Hoops HD

Name, Image, and Lots of money: HoopsHD interviews Ed Cantu of the Shakas Up Sports NIL Collective

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Jon Teitel

The marketplace for college athletes to engage in Name/Image/Likeness (NIL) deals was created in 2021 after the NCAA v. Alston case and now it seems like every college is ready to start spreading the wealth. There are already more than 100 “collectives” either in operation or being formed. They allow alumni/fans/whoever to donate money to assist a specific school in creating opportunities for student-athletes to make some money off of their celebrity. We have reached out to many collectives and will try to interview representatives from as many of them as possible to see how each of them operates. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Ed Cantu of the Shakas Up Sports NIL Collective, who discussed what his group is about and what it has accomplished so far.

You are the co-founder of an NIL collective called “Shakas Up Sports” that was launched last March: how complicated was it to create (if at all), and why did you do it? Creating an NIL collective is a highly complex process. We were fortunate to work directly with our friend Keith Miller of Influxer, the former Compliance Director at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and an attorney who helped develop the legislation adopted by the State of Texas for NIL collectives. My four colleagues and I founded Shakas Up Sports, Inc. for the love of our student-athletes, especially those who helped Islander Athletics expand our University’s visibility and reach throughout the country and beyond.

Your focus is on basketball but you also work with some other sports: what makes basketball so important? TAMUCC does not play football so men’s/women’s basketball are our marquee sports. Our men’s team’s national exposure during March Madness the past two years was incredible. Taking advantage of this exposure is essential to our athletic program, our university, and our community.

What kind of deals have you been able to work out so far? Most of our deals have been community-based/free autograph sessions for our fans that were paid for by local businesses. Our inaugural event was sponsored by Hicks Automotive Group and Jason’s Deli and hosted at local restaurant Brewster Street Southside, where our fans were treated to free autographs and a meet-and-greet with our men’s/women’s basketball teams. Our second event was a free women’s basketball autograph signing held during the Corpus Christi Hooks’ “Women of Sports” Weekend. Farmers Insurance/Ed Cantu provided 4,400 Hooks fans at Whataburger Field the opportunity to meet the student-athletes and get their favorite Islanders gear signed. Rally Credit Union helped us develop a Meet Your Favorite Islander Podcast where listeners heard from Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year Alecia Westbrook for our inaugural airing. We have since interviewed up-and-coming men’s basketball star Owen Dease. Alecia Westbrook recently locked down a deal representing Colonel’s Coffeehouse for their online coffee. You can secure your own bag of fresh grommet coffee and help Alecia by going to https://colonelscoffeehouse.com/collections/all (be sure to apply the code ALECIA10 now that you are an Islander Fan!). We are also working with AutoNation for upcoming watch parties. Many more regional businesses have shown interest and are pursuing unique opportunities to promote their organization by utilizing the services of our student-athletes.

You offer several membership levels ranging from $25/month to $1,000/month: what kind of extra perks do people get for being at the highest level? Perks for a $1,000 monthly membership still need to be finalized. We aim to arrange exclusive opportunities for VIP members, including dinners and other special events with our student-athletes and co-founders.

You graduated from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi a few decades ago: how has the school changed from your era to now? The University has seen a significant transformation. We’ve gone from a state school named Corpus Christi State University to a member of the Texas A&M System. Ward Island, the TAMUCC campus, has grown from a small, non-traditional, 3,000-student body upper-level University without first- or second-year students to a vibrant, beautiful campus of 12,000. Today’s campus life matches that of a resort, and Best College Review has named TAMUCC “The Best College By The Sea” for several years. We have gone from not having an Athletic Department to being a competitive D-1 Mid-Major University that competes in sixteen different sports, inducing the fastest-growing collegiate NCAA sport: women’s beach volleyball.

In the 2023 NCAA tourney you beat Southeast Missouri State before losing to Alabama: how big a deal was it to get the 1st NCAA tourney win in school history? Our first victory was huge. The exposure we gained, especially from social media fans of “Barstool Sports,” put us on the sports map. Their campus conversation, “That Can’t Be a Real Place,” spiked applications for enrollment: our freshman class numbers have grown and our total University enrollment is up as well. And yes, our victory over Southeast Missouri State helped us recruit new athletes…and I am sure it helped us retain others too.

Later that month Coach Steve Lutz left for Western Kentucky: how do people feel about your new coach Jim Shaw? Coach Shaw is very likable and his team loves him. He helped build our two Championship teams so we know he will continue to recruit and retain high-caliber student-athletes who will continue to make us proud to be Islanders.

People are obviously free to do whatever they want with their hard-earned money…but do you ever have any second thoughts about whether you should be encouraging your donors to do something else like fight cancer/reduce homelessness? Like it or not, athletics is the front door to most Universities. There are many great causes and improving the education level of our community is one of them. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is designated as a Hispanic-Serving and Minority-Serving Institution where most of our students are first-generation college students. Helping develop student athletes and the whole student body by improving their level of education is our primary goal/mission at Shakas Up Sports, Inc.

Do you think the NIL model will be as effective at a Southland school, and what is the biggest difference between your collective and those at high-major schools (if any)? Our model is different from most: we truly are doing this for our student-athletes. My co-founders and I keep $0 for ourselves. In addition to a quality education value, our mission is to enrich the student-athlete experience at TAMUCC and create unforgettable moments for our dedicated fans. By fostering a supportive environment, we aim to empower athletes to excel on/off the field while offering fans unparalleled opportunities to engage with their favorite teams and players. Shakas Up Sports, Inc. provides many opportunities and offers mentoring to our student-athletes to prepare them for life after they leave our Island.

Earlier this year we saw a basketball team’s season suspended (New Mexico State) and a football team’s coach fired (Northwestern) due to hazing: how concerned are you about entering contractual relationships with teenagers who might end up behaving badly? That is always possible but Shakas Up Sports has complete confidence in our coaches. Islander Athletics is about to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. With absolute certainty, our coaches do a fantastic job recruiting high-caliber student-athletes who make us proud of them on and off the court/field. Our student-athletes have a GPA above 3.0 and continue to exceed the national average year after year.

*If you would like to contact Shaka Up Sports please go to: www.shakasupsports.com

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Ed Cantu, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi | Comments Off

Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Wofford JR PG Rachael Rose

Posted on September 27, 2023 by Jon Teitel

We are still about 6 weeks away from the tip-off of the college basketball season, which means that we have plenty of time to prepare for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Wofford JR PG Rachael Rose, who talked about being named conference POY and her expectations for this season.

You began your career at USC Upstate, where you were named 2022 conference ROY: how were you able to make such a smooth transition from high school to college? Having a strong work ethic is something that has been engraved into me since I was little, and so truly understanding the term outwork helped me have a smoother transition into D-1 basketball. I also had a great support system and coaches back home that trained me to be ready for all situations both on and off the court.

Why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose Wofford? I will always be grateful for the opportunities and accolades I had at USC Upstate, but in the end it was just not the right program for me. I chose Wofford because I immediately felt a connection with the coaching staff and the girls were extremely welcoming. I saw the vision that Coach G (Jimmy Garrity) had for the program and I wanted to play a part in making history.

In the 2023 SoCon tourney semifinals you had a career-high 7 STL in a 5-PT win over UNCG: what is the secret to being a good defender? Defense is all heart. Just simply wanting it more than your opponent can win you championships. I know my teammates have my back, and so that allows me to take risks and jump the passing lanes.

In the 2023 WNIT you scored 19 PTS in a 3-PT loss at Florida: what did you learn from that loss that you think will help you this year? The loss to Florida was really tough because I felt we were in control for most of the game until we let it slip away in the end. Although we were much smaller, we never gave up and we fought until the very end. If we can keep the mentality of being the most together team and never giving in then we will put ourselves in a great position to win.

You led the conference in PTS last year and were #2 in AST: how do you balance your scoring with your passing? As the point guard, it is my job to facilitate and get all my teammates involved in the offense. I watch a lot of film and that helps me see angles and passing lanes, while also seeing openings to create shots for myself. I work hard with my coaches to create scoring opportunities for both myself and my teammates.

You finished the season by being named conference POY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? I was honored to be named the SoCon Player of the Year but that was never the main goal for me. Our main goal was to win the SoCon regular season along with the SoCon tournament. We achieved ½ of our goal so we still have a lot of work to do.

Your aunt Missy played basketball at UConn, your uncle Craig played basketball at Army, and your brother Timmy played basketball at Binghamton: who is the best athlete in the family? My family has shaped me into the player/person I am today. I grew up either watching them play or hearing the stories of their days of college basketball. It is hard to say who the best in the family is because we all have had different roles on the teams we played for: however, my aunt Missy is the only one of us who has a national championship ring.

You turned 21 last June: what did you do for the big day? We were in summer session at Wofford so I celebrated at practice doing what I love most, which is competing in basketball. My teammates also made me a cake and celebrated with me at night.

Your schedule includes road trips to Wake Forest/Virginia/Tennessee/Georgia: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? I think every team we play this year will be a challenge. Winning at the D-1 level is hard and each game is a fight. We played Tennessee last season and did not start off the game the way that we wanted so I would love to learn from our mistakes last year and clean it up.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? We are extremely young this season so we have a lot of learning/growing to do together as a team. My goals however have not changed: I want to win a championship. Our seniors (Abbey Crawford/Ja’Rae Smith/Annabelle Schultz/Helen Matthews) deserve to leave their Wofford basketball careers on a high note.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Rachael Rose, Wofford | Comments Off

Name, Image, and Lots of money: HoopsHD interviews Patrick MacWilliams of The Massachusetts Collective

Posted on September 26, 2023 by Jon Teitel

The marketplace for college athletes to engage in Name/Image/Likeness (NIL) deals was created in 2021 after the NCAA v. Alston case and now it seems like every college is ready to start spreading the wealth. There are already more than 100 “collectives” either in operation or being formed. They allow alumni/fans/whoever to donate money to assist a specific school in creating opportunities for student-athletes to make some money off of their celebrity. We have reached out to many collectives and will try to interview representatives from as many of them as possible to see how each of them operates. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Patrick MacWilliams of The Massachusetts Collective, who discussed what his group is about and what it has accomplished so far.

You are the director of an NIL collective called “The Massachusetts Collective” that was formed last October: how complicated was it to create (if at all), and why did you do it? I was somewhat familiar with the NIL space and had been following it closely but it has evolved quite a bit since then. I am still involved with the fundraising arm of UMass Basketball and have been around the program for a while. I thought it was important to form a collective and it helped that I know how to start/run a business. What I did not expect was the amount of time involved: I spend about 35-40 hours/week on it, which is a big challenge.

Your moving and storage company agreed to NIL deals with a trio of UMass athletes on the very 1st day of the NIL era (July 1, 2021): were you nervous about getting started right from Day 1 without knowing exactly how everything would pan out legally? I was not nervous at all. We were familiar with the basic framework and the school was helpful with the compliance issues. The comfort level was there from both ends for the 1st deal we did with Noah Fernandes. I love being engaged in this space and am still learning more each day.

The UMass athletics department has endorsed the GoMassNIL Collective in addition to yours: is that a good thing (since they offer opportunities for non-basketball athletes) or a bad thing (more competition for your own group) or other? Their founder, Jim Hunt, and I go way back: he was actually my dentist when I 1st moved to Amherst! We still play golf together and have talked for hours and hours about whether we want to work together/separately. Even though he wanted to work with Olympic sports and I wanted to work on basketball we still talk daily. It is not a competition so we still work hand in hand. As of this month, The Massachusetts Collective has assumed all basketball NIL responsibilities at UMass and is an official partner with UMass Athletics and Learfield.

Your entire focus is on basketball: how/why would you decide to open it up to other sports? I would consider doing something besides basketball…but only with strict conditions. We would have to find the right people dedicated to running it because I already know how much work it takes: you cannot be passive about it so it is very unlikely. The head of the UMass football collective (https://midnightridenil.com) is similar: we work together all the time and talk frequently. I do not think it makes sense to mix all of the sports together.

You have stated that your goal is to sign 3-5 players per season: why did you choose to focus on a few players rather than the entire team? We think that everyone has a different value: that is how the free market works. What has changed over the past year is creating a baseline “salary” for everyone on the team of $5000/year and then signing deals with the top guys for a significant amount more. Our current budget is around $150,000 for the 4 athletes we have currently signed, which I think is good money for the A-10. The numbers can always change and we are always working on fundraising so that we can build it out.

What kind of connection does your group have with Coach Frank Martin/Athletic Director Ryan Bamford? I talk to Coach pretty frequently, especially in the offseason, while following all of the rules/regulations. The coaching staff is made up of a bunch of great guys and we hope to do more promotions/experiences with Coach this year. We are starting a campaign next month to try to get 50 new members during the 50 days leading up to this season’s tip-off. Ryan has been extremely helpful behind the scenes to connect us with everyone for compliance purposes. He has been open with us and answered our questions: his endorsement of us was huge and he constantly supports us.

What kind of deals have you been able to work out so far? The most interesting deal we have done was our 1st 1 with an international player named Tafara Gapare. He was heading back to New Zealand for 3 days during winter break and I had to literally track his flight so that I knew when he was allowed to put pen to paper (he is now at Georgia Tech)! It shows our organizational power as to how we can get a deal done. We also have new players like highly-touted transfer Josh Cohen, who recently signed a big deal with us.

People are obviously free to do whatever they want with their hard-earned money…but do you ever have any second thoughts about whether you should be encouraging your donors to do something else like fight cancer/reduce homelessness? It is all up to your personal preference. For me, supporting UMass Basketball is something that I have always done, and through our Collective we have charitable aspects as well. People should get involved with whatever they are passionate about, be it a food bank/animal shelter/YMCA/etc. Any income that I can dedicate to other sources is important, but if we want UMass to return to a semblance of their 1996 Final 4 team then this is a big piece of the puzzle.

Do you think the NIL model will be as effective at an A-10 school, and what is the biggest difference between your collective and those at high-major schools (if any)? We can definitely have a huge role in the A-10. As you compare collectives within the A-10 I think that we are on the stronger side, but schools like Dayton are coming: if they had to raise $200,000 in a very short time then they could do that. We are focused on getting anyone involved at any level to see the benefits that we can give them. 1 difference with the bigger schools is the amount of people/money involved. We had RJ Luis signed to a 2-year deal, then he ghosted us/entered the transfer portal/enrolled at St. John’s. I know that their resources are a LOT more than ours. There is some loyalty involved but to be honest: if someone gets an offer to play for Rick Pitino at Madison Square Garden then they should f—ing go! If we can come close to the NIL money of the Goliaths then at least the players might think twice about it.

Earlier this year we saw a basketball team’s season suspended (New Mexico State) and a football team’s coach fired (Northwestern) due to hazing: how concerned are you about entering into contractual relationships with teenagers who might end up behaving badly? We have a great lawyer on our team but you always have to do your homework/check people’s references regardless of their age. There are bad actors everywhere but we talk to whoever we can and have protections in our contracts for bad behavior. We are aware of it but I have not really thought about it besides doing due diligence.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Patrick MacWilliams, UMass | Comments Off

Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Mississippi State associate head coach James Miller

Posted on September 25, 2023 by Jon Teitel

We are still about 6 weeks away from the tip-off of the college basketball season, which means that we have plenty of time to prepare for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Mississippi State associate head coach James Miller, who talked about starting last season 11-0 and his expectations for this season.

In the 2018 CBI finals as an assistant to Grant McCasland at North Texas you lost the 1st game at San Francisco by double-digits: how were you able to regroup with 2 straight double-digit home wins to clinch the title? That is pretty unique to have a best-of-3 series in college basketball. We ended up on the same flight back to Texas with San Francisco after that loss! We had a really good crowd for Game 2, which helped us flip the momentum. Tourney MVP Roosevelt Smart played well for us during that entire run. We learned what we did wrong in Game 1 and then were able to make some adjustments.

You have spent the last several seasons working for Coach Chris Jans: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He holds everyone in our program to a high standard and demands the best from us on a daily basis. There are no holes in his game: offense, defense, and he still works as hard as he did when he was an assistant. You can never stop continuing to improve as a coach: he tackles 2-3 weaknesses every offseason and tries to turn them into our strengths.

In the 2022 NCAA tourney as an assistant at New Mexico State you had a 7-PT win over UConn: why does the 5 seed vs. 12 seed games produce so many upsets every year? There is so much parity in college basketball. Once you get past the top few seeds you get great teams regardless of their conference. The transfer portal has also allowed mid-major teams to get old so that you might be rolling out a 23-year old to face a 17-year old, which I think has a lot to do with it.

You also coached at Arkansas State/Omaha: what is the biggest difference between all of your former schools and schools who are part of the SEC? The resources: from travel to nutrition to academic support to whatever else we can provide. It is just stupid! These guys do not realize how good they have it: we are used to 7-hour bus rides but that does not happen any more. In the SEC anyone can beat you, whereas at New Mexico State we felt we would be all right if we showed up ready to play.

You started 11-0 last year (which tied the program’s 2nd-best start ever): did it reach a point where your team expected to win every time that they stepped onto the court? We developed confidence on the defensive end and a belief in each other…but we never thought that we would win every single night. We hit a bit of a wall right before Christmas break with a short amount of prep time. That run validated what Coach Jans had said during the preseason and showed that we could be in a lot of close games.

You became the 2nd team this century to limit each of your 1st 10 opponents to 60 PPG or less: what is the key to playing great defense? Every system is different but we really have a team concept that permeates throughout our program. If you want to get on the court then you have to play defense, take charges, and know your opponents’ personnel.

In the 2023 1st 4 your team missed a pair of last-second shots in a 1-PT loss to Pitt: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It is bittersweet when you take the emotion out of it…but 6 months later you look back on it and are thankful that we got to experience that. It ranks pretty high because it was a competitive-yet-ugly game. There were a lot of things we could celebrate about last season but we really want to advance much further this year.

You have 1 of the most veteran rosters in the nation with 6 grad students/2 seniors: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success? I think that it will be crucial. We returned all 5 starters and brought in some grad transfers. It is important to get old/stay old while also developing young talent. We are so much further ahead of last year from a system standpoint and are helping the new guys with things they are not used to.

Your schedule this year includes games against ASU/Washington State/Georgia Tech/Rutgers: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Opening the season vs. ASU at a neutral site (Chicago) will be exciting to see where we stand out of the gate. We will also play 1 of Northwestern/Rhode Island in the Hall of Fame Classic and are playing Rutgers right down the road from their campus in a hostile environment (Newark). We have a lot of neutral-site games that will prepare us for SEC play.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? You can see why we have high expectations this year. Coach said that he wants to win multiple games in March so that is what our mindset is: he is NOT just talking about the conference tourney. You need to win games in the fall and then compete every single night in the SEC. It is a process and we need to get better along the way.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged James Miller, Mississippi State | Comments Off

Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Arkansas SO G Saylor Poffenbarger

Posted on September 24, 2023 by Jon Teitel

We are still about 6 weeks away from the tip-off of the college basketball season, which means that we have plenty of time to prepare for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Arkansas SO G Saylor Poffenbarger, who talked about starting last season 13-0 and her expectations for this season.

You won a gold medal with team USA at the 2019 FIBA Americas U16 Championship: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? It meant a lot at the time but means even more now: the girls on that team remain some of my best friends even though our paths took us in different directions. Being 1 of the best girls in my age group was pretty cool.

You began your career at UConn: what is it like to get recruited/coached by Geno Auriemma? It was an interesting recruiting process: it was obviously my dream so the recruitment process was very easy-going/insightful. I have so much respect for Geno but I was in a different stage of my life so I struggled with being pushed a certain way. I was not loving basketball as much as I did when I 1st committed there but he has written the basketball story on the woman’s side.

Why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose Arkansas? It was during COVID so I was struggling mentally as well. I wanted to re-love the game and realized that I would have to “go down a bit” at a place where there was less pressure than at UConn. I wanted to go somewhere where I could work out with a balance. The staff here has really good people who gave me the comfort that I needed and I have fallen back in love with the game.

You started last season 13-0: did it reach a point where the team started to feel invincible? The point of non-conference play is to build confidence and we were able to use that to our advantage. We grew closer as a team and discovered our strengths/weaknesses. We just played together and trusted ourselves because we were winning.

You were named to the conference all-freshman team: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I had a mindset of just playing and not saying much and doing what I was expected to do. This year I plan to lead by example because I have a better grasp of how to get my teammates to respond. It was hard for me because there could have been some animosity but I just changed my mindset without worrying about outside expectations.

You broke the school record with 225 defensive REB despite playing guard: what is the secret to being a good rebounder? When I was younger my trainer helped me learn how to read the ball off the rim. Defense/rebounding is just an effort thing so it was a “controllable” that I COULD worry about.

In the 2023 WNIT you won 3 straight games before losing to eventual champ Kansas: what did you learn from that postseason run that you think will help you this year? We had to show a lot of maturity because a lot of teams have a different approach if they miss the NCAA tourney. We were disappointed…but used it as fuel and do not want to feel that way again. It shows the importance of every game/possession, which was the biggest takeaway.

The SEC has had 3 different schools appear in the past 6 NCAA tourney title games (South Carolina twice/Mississippi State twice/LSU once): do you feel that it is the best conference in the country? I do: from players to coaches it is definitely better than my prior conference.

Your mother Amy played basketball at Missouri and your brother Reese plays QB at Albany: who is the best athlete in the family? Oh God! We have a very competitive family: my mom would probably pick 1 of us…but my brother and I would each pick ourselves.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? I just want to be more consistent in all areas of my game. I want to have more fun out there so that I do not feel so frustrated that the joy is taken out of the game.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged arkansas, Saylor Poffenbarger | Comments Off

Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Creighton assistant coach Ryan Miller

Posted on September 23, 2023 by Jon Teitel

We are still a couple of months away from the tip-off of the college basketball season, which means that we have plenty of time to prepare for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Creighton assistant coach Ryan Miller, who talked about making the Elite 8 last March and his expectations for this season.

As a player at Mitchell High School you won the 1994 South Dakota State AA title, and in 2017 as an assistant at TCU you won the NIT: what is the key to winning championships? Having a team where every guy from 1-15 is willing to sacrifice and remains focused on doing their job.

In 2013 you were inducted into the Northern State Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? They have a history of athletic success, particularly in basketball, so it was a great honor. My coach, Bob Olson, was 1 of the best to do it. Whenever you get honors like that it is because of the people around you who sacrificed themselves to give you the opportunity to succeed. I have been very blessed to have amazing coaches dating back to high school so I received all of the details to learn what goes into winning. It has been a fantastic basketball journey and is still awesome.

You have been an assistant for a lot of great coaches including John Calipari/Steve Alford/Jamie Dixon/Greg McDermott: what is the most important thing that you learned from any of them? I have worked with so many great coaches (including Dave Rice) and each 1 of them have characteristics that make them successful. John is a great marketer and Greg is an offensive genius who also understands how to create a defensive scheme that exposes our strengths. I think he was a little ahead of his time with analytics when it comes to 3-PT shooting.

Last year you made the Elite 8 before Darrion Trammell made a free throw with 1.2 seconds left in a 1-PT win by San Diego State: what is your favorite memory from your postseason run? Just how our team overcame adversity. We lost 6 games in a row in late-November/early-December after having a good showing in Maui. We started executing and if a kid had a good shot he would pass it up to find a teammate who had a great shot. It was a heartbreaking loss to the Aztecs but the rally of the team was extraordinary.

Your team was 3rd-best in the nation by allowing just 9 FTM/12.4 FTA: what is the secret to playing defense without fouling? It is an everyday process to stay disciplined. You have to show your hands but play with your feet and make “vertical wall challenges”. Coach McDermott wants to make sure we take more FTs than our opponents because even the worst FT shooters will get 1 PT/possession.

You lost a few guys from last year but have some nice returning pieces like Ryan Kalkbrenner/Baylor Scheierman as well as some new additions like Steven Ashworth: how is the team coming together so far? It is coming together well. We had a trip to the Bahamas last month that allowed some of the new guys to jell with the old guys as we build an identity/chemistry. We are lucky to have some great leaders who have been there/done that. We have an exciting roster and will try to avoid any slip-ups early.

Your schedule includes games against Iowa/Oklahoma State/Nebraska/Alabama: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? All of those teams will present a big test: we lost a heartbreaker to Nebraska last year and Iowa is also a rivalry game. Alabama is a really good SEC team and Mike Boynton does a great job at Oklahoma State.

Your brother Mike won back-to-back NBA titles, your nephew Mason is 1 of your players, your father Tom/uncle Chris/uncle Alan/brother Jared/cousin Macy all played college basketball: who is the best athlete in the family? I would have to go with Mike. There was not much to do growing up so my parents put a basketball in our hands as soon as we popped out of the womb! Mike is 1 of the best shooters in NBA history and took it to the next level by making big shots both at Florida and in the NBA.

You have a birthday later this month: what are your plans for the big day? We start practice on the 26th and my birthday is the next day so I will celebrate it with family/friends. When you get top-10 preseason rankings you put a big bullseye on your back and you cannot sneak up on anybody. We will celebrate it…and then prepare to win a championship.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? Since I arrived here the foundation was already set, but the goal is to have a great non-conference season by competing as hard as we can. The next part is to have a great conference season with a true round-robin schedule in the Big East, then hopefully put ourselves in position to get a high seed in the NCAA tourney and make a long run. We want to bust down that Final 4 door. March is tricky and matchups matter: the best programs are on the top-4 seed lines and get favorable matchups.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Creighton, Ryan Miller | Comments Off