The Ringer NBA Show
Say One Nice Thing … About the East’s Tanktastic Bottom Five. Plus, UConn Shocks the World (Again)! | Group Chat
30 Mar 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What was the significance of UConn's comeback victory?
Hello and welcome to Group Chat. I am Justin Verrier and joining me, the committee for the Dweeb Rock Hall of Fame, Rob Mahoney, J. Kyle Mann. Guys, we got a lot to talk about here, but I have to start with your podcast. Last week, I think the nadir of this podcast, which has been going for many, many years at this point,
was one of you dweebs asking the other dweeb, should we do one collective Mount Rushmore for the aughts indie rock? And the other one being like, no, I think we got to have separate ones. Look, it's okay if you're jealous, Justin.
I understand. You wanted to be a part of it. You couldn't. You begged us to come on that pod during your week off just to debate the indie rock Mount Rushmore. But I'm sorry, you just weren't invited.
It was a tough scene.
Right.
Yeah.
Okay. There's another one I want to talk about later on. But we have to start at the pinnacle of sports achievement.
Because we were just already. You were just already firing. I was shaking my head laughing. His energy, even in the intro, you could just hear it. People that listen to this show, you can just hear it. You get on here and this effing guy with his hat. Go ahead, Justin. Go ahead. Go ahead.
I have the energy of a champion, as you can see written across my hat. Because whenever UConn does something, I wear the hat, baby.
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Chapter 2: How do the hosts analyze the Indiana Pacers' performance?
The 99 title Final Four hat. We have it on today. Not because UConn won a title, as Rob is so used to at this point.
FML are the first three letters that come to mind for me. But you continue. Yeah.
But we witnessed, man, I have to say, probably one of the greatest sports moments of my life. And also probably one of the biggest shots I've ever witnessed. Like Ray Allen moved the ropes back, was up there.
Chapter 3: What insights are shared about the Washington Wizards?
That's like in its own separate category, considering the stakes, especially with those two teams. But man, the Braylon Mullen shot yesterday to practically ice Duke. Fucking Duke. Just my least favorite sports program in history. I am beaming.
Right now. Can we break down the percentages there, JV? Because what percentage of your joy and exuberance is UConn getting to the Final Four?
Chapter 4: What nice things do the hosts say about the Brooklyn Nets?
What percentage is the sheer improbability of that shot? And what percentage is just that it's Duke on the receiving end?
I think it's all of it. Like all of them are at 100. I just put the board all the way up on all the measures. What's crazy about the shot is that not only was the shot absolutely bonkers, like the shot itself, like bonkers. Deep three with 0.3 seconds left after Caravan defers. Like that alone would be one of the biggest moments probably in my sporting life.
But all of the events that led up to it were equally crazy. So they come back from 19 down. They got absolutely clobbered in the first half, kind of what I expected from that game, because Duke had the size that caused problems for UConn. UConn had defense. I thought they might be able to stymie some of the Boozer stuff. But overall, that first half, they got completely railroaded.
Then they come back, right? So Caravan, who hasn't hit all game, hits a deep three in order to pull it within one.
Chapter 5: What are the Chicago Bulls' prospects for the future?
You had at the end there, the Silas Demery missed free throw on the one and one. And I was ready to complain at length about what a strategy following up three is in college because nobody can hit a goddamn free throw. And I was like, how do you combat that? Like these guys are just going to keep missing. And so if you follow, it's almost like the game is over at that point. Then the Caden Boozer,
Throwing it up for no goddamn reason.
Chapter 6: How do the Milwaukee Bucks navigate their current challenges?
Just if he had even like 5% of the good genes from the boozers. But unfortunately, that guy is just the worst of all the qualities. All right. I can't. The shot itself, which... I mean, UConn had shot one for 18 earlier in the game from three. Couldn't make a goddamn thing.
Mullins has struggled this entire season, struggled this entire tournament to shoot, despite the fact that he is indeed a shooter or should be at the next level. All of that. And then we've seen the clip today of Dan Hurley, a complete and utter psychopath, just rubbing his head.
Chapter 7: What are the implications of tanking for NBA teams?
on the referee for no reason. Just like he's celebrating, going nuts, just makes a beeline, like kind of like turns around and all of a sudden just decides to put his head into the referee. It's unbelievable. Everything is crazy.
The referee part in particular, honestly, the real hero of this game in this moment is the ref for not teeing up Dan Hurley and ruining and submarining. What I would have to imagine is like, As you say, Justin, an all-time sports moment, certainly an all-time UConn moment. How easily it could have all fallen apart with one gentle but aggressive forehead headbutt.
I don't even know how to describe. I've literally never seen anyone do that before in that situation.
Chapter 8: What are the hosts' predictions for the upcoming NBA draft?
He... Tate and I used to talk about this on OSP where we would say... I always would compare Dan Hurley to, what was Austin Butler's character in Dune II? What was his name? That's who Dan Hurley, I don't even remember. Is that right? Fade Ralph? I think that's right. Where he's like licking the knives before the game. That's why I'm here. He's a dork that needs two Mount Rushmores for Indy.
There you go. No, I mean, just the level of just intensity and craziness. It's like you just never know what Dan Hurley is going to do. I'm pretty sure that was Roger Ayers, the ref that Dan Hurley did it to. And if you don't follow college, like Ayers is one of the better officials at the college level.
And I think there are a lot of guys like if he had done that to a guy, there's a guy, Teddy Valentine, who's like notoriously or Doug Shouse is another. There's these guys who are just kind of hotheaded. Like they get in the limelight. Love a replay, you know, those types. But Ayers is like.
Maybe Dan knew in that moment that he was just like, Ayers is the guy that... But Ayers is very good at navigating those things. That was nuts. He's got his coat off. He's like... I just... Man, I mean...
UConn during that game I just think that like on the basketball side of it you said a lot of things Justin I think we can unpack quickly here it's just like Duke has crazy perimeter size and they were very well prepared for the layers of the like UConn run some of those beautiful action in college like it's very nuanced and layered and stuff like that but
Duke was switching a lot of it because they have like five, six, seven, six, eight guys who are fast and rangy. And UConn couldn't make a three. Caravan couldn't get it going. But I was saying that even the Caravan made three was huge. I thought one of the biggest moments of the game was just the freaking ice water that Caravan had when that ball got deflected. There was no panic in him.
He was just like, okay, I'm not in a position to shoot this. He pitches it to Mullins. You know you want somebody stepping in, whether or not it's from 40 feet or wherever it is, it's a higher percentage shot. Mullins, yeah, just this is the presence of mind to make that play. And then Mullins having not shot the ball well in a long time, bangs it.
I mean, it's like one of the biggest, I don't know if it's up with like the Leitner shot in terms of like the narrative stakes of it. But I like, I don't refer you to one of those teams. And I jumped up and down like four times in a row. I did like high knees jumps while I was making dinner just because I love basketball so much. But man, that was a crazy play.
Well, it was crazy, especially because Caravan is the guy. He's been there for, I think, four plus years. I think he registered his first year. They were asking in the postgame press conference about him to Hurley. And I think he's now won 16 tournament games, which I think puts him third behind Leitner and Bobby Hurley, Danny's brother. And so he is the guy.
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