We have seen plenty of multi-sport stars in the past including Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, Charlie Ward, etc. Kyler Murray was selected 9th overall by Oakland in the 2018 MLB draft, but after winning the Heisman Trophy last December at Oklahoma he may very well be the 1st overall pick by Arizona later this month in the 2019 NFL draft. Another player who excelled at 2 different sports was Steve Stielper: he finished his college basketball career at James Madison in 1980 as the all-time leading scorer/rebounder in school history, and a few decades later in 2016 he was inducted into the Maryland Slow Pitch Softball Hall of Fame. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Steve about playing both sports and what he has been up to since retiring.
You grew up in Maryland: what made you choose James Madison? I was averaging about 33 PPG coming out of a small high school in Maryland. They had been recruiting me for most of the past year and at the time it was actually called Madison College: I did not know that it would eventually become JMU.
You played several different sports as a kid: which sport were you best at, and which 1 did you enjoy the most? The 1st sport I played was football, then baseball, and I started basketball at age 9. As I grew taller my parents suggested that I should play basketball.
You joined the Dukes in 1976 as they were making the leap to D-1: what was the best part of the transition and what was the not-so-best part? I do not think there were any bad parts. The best part was the name recognition that we got: it put us further along on the map.
The university president allegedly tried to broaden your horizons by taking you to dinner/wine tastings/plays: what kind of bond did you have with Dr. Roland Carrier? It was a unique friendship because he was a unique person. He cared about all the students but he took me under his wing, called me to make sure I was going to class, and we even shared some chili dogs!
You averaged 20.9 PPG/10.7 RPG as a freshman: how were you able to make such a smooth transition from high school to college? It was not that much of a transition because my teammates were very unselfish. Sherman Dillard got hurt, which game me some more playing time, and Coach Lou Campanelli just wanted me to put the ball in the basket.
In January of 1979 you scored 51 PTS in a win over Robert Morris: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? There was a time that year during practice where most of my shots were going in. I missed a few FTs that night but was 20-25 from the field. A lot of different people were the reason for that 51-PT night: I was very confident in my ability but a lot of people helped me get there.
Your 2126 PTS/917 REB remain the most in school history: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were, and do you think that anyone will ever break your records? At the time I thought my numbers were right about where they should have been. I do think that someone will break my records someday because I only played 104 games: now the guys play 120+ games and have a 3-PT line that I did not have. JMU has a couple of sophomores right now in Matt Lewis/Darius Banks who could do it if they stick around for 4 years. It has been a privilege for me to hold these records for the past 39 years.
In the summer of 1980 you were drafted by Indiana before getting cut during rookie camp and then playing pro basketball in Spain/Australia: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball overseas? Back then I was the only American in my town and nobody spoke English so the language barrier was pretty big. We only had 1 game/week so the other players had jobs during the week that they scheduled around our practices. The players’ ability was on a relatively equal level. My tenure in Australia was cut short because the team did not pay me so I came back to the US and became a Hall of Fame softball player.
You currently work as a student advocate/tennis coach: how do you like it, and what do you hope to do in the future? Sometimes I teach driver’s education in Spanish! I still go down to JMU 1-2 times/year to see some games and visit some friends. I live about 1 hour from the school I work at. I am somewhat upset that I did not prepare myself better but I have a wonderful wife/kids and have been blessed to have a great life.
When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I hope I am remembered as a great teammate that did not have anyone play harder. I want my legacy to be that of a good dude/teammate who gave everything he had for JMU.