Hoops HD

Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews former Pacific coach Bob Thomason

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Jon Teitel

It has been a rough March for teams out West (Arizona, Gonzaga, etc.) but there is still a rich legacy of basketball in the Pacific time zone due to teams such as…Pacific. Bob Thomason helped lead the Tigers to the 1971 NCAA tourney by scoring 17.2 PPG as a player, then took over as coach at his alma mater in 1988 and turned out to be a great fit. In 25 years on the sideline he set a Big West conference record with 437 wins, led his school to 6 conference regular season titles, and was a 5-time conference Coach of the Year. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Thomason about being a great FT shooter and making a bunch of NCAA tourneys. Today is Bob’s 73rd birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

You were an all-conference SG at Pacific, where your 83.7 FT% is still among the best in school history: how good a player were you back in the day, and what is your secret for FT shooting? We had a good team with some great players like John Gianelli. My secret for 5 straight summers was to shoot until I made 100 FT in a row. Every time I stepped to the line I would verbalize my entire routine. I treated every situation as a win/lose opportunity, whether in practice or a game.

You scored a career-high 36 PTS against Loyola Marymount as a senior: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I think so. If we had won that game then we would have clinched the league title: I had a lot of great opportunities that I took advantage of.

What are your memories of the 1971 NCAA tourney (you had 19 PTS/7 AST in a loss to Long Beach State)? I was pretty sick about losing after being up by 13 PTS at halftime. They came out in a half-court trap and we were not prepared to handle it. If we had won then we would have played 4-time-defending-champion UCLA next!

In addition to basketball you also played varsity golf in college: which sport were you better at, and which 1 did you enjoy the most? In college I enjoyed basketball more and I was much better at it than golf. I had fun on the golf course but was not great at it. Now I have a great passion for golf and have even more since retiring.

In 1976 as coach at Escalon your team finished 27-0 and won a state title: how were you able to keep your team focused for every single game, and what did it mean to you to win the title? When I started at Escalon we had a couple of good sophomores, and as they matured over time we became a good team. I remember the fans getting behind us and traveling with us. They allowed me to coach them hard as we kept trying to get better during the season, which is something I have always believed in.

In the 2004 Big West tourney title game Miah Davis scored 11 PTS and made 2 FT with 5 seconds left in a 2-PT win over Cal-State Northridge: how were you able to pull out the win? We were up by almost 20 PTS in the 1st half but they came all the way back to tie it up with 15 seconds left. That team really deserved the title because they were committed to playing defense and being unselfish.

In the 2004 NCAA tourney Davis scored 19 PTS in an 8-PT upset of Providence: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It is 1 of the proudest moments of my career. I remember that after the 1st few minutes I was impressed with how calm we were, which gave me a lot of peace of mind. That win opened the door for the next 2 years.

In the 2005 NCAA tourney Christian Maraker/David Doubley each scored 17 PTS in an 8-PT win over Pitt: how were you able to keep upsetting major conference teams in March? We were actually wearing white uniforms as the #8-seed, which meant we were the favorite even though it was an 8-9 game. We played fantastic basketball that day.

In the 2006 NCAA tourney Maraker scored 30 PTS in 49 minutes in a 2-OT loss to BC: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? I saw BC beat UNC in the ACC tourney the week before and recall not wanting to play them. They were so big/strong and set a lot of hard screens. Christian hit a big 3 to get us into OT. It is still the most heart-wrenching loss of my career: the foul call against us at the end of the 1st OT was disappointing.

You became the all-time Big West leader in wins in 2011 before retiring in 2013: do you think that anyone will ever break your record, and what do you hope to do in the future? Records are always there to be broken so I assume that someone will break it at some point, although they will need to stick around 1 place for a couple of decades to do it. As far as my future, I have no idea what I am going to do but I like playing golf and hanging around with my grandkids. I do not want to go somewhere else to be a head coach but would consider being some sort of consultant for a program.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Bob Thomason, Pacific | Comments Off

Puppet Ramblings: A Historic Night at the NCAA Tournament!!

Posted on March 26, 2022 by David Griggs

As I’m sure you all know by now, college basketball history was made at the NCAA Tournament last night!!

Kansas and Providence got off to a bit of a rough first half where neither team could get it going offensively, but the Jayhawks were still keeping them at arms length. After an intense second half where Providence kept it close until the end, Kansas was able to pull it out!! They made history!! It was their 2354th all time win as a program, which is the most wins for any program ever!! Big time congrats to the Kansas Jayhawks!!

But, that wasn’t all!!

The Miami Hurricanes also made history!! They advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time ever!! Their win over Iowa State was a historic moment for that program, and a testament to just how good of a job Jim Larranaga has done since he took over there. He also took George Mason on a miracle run to the Final Four back in 2006, and is just one win away from doing it with Miami!

But there was even more!!

North Carolina knocked off UCLA in another game that came down to the final seconds, and is now just one win away from their 21st Final Four! They already hold the all time record for Final Four appearances and are very clsoe to adding to it!! North Carolina barely looked like an NCAA Tournament team for much of the year, but since the final week of the regular season, they’ve looked like a Final Four caliber team in the ACC Tournament and now in the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournaement.

So, again, what a crazy historical night at the NCAA Tournament last night!!

Hmmm….I can’t help but think I’m forgetting something. Did anything else of note happen last night that I’m leaving out??

I don’t know. So much happened that it’s just hard to keep up with everything. ENJOY THE ELITE EIGHT EVERYONE!!!

Posted in News and Notes | Comments Off

All-Access at the 1st/2nd rounds in San Diego: Arizona-TCU

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The 1st/2nd rounds are taking place in 8 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all of the angles and Jon Teitel concludes our coverage from San Diego with a recap of the Arizona-TCU 2nd round game last Sunday.

After I took a pregame photo with my Wildcat friend Mary and our beloved mascot Wilbur I jogged up to the top of the arena to have a quick visit with my Wildcat friend Dave, and then it was back downstairs and back to business.

The Horned Frogs got out to a quick 10-2 lead behind the FT shooting of SO PG Mike Miles Jr. and the 3-PT shooting of SR SF Chuck O’Bannon Jr.

The Wildcats got a much-needed breath of fresh air when Coach Tommy Lloyd subbed PG Kerr Kriisa into the game after he had missed the past 3 games with a sprained right ankle, causing the crowd to roar its approval.

Coach Lloyd implored the fans to keep getting louder, which they did, and instructed his team to get the ball to Christian Koloko, which they did to much success. He scored 14 PTS/6-6 FG in the 1st 9 minutes to help his team take an 18-7 lead.

TCU would not go away and almost took the lead late in the half. Arizona SO G/F Bennedict Mathurin made a corner 3 in the final 2 minutes that caused TCU coach Jamie Dixon to call a timeout to stop the bleeding.

Arizona was 27-1 this year when they have the lead at halftime so Coach Lloyd must have been encouraged to finish the 1st 20 minutes up 39-36.

TCU FR C Eddie Lampkin only scored 2 PTS in their win over Seton Hall on Friday but he plays with so much emotion that it was only a matter of time until he got back on track. He did exactly that on Sunday with 13 PTS/5-5 FG before limping to the bench early in the 2nd half with a right foot injury. He came back shortly thereafter and finished with career-highs of 20 PTS/14 REB but missed a ton of FTs (4-10).

Mathurin was a machine at the charity stripe with 9-10 FTs (after not attempting a single 1 vs. Wright State on Friday) and had a thunderous dunk over Lampkin to give his team a 54-52 lead and cause the fans in red and blue to scream at the top of their lungs. However, O’Bannon kept making threes and frees en route to a career-high 23 PTS. Arizona was 31-0 this year when leading with 5 minutes left, and Coach Lloyd called a timeout after a 7-0 run by the Horned Frogs to ensure that his team would still be up 67-65 as the clock struck 5 minutes to go, which they only maintained after Miles missed a layup at the 5:02 mark.

Miles came right back with a layup to finish a 10-0 run and retake the lead (68-67). The Wildcats were horrible from 3-PT range (5-27) but Mathurin made the biggest 1 of the night with 13 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 75-all. Miles lost the ball on a double-team, then Terry picked it up, drove to the hoop, and dunked it…right after the buzzer, so we are headed for overtime. Lampkin has not played more than 31 minutes in a game this year but would definitely break that record. Mathurin took over in overtime, tied a season-high with 30 PTS, and the Wildcats hung on to win it 85-80.

Coach Lloyd tried to console Lampkin because he was bawling his eyes out after the hard-fought loss:

The postgame celebration was fantastic, with Kriisa waving to the fans and Dalen Terry running around with a huge smile on his face.

In the postgame press conference I asked Mathurin about being undefeated this year when they have the lead with 5 minutes left. He said they came all the way from Tucson to San Diego for a reason: they came here to win. He knew that they had the fans cheering for them to win the game and they did it. I did not get a chance to ask Coach Lloyd any questions because they had a flight to catch.

The star of the show for the 2nd straight game was Koloko. He became the 2nd player in NCAA tourney history to ever have a game with 28 PTS/12 REB/92 FG% (the 1st: San Diego’s own Bill Walton in his famous 21-22 FG performance for UCLA over Memphis in the 1973 NCAA title game) and was simply unstoppable.

I even got to see Mathurin and Kriisa outside the arena before they hopped onto the team bus:

What a wonderful weekend in San Diego, hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved the beach.

I somehow made it to 27 basketball games in a 16-day stretch and have the security bands on my backpack to prove it: enjoy the Madness!

Posted in CBB | Tagged arizona, TCU | Comments Off

Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews former Montana State star Tyler Hall

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Jon Teitel

Montana State made an NCAA tourney appearance last week for the 1st time in 26 years but they have had lots of great players during the past quarter-century. 1 of the best was Tyler Hall: 2016 conference Freshman of the Year, 23.1 PPG as a sophomore, 2518 career PTS (most in Big Sky history) and 431 career 3PM (tied for 10th-most in D-1 history). HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Tyler about being a great scorer/shooter and his athletic family. Today is Tyler’s 25th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

You grew up in Illinois: what made you choose Montana State? The coaching staff and the feeling I had during my visit.

In 2016 you were named conference ROY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? I put in a lot of hard work and had a great cast around me. It was pretty exciting to be in such a good situation.

In December of 2016 you scored a career-high 42 PTS/15-25 FG/0 TO in a 5-PT loss to Milwaukee: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Kind of. My teammates got me involved early and I remember getting a lot of easy buckets.

In the 2018 Big Sky tourney you scored 11 PTS in a 2-PT loss to North Dakota after your team blew a 19-PT lead in the final 12 minutes: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It was a long time ago and I took every loss hard…but that 1 was pretty tough.

You made the all-conference team during each of your 4 years on campus: how were you able to remain so consistent throughout your college career? Just my work ethic every summer and having good teammates.

You graduated with a conference record 2518 PTS: what is the key to being a great scorer, and do you think that anyone will ever break your record? Being consistent in your game preparation. There are a lot of good players nowadays so I would not be shocked if somebody breaks it.

Your 85.9 FT% is best in school history and your 431 career 3PM remains top-10 in D-1 history: what is the secret to being a great shooter? Being consistent and working on the little things. You must get a lot of shots up every single day.

You currently play for the Westchester Knicks in the G League: how is it going so far, and what do you hope to do in the future? It is going really well. I feel that I am developing my game every day and hopefully I can make it back onto an NBA roster someday.

Your parents Laura/Henry Hall both played college basketball and your grandfather Henry Sr. played minor league baseball: who is the best athlete in the family? We are a very competitive family so I am sure that everyone would say themselves…but I will go with me.

When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? A knock-down shooter who played hard and had a passion for the game.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Montana State, Tyler Hall | Comments Off

Puppet Ramblings: NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight

Posted on March 25, 2022 by David Griggs

-This will be the first time since 1980 that only one #1 seed has made it past the Sweet Sixteen. That’s if Kansas beats Providence tonight. If Providence wins, then it will be the first time ever that no #1 seeds made it past the Sweet Sixteen.

-People are jumping all over Gonzaga for losing early in the Tournament and calling them underachievers. While that’s not necessarily wrong, it seems like Gonzaga is held to a higher standard than literally all other college programs, and is more quickly called out when they don’t live up to it. They were the national runners up last year. They were also the national runners up in 2017. In the last five NCAA Tournaments, they’ve won 17 games. Thats’ an average of 3.4 wins per year. 3 wins gets you to the Elite Eight, and 4 gets you to the Final Four. That’s a damn good average!! Yet…they are always underachieving and are always overrated in the minds of seemingly everyone. There may be a team that has a higher average of tournament wins per year than that over the last five years, but I can’t think of who it would be, and I guarantee you it isn’t that many teams. They are a legit elite program. And in a way, doesn’t dogging a program for losing in the Sweet Sixteen for “going out early” sort of actually validate their legitimacy??

-Kelvin Sampson should be coach of the year. They have overcome serious setbacks due to losing key players to injuries to make the Elite Eight in very impressive fashion. They did not look this good during much of the regular season (at least not to me), but even then I was still very impressed with what they were able to do given all their setbacks. Now I am simply astounded. They have a very real chance at going to the Final Four for the second year in a row. In 2018, in the Round of 32, we saw Houston lose on a last second three-quarters court shot to a Michigan team that then advanced all the way to the Championship Game. I remember making the point of how great it would have been to see Houston back on the national stage of the Sweet Sixteen, and how the spotlight hadn’t been that bright on them since the Phi Slamma Jamma days. I also questioned whether or not it could ever happen again for them. Well…IT HAS!!!

Strangely enough, unlike Gonzaga, no one seems to be calling Arizona to the carpet for being a fraud or being overrated after they lost to Houston on the same night. Nor should they.

-The Coach K era will continue for at least one more game, and I have to give them credit. Texas Tech is a very difficult team to play against, and Duke was able to figure their defense out enough to get the win. I’m starting to think Krzyzewski may be a half way decent coach after all.

-Villanova had to sweat Michigan a little bit, but is also moving on.

As for tonight’s games…

-North Carolina and UCLA square off tonight. it’s two blue bloods, but it’s also a match-up that I bet many people didn’t predict. As hard as I’ve been on the Tarheels all season long, I am genuinely impressed with what they’ve done in the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament.

-Saint Peter’s has been one of the biggest stories of the tournament and their place in college basketball history is already pretty indelible, but as much as they’ve done they can become infinitely bigger if they can somehow beat Purdue tonight and become the first #15 seed to advance to the Elite Eight. And while I’m not expecting that to happen, Purdie isn’t the best defensive team in the world either, so….just sayin’

-I’ve liked this Miami team all year, and I’m also impressed with what Iowa State is done. It’s kind of cool that one of them will make the Elite Eight.

-I’m really excited for this Providence v Kansas game as well. Providence was a team that I thought would go out early, but they’ve been one of the many things I’ve been wrong about. I’m really impressed with how they’ve played and think they’ve got a chance at moving on tonight.

Posted in News and Notes | Comments Off

All-Access at the 1st/2nd rounds in San Diego: Texas Tech-Notre Dame

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The 1st/2nd rounds are taking place in 8 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all of the angles and Jon Teitel continues our coverage from San Diego with a recap of the Texas Tech-Notre Dame 2nd round game last Sunday.

I started off the day with a trip to the San Diego-area Arizona alumni bar (Bottle Rocket Bar & Grill) to see all of the happy people in red and blue, then headed to the arena after getting some good 1997 Arizona national champion mojo going:

I made sure to save room for my final pregame media meal: fish tacos/pasta salad/chips!
Let’s tip it off:

The Irish could not buy a basket early (2-11 FG in the 1st 9 minutes) but were able to tie it up at 13-all by the under-8 timeout because the Red Raiders were only 1-6 from behind the arc after scorching the nets vs. Montana State on Friday. Texas Tech then turned things over to Kevin Obanor and the senior forward started heating up and finished the half with 11 PTS/5 REB.

Texas Tech coach Mark Adams must have wondered what more his defense could do: his team held Notre Dame to a paltry 7-28 FG in the 1st half…yet he entered the locker room with only a 26-25 lead.

The TCU players walked into the arena during halftime to check out some of the festivities and see if their Big 12 brethren from the Lone Star State could survive and advance.

Notre Dame SR SF Dane Goodwin only scored 3 PTS on Friday vs. Alabama but helped his team keep it close early in the 2nd half with a layup and 3.

Obanor kept hitting the boards while his teammate Bryson Williams was able to help put some points on the scoreboard (finishing with 14 PTS).

The Irish offense looked a bit weary after playing 3 games in 5 days as they faded down the stretch and the Red Raiders hung on to win it 59-53 while the mascot/cheerleaders went wild.

SR F Marcus Santos-Silva was so happy that he gave his teammate Clarence Nadolny a ride off the court, while Adonis Arms tried to hold back his tears.

In the postgame press conference I asked Kevin Obanor about tying the school record for most REB in an NCAA tourney game and making the Sweet 16 for the 2nd straight year. He said that he is very happy with his decision: he enjoys playing alongside his brothers and that they will remain friends for life. His 2 trips to the Sweet 16 are very different, as he was a #15 seed last year at Oral Roberts and is a #3 seed this year, but he is happy to keep making history. However, he would not be returning to the Sweet 16 had his team not won the game so he is just grateful that they came out victorious. I asked Obanor’s coach what 1979 Texas Tech graduate Mark Adams would say to 2022 Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams about making the Sweet 16. He said to dream big dreams and never give up on them. He was winning at certain levels and used to think that he was the next John Wooden but so much of it is about timing and the right opportunity. He never had any idea that he would have a chance to be here but thinks it is encouraging to anyone to never give up on yourself and keep believing.