Happy Anniversary! HoopsHD interviews South Dakota State legend Mark Tetzlaff

Posted on November 6, 2022 by Jon Teitel

South Dakota State has owned the Summit League recently, making 6 NCAA tourneys during the past 11 years, but 1 of their 1st big stars did not show up until the 1980s. Mark Tetzlaff helped lead the Jackrabbits to the 1985 D-2 title game and was named tourney MOP even after losing that game by a single point. He set the school’s all-time scoring and rebounding records and remains the school’s all-time leading shooter with 60.7 FG%. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Mark about his athletic family and almost winning a title. Today marks the 12th anniversary of Mark’s induction into the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame on November 6, 2010, so we take this time to reflect on his remarkable accomplishments.

Your family has a very impressive athletic lineage (your dad finished 3rd in the 1949 state Class B boys basketball tournament, your brother Harley won a state basketball title, your brother Kevin was an All-American nose guard at South Dakota State, your daughter Jessica won a state basketball title, and your son Dustin was Class AA POY): was it a coincidence that you had such an athletic family or do you credit at least some of your success to genetics? I guess that both genetics and family tradition go a long way. My folks helped by letting us get involved in all sports.

Why did you choose to go to South Dakota State? I was impressed with the recruiting process and my personality seemed to mix well with that of Coach Gene Zulk. It was a large school that was close to home, which also helped a lot.

In 1985 your team lost the D-2 title game to Jacksonville State by 1 PT but you were still named tourney MOP: what are your memories of the game, and how did it feel to win MOP while losing the title? I would have given up the MOP to win the title. We were up by 5 PTS with a couple of minutes left. There might have been a few bad calls at the end…but they have never changed them even to this day! It was 1 of the biggest crowds we had ever seen. We did not have the most talent in the world but practice was a war zone because none of us ever gave up. Coach Zulk was 1 of the best in my eyes because not only was he a good coach but he cared about us as players.

After retiring as a player you became an agricultural and commercial banker: how did you get into that line of work, and how do you like it? I enjoy banking very much: my degree was in commercial economics and I have been in the banking industry for decades.

Your son decided to play college basketball at your archrival (South Dakota): how did you feel about his choice of college? He went to USD but later transferred to Northern to play ball there.

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Handing out the Hardware: Exhibition players of 2022

Posted on November 5, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The start of November means that the regular season is right around the corner: FINALLY! We take this time to recognize the best players in college basketball from the 2022 exhibition season. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel has reviewed all of the numbers and is ready to announce his picks for the 5 best performances from the past few weeks based on all-around stats for both D-1 and non-D-1 teams. If you think that he has overlooked anyone then feel free to tweet us your comments.

D-1 players of the exhibition season
G: Sardaar Calhoun, Drake: 35 PTS/7-9 3PM in win over Minnesota Duluth

G: Skyelar Potter, Jacksonville State: 42 PTS/8-12 3PM in win over Auburn-Montgomery

F: Ben Krikke, Valparaiso: 25 PTS/9-16 FG/13 REB in win over Cedarville

F: Darnell Brodie, Drake: 25 PTS/9-17 FG/15 REB in win over Minnesota Duluth

C: Armando Bacot, North Carolina: 12 PTS/6-9 FG/20 REB in win over Johnson C. Smith

Non-D-1 players of the exhibition season
G: Jalen Canada, Erskine: 34 PTS/13-21 FG in loss to Gardner-Webb

G: Da’Zhon Wyche, Alaska Anchorage: 32 PTS/6-11 3PM/0 TO in loss to UC Irvine

F: Milos Vicentic, McKendree: 32 PTS/13-20 FG/12 REB in loss to Northern Illinois

F: Keyshawn Celestino-Clyde, SAGU American Indian: 22 PTS/9-14 FG/10 REB in loss to Northern Arizona

F: Jacob Drees, Cedarville: 22 PTS/3-8 3PM/14 REB in loss to Valparaiso

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Happy Birthday! HoopsHD interviews former Tennessee-Martin coach Bret Campbell

Posted on November 5, 2022 by Jon Teitel

Bret Campbell is another basketball lifer who successfully made the transition from player to coach. He started for 3 years as a PG at Valdosta State and graduated as the school’s all-time leader in AST. He was hired as head coach at Tennessee-Martin in 1999 and a decade later was named OVC COY after going 22-10 in 2009. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Bret about leading the Skyhawks to their 1st-ever OVC title and making the NIT. Today marks Bret’s 62nd birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

You were a guard at Valdosta State and graduated with the most AST in school history: how good a player were you back in the day, and what is the secret to being a good PG? I was fortunate to grow up in Indiana where I had a good fundamental base to give me an understanding of the game. I am not sure how good I was but I knew how to find my good teammates who were open!

In 1983 you started your coaching career as a graduate assistant at your alma mater: was it weird to be coaching guys who you had been teammates with the previous year? It puts you in a different position: you have to act a little differently with guys who are your buddies.

What are your memories of the 1996 NCAA tourney when you were an assistant at Austin Peay (Drew Barry had 11 AST in a win by Georgia Tech)? I remember that they were just loaded with guys like Stephon Marbury/Matt Harpring/Barry, etc., but we were in it until the final few minutes.

In 1999 you became head coach at Tennessee-Martin: why did you take the job, and were you concerned about taking over a program that had not had a winning record in a long time? It was an opportunity to become a D-1 head coach, first and foremost. I knew it would be challenging but I saw it as an opportunity to succeed…and we had a winning record within 3 years.

Your best recruit was 2-time OVC POY Lester Hudson: how were you able to recruit Hudson, and what made him such a great scorer? I think that Lester knew some of my former players who encouraged him to go there. He was always a good scorer…but after developing his 3-PT shot during the year that he sat out he became 1 of the best college players I have ever been around.

In 2009 you led the school to its 1st-ever OVC title and were named conference COY: how big a deal was it to win the conference title, and what did it mean to you to win such an outstanding honor? It was a great honor for our team/community/school: we were listed #331 in basketball budgets in the country only a few years before!

In the 2009 NIT (the 1st postseason D-1 appearance in school history) Hudson had 33 PTS/12 REB in a 5-PT loss to Auburn: how close did you come to pulling off the upset? Anytime you make it to the postseason it is memorable. It was quite exciting for our program and we kept it close until the last 5 minutes.

In 2009 you resigned after an internal audit in which you admitted that “mistakes were made” by yourself and you became Director of Basketball Operations at Murray State: what was the biggest mistake you made, and how were you able to move on with your life? It was portrayed incorrectly as a “resignation”. My dismissal would not have taken place at 99% of the schools in the country because there were no NCAA violations: just a policy in regard to sports camps that was not followed completely. I have run camps for decades at many schools and did nothing differently but it was viewed as a reason to dismiss me. I have nothing to be ashamed of but the situation was blown out of proportion. People around the OVC realized that I was still a viable basketball coach so I thank Billy Kennedy for giving me the opportunity to be a part of a special team at Murray State that had an exceptional season.

You were later named assistant coach at Austin Peay, where you had previously been an assistant to Dave Loos during the 1990s: what did it mean to you to head back to Clarksville, and what made Loos such a great coach? I have always respected Dave: I previously worked for him for 7 years. He was a great coach but also a great person/D-1 athletic director. His experience and toughness helped him become the most successful coach in the OVC.

When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I want to be remembered as a coach who really cared about his players while challenging them to become better.

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Hoops HD Bracket Rundown: Preseason Special

Posted on November 3, 2022 by David Griggs

A full panel is on hand tonight as Chad reveals his Hoops HD Preseason Bracket!  We go through each team line by line and assess how good we think each of them are, and the panel discuss whether or not the agree with disagree with Chad’s picks as we go along.  Check out who the #1 seeds are, who the protected seeds are, who’s safely in the field, who just made it, and who just missed it.

Below is the final bracket, but don’t look at it until you’ve watched the show!!!

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show….

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Under the Radar: Preseason Special

Posted on November 2, 2022 by David Griggs

Chad and David (and later John Stalica) run through all 22 Under the Radar leagues and preview each one of them.  We discuss who we think the favorites will be, what possible seed line we think they might end up on, and other teams that we think have a good chance at finishing at or near the top of each conference.  We also discuss teams like UAB out of Conference USA, Toledo and Kent State in the MAC, and Drake out of the Missouri Valley as teams that could end up inside the bubble come Selection Sunday and not need to win their conference tournaments to make the NCAAs.  All that, and more on this extended preseason version of Under the Radar

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

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WAC Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 2, 2022 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON COACHES POLL:

  1. Grand Canyon
  2. New Mexico State
  3. Stephen F. Austin
  4. Abilene Christian
  5. Cal Baptist
  6. Seattle U
  7. Utah Valley
  8. Sam Houston
  9. Southern Utah
  10. Tarleton State
  11. UT Arlington
  12. Utah Tech
  13. UTRGV

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON MEDIA POLL:

  1. Grand Canyon
  2. New Mexico State
  3. Stephen F. Austin
  4. Abilene Christian
  5. Cal Baptist
  6. Sam Houston
  7. Seattle U (tied 6th)
  8. Utah Valley
  9. Southern Utah
  10. UT Arlington
  11. Tarleton State
  12. Utah Tech
  13. UTRGV

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON COACHES ALL-WAC 1ST TEAM:

-Airion Simmons – SR, F – Abilene Christian
-Taran Armstrong – SO, G – Cal Baptist
-Jovan Blacksher – JR, G – Grand Canyon
-Xavier Pinson – SR, G – New Mexico State
-Cameron Tyson – JR, G – Seattle U
-Tevian Jones – SR, G/F – Southern Utah
-Justin Johnson – SR, F – UTRGV
-Trey Woodbury – SR, G – Utah Valley

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON COACHES ALL-WAC 2ND TEAM:

-Rayshon Harrison – SO, G -Grand Canyon
-Gabe McGlothan – JR, F – Grand Canyon
-Javion May – SR, G – Sam Houston
-Riley Grigsby – SR, G – Seattle U
-Maizen Fausett – SR, F – Southern Utah
-Sadaidriene Hall – SO, F – Stephen F. Austin
-Jaylin Jackson-Posey – SO, G – Stephen F. Austin
-Freddy Hicks – JR, G/F – Tarleton State

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON MEDIA ALL-WAC TEAM:

-Airion Simmons – SR, F – Abilene Christian
-Taran Armstrong – SO, G – Cal Baptist
-Jovan Blacksher – JR, G – Grand Canyon
-Xavier Pinson – SR, G – New Mexico State
-Deshawndre Washington – JR, G – New Mexico State
-Cameron Tyson – JR, G – Seattle U
-Jaylin Jackson-Posey – SO, G – Stephen F. Austin
-Trey Woodbury – SR, G – Utah Valley

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

I don’t always agree with the preseason Media Day polls.  Truth be told, despite being an all-knowing puppet, I actually almost always have more questions than answers before the season actually starts.  But I usually GENERALLY agree with the preseason prognostications that we see from the supposed experts.  Not with this year’s WAC, though.  I am literally at a loss when it comes to this particular preseason poll.

-The Lopes of Grand Canyon are quite possibly the best-supported Under the Radar program in existence.  They kind of took a step back last year but this year they are once again expected to finish at the top of the league.  Three starters are back from a 20+ win team that was playing very well down the stretch.  They’ve got a really solid player in Jovan Blacksher and they add what I think are some pretty high-level transfers.  To say this team can land inside the bubble may be a bit of a stretch, but this is a damn good Lopes team.

-New Mexico State will soon be joining Conference USA, which is perhaps a step up for them.  As a program this team seems to be grossly under-rewarded for how good they usually are.  25+ win seasons are the norm, and it was great to FINALLY see them win a game in the Round of 64 last year after coming so close so many times.  The problem is that it looks as though they are starting completely over.  They have a new coach in Greg Heiar.  They also have an entirely new roster with all five starters being gone from last year and just three returning players.  To say they will finish as high as 2nd seems like a bit of a stretch, but I am very familiar with their recent history so I get it.  But, there are a lot of question marks with this year’s Aggies team.

-SFA was a constant Southland frontrunner before joining the WAC, but as a program I think they are very healthy and will be in the top half of the league a lot more than they are at the bottom of it.  They only have two starters back from last year, but they also appear to have some guys back from injury and some decent transfers, so finishing in the top half of the league is very doable.

-Abilene Christian had a 20+ win season last year, but like a lot of teams they are going through a bit of a transition with just two starters back.  They do add some transfers who should be able to step into key roles right away so they should still be a tough team to beat.

-Cal Baptist may be a bit of a dark horse this year.  They had their ups and downs last year, but with three starters back and the addition of some pretty-good-looking transfers they can hopefully be more consistent this year and end up finishing in the top half of the league.

-Seattle U is not getting a lot of love at Media Day.  I have no clue why.  I have searched for injuries to key players and cannot find any.  They have four returning starters from a team that was 1st in the conference a year ago.  Cameron Tyson and Riley Grigsby are both good players and were both named to preseason All-WAC teams.  So…WHAT IS THE PROBLEM!!!???  It seems to me that this would be who would have been picked to finish first. I have no idea what I am missing.  They are my pick to win the league.

-Utah Valley was a modest 10-8 in WAC play last year and with three starters back we could see some improvement out of them this year.  They managed 20 total wins a year ago and the program seems to be going in the right direction.

-Sam Houston lost their top two players from a year ago, but the other three starters are back and they should be able to at least be competitive this year.  I do not think they will win the league but I can see them ending up in the middle of it.

-I am a little surprised to see Southern Utah this low as well.  They are new to the WAC after having been in the Big Sky, but the Big Sky and WAC are actually pretty comparable as far as overall strength.  They have really been improving as a program over the years, and it has been fun to watch them grow from the dregs of D1 to what has now been back-to-back 20+ win seasons.  Three starters are back, including two of their top scorers, they seem to have some decent transfers, so I am once again perplexed at where they have been picked to finish.

-UT Arlington was rather unremarkable last year.  They are kind of in a reboot with just one starter returning so it could be a long year for the Mavericks.

-Tarleton State is a transitional program that did not fare too badly last year considering they are transitioning: 11 total wins, and they looked fairly decent in the second half of conference play.

-Utah Tech (formerly Dixie State) and UTRGV could both be in for very long seasons this year.

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