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>> eric >> eric: they're going crazy here at memorial gym in nashville. why not? vandy on top of l.s.u. by four. 24th ranked team in the country. starting to play a little bit better. but l.s.u. still in the hunt because of bo spencer. >> bob: they made four threes in this game and mr. spencer made all four of them. how about this degree of difficulty? nine on the degree of difficulty chart. bombing from deep. he told me before the game he's only 60%. it'd like to see him at 100%. spencer keeping him in the game right now. >> eric: bo spencer missed the entire second half in the game against arkansas earlier in week. that really hurt l.s.u. because both spencer the last couple of games have been his best basketball of the year. >> bob: he had 25 against tennessee. he had 25 against kentucky. then, of course, now he has 14 in the game on a very difficult court to play on.

he has a left ankle injury. playing pretty darn good under the circumstances. >> eric: l.s.u. looking for their first s.e.c. win since s.e.c. went to divisional play in the early '90s there has been been a team that did not win a conference team. >> bob: ever been a team, snfr>> ericsnf ever? >> eric: been a while. 1953-'54 georgia tech when they were in the s.e.c.. >> bob: there you go. [ inaudible ] >> eric: before the shot, a foul. this is on harris, then it's his fourth. it is on dennis harris. >> bob: do your work early. that's what happened on that play. ease ease gets the foul. and storm warren having to

come back in with 11 minutes to go and immediately gets a steal sdmrfrjts>> eric: trying to set up the alley-oop to feingol go goulbourne. spencer inside with a trip to the free-throw line. tinsley. the second foul on tinsley.

[brief technical difficulty] >> eric: uh-oh. that's on storm warren! so now he has four fouls. and decision time for trent johnson. >> bob: he has a very interesting thing. i think he has to take him out this early in the game. if there was 8:00, i'd leave him in. you're about to upset somebody and your best chance is with him in the game. >> eric: they are going to take him out. they're going to take out warren. >> bob: the versatility now of mitchell will come into play. four fouls on storm warren, their best rebounder. the best interior guy. mitchell will play with green. an interesting situation now. small line-up on the perimeter with tinsley in the game.

and bass and spencer. a little different look now for l.s.u. >> eric: we're going to have a foul 30 feet away. ezeli. that's his second foul. ogilvy will come on to replace ezeli on the floor. >> bob: a good combination with size with the guys. good combination. that would be production from the position. >> eric: bo spencer has a hard time inbounding it. calls a time-out. l.s.u. with two time-outs remaining. >> bob: so this game, eric, has been a very interesting feel. very unusual. you would not expect l.s.u. obviously to be close in a game against vanderbilt here.

however, they have done it with mitchell out in the first half with fouls now. the foul trouble is adding up. they did it by patient offense, 2-3 zone out of it and vanderbilt not having a good night offensively. vanderbilt's problem, of course, is jacobs is not in the game, he's their second best three-point shooter. as a result, they are struggling a little bit against the zone. >> eric: l.s.u. looking for their first win if conference play. they're 0-10 while vanderbilt have been sensational at home on the season. they won all 12 home games dating back to last year. they won 17 straight here at memorial gym. >> bob: vanderbilt was 19-12 last year. didn't go anywhere. they made the league. last year, l.s.u. 27-8. 13-3 in the league. ncaa tournament they beat butler and lost to north carolina. >> eric: missed shot. tasmin mitchell. with the left hand. a one-point game now. >> bob: oddly enough with warren out, mitchell goes to

the interior on offense, where i like him better against the zone. on the perimeter, not as good. he against the interior on the zone is more productive. >> eric: a foul on tinsley. the sixth team foul on l.s.u. with that foul committed it will be free-throws for vanderbilt. goulbourne. gets the roll. it's been his afternoon. >> bob: he has played well. long, lean. >> eric: nine points off the bench for pride out of new jersey. >> bob: your buddy coached him, didn't he? >> eric: stone. taught him everything he knows. >> bob: did a good job. made him taller, too, from what i understand. >> eric: inside.

nice play! garrett green off the right side from mr. bass. [ cheering ] that will go down as the prettiest offensive play for l.s.u. today. >> bob: wide open. unusual. very athletic. 6'11". >> eric: beal hangs in the air, draws the foul on garrett green. free-throw situation for the senior guard from dallas. >> garrett green, 6'11", set the sc a switch roll and roll indeed he did. perfect execution, pick-and-roll play. >> eric: do you think he ever did that with larry drew? high school teammates of larry drew, now at north carolina. >> bob: probably ran a lot of that. you mentioned an interesting point a couple minutes ago. the free-throw line is where vanderbilt is going to get a lot down the stretch here. they have taken the ball to the basket. better against the zone in this half. as a result, they got through

the situation and the players in foul trouble. >> eric: a foul. call it on jeffery taylor. the third foul on taylor. this has been more frequent in the second half than in the first half. >> bob: yeah. one of the advantages kevin stallings has coaching vanderbilt, did you see him just whistle? you have to get the kids' attention from a long distance. >> eric: learned that whistle from illinois state. mitchell. to the rim and scores with the left hand! >> bob: that is talent, my fr friend. split three players and got to the goal. one of the more talented guys in the league. having to carry his team. steps out of double-team. gets all the way through.

four players. stand corrected. >> eric: six points now from mitchell. tied at 48. >> bob: amazing. >> eric: taylor. inside. gets it to goulbourne! [ cheers and applause ] a new career high for mr. goulbourne! what a day. 11 points for the sophomore! mitchell trying to answer. >> bob: talk about a difficult shot! hole lil cow! what is so smart is they're now man-to-man. mitchell understands who is guarding him and what the defense is very well. >> eric: ogilvy. on the baseline. he will go to the free-throw line. when we come back, 7:58

remaining. l.s.u. can they get the first conference win? we'll see!

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that can save lives. donate $10 by texting "haiti" to 9-0-9-9-9. visit redcross.org or call 1-800-red-cross. thanks for your help. games. why? fortson is back after being suspended for 14 games. 22 points per game in the last three. and five former s.e.c. players are in the n.b.a. all-star game. who are they? >> eric: uh-oh. i knew you would put my feet to the fire. that is surprising to me.

joe johnson is one. >> bob: gators got in there. they got in on special invitation from the pope or something like that. >> eric: ronaldo. >> bob: the point guard from kentucky. well represented this weekend. >> eric: you have to remember there is a lot of guys in the all-star game high schoolers as well. lebron james, kobe bryant, that kind of stuff. having five guys one conference is impressive. ogilvy, the second free-throw off the mark. rebound, tasmin mitchell. in the game is darshawn mcclellan wearing 21 for vanderbilt. >> bob: the offense is getting better for both teams in the second half. l.s.u. -- i mean vanderbilt 7 for 10. l.s.u., 50%. >> eric: taylor makes them pay! and he's fouled! [ cheering ]

what is change of events. >> bob: ball handling has been good for l.s.u. the entire game. right there fatigue set in. and a casual pass leads to a spectacular play at this end. a good player. >> eric: 7 for 9 at the free-throw line. >> bob: get pressure because of the fatigue factor. that was not et effective in th first half. they had to penetrate through it and got the easy shot. >> eric: spencer is fouled. >> bob: the number one rule when you press in a double-team, do not foul. he's not used to that. take a look at this in the second half. both of the teams are on fire. much better execution many in the second half. >> eric: look at the disparity

in free-throw attempts. 24 attempts for vanderbilt. just four for l.s.u. [ inaudible ] at the end of the game, win or lose, free-throw shots in the game? >> bob: one time i had that situation. i was yelling at the officials. they shot 20, we only shot three. he said, "tell your guys to stop fouling." [ laughter ] l.s.u. doesn't have strength inside. that's why. they don't take it to the basket that well with the perimeter guys. that's why they're not getting to the line. >> eric: foul trouble, storm warren. dennis harris. [ whistle ] a foul called on ogilvy! may have got a piece of the ball, but got some of the wrist of spencer, too. >> bob: spencer guarded on the perimeter now because of

hissing a rassy from three-point range. as a result, he puts it on the ground and goes around his man. looks like he got all arm to me. amazing how many times the guys in the striped shirts are right. >> eric: spencer, 3 for 3 at the free-throw line. that kid has 17 points. there were doubts whether or not he'd give at it go. >> bob: 60% was the number he gave me, as far as his ability. 60% of his ability. >> eric: left ankle strain, kept him out of the second half of wednesday's game against arkansas. he's fouled! >> bob: strong move right here. taking it hard to the goal.

green tried not to foul. possibly would have been advisable to foul hard. so it was not a three-point opportunity. >> eric: festus ezeli will come in to replace a.j. ogilvy. ogilvy goes to the bench. with just four points. >> bob: they've been able to bother him up with the zone. a passer and helper, rather than a scorer. >> eric: a three-point play makes the lead five for vanderbilt. 6:30 to play. looking for someone. and they're going to say jeffery taylor was holding tasmin mitchell. with that foul, the bonus

situation so mitchell will go to the free-throw line. three foul fouls now on taylor. with those three fouls, taylor is going to cool his heels on the vanderbilt sideline. >> bob: the fouls have not been the type you'd think. fouls when someone is screening or trying to deny somebody the ball. they're getting fouls on people taking the ball to the basket. >> eric: tasmin mitchell in our star watch. eight points, six rebounds, shoots the one-and-one. makes the first. he'll have another. mitchell averages 38 minutes per game. tops in the s.e.c. but sat for 12 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. picked up two early fouls in the first few minutes of the game. not been fouled since.

>> bob: he should be well rested down the stretch. that's what trent johnson was concerned about in the first half. >> eric: mcclellan jumped up in the air and still had the ball when he came down. a travel. >> bob: the man-to-man defense of vanderbilt has been better than their zone. the problem for them right now is who matches up on mitchell? taylor has done a good job. right now, he can post. >> eric: the spin move from mitchell. >> bob: a thing of beauty. mitchell so smart about who is guarding him. right here, he realizes he has size advantage, spins to the baseline. he knows he can get there when he has a bigger guy guarding him. he pulls it to the perimeter and puts it on the floor. a personal offensive player.

top guys in the league, mitchell has to be around them. wall and cousins, among them. downey very, very good. jarvis varnado among those. those are the guys that distinguished themselves so far. >> eric: mitchell has a chance if he keeps the scoring pace up to become the third l.s.u. tiger to have 2,000 points in his career. pistol pete and rudy macolvich. >> bob: 1800 and something. >> eric: yeah. big man. we talked about it in the opening, tasmin mitchell. is that foul on storm warren? he is wondering himself. if it's on storm warren, it's his fifth and he's done. >> bob: no definitive answer right now. i believe he's telling him it's his fifth.

>> eric: frustrating afternoon for storm warren. the fouls quickly accumulating and he fouls out with 12 points. >> bob: since he is only a sophomore, not mature enough to understand how to play with fouls. stiemsz you have to give things away to stay in the game. he's a good player. a good rebounder and plays bigger than his size. l.s.u. a couple of years with him, he'll be outstanding player in the s.e.c. they've not been themselves in terms of offensive production. only six points. >> bob: surprising. >> eric: last year he had 33 points, career high in the game against l.s.u.. >> bob: very surprising. the zone stifled him some. >> eric: 5:50 left to play.

l.s.u. looking for their first conference win, down by four. harris, no one guarding him. takes it to the cup. he's fouled. harris wanted to settle for the elbow jumper but no one in front of him. >> bob: right here! harris sees the opening like a grand canyon opening up for him there. takes it hard. played extremely well in this game. >> eric: double bonus time. two free-throws. tough shot. >> bob: he has to play the rest of the way with warren on the bench. >> eric: he's got ten points. he has scored a grand total of one point in the last four games that l.s.u. played. >> bob: amazing, huh? he will get more playing time i guarantee you that now. part of the interior rotation now for l.s.u.

>> eric: that is a little bit lower. beal. right in front of kevin stallings. >> bob: jermaine beal off the screen. didn't execute. >> eric: goulbourne. loses it out of bounds. he thought he was stripped. so l.s.u. a chance to tie or take the lead. >> bob: for a team that's 0-10 in the s.e.c. they played with remarkable poise in the game. now will be the real test in the last five minutes of the game. can they maintain the poise and get the ball to the right guy?

>> eric: the ball loose on the floor. saved by tinsley. >> bob: shot clock to eight. they don't know it. >> eric: let them figure it out. spencer. a shot clock violation. on vanderbilt but out of bounds. >> bob: he was not aware and he made a mistake mentally. >> eric: 59-57. vanderbilt needing this win to stay a half game behind the kentucky wildcats in the s.e.c. east. at memorial gymnasium in nashville, bob wenzel, eric collins. surprisingly close game. a winless l.s.u. team in conference against a surprisingly very good vanderbilt team. that foul on dennis harris.

harris has just fouled out! so with 4:18 remaining, dennis harris and storm warren have fouled out along the front line for l.s.u.. >> bob: green has to do the work, the 6'11" freshman. mitchell has to get the ball almost every possession. how has l.s.u. done this? they had a spirited practice last night. better for a team that's 0-10. did not hang their heads, had a good game plan and came in here and tried to hold the ball offensively and used the shot clock. 2-3 zone, all very, very well done. >> eric: taylor misses two free-throws. >> bob: 2-3 zone now on part of vanderbilt. mitchell on the scene. there it is!

what a touch pass by mitchell. attack the zone and that's the way to do it. >> eric: mitchell finds green and we're tied at 59. ogilvy. draws the foul, gets the bucket! [ cheering ] we weren't tied for long. chance for three-point play. >> bob: other end, tasmin mitchell to green to flush city, baby!

today's s.e.c. network game has been brought you by -- ericuntry music halof faasilnnessee. , usa, they call it.

>> bob: do you play guitar? >> eric: not once in my life. i don't think i've if i'v i fi. >> bob: you might want to come down here for a couple of days. l.s.u. had a spectacular dunk on the last play. it was because of tasmin mitchell. look at the free-throw line. mitchell will get the ball there. quick dish on the baseline to green. beautiful of how to attack a zone. >> eric: at the other end, ogilvy on the free-throw line because he took it to on the basket. this is coming to the wire unexpectedly. >> eric: both teams in the double bonus. every time we hear the whistle we have two free-throws for either side. >> bob: got to find mitchell, either at the high post or along the baseline. spencer can make shots unless they're close up on him. because of his ankle he can't move well with the basketball. >> eric: mitchell to tinsley.

>> bob: good shot. he makes threes against arkansas. they can live with that. >> eric: up and in, goulbourne! off the bench, 13 points for lance goulbourne! [ applause ] >> bob: when you foul out the two biggest guys on the opposing team? you attack the boards. warren and harris fouled out. they can go to the board strong here. >> eric: mitchell, garrett green, with the bounce pass. >> bob: i tell you, garrett green and harris are aggressive players. l.s.u. has had a great year. they're pretty good. >> eric: a whistle on green. it's his fifth. no, it's on tinsley. green can stay in the game. it will be a two free-throw

opportunity for a.j. ogilvy. time-out called by l.s.u. this is just a 30-second time-out. we keep it here. >> bob: the thing for vanderbilt right now, the thing for vanderbilt is they have to on the out of bounds play, whatever shot they get, they crash the offensive boards. for l.s.u., they're happy to be where they are right now. but they don't want to let it slip away. defensively they've ban little porous in the last couple of minutes because their legs are heavy and the guys fouled out. for l.s.u., tasmin mitchell has to be part of whatever trent johnson does at the offensive end. >> eric: this is your game reset. >> bob: both teams in the double bonus. >> eric: a lot of whistles and fouls in the second half. also, l.s.u., they have the benefit of the possession arrow. so a held ball is going to be l.s.u. basketball. >> bob: right now, defense is the most important thing for

tasmin mitchell and his teammates. at the offensive end, they have to hope for a miss right here. at the offensive end they have to attack the zone the last couple of possessions. i'd not be surprised to see kevin stallings go man-to-man after the free-throw situation. when they needed it. four-point game. [ applause ] the zone. mitchell at the high post. make him work. >> eric: spencer. contested. forced the pass. stolen away. steal and he's fouled! [ applause ]

>> bob: great "d" on the part of vanderbilt out of the zone. terrific pass. gets his body where it needs to be. three-point opportunity by the senior. he's a strong guard. i was surprised that l.s.u. didn't get a touch right there for tasmin mitchell. playing on the high post, he could have popped and rolled. >> eric: now the lead is 12-7. it's kevin stallings's turn to call a time-out. he wants to set his team's defense. >> bob: well, the zone has been good for kevin the last couple of possessions. he will probably stay with it. spencer, the only threat from the perimeter really for l.s.u. besides, they could get the ball to the short corner. and then mitchell rolling down the lane.

they tried it earlier in the game and wasn't that successful with it. i suspect the second thing to do is dribble penetrate against the zone. >> eric: this is why this game is so important for vanderbilt. they are a game behind kentucky in the s.e.c. east. with a win, move half game behind kentucky. kentucky has a tough one tonight against tennessee on espn. should kentucky lose that game and vanderbilt win this game, there would be a debt head on top of the s.e.c. east. the rematch between vandy and kentucky is on this floor in a couple of weeks. >> bob: nice scenario you described. john calipari's guys don't want it to happen tonight. they'll play their best against tennessee, i guarantee you that>> ericthat>> eric:. >> eric: playing bruce pearl's club. to spencer. >> eric: got it.

wow! >> bob: the guts of a cat bu burgler! should have got him the last two possessions in the same way. carry a team. right now difficulty time wise. and foul. >> eric: the lead is five. ogilvy. no. rebound goulbourne but he ran in his own man and lost the basketball! in transition. mitchell takes his time. gets a man up in the air. rewarded with a couple of free-throws. >> bob: last night, triple overtime in big east. pittsburgh beat west virginia. maybe we're seeing some of that here. the ball fake. man in the air. go into him. get the call every single time. >> eric: mitchell at the line. we're hearing music so it's

appropriate to say it's tasmin mitchell of jonny cash, has traveling feet. makes them both. the lead is down to three. >> bob: no need the foul. great need to rebound for l.s.u. man-to-man. >> eric: one minute to play. ogilvy is fouled from behind. >> bob: what we are witnessing is experienced against inexperienced post-player. green for his all athleticism, only a sophomore. did not play much last year. going against ogilvy who played for the australian national team, who is a junior and played big minutes the whole career in vanderbilt. as a result, getting in a situation he cannot handle. >> eric: picked up foul number

five. he's stunned. replaced by eddie ludwig. three players for l.s.u. are done due to fouls. storm warren, garrett green a. >> bob: i think trent johnson has high hopes for this guy. he has athletic ability and good basketball sense. got to work on his body some. he will be a good player at l.s.u.. >> eric: ogilvy makes a pair. see if the tigers can get it to mitchell. trent johnson burns his final time-out. 48 seconds remaining. and trent johnson found it important enough to call time-out and get a good possession. all right. with the time-out on the floor, send it back to the s.e.c. network studio and whit watson.

♪ ♪ >> many of you along the s.e.c. network affiliate station will see fortson and company as arkansas takes on alabama on many of these s.e.c. network stations. others of you will see south carolina and the s.e.c. leading scorer downey as a carolina takes on georgia. that is coming up at 4:00 eastern, 3:00 central. >> eric: thank you, whit. getting started with the full slate of s.e.c. basketball. look at the geico play of the game wile we have a time-out on the floor. >> bob: if you like defense in clutch situations you'll like this. vanderbilt really came through when they needed to. and at the other end, the senior leader converts and as a result that is with a gave them the margin they now have. the defense leading to beal's play, the geico play of the game.

>> eric: vanderbilt on top by five. on defense. l.s.u. no longer has a time-out to call. vanderbilt still has three. both teams in the double bonus. possession arrow favors trent johnson and l.s.u. tigers. >> bob: when you call a time-out and have the ball in the front court you set up a play. but you don't know if the other team is in zone or man. so right now, you have to improvise. not play, it's players at this junctionture. >> eric: tried to draw the foul and couldn't get the whistle. now l.s.u. has to foul, am i correct? >> bob: yeah, they do. >> eric: spencer pressuring beal. there is the whistle. >> bob: spencer going to talk to the official. he thought he was whacked on the arm. decembsperation for him in that particular play. kevin stallings is thinking about the focus of his team.

johnson won't be happy but he can be proud with how his team played. still time to play, but hard to get anything on offensive board on the miss. >> eric: of steps in and he's fouled. the last thing vanderbilt wanted to do was foul. a foul on jeffery taylor. and taylor has fouled out. the first vanderbilt commodore to be excused. >> bob: a couple of things in this game. jenkins, the second best three-point shooter on the team. the freshman from tennessee, 48% from three-point range. not availabavailable. we see taylor go out. a terrific game. because of jenkins' action,

three-point shooting not as effective and the zone of l.s.u. became even more effective. >> eric: missed the first free-throw. ball is loose in the back court. a foul is called on ludwig trying to go after the loose ball. go down to the other end to try to ice this game. it's been feingold tgol goulbou been the steady performer for the game for vanderbilt. >> bob: yeah. he's been where the action is. it seems like all the time. even when he wasn't scoring. he was involved at the offensive and defensive end. 6'8", 225, can play multiple positions. averaged five a game last year for kevin stallings.

has become a big part of the rotation this year. >> eric: spencer in a hurry, knocked away by ogilvy. and we'll have another foul. goulbourne. vanderbilt got a scare thrown in to them by the winless in conference play l.s.u. tigers. they are going to hold on and move to 8-2 in s.e.c. play. >> bob: and, you know, they have a lot of depth. walker not playing because of a shoulder situation. jenkins not playing really dug in the depth of kevin stallings and vanderbilt in this game. they scratched out a win. when you finish near the top of the s.e.c., you know, you're going to have games

where you get them called and this is one of them. >> eric: goulbourne has 16. call him again. goulbourne love being in the game. >> bob: mitchell made the three to get him way up where he usually is. tough year right there for that man, trent johnson. great year for that guy kevin stallings. you know when you think about vanderbilt's team, last year, 19 wins. this year, they're going to get the 19th win right now. they will have a better record than last year. anticipating a six or seven seed in the ncaa tournament.

>> eric: final score won't show how close the game really was. l.s.u. had a chance for an upset but not enough warm bodies. >> bob: trent johnson has to tell them that. you outlined it well. storm warren fouled out early. that was really, really trouble for them. they found two guys to help them out. vanderbilt, a good team, survived a scare when they were not at their best. >> eric: a.j. ogilvy in an 18-game home winning streak, 13-0 at home this year. as we speak, they're half game out of first in the s.e.c. east pending what happens tonight with kentucky against tennessee. >> bob: entertaining game. love to watch guys who are underdogs play with their hearts. l.s.u. did that. vanderbilt too much for them in terms of talent. >> eric: vanderbilt wins. for bob wenzel and the entire crew, i'm eric collins saying

so long from 6' 8, 8 1/2, can do it all. i mean when i say do it all and do it gracefully. i mean with the greatest of ease. >> benji will, so his game and personality were -- wilson, his game and personality were electric, a future star in the nba until one morning when everything changed. get an inside glimpse at the man the nfl mayors have chosen to lead them in -- players have chosen to lead them in the fighnewtive rgaient. 'll uce emar ith. >> t our stin >> and a truy th abou inws tvie'

hello and welcome to this edition of net impact. we've seen nfl commissioner roger goodell and nfl players association executive director demaris smith exchanging pleasantries through the media and have even been in front of congress as the two sides attempt a collective bargaining agreement and as they do so the atmosphere will get more tense. we know goodell he's within on the job three years now but who is this man that the players have chosen to be their voice in this turbulent time? here's comcast sportsnet's mid- atlantic's jill sorenson. >> for our last practice we could play head coach. >> yea! >> we do head coach. >> reporter: this is fun for

demaris smith the executive director of the nfl players association by day and a coach for his 10-year-old son allen and his baseball team in silver vince, maryland, by night. >> tag -- in silver springs, maryland, by night. >> tag him! >> reporter: the intensity and passion you see here is smith's day job as union smith named the successor to the late and edge legendary gene upshaw in march, the man everyone calls dean has not slowed down. >> i've been on the job six months. i've probably been on the road three and a half, four months solid. >> reporter: he was seen as an outsider to get the job with former players as the front runners. his background as a trial lawyer was far from the experience of an nfl player. >> i definitely think that's a positive that he was an outsider, you know, guy coming in, he doesn't have all the connections or, you know, any preconceived notions of what was happening before and, you

know, can he come in and kind of look at things clearly. >> i'm very confident. i'm confident, that you know, he can get things done, whatever that may be. he's presented himself in such a way and i think he's broken it down to the players in such a way that we can understand it. >> reporter: as much as he's an outsider d. is a d.c. insider having grown up a stone's throw from fedex field. >> you come out of the room in d.c. and get smacked and then you're injected with burgundy and gold. >> reporter: on his resume counsel to then deputy attorney general eric holder and he also served on president obama's transition team. >> business worldwide in some way, shape or form always touches washington. it's one heck of a sports town. so yeah, those are things that are inextricably tied to who i am. does it affect what i do? probably. but hopefully affects it for the better. >> reporter: with the possible lockout on the horizon demorris smith has made it a priority to visit each team to help them understand the process.

>> this was in one of the file drawers in our office and it slowly but surely i'm going through every drawer, every cabinet. >> reporter: why? >> a great deal of our history on what we have done internally to be a stronger union is there. the one thing i'm blessed about is gene was an incredible note taker. here on the back he'd clearly written out in longhand a speech that i don't know whether he gave or was going to give, but the most interesting part at the bottom is you see it in quotes, the nfl has always been willing to take a short loss for a long term gain. >> reporter: in the midst of negotiations or perhaps because of them d. and the union have made national headlines on a regular basis. >> as executive director, my no. 1 priority is to protect those who play and have played this game. to me it is probably a little bit of a combination of half negotiation, half trial lawyer.

i mean both of those things are things that are in my dna for some way, shape or form. i think about my grandfather in the pulpit. there's probably a little bit of that, too. as a result, i'm really not afraid of my question. i want guys to be actively involved. truth be told, i probably lean on them in a very hard way, but this is their union. it's not my union. it's their union. >> reporter: always in the line of fire demorris smith is used to the heat. >> i thought that was a -- 17-year-old ben benji wilson was a rising star, a young basketball phenom with a definite nba future. in fact, in 1984 wilson was the no. 1 ranked high school basketball player in the nation. he'd been described as a magic johnson with a jump shot and kevin garnett with a better handle of the ball and a better perimeter game.

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1 in erls eges tn ths ofm tism.org the san francisco bay area and a saturday afternoon. we have a little hoops action coming up. today, washington state takes on pac-10 leading cal and with all the sharp-shooting in today's matchup fall into the shootout category. that means a lot of game. ♪ game ♪ you see the n ♪ >> washington state sophomore klay thompson is one of the best shooters in the conference, rimete

mate college basketball, where winning on the road "bearly" ever happens. caption funding provided by fox sports net >> we welcome you to haas pavilion here in berkeley, california. a little pac-10 hoops action presented by oberto beef jerky.

today, the washington state cougars come call on the hometown, california golden bears. let's take a look at the standings in the pac-10 conference. sure enough it's the cal bears who are in first place all by their lonesome, eight up and four down. but they have a whole pack of them.

>> theo robertson will be the career three-point percentage leader in cal history, all three of them thousand point scorers. what a luxury for mike montgomery. >> i think every good team has that one guy who can change a game and change it with all the intangibles. that guy is jorge gutierrez. >> there's not a category for toughness in the box score. he does the little things, raises the level of intensity which in turn makes cal's defense better. big reason why cal is in first place in the conference is the contribution of jorge gutierrez. >> when you talk about washington state, everybody knows about klay thompson. when he gets help from one of the best freshmen in the pac-10 conference, reggie moore, this cougar team is pretty darn good. >> this is the guy where the numbers do tell the story. his rankings among the freshmen. in a lot of times when you go through the numbers, they tend to tail off. he oozes confidence, reggie

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>> barry: we welcome you back to haas pavilion, barry tompkins along with don maclean. the visitors from washington, the washington state cougars. a talented sophomore leads the conference in blocked shots. nikola koprivica, a guy who can step out and shoot it, a high percentage three-point shooter. they are catched for the first time this year by ken bone. he wants to score in the 70s. different philosophy than tony bennett who has since moved on to virginia. let's take a look at the oberto beef jerky lineup. for the california golden bears, boik within theo robertson, patrick christopher, jorge gutierrez and randle. it's a smaller

have gutierrez in there. he's a game changer. mike montgomery, of course, the winningest coach in the pac-10 conference in his second year here at california. 585 career wins. and here is what his senior, jerome randle had to say about mike montgomery. >> when i heard he was coming here, i didn't know if i was going to stay at this school. i didn't know much about him. i thought it wasn't going to be a good fit for me. but we talked and, you know, he saw me work out. and we just clicked from there. there's one thing he didn't do, take away from my dribbling, shooting, whatever the case is. he wants you to feel comfortable out there on the floor. i think everyone can vouch for that. >> barry: that's jerome randle on his coach mike montgomery. what mike montgomery said to him, you're from chicago, play like chicago. >> don: he's happy that he stayed.

his point production went from 11. 8 to 18.3, the first year mike montgomery was here. what is washington state going to do with jerome randle? he had 39 last time and what is cal going to do on klay thompson? teams in this league have been doing a good job of limiting klay thompson. >> barry: he said i'm angry, still angry. didn't have a good game against washington. he had a comeback game, as you said, where he scored 33 the other night. he said i'm still mad. i like to play that way. he has a chip on his shoulder. he feels like he has something to do, even though he doesn't. >> don: that's what he's capable of doing, exploding. you wonder what ken bone is going to do. you almost think he's going to say, we'll limit randle. patrick christopher on thompson. >> barry: he had a good look for

three and knocked it down. >> don: real good look. that's when klay thompson's at his best, feet down, air space, knock down, nice shot. >> barry: both these teams want to play about the same tempo. they'd like to play it in the 70s. here's boykin, too. >> don: 22-10 the other night. washington state opening up in a zone. they will fix it up. they're not exclusively zone or man. >> barry: the bears went right to it. that's the way they attack the zone. he steps into the lane and scores. >> don: we talked about the emotional energy spent the other night and cal's got to be careful. because they rose up and took care of washington. but washington state not happy with what happened the other night. they had a double digit lead, couldn't finish it. looks like they're out here with a purpose early. >> barry: they let that game escape and they know it. good save by christopher.

gutierrez steps in, kicks out to christopher, open three. >> don: big-time shot by christopher. he's done that throughout his entire career, averaging 16 a game. but nothing fancy in that zone for washington state, barry. you have to get the shooters. if you're going to play a regular old three-two, the effort has to be there to get out to the shooters. >> barry: this is reggie moore. they want the ball in his hands. interestingly, theo robertson matching up with reggie moore. moore had 25 when these two teams hooked up before. >> don: i think a good move by coach montgomery. >> barry: this is robertson. robertson will shoot when it's there. very unselfish player. that's the hallmark of this california team. not a great look. knocks it down. another three. >> don: too much room for cal shooters right now, washington, you play zone, you know you have

to get to certain guys. robertson being one of them. that's just too easy. >> barry: it's cut off by gutierrez. >> don: good matchup here. thompson and christopher. >> barry: thompson's fallaway over christopher, a little bit short. gutierrez is going to be fouled by reggie moore. >> don: you like that shot by thompson. good step back. he's added that to his game. he's putting it on the deck more. just didn't go down that time. i really like reggie moore, barry, good size, athletic. but we mentioned the confidence. that's what i think sets him apart is even if things aren't going well, the other night, didn't play well against stanford. comes right back today. good-looking freshman guard. >> barry: is he. he does not back down. a lot of freshmen guards in general get intimidated on the road. not reggie moore. christopher, blocked by thompson, snapped out of the air

by casto. >> don: leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage at 45%. what a luxury for ken bone, your foreman stepping out in a semitransition situation, getting to that corner with the knockdown. >> barry: both these teams shooting pretty well early in this game. we're tied at 8. randle goes behind his back. he has bigger capers on hill. boykin, boykin for the basket and missed the shot. had a very good look. thompson with the rebound for the cougs. >> don: i think the cougs, if they're going to win this gale, barry will have to get out in transition and get looks like that. >> barry: capers, he doesn't look to score a lot but did he there and he makes it. >> don: in a semitransition situation, it's hard for the other team to match. that time, capers wide open in the corner. >> barry: randle going to bring it back up top now.

they start the offense. boykin got knocked down. was late coming back up the floor. gutierrez, penetrates, fallaway, tough shot. he got it. >> don: real tough shot for gutierrez. how about the cal coach is telling me yesterday, gutierrez at 6'3" is their best rebounder. >> barry: yes. >> don: how often do you hear that? a 6'3" guy being your best rebounder on the team. >> barry: he's a glue guy. not every team has a guy like that. as we mentioned in the open, good teams do. he's it. >> don: the only sophomore in the starting lineup. >> barry: have been coming off the bench. they've gone with this lineup for the last six games. this is casto, good job by boykin. >> don: boykin, good position defender, playing undersides at the five. long arms and good strength allows him to be a good defender. >> barry: and blocked from behind, capers blocks randle. going to be out of bounds to california. we'll take a time-out as well.

>> barry: we're tied at 10, first half. jerome randle had a career high 39 points in that game, including seven three-pointers. the bears won the game by 15 that was the most points scored by a player since leon post, 41,

back in the 2006 pac-10 tournament against oregon. randle, the real deal. >> don: the real deal and small. we saw porter thursday night, second place all-time in career threes. randle going to be, if he stays on track, going to become cal's all-time leader scorer. pretty heady stuff for him. he had a great career. i believe with mike montgomery coming here has made him an even better player than he was before he got here. >> barry: he just told him, be what you are. randle accepted that. his growth over four years has been really something to watch. here's randle. that's what he'll do to you. doesn't get this one to go. he's going to make you step out and defend it. >> don: he has the green light and unlimited range. >> barry: that time, a foul, coming to the basket offensive.

>> don: pretty good pace to this game earlier. at least good shooting. we're five minutes in. 10-10, a bunch of threes made. i think washington state, again, if they can get out in semitransition, cal with gutierrez back in the lineup, a much better defensive team. >> barry: capers coming off the screen, thompson, the floater, coming back and banks it in. >> don: especially a scorer that's being guarded by the opposing team as the number one option, you press, you force the issue. if you miss you have to follow. nice play by thompson. >> barry: boykin is out. brings casto with him. randle behind the boykin screen. randle to the basket, nice recovery by casto. >> don: you mentions he leads the conference in blocked shots. >> barry: thompson, long tres. thompson on fire early. >> don: speaking of unlimited range, that was from about 27.

i think the nba scouts that are here probably liked to see that. if you can go way beyond that college line and way beyond that nba line they're going to like it. >> barry: there are a lot of scouts here. i saw george felton who's in the house from the san antonio spurs. he's coming across again with a left hander. >> don: nice play by boykin, that time to fin ir. he tried to earlier. the ball kind of fell out of his hand. that time he controlled it, knocked it down with the left. >> barry: cougars are playing like the angry team right now. they let the game get away. casto down low over boykin. >> don: casto, two double-doubles in a row. they never scored double figures two games in a row in his career. you can see his confidence is growing. that was a nice offensive play by him. >> barry: this is randle. they left him for a minute. moore jumps out at him.

randle in the lane. tried a tough shot in traffic. couldn't get it to go. thompson in transition. another tres. >> don: you have to find him in transition. the feet down, shoulders square. the transition of washington state, they have to get out and get easy looks. they are getting some good looks. klay thompson showing you why he was getting 25 a night coming into the conference. >> barry: he has 11 in the first seven minutes of this game. also, he's putting it on the floor, taking it hard to the basket also. >> don: he started his career at washington state last year as primarily a catch and shoot guy. that will always be the staple of his game. this year it's different. he puts it down. guys are aware of that. because of the style of play, you take a look at his dad, mychal thompson, great player in the nba for the lakers. does the radio for the lakers now. klay thompson added to his game. that's made him become a more multidimensional player.

last year that's primarily what it was, deep down, more curling, more aggressiveness. he follows his shot on that one. last year he wasn't really asked to do that. ken bone, this year wanted to expand his game more. he has. he's had a terrific start. and continues. the numbers are down a little bit as we take a look at this graphic. but that's only because teams in the pac-10 are saying, look, you ain't getting 25 on us. we're going to have to -- let other people get loose. but he stayed with it and off to a good start here. >> barry: the bears not doing what mike montgomery suggested they would have to do, deny them the catch. they're letting them catch and he's making the catch in transition and making the bears pay, 15-4 run for the cougs. >> don: i believe a lot of it has to do, barry, with them being out in the transition. in the half-court they can limit his touches. it's easier for klay thompson to get open and get going when they're pushing the ball up the

floor. >> barry: four for the cougars. everything that's happening as klay thompson is getting the touches that he needs. >> don: he's gotten the ball ten times -- or ten possessions, excuse me, nine touches for klay thompson. >> barry: he got it again there, almost turned it over. back to casto for the lay-in. >> don: washington state is coming with more effort right now than cal. cal, a little bit of the hangover. we talked about it. it's human nature. when you rise up for a big game, a game that's for first place, there could be a letdown. let's see if cal recognizes it and picks up their level. >> barry: it's going to be out of bounds. the bears will retain possession. we'll get a time-out with 11:41 remaining in the first half. so my tax return what p?

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f omedtrok >> barry: cougs 17-4 run over the last five minutes. tomorrow, pac-10 basketball continues. another exciting doubleheader. first, california and washington in women's hoops. and then the cross-town rivalry continues. ucla will do battle with usc in men's college hoops. the action tipping off 5:00 eastern, 2:00 pacific time. that's tomorrow. michael rolle, dwight lewis.

another great three-point shooter. they're hoping to repeat what they did to ucla the first time around. >> don: always seems to be a good game, though, buzzer-beater, game-winning shots. probably be the same again tomorrow. >> barry: the cougs absolutely on fire. it comes back down in the hands of nikola koprivica. >> don: i think they're settling right now. >> barry: that's the shot the cougs would let him take. >> don: i think absolutely. you're going to go to randle and robertson and christopher and if he starts knocking them down, you guard him there's the value of gutierrez right there. that raises the level of defense for cal. >> barry: it raises the tempo of the game in general, i think. here's koprivica. talk about theo robertson, back on top. >> don: he becomes even more important if your team becomes a little flat. he's the guy that will get

everybody else up. >> barry: that three on the shot clock, long three by thames. no. he yanks down the rebound for california. frison. >> don: good-time shot. gets them back in this thing. only down four. it's hard to guard randle when he pulls from so far away. you're not used to guarding from all the way out there. >> barry: there's another case of gutierrez getting on the floor. they will whistle koprivica for the foul. >> don: good shooting in this game here early. thompson really hasn't got it going. because of the team's defense and steaming for him, his last real big game was 27 against stanford on january 16. i have a feeling he's going to challenge that 27 today. >> barry: he has 11 right now. we're not at the halfway point of the first half yet.

thames across the lane. koprivica, offensive rebound and a putback. >> don: effort play. washington state effort plays on the offensive glass, koprivica, known for his three-point shooting and ability to step out. sneaks in there, gets a good offensive rebound. >> barry: koprivica and knezevic. they were on the national team in serbia. >> don: what a grab on moore. with casto out of the game for washington state, i bet you cal may be settling a little bit too much. they are a great three-point shooting team. without casto in there, now's the time to start attacking that rim. they have the ability to beat people off the dribble. i think to stabilize this game, because washington state has done a pretty good job of getting out in transitions off of missed threes. >> barry: they have motum on the floor right now.

he doesn't get a lot of minutes. >> don: as advertised, jerome randle coming off. he had 3 the other night. off to a good start here. two monster threes. >> barry: thompson, another good luck. he knocks down a flee. >> don: right back at you. on nba all-star weekend when we see the three-point shootout tonight, we're getting a preview here on the college game. >> barry: i'm telling you. the bears are 5 of 7 beyond the arc in this game. which is keeping them in it. they trail by six. randle, again, he thought about it. washington state, 5 of 6 from three-point range. it goes halfway down and out. motum with the rebound. >> don: the penetration is there. gutierrez with the recognition, puts it down. it doesn't go down. i'd like to see cal have more balance between driving and shooting threes. >> barry: that was a nice look, great movement by klay thompson. >> don: you're expecting him to camp out on the three-point

line, just catch and shoot. a lot more active today than we've seen him in the couple game that we've done. his teammates are looking for him. he has 16 already. >> barry: we're just at the 8:30 mark at the first half here. the bears have not found an answer for him. gutierrez will go to the line. he went down hard. >> don: you think he's going to stay down? no chance smoodz not a chance. >> don: take a look at klay thompson, moving without the ball. and obviously knezevic is there. if your teammates aren't looking for you or trying to get it to you, you're probably not going to get it. klay thompson couldn't have gotten off to a better start here. >> barry: gutierrez will go to the free-throw line. he's coming off a knee injury. he's not quite 100% yet. he got up to the floor. >> don: frison isn't either,

talking to montgomery yesterday. these two not quite 100%. but because of who they are and what they bring to the table, even not at 100%, they still help the team win. >> barry: amoke will come into the california lineup. he's playing with some pain after a dislocated shoulder. i think mike montgomery will put him out there and see how far and how long he can go. >> don: more of an effort guy, too. it's not like he's a catch and shoot guy where that will bother him. his contributions on the defensive end, five rebounds a game. he's looking for some energy out of him. >> barry: this is brock motum. he has a good look. it's kept alive by harthun. >> don: why