Name, Image, and Lots of money: HoopsHD interviews billionaire NIL dealmaker John Ruiz

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The marketplace for NIL deals for college athletes was created last summer and Miami attorney John Ruiz appears to be on the cutting edge. In January he announced that he would be spending up to $10 million for NIL deals to athletes at his alma mater (Miami) and in the past few months he has already finalized 60+ deals and has another 50+ deals pending. A few months ago he signed a deal with the #1 player in the transfer portal (Nijel Pack), then made national news after convincing Isaiah Wong to keep his existing deal rather than attempt to renegotiate it. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with John about creating social media impressions and clearing up the NIL guidelines.

You have been an attorney for more than 3 decades, are the founder of MSP Recovery, CEO of LifeWallet, and owner of Cigarette Racing: how did it feel to become a billionaire last year, and what is the next goal that you would like to achieve? I do not really think about the money: it just came about as a result of hard work/luck. I work the same way now that I always have: probably even a little harder! What is important is that I can do positive things with the money, which makes me feel good. I like to innovate and provide avenues for those who are less fortunate.

In January you set aside $10 million for NIL deals and have already spent more than $5 million during the past several months spread out over 60+ signed deals with Miami athletes to promote your companies (with approximately 50 more deals pending): do you feel like your money will help your alma mater win games, and how many social media impressions do you need to receive to make the publicity worth the investment? It is not just about social media impressions…but we already have over 150 million so far! As a result, a lot of people have started to follow college sports, and LifeWallet has received a lot of attention on a granular level by giving kids a chance to succeed and allowing the athletes to network. We give NIL deals to more than just the elite athletes, such as long-snappers and walk-in athletes who do not even start. There are a lot of functionalities to winning, such as chemistry. I think there is a greater probability that Miami sports will do well, but that is also due to better coaches/trainers/facilities. It is no different than a pro team that is trying to bring in athletes with good mental stability.

What kind of NIL deal did you set up with Hurricanes guard Isaiah Wong last April? I do not want to disclose the amount but I was the 1st person to set up a deal with a Miami basketball player. When Isaiah and his family saw the deal that I struck with (Kansas State transfer guard) Nijel Pack his agent contacted me.

That same month you announced that Nijel signed a 2-year deal for $800,000 plus a car: how do you think he will do next season, and what impact (if any) did that have on the Wong deal? Nijel is a very talented athlete…but the reason he got $800,000 is because he was the #1 player in the transfer portal. That has a lot of value from an NIL perspective, which is why doing such a deal was my strategy. It still is explosive because Nijel is being viewed by the entire country and his deal is a measuring stick for everyone else. The 1st day we got over 5 million views, and then it went completely viral across the nation. Every time he steps onto the court everyone will look at him more and talk about him for years to come. I think it is amazing marketing.

What was your initial reaction when Wong’s agent Adam Papas stated that his client was going to enter the transfer portal if he did not get more compensation from his existing deal, and did you feel like he was trying to “hold you hostage”? I think the agent is a good guy: I dealt with him on Nijel’s deal as well. I blame the environment that the players and their families have to navigate: they do not have the experience in making such deals. It is like free agency where you can go wherever you want, unlike a pro draft where the team gets to make the decision. We need to educate the players/families more because there are a lot of moving parts. I do not blame a talented guy like Isaiah who feels that he is better than someone else, but an NIL deal is not a contract based on pure athletic ability: that is pro sports. However, a college athlete can have more marketing value than other people.

Less than 24 hours later Wong announced that he would keep his existing NIL deal and not enter the transfer portal after all: why did you refuse to renegotiate his deal, and how satisfied are you with where things currently stand? I do not renegotiate deals: once you sign a contract you are stuck with it. Had I renegotiated it I think that it would have been a violation of NCAA rules and I owe a fiduciary responsibility to the businesses I run. I think we are now in a great place and it was a good experience for everyone to learn from.

You stated that you will help him get some other NIL deals: what do you have in mind? I tell all of the players that our own companies have a good structure in place and I am well-networked with other companies who wants to provide deals as well. Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke originally signed a $65,000/year deal, but my understanding is that he is now making more than $1 million/year. LifeWallet increases the player’s value because it helps them get branded across the nation.

You have orchestrated deals with athletes in other sports including football/women’s college basketball: do you feel that 1 sport stands out above the rest in terms of return on investment, or is it simply a factor of how many followers the person has online, or other? There are a lot of different factors. In Nijel’s situation I viewed the marketing value at that specific moment (as the top player in the portal) rather than if he was already enrolled at Miami. I think there is a greater focus on individual players in basketball (since they play both offense/defense), even though football is followed more in general. Every deal is different: you need to know when to push/pull but it is not just about athleticism. Football/basketball are the top-2 sports but I have some other deals with college baseball players.

Do you see any downside to signing deals with teenagers either on the court (if they miss a game-winning shot) or off the court (if they get arrested for behaving badly)? You always have a problem if someone behaves badly but we have provisions that can void the contract if those kinds of things happen. If you take out a loan then there is a “bad boy” provision stating that if you commit fraud then there will be consequences. I think NIL deals are positive because we take pride in giving something back to the players beyond money: we provide an understanding of how to pay your taxes, fulfill your obligations, etc. People get overcome by the notion of winning: it is not always about who has a “W” next to their name in the sports section. These are young adults in different sports who will have a life after college, and that is where we fit in very nicely. We want them to succeed afterward as businessmen/family men.

How do you navigate the uncertainty about what is/is not permitted regarding NIL deals, and how would you clear up the guidelines if you were running the NCAA? Every circumstance in life has its own application. I am a stickler for dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s because I am a lawyer so that is par for the course. I think the NCAA needs to understand that there must be an equal playing field because right now there are different laws in different states that create inequality. Florida (where I live) has a very strict NIL statute, but if you are in California then the laws are less strict. Although I hate regulation, it cannot become a monopoly so you need more structure such as a cap per business/area. That is what they did in pro sports to keep it from spinning out of control. The payroll of some college football teams can be higher than some pro teams, which is crazy!

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Clay Day: HoopsHD interviews Milwaukee legend Clay Tucker

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The average NBA career lasts roughly 4.5 years but Clay Tucker showed that you can have a LOOOOOONG pro basketball career if you are simply willing to work hard. After leading Milwaukee to its 1st-ever NCAA tourney appearance in 2003, he did not get drafted that June…but that was just the beginning (rather than the end) of his pro career. He played in the ABA, the D-League, and all over Europe, allowing him to spend 15 years making money while playing basketball. After retiring he became a coach at his high school alma mater, giving him the chance to share a decade and a half of valuable knowledge with the next generation. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Clay about making it to the NCAA tourney and almost going undefeated.

You were born/raised in Ohio: what made you choose Milwaukee? My mom had 3 sisters living in Milwaukee and I just fell in love with everything there during my visit: it felt like my 2nd home.

You played for a pair of great coaches in Bo Ryan/Bruce Pearl: what was the most important thing that you ever learned from either of them? The 1 thing I learned from both of them was the importance of being patient. They were big on all of the little details because that is what wins ball games.

In the 2003 Horizon tourney title game you had a win over Butler en route to being named tourney MVP: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most, and how big a deal was it to make the 1st NCAA tourney appearance in school history? It was huge to lead that team to the 1st conference championship in school history. We had a heck of a group including 4 guys who scored 1000+ PTS in their career. It is a memory I will hold for the rest of my life.

In the 2003 NCAA tourney you scored 18 PTS but Dylan Page’s shot at the buzzer rolled off the rim in a 1-PT loss to Notre Dame: did you think that his shot was going in, and where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? I definitely thought the shot was going in because Dylan was very efficient around the basket. It is probably the most devastating loss in my entire career.

You remain atop the school’s leaderboard in several stat categories with 1788 PTS/194 STL/264 3PM: how were you able to balance all of the different aspects of your game? I was taught from a young age to be an all-around player rather than just focus on 1 aspect of the game. If I had an off-night scoring I wanted to be able to do other things to help my team win.

You were a finance major: how did you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? It was tough. I originally wanted to be a physical therapist but after taking a lot of difficult classes I switched to business. I was good at math so classes like statistics were pretty easy for me.

You spent 15 years playing pro basketball in the US/Europe for about 20 different teams: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball overseas? European leagues are more physical. There are also different rules in the US like defensive 3 seconds, which means that you have to think about different ways to score.

In 2005 as a member of the Utah Snowbears in the ABA you scored more than 20 PPG and went 27-1: how close did you come to going undefeated, and what was your reaction like when you learned that your franchise was shutting down just days before the championship round? It was very devastating to hear that we could not keep playing after having such a great season. I had never worked harder in the preseason and then we went out and won about 26 games in a row during the regular season. We lost to Arkansas but then beat them in the next game. Arkansas wound up winning the title: it was tough to accept that because we had already beaten them.

In 2008 you were the top scorer in the Italian League: what is the secret to being a great scorer? You have to be ready to shoot at all times because you never know when you will get the ball. You also need to have confidence that every shot you take will go in.

You are currently the head coach at your former high school: how do you like being a coach, and what do you hope to do in the future? I love being a coach and giving back a lot of knowledge that I have gained over the years to the younger generation. I want to keep coaching kids who are very receptive and want to learn from me.

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You had 1 JOB: HoopsHD interviews multi-sport star Johnny O’Brien

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Jon Teitel

Most people are lucky to succeed in 1 occupation but Johnny O’Brien seemed to be great at everything he did. At Seattle University he upset the Harlem Globetrotters and became the first player in NCAA history to score 1000 PTS in 1 season. He later played major league baseball for 6 years, then became a city councilman and sportscaster. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Johnny about beating the Globetrotters and being a great scorer. Today marks the 63rd anniversary of Johnny’s final MLB appearance for the Milwaukee Braves on July 19, 1959 (he earned a walk in the 5th inning as a pinch-hitter and scored on a single by Eddie Mathews) so we take this time to honor his life/legacy.

You and your identical twin brother Ed were known as the “Gold Dust Twins”: who gave you the nickname, and how did you like it? I believe a sportswriter in Seattle came up with that nickname but we never paid much attention to it.

You were born/raised in New Jersey: how on earth did Coach Al Brightman convince you to head 3000 miles west to college at Seattle University? We graduated from St. Mary’s High School in South Amboy, NJ. Most pro baseball teams wanted us to sign a contract but our dad wanted us to go to college instead. We won 3 straight state baseball titles in New Jersey and were playing in another tournament where Coach Brightman happened to see us play. He came up to us in the middle of a 19-inning game and asked us about our grades. We said that we had great grades…and then Ed excused himself and stole 2nd base! We thought that Coach Honey Russell was going to give us scholarships to Seton Hall but he thought that we were too small and sent us a telegram to share the bad news. We eventually got scholarships to Seattle and became the 1st members of our family to ever get onto an airplane. We showed up for an 8AM practice and the other guys did not know what to expect, but after we started grabbing the rim/dunking the ball they realized how good we were.

On January 21, 1952, you scored 43 PTS and broke your nose in an 84-81 upset of the Harlem Globetrotters in an exhibition game hosted by jazz great Louis Armstrong at the University of Washington: how did you pull off the upset, and how big a deal was it at the time? I consider it the 1st real introduction of Seattle into D-1 athletics. The Globetrotters were going to play 3 college teams that winter and donate the funds to the US Olympic team. We used a college ball in 1 half and a pro ball in the other half. The 3 college teams were going to be Army/Notre Dame/Washington but due to some miscommunication we ended up replacing the Huskies and Brightman said that it would be easier if the team got the ball to me. Our building held 14,000 fans but the fire department stopped letting people in at around the 17,000-person mark. The thing I remember the most is when movie actress Joan Caulfield came onto the court to throw the ball up for the opening tip: nobody moved because we were all staring at her! It was big-time because it showed that Seattle could play with anyone.

You finished that season as the 1st NCAA player to score 1000+ PTS in a season and you graduated with 2733 career PTS: what is the secret to being a great scorer? For me the keys were that I could jump high and was very quick. I actually had 3302 PTS if you include my freshman season but they did not count those stats back then. I know it sounds impossible…but I finished my career with 1101 FGs and 1100 FTs!

In the 1953 NCAA tourney you scored 25 PTS in a loss to Washington: where does Hall of Famer Bob Houbregs (45 PTS/20-35 FG) rank among the greatest players that you ever faced? I tell people that I “held” him to 45! He had a sensational right-handed hook shot so we overplayed him and tried to force him to the left but it did not happen very often. The whole town cheered for either Seattle or UW and all of the players were friends with each other: we would play in each other’s gyms and then go out for hamburgers afterwards. Bob and I remained great friends for our entire lives: I was actually scheduled to have dinner with him right around the time that he passed away in 2014.

That season you and your brother were each named All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? The #1 item that we were most interested in getting was a college degree. We were grateful for sports because that was the vehicle that enabled us to go to college.

At 5’9” you remained the shortest All-American for 63 years until 5’9” Tyler Ulis was named an All-American for Kentucky in 2016: did you see your size as an advantage or disadvantage on the court? It is hard to answer that because even though I was 5’9” I played center! I shot over 50 FG%/80 FT% every year even though I usually had someone bigger guarding me. I had to use my quickness to get away from my defender and take my shot. I guess I would say that it was a benefit.

After graduating you and your brother were both drafted by the NBA’s Milwaukee Hawks, but instead you both joined the Pittsburgh Pirates and became the 1st twins in MLB history to play for the same team in the same game on May 10, 1953: which sport were each of you best at, and how excited was your family to see you 2 together in the majors? Our mom died while we were in college so she did not get to see that unique situation. When we would play the Braves in Milwaukee the Hawks owner Ben Kerner would take us out for a meal and try to convince us to play for him, but it would have been too hard for us to do both sports. I have a grandson who is pitching in AAA named Riley O’Brien. He throws about 94 MPH and has pitched a couple of innings in the majors so baseball keeps creeping through the family. My other grandson Connor is a good ballplayer and has a chance to get drafted. Riley made more money during his 2 days in the majors than I made in my entire rookie season! We were known as “bonus babies” and Ed decided that we would use the money to buy our father a house/car. He died 4 years later and in his will he left his sons “$1 and my love” and gave my sister Teresa the rest of his estate. Money did not become a big issue back then because we never had any. We had several guys from my high school reach the majors including Allie Clark/Tom Kelly/Jack McKeon: we were all poor so the 1 thing to do was to play sports.

After retiring you had several neat gigs including several terms as a King County Commissioner, radio broadcaster for Seattle basketball games alongside Keith Jackson, and head of security at the Kingdome: how did you like working in politics, and how did you like working with Keith? If you did not win the World Series back then you had to get an offseason job to make it to the next year. My best friend on the Dodgers was Carl Furillo and he said that his side gig was as a bartender. He asked me what I did and I said I picked up stiffs for the coroner. He asked me how on earth I could do that and I said, “I never had a single complaint from any of the customers!” I struck out on a curveball in my 1st major league at-bat against Dodgers’ pitcher Carl Erskine, after which Roy Campanella said, “Hey Johnny: I guess the basketballs do not curve like that!” Politics was much different back then: we would talk with people from the other party and we got along with each other. We did not have many split votes because we met with our department heads and entered meetings with knowledge of how to be caretakers for the county. I feel sorry for the way that things are going today.

You and your brother are enshrined in the Seattle University Hall of Fame and the athletics administration building is named the Ed and John O’Brien Center: where do those honors rank among the highlights of your career? Getting into the Hall of Fame was not a great surprise…but having the building named after us was! They called us in for a meeting and I thought they just wanted us to sponsor a golf tournament or something so I was stunned to learn that they would be putting our names on the building.

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National Sports Collectors Convention: HoopsHD interviews Phil Regli

Posted on July 17, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The National Sports Collectors Convention (https://nsccshow.com) is an annual summer gathering of collectors/dealers who have a passion for trading cards, autographs, and any other kind of memorabilia that you can think of. First formed in 1980, it is now the premier collectibles industry event that attracts a majority of the licensing agencies from around the professional sports world. The 42nd “National” will be held during the final week of July at the Atlantic City Convention Center, and next summer it will head back to the Midwest in Chicago. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel is unable to attend this year’s event in person so instead he will be interviewing as many of the dealers who will be there as possible. We conclude our coverage with Phil Regli and his magnificent college basketball merchandise.

1. 1905 Yale-Dartmouth Basketball Promotional Flyer: Yale finished 2nd in the 5-team Ivy League that year with a 5-3 conference record (Note: we will not be discussing where Penn finished!), Dartmouth was an Independent at the time and finished with an overall record of 20-10-1 (they finally joined the Ivy League several years later in 1911), Phil acquired this flyer as part of a collection of vintage material, it is rare because you do not see a lot of people who have saved such flyers (Phil has only seen about 3 of them in his lifetime), this was during the beginning years of basketball when it was mostly played on the East Coast using peach baskets, this item is priced around $95



2. 1938 Hank Luisetti Stanford Basketball Team 8×10 press photo: Hank is considered to be 1 of the greatest basketball innovators ever after developing the running 1-handed shot, he became the 1st player to ever score 50 PTS in a game (against Duquesne on January 1, 1938) and was named the 2nd-best player of the mid-century (behind George Mikan) by an AP poll of sportswriters/broadcasters in 1950, he was a 2-time national POY in 1937/1938 so if you are a basketball connoisseur this is kind of cool, the photo of Hank is a famous shot that is used a lot and he was a special player for his era, this item is priced around $50



3. 1947 Collier’s magazine cover of Ralph Beard: this is the era when basketball began to capture the national attention so it is hard to find a lot of college basketball items from pre-1950, prior to this time you would not find any team on a magazine cover so Kentucky was considered the “national” team (even NBA teams did not command national attention at this time), Beard was a member of Adolph Rupp’s “Fabulous 5” team along with Alex Groza/Wallace Jones/Cliff Barker/Kenny Rollins, he was a 3-time consensus 1st-team All-American and won a gold medal at the 1948 Olympics, a lot of people collect Kentucky memorabilia and Beard was the star of that team, this item is priced around $30



4. 1961 Basketball Yearbook Jerry Lucas: basketball-only magazines started appearing after WWII and became a full-blown phenomenon by the 1960’s, Lucas was part of the legendary 1958 Ohio State recruiting class that included 2 other future Hall of Famers (John Havlicek/Bob Knight) and another future NBA player (Mel Nowell), they won the 1960 NCAA title game over defending champion California in San Francisco and Lucas was named 1960 tourney MOP, in 1961 the Buckeyes won 32 straight games including an Elite 8 win over Kentucky where Lucas became the only college player to ever record a 30/30 game in tourney history (33 PTS/30 REB), that year he became the 1st basketball player to ever be named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, he was a 3-time 1st-team All-American and is widely considered the greatest player in Big 10 history, this item is priced around $20



5. Babe Didrikson Zaharias 1930 National All-American bracelet: Babe is widely regarded as 1 of the greatest athletes of all time and picked up this bracelet at age 19 when her Dallas Cyclones basketball team went to the AAU Nationals and won it all, her 1st job after high school was as secretary for the Employers’ Casualty Insurance Company of Dallas…although she was employed only to play basketball on the company’s “industrial team”, this is a rare item not just because it is almost 100 years old but because it is the very 1st award won by a woman on the national level, this item is priced around $20,000(!)



If you want more information about Phil’s items then feel free to check out his website (www.cardsprograms.com) or email him at: regli@aol.com

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Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews Indiana legend Calbert Cheaney

Posted on July 17, 2022 by Jon Teitel

Indiana is known as “The Hoosier State” and 1 of the greatest Hoosiers ever was Calbert Cheaney. In his junior year he scored 17.6 PPG and helped lead his team to the 1992 Final 4. As a senior he won both the Wooden/Naismith awards as national POY. He was a 3-time All-American and remains the all-time leading scorer in Big 10 history with 2613 career PTS. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Calbert about being a great scorer and winning all of those awards. Today is Calbert’s 51st birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

You were the Indiana high school state champion in both the 300-meter dash/110-meter hurdles: how did your speed/athleticism help you on the basketball court? I made it to state in both events but did not actually win state. I attribute the fact that I played many different sports to helping me in basketball: hand-eye coordination, lateral movement, etc.

In the 1990 NCAA tourney for the Hoosiers you scored 17 PTS in a 2-PT loss to Cal after Keith Smith made 2 FT with 3.8 seconds left: how close did you come to winning the game? We were very close. Our freshman year was interesting: we went 10-0 in non-conference play but kind of got our asses handed to us in Big 10 play (8-10). We limped into the NCAA tourney and that game was back and forth the entire night. We were a team of all freshmen who were inexperienced but we worked hard that summer to get better.

In 1991 you shot a school-record 59.6 FG%: what is the secret to being a great shooter? Just work. As a coach I tell players that you cannot wave a magic wand: you need to get into the gym to work on your craft and hopefully it will carry over into games.

Take me through the magical 1992 NCAA tourney:
You scored 30 PTS/9-9 FT and had 8 REB in a win over LSU: what were your impressions of your future “Blue Chips” co-star Shaquille O’Neal (36 PTS/12 REB), and how on earth did he make all 12 of his FTs?! He was by far the best player and dominated every aspect of the game. It was fun to play against him and a real honor.

You had 17 PTS/11 REB in a win over Florida State (Sam Cassell scored 19 PTS): what did you learn from your win over the Seminoles in the 1991 tourney that helped you beat them in 1992? Not much: they had a different team in 1991 with guys like Charlie Ward. Cassell/Bob Sura added another dimension to their talented team but we were able to hold on for the win. We played them in 1993 as well.

You scored 11 PTS but were 1 of 4 Hoosiers to foul out in a 3-PT loss to eventual national champion Duke (Bobby Hurley tied his career-high with 26 PTS): how did your team force Christian Laettner into 1 of his worst NCAA tourney performances of all-time (8 PTS/2-8 FG), and did you feel the referees called it fairly on both ends of the court (Duke had a 42-16 edge in FT attempts)? At the end of the day it is tough: it is almost unheard of to have 4 guys foul out but you have to give Duke credit. We were in control in the 1st half but they turned it up a notch during a 7-minute span to start the 2nd half when they held us scoreless. They were a very good team but the officiating got to us a bit, and by the time we recovered it was too late.

You were a 3-time All-American/1993 national POY: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? It was definitely an honor but also surprising because there were many other great players in 1993. Knowing all of the POYs who came before me, I was so surprised to get the call that I did not respond with as much excitement as I should have.

In the 1993 NCAA tourney you scored 22 PTS in a 6-PT loss to Kansas: after losing to them in the 1991 tourney and again in the 1992 regular season, did you feel that they just had your number? They did have our #: we said they were our Kryptonite. We had Alan Henderson healthy earlier that year and they still beat us. We went 6-7 deep during my senior year before Alan went down: when you lose your leading rebounder it really hurts you. Coach Roy Williams would send in 4 guys at a time and they wore us down: it was textbook Kansas basketball.

You finished your college career as the Big 10’s all-time leading scorer with 19.8 PPG and won a school-record 105 games: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were? I did not. I am always about the team and my job was just to put the ball in the basket: I was pretty good at it but only wanted to get the win and uphold the Indiana tradition. If it took me scoring 35 PTS I would do that, and if not then that was fine as well.

In the summer of 1993 you were drafted 6th overall by Washington (2 spots ahead of Vin Baker): 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 a lot. I went to Indiana to stay close to home and contribute to a team. My family could not afford to send me to college so I wanted to get a scholarship. To end up as the conference’s leading scorer is something that I never expected. I also did not expect to get drafted that high but it just has to deal with good old hard work. I looked up to guys like Dr. J/Isiah Thomas and was not sure if I could get there so to make it to the NBA was a blessing.

In 1995 you scored a career-high 32 PTS/14-18 FG in a 3-PT OT loss to Golden State (Tim Hardaway scored 30 PTS): was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Somewhat, but it does not really matter when you lose the game. It was a fun night to play the game you love against the best players in the world.

Since finishing your 13-year NBA career in 2006 you have been an assistant coach in the NBA/college/G-League: how do you like coaching, and what do you hope to do in the future? I just try to take it 1 step at a time. I do not like sitting around the house so I really enjoy coaching and helping others develop and try to realize their dream. The game has been good to me and I just try to pay it forward.

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More than OK: HoopsHD interviews Hall of Famer Sherri Coale

Posted on July 16, 2022 by Jon Teitel

Oklahoma has had a number of phenomenal coaches in the 21st century. Bob Stoops won an NCAA title in football in 2000, Lon Kruger made the Final 4 in 2016, Ryan Hybl won an NCAA title in golf in 2017, and Patty Gasso has won 6 NCAA titles in softball since 2000. Sherri Coale did pretty well on the basketball court as well, leading the Sooners’ women’s team to 3 Final 4s from 2002-2010. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Sherri about winning games in March and being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

You played basketball at Oklahoma Christian University and graduated summa cum laude: how good a player were you back in the day, and how did you 1st get into coaching? I was not a great college player but as a PG I understood the game and could get the ball to the people who could score the best. I always wanted to become a teacher/coach from day 1 of college. The people outside of my family who impacted me the most were my own teachers/coaches so that was always my dream. I got a job as a high school English teacher/assistant coach and thought that I had died and gone to heaven!

You were hired at Oklahoma in 1996 after spending 7 years at Norman High School: what was the hardest part of making the leap from high school to D-1? The hardest part was everything that had nothing to do with the on-court action, such as managing an entire program. The court was a familiar place but I had to learn everything else on the fly.

You won more than 500 games as coach at Oklahoma and were a 4-time conference COY: what is the secret to being a great coach? I wish I could encapsulate that: if so I would write a book! My best response is that it involves confidence/competence/passion…but at the end of the day it is about having good players.

You made 20 postseason appearances, including 19 straight NCAA tournaments from 1999-2018, and your 3 Final 4s remain in the top-10 in NCAA women’s history: what is the key to winning games in March? I always felt that the teams who excelled in March were the ones who were connected. When you are intertwined you can get better by spending more time together. The ever-elusive unity factor gives you the greatest chance.

In 2002 you made the NCAA title game before losing to an undefeated UConn team: where does that Huskies’ starting 5 of Sue Bird/Swin Cash/Asjha Jones/Tamika Williams/Diana Taurasi rank among the greatest that you have ever seen? I may be completely biased but I still think that they are the best: maybe the best women’s college team ever assembled.

In 2006 you became the 1st women’s team to go undefeated in Big 12 play: how were you able to keep your team focused for the entire season? What I remember about that team is that we were very balanced with very little egos. We had a superstar in Courtney Paris but everyone knew that they had a job to do. We had a complete group and all of the members knew that they were important. The intrigue of seeing what our opponents would do to try to stop us in our next game kept us together.

In February of 2008 you had a 10-PT win over Oklahoma State in front of a record crowd of 12,205 spectators for a game that was sold out a month in advance: how do you explain the rivalry to someone who has never seen “Bedlam” in person? I think of the Winston Churchill quote, “I like a man who grins when he fights.” There is incredible mutual respect but it is for bragging rights and the most fun you have ever had while trying to win.

In the 2010 Sweet 16 Nyeshia Stevenson made a 3-PT shot with 4 seconds left to clinch a 5-PT OT win over Notre Dame: did you think that her shot was going in, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? I can feel in my stomach right now the same way I felt during that shot. Nyeshia’s shot just made it over the outstretched fingertips of her opponent and as soon as it did that I thought that it was going in. I looked down the bench and everyone just went crazy and lost their minds. I remember smirking and wondering, “How about that?!” It is 1 of those moments where I will always remember where I was.

In 2016 you were inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It was a special honor: I still have to pinch myself to believe that it is real. What made the evening incredible was all of my players/assistants, who were the reason I was able to be on that stage: it is 1 of the great ironies of team sports.

You retired in 2021: what have you been up to since then, and what do you hope to do in the future? I have been living the dream. I have a brand-new granddaughter and get to spend a lot of time with her. I have a weekly blog (www.sherricoale.com/blog) and a book that will be released in October. I am also doing some public-speaking/consulting as well as gardening/playing tennis.

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