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Cowboy Up! Travis Ford 1st made a name for himself as a player for the Kentucky Wildcats, losing to Duke in the 1992 NCAA tourney in 1 of the most famous games in college basketball history. He set a school record for most threes made in a season, converted 50 straight FTs in a row, and was a 2-time SEC tourney MVP. He was NIT runner-up as head coach at UMass and has made the postseason in 6 of his 7 years as head coach at Oklahoma State. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Ford about playing for Rick Pitino and being a great shooter.
You began your college career at Missouri: why did you decide to transfer, and what made you pick Kentucky? After my freshman year I played in the Olympic Festival in Minnesota and just decided that I wanted to make a change. I was from Kentucky and was very interested in playing for Coach Rick Pitino: he helped develop a lot of good guards and I wanted to be a coach someday.
What makes Pitino such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? There are lot of coaches who focus on motivation or Xs and Os, but he can do it all because he is the total package. He knows the game extremely well and works very hard at recruiting. He taught me the importance of preparation and work ethic. He took over a struggling Kentucky program that was going through some tough times and got it back to 1 of the elite programs in the country.
In the 1992 NCAA tourney you played 7 minutes in a 1-PT OT loss to Duke: what are your memories of 1 of the most famous games in the history of college basketball? It was amazing that we were in that position. Our seniors had put in a lot of sweat and tears to bring Kentucky basketball back, and to have the opportunity to go to a Final 4 was a great learning experience. After the game I remember how devastated we were in the locker room: we felt so bad for our seniors who had been through so much before that crushing loss. Making it to the Final 4 the following year had a lot to do with that game.
In the 1993 Final 4 you scored 12 PTS in a 3-PT OT loss to Michigan: what did you think of the Wolverines’ “Fab 5”? They were pretty good! They were talented and long and big: they were young but had a lot of maturity/chemistry about them. It was a big-time Final 4 at the Superdome with 4 great teams (Kansas/Kentucky/Michigan/North Carolina). We had a margin of victory of around 22 PPG just to get there, which remains 1 of the best all-time. Jamal Mashburn fouled out in OT, which hurt our chances.
In 1993 you set a school-record by shooting 52.9 3P%, and your 88.2 career FT% is #3 in school history: what is the secret to being a great shooter? I do not think it is a secret: practice! My coach and teammates put me in good positions to shoot…and it helped that Mashburn was often double-teamed.
You were named SEC tourney MVP in 1993 and 1994: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most? Both of those awards were a result of us winning games. I had pretty good stats but I was the PG on some really good teams.
In the 2008 NIT title game as coach at UMass you had a 7-PT loss to Ohio State: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot the Buckeyes put up in the 2nd half (19-30 FG) seemed to go in because their whole team was “in the zone”? It was an amazing stretch for us just to get to the title game. We had to go back to Syracuse after we had already beaten them earlier in the year. They had several future pros on that team: I think that we are 1 of the only teams to ever win 2 games in the Carrier Dome during the same season. We led the Buckeyes for most of the game but literally ran out of gas: Kosta Koufos gave us a lot of problems in the 2nd half. It was 1 of the most enjoyable teams that I have ever coached: we were picked to finish 11th in the A-10 during the preseason.
You have made 5 NCAA tourneys in the past 7 years, but lost to Oregon in 2 of the past 3 NCAA tourneys: how sick are you of seeing the Ducks in March?! Absolutely: Gonzaga got us 1 year so none of the West Coast teams have been very favorable to us. It is great to make the tourney but we want to have more success once we get there. You have to earn it so hopefully we can get over the hump. The glass is half-full: we just need to fill it up a little higher!
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Minnesota/Florida/Auburn: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Every game is a big test and they all present different challenges. All 3 of those teams will press and play an up-tempo style of basketball. They are all very well-coached but what stands out is that none of them are in our home gym. When you add in the Charleston Classic it is a very challenging schedule.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? We will take it step-by-step. Everyone wants to win the league/make the tourney/win the national title. However, we just need to concentrate on our game goals and build our identity as a team. We want to figure out how to knock off Kansas in the Big 12, but we just need to get better each and every day and worry about our short-term goals.