Jay Ladner reaches out to fans

Lion men’s basketball enthusiasts can hear all the latest news through the head coach’s talk show.

“Inside Southeastern Basketball with Jay Ladner” made its spring debut on Jan. 7 and will continue through March 4. During the show, Jay Ladner, men’s basketball head coach, recaps the past week’s games and gives his insight on games in the upcoming week. The show is held at Rainbow Daiquiris every Monday at 7 p.m.

Ladner wants to keep the fans informed about the season’s progress through this show.

“It’s something that has been done for years on other campuses including ours,” said Ladner. “The goal is to continue promoting the program and keeping our fans 100 percent involved in the program.”

Co-host Allen Waddell helps facilitate the conversation by including viewers’ questions into the show. He explained how the show has improved after a slow start this semester.

“Whenever we started our program, it was kind of, I don’t want to say depressing, but it wasn’t as upbeat as it was last year,” shared Waddell. “They won the Southland Championship. The first show that we did, the Lions were coming off of a losing streak, and there were some really tough games that they had lost. But now, as we’ve done the show, they’ve won four in a row.”

Audience members at Rainbow Daiquiris can submit questions to Waddell during commercial breaks throughout the show, and for those who watch the show via Facebook streaming, viewers can type their questions in the comment section.

“Usually the last 10 minutes of the show, they’ll turn it over to the audience, and I’ll ask him anything that they want me to ask him,” stated Waddell.

Compared to other forms of sports coverage, Waddell believes that Ladner’s talk show offers a personal connection with the fans.

Waddell shared, “This show really gives them a platform, not only in his press conferences and post-game things, he has an opportunity where he has an hour each and every week, and he gets to speak just with the fans. That’s how we look at it, and I think it’s an opportunity for our community to certainly take notice of what’s going on.”

Waddell discussed how Ladner’s message reaches a worldwide audience.

“I think we have a very good listenership and viewership,” said Waddell. “We’ve had people from other states and other countries. I know last year they had a friend from overseas, and he was watching the Ladner show. The thing is that there’s a lot of reach, and there’s a lot of people interested in what we have to say in the show.”

As the show continues, Ladner hopes to keep fans updated with on-court action and uphold the integrity of the university.

“We will always represent ourselves, the program and the school with the utmost class,” explained Ladner. “Of course, we want to win, but the most important thing is how we carry ourselves as men.”

The show airs on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network and can be listened live at www.lionsports.net/listenlive or via the RadioFX and TuneIn Radio apps. A live video stream can be found at the university athletics Facebook page.