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 continues our coverage from Atlanta with some Michigan locker room interviews.
JR F Will Tschetter
You graduated in 3 years and were a 2-time academic all-conference selection: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Time management is crucial, especially at a school the caliber of Michigan, and redshirting during my 1st year also helped a lot.
Your mother Kasey is the all-time leading scorer in North Dakota State basketball history, and your father Garth played football at North Dakota State: who is the best athlete in the family? My mom has the most accolades due to what she has accomplished…but I am a close 2nd!
You played French Horn/trumpet in your high school marching band every year at the Minnesota State Fair: what was that like? The State Fair was always a fun time and served as the band kickoff for the year. The only downside is that we were always so sweaty in our band uniforms because it was hot as s—!
You were a straight-A student in high school except for an A-minus in your sophomore year Spanish class: que paso?! I slacked off a bit and regret not taking it more seriously. Our former associate head coach Phil Martelli would always give me crap about it by calling me “3.99” to remind me of my imperfect GPA!
Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio was interested in having you play TE: how close did you come to joining the football team? I played both sports when I began high school but by the start of my junior year I decided to focus on basketball. I learned that there is a big difference in recruiting between basketball and football.
Since no official campus visits were allowed during COVID, you and your mother drove 588 miles to Ann Arbor to visit the campus on a road trip during the 4th of July, then you made your official announcement from the Stewartville Basketball Twitter account because you had no social media accounts of your own: true? We decided to drive out to my final list of schools (including Colorado State/Michigan) because my mom wanted to give me the chance to see myself on each campus. I did not have any social media accounts back then and am still never really on Twitter.
In 2022 you did a summer internship on a bison ranch: how did that go? I was just texting the guy I interned for. He served as a mentor for what I have studied in school, and I am super-passionate about it.
What do you know about Auburn? They are a well-rounded team who will not give you the ball and Johni Broome is the favorite to be named national POY. We must be locked in and value our possessions and play tough on defense.
Assistant coach/GM (and friend of Rocco) Kyle Church
You grew up in Durham, NC: how big a deal would it be to face your hometown Blue Devils in the weeks ahead? It would be a dream come true…because that would mean we would be playing in the title game! It was great to see basketball at the highest level while growing up and I have always wanted to be a part of this.
You were a walk-on guard at Charlotte under Bobby Lutz: how good a player were you back in the day? Not very good…but I had a lot of fun playing on the scout team and am thankful to Coach Lutz for the opportunity. I have wanted to be a coach for a long time so hopefully I will make a better coach than player!
You have worked alongside Dusty May for more than a decade at Louisiana Tech/Florida/FAU: what makes him such a great coach? He is an unbelievable person/mentor, and I respect his daily work habits: his players will run through a wall for him. I have worked with him for 13 years and he still has a burning desire to improve.
You 2 made the 2023 Final 4 at FAU: what is the key to winning games in March? You must have poise and not let your emotions run wild. You must stay in the moment: the only thing that matters is the next play.
What do you know about Auburn? They are having 1 of the best seasons in the history of the sport thanks to Johni Broome and a million guards who can score. We will have to be sound defensively and get a lot of rebounds.
Check back for a lot more access all week long!
