The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the parents, fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The Sweet 16/Elite 8 are taking place in 4 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access in the days ahead. Jon Teitel commences our coverage from Atlanta by chatting with Michigan State basketball father Jeff Kohler about his son Jaxon meeting LeBron James and his predictions for this weekend.
In 2022 your son Jaxon was invited to the Allen Iverson Roundball Classic: what did it mean to him to receive such an outstanding honor? That was a pivotal invite for him. He had worked very hard that season and came very close to making the McDonald’s All-American Game. He played very well at the Iverson game, and it gave him a lot of confidence that he could play with the best so it was 1 of his more memorable experiences.
That spring he signed an NIL deal with Helium Sports & Entertainment, becoming one of the first incoming freshmen in any college sport to do so: how big a deal was it? At that point it was a new frontier, so it was nice to have someone there to guide him. His freshman year was so overwhelming that he literally had to stop dealing with the opportunities coming his way: he put most of his focus into the basketball side of things.
Nobody from Utah had ever played at Michigan State: why did he want to become the 1st? The program values under Coach Tom Izzo. Every player comes in needing to work on certain things. Jaxon has always been a good rebounder and Michigan State was a perfect fit for him as a player.
Coach Izzo has made 27 consecutive NCAA tournaments, which is the most in men’s college basketball history: what makes him such a great coach? If you caught the viral clip this week (www.youtube.com/watch?v=N54BRArbGus): if you trust him and commit to him, then he is a guy who will do so in return. These days the sport is so transactional with coaches who rent a player for a year and hope it works out, so having a “home” is a great commodity.
2 of his nicknames are “The Big Footwork” and “Baby Jokic”, and as a kid he watched highlights of Hakeem Olajuwon and wrote down his post moves step-by-step in a journal before practicing them: which nickname does he like the most, and does he have a favorite post move? He has always loved footwork: if you watch his high school clips then you can see how creative he was. He would show a move to create a counter or show a counter to create a double-counter. The notebook was freaking funny: it looked like someone had drawn Nintendo figures! I know how to guard him…but the move he always gets me with is the double-step-through.
He got to talk to LeBron James after being named to the all-tournament team at the 2021 Battle US event: what did they chat about during what he called a “once-in-a-lifetime experience”? LeBron was always so good to Jaxon to help him see the bigger picture. In AAU everyone is all about being an individual scorer, but LeBron helped him slow down/create movement/wait for your own opportunity. It really elevated his IQ.
He is a junior: does he have a post-graduation plan yet? Not yet. The only time we do not talk about basketball is during May: we eat/lift but have not had that conversation yet.
The Spartans won 8 straight games before a 3-PT loss to Wisconsin in the Big 10 tourney semifinals (Jaxon had 7 PTS): how devastating was that loss, and how have they been able to turn things around since then? What was most devastating for him is that if he picks up fouls early then he gets pulled off the court early. He only played 16 minutes and wanted the ring/bragging rights, but it is not so heart-breaking because it gave the team some extra rest before the NCAA tourney.
The SEC set a record this month with 14 NCAA tourney bids, but several Big 10 schools are also still alive (including Maryland/Michigan/Purdue): where do you think the Big 10 ranks among the best conferences in the country? The Big 10 got off to a 10-0 start in the NCAA tourney last week, which no conference had ever done before, while a lot of SEC teams fell rather quickly. The upper tier of the Big 10 is great and I think 1-2 of those teams will end up in the Final 4.
Any predictions for this weekend in Atlanta, and what would it mean if you end up facing Michigan on Sunday for a spot in the Final 4? It would be great for the game of basketball and the tradition/rivalry. I hope the Auburn/Michigan game involves both teams wearing each other down: our depth is what has carried us recently so hopefully we will get a tired opponent.
