by Larry Williams
Telling the stories behind the stories of Clemson football and beyond.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
2/27/2021
Email Addresses
0 available
Phone Numbers
0 available
April 15, 2025
At the lowest point of his depression, Ricky Sapp was a recluse who wouldn't even answer phone calls from his mother, father or close friend Da'Quan Bowers. He couldn't sleep and was so itchy that he thought he had bed bugs. Only after he sought help did he learn that there were no bed bugs, but a monster of a battle as he tried to figure out who he was after his football career ended. Sapp found himself by stumbling onto his passion for speaking to kids. It totally changed who he was as a person. Where he once used to be terrified of public speaking, Sapp now loves having the most public persona imaginable as he posts daily inspirational videos that include a lot of dancing and joyousness. "I'm just a naturally happy person, which I learned when I got older," he said. Sapp spent a year-and-a-half at his alma mater, working in Clemson's football strength and conditioning program. But in August of 2023 he made the difficult decision to leave and pursue his all-consuming passion: Traveling the world and helping its youth. On his web site therickysappfoundation.com, Sapp "encourages youth to make positive changes within themselves, their schools and communities." "A single action can make a difference in the community; collective action can greatly impact the world. Ricky Sapp is driven by a single goal: to do his part in making the world a better place for all, one child at a time."
April 11, 2025
It didn't take long for Viktor Lakhin to become a favorite among Clemson basketball fans after he transferred to the Tigers from Cincinnati. When he was making major contributions to triumphs over Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky, Lakhin was known as the fun-loving Russian. Dabo Swinney even took a liking to him, coining the "Lakhinness Monster" nickname late in the season when Clemson was amassing an 18-2 ACC record. But the deeper layers of Lakhin's story make him even more of a fascinating figure. He joins The Dubcast to talk about hours-long swims as a child in the Black Sea, and 26-mile walks as his father tried to build his mental toughness. Lakhin's journey to America, which took place in 2020 amid COVID shutdowns and growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, is an extraordinary story by itself. Lakhin is married to an American named Jill, and he hopes to extend his basketball career to the professional level. And if that doesn't work out he'll try to make it big as a comedian.
March 19, 2025
Bobby Couch had a big job at Clemson when he was a major fundraiser for IPTAY. But that's not what Dan Radakovich was angry about when he called Couch to his office one day a decade or so ago. Radakovich wanted to talk to Couch about his other, more unofficial job: Commissioner of the Noon Time Basketball Association. The NTBA, played on weekdays, was largely athletics department staffers and personnel from the football and basketball teams. But one day an outsider showed up wearing Gamecock gear, and Dabo Swinney gave him some grief over it. The guy didn't take kindly to it, and the confrontation got nasty and was about to get physical. The spat was resolved, but it got the attention of Radakovich and the ritual NTBA games were put on a lengthy hiatus while Couch could trim the roster of invitees. "Here I am getting called to the principal's office not as a senior associate director of IPTAY, but for my role as NTBA commissioner," Couch said. "He's basically telling me I've got to shut this thing down. "Of course the first person who called me after we shut it down and asked me what the heck was going on was Coach Swinney, because he wanted to get back out on the court. I'm like: 'Hey dude. We had to shut this thing down because of you.'" Couch also remembers Brent Venables showing up to a noontime game wearing a mouthpiece. The ferocious Venables ended up accidentally jabbing Couch in face and giving him a huge black eye. Two days later, Couch had to speak to a large donor group the day the Tigers were facing Georgia in Athens. Those are just two of many memories that come flooding back about the NTBA days with Clemson (and NTBA) alum Will Wade about to face Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. We also interview Chad Lampman, a Clemson alum who preceded Couch as NTBA commissioner before he left for a position at Duke where he's been for 15 years. And UNC Asheville basketball coach Michael Morrell joins the podcast to share his most vivid memories of the NTBA. To Morrell, those games encapsulated the rare bond at Clemson shared among the staffs regardless of sport. "There's just something different about that place, man," said Morrell, who was on Oliver Purnell's staff. "There's just something different there that's special. "I always thought it was cool how the football and basketball staffs there found ways to have relationships. I was on the basketball staff at Texas for three years, and no offense to Texas but I didn't even know the football coaches there. Didn't even know them. "But at Clemson you knew everybody, man. And it still seems like it's the same for them there now. Gosh, man. What a cool place to be a player, a coach, a writer or whatever. Because it's not that way everywhere."
Clemson Athletics
Mickey Plyler
Clemson Pawcast
Fox Sports Radio 1400 (WCOS-AM)
College Football
On3
Kelly Gramlich
CBS Sports, College Football, Football, CFB, College Football Picks
ESPN, Rece Davis, Pete Thamel
The Athletic
CBS Sports
Bleav
Omaha Productions, ESPN, Greg McElroy
Ben Milstead
D1Baseball Staff
Pod Engine is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected with any of the podcasts displayed on this platform. We operate independently as a podcast discovery and analytics service.
All podcast artwork, thumbnails, and content displayed on this page are the property of their respective owners and are protected by applicable copyright laws. This includes, but is not limited to, podcast cover art, episode artwork, show descriptions, episode titles, transcripts, audio snippets, and any other content originating from the podcast creators or their licensors.
We display this content under fair use principles and/or implied license for the purpose of podcast discovery, information, and commentary. We make no claim of ownership over any podcast content, artwork, or related materials shown on this platform. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
While we strive to ensure all content usage is properly authorized, if you are a rights holder and believe your content is being used inappropriately or without proper authorization, please contact us immediately at [email protected] for prompt review and appropriate action, which may include content removal or proper attribution.
By accessing and using this platform, you acknowledge and agree to respect all applicable copyright laws and intellectual property rights of content owners. Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or commercial use of the content displayed on this platform is strictly prohibited.