FM Talk 1065 Podcasts
Tide fan and radio host Hunter Johnson joins Auburn fan Jeff Poor - The Jeff Poor Show - May 14, 2025
[MUSIC PLAYING] From Bucks Pocket to the shores of Orange Beach, at all points in between, an insider's perspective on Alabama politics. It's the Jeff Porsche show. I don't think Hank done it this way. [MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome back to the Jeff Porsche show on FIT Talk 106.5. Thanks for staying with us on this Friday. This abbreviated hour of the Jeff Porsche show coming up here in about 30 minutes. We'll have Auburn Tiger basketball, so I'll be breaking away. Real quick, I didn't get to do this in the last segment because I was trying to explain something. But coming up on Monday, State Representative Jennifer Fiddler will be with us. Dale Jackson from WV&N up in Huntsville in Yellhammer News. And a guest to be determined the later, as I will probably try to do that later this afternoon. Joy is now. I like to have him all from time to time. He takes time from trolling us Auburn fans on social media to be on this radio program. And we're very appreciative of that. But from tide 100.90, does the tide pre-game hoop show. You can hear him up there. If you're up there, head it up to the game. You need to tune in. It's sometimes it floats around with different signals up there. But Hunter Johnson, who does a really good job with that, joins us now. Hunter, good morning. How are you? Good morning, Dale. Well, the trolling's been good. Over the last couple of days. So yeah, it's been a good time. And I appreciate your plug on my show. Appreciate you and your son coming by when y'all playing basketball up here. I appreciate y'all coming by and checking it out. Even though I was on the air the entire time. And they get to say hello. But I appreciate y'all coming by. It's a cool place just to walk around where you do your-- well, you do your remote sometimes. And that part of Tuscaloosa has just really changed in my lifetime. And it's definitely-- it's a cool spot. It used to be a little bit more, I'll say, dangerous. But it's a little-- it's more well-lit now. Propped to walk now. So I'm making that area down. Maybe you got a Jack Brown's right there. You have a peanut company. I do my show at Grandstand. I'm just a cool cocktail bar nearby. It's a cool spot. The peanut place is fascinating to me. It's like you get these different-- they flavor the peanuts like chicken wings. And you go in there and eat peanuts and drink beer kind of place. It's a guaranteed money maker. You got peanuts. And what do you want to watch them peanuts with beer? It's like-- goes through. My favorite that they have is the-- they have the Mississippi Rose peanut flavor, which is incredible. Yeah. Well, we walked around. But it's hard to get a four-year-old who walked to and buy. He had other ideas, so-- I'm sure. He got to see a fun basketball game for his Tigers that day. He did. And he's obnoxious. Like, he was wanting to see Alabama fans cry. And after the game, he's running down that cool concourse that y'all built right there in front of the Coliseum. Yellen, it's great to be an Auburn Tiger. I don't know where he picked that up from, but-- I'm glad I didn't-- well, if he had seen me after that game, he probably would have really, really enjoyed it. I'm glad he didn't get to see me that day. Well, it was funny, he's like, "Daddy, but where are the crying Alabama fans?" I was like, "That's not really a thing, son, but I didn't dampen any of the spirits." But you got us back last week. And I think Alabama went through its trying time, where you do have that sort of fatigue. It's like this every year, Hunter, or at least we're watching Auburn. They kind of hit a rut, right? And you can just see the tired. And they kind of snap out of it. But sometimes, I think like last year, it just came at the wrong time during the tournament. But you know, the final four years for both of us, you got past that and then you got hot. What do you think? What do you anticipate these next few days with the SEC tournament? Well, for Alabama, I will say that at the beginning of the year, I thought we would split with Auburn. I did not think it would go in the fashion that did. I thought we'd be getting Auburn at home, and then we'd lose down there. And coming off of two consecutive losses, the Tennessee and the heartbreaking fashion that it was, then kind of get dominated by Florida, I didn't have real high expectations going into that Auburn game. Just 'cause I thought this team had lost its legs a little bit. I thought that we needed this week of the SEC tournament to kind of get our legs back. So I was kind of surprised to see Alabama really snap out of it down there. And I felt like you saw a team that really like, I don't know that they had their legs back, but just really had a lot of motivation going down to Auburn, and playing the growing team in the country. Not really having anything to play for, other than quad and seating. But I do think that having this week off is gonna be really, really good for us. Really, the SEC tournament Bruce Cole said earlier this week, the SEC tournament might be tougher to win than the NCAA tournament. Because all these games that you're playing, you're going up against week 16, the Elite Eight type team. And with Auburn, I think that Auburn kind of hit their run and I could totally see them bouncing out of it and going on a run now. - Well, this team just scares me the most as Florida right now. - Absolutely. - They got passed their run like early. They got blown out a couple of times and they beat us at home, but that's when they sort of turned the corner in and they became sort of a dominant team. I think they'll go real far this year. - They're my pick to win the SEC tournament. But I think that they're just playing, when they're playing their best, I don't know that there's many teams in the country that can beat them. I don't know that they're gonna bring their best for consecutive games in the NCAA tournament, but I could definitely see them doing it for three or four and making a run to the Elite Eight final four. I think that they're just really, really good. But they didn't get the hand lock back like I think that takes them to a whole other level. - And then there's Tennessee. And the difference with Tennessee, you don't know what you're gonna get. What Tennessee team is gonna show? They're very good. Don't get me wrong. And you know, should we win the day? That's who we probably faced on Saturday, but you never know. It's such a wild card. - And they just played such a good defense. Like you know that you're always gonna get that hard nose defensive play from them. It's just a matter of if they're gonna score or not and it gets to Alabama. And I thought Alabama actually played really well going up there, like other than the last 30 seconds of the game, which I think Nate will admit, he blundered those. But Alabama played really well up there, but Tennessee had a pretty good offensive game there. But you also have times where they just, they don't score the basketball enough to be in games. But they are very, very good. I think that Auburn, I mean, that Auburn Tennessee match up in Auburn was a really, really good one earlier this year. I would love to see those two games play it yet. - Well, look outside the SEC real quick. And, you know, it's obviously Duke, but I, you know, I think they're a lot maybe running out here. Houston, maybe. Beyond the SEC Hunter, it's hard for me to know like who the cream of the crop is. They just haven't played as difficult a schedule. So you don't really get to get apples to apples comparison. - Well, who do you see coming out beyond the SEC? - Well, when you talk about Duke, the whole Cooper flag injury thing, like that, I mean, it's just a huge unknown, like how severe that ankle did not look good when it happened. I realized the X-rays were negative. But, I mean, a bad ankle sprain, I don't know if you've ever sprained your ankle pretty bad. It's tough to come back from. I don't see him being even at full speed next week. I think Houston's really, really good. That's, you know, that's a team that both Alabama and Auburn have beaten this year. You know, two of their, half of their losses came to state of Alabama. I still think they are really, really good basketball team. They've always been really good defensively, but this year, offensively, they are much, much better than they have ever been. They're top 10 in offensive efficiency. They are definitely a team that I, I mean, it's all just going to depend on the bracket and, you know, what team catches some breaks. Obviously, Alabama caught a couple of breaks last year and getting the worst number one seed in North Carolina and getting to play, you know, Clemson in the Elite Eight. But it's going to depend on how the bracket breaks, but I think Houston would be my, you know, if I had to pick a number, a non SEC team to make the final four, it would definitely be Houston. And I also like Iowa State. I think Iowa State, even though they've already, I believe lost in the big 12 tournament, I can definitely see Iowa State making a run as well. They lost to be, they have, they lost to BYU yesterday in a close game. I could see Iowa State making a run. - 'Cause on paper, Iowa State, like really good team, they just, they've underperformed throughout the season. And, you know, like these tournament, it's totally different. And, you know, you just, you get focused, you get locked in and a team like Iowa State, like you said on paper, it's supposed to be really, really, really good. Hasn't really performed, but you put them in a sort of a vacuum in a tournament situation, which is not necessarily true in a conference tournament. They could make a run. Who else you got? - When you talked about that, I would say Alabama looked like that last year. You had nobody picking Alabama to make a final front. Mount Connellville run last year. The way that Alabama closed out the season, losing in the first, their first game in the SEC tournament, nobody was picking Alabama to go in a run. Well, sometimes teams just flip a switch. And, you know, with Alabama, last year, it was defensively. Alabama just decided after the SEC tournament that they were gonna play good defense. I wish they had decided that earlier this season could've won an SEC title, but they decided they were gonna play defense and they did it. And you never know who that team is gonna be. I mean, I think there's a, again, Houston is the one that I really did. All right, here's my kind of dark horse dick. And even though they're probably gonna be at eight or a non-seed, or probably at eight, Gonzaga. In fact, it's probably gonna be an eight seed. And I've really hoped it was like, I mean, if Auburn gets them and as they're, you know, eight seed when they're the one seed, that's gonna be a tough match up. I mean, they're like, they're number nine in Bartore, but it was one of the metrics that I used. I mean, then they think that they're one of the not, like the not best team in the country. I could see Gonzaga as kind of a dark horse to go in a run. - Well, so about the SEC tournament, the bracket here, who needs the, of the teams remaining? Who needs that? I guess obviously Texas, 'cause they're, you know, but what do you think Kentucky, kind of, Kentucky seems like another one of those teams that could make a run. You don't know, they're hard to read. I don't think they were up for that game against us a few weeks ago at Rupp. But beyond Texas, you know, the teams that are left, the position themselves for the tournament, it looks like Missouri, I guess too. What do you think there? - Well, I think Alabama has something to play for in that it's gonna come down to Alabama Tennessee and Florida for those remaining one seed. And I think two of those, two of those three will get it. I think it would take Alabama to make it a run to the finals in order to get that. As now Alabama fans, I'm kind of hoping that we end up with the two in Houston's bracket, just because that would mean we would play in Indianapolis and not be the one seed out west in San Francisco, just be a little bit easier of a trip. But I could see Missouri, you know, I think that Missouri Florida game is gonna be great. Really, really good basketball game. Missouri got them in game four earlier this year. I think there's three games today that are gonna be fantastic games. I don't know if the tech in the C game is gonna be great. I think tech is after playing on Wednesday and then double overtime game yesterday against arrival. I just think they're probably gonna be spit. I still think they should get in the NCAA tournament though. But yeah, I mean Kentucky, I think has a lot to play for tonight. Obviously that game last night was a grind for them. It'll be interesting to see how they come out and play tonight. But I think what's great about what we have right now in these final 18, just everybody's pretty much in the NCAA tournament touches on that bubble. I still think they get in. I don't think you're gonna have to have eight really, really good basketball teams left. Then it's gonna be good basketball today. See the Auburn is the number one seed regardless. But to be the number one overall, they probably at least got the win today. I would. I don't think they did. I don't think they did. I think that even if they were to lose today and also an interesting stat that I don't mean this is a troll. But in both of the years that Bruce has won the SEC title, the regular season at Auburn. Auburn's lost in their first SEC tournament game. In 2018, it was Alabama, 2022. It was the Texas A&M. And I think Ole Miss is really, really good. And Auburn could lose that basketball game. But it would be to see Auburn win that game. I think that you're definitely assured of the number one seed. I think there's a number one overall seed even if they don't get the W to death. - Really? - I don't know, you may be right. I'm, I guess it's just-- - I'm sorry, who are you gonna give it to? You're gonna give it to Duke with an injured Cooper flag? I think the injury to Cooper flag even makes that even more. - No, I think it depends on how they do in the ACC tournament. - You know, you're right. If Duke bills out, you know, between now and Sunday, then I think you could see Auburn remain the number one seed. But there's a chance for Duke if Auburn doesn't win today. - Well, no matter what, I think Auburn's still gonna be playing in Atlanta because Duke will play. We'll prefer to play up in the East region. But I think Auburn's gonna be in Atlanta no matter what. - Well, yeah, I mean, Auburn fans this year show they will travel and that'll be almost like a home game situation. Hey, Hunter, we're up against the break. We gotta get out of here. Folks will find you online, how can they do so? - You can follow me at Burner L. Johnson. And you can listen to the Tiedhoo pre-game show and it's normally depending on Alabama baseball player or not. We're only on Tower 2.9, but if baseball is playing, we'll be transferring it over to the flagship of our town square media stations. And that is 95.3, the fair. - They'll check that out. All right, we gotta get a break here. We'll be right back. This is the Jeff Moore Show at FIT Talk 10065. Have a riddle, bye-bye!