点击查看原文:Getting to the point
Getting to the point
Columnist Mike Finger and Spurs beat reporters Jeff McDonald and Tom Orsborn discuss the Spurs’ point guard position and how the depth chart will be altered with Harrison Barnes and Chris Paul in the mix.
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Wemby wows at sports card event
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Manu Ginobili, Spurs players fire the cannon at Texas-UTSA game
Here is the transcript of the podcast:
Mike Finger: From a highly secure network of top-secret locations across South Texas, this is the Spurs Insider. I’m your host Mike Finger joined by our full panel of Express News Spurs beat writers, Tom Orsborn and Jeff McDonald, along with sports editor Nick Talbot. We are less than 2 weeks away from the return of your Spurs, your local cagers to training camp to Media Day. We’re hitting the home stretch of the off-season. We’re going to talk schedule. We’re going to talk roster. We’re going to talk maybe some predictions in this last off-season edition of the Spurs Insider. But first, I want to check in with my man, my main man, uh one of my favorite people in the world, Tom Orsborn, who on his first day back from vacation, came right into the secure location this week with bells on, eager for another season of Spurs basketball. Tom, how are you?
Tom Orsborn: Good, Mike. Um good, yeah. Um yeah, doing doing well. Uh glad to be here. Glad to be here.
Mike Finger: Sounds like it. Ja Morant, Ja Morant, uh he’s no longer with us though. What? Did not start that game?
Tom Orsborn: I guess that’s stands. He’s no longer with us on the team, of course.
Mike Finger: Oh, okay. I thought you were breaking big news there. I guess that stands is our main topic of the day. I don’t know. You know, I don’t know. Well, I don’t I don’t know if Finger, Mike, has a a plan for this for this podcast, but I bet he has a concept of a plan.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah, that is true. I I do have my whole uh my whole philosophy with my gig. You know, I I have a side gig in addition to hosting this podcast, which, as you know, takes up 80 hours of my week every week, just planning. Um I I also write sports columns for a newspaper on the side. I’ve been doing that for like a quarter-century or so. And then, my concept there is or my my philosophy there is when when Nick Talbot, the Spurs editor, conceivably my boss, uh calls like 10 minutes before deadline, and asking what my column is, do do you have a column, I say, “I have a concept of a column.” And that that doesn’t always go well. But uh, anyway, we recover every time.
Mike Finger: Yes. Yes. Love it. Um but, anyway, Tom, Is back. He had a, I’m sure, a restful uh uh recharging summer. Uh Jeff is back, Nick is back. Uh The Spurs are back, and uh Jeff, in one of his first uh Spurs outings of the new season, uh interviewed some uh some like top-shelf big-time celebrities the other day. You tells about that, Jeff?
Jeff McDonald: What are you referring to? I’ve been interviewing top-shelf big-time celebrities my whole life. I’ve You’re talking to like a I I thought you’d talked to a middle schooler. Uh the starstruck middle schooler.
Mike Finger: No, no, no. 5th grade, 5th grader.
Jeff McDonald: Oh, 5th grade. 5th grader. Yeah. I mean, you know, he might he might be drafted with one of those draft picks that the Spurs have. Uh, you know, they got they got via trade.
Mike Finger: You are referring to the Victor Wembanyama event the other day, is what I I believe you’re referring to?
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, I think so. Yeah, that was that was a fun day. That was fun. Um I I I don’t know a lot about the uh sports card collecting world anymore. Like that’s not my gig.
Mike Finger: Really? I I collected baseball cards when I was a 5th grader myself, but um Apparently, uh the Topps brand is now owned by uh this thing called Fanatics, which is like a sports apparel and memorabilia company, of which one of their endorsers is uh Mr. Mr. Wembanyama. So Topps, the sports card company, had this like events uh worldwide in a bunch of locations worldwide where kids get together and and um you know, go through the the the new the new the new basketball cards for this year and whatnot. Or uh all sports, I guess. You like Tom Brady did one, and um and uh Mike Trout did one, and uh in San Antonio, the little place off Bandera Road, Victor Wembanyama was the surprise uh surprise guest, and the kids went wild, and I talked to an 11-year-old about it, and uh talked to the 30-something card shop owner about it, who was as geeked as an 11-year-old, so it was a it was a fun day. Wembanyama’s still alive in San Antonio as you might as you might have guessed. Was he uh Was he uh more muscular than he was in France uh a month ago?
Jeff McDonald: Uh, you know I I didn’t have him do like push-ups or whatever. Uh, so I’m not not sure, but I I I think at a glance, I think that’s that’s a fair guess. He seemed fine. We His his uh hairdo is is new. We saw little photos of that from some of his vacation photos from the beach, and he’s still got those little It’s like the the Tim Duncan retirement starter pack, so uh-huh. That’s That’s something that’s new. Did not talk to Victor though. He did not do interviews. He just just there for a 20-minute uh interaction with the kids, which is which is fine.
Mike Finger: Yeah. Uh look, like I said, it’s going to be less than 2 weeks from from this podcast when he and his teammates, his his new-look roster, converge upon the Victory Capital Performance Center there in the shadows of the Rattler, at Fiesta Texas on the Northwest side of San Antonio, for the start of training camp. Uh roster has kind of been in place for most of the summer for at least a couple of months now, but there’s still tweaks to be made. Tom, got ahead of all of us breaking the huge huge news a few seconds ago. My point was, there’s not much going on right now.
Tom Orsborn: Well, you know how to sell a podcast, buddy. I I yeah, I know. Bring I’m bringing this down, but I mean, yeah, not much going on.
Mike Finger: Well, the the the the point is like the listeners, I think, uh missed you. And no, there’s nothing going on, but uh when we were uh uh convening here in the secure location for this podcast this morning, and Tom hadn’t shown up, Jeff pointed out, you know, this is got This is Tom’s first day back from vacation. Maybe he’s not ready, maybe he’s not in the mental uh uh brain space to contribute.
Tom Orsborn: Jeff has always been an accurate reporter. But, my my point was, like, when Tom is on the clock, he is on the clock, he’s into it. And Tom’s not going to come in here and just you know, half step like Hey, when you’re when you’re in, you’re all in. And uh I I expect, much like the Spurs’ expectations for their new-look roster, I expect immediate impact from Tom Orsborn, when he’s back on the clock. It’s all who puts you in the frame of mind. If Jeff was hosting this show or Nick, and they greeted me, I would have been happy.
Mike Finger: Wow. You know what I kind of get his point. Like, you know, you you He had He had like 2 weeks of not having to talk to you, Mike Finger. And he’s like, you’re the first voice he hears. Like, I would be a little like, uh, this guy again, too, you know?
Tom Orsborn: Well, here’s the question though, you you have that effect on people. I don’t know if you know this. Here’s the question though, uh to get this back to the topic, why people conceivably listen to us. Uh You know uh How How does Gregg Popovich fit into that spectrum? Like, are are people the first day back, uh you know, Jeremy Sochan? He doesn’t want to talk to you either, the first day back. That’s how he feels, I’m sure. No, No, no, no, no, no. You’re You’re missing my point. Jeremy Sochan, uh Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson. The people who who have known Gregg Popovich for years. Like, are they going to look at him like uh Mike Finger, and be like, “Oh, this this guy again?” Or or is he going to immediately uh have them rearing to go? What do you think?
Jeff McDonald: Well, the difference is that the Gregg Popovich is a delightful man. Yeah. I see. That’s the big difference. And there’s a power dynamic there. Yeah, we don’t respect you. That’s That’s what he’s saying. We We have a complete lack of respect. That’s what hurts the most, just the lack of respect. This is all in jest, this is all in jest. Oh, we want to talk about the Spurs? We can talk about the Spurs.
Mike Finger: Well, that’s what I’ve been trying to get us to do for a while, now. I got I got something I got something about Popovich in terms of uh motivation. Go ahead, Jeff.
Jeff McDonald: I I mean like, you know, if you if you want to like use this podcast to plug some stuff. Uh I I talked to Tre Jones the other day, and I’m going to have a story coming out with my little uh conversation with Tre Jones.
Mike Finger: Oh, you actually wrote a story this summer? That’s good to know. I’m shocked.
Jeff McDonald: I talked to him the other day. I just wanted to kind of I So, it’s a nice um This breaking news, Jeff wrote a story during his 6-month hiatus from covering the Spurs. Go ahead.
Mike Finger: All right. That’s ridiculous. To our listeners, you’re being ridiculous. You’ve Well, it’s Tre up to, Jeff.
Jeff McDonald: Um well, it’s It’s It’s It’s an interesting uh interesting uh I guess dynamic, being Tre Jones these days, because if you put your if you put yourself in his shoes. Like, he’s kind of been the starting point guard here for a couple of years, but they’re always trying to replace him. Like, you know, they started last year with Jeremy Sochan as the starting point guard. Did you say Jeremy Sochan? And when that uh when that didn’t work out so well, they didn’t go back to Tre Jones, who had started all year before, they went to Malachi Branham for a while. And when that didn’t work out so well, they finally were like, okay, we’ll let the point guard on the roster play point guard. And Tre Jones And then there was Teddy Osmon in there, too. Yeah. One game, that’s true. And then, Tre got to start the last half of the year, and I think we all made it look better. I think you could make the argument that he kind of salvaged the second half of Victor Wembanyama’s season, like it looked Everything looked better. And then, they go to the off-season, you know, Tre has been such a good soldier, and has bailed them out again, and and what do they do with their draft pick, they draft the guy that’s going to replace him. The point guard of the future in Steph Cassell. And then, what do they do a week after that? They sign Chris Paul, who’s going to replace him in the short term. So, now um Tre Jones is out of his starting job. So, I thought that would be an interesting He’d be an interesting guy to talk to this summer. And I mean, you’re not going to be shocked because we don’t know Tre Jones and kind of his attitude and the way he approaches his life in the NBA, but his his his basic uh you know, take away from that is if you’re going to lose your starting job losing it to one of the greatest point guards in NBA history is not such a bad gig. And he’s kind of looking forward to both uh learning from Chris Paul and mentoring Steph Cassell, and fitting in that way. And Tre also kind of mentioned, and it’s not like talking out of school, but Chris Paul is 39 years old. It’s pro He’s probably not going to play 82 games. He’s probably not going to play 40 minutes a game. So, I think I think you know, it’s not out out of question to say that Tre Jones is going to get him some starts this year, and is going to play some uh uh, you know, his minutes might not go down much at all. Um, even if he’s running with the second unit. So, it was a good conversation to have about him and and the state of the uh Spurs point guard situation. Likes Likes Cassell a lot, by the way. Thinks he’s he’s really got a future at the position. Also, I had twins, Tre Jones had twins. Well, his wife had twins. Yeah. Growing family, he said they’re Everybody’s finally sleeping again in the house. And, they’re having to play zone defense, him and his wife, on the three kids. So, And in the middle of all that, he did the Spurs high school award or the Express News high school awards for us, as he did that. As someone who used to have very small children, I would have done anything to get out of the house as well. That was That was a joke that night, you know? Was it really?
Mike Finger: Well, I I uh the wh- when that charmless, as Tom Orsborn put it, that that charmless unlikable guy who went and see that event, that was the joke that uh that that he made was that Tre Jones was doing the Express News high school awards uh just to get out of the house, away from the two kids. And it got a laugh, because people love that MC out there in San Antonio. So, now, we’re doing the He’s much more respected than than he is on this podcast. But go ahead.
Jeff McDonald: We’re We’re doing the same joke 3 months apart.
Mike Finger: Yes. Jeeze. Uh-huh. What’s that saying about familiarity breeds contempt? Or What’s What’s more interesting to me than the point guard situation, which is kind of set for your local cagers um in a way that it hasn’t been set in a long time, as Jeff just mentioned, you have maybe maybe the best point guard of his generation, uh at at in his late 30s, ready to to take over the starting job. You’ve got the draft pick, who’s the point guard of the future, and you’ve got Tre Jones kind of holding down the floor between them, like that’s you You feel pretty good about point guard if you’re this Spurs this year. Uh You feel pretty good about center with Victor Wembanyama. Uh you feel pretty good about uh Devin Vassell’s going to be your starting two guard. That’s what the the And then, then on the on the in in the second unit, if you have Tre Jones taking playing point guard on your second unit. Um Zach Collins coming back, I would expect him to to to play some big-man minutes there. I’m I’m looking forward to seeing how Pop is going to handle those those wing guys, those positions in between. And maybe this is a good podcast to get into that because, as Tom so eloquently pointed out, there’s not a whole heck of a lot else going on. Uh, but, I’ll I’ll start here, just to get the ball rolling, get Just making some guesses about lineups. And uh I feel like there’s a couple different ways that Pop can go here, and um if if you go Chris Paul at point guard, Devin Vassell at two, Victor at the five. I feel like you you acquired Harrison Barnes to be this veteran presence. And, I feel like that you probably are going to start him. I I guess that’s not a guarantee, but um then then you’re you’re choice for that fifth spot, depending on whether Harrison Barnes plays four or three, is do you start Jeremy Sochan with that group? Who I think kind of fits because everyone else on the floor can make a shot. Um I I kind of think that’s how that goes. I think Keldon Johnson, even though he made another team first move recently, uh showing his commitment to uh to fitting in by by giving up his number to to Chris Paul. Like, is he going to do that again, and and graciously accept another season coming off the bench, like that? That seems sort of likely to me. So, then you have, in the second unit, Tre Jones, Steph Cassell, Keldon Johnson, and Zach Collins. Who’s your fifth guy there? I I know that’s a lot of topics that are all at once, but Jeff, do you want to chime in on any of that?
Jeff McDonald: Uh well, um it’s not going to I don’t really have anything interesting to say because I think you pretty much got it. Like, that’s That would be my guess, as far as the starting five that you threw out there. Um Who’s your fifth on the on the on the uh second unit? Is it Champagnie, or somebody like that?
Mike Finger: That’s That’s That’s the the get Do you Do you uh Do you have Champagnie in on the second unit, which makes Keldon your four? Because what what the second unit is missing, um as I just look over the roster uh compared to last year, is that Jevon Osmon position, where he played sort of the He was sort of the four on that on that group, right? A big a bigger guy, even though he was on on the wing a lot, but they don’t have anybody who would be considered a power forward, um on their basketball card. On their Topps basketball card. Um, so, do do you promote a guy like Mamu or Bassey, or somebody like that, and and have two big men in the second unit, or do does that second unit go small with the Champagnie or Malachi Branham, or somebody like that. Cedi Sissoko? Yeah, I mean, this is a This isn’t a great podcast fodder for me because I I think those are all like plausible at some point, and mixed and matched as the season goes along. Try this, try that. Um I don’t know that you got to lock in to a to a to a 10 guys, and you never do. You never just lock into 10 guys and that’s your 10 all year. I do uh I I think you make a good point to like You don’t really have that. Unless you think Champagnie can be like a stretch four kind of. I mean, he’s six seven, is that big enough to be a stretch four? And Is Is Keldon a stretch? Is Keldon a four? I mean, he could be Anybody can be anything in these in these things. Right, of course. You know. So, maybe I don’t know. But, I think Yeah, maybe maybe maybe Mamu is uh is an option there. A little bigger, and you know, Cedi Cedi Osmon-type role. He does do weirdly do a lot of the same things that Cedi did, as far as moving without the ball, and that sort of things, so I I That’s That’s an option, too. Uh one of the challenges is I think 15 14-15 guys will get minutes for your Spurs this year. I think that a lot of like even like your Blake Wesley, Malachi Branhams, they’re not completely off the map. Um I think Cedi Sissoko will see a step forward as as young players often do in their second year with the Spurs. But, you can only play nine or 10 at in any given game at any given time. Like that’s the rotation is a nine, 10-man rotation. Um, and, it’ll be that that that’ll be what I’m looking to see early in the season, is is who’s who makes that 10-man rotation coming out of coming out of camp. And then, like you said, there’s a number of different ways you can go there. It took you to like 11 or 12 names before you started talking about Malachi Branham and Blake Wesley, who were the first-round picks a couple years ago. So, to me, that points to that This is a This is a huge year for them, those two guys, as far as like gaining a foothold if not on the Spurs, then in the NBA itself. And, depending on how the year goes, I’m wondering if they’re even going to have the opportunity to do that cuz right now And you got And you got looks like they’re on the outside looking in. I mean, it’s a long season, there’s injuries, et cetera, et cetera. Uh, so they might get their shot, but just as the season begins, it’s it’s hard to see where those two guys are going to get a lot of minutes in order to, you know, ensure themselves of anything going forward. It’ll be interesting to see. I don’t have any reporting on this yet, but whether the Spurs even pick up their fourth-year options on those guys, they have to do that before before the season starts. So, that would that would be a a sign of which way they’re looking, if they don’t even pick up those options. You got Brandon Boston, Malachi Flynn thrown into the mix to you know, it’s it’s going to be an interesting camp for the the questions that Mike you know, just brought up. So, it’s you know, a lot of a lot of competitiveness. Um you know, should should be seen in in the pre-season training camp. Um back to Sochan, to Jeremy though, um, that’s He’s kind of one of the more intriguing guys coming into camp. I mean, it’s his third year. Um can he can he make a leap? You know? Can he Can he start shooting better from outside? Can he even become even better as a defender? And I like him in the starting lineup because of his defense, but I think he’s a guy to to really watch and see if he’s if he’s making a leap. If he’s you know, showing some progress. If he can do anything consistently offensively, all of a sudden, he’s sort of a force. Yeah, Yeah. Is this the year that happens? It’s It’s funny cuz that that guy has got like some 30-point games under his belt in his first 2 seasons. So, it’s not like he’s incapable of uh taking an imprint offensively. It’s just a matter of um getting more consistent, and I I agree that’s hard to do when you’re not the first, second, third, fourth option on a unit. You know, it’s hard to to gain that consistency. But, just finding a way to impact the game on offense um on a nightly basis will make that guy just almost invaluable to this team. If he can find a way to pull it off. It seems like years ago, but but do you guys remember the la- How Was Tom might have been sick, didn’t Tom miss the season finale? Like, it was It’s been so long ago. Um but do Do you remember the last game of the uh of the Spurs season last year, when when the guys came in for their final interviews with us, and I had asked Jeremy about the possibility of completely turning down his his shot, and starting over again. I don’t think I put it that bluntly, but that was the gist of it. And uh like how how much work do you want to do on this shot? And if I remember, Jeff, you you might remember better than I do, but he he did not seem like that was something that he was looking forward to doing. Like he he understood that he needed to improve that shot, but whether he makes has has made that commitment to really really really change some fundamentals and and start the whole thing over again as players have used to do under Chip England a lot, Like, I I I’m wondering if if he still shows up, and you still see that same kind of herky-jerky form, that same side spin um which can work like you you can make shots with that side spin. Um there there are shooters in NBA history who’ve had it, I think. Didn’t Kenny Smith kind of shoot that way? Um but uh I’m I’m I’m curious to see how his shot looks. If it looks like it did last year, I I I I’ll I’ll have my questions as to his ceiling. I had a different recollection of that exchange between uh you and him, that last that last time, but I might be wrong. Go ahead. I mean, I I I mean, I you don’t know what what’s in someone’s head or or I’m not judging in tone, and I can’t even remember the actual quote, but I remember thinking, "Oh, he finally like acknowledges that he has to change his shot because for the longest time, when you’d ask him about when anyone would ask him about that, he would say this is how I shot my whole life, you know. Yeah. And to me, I remember thinking, “That’s the first time I’ve ever ever actually heard him, at least, acknowledge that there’s the possibility that he needs to break down the shot and reinvent it.” Whether whether he’s done that or not this off-season, we can’t say yet. Um, I think we’ll get some early indicators on that here in a couple weeks when we finally see them on the floor. But, I just thought at least at least it’s something for him to just say it out loud, that yeah, that’s something he’d be open to is is remaking it. So, I think that’s that’s a fair assessment uh thinking back on it. You you know, the thing about Jeremy is uh, he’s so cheeky, you know, with all of his uh and and that’s a that’s a word that he uses with his uh his self-described charming charming accent. He’s a self self-described cheeky guy. Um and it it’s I think the back and forth was something along the lines of like, you said he He acknowledged that uh the shot needs work. And then, when I kind of pressed him on uh does that mean like breaking the whole thing down, starting over again. I don’t think there was a yes to it. Uh, but you’re right, there wasn’t a no either. I think it was more like a a one of those we’ll see type of things, and we will see. He He talked about his relationship last year, had a good relationship with Jimmy Baron, the shooting coach. So, I I imagine those two have been putting in some uh some time together. They put in some time um at the at the big Texas UTSA football game last week, I’ll tell you that. You want to talk about that big scandal? My new I mean, Let’s talk about that scandal.
Mike Finger: Well, there’s people apparently out there in uh uh in secure locations across South Texas, who who and I’m not I’m I’m not judging one way or the other, but uh that was not the most popular appearance that your local cagers made. Yeah. They They They drove up to to to hated Austin. Um and uh it was a UTSA game, so you could say, oh, you’re there to to s- support the local Roadrunners. But uh it was uh Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, uh Mamu, uh a whole group of guys. Julian Champagnie. They were on the sideline for this UT UTSA football game. They shot the They shot the University of Texas Cannon. Um and and uh But the But what was the thing that set people up? Was it a Was it a social media post, Jeff, that uh that kind of got people riled up or this Spurs were not at the game? I think it’s more It’s more than that. It It’s more than that. It It certainly appeared, and I don’t I don’t know that this is the case. But, just from the social media, it appeared that they were there to support the University in Austin, and not the university from their hometown in San Antonio. Let me give uh Puro credit where it’s due. The photos I saw, Keldon Johnson was in a UTSA jersey. Yeah. Oh, always, you know, he’s got to And I I’m not And I’m not By the way, I have no dog in this fight. I don’t care at all. Like, whatever. I don’t I really don’t None of us do. I really don’t care, so I want to make that clear. But, you know, D- D- Mr. Vassell had on a a University of Texas jersey. Uh-huh. You know, so Mason Plumley, was it Mason Plumley or Miles Who’s the Plumley with those Suns these days? I have no idea. No, no one No one knows. No, it it t- that doesn’t matter. He’s a Plumley. Uh he was wearing a University of Texas jersey, because see the the point here is it’s it’s um The Spurs are are playing two more games in Austin this year, and by the way, I don’t think we’ve talked about the schedule since it came out. We’ve had a podcast with the great Bill Land, who That’s right. I I I heard from a lot of you who enjoyed this discussion with Bill Land last time. Thanks to him for for doing that. Um but uh the on on the podcast before that, I predicted that your your Spurs were going to play in Austin, during the uh Rodeo Road trip. Like, you had a Chris Paul ball? Yeah. And so the uh The Spurs are going to play the Suns. That Kevin Durant comes back to his alma mater in in February. And uh so, the Spurs make this trip up to Austin just to be seen there, I think. It’s not like they expected anybody to see them on the sideline, and uh go out and buy tickets for the for the law- for the uh Spurs Suns game months from now, but I think it’s just part of this ongoing campaign to make uh Austin people feel like the Spurs are theirs, too. And, when you look at the economics, and you look at um the attractiveness, the appeal of that market to the San Antonio of of a- an NBA organization in San Antonio, you like, it’s understandable. Like, why would you not want those people in Austin, those people, those people in Austin to feel like they they have some steak in the Spurs, too. Like, I get that. Uh it’s it’s just uh It It seems like as they try to make this move and it’s not a move of the franchise, but just a as they try to appeal to Austinites, like, there’s this continual mini blowback among people in San Antonio who don’t want to share. I I I think I think See, there’s some people who I I I get it, but also, I think San Antonio is just a little sensitive. That’s all. Yes. And may And maybe also, maybe I am totally naive, but I read that uh the other day, uh Saturday as just these guys like each other, and going to a football game is a fun thing to do. I thought it was just another one of my new’s field trips. Yeah, exactly. Just as a fun thing to do where we all hang hang out. The The little bit of blowback you saw on social media was like, “They should be supporting the team that’s from San Antonio, not the team that’s from Austin.” Yeah. And I I get it, but I also don’t care. And I don’t think they I mean, I I don’t want to speak for anybody on that team, but I don’t think most of them care who won that game either, you know? No. Of course not. They’re They’re just there for for grins, you know? What it is is It’s great September podcast fodder, because it ultimately does not matter. It’s silly. I I I And it’s It’s It gets people riled up a little bit, and it it it’s amusing, too. There were a couple of photos of like some of some of the players, the Spurs players, trying to do the little hook 'em horns sign. And I have to say um like S- Steph Cassell couldn’t do it, from the photo I saw. Couldn’t couldn’t do it. You can’t force it. Also, it’s one thing for uh It’s one thing for guys like Mamu, and uh who was another international guy that was there? Um uh Guys who Guys who didn’t play college in the in the States to do the hook 'em horns. Mamu Mamu played at Southern Hall, what are you talking about? Well, there you go, there you go. But, like Steph Cassell, who just who just came off of back-to-back national championships at Yukon, like why why would he be wanting to do the hook 'em horns at all? Like that’s the keys They They They They They could have been big 12 rivals at one point. Like, Ohio State. Malachi Branham was there, and those teams could be playing for a national title this year. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Anyway. Um the next time we we meet, training camp will be underway, we’ll have a lot more substantive topics to discuss. Who are we kidding? We’re probably still going to be talking about nonsense, but it it it I’m I’m looking forward to it, Tom. I know it’s your first day back, you’re still getting your bearings, but we’re going to have a good full season of Spurs Insiders, aren’t we, or aren’t aren’t aren’t you excited about that, just a little bit?
Tom Orsborn: Absolutely. Absolutely, I am. Yes. Despite the fact that there’s this palpable tension between you and the host. No, I mean Hey, the Oakland A’s won three championships with tension. You’re not wrong. Every Every Every podcast with you guys is like an episode of Moonlighting, or something. They took separate cabs. That’s That’s in our demographic. We got every reference. Yeah, we got cheese, man. We got Sam and Diane over here. Uh-huh. So, like Charles Grodin and Robert De Niro. That would That’s a heck of a movie, man. It is. Midnight Run. Great. Midnight Run. I’d recommend that to the to the listeners out there for for people If if the youngsters And it’s in color. It’s in color. Kids, it’s in color. Good one. Uh, we will see all of you once camp has begun at the end of this month. Uh we’ll be back on a regular schedule, maybe with a uh maybe with a uh sponsor. That’d be good to get a sponsor back. We’re going to have a big live event that we’ll tell you about next time, coming up in October. A lot of you enjoyed the last time we did that. Uh, so look forward to that. And, until we see you next time. Take care of each other. And keep it real.