Rick Samuels spent a quarter-century on the sideline for Eastern Illinois and had a lot of success: more than 350 wins, the 2001 Illinois Basketball Coaches Association D-1 Coach of the Year award, and the 2nd-longest D-1 tenure in the nation when he left in 2004 (behind only Jim Boeheim at Syracuse). Off the court, he made sure that most of his seniors completed their eligibility, as the Panthers were among the top 10% in the nation for graduation rate. HoopsHD got to chat with Rick about making a couple of NCAA tourneys and writing a couple of books. Today is Rick’s 74th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!
You played basketball at Chadron State: how good a player were you back in the day, and how did you get into coaching? I was a decent player on a pretty good NAIA team. I was a PG who acted as a floor general. I always enjoyed being around sports teams so I volunteered to coach a 7th grade team, which got me started in the business.
You took over for Lynn Nance as head coach at Iowa State in January of 1980: how strange was it to make such a transition during the middle of the season? It was shocking: the other assistant and I were named co-head coaches but we did not consult with each other during games so it got to be entertaining. The kids rallied and we were able to upset a ranked Kansas State team and also win at Oklahoma.
In 1981 you became head coach at Eastern Illinois, where you stayed for almost 25 years: why did you take the job, and how were you able to stick around for such a long time? I went to Iowa State as a grad assistant before taking over and I struggled to find another assistant position. A friend suggested that I apply for the job at EIU: I told my wife that if I did not get it I would try something else…and then I got a phone call to interview. I was 1 of 4 guys they interviewed and probably a distant third, but after the top choice withdrew the 2nd choice (Gene Davis) took the job and they wanted him to keep 1 of the assistants. When Gene changed his mind and they called me to take the job I said no because I had already sold my house and planned on getting into business, but my wife changed my mind. I stayed so long because I loved the environment. I have seen many coaches try to climb the ladder and the effect it had on their family but I was happy.
In the 1992 NCAA tourney Alan Henderson had 19 PTS/11 REB in a win by Indiana: what was it like to face Bobby Knight in March? It was scary to try and match up against Henderson with a 6’5” PF of our own. We were happy to be there but we could not have had a worse matchup. Back then there was an 8-year wait until you could be an automatic qualifier for the tourney. When we had Kevin Duckworth in the mid-1980s we won our conference…but had nowhere to go.
In the 2001 OVC tourney title game Theanthony Haymon was called for goaltending on Jan Thompson’s last-second jumper in a 1-PT win over Austin Peay: did you think that the refs made the correct call, and how on earth were you able to overcome an 18-PT deficit over the final 6 minutes? Of course they made the right call! If you look at the replay it was a goaltend, even in the final second. I remember calling a timeout with about 8 minutes left and 1 of my assistants suggested trying to get it under 10 PTS with 5 minutes and under 6 PTS with 4 minutes. I had a kid named Kyle Hill who was an excellent player: when he got into his extra gear he was exceptional. Austin Peay started taunting him and you could see it in his eyes before he took control of the game: we scored on every single possession the rest of the way.
In the 2001 NCAA tourney Hill scored 32 PTS in a loss to Arizona: could you tell at the time that the Wildcats were good enough to make the title game? We missed 2 dunks to start the game, including 1 by Hill. We played with them through most of the 1st half until Henry Domercant sprained his ankle. Arizona tried guarding Hill with 2-3 different guys but they could not stop him. We were a #15-seed both years we made it…and both of our opponents ended up making the title game. The 1st time we were sent to Boise but the best part of getting sent to Kansas City is that a lot of our fans got to attend. It was the only time that a D-1 team has had 2 kids among the top-5 scorers in the nation with Kyle (23.8 PPG)/Henry (22.8 PPG).
Your career record at EIU was 360-360: how frustrating was it to not get 1 more win on your resume?! You can imagine how many games I have replayed in my mind trying to get that 1 win! Our league changed 3 times so it was difficult to build an identity.
During your career the Panthers were among the top 10% of the nation in graduation rate: how much importance did you place on academics? That is 1 of the reasons I liked the school: I recruited kids who were interested in getting a college scholarship and we emphasized the value of a degree. Looking back now it is quite impressive to see where my players are today.
You wrote a couple of books about the “Open-Post Motion Offense”: what is it, and what makes it so effective? The players make it so effective! We had a pair of big guys who could handle the ball on the perimeter and sacrificed their own scoring to set screens for our other shooters. We were able to open up the floor for good shots and driving, while also allowing us to move the ball from side to side. The mind behind that was current Purdue head coach Matt Painter, who was 1 of my assistants at the time.
You later worked as a development officer for Lincoln College: how did you like the job, and what do you hope to do in the future? It was challenging but I enjoyed it: it is a transformational place. This was it for me: I do miss coaching but I just enjoy watching games and several of my former players are now coaches.