Podcast Links:
Travis Hansen Interview:
Hansen: “LeBron is a fun guy to watch, he doesn’t have the same killer instinct as Kobe or MJ.”
Hansen: “He’s the most unguardable player we’ve had in a long time, there’s been times where I’ve seen him dish it out where I think she should’ve taken the shot himself.”
Hansen: “The way that he can lead his team is an absolute gift and talent.”
Hansen: “David Blatt coached me in Russia, and I have some insight on it, but LeBron gives you confidence to think you can win.”
Hansen: “I think that it’s been a great, competitive series and hope it stays so.”
Hansen: “How do you teach a kid to be nice off the court but a killer on the court?”
Hansen: “He’s a killer on the court, not since Danny Ainge have we had a guy fighting on the court, diving on guys and biting them.”
Hansen: “Delly is a tough dude, he gets in your head and knows how to bother you. He’s a guy you want on your team and what he does is something that’s hard to teach.”
Hansen: “If Tyler doesn’t make the NBA, he will make a lot of money elsewhere. He has worked hard at everything he has accomplished so far.”
Hansen: “Tyler signed with Bill Duffy who’s my agent….whom I also think is the best in the business.”
Hansen: “Sometimes people get complacent once they’ve seen some success.”
Hansen: “Once he gets to BYU he needs to not be satisfied, he needs to want more.”
How We See It:
Twestion: Why does Bryce Harper hate BYU?
Criddle: “How many catholics hate Notre Dame? How many Southern Methodists hate SMU?”
Hicken: “So do you know where Harper is from?”
Criddle: “Las Vegas.”
Hicken: “Right, he’s a vegas kid through and through. I have a friend who has committed to play baseball at UNLV and he said that Bryce is a big time donor for their program and he is in the dug out for a lot of games, why? Because his JUCO coach, Tim Chambers, is now the Head Coach at UNLV.”
Criddle: “Come on man, I’m not buying it.”
Hicken: “Well, then look at what BYU did to UNLV while they were in the MWC.”
Criddle: “On the hardwood, on the football field, BYU completely dominated them.”
Gurney: “He had a girlfriend who played at BYU and she ain’t his girlfriend no more.”
Criddle: “A lot of people think BYU is the church and if you diss BYU you diss the church.”
Gurney: “BYU is a very polarizing place.”
Criddle: “My favorite football player of all time was the guy who wore the jersey in the XFL that said ‘He Hate Me’.”
Cougar Insider Report:
Criddle: “Some of the top players in the state of Utah: Frank Jackson, Yoeli Childs, Koby McEwan, and Brendan Bailey.”
Gurney: “Gavin Baxter should be right there with Yoeli Childs, he has athleticism that jumps through the roof.”
Gurney: “Zac Seljaas is a very polished player, but I don’t think that Baxter has even gotten close to reaching his potential.”
Criddle: “Tyler wasn’t able to get into the MC whenever he wanted, he would have to call Tim LaComb to let him in.”
Criddle: “I think BYU football will be more of a gradual trend while BYU basketball is going to increase exponentially.”
5:00 Segment:
Criddle: “Do you think Jimmer could take Delly in a fight?”
Gurney: “No way.”
Hicken: “Delly is too dirty, he would be throwing cheap shots, some street fighter rules, so no rules.”
Gurney: “My one experience with Delly was when I went to cover a game at St. Mary’s a few years ago and after the game was over, he was talking to a few people… as I go walking past he yells, ‘Hey, hey! Thanks for the coverage!'”
Criddle: “Kyle Dean hasn’t been drafted yet, so he will be arriving at BYU. He told teams not to draft him.”
Criddle: “Vic So’oto is trying his hand at rugby, he got an invite to a 7’s try out for the state of Utah.”
Criddle: “He said he’d have to trim down to 225, but the US 7’s coach really liked him in terms of physicality.”
Criddle: “He said that rugby is kind of like Smear the… other guy with the ball.”
Gurney: “Vic was Bronco’s first recruit and I remember his first play he fired off and just destroyed the guy across from him, he was so physical.”
Criddle: RE: Gavin Baxter “He’s 6’7″ but has a 7’2″ wingspan, who knows if he’ll grow more but he already has a lot of length.”
Gurney: “I think that Seljaas will play the 2 guard, he’s got good handles, he’s athletic, and he’s quick. I wouldn’t say Kyle Collinsworth good, but he’s very similar.”
Gurney: “Athletically, I compare Gavin Baxter to Brekkot Chapman.”
Criddle: “Four recruits from the state of Utah are in the top 100 for ESPN.”
Gurney: “Brendan Brailey is a good defender, he shoots a lot like his Dad.”
Criddle: “Bingham won the Ute Shoot this past weekend, a lot of it had to do with Keaton Torre and according to Riley Jensen he has the most live arm out of any player he’s ever seen.”
Gurney: “Jaren Hall is a great QB, I thought he’d be an athlete playing QB but he can drop back and sling it.”
Criddle: “Ty Jones has very strong hands, he can go up and get it.”
Gurney: “I think the most significant thing about him is that he’s still playing at Provo.”
Criddle: “Should BYU delegate more scholarships to QB’s?”
Criddle: “Look at how many outside linebackers BYU has on scholarship, you think that they would be able to divide that up.”
Ray Feinga Interview:
Criddle: “If we did a top 5 of the best linemen during the Mendenhall era, this guy would be one of them.”
Criddle: “I don’t know that he lifted weights until he was 24 years old, but when he did he lifted more than anyone.”
Criddle: “I think the offensive line sets the pace in practice, and in the weight room.”
Feinga: “Right, it’s up to the hogs to make the team go.”
Feinga: “Lui, Tejan, and Ryker have stuck out to me. They are great talent and hard workers.”
Feinga: “Lui is an athlete, everything he does out on the field looks like habit.”
Feinga: “Lui is an NFL offensive lineman. He has to tweak a few things but he has the size and the length.”
Feinga: “If he can get his steps and his hand placements down, he’ll be on his way to the NFL.”
Criddle: “I think there are two things that lead to success for BYU, one is a talented QB or 2-3 NFL offensive linemen.”
Feinga: “I think that Ryker could go to the NFL if he stays healthy his senior year, I also think that Tejan could, I know he’s short but he plays so hard.”
Feinga: “Tujague loves his guys, if you want to get the most out of your guys you have to love them on and off the field.”
Feinga: “He’s a technician and teaches great technique for his players.”
Feinga: “When I was playing it seems like it’s pass first, but now it seems like it’s run first but I think it’s working and I expect them to have the same success next year.”
Feinga: “I’d like to get into coaching, I still keep in touch with coaches and I am going to try and intern during training camp sometime.”
Criddle: “The winning edge are these two parallel bars that you have to jump up on and extend your arms completely and you go across these bars for 10 yards.”
Criddle: “Do you expect Ray Feinga to do that? They’d have to do that then do pull ups.”
Gurney: “Everyone on the team would do it, including John Beck’s dad, Wendell.”
Gurney: “No one could keep a straight face, especially John.”
Jay Yeomans Interview:
Yeoman: “It’s really interesting to see that between Utah State, Weber State, Utah, and BYU there have only been 19 guys drafted in the first round.”
Yeoman: “Utah State has only had one guy drafted in the first round, same with Weber State but BYU has had 7 in the first round and 10 for Utah.”
Criddle: “How good was Mel Hutchins back in the day?”
Yeoman: “I didn’t see a great amount of video. I think that a lot of people forget the early days of the NBA. If he had stayed healthy, he would’ve been a Hall of Famer, he made a few all star games and was in the top 10 in the MVP votes.”
Yeoman: “Lillard could be number one on this list easily, a lot of it has to do with longevity and if he can stay healthy he could be a dominant player in the NBA.”
Yeoman: “I think the Alvin Gentry as the head coach will be good fit for Jimmer.”
Yeoman: “I think it’s time for Jimmer to go to Europe and make a name for himself once again.”
Yeoman: “Americans go to Europe and they are expected to shoot and score. He would probably make money there and become a legend there.”
Yeoman: “I think Payton Dastrup has an NBA skill-set. If he puts some weight on he could be a first round pick.”
Yeoman: “I think that if Kyle can come in and put in a ton of work and work on his shooting he could be a first round pick once again.”
Criddle: “It looks like you were able to find a piece of paper to scribble some notes on, is that.. someone’s W-9?”
Gurney: “It is, it’s Spencer White’s. Sorry Spencer!”
Gurney: “Getting that first offer is a validation, he was first offered by Utah State but then Arizona State.”
Gurney: “BYU was in touch the whole time, but it sounds like they had to figure out some mission things and once they did, they offered him.”
Gurney: “Gavin Baxter said he doesn’t like playing a half court offense, he loves to run and gun.”
Gurney: “That is the play of Coach Rose, of Zac Seljaas, TJ Haws, and Eric Mika. Eric Mika runs the floor as good as any big man I’ve ever seen.”
Gurney: “The reason I’m buying into BYU basketball is because they are bringing in some talented kids who can run Coach Rose’s offense.”
Criddle: “Gavin is going to be on our show at 6:30 so Brandon, you get to interview him again!”
Gurney: “Gavin, I am so sorry.”
Gurney: “I remember as a sophomore there was a national media guy who said that Frank was a top 50 recruit in the nation at that time.”
Criddle: “Do you feel that the house is divided? Al looks at all the schools offering and is excited about his potential while Mom wants to see how he develops academically and as a person.”
Gurney: “The only top schools who aren’t interested in Frank right now are Kansas and Kentucky.”
Gurney: “He’s talented enough that if he showed any interest in Kentucky then he would start getting recruited.”
Gavin Baxter Interview:
Baxter: “I like that BYU gets up and down the court and that’s what I like to do so that’s why I came here.”
Baxter: “It does help having longer arms to be able to get up and block shots.”
Criddle: “You’re arms remind me of Inspector Gadget, I’m watching your highlight film and I just see this arm fly up above the rim and block a shot.”
Baxter: “That’s not the first time I heard that, but I’ll say that you coined it.”
Baxter: “I’ll see if there’s any other nicknames I like but if not then I’ll just stick to that.”
Baxter: “I haven’t been on my official yet, but I go down there every once in a while to watch them practice or scrimmage and I like what they’re doing down there.”
Criddle: “JT said he played with you when you were a freshman in HS and he said his jaw dropped when he saw how athletic you were.”
Baxter: “I remember playing with him and he’d pull up from 40 feet and just shoot it.”
Baxter: “I like to slash to the basket and I also like to shoot too.”
Baxter: “I have been working on my ball handling a little bit, I would say that and court awareness are two of my biggest weaknesses. I also need to put on a little bit of weight, I have the frame to do it so I have to do it.”
Baxter: “I’ve been trying to get in the weight room a lot more, as well as spending some time in the gym.”
Baxter: “My Mom ran track back in the day, I think she had a couple of records that she set back in the day.”
Baxter: “I got the height from my Dad and my athleticism from my Mom.”
Baxter: “Tim LaComb said that when I take my official that we’ll be going golfing. I wish I had some special made clubs but I have to use normal people clubs unfortunately.”
Baxter: “I’ll be going on a mission right out of high school. I plan to leave in mid-May or the beginning of June.”
Gurney: “I coined the best nickname ever.”
Criddle: “I say it’s a look-a-like, you say it’s a nickname, you coined Eric Mika as Ivan Drago.”
Criddle: “ESPN picked it up, it took off like wildfire, why do you say you coined it?”
Gurney: “I called him that after the first time I saw him play in HS early in his Senior year at LP.”
Criddle: “Maybe I shouldn’t be talking about it, anyone who gives them self the nick name ‘The Mongoose’ has problems.”
Random Thoughts:
Gurney: “I like being known as G-Man, that’s my old CB monicker back from when I was nothing.”
Gurney: “I worked my way up from the bottom.”
Criddle: “I just found out that Jeremy Mauss plays water polo.”
Mauss: “I play with some guys from the club at Utah. I know that there’s even a former olympian who plays with us.”
Gurney: “BYU camps are coming up and it’s time for BYU to go and get those commitments from in-state players.”
