HoriZone Roundtable

This is the first part of the 2020 Jimmy Lemke Fan Battle Royale. Fans from every school not named Milwaukee, Northern Kentucky and Youngstown State weighed in on a variety of topics related to last season and prospects for the year ahead.

The list of participants:

Cleveland State:  Tim Bundy (@duds14)

Detroit Mercy: Shawn O'Neil (@UD_Shawn)

Green Bay: Kevin Pytleski (@KevinPyt)

IUPUI: Erin Dunn (@Mystic_Flute1)

Oakland: Landon Melling (@landoncmelling)

Purdue Fort Wayne: Travis Olinske (@TravisOlinske)

UIC: Olyer Anderson (@Flamesmania)

Wright State: Mathis Amidon (@bonesamidon)

Bob and Matt welcome Jeremy Otto, who is the television play-by-play voice for Detroit Mercy. They talk about the Titans' season and look towards what to expect for next year. They also have a conversation about Jeremy's podcast, In The Absence of Sports, which features interviews from figures throughout the sports world discussing the impact of the coronavirus on the current sports landscape.

With Purdue Fort Wayne entering the Horizon League, Bob and Matt welcomed John Nolan, the voice of the Mastodons' television home games, to the podcast. During their conversation, they talked about what fans can expect with the arrival of Fort Wayne, from Mastodons coach, Jon Coffman, to their 2020-21 roster.

Bob and Matt celebrate the 100th episode (not counting the pilot and bonus episodes) of the HoriZone Roundtable. They also discuss some of the takeaways from their conversation with Grant Weatherford related to IUPUI. And with the transfer portal wide open and the spring signing period ready to start, they talk about some the recent landing spots for ex-Horizon League players, along with some recent verbal commits.

In this bonus episode, Bob and Matt have a candid conversation with Grant Weatherford, who recently announced that he would be leaving IUPUI and entering the transfer portal. They discuss the past season playing under interim coach Byron Rimm, what ultimately led to his decision to enter the portal and his plans for the future.

Bob and Matt welcome new UIC head coach Luke Yaklich, currently in Austin due to the coronavirus pandemic, to the podcast. They talk about his coaching roots (primarily at his high school and college alma maters), as well as his experience with John Beilein at Michigan and Shaka Smart at Texas. Also, Coach Yaklich talks about his approach to recruiting and communicating with his current players remotely.

Bob and Matt welcome former Oakland superstar and pro basketball player Kay Felder to the podcast. Among the topics they discuss are Kay's collegiate career with the Golden Grizzlies and the draft experience. They also talk about playing with the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers and Kay's hometown team, the Detroit Pistons, as well as his most recent time playing in China.

Matt returns from his abbreviated tour, and he and Bob catch up how the off-season has shaped up in the early going. They discuss the possibilities for the new UIC coach (including the brother of a current Horizon League coach), along with some the the transfers that have taken place so far.

Kyle Craven and John Parker join Bob to talk about everything that has gone down since the Horizon League Tournament, specifically the cancellation of all sporting events due to the coronavirus outbreak. There was still plenty of other topics to discuss, including Steve McClain's ouster at UIC and the pending coaching change at IUPUI.

In this bonus episode, Kyle Craven from the Norse Report delivers a recap of the semi-finals and finals of the Horizon League Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. This includes his perspective on the atmosphere while he was in Indy, a review of all three games, and his overall take on the tournament in general.