Yale University: 3rd-oldest institution of higher education in the US, alma mater of 5 of our country’s former Presidents, and now 1 of the 68 best basketball teams in the nation. On Sunday the Bulldogs beat Harvard 97-85 in the Ivy tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The basketball team only made 3 NCAA tourneys in its 1st 120 years of existence from 1896-2015 but just claimed its 2nd NCAA tourney bid in the past 4 years. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with JR SG Miye Oni about the Harvard-Yale rivalry and what it feels like to make the NCAA tourney for the very 1st time.
You grew up in California and originally committed to D-3 Williams College: what made you eventually choose Yale? Just the balance of academics/athletics: it was not an opportunity that I could pass up.
You play for Coach James Jones: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He does a great job of making sure that everyone is focused on the task at hand.
In the summer of 2017 you were 1 of only 21 college players invited to attend the Nike Skills Academy: what did you think of 2 of your fellow invitees who are expected to play in the NCAA tourney despite recent injuries (Marques Bolden from Duke/Nick Ward from Michigan State)? I thought they were pretty good but I have not seen them play in awhile.
You played several fellow NCAA tourney teams this year in non-conference play (Duke/Iona/Vermont): which of them impressed you the most, and why? Probably Duke just because they are so talented.
Earlier this month you were named Ivy POY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant a lot to me. It is a testament to the hard work of myself and all of my teammates.
In the Ivy tourney title game on Sunday you scored 17 PTS/10-10 FT in a win over Harvard: how much of a home-court advantage did you have at the John Lee Amphitheater, and what did it mean to you to win a title? I thought that we had good fan support…but I think that we would have beaten them anywhere because we just outplayed them.
How do you explain the Harvard-Yale rivalry to someone who has never seen it in person? It is really gritty: we do not like each other at all!
SR G Alex Copeland was named conference tourney MVP: how was he able to play his best when it mattered the most? He stepped up big-time and took the game into his hands: he did a great job for us.
You are majoring in political science but last December Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski predicted that you would be a 1st-round NBA draft pick: what is the post-college plan? I have not made any plans yet: I am just focused on the NCAA tourney.
What do you think about getting a #14 seed, and what do you know about LSU? We probably should have got a #13 seed based on all of the metrics I saw but we are happy to be playing LSU.