This episode is exactly what happens when basketball players are given microphones and too much time.
Jack is back on the pod, and what starts as a casual “chop it up” turns into a full-blown debate about shooting streaks, confidence, opportunity, and how early-season performance can define an entire year for unproven players.
We dive deep into:
- Whether it’s better to start hot or finish hot as a shooter
- How perception shapes minutes, roles, and trust
- Why early opportunity matters more than raw percentages
- DJ Watkins’ breakout and the snowball effect of confidence
- Injury setbacks and earning your runway back
- Isolation defense, help defense, and what actually wins games
- And finally… a dangerous NBA comparison argument that absolutely did not need to happen.
Basketball psychology, locker-room logic, and borderline-unhinged hypotheticals collide in one of the most honest conversations about opportunity, variance, and proving yourself at the college level.
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All The Socials: https://linktr.ee/SATB_Pod
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Time Stamps:
00:00 – Intro, podcast energy immediately derails
02:00 – Jack returns, recent games, early-season context
02:45 – Shooting percentages debate begins (make-first vs make-last dilemma)
05:00 – Hot streak vs cold streak psychology and confidence
08:15 – Opportunity, perception, and why early makes matter for unproven player
12:45 – First three games hypothetical and season-start leverage
15:30 – Bench roles, minutes, and how opportunity actually disappears
18:00 – DJ Watkins discussion and early-season breakout impact
22:00 – “If the season restarted 100 times” simulation talk
24:30 – Women’s team praise and elite player shoutouts
25:15 – Jack’s injury explanation and return timeline
27:30 – Confidence, proving yourself post-injury, and shot selection
29:00 – Isolation defense debate begins
33:00 – Help defense vs island defense breakdown
38:00 – Defensive statistics, hypotheticals, and film arguments
44:00 – NBA player comparison spiral (dangerous territory)
47:00 – Scalabrine/McClung/Jokic gap argument
49:00 – Closing thoughts and wrap-up
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In this episode, we explore why the moments that feel most embarrassing, risky, and uncomfortable are often the same moments that give life its deepest sense of meaning. Using basketball as the central lens, we unpack the psychology of performance under pressure, the tension between chaos and order, and what happens to identity when you step into situations where failure is visible.
From clutch shots and open runs to stand-up comedy, podcasting, and public speaking, the conversation moves through the shared thread of voluntary exposure. We examine why humans repeatedly choose environments that can break them socially, emotionally, and psychologically. Topics include flow state, creative fear, ego, burnout, the dark side of competition, and the quiet cost of being seen.
This episode is a reflection on why creation, performance, and growth seem to require the risk of embarrassment and why the edge of failure often feels like the edge of truth.
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All The Socials: https://linktr.ee/SATB_Pod
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Time Stamps:
0:00 Intro, Shooting drills, trash talk, gym stories, Drew, and run highlights.
03:40 Official show intro. Jack’s dad hoodie story. Shoutouts and Thanksgiving break setup.
05:20 Setting up the philosophical direction of the episode. Free will comment, bots, and exam season.
06:40 Nietzsche, eternal recurrence, and why basketball memories gravitate toward pressure moments.
09:05 Basketball as artistic expression. Kyrie, Steph, Cudney, and chasing mastery through creation.
12:20Underdog mindset. Open runs, gritty wins, stretching capabilities beyond comfort.
15:20 Chaos vs Order explained through basketball. Performing on the edge of embarrassment.
18:50 Mitchell game story. Two clutch threes, flow state, biggest moment of career.
22:30 Why basketball stopped being sustainable. Psychopathic coach, burnout, and psychological overload.
25:20 Recent tournament breakdown. First game struggle, second game explosion, step-back three moment.
30:00High school playoff story. Going bucket for bucket with a future pro.
33:40 AAU exhibition game. Early scoring burst against elite size and athleticism.
35:55 Summer runs vs U of T players. Unexpected dominance, confidence surge.
38:20Weightlifting as chaos/order pursuit. PR chasing and training philosophy.
41:00 Podcasting as chaos. Public articulation, embarrassment, and image threat.
43:50 Performative art vs private creation. Why crowds change everything.
45:30 Stand-up comedy as ultimate chaos. Bombing fear and psychological exposure.
49:00 Sales vs authenticity. Why pest control felt coercive and misaligned.
51:35 Talent show trauma, performance anxiety, creative fear, and closing reflection.
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In this episode we run a scientific simulation to see if DJ’s journey was destiny or just a glitch in the matrix. We get into bad coaching fits, transferring, tough shots, garbage-time trauma, Chris's geography issues, Max's music slander, and why DJ's shot selection should come with a warning label
If you’ve ever been overlooked, underestimated, or stuck in a warmup suit wondering why you’re even there… welcome home.
All The Socials: https://linktr.ee/SATB_Pod
Time Stamps:
00:00 – DJ Introduction & Transfer Portal Talk
Setting the stage, Springfield background, portal “two types of guys” discussion.
02:00 – Thanksgiving Practice, Delayed Gratification, Early Frustration
Life at Springfield, confusion around role, lack of opportunity.
05:00 – Why He Transferred & Coach Communication Issues
Expectations vs reality, lack of clear role, end-of-season conversations.
09:30 – High School Origins & First Offers
JV junior year, exposure camps, Kings College, decision between Kings & Springfield.
14:00 – Life at Springfield & What He Expected
Campus size, recruitment power, early struggles.
17:40 – Shot Variance, Opportunity Windows, & “Simulations”
Deep dive on confidence, stacking evidence, randomness of roles.
21:00 – Off-Court Personality (Music, Biking, Routine)
DJ’s quiet nature, biking obsession, headphones lifestyle.
26:00 – Garbage Time Psychology & Proving Yourself
The mental battle of small sample sizes, how one shot changes everything.
33:30 – Role Players, Defense, & The Hidden Value Guys
Jamie talk, defense, contributions not shown in box score.
43:00 – Thanksgiving Food & Cultural Differences
Mac and cheese, pork, seafood obsession, seafood boils, sushi.
50:30 – Airports, Geography, & New Jersey Confusion
LaGuardia, Newark, Jersey size, is New Jersey a state?
59:30 – Final Deep Questions & DJ’s Values
Core values, consistency, patience, personal growth, closing reflections through 1:12:17.
James Oliver built Atlas Bars from nothing but conviction, discipline, and an obsessive need to prove to himself he could do more. In this conversation, he breaks down the exact decisions that separated him from everyone around him: how he navigated early failures, what it took to build momentum, and the responsibility that comes with turning an idea into a real business.
If you’re in your early twenties and trying to figure out your path, this gives you firsthand insight from someone who’s actually lived the pressure and uncertainty of building something real.
In this episode of SATB we sit down with Aiden Dunlap to talk about his basketball journey, how to get recruited, and what it takes to stand out as a big. We also dive into his love for fishing and farming (aka the “hillbilly allegations”), his thoughts on the transfer portal, season expectations, and even a little talk about AI.
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Time Stamps:
Intro 0:00
Aiden's Career Path 1:37
How To Get Recruited 14:52
Aidens Basketball Journey 23:30
Advice For Younger Bigs 33:50
Fishing/Hillbilly Allegations/Farming 40:30
Transfer Portal 1:15:07
Expectations For The Season 1:28:52
Artificial Intelligence 1:32:32
In this episode, we sit down with Jaedon to talk about everything from building custom PCs to throwing punches and making music. We dive into his freshman year experiences, swap thoughts on the best snacks, and even talk travel and life after graduation. Whether you’re looking for advice, entertainment, or just something to vibe to — this episode’s got a bit of everything-
Intro 0:00
Who is Jadeon? 1:03
Building PCs 13:50
Musical Talents/Fighting 17:54
Freshman Year Advice 27:33
Candy/Food Talk 46:45
Travel 56:52
Post Graduation 1:04:57
One Piece Of Advice 1:12:48
In this episode, Jack Lo takes us through his journey—from military school days to playing football and basketball at the high school and college level. He talks about the fundamentals of the game, the challenges he faced after his injury, and what he plans to do outside of the court. We even get into golf and hear the one piece of advice he’d give his younger self. A real look at resilience, growth, and what it means to make a comeback.
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Time Stamps:
Time stamps
0:00 Intro
1:00 Jackery/Military School
13:40 Football
16:34 Highschool Ball/College Ball
28:25 Fundamental Basketball
33:30 Post Injury Basketball
38:17 Life Outside Of Basketball
46:50 Golf
55:12 One Piece Of Advice To Your Younger Self
We're not dead, long time no see, we know you missed us.
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Time Stamps
0:00 - Intro
1:03 - We're Back
5:09 - Chris Is a college athlete again
15:20 Chris's Summer
20:22 Max's Summer
29:31 Chris's Psychology Rant
32:29 New Recruits For Elms basketball
40:00 Get Jacked Or Get Scratch?
47:50 Post Graduation?/ More Psychology Rants
Today we have a wild and long anticipated interview with Elms Basketball Student Assistant Coach Stephon Ridley. In this podcast he breaks down how he built a program for his computer science class that can show what lineups, individual players, and pairs of players are the most effective using specific stats like plus minus, effective field goal percentage, and free throw rate. We also talked about Steph's basketball career, what Steph's plans are for the future, and Steph attempts to explain to Max and I how coding works.
On Today's episode with talk with Jack Vegter who played for Denison University his freshman year of college and realized he wanted to pursue things other than collegiate level basketball. In this episode we talk about how he's joined a club basketball team and has found a way to fill that competitive hole left by deciding not to pursue college basketball anymore, if Chicago style pizza is the best, and how it is living in Detroit.
Lots of stuff going on this episode, Chris isn't sure if the podcast is worth continuing to pursue, trying to discover the why in our decisions, should everyone make a radical change in their lifestyle?, and why Chris is only motivated by other peoples doubt.
In this episode we talk to Kenyon College forward Juan Matabuena about tearing his ACL extremely early in the seaosn and how he managed to come back and still hit a huge three for his team in his final college game ever, how Spanish basketball compares to American basketball, and why the food in Spain is way better than America.
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Time Stamps.
0:00 Intro
1:04 Life in Basketball Retirement/This Previous Season
5:00 Dealing With Injuries
9:10 Spanish Food / Living in Spain
19:23 Post Graduate Career
29:10 Passion
32:00 Lifting/ Highschool
40:00 Crazy Basketball Comeback
43:05 The Memories Are What Matters
45:46 Piece of Advice
46:59 Grade 11 Max Rolnick Stories
In this episode with Emerson College forward Shay Roban we talk about how to avoid letting your percentages affect your confidence in basketball, Shay’s wild 11 day journey into the wilderness, and his goals for next year on the court.
This is Alex's 3rd time on the podcast and he's coming off a huge season at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. In this episode we talked about how Max can't guard Alex in ones, the feeling of going from injured, to benched, to becoming a starter for the back half of the season.
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Time Stamps:
0:00 Intro
1:02 Technical Difficulties
3:36 Imposter Syndrome
13:09 College Basketball and Politics/ Off The Court
17:10 March Madness
19:08 Transfer Portal
23:14 Game Day Superstitions
26:47 Summer Plans
Is cereal a top 5 food of all time? You decide.
Quick season recap, Max talks about his 2 threes in a playoff game against Mitchell, Drew talks about how he felt this season went and his goals for next season, and than sprinkl ontop small amounts of brain rot.
This episode we interviewed Elm's Mens volleyball player Nick Uschmann. Nick had played 0 volleyball until his senior year of high school, in this episode we dive into how Nick managed to play college volleyball after 1 year of experience, the new Elm's volleyball coach, Nick's sales aspirations, and dealing with pressure as a college volleyball player.
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Time Stamps
0:00 Intro
1:37 Game Day Ritual
4:12 Volleyball Beginnings
11:40 Volleyball Season / New Coach
18:36 You Can't Win Alone
23:44 Dealing With Pressure
26:00 Individual Work
28:10 Leaving Elms
35:31 Playing Against an Olympic Coach
39:50 Maxes Volleyball Skills
43:54 Holding Players Accountable
47:20 Becoming A Coach?
52:12 Outside of Volleyball
1:04:44 Piece Of Advice For Your Younger Self
I think it's time we finally just commit to turning this podcast into something, and in order to do that Max and I need to spend the next 6 months to a year putting a maniacal amount of conscious effort into learning and improving every single day. More of this discussed in the actual podcast episode.
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Link To All Our Socials.
https://linktr.ee/SATB_Pod
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Time Stamps
0:00 Intro
1:02 Shenanigans
2:56 The Attraction To Mastery
6:10 Leaning Into The Podcast Again
15:30 Back To The Mastery
31:48 Internships
47:18 Pursuing Mastery Within The Podcast
51:53 Anger Is A Choice
57:40 Sleep
During COVID Coach Joe quit his 9-5 finance job and decided to hike the Appalachian trail end to end, this meant 5 months of hiking 20-30 miles a day, totaling 2200miles or 3500km (shoutout my Canadians). He said that the thing that drove him to do this was reading the book "Mindset" by Carol S. Dweck. In this episode max gets quizzed on what he learned after reading the book which coach Joe gave him, why just working hard isn't enough to succeed, and how he used the lessons from this book to help push him through his toughest days and accomplish his goal of hiking the AT.
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Time Stamps:
0:00 Intro
2:02 Podcasting
4:10 Coach Joe's Story
8:31 The Growth Mindset / Hiking Appalachian Mountains 16:13 The Book That Started It All
22:00 Coach Joe Has No Social Media
25:04 Back To The Book
32:43 Intentionality
35:23 Working With Olympians
42:30 Getting To Elms College
46:06 How To Actually Improve
49:18 Goals
54:21 Coach Joes Lifting Program
57:54 The Bird Dog Row
1:03:14 Life Outside Of Strength and Conditioning
1:08:14 Advice For Your Younger Self
Austin spent last year at Elms as a practice player and decided if he wanted to succeed at the college level he needed to transfer to a JUCO. Ok this episode we talk about his growth after transferring, what he wants to work on, and why creating memories is more important than winning in basketball.
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Time Stamps
0:00 Intro
1:29 JUCO Basketball
8:59 Growing As A Player
11:54 Living A-ARon
14:03 Memories Are More Important
24:24 Look Beyond The Surface / Time Is the Ultimate Nullifier
30:30 Going Forward
36:08 Being Held Accountable
40:20 JUCO Academics