Chris Del Conte visits with Cameron Parker and Mike Hardge

Texas AD and Mr. Steal Yo Coach Chris Del Conte joined yesterday's live show from the Forty Acres with Cameron Parker and Mike Hardge to discuss the move to the SEC, the alignment at the top of the university, and how they go about hiring coaches. 

Episode Transcript

(00:04):
And we're back to the Craigway Show. Have a message for Craig, share
it by using the talkback feature onthe iHeartRadio WAPP Cameron Parker alongside Andrew Zimmel.
One hour down, two to gohere. Greig Way is still on
vacation'll get back next Monday, andjust three shows for you this week with

(00:27):
Thursday and Friday having no local programming. You do to the July fourth holiday.
So hope everyone has a great extendedweekend if you do. Get that.
As we get closer and closer toreturning to college football. But as
we start this hour and before wetalk a little bit more Texas football and
a little MBA. It's not beena great season for the defending World Series

(00:53):
champions of Texas Rangers. A lotof injuries, still waiting on what feels
like their entire pitching staff to returnto the Diamond. No de gram Shirs
are just finally getting back Tyler Mallytheir signing has not pitched yet. So
Texas trying to get back to healthyand have been below five hundred for most
of the season and had a reallytough week this past week against the Orioles.

(01:15):
But there was some good news yesterdayin their eleven to win over Baltimore,
avoiding a sweep, and that waswhy at Langford, who was named
as the co player the Rangers coPlayer of the Month along with Josh Smith.
But Langford last night hit for thecycle, and as a rookie,

(01:38):
just the fifteenth to do that inMajor League Baseball history since the official definition
of rookie status in nineteen fifty eight. He's the first player that hit for
the cycle in a game that's airedon ESPN Sunday Night Baseball and became the
eleventh Ranger to hit for the cyclein the first since Carlos Gomez in April
twenty seventeen against the Los Angeles Angels. The only other Texas Ranger rookie to

(02:04):
do it was Oudibe McDowell in nineteeneighty five. He did that in his
fifty ninth career game. Langford didit in his sixtieth career game in white
Langford, of course, the rookiefrom Florida, who spent some time on
the injury list this season, hascome back and has started to play really
good baseball for the Rangers. Inlast night, was able to complete the

(02:29):
cycle in the eighth inning as hegot a home run against Baltimore, he
said, quote, I was obviouslyfeeling really good at the point, just
kind of one of those things thathappens. Had that three run shot on
the left field line Sunday in theeleven two victory. And it's the first
cycle in the major leagues in twentyand twenty four. Last year, by

(02:50):
this point there had been four,but Langford the first one this year and
is also his first ever four hitgame as a twenty two year old now
really starting to play good baseball.Had a triple in the fourth inning,
RBI double in the fifth, andremember his first ever home run, because
there was a period of time wherehe just could not get that first home

(03:10):
run. I believe it was aninside the park home run. But lately,
looking at his stats, in thelast month of June, he had
three home runs, batted three hnine and his batting of above three hundred
and his last seven games, hislast fourteen games, in his last thirty
games. So Wyatt Lengthford, therookie out of Florida, starting to come

(03:31):
into his own and he's just twentytwo years old. And if the Rangers
hope to make a playoff push.It's still June. They're gonna need Wyatt
Langford to be a big part ofthat. Corey Seeger, fortunately it looks
to be okay after being hit bya pitch on his right wrist. There
was some concern that Seger was goingto miss a long period of time,
but believes to be okay and hopefullyit is. Rangers desperately they need to

(03:54):
get healthy and hoping to get tothat point. Max Scherzer finally came back
last Sunday's pitch two games since returningfrom Round Rock and has pitched very well.
Texas hoping to get more out ofMax Serger, but hoping to get
Jacob the Grond back, hopefully byJuly. We're now in July this month
or next month, and Tyler Morleyas well as the Rangers now enter the

(04:18):
All Star month and currently thirty eightand forty six, third in the AO
West, not where they want tobe. The Houston Astros above them at
forty two and forty one, butthey're all trilling the Seattle Mariners, who
are forty seven in thirty nine,leading the AL West Rangers by the way,
eight games out of the wild cardas they hope to defend their World

(04:41):
Series title real quick. NBA freeagency, and Andrew, I want to
get your thoughts here, as thebig signing that just came down was Klay
Thompson signing trade between the Dallas Mavericksand the Golden State Warriors. Thompson signing
a three year, fifty million dollard Adrian Rosanowski from ESPN reporting that Clay

(05:03):
turned down other deals where he couldhave made over fifty million, could have
been signed for four years, butwanted to play for a NBA contending team.
It was between the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers and the Mavericks.
Now, of course Lebron probably wouldhave had to have taken a pay
cut to make this signing possible forKlay Thompson, but Thompson decides to sign

(05:30):
with Dallas and the sign and tradewill send Josh Green to the Charlotte Hornets.
So Josh Green no longer a memberof the Dallas Mavericks, but they
get Klay Thompson back. And justAndrew your initial thoughts here, because Klay
Thompson obviously a huge part of GoldenState's run during their prime, but two
Achilles Daar injuries has not looked thesame, and I know this is this

(05:55):
is getting a lot of buzz.I think in part due to it's Klay
Thompson, and of course he's moreof the Splash brothers. But do you
see this move as maybe elevating Dallasto where they need to be to win
time. I think Dallas, Iwas gonna say, I think Dallas thinks
this is a move to win atitle. I understand where they're coming from
because Klay Thompson is a champion,Kyrie Irving is a champion, and you're

(06:16):
hoping to at Gluca that first championshipring and they were so close to this
season. I just think that theDallas offense cam when watching it this year
and then watching it in the finals, it's too stagned it. It reminds
me way too much of that twentyeighteen Rockets team that Okay, it's your
turn, it's my turn, it'syour turn, it's my turn, and
it can't be like that. KlayThompson needs to work in an offense where

(06:39):
he's moving around. I hope itworks for Klay Thompson because I really like
the guy. But there's two otherstories out of this cam. First one
being the Lakers lead the NBA andwe almost had hims. I don't know
a franchise against as many headlines ashey. We put in a bit as
well. And then the other partof it is this is the end of

(06:59):
the war, right, the Trio'sdone, the Splash Bros Are broken up,
and it's part of me is like, all right, it is kind
of sad to see this. Irooted against the Warriors every single step of
the way. I did not likethe Warriors. I didn't like them dancing,
I didn't like them beating my teamby forty points every other night.
But it is kind of sad.It's kind of like when Shaq and Kobe
broke up CAM, where you're like, as a Western Conference fan, this

(07:20):
is good, my team has abetter shot to win now. But it
is like, you know, achapter closing. For sure, in the
NBA, it's a definite close toa chapter. But you mentioned that Lakers
comparison. If Shaq and Kobe couldget along, I mean, who knows
how many more rings they could havewon, right, it felt like they

(07:41):
ended and it was like, man, they left some on the table with
Golden State. I think it's overwith in terms of their championship window,
in terms of being Steph Clay andDraymond I think it's done. They got
that championship in two thousand and intwenty one, twenty twenty two, it
was a great story that sadn't comeback to beat Boston. But even during
that series, you know Klay Thompson, he was not the Klay Thompson who

(08:03):
he saw he was before the twoAchille injuries, and that's understandable. He's
thirty years old. You tell yourAchilles twice, you're not going to be
the same basketball player. So itfeels like their run in terms of the
Splash Brothers and Draymond Green, itwas already done in for Golden State's sake,
I understand this move because he isnot what he wanted to be now

(08:26):
as a spot up shooter in Dallas'soffense or even the Lakers offense. I
think it does make sense. Imean, last year he still shot a
respectable forty three percent from beyond thearc from the floor on two point fifty
percent at the stripe ninety two percent, so he's still a very efficient shooter.
Now, he's not a player thatyou can run picking rolls with He's

(08:48):
not a defensive stopper like he wasbefore the injuries, so you have to
know what role he is. Andin Golden State they did not have many
playmakers beside Steph Curry, so Ithink he was asked to do a lot
more and eventually they realized we can'tuse them like we used to, and
eventually he got bench in this benchtowards the end of the season by Golden
State. For Dallas, you mentionedthe lack of ball movement. Maybe that

(09:11):
works for Klay Thompson because it's gonnabe Luca in Kyrie and you know,
I felt like they needed to addone more playmaker, one more third option,
but maybe that's just not gonna happenwith how much the ball does stick
to Luca in Kyrie and they weremissing that that spot up shooter in the
finals. I know in the playoffswe saw PJ. Washington knock down those
big three pointers, but that reallywasn't who he was as a player during
the regular season. Klayve Thompson possiblycan be that guy. Yeah. I

(09:37):
like what you're saying. I understandwhere you're coming from with it. It
will cause Kyrie and Luca to playdifferently. Though, you said that Kobe
and Shack you felt like they leftthem on the table. We blame the
players for that. I blame theWarriors management. They mismanaged this. This
trio man. You know, theygot kd they won their titles with them.
But the Wiseman pick as a headscratcher. The Jordan Poole contract that

(09:58):
just for whatever reason didn't work.They sent him out. I think the
ownership in the front office of theWarriors let Klay Thompson and Steph Curry down
because I think they left him onthe table too. Interesting. Well,
the draft picks definitely our argument there. They did kind of whiff on though.
They definitely whipped from the Wiseman pick, and there's a chance to possibly

(10:18):
extend their window with the two firstround draft picks. Remember and lottery,
they had the Wiseman pick and alsothe kaminga pick who right now just isn't
that guy. Maybe in a fewyears he can develop into a better score,
a better shooter. That's not whohe is right now. I think
Golden State was hoping that he wouldturn this something else, and then the
Wiseman pick just completely completely botched thatpick as well, So I agree with

(10:41):
you on that front. But overall, it's not surprising to me to see
Golden State want to move on,especially considering how much money he wanted three
years, thirty million dollars. GoldenState able to save some money on that,
also save some money with Chris Paulsigning with the San Antonio Spurs.
Instead of having to pay Chris Paulthirty million dollars at thirty nine years old,

(11:01):
Chris Paul ends up going to theSpurs where he signed an eleven million
dollar contract, and we'll talk aboutthat signing a little bit later on in
this show, as we'll need abreak here. Up next though, here's
our two continues. Team Starkeishan continuesto do his summer speaking tours with various
media outlets, and he was onthe SEC Network broadcast yesterday they're live from

(11:22):
broadcast and was asked about the SECmove and building a roster, and we'll
hear him. We'll hear his interviewfrom that, as well as interview with
Greg McRoy here as the Creig WaveShow continues on this Monday afternoon. You're
listening on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundredThe Zone