In Memoriam: HoopsHD remembers George Bisacca

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Jon Teitel

It is not always fun being ranked #1 in the nation: just look at Auburn last night as they held on for dear life to beat Missouri by a single point. Another to-ranked team that was not so lucky was the 1968 Niagara Purple Eagles, who were upset by Fairfield more than a half-century ago. The architect of that win was George Bisacca, who in his 10th and final season as head coach of the Stags defeated Niagara and its future Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy 88-85 before a sell-out crowd at the New Haven Arena on January 26, 1968. Coach Bisacca passed away in 2018 but HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with him a few years ago and is proud to present this never-before-published interview. Today is the 54th anniversary of that legendary upset so we take this time to honor Coach Bisacca’s life/legacy.

You played basketball at Georgetown: how good a player were you back in the day? I was not a star but had a great 2-hand set shot and was a decent player.

After college you became an attorney: what kind of law did you practice, and how did you decide to get into coaching? I played a little semi-pro ball with my old high school team while waiting to take the bar exam. The coach asked me if I would take care of the JV team, and when we became more successful than the varsity he asked me to take over the varsity.

You became coach at Fairfield in 1958: why did you take the job? Fairfield did not even open until 1947. I loved the game and had some success, which whet my appetite. Within a few years we were playing some of the best teams in the country like Houston/St. Bonaventure.

What are your memories of the 1960 D-2 tourney (a 1-PT loss to American)? Not much. The 1 loss that stands out in my mind was to CW Post after my alma mater refused to play us. Their coach was George Kaftan, who was a friend of mine. Our most notable win was Bob Cousy’s 1st game at BC after he brought in 5 high school All-Americans.

In 1964 the program made the leap from D-2 to D-1: what was the biggest difference between the 2 levels? We actually had a better record at the D-1 level! We were an “Independent” so we were used to playing against the top teams. I figured that as long as we were playing some good teams then we might as well play a full schedule of them. We snuck up on a lot of people and often played the spoiler: I would show up to recruit and the high school coach would say, “There is a guy here from Fairchild”!

In January of 1968 you had a 3-PT win over Niagara: how were you able to pull off the win, and could you tell at the time that Murphy was going to become a superstar? I tried to recruit Calvin because he was from the next town over in Norwalk: inch for inch he was 1 of the best of all-time. They had more than Calvin (such as All-American Manny Leaks): we came up with a couple of intricate defenses for Calvin and held him to 26 PTS…which was actually good because he was averaging 44 PPG at the time! In my final game we had a 1-PT 2-OT loss to a St. Bonaventure team led by future Hall-of-Famer Bob Lanier.

In addition to coaching you also served as athletic director: how were you able to balance the 2 jobs? I was a lousy athletic director because I was only interested in the basketball team: I felt bad for all the other coaches because I never gave them a big enough piece of the budget! I did not enjoy it but they asked me to do it for a few years. I coached in Italy for a while as well.

You later worked as legal counsel for the NIT: what kind of legal issues did the organization face? Fighting the NCAA all the time! They were always trying to put us out of business by not allowing teams that turned them down to play for us: it was a clear antitrust violation on its face. We sued the NCAA and I was a principal witness. We hired Jeff Kessler (a top-notch sports lawyer) to represent the NIT. The presidents of the 5 New York City schools that own the NIT got an offer of $56 million from the NCAA, so they took it.

When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? My plaque in the school’s Hall of Fame calls me “The father of Fairfield basketball” because I helped get the program off the ground. I did the best I could and loved the kids who played for me. You know you are old when the players who show up at the reunion are in their 60s/70s! They are great personal friends who still call me on my birthday. Once you coach your players they never call you by your 1st name, which is a nice feeling.

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Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews 2-time ABA All-Star Byron Beck

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The Denver Nuggets have had a lot of great players during the past 50 years, starting with David Thompson in the 1970s, then Alex English in the 1980s, and continuing to the present with Nikola Jokic. 1 of their 1st great players was Byron Beck, who played for the Denver Rockets in the ABA and stuck with them when they joined the NBA and changed their name to the Nuggets. He retired in 1977 and became the 1st player in franchise history to have his jersey number retired. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Byron about making the ABA Finals in 1976 and then switching leagues. Today is Byron’s 77th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

You were nicknamed the “Moose in the Middle”: who gave you the nickname, and how did you like it? I got that in the 8th grade because I was the new kid. My classmate Joe Valdez saw me run over a couple of people so he called me “The Moose”.

You were a 3-time all-state selection at Kittitas High School and were later named to the Seattle Times All-Century team: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were? I was always 1 of the top 4-5 players so I knew that I was moderately good. I was a shy kid who was not cocky. I almost did not play basketball because I did not want to be out there in shorts: what I really wanted was to be a pro baseball player.

In 1967 as a senior at Denver you were named an AAU All-American: what did it mean to you to win such an outstanding honor? It was a good confidence-builder to have such success.

In the summer of 1967 you were drafted 15th overall by the Denver Rockets (2 spots ahead of Phil Jackson): what did it mean to you to be drafted, and was it extra-special to stay in your same city? It was outstanding! It was nice to stay in the same location. Chicago also drafted me and offered the same amount of money but Denver offered me a no-cut contract, which helped make the difference.

You are 1 of 2 players (along with teammate Louie Dampier) who played for the same team during all 9 seasons of the ABA from 1967-1976: did you feel a strong sense of loyalty to the franchise, and why do you think that other players failed to do so? A lot of players eventually get involved with their community, but going to college there and being involved with the community from the start helped a lot. I liked the city: it was a small “big town” and I had a lot of friends in the area. I even met my wife there. It just all fell into place for me…but I think that money sometimes trumps loyalty.

What are your memories of Game 7 of the 1972 Western Division Semifinals (Ralph Simpson scored 30 PTS in a 2-PT loss to eventual champion Indiana)? That was a sad thing because we had a real shot at that. I used to guard George McGinnis quite often and enjoyed it: he was hard-nosed but I knew what to expect from him. It was the cheap-shot artist who was nasty to defend. Indiana had a lot of talented people and it was a great series.

Take me through the magical 1976 playoffs:
Your coach was Larry Brown: what made Brown such a great coach, and could you ever imagine that he would be a college assistant coach more than 45 years later?! Larry was a great coach/motivator. If you did not buy into his system (which a lot of the older players did not do because they did not want to pick up the pace) then you had problems, but if you hustled then it usually worked out. I still use some stuff from him today to help my grandkids in AAU ball. He is an original: I enjoyed playing with/against him as well as for him after he became my coach.

You scored 9 PTS in a 3-PT win over defending champ Kentucky in Game 1 of the semifinals after Dampier’s potential game-tying 3-PT shot was ruled to have been attempted after the buzzer: what was it like to play a game without a working scoreboard/clock? We kind of had to rely on our senses! I was just in awe of Louie: what a shooter. His shooting ability reminds me of Steph Curry: he would just come off a screen and stop/pop. He was not quick but knew how to get open.

David Thompson scored 40 PTS in a win over Kentucky in Game 7 in front of a playoff-record crowd of 18,821: where does Thompson rank among the greatest players that you ever saw, and how big of a home-court advantage did all of those fans give you? Home court advantage was big: our home record must have been fantastic that year. I was in awe of David: sometimes I caught myself standing around with my mouth open while watching him do all of his stuff. He had a huge vertical leap. I loved Bobby Jones: he reminded me of the runner in “Chariots of Fire”. We had some talent too with my roommate Dan Issel…although we got into a fight the week before!

You lost to the Nets in Game 6 of the Finals after blowing a 22-PT 3rd quarter lead: how devastating was that loss, and how did it feel to play in the very last game in ABA history? It was devastating: there was no reason for that to happen with the talent we had. Doctor J went nuts: we got so desperate that they had ME try to guard him! In his early years we would just let him shoot from the outside, but once he learned to make some jumpers it was all over. We got timid at the end and did not shoot with confidence. I truly believe that if we had won that game then we would have won Game 7.

You played 1 year for the Nuggets in the NBA after the ABA-NBA merger: what was the biggest difference between the 2 leagues? The referees! At the time they would call the game a little closer in the NBA. We had more finesse in the ABA, whereas the NBA was more physical. We brought some great things to the NBA like the 3-PT line, the run-and-gun offense, the halftime entertainment, etc. The red-white-and-blue ball was hard to catch in the 1st few years: we would go out to the highway and bounce the ball on the pavement to scratch it up!

In 1977 you became the 1st player in Denver franchise history to have his number retired: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It is an important thing to be recognized in some manner. It helps you know that the work you put in was respected.

You later worked in security for a large company in southern Washington: what do you hope to do in the future? The future is here! I retired in 2012 after 33 years as a manager in operations security and am enjoying it. I wish that I would have retired a few years ago because now I get to spend a lot of time with my family.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Jan 25

Posted on January 25, 2022 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

CLICK HERE for our latest HOOPS HD REPORT Video Podcast

-Not included in the Hoops HD Report was the double overtime thriller between Texas Tech and Kansas.  Kansas led most of the way, but Texas Tech kept it close, then got the lead late, and had a chance to win at the end of both overtimes.  It was a thrilling game, and even though Tech didn’t get the win, it was definitely an impressive showing and a statement that they can play with a Final Four caliber team on the road.

-North Carolina took care of Virginia Tech at home, but their resume is still terrible.  This was arguably one of their better wins of the season, and it came at home against a team that’s nowhere  near making the NCAA Tournament.

-Seton Hall was blown out on their own home floor by Saint John’s.  The Hall isn’t any any danger of missing the field, but they are in a bit of a tailspin right now.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-GEORGIA AT ALABAMA (SEC).  This should be an easy road win for an Alabama team that has fallen out of the rankings, but could still be really dangerous if they can get things turned back around.

-CLEMSON AT DUKE (ACC).  Duke is dominating the ACC as you would expect and should cruise to at least a #2 seed if they keep it up.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Michigan State followed up a head-scratching loss to Northwestern with a super impressive road win at Wisconsin.  They’ve got another extremely tough road test against an Illinois team that has looked really good at times, but not enough of the time for us to say they are cruising to a protected seed.

-DEPAUL AT VILLANOVA (Big East).  DePaul isn’t an easy team to beat, but they’re not hard enough to beat to where most of the Big East teams are unable to do it.  Nova shouldn’t have too much trouble winning this one at home.

-SIENA AT IONA (Metro Atlantic).  Iona should land inside the bubble so long as they continue to run through the MAAC.

-CINCINNATI AT TEMPLE (American).  Could Cincinnati be inching their way onto the bubble??  They’ve still got a lot of work to do, but they’ve won seven of their last nine, and if they can take care of business in the next three games they’ll be hosting Houston with a chance to put themselves on the board.

-KANSAS STATE AT BAYLOR (Big 12).  K State is fairly good.  Their problem is that their in a conference where all the other teams are REALLY good.  Baylor still has a solid path to a #1 seed and should be able to pick this one up at home.

-AUBURN AT MISSOURI (SEC).  It’s a winnable road game for a team that has proven they can win pretty much anywhere.  Auburn is good enough to get to a Final Four.

-GEORGETOWN AT CONNECTICUT (Big East).  UConn is one of several teams in the Big East that continues to look impressive.  This is some of the lower hanging fruit that exists for them the rest of the way.  They should be able to take care of business at home.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT KENTUCKY (SEC).  Mississippi State is squarely on our bubble and a win in a game like this could push them inside of it.  The thing is…it’s very difficult to win a game like this.  Kentucky is coming off a loss at Auburn, but it was hardly a setback, and if anything it was an impressive showing.  They should be able to roll in this one.

-TEXAS AT TCU (Big 12).  I’m not big on Texas, but based on the prognostications of everyone else they seem to be reasonably safe.  Still, a road win in a game like this would really help.  TCU is squarely on the bubble, and like every bubble team it seems that every game they play has a pivotal feel to it.

-NEVADA AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West).  Colorado State will safely make the field so long as they continue to take care of business.

-WYOMING AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West).  This is a bubblicious game!!  Both teams really need this one, and both have been playing well lately, so it should be fun.

-COLORADO AT OREGON (Pac 12).  Oregon seems to be hitting their stride.  They’re definitely trending in the right direction and can continue to improve their resume so long as they continue to string together wins.

-ARIZONA AT UCLA (Pac 12).  Some feel Arizona can end up as a #1 seed.  If they can win this game, then I’ll agree.  Both teams are ranked in the top ten, both should end up as protected seeds, and this is a huge resume boosting opportunity for both of them.

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The Hoops HD Report: January 24th

Posted on January 25, 2022 by David Griggs

The panel looks back at a busy week in college basketball and begins in the Big Ten where we discuss Michigan State’s big win at Wisconsin, how Indiana had a big win against Purdue but followed it up with a loss to Michigan, and whether or not Michigan can get back on the bubble.

After that we go through the other nine major conferences and discuss how Baylor and Kansas are starting to distance themselves from the rest of the Big 12, how we might have four teams from both the West Coast and Mountain West make the NCAA Tournament, how Marquette is continuing to look more and more impressive in the Big East, how Providence is being undervalued, and how Arizona could end up as a #1 seed if they can finish strong.  All that, and much more!!

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

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Bracket Projections (From David Dorman): January 24th

Posted on January 24, 2022 by David Griggs

Below is David Dorman’s personal bracket.  He is not necessarily trying to guess the committee.  He is just posting on what he personally thinks the field should look like if today was Selection Sunday.  Our panel will share some of our thoughts below..

COMMENTS FROM DAVID DORMAN:

-Last four teams selected were Boise State, Arkansas, Wyoming, and Louisiana Tech

-The teams that were next in line to make the field were: Florida, North Carolina, Michigan, and Mississippi State

-I only have three ACC teams in my bracket as of today, but UNC, Notre Dame, and Florida State are knocking on the door

-This year’s field will have the strongest 13 and 14 seeds The Tournament has seen in a long time

-There was a huge shake up in the conferences earning the auto bid on the 15 and 16 lines the last two weeks and these bids are wide open for any team that steps up and puts together a strong end to January.

 

COMMENTS FROM THE PUPPET:

-I do kind of like his #1 line, although I think  Arizona needs more at the top of their resume before I anoint them a #1 seed.  If they win at UCLA and USC, then I’ll be ready to put them all the way up there.

-As a bracketing rule, I also like that David just said “Screw it!! BYU is going to Chicago!!” All kidding aside, I don’t mind at all that BYU does not want to play on Sundays, but there are times it makes it hard to build the bracket.

-I like Murray State more than a #12 seed, especially if they continue to blow through the Ohio Valley.  I know their win at Memphis is starting to lose some of its sparkle, but if you look at them on the court they are really good and definitely worthy of a spot inside the bubble.

-I continue to be the only one at Hoops HD that thinks Marquette is clearly better than a #8 seed.  Others don’t even have them that high.  How are they not at least a #6??  WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO DO!!??  The voters don’t seem to like them either.  They belong in the Top 25!

-As someone who was banging the drum for Ohio U to be inside the bubble, I am not banging it anymore.  Getting blown out at home by Toledo will make you change your mind.  The #13 line now seems to be where they belong.

 

COMMENTS FROM CHAD:

– I agree with the Puppet about Arizona just not having a profile as good as most of the 2 seeds so far, but they definitely have a chance to get it there, beginning this week.  I would have given the fourth 1 seed to Kansas (for now).

– I am surprised that Griggs was not upset with Houston on the 3 line.  I agree with it completely and believe there is a case for them to be even higher.  This team, no matter how many players it loses, just keeps winning.  I cannot blame them for their conference being lousy around them — and they are even fixing that by moving to the Big 12 in a couple seasons.

– I would not have had Xavier this high (4 seed).  I get that the Musketeers have no bad losses, but they also do not have a win away from home against a tournament team (I know they won at Oklahoma State but even that would not be a tournament-level win if the Cowboys were eligible).  I could see the X-Men as low as a 7 seed right now.

– Dorman has Marquette on the 8 line.  Griggs loves this Marquette team and wants them on the 6 line.  Maybe I need my head examined, but I would have had them on the 5 or even 4 line right now!  I absolutely love the way they are playing and I love their profile.  The Golden Eagles have won 6 in a row, with four of those games being wins over Providence, Seton Hall, Xavier and at Villanova.  The top of their profile is among the best in the nation, and I can now very easily forgive their losses (none of which are to bad teams at all!)

– I will forgive Dorman the BYU slip-up (sending them to a Friday-Sunday region) as even the NCAA has made that mistake before.  In fact, in doing a personal bracket this week, I had to move BYU from the 8 line up to the 6 line to find a site that fit their “No Sundays” rule and simultaneously avoided a second round matchup against Gonzaga.  The more WCC teams that make the field, the harder it is to find a spot for BYU that meets their requirements.

– I have a feeling that Dorman and I value the Big East very differently, as I also think he has Creighton way under-seeded on the 10 line.  They have beaten Villanova, BYU on a neutral court and won at the Marquette team that I just praised.  I could see the Bluejays as high as a 6 seed right now, even with the bad home loss to Arizona State.

– I agree with Griggs that Murray State may be a few lines too low on the 12 line, but the bigger issue I have on that line is the First Four game between Wyoming and Louisiana Tech.  I can live with Wyoming in the field (though I would not have had them in ), but Louisiana Tech is not an at-large caliber team after their loss at home to UAB this weekend.  The Bulldogs have no Tier 1 wins.  The Bulldogs’ only Tier 2 win was at Santa Clara, a team nowhere near the Bubble.  On top of that, they only have two Tier 3 wins!  I can find teams in the middle of the Patriot League standings with more wins against the top three tiers than that.  Sorry, Dorman, but they do NOT belong.

– I would have Florida and/or Florida State in my field as of right now over La Tech and maybe Wyoming.  Both teams are playing well right now and have enough good wins to make up for some bad losses (especially the Gators’ awful home blowout loss to Texas Southern).  I also cannot figure out why everyone seems to have totally written St. Bonaventure off.  I get that their NET is 92, but they have neutral court wins over Marquette and Boise State and only one bad loss.  I like that better than a lot of teams that made the field, and would at least have them in my top four teams out.

COMMENTS FROM JOHN:

– I think we’re all in agreement that the triumvirate of Auburn/Gonzaga/Baylor would be the top three overall seeds. As to my fourth #1 seed, I could see an argument potentially being made for Purdue given their number of Tier 1 wins, although three losses would be a deal-breaker at this checkpoint in the season.

– Providence is a team that is definitely capable of being a protected seed (keep in mind they do have wins at Wisconsin, at UConn and at home against Texas Tech), but they also had a recent Covid pause and are looking to reschedule games at Creighton, at Seton Hall and at home against UConn. Winning at Xavier (who is probably more deserving of a 5 or 6 seed themselves right now) would certainly help to fill in a blank like that, but easier said than done.

– One team that is quietly impressing me is the TCU Horned Frogs. Dorman has them as a 10 right now – I could even be convinced that they could move a little higher up than that now that they have a pair of road wins in Big 12 play that includes a sandblasting of Iowa State from last Saturday. The neutral-court loss against Santa Clara is their only bad loss at the moment, although having a noncon SOS near 300 is going to really hurt them should they find themselves squarely on the bubble come March. They have winnable games at home against Texas and LSU this week.

– I’m also not seeing the case for Louisiana Tech right now – I think Florida State would be my last team in now that they have a season sweep of fellow bubble buddy Miami. I also think that the NET is way overrating North Carolina right now. They literally have one win in the Top 2 tiers and nothing else.

– I think the Puppet was half right on the Ohio Bobcats. They are no longer what I’d call at-large worthy, but I’d also say that the Toledo Rockets have better metrics PLUS the road win in Athens that looms even larger now. UT should be the MAC auto-bid at this checkpoint.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Monday, Jan 24

Posted on January 24, 2022 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

-We will be recording our Hoops HD Video Podcast later on tonight, so be on the lookout for that late tonight/early tomorrow.  We should also have a staff bracket from David Dorman posted a little later on this afternoon.

-Indiana followed up their big emotional win against Purdue with a bed crapping against Michigan.  I understand that after a big win it’s hard to get your feet back on the ground sometimes, and I think that’s partly what we saw yesterday.  But…credit to Michigan as well.  They have underperformed all season long, but got a nice road win yesterday.

-Marquette keeps stringing together wins as they knocked off Xavier at home, but it’s hardly a setback for Xavier since it was a road loss to a really good team.  Other than that, it was a pretty chalky day with few surprises.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-FLORIDA AT OLE MISS (SEC).  The Gators are straggling the bubble.  While this wouldn’t be a spectacular win, it would at least be a road win, which would help some.  Still, given their situation it feels like a loss would hurt a lot more than a win would help.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  A lot of prognosticators still have UNC in their fields, and some inexplicably have them safely in their fields.  I don’t see it.  If they don’t get this one tonight, then I think even those who are still projecting them to be inside the bubble will start to see they are in trouble.

-TENNESSEE TECH AT MURRAY STATE (Ohio Valley).  If Murray can continue to blow through the OVC then they should be inside the bubble come Selection Sunday.

-TEXAS TECH AT KANSAS (Big 12).  Both these teams are really hot right now.  Kansas is within reach of a #1 seed and Texas Tech is looking more and m0re like they can get a protected seed.  If they can somehow win this one in Lawrence tonight, they’ll REALLY be on their way.

-SAINT JOHN’S AT SETON HALL (Big East).  Seton Hall is in good shape, but they did just end a two game losing streak.  This is the second time in three days they’ve played the Johnnies, and they just got the win on the road.  Winning this one at home should be doable.

-WEBER STATE AT SOUTHERN UTAH (Big Sky) (Bee Hive).  We at Hoops HD Love the Bee Hive!!!!  These are two of the better teams in the Big Sky, and first place is on the line, but the far more important storyline is what this means to the Bee Hive standings!!!

-UNLV AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West).  San Diego State’s margin for error is small, and they have to take care of business in pretty much all their remaining home games.

-ARIZONA STATE AT USC (Pac 12).  This is a winnable game for the Trojans.  They should be able to hold serve and remain safely in the top half of the bracket.

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