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 Phil Ford about his North Carolina/Olympic teammate Tom LaGarde winning a gold medal in 1976.
You and Tom both played for Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith at North Carolina: what made Smith such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? There are so many things that we learned from him: he was like a 2nd father to me and was more than a coach. His loyalty to us was beyond belief. He was there for us for life even after we graduated because he was an unbelievable person. I think that he is the greatest coach ever and always treated everyone fairly.
In the 1975 NCAA tourney he scored 12 PTS/5-6 FG but Jim Lee made a 17-foot jumper with 5 seconds left in a 2-PT win by Syracuse: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? Every loss hurts so of course that 1 did as well. We had to win the ACC tourney just to make it to the NCAA tourney but you cannot take anything away from Syracuse.
After winning a gold medal at the Pan Am Games in the fall of 1975, he played for Coach Smith/Coach Bill Guthridge on team USA along with you and 2 other Tar Heel teammates (Walter Davis/Mitch Kupchak) at the 1976 Olympics: what did it mean to him to represent his country, and what did it mean to him to win a pair of gold medals? You would have to ask “Stretch” that himself but for me it was extremely rewarding, especially after the way that we lost the gold medal in the 1972 game that was very controversial. We were underdogs in 1976 because a lot of good players did not try out for the team. Coach Smith got some criticism for having 4 UNC players and 3 more from the ACC (Tate Armstrong from Duke/Kenny Carr from NC State/Steve Sheppard from Maryland) but I knew that we were straight on the inside. It was extremely rewarding for us to win the gold under tough circumstances.
He only played 20 games as a senior due to a torn knee and missed out on UNC’s run to the NCAA title game: how bad was the injury, and do you think that your team would have won it all if he was healthy? You cannot guess with the ifs/buts so I give Coach Al McGuire credit for beating us in the title game. Tommy was a future pro player so he definitely made us better when he was healthy. You just have to accept what it is and play the cards that you are dealt. I give Coach Smith credit for just getting us to the title game against Marquette despite all of our injuries: everybody on our roster was beat up.
He was an All-American in 1977 and was a 2-time Academic All-American: how was he able to balance his work on the court with his work in the classroom? We were suitemates and Tommy is brilliant. I am not sure how to measure it but he was close to a genius. He could answer questions for me about my own major!
In the summer of 1977 he was drafted 9th overall by Denver (1 spot behind Jack Sikma): did he see that as a validation of his college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? Since he was such a talented player I am sure that he was excited to reach the NBA.
He only played 23 regular season games for Seattle during the 1978-79 season and missed the entire playoffs due to injury: how did he feel about his team winning a title without him? I think that he was their starting center to begin the season. I am sure that he was extremely happy for his teammates but anyone would be frustrated to not play due to injury. He is such a great person that he would have been happy even if we would have won the title without him in 1977.
After retiring from pro basketball in 1984 due to knee injuries he founded a professional inline skating league, worked on Wall Street, and opened a live music venue in North Carolina: how was he able to follow his on-court success by becoming so successful off the court? Just because he is so smart. Whatever he tries to do he will be successful at due to his strong work ethic.
When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? As 1 of the greatest players that we have ever had. We should all be proud that he was a Tar Heel because he could have gone to any school in the country: I am just happy that he chose UNC.