This is an I heart podcast guaranteed human. Okay, Darren, we have to have a reaction from last night's game, 82 to 71. Yukon Huskies take down the Furman Paladins, a 15 seed bid for an upset didn't happen. But I do think that people got to see the Furman Paladins in the Southern Conference in a different light because this was not a game where Yukon was just able to waltz right through. They were in for a battle the entire night. They were and first and foremost, I can't tell you how proud I am to, you know, be associated with with Furman and the Southern Conference after this. They made everybody proud. That team played there. You know what's off last night. Oh, yeah. They weren't afraid of them. They weren't afraid of the moment. Coach Richie had those guys and that staff had those guys prepared. They were locked in and ready to go. And so just first and foremost, give them their flowers, man. That was I know there's no moral victories, right? But like that was that was a very, very impressive performance against a team that frankly look it's a really good Yukon team. I say what you want about injuries or not. Yes, really good Yukon team. And it's also a very well coached team as well. Oh, no question. And I know they were down Silas Dimmery, Jr. there. He didn't play. And that was a big factor in this game. There's no question. You don't have Jalen Stewart. He's wasn't able to play and he's been injured. And that's six man of the year there in the biggie. So I mean, that's an all type of stellar two individuals that you don't have on out on the court. But still, this was a firm and team that they didn't want to go away quietly into the night. So to speak there in Philly. But at the beginning of the game, you thought that Yukon might be showing their muscle. Now we got to see some muscle from Terris Reed, Jr. Eventually we'll talk about that. But Yukon goes up 6-0 quickly there in the first couple of minutes and you're thinking, okay, because Furman wasn't hitting. They missed a couple of shots. And then it was just Alex Wilkins said, okay, let me take over right here as he penetrates. It gets to the rim, gets the foul and the and one. And that just seemed to stabilize things for Furman. Now, missed the free throw, but still it was just that bravado, that attitude that you saw all season long with Alex Wilkins. And for Yukon, I know they knew that Alex Wilkins is going to be a guy. And Danny Hurley talked about it. I mean, even in the post game presser, he talked about that, hey, I was worried. I did not want to see Furman on that 15 seed line there because he watched according to him that he watched that ETSU Furman championship game in the Socon tournament there in Asheville. But it was Alex Wilkins that just seemed to get things under control for the Paladins and make sure that they could weather that storm, then hitting a big three. And then of course, Tom House being able to knock down some threes. And that just gave life to the Furman Paladins. And so that's what you wanted to see because we knew it was going to be very difficult for Furman to win this game. And that's not disparaging to Furman. We just know the difference in terms of Big East basketball versus Southern Conference basketball and the depth that you have between the two rosters. And so when you look at it from a paper perspective, looking at the rosters, yes, you're quickly going to say, OK, you cons got this game. And I can tell you a lot of you con fans felt very confident going into the game that Furman was not even going to be able to keep it close. But we do know paper don't play. You have to go out there and play the game. And so Furman was able to do that. And you're also going to have to have a situation where could things happen in a way that are not indicative of the normal. So Furman, they were going to have to do some things that to play above what they did during the regular season. And then also you're going to have to combine that with some certain things for you, con, to play below some of their normals throughout the season. And we saw that you con couldn't hit anything from the perimeter there. And that's what also allowed Furman to stay within reach there, especially in that first half. Yeah, look, credit to Furman. Again, they just were not afraid of the moment they didn't back down. They looked like and we expected this. So I'm only saying this just to emphasize the point. Like they looked like they belonged like defensively. I know you con got six quick points. But once Furman settled in there, and you mentioned Tom House and Alex Wilkins really helping them get settled in and calm down. Once they settled in, I know you con got they generated some open threes and they missed. But look, credit to Furman's defense. Like they did a good job defensively on that you con team. You know, that's a that's a big, strong, athletic, long roster. And sometimes I'll say this too, like sometimes even when you're generating good shots and look, we're in an era where if you run really efficient and effective offense, you're going to generate a good shot more often than not because that's right. Offenses have just gotten so good. It's really, really hard to guard good offenses. And especially both these teams are hard to scout on a short scout because of the complexities and the unknowns that they that they use offensively. And so you con did generate some open looks. But look, I genuinely believe some of those misses are because Furman made them work for those. These were not these were not necessarily, hey, we're going to we're going to move this thing around. We're going to get a dribble penetration and a spray out and in rhythm jump shot early in the shot clock. It's easy. Some of these misses were because Furman was making those guys work to get those open jump shots. And look, they they they absolutely battled and kept this thing close. And you mentioned it, you let a two seat go up six, eight, oh, really quick. That can be really demoralizing and you can and you can fall behind and that can turn into a quick 15 no run before you can blank. And man, they just did not let that happen. And as soon as as soon as they kind of rained that back in, I knew in my gut, just knowing what I know about this Furman roster and that coaching staff and the belief. I was like, I think I think we're in for one here because they battled back quick and they just were not they just were not phased by that that quick start by you. No, they definitely weren't. Now, the other thing that Furman had no answer to is Teres Reed, Jr. there in the interior. And we talked about it on our preview episode that one of the keys was you're going to have to have some interior play from Furman and be able to slow things down in the interior, especially on the offensive glass. And my goodness, Teres Reed, Jr. I mean, an historic performance, 31 points, 27 rebounds. I mean, he out rebounded Furman by himself, not only in the first half, 16 to 14, but also for the entire game, 27 rebounds just by himself to Furman's 23 as a team and Furman had no answer. And again, you've got two 611 guys with Johnston and Bowser there, but they're giving up 50 pounds basically against Reed. And he was also shooting at historic numbers also. I mean, at one point he was nine for nine from the field. And I remember even during the game as they were going to a break and they mentioned that Teres Reed, Jr. had 11 points and 11 rebounds in 11 minutes. And I was thinking, there's no way he's got 11 rebounds, not even possible in 11 minutes. And so I had to quickly go look at the box score. And sure enough, I was right. He didn't have 11 points and 11 rebounds in 11 minutes. He had 11 points and 11 rebounds and just over eight minutes of play for him because he didn't play the entire 11 minutes there before that break. So again, you needed an historic performance there for Yukon to somewhat keep pace there with Furman because they were not going away. But again, that's part of what Yukon is. They have the depth, they have the roster. And as much as you can talk about Teres Reed and everything that he did, man, we talked about it. How were you going to be able to defend Alex Caraban? And I think ultimately he was the X factor for Yukon as he scored 22 points. But it was his three point shooting four of nine as the Huskies were only five of 25 from beyond the arc for the entire game. So again, you can talk about Reed and everything that he did. And again, I know it's we haven't seen that type of performance in the past 58 years there in NCAA tournament, but Caraban just continues to be that stabilizer for the Huskies. He does. And it wasn't a completely quiet 21 for him. But it was like it just it was just he was just working within the offense. Yeah. And they were getting what they needed from him. But the Teres Reed point, I mean. He he was 15 and nine all season, right? Like this is not. Yes, it was absolutely a historic performance. But like this is this is a dude now. Like this isn't a guy that just had like a kind of a big time night. And look, for a minute, I mean, they were battling him down there. It's just he's had 50, 60 pounds. And that's a lot. I mean, that's a lot. I mean, this dude is six nine, six, ten, two, 60. That's a big time frame and he can move. And he was really good at getting angles. Like this wasn't this was also to I think to his credit and also a little bit to to Furman right here of hey, he just wasn't like punking guys. He was really good last night at getting angles. It was he got a lot of touches where look, yeah, his size advantage from a weight perspective mattered. But like he played angles really well. And he got the ball and they got him the ball in spots that were really advantageous for him a lot of times. And, you know, credit to to Yukon for doing that. And he passed the ball. Look, he passed the ball pretty well when when when Furman started to double. And I get why I get why Furman was careful about the doubling aspect of it. Because it's it's really hard to double down and just kind of go all out on that because inevitably you are going to give up open threes. And so look, it's a fine line of of when, where and how you double. You know, I think a lot of people probably look at it and say, well, you know, he Teres Reed was dominating. You just got to send you just got to send a second guy on the catch or or at a minimum on on the on the first bounce. But it's just not that simple because you put your guys in rotations and you're going to give up open shots and you're going to give up dribble drives. You have to be really strategic with it, you know, potentially where he's catching it on the floor. And I think at the end of the day, he's a really good player and credit to him for what he was able to do. And for that offense to be able for the most part in that game, get him the ball in areas where he was able to play to his strengths. Yes, right. And he was able to seal off the defender multiple times and got great position. And then it was a challenge. Hey, are you going to try to front or are you still going to try to play behind? And that's where you're talking about the angles. Somehow he just understood exactly where to position himself. Yeah. And be able to utilize some really good footwork to be able to even take a step, get to the basket, even reverse layups. He had a whole repertoire of moves there against Furman. So it was just a difficult task. And again, yes, you double team him and he was able to kick it out. And that's where Alex Caravan is going to be such a crucial part of the offense there for you, Khan, especially when you have Braylon Mullins not getting going from beyond the arc. So low ball only hit, you know, one three pointer there. He struggled from beyond the arc also. But again, you don't have Silas Dimmery, a junior there. So that's a big part of not only from offensive standpoint, but even from the defensive standpoint for you, Khan, and not being able to contain Alex Wilkins. And as much as we say Furman had no answer for Reed, well, you can't have no answer for Alex Wilkins. I promise you his fluidity and his ability just to get going in open space, create space, all of those things. It just I don't want to say he made it look effortless. But to a certain degree, it's just his ability to glide in the aesthetics. It does just seem effortless for him because it didn't matter who they threw out there on him. He was either either driving by somebody or if you gave him a little bit of space out on the perimeter, he said, OK, thank you. I'm just going to knock this down right here. And even to 25 footer, it didn't matter. And just how quickly he could get up and down the court. And then we've seen it all season long. And we saw it even on the biggest stage last night for Furman against a two seed. Yukon Huskies, who again, I definitely think still is in contention for making it to the final four is his vision in terms of once he was able to penetrate, you bring a defender over, even when Reed would come over to try to slow the penetration down. We know what's going to happen. Alex Wilkins is such a good passer and distributor and just his vision to lob it up. Cooper Bowser and that just continued to give them so much momentum in terms of the firm and paladins because Alex Wilkins was the true engine for the paladins from the offensive side. Oh, yeah. And look, I'll say it was effortless. I mean, he is he's he's a special player. He just is like they they started off the game, guarding him pretty much, you know, 94 feet. And he he was able to get ahead of steam and get to the rim. You know, they really they switched early on a lot of different stuff. And he was still able to figure it out. As you mentioned, they played off him a little bit, not a ton, but a little bit to say, look, we were not going to we don't want you to get by us. And he had a couple of threes. And, you know, there were a number of times where he was able to turn a corner or he was able to to beat whoever was guarding him close to full court, get ahead of steam. And he got downhill. He just has a he has that it factor that you just can't teach. And that is just an instinct for the game that's special. And he proved that last night that, look, he can get it done in a lot of ways. And, you know, the big stages is not is never too big for him. Yeah. And he made consistent plays last night. And look. I am not. Those are two phenomenal, phenomenal coaches out there last night. So I am not playing Monday morning quarterback here to anybody. But I've said it. You got to get the ball out of his hands. If he has the ball in his hands, like the dude just makes plays. It's he does. Look, it's not easy. That's right. But hey, it's OK. We've got to get it out of his hands. Yeah. Hey, we're Saturday morning quarterback here. It's not Monday. I'll tell you what. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not going to tell either of those staffs what to do. Both those staffs are phenomenal staffs, and they do an incredible job. And both of those guys came in last night with with really strong game plans and had their teams ready to go. They did. But just watching, watching this Furman team so much this year to me, it's just like if he has the ball in his hands, he's going to find ways to make plays. There's no question. And even if he has a couple of turnovers, like he's going to his big time plays and making play and making others better, they're just going to outweigh it. So to me, it's just like, I just want to get the ball out of his hands. That's right. Yeah. You have to live with that to a certain degree. He had four turnovers in the game. So that is kind of par for what we've seen for him, you know, for the course of the season, but he had 21 points and he was very efficient. Four of eight from three point line, eight of 15 from the field. And so you live with some of that in terms of what he can bring you on the positive side and the offensive production side. And what a great scene, though, for Tom House to be able to be a true contributor there also for the Paladins. Also, 21 points as he's able to showcase just his ability to knock down the three point shot. And you just needed a little bit more contribution because it was really all of the Alex Wilkins, Tom House show from the perimeter. Asa Thomas goes, oh, a four from the perimeter there. And you needed somebody like that to be able to help to continue to stretch that defense there. And, you know, we talked about it. I felt for Furman, they're going to have to hit 12 three pointers. They're going to have to shoot just over 40 percent to be able to win this game. And they ended up nine to 24, 38 percent. So just oh, so close. I mean, you hit three more three pointers. Then all of a sudden it's a two point game and it's a different type of scenario. And just think about it. I mean, Furman, it was 70 to 65 when Ben Vander Waal gets that offensive rebound and gets the putback in the and one opportunity. And, you know, that's with just over five minutes to go just under six minutes. And so Furman was right in this game, but Yukon just shows, you know, just how you finish games as they go into 12 to six run to end the game there. And ultimately you win by 11 points. But just a great showcase for Furman, Paladins, the Southern Conference to show that they weren't going to go quietly into that late night there in Philly. No. And as you mentioned, I mean, so happy, so happy for Tom House played played so well last night, it was, you know, like you said, I mean, he he and Wilkins were the catalysts out there. And they got look, they got contributions from other guys. Don't don't get me wrong. They did. Yes. Yeah. Charles Johnson, another good game. Bowser had a really good game also. Yep. Yep. I thought I thought Cole and Ben did a good job defensively, you know, and and look, I mean, they were they were getting to a point where, man, Tom, all he needed to do is catch it. Yes. And he was feeling it. Yeah. Like, I mean, it was it was he hit a couple that he didn't even have his feet set. He just squared his shoulders on the release and he was all you need to knock him down. Yeah. But when you when you're the caliber of shooter that Tom House is, that's, I mean, you'll figure out a way to square your shoulders mid shot and be able to give yourself a chance. But like you said, ultimately, you know, I think the possession that ultimately was the backbreaker was the three offensive rebound possession there with about yes, around around three left. And they ended up you was able to run like a minute 30 seconds. That's right. A minute and 37 seconds off the clock, I think. And if and if I remember correctly, they scored on that third offensive rebound. And and that obviously that that was a killer right there. Look, it's no easy task to keep to keep the Yukon Huskies off the offense. That's right. It's part of their identity. It is about that on the preview show. But man, I mean, they ended up with 18 offensive rebounds last night. And that's when you give a change, when you give a team like Yukon, 18 extra chances is tough. And here's the thing though. Like it's so much of their identity. This wasn't Furman playing lazy. This wasn't Furman boxing out. This was just this is this is what Yukon does. And and they do this to other power. Yes, they do. You know, but but unfortunately, I think that was they cut it to you. Like you said, four or five. And then they then fortunately were able to get three offensive rebounds in a row. And that that was just really tough because it took it took over a minute and 30 seconds off the clock. And I'm almost positive they scored on that possession. And and it just that was kind of the that kind of was the backbreaker. Yeah. And there's no question. It just becomes demoralizing when you're giving up offensive rebounds there and, you know, continue and have to play defense even longer and especially at the end of the game. And it was just one of those things where, you know, could Furman continue that type of effort. And it was just a challenge. But it was a mathematical equation at that point when you're giving up 18 offensive rebounds and also Yukon showed just how good they are on the offensive side in terms of fluidity as well in the spacing and the ball distribution. Twenty two assists on 32 made field goals. That's pretty good. Now, Furman was had. Yeah, they were efficient as well. Yeah. Furman's 14 assists on 21 made field goals. So both teams were efficient on the offensive side. But we do know UCLA is waiting for Yukon now. And for the Furman Paladins, it is the offseason. But what a great representation of not only the Furman Paladins, but also of the Southern Conference. We'll see what this offseason brings for the Furman Paladins, because it could get interesting that that is for certain. But we've got much more coverage of SoCon fast break. So make sure you hit that subscribe button right there on YouTube or even follow on Apple podcast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. Because again, we're going to have much more content throughout the summer as we'll continue bringing you SoCon hoops coverage. Until next time, may all your jumpers hit nothing but the bottom of the net.
