The NBA Finals date back to 1947 (when they were known as the Basketball Association of America Finals) and the very 1st NCAA tourney was held in 1939. Olympic basketball competition is even older: it debuted as a demonstration event in 1904 and the men’s version became a medal sport in 1936, with the women finally getting their chance to go for the gold in 1976. The United States has dominated Olympic basketball competition from the start: the men have won 15 gold medals in the 18 tournaments they have participated in during the past 84 years, while the women have won 8 gold medals in the 10 tournaments in which they have competed during the past 44 years. Those of you who were looking forward to the 2020 Olympics opening ceremonies in Tokyo on July 24, 2020 will have to wait an extra 364 days, as the coronavirus caused a postponement until July 23, 2021. Due to the absence of college basketball since mid-March, HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel decided to fill the void by trying to interview as many prior Olympic players/coaches as possible so that you have something to read this summer while not watching the Summer Games. We continue our coverage by chatting with Glynn Saulters about winning a gold medal in 1968.
Your father Grady was a basketball coach at Lisbon High School, where you helped lead the Eagles to a 52-4 record: what was the best part of having your dad be your coach, and what was the not-so-best part? Lisbon is a very small community: we probably had a population of 250 back then and grades 1-12 combined did not even contain 100 people. My wife and I made up 25% of our graduating class of 8 students! My dad also coached baseball as well as girls’ basketball so he did a little of everything. He had played basketball back in the day so he was good at helping us understand the game. He played on the 1935 Mississippi state championship club despite coming from a small school: it was like “Hoosiers”. He knew the game and I drew a lot of information from him, particularly the fundamentals of shooting/moving/defensive positioning. I tried to pick his brain on how to become more successful and he was a lot of help. Another good thing is that he had keys to the gym so I spent a lot of nights/weekends there. He had to be stricter on my brother and I but it was enjoyable to play for him. We were very successful, especially during my senior year.
You were also a 3-time all-state baseball player: which sport were you best at, and which sport did you enjoy the most? Baseball was my game initially: we won the state title during 3 of my 4 years so I liked it more than basketball. However, more opportunities presented themselves in basketball. I loved baseball growing up and always wanted to be a pro athlete: I just did not know that it would be in basketball. The Lord works in strange ways.
You were born/raised in Louisiana: what made you choose Northeast Louisiana (which is now called Louisiana-Monroe) for college? The proximity of the college, which was only 1 hour from my hometown. I was also impressed with the coaches who recruited me. It seemed like the best opportunity for me to play even after getting heavily recruited by LSU/Mississippi State.
After redshirting for 1 year due to a knee injury you became a 2-time All-American/2-time conference POY: how bad was your injury, and what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? The injury was severe enough to keep me from playing my 1st year and I eventually had surgery. Looking back on it I think that it was the main reason I became eligible for the Olympics: if I had not redshirted then I would have been a senior in 1967. It really helped improve my skills and I had a good senior year. I felt bad about the injury at the time but it ended up helping me.
You led the Gulf States Conference in scoring during your final 2 years (including a 51-PT effort vs. Nicholls State as a senior) and set a conference record with 2134 career PTS: what is the secret to being a great scorer? There are a lot of things. I spent hours shooting in the gym every chance I got starting in high school, which improved my skills. I would pretend to have the ball with 10 seconds left, down by 1 PT, and try to win the game on the last shot. I tried to stay in shape to keep the fundamental shooting position. It also helped to have someone guarding me so that I could handle the situation if it came up during the game. There was no 3-PT line back then but a lot of my shots came from long range.
1 of your teammates in both high school/college was your younger brother Larry, who set a school record with 19 AST in a game vs. Mississippi in 1970 and later joined you as a member of the school’s Hall of Fame: how did you like having him as a teammate, and who is the best athlete in the family? In college he was responsible for me doing what I did. He was the PG who ran the offense and knew what I would be doing before I did it and would get me the ball when I was in position. It is not for me to say who was the best because we were 2 different players.
3 of the 5 players on the 1968 AP All-American team (Lew Alcindor/Elvin Hayes/Wes Unseld) chose to not attend the Olympic Trials in Albuquerque (which was held during the week that Dr. Martin Luther King was murdered in Memphis), and the other 2 All-Americans who did attend the Trials (Pete Maravich/Calvin Murphy) did not make the team: how did it feel to make the team after so many other great players from Louisiana (such as Don Chaney/Hayes/Maravich) failed to do so? It was certainly a great honor and the highlight of my athletic career to represent my country/state/college/hometown on the world’s biggest stage. I was not even thinking about the Trials because as soon as my basketball season ended I was trying to get ready for baseball season and the scouts who were watching me play. I got invited to play on an AAU basketball team in Florida during the weekends so I said “why not?” There were several other SEC players on the team including Tom Boerwinkle of Tennessee. There were 8 different teams at the Trials: several from the NCAA, 1 from the AAU, 1 from the NAIA, etc. I decided to go with the NAIA rather than the AAU. I did not beat out Maravich: he was simply not selected because apparently the selection committee was looking for a particular type of player. We had big names like Jo Jo White from Kansas and guys from junior colleges like Spencer Haywood. I remember playing against Calvin’s team and we held him in check. My NAIA team ended up winning the Trials and I had a very good final game but I do not know if that was the deciding factor.
During your pre-Olympic tour of Europe you split 4 games with the Soviet Union and lost 2 games to Yugoslavia: were you worried about the quality of competition you would be facing in Mexico City? The Olympics that year were played in October so we had all summer to prepare. They brought us together at West Point before the tour and we had 5 days together to get ready. Yugoslavia and Russia had pro players and we did not handle it well because we did not even know one another. Coach Hank Iba did not make the trip with us so the assistant coach was in charge, and 2 players (Jo Jo and Bill Hosket) did not make the trip so we did not even have our full roster. We played on horrible outdoor courts for the 1st time: there was wind blowing so you could imagine how we performed. It did not sit well with a lot of folks back home, particularly Coach Iba. We knew that we could play better so after we flew back to New York Coach Iba gave us a month off before reporting to high-altitude training in Colorado. Toward the end of our training we scheduled exhibition games against some NBA teams and ended up beating the Knicks in Madison Square Garden.
That summer you won a gold medal with team USA: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? It was overwhelming for a country boy from Louisiana to be in that position. I made friends who I still keep in close touch with: we just had our 50th reunion in 2018. I will never forget it for the rest of my life.
In the spring of 1968 you were drafted in the 12th round by Cincinnati but ended up playing 1 year for New Orleans in the ABA: what did it mean to you to get drafted, and what is your favorite memory from your time in the ABA? I was also drafted in the 5th round by Denver but could not sign with them because I had to wait until after the Olympics so they traded me to New Orleans. Pro basketball vs. college basketball is like night and day. I re-injured my knee and could not get back on my feet. My 1 year in New Orleans was good and I played against some former NBA players like Rick Barry: he was 1 of the best that I ever played against. I faced Oscar Robertson in an exhibition game before the Olympics and he was hard to guard. I cherish my time playing for New Orleans: it was a long way from my hometown but my family could still come see me play.