With the 2019 NCAA tourney tipping off next month, we will spend this month taking a walk down memory lane with a choice collection of players/coaches who are celebrating an awesome anniversary this year. From a comeback win to clinch the 1954 tourney title (65th anniversary) through a last-second loss in the 2014 Final 4 (5th anniversary), these legends have all carved out a little piece of history in past Marches. We continue our series with Leon Barmore, whose name has been synonymous with success during his entire basketball career. He won 2 state titles as a high school player, then won 54 straight games as an assistant to Sonja Hogg at Louisiana Tech. He made 20 NCAA tourneys in 20 years as a head coach, never had a single losing season, and was named national COY 3 separate times. In 2003 he was inducted into both the Naismith Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Barmore about the 25th anniversary of being 1 second away from winning the 1994 title after winning the 1988 title.
You were an All-State guard at Ruston High School: what did it mean to you to win a pair of state titles? I have carried that with me throughout my entire life. Being a home-grown boy and winning 2 titles around the people who I grew up with made me feel awfully proud.
You were captain of the basketball team at Louisiana Tech: why did you decide to stay in Ruston for college? I only had 1 offer coming out of high school: Nicholls State. I rode a bus for 6 hours to go there and signed an offer, but after their coach left I walked-on at Louisiana Tech and eventually earned a scholarship.
In the early 1980s as an assistant under Coach Sonja Hogg you had a 54-game winning streak: did it reach a point where the fans just expected you to win every time you stepped onto the court? I joined Sonja in the late-1970s and we won our 1st title a few years later. It was a big deal: we were the top team for several years so people definitely expected us to win.
After spending 5 years as an assistant to Coach Hogg you became her co-coach in 1982: what was it like to be a co-coach, and what made you 2 so effective (you went 90-9 during your 3 years as co-coaches)? Sonja helped found the program along with Dr. F. Jay Taylor and she and I had a good relationship. I really wanted to get my foot in the door so I started coaching women but I was so successful that I never left. The 2 of us worked together very well before she became head coach at Baylor.
You never had a losing season during your 20 years on the sideline and you made the NCAA tourney every single year: how were you able to be so dominant over such a long period of time? We got it rolling early. Tennessee and Louisiana Tech were selected as the teams of the 1980s, and players would see us on national TV because we were winning. We were a small town but got a lot of good players and it lasted a long time.
In the 1983 NCAA tourney title game tourney MOP Cheryl Miller missed a FT with 6 seconds left and Kim Mulkey missed a shot in the final seconds of a 2-PT win by USC: did you think that Mulkey’s shot was going in, and where does Miller rank among the greatest players that you have ever seen? Kim drove to the hoop, the ref called a charge on her, and that was the game. We have had a lot of games since then but Cheryl was 1 of the very best of all-time: she could even play now!
In the 1987 Final 4 you had a 4-PT win over defending champion Texas thanks to shooting 73.9 FG% in the 2nd half and Teresa Weatherspoon setting a Final 4 record with 11 AST: how much of a home-court advantage did the Longhorns have on their home court in front of more than 15,000 people (the largest crowd in the history of the sport at the time)? We went to Austin about 4 times in postseason play and were fortunate to beat them all 4 times. It was a tremendous win for us because Texas had a great program. I would rank that among my top 3-4 wins of all-time.
In the title game the Volunteers beat you by 23 PTS despite losing 11 of their previous 12 meetings to your team: what was it like to face the legendary Pat Summitt with a title at stake? We beat them for our 1st title in Oregon in 1981 but if I had to lose to somebody then Pat would be the 1. I had so much respect for her because she was always humble/kind. She knew how to lose with grace and I learned a lot from her about that. That win started a great streak for her of winning 8 NCAA titles.
In the 1988 NCAA tourney title game you had a 2-PT win over Auburn despite trailing by 12 PTS at halftime: how were you able to come all the way back, and what did it mean to you to win the title? We had been knocking on the door for several years so after falling behind it seemed like a case of “here we go again”. I have always said that Teresa was the only player I had who could turn that game around. Auburn star Ruthie Bolton had 16 PTS in the 1st half…but went scoreless in the 2nd half thanks to Teresa.
In the 1989-1990 season you won your 1st 32 games before a 12-PT loss to Auburn in the NCAA tourney: were you looking ahead, or was Auburn just a better team, or other? We were not as good as our record: we had a decent non-conference schedule but our league did not give us a lot of tests. Auburn had some good players and a great coach so I did not think that it was necessarily an upset. Our All-American post player got 2 fouls in the 1st few minutes, which killed us.
In the 1994 NCAA tourney title game North Carolina inbounded the ball to Charlotte Smith (who set a title game record with 23 REB) with 0.7 seconds left and she made a 3-PT shot at the buzzer in a 1-PT win by the Tar Heels: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It would be #1. We were seeded 4th in the regional and beat Tennessee and USC back-to-back to make the Final 4. We played really well against UNC but did not switch on defense as the final shot was taken.
In the 1995 NCAA tourney Debra Williams missed a FT in the final seconds but the scorekeeper accidentally recorded it as a make, so while your players thought the game was going to OT the referees sorted it out and awarded Virginia a 1-PT win: how chaotic was that whole sequence? I remember that Virginia made a 3-PT shot from the corner to win the game and then we missed a half-court shot. I do not recall us fussing at the officials or creating an uproar.
In the 1998 NCAA tourney title game you lost to Tennessee, who finished 39-0 to win their 3rd straight title: where does that Volunteer team rank among the best you have ever seen? That was the best team I had ever seen at the point, and while UConn has had some great teams that are comparable there have been none better.
When you retired in 2002 your 86.9 W/L% was the best in men’s or women’s major-college basketball history: what made you such a great coach? I certainly got into this program at the right time. We led the nation in attendance 1 year and our sport became important at our university. We had great players/great staff/great fans/great administration. It was a combination of everything…and it made me look pretty good!
In 2003 you were inducted into a pair of Halls of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? At the very top, without question. I grew up here in a small town and loved to play basketball. To come from where I did and reach that point was the most gratifying thing for me as far as an individual award.
In 2008 you came out of retirement to become an assistant at Baylor under Mulkey (who played under you for 4 years and was your top assistant for 15 years): how did you like working for her, and what makes her such a great coach? I loved working for Kim: they treated me really well and I even got to coach Brittany Griner for 2 years. Kim is a great recruiter and an outstanding competitor. I am really proud of her because she is a self-made coach who has become 1 of the best coaches in the women’s game.