[00:00:14] Speaker A: Hello. Welcome to the Roundhouse Podcast with Paul Sullentrop of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. Thank you very much for listening. Our guest today is Zach Bush who is in his fifth year as coach of the Aftershocks. The Aftershocks are the for the second seed in the Wichita Regional. They open play in the basketball tournament. That's Friday at 8pm versus no Excuses. You can watch that game on TBT's YouTube channel no Excuses. As a Houston based team, the Shocker fans may remember Brandon Swanigan. He played for Tulsa when those schools would have met regularly as non conference opponents from 2012 to 2016. The winner of that game plays at 8pm Sunday versus Eastern. Either challenge ALS or Austin's own, which is Texas Alums. That game will be on FS1. Koch arena is also the site of the July 22nd third round game that the Aftershocks could advance to and then possibly a fourth game. Looming on the other side of the bracket is Forever Cougs, the Houston Alumni team. They're the top seed in the region.
Zach Busch is from Goddard Eisenhower High School. He played at wichita State from 2017-20, from 2012-2017. He is entering his first season as boys basketball coach at Mays High after working as an assistant at Bellevue west in Bellevue, Nebraska the past two seasons. Zach, let's start with your big career move. Why Mays High?
[00:01:33] Speaker B: Yeah, so my wife and I had been in Omaha the last two years. She played at Creighton and then after her professional career she had had a couple injuries, couple ACLs and decided she wanted to get to coaching. They had offered her a spot back. So from her that was really cool. I know it will sicken, you know, fans to hear that word Creighton, but we're past that. We're bigger people.
[00:01:54] Speaker A: And your wife's name? Jaylen Agnew. Let's remind people she played at Andover Central, right? And over high and over high was a great player.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: Jaylen was a just great athlete. I'm reminded often by my whole family how much better of an athlete she was and four time state high jump champ. All the good stuff. But yeah, we'd been up there for two years. She was coaching with her former staff at Creighton. We absolutely loved the city of Omaha and I was really blessed. I was in probably one of the two premier programs in the state of Nebraska. Won a state championship my first year up there in the biggest class in class A.
Phenomenal players, great coaching staff. But at the end of the day we missed home both of our families are here, so that was the big draw. We always knew, I think, that if she didn't want to coach, we would come back. So spent two years deciding, is this what you want to do? And ultimately she decided she wanted something else out of a career.
So we decided to look back here and just. We're really fortunate that the Mays job opened up when it did. And Coach Grill was great to me during the process, and the whole administration there was just really impressed by what they have going, both academically. I'm a high school PE teacher, so I was very fortunate. They had both the teaching side and the head coaching position.
Thought I had a great interview, and there were a couple other jobs that were available, but this felt like the best match of everything for us. I'm a Westside kid. I actually grew up. Should have gone to Mays, but with my mother teaching out at Goddard Schools, I always went there. So I grew up in Reflection. Ridge is where they live, 21st and Tyler. So Mays district. It's kind of funny, for me, this was the rival high school growing up that I rooted against. And, you know, now wearing those colors is taking an adjustment period. But it's been awesome. Great kids, great administration, and we couldn't be more excited to be back.
[00:03:30] Speaker A: The red of the Eagles. So after a long day at work last winter, you and Jalen came home to. Did you talk basketball? Was there a video breakdown or was it. This is a no basketball zone. We need to do something else.
[00:03:43] Speaker B: I think we're both. It's too much in our blood. There'd be days where I think we're both like, all right, we're not talking any tonight. But it was very frequent that we'd come home and talk ball screen, defense, and she's breaking down what they were doing in practice, and, you know, I'm Mr. Smart Guy with all the ideas, and, why don't we try this? And, you know, I'm telling her what went on at my practice. So that's a really fun part of our relationship. And it was very basketball oriented. Those are some long winters, you know, long road trips for them, out playing seton hall and UConn and not seeing each other for five days.
But it was a lot of fun. And their coaching staff up there was great. Coach Flan has been there for a really long time, poured a ton into her. It was fun seeing her learn as a coach, just being somebody who's been, you know, kind of in the coaching world, quote, unquote, a little bit longer.
So Sharing those experiences and you know what she thinks. And no, she's not afraid to tell me what we need to do in our games and practices. So that's always been cool.
[00:04:35] Speaker A: Seems like I hear a lot from athletes who transition into coaching. Maybe it's just a ga, but boy, they pretty quickly begin to appreciate all the things that coaches do that as a player, they had no idea who was responsible for all this stuff. It just got done.
And they have that attitude pretty quickly.
[00:04:53] Speaker B: 100%. She'd made comments multiple times about, wow, like, I didn't truly realize, like, I knew they had a hard job, but when you truly know how much earlier they're showing up before you and then later, and then your day as an athlete's done, other than if you go back and shoot when practice is over, they're now going to make recruiting phone calls, they're going to dinners, they're breaking down film. You know, I'm wanting to hang out and watch our show on Netflix. And she's like, well, we gotta wait an hour. I gotta cut the practice film from today. So it's certainly a lot. And yes, as a player, it's a big shift. You're used to going home and kicking your feet up and that's not how it works anymore.
[00:05:26] Speaker A: And hanging over all of that is. Your livelihood depends on 19 year olds. And that's, that's a whole set of challenges. How do you go about preparing to be the head coach? Is your first spot as a head head coach? What's going through your mind? How do you get ready for those challenges?
[00:05:40] Speaker B: Yeah, I think leaning on the mentors that I have, starting with Coach Steve Blue, who was my head coach at Goddard and at Eisenhower.
He's the biggest mentor for me, basketball wise and in my life. And then Joe Jackson, who I was fortunate enough to work for at May South, Steve Klein in Omaha, Coach Woodard up there, who's a legend, just, I think trusting in what they've taught me and what I've learned and seen them do. And it wasn't always there teaching me exactly what to do. It's me watching. How do they interact with players? How do they hold guys accountable? How are they not afraid of confrontation in an appropriate and healthy way? So I think staying the course of, you know, my values and beliefs, and fortunately for me, every coach I've played for, from Coach Blue to Coach Marshall to then coaching for Coach Jackson and Coach Klein in Omaha, there's always been a big accountability piece. There's always been a high emphasis on Being disciplined. So for me, that's just second nature now. And so I certainly don't have all the answers. Trying to continue to, you know, learn and ask other coaches what works, what doesn't, how they approach their first years, how they learned early on.
And I just try to be a sponge. I certainly have things I believe in, and at the end of the day, I'm gonna do what I feel is best. But I like to pride myself on being somebody who doesn't think they have all the answers and that I will continuously learn and tweak and tinker. But really excited to just get to work with kids now and establish my culture and, you know, be that head coach, head coach, player relationship.
[00:07:11] Speaker A: Have you thought about the first day of practice? First week of practice? You're going to start with a mile run. You're going to start with a rousing speech so that they will want to run through a brick wall for you. How do you get things kicked off as the. As the new guy?
[00:07:22] Speaker B: I think what I've learned over the past few years is maybe shut up more, not try to talk so much.
You know, we fortunately get to work with them in the summer, so have gotten to get with them here through June and, you know, most of July.
I think we've done a good job of trying to set expectation and culture standards. That's the first piece of it. Like, what do I expect from them? What does this look like? What is our energy, our attitude, our effort? How should that look? And so we've tried to lay that out here. Coach Hannah, Coach McCorter, my other assistants. And so now when we get to the season, hopefully it's just retuning those things. The foundation started to be laid. Now it's carrying that over when we get back together in November.
[00:08:04] Speaker A: That's probably something that has changed from your days as a high school athlete. You can have a lot more contact with them in the summer. Take people through the summer routine and what you can do with.
[00:08:12] Speaker B: With Maze High, Absolutely. We talk about it a lot. You know, those of us that are around my age of man, like, we did nothing like this back in high school. It was typically a couple days of pickup a week and, you know, we'd lift, you know, three, four days. But now through June, you pretty much have a unlimited time to work with your kids. We go four days a week. There's certainly rules and parameters, but we go four days a week for a couple hours. They're also in the weight room, and I think that pays off. It was A needed change. Being in Nebraska, I got to see a different, you know, rule system and up there it's, you have even more time. We're shut down here, you know, essentially at the end of July, you don't touch them again, basketball wise till November. And there's certainly reasons, I think that are healthy for that, but Omaha or in Nebraska rather, you can work with them in the fall in small group individuals. So we would be in the weight room together, we would have some morning groups, you know, getting skill workouts in. You couldn't do anything team based, but it was really valuable. So we'll see if that ever, you know, makes its way down here. It certainly comes at the expense of a coach. It's a lot of time, but there is definitely value in it for the players. But yeah, our summer's been mainly June and then we kind of take our foot off the gas a little in July because so many of them are multi sport athletes. Then so many of them play aau.
So try to find that balance of we do need to work and get better and establish our culture. But they also, I want them to have time to be a kid and not burn out because they're working harder than ever.
[00:09:40] Speaker A: So I'm glad you say that. I was going to ask about the multi sport athlete because from my perspective, I think that's really important. I think those people should be playing basketball but also playing baseball or running track. And I think that's good physically, mentally, all those kind of things. As a basketball coach, what's your, what's your thought on multi sport athletes?
[00:09:58] Speaker B: 100% agree. Too much of anything can be a bad thing and I think it, you know, rings true in athletics, especially at the youth and high school levels. So many kids now are specializing and I just don't think you have to. I think there's a lot of bad advice out there that, well, you know, if you continue to put time in this, you're missing out on this board and putting in extra work here.
At the end of the day, if you're, if you're a really good athlete, you're going to be a really good athlete. You're not going to missing, you know, hour or so, a week or two here and there, you know, to play a second sport, I don't think is going to be the deciding factor in what level player you are, if that makes sense. You know, if you look at like for Mace, for example, Avery Johnson, you know, from all accounts, from what I've been told by Coach Guzman, is that Kid was at every basketball workout, he was at every football workout. You know, he played baseball. Caleb Grill was really good track athlete, quality football player. Basketball, they did everything. So I think, you know, when kids shift too early, it just seems to be a high rate of burnout. And it seems to me just from watching it now for, you know, since I've been out of college, a lot of those kids who specialize too early and then aren't, you know, end up being Division 1 athletes like they had aspirations and dreams to be. It almost seems that there's this like resentment of they end up kind of disliking the sport. So I think there's so much value in being a multi sport guy just from, you know, the body movements and you know, learning how to be a teammate in a different capacity. You may be the best player in football and you may be a role player in basketball. And how healthy is that for a person to have to learn how to be a supporter and not always be the star?
I think at the end of the day, high school sports are a lot about teaching life skills. So I, I think being put in different scenarios where, you know, you have to be more in a support role and less in a star role, vice versa. And how to battle through adversity when you're not great at something I think is very healthy. Would like to see more of that. Unfortunately, it seems like the world's going to more of a. You need to specialize and choose early and I just don't think there's the need for it. Like a lot of people would say there is. I don't think you're missing out when you're a multi sport guy, sure, but maybe a little bit. But at the end of the day, if that's the difference maker, I don't know how great you really were to begin with.
[00:12:15] Speaker A: 10 out of 10. No notes on that. You mentioned Coach Hannah, that is Coach Cleven Hanna, former shocker point guard, would be well remembered around here. How did you pick Cleven to help you run your basketball program?
[00:12:28] Speaker B: Yeah, Cleven and I's relationship goes back to when I was in school, you know, playing for this program. Cleven would come back a lot and that was really cool. He was always one of those guys that he would strike up a conversation. There was never an air of, you know, don't really talk to me. I'm just back here to get my work in. And not that there's necessarily any guys that were like that, but just very welcoming. Cleven anybody who knows Cleven, he is just one of the best people. His personality, kind, thoughtful, he wants to help, wants to pay it forward, pass along knowledge.
And so then that built, then through TBT we got closer, both friendship and basketball wise. So when I came back here, it's really good timing. He's recently retired and I knew he was one of the first guys I wanted to call just because of the level that he's played at overseas, played in some of the best leagues in the world, done it at a high level. There's not many guys that play 15 professional seasons. That requires incredible sacrifice. And then the way he's balanced that with a family, you know, wife and kids, is really, really cool and special. And so I think he's the right balance of great role model for these kids to look at. And then the basketball IQ piece, there's a certain point where he can say things and teach them with a angle that I cannot. And I think there's a ton of value in having somebody different than you and just super thrilled to have him. I was absolutely pumped when he said he would come on board with me. I think he's a tremendous asset. The kids already gravitate towards him and love him, so can't wait to see all that he does for the program.
[00:14:01] Speaker A: I think that would be a great fit. Clev is well, well respected for all those, all those reasons. So if you're a Shocker fan, you get out and see Maze High this, this winter and see two former Shockers on the sidelines.
Take us through the Aftershocks roster. What are the highlights? What should people who are coming out to the arena, what should they know?
[00:14:19] Speaker B: Yeah, fortunate to have Richard, Marcus, Connor, Trey back. It always starts with the alumni.
You know, there were quite a few other guys that we were hoping to have and just unfortunate circumstances changed things so we had to pivot a little bit. I think we've done that really well. I think this is probably the best guard play we've ever had in tbt. It really looks like between Conner, Marcus, Keane, Nike Sabande and James Woodard who played with us a few years back, any one of those four could be the starting guard and starting two guardians. So I think it's just a huge asset to have high level guard playing this. And there is no letdown when you put, you know, your next two guys in off the bench. You're keeping the foot on the gas and keeping pressure on the defense. Really excited about that.
Richard, Trey, bring what they bring. Everybody knows they're ultimate glue, guys. And then Richard's become so much more than that. He's, you know, his shot has improved so much since college. That was probably a weakness. His three point shot improve that tremendously. His playmaking ability has always kind of been there and I think it's just blossomed as a pro. Marcus is that scoring punch that can, you know, get on a roll and go for six quick ones in the span of a minute.
So just really like the depth of this group. I think we could truly play five in, five out and all 10 guys bring something.
[00:15:37] Speaker A: Yeah. You mentioned Rashard Kelly. Blossom is the is the perfect word. I think it's been fun for fans to see a guy continue to improve and show what he can do. There are constructs of a team that sometimes limit you in college and that's great. That's what being part of a team is. I got to sacrifice some things. I can do these things. But it's been fun to watch Richard really show off, pushing the basketball, shooting, all those kind of things. Let me go back and fill in some details. Marcus Keane, you mentioned point guard, played at Youngstown State in Central Michigan.
Make sure I'm pronouncing this right. Nike.
[00:16:12] Speaker B: Nike Sabane.
[00:16:14] Speaker A: Just like the shoe. That fits around with the theme of this in the athletic department. Shooting guard played at Miami of Ohio and Pittsburgh. Who else did you mention?
[00:16:22] Speaker B: James Woodard.
[00:16:23] Speaker A: James Woodard from Tulsa. Remember him? Yeah.
Another name that I've heard a lot about, Leighton Hammonds, who played at Oklahoma State.
Marcus Keane has played really well in tbt. Tell people a little bit more about what he brings to the roster.
[00:16:37] Speaker B: Marcus is awesome. Fans may remember him. His senior year may have been junior year at Central Michigan. He led the country in scoring at almost say 29 points a game. Just unbelievable scorer. He's been a high level pro overseas. Known in TBT as kind of an Elim Ender kind of that. You know what the mantra Conor's taken on like get him the ball in the Elam. Just high level shot maker. He's smaller in stature but got a whole lot of game.
Very, very ultra competitive, unlimited range.
So he was a big get. We were looking for kind of another point guard scorer that could help take some of the load off of Connor at the guard spot. So when we were able to make that work, we were extremely excited. He's a TBT vet legend and he's somebody that really wants to win. And like you mentioned Leighton, I forgot to mention him. That may be the biggest addition of all. Leighton's been phenomenal both off the court. One of the highest character people I've ever been around. And then his ability to shoot the ball paired with his IQ and length. Just ultimate pro, ultimate vet. He and Connor are very close. Played together overseas so that's how that one came about. I think they've got great chemistry. Already saw them yesterday in some middle ball screen stuff that was just looked really good. So anytime you can have a high IQ guy that can make shots, it's just immediate boost for your team.
[00:17:57] Speaker A: I was not familiar with Nike. Tell us about his game.
[00:18:02] Speaker B: Another one. I know it's, I'm a broken record but you can make an argument that he's one of the biggest additions.
Nike played his last year basketball at Pitt. He's in I think going into his third year of his professional career. Played in a really good league in Spain. The ACB Nike played last year for the Pitt alumni team in three games just absolutely went off. Averaged about 17. 4 and 3.
High level competitor, high, high level athlete. That's the first thing that stands out when you watch him. His ability to just go by guys and one move isn't always seen in tbt. His first step, lightning quick, elite athlete, explosive, very competitive, awesome teammate.
So as I mentioned I think with what he brings it's a, it's a nice balance to what Marcus and Connor are maybe a little bit more of the athlete, a little more explosiveness. Marcus and Connor maybe provide a little bit more outside shooting. And then James Woodard is kind of the in between. James can do it all. Very unselfish, can make shots, playmate for others. So that that group of guards I think is going to be really important for us.
[00:19:07] Speaker A: You've talked about a sense of urgency. I know some of the players have talked about we may be getting closer to the closer to the end which is all totally reasonable. Connor's 30, the other guys are approaching 30. So they may be getting to the point in their career where I got to preserve my body. I've got, you know, I want to milk as many good earnings years out of this thing as I can.
So it's reasonable to think, you know, we're coming to the end at some point. How did that affect building this roster?
[00:19:34] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it created an urgency to and there always was. I mean you're trying to win money, it's important.
But maybe narrowing the scope on what's worked, what hasn't. There were a few options, player wise of non alumni guys that I think we had opportunities to bring in. And we maybe viewed it as yes, but can we get something even better that maybe takes away what they were missing and add some things that, you know, they had at an even higher level. And so just trying to get it done, because this group obviously is motivated by winning this tournament. And then also the urgency of when you guys go out here, this could be the last time you play in this. Enjoy this moment, enjoy this crowd.
It's cliche and it's corny, but it does give you goosebumps when you go back out there and you see it. Last year, Richard isn't able to make the first game. He's got nightmare flight situation, gets in for the second. He goes in, blocks a shot, runs down, hits transition three. We get a stop, runs down, hits another transition three. And the crowd just, you know, erupts. And they love him. And it's fun seeing them. It's not college where they've got to be locked in. You know, kind of when they run to the bench, they're turning and hyping the crowd up. So I think enjoying those moments and then capitalizing on, we've got to play good basketball. You can't have poor possession, empty possession two, three times in a row.
Got to be dialed in. Like I said, there always was an urgency, but I think there's a heightened one this year that, you know, we have the group that's capable of getting this done, and I don't know how many times we can keep bringing a group like that together.
[00:21:06] Speaker A: Yes. No matter how much longer it goes on. The moment you mentioned with Richard and these guys keep coming back certainly is a testament to the fans and the connection and their.
Their love for the program and all those things. We should also mention Zach Brown is in town. He has a knee injury that he's recovering from, but he has been a big part of these five or six years of TBT basketball. Definitely you've watched the current Shockers practice a bit, watched them scrimmage a bit, give fans some impressions about what you're seeing from coach Paul Mills group.
[00:21:36] Speaker B: Yeah, it was fortunate to watch on Tuesday with J.R. and just kind of.
[00:21:41] Speaker A: Sit back and observe J.R. simon. And let's also mention him and Garrett Stutz, who have been a big part of this as your assistant coaches and helping you get everything organized.
[00:21:50] Speaker B: Yeah, they do so much so I would hate to leave them out there. Couldn't do this without them. But, yeah, J.R. and I got to sneak into practice the other day and kind of sit back with Todd Fagan, our athletic Trainer and you know, fun, fun to see him and see Gretchen Torlein who means so much to us. He's like our mom away from home and still smacks us in the head when we need it. So got to sit back and just kind of watch with them. First impression was physically impressive.
These guys have been in the weight room. The bodies look the part, you know. Will. Is it Berg, I believe Will Berg.
[00:22:21] Speaker A: The center from transfer from Purdue.
[00:22:23] Speaker B: Transfer from Purdue. I got to watch him last year in Omaha. They played their exhibition with Creighton a little nil exhibition. So I remember thinking then like wow, that is a big guy and very soft hands, good touch. So he was one of the first ones that stood out. That size is there and then scoring ability of Kenyon Giles really impressive. His competitiveness very impressive. And then you know, intangible wise their togetherness is.
You know, I've watched practices these last couple years and I haven't been at a ton. I'm not going to pretend I have. But what I saw Tuesday was certainly different than the energy in the gym last couple years. And I think in a positive way those guys are bought in from all accounts very competitive. And that was maybe, you know, something that the coaching staff was trying to really pull out of guys the past years and, and that's always hard for a team if you're not naturally ultra competitive day in and day out because it's a long season. Like that's going to be really tough on a program. So I think that's a huge step forward in the right direction. That's a testament to the kind of guys Coach Mills has brought in and has learned of. Okay, what maybe wasn't what we wanted these past couple years. There's a plan here and you can see it's in place. And then Coach Mills intensity level impressive. The way he holds them accountable.
That practice was high energy. There was a lot of correction in teaching, there was a lot of buy in from players and this group seems to really be about one another. Obviously you've got to have the talent, you've got to make shots. You know, all those things we've got to see. But from an intangible perspective, JR and I left incredibly impressed. And I know our opinion maybe isn't, you know, the most trusted or most valued or anything, but just, you know, for what it's worth, we, we thought they're doing a lot of the right things and it was a step in the right direction.
[00:24:04] Speaker A: I think that tracks with what you hear. I know Ashton Meerpool who does the strength and conditioning. He's really happy with what they're doing in the weight room.
And I think as we talked before we got on the air, it would be fascinating to look back in five years or 10 years about what worked, what didn't work, what are coaches learning? Because I think in a lot of ways they're starting from, if not ground zero, close to ground zero, about how do I go about building a team.
And from everything you can tell around here, I think the things that you say are legitimate, they seem to be competitive. A lot of pickup basketball, those kind.
[00:24:38] Speaker B: Of things very, you know, so different. Like you touched on what's, when we look back, what worked, what didn't. I think fans have to remember, like this isn't 2016 where you've got a core of, you know, six juniors to seniors and then it's plug and play, the next, you know, group that, okay, who's going to be ready as a freshman and who can we continue to develop? Like that's kind of out the window.
So I would say to fans, like, give them a chance. Like this is difficult, this is uncharted territory for everybody.
But really excited. There's, there's some talent here and Caron Boyd from East Tennessee State was really impressive. His physicality, defense, intensity level.
You know, some of their forwards, they've got some guys who can play. So I think this is going to be a really fun group and you know, fans get behind them, they make more of an impact than they know when they get in that arena.
This could be a really fun group and a step in the right direction.
[00:25:29] Speaker A: And then you do have a player like TJ Williams from Heights, he's a redshirt freshman and he's the kind of guy that you hope you can keep around. And he would be more of a throwback to the, you know, to the way things used to be. I've been impressed with what I've seen with him. He had a drive yesterday, finished against Rashard Kelly, which is nice. Not, you know, those are, These are pros, 28 year old men playing against.
[00:25:50] Speaker B: And we're hacking them, right?
T.J. was, I, you know, I didn't mention it but he was awesome on Tuesday. His effort level, just ultra high. He seems to be, it looks like to me, moving into, you know, he's young but not afraid to use his voice and lead and really talented. Think he's come a long way since high school and last year and you know, know I'm sure maturity has played a part in that the physicality with Coach Meeropoel in the weight room. But that was really cool yesterday, him and Richard. And I think Richard relishes Rashard, wants to be that guy that comes back and pours into the program and shares what he's learned. And I think itches to do that. And I could see some of that yesterday in the scrimmage.
[00:26:30] Speaker A: They're.
[00:26:30] Speaker B: They're talking in between plays, and Richard's ultra physical with him, grabbing him, holding him. And TJ's responding in the right way. He's not whining. He's getting physical back. He's not afraid to throw his weight around.
He met the challenge yesterday. That was really fun to see and, you know, hope that's part of why we do tbt. We want to bridge that gap and have relationships. And the guys want to know Coach Mills, and they want to be welcomed back and make this a place that players love to be at and want to be at for multiple years.
[00:26:56] Speaker A: I definitely think people will enjoy T.J. williams. Last thing. Fred Van Vliet, your former teammate, recently elected president of the National Basketball Players Association. I guess that mainly means he's dealing with the second apron and all those kind of. All those kind of things, I guess. But being in a leadership role, that won't surprise anybody who knows Fred or watched him during his time as a shocker. Why is Fred well suited for this kind of a job?
[00:27:22] Speaker B: Gosh, man, he's. He's just a man.
Just such a good dude. Starts there, starts with his. His character, that balance of humility. But confidence is very rare.
You know, some guys have. Have too much confidence, not enough humility. Some maybe swing the opposite way. He's such a healthy balance. And J.R. had talked about it, I think, in an article with someone about, like, just when he walks in a room, he's one of those people in life, you know, that people talk about where they just command a presence.
That's always been him, even from when he was young. And it wasn't always that. It was with his voice. It was just the way he carries himself, the way he's accountable. You know, people would ask in college, like, you know, does Coach Marshall get on like, Fred and Ron and Takel? And I'd be like, about what? Like, they don't make mistakes. They truly don't like the little things, the effort, the intensity level. It's always there. And that's clearly been a huge thing in his pro career, why he's made such an impression early on and then. So it's no surprise to see that he's thought of so highly in the way that we always appreciate thought of him. Incredibly proud of him just as a friend. He's he stayed the same.
He does have more expensive taste in clothes and I think where where you go to dinner but he stayed the same. Couldn't be more proud to know him. And it's just no surprise, I think to anybody that's been around him, even just his character and the way he carries himself and I mean how unbelievable to be the first undrafted player to ever be named players association president like you touched on. He's probably wondering what did I just get myself into with this second apron.
[00:28:57] Speaker A: I hope he's really good at math. I know there's a lot of basketball related income and all those kind of things. Luxury tax.
[00:29:04] Speaker B: I think there will be maybe some advisors that help with those things.
[00:29:08] Speaker A: Let's hope. But I look forward to hearing stories about him chatting with Steve Ballmer or James Dolan or Matt Matt Ispia. I can totally see Fred in that kind of a room. Zach Bush, you've been very gracious with your time. We appreciate it.
TBT they play Friday the Aftershocks play Friday at 8:00pm versus no Excuses at Koch Arena. The winner advances to play Sunday at 8pm versus either challenge ALS or Austin's own. If the Aftershocks keep winning, they will play two more games here in Koch Arena. Zach, thank you very much for your time.
[00:29:38] Speaker B: Thanks for having me.
[00:29:54] Speaker A: Thank you for listening to the Roundhouse podcast courtesy of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. We encourage you to rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can find more roundhouse
[email protected] Hawkins gonna go to work on Washington and it was dug out of there by Bijon Cortez. Lob to Beverly seven point lead at the under eight Timeout here at Charles Cook. Aren.
