Juniata Men's Basketball Show

The Grinch of Thanksgiving?

• Thomas Frank, Drew Besket, Greg Curley • Season 3 • Episode 65

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In this week’s episode of The Juniata Men's Basketball Show, Tom, Biz, and Coach Curley dive into Thanksgiving week. The trio kicks off by sharing their love (and occasional gripes) about Thanksgiving traditions, from turkey and stuffing to acceptable napping.

On the basketball front, the team reflects on two hard-fought losses: a nail-biting overtime thriller against Lycoming and a defensive grind against Scranton. Coach Curley provides insight into the team’s growing pains, emphasizing the progress made by a young roster learning to compete at the college level. The discussion highlights the team's resilience, defensive strides, and the importance of focusing on process over results.

Looking ahead, the Eagles face a formidable test against the undefeated Gwynedd Mercy Griffins. With key players sidelined and the team adjusting to new roles, the challenge is steep—but the optimism is strong. The crew also fields a listener question about the changing landscape of college athletics, touching on NIL deals and the future of college sports.

Tune in for a mix of candid coaching insights, Thanksgiving banter, and a deep dive into the evolving season for the Juniata Eagles.

🎧 Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you catch your podcasts! Got a burning question for the guys? Hit us up on Instagram @JuniataBasketballShow and show some love for the show at https://juniatabasketballshow.buzzsprout.com. Let's hoop it up! 🏀


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Tom:

I'm Tom Frank, I'm Drew Beskett, I'm the head coach, greg Curley, and this is the Juniata Men's Basketball Show. Welcome listeners. I'm Tom Frank and I'm joined each and every week by Drew Beskett, aka Biz, and your Juniata head men's basketball coach, greg Curley. As we talk, all things Juniata men's college basketball. All right, before we get into anything, let's pause for a minute and acknowledge the fact it's Thanksgiving week it's Thanksgiving.

Biz:

We love Thanksgiving.

Tom:

Right, there's got to be things we're thankful for.

Biz:

Save Thanksgiving. Hashtag save Thanksgiving.

Tom:

It's personally one of my, it might be my favorite holiday Really, yes, I love.

Biz:

Thanksgiving man. I think it's my favorite holiday really. Yes, I love thanksgiving man.

Tom:

I think it's my favorite holiday and here's why there's no pressure of get of gifts, no pressure, which I feel like immense pressure about gifts. So there's no pressure that you get to eat turkey, which I love, stuffing or filling. Do you eat?

Biz:

turkey like uh, throughout the year, or is year, or is this a one-shot deal for you?

Tom:

You know it's funny. You should ask that because I've been thinking about this very question. I normally do not, but lately at Sam's Club they make this roasted turkey thing that you put in the crock pot, and it's been my go-to dinner every so often.

Coach Curley:

Yeah, because it's very good.

Tom:

And I miss turkey because I usually don't eat it other than Thanksgiving, or if I'm at a Virginia Tech game and you get a big turkey leg.

Biz:

Dude, isn't that like cannibalism? Aren't you like eating your mascot?

Tom:

Oh yeah, I guess it is. I guess it'd be like serving an eagle at a juniatic, it's like that, oregon that whatever progressive commercial, yeah, I at a junior. It's like that, that Oregon, that whatever progressive commercial.

Biz:

Yeah, I got my famous charred duck. Anyway, sorry, I digress, so continue so yeah, and the other reason it's football.

Tom:

Oh, football, you're supposed to watch football and it's okay if you fall asleep during the day cause you just blame it on the Turkey Tryptophan.

Biz:

It's real real, so for those reasons it's my favorite holiday.

Tom:

I like it, man, I'm with you, dude Stuffing.

Biz:

I love stuffing. Do you call it stuffing or filling?

Tom:

Stuffing all day. Okay, yeah, I like stuffing. I'll give a shout out to my mother, who makes the best stuffing in the world.

Biz:

I ask I would bet every mother does. Yeah, I'm sure, I'm sure my mother, she made some outstanding stuffing, outstanding stuffing. Stovetop makes good stuff no, no, it does not for hey, for like a quick pinch. No, all right. No, all right in the gravy dude. I think that's the key, gravy's key. Yeah, oh, and hold on, I'm all hungry now. All right, we need a cranberry, we need a cranberry sauce, survey can or homemade, neither.

Coach Curley:

Ooh, I'd probably go canned. I like canned, but I like both Canned.

Biz:

Canned all day. It slides right out.

Tom:

I think I made the mistake of telling my grandmother one time that I liked cranberry sauce, and then she got like she would always set it aside for me. To the point where I'm like I me to the point where I'm like I think I was just being polite. And now for years. I had to eat. I mean she would send it to me in college.

Biz:

Yeah, that's nice, it was nice.

Tom:

I appreciated it, yeah. So what are we doing at Juniata? What's what's going on? Is there, is there a Thanksgiving? Is everybody go home, or or do you? Do anything for those that stay there.

Coach Curley:

Well, uh, we'll have to double check that. But I think where everybody's located, um, I have to check with see what a couple guys are doing. But uh, we um play tuesday night at going to mercy and uh, probably, you know, we have a lot of what eastern pa dc maryland guys that probably probably will go home from there. If not, we'll travel back. Most guys will travel somewhere on Wednesday and then we'll be back. This year we're not actually back until Saturday because we don't have a weekend game, so they get a little bit more of a break than usual.

Coach Curley:

That's good, and so they'll be home for Thanksgiving and we'll be back here Saturday.

Biz:

And then our first Little Eagles clinic of the year is sunday.

Tom:

So, ah, the little eagles, yeah, that's good. So you let kids are allowed, like I guess in high school you know, like in high school you took the bus somewhere, you had to return on the bus. That was like policy, yeah, you can like go somewhere and they just leave.

Coach Curley:

They just like grab their stuff and roll out over break periods, yeah, I mean over break periods, and then we obviously record it and and uh, go through all the the appropriate steps. But, uh, yes, uh, particularly the travel we have and, um, you know, teams that go on spring break or other things that have break periods, other teams get in these situations sometimes too. So, yeah, I mean we'll have a share. We'll have our share of guys that travel back with us, some of the more local guys, guys that maybe their parents can't get there. They have cars here, so guys from other areas.

Biz:

Some of our guys will go together.

Coach Curley:

Some of the guys out of town will go together, which is I always talk about it. I remember in college we always played in a tournament on Friday and Saturday, so we didn't actually get Thanksgiving Day a lot of times, or we would practice like first thing Friday, maybe it was Saturday, sunday, but I think it was Friday, saturday. I remember I, you know, we would stay up there Thanksgiving at Coach's house or you guys remember Lump, his parents would come on. We would go to Thanksgiving dinner as a group. One year I think all the seniors we made it ourselves.

Coach Curley:

So I mean it's one of those things I think when you play in college when you guys mentioned Thanksgiving it's always kind of just in there for us in basketball, always kind of just in there for us in basketball. In some ways it's uh hard because, uh, the travel, uh we'll probably nick and I'll probably try to sneak recruiting in on wednesday and friday and try to get out to practices, um, and do that stuff. So uh, it doesn't change a whole lot, but it'll be a chance to at least slow down a little bit and will you have a turkey on on thanksgiving?

Coach Curley:

uh, that's not my, uh, that's not my area of expertise. I just sort of again, generally I'm in here in the morning or doing stuff and then I meet them for dinner and get out of here. I get in trouble because I was just talking to Nick about this. I always say you know, thanksgiving really is just a big meal and it's a made-up day. You could do it any day of the year and say you're having Thanksgiving. So sometimes I'm not. Probably I might be the grinch of thanksgiving. Apparently you are.

Tom:

I've never heard anybody say anything about that. I don't enjoy it.

Coach Curley:

I enjoy thanksgiving, or maybe it's the basketball coach in me that is just like sometimes like all right, um, I get it, but we can. We can rally the troops at any time and have a really nice meal and hang out. It's probably not stuck to a date like some other holidays, but that's all right, it's Thanksgiving.

Biz:

Wow, tom, I didn't know Grinch was Thanksgiving.

Coach Curley:

I'm not bashing Thanksgiving, you just bashed an.

Tom:

American holiday One of the best? No, I did not. I'm just saying, it's just always.

Biz:

Junior out of basketball coach, we buried the Thanksgiving Dang. Now will you? If anybody's stuck on campus man, do you have them over for Thanksgiving?

Coach Curley:

Yeah, Nick or I will. We'll do that. We've had a few guys. Now again, it's what we have to check to see what guys are doing, what they're planning on doing, and we'll invite them over Again. Sometimes they just go to family or friends that are around here or they'll go to whatever.

Tom:

Where is Tuesday's game? What city is that college in?

Coach Curley:

It's out in Philly or north of Philly.

Tom:

Oh man, I think maybe for the guys coming back let's hit somewhere fun for dinner on the way back. Let's do a little celebration, a little fun, no matter what happens in the game.

Coach Curley:

I think it's a 7 o'clock game, you're right.

Tom:

What do we care? We're kids.

Biz:

We can eat at 10.

Tom:

I'm sure they don't care Like a little country place.

Coach Curley:

We take care of them, they'll have something good to eat on the way back, got to get your calories, man?

Biz:

I remember when old coach was a player, he had to pound out that 10,000-calorie-a-day diet. Dude, that's ridiculous. You had trouble doing that, didn't you?

Coach Curley:

Yeah, I always say putting on weight is probably harder than taking it off. I mean, we've had a number of guys that had to do that Right now not too many, but it's having to. I think I gained 50 pounds in college. You guys remember that it was what 5'10", 5'11" when I went there, and 135 pounds or 45 pounds. But yeah, it's uh and it was funny. I remember those days going to the nutritionist, you know protein, everything but he talks about now and it was just like eat as much as you want, as often as you can, and here's a few things to eat.

Tom:

Nobody cares about the specifics.

Coach Curley:

No, this is a doctor. I mean, she's one of the top people, she's at Penn state and she was very specific. She's like here's the things. Make sure you have these, but outside of that, basically have anything you want, because you're burning everything off between your workouts and what you're trying to do every day. That's crazy.

Biz:

It is crazy. I remember those days. No, I don't. All right, I ate. I had the 10,000 calories, but man, anyway off, I can tell you this well, we do have a listener question as well oh sweet yeah, this one's, this one's kind of a.

Tom:

This is an interesting one, it's. It's a little bit deep. Uh, it's from dion. In light of michigan flipping the number one quarterback, bryce underwood, with the reported eight figure nil deal, do you think this could be the beginning of the end of college sports as we know it, and does this have any effect on D3 sports?

Coach Curley:

Yes, college sports will never be the same.

Tom:

It's a shame. I'm kind of depressed about it.

Coach Curley:

I mean, did you see today, like the? Defensive back at Iowa, may not play the rest of the season to protect his draft stock, and we're talking regular season games now and he's probably getting NIL.

Coach Curley:

That's kind of a weird thing though. So I think that's where they're going to have to organize this and there's going to have to be contract structures and stuff, because what do you do? I mean, I'm sure there's got to be stop gaps in there. If you're going to back out, we're not paying you, and so I think that'll get taken care of. But, yeah, it's all changed completely and I do think there's trickle down, I think, more just the mentality and how people view athletics and the transactional nature of it, and it's, you know, not really about what.

Coach Curley:

I always think the great opportunity is right To be a part of something bigger than yourself and the relationships and the experience of being a team and the things that I think you get older and you learn to value.

Coach Curley:

I think we've already that's been. We've probably spent way more time and maybe it's just because we're more experienced and understand things better but more time on talking about team and the value of the experience and what we're doing and where it is. That may just be our approach, but I just I'm not sure the world of individual trainers and how kids are exposed to basketball and play basketball that plus kind of just societal changes the approach to athletics how it fits. It's really kind of a get yours society right and no one can fault you if you get your own and no one out there is really going to care about you. And that hasn't been my experience when you're a part of a real team and what it really provides for you in places and in ways that you don't realize you need it till you get it and uh, so I think it's sad. I think what also changed, um, is the people that are coaching are different and what they're attracted to about being coaches are different.

Tom:

You're seeing a lot of like Tony Bennett yeah.

Biz:

Those guys all pounced out.

Coach Curley:

Even Nick Saban. I mean like the real program builders, the real people that were about the development of people and kids and got into it. For those reasons I don't know why You're not the ones getting into it now. You're probably getting into it because you kind of like the glitz and glamour and the race and all this stuff and you don't care if you have a new team this year or not, it's about where I'm going and so I think that could really be a challenge.

Coach Curley:

I think coaching is already undervalued right now in a lot of places in a lot of ways and a lot of it is coach's own fault and how things have been done at times. But I just think kind of the value placed on honestly, values like value based leadership and what you're trying to do, has changed and I think you know it's like all things money right and fame and opportunity will change it. How it impacts Division Three, I think the cool thing is it really just becomes the last bastion of real college athletics or pure college athletics for purists, and that's a place where you still marry the two. You know real education and you know kind of a co-curricular idea that education is not just in the classroom. It's the experience you have, especially at a place like this. So I don't know it's going to be. It's going to be obviously interesting.

Coach Curley:

I think the NCAA will change completely as we know it and that will have a structural change. On Division III, are there more divisions? Are there less divisions? Because there's people that can keep up and people that can't. But I don't know. I mean, you just kind of go day by day and watch it and you know there's just a bunch of power brokers in the room right now that could decide tomorrow to change everything if they're not getting what they want from the NCAA.

Tom:

Do you ever think that it'll just pull it apart, meaning like Division? I might just become football and basketball at major schools and everybody else in theory becomes Division.

Biz:

III. They're going to bust out man. They're going to football and basketball will be their own entity, which is kind of sad. It is kind of sad, but I mean the ncaa is inept when it comes to that, like I mean it's been inept like the whole nil thing coming in. Man, they didn't put any guide rails on it, they didn't do anything. It was stupidity like it.

Biz:

Look, guys, should be able. If, if, uh, you know chase wants to go and be the face of the garbage can fries and get paid for it, he should be able to do that. But now you have alumni paying. I mean eight figures. How's that sustainable? Man, the person who gave that money, what are they getting out of it? You look back at Jordan Addison from Pitt. Usc paid him $3 million to come out there, gave him a house and what'd they get? Nothing. They didn't get anything. It's not like the NFL where you're investing and you're making money. I mean it's not sustainable. And they're going to revenue sharing and that could change it and make it for the better. I mean, hey, if you want to share some revenue that you're getting from football, I'm all for it. But man, alumni paying, that's where it crossed the line for me.

Tom:

It might even limit what schools like. People might just say you know what? We can't compete anymore in football. We're going to do away with our football program and push all the chips in on basketball or something.

Biz:

Listen, man. They're talking about what the Big Ten and the SEC making a power football like making their own football division or whatever the hell it is.

Tom:

And then it's going to be all the ACC schools, the Big 12, just rushing to go wherever.

Biz:

I mean, the NCAA is just going to focus on what they've focused on, and football and basketball are just going to go, so it brings us back to Juniata, the purity of the game. It is pure, it's great. I mean you're playing there because you love the game.

Tom:

And until the reason? Until until until the vultures swap, come in and start screwing that up too.

Biz:

I don't think, I don't know, I don't think they will man, there's no reason to division three is like the ivy league yeah, it is ivy league hasn't messed up yet. No, and they won't.

Coach Curley:

Well, it started. I mean the Ivy and Patriot League have started to transition a little bit too. It started when Patriot League started giving scholarships. I mean, the grad students can or can't play. Some of that stuff has changed. They're involved in it whether you want to or not. Like the Harvard success, their programs in Yale, they're starting to get guys. I mean, obviously, if heck, if you want to do NIL, there's a lot of money those places, that's pretty easy. Um, I also think universities and colleges can't allow it to keep happening because that money is ciphered off from what they need for their campuses and what they're doing. So there's a ton of reasons to make it fully professional because, like you said, just the money streams make no sense. Like to manage the money and to reinvest in yourself. Instead, like you said, you're just pulling it out of that thin air. You're literally just giving a kid 2 million bucks with no, I mean just so you get to watch him play Saturday. That's a very expensive ticket. It's crazy.

Biz:

I mean, you're a successful man and a Virginia Tech alumni. Would you pony up we already know Would you pony up like $2 million to get the best quarterback in the country for a Never?

Tom:

I hope somebody has a chance to win a national championship. No, it seems ludicrous to me.

Biz:

It is ludicrous I don't have $10 million. Virginia Tech gives you what you get out of it are two tickets on the 50-yard line. No, no, it's crazy. See what I mean. Like it's nuts, I don't know who these people are.

Biz:

I don't get it. Yeah, but and these people aren't going to keep doing it because you don't have. The only people that have those resources are oil people in Texas. They can do whatever the hell they want. Seriously, like dude, they came up with $72 million to buy out Jimbo Fisher. $72 million to not coach Are you kidding? Yeah, listen, it's not sustainable man. Million to not coach Are you kidding? Yeah, listen, it's not sustainable, man, it just isn't.

Coach Curley:

By the way, I hear Jimbo Fisher on College Sports Radio every day. He seems to be doing all right right now.

Biz:

I would. I'm curious.

Tom:

I would love for somebody to come to me and say we don't want you to ever do what you're doing now again, and we're going to give you. I would take probably $5 million. I know, that's all.

Coach Curley:

That's why, when those big time guys are done, they're all hey, man, that's fine. I appreciate that. No kidding, no kidding. What was the guy at LSU? What did they buy him out for? Like $8 million? He was laughing.

Biz:

Hey, they're giving me $8 million to you. Don't think I can do my job. It's crazy man, it's nuts, great question. Thank you, dion, and good luck in the NFL next year.

Tom:

He might not be in the playoffs anymore. He's not in the playoffs. Was it a definite Colorado lost. They're out?

Biz:

Yeah, I can't see them, unless they can get in and play for the conference championship, which?

Tom:

they could be why you lost right.

Biz:

They're all in the same Right and I will. Before we get into basketball because I know we're trying to avoid that I will say that I'm going to give Jim Franklin I'm not going to call him James yet Credit. I'm going to give him some props. Man, he didn't wilt. I loved it. He actually did not wilt yesterday.

Tom:

I'm so glad you said that because I am one of the last few people that stand up for that guy. And I love the way he called that game. At the end he stepped up he did.

Biz:

He didn't wilt. I was ready for the wilt and he didn't. So props, props. I love it. All he has to do now is beat Maryland. That should be easy, it should be, oh gosh, that should be easy, Knock on wood.

Tom:

Last statement about Thanksgiving football, Penn State and all that. I was planning on being at the Maryland game. But back to your point. Earlier Curly basketball screwed it up. I got two girls who now are on the ninth graders on the JV team. Oh, they made it. Yeah, they made it. They have practice on Friday and a game on Saturday. All right, Saturday morning, so I might still be able to make a run, at least getting up to State College to hang with the family.

Tom:

It's at 9 am. No, what time is the Penn State game? 3.30. I don't think I'm going to be able to go to the game, but I'll be able to go up there still.

Biz:

Yeah.

Tom:

You know, yeah, All right, but there it all came together and we'll be right back. The Juniata Men's Basketball Show is produced and distributed by Merit Creative. Looking to skyrocket your business's visibility and drive growth. At Merit Creative, we solve your brand and marketing woes With big ideas, decades of experience and innovative solutions. We'll draw in your target audience and keep them hooked. Remember, creativity is key to success. Partner with Merit Creative and unlock your brand's potential. Learn more at meritcreativecom. And now back to the show. Let me give a recap of last week. On Wednesday night, the Juniata men's basketball team fell just short in a nail-biting overtime loss to Lycoming, 73-72 in their landmark conference opener. Despite, they had a strong performance. Nico put up 16 points, Jaden 14 points. A last second foul and missed the opportunity sealed the Eagles' fate in a game marked by dynamic runs and clutch plays. Back and forth game, there were 12 ties and 26 league changes. As a viewer, as a fan, it was a roller coaster. How do we?

Coach Curley:

feel about how the team played and what happened there, we had a lead, a big lead.

Tom:

What happened? Yeah, how do we feel about how the team played and what happened there? We had a lead, a big lead. There was a lead.

Coach Curley:

What happened. I mean we just have to get better. We didn't play great during a big stretch in the second half and I'll just go back to I mean we've been through these before at times over the years, both ways right. We've gone the other way with it Game of runs. I think that caught us off guard a little bit. I think our being young did show up in some stretches there, I think, getting a little sloppy and careless.

Coach Curley:

In the middle part of that second half there's like three straight possessions where the three of us could have played better defense if we decided to try to get in the way of somebody and we were up 13 or 15 and we would score a basket. And it's just, I think, really understanding how much it all. You know, we always say these games come down to one possession or two possessions, and the last two games in the league basically came down to a couple possessions. That swing swung the game completely. That one literally came down to possession. Uh, and it's, I think it's. I really do think it's part of the process. If you think about it. In that game with tyler out, um, we have one guy that's played any significant minutes and has ever been in that situation on our entire roster and and I think that probably showed up and that is not the case with them. They're ahead of us, they have guys. That's not the case with anybody. We're playing and so I think that showed up we didn't execute some things that we were trying to do, a couple of situations that everything we needed was there. We just, for whatever reason, didn't, and those are processes that you have to go through, watch tape, get better from it and figure it out. The positives were that was our most complete game to date. We came out, played really, really well in stretches, we stacked good possessions on both ends more significantly and consistently than we did. The thing that really killed us is they got to the bonus with 11 minutes left in the second half and that that's really the. If you look behind the scenes, that was a problem for us and that was created by um. You know we you've got to be aggressive. We want good, aggressive fouls and trying to do the right things, but the careless ones, where we're frustrated or undisciplined, those things stack up and get you.

Coach Curley:

I would just say the process this whole year with all these young guys is one of probably disbelief with things sometimes, until they have to go through it and see it, you can talk about it and emphasize it and tell them this is what's going to happen if we don't. Or hey, this is how we have to do it. But you guys know how it is the same thing for all of us in life. You've got to go through it yourself sometimes before you really can connect the dots. I don't think they actually don't believe. They just don't understand the urgency. And I'll give our guys credit. They've credit. They've done a really good job of learning from those situations and then trying to apply, moving forward. They're alert or aware enough to know like, hey, yeah, and I hope we've been credible enough at coaches to have it laid out for them and then, when they don't do it, we can just say, hey, we told you, this is how this has to be done and this is how we have to focus. And if you don't hear the consequences, and so I, I think, um, yeah, it's uh, it's progress.

Coach Curley:

Uh, in the end, like the last play when they hit the three, I mean, we get, we, we we're a half an inch from a steel and a loose ball. Um, there's a lot of things in situations. Uh, they iced our own free throw shooter, the. The. The officials wave guys in in the middle of um Aiden's own free throw shooter. The. The officials waved guys in in the middle of um Aiden's second free throw.

Coach Curley:

That would have put us up by four, which is one I haven't seen, because usually the guys have to get to the x to be called in, but all of a sudden they decide to blow the whistle in the middle of the shot and and now you still got to step up and make them and honestly, in those situations you get one out of two. That's fine. Even that situation. You go back and look well, why did he leave the guy? He didn't really leave him and actually, when you watch back, it really was not a bad play, but it was sort of a loose ball. You go get it or you don't. The game's over. You give the kid credit for making a shot and then when we push back in transition, you watch on tape. Again. We got a shooter in the corner, we got our senior point guard who can get to lane and they couldn't stop like in a seam on the way to the basket and he just kind of trips.

Tom:

No foul. You don't think that was a foul.

Coach Curley:

It's interesting they. They didn't call that, but they called the one at the other end at the end of the game, but that's kind of how it goes and that's probably life on the road right.

Coach Curley:

And I don't think intentionally, I just think it's influenced and I think when we are where we are right now, it never feels like you get a call and I don't know that they're any different. I think when you're good, you probably do get more calls, because I think officials can tell like, if you're throwing it to whoever, it's probably a foul. And so we got, we've got things to overcome that we know we've been through before, that we need to overcome them. It's just it's coming um, hot and heavy, all at one time from all directions in a way that probably we've not experienced, in terms of the number of young guys, the quality of opponents. The fact that we're playing road league games game four and five of our season is like insane, but that's the way it is. Now. No one's prepared for these games and these are things that we had, non-league games. You probably have worked through and you're more prepared for those situations Now. So is the opponent, but I don't know. I mean with hindsight, watching film back, there were big steps in that game.

Coach Curley:

I really feel like if we had played like we did Wednesday and some of the previous games, there's different results and I think honestly yesterday's game, saturday, had we played like we did Saturday, wednesday, and moving backwards there's different results. So I think we're stacking good days. We've practiced much better. Our response in all situations have been good. The guys have really kind of locked into kind of the learning opportunities. We're doing our best to kind of close. I always close the top of the submarine and just dive and ignore the noise, and the farther we get into it, the more. The process is no different than when we're trying to win a championship last year and we still are, by the way. I mean, I think what came out of the week for us is like our goals are to make the playoffs.

Tom:

Yeah, there's some interesting things still going on here. We're going to get to that.

Coach Curley:

What happened in the rest of the conference? We lost two road conference games, had chances to win, both on the road, where I had to lead late in both games. I mean, look at our teams, the last several years We've not even always been in that situation and we've not really fared much differently. So in a weird way it's like, yeah, we're kind of where we always are, I mean, you've got to throw out the record. But the difference is, you know, do we have proven guys that you can go to in certain situations?

Coach Curley:

And there's just so many unknowns and I think that's creating a lot of the uncertainty, the anxiety the players still have it. They, you know they have to see the results and get some footing and that lends to a lot of kind of the challenges we have around the margins. But when games are coming down to a few possessions, the margins are what win or lose the game and that's where youth shows up and that's it In the 80% in the middle of the games. Honestly, it's really hard to see where we haven't controlled big, big portions of games and kind of played the game the way we want. In a weird way, we weren't playing junior basketball for the first three games. We just played Juniata basketball for two straight games. We lost, but we lost like Juniata does and I think those are positives as far as we're concerned as a coaching staff.

Tom:

Yeah.

Biz:

I agree 100%.

Tom:

Then on Saturday our boys battled hard but fell to the University of Scranton. I hate losing to Scranton 56-41 in. I guess you could call it a defensive showdown. Ty scored 10. Jaden added nine rebounds. But the Eagles struggled offensively in the final minutes, allowing the Royals to secure the win. Tough shooting day. You guys were under 30. Scranton was under 40. You did out-rebound them, which was very noticeable in watching that game. 38-26. You guys are getting bored and you're playing physical inside, I think.

Coach Curley:

Well, when you miss a lot of shots, there's a lot of rebounds. There's a lot of rebounds.

Tom:

I guess, yeah, there's a lot of missed shots in that game I thought, maybe something was wrong with the nets at Scranton or something.

Biz:

They had a big snowstorm over Friday.

Tom:

Maybe some of that water got in or something.

Coach Curley:

Listen, yeah, maybe some of that water got in or something. Listen, we go up one with seven minutes left in the game and then there's a two, three-minute back and forth where they missed a couple shots. We missed a couple shots and then they make the one and we came down and had a chance to answer and missed them and that was it. We went away from that. I don't think we made a shot the last seven minutes, six minutes. I'm not that. I don't think we made a shot the last seven minutes, six minutes. I'm not sure. I don't think you did. We were right with them and probably shooting ahead of that. Listen, we played and we got back last night and watched film with the guys last night because they wanted to, so we could have off today because we played Tuesday. The quality of shots we got in those situations and the guys we got them for we would take it every day, every time, over and over again. And that's where, again, we have to stay away from results and we have to be focused on process and are we doing the right things and getting the right shots? And I just think you know there's a few things at play here.

Coach Curley:

I think the biggest adjustments. Number one when you move to college is when to shoot, when to pass and when, uh, to drive the ball like, like making decisions, uh, is a big challenge for guys. Um, because there isn't anything is, there's no such thing as shot selection. For a lot of these guys in high school there's no such thing like they just can do. I think the other adjustment is like you have to play both ends. So I think there is a fatigue factor with shooting that comes to play that you have to. These guys are just learning how hard to play and we're finally playing hard enough. Now you have to actually come down and play hard enough and when you get the shot, make it in rhythm and you're you're kind of redlining. And so I think there's an adjustment period to the speed, the intensity of the game that directly impacts scoring, unless that's like your natural gift and, let's be honest, part of it is us Like we stress shot selection, we stress defense, we stress rebounding in ways that other programs may not. It's a philosophical thing. So I think there's an adjustment period for our guys. They start to think should this? And we've got to work through it and learn. So part of it is our thing.

Coach Curley:

And then the last part is we have so many guys in new roles. It's one thing like the kid that hit number 12 for them, the freshman that hit the three, that kind of separated the game. That's the only shot he made the whole game. But that hit the three, that kind of separated the game, that's the only shot he made the whole game. But when the ball comes out from Will McLaughlin and you're wide open, you don't have to make it because they're going to go to Will McLaughlin or Spatola, like the next two possessions, right, and all you got to do is make that one shot. You get and it's a great thing Our guys that were having to make those shots. We don't have that guy.

Coach Curley:

So the pressure and the adjustment to roles that we didn't even have roles two weeks ago, we finally got a little continuity. But where's the ball going to go? Who's going to get it? And I keep saying we're by committee and by committee is great at times and in those moments it's hard because after they made that three, if you watched every possession, they threw the ball to McLaughlin every possession, they threw the ball to McLaughlin every possession and everything was guys playing around them. He's going to impact the team, the game and they're going to play. And for us, now it's zone, it's a little harder to do that. You know we didn't have that, but we started to see it, we started to play through a couple guys, they started to find it, started to make right plays and I just think we've kind of had these crashes in those moments and I think that's kind of just adjusting to the moment and believing a little bit. I'll be honest, we had one of our guys scored for the first time in the first half a couple times, made some really nice moves and when I met with him he's like well, in high school I was just the biggest guy. I don't know, I'm a little nervous and you know he's going in there against 6'10 guys and now he's scoring on them and you forget like they've never done it. I mean it was like getting like excited at halftime, you know, and everybody's pumped up for him and like I don or scored on somebody right now. But that's like a real thing, like our guys are still going through that, like they didn't know they could go there in their mind and play with them Again, part of that is probably our approach, which I think over time is better.

Coach Curley:

That's why it's our approach. But in the short term, sometimes, you know, we tend to mount challenges and see how guys respond and talk. We're not to talk down opponents, but we don't over inflate, but we talk about the challenges and rising and those things and I think sometimes, like in their mind, they have to go do that and honestly, I think that's also why you're seeing us take steps, because I think there is a confidence and a sense of accomplishment coming out of these games that man, we're, we're, we're close, we're getting better. I think the halftime where they realized, hey, we can play with these guys is incredibly valuable. And then, listen, we're going to struggle to score at times. We just don't have a ton of shooting. We have some guys that can really shoot, but a spread across the board and we still don't have the one guy you just go to that can create a shot, make a shot, get there and without that, that's the difference in this game, the Lycoming game, down the stretch they have a couple very, very, very good individual scorers.

Coach Curley:

Foul trouble got us in trouble in that game because our matchups changed and those fouls were undisciplined plays that guys had to learn from and with our old group we had the same problems and those fouls were undisciplined plays that guys had to learn from. And with our old group we had the same problems for a number of years where guys just had to learn how to be disciplined in places, because you get frustrated and you foul a guy and it doesn't hurt you till later. It's the old thing, you know it's going to get you when it gets you. It doesn't get you in the moment it's fine, but it's not. And so there's a lot of learning curve stuff and then within it we just keep talking about you know, hey guys, maybe you know, like our goals, like I, I think they're reacting to challenge and like you guys didn't want to talk about the games for a while, I'm fine talking about it. We're way better than we were the first couple. And as a coach, now you get into this thing, you close the door and you just go to work and it's really no different. I just want to see progress in our team and the bottom line is are we getting good shots in the right places for the right guys? They got to go in or not go in? And and if that comes down to that on the road, um against Scranton, and you're up one with seven minutes left and you literally have one guy with any experience. We've had incredibly experienced teams go in there and not get out of the first 10 minutes. That's true, and they had guys at the end of the game.

Coach Curley:

Will McLaughlin is in his fourth year All right, he's got another year of eligibility, or fifth year, right, all right, he's a preseason All-American. Two years ago he was one of the top two players on the team that went to the Sweet 16. John Spatola is a junior. He was the point guard on the team that went to the Sweet 16. Taj Parlan we didn't know he was coming back. He took his extra year, so he's in his fifth year as their guard. Right, they didn't have anybody that played.

Coach Curley:

Mason thompson, the kid that came in and hurt us off the bench and hit the threes um, he's a fourth year, third or fourth year guy. His first two years he struggled to make any shots and so, like, we got young guys struggling to make shots and I'm like I said to nick like, well, so did thompson. We knew he's a good player, but he's two years down the road and I, you know we look out there and we had moments when we had five freshmen playing and so I mean you can, people can say whatever, but we got to believe in what we're seeing and the progress we're making and the ability of our guys and we got to ignore all the noise and just keep going to work. Honestly, if we should be walking away from all these situations with way more confidence on paper, yeah, it's terrible. I mean offensively right Like we, we have to make those shots, but man, they're good shots and against their zone.

Coach Curley:

There have been many times in there that we didn't look like we knew what we were doing and that was not the case. I thought we turned the ball over at a higher rate in that game than we have in any other game, and part of that goes back to when you're uncertain or unsure and you're caught in between is when a lot of turnovers happen, like, do I shoot now, do I pass now? Do I move the ball right now? And I think pretty much every turnover we had is a result of that, and that only comes from playing against it and it also only comes from guys that have confidence. We still have a couple young guys that we know can score. We know can score. That are just so they're the world's spinning, that they're not sure they can do it right, like until you do it you don't know you can do it. They're not sure how to do it at times and, um, that process takes as long as it takes. The good news is they're there and they get to go back out there. They can make mistakes.

Tom:

They can make mistakes. They can start playing again. Yeah.

Coach Curley:

And so we'll speed up the process. That's the hope. Hopefully guys get healthy here. We also played this whole week down two guys that were in the starting lineup at the beginning of the year.

Tom:

Yeah.

Coach Curley:

I don't think anybody we played is facing that Matter of fact. We go to the Lycoming game and Beagle, who's their starting center from last year, is a good player. Of course he's healthy and ready to go in that game and he changes their entire complexion. As a team. You watch back. If he didn't play in that game he wasn't hugely impactful. But if he doesn't play, the matchups we have at other places we were really taken advantage of. I don't think the game plays out that way. It's kind of a Murphy's Law year. You know, whatever happens happens, but I would give the guys credit, I think, staying a course. I think the guys wanted to watch tape last night to see it because it's positive, so they could have the day, so they could be focused to go play Gwen and mercy, who's undefeated and just won by 50 yesterday we're gonna get to them.

Tom:

We're gonna get to them. They're averaging 93 points. We're gonna get to them. Let's ask about the health, though. Can we ask about health like how's tyler, how's jayden?

Coach Curley:

uh, I mean, those guys are doing okay. I can't, can't say much more than that, right, but we're hopeful. Uh, but when and how, we don't know. I mean I would just say they're out indefinitely until we know. Yeah, I mean, those are, those are two big guys to have down.

Coach Curley:

Well, and then we're getting some chemistry. When they come back we're going to have to go through the process of reintroducing them and restructuring things and how do we do that? So in some ways it's great because we're getting these moments, but in other ways this probably still isn't the team right because of where those guys are and how do we handle and do that. So it's kind of ongoing, never-ending. And you know it's the old days are long, you know years are short. Like the season's going to go fast here and before you know it, and we can sit here and say process, process, process. Like the season's going to go fast here and before you know it, we can sit here and say process, process, process, and the season's over. And you look up, well, it is what it is. I still just think you can see in this group, you know we defensively were not very good. We're borderline bad in our terms, terrible our first several games, and that was not the case yesterday.

Coach Curley:

Yeah, we played well well yeah and we have had many years when, physically, we could not match up with them I mean, it doesn't get much longer or bigger or more physical and we had no problem with the physicality. We had no problem, um, with that, with managing that stuff.

Tom:

Those are huge things that was noticeable in the game too. It was very noticeable that you stood up to there. I mean mean physicality-wise, you were even with those guys.

Coach Curley:

Yeah, and that's very rare for us. So how that plays out over time Now we probably had more shooting and some other things and in the end you've got to make shots to win the game. I mean, look at the transition of Kentucky from Cal to where they are now. But we'll see how that plays out over time because, again, physicality doesn't go away. You just get better. You're always big and strong and you always can physically go out there and compete.

Tom:

That's what they say about me man Never goes away. I hear you kid Never goes away.

Biz:

So where do you think like from the start of the season? Where you knew you were and what you had. Do you think you're ahead of where you thought you'd be at this point? That's a good question. Wins and losses, we don't care about those, I would say our improvement in many areas are like quantum leaps.

Coach Curley:

And the fun part with the young group is you're seeing big chunks like big steps. And listen, I've many times here this last week said if we had a different attitude and approach the entire preseason, where would we be? And the guys understand what I'm talking. They know exactly like we. We just didn't get it, didn't understand it, um, didn't really understand how to be great teammates, um, because I just think where these guys are coming from, they're great kids and they're good friends, but they didn't understand how this goes. And they they thought that they could do x, y and z and then they find out you can't, um, but I'll give them credit, they're learning those lessons. And they thought that they could do X, y and Z and then they find out you can't, but I'll give them credit, they're learning those lessons and they're getting better.

Coach Curley:

And that's the thing that I was. You never knew the first couple games. You're like, oh my, where are we going? And it really comes down to the choices of because we weren't a good team and I'm not. That's probably where I'm not in my best space like if they're not responsive and they're not cohesive and together those are like I can't handle that. If we go play as a team, play hard, do the things that we can and we miss a few shots and we lose a game, hey, we missed a few shots, we'll make them next time. And as long as we can stay in that area and be a team we're proud of, then we're happy as coaches and we'll continue to make progress. It's really hard to watch us and not think I mean, these guys are, how young are we? Yeah, exactly.

Coach Curley:

We watch these games and there's no, it's not like we don't belong out there, let's put it that way. Absolutely Can we make shots and score enough. And so maybe I'm in la-la land, but what's my choice? This is our team, these are the guys we brought here, we're responsible for them and we really do believe in them. And I know some of the guys and people always ask do they make shots? Like yeah, we make shots in practice. Like there's things that we even have indicators, we even have indicators, like in some things we do, nick and I would know like, hey, if it takes us this long to get 10 points in this kind of drill man, we're in trouble. And those are not the indicators. Like oftentimes it's, we can get through things and bang, bang, bang. We can make the plays.

Coach Curley:

So I think a lot of it is just adjustment and confidence. And honestly, we have some guys that can score but they've never even thought about defense their entire life. They've never even thought about it. You know, and I said to a couple of freshmen yesterday I just watched film, stopped and rolled it back. It's like how'd that feel? Like first time you ever played defense, a good day, right, that's a good, it wasn't bad, it's a positive thing. Like you, feel good about it. I think I told one of them and I remember when Cade took his first steps is very similar to this man. It was a great day and now he's off and running. So let's stack our days where we really get focused on defending and is that impacting our offense Absolutely? Because they have to play defense really, really hard.

Tom:

Well, yeah, so a couple of interesting things, though not to cut you off, but we got some things to get into here. Landmark Conference there's only two teams that are sitting at 2-0 after two games. That's kind of crazy if you think about it. We got Catholic and Drew both at 2-0. Everyone else is 1-1, with the exception of you guys and Goucher at 0-2.

Coach Curley:

I didn't even know that.

Tom:

Wide open, still Wide open, Wide open, Very wide open. And there's an interesting game this week that I think is going to tell a lot about the outcome of this Scranton at Drew. I'm actually kind of very interested to see that game. Is Drew for real and is Scranton? I think Scranton's better than we think. I mean they played it was a weird game but it's going to be interesting, which makes you guys maybe better than we think, based on how Scranton plays.

Coach Curley:

Drew, I don't think Scranton's at their best, I mean, they're playing way more guys. They've had a million lineup combinations and usually they're playing seven, maybe eight guys, and so I think it's too early for everybody. I think what you're seeing is some of the teams that are out ahead probably have a core and they know who it is.

Coach Curley:

You know, Drew plays 10, 12 guys no matter what they play, 10 or 12 guys, no matter what they press, they run around, they do and they're very good, but you're already they're not as worried about that stuff. I think a team like scranton is really like becomes a well-oiled machine. You know they got seven, eight guys with great chemistry.

Coach Curley:

Yeah they know they're getting their minutes and they they once they get into form. It's like look out, you guys saw that a few years ago. I mean mean they're going to be not where they are. I mean Susquehanna is usually like that too. Frank usually plays a lot of guys early to figure out where to go, and once he figures it out they're like a different team. I hope we can get on that mix. I'm not saying we're where those teams are or even have that talent right now In terms of development of our talent, where our talent lies, let's put it that way experienced talent.

Coach Curley:

So I think, yeah, it's interesting. So you know, I pay attention to our next opponents. I did look at, like E-Town's outcome, you know, and they scored 103 points or something yesterday against Lycoming. They got, I think Russo's had 35. They got two guys averaging in the high 20s. They're super explosive. You know, I try to keep an eye on that stuff just to see what we might have to prepare for in practice. But I haven't and obviously in our circumstance it's almost.

Coach Curley:

You don't worry about any of that stuff. All we're worried about every day is getting better and a lot of ways it makes it way more simple. There's dealing with. Probably less expectation is not a bad thing at times, except for the expectation we put on ourselves, which is performance, and that hasn't changed at all. And that's what's so similar to even the teams last year, like we were going to win the whole thing and we knew it right away. But the process isn't any different and the focus isn't any different. You can't react and you just got to stay within it and not listen to all the noise. So Biz, the positive.

Tom:

We both went 3-1 last week. All right, so you sit at 5-1. I sit at 4-2. This week we have one game. We've been talking a little bit about it Gwen Mercy, tuesday at 7 pm. The Griffins come into Tuesday's game at 4-0. They did have one loss in an exhibition against Delaware State. They're averaging over 90 points a game with an average margin of about 28. They're led by two very experienced guards. Do you want to hear what the glum has to say? Glum me. So. He says Junior had a tough start. Another tough opponent ahead he's going to put the Griffins as minus 12, all right, and over and under at 145 and a half.

Biz:

Oh, what do you got? There is, uh, you know what I got. I mean, you know we, we get to. We get to see it through the eyes of the coach and not through the eyes of the newspaper, right, so I like where we're going here. I'm going to take Juniata with the 12 points. I think they're going to play. That Scranton game was an indicator game for me. How about the over-under? Ooh man, wow, they scored 90 points. I think if we stick it and we can win this game.

Tom:

We've got it low. I'm gonna go under. Pez, you picked exactly what I had written down juniata and the under. I'm gonna take the 12 and I think our defense, I think our defense, we ratchet up just a little bit. Yeah, I have a new feature for the show. Oh, new feature. What doesGPT say? The outcome of this game will be Wow. All right, here's what ChatGPT. I put all the facts in Holy AI man. They have the Griffins 85, the Eagles 72. Consider Gwen Mercy's strong offensive performance in their recent games and Juniata's defensive struggles allowing high point totals in their losses. Juniata could improve their scoring, but will fall just short against the Griffins. This is what ChatGPT said. All right, well.

Biz:

I just leave it at that. That'll be interesting to recap. Yes, but it's going to be wrong. We'll see Curly go out and beat AI buddy.

Tom:

Yeah, beat artificial intelligence.

Coach Curley:

How does the glum, how does the glum feel about you bringing in ai on his turf?

Tom:

wow, that is, that's a good question that I will have to.

Coach Curley:

I will have to ask the glum I mean the glum is an integral part of the this, this program. I don't want to. I want to make sure we're not modernizing too much and pushing out, although that is interesting because they have it as a 13-point loss.

Tom:

I was going to say it's very close.

Biz:

It's very close. The over-under was off a little bit.

Coach Curley:

How do we know? The Glum just doesn't use chat GPT.

Tom:

Well, that's a hell of a point, wow.

Biz:

Man, there's exposure happening here, there is.

Tom:

This is breaking news. Woo, it's going to be interesting now. So we play Tuesday night, and then that's it, and then that's it for a while. It's like an early bye week, which might not be a bad thing right now Get healthy it might not be Figure these guys out. Give them a little break. Eat some turkey.

Biz:

Everybody will go enjoy Thanksgiving and Greg will just have a meal. He'll just have a meal, guys.

Coach Curley:

it's just, you guys know how it is, like where it sits.

Biz:

for us it's very much a coaching thing. Charles, I hear you, man, you gotta give me crap, all the everybody out there.

Coach Curley:

No, no, no. I love Thanksgiving, I love family, all that stuff. It's just, man, we play, we have league games the next week and you know it's hard and you're either happy or miserable. It's, it's uh, that's all it is and uh. And then, if you're happy, it lasts for a little bit because it starts to wear off, because now you're anxious about the next game. This is just the way the world is, and you guys, if you're happy, and you know it.

Coach Curley:

Um, god bless jen uh, because she probably gets it better than anybody, but she just lets it roll. Coach's wife. We're thankful for Jen. We are thankful for.

Coach Curley:

Jen, yes, we are. So, no, it'll be good. Actually, the little break here gives us a little time to you know. The other thing is, like we're very much a work in progress, like what can we do with these guys? Where do we go?

Coach Curley:

I think some stuff late in the Lycoming game that we thought we liked with the group we had. We probably have to look at some different ways to get guys the ball in places and do some stuff. But you have to have starting points. A lot of it is a bit guesswork. Again, two weeks ago our lineup was completely different. All of this stuff is up.

Coach Curley:

But I think long-term, right now we're getting way more information in real time. If we do the right now, we're getting way more information, uh, in real time. If we do the right things with it. It should move us ahead over time, uh, and we handle it the right way if our guys attitudes stay the same. You know the right way.

Coach Curley:

It's hard and I told the guys last night and I even after, like homie game um, when you've done it for a long, long time, a game's a game. You move on. We've been 12 and oh, we might. Whatever you know, like, over time it evens out. You'll be fine when you're in it and you're the player and you're 18 years old and everything is about no record and status and outcome. It impacts them probably way more than us. It goes the other way. If we don't play well or play hard, but the record, the status is right, they probably feel really good. I guess that's coaching. You got to keep them centered on what matters. But you also understand what they're going through and I just keep telling them we got to stay away from that. I'm with you guys. I mean we came out of last night and just said, hey, what are we doing? You guys, and I'm with you guys.

Coach Curley:

I mean we came out of last night and just said, hey, what are we doing? Like you guys are excited, you make a shot. Like we need to be playing to get in the playoffs. Like and that's a confident attitude, that is not one like we'll see how this all goes. Like we need to go after something. And it's the old, you know you shoot for that.

Coach Curley:

But I think last night what would say that we wouldn't have a chance to compete in the first two games? What says that we can't do this? And it actually probably more says we can. I mean, are we going to miss all those shots every game for the guys who took those shots? I don't think so. The fact that we could create and generate them against a defense and an approach that has historically struggled we've struggled with those are real positives, but part of it is this team will have to find out like what those are real positives, but part of it is this team will have to find out what matchups are good for us, what aren't.

Coach Curley:

Are there things that just hit our soft spots in a way that's going to take a lot for us to overcome? I'm seeing the turnovers are forcing the points scored. I hope so. I hope they press the entire game and I hope they press us like no one's ever pressed us, because I think that's the experience we want to go have right now and see how we compete in that no-transcript, the three-quarter court pressure we hadn't seen, and to get these things out of the way and gain some confidence in seeing it, or learn and show guys even like, hey, if we do it, the way we worked on this is the result, so there's additional buy-in and credibility. Those are huge things in the process and so we're looking forward to that. It's daunting looking at the success they're having, particularly at home, the challenge that they present, as is E-Town and Wilkes coming in the following week, but we just got to play one day at a time and just keep going.

Tom:

One game at a time? Yeah, the Griffins Tuesday night.

Biz:

Thanksgiving.

Tom:

I'm going to be thankful if we get a win now. Oh, I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie. I'm going to be thankful if we get a win now.

Biz:

I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie, I still like to win. Yeah, winning is good, yeah.

Tom:

If we win.

Coach Curley:

Thanksgiving gets a lot better.

Tom:

It gets a lot better. All of a sudden it becomes a great holiday.

Coach Curley:

Actually that's how I should evaluate it. So before I get crushed, it probably has way more to do with what the first half? Of the year looks like.

Tom:

Yeah, all right, let's start the streak Tuesday. We're going to get a win and we're going to have some good turkey on Thursday.

Biz:

Oh, yeah, stuffing.

Tom:

All right.

Biz:

Gravy.

Tom:

All right, People follow the show on Instagram at Juniata Basketball Show. Subscribe to the Juniata Men's Basketball Show on Apple Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts. Leave us a comment on Instagram. Send us a good question.

Biz:

We've had some good ones. Thanks for listening, dion. Thank you, dion, you're a busy man.

Tom:

We appreciate this and until next time. I'm Tom Frank, I'm Biz. I'm the head coach, Greg Crow.

Biz:

I'm hungry right now, biz I am, I'm going to Starbucks.

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Greg Curley

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