Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Arkansas assistant coach Keith Smart

Posted on September 7, 2022 by Jon Teitel

We are still a couple of months away from the tip-off of the college basketball season this fall, which means that we have plenty of time to start preparing 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 commences our coverage with Arkansas assistant coach Keith Smart, who talked about his 1987 NCAA tourney-clinching shot for Indiana and his expectations for this season.

You played for Coach Bob Knight at Indiana: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? Indiana was a program about winning and getting prepared to win. The thought process/training was to try to make the Final 4. There were plenty of former players who would come around for practices/games so it was definitely a family atmosphere. We also learned about having discipline both on the court and in the classroom. I remember 1 day in geology class when the professor called out my name and said that Coach Knight wanted to see me when I was done with my classes for the day. I had no idea what I had done but when I saw him that afternoon he just said he wanted to let me know that he was keeping an eye on me!

Take me through the magical 1987 NCAA tourney:
In the Elite 8 Daryl Thomas shot an air-ball but Ricky Calloway made a put-back with 6 seconds left in a 1-PT win over LSU: how exhausted were you and the rest of the starting 5 by the end of the game (as your bench only played a combined 7 minutes)? We played a lot of minutes during that tourney but were not worried about fatigue. Coach Knight trusted the upperclassmen to be on the floor as long as we did not get into foul trouble. Each guy on that team made at least 1 big shot during that season.

In the title game you scored 21 PTS including a baseline fadeaway jumper with 4 seconds left in a 1-PT win over Syracuse en route to being named tourney MOP: did you think your shot was going in, and how did it change your life (if at all)? My friends and I would always practice that kind of shot growing up because our cheerleaders in high school were on the baseline! We had an assistant coach named Ron Felling who would always say, “Jump up/shoot up”, which is exactly what I did.



In the 1987 Pan Am Games gold medal game you scored 12 PTS for team USA in a 5-PT loss to Brazil: where does Oscar Schmidt’s performance (46 PTS/7-15 3PM) rank among the greatest that you have ever seen? His brother played at Golden State when I was the coach so we talked about that game. Oscar was unconscious that night and nobody could guard him. At 1 point Coach Denny Crum turned to our bench and asked if anyone could guard him. Fennis Dembo said yes, went in to guard him…and Oscar made 2 quick shots over Fennis!

You played pro basketball for 10 years: what is the biggest difference between college and pro basketball? The way the pro game is moving now in terms of pacing/spacing, you are starting to see more college kids trying to do those things. In the pros the guys are professionals, whereas in college it is more about trying to teach the players the game. As a fan you might think that the college game is slower but as a coach last year I did not feel that way.

In the 2007 playoffs as an assistant to Don Nelson at Golden State you became the 1st #8-seed to ever win a 1st round best-of-7 series: how did you do it? I got to work with him for a long time as an assistant and actually got to coach about 17 games. Sometimes he would just tap me on the shoulder during the national anthem and tell me that I would be the head coach that night! He is a genius who could move a player 1 foot to the side and get him into the right defensive position. We had played Dallas and had success against them during the regular season so we knew that we would have a chance to win the series. I remember being in the locker room before Game 1 when Nellie came in and pointed out 2 things to the team: the Mavericks were not starting Erick Dampier because they were trying to go small, and then he did a shimmy to get everyone relaxed and said, “What is the worst that could happen?” We never looked at ourselves as the 8-seed and thought that we were just as good as Dallas.

Last year you were hired to be an assistant to Coach Eric Musselman at Arkansas: why did you decide to head to the college ranks after 2 decades as an NBA head/assistant coach? My wife and I used to have small kids and we knew that college would be a grind, whereas the NBA has a set schedule so it was the right thing for us at the time. However, once my youngest son graduated from college I figured that it was the perfect time to look at college jobs. I had interviewed with Indiana a couple of years ago before they hired Archie Miller. I had played/worked for Muss in the past so that helped a lot. I knew the basketball part but needed to learn about things like recruiting. Back in the day you just talked to the player and his high school coach but now you need to know the AAU coach/parents/other people around the player. There are also NCAA rules about who you can and cannot talk to and we have compliance people to help me out with that. I did not have to change my thought process but just had to learn about other things like scheduling. Muss wants to develop college players to become pros and in the NBA we develop rookies to become All-Stars. In the NBA you do not spend a lot of time around scouts until the draft, but when I see them now on the road I will ask them what they look for in a player: does he work hard, how does he go about warming up, etc. As a player you just have to take care of your business.

In the 2022 NCAA tourney you beat Vermont/New Mexico State/Gonzaga before losing to Duke: what did your team learn from that amazing run that you think will help this year? From a staff standpoint we learned that it keeps getting tougher the closer you get to the prize. We hit some bumps early before figuring things out defensively: getting the young guys to understand the importance of defense is our #1 goal, and we have to coach that part of the game a great deal. We also know that we will get everyone’s best effort.

You have an amazing freshman class including a trio of McDonald All-Americans in Nick Smith Jr./Jordan Walsh/Anthony Black: I know they have not even played a single college game yet but do you have a sense yet of how good any/all of them are going to be? I got to see them play live games over in Europe to see if they were picking up our concepts. They are talented and will be good players: we just need to make sure they are getting better/stronger every day, which they are. They have to understand how hard they have to work on the court and in the weight room and in the classroom.

Your son Jared played WR at Hawaii: who is the best athlete in the family? I have 2 photos that are next to each other: 1 of me making my shot against Syracuse and 1 of him going up for a catch…and he thought that he had me! He put a piece of tape up on our wall at home and said that if I could reach it then he would not bother me about getting a tattoo. I was not worried about getting up to the tape but was more concerned about the landing: I could not get it…but I still did not let him get a tattoo!

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? The biggest expectation is to get better every day rather than look too far down the road. When we won it in 1987 we did not have a goal of winning it all but we were able to put ourselves on the right path. If we focus on moving forward every day and playing great against the opponent in front of us then we will be fine.

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In Memoriam: HoopsHD interviews Jim McDaniels’ widow Carolyn

Posted on September 6, 2022 by Jon Teitel

A lot of great players have come out of Kentucky and Jim McDaniels was 1 of the best. After averaging almost 40 PPG as a senior at Allen County High School he enrolled at Western Kentucky and led his team to the 1971 Final 4. He was selected #1 overall by Dallas in the 1971 ABA Draft, and after signing a 25-year contract with the Carolina Cougars he averaged 26.8 PPG/14 RPG and was named an All-Star in 1972. His #44 jersey was later retired by Western Kentucky in 2000. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Jim’s widow Carolyn about her late-husband’s powerful performances in the NCAA tourney and becoming an ABA All-Star. Today marks the 5th anniversary of Jim’s passing on September 6, 2017, so we take this time to honor his life/legacy.

Jim scored 38.6 PPG as a senior at Allen County High School: what made him choose Western Kentucky? He attended a different school to start his high school career but the coach was not playing him so he switched to Allen County. When it came time to choose a college he considered UCLA but his mom did not know where that was. He thought about Kentucky but the deciding factor was when Coach John Oldham came to his humble house and sat down to talk to his family and drink out of mayonnaise jars. He received a big bag of fan mail from people who really wanted him to play at Western and he also wanted to be around his family.

He had 2 memorable NCAA tourney performances against Artis Gilmore in 1970 (he scored 29 PTS in a loss to Jacksonville as Gilmore had 30 PTS/19 REB) and 1971 (he had 23 PTS/13 REB in a 2-PT win over Jacksonville as Gilmore had 12 PTS/22 REB/11 BLK): how big was their rivalry during college, and how did they get along after becoming ABA All-Star teammates in 1972? They became good friends in the ABA. The rivalry was great: James said he was nervous every time he faced Artis, and Artis said the same thing. James was a young man at the time and becoming famous: even though he had great coaches he did not know what to do with all the fame. James would have loved to attend the ABA 50th Anniversary event in 2018.

In the 1971 NCAA tourney he had 35 PTS/11 REB in a win over Kentucky: how big a deal was it for the Hilltoppers to beat their in-state rival? It was awesome! Kentucky was a big rival at the time and to this day people still talk about that game. It was a wonderful time for them.

That season Coach Oldham became the 1st college basketball coach in Kentucky history to start 5 African-American players (McDaniels/Jim Rose/Clarence Glover/Jerry Dunn/Rex Bailey): was that Jim’s plan all along when he recruited the 4 other players to join him after he had signed at WKU? That is correct. James went up to Kentucky and met with their coach but he did not feel the warmth that he wanted. The other 4 guys were thinking of going to different universities and James said that since they were the best players in the area that they should all go to the same university and have a great team. They all put their hands in the middle and with some coaxing they said, “Go Tops!”

He was a 2-time OVC POY/3-time All-American: what did it mean to him to receive such outstanding honors? James was a team player so while he was honored he knew that he could not have done it without the rest of the team. He was a great player and enjoyed the accolades because he loved basketball and loved his rivals.

He was selected 23rd overall by Seattle in the 1971 NBA draft and 1st overall by Dallas in the ABA draft: why did he decide to play for the ABA’s Carolina Cougars? He really wanted to go to the NBA with Clem Haskins but Seattle was so far away from his family. He had another friend who played for Carolina and just went with him instead.

He averaged 26.8 PPG/14 RPG as a rookie for Carolina and scored a game-high 24 PTS in 20 minutes off the bench for the East in their 1972 All-Star Game win over the West: how was he able to make such a smooth transition from college to the pros? I do not think that it was easy for him. He thought that it was going to be easy but it is a different lifestyle with a dog-eat-dog atmosphere. It was not as friendly back in the day. The transition was okay for a minute.

Carolina offered him a $1.35 million contract to be paid over 25 years, but when they refused to renegotiate it to 15 years he decided to leave the Cougars for Seattle (he later admitted, “I should have stayed in the ABA for a couple of years. I was just young and things started going bad for me there and I did not know how to handle them.”): how do you think that his life would have been different if he had stayed in Carolina? He wished that he had stayed there for several reasons. There was a gentleman who offered him a better contract and he thought things might be better in the NBA because he admired Bill Russell. He said that he made a mistake and wished that he had stayed in the ABA.

After retiring in 1978 he coached high school basketball, sold cars, and married you: what was his life like after leaving pro basketball? He still loved basketball and worked at several free camps: he really enjoyed being there with his former players and passing on lessons to kids. He would tell the kids that they needed other professions because not everyone can play pro basketball. He enjoyed selling cars in Bowling Green because he had a good fan base who would come by to shoot the bull. He was a people person and worked a lot in the ministry: we would take clothing/blankets to the homeless in the winter and bring cookies/Gatorade around to basketball courts in the summer and talk to the kids about their lives and about how much God loved them. When he would get together with other legends in the 1990s to attend functions it was like they were little kids!

His #44 jersey was retired by Western Kentucky in January 2000 and he was later named to the school’s All-Centennial basketball team before passing away in 2017: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? As someone who loved basketball/people. Many people said that he played so smoothly: you could tell that he knew his game. He was “Mr. Basketball” and fans would talk about the way he played. He loved God/family/basketball but they are all close together. All he ever wanted to do was coach basketball at Western and I am just sorry that it never came to fruition: he did not want to steal anyone’s job but just wanted the program to be great again. He was honored to play against so many great players and was joyful about meeting his fans.

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Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews former Central Arkansas star Clifton Bush

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Jon Teitel

When you think about Central Arkansas basketball the 1st name that usually pops into your head is Scottie Pippen, but Clifton Bush put up even more impressive stats during his 4 years with the Bears. As a sophomore he scored 16.8 PPG, as a junior he set a school record with 682 PTS in 1 season, and as a senior he got it done on both ends of the court with 19 PPG/1.8 SPG. In 2004 he was inducted into the Central Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Clifton about playing in back-to-back NAIA title games and having a long pro basketball career overseas. Today is Clifton’s 52nd birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

As a kid you were a loyal attendee of future Hall of Famer Sidney Moncrief’s summer camp: what made Sidney such a great player, and what was the most important thing you ever learned from him? Sidney was an all-around player who could score yet also play great defense. He was a great team-first player who never seemed to worry about stats: he just played hard and was a winner.

You were born in Pine Bluff: what made you choose Central Arkansas? I was recruited out of Watson Chapel High School with 2 of my teammates (Irving Roaf/Kevin Kegler). We had heard of UCA by word of mouth through some friends and knew that Scottie Pippen had played there. We thought we could go there and do the same things we did as high schoolers. We wanted to be the star players 1 day and lead our team to multiple championships with all 3 of us in the starting 5. It was away from home yet still close enough that we could drive home on weekends or during school breaks if we wanted to.

In the 1991 NAIA title game you scored 16 PTS in a 3-PT loss to Oklahoma City: how close did you come to winning the game, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? We came really close and thought we played well enough to win…but a few missed shots by us and made shots from them in the latter stages of the game was the difference. Nobody other than our team/coaches/fans thought that we could win because every player at the time except 1-2 guys who did not get much playing time for OKC was a big-time D-1 recruit. However, what they did not know was that almost all of our players (including our subs) were also D-1 recruits who chose to play NAIA or had transferred from an NCAA school, so we were just as talented but without the recognition or big names they had. After the game we were disappointed to say the least but we knew that we would be even better the next year. That was our motivation to get back and work that much harder during the offseason. Although I made 1st-team All-American it was not enough for me and my team to make it so far and come up short. We had no tears: just the motivation to get back to the title game next season.

In the 1992 NAIA title game Oklahoma City had a 9-PT OT win to finish 38-0: how good was McDonald’s All-American Eric Manuel, and do you think that you would have ended their 54-game winning streak if Joe Sitkowski had not fouled out in the 1st 20 seconds of OT? Manuel was a tough player who had the body of Karl Malone and the outside shot of Steve Kerr. He had everything that NBA scouts look for in a draft pick in my opinion. If “Big Joe” had not fouled out we might have won that game…but it was what it was. Our entire team (especially me) should have given Joe better support that night: he carried us offensively after we had shared the offensive load as a team all year long. Many of my teammates would lead us in scoring from game to game but our shots just were not falling that game.

You remain the all-time leading scorer in school history: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were, and do you think anyone will ever break your record? I never thought of myself as a prolific player: all I wanted to do was beat the hell out of anyone that stood in my way! Whether it was Pippen or even Michael Jordan himself: I wanted to win and outplay that person. I always tried to be the best player on the court and took it as a personal challenge whenever I played against the other team’s best guy. I refused to believe that anyone was better than me on the court: if I had felt differently then I would not have been the player I was. I think records are meant to be broken but my record at UCA is special. I was a starter for all 4 years and averaged double-digits in each of those years, so if someone is going to break it they will need to be an NBA-caliber player.

You were a 2-time All-American: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? It still means the world to me because it is the top honor any player can receive. It means you are 1 of if not the best players in the country, which was always 1 of my goals: to be the best.

After college you played professionally in New Zealand and remained there for a couple of decades: what is the biggest difference between college and pro basketball, and what do you like most about New Zealand? The biggest difference between college and pro basketball is the pressure to constantly perform at a very high level. In college I found that I could depend on my teammates to carry the load when I was not having a good game. As a professional most teams are depending on you to dominate every single game you play, and if you do not live up to that expectation then you not only may lose a game but lose your job as a paid player. I loved every minute of playing like there was no tomorrow because it might be my last-ever game, and as a result I had an awesome career overseas. What I like most about New Zealand is that no matter where you go in the country you are never far from the beach, and when you throw in a safe environment for raising children it is just an awesome place to be!

In 2001 you led the National Basketball League in scoring: what is the secret to being a great scorer? The secret is having the competitive drive to be the best: if you have that then you will always be successful. It is like my favorite quote: “If you want to be the man, you have got to beat the man!” It just means that if other players think they are better than you, try to go out and prove them wrong by beating them.

Your children Maria/Clifton III play basketball: who is the best athlete in the family? I would say that my daughter Maria is the best athlete, but my son CB III has all the skills to be a great player: I am sure that he will be 10 times better than me.

After retiring as a player you became a basketball coach in New Zealand: how did you get into coaching, and what do you hope to do in the future? I got into coaching as a result of playing professionally overseas: it was part of my contract to go out into the community and schools to help coach kids of all ages as well as adults. I loved it and thought back to the days when Sidney had summer camps for us where nobody had to pay. I said that 1 day I would give back to my community like my childhood hero had, so I became a volunteer coach and later accepted an offer to become a paid coach while also continuing my volunteer work. It is not a fortune but there is nothing like doing something that you love: Anything Basketball!!

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Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews former Fairleigh Dickinson coach Tom Green

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Jon Teitel

Tom Green definitely fits into the category of “basketball lifer”. After playing point guard at Syracuse starting in the 1960s, he joined the coaching ranks and spent more than a decade combined at Syracuse/Tulane as an assistant coach. In 1983 he became head coach at Fairleigh Dickinson, and after more than a quarter-century in Hackensack he spent a few more years as head coach at CCNY before retiring in 2017. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Tom about working with Jim Boeheim and almost upsetting a #1-seed in 1985. Today is Tom’s 73rd birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

You played basketball at Syracuse: how good a player were you back in the day, and why did you decide to get into coaching? I was a cerebral PG with good ball-handling skills and knew how to lead/run an offense. I played with 2 big-time scorers: Bill Smith (a 6’11” center) and Greg Kohls (a 6’2” SG who could shoot the lights out). Coaching was something that I knew I wanted to do early on in my playing career.

In the 1975 NCAA tourney as an assistant at Syracuse under Roy Danforth, Jim Lee scored 24 PTS in a 2-PT win over UNC: what was it like to beat Dean Smith in March? That was an incredible game, especially with the personnel that UNC had on their team. It put us in the Eastern Regional championship vs. Kansas State (which we won) and led us to the Final 4.

1 of your fellow assistant coaches was Jim Boeheim: what made him such a great coach, and could you have ever imagined at the time that he would become such a legend? I always knew that Jim was going to be successful. He really knew Xs and Os, had an incredible work ethic, knew how to communicate with players, and made great use of the people that worked with him/for him. Nobody could ever predict his Hall of Fame career and the fact that he is on his way to 1000 wins. However, I absolutely knew that he was going to be successful because he was headed on that path from the time he became my friend/co-worker.

In 1983 you were hired as head coach at Fairleigh Dickinson: why did you take the job? It was a bad job: looking back on it now I never should have taken it. They only had 2 winning seasons in the previous 11 years and had never won a championship of any kind, but I was hungry to be a head coach. I took a 3-year contract, which was crazy: you could say that I had a few extensions of my contract over the years!

In the 1985 NCAA tourney Roy Tarpley had 15 PTS/13 REB in a 4-PT win by Michigan: how close did you come to upsetting the #1-seed? We were ahead 26-20 at halftime and up by 10 PTS with 8 minutes to go. All 5 of my starters fouled out from the 8-minute mark to the 4-minute mark so we finished the game with 4 scholarship players and a walk-on. We were down by 2 PTS with 8 seconds left and missed a steal by a whisker that would have sent it into OT, but my bench was empty at this point.

You won back-to-back conference COY awards in 1985/1986: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? Those honors just mean that my assistants brought in good players and we won with them.

In the 1998 NCAA tourney Elijah Allen scored 43 PTS/14-17 FG in an 8-PT loss to UConn: where does that rank among the greatest performances you have ever seen? I played in a game where Calvin Murphy scored 68 PTS vs. Syracuse (64 against our other guard and 4 against me) even though there was no 3-PT shot back then!!! I was also at an NBA game once where George Gervin scored 63 PTS to lock up a scoring championship versus the New Orleans Jazz. Elijah’s 43 was an incredible night as he was on fire and drove Coach Jim Calhoun nuts with his play! Elijah was/is a 1st-class young man.

In the 2006 NEC tourney title game Chris Kenny scored 8 PTS and made a driving layup with 2 seconds left in a 1-PT win by Monmouth: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? You had to remind me…yes, that was my most devastating loss!

In 2009 you were fired by athletic director David Langford despite being the winningest coach in school history: why on earth did he fire you, and do you think that anyone will ever break your record? I have no idea why I was fired: they never told me a reason. I do not think that anyone will ever spend 26 years at FDU again. It is a tough level to keep on winning at…and very hard to keep an AD happy for that long!

You later became head coach at the City College of New York: how did you like the job? I liked working at CCNY a lot and had fun coaching there. I wanted to turn this program around because they were at “rock bottom” when I arrived: I had a great support system here from the AD on up.

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Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews Southern Illinois legend Darren Brooks

Posted on August 28, 2022 by Jon Teitel

A lot of players can dominate on offense OR defense, but when you find a guy who can get it done on both ends of the court you know that you have a special player. Darren Brooks played a whopping 2 games during his 1st year at Southern Illinois, then came off the bench in his 2nd year. In 2003 he led the conference with 62 STL, as a senior he led the league with 16.5 PPG, and in his final 2 years he was named both MVC POY and DPOY. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Darren about being a great defender and playing pro basketball. Today is Darren’s 40th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

You played several sports at Jennings High School: which 1 did you enjoy the most, and how close did you come to becoming a college QB and/or pro baseball player? I enjoyed basketball the most. I played football all of my life but just took a break once I got to high school. I picked it up again as a senior and had a good year, which gave me a chance to walk on at some big schools. I also played baseball all of my life and got some offers to play in the minors but I wanted to focus on basketball.

You played in 2 games during your freshman season at SIU before redshirting: what impact did that have on you either on or off the court? They gave me a few games to see how good I was. I really wanted to play but it was a good move to redshirt because it taught me what it takes to be a D-1 player.

In the 2002 NCAA tourney you scored 16 PTS in a 2-PT upset of #3-seed Georgia: how were you able to overcome a 19-PT 1st-half deficit, and how much of a home-court advantage did you have at the United Center? We just believed in ourselves a lot that year. We had a close loss to an Illinois team that was 1 of the best in the country so we believed that we could beat anybody and just kept plugging away against Georgia. We did not feel like we had a big home-court advantage.

In the 2003 NCAA tourney you scored 12 PTS in a 1-PT loss to Missouri and in the 2004 NCAA tourney you scored 25 PTS/5-5 3PM in a 1-PT loss to Alabama: how close did you come to winning either of those 2 games? I still remember the Missouri game: it was tied late and the ref called a blocking foul in the final seconds. I think the refs should let the players decide the outcome. Alabama was a crazy game as well: it also came down to the final possession.

In 2003 and 2005 you led the conference in STL: what is your secret for being a great defender? I just thank the Lord for giving me everything I needed. The key is good instincts and good reactions: you just have to be in the right place at the right time.

You won 4 straight regular season MVC titles from 2002-2005: how were you able to be so successful for such a long period of time? We just worked really hard. We were a blue collar team who put on our hard hats and had no excuses. We tried hard at every practice and gave it 100%.

In 2004/2005 you became the 1st player in MVC history to be named both POY and DPOY in back-to-back seasons: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors, and how were you able to balance your offense with your defense? It meant a lot to me because it was so unexpected. I never thought that I would win it once, let alone twice, but it showed that all of my hard work paid off. I did whatever I could to help the team win anyway we could and left it all out on the court.

In the 2006 D-League title game with Albuquerque you scored 11 PTS in a win at Fort Worth: what did it mean to you to win a title? It felt good. It was like college again with a bunch of guys who came together and competed hard and tried to win.

You played for several different teams overseas: what is the biggest difference between college basketball and professional basketball, and which country did you like the most? The biggest difference is that the players get paid. You work out and practice and play games but you get a salary instead of a scholarship. The players are good everywhere so instead of going to class you go to practice. Australia was a beautiful place: I wanted to take a 5-year deal but my agent told me to take a shorter deal. It had nice weather and great people.

In 2012 you created the Brooks Basketball Academy in order to help players reach their full potential: what makes your academy different from other programs? We are a faith-based program that tries to develop both the player and the person. We focus on education and being a well-rounded person and giving back to the community.

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Happy Anniversary!: HoopsHD interviews Colgate legend Adonal Foyle

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Jon Teitel

You might think that McDonald’s All-Americans only go to the big colleges like Duke/Kentucky but a few decades ago Adonal Foyle decided to break the mold. After winning a pair of state titles at Hamilton Central School he kept his talents in Hamilton and decided to enroll a couple of blocks away at Colgate. It worked out well for everyone: by the time he left he was the school’s all-time leader with 1103 REB and the NCAA’s all-time leader with 492 BLK (in just 3 seasons!), and the Raiders made their 1st 2 NCAA tourney appearances ever in 1995/1996. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Adonal about moving to America and being a great shot-blocker. Today marks the 12th anniversary of Adonal announcing his retirement from the NBA on August 17, 2010, so we take this time to remember his remarkable achievements.

You were born in the Caribbean (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and did not play organized basketball until age 15: what sports did you play growing up, and how did you get into basketball? The list of sports ran the gamut as I tried/failed at many sports including soccer/cricket/track and field/etc. I did not know it at the time but I was still growing into my body and just not very coordinated. Basketball was an accident of sorts: I grew up on an island of only 500 people, but when I moved to the Grenadines for high school I was fortunate because basketball was much more prevalent there. They did not have a big man at the time so when I showed up as a 6’5” freshman they were very eager to put me on the team. I remember my 1st game: after just blocking/rebounding shots I wanted to see what scoring was like. I ran down the court to make my 1st layup…but when I turned around everyone was laughing because in my excitement to score I had forgotten to dribble the ball!

Hamilton Central High School professors Jay/Joan Mandle brought you back with them to New York, where you led the basketball team to a pair of state championships: what impact have the Mandles had on your life, and what did it mean to you to win a title? The 1st time we made it to the state title game we lost and I felt like crap. However, when we got back to town everyone came out to thank us by throwing a parade: it felt amazing to be embraced like that.

You had 14 REB in a 2-PT win by the East team in the 1994 McDonald’s All-American Game: what are your memories of the game, and which of the other players impressed you the most (Raef LaFrentz/Antoine Walker/Steve Wojciechowski/other)? It was Felipe Lopez and Jerod Ward’s world: we were just living in it! Lopez was viewed as the 2nd coming: he was just amazing on the court. I remember going to the Ronald McDonald House and talking with the kids. To be on the same court with guys we had read about in the newspaper was a good realization for all of us. Seeing my stepparents in the stands was also extraordinary: I will remember it for a very long time.

In 1995 you were named Patriot League ROY and became the 1st freshman to ever be named 1st-team All-Patriot League: what made you choose Colgate, and how were you able to come in and contribute so quickly? When I was looking at schools I wanted to have the opportunity to excel on the court and also in the classroom: I was unsure if I was good enough to be an NBA player. I could not go back to the island and tell my mom that I blew my chance to be the 1st one in my family to graduate from college. I also looked at schools like Syracuse/Kansas but at the end of the day I knew that Colgate would be the best situation for me both academically/athletically.

What are your memories of the 1995 NCAA tourney (you had 16 PTS/13 REB before fouling out in a loss to #1-seed Kansas)? Holy cow: how could they have that many big men on 1 team?! I would spin away from Scot Pollard…and then Greg Ostertag would be standing there waiting to block my shot. We did not have a lot of height so their Twin Towers just roamed the paint and kept us away from the basket. We gave it everything we had: when Coach Roy Williams shook my hand after the game and told me I did a really good job I felt very proud.

In 1996 you were named All-American, and in 1997 you became the 1st ever 2-time Patriot League POY: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? The honors were flattering but I always felt that I was unworthy because I was just having fun and still struggling while I learned how to get better. I was very humbled just to be recognized.

In the 1996 NCAA tourney you had 21 PTS/14 REB/6 BLK in a loss to UConn (who was led by 24 PTS from Ray Allen): how close did you come to pulling off the upset? UConn had lots of shooters. We were a bit more comfortable because we had been in the tourney the previous year and we played very hard. I was double-teamed all night but we were in it until the end. We started to think that we deserved a higher seed than #16: we were no longer a fluke.

In 1997 you led the nation with 6.43 BPG (the 2nd-most ever), and you finished your career with a then-NCAA-record (now #3) 492 BLK despite only playing 3 years: do you feel like you are 1 of the best defenders in NCAA history, and what is the secret to blocking shots? Most shot-blockers will tell you that the difference between blocking a shot and getting dunked on during that night’s SportsCenter is just 1 second. I enjoyed blocking shots: sometimes it was even more fun than dunking. A block has the ability to completely transform the course of a game. It allowed me to have an impact if I was able to control the paint. You cannot be afraid to get dunked on and you need timing/patience even when someone is coming full-speed-ahead right at you. It also helps if you can block a shot with either hand.

In the summer of 1997 you were drafted 8th overall by Golden State (1 spot ahead of Tracy McGrady): did you see that as a validation of your college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? It meant everything to me. Going from a small island to being a good college player made me very happy. When people told me I had a chance to be an NBA player I was stunned because I never dreamed about that growing up. To be picked 8th overall was really shocking but also really exciting. It helped me take care of my family: I was able to send my siblings to school in the US. It was an amazing journey and to have my mom with me at the draft on national TV was extraordinary.

In 2002 you had a career-high 9 BLK in 9-PT loss at Utah (who as a team only had 7 BLK): was it just 1 of those scenarios where you got a piece of every shot they put up because you were “in the zone”? What was funny about that game is that by the end of the game I think I had knocked out all of my teeth when someone gave me a karate chop during his drive to the basket! As a big man I had the opportunity to change the game and that night I was flying all over the court trying to block everything. I tried really hard to get 10 BLK but came up 1 short.

You began the 2006-2007 season as the active leader in most regular season games played without making the playoffs (641), but broke your streak after the Warriors won 9 of their final 10 games to clinch a postseason berth: how did it feel to finally make the playoffs, and what is the biggest difference between the regular season and the playoffs? I was happy for our fans to see what it felt like to make the playoffs. There were just so many unfortunate things that happened during my time there: coaches getting choked, players leaving, etc. It was great to live in the Bay Area but the basketball culture had become corrupted. After we made it to the playoffs and upset Dallas it was exciting to hear everyone talking about us. I was not worried about the streak and did not think too much about it. I know it is a cliché to say that we have the best fans…but they were always loyal to us even when we were only winning 17 games/season. To upset #1-seed Dallas was a fairy tale.

In 2007 you became an American citizen after living here for almost 18 years: why did you decide to make the switch, and how has your life changed since then? I had started a couple of foundations and was working with young people so I wanted to create change by having an informed voting block. People would look at me with shock when I told them I could not vote because I was not a citizen so I went through the process of going from student to alien to citizen. Doing that allowed me to fully participate in a country that has become my 2nd home. I had never voted for 30 years even though I think that voting is 1 of our most fundamental rights. I was sworn in along with 3000 other people and we all felt that it was the most important day of our life. To get to vote in the historic election of 2008 was such a symbol to me.

You continued working on your degree while playing in the NBA (graduating magna cum laude in 1999 with a degree in history), and in 2010 you were inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame: why did you decide to go back and get your degree, and how much importance do you place on academics? I feel that 1 of the true hallmarks we have in the NCAA is to be a “student-athlete”. I was the 1st person in my family to go to college so it was a hard decision to leave Colgate. I had to go back and get my degree because my mom would have killed me: seriously, she told me as much! It was also important for me to get a piece of paper saying that I was a college graduate, which gave me something to fall back on.

In August of 2010 you announced your retirement and the following month you were hired by Orlando you to be director of player development: why did you decide to retire, and how did you like the new job? As a player you never want to retire. Your body makes the decision for you and hopefully the mind will follow. I felt something pop in my knee and had surgery but never got back to the point where I felt 100%. I used to tell people that they would have to rip my jersey off and burn it because I would never retire, but after my knee would swell up every time I played I just felt it was the right time to bow out. I never thought that I would be a dinosaur at age 35! Orlando GM Otis Smith and I had talked a lot: I had tremendous respect for him when he was a bright spot for us back in Golden State. He offered me the job and it was a no-brainer to join him.

You made over $60 million in salary despite never averaging over 6 PPG in any season: how have you used your money to give back to the community? Some of the most extraordinary people in my life have been teachers so if I had my way teachers would be all-stars who got paid millions of dollars. I still talk to some of my old teachers. I do not think athletes deserve all of the money we make: it is ridiculous. There are 30 owners and 450 players: it is just about finances and market forces and supply/demand. I never tried to put a dollar amount on what we make: sports takes people away from the ordinary and they allow us to escape from the game of life. I always felt that we had a moral responsibility to be more than players by being ambassadors and giving back. I started 2 foundations to help kids from around the world by teaching them about AIDS/nutrition/education/etc. We leave a legacy behind after the game that goes far beyond our stats on the court.

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