which, you know, and I actually, I love Steve Kerr's idea that if a high school kid declares for the draft and doesn't get drafted, he should be able to still go to college and play. Yeah, I agree with that too. I definitely agree with that. And I think Adam Silver sees weakness in the NCAA right now. And I don't know what his exact plan in terms of allowing kids to come straight from high school would be. But it's a great opportunity and I've seen some models out there where maybe they would sign a normal first round contract if they got drafted in the first round or whatever. But maybe they'd have to play their first year in the G League. And honestly, if these kids are making, I don't know what the first round money is, but hypothetically they make $5 million their first year out and they're spending it in the G League. I think a lot of them would do it and just think about the awareness and the brand recognition and the excitement that's really gone around NBA Summer League especially last year. And if Lonzo Ball and Jason Tatum, well, if the Andre Aten and Marvin Bagley and Michael Porter are all playing in the G League, I think people would probably watch it. Yeah, that's a good point. I agree, I agree. Well, Evan, man, thanks a lot for your knowledge. You've been great. I'm about to go fill out my bracket, as I said. And I'm looking forward to winning it this year. So thanks a lot, man. Good to have you all in the zone. Well, good luck, man. And I appreciate you having me on and I respect your work. Keep it up, man. Thanks a lot, man. I'll see you.