Hoops HD

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The Sweet 16/Elite 8 took place in 4 cities around the country and we could not have been more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD covered all of the angles and hopes you enjoyed our cascade of coverage last week. Jon Teitel wraps up our coverage from Las Vegas with UConn G Andre Jackson Jr.’s mother Tricia Altieri.

What was Andre like as a child? He grew up with his brother/sister (who are twins) and was always outside lowering the hoop and trying to dunk! He started AAU ball really early (around age 10) and was always traveling/working out. He was trained by a pastor 3-4 times/week in Amsterdam, NY. He was a really caring/generous kid who did great at school.

At Albany Academy he was named NY Sports Writers Association Class A Player of the Year and led his team to a pair of Class A Federation Tournament of Champions titles in 2017/2019: what did it mean to you to see him win a pair of titles? It was amazing! That was such a big thing for us: being able to see him play on a huge platform. He had an excellent coach/mentor in Coach Brian Fruscio and also got to play with his brother Marcus, which was extra-special.

He received scholarship offers from several great schools including Iowa/Maryland/Syracuse/UCLA: what made him choose UConn? Coach Hurley. His relationship with Coach Hurley was the best 1 of any that he had and he believed in Coach Hurley’s desire to build this thing together. On the way home from his recruiting visit he decided that was where he wanted to be. Assistant coach Tom Moore recruited him and traveled to numerous tourneys to watch him play. UConn really makes you feel like family.

This year he is a team co-captain along with Adama Sanogo: what makes him such a good leader? The #1 thing is that he cares more about the success of the team then about his own success. He enjoys seeing other people do well/score and he likes making other people better by passing them the ball. That is something he has always done since he was a kid: he just has that way about him. He is focused/determined and know what he wants. He has also been around great leaders and has taken pieces from all of them to help lead his team.

He was also named to the Big East All-Academic Team: how does he balance his work on the court with his work in the classroom? He has always done really well in school. He is an excellent speaker/writer who has good study habits and attends class. 1 of his teachers was at the Gonzaga-UConn game in Vegas and said what a great student he is due to him asking/answering questions, which comes from going to a great school like Albany Academy. It has done wonders for him in his success as a student.

He wears #44, which is the same # that your brother Chris wore before passing away due to an aneurysm at age 13, the same # that your cousin Lester wore as the star RB on Amsterdam High School’s 1995 state championship football team before he died a couple of decades later in a car accident in 2013, and the same # that your son Marcus wears as a basketball player at UAlbany: what does it mean to your family to keep this legacy alive? It is really important in our family. My brother passed away in middle school and was a huge basketball fan/player. My cousin passed away a few years later and my kids wanted to carry on that legacy. We have numerous younger cousins who wear it in their middle school/CYO leagues because it has become a family tradition. I love it and think that it is a great thing.

In addition to all of the athletes above, you played high school basketball and were an amateur boxer, Andre’s father played college basketball and could dunk while taking off from the FT line, and your brothers Mike/Rich were Jujitsu instructors and power-lifters: who is the best athlete in the family? I would have to say Andre’s father. We have some extraordinary athletes but Andre’s father had the jumping ability and all of the basketball skills. I would love to give credit to my  side of the family…but I would say him.

Andre played great during the 1st week of the NCAA tourney this month with 7 APG in a pair of wins in Albany over Iona/St. Mary’s: I assume it was not a coincidence that he was able to do so well while playing in front of all the hometown fans? I think that he had a huge crowd but it can work both ways: you can be nervous or go out and play the best you can. He was able to block it out and stay focused. It was great for us to see him play so well and we were so happy for those 2 games in Albany!

He continued his great play last week in wins over Arkansas (7 AST/3 STL)/Gonzaga (8 PTS/9 REB/10 AST/0 TO): how have you and the other players’ parents bonded during this remarkable run? I have gotten to know a few of the other parents including Donovan Clingan’s father/Jordan Hawkins’ mother/Tristen Newton’s mother. It brings you closer when your kids are playing so well and we definitely shared some hugs after the Elite 8 because we are all experiencing the same thing.

Any predictions for the Huskies this weekend in Houston? We are on a pretty good roll and if the kids continue to play the way that they have been playing they will be unbeatable. I think we can do anything we put our minds to.