Episode 322
Mark Gottfried & Seth Greenberg on College Basketball, NIL, and the Transfer Portal
Hosted by Mike Guidone and Chris Caputo, the show begins with guest Mark Gottfried sharing stories behind his upcoming book, Get It Done. He talks about grit, integrity, and desire, recalls what he told his Alabama team at halftime before they pulled off an NCAA Tournament upset, and explains how he decides who to trust with the game on the line.
Later, Seth Greenberg joins the show to talk about what it’s like to build a college basketball team now, with NIL, the transfer portal, and some programs having more money to share with players than others. They get into where academics fit, what they learned from John Wooden, and why it’s worth taking the time to build relationships with players. Greenberg closes out the episode with a few teams and players he’s keeping an eye on early in the season.
Takeaways:
- Gottfried shares how an NCAA Tournament halftime talk at Alabama sparked his “Get It Done” mantra, built around grit, integrity, and desire.
- Who gets the ball with the game on the line? For Gottfried, it starts with who earns his trust in practice.
- His advice for leaders off the court is simple. Bring energy, stay enthusiastic, and be honest with yourself.
- Gottfried and Seth Greenberg talk about how NIL, the transfer portal, and pay-for-play make it harder to develop players and keep academics a priority.
- The coaches share stories of former players who went on to coach or work in sports.
- Their advice for coaches is to adapt to the money side of the game while building a strong team culture and helping players improve.
- They also talk about why teams have to be ready earlier and how Long Island keeps producing basketball talent.
Transcript
The views expressed in the following program do not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of wgbb.
Speaker B:Live from the WGBB studios in Merrick, New York, this is Sports Talk New York.
Speaker C: FM,: Speaker C:I'm your host, Mike Widone, joined as always by the man we call Cappy, Chris Caputo.
Speaker C: -: Speaker C: -: Speaker C:If you'd like to join in tonight, although it is football season, we are heavily involved in college basketball getting out of the gate.
Speaker C:So we're going to have two wonderful guests tonight.
Speaker C:Coach Mark Gottfried, formerly of Alabama, Murray State, NC State, Cal State, Northridge, who has a book coming out.
Speaker C:We'll talk about that in a second.
Speaker C:And will be joined by Long Island's own Seth Greenberg from Plainview, jfk.
Speaker C:He was the coach at Long Beach State, South Florida, Virginia Tech, but you can see him pretty much every evening on ESPN these days.
Speaker C:But before we get to any of that, it's great to have Kappy back in the studio.
Speaker C:Chris, how you doing?
Speaker D:Good.
Speaker D:Thanks for holding down the fort a couple weeks ago.
Speaker C:No problem, man.
Speaker C:I know you were doing the chicken dance on the Macarena and having lots of.
Speaker D:Fun.
Speaker C:Nothing like a Sunday night wedding.
Speaker C:But we'll, I digress,.
Speaker D:But I like to get into the, the March show that we do a lot.
Speaker D:You know, two hours, we try to do that, but I feel like we're kind of five months early.
Speaker D:But we're getting ourselves ready for March Madness tonight with tonight's show.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And you know, St. John's doing a great job out of the gate.
Speaker C:Two big wins.
Speaker C:You know, in years past, it was even when they were kind of thought of as a good contender, they would almost struggle sometimes out of the gate.
Speaker C:And the first two, you know, first two games, Wagner and Iona, they just took care of business.
Speaker C:So an incredible also exhibition season, which is another, another discussion that I'm interested to have with the two coaches we have on tonight.
Speaker C:But yeah, they're looking good.
Speaker C:Stony Brook Starting out Hofstra, St. John's women had a huge win.
Speaker C:You know, we got the Division 2 slate coming up, which, you know, you and I have been members of in the past.
Speaker C:And it's just, it's a great time.
Speaker C:You know, next week I start coaching and you'll be on the sidelines as well, doing your thing at East Rockaway a little bit.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:With announcing and.
Speaker C:And your multimedia presentation.
Speaker C:And you're also.
Speaker C:I wouldn't.
Speaker C:I wouldn't use the word consultant, but you're always.
Speaker C:You're always in the background there.
Speaker C:And, you know, the bench seat is warm.
Speaker C:Wherever you want to go at some point.
Speaker D:Yeah, it's fun to, you know, keep a little bit involved, like to talk X's and O's, figure out offense, defense, what's some good stuff.
Speaker D:But at the same time, you know, this is a big chance for high school kids to make an impression on a coach, give themselves a chance to play, and, you know, one season ends and another one starts.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's wild.
Speaker C:You know, high school football, they're still in the playoffs.
Speaker C:For a number of kids I know at Locust Valley, where I coach girls basketball, the boys soccer team is in the state semifinals.
Speaker C:So we have guys that are still playing, and if they keep going, they'll literally end the season, and the next day they're throwing on a pair of shorts and bouncing a basketball.
Speaker C:So it's really.
Speaker C:It's an exciting time.
Speaker C:Those.
Speaker C:Those players who are getting ready, who have been waiting all year long, whether, even if you're an AAU program or whatever else, you know, there's nothing like high school basketball.
Speaker C:The rivalries, you know, the wintertime, then we get to the state tournament.
Speaker C:So it's just a little different flavor.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:And it's nice also to see, you know, in the New York area watching the Giants getting a couple of wins and taking care of business.
Speaker D:These are the games, I think that the New York Giants need to win, because later on, there's going to be some tough games that if they don't win, probably won't be that much of a detriment to them.
Speaker D:But, Mike, they're a playoff team right now.
Speaker C:They are.
Speaker C:And, you know, I was very impressed today also.
Speaker C:You know, JJ McCarthy took.
Speaker C:Took a huge hit, was out for a little while.
Speaker C:They showed him on the sidelines.
Speaker C:He could barely throw, and then all of a sudden, he came back.
Speaker C:You know, meanwhile, it wasn't something where he played incredibly effective, but just his energy.
Speaker C:You know, the team seems to rally around him, and it's going to be very interesting come next year when Jackson Dart is healthy.
Speaker C:I mean, there's rumblings already that Harbaugh would really rather go with J.J. mcCarthy, but who knows?
Speaker C:But it's just nice to have them playing meaningful football at this time already, like you said, they're taking care of business.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:And at this Point, you want to put yourself as many games as you can against the rest of the east so that teams like Dallas and Philadelphia don't sneak back on you.
Speaker D:They play Thursday night now with the commanders, so that's a big game after tying them the first time.
Speaker D:So I think this is a chance for the Giants to put themselves in a really good spot.
Speaker D:And also, as you know, Mike, with the trade deadline coming up, they probably going to make a move and be aggressive in the next couple of days to assure themselves that if they're down in a certain area like running back, wide receiver, that they have extra.
Speaker C:Yeah, because it's.
Speaker C:It's not like in the past where they were just treading water and looking for draft picks.
Speaker C:This is a team, as you mentioned, who.
Speaker C:Where they have a legitimate shot to win this division and to go forward.
Speaker C:And from there, you know, who knows?
Speaker C:Once you're.
Speaker C:Once you're in the playoffs in any league, but especially in the NFL, you know, injuries, anything can happen.
Speaker C:You get on a roll, you get a hot quarterback, you get a hot defense, and you're in business.
Speaker C:You're doing really well.
Speaker D:Yeah, I think that's good for them.
Speaker D:You know, the other New York team, obviously the Buffalo Bills playing Tomorrow night at 6 and 1 against another 6 and 1 Vikings team, you know, these are teams that are probably looking to make a move to get an extra player or two as you get close to it.
Speaker D:The, you know, some of the teams that are out of it might be looking to dump a couple of players.
Speaker D:And we'll see.
Speaker D:We'll see how aggressive these teams are in getting rid of their running backs who are probably not having a terrible year, but when the team is struggling, it's time to get rid of somebody.
Speaker C:Yeah, it really is something to see, you know, the complete fire sale like it's going on in Indianapolis and more players are changing addresses in the NFL than we've ever seen.
Speaker C:And, and it really does hold to NFL.
Speaker C:Not for long.
Speaker C:If you're in one place or another, you can pack up and go.
Speaker C:It's not like it used to be.
Speaker D:They'll be gone.
Speaker C:Well, as we mentioned, you know, getting into the excitement of basketball season, college basketball especially, we're joined tonight by, you know, one of the finer coaches in America.
Speaker C:He was the head man at Murray State, Alabama, North Carolina State, most recently at Cal State Northridge, was also on the staff at UCLA when they won the title with coach Jim Harrick.
Speaker C:He has a new book coming out in about two days.
Speaker C:It's called get it done.
Speaker C:The playbook for leading with grit, integrity and desire.
Speaker C:And this is coach Mark Gottfried.
Speaker C:Coach is Mike Gaudone.
Speaker C:Chris Caputo here on Long Island.
Speaker C:How are you this evening?
Speaker C:I'm doing fantastic.
Speaker C:Thank you guys for having me on.
Speaker C:Oh, it's really.
Speaker C:It's our pleasure.
Speaker C:I know.
Speaker C:You know, previously you had been on with Chris, and that was something for me as a.
Speaker C:As a former Division 2 basketball coach and.
Speaker C:And high school coach, I really, I was sad to miss it.
Speaker C:Very excited to talk to you tonight and hear about your book.
Speaker C:But, you know, first of all, you know, with the basketball season starting, even though you're not, you know, currently on the sidelines, I would imagine that the juices get flowing just like they used to.
Speaker C:Always.
Speaker E:This time of year, man, it's like daylight savings hits us, and all of a sudden, you know, it's basketball.
Speaker E:It.
Speaker C:Gets dark.
Speaker E:Early and we walk out of the gym.
Speaker E:Usually after practice, it's pitch black, but that means it's basketball season, so.
Speaker E:So I'm excited for everybody.
Speaker E:I'm excited for all my buddies that are coaching and, you know, root for them all the time and hopefully they do well.
Speaker E:So it is a fun time of the year.
Speaker D:Coach, you decided to write a book.
Speaker D:You know, it's coming out in a couple of days.
Speaker D:Why now?
Speaker D:And talk a little bit about this gid, this grit, integrity and desire.
Speaker E:Well, I'll give you the short story.
Speaker E:You know, I do a lot of corporate kingdom speaking now, and it just kind of made sense to put this down on paper because a lot of what I talk about when I speak to corporations is this type thing and all the things that we do as coaches, you know, the ups and downs and, you know, you're leading young men, you're leading your staff, and it's just not a fit.
Speaker E:So, you know, I had some people help me, and we kind of put it together and I'm really excited about it.
Speaker E: thing started with me back in: Speaker E:I was coaching at Alabama.
Speaker E:We're playing in the NCAA tournament, and we were playing Stanford.
Speaker E:They were number one in the country.
Speaker E:I think they were 30 and one.
Speaker E:And we're down three at the half.
Speaker E:We come out of the second half and we kind of stink it up and we can't make a basket to save our lives.
Speaker E:And I remember calling the timeout and talking to our guys about this.
Speaker E:Right now is a get it done moment you're going to have now throughout your whole life.
Speaker E:We all are and we can get on the plane, head back Tuscaloosa, or we can face this thing and we could figure out how to have more enthusiasm and going to cheer for each other.
Speaker E:We're going to do things the right way.
Speaker E:And lo and behold, here we come out of that timeout, and we came back to beat him and knocked him out of the tournament.
Speaker E:But that was kind of the genesis.
Speaker E:And from then on, it kind of become.
Speaker E:It became kind of a mantra with our teams throughout the years that, you know, you find these moments, they're get it done moments, and we all have them in all walks of life.
Speaker E:So that's kind of the story behind the book.
Speaker C:You know, Coach, I love that example because really, especially in basketball, you know, you can, when you're down, as you mentioned, with your team or whatever, you can kind of look at the big picture and get intimidated.
Speaker C:You were really, you know, with the.
Speaker C:The buzzwords and the phrase that you're using here, you.
Speaker C:It seems like you.
Speaker C:You got your team in the moment, and it was really about staying in that moment and not looking at the bigger picture.
Speaker C:Like, let's just get better, you know, right now and show that grit and that intensity.
Speaker C:Am I correct?
Speaker E:Oh, there's 100%.
Speaker E:Right.
Speaker E:And, you know, there's a lot of ways to develop grit, but usually develop grit in those tough moments.
Speaker E:You know, we don't develop grit when it's.
Speaker E:When it's going our way.
Speaker E:And, you know, that was one for those guys right there.
Speaker E:And that team at Alabama, we were.
Speaker E:We were actually 16 and 12 going in the NCAA tournament.
Speaker E:We were the last team announced.
Speaker E:And, you know, in the old 8, 9 seed game, which I always called the.
Speaker E:That's the.
Speaker E:That's kind of the boo boo prize game.
Speaker E:Because in the tournament, you're invited to the party, but you may not stay long because if you win your second game against the number one seed.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker E:But anyway, that group kind of embraced it and they found a way to dig a little bit deeper.
Speaker E:And I think too, what happens with all of us is that's the time where we kind of have to make it simple again.
Speaker E:We gotta have some enthusiasm.
Speaker E:We gotta have that part of ourselves that finds a way to dig a little deeper.
Speaker E:And we've all done it through life.
Speaker E:Our teams have done it.
Speaker E:We all have done it at different times.
Speaker E:But that one, that group of guys really embraced it.
Speaker E:We went on to the Elite Eight that year, got beat by UConn.
Speaker E:They were just loaded.
Speaker E:We had no chance against them, but we Had a fun time, fun year.
Speaker E:And it became kind of, like I said, kind of a mantra for us.
Speaker C:You kind of defined it, but the word grit, if you were going to sit with myself or coach and we said, hey, we want to get our team to show grit.
Speaker C:We.
Speaker C:Where do you start with that?
Speaker E:Well, I think it's.
Speaker E:It's a learned behavior.
Speaker E:And here's what also I would say to you.
Speaker E:And I tell this story when I talk, and, you know, you guys will identify with us a little bit.
Speaker E:But, you know, I got invited to go visit our soldiers, young men and women, three different times.
Speaker E:And, you know, we're in Iraq and we're over there, and Jay Bilis and Kelvin Sampson and Bobby Crimmins and Tom Izzo, all these guys.
Speaker E:And.
Speaker E:But on this one trip, they asked us to stop at Walter Reed Medical center there in Bethesda, Maryland.
Speaker E:And Jay Billitz and I remember, we walked down the hall and we walked in this young guy's room, and we had no idea what we were going to get ready to see.
Speaker E:And we watched this young man, he was 19 years old.
Speaker E:He's still to this day, by the way, he's our only surviving quadruple, both arms, both legs, amputee.
Speaker E:And Jay and I had a wonderful time with him.
Speaker E:He sitting there for about an hour, and he was telling us how he's going to learn to write.
Speaker E:He put a pencil kind of underneath, you know, his armpit there, what he had left of his arm.
Speaker E:And I tell you, from that point forward, for me, it's hard for me to have a bad day, I'll promise you that.
Speaker E:Because my mind goes right back to this young guy.
Speaker E:His name is Brendan Morocco.
Speaker E:And, you know, sometimes, you know, we can get down, we can pout a little bit, and we can feel sorry for ourselves.
Speaker E:I think that's just human nature, but I think you got to find ways to get yourself out of that.
Speaker E:When I worked with Jim Herrick at ucla, he used to say it every day, no sniveling allowed.
Speaker E:You can't snivel.
Speaker E:You know, we're not going to pout.
Speaker E:We're going to be upbeat every day, and there's so much to that.
Speaker E:I know it sounds simple, but I think it's very true.
Speaker E:And we just got to make sure that we stay in that mindset all the time, and good things are going to happen for us if we do.
Speaker D:Talking with Mark Arfrey, coach speaker and now author, I'm going to read you a quote from somebody I've known Mark Gottfried.
Speaker D:Ever since we competed against each other in family garage basketball games, on summer visits to Crestline, Ohio, to visit our grandparents.
Speaker D:He was a leader then, even as a kid.
Speaker D:Then as a college athlete and an incredibly successful basketball coach at the highest levels, Mark's insight on leadership and relationships through grit, integrity and purpose are eternal truths and a lot of fun to read about.
Speaker D:That comes from a guy that's local to our New York people.
Speaker D:Can you tell us who that is?
Speaker E:I gotta think for a second.
Speaker E:Help me out.
Speaker D:That's John Harbaugh,.
Speaker E:My man, John Harbaugh, who's, by the way, pulling off miracles every week, in my view, when you lose your starting quarterback.
Speaker E:But now John.
Speaker E:John lives it every day.
Speaker E:He's one of those guys.
Speaker E:He's such a positive guy.
Speaker E:And, you know, we use the word culture a lot in sports.
Speaker E:And, you know, I think John, for me, he's always been an example.
Speaker E:Obviously, you know, I've known John and Jim since we were in diapers, but he's the example of that positive kind of approach every day.
Speaker E:And I watched him in Baltimore, I'm watching it now in New York City, and couldn't be more proud.
Speaker E:But he's also a guy for me that I've been able to lean on at times.
Speaker E:And so we need people like that in our lives.
Speaker E:And he's been one of those guys for me.
Speaker C:So you mentioned, you know, grit, integrity and desire.
Speaker C:Those are certainly things to live by.
Speaker C:In your personal life as a coach, as an athlete, was there one stretch for you as a basketball coach at the highest level where you were kind of really put to the test, and those things were needed to get to the next step, the next day, the next practice.
Speaker C:Something you can tell us about where you really put that into practice for yourself?
Speaker E:Well, I think to be.
Speaker E:And this is when I talk a lot, I'm pretty vulnerable.
Speaker E:I'm pretty authentic.
Speaker E:You know, I've had those moments we all have where, I think when decisions hang in the balance, where we've, you know, we understand and we know sometimes what the right decision is.
Speaker E:But I think if we're all honest with each other, we don't always make the right decisions.
Speaker E:And nor did I.
Speaker E:And sometimes there's a consequence to pay for those.
Speaker E:And I think that's part of it.
Speaker E:You know, I use this example, you know, sometimes you take a compass and, you know, you kind of use as an example, as your moral compass.
Speaker E:And sometimes that compass is, you know, it's pristine, it's in order, and Then other times you look down and you feel like, man, that thing shattered a little bit.
Speaker E:You know, it's not where it needs to be.
Speaker E:And so, you know, my encouragement for all of us is to understand how important integrity is.
Speaker E:And then I used to always talk to our players too.
Speaker E:You know, for me, integrity, it comes down to with your teams on those guys that I can trust the most, they do the right things every day, they practice the right way, they do everything that's asked of them.
Speaker E:And therefore, in a close game, you know, 30 seconds to go, game tied, we're playing against Duke on the road, I know who I'm going to play.
Speaker E:I'm going to play the guys I trust the most.
Speaker E:Right then.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker E:And so your integrity really becomes part of the, part of the equation.
Speaker E:And so it's a, it's a very important part of all, for all of us, I think, in success and long term success.
Speaker E:But I always say it's kind of the backbone of the whole GID mindset is that word, integrity.
Speaker D:Coach, what did you learn from coaches who maybe you had as a coach or people that you coached with that maybe shaped who you were as a head coach?
Speaker E:Well, that's an easy one for me.
Speaker E:And it's really somebody that was a mentor to me and I've had great mentors.
Speaker E:My father was a small college coach and he became an athletic director at South Alabama.
Speaker E:And Jim Harris was amazing to me at UCLA.
Speaker E:But you know, how about this?
Speaker E:I'm 23 years old, I start coaching at UCLA as a graduate assistant coach, and next thing you know, I'm sitting there with John Woodson.
Speaker E:I mean, it's like a dream.
Speaker E:You think back on it and for a young coach, you know, not only did he win 10 national championships in 12 years, but, you know, I used to sit at his house.
Speaker E:Him and I would just talk.
Speaker E:He was so generous with his time.
Speaker E:But the pearls of wisdom, every single day that you're learning from that guy, and, you know, it was so amazing.
Speaker E:You know, he lived to be 99 years old.
Speaker E:He was amazing to, to me, my family, my children, my son who turned, he's 35 now and he turned 18 years old.
Speaker E:We flew from Alabama out to spend the day with Coach Wooden.
Speaker E:But that guy taught me more, I think, about coaching and about life than maybe anybody else.
Speaker E:He was amazing.
Speaker D:Well, I got a little clip for you.
Speaker D:I hope you can hear it as we play it and then maybe you can tell me what was going through your mind at this point.
Speaker F:One last try.
Speaker F:For the Bruins of UCLA to get into the Sweet 16.
Speaker F:Knocked out last year in the first round by Tulsa.
Speaker F:They don't want to lose this one.
Speaker F:I'm.
Speaker D:Guessing you can figure out what that was.
Speaker C:Yeah, we can hear your smile through there.
Speaker E:You know, here's the thing people don't realize, and that announcer mentioned it there, you know, the year before that, in 94, we had got beat by Tulsa.
Speaker E:We were the five seed, they were the 12 seed, they upset us.
Speaker E:We played them in Oklahoma City and we all believed we were getting fired.
Speaker E:And really, that year, that championship year of 95, it really started in the NCAA tournament of 94.
Speaker E:Ed O', Bannon, we laugh about it.
Speaker E:Jim Herrick and Lorenzo Romar and Steve Lapp, and we all did a podcast together about a month or two ago.
Speaker E:It's amazing podcast, just the four of us talking about that.
Speaker E:But, you know, we remember walking in that locker room at halftime of that game, halftime of the Tulsa game in 94, and Ed O' Bannon ripped his teammates like you've never heard a player rip anybody.
Speaker E:And it was the first time for him that he kind of rose up and he was beginning to become the leader that we all kind of hoped he would be.
Speaker E:He was a great player, but he was very quiet.
Speaker E:You know, he's E.F. hutton.
Speaker E:You know, whenever he spoke, everybody listen.
Speaker E:And that was the beginning.
Speaker E:And then that next year was just magical.
Speaker E:Absolutely magical.
Speaker E:We went 31 2.
Speaker E:But that game right there, you know, Missouri had upset Indiana in the eight seed, nine seed game.
Speaker E:And here we are, the one seed.
Speaker E:We were the one of the one.
Speaker E:We were the best team in the country.
Speaker E:And it came right to the wire and they scored with 4.6 seconds to go.
Speaker E:And here we come to a timeout.
Speaker E:And I'll never forget, we broke the timeout and you know, Jim Herrick looked right at Tyus Edney and he said, I want you to shoot the ball.
Speaker E:As Tyus kind of looked at him, he said, do you understand what I'm telling you?
Speaker E:Shoot the ball.
Speaker E:And Ty said, okay.
Speaker E:You know, you got Ed o' Bannon over there going, give me the ball, Tyus, give me the ball.
Speaker E:Give me the ball.
Speaker E:And Ty has just made a magnificent play.
Speaker E:And then, you know, we all very honestly say, you know, our careers kind of change from there.
Speaker E:You know, all of a sudden I'm the head coach at Murray State, and then Steve becomes a coach at ucla.
Speaker E:Lorenzo's at Washington, I'm at Alabama.
Speaker E:You know, for all of us coaches but that shot, it was just a spectacular moment.
Speaker C:Once again, we're joined by Mark Gottfried, whose book is coming out this week called get it Done, the Playbook for Leading with Grit, Integrity and Desire.
Speaker C:And coach, as you mentioned, your time at ucla, I remember Coach Harrick wrote a book himself, which I read many years ago.
Speaker C:But you talk about expectations and, and just I would imagine at that time, and it still is that way, I would think, but during that stretch at ucla, I mean, following in Coach Wooden's footsteps and you know, Larry Brown had some success there, but it was really, you know, nobody was ever able to even come close to what Coach Wooden did.
Speaker C:The pressure and expectations must have just been daunting, especially coming off, you know, the loss you had mentioned that year before.
Speaker E:You know, you feel it when you're in a program like UCLA and there's a handful in the country, there's a handful.
Speaker E:They're not.
Speaker E:We all feel pressure as coaches, but then there's this kind of another level where the expectations are just so high.
Speaker E:You know, we all got together, like I mentioned recently, and you got to think, now it's been, Coach Wooden won his Last championship in 75, and you know, you're talking about 51 years have passed and there's been one national championship at UCLA.
Speaker E:51 Years.
Speaker E:It's hard to do.
Speaker E:You know, winning a national championship is very hard.
Speaker E:It's very difficult.
Speaker E:But you feel it every day there.
Speaker E:The players understand there's a higher expectation.
Speaker E:And I always feel like it kind of drove the players even to become better because they knew it too.
Speaker E:They understood it,.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker E:But we were able to get it done.
Speaker E:And Jim Herrick was the best.
Speaker E:He was.
Speaker E:I think he's underappreciated, quite frankly, in winning that championship there.
Speaker E:And it is, like I said, it was magical.
Speaker E:I'll tell you another interesting story about that year.
Speaker E:You know, we had been begging Coach Wooden, we said, if we get to the Final Four, will you come?
Speaker E:And he was very non committal.
Speaker E:He would come to home games, he would never come to a practice.
Speaker E:But with about two minutes to go before tip off national championship game in the Kingdom in Seattle, we're playing Arkansas.
Speaker E:You got Bill Clinton over here on one side, the sitting president, he's an Arkansas native.
Speaker E:Root for Arkansas.
Speaker E:But here comes John Wooden walking in and you could tell even with our players, when they saw him, it was almost like in their minds, it was like, it's on, fellas.
Speaker E:They weren't going to let him down.
Speaker E:So again, it was a Special moment for all of us.
Speaker C:Coach, if you're going in and you're talking, I know you're a motivational speaker, you speak to many organizations.
Speaker C:If you're going in to talk to a corporation, someone like that, and maybe they've been struggling and obviously one of your messages about team building, what's kind of one of the first things that you would talk to an organization about about turning things around?
Speaker E:You know, we talk a lot about enthusiasm.
Speaker E:You talk about energy and having excitement every single day.
Speaker E:I think for all of us, you know, life settles in, it just does.
Speaker E:It doesn't matter where we are in our life.
Speaker E:And sometimes, you know, complacency can settle in.
Speaker E:And that happens a lot of times in companies with sales teams or managerial teams, whatever it might be.
Speaker E:But I think it starts with kind of a self check, self honesty.
Speaker E:You know, here's another thing too to think about for all of us in life.
Speaker E:You know, we want to be good, we want to do great things, we want to accomplish things.
Speaker E:But sometimes we stand in the front of the mirror and we can be a little dishonest with ourselves.
Speaker E:We can tell ourselves we're doing the best we can.
Speaker E:And I think it starts with self honesty.
Speaker E:But I think for me more than anything, it's that enthusiasm, the energy, the excitement.
Speaker E:That's what I think gets our engines started every day.
Speaker E:And we've got to be able to encourage other people to do the same as well.
Speaker D:Coach, just plug a little bit your book where people might be able to get it in a couple of days, pre order any of that stuff.
Speaker D:How can people find a copy of this book?
Speaker E:Well, you can go on to Amazon.
Speaker E:It's on there.
Speaker E:Just type in get it done Mark Gottfried.
Speaker E:But then also my website has everything on it.
Speaker E:Just coach markgotfried.com all the podcasts.
Speaker E:You know, I think we recorded about a hundred of those amazing guests.
Speaker E:Obviously you can order the book on there and then obviously there's, there's a lot about my speaking.
Speaker E:But you know, guys, I'm really excited.
Speaker E:I had, I had 33 years as a coach.
Speaker E:Incredibly blessed, incredibly thankful.
Speaker E:And now I'm in this other chapter of my life now where instead of sometimes talking to 12 or 13 guys, I can talk to 100 or 200 people at the same time with the same message.
Speaker E:So I've been so fortunate my whole life, so blessed.
Speaker E:And this is a part I'm really excited about now.
Speaker D:So we had in March one of your former players, and I know earlier in the year you were able to go watch him coach against another player of yours.
Speaker D:So we had Antoine Pettway on because they were in the NCAA tournament.
Speaker D:And I think, let's be honest, they were a little bit overmatched, but he really tried to compete and he figured some of that stuff out.
Speaker D:When you watch guys like Mo Williams and Antoine Pettway, does that kind of make it a full circle moment for you?
Speaker D:Like, you've done what you needed to do as a coach, and now they're out there as coaches.
Speaker E:You couldn't have said it any better.
Speaker E:It's.
Speaker E:You know, last year when I went into Atlanta and Mo Williams team at Jack, he was at Jackson State and they played Kennesaw State.
Speaker E:And so I flew into Atlanta and, you know, here comes Antoine out of the locker room about a couple minutes before the tip, and we hugged.
Speaker E:And then here comes Mo out of the other locker room and we're hugging.
Speaker E:It's like your children.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker E:You know, for me, I mean, I couldn't help but to get teary eyed.
Speaker E:I was so proud watching those guys compete and play.
Speaker E:And not only that, they're in coaching and they're both doing well.
Speaker E:You know, Mo is now in Kentucky as an assistant coach this year with Mark Pope, but just who they are as people.
Speaker E:You know, I had Mo Williams with me on my staff at Northridge, and so I got to coach with him every day.
Speaker E:Antoine, you know, is like, you know, he's like a son to me, you know, but watching those guys do that and watching their teams respond to them, it's really.
Speaker E:It's just.
Speaker E:It's amazing.
Speaker E:So I'm so thankful.
Speaker C:Yeah, I can't imagine what it's like, you know, to see these young men be able to ascend the ranks of coaching.
Speaker C:I mean, I'm sure you're just as proud when you see them become fathers and businessmen and, you know, whatever they might do to make society better.
Speaker C:But when you see them following in your footsteps as a basketball coach, the pride has got to be unbelievable.
Speaker E:It is.
Speaker E:And then you take another guy, you know, and I think he's a rising star on television.
Speaker E:Richard Hendricks, he's doing a lot of games in the SEC Network for espn, and he's just spectacular.
Speaker E:He's such a beautiful young guy.
Speaker E:And then I look at Alonzo G. Had a great career in the NBA, and now he's working with Minnesota in the front office.
Speaker E:And there's so many.
Speaker E:I could list a bunch of guys like that.
Speaker E:But, you know, when I recruited players, we all want great players, but I always wanted really good people, too.
Speaker E:And those guys and a lot of the guys I coach, they're some of the best ever.
Speaker E:So really just makes you really proud of them.
Speaker D:Again, the book is Get It Done, Gid.
Speaker D:Mark, you mind staying on with us for about five more minutes through the break?
Speaker E:Absolutely.
Speaker E:All.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:We're going to take a break and we'll be right back here on Long Island's wgb Sports Talk New York.
Speaker B:You are listening to Sports Talk New York.
Speaker B: FM and: Speaker B:And now back to the show.
Speaker C:And welcome back to the second half of Sports Talk New York here on 95.9 WGB.
Speaker C: Numbers: Speaker C:If you'd like to join us at any point.
Speaker C:And we've been chatting with Mark Gottfried Once again, former NCAA head coach at Murray State, Alabama, NC State, Cal State, Northridge, about his book.
Speaker C:But right now we are very happy to be joined as well by another just like royalty tonight here, Cap, especially on Long Island, Plainview Zone, Seth Greenberg, formerly of Long Beach State, South Florida, Virginia Tech and many TV broadcasts, espn.
Speaker C:It's hard to talk basketball, watch basketball without coming across.
Speaker C:Coach Greenberg.
Speaker C:Coach, welcome again to the program tonight.
Speaker C:How are you.
Speaker G:Doing?
Speaker G:Great.
Speaker G:Any better?
Speaker G:I couldn't stand myself.
Speaker G:You don't need me.
Speaker G:You got three talk like no one can talk.
Speaker D:Well, we're going to let the two you say hi to each other.
Speaker D:Go ahead.
Speaker E:Well, Coach, God,.
Speaker G:Those interviews with you and Coach Harrick and Lorenzo and the crew, that's that, that's, that's television gold, brother.
Speaker E:I'll tell you what, Coach, we, we cried.
Speaker E:I mean, the four of us sat there and we had so much fun and there was tears, there was happiness.
Speaker E:And thank you for bringing that up.
Speaker E:But I'm going to make sure you guys understand now.
Speaker E:And I've coached against Seth's teams and I've known him for years.
Speaker E:And what a magnificent coach and a guy that has transitioned into doing broadcasting I think is the best guy on the planet.
Speaker E:So I couldn't be more happy for Seth and his career and what he's doing and makes me really happy for him.
Speaker E:So, Seth, I love you, man.
Speaker E:You know that.
Speaker G:Back at you, brother.
Speaker G:Back at you.
Speaker G:We go back a long way.
Speaker G:Hey, my favorite was when Coach.
Speaker G:You weren't with coach at Pepperdine, though, right?
Speaker G:You were still playing?
Speaker G:No,.
Speaker E:No, no.
Speaker E:Yeah,.
Speaker G:Yeah.
Speaker G:Coach.
Speaker G:Coach Harrik, I. I go recruiting.
Speaker G:When I was at Long Beach State, Coach Hark would come to the same game and I'd say, coach, how things going?
Speaker G:And he'd go, everything's fine.
Speaker G:At the dime.
Speaker E:These guys, I laughed so.
Speaker G:Hard, it was unbelievable.
Speaker E:I remember walking into.
Speaker E:You guys had the offices at Long Beach State.
Speaker E:It was like a trailer, you guys.
Speaker E:It was like a trailer somewhere with Joe Harrington and all you guys.
Speaker E:That might have been the first time I really got to get to know you a little bit way back then, in the old days.
Speaker G:That was a big.
Speaker G:By the way, guys, if you're listening to this, it wasn't a nice trailer.
Speaker G:It was like this old, brown, dilapidated trailer.
Speaker G:My office was the size of a closet.
Speaker G:Joe Harrington's office was a little bit bigger than the closet.
Speaker G:We had no meeting room.
Speaker G:We had no film room.
Speaker G:We had nothing.
Speaker G:Well, we got some players.
Speaker E:Yes, you did, Coach.
Speaker E:Yes, you did.
Speaker E:Well,.
Speaker D:I'm going to.
Speaker D:I'm going to throw one thing at you, but before I tell you who's going to answer it first, I'll read it out to you so you can think of it.
Speaker D:College basketball has changed more in the last few years than in the previous few decades.
Speaker D:Nil revenue sharing, transfer portal rosters turning over every spring, and even in the fall when we change the NCAA rules in one word, how would you describe the state of the game right now?
Speaker D:Then you can get into maybe what's better and.
Speaker D:And kind of what worries.
Speaker D:But I'm going to choose who goes first.
Speaker D: And since In March of: Speaker C:We're trying to keep Coach Greenberg on here.
Speaker C:Come on, what are you doing?
Speaker D:What I believe was, you know, his.
Speaker D:Probably his last home game at, at Virginia Tech.
Speaker D:I'm going to let you go first, Mark.
Speaker E:I think the word is just chaotic.
Speaker E:I mean, it's still a great game.
Speaker E:The kids are going to play, coaches are going to coach.
Speaker E: at it's going to look like in: Speaker E:And I don't think anybody of us would have ever believed that this would have happened, ever.
Speaker E:And I think most coaches would agree that, you know, hey, it's good that guys get paid some money, but I think what we have now is just absolute chaos.
Speaker E:And I feel for the coaches, I really do.
Speaker E:And it's.
Speaker E:It's a tough.
Speaker E:It's very tough, I think, to build a program the way Coach Greenberg and I did back in the day.
Speaker E:It's very, very difficult.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:And we even heard, I think, Coach Calipari say that basically there's about seven players on his team that are making more than his assistant coaches, which is absolutely insane.
Speaker D:So, Coach Greenberg, you're up next.
Speaker G:There are seven guys on his team.
Speaker G:They're making more money than I made as a head coach, I can tell you that.
Speaker D:That's true.
Speaker G:But, you know, the game is in a great place.
Speaker G:The actual quality of the game, the pace of the game, the flow of the game, the skill of the game.
Speaker G:I think the game's in a great place.
Speaker G:But the business of college basketball is.
Speaker G:Is chaos.
Speaker G:I mean, it's chaos because they.
Speaker G:I love when people say, well, it's professional sports.
Speaker G:Well, if it's professional sports, we are the only professional, professional sport that each and every year we have free agency.
Speaker G:No fresh from sport would have free agency.
Speaker G:Yeah, we try to put guidelines and guardrails in, and then everyone just tries to find a judge to circumvent the guidelines and guardrails.
Speaker G:That doesn't happen in real professional sports.
Speaker G:And finally, the mission of all athletics and college athletics, there's an academic component to that.
Speaker G:And I don't know about you, Mark, but when was the last time you ever heard anyone even talking about value of education?
Speaker G:And never what that does in terms of building bridges for young people to cross when the ball is taken away.
Speaker G:So I think we're in the midst of potentially having some very wealthy at this moment in time, young players.
Speaker G:But I'm not sure that that small percentage is going to outweigh the opportunities that we're missing in terms of helping.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker G:People build a bridge for themselves to cross for the rest of their lives.
Speaker G:And that's my biggest concern about what's going on now.
Speaker E:Yeah, and those are things, too, for you guys to understand.
Speaker E:Like with Seth and I, and for most coaches, those were the things that we.
Speaker E:We felt we had a responsibility for, to help our young guys, you know, get an education, graduate, and then, you know, advance on through all their lives.
Speaker E:And right now, that Part is lost.
Speaker E:And that's a little bit sad to me.
Speaker E:It's sad.
Speaker E:And I guarantee assess the same way because I watched his teams and he had three and four year guys all the time.
Speaker E:You know, all those guys, people don't realize we started recruiting a lot of those kids when they're in the 10th grade, 11th grade.
Speaker E:By the time they're, they're done with it.
Speaker E:We've been with them for five, six, seven, eight years sometimes, you know, relationship.
Speaker E:And that's done too.
Speaker E:So that, that breaks my heart.
Speaker G:I'll give you an appropriate example.
Speaker G:Frankie Edwards played for me at Long Beach State.
Speaker G:All right.
Speaker G:It was one of the first recruits that we started for Long Beach State.
Speaker G:His son Noah is at Avon Old Farms right now.
Speaker G:I got him a scholarship, Avon Farms, he's doing a fifth year.
Speaker G:All right.
Speaker G:I didn't coach Frankie at Long Beach State.
Speaker G:That was over 30 something years ago.
Speaker G:But those relationships, why you got into coaching is at least, and I think Mark and you grew up in it with your family, you got a coach because some, some coach impacted you in a certain way.
Speaker G:Whether like for me it was sitting and listening to Eub Brown at the five star basketball camp, or my JV coach, my freshman coach growing up, Stan Laux, or my high school coach, Irwin Stewart, or my college coach, Alibabo, you know, they, they impact you in a certain way.
Speaker G:And you would say, you know, and we all said the same thing for, for the rest of your life.
Speaker G:So you go to school four years, hopefully at the end of time, these relationships will last the rest of your life.
Speaker G:And you know, for, for our generation of coaches, for Marks and my generation of coaches, that is real.
Speaker G:I mean, the guys that I coached, you know, Jamond Gordon coming to my 70th birthday, surprising me in Florida with his daughter.
Speaker G:All right, that's why we got into coaching.
Speaker G:When going to weddings and hearing about children being born and maybe helping a guy that's kind of, you know, kind of struggle a little bit, kind of getting a guy back online, you know, the first phone call maybe he would make would be to mark myself.
Speaker G:So that's the thing.
Speaker G:That's why we got involved in it and the money came and I'm, you know, obviously that.
Speaker G:But none of us got into it for money because when we started, there was no money.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker C:Coaches, I'd like to ask you real quick about this as well.
Speaker C:So, you know, over the past couple of years, we've had top level coaches.
Speaker C:I mean, Coach K had been around for so long but, you know, he stepped away, Jay Wright steps away, Tony Bennett steps away.
Speaker C:And you could see.
Speaker C:And obviously, and they've even spoken about how it just the current state of basketball and where it's at was something that they just didn't want to be a part of anymore.
Speaker C:And neither right nor wrong, that was their choice.
Speaker C:But then you have, you know, Coach Izzo, who's been around forever, and he still is thriving.
Speaker G:Absolutely miserable.
Speaker C:Yeah, I was going to say, hey, he's thriving in this environment.
Speaker C:What's the.
Speaker C:I mean, what would be the special sauce at this point to be able to kind of, you know, continue on through yet another incarnation of college.
Speaker G:Basketball's?
Speaker G:One of my dearest friends and he has these arguments with me all the time.
Speaker G:Oh, I have this arguments with him.
Speaker G:You know, I say that their culture, first of all, Michigan State is bigger than the problems in college basketball.
Speaker G:Virginia, what's happening with Ryan Odin right now, I think their culture is developing.
Speaker G:There are certain places where you can.
Speaker G:Your culture is bigger than the problems.
Speaker G:And the only thing that I'd be interested in your opinion on this market, I tell guys that I mentor a bunch of guys.
Speaker G:I say, look, pour yourself in your team.
Speaker G:Pour yourself into the reasons you got into it.
Speaker G:If you're going to do it, don't complain about it and do it on your terms, whatever you're comfortable doing.
Speaker G:Some guys are more comfortable going over the top, some are not.
Speaker G:But I think the biggest thing is you're going to do it.
Speaker G:This is the business of college basketball.
Speaker G:In this moment in time, it could change.
Speaker G:But while it is.
Speaker G:This is what it is now, look, one of the reasons it's hard for everyone because, like, Steve Forbes is the coach of Wake Forest.
Speaker G:He is a great coach.
Speaker G:He's a great coach.
Speaker G:Right.
Speaker G:He has no chance because he's got $4 million in his rev share, which is paid for play.
Speaker G:Let's stop calling it nil and let's.
Speaker G:It's pay for play.
Speaker G:Look, he's not beating the teams that are spending 15, 16, 20, 25 million.
Speaker G:It's just the way it is.
Speaker G:So.
Speaker G:But if you're going to do it, pour yourself in your team, enjoy coaching your team.
Speaker G:And, and you know, it is what it is.
Speaker E:I would 100% agree.
Speaker E:And I think like, like you mentioned said, you got it.
Speaker E:If you're going to coach now, you have to accept it and you have to roll with it.
Speaker E:You can't complain about it.
Speaker E:You know, the, the coaches that, you know, whine about it, that doesn't do any good because it's here to stay and it's not going to change.
Speaker E:And you know, hopefully there, there will come a time when they can figure out some sort of collective bargaining where the players can agree and on the rules and have a union of some sort.
Speaker E:But I don't know that we're close to that at all.
Speaker E:So the way it is right now, you got to roll with it.
Speaker E:And it's just a different, just a different, you know, game all the way around.
Speaker E:The stuff off the floor once the game starts, you know, I think it's very similar.
Speaker E:Like Seth said, the game's at a good place.
Speaker E:It's fun to watch, I enjoy watching.
Speaker E:But it's the other things that I think are driving some coaches.
Speaker E:It probably pushed Nick Saban out.
Speaker E:I think he had gotten to a point where he said, this is, this is not enjoyable for me.
Speaker E:And I think every, every person has to come to that place in their own mind.
Speaker D:Well, Coach Godfrey, we appreciate you staying on for a little bit.
Speaker D:We're going to let you go, but it's nice hearing the two of you go back and forth a little bit on the air.
Speaker D:So thanks again for everything and good luck with your book.
Speaker E:Thank you so much.
Speaker E:Great to talk with you.
Speaker E:Seth, always.
Speaker G:Good luck with that book.
Speaker G:Speak to Coach Harris.
Speaker G:Tell me.
Speaker G:Looks great.
Speaker C:And once again with Coach Gottfried's book, you can go to coachmark Godfrey.com Amazon wherever books are sold.
Speaker C:And Coach Greenberg, you know, getting back to you again with your.
Speaker C:We're very excited for many reasons to have you on, but also you, you know, we're a Long island based show.
Speaker C:You're from right down the road here.
Speaker C:Plainview.
Speaker C:JFK alum.
Speaker C:You know, I grew up in Locust Valley, Chris.
Speaker C:Valley Stream.
Speaker C:Just tremendous stuff to see someone from our neck of the woods have such a successful coaching career and now be such a valued voice on tv.
Speaker C:One thing that came up that I wanted to ask you as you and Coach Gottfried were talking, you know, back years ago and maybe not even so, so many years ago, college basketball, big time.
Speaker C:You know, there were the backdoor deals, the things that weren't talked about, the programs we knew that were, you know, quote unquote dirty, whatever else, while it's chaotic now, do you think in some ways maybe it's better that everything's out in the air and it's, it's just, you know, there's no, not that the playing field is level because of, you know, different nil budgets, but that, that part of it is at least not an issue for anybody anymore.
Speaker G:Well, there's still deals being done because you have the agents, the agents aren't certified and the agents are throwing out numbers that aren't real to some guys and negotiating it again with fictitious numbers and basically creating, you know, competition where there's not competition.
Speaker G:I mean, you know, if we have what we have and then all of a sudden the offers that are being offered become public and actually have to be certified, then I would say at least that's a starting point.
Speaker G:But no, I mean, because in the end, yeah, like is it legal?
Speaker G:You know, Rev share is 22.5 million.
Speaker G:Right.
Speaker G:So, well, how.
Speaker G:That's 22, 4 or 5 million.
Speaker G:And how can one school, say in football be spending 50 million?
Speaker G:Right.
Speaker G:Well, for women's basketball, men's basketball.
Speaker G:So you know, what's happening is they're just manipulating the numbers and creating a lot of nil deals, quote, unquote opportunities that probably aren't market value.
Speaker G:And you know, they had this clearinghouse and the clearinghouse, sure, doing the best they can.
Speaker G:There's no way a clearinghouse can touch the number of deals that are being dealt with.
Speaker G:And quite honestly, I'm not sure that half of them are being reported, to be honest with you.
Speaker G:So I mean, look, yeah, when guys just went out and cheated, it was what it was.
Speaker G:I mean, and you know, there was honor amongst thieves when people did what they did.
Speaker G:But what's going on now is we're creating a haves and have nots.
Speaker G:There's always, look, when I'm prison tech, I'm coaching the acc, we didn't conduct our business any way, shape or form like North Carolina, Duke, they had so much more resources.
Speaker G:So you can't legislative level playing field.
Speaker G:But we've just got to find a way to have some guidelines that teams and schools and individuals have to be held accountable for.
Speaker G:And like even that five on five, the five and five year that's not supposed to circle this year.
Speaker G:Well, you know, people are just going to find a judge to basically get a TRO and get these guys eligible.
Speaker G:And I use the analogy, I drive to ESPN every day.
Speaker G:When I go there, it's 40 miles an hour going down Route 177.
Speaker G:Well, I go 50 and I get, say I get pulled over for a ticket and three weeks later they change the speed limit to 50 miles an hour.
Speaker G:I still have to pay for that.
Speaker G:That ticket.
Speaker G:Yes, if that's the rule in that moment in time.
Speaker G:Well, here's the Deal.
Speaker G:The rule hasn't changed yet.
Speaker G:All right, so the.
Speaker G:All these guys that are getting these tros and winning in the courts.
Speaker G:Not on the court, but in the courts, you know, they're just finding judges.
Speaker G:And we've got even guy at, you know, RJ Godfrey, who I really, really like.
Speaker G:He's suing the board of regents at Arizona to try to get eligible to play.
Speaker G:He's suing his own school.
Speaker C:Unbelievable.
Speaker G:So, I mean, it's crazy, but look, things have changed.
Speaker G:I mean, when I was playing high school basketball back in Plainview, my brother Officer was a great player at Plainview Kennedy.
Speaker G:And it was all county player and a null American.
Speaker G:It was a different time.
Speaker G:But basketball, Long island back then was really good.
Speaker G:It was Beaver Smith.
Speaker G:It was, you know, my brother.
Speaker G:It was Frankie Elijah.
Speaker G:I mean, they were just, you know, Mitch Kubchak.
Speaker G:They were great players and great teams, and it was a great time to grow up there.
Speaker D:What was it like growing up there in the 70s and.
Speaker D:And kind of, you know, did a lot of your.
Speaker G:That sounds old.
Speaker C:No, no, no, no, no.
Speaker C:I grew up in the 80s.
Speaker C:Chris is a youngster, so just give him a pass.
Speaker C:Coach.
Speaker C:I'm sorry about that.
Speaker G:Shoot.
Speaker G:I. I grew up.
Speaker G:I graduated in the early 70s.
Speaker D:So what was it like there?
Speaker D:And did your basketball come a lot?
Speaker D:I know your dad played at LIU for Claire B.
Speaker D:Was it?
Speaker D:Did a lot of your basketball come from your dad?
Speaker G:Yeah, my dad.
Speaker G:My dad.
Speaker G:It started with him.
Speaker G:I mean, his passion and love for the game was basically passed down to myself, my brother.
Speaker G:But then Brad was such a good player.
Speaker G:He played.
Speaker G:They must have south side in the kind of championship.
Speaker G:And he was a junior.
Speaker G:A guy named Howie Garfield called a five star basketball camp back then, was at the game and Brad had about 36.
Speaker G:He had local range before it was even.
Speaker G:People talked about local range.
Speaker G:And after the game, he stopped us.
Speaker G:And I was.
Speaker G:I was a freshman, but I played the playoffs with the varsity and invited him to five star basketball camp and five star basketball camp.
Speaker G:Every great player at that time.
Speaker G:That was before AU basketball and grassroots and all that other stuff.
Speaker G:And we went to the five star camp and that changed our lives.
Speaker G:Harry Garfinkel built the bridge for us who wanted a coach to cross, because being at the camp as a camper and then as a counselor and as a lecturer and as a head coach there, you got a chance to coach in front of the best coaches in America, and you got a chance to develop relationships.
Speaker G:And so the five star camp had A big part to do with it.
Speaker G:My dad had a big part to do with it.
Speaker G:And we spent every single summer, Brad and I, 12 weeks either working five star or driving all around the country, whether it's Pokemon Vocational Camp or Higher University camp or wherever we there was a camp, we'd work it.
Speaker G:And that was our networking.
Speaker G:That was how we built a resume without ever coaching.
Speaker G:And that's what enabled us to.
Speaker G:Instead of starting in high school, my first job was at Fordham for Tom Penders for about a month.
Speaker G:And then I got hired on it, Columbia University as a full time assistant coach at 21, just graduating from Fairleigh Dickinson, where I was then coaching a bunch of guys that were a whole lot smarter than me in Columbia.
Speaker C:Coach, did you ever get a chance to work for coach Gus Alfieri at all American campaigns?
Speaker G:Yeah, sure, sure, I worked Coach Alfieri.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, because.
Speaker G:Yeah, and drove kids and drove kids to camp and got paid like $5 extra.
Speaker G:But yeah, I worked Coach Alferi's camp.
Speaker G:Ken Brood was there at that point.
Speaker G:He was a high school player and I worked that camp.
Speaker G:But we worked Luther Camp a week or two.
Speaker G:But yeah, that's what we did all summer.
Speaker G:Actually.
Speaker G:I worked Coach Alferi's camp my senior high school.
Speaker G:That's when I first started working there.
Speaker G:I think I did two or three weeks there every summer.
Speaker C:I was actually lucky enough to work his last year, God rest assault with his camp.
Speaker C:And, and I gotta tell you, he, he coached exactly the way that you thought he would have coached, you know, 30 years prior.
Speaker C:I mean, it was unbelievable.
Speaker C:The love and passion for basketball.
Speaker C:Yeah, just, just tremendous.
Speaker C:One other name I wanted to throw at you from Long Island Basketball as well.
Speaker C:Frank Morris.
Speaker G:Oh yeah, Coach Morris.
Speaker G:Yeah.
Speaker G:Actually I got a chance to spend some time with Coach Morris when he moved to Florida when I was an assistant in Miami.
Speaker G:And what they, what they had at Rockville center going on, obviously Frankie was a big part of that in St Agnes and the way they played, being the Cream brothers and the speed they played with and the force they played with.
Speaker G:And then we spent the summer, obviously Hickey Field.
Speaker G:Our high school team played summer league at Hickey Field, which obviously we play against all those guys.
Speaker G:And then the rec center in Rockville Center.
Speaker C:Oh yeah,.
Speaker G:Had great, had great Prospect park in American.
Speaker G:And obviously the pickup games at the rec center and Rockville center were.
Speaker C:Legendary.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker G:Yeah, we're great.
Speaker G:I mean that's where we, you know, we would just go to find a good run.
Speaker G:I mean, when we go to Prospect Park.
Speaker G:I mean, that was, you know, Bobby McKillop, Jimmy O'.
Speaker G:Brien.
Speaker G:Matt Doherty was just a little kid back then.
Speaker G:You'd go there.
Speaker G:Rick patino, I mean, McKill would get a fight every single night.
Speaker G:You'd go there.
Speaker G:If you got knocked off, you know, you'd sit for an hour.
Speaker G:You know, I mean, you'd sit for an hour.
Speaker G:But it was outdoor basketball as soon as the spring game.
Speaker G:I mean, every single shoot.
Speaker G:I.
Speaker G:You know, my.
Speaker G:My mom let us go every single.
Speaker G:Like Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Speaker G:We were there until late at night.
Speaker G:Ballin'.
Speaker C:I. I worked Coach McKillop's camp at Lewis Shooting Camp when I was a young coach.
Speaker C:When.
Speaker C:When he would come back from Davidson and there would be.
Speaker C:There would be fights during the council of game every day.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:And he would be there smiling.
Speaker C:And I would be.
Speaker C:I would say to myself, what the heck is going on here?
Speaker C:But that was business as usual.
Speaker G:Yeah.
Speaker G:No, no.
Speaker G:Games are incredibly competitive.
Speaker G:Bobby was most competitive of anyone.
Speaker G:Judy o'.
Speaker G:Brien.
Speaker G:And Bobby would go at it like crazy.
Speaker G:And, you know, Ralph Wren.
Speaker G:And there were so many good players with Tracy Kid who went to Tennessee.
Speaker G:Howie Frankel was the guy that brought all those guys down from the Queens era.
Speaker G:But, yeah, look, it was a great time.
Speaker G:And, you know, you were in love with the game.
Speaker G:You were loving competing, you played against other good players.
Speaker G:You know, we were all chasing something that, you know, Long island was a great place to grow up.
Speaker G:I mean, I was born in Queens, moved to Long Island.
Speaker G:My dad played at Thomas Jefferson High School, played for Claire B. I mean, it was.
Speaker G:It was in.
Speaker G:It was in our blood.
Speaker G:We used to take the train from Hicksville to go to holiday festival every year.
Speaker G:Then I won a holiday festival twice as the head coach at Virginia Tech.
Speaker G:So that was kind of a.
Speaker G:Kind of full circle moment for me.
Speaker D:Coach, we have to talk a little bit of hoops here.
Speaker D:So the season obviously tips off much earlier than it has in maybe, you know, 10, 15 years ago.
Speaker D:Season tips off.
Speaker D:November 1st in Rome.
Speaker D:Notre Dame beats Villanova.
Speaker D:What did you learn in the first week of the season that maybe you didn't know?
Speaker D:In October, is there a big takeaway?
Speaker G:Your players are better.
Speaker G:You saw that happen.
Speaker G:What happened tonight, today with Virginia?
Speaker G:Absolutely, you know, just kicking Arkansas's rear end.
Speaker G:We've got the style of plays is really good.
Speaker G:I think people play more.
Speaker G:Four or five out more.
Speaker G:Float the game.
Speaker G:I was at the Providence, Nebraska game yesterday.
Speaker G:Now, that was a frog fight, but I think teams are Going to take take time to develop identities and define roles.
Speaker G:I think identities are easier.
Speaker G:Like you know, identity is immediate, but getting guys to buy into roles is a little bit more difficult.
Speaker G:I think that'll take time.
Speaker G:I think because of the 76 teams in the tournament you're going to use.
Speaker G:You look at these non conference schedules people are playing and it's absolutely, oh,.
Speaker C:It's bonkers.
Speaker G:It's incredible.
Speaker G:So I think the game, look, the game's in a great place.
Speaker G:The game's in a great place.
Speaker G:I think we have more good teams.
Speaker G:You know, the interesting Florida plays is playing Florida State on Tuesday.
Speaker G:We've got the Champions Classic Tuesday.
Speaker G:So I mean we've got more good games but you know, the teams are all works in progress.
Speaker G:But you know the great thing we're covering the players ERA in Las Vegas.
Speaker G:Players ERA 8 and 16.
Speaker G:So I'll be out there.
Speaker G:So I'm going to get a good chance to see a bunch of teams, but there's a lot of different ways to win and I think that, you know, right now I wouldn't say there's any been huge surprises.
Speaker G:Older teams are going to be a little bit more prepared than younger teams.
Speaker G:And you know, you've got a lot of new coaches, new places.
Speaker G:Now you look at the acc, you got, you know, Luke Murray, you got obviously Michael Malone who's going to do just a killer job at North Carolina.
Speaker G:So it's a good time, man.
Speaker G:It's a good time.
Speaker C:Yeah, Coach, I wanted to ask as well, you know, I'm sure it's easier to see in person and kind of be able to break it down, but with so many players changing places, as you mentioned, and it's early, is the game a little, is it not?
Speaker C:I don't want to use the term, Rusty, I think that's incorrect.
Speaker C:But is it a little bit sloppier earlier on or now that, you know, guys are playing, you know, September, October, they're playing through it all out the summer, getting to know each other, early season.
Speaker C:Is there any.
Speaker C:I mean, obviously everybody gets better as the year gets on, but is there a market difference that you see or is the level just so good right now that, you.
Speaker G:Know.
Speaker G:No, I mean teams are still working like look, certain teams depends on how you use the summer.
Speaker G:You get eight weeks in the summer and that's why we gotta have summer basketball.
Speaker G:We got to have at the end of four weeks we should have that weekend a chance to play games.
Speaker G:And then at the end of the summer we should have a chance for these teams to play games.
Speaker G:It'd be good.
Speaker G:Nil games to raise money.
Speaker G:But I get like, look, if you go, I go to a bunch of UConn practices, you, you know, Dan Hurley is going to run practice.
Speaker G:I mean, it's no different than the practice during the regular season.
Speaker G:I mean, more offense, putting in concepts and things of that nature.
Speaker G:But it takes time.
Speaker G:If you don't retain players to get.
Speaker G:I don't care.
Speaker G:Even if you practice it early, if you don't.
Speaker G:If you, if you.
Speaker G:You've got nine new guys and, and you're relying on freshmen, you know, you got to get.
Speaker G:First you got to teach freshmen to redefine playing hard.
Speaker G:Then you got to redefine what.
Speaker G:What.
Speaker G:What a good shot is and, and understanding how to play the right way and the ball can't get stuck.
Speaker G:And it's not about you, it's about the team.
Speaker G:Then you got to teach them how to defend.
Speaker G:Not, not just defend the ball, but to fend off the ball.
Speaker G:How we rotate matter fronts, how we rotate meta blitz, how we rotate at a big to big doubles, how we rotate, you know, in a scram situation.
Speaker G:So there's so much for these young players to learn and process.
Speaker G:It's a new glossary, it's a new system.
Speaker G:It's a new intensity.
Speaker G:Learning how to practice every day.
Speaker G:I mean, you go from high school, as good as those freshmen are at Arkansas, you go from a high school practice to having to get ready to play the schedule that like, say Arkansas is going to play.
Speaker G:You got no chance.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker D:Coach give us.
Speaker G:It just takes time.
Speaker D:Coach give us one name of a player we should watch this year.
Speaker D:Don't.
Speaker D:A game not to miss.
Speaker G:I don't know.
Speaker G:I don't have the schedule.
Speaker G:I'd say, you know, just any game in players era 8 and 16 is ridiculous, but is there a player to watch?
Speaker G:Classic's going to be ridiculous in terms of.
Speaker G:Of.
Speaker G:Of.
Speaker G:Of players.
Speaker G:I mean, you know, I mean, like I.
Speaker G:There are certain guys, like, I love Dom A Sar because I think he's going to be one of the most improved players in the country.
Speaker G:You know, he's a Duke player.
Speaker G:People, people will know him and, you know, have a better understanding of, you know, what he's all about.
Speaker G:Illinois is a team that you're going to really want to watch offensively for sure.
Speaker G:They're explosive up and down the floor.
Speaker G:Now, you know, Peji Stakovic's son is a really good player.
Speaker G:He's not a Great shooter, but he is a really, really, really good basketball player.
Speaker G:I mean, you know, we've got, you know, we've got guys that are learning how to play like this.
Speaker G:Freshman class isn't as good, but.
Speaker G:Boom J, boom Jae.
Speaker G:His skill set is, is, it's, it's incredible.
Speaker G:I mean, he's 72 with a 73 wingspan.
Speaker G: s he averaged: Speaker C:Jeez.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker C:Unbelievable.
Speaker G:Yeah.
Speaker G:Chris Custer risk a kid at UCLA as a kid.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker G:A lot of people probably know about.
Speaker G:He is, he is a ridiculous, ridiculous talent.
Speaker G:Big.
Speaker D:Upset Arizona.
Speaker G:Yeah, they played really well.
Speaker G:I mean, you know, this is Mick's best offensive team.
Speaker G:I mean, they're really.
Speaker G:This is, this is a good offensive team.
Speaker G:The SEC is going to be ridiculous all season long.
Speaker G:It's going to be back to where it was.
Speaker G:Mari Allen at Alabama is a really fun guy to watch with the skill set.
Speaker G:We've just got more good players and Florida's most talented team in the country as long as they get their guard play straight now.
Speaker C:Well, coach Seth Greenberg, thanks so much.
Speaker C:We wish you all the best safe travels this year.
Speaker C:It's great to hear you on and as a representative of Long island basketball, you know, it was great once again for you to represent us.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker G:All right, Strong island, let's.
Speaker C:Go.
Speaker C:You got it.
Speaker C:Thanks so much, Cap.
Speaker C:Great show tonight.
Speaker C:College basketball in full effect.
Speaker C:We'll keep talking that and in a couple of weeks we'll be back with a little post Thanksgiving show as well.
Speaker C:Thanks to Brian Grace, behind the glass Artfree.
Speaker C:Get his book and we'll see you in a couple of weeks, everybody.
Speaker A:The views expressed in the previous program did not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of WGBB.
Speaker H: This is WGBB AM:
