But maybe the resource is aren't there in the supply that you had with the other gigs?

But I guess it's great to be back in basketball anyway.

It is, it reminds me it's a different level altogether.

Reminds me a lot of Providence College, except we're not in the Big East.

But the one thing I looked at more than anything else is for me.

It's a chance to go back home where it all started for me back with with the New York Knicks, and I own a every coach.

That's been he has had great success going back from to Jim Valvano to Pat Kennedy.

Tim Welsh, Kevin Willard?

Certainly.

Um, I'm sure missing a couple, obviously, Tim Clue.

So I replaced had eight great years with four straight NC double A appearances.

I think Iona has tremendous potential.

Um, it has everything I want and to finish up my career, and so I'm looking forward to this challenge.

Coach P Why, why take this challenge on the annoying the like?

Szubin said.

The resource is the challenges all of the things that come with taking on I on the basketball.

You know, I I think it's probably the biggest challenge of my life, and I'm looking for something like that.

I think that, you know, I'm 68 God willing, I have 67 more years of coaching them, Justus passionate today as I've ever been.

And if I could take I own him and build it into a Top 20 program, I think it's Ah, great Cherry on top of a long career and it's the challenges is and the chase of that challenges what stimulates make What's the goal?

You know, for the first season for this team and the expectations that you have for me, you know I don't have many gold, but just to get through this season healthy, I have great, uh, examinations for everybody in this game.

Right now, I think that, um, we're gonna fall into some major major disruptions.

Ah, lot of cancelations because and and the way it has where you're sitting out 21 days, 14 days in quarantine, another seven to come back, and then you have to take heart test.

I just don't know how we're gonna get through this.

I realized why the NC Double A has done certain things.

They're hoping that when the campuses are empty coming up right now during this Thanksgiving break until intercession, we could get in as many games as possible.

And yes, that is, that is feasible.

But come mid January, when the students come back and we're in flu season Cove in season, it's gonna be very difficult.

Coach.

The other day you said that the season should be pushed back.

It should be more of a May madness supposed to a March Madness.

Why did Why do you feel that way?

Well, two things for the A.

C C first two ideas I tried to follow up on one was the A.

C C Coaches came out and said Every team should be in the N.

C.

Double A tournament.

I'm all in with that.

Nothing to do with Iona.

The reason for that is so many seniors students just forget about athletes in our students have missed out in their senior year, I think for once, for one time in our college lifetime, every team gets in.

Every senior student now can route to their school.

It would be exciting for everybody all the way around to get in the tournament because they're gonna miss out on their senior year.

A lot of athletes, they're gonna miss out of a lot of games and they get the opportunity to play in the N.

C.

Double A.

I thought the A C C coaches had a great suggestion there one time.

I think it would be very exciting and a great shot in the arm for college basketball in terms of what I call May madness, I think the vaccine, I'm basing it all on the vaccine.

I think the vaccine will be given to the right people in December.

I think it will be given to the general public in April.

I think from the end of March, beginning of April, we will start to see a term the right way for us, and I think college basketball could get through it.

And just like the n b a.

Go into that bubble healthy, maybe even have fans in May.

I think right now, you know, with what we're going to go through in February much it's going to be very difficult on all of us guys, I just had were in quarantine right now, and for 14 days we didn't have one player test positive.

We didn't have one coach test positive.

We had one manager and a g A who, the woods around the program.

We had to shut down for 14 days.

Now we're gonna take another week to get the players back in shape.

They're not even allowed to go outside and based on New York rules and walk around and get fresh air.

So it's It's gonna be difficult for a lot of people and the fact that we haven't pushed it back with banking everything on intercession.

But come mid January in the January, we're gonna have some major problems.

Coach, you've been in the tournament and Providence, obviously Kentucky Louisville record speaks for itself.

The N C.

To a talked about having a tournament sort of inside of a bubble location, for the most part, most likely Indianapolis.

How do you feel about that?

I think it's the only way it can survive.

I thought that was a great idea.

I think it's necessary.

I think the N ba is the Onley professional sport right now.

that didn't fall into major problems because of the way they did that they did.

They have $250 million to make sure that that that bubble worked and for us going into it, I think it's the only way it can work.

We don't wanna all of a sudden, you know, Duke as a one seed is playing somebody and they have two guys out.

The game has to be canceled, so we've got to protect this tournament.

Obviously, that's the big money maker we can't have.

We can't be void of a national champion two years in a row.

We've got to get too much.

Somehow.

It make it work.

That's why I thought made, man.

This was a better idea.

Coach.

A lot of people don't know this.

This is an interesting take.

Frank Vogel, my coach at the L A Lakers, work with you as a manager at Kentucky, basically handling film study and doing those sort of things with you what it feels like to watch him lead the Lakers to the world title, having a knowing that you are part of his life.

You know, Frank wrote me a letter.

Uh, he met me at the five star camp, apparently was a camper there and wrote me a letter that he wanted to learn more about the full court press and hey, wanted to learn our system and could be he be a manager at Kentucky, he said.

He met me at the five stock camp.

I wrote him back and said, Listen, Frank, Kentucky is 98% Kentucky and you're better off looking into Villanova.

Seton Hall.

ST John's more familiar territory for you.

And he wrote me back into no coach.

I want to come to Kentucky.

Came to Kentucky, became a manager.

I started a JV team for Nazi Mohammed just to get him some minutes.

He was the 13th man on my 96 championship team, and he played on the JV team.

Then he became a grad assistant, then moved on with me with the Celtics, where he's a video coordinator.

Frank is very, very similar to the Erik Spoelstra.

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