0:04

And welcome everyone to another edition of Orlando

0:06

Magic Pod Squad. On this edition, we catch

0:09

up with Magic assistant coach Jesse

0:11

Murmis kind enough to join us and give

0:13

us some insight into the behind the scenes

0:15

work that this incredible staff assembled

0:18

by Jamal Mosley has done this year in

0:20

the last three years here in Central Florida, Magic

0:22

Pod Squad brought you by the Florida Department of Transportation,

0:25

remind you that fans don't let fans drive drunk.

0:27

If you've been drinking, don't get behind the wheel. Instead,

0:29

find a sober driver or catch your ride service.

0:31

Remember, drive sober or get pulled over,

0:33

Have a great night, and drive safe. On

0:36

this episode with Jesse Murmis, we get

0:38

into his NBA journey, what led

0:40

him to being on the sidelines

0:42

for an NBA team and did he ever

0:44

think he'd get that opportunity, How

0:46

it is working for Magic head coach Jamal

0:49

Mosley, and what is so special about

0:51

Polo Banco. In this edition of

0:53

the Orlando Magic as they make their playoff

0:55

pushed down the stretch, lots of fun with Jesse

0:57

Murvis. On this edition of Magic Pod Squad, there's

1:00

fonds of long enough the Orlando Magic.

1:02

This is anth This is Jennings Suggs. This is

1:04

Paulo Man Carroll the Orlando Magic and

1:06

you're listening to the Pod Squad. Hey,

1:11

welcome every.

1:11

One to the latest edition of Orlando Magic Pod

1:14

Squad Dotje Marc Telli, George Galante,

1:16

Jake Chapman here with you, and it is our

1:18

pleasure to welcome in Orlando Magic assistant

1:20

coach Jesse Murvis kind enough

1:23

to join us and George and Jake. Just

1:25

so you know, he's already there's one thing

1:27

that he does that none of us do, and

1:30

that is workout.

1:31

That is workout.

1:31

And I took no surprise

1:34

to anybody. But how about that We get in not

1:36

too bad last night, right, Coach. We get in about

1:39

one in the morning to the hotel, and you've already

1:41

got yourself a workout. At the time of this taping here

1:43

in New York City, you're already up and at

1:45

it.

1:46

Yeah, I was. I was pretty pumped

1:48

that we pulled that one out, So I had a

1:51

list, ge got didn't sleep nuts.

1:53

Is that what happens?

1:54

Do You got to get up first thing in the morning after

1:56

a big, a big win like that and get off

1:58

some of that energy.

2:00

Yeah, well it was. I mean,

2:02

as you know, every

2:06

back to that game in the NBA's an adventure

2:09

and it was looking pretty bleak there. Thank

2:13

goodness that most had an unbelievable

2:16

halftime because we were able

2:18

to pull that thing out. And so I was pretty

2:20

pumped because I knew we had a day off

2:22

today in New York and I

2:24

knew it would be ruined if we lost that

2:27

game.

2:27

So well, that's

2:29

right.

2:29

Well, you guys, hear it your business. No, it's interesting, Jesse.

2:32

We want to get your story and for everybody listening,

2:34

we're gonna go back and tell your story, your NBA

2:36

journey, kind of how you got how you

2:38

got into the NBA.

2:40

And if that was the goal and all

2:42

that.

2:42

But since you touched on it, it's remarkable

2:45

timing because you know, Josh Robbins

2:47

was there from the athletic and of course we know Josh

2:49

Robbins in Orlando and he wrote a nice story about

2:52

coach Mosey and how about he should be considered

2:54

Coach of the Year this year in the NBA, the

2:56

great job that his staff does

2:58

and all of that. But was different about

3:00

that halftime last night because that came out

3:03

in that article as well.

3:05

Well, you know, we we typically have a

3:07

routine where you know, coach

3:09

will addressed the team, all

3:11

show some offensive adjustments, coach

3:14

also shows some defensive adjustments or

3:16

things that are hurting us, and then you

3:18

know, we'll bring it in and go out there and

3:21

he just kind of passionately, kind

3:25

of woke them up, said some

3:27

really uh some

3:29

good words that I won't repeat. But we

3:33

didn't show any film. You know, it

3:35

wasn't really about basketball

3:37

and the x's and o's, and thank goodness,

3:39

he hit it right on the head and our guys

3:41

were able to respond as they they

3:44

always do to him. Yes, yes, Jesse.

3:47

What do you feel like has has flipped

3:49

this year as opposed to maybe last year. It's

3:52

basically the same roster for the most part.

3:54

Is it a matter of having

3:56

the same group for for an extended

3:58

period of time. Is it something else that you guys

4:00

have seen behind the scenes that has clicked

4:03

this year? What is making this team into

4:06

what is becoming? I mean we're a top

4:08

fourteen right now in the East.

4:10

Yeah,

4:12

that's a pretty dynamic question, and

4:15

there's I think a lot of factors, but

4:18

I would say the biggest thing. Tipping

4:21

my hat to the players. I feel like they

4:23

all player

4:26

development wise, have really improved,

4:28

and collectively they've

4:30

taken a big jump, and then

4:34

obviously Paolo and France have

4:37

taken a big jump,

4:39

and and because of the

4:42

improvement that they've made because

4:44

of their hard work. When

4:46

you have that type of improvement from

4:49

year to year, then it helps the players

4:51

kind of guide them into more roles

4:54

and responsibilities. And

4:58

I think what to

5:00

all the guys credit is they're

5:02

all buying into what the team

5:04

needs to win the very

5:06

next game. And we have

5:09

a little bit more of a role definition

5:11

going on with Paulo and

5:13

Franz kind of leading the charge, and so that

5:16

puts you, you know, more in a win now mode

5:19

as opposed to a development mode. And and

5:21

really that's you know, it's it's

5:23

a tribute to Moe's with obviously the

5:25

culture and everything that he's established,

5:28

and then to the players for working

5:30

their tails off, buying in and doing

5:32

what it takes to win.

5:34

Hey, guys, can we mark this too, because that was the first

5:36

time somebody said that I asked a dynamic question.

5:39

I just want to make sure for the record that we have

5:41

that down that that that's the first time

5:44

time. Oh, we're well aware that that's

5:46

the first I want to make sure to make

5:48

sure.

5:49

I'll clip it.

5:49

I'll clip it. Well, we'll thank you, we'll get

5:51

it.

5:51

On the social channels. Coach

5:54

Steve Clifford the other day was talking about Polo

5:56

and he mentioned specifically, when your

5:58

best player sets that kind of example,

6:01

everybody else is sort of forced to fall in line.

6:03

And we'll throw Fronds in that as well. The

6:06

day to day, the long NBA season,

6:09

the record against sub five hundred teams, second nights

6:12

of back to backs, it can

6:14

be I think difficult to get up for games

6:17

sometimes in the early part of February,

6:19

for instance, But when you got Pollow and Franz

6:21

who play every night and take every game as

6:23

seriously as they do, it's

6:26

just sort of the nature of the rest of the roster to fall in

6:28

line, right.

6:29

Yeah, it's it's really

6:32

impressive because

6:35

I've been I've been so fortunate

6:37

to be with so many of these young

6:40

stars in today's NBA just

6:43

because of my stops around the league,

6:46

and the biggest thing that

6:50

is hard for these guys to

6:53

do is be consistent. You

6:55

know, there's so many players in the NBA

6:58

that can go out on a night and

7:00

have a big game, have about you know, thirty

7:02

five and and even have wins

7:04

streak going and play really well for a

7:07

time period and

7:09

then fall off for a while. And

7:12

Uh, the consistency that

7:15

Paulo has shown for

7:18

a second year player is incredible.

7:21

And so he's he's

7:23

a big time player. Uh. Mentally,

7:26

he's so tough and his consistency

7:30

is what made him an All Star and and that

7:32

consistency is what you know, gets

7:34

you into the playoff contention.

7:37

Jesse, I always think the side of a great staff

7:40

is is how you can kind of keep to

7:42

keep the team afloat even when you're

7:45

losing players for injury

7:47

or out of the rochster or whatever. And there is a

7:49

way that this team plays, and there has been

7:51

since this since Coach Mosley and this

7:53

staff got here. There's a way that this team plays.

7:56

And I think that's another thing to Jake's credit, that Steve

7:58

Clifford said, uh, the other day, but last

8:00

you know, last night in Washington, d C. It's

8:02

a sluggish start. You're starting two Green

8:05

Goblins. You've had over thirty starts

8:07

for two Green Goblins. Right with gog and

8:09

Anthony Black. But there's a way you

8:12

play where there's expectations for those

8:14

guys when they come in to not have a drop off.

8:16

Just touch on the job that the

8:18

role that you play in this coaching staff with

8:20

keeping no matter who it is, ready every

8:23

night.

8:24

Yeah, well, I think that what

8:27

you guys see across the

8:29

NBA and with the scoring

8:32

and the just

8:36

the offensive numbers league

8:39

wide are incredible, obviously, and

8:42

there's a lot of factors of that. Obviously.

8:44

I know coach Kerr and some of the

8:47

head coaches have complained about the officiating

8:50

and the rule changes to

8:52

try to encourage scoring. But

8:55

also a lot of that is that

8:58

the culture of defense

9:00

hasn't really from

9:03

a coaching body. It

9:05

has kind of gone away as well because

9:07

it's just so hard to

9:10

get these guys to be able

9:12

to play both sides of the basketball

9:15

with the schedule. You

9:17

know, there's a lot of factors to that, and

9:20

so really

9:22

it goes back to again Moe's

9:25

driving home that you

9:28

have to play defense here to get on the

9:30

floor, and when you're

9:32

held accountable for playing defense,

9:35

it's a lot easier for a guy to go

9:37

in there and plug in knowing

9:39

that he has to play defense, and a

9:41

guy going in there thinking,

9:43

hey, I need to show out and score and

9:46

do you know, do some you know, spectacular

9:49

thing to try to keep this spot. And so I

9:52

think that you know, from day one, we've

9:54

been a defensive minded team or

9:57

you know, everything that we do is defense

10:00

first, and we've been able to stick

10:02

to that because of most And

10:05

so when you do that, I think, you

10:07

know, the guys at some point they have

10:09

to fall in line there. They either got to play

10:12

defense or they're not getting big petty. So he's

10:15

made that very clear. And to those,

10:18

you know, to our players credit they play defense.

10:21

Yeah, I mean I know if I was on the roster and

10:23

I wasn't playing defense, I wouldn't want

10:25

to get on the floor. So that would keept my roots on

10:27

the floor for sure. Jesse, let's go to you personally,

10:30

just for a little bit. Did you ever

10:32

think starting out in South Point Catholic

10:34

High School that twenty years

10:36

later you'd be on the biggest stage.

10:38

The brightest lights.

10:39

I talk about your start

10:42

and where you thought this this thing

10:44

was going to take you.

10:46

Well, it's so funny that you asked

10:49

that, because I actually did

10:51

think that, and that maybe

10:55

was my problem a little bit as

10:58

a player, because,

11:01

uh, all

11:04

the way up until I stopped playing, I really

11:06

believed I was gonna play in the n b A. I

11:08

mean, I had just a very

11:10

naive, incredible

11:13

belief and was a big time

11:16

dreamer. And

11:18

so even when I

11:21

finally stopped, when I stopped

11:23

chasing the basketball dream, from a player standpoint,

11:28

I always as soon as I started coaching,

11:30

I believe that I would be coaching in the NBA.

11:33

And so, uh, it

11:36

was very vivid to me. It was very real to

11:38

me, and I just took every

11:41

step towards that as

11:43

my north star. And I remember,

11:47

you know, I've been with my my wife, Michelle

11:49

for a really long time. We met in college,

11:53

and I remember we were taking a road trip. I was

11:55

coaching in an AAU

11:57

tournament in Las Vegas, and we had

11:59

to drive there and

12:03

and I remember we pulled off. We were having

12:05

a sandwich, like a stop and and

12:08

I remember telling her, you know, I'm

12:10

going to coach in the NBA and

12:13

we're gonna be fine. It's gonna be all good,

12:16

because I think at the time I wasn't making any

12:18

money, and you know, it's a really big

12:20

time struggle obviously to be

12:22

a basketball coach if

12:24

you're looking to establish a

12:27

family and you know, do the

12:29

real world stuff, because you just don't

12:31

make any money for a really long

12:33

time. And so I remember telling her that,

12:36

and I remember her being like, Okay,

12:39

Like I didn't know how convinced he

12:42

was in that, but

12:45

she vividly remembers me saying

12:47

that. And so when you were you

12:49

were a high school coach at that point, Jesse, Yeah, I was.

12:51

I was a high school coach at that point, and I

12:53

remember when I did

12:56

get to the NBA, I remember her reminding

12:58

me of that conversation.

13:00

Hm, the greatest l

13:02

stuff coach?

13:03

Who are a few I'm sure you could do a whole podcast

13:05

on this question, but who were a few

13:08

few figures along the way who opened doors

13:11

for you? And uh and and maybe

13:13

give you a little pat on the butt along

13:15

your way to get you to this point. Uh.

13:17

Well, growing up in Tucson,

13:20

Arizona, Loud Olson

13:22

was like, uh, the he

13:26

was the man. I mean, he was so

13:28

presidential, he was they

13:31

they were winning at such a high level. He was

13:34

everything. If you loved basketball,

13:36

I mean, you looked up to this guy. He was incredible,

13:39

incredible coach, incredible person, the

13:41

way he carried himself and spoke and everything,

13:44

and so I would say

13:46

he was a big inspiration for me.

13:49

And and then when I

13:51

got to the NBA, my

13:53

first gig with the Denver Nuggets, I

13:56

was so fortunate to be with George

13:58

carl and uh Tim Ergovich

14:00

who were just longtime

14:03

old school NBA coaches, because

14:05

it really gave I think most

14:08

would say the same thing. It really set

14:10

us up with a foundation

14:13

of you know, doing things the right

14:15

way, how things need to be done, how to

14:17

pour into the players, and that really

14:20

set us up for success in the NBA.

14:21

Eight No, it's

14:23

interesting, Jesse.

14:24

You start, you know, you're in community college and then

14:26

your Southern Utah and then you

14:28

go you go back to Arizona.

14:30

Your your break in the NBA.

14:32

Right, I think you started with video with Denver.

14:34

As you mentioned, that's when you met Jamal

14:36

Mosley. You ultimately met Messiah Jerry

14:39

with your time in Denver. But when you get

14:41

that big break, now you're you're trying to work your

14:43

way up the ranks. I mean, what was that conversation

14:46

like in that move when when you're starting your

14:48

NBA journey with the Denver Nuggets

14:50

are really good, by the way, really good Denver

14:53

teams.

14:54

Yeah, it was. It

14:57

was so much fun. I mean it

14:59

was incredible hours.

15:02

I remember I

15:05

didn't really see my you know, my

15:08

wife. We'd moved

15:11

to Denver. We were in this tiny shoe box

15:13

of a place, and I remember I

15:15

just did not see her. I mean, I was there

15:18

twenty four to seven. It

15:20

was extremely demanding, but it

15:22

was so much fun. That

15:24

team, the players with

15:28

you know, Carmelo, Anthony and

15:31

j R. Smith and Birdman and

15:34

all Chauncey Billups, like all these

15:36

guys, like I was learning from

15:39

them just as much as I

15:41

was learning from the coaches. It

15:43

was an unbelievable time because

15:45

of one I mean, we were obviously

15:47

really good, but like with having

15:50

Kenya, Martin and Nyana, all these guys were

15:52

so tough and it was such

15:54

a the culture

15:56

of it was toughness

15:59

and they everyone was riding

16:02

each other and if you didn't have thick skin

16:04

around there, you were gonna be in trouble.

16:07

So it was like, I mean, throwing

16:09

you to the wolves and you're having earth.

16:12

I mean, I'm getting yelled at by the players I

16:14

was getting yelled at by coach Carl by

16:16

Tim Gergovich would take me to the side

16:19

and just blastemy for

16:21

oh my minutes.

16:23

Bring it out for what because it wasn't what

16:25

they were asking for, wasn't set up or what were they getting?

16:28

Yeah, I mean maybe some

16:30

of that. I was extremely hard worker,

16:32

but it was more of like that's kind

16:35

of like the culture. It just goes down

16:37

the hill a little bit and it's like breaking

16:39

you in, pushing y'all. Jist. Then

16:44

it was very old school NBA, and so

16:46

uh that pushed me to the limit, and

16:48

I was so excited and I just kept asking

16:51

for more. I wanted more all

16:53

the time, and so whatever they threw at me, I tried

16:55

to exceed expectations and

16:57

because of that, I was able to rise quickly

17:00

in demb.

17:01

That's awesome. See, I would have pushed George right out

17:03

of the NBA.

17:04

I would have just quit.

17:05

I would would.

17:09

But speaking of the grind, I mean like

17:12

then you are also a head coach Jesse

17:14

in the G League and Dante and jakersoft

17:16

They've never had to take any time at the

17:18

minors.

17:18

So this is true.

17:20

Explain to everybody out there.

17:22

I mean, I worked in a minor league hockey

17:24

team for four years and and there's just something

17:27

different about

17:29

working in the minor leagues where

17:31

your staffs are much smaller and

17:34

you feel like it's us against the world. Is that how it

17:36

was for you when when when you were in sad your

17:39

time in the G League?

17:40

I love the G League.

17:42

That is the greatest league

17:44

in the world from a pure basketball

17:47

standpoint. It's exactly

17:49

how you're describing it. It's so amazing

17:54

because everybody there is in

17:56

it to try to make it and

17:59

it's just like a grind league.

18:01

And uh, they know, you

18:03

know, everybody there also knows that they

18:06

got to do it together to

18:08

make it happen for everybody. And

18:10

uh, it's a beautiful league.

18:12

Uh.

18:13

The coaching is big time. You're

18:15

able to learn so much because

18:18

of the style of play. Uh,

18:21

it pushes you basketball wise, because

18:24

guys are in, guys are out. There's constant

18:26

change. It's just an incredible

18:29

league to develop your skills. And

18:31

it's so much fun. You know, it's just a

18:34

pure basketball experience because there's just

18:36

not as much attention. There's not as

18:38

much business and money involved,

18:41

so it's just pure basketball all

18:43

day long, every day, and I

18:45

loved my time there.

18:47

I work in radio.

18:48

That's the g League of sports broadcasting, right.

18:54

Coach, When you became the head man

18:56

for Raptures nine oh five, what

18:59

was was there a hey, you're the mand

19:01

now moment? I mean, that level of leadership

19:03

is a little bit different when everybody is looking to

19:05

you for those answers. Was that an

19:08

eye opening experience for you?

19:12

I think maybe

19:16

the first I

19:19

think our first game was

19:21

a close game on the road,

19:24

uh in Fort Wayne, and it came

19:26

down to it

19:29

came down to ato

19:33

by myself, and I

19:35

remember running a

19:37

play that I had seen

19:40

a million times that Greg Popovitch

19:42

had run from Onny to Noble

19:45

and won the game. And it's a pretty

19:48

ballsy call because

19:51

you're setting up a back door and

19:53

it's it's a very unsafe play to run.

19:56

But my style is very unsafe

19:58

and pretty brazen. So my

20:01

first time out, I'm trying to win the game

20:04

and I draw up a play, a

20:07

Popovich play, and

20:11

so a short

20:13

story goes is that the play did

20:15

not work. It was not applicable

20:19

for the level of play of my

20:21

guys. They're G League guys, they

20:23

just don't have the experience to

20:25

execute that type of play. But

20:29

again, you know, you're right in the heat of the moment,

20:31

you're trying to go for the win, and you're just like,

20:33

let's do this. So

20:36

the play doesn't work. They get

20:38

the ball and they go down there and

20:40

hit a game winning shot. Oh

20:43

no, at the buzzer

20:45

and like a pull up three, kind of like the

20:47

one that Fox hit

20:50

on us when we play a meno.

20:52

He's like coming up, you know, just a little

20:54

bit past half court. So they hit

20:56

a game winning shot, and

20:59

I remember why fucking to the

21:01

locker room and being like, man,

21:03

was that a bad play? So

21:06

that was probably my first moment of like

21:08

no, what, Like, you

21:11

know, you have to be a

21:13

little bit more mindful of who you're

21:15

dealing with and what their capabilities

21:18

are. This is not the NBA,

21:22

And so that was like a big time lesson,

21:24

Like I had let those guys down, and

21:26

I knew right

21:28

away, and when I addressed them in the locker

21:30

room, I apologize and say, Yo, that was a bad play

21:32

call. That's my fault.

21:35

Well, probably didn't help that you called one of your guys Tim

21:37

Duncan. It helps when you have Tim duncan

21:41

help you execute those plays. Well, let's

21:43

let's fast forward, Jesse to twenty twenty

21:46

one. You get the call from Jamal he's

21:48

taking the job here in Orlando and he

21:50

wants you to be on the staff.

21:51

Right. I obviously you met, you had

21:53

a nice relationship.

21:55

But that's I would imagine

21:57

that's how it goes in this business. Right, you meet people

21:59

along the way, and you never know who's going

22:01

to get the job first, and who's gonna call who,

22:03

and where are you're gonna end up. But how about that phone

22:05

call that that he was coming to Orlando and putting

22:07

the team together here.

22:09

Yeah, I was. I was super

22:11

excited. I

22:13

had known, obviously Jamal

22:15

for a really long time, and we had

22:17

a great relationship when we worked together, and

22:20

we stayed connected through

22:22

that entire time. So

22:26

I was excited because I knew

22:28

obviously what he was capable of as

22:31

a coach. And then I was really excited

22:34

for the opportunity because I love when

22:37

organizations pick a lane and

22:40

really like it's clear cut what

22:42

they're trying to do, and

22:45

I thought Orlando was one of those situations.

22:47

I think it's really tough in the NBA

22:52

when you know, everyone says you don't want to be in

22:54

the middle, like you don't have

22:56

a chance to win a championship, but

22:58

you're good enough to, you know, kind of win. So

23:02

are you developing? Are you winning? I

23:04

think it's really tough from

23:06

a coaching standpoint to try to pull that off.

23:08

And so this was a clear

23:11

cut situation. We were going in at

23:13

ground zero and we were gonna, you know, try

23:15

to build something. And you know, that's

23:17

very exciting to me, and I'm very passionate

23:19

about that, and

23:21

so I was all.

23:22

In, just

23:25

what about the what about the other call?

23:26

At most gives you that first year where he's

23:29

got COVID and he just has

23:31

Nate Chibbets has COVID and uh, and

23:33

you're the guy and you're gonna be the guy that to lead

23:36

us for a few games while these guys are

23:38

getting healthy.

23:39

What was that experience like for you?

23:41

Was it just was it as surreal as it seems,

23:43

because if that was me, I would

23:45

just I probably would have to pinch myself

23:48

twenty times a day.

23:50

Yeah, So, well it was

23:52

a little tough because this

23:56

amazing thing was happening for me. But

23:58

at the same time, I

24:01

didn't want to be like over excited

24:03

and happy because my guys

24:05

had COVID and it was like the time,

24:08

So it was like it was kind of you

24:10

know, just mixed emotion

24:12

a little bit. But

24:16

again, I'm a five

24:18

nine little spark

24:21

plug that's coaching in the NBA, and

24:23

if I didn't have a ton of confidence in

24:25

my abilities, I wouldn't

24:27

be able to survive out there and

24:30

provide value. And so there

24:33

wasn't a moment where I was nervous, like

24:35

I was ready to go obviously, like

24:37

and it once you know, it

24:40

settled in. I was excited for the opportunity

24:42

and I was you know, I would

24:45

coach as many times as I could possibly

24:47

get, So yeah,

24:49

it was it was It was weird because

24:52

I definitely didn't want

24:54

those guys to have COVID and not be there

24:56

and not coaching team. But I was

24:58

obviously really excited for opportunity

25:00

and I just tried to enjoy it and felt

25:03

really ready and prepared for it.

25:05

And he was, guys, he was a spark plug during those

25:07

timeouts. I got to stick my nose in those huddles

25:09

and he was fired up during those

25:11

timeouts, which was great. What can you tell us

25:14

about Jamal Mosley. You probably

25:16

know him better than anybody, Jesse, having known him

25:18

as long as you have, and we do,

25:20

you know, we do hope he's

25:22

in the conversation for Coach of the Year because what

25:24

this team has done and the staff included,

25:27

is just remarkable. Now sitting forth

25:29

in the Eastern Conference, I mean, it's been so long here

25:31

in Central Florida to be in this position.

25:34

What do you can you tell us about the person he is and

25:36

how hard Jamal Mosley works.

25:39

Yeah, he's

25:41

in. I don't know how he does it.

25:43

I really don't.

25:46

I really don't know how he does it. Because

25:48

you know, my calling card

25:51

for my entire coaching

25:54

career has been that I

25:56

have unlimited energy. I have tons

25:58

of positive energy, and that

26:01

has been like a separator for me. And

26:04

this guy blows me out of the

26:06

water. I really don't

26:09

know how he does it. He's just,

26:11

Uh, he's incredibly

26:13

hard working, and he's incredibly

26:16

caring and kind to these

26:18

players and uh and that

26:20

you know that plays out all the time

26:25

and they respond for him because,

26:27

you know, because he comes

26:29

with such a low ego, kind

26:32

mindset and treats everyone

26:35

from top to bottom wonderfully

26:39

and and and he's he's backing

26:41

it up with the work that he puts in and

26:44

what he says he lives up to, and

26:46

so you know, it's he's just a

26:48

big time he's a big

26:50

time guy, and he's doing a great job

26:52

and I'm just happy to be along for the ride.

26:57

I say the same things I've

27:00

asked Jamal. One time.

27:00

I was like, you're so positive all like I picture.

27:03

I picture he just goes home and maybe there's a

27:05

there's a rumor's area of

27:07

his garage where it's just like holes

27:10

are punched in the wall or something, because you just

27:12

don't see it at any any

27:14

length. At any time you come into the office, he's

27:17

positive. E're you get in at three in

27:19

the morning. On the road, he's positive. Like the guy

27:21

is just overflowing

27:24

with positivity, to the point where I was just like, Hey,

27:26

this can't be.

27:26

You can't.

27:28

There's got to be something where I'm missing. You've got a

27:30

punching bag or something at home that you're taking it

27:32

out on or or something.

27:33

It's crazy that it's mind muggling. It really

27:36

is.

27:38

It's a metal to having metal music on

27:40

his way in it.

27:44

This is the last thing for me, coach, and I didn't want to ask you

27:46

this about Coach Moseley and the trust

27:49

that it seems like he has from one

27:51

through eighteen on roster, we've

27:53

seen a handful of players close games

27:56

out. I always say on the broadcast, he's a dance

27:58

with who brung you type of coach, and whoever's

28:00

got the hot hand or the matchup that night is

28:03

gonna finish games. And obviously Paul and Franz and

28:05

Jalen are probably gonna be on the floor. But you know, whether

28:08

it's Cole or Mo or Joe on

28:10

down the line, whoever is playing

28:12

well that night likely is going to close that game

28:15

out. That's kind of stokes trust

28:17

and gets everybody engaged, doesn't it.

28:19

I mean, guys show up and they know if

28:22

if I've got to go in tonight, I'm going to be on the

28:24

floor to close the game out. It just seems

28:26

to me like it's you know, there's a lot of sort

28:28

of statuses and agendas with players

28:31

across the league, and it seems like coach Boseley

28:33

has figured out a way and the players as well,

28:35

who eliminate all of that stuff. Whoever's

28:37

got it roll On is going to finish the game out tonight.

28:40

Yeah, well that

28:44

that kind of is the

28:46

the end result of a ton

28:49

of work up front to

28:52

build a relationship

28:54

with each player. Yeah, like

28:58

this is a this is a business,

29:01

but it's a human business. You know. To

29:04

get a group

29:06

of young individuals who

29:08

have everything

29:13

in this business is telling them to

29:15

do what's best for themselves and be

29:17

individual and

29:20

and there's a lot of reward when you

29:23

do that. Unfortunately how

29:25

it's set up. And so to

29:28

get guys to be okay

29:30

with that mentality

29:33

to do what's best for the team all the time, it

29:35

takes a lot of work and a lot

29:38

of time, and a lot of relationship

29:41

building and a lot of communication,

29:46

a lot of ups and downs. You

29:48

know, you you have to work extremely hard

29:50

to build that type of trust and

29:52

build that type of patience with

29:55

each guy. I mean, these are young guys

29:58

who have a lot at stake for them family, and

30:01

so I think

30:03

it goes to you know, just how he treats

30:05

people and and and I think our

30:08

staff as a whole is along

30:11

those lines of just philosophy wise,

30:14

we really put the players first, and we really

30:17

you know, shoot them straight and I think

30:20

they they appreciate that. And

30:22

and when you have that type of close

30:25

knit bond with your players

30:28

and you're able to tell them when they're

30:30

messing up and what

30:32

needs to be done to win that game, whether

30:34

that's sitting on the bench that

30:36

night and not closing the game. I

30:40

think they all believe and they know that we have

30:42

their best interests at heart. And

30:44

and Mos has really worked his tail

30:46

off for them to buy into that,

30:49

believe that, and accept that. And

30:51

so it's all about relationships.

30:54

It's all about the human

30:56

connection with these guys. And

30:58

when you have that in place, then you're

31:00

able to make those type of decisions. And

31:04

you know, the other night, Hollow

31:09

was wasn't very good to start the third quarter.

31:11

Uh, he was turning it over. He

31:13

looked, he looked frazzled. You

31:16

know, I still think he was stealing. You know, he's

31:18

still not one hundred percent healthy, and

31:23

it was clear he needed a reset. You

31:25

know, we went to the time out. You know, there's

31:28

only played for four minutes into

31:30

that third quarter, and I remember we

31:32

went to the time out and he looked at me mostly

31:35

and and and we were both like, yeah,

31:37

let's get him out. You know, he's just he

31:39

needs a reset, he needs tom he's

31:41

not playing well, he's hurting us, and

31:45

and we'll get him and we'll get him back in.

31:48

And he sat the entire third quarter,

31:50

which is obviously very unusual

31:53

to take your best player out

31:55

that early and a half. But

31:58

to Apollo's credit, he's such a pro

32:00

and we have that trust with

32:03

him, and we have that relationship with him.

32:05

He came back to start the fourth quarter and

32:08

he single handedly destroyed

32:11

them to start the fourth

32:13

and force the double team at the end

32:16

to allow Jalen Suggs to hit that

32:18

three to seal the game in that Utah

32:20

game. So you know, that's

32:22

that's a lot of a

32:25

lot of credit to to Mos to be able

32:27

to build a relationship and trust with a guy

32:29

like that, To be able to take a guy out like that

32:31

that early and a half, that just doesn't happen

32:34

very much in the NBA.

32:35

Let me just add credit to most and his staff,

32:38

because if you when you talked to Coach Moseley about

32:40

it, the first thing game does is he gives credit to you guys.

32:42

I'll try and everybody involved. So but that's

32:44

great stuff, Goach.

32:45

You appreciate that that's great.

32:47

And I tell you

32:49

this to have that human side of it.

32:51

You don't.

32:51

It's refreshing because there's all walks

32:53

of life. You know, there's there's humans involved,

32:56

and you don't hear that that it's humans

32:58

first, And I think that's outstanding thing.

33:00

We watched Polo make his NBA debut

33:02

last.

33:03

Year and I'm working the game with Quentin Richardson and

33:05

we sit in the back and we're, you know, five minutes

33:07

into the game, and he looks at me and he goes, Dante,

33:09

we got a dude. We have a dude

33:11

watched to five minutes of his first

33:14

NBA game. And since you mentioned Polow, just

33:16

just we'll end with that. As

33:19

Magic fans get excited and as we gear up

33:21

for this playoff Porsch and who knows where this is gonna

33:23

take it, it's just so excited here at Central

33:25

Florida.

33:26

How much does he help having that guy

33:29

when you.

33:29

Put a game play together and as you think about this

33:31

playoff, Porsche, how incredible is pollow

33:33

band Carol?

33:36

He's incredible. I've been so fortunate

33:39

to be around some

33:41

big time players in my journey

33:43

in the NBA. Demarta

33:46

Rosen Kyle

33:49

Lowry, James Harden, Carmelo,

33:54

Anthony Lebron,

33:56

James, I mean, I've been around

33:59

the big and

34:01

he is one of those big dogs.

34:03

That's awesome, a.

34:04

Big time player. He is a

34:07

dude. As Q said, he's one of those

34:09

dudes, and Orlando

34:11

is going to be very fortunate

34:14

for a long time.

34:16

Good stuff, but we appreciate it.

34:18

Jesse, good luck the rest of the way, and

34:20

uh, we'll try to close this thing

34:22

out in New York and we're excited here the final nineteen

34:24

best of luck.

34:25

Thank you guys, thank you for having me.

34:27

Awesome.

34:27

That'll do it for this edition of Magic Pod Squad.

34:29

We'll see you next time.