Talking Grammer

In Episode 47 of the Talking Grammer podcast, as the first official team practices for the 2022-23 men's basketball season are starting, I thought it would be a good time to catch up with second-year Lobos coach Richard Pitino as expectations have been elevated for his team. How did the offseason go? How is putting up with his dad on Twitter? Which player was the offseason MVP? And lots more.

In Episode 46 of the Talking Grammer podcast, in an interview recorded in June, I caught up Arizona State transfer Jaelen House who is vying to be the starting point guard for the UNM Lobos this season. "The ball finds energy," he told me, which sums up what his approach to the game is. He plays hard -- on defense, especially -- and feeds off the crowd. We talk about his hair, his rich hoops DNA and why he decided to branch out from his Arizona roots.

In Episode 45 of the Talking Grammer podcast, I caught up with second year Lobo football coach Danny Gonzales ahead of his program's 2021 season in an interview that has less to do with X's and O's and more to do with his growing up in Albuquerque, his role in the Athletic Department beyond coaching football and, yes, even his sensitive side. From his memories of Dukes baseball and Lobo basketball growing up to the split personalities he shows on the sidelines vs. at home with his family, we cover a lot of ground.

In Episode 44 of the Talking Grammer podcast, I caught up former Lobo Anthony Mathis ahead of his playing both in the Lobo alumni all-star game in the Pit and as part of the Enchantment TBT team that will play in the $1 million, winner-take-all The Basketball Tournament event later this month. We cover his time as a Lobo, his leaving for Oregon, his playing in the G-League and what he plans to do if friend and former teammate Joe Furstinger flexes on him in the All-Star game or in any pickup game the two play each other.

In Episode 43 of the Talking Grammer podcast, I caught up with Makuach Maluach who recently made official his decision to move on from UNM after graduating and his pursuit now to play professional basketball. We talk about his degree, his future, the future of the Lobo basketball team, practicing with new coach Richard Pitino and I see what he thinks of my list of my Top 5 memories covering his four-year Lobo hoops career.

In Episode 42, I caught up with UNM Lobo women's soccer coach Heather Dyche ahead of her program hosting the Mountain West soccer championship match against San Diego State. While we talk about the game, a possible NCAA Tournament berth and her team's recent MWC awards (including who she thinks the league snubbed from her team), she also indulges me in some Ted Lasso talk and you might be surprised who she says is most like the Roy Kent character on her team. Fun conversation here with Heather that covers a lot of ground.

In Episode 41, I caught up with former Albuquerque Journal staffer Andy Katz to talk about his time spent with the NBA on TNT crew over an 18-day span in Atlanta covering the NCAA Tournament, including Charles Barkley at one point saying he would bet the Albuquerque Journal doesn't even exist anymore. Not only does it, but now we've got Andy on the podcast (for a second time) talking about it. Katz also offers up some thoughts on UNM's new hoops hire, Richard Pitino.

In Episode 40, I have a brief cell phone (recored for the the podcast) conversation Tuesday with newly hired UNM Lobo men's basketball coach Richard Pitino. We talked about what didn't work at Minnesota, what he loves about the UNM opportunity and the influences on him as a coach from people like his dad, Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, and Billy Donovan, who had some guidance in his hiring at UNM. And what can Lobo fans expect to see on the court from a Pitino-coached team? He explains.

In Episode 39, I have a brief, but insightful conversation with Lobo senior wing Makuach Maluach. Due to the state of New Mexico's public health order, the senior from Australia is about to play his "Senior Night" game at the U.S. Air Force Academy for the Lobos final "home" game of the season -- 400 miles north of the Pit, where he quietly etched his name deep into Lobo record books. We talk about his future (will he come back with the NCAA not counting this season against player eligibility?), the past (the bond he formed with teammates in that 2017-18 freshman season), the time he asked Paul Weir on a recruiting call to call back because he was busy working, and a lot more. Maluach is one of my favorite Lobos I've covered. Hope you enjoy the brief talk we had.

In Episode 38, I catch up with Colorado State head coach Niko Medved about his team that was supposed to be a year away, but didn't care and put itself right in the middle of the Mountain West title race this season led by a pair of sophomore Player of the Year candidates and a roster without a senior. Medved, who was an assistant at CSU from 2007-2013, recalled one painful Lobo memory in Moby Arena -- Kendall Williams' 46 point game with 10 made 3-pointers that pretty much clinched the 2013 MWC title for UNM with a couple weeks still to play. This year's CSU team is flirting with being the first Rams squad since that 2013 season to get into the NCAA Tournament. How'd they get there?

In Episode 37, I catch up with Lobo basketball assistant coach Ralph Davis, in his third year with the program but first as assistant coach. We recorded this podcast last week as the team just returned to Albuquerque allowed for the first time this season to practice in the state due to the public health order. We talked about him enjoying being home for trash day, winning the 2003 New Jersey high school triple jump state championship, he asked about my love of the movie La Bamba and, of course, we talk Lobo hoops and whether his time as a junior college coach prepared him for this season.

In Episode 36, I catch up with former Air Force head coach Dave Pilipovich about his new role as special assistant to the head coach for UNM Lobo men's basketball in what has been a crazy season of relocation, on-court struggles and having to find quarters for washing machines on the road. Dave talks about the new perspective he's getting from outside the head coaching spotlight and how he hopes to help Lobo players and Lobo coach Paul Weir in any way he can. We also talk about the Mountain West overall and how many teams he thinks might get into the NCAA Tournament.

In Episode 35, I catch up with former Kentucky Wildcat national champion, former NBA first round draft pick and current UNM Lobos assistant coach Scott Padgett. We talk about the craziness of this season, the unique time to move a family -- his wife and three kids -- to New Mexico where schools haven't been open for in-person learning and what he uses as a coach from influences like playing for Rick Pitino and Jerry Sloan or as a teammate alongside guys like John Stockton, Karl Malone and later Yao Ming. Fun trip down memory lane with Scott. Hope you enjoy.

In Episode 34, I catch up with former NMSU Aggie basketball star and former UNM Lobo assistant coach Brandon Mason trying to figure out what he's been up to since resigning in August. Has he been watching the Lobos, many of whom he recruited to Albuquerque? What's next for him with basketball in the state? And how's that Lobo alumni team coming along for this summer's TBT (The Basketball Tournament)?

In Episode 33.1, (correcting Ep 33 that started 10 minutes into the podcast) I catch up with UNM assistant Dan McHale about what makes a good press defense? How often with the Lobos press this year? What are the pitfalls of pressing? The product of the Rick Pitino coaching tree walks me through a bit of the basics on what to look for in a press and why the Lobos will do more of it as the season goes on. Also, there's some sound from NMSU coach Chris Jans about telling his team about their recent game cancellation in California as he found out during a practice and how he handled that.

In Episode 32, I catch up with NMSU Aggies coach Chris Jans about life as a program relocated out of New Mexico due to the public health order, what he did on the team's recent COVID pause (spoiler alert, we talked streamed shows and Christmas movies) and what he knows about his team so far in this crazy season as games are (finally) about to start again for his team.

In Episode 31, I catch up with La Cueva High and UCLA graduate Bryce Alford about his participation in TBT (The Basketball Tournament), his take on what his older brother will be like in his first head coaching job at an NAIA school in Indiana, his dad's return to he Mountain West with Nevada, what his own basketball future may bring and plenty of other things.

In Episode 30 I catch up with Albuquerque Academy graduate Cody Toppert, former NBA assistant and current Memphis Tigers assistant about his upcoming gig as a coach in TBT (The Basketball Tournament), the Elam Ending, coaching with Penny Hardaway, basketball analytics and whether or not his team has a shot at winning $1 million.

In Episode 29 I catch up with UNM Lobo basketball rising seniors Makuach Maluach and Keith McGee (the team's third senior, Zane Martin, was not available). They talk about the odd offseason being away from teammates, expectations for next year, who is the best at video games and what they're learning watching 'The Last Dance' documentary on the Chicago Bulls.

I check in with Lobo assistant coach and former NMSU Aggie player Brandon Mason to get his perspective on 'The Last Dance' documentary on the Chicago Bulls. Mason was a junior playing basketball in Chicago during the 1997-98 Bulls championship season, wore 23 throughout his career due to Michael Jordan and I ask him what if a 5-star recruit wants to play for the Lobos but thinks LeBron is better than MJ.

In Episode 27 I catch up with Lobo hoops assistant coach Dan McHale to see what the heck college basketball coaches who aren't allowed to be on the road recruiting or in the office due to coronavirus concerns are doing this time of year. Turns out, they're still busy as ever. Dan walks us through his Rick Pitino coaching education, how UNM is recruiting now and some thoughts on next year's team.

In Episode 26 I veer off course a bit with a conversation with New Mexico's own Holly Holm ahead of UFC 246 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nev. Holly is in the co-main event of UFC 246 against Raquel Pennington and while we touch on that some, the main point I wanted to talk about in the time we got with her away from the rest of the media is her connection with the fans of New Mexico who love her so much and her sense of obligation to never let them down.

While some Mountain West coaches brag on wins on the court or on the recruiting trail, the life of a service academy coach is a little different. I had a talk with, admittedly, one of my favorite coaches in the Mountain West, Air Force's Dave Pilipovich. He talks about what it's like coaching cadets, their lives after college basketball, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the charity work he and his wife do in Colorado Springs, some memories of coaching against the Lobos, and I ask him for some of his favorite Snake stories through the years.

UNM Lobos point guard J.J. Caldwell and I sat down before a practice earlier this week to talk about his quick start in UNM's 7-2 start to the season after having played very little basketball over the past three years. The pass-first PG may be getting overlooked since he isn't one of the team's scorers. We talk about that and I break down the start of Mountain West hoops play before wrapping up the pod with a brief interview with my 10-year-old daughter about her strategy to beat me picking games this season.

One-time Albuquerque Journal staffer Andy Katz, the former Lobo hoops beat writer who went on to the Fresno Bee, ESPN and now spreads his work around with NCAA.com, Turner Sports, The BigTen Network, Fox and elsewhere, talked with us about his memories of covering the Lobos, his current Albuquerque connections and the state of the Lobo program today.

On the eve of the 2019 version of the Rio Grande Rivalry, I interview UNM Operations Director Ralph Davis who was the head coach at New Mexico Military Institute when current NMSU Aggies star Trevelin Queen played there. Davis offers his unique insight on the pro potential of the NMSU guard. I also answer listener questions and break down UNM's loss at UTEP.

I talk with Craig Snow, the special assistant to the head coach of Lobo basketball who is the former assistant coach with the team but spent the past five years as head coach and part of that time as Athletic Director at New Mexico Highlands. We talk about his journey from playing at Evansville to Albuquerque and what brought him back for a second stint with the Lobos.

In the long-awaited return of the podcast, I talk with JaQuan Lyle and Carlton Bragg, the 23-year-old team captains who have taken an unlikely path to being teammates in Albuquerque. They talk about their journey, their expectations, what it's like being roommates and some teammates Lobo fans should look out for this season.

As Paul Weir enters season two of his tenure as head coach of the Lobos basketball program, I ask him for some big picture assessments of what he accomplished in his first season, what he regrets and what should fans expect from him and his team in the coming 2018-19 season.

New UNM Lobo point guard Keith McGee talks about his growing up, what got him to UNM and he's remarkably open about some insecurities he's had as a player, saying he had to overcome confidence issues both at the junior college he played at last season and earlier this semester at UNM when he started playing with the Lobos.

In Episode 17, I had a long talk with the man I consider the New Mexico coach that never was. Dick Hunsaker is a Clovis High graduate who has played for or coached with the likes of Don Haskins, Neil McCarthy and Rick Majerus while also having connections with Steve Alford and Craig Neal (heck, he was even once a part of a summer camp with Bob King and Norm Ellenberger). Hunsaker talks about all those connections and spending a week observing this year's UNM Lobos and head coach Paul Weir.

In Episode 16, I have a conversation with Lobo sophomores Vladimir Pinchuk and Makuach Maluach. The two have a unique bond as they were not only the only two freshmen on last year's team but were both living in the United States for the first time. They talk about their transition to a new country, college basketball and even interview each other about guilty pleasures like Pinchuk's love of watching hundreds of episodes of Family Feud.

(Reposting from 3/24/18) In Episode 9, I veer off course from the usual Lobo hoops podcasts and talk to the author of "All the Dreams We've Dreamed" and the central figure of that book, former NMSU Aggie point guard Shawn Harrington, who in 2014 was shot while taking his daughter to school in the west side of Chicago. Bradburd, an NMSU professor and former Aggies basketball coach who recruited Shawn to Las Cruces in the 1990's, talks about why he wrote the book and his relationship with his former player. Shawn walks us through that tragic morning and talks about what he hopes people take from the book. I am reposting this on Oct. 3, 2018 because it was originally posted under an Albuquerque Journal account and this will add it to all the proper channels for my podcast.

Episode 15 is a conversation with Indiana Pacers scout and former Cleveland State coach Kevin Mackey, the architect of the Run and Stun press that UNM Lobos head coach Paul Weir is trying to implement with his program. Mackey flew to Albuquerque a year ago to help the Lobos coaching staff with the system. He's back a year later. What did he see with the Lobos using the press in Year 1, what started his use of the Press in the 1980s and what is Paul Weir's level of commitment to it moving forward?

Episode 14 is a conversation with UNM Lobos basketball assistant Jerome Robinson about his path to coaching. From a Jamaican family and growing up in Toronto, not only how did he get into hoops, but how did he become one of Canada's best? He was roommates with Steve Nash on the Canadian National team, guarded a young Argentine player named Manu Ginobili, was a standout defender every where he's played and then dabbled with the sports agent world before getting into coaching. He's in year two now with the Lobos, but what game last year brought a tear to his eye?

In Episode 13, I sit down with longtime Journal prep sports editor James Yodice. We talk about the high school football season ahead, what it means to be the prep editor at the state's largest paper (for my money, as tough a gig as there is in journalism), the time his computer caught fire, some of his favorite places to cover a game in the state and how much he enjoys having a colleague who sings the Alamogordo High School fight song during the hectic Friday nights.

In Episode 12, UNM classes start Monday, Aug. 20, which means it's the last first day of school for Dane Kuiper and Anthony Mathis. The two seniors on the Lobos basketball team sat down with me last week to talk about the journeys at UNM so far, the season ahead and the legacy they hope to cement in their final year at UNM. They also talk about when they first played each other in the 6th grade when Anthony was living in Oregon and Dane in Alaska, who talks more trash, is Dane really a good fisherman just because he has tattoos of fish and what are their memories of the run the team went on to finish last season?

In Episode 11, I sit down with Lobos hoops coach Paul Weir for some stories from the recruiting trail, and more. What does the intense July recruiting period really even mean anymore for a program like UNM? Is it even the best use of time and resources for a program like UNM (or others in the Mountain West) that seem to be made up of as many or more DI and junior college transfers than high school kids anymore? I talk with Paul about that and much more in this episode.

In Episode 10, we have some Lobo hoops updates and hear from Paul Weir on his thoughts on scheduling, and why UNM's non-conference schedule still isn't completed, then have a lengthy catch-up conversation with former Lobo and Los Alamos High graduate Alex Kirk. We talk about his golf game, his pro career, some Lobo memories (he gets some trash talk in about some former pickup games he played), his Foundation and his life off the court, including his dating an Olympic volleyball player.

In Episode 8, I talk with Lobo basketball transfers JaQuan Lyle, the former two year starter at Ohio State, and Vance Jackson, who started as a freshman last season at UConn. The two sat out this season for UNM per NCAA transfer rules so we talked about how hard it was to watch their teammates, how hard UNM's conditioning program is, the future of Lobo basketball and who actually won more games when the two played one-on-one over the past six months?

Three UNM Lobos play their final home game off the season March 3 in the Pit -- Joe Furstinger, Antino Jackson and Sam Logwood. I talk with two of those three (Logwood couldn't make the interview) about their memories and the legacies they hope to leave. I also talk with Paul Weir about the foundation these seniors have helped leave for not only the longterm, but just over the next week or so this season and how grateful he is for them taking a chance on him in his first year coaching the team when they could have moved on.

In Episode 6 of the Talking Grammer podcast I have two interviews to share with you, one with former NBA All Star and former Lobo basketball great Danny Granger, who is now working with CBS Sports Network, the network broadcasting nest week's Mountain West Tournament games. Danny talks about his time with the Lobos, his dabbling in the television world and the current scandals in college hoops. In the second interview on this episode, I interview my 8-year-old daughter, who by flipping a coin to all seasons is beating me, the college basketball writer, in picking college hoops games this season and I'm not too happy about it. I post all the picks on social media and fans and coaches across the Mountain West have been rooting for the coin over me all season. I've decided to ground her until she starts letting me win some games.

Talking Grammer, Episode 5 features a conversation I had with UNM men's basketball associate head coach Chris Harriman last week. Chris and I talked about his time at UNM (this is his third season and he's the lone holdover from the Craig Neal era), his time working for Rick Majerus at Saint Louis and Tim Miles at Nebraska, his addiction to coffee and his 10-year-old son, Avery, giving him great perspective on life with an always-happy outlook while battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia since the age of 2.

Talking Grammer, Episode 4 features an interview I did with Lobo basketball strength and conditioning coach Tyler Stuart, the man behind the madness of the crazy conditioning program UNM has implemented this season. How out of shape was this team when he started? How do he and Lobos coach Paul Weir work together? The podcast also features audio from an interview I had with Weir in August in which he explained his philosophy on hiring Tyler and his goal to have a program that could wear opposing teams down.

It took awhile, but I'm back and trying another go at this Talking Grammer podcast. Episode 3 features an interview I did (in a noisy airport) with UNM Lobos guard Anthony Mathis the day after the team's shocking win at UNLV. That's at about the 7 minute mark after I ramble a bit about my cold, my sloppy writing and what I hope to bring with the future of this podcast. Hope you enjoy.

For Episode 2 on 8/23/17, I sat down with UNM assistant coach Brandon Mason, a former NMSU Aggie player, and UNM Director of Player Development David Chiotti, a former Lobo player. The two talk about their pro careers, playing against each other in the UNM/NMSU rivalry and working with new Lobos coach Paul Weir.

I sat down with first year UNM Lobos men's basketball coach Paul Weir to discus his philosophy on building his team and the recent "Weir's Science" four-part series published in the Albuquerque Journal. (Cover art via Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal)