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the documentary concluded on May 17th, HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel has dug through his archives and discovered oodles of unpublished interviews about Jordan’s career, from his early days as the leading scorer for team USA at the 1983 Pan Am Games to a 55-PT playoff performance during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 continue our trip down memory lane by chatting with Ron Harper’s college coach Darrell Hedric about Ron losing to Jordan in the 1989 Eastern Conference Semifinals and winning 3 straight titles with Jordan in Chicago from 1996-1998.
(photo credit: ohiobasketballhalloffame.com)
In the 1985 MAC tourney semifinals as a player at Miami Ohio Ron scored a career-high 45 PTS and had 18 REB in a win over Ball State en route to being named tourney MVP: where does that rank among the most impressive performances that you have ever seen? I coached Ron during his 1st 2 years and that was 1 of the greatest games we have ever had here at Miami.
In the 1985 NCAA tourney in Dayton he scored 26 PTS in a 1-PT OT loss to Maryland: how good a player was Len Bias (25 PTS)? Len was good enough to be 1 of the top picks in the 1986 NBA draft.
What are your memories of the 1986 NCAA tourney (Ron had 17 PTS/13 REB but Jeff Hornacek made a 26-foot jumper at the buzzer in a 2-PT OT win by Iowa State)? I was the assistant AD at the time and sitting right on press row. You could tell the shot was good when it left his hand: I remember it very well.
Ron was a 2-time MAC POY/1986 All-American: what did it mean to him to receive such outstanding honors? It meant a lot to him. He came up the hard way with a bit of a speech impediment but worked to overcome it. He also worked hard on the court and improved with every single game that he played. He had all the skills you needed on both ends of the court. The bigger the game, the better the performance that Harp gave you.
In the summer of 1986 he was selected 8th overall by Cleveland in the NBA draft: did he see that as a validation of his college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? He is 1 of the highest draft picks in MAC history and he worked so hard for it because he wanted to play in the NBA.
In March of 1987 he set a rookie single-game record with 10 STL in a loss to Philadelphia, and his 1716 career STL remains in the top-25 all-time: what was his secret for being a great defender? He had great anticipation and a tremendous reach. He was 6’6” but played around 6’8”. He was a great leaper and would have had even a better career had he not hurt his knee.
He started 82 games and averaged 22.9 PPG/2.5 SPG as a rookie (the only other rookies to average 20+ PPG and 2+ SPG are Michael Jordan/Allen Iverson), but finished 2nd to Chuck Person for ROY: how was he able to make such a smooth transition from college to the NBA? He was 1 of the top college players in the nation even though he played in the MAC, which is why he was drafted so high. He could have played anywhere in the country.
What are your memories of Game 5 of the 1989 Eastern Conference 1st round (even though the Cavs swept the Bulls 6-0 during the regular season, Jordan scored 44 PTS in a 1-PT series-clinching win after making his famous shot at the buzzer while hanging over Craig Ehlo in mid-air)? I remember it very well. Cleveland had a great team with Larry Nance/Mark Price but just could not beat Chicago/Jordan: then again, neither could anyone else! Harp did end up winning 5 NBA titles.
In the 1993 Western Conference 1st round as a player for the Clippers he had 19 PTS/6 STL/3 BLK in a 4-PT loss to Houston in the decisive 5th game: how frustrating was it for him to keep getting to the playoffs and then losing in the decisive game of the 1st round year after year? I think that it bothered him. He was not the type of guy who liked moral victories so winning his 1st title in 1996 finally got the monkey off his back.
Take me through the 1996 Finals as a player with the Bulls:
His team set an NBA record with 72 regular season wins that year: could you have imagined that was even possible? You could imagine it if you had the talent…but it is almost unheard of. An 82-game season is a long hard grind.
He suffered an injury late in the season but returned to the starting lineup during the Finals to help beat the Sonics: how bad was the injury, and what did it mean to him to win the title? The thing that made him so good is that he had a total all-around game. When he hurt his knee he really changed his game and focused on being a team player rather than a high scorer. The fact that he was still able to win titles like that helped him have a great career: he was a really tough competitor.
In Game 1 of the 1997 Finals vs. Utah Jordan hit a 20-foot jumper at the buzzer for a 2-PT win: how did Ron like playing with such a clutch superstar? He had no problems with it at all: I think that it was actually kind of a blessing. He adjusted his game from driving/hitting the boards to playing defense, which complemented Jordan really well. He enjoyed playing with him and I think that Jordan would tell you the same thing about Ron.
In Game 6 of the 1998 Finals vs. Utah Jordan made the series-winning shot with 5.2 seconds left: do you think that he should have been called for an offensive foul after pushing off of Bryon Russell? I remember watching the shot on TV. I think that it was obviously a foul but it was not called by the refs.
Take me through the 2000 playoffs as a player for the Lakers:
Kobe Bryant made a game-winning shot in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals and a game-saving block on Arvydas Sabonis in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals: where does Kobe rank among the most clutch players you have ever seen? Right at the top. He came right out of high school and was just made to play basketball: you have to list him as 1 of the all-time greats.
In Game 2 of the Finals Ron entered the game in the 2nd quarter after Kobe sprained his ankle and ended up scoring 21 PTS in a 7-PT win over Indiana (Larry Bird’s “Hack-a-Shaq” strategy resulted in Shaq shooting a Finals-record 39 FT): what kind of relationship did he have with Coach Phil Jackson that allowed Phil to trust him to come to the rescue when it mattered the most? They had a great relationship. Ron learned the triple-post offense that Phil ran and knew what all of the positions were supposed to do. He fit in really well with that offense because he played team basketball: Ron respected Phil a lot.
When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? Here at Miami he is a legend and is viewed as 1 of the top MAC players ever. He had a great pro career and was a team player. You would not have predicted it coming out of high school but he worked hard and was a great athlete.