QUESTIONABLE: UConn's NCAA Tournament Preview—Will Silas Demary Jr & Jaylin Stewart IMPACT Victory?

0:00It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Introducing the all-new Mazda CX-5. Featuring more connection. Hey, Google, where's the nearest Pilates class? Safety that has your back. More discovery on the scene of crowds. More passion in the details. A more controlled and changing weather. The all-new Mazda CX-5. More to move every side of you. See it in five films at MazdaUSA.com slash five sides. Google is a trademark of Google LLC. Sequence is shortened and simulated. This is Nick Gangstead with the Lockdown Podcast. This message is a paid partnership with Apple Card. I love that I can run up to 3% daily cash back on every purchase of my Apple Card, which can be automatically sent to my high-yield savings account through Apple Card right in the wallet app. With my iPhone, I can use Apple Card with Apple Pay basically everywhere I go. You can apply for Apple Card, too, right in the wallet app on your iPhone.

1:02Subtract your credit approval. Savings is available to Apple Card owners, subject to eligibility. Savings in Apple Card by Goldman Sachsbank, USA Salt Lake City Branch member FDIC. Terms and more at AppleCard.com. You got men tip off their NCAA tournaments tonight. I'll have a full preview, including why Dan Hurley likes the one and done setting. This is Lockdown. You con. You are locked on you con. Your daily podcast on the Yukon Huskies. Part of the Lockdown podcast network. Your team every day. Happy Friday. I'm Masha Vyski. It is NCAA Tournament Day. Yukon opens up tonight against Ferman. We're going to close the show. The freeing nature of the NCAA Tournament. Dan Hurley talked that length about why he likes a one and done setting. Especially for this Yukon men's basketball team. We'll talk about that at the end in the middle segment. Defense is absolutely paramount for the Yukon men to have success in the NCAA tournament.

2:06We'll talk about that. But first, we're going to open with an injury update. Silas Demory, Malachi Smith, Jill and Stewart. Who's going to be available as well as who is Ferman? Who is this team that Yukon is facing as the 15 seed? We'll get to that in the open. But first, today's episode is brought to you by Masha. We put that same drive into every detail. Wins to find the moment. Putting in the work. That defines you. Stay tuned for highlights in this week's moving the game forward. There's more to a Masha because there's more to you. So Dan Hurley was at the podium on Wednesday. Wednesday or Thursday. And he was asked a question that said, Hey, Silas Demory just told Joe Ruta of the heart for current. And he's just putting on social media that Silas Demory is going to be good to go on Friday night. Who is Dan Hurley's looking around? He said, what? I was just about to put him as questionable on the sheet ahead of the game. Which leads me to believe I'm not sure exactly what's going to be transpiring here and who's going to be starting the game on Friday night.

3:14I know Dan Hurley as a coach and listen, injuries. And information around injuries. I know coaches love to control that information. And I know Sunday night. Right when the NCAA tournament was being revealed and there were comments on social media. I think even members of Silas Demory's family were putting out information on social media that. Hey, MRI negative. Things are going to be good. Which for you kind of fans, that's great news, right? You want to hear it. You love to hear it for coaching staff. That's probably not the best way to communicate and reveal information just. Having been in and around coaches and how they like to operate for the last 12 years. And even before that, when I was part of the football program. As a work study I was doing as I was in grad school.

4:15It was. You don't want injury news getting out there. At least that you how it used to be. Social media is not what it was not then what it is today. Social media was around, but it wasn't as prevalent. Not everybody was on everything. Not everyone was communicating on social media. When I was within a program. But. When I transitioned into covering sports from a media standpoint. I know because I've tried to get information on injuries. Coaches keep everything close to the vest. And then if you also have information on injuries and you know information on injuries. Coaches also do not like you releasing it publicly. I know that. I've experienced a first hand. Different types of coaches, different type of personalities. Decay to go is a little different than today. Some coaches don't care. Some coaches do. So every coach is different. But didn't really reaction. Oh, man.

5:16Because later in his press conference leading into the Fermi game. He was also asked about Joe Stewart. And his response was, well, maybe I should go outside this memory. I wanted to show you a good update on Joe and Stuart. So clearly. Dan Hurley did not want that information out there. Now, his Silas demo, we're actually going to be good to go? I don't know. For the report that was out there. He should be fine. For Dan Hurley, he's going to be marked questionable heading in as his. Joe Stuart questionable. It sounds like based on what Dan Hurley was saying. Jail and Stewart has a better chance of playing Sunday than he does tonight against Firm But he said it's gonna be close. We'll see how things are at shoot around how he's moon around how things look how he's feeling, but he's close We'll see we'll see how that goes

6:16The Malachi Smith news. That's a little New information that arose the other day at the press conference as well that hey He's also dealing with all some thing and We'll see what that means for the rotation because if if these guys can't go if these guys aren't really healthy if these guys can't play their full minutes Who's gonna backfill because Earlier on it was hey seen things seem to be okay. That Silas Demors on track I know the report that was out there on social media that he's he's gonna be good to go But back to Dan Hurley said he's gonna be questionable. Well, let's talk about hypotheticals because the Silas Demory Jr Is not ready to go what happens. I think might me. I think no informed information here I think you slide Jalen Jaden Ross into the starting lineup Because you need to maintain your defensive intensity, which we're gonna talk about in a second I think you move Brillen Mullins and solo ball into more of a point guard ball handling roll

7:18And you bring Jaden Ross in as a starter. I think that's what would transpire if things if Silas is not ready to go But it's important that this team and I would like to see Jalen Stewart if he's gonna be coming back get him on the floor tonight Because when you look forward, I'd rather see Jalen Stewart ease into playing time again against the likes of a firm and nothing against them But should you con win Their next matchup is against the power for whether that's UCLA Whether that's UCF and I think UCF as a 10 I think they're a little underrated there So that's gonna be a great game today between UCLA LA and UCF I think it's a toss-up because UCF has been competitive In the big 12 and I think they have an opportunity to potentially take out UCLA

8:23Either matchups are gonna be a good one if Yukon advances The brand matchup between Yukon and UCLA would be significant obviously on Sunday But let's not look ahead because we've got an opponent in front of this team Furman Who has played NCAA tournament teams throughout the regular season Including the high point team that knocked off Wisconsin yesterday They opened the year against high point high point dominated they won by 26 They won by 26 Furman also lost to Troy and NCAA tournament team they lost to them by three They lost to Northern Iowa and NCAA tournament team by 16 They beat Queens and NCAA tournament team by 11 So they played four teams that are in the tournament They also beat Harvard who's historically been a program that can be competitive against power four teams They did beat Harvard

9:24By 10 So this is a team that especially as the season went along That's three of the first four all against NCAA tournament teams and then from there You they they racked off they rattled off a Big stretch between November 19 All the way to January 14th where they only lost two games Now 12 and 2 they're 14 game stretch So they completely turned their season around after losing three or four They have also 156 to close the season including the final three games of the regular of the postseason tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament and get the auto bit Beating East Tennessee State 76 to 61 in the final this team Is lead Scoring wise by Alex Wilkins A player that puts in 17 points per game He's under 33% from three But he does score Close to 20 again

10:25Cooper Bowser is their big low post presence. He's got 14 points a game six rebounds And then you've got another bigger guy Charles Johnson We haven't just close to a double double is basically 10 points 9.1 on rebounds 10 and 9 again So Yukon's going to have to be competitive on the boards Aza Thomas They're thirdly in a score only other player in double figures averages 12.4 He's probably their best three point shooter from the perimeter Seems to be right around 33 34 35% So Yukon's got a team here that hey they've shown they can compete against Teams that are in the tournament They've shown that they could score And is Aza Thomas kid He's actually 39% this year last season he shot 50% from the outside

11:25So this is definitely somebody that you're going to need to keep an eye on if you're Yukon on the perimeter Later tonight So those are probably the four names I'd keep an eye on Alex Wilkins your leaning score Bowser's your the main big Aza Thomas Your big three point shooter on the perimeter Then Johnston he's a double double threat That's who you need to look out for Firm and if you remember It's also no stranger to knocking off some higher profile teams in the NCI tournaments if you remember back in 2023 They did knock out Virginia with that crazy Kind of a miracle finish they were up Virginia was up what five with 10 seconds left Ends up losing to Firm and 68 67 so There no stranger to first round upsets this team It's a challenge just like any game in the NCI tournament Yukon's got to come in with the right mindset the right mindset the right heart

12:28That's the big thing They also Got to play good defense. We're going to talk about that after break The host of Lockdown women's basketball and this is Mazda's women's basketball snapshot celebrating the work no highlight reel Can ever capture it's officially tournament time and the number one seeds are set Yukon is the number one overall seed at 34 and oh And will headline Fort Worth regional one at Dickies arena joining the Fort Worth site as a top seed is Texas Leading regional three out west UCLA enters at 31 and one and takes the top spot in Sacramento regional two While South Carolina leads Sacramento regional four the first round of the tournament tips off this Friday These moments are earned off the clock those long before the lights ever come on the sweat the fakes the doubt the scrapes and coming back for more every time Mazda puts that same drive into every detail When's defined the moment putting in the work that defines you there's more to Mazda because there's more to you

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15:37I recently needed to hire an assistant who would work remotely But I didn't have the first clue where to start so I've seen firsthand How important it is to get an expert to help out pebble is an AI powered global human resources platform built for founders HR leaders and operators who are hiring and supporting teams around the world Pebble helps you hire pay and manage talent in over 185 countries with fast onboarding that can be done in minutes Instead of juggling separate tools for contracts payroll benefits and compliance Pebble brings everything together with built-in guidance and local expertise to support you The fastest growing companies in the world use pebble to stay organized and reduce risk bottom line It simplifies global people operations So you can spend more time growing the business and supporting your team Our new standard discounted pricing at $399 per month per employee helps you contain costs go to hipebble.ai to get a free estimate That's hipbbl.ai for a free estimate Back in on lockdown you con this nca tournament edition as you con will be

16:41Tipping off later tonight 10 p.m. against Ferman First off We've changed our open to the show. I got to do a spot here as well Thank you for making this your first lesson each and every single day This is locked on you con part of the locked on podcast network that I want sports podcast network in the world Again, please hit the like a subscribe button and thank you again for making this your first listen each and every single day What is key we talked about earlier this week one of the three keys in the main in the nca tournament for you kind of be successful Another piece that we didn't touch on in that day defense What's the single thing from last year to this season in terms of the metrics that you cons improve themselves and have been more competitive and played championship level defense The old ad is defense wins championships

17:41Talked about that over and over and over and over again regardless of any sport defense wins championships And Yukon has played championship level defense this season Top five didn't really even reiterate it the other day at the podium top five at times this season Yukon has been Defensively a huge change from last season when that was a not a strong suit for that The Improvement the market improvement that they made because of players like Silas, Demory, Jr The head of the Yukon snake the head of the snake defensively for Yukon Terce region is also a massive impact on the defense event the big time post presence that they need He's got a show through we've talked about that earlier this week. That was one of the keys his rim protection is part of this defense But the head of the snake defensively Silas, Demory, Jr. If he can't go

18:41What does that do for Yukon? What does that do for this Yukon defense? That's that's why in a hypothetical situation Silas, Demory, Jr. is not ready Jaden Ross needs to step into the starting rotation Because you need a player that will step in and provide the energy on the defense aside that aggressiveness on the defense aside To make an impact Try to speed up teams make them uncomfortable and Jaden Ross is that type of player I think he slides into the starting role of Silas is not able to go by all accounts he should By all accounts will be there But you're probably even if he is on the court you're probably going to see an uptake of Jaden Ross's minutes Because maybe they'll be slowly working Silas back into a full Full rotation And then if Malachi Smith can't play did it really all that also was asked about about Melinda And what he's done this season and why he's been a special impact player for this team off the court in the locker room

19:47He's a type of guy that always players are talking up and up and up despite not having an impact on the court this year He did play more early on this season when there were injuries when Braille and Mullins and Terrace Reed were out He was more a part of the rotation But as this team got healthy Melinda slid back and has been a bench bench guy More motivational guy off the bench Not really seeing time unless it's a blowout either way The only time he's really seen on the back half of the season time on the court If Demory if Malachi Smith are not able to go Dana really said you're going to see Melinda His last comment at that press conference was that Be prepared you might see Alec Melinda a lot more than you saw him during the regular season given the current situation So that's also a possibility of what you could see maybe he's the maybe he's the point off the bench Maybe this guy that comes in off the bench

20:49And Hurley made it a point to also say that hey He came here. He thought he was competing for time. This is a player that could compete for a starting role in the eight ten He's got that level full of play to him So it was not a guy that doesn't have ability doesn't have skill. He's here for a reason At the very least he'd be six made off the bench is what Dan Hurley said in the eight ten that caliper player very least likely starting role So if Demory is not able to go So That's what transpires, but the defensive success is greatly important for this team to make a run They got to play solid defense Which is why if Demory is not available I see Jaden Ross sliding in Because you got to have that on ball defender To wreck havoc and create havoc defensively

21:49I think that's what you're going to see In our final segment We're going to talk about a one and done setting and why Daniel Hurley believes it's a freeing nature The NCAA tournament why he likes it We'll talk about that after the break Today's episode is sponsored by supplyhouse you wouldn't show up on game day without a plan And he wouldn't show up to a job without the right parts That's why putting supplyhouse in your starting lineup is always the right call Here are the stats 300,000 plumbing HVAC and electrical products 500 tried and true brands and 90% of the country is in the one to two-day delivery window Need a last minute coupling a compressor a press tool they've got it and they'll get it to you quickly They are clutch if you're pro in the trades you can join the MVP of rewards programs and become a trade master Pro's get exclusive member only pricing priority shipping industry leading customer service And it's all absolutely free visit supplyhouse.com slash tm

22:51To learn more about becoming a trade master use promo code sh5 college for 5% off your first order That supplyhouse.com promo code sh5 college supplyhouse real people real service One thing no one tells you about hiring globally is how unclear the costs can be I recently needed to hire an assistant who would work remotely But I didn't have the first clue where to start so I've seen first hand how important it is to get an expert to help out Pebble is an AI powered global human resources platform built for founders HR leaders and operators who are hiring and supporting teams around the world Pebble helps you hire pay and manage talent in over 185 countries with fast onboarding that can be done in minutes Instead of juggling separate tools for contracts payroll benefits and compliance Pebble brings everything together with built-in guidance and local expertise to support you The fastest growing companies in the world use pebble to stay organized and reduce risk bottom line It simplifies global people operations so you can spend more time growing the business and supporting your team

23:52Our new standard discounted pricing at $399 per month per employee helps you contain costs go to hipubble.ai to get a free estimate That's hipbbl.ai for a free estimate His episode is also brought to you by Robin Hood What are sports portrayed like markets now? You can put your sports IQ to work in real-time with Robin Hood prediction markets It's not you against the house. It's you participating in a live market You can buy or sell your positions live all game long Use the sports knowledge in the moments that matter Robin Hood prediction markets changes the game It's people moving the action so in momentum shifts you can move with it I always knew the game but never had a dynamic way to apply that knowledge Now I can actually take part live in a market powered by people You no longer just a spectator play by play you decide Trade every play with Robin Hood now available across the US download the Robin Hood app now to begin Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone Event contracts are offered by Robin Hood derivative as LLC a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm

25:00One thing no one tells you about hiring globally is how unclear the costs can be I recently needed to hire an assistant who would work remotely But I didn't have the first clue where to start So I've seen firsthand how important it is to get an expert to help out Pebble is an AI powered global human resources platform built for founders HR leaders and operators who are hiring and supporting teams around the world Pebble helps you hire pay and manage talent in over 185 countries with fast onboarding that can be done in minutes Instead of juggling separate tools for contracts payroll benefits and compliance Pebble brings everything together with built-in guidance and local expertise to support you the fastest growing companies in the world Use pebble to stay organized and reduce risk bottom line. It simplifies global people operations So you can spend more time growing the business and supporting your team our new standard discounted pricing at $399 per month per employee helps you contain costs go to hipubble.ai to get a free estimate. That's hipbl.ai for a free estimate

26:03Back in on this final segment of locked on Yukon the NCA tournament preview show is for women and Yukon battle 10 p.m. tonight as Yukon Kicks off their path to potentially a third national championship in four seasons. I believe I believe it's realistic This team has everything that it takes and why does Yukon play so well in the NCA term everybody knows the stats everybody knows how they've covered after it Was it 13 straight games? They've covered in the NCA tournament is one of the stats. I've seen out there Why do they take care of business in the NCA tournament? Why are they more competitive in the NCA tournament? Why do they play their best in the NCA tournament? Dan Hurley talked about it He says the freeing nature of the NCA tournament where listen when you win a championship and when you're going through the grind of a regular season And maybe you drop a game that you shouldn't and then you look ahead and you have the two tough as next games on your schedule and you're like ah You could have a three game losing streak here

27:04That all wipes away in the NCA tournament. You're not looking ahead in the schedule. You're not looking ahead in the calendar What you're doing is you're in the moment. You're present There's no all we've got oh St. John's is circled on that calendar Right there's no let down game because you're looking ahead to the next opponent In the NCA tournament It's either you show up and you play Or your season or your potentially if you're senior and you don't have a path forward Your career would be over It's why Especially when you have coaches like Dan Hurley Leaders like Dan Hurley It's why They get their teams to focus Because they are able to communicate the importance of these situations to their teams No doubt And Dan Hurley can relax

28:05It's more he's more at ease because it's a one and done setting that hey This is it No going back He also did talk about hey your success your prior success in NCA tournament runs That does create more and more and more pressure. So as he's had success You would think hey once you get an amount top That relief is off your shoulders For Dan Hurley it's more That's your new expectation That's the new requirements. That's your new you know what you can accomplish. So if you don't go out and do it again That adds on more pressure and more angst Especially as you go through a regular season Especially when you go through a regular season you're not playing despite winning games like you did this year 29-5 Despite not playing your best You saw Dan Hurley extra frustrated especially after wins this season

29:07I think that's trying to be perfect. We talked about this. You don't need to be perfect every single moment As long as you're we talked a lot about this right? So I'm here improving as long as you're getting better better and better and better each and every single day So you're just driving towards that ultimate goal and getting better and getting closer and closer to it And that's your job as a coach right To continuously get more and more out of your team and not but but to a certain extent not ask them to do things you know they can't do Because you you crafted this roster you crafted this team you crafted this program a certain way in the vision that you have for execution on game day And now You know it's not you con in the biggest where you have limited freedom of motion and Much more physical When you get into NC at tournament time just like what we saw in out of conference play

30:08It's not teams that know you ever in that played you multiple times each and every season Dan Hurley's talked about this a bunch and I know I've talked about this on a national scale with some of the other locked on team members and I know I've gotten reactions like what what do you mean But when you play two to three times St. John's we've already played them three times And when you go up against a coach like Rick Patino You know what you're getting Patino knows what's coming from Yukon And these coaches are good enough that they're gonna adjust and they're gonna play differently. They're gonna be able to shut certain things down It leads to certain situations like happened And the biggest title game now the same is true the other way around you saw what happened in the first gaming at St. John's Want when you got when Dan Hurley got St. John's and Hartford He made the adjustments right So the truth between seeing you kind of St. John is somewhere in the middle But the thing is these teams know each other so well and conference play

31:10That is tougher. It's tougher games despite The perceived lack of competition and lack of talent that's in the biggest Despite that you go up against somebody over and over and over again. You're gonna know how they play You're gonna know tendencies. You're gonna know coaches tendencies. You're gonna know rotations You're gonna know everything about these players inside and out When you get to the NCAA tournament It's teams you really haven't played When's the last time you come play do you see a potential second round matchup or you see if they haven't played since the American His coaches don't know each other The Hurley's in the Dawkins obviously. Yeah, if they match up. Yeah, of course. They know each other, but They haven't played each other McCrone it does know Dan Hurley But as UCLA team doesn't Mick has not played Yukon since he was in the American That's your next matchup And that would be all the way to the sweet 16 you play in teams. I don't know you

32:14And to me that allows Dan Hurley to do more things get more creative Because these teams haven't seen Yukon day in the day, and I think that speaks to why Dan Hurley is more Feels more free in the NCAA tournament. Yeah, it's one and done setting. Yeah, there's an endpoint there But you're also going against teams that You're gonna be able to do things that they haven't seen before especially when you're here at Yukon Doing what Dan Hurley is with his coaching staff and how they execute their offense run their offense So I think that's also why Dan Hurley thinks the NCAA tournament is much more free for him More maybe less pressure for him and his team So that's the final thing I want to touch on heading into the game Yukon Furman 10 p.m The start of potentially a third a run to a third national championship in four seasons

33:19We'll see how it goes. We'll be back related today We'll be back post game as well hockey We've got hockey semis Against Boston College 7 p.m. At the Garden in Boston We'll have a preview of that later this afternoon as well But for now, thanks for tuning in today's episode of locked on Yukon We already talked about what else you're gonna be seeing later today and tonight Make sure you subscribe and follow locked on Yukon all across social media So you get all the latest episodes if you're never missing episode the every day or club is built for you Get locked on Yukon add free plus members only discord access and more At the locked on Yukon does supercast dot com to join the club again locked on Yukon dot supercast dot com to join the club Since NCAA tournament time Yukon Furman 10 p.m. tonight. We'll be back later today until then see y'all Oh Introducing the all new Mazda CX-5 featuring more connection. Hey, Google. Where's the nearest Pilates class?

34:24Safety that has your back More discovery on the scenic routes More passion in the details A more control in changing weather The all new Mazda CX-5 more to move every side of you see it in five films at Mazda USA dot com slash five sides Google is a trademark of Google LLC sequences shortened and simulated What's up everybody? This is Ross Jackson one of the hosts of the locked on podcast network And if you haven't heard yet We started a club and we would love for you to join It's called the every day or club and one of the things that you get as a member is an add free version of the podcast that you're listening to Right now it works with whatever podcast app you already use same episodes every day just no add There's also a member's only group chat for fans of your team plus a lot more You can check it out by tapping the every day or club link in the show notes