Runnin' Hoops Podcast
All things Runnin' Utes basketball and Big 12 basketball.
Runnin' Hoops Podcast
Episode 332: Dallin Bachynski
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Former Runnin' Utes big man Dallin Bachynski joins the show to discuss his career at Utah and what he's up to these days. Plus, I unveil my first of three Big 12 power rankings this offseason. And, what the new eligibility rules mean for the current Utes + much more!
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Welcome in and welcome back to the Run News podcast brought to you by Super Chicks the home of the last free chicken sandwich. For a limited time only, Super Chicks is giving you a chance to seize the Caesar with its all-new Caesar Chicken Wrap. As always, you can chase that down with their frozen custard flavor of the week. This week's flavor, strawberry cheesecake. It doesn't get much more patriotic than that here on this 4th of July weekend. You can find the nearest Super Chicks to you online at Superchicks.com. And remember, it's chickswithanax.com. On this episode, former Run and Ute's big man Dallin Bashinsky joins me to discuss his career with Utah and what he's up to these days. Plus, my first Big 12 power rankings of the offseason are here. Get excited. And what the newly passed eligibility rules could potentially mean for Utah's current juniors and seniors, as well as their international freshmen. We'll have all of that and more for you here on this one, including the returning scoring production in the Big 12 as well. But first, I wanted to remind you to follow the podcast over on X at Run and Hoops Pod and on Instagram at Run and Hoops. You can rate, review, and subscribe to the show over on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get a podcast. We're sitting at 78 five-star reviews. I'd love to get that number up to a hundred by the time the season tips off on November 2nd. So do your part and rate and review the show. And of course, you can support the show over on Venmo at Run and Hoops. Well, let's lead off with some good news, and I mean some really good news. Just a few days after the completion of the NBA draft, the Running Utes formally announced the signing of Noam Yaqov, who most people had getting selected in the second round of the NBA draft. He ended up not getting selected in the second round, but regardless, he was heading to Utah for next season anyway, but they made it official late last week. Our guy Steve Bartle over at KSL noted that Noam signed his agreement with Utah back on June 9th. So this has been in motion for a while. And the bottom line is he would have needed a roster spot guarantee in order to skip Utah. And most of the evidence seems to suggest that he wasn't going to get that, even if he had been drafted. And so Utah lands its starting point guard and floor general for the upcoming season. And a guy who enters this year as a borderline NBA draft pick who can only get better, very exciting news for the run and ute. Back to Steve Bartle. He also provided an update on Finn Schott, who is kind of the last piece of the puzzle here for the 26-27 Run and Utes. I quote from Steve's article over on KSL.com. Quote, Finn Schott, the six foot nine forward slash center from Austria, has not officially signed with the Running Utes yet, but the expectation remains that he will join the program soon. Schott remains with his national Austrian men's basketball team, set to compete in World Cup qualifiers beginning with the game July 3rd against Poland. At the conclusion of his season with Hestia Menorca, the organization shared a post to Instagram thanking Schott for his contribution and wishing him good luck with Utah. Once finalized, Schott would give Utah another frontcourt piece with size, international experience, and developmental upside. His addition would also continue the broader theme of Jensen building a roster with more maturity, skill, and experience. Close quote. Who are 21, but are they or will they be freshmen? Well, the NCAA, who rarely offers clarity on anything, attempted to do just that last week when it adopted an age-based eligibility model. Here are the particulars again. Gonna do some reading here, so bear with me. What is changing? Quote Under the new Division I age-based eligibility rule, student athletes who meet all eligibility requirements and enter college no later than the academic year after their 19th birthday generally will have up to five years of eligibility. While some have referred to this as the NCAA's five for five rule, that's not accurate. The age-based rule actually centers on a student athlete's age and when the student enrolls full-time in college, and it does not guarantee five years for all student athletes, particularly those who delay enrollment. The previous rules included several elements that required more tracking for student athletes and their schools, including athletic redshirts, delayed enrollment, and other sport-specific rules, seasons of competition, and waiver opportunities. The new age-based rule replaces those variables with one consistent eligibility period. How does the five-year eligibility period work? A student athlete's five-year eligibility period begins with the earlier of these two events. One, initial full-time college enrollment, the academic term when the student athlete first enrolls full-time and attends and attends class at any college or university, including a domestic institution, international institution, or junior college. Two, age-based trigger, the start of the regular academic year immediately following the student athlete's 19th birthday. If the student athlete turns 19 years old before September 1st, for an individual who turns 19 years old on or after September 1st, the period of eligibility begins at the start of the subsequent academic year, unless the individual enrolls full-time in college earlier. Once the five-year period starts, it runs continuously. It does not pause because a student athlete does not compete, transfers, sits out, changes teams, or takes time away from participation, meaning student athletes, coaches, and athletics departments no longer have to track athletic red shirts. Other eligibility rules, including academic and other athletics related rules, will still apply, meaning a student athlete may be inside the five-year eligibility period and still be ineligible for other reasons. What starts the eligibility period? The period of eligibility begins when a student athlete, one, enrolls full-time and attends class at any college or university, including domestic or international schools and junior colleges. Two, reaches the start of the academic year immediately after the individual's 19th birthday. Three, competes for a college team even if the student athlete is not enrolled full-time at the school. So who is affected in the transition rules and how will those work in terms of the eligibility? So first group student athletes who use their final season of competition under the previous rules, the 25-26 season, they've got no additional eligibility left. Now there are players that are already starting to challenge that in court, and we'll see what happens there. But as of right now, anybody who was out of eligibility at the end of this past season is still out of eligibility at the moment. Second group, current student athletes with eligibility remaining under the previous rules after the 25-26 academic year. Their status means that either the previous rules or the new age-based rule, whichever is the most beneficial to the student athlete, will apply. Then you've got prospects who initially enroll full-time at any college or university during the 26-27 season. Either the previous rules or the new age-based rule, whichever is the most beneficial to the student athlete, will apply in that instance. And then finally, prospects who initially enroll full-time at any college or university in the fall of 2027 or later, that's when the age-based rule goes into effect. So, what does it mean for current student athletes? Current student athletes who did not exhaust their eligibility or seasons of competition in the 25-26 academic year will receive the better outcome under either the previous rules or the new age-based rule. Schools will be responsible for evaluating each current student athlete's circumstances and applying the rule that serves each individual best. However, student athletes who continue under the previous rules will not have future waiver opportunities to gain additional eligibility through eliminated waiver categories. So that was a lot. Now, how does this apply to the run-in-utes? Well, let's start with the juniors and seniors. Utah has a number of juniors and seniors on this 26-27 roster. And that list includes Jackson Holcomb, Tayson Chapman, Zadi Lubaki, TJ Birch, and Malik Goma. So as I understand this, each of those players would have an additional year of eligibility under these new circumstances or under these new rules. That's something that Malik Goma and I talked about when he joined the podcast a few months ago. Malik is a senior, but he could potentially add another year here under these new rules. Jackson Holcomb, Tayson Chapman, Zadi Lubaki, TJ Birch, they could all potentially have at least two years at Utah, if not more. Now, if I'm reading the rules correctly on the international front, Utah's three international players that are coming in at age 21 should be okay to be freshmen, but I guess we'll just have to see. I don't know how they're going to judge that right now, though. My assumption is that No Miakov, Finnschott, and Alec Anjibada are all going to come in this season as freshmen. We'll see if that's how it stays, but that's how it looks to me is the going to be the case here for the upcoming season. Now, obviously, all of the guys I just mentioned, the the five juniors and seniors and the three international freshmen, those are all new guys to the running uts, which means that Utah's returning production is pretty limited. And John Rothstein gave us a breakdown over on X on which Big 12 teams return the most scoring production heading into 2026. So here we go, in order by percentage. TCU is at the top of the list at 53.3%, Iowa State, 37.4%, Colorado, 34.2%, Arizona, 27.8%, Texas Tech 24.9%. That includes the production that they would be getting from JT Toppin if he's able to return healthy. I think that's an important asterisk there for the Red Raiders. BYU 24.8%, Houston 24.3%, Oklahoma State, 19.9%, UCF 13.7%, Baylor 13.4%, Arizona State, 7.3%, Kansas 5%, West Virginia, 5%, Kansas State, 4.7%, Utah 3.8%, and Cincinnati 0%. So Utah with the second lowest returning percentage in terms of scoring heading into this upcoming season. Now, in this era of college basketball, how much does returning production really matter? That's an excellent question. I think for programs who are really trying to sell the development angle of things, it's significant. So teams like TCU, Iowa State, and Colorado being at the top of that returning production makes a lot of sense. I would expect Utah to be at the top of that list next season because that's where they want to be, and they currently aren't. But we'll see if Alex Jensen can finally make good on those claims that consistency in college basketball is underrated. The consistency part isn't necessarily going to happen this season. So he's going to have to hope that he can bring all these disparate pieces together quickly and win some games. With that, I return to a quote I have used on the podcast before that a boss of mine once told me, God gave you two eyes, plagiarize. So I'm going to rip this right from the Colin Cowford playbook. Not everybody's cup of tea, I understand, but here we go. I'm going to give you my one through 16 Big 12 power rankings. We're going to do this three times this offseason. I'm going to give myself two revisions heading into the season. This will be my first, my Big 12 preview will be the last. And so we'll do it again at some point here in the offseason as more information is available, maybe in August or early September. So here we go. My Big 12 power rankings, three chances. Number one, Houston. As long as Kelvin Sampson is there, this team is going to compete for the top of the league. And they reload, most importantly, with guys that are bought into what they want to do and how they want to do it. At this very moment, they would be my top team in the league. Number two, Arizona. Not a big drop for the defending league champions who made it all the way to the Final Four before being completely outclassed by Michigan. They'll rely heavily on their international players while hoping that Caleb Holt, the number three recruit in the nation, can give them a similar season to what Braden Burries and Co-opete just did there in Tucson. Number three, Kansas. It's a whole new cast of characters in Lawrence, but maybe with less drama than last year. So I've got the Jayhawks currently at number three in my power rankings. Number four, Iowa State. Once again, a vote of confidence in TJ Otzelberger. He gets his portal work done quickly and gets into his offseason. He knows the type of player he wants. He recruits specifically to that. He's got that thing locked down in aims. Iowa State, my number four team here in the Big 12 as of right now. Number five, TCU. A surprise move here for the Hornfrogs, but the top returning production in the league and some actual momentum after winning an NCAA tournament game. It's a bold claim to be sure. We'll see if it holds, but I like TCU heading into this upcoming season. Number six, Texas Tech. Now, this one comes with the caveat that JT Toppin is healthy and plays by the time at least league play rolls around. That's a big if. JT Toppin coming off of an ACL injury that he sustained in February. Number seven, Oklahoma State. Another surprise, but I expect the Cowboys to make a jump this season and be a real contender for an NCAA tournament bid. They've got a ton of financial support on both the men's and women's side, and Steve Lutz appears to have something cooking in Stillwater. Number eight, BYU. Based on expectations, the Cougars are coming off of a disappointing season by just about any metric. Rob Wright III returns as the focal point of the offense, but will Bruce Branch be AJ or will Colin Chandler be Richie Saunders? That seems less clear. I've got the Cougars kind of sitting right where they were heading into the Big 12 tournament last year, sort of in that second tier, but towards the bottom, I think there's a lot of proving that Kevin Young and that new roster will have to do here this season. Number nine, Baylor. It's hard to imagine after missing the NCAA tournament that Baylor will do it again. So I expect the Bears to be far more competitive, far earlier this upcoming season. Number 10, Utah. I'm going to give the running Utes the nod here over Colorado. Homer pick, perhaps, but I like the roster slightly more than I like what the buffs have. And I specifically like Nomiakov coming in a point guard more than Barrington Hardress there in Boulder. It's close, but again, late June, early July, I'm taking the Utes here in the 10th spot. That would be a big jump for them coming from the 16 spot all the way to the 10 spot. So we'll see if they can do that. But that's where I've got them right now. Number 11, Colorado. Like I said, I'm giving Utah a slight edge here over the buffs, but Tad Boyle can recruit and can coach despite yielding most of the NIL resources to the football team, they're in Boulder. The buffs are going to be a tough out every game this season. Number 12, West Virginia. This is probably way too low for the Mountaineers, but hey, it's my first pass. Ross Hodge took a senior-laden group of disparate pieces and won the college basketball crown last year. Now, can he improve on that achievement with mostly a new cast of characters? We'll see. 13, UCF. These last four spots are comprised of teams with almost entirely new rosters. But Andrew, you say Utah is also in that position.
SPEAKER_00Well, do you think I care?
SPEAKER_01Well, I'm going to give Johnny Dawkins a slight benefit of the doubt here over some of the other new coaches in the league. So that's why I've got UCF at 13. 14, Arizona State. Randy Bennett is a heck of a coach, but I'm still expecting an uphill battle in year one in Tempe before he really gets that thing going there for the Sun Devils. 15, Cincinnati. By all accounts, Jared Calhoun can coach. And I think he ultimately will do well in Cincinnati, but I do expect year one to be a struggle for the Bearcats. 16, Kansas State. This is a complete teardown and rebuild job for Casey Alexander in Manhattan. Could be a long season for the Wildcats before the octagon of doom once again becomes what it was. So there you go. My first pass at some Big 12 power rankings here this offseason. Hit me with your thoughts on the matter over on X at Running Hoops Pod. Am I too high on a team? Too low? Where do you land on where I landed on Utah? All right. When we come back, former Running Utes big man Dallin Wyschinsky will be my guest. We'll talk to Dallin about his journey to Utah, his time with the Running Utes, and what he's up to these days, and much, much more. We'll do that right after these words from one of our sponsors. My fellow Americans, as we close in on America's 250th birthday on the 4th of July, it's important to hearken back to some of the most impactful presidential quotes in history. Quotes like, ask not what your t-shirt can do for you, ask what you can do for your t-shirt. Or a houseful of t-shirts that don't fit well divided against itself cannot stand. Or the only thing we have to fear is the fear of not having a strong t-shirt game. Or finally, Mr. Barbican teared down that boxy stretch down a t-shirt. These great leaders knew one thing that matters more than anything else. The most patriotic thing that you can do this 4th of July is show up to the barbecue parade or fireworks show in a proper fitting t-shirt. So let me recommend live fit teams. The Blender Green Sun Cotton Hollyester is the perfect t-shirt to wear this summer, no matter the occasion, and it comes in many colors, including red, white, and blue. Listeners of this podcast will get 30% off their first order by entering the promo code RUNIN'W Whoops at checkout or by going directly to the link that is connected to every episode of this podcast. This is a great way to support the show and get a good looking fantastic fitting feature in the process. All right, my guest today played for three seasons with the running uts after beginning his career at Southern Utah. His final season at Utah culminated in the well-documented run to the Sweet 16 for the Running Utes. The last time they were there, former running Utes big man Dallin Bashinsky. Dallin, thank you for joining me. How are you?
SPEAKER_02Hey Gina, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. And uh, you know, it's it's nice to be able to relive my glory years.
SPEAKER_01That's what we're here for. We're we're we're here to relive all of the glory years for the former players.
SPEAKER_02My kids will uh at some point look back and be able to watch it, but I'll I'll I'll relive a little bit today.
SPEAKER_01Well, first things first, congratulations are in order. Canada has advanced to the round of 16 for the first time in in World Cup history, I believe. So you got to be pretty excited about that, right?
SPEAKER_02No, I uh I definitely have talked to a few of my buddies up in Canada and they uh have been pretty vocal about the support. And now it comes to down to uh who's gonna make it further USA. Canada and uh man, I would love to be uh I'm kind of winning on both sides, actually. You know, being uh with my buddies up in Canada, USA does better. I win. Um, but down here being Canadian, I win. So either way, it's a win-win for me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's it's just good to have them both playing right now, especially like nothing else going on in the summertime. So, you know, it's a good distraction for all of us.
SPEAKER_02No, for sure.
SPEAKER_01Uh, before we get into your career with Utah, maybe you can just kind of update everybody on how things are going for you right now and and kind of what you're up to just in your professional life and other things.
SPEAKER_02Uh right now, honestly, my biggest thing is my three little boys. I got a 10, a seven, and a three-year-old. And man, they take every moment that I can give them. And I wish I could give them more. Um, I don't know if you can see in the background here. I uh built a little backboard um in one of the windy uh again, I live in Lehigh right now. It feels like the windy city of Utah. And uh one of the storms, my outside basketball hoop broke, and so I decided, hey, you know what? Let's bring that inside. And so I got a bunch of foam basketballs, and I get to uh I get to shoot a bunch with them and uh and play with them, and and that way, whether it's heat outside or cold outside, I get to um swarm shots and hook shots and whatnot. So my boys are my everything right now. Uh other than that, I am right now a superintendent for Big D. Um, I just was helping with punch lists over at the Alta View Behavioral Health remodel. Um, and I I can't say too much yet, but my next project's coming up shortly, and I'm excited for uh the remodel that it is downtown.
SPEAKER_01Nice. With uh with three boys, I can imagine you're gonna have some holes in the wall there before too long if you're playing basketball indoors. Hey, do you know what that's the hope?
SPEAKER_02I'm like, I I learned drywall, I learned rough housing from me and my brother going at it. So if my boys are learning those same lessons, I I don't see that as a bad thing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and and I also hear that you kind of moonlight these days in the Powder League as well.
SPEAKER_02Do you know what? My when my back says I'm allowed to, and my boys' schedule allows me to, I would love to you know spend uh a few moments throwing my body around trying to relive the glory days and and not being able to do so.
SPEAKER_01So we'll go back to your kind of your basketball beginnings. When people think about a kid growing up in Calgary, uh, you know, they kind of they're gonna lean towards uh future in hockey. What was basketball like for you growing up in Canada? And uh how was the ball up in Canada?
SPEAKER_02Growing up in Canada, it was it was definitely a lot different than uh down here in the States. And again, I I also grew up in a different time where social media didn't transcend all borders. Um and so I was able to enjoy basketball in a very almost small town feel where our the 5A basketball just doesn't exist. So 4A is kind of the highest you go. And and so I was really as as top recruited as you could get in Canada. Um and so playing in high school, playing even a little bit younger, you know, I never thought I was really gonna be anything crazy. My mom and dad never thought we were really gonna be as tall as we ended up. Uh my mom 6'2, my dad 6'5. Uh, did not expect a 7'2 and 7' with my sister coming in at six foot. So playing basketball was uh I remember my buddies would be playing hockey on the Minipore Lake. And I played goalie a lot of times, uh, more often than playing out, just because man, when you hit that ice, it hurts.
SPEAKER_01Um, but uh it's a long ways down too.
SPEAKER_02If you want it, it was not as long back then, but yeah, no, it it definitely hurts. Um, but uh no, I I definitely enjoyed playing goalie. I I actually loved being feeling like the team was on my back, that hey, it's up to me at the end of the day. Yeah, do you want my teammates to support me? But hey, rely on me, guys. I got this. Um, and and you know, I took that a lot of times into basketball and into uh um my high school teams, and and I loved my high school coach, Mike Fullerton. He was actually a phenomenal basketball coach for basket uh for Canada. Um, he was able to teach a lot of good systems as well as he was our uh school counselor, so he was able to provide a lot more of the mental side to basketball, I think, than uh than I gave him credit for. So I'm giving him credit now.
SPEAKER_01There you go.
SPEAKER_02Um, but uh you know, I loved loved high school basketball experience in Canada, very against small town feel now that I hear stories about uh the states, and then played at uh su before my mission, and that was kind of my first wow of uh USA basketball. And and like looking back, man, it's it's crazy to think of what if I could just have uh had a little less deer in the headlights and been able to see things a little more clearly if I could have done something different. But man, high site 2020.
SPEAKER_01So, how did you end up at southern Utah? And you played for Roger Reed. So, what was that like to play for him?
SPEAKER_02Um, so my mom and dad did a lot of legwork for me uh to be able to get some of the connections to be able to play. Um, I had a couple tournaments, uh one in Spokane, uh one of Gonzaga's tournaments, uh, as well as uh there was one in Court d'Alene, and then I think one in Vegas that I played in. And those, as well as uh just a few visits, was able to get me uh the spot at SUU and Roger Reed, uh again, very old school, more uh more Rick McGiarris era of of basketball. And and you know, his his his mentality, his playstyle, I I definitely learned a lot from him, but uh it was it was nice to be able to be with Larry a little bit more my speed, a little more my uh a little more my style.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, as as I've talked with some of your your uh former teammates about Larry was very much about the vibes, and uh, and that seems like that that's a good thing uh with with kind of the modern basketball.
SPEAKER_02A huge part of basketball is the emotional waves that come with it. Again, one dunk can change the shift and can can totally shift the emotions of the game, and it can bring a dead crowd back into it, it can it can take a bench that is dead and and make it lively again. And so being able to control the emotional side of it and and to have that vibe and and to be able to control the vibe has a huge impact comparatively um to just be in the structured exit nodes.
SPEAKER_01So you you played that first year with southern Utah, then you go on your mission to Croatia, uh, and then how did you end up with the running Utes off of your mission?
SPEAKER_02After my mission, uh I knew I didn't want to go back to SCU. I wanted to be in a little larger place, have a little better chance of playing basketball overseas or NBA after after college or university. And so I I decided that I wanted to go somewhere bigger. And uh using that as well as any of the game film I had, um I just started kind of reaching out to the the coaches, and uh the three main ones that I had ended up talking to was the UVU coach a little bit, um, as well as Larry and then uh Utah State. Those and then actually BYU I did have a meeting with, but uh was very quickly decided that they didn't really want to use a scholarship on me. So uh if I wanted to red shirt or walk on, then I might be able to, but uh scholarship right away was just not happening. And so I ended up uh deciding to go with you. Uh it was Larry's just after Larry's first year, or kind of the right before the summer of uh just before the end of Larry's first year. And uh I was able to meet a few of the guys, Jiggy and and Blake and a few other guys, and play with them a little bit and get to know Larry at the start of his career as a coach at at the University of Utah.
SPEAKER_01Well, and you came in and you played pretty significant minutes right away, your first year with Utah, and not only that, but your team was transitioning into the Pac-12. What do you remember about that first year back? And and do you have any you know specific highlights or or memories from that first season with the Utes?
SPEAKER_02First season back, you know, after my mission, I was raring ago. I really wanted to get going. Me, Jeremy Olsen, both right off our missions, really wanted to get going and and really get back into basketball. Um and Jason Washburn was a phenomenal senior to have. He he did a pretty good job leading us and and kind of teaching us the way, so to speak, uh, while also not giving us too much of a hard time as freshmen. Um, and luckily I was more of a sophomore and uh Loveridge, as well as his whole squad of Dakari and Brandon and Justin, who was with them at the uh they they were the freshmen, and so they they had enough energy and uh freshman freshman energy to uh to fulfill Washburn's uh needs. But it was it was a good team to come back to and to start to develop the uh the leadership and to get to know Larry and Tommy and and to get to know the structure of what they wanted the program to be.
SPEAKER_01And then the next season, you guys really improved, but you couldn't quite you know get over the hump in terms of the postseason. Uh I boy, I I still remember watching the the final game of that year in the tournament against Ariz Arizona, uh unceremonious end to the season. But outside of that, do you have uh you know anything that stands out from that second year uh with UK?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, my second year, I remember we were NIT. That was more of my ending of remembrance, uh, was NIT. And I I just I remember fouling and Dakari just losing it on me and being like, dude, we needed you! Why did you foul? And I'm just like, I'm an idiot, why'd I do that? Um, but it was also I was going against Matt Hodgson, who was uh one of my teammates that I was against at SUU, and so I I I remember wanting to beat St. Mary's pretty bad, and um but no, I my my junior year I definitely had probably the most learning curve and the the most hiccups within the learning curve. I also had uh ankle injury that didn't help me very well.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, I bet. And and then that takes us to your final season, right? Utah's again their most recent trip to the Sweet 16. A couple of young guys come into the program, Jakob Purdle, Kyle Kuzma. Obviously, you're a big guy. Do you what do you remember about going up against Jakob in practice? And and could you see his pro potential even back then?
SPEAKER_02Uh I had a meeting with Larry before my senior year. Uh I had got married, and uh Larry and I had a man-to-man conversation and just kind of what my year was gonna be because of what his expectations of what Jakob could be. Um, and and we had a good conversation, and I was able to come to terms with uh Jakob becoming the new starter, most likely. And and you know, there were some hurt feelings initially, of course, but uh after seeing Jakob and the potential that he had, um there were just moments where I I could see that yeah, no, I can't I can't do what you just did there. And and looking back at it, yeah, I would probably say in practice and in scrimmages, uh over 50% of the time I would choose me. But in those moments where you pick Jacob, man, it's hard hard to look at me as an option. But no, I I was always impressed with Jacob and his handles and how he uh was able to move up and down the floor, and with how big of a frame he has and how he moves, uh you can't teach that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, it's interesting that you mentioned that heart to heart with with Larry, because I I did notice just you know looking back at your some of your stats and and and your minutes and things like that, that you ended up coming off of the bench that year, and just how difficult was that for you as a senior, as a leader, uh, to try to kind of take one for the team, as it were, in that moment?
SPEAKER_02One of the things that uh we did uh in our junior in my junior year was the Navy SEALs leadership training. Or sorry, before the senior year was the Navy SEALs leadership training. And Commander McGuinness really stuck with me. And and what he what he really instilled in us was the I does not exist in team. I remember there was one log that was stupid light, and the guards were were joking around about how easy it was that they got the easy one. And and so I said, Hey, do you want let me take the easy one? I'll do it alone, and then everyone else can do the bigger logs. And Commander McGuinness got really upset with me because I decided that I could do it alone. And yeah, it was a light log, I could walk it alone, but to think that I could do something alone that I don't need a team that was the thing that stuck with me the most within that Navy SEAL leadership training. At that point, when I had that conversation with Larry, I realized that what I believed was my reality was actually not my reality. And one of the things my dad always would say is control you can control and forget the rest. And I always have held on to that, uh, especially in my recent uh personal issues or things I'm dealing with in my personal life. Um control you can control and forget the rest. And so at that time, after that meeting with Larry, I decided, hey, do you know what I can make the most of this or I can just whine and pout and then my basketball career is going to be over. And so I decided to make the most of it. I wanted to be a leader on the team and lead as well as I could as a senior while also um providing a different look to what Yaakub did. And I wish I had a little more confidence. That was I think the number one thing that uh that these kids nowadays have in spades because they have a paycheck pretty much. Um I'm like if I had a even I I'd even take a five-figure paycheck um when I was playing basketball. And so uh, you know, to have that be an added confidence boost would be you know remarkable for these kids to be able to not worry about, hey, if I go to Walmart, am I is my am I not gonna be able to buy you know bread and enough just to eat tonight? Um that's not a worry that these guys have. But uh I'm grateful that they don't have to worry about that. Honestly, that was one of the worst parts of uh of those early days of basketball. But uh but no, I I I remember the uh the hard times, but I I really wanted to make the most of my senior year. And honestly, the the the moment that I remember that was the hardest was the first round of the tournament. Larry, I I had rolled my ankle and uh I was just coming back to healthy and I was practicing again, but it was a very quick team, very guard, not a lot. Like I think their tallest guy was like 6'6, and so Larry even told me, he said down, I don't think we're gonna play you. And to trust Larry, that was the hardest moment for me in my whole career with Larry. The hard conversation before my senior year, everything that moment was artist because when we were right towards the end when I was worried if we were gonna lose or not, and I was thinking I might not be able to play in March Madness in my senior year, but then to have Georgetown and then Duke, man, if we got past Duke, I think we would have had it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man, you know, there it's just funny the things that I remember as a fan that I'm sure that you as players maybe did or didn't know, but like you know, Stephen F. Austin was a was a popular 12-5 upset pick that year. And so, you know, kind of to your point, like they came into that game a little bit as the darlings, and they gave you everything that you could handle. Yep, and so to not be able to play in that game, I can imagine, especially when it was close, you're like, uh Larry, I I told you so.
SPEAKER_02Well, hey, you know what? Uh we ended up winning, we end up going forward, so I can't say he made the wrong choice, but I would have loved to have played that in that game.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that and that season, I mean, I so the so the highlight that I found uh of you, uh I had I had Dakari on the podcast last week.
SPEAKER_02Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01And so I went back and and I got a bunch of highlights from the Wichita State game. Yeah, and and so you know that game was a was a was a banger. You had a really nice dunk in that game, but but you're you know, that season playing the playing Duke in that football stadium, like just what are what do you remember about that moment playing those guys?
SPEAKER_02Again, the the Texan stadium, I remember everything felt weird. Like if you were outside the quay, you like couldn't focus on the rim because there was just like 30 yards before that like fence uh or netting or whatever it was. Um, and so it was it was a very odd stadium, and you like you were raised by more than anywhere else that we'd ever been. Um like it was the first one that was like kind of chest height. Um, and so it was a very different stadium to play in in. And and again, if I of my entire basketball career, if I could go back and play a game again at a at a neutral site again, maybe a different site, I would take that game in a heartbeat. That that's the one that I hold the most qualms over because one Delon Wright does not foul, and he goes out with three in the first half, and I'm like, come on, that's not Delon. And Brandon, I think, just because of that Texans dump, just could not score. And and he was he was he was gold for us. He he was so consistent for us, and even now he's still consistent. So uh I you know give Brandon any other day, he probably shoots much better and and helps us to again, like I said, those vibes and the energy side of things, you know, having Delon and Brandon both in a lull where hey, I'm like, I'm sorry, but I was one of the only highlights that we really had in the first half against Duke. And and so uh it when the season shows me as the highlight, that puts us as a low chance of us succeeding, as sad as it says to me personally. But our team wasn't me, our our team was everybody else as a whole, and and me adding that little added part. And and a Duke, uh, I I'm not saying I did what I could, but uh I I let I left everything that I had on that court.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, it's funny you mentioned Delon. Uh I uh longtime listeners of the podcast know I sound like a broken record when I talk to guys that played in that game because my my first question is always well, Delon's third foul was total garbage, right? 100%. Yeah. A little Duke favoritism that we got to.
SPEAKER_02Experience that one would be a point saving uh question I'd have to ask the refs on that one.
SPEAKER_01Which game? So so when you uh so when you when you Google your name, one of the the pitchers that shows up first is you standing there kind of with a flex and your teeth knocked out. Which season did that happen in?
SPEAKER_02So um I knocked out one of my front teeth right before I went on my mission when I was in Canada, and then I came back, got that one taken care of, and then right before my senior year, Jacob actually knocked out that other one. And so my whole senior year, I didn't have a front tooth.
SPEAKER_00Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_02And so I I played with the mouth guard for a little bit, and then it just kind of and I was actually playing with the mouth guard when Jacob knocked my tooth out, and so I said, Hey, if it's harder to breathe and it doesn't even save my teeth anyway, screw it, I'm not using mouth guard anymore. Um, again, I I asked a lot from mouth guard again. I jumped up and was coming down, and Jacob jumped up in his head, and so that there's nothing no mouth guard, no mouth gear can save you from that, yeah. Um, but uh, but no, I I also took it as being a Canadian, you know, show the hockey side of things. That's right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you got the hockey smile working there, you know. Like it was it was a great look. I'll just I'll just say that. For fans, I mean it was awesome.
SPEAKER_02I I remember having a fat head that uh was fairly iconic, that my kids have seen and have laughed fairly hard once they saw it.
SPEAKER_01So we talked a little bit about you know some of the tougher conversations that you had to have with with Larry, but do you have any funny stories about your time with Utah and and Larry specifically?
SPEAKER_02Um funny stories and funny stories with Larry. Um to be honest, Larry reminded me a little too much of my dad, so I was a little too scared of him, so I tried to keep my distance from Larry. Um, I I also uh did have a lot of respect for Larry as a as a coach, and and I really tried to more hang out with the players and be with the players, and and tried to be more of a leader from the player side of things. Um, so I I honestly don't know if I have too many funny stories with Larry uh personally. Sorry. No, it's okay.
SPEAKER_01We we go any number of directions in these in these podcast interviews. Um I've just got a couple more uh for you here, and then I'll let you go. No, for sure.
SPEAKER_02Um, I'm like the one of the main uh things I remember uh regarding Larry and something that I've actually carried throughout my whole life is he was always very um very strict on his numbers. He was he loved to leave at it was like and it had to be always a multiple of seven, and so it's like hey, we're leaving at 743, um, because all the numbers will end up adding up to a multiple of seven. And and so every morning when I wake up or whenever I set an alarm for anything, I always have to have a very kind of odd number to it, and it doesn't have to be seven, but uh now because of him, I I can't set just a seven o'clock alarm. I'm like, now it's gotta be like seven oh three, so that way it adds up to ten, so it has to make some sort of sense to my brain.
SPEAKER_01So he's still coaching you, even though he hasn't coached you in a dictionary.
SPEAKER_02There are way too many sayings stuck in my head that he would say, like, every day is a jump ball. That's one that I've taken throughout my life because it is very easy to lay on your morals. That hey, do you want tomorrow? I'll I'll be better. And it's like, well, do you want today? It was a jump ball. And if you're just gonna let it roll down the court and let them do whatever they want with it, and you can just lay in your bed all day, well, that's it's one kind of jump ball you can let happen, and and and so that mentality has really helped me throughout my life, and and so there's there's a lot of sayings that Larry has uh that's locked in my head that have helped me um and helped coach me in a positive way, not just the hard conversations.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome. No, that's that's great. Um, in your post-Utah career, you you did play for a couple of years. Did you have kind of a favorite place that you that you played professionally?
SPEAKER_02Uh again, I got to Japan, Argentina, Poland, UK, and Bulgaria. And and Japan was probably my favorite. And if I could have done my whole career, I would have done it in Japan. Uh, the people there are genuine and honorific. I love that side of things. Um, again, they're they care about what they're portraying and and who they really are. Um, as well as it's really nice to be able to go through the uh the store when I'm in a less than stellar mood and no one interrupts me or tries to talk to me. Um Japan was one of the only places that if I was not wearing my basketball jersey, I was not interrupted because they did not want to, they didn't know if I had an hour or five minutes, and so they didn't want to interrupt my day. Um in Canada, I always would laugh because they would literally act as if I was deaf and dumb, and they would talk right about me and talking as right behind me as if I never existed. And then here in the States, they just come up to you and say, Wow, you're so tall. And so uh Japan I loved because uh and then I also am a huge anime nerd and uh and love every anime that I've watched so far. Um and and so I I definitely loved Japan. I love the architecture as well, the woodwork as well as like blacksmithing. I actually would love to go to Japan and and take a blacksmithing class and actually forge my own knife. Like that's one of my bucket lists. And I want to wait till my boys are old enough that I'll take all three of them, we'll go to Japan, and we'll uh we'll have an awesome trip and I'll show them probably Sendai where I played, and you know, we'll have some fun with it.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome. Yeah, that'd be that'd be super fun. Um, you've been spotted, I've I've been told, just you know, sources, rumors, all of these things, uh, at some running uts games this past season, or at least one uh that I was aware of. I'd just be curious to get your thought, you know, your thoughts on kind of the state of the running ute, Alex Jensen, year one, and kind of what you think of him as a as a coach.
SPEAKER_02Honestly, I I'm really excited for what Alex can bring. He he does allow a different take on Utah basketball of what it was and what it's kind of taking, turning into, especially within NIAL and everything with where players are nowadays. I'm really excited to see where he takes things. Um he seems like a very player coach, uh, which is what you kind of have to have nowadays. You can't have that strict, structured guy. I'm really excited to see what Alex does. And and I I feel like Utah is sleeping on the University of Utah, honestly. Um there's so much money being poured into BYU right now and uh within the basketball program, and Utah is kind of pushed more for football, I feel. But basketball at the University of Utah Huntsman Center, there's something special there that if if some of the fans and some of the players could have felt what I felt playing in that stadium, there's not a lot of better places to play in the US of A for the NCAA at the as the Huntsman Center. It was a phenomenal experience for me. That place was rocking most of my games. And and it was it was a bit sad to go and and to see what it was when I was playing, to then go and see what it is right now. I hope that University of Utah players will someday be able to feel what I felt again.
SPEAKER_01100%. Yeah, and that's why we all do all of this, right? Is trying to build excitement for the program um once again. And I think I think Alex is gonna get us there. It's just it's just taking a minute, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_02And again, I'm sorry, this NIL stuff is so squirrely, and and it's such a another step to the battle of what basketball at at this level is, and it was already challenging enough. I'm like, I can't even imagine what again. I I look back and I think of all the of what it would have been, could have been, should have been. Uh and and honestly, I think we went way too far. I think we went from where I was to yeah, it won too many zeros.
SPEAKER_01But yeah, for sure, for sure. A lot of a lot of player, a lot of player empowerment nowadays, which is a good thing and a bad thing, right? It's you you open that can of arms and it's hard to, you know.
SPEAKER_02And that was actually the thing I missed the most of once I got overseas, you became individual again. And and playing uh overseas, it's like, hey, yeah, I care about how my team does because we need to win as a team, but at the end of the day, if we win as a team and I sucked as a person, as a you know, my staff looked like garbage, then I actually don't care if we win. Whereas when I was playing at the U, when it was not about the money of how much I could make next year, when it was, hey, do you know what? Like I've got three years, and I gotta see what I can do with these three years. I gotta see that, hey, do you want do I have do I have what it takes to push this team to a sweet 16 run? And and make the most of what you're given. Again, control what you can control and forget the rest.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Uh well, I'll get you out of here on this one, uh, and it's a little bit of a loaded question, but when you were with the Utes, there was a lot made of your matchups against uh Arizona State uh and your brother. So all these years later, have you guys finally settled on who's the better basketball player?
SPEAKER_02Oh, very loaded question. Um uh he made a lot more money than I did while playing in our pro careers. And so if we want to just go on dollar amount, he's got me beat by a lot. Um if we go stats-wise, I I've got a few stats that he can't touch. Um and and we've played a couple times since uh when he was living in Vegas. I went down and visited him one time when we played and and when he was playing in the league. Um and and at this point, I I'm tired of the competition with my brother. We competed every single moment growing up, we competed every single moment through college while both of us were playing pro. It was more of a rivalry than anything. And and at this point, I just want my kids to have a good uncle and my brother's kids to have a good uncle and us to be able to uh not fight every time we get in the same room.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, that's that's the dream, right?
SPEAKER_02I'm like at this point we we fight more on video games than anything else.
SPEAKER_01There you go. That's a that's a good place for well, you know, when you start to get older, that's a great place to to fight with your brother, is is in the video games.
SPEAKER_02And the houses too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's right. Well, I don't know, I don't think you're on social media, so there's nowhere for fans to follow you, but if they see you up at the Huntsman Center this year, make sure, you know, they'll they'll say hi, but but just know that Dallin can hear you if you're talking you know too too much about him, right?
SPEAKER_02Hey, you know, I I love hearing it. I love uh I please come up, say hi. Happy to shake hands, give a hug, give a high fives, take a pick, whatever if I'm around. Love to love to support wherever I can.
SPEAKER_01Well, I really appreciate you jumping on with me uh tonight. It's been it's been fun to kind of revisit some of those some of those games and some of those times. And uh we'll have to do it again here down the road as you get you know a little bit more connected to the to the game again.
SPEAKER_02No, again, definitely uh enjoy coming back into the basketball world a little bit. Parker helping uh Parker Van Dyke helping for sure. But uh no, I appreciate you having me on the show and uh spending some time with me.
SPEAKER_01All right, my thanks to Dallin Bashinski for jumping on the podcast with me. Always good to get connected with these former players, and obviously that was a fun interview and a great chance to talk to Dallin and see what he is up to these days. Just a couple more things here for you before we wrap this episode up. Going to try to get it out to you here before the Fourth of July holiday so you have something to listen to on your days off. But friend of the podcast, recent podcast guest, Brandon Carlson, has signed a one-year, two and a half million dollar deal to play for the Portland Trailblazers, and that is a full-time NBA contract, no two-way stuff for him. So BC lands in the great northwest, could not be more excited for him. Hard work certainly paying off for him. I don't know where we put the uh the contribution pie in terms of you know how much the podcast helped to make him a millionaire, but I certainly think that we played a role, no question about that. The other thing is the University of Utah is officially taking bids for the Huntsman Center rebuild project. They've sent out a survey, two season ticket holders and alumni uh asking a bunch of questions, a lot of questions around premium seating, entertainment options, reasons why you go or don't go to games, all of that stuff. So they're certainly moving in that direction. I would recommend guys like Steve Bartle, John Leone, and Josh Furlong on the specifics of that renovation effort because they're the guys that have really been on the beat and tracking that very, very closely. Last thing here in this summer of content that people put out, the basket under review had a piece recently where they ranked the 15 best college basketball teams that did not win an NCAA championship. Now, Utah did not appear on this list, but one of the teams that they beat in 1998, the 34-4 North Carolina Tar Heels, did. And they say here in their article, the Tar Heels earned a number one seed and rolled into the final four as a title favorite, only to run into a Utah team that dictated the tempo from the opening tip and never let go, winning 65 to 59. Jameson and Carter, that would be Antoine Jameson and Vince Carter, went in the top five in the NBA draft that June. This gives me an opportunity to once again plug my Rick Majoris book that I read last summer right here on the podcast. It's six parts. Got a lot of bonus content in there as well. Something that you, if you have a long road trip or a trip to the beach or something, you may want to check that out. Uh, wherever you get a podcast, it's in my list of episodes as well. But that's gonna do it for this episode of the Run and Hoops podcast. I want to thank you as always for listening. Please have a safe and happy 4th of July. I hope that when you come back for the next episode, you still have all 10 fingers and toes because some people are just about to spend their last few days with all ten fingers and toes. As always, you can follow the podcast over on X at Run and Hoops Pod. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the show over on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get a podcast. And of course, you can support us on Venmo at Run and Hoops. But until next time, I'm Andrew Crowley. This is the Run and Hoops Podcast. And as always, go you.