Tradition's Finest Episode 128 - "The Naismith Episode"

Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast! Episode 128 - "The Naismith Episode" includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics: - NCAA: News & Storylines - - NCAA College Basketball: The College Coaching Carousel: Quite possibly, with the most buzzworthy news surrounding it, North Carolina men's basketball coach Hubert Davis was fired by the school, bringing a conclusion to a tumultuous week after the Tar Heels' stunning loss to VCU in the first round of this year's NCAA Tournament, exiting in the Round of 64 for the second consecutive year: The Tar Heels led the Rams by 19 in the second half but collapsed down the stretch in an 82-79 OT defeat, which was the largest comeback in the NCAA Tournament since 2018 - - North Carolina went 24-9 this season, despite projected top-five NBA draft pick Caleb Wilson sitting out the final nine (9) games because of hand & thumb injuries - - In five (5) seasons as coach, Davis was 125-54, finishing with a winning percentage of 69.8% - - The school did not specify the nature of Davis' departure in its statement Tuesday night, simply calling it a change in leadership, - but in a post on Instagram, Davis said he was "let go" by the university and that his desire was to continue to coach at Chapel Hill - - The decision to fire Davis came from a recommendation from current AD Bubba Cunningham and executive associate AD Steve Newmark, who will take over the AD role on July 1 - - That recommendation was accepted by chancellor Lee Roberts on Tuesday - - Davis' exit looms large over a historic or "blue blood" college basketball program that has long leaned into alumni and the so-called Carolina Way, and opens one of the most coveted positions in all of basketball - - His departure opens the possibility of the school seeking a coach outside the North Carolina family for the first time since Bill Guthridge's three-season stint ended in 1999-2000, as Matt Doherty, Roy Williams & Davis, who each followed Guthridge, are all UNC alumni. . .Q: Is it time for North Carolina to bring back the GOAT Michael "MJ" Jordan to Chapel Hill as the Tar Heels' next head basketball coach? If the school's leadership does, in fact, seek a coach outside of the North Carolina family, who are a couple of the most notable coaches the program should pursue (i.e., Alabama's Nate Oats, Florida's Todd Golden, etc.)? . . .Providence has hired South Florida's Bryan Hodgson as its next men's head basketball coach - - Hodgson is joining the Friars after leading the Bulls to a 25-9 record, the American Conference regular-season and postseason titles, and a bid to this year's NCAA Tournament as an No.11 seed in his lone season in Tampa - - The No.11 Bulls were eliminated from the 2026 NCAA Tournament after suffering a loss to No.6 Louisville last Thursday in the first round - - Hodgson is a former Nate Oats assistant coach at Buffalo and Alabama, who brings an up-tempo style of play predicated on high-efficiency shot selection - - Hodgson, 38, will replace Kim English, who went 48-52 in his three (3) years at Providence, which included back-to-back losing seasons in 2024-25 and 2025-26 - - Providence will be the third school in three (3) years for Hodgson, who spent two seasons at Arkansas State, where he led the program to a pair of 20-win seasons, including a 25-11 Sun Belt Conference regular-season title in 2024-25, which gave the Red Wolves their first NIT bid in more than three (3) decades, prior to accepting the head coaching position at South Florida - - Hodgson now inherits a program considered well-funded in the Big East Conference, and one that is looking to get back to winning consistently, a feat the program hasn't experienced since Ed Cooley left for Georgetown in 2023. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Providence's hire of USF's Bryan Hodgson as their new men's head basketball coach?. . .Syracuse has turned to its past by hiring former star guard, Gerry McNamara, in a bid to guide a fading men's college basketball program back to prominence, the school announced on Tuesday - - McNamara, 42, aptly nicknamed "G-Mac," is returning to where he & Carmelo Anthony led the Orange to a national championship in the 2003-04 college basketball season - - Following an outstanding playing career, McNamara then spent 14 years as an assistant coach at his alma mater under Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, and an additional season under his successor, Adrian Autry - - Now, he replaces Autry at Syracuse, who was fired after three (3) largely disappointing seasons in which the Orange went a combined 49-48 and extended their NCAA Tournament drought to five (5) seasons, the program's longest since 1967-72 - - McNamara returns to central New York after spending the past two seasons at Siena, where he led the Saints to a combined 37-30 record, which included a 23-12 finish this year in which they won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament & clinched their first NCAA Tournament berth since the 2010-11 season. . .Q: What are your thoughts on former star point guard & Siena coach Gerry "G-Mac" McNamara being hired as the next head men's basketball coach at Syracuse?. . .Creighton coach Greg McDermott is retiring after the 2025-26 NCAA college basketball season, the school announced on Monday, as his retirement will end a gilded run at Creighton, as McDermott, 61, won 365 games in 16 years as the head coach of the Blue Jays - - McDermott has a career record of 514-319 over 25 D-I seasons, including the 2023 Elite Eight and bids into 13 NCAA Tournaments, while the head coach at Northern Iowa, Iowa State & Creighton - - McDermott will be passing the job to the coach-in-waiting, Alan Huss, who had returned to the Creighton staff and was formally positioned for a year to take over this role, as the transition to Huss was hatched in April 2025, as he stepped down as the head coach at High Point University after leading them to a bid in the NCAA Tournament - - At Creighton, McDermott memorably coached his son, Doug McDermott, from 2010-11 to 2013-14, a time for which he was integral in helping bridge Creighton from the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) to the Big East Conference: The seamless transition from the MVC to the Big East will continue to be a huge part of Greg McDermott's legacy, as Creighton won the Big East regular-season title in the 2019-20 season, and had records of .500 or above in Big East play in 11 of 13 seasons in the league - - However, Creighton struggled this year by the standard McDermott set, finishing the season with a 15-17 overall record, and ending a streak of 10 consecutive 20-win seasons. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Creighton's announcement that head men's basketball coach Greg McDermott will retire at the end of the 2025-26 college basketball season? Thoughts on his replacement, coach-in-waiting Alan Huss? . . .2026 March Madness: First and Second Round Review & Recap: The first weekend of the 2026 NCAA Tournament is officially in the books, and there are, of course, distinct winners & losers - - Among the big winners are the Big Ten Conference and John Calipari, who has guided the Arkansas Razorbacks to its second Sweet 16 appearance in his second season with the program, while his former team, the Kentucky Wildcats, are headed back home to Lexington: In this particular segment, JD & Spencer discuss & review the first and second-round games from this past weekend - as well as discuss a few of the major takeaways from the first weekend of March Madness: **Be Sure to Tune in to hear this week's "March Madness: First and Second Round Review" segment. . . - 2026 NCAA Tournament: Sweet 16 & Elite Eight Preview & Predictions: The Sweet 16 is officially set after a wild first weekend of the 2026 NCAA Tournament: If you wanted Madness, you sure got your case full of it - - If you wanted a shocking upset, you got it, thanks to the No.9 seed Iowa Hawkeyes pulling off the stunning upset victory over the defending national champion Florida Gators - - If you wanted thrilling buzzer-beaters, you got multiple orders, thanks to St. John's guard Dylan Darling, who delivered the game-winner to stun No.4 seed Kansas on Sunday to send the fifth-seeded Red Storm to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999, and an all-time classic in the Nebraska-Vanderbilt matchup, punctuated by Tyler Tanner's potentially game-winning heave that was halfway down the basket until it wasn't - - If you crave high-quality basketball, last weekend certainly answered the call, with the exception of the first 30 minutes of the St. John's-Kansas second-round matchup, which could aptly be described as a football game that occurred on a hardwood floor inside of a gymnasium or arena - - Sweet 16 by Conference breakdown: Big Ten Conference (6), SEC Conference (4), Big 12 Conference (3), Big East Conference (2) and ACC Conference (1) - - The second weekend of March Madness has an extremely high bar to cross after fulfilling an epic, madness-inducing first weekend of the 2026 NCAA Tournament - - In this particular segment, JD & Spencer will preview each of the third round (i.e., Sweet 16) matchups from this weekend, as well as provide their individual predictions/game picks for both the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, to present their Final Four picks for this year's tournament. . .**Be Sure to Tune in to hear this week's "Sweet 16 & Elite Eight Preview and Predictions" segment, and Share Your Game Picks with us via X/Twitter - @TraditionFinest or Send Us a Message at [email protected]!. . . - NFL - - Debate/Discuss: Is Ty Simpson the best overall QB prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft? Why or why not? If not, which QB prospect would rate higher than the former Alabama Crimson Tide QB?. . .Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year, has reached an agreement with the Seattle Seahawks on a four-year, $168.8 million contract extension that makes him the highest-paid WR in NFL history, sources informed ESPN - - The deal averages $42.15 million per year and includes over $120 million guaranteed, both setting records for a WR - - With this new agreement, the two-time Pro Bowler is contractually tied to the Super Bowl reigning champion Seahawks through the 2031 NFL season - - Smith-Njigba's deal with the Seahawks is the latest jump in the ever-evolving WR market - one that will certainly impact the division rival, Los Angeles Rams, who could be working on a Puka Nacua extension/deal this offseason, as the star wideout is entering the final year of his rookie deal in 2026 - - **NOTE: Smith-Njigba's salary eclipses the previous high for a WR: Ja'Marr Chase's deal with the Cincinnati Bengals, which has an average annual value of $40.25 million, with the next highest average annual salary after Chase including Vikings WR Justin Jefferson ($35 million), Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb ($34 million), Steelers WR DK Metcalf ($33 million) and Jets WR Garrett Wilson ($32.5 million). . .Q: What are your thoughts on JSN's record-breaking contract extension with the Seattle Seahawks?. . . - Miscellaneous - - "R.I.P. To a Legend:" According to a family statement posted on social media last Friday morning, on the island of Kaua'i (Hawai'i), Chuck Norris passed away at the age of 86 - - Norris was an American martial artist, actor, screenwriter, and author - - Throughout his life, Norris had earned and received several black belts: these include a 10^th degree black belt in Chun Kuk Do (founded in 1990 by Chuck Norris himself, as it was based on his Tang Soo Do training in Korea while he was enlisted in the military), a 9^th degree black belt in Tang Soo Do, an 8^th degree black belt in Taekwondo, a 5^th degree black belt in Karate, a 3^rd degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from the Machado family, and a black belt in Judo - - In 1968, he won the Professional Middleweight Karate champion title, for which he held for six (6) consecutive years - - In 1969, he won Karate's triple crown for the most tournament wins in a year, and he was also recognized as the "Fighter of the Year," by Black Belt Magazine - - In 1989, he received his Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 1999, he was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum's Hall of Fame as one of its 10 inaugural members - - In 2010, he was nominated and won the Lifetime Achievement Award at ActionFest - - Norris began working in the American film industry as a martial arts instructor for celebrities prior to making his big screen debut with a minor role in The Wrecking Crew (1968) - - Friend & fellow martial artist, Bruce Lee, invited him to play as one of the main villains in The Way of the Dragon (1972) - - His numerous roles in projects like Walker, Texas Ranger, and others only heightened the iconic tough guy persona - - Away from his acting roles, "Chuck Norris Facts" went viral with crazy and fun statements and/or puns, such as: "Chuck Norris had a staring contest with the son - and won," and "They wanted to put Chuck Norris on Mt. Rushmore but the granite wasn't tough enough for his beard,". . .Q: Do you have any Chuck Norris memorable moments that you would like to share? . . ."What the F***?:" A Maryland man who made history as the first quadruple amputee to compete in the professional televised American Cornhole League (ACL) has been arrested and charged with murder after allegedly shooting & killing a passenger in his car during a heated argument - - Dayton Webber, 27, who became a champion cornhole player after losing his limbs and nearly dying from a bacterial infection in his infancy - faces murder charges in connection with the death of Bradrick Wells, authorities said on Monday - - According to a statement from investigators with the sheriff's office of Charles County in suburban Baltimore, Webber was driving his car with Wells as his front-seat passenger at about 10:25 p.m on Sunday when the pair began arguing in front of the others who were in the back seat of the vehicle - - Webber then allegedly shot Wells to death, pulled over in the community of La Plata, and asked the other passengers to assist in removing the body from the car - - The others refused, exited the car and fled the scene while Webber drove away with Wells' body in the front seat - - **NOTE: ESPN's SC Featured, known for telling inspiring sports stories, profiled Webber in 2023, and even ESPN SportsCenter gave Webber a spot on one of its top 10 play segments: the appearance showed Webber making four (4) consecutive cornhole shots into the hole, including by banking his bag off an opposing one on the final attempt, and the highlight ended with a SportsCenter anchor saying: "Dayton Webber - remember the name. . ." [**I honestly do not believe we will have that difficult of a time forgetting this guy. . .just sayin'] - - Authorities said they found Webber's car in Charlottesville, Virginia, about 150 miles from where Wells' body had been recovered - - They reportedly tracked Webber down to a nearby hospital, where he had allegedly sought treatment for an unspecified medical issue. . .Q: I have so many questions regarding this entire story, but what are your thoughts on the professional cornhole amputee player being charged with murder?. . . Thanks for Listening!