Last Saturday Abilene Christian had a 34-PT win over Nicholls State to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Wildcats lost only 4 games all year en route to making the NCAA tourney for the 2nd time in 3 years. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Joe Pleasant about his Super father and making the NCAA tourney.
You grew up in Kansas: what made you choose Abilene Christian? I was born/raised in North Carolina and then moved to Kansas around age 10. I knew 1 of their assistant coaches from my church and also played AAU basketball with a guy who got a scholarship there.
You play for Coach Joe Golding: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He is a great guy and really looks out for all of his players and cares for us. There is nothing that he would not do for us and I cannot say enough about what he has done for me. He is a stand-up guy who looks for character in all of his players.
In the 2019 NCAA tourney you had 2 REB in a loss to Kentucky: what did you learn from that game that you think will help you this time around? Just to treat this like another basketball game and not get too riled up.
What is it like to be a college basketball player during a pandemic? It is different than being a regular student: we cannot do the normal things that we would do during the semester. We have to be careful when we travel so that we do not test positive and have to miss any games.
This season you were named to the Southland All-Academic 1st-Team: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Just discipline and focusing on getting everything done. I stay on top of my schoolwork: they give us good support so that I can maintain my schedule throughout the day.
Last Saturday in the Southland tourney title game you scored 13 PTS in a 34-PT win over Nicholls State: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was a surreal feeling: I was really happy to win it with this team. It is a special journey that we are on with a lot of new guys. It was also gratifying because we worked so hard throughout the year.
You played a pair of NCAA tourney teams this year in Texas Tech/Arkansas: which 1 of them impressed you the most? Both of them are very impressive and are good programs with good players. They do good things on offense/defense but it was a lot of fun to play them.
Your team is #7 in the nation with 60.5 PPG allowed: what is the key to playing great defense? You have to play hard and play together and have each other’s backs even if you make a mistake. We stay locked in on the game plan.
Your father Anthony won a pair of Super Bowls with the New England Patriots: who is the best athlete in the family? It is funny: my older brother is actually the best natural-born athlete that I have ever seen!
What do you think about being a #14-seed, and what do you know about Texas? We will learn more about their personnel later tonight but they have a good program. It will be a challenge but we are all ready for it: the seed does not matter and we are excited to play them.