Coach Billy Tubbs is remembered primarily for his success at Oklahoma in the 1980s (4 conference titles and a trip to the Final 4 during a fantastic 5-year stretch from 1984-1988) but his 1st D-1 coaching job was at Lamar in the late-1970s where he made back-to-back NCAA tourneys. The Cardinals had a trio of stars in Mike Olliver/BB Davis/Clarence Kea, but it was Olliver whose scoring was most spectacular. He was a 3-time 1st-team All-Conference pick, and as a senior in 1981 he was named conference POY/conference tourney MVP. His 2518 points career PTS remains the most in school history as well as top-80 in D-1 history. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Mike about how he succeeded on the court and overcame obstacles off it.
You were born in Texas and went to high school in North Carolina: what made you choose Lamar? I was playing ball in this hotbed of North Carolina, with UNC and NC State just up the road, and before Duke really became DUKE…but nobody recruited me even though I was 1 of the top guards in the state. I went out to Lamar, met Coach Billy Tubbs, and it just felt like the best place for me.
What made Tubbs such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? Confidence. He was so flamboyant and determined to win and got the best out of all his players. I loved being around that atmosphere.
In January of 1980 you set a school record with 50 PTS/22-35 FG in a win at Portland State thanks to a half-court shot with 1 second left on the clock: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Yes, but it did not start out that way. I had 15 PTS at halftime and Coach Tubbs told me that he needed me to go ahead and break the school record that night! He told me to not pass at all and just shoot the ball every time I got it. I was stunned, but I could do that, and it was an incredible night. Once my teammates saw what was going on they just kept cheering me on. I knew that I had 48 PTS at the end of the game so I just let it go at the end and it hit nothing but bottom!
You made 3 straight NCAA tourneys from 1979-1981 and won at least 1 game in each of them: what is your favorite memory from “March Madness”? We were a mid-major team so not only did we have to win our conference but then had to go ahead and win the conference tourney. At the end of my sophomore year we played Magic Johnson and Michigan State: that was the year they won the national championship. They beat us badly and I had a poor game (8 PTS/3-15 FG) so it taught me to always be prepared to win the next game because you never know if you will get back there. I drilled myself that if we ever got back I would have a sensational game…and in 1980 I scored 37 PTS in a 1-PT win over Weber State in Ogden, UT. We went all the way to the Sweet 16 before losing to Clemson but it was a great run with a great group of guys.
You remain the all-time leading scorer in school history with 2518 PTS and are #2 with 206 career STL: what is the secret to being a great scorer? The secret for me was that I needed to be unselfish. Even if you are getting up the bulk of the shots, if your teammates are open you have to get them the ball. It was also about hard work: I was a gym rat who loved practice, and the process of winning has intrigued me since I was a kid. I was a great shooter on the level of Stephen Curry and am still in the D-1 top-80 all-time, but there was no 3-PT shot when I played. I do not begrudge the guys from the era after me…but I wish there was an asterisk for them because I would have made SEVERAL threes/game if we had a 3-PT line back then.
You were a 4-time all-conference performer, 1981 conference POY/conference tourney MVP, and were later named to the conference 1980’s All-Decade team: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? To be honest, the older I get the more it means to me. I have grandchildren now at age 66 so I sit back and wonder how I got it done. I am honored to have played for Coach Tubbs: we were all locked in on trying to win despite being a mid-major. Coach Tubbs was the greatest: he would tell me that I was the greatest shooter in the country so that even if I was going 1-on-4 I should pull up and take it! He allowed me to express myself as a ballplayer, which was fantastic.
You were selected in the 2nd round of the 1981 NBA draft by Chicago: did you see that as a validation of your college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? Both: it showed that my hard work paid off and was 1 of the greatest experiences of my life. I went into camp that summer and enjoyed the payoff. I come from a small town and tell kids today that I was able to make it to the best basketball league in the world: they can do it too, but it takes work.
You later played in the CBA: what was the biggest difference between college basketball and pro basketball? Opportunity. Timing in life is important: when you are in the right place then good things will happen. It felt similar to college: you just had to learn the nuances of what it took to make the team.
In 2008 you were sentenced to 16 years in prison for stabbing your ex-girlfriend: how have you been able to turn things around since becoming a free man? It is important that people understand that a bad decision does not have to define your life. Since getting out I started a non-profit to help the community and installed some state-of-the-art basketball goals on courts for kids. It is like basketball: you get knocked down and then have to get back up. Just because you make a mistake or are doing bad, you still have to believe in yourself and understand that God had a plan for your life. I work a lot on recidivism to help men/women better themselves no matter where they are in life.
When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? As a winner, a great leader of men, and a guy who would do whatever it took for us to achieve our goal of winning a championship.
