When the NCAA tourney got canceled in March we entered a whole new world, which included a sports void the likes of which we have never seen before. The fine folks at ESPN came to the rescue in mid-April with “The Last Dance”, a 10-part miniseries about the 1998 Chicago Bulls and their quest to win a 6th NBA title in an 8-year span before Coach Phil Jackson and most of his star players all went their separate ways. While it has been comforting to spend the past several Sunday nights with behind-the-scenes stories from Steve Kerr/Scottie Pippen/Dennis Rodman, the star of the show as always is Michael Jordan. Even though the documentary concluded on May 17th, HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel has dug through his archives and discovered oodles of unpublished interviews about Jordan’s career, from his early days as the leading scorer for team USA at the 1983 Pan Am Games to a 55-PT playoff performance during Chicago’s final title run in 1998. We begin our trip down memory lane by chatting with former SIU SID Fred Huff and former Kansas State player Mike Evans about Jack Hartman, who passed away in 1998 but was Jordan’s coach when team USA won a gold medal at the 1983 Pan Am Games.
(photo credit: usab.com)
Hartman played basketball/football at Oklahoma A&M where his basketball coach was Hall of Famer Hank Iba (who he later worked for as a grad assistant): which sport was he best at, and what was the most important thing he ever learned from Coach Iba? Fred Huff: Jack only played 1 year of basketball before Iba told him to choose a sport. He chose football and was a decent QB: he later played 1 year in the CFL for Saskatchewan and was named an all-league QB. Mike Evans: Discipline: without a doubt he took a very stern approach to basketball and the way that we did things.
In 1962 as coach at Coffeyville CC his team beat Lon Morris to win the NJCAA national title and finish 32-0 (becoming the 1st unbeaten team to capture the JC national title): how was he able to keep his team focused for every single game that year? ME: He was 1 of the best prepared coaches that I have ever seen, with both his staff and his players. He was a detailed guy who taught us our opponents’ strengths/weaknesses and knew what would work best against them.
In the 1967 NIT title game as coach at Southern Illinois he beat Marquette to clinch the title (Walt Frazier was named MVP with 21 PTS/11 REB): why did he turn down a bid from the NCAA tourney, and what did it mean to him to win a title? FH: SIU was not a D-1 team back then and had lost the NIT title game each of the previous 2 years. They had a great team that year that had a 2-OT loss at Louisville before getting revenge on their home court. Their only other defeat was a 5-PT loss to SMU in El Paso after getting invited to a tournament there by his good friend/former Oklahoma A&M classmate Don Haskins. We had gotten a lot of press due to our past postseason performances: Hartman had the team vote on it and they decided to roll the dice with the NIT. It meant everything to him (as well as to the school) to win the title. The only people who knew about SIU athletics before then were those who knew about our gymnastics program! I spent 2 weeks in New York to beat some drums: it was easy to publicize a small school that ended up winning it all. We had a huge win over St. Peter’s and then every newspaper jumped on our bandwagon. Marquette coach Al McGuire called us the 2nd-best team in the country.
In the 1975 NCAA tourney as coach at Kansas State, Chuckie Williams scored 35 PTS for the Wildcats (including a 20-footer with 5 seconds left in regulation), but Rudy Hackett scored 28 PTS including a left-handed shot at the buzzer in an 8-PT OT win by Syracuse: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of his career? ME: It was a tough loss for all of us but we were in rebuilding mode. It was devastating but it was still a great accomplishment to make the regional final after losing guys like Lon Kruger/Dean Harris.
What are your memories of the 1976 NIT (James Lee had 20 PTS/12 REB in a 3-PT win by eventual champion Kentucky)? ME: We had a really good 1st half but they made an adjustment in the 2nd half to get the ball to their big men in the middle and we did not have anyone who could handle their size.
In the 1977 NCAA tourney Butch Lee scored 26 PTS in a 1-PT win by eventual champion Marquette: how angry did Coach Al McGuire get after getting called for a technical foul in the 2nd half after an official thought that a choking signal McGuire gave to his team was directed at the official? ME: I do not remember that incident but I think that game was the most devastating loss. We had a lead late and a chance to win but there were a lot of questionable calls down the stretch. We should have had a 3-PT play at the end but did not get the continuation call from the refs.
That summer he signed a 5-year contract to coach his alma mater but then changed his mind 1 day later: why did he 1st sign the contract, and what made him change his mind? ME: Everybody has a dream job and at the time I think that he wanted to coach at Oklahoma State where his mentor (Coach Iba) had taught him the game. He just had some 2nd thoughts about it and decided to come back to Kansas State.
What are your memories of the 1980 NCAA tourney (Tony Branch scored his only 2 PTS of the game on a 15-foot jumper that bounced several times before going in with 1 seconds left in a 2-PT OT win by Louisville)? ME: It was just another example of great coaching by Jack. He accumulated some really good talent because he was a great recruiter. He may not have had the most talented teams but he always got the best out of what he had.
In 1981 he was named national COY: what did it mean to him to win such an outstanding honor? ME: Anytime you can accomplish something like that it is special. He devised his offense to fit what we did best from year to year and deserved that honor many times over.
In the 1981 NCAA tourney Rolando Blackman scored 14 PTS including a 16-footer with 2 seconds left in a 2-PT win over #1-seed Oregon State: where does that rank among the greatest wins in school history? ME: It is probably 1 of the greatest! Rolando was an incredible player and Jack knew to put the ball in his hands and what play to run in the crucial moment.
At the 1983 Pan Am Games he helped lead team USA to a gold medal as head coach: what did it mean to him to win a gold medal, and could he tell at the time that his leading scorer (Michael Jordan) was going to become a superstar? ME: That is just who Jack was: a winner. I am sure that he realized Jordan’s potential even back then but he was not a big talker.
His former player/assistant Kruger took over for him after he retired in 1986: when people look back on Jack’s career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? FH: As the greatest basketball coach in SIU history. When he 1st got to campus they played in a 1600-seat gymnasium. When the school announced its all-century team Hartman was 1 of the 4 coaches selected. ME: As 1 of the best coaches in the history of college basketball. He accomplished so much and is a Hall of Famer in my mind.