In Memoriam: HoopsHD interviews Rodney Davis about John McDougal

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Jon Teitel

John McDougal accomplished a lot at Evansville: he was a 3-year letterwinner as a halfback in the 1940s and was inducted into the Evansville Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981. He was not that shabby at Northern Illinois either: MAC COY in his very 1st season, winningest coach in school history, and 1995 NIU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach McDougal’s former player Rodney Davis about winning the 1982 MAC tourney and being a great coach. Today is the 5th anniversary of Coach McDougal’s passing on October 28, 2016, so we take this time to honor his life/legacy.

Coach McDougal played basketball/ran track in high school and played football at Evansville: which sport was he best at, and which 1 did he enjoy the most? I am not 100% sure but I would assume basketball.

He served in the Navy during WWII: what impact did the war have on him either on or off the court? I never remember hearing any of his war stories: it is almost like he kept that separate from the team. However, he was prompt and had a great attention to detail.

His coaching career took off at West Aurora High School where he was state runner-up in 1976: how did he end up at Northern Illinois? I think it was just a case of good timing. He did very well at West Aurora: I think he lost the state title game on a last-second shot. Back then it was not a big deal to make a step up from high school to college, even though it is not the normal progression now.

In his 1st season at NIU he was named MAC COY after improving the team’s record from 5-21 to 13-14: how was he able to come in and turn things around so quickly? It was before my era but he changed the culture of the program and brought in some good players like Skip Hicks who he already knew.

You played for him back in the day: what made him such a good coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? What made him exceptional to me was his ability to connect with his players. Not just from a basketball standpoint: he genuinely cared about his players and their families. His honesty really drew you in: he never raised his voice and screamed at you. He just had an approach that made it easy for us to talk to him after practice if we were not doing well: it was an open-door policy.

In the 1982 MAC tourney he won 3 games in 3 days by a combined 7 PTS: what did it mean to him to win the title, and what was the reaction like when he got back to campus? That was right before I came to the program. It was the 1st time the school had made it to the NCAA tourney so it was big for the community. It showed the Chicago area that there were good local teams besides DePaul/Illinois. I am sure that the campus was electric. The games came down to strategy because they were so close.

His 136 wins remain the most in school history: did you realize at the time how prolific a coach he was, and do you think that anyone will ever break his record? I think we did realize that there was something special about him when it came to how he handled everything: media, players, etc. I do not recall anyone who disliked the way that he went about his business. The longevity of coaches now is not the same as it was back then so I think it will be hard for anyone to break his record.

He won more than 550 high school games and in 2006 he was named 1 of the “100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament”: where did that rank among the highlights of his career? I would think it is in the top 3-5. West Aurora is known for basketball and he helped it remain 1 of the top schools in the history of a very competitive state. His former assistant Gordie Kirkman later took over and continued the legacy there so his thumbprints are all over the program.

He passed away in 2016: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? He accomplished some great things on the court in high school/college but I will remember him more as a person. He lived his life right and tried to instill that in his players. He was full of integrity and was a guy who you could totally trust.

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The Hoops HD Report: AAC/A10/MWC/WCC Previews

Posted on October 27, 2021 by David Griggs

Tonight, we preview each of the four conferences that don’t quite fall into the category of being power conferences, but are still regular multi-bid leagues when it comes to getting teams to the NCAA Tournament.  Not only that, but half of last year’s Final Four consisted of teams from this group (Gonzaga and Houston), so the teams at the top of these conferences are oftentimes as good as anyone.

In the American we think Houston will once again be one of the best teams in the league, but also feel that Memphis is the most talented team in the league.  The question for them is can that talent come together and gel for the Tigers this year.  Wichita State and SMU are two other teams we like.

In the Atlantic Ten, we all like Saint Bonaventure and think that they can end the regular season very high in the rankings if they can run away from the rest of the Atlantic Ten, which they are certainly good enough to do.  We discuss that, and how Richmond and maybe one or two other teams could end up in the NCAA Tournament.

In the Mountain West, Colorado State and San Diego State are the two teams we like the most, but also feel that Nevada could be a fringe NCAA Tournament team, and that Boise State is another team to watch.

And last, but certainly not least, we like top Ranked Gonzaga to once again be high in the rankings all year, potentially win 30+ games yet again, and end up on one of the top two lines.  BYU and Saint Mary’s are other teams that we feel could be dancing this March, and teams like LMU and San Francisco are teams that can make some nose.

And for all you radio lovers, below are the audio only versions of the shows…

American:

Atlantic Ten:

Mountain West:

West Coast:

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Big 12 Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 27, 2021 by David Griggs

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

BIG 12 MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Kansas
  2. Texas
  3. Baylor
  4. Texas Tech
  5. Oklahoma State
  6. West Virginia (tied 5th)
  7. Oklahoma
  8. TCU
  9. Kansas State
  10. Iowa State

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-With four starters back from a team that earned a #3 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament, many believe Kansas to be a Final Four-caliber team this year.  They have guys who can score, a ton of weapons in both the frontcourt and the backcourt, a lot of depth, and they could easily end up on one of the top-2 lines this year.

-Texas is right behind Kansas.  Sometimes when a good team has an early exit in the NCAA Tournament people will forget how good they actually were.  Texas was upset by Abilene Christian, but they still earned a #3 seed and have some key pieces coming back.  One of the people who isn’t back is Shaka Smart, who may now hold the record for the coach with the highest seed in the NCAA Tournament who ended up getting fired. Chris Beard, who is a masterful bench coach, comes in to replace him so the Longhorns won’t miss a beat.  They did lose three starters but added some high-caliber transfers and should be in solid contention for a protected seed this year.

-Baylor is the defending national champion!  The bad news is that just one starter is back from last year’s team.  The good news is that while they may not be Final Four-good this year the Bears are still pretty damn good.  Some guys who came off the bench last year will be expected to step in to more key roles this year, but if they can do that then we should see this team solidly in the top 25 for most of the year.

-I like this Oklahoma State team: while they were picked to finish 5th I’m expecting them to finish somewhere in the top half of the standings and safely make the NCAA Tournament.  Four starters are back from a team that made the second round last year and played really well down the stretch.  While they did lose their top player in #1 overall pick Cade Cunningham, they have enough coming back that I think they’ll be really good this year.

-Texas Tech has three starters back, but the biggest change for them does not involved the players on the court, but rather the coaches on the bench.  Chris Beard left for Texas and has been replaced by Mark Adams, who has big shoes to fill.  Fortunately, he has some pretty good pieces both returning and transferring in, so this is a team that is capable of finishing in the top half of the league and landing safely inside the bubble.

-West Virginia earned a #3 seed a year ago, and while much of that team is gone they do have some good pieces coming back along with some pretty good additions.  They’re always tough defensively, always well-coached, and should never be overlooked or counted out.  I think they dance again this year.

-Oklahoma brings in Porter Moser as head coach, who had a fantastic run at Loyola Chicago.  This is a team that went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago, but may be in a bit of a rebuilding mode this year.  Just four players are back from a year ago, and while some of the newcomers can play a team with this many new pieces will always produce more questions than answers heading into the season.

-I like Jamie Dixon as a coach, and think that he can get TCU going on a regular basis eventually.  Having said that, I think they’ll be closer to the bottom of the league than they are to the top this year.  They do have a really solid player in Mike Miles and some really good players transferring in as well, so I don’t think they’ll necessarily be a doormat this year.

-It doesn’t seem like I’m ever big on Kansas State…and this year is no different.  They could prove me wrong: they certainly have before, and with four starters back they should be improved just based on how experienced they are.  However, they won just nine games a year ago and four games in league play (2 of which were against Iowa State).  Speaking of Iowa State…

-The Cyclones are coming off their worst season in recent memory.  They won just two games all season long, and were the winners of the HoopsHD Stallings Award.  While I think they won’t be as bad as they were a year ago, I still think they have a long way to go before they’re back within reach of the NCAA Tournament.

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Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews James Holland about Mike Gibson

Posted on October 27, 2021 by Jon Teitel

USC Upstate basketball was having a rough go of it in the mid-1970s while winning an average of 4 games/season…and then Mike Gibson showed up in 1978 and made everything better. During his 4 years the team won an average of 20 games/season, made the NAIA District 6 Tournament for 4 straight seasons, and won the 1982 NAIA national title. Gibson was a 2-time NAIA All-American, 1982 NAIA tourney MVP, and remains in the top-5 in school history in PTS/REB. In 1999 he became the 1st men’s basketball player to be inducted into the USC Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Mike’s former teammate James Holland, who is currently the Senior Associate Commissioner of the Big South Conference, about winning a national title and getting drafted. Today is Mike’s 61st birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

Mike was born in South Carolina: what made him choose Upstate for college? He was born in Hemingway, which is down by Myrtle Beach. He was at a very small high school so he did not have a lot of offers and was an under-the-radar guy. He was 6’8” and very thin but was probably ahead of his time because he could shoot the ball.

In 1982 his team opened the season 11-1 before losing 4 of its next 6 games: how were they able to get refocused? Coaches always say it is about the players but we had a great coach named Jerry Waters. There were high expectations for that 1982 team because we had been to the national tourney during our junior year. The games that we lost were all relatively close but we never lost confidence. Mike was the best player on the team and very talented. All 4 of those losses were on the road so we just tried to get back to doing whatever it took to get the job done.

The team won each of its 5 NAIA tourney games by double-digits including a 51-38 win over a 39-0 Biola team in the title game: what did it mean to him to win a title, and what was the reaction like after getting back to campus? It was really interesting. Mike was basically a 4-year starter, Wendell Gibson/myself were 3½-year starters, Doug Lightbody was a 3-year starter, and Odell Cleveland was a junior college transfer. Everyone felt that if we could go 1 step further by winning 2 tourney games it would be a success (after only winning 1 tourney game the previous year). After we won the 1st 2 pretty easily we started to think that we could win it all. We had been on a long winning streak but it was a little eerie at the end because you always thought that there would be another game. We were obviously happy to win a title but it was weird to finish our careers: we wanted to play against somebody else and see who we could compete with!

He was NAIA tourney MVP and a 2-time All-American: what did it mean to him to receive such outstanding honors? He was really focused. I will never forget sitting around someone’s apartment watching an NBA game on TV and they were interviewing famed scout Marty Blake. He mentioned a bunch of sleepers including Mike: the only people who probably recognized his name were the people who were in that apartment! It was not a lot of hype compared to what you would see for a guy like Zion Williamson: he was determined and worked really hard with that carrot of the NBA dangling out there. His focus was great for our team: guys have to be “selfish” sometimes. I hate using that word because it was not a bad “selfish” but a focused “selfish”. His desire to play in the NBA never exceeded his desire to win: if you win a lot of games then a lot of other things will take care of themselves. Scouts came to Kansas City to watch the national tourney so he knew that he needed to just go out and play.

He remains top-5 in school history in career PTS/REB: how did he balance his scoring with his rebounding? There were games when he would come in and say “I am getting every single rebound tonight”! Dennis Rodman made a career out of rebounding the ball: it is a hustle stat and was connected to Mike’s motivation to make it to the NBA. He was 6’10” so he was never at a height disadvantage. From a scoring standpoint he had the skill to make shots: if there was a 3-PT line back then he could have easily made a lot of shots from out there. He did not want to leave anything to chance in terms of people saying there was anything that he could not do: he also thought that he could dribble a little bit!

In the summer of 1982 he was drafted in the 2nd round by Washington (4 spots ahead of Craig Hodges): did he see that as a validation of his college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? I think that it validated him because he worked really hard in college. When you talk to young guys today about the small percentage of people who will play professionally, you have to understand that you never know who is watching. We did not have as much TV coverage back then but he played well and worked hard in the weight room. We did not have a nutritionist: you needed the self-discipline to dedicate yourself to taking care of your body. He was conscious of what he was eating, which was very rare 40 years ago. He was thin so he constantly tried to gain weight before joining the NBA as a 6’10”, 200-pound player.

The Bullets allegedly had him put on more weight so that he could be stronger (like teammates Jeff Ruland/Rick Mahorn) but the extra pounds took away some of his quickness: do you think that big men should put more weight on or keep it off? When you get to that stage and the GM tells you what you need to do to make the team, you do not disagree with him. I think it did affect his athleticism because he ran the floor so well in college…but when you put a 20-pound bag of sand on your back it will slow you down a bit. He definitely changed his game to take the pounding: when he came back to work out during the summers he would seek out contact but he lost a little finesse.

After playing in the NBA he spent the next decade playing professionally in the US and overseas: how big of a star did he become in foreign countries? He spent the majority of his career overseas but without any Internet at that time we just knew that he was over there. Every player reaches a point where you understand that it is a business and there is a small window of time to play professionally. He told me that he needed to make as much money as he could while doing something that he loved to do: he was not a 1-and-done player so even with a long career he “only” played about 13 years.

What has he been up to since retiring? For 2 guys who shared an apartment for 3 years in college we have just gone in different directions. We lost a little touch when I got into coaching but I know that he returned to Spartanburg and ran a couple of businesses like Baskin-Robbins.

When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? I think that he is the best guy to ever play in District 6. There is certainly an argument to be made for a guy like Ulysses Hackett but Mike took it to the next level in the NBA and was really good. When you are the MVP of the title game it checks most of the boxes.

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The Hoops HD Report: Big 12 Preview

Posted on October 27, 2021 by David Griggs

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

Last year this league sent seven teams to the NCAA Tournament, and we feel they could end up doing the same this year.  (It also gave us last year’s Stallings Award winner, but that’s another story).  Kansas and Texas are two teams that could contend for the Final Four.  Chris Beard arrives at Texas with a ton of talent, so the expectations are high.  Baylor is the defending national champions and while we don’t expect them to repeat, we still think they are a solid top 15 caliber team.  Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Texas Tech are all very good as well and all could contend for the NCAA Tournament.  We discuss all that, and more!

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

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Read all about it: HoopsHD interview Kerry Eggers about his new Jerome Kersey book

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Jon Teitel

Jerome Kersey knew how to play basketball: 1984 1st-team D-2 All-American at Longwood, 1999 NBA champion, and his 1153 career games remains in the top-75 in NBA history. Kerry Eggers knows how to write about basketball: Portland newspaper sportswriter for 45 years, 6-time National Sports Media Association’s Oregon Sportswriter of the Year, and covered many NBA Finals/All-Star games. Put the 2 together and you have a fascinating new book called “Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds” (www.amazon.com/Jerome-Kersey-Overcoming-Kerry-Eggers/dp/1736898930). HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Kerry about the book as well as Jerome’s life/legacy.

Why did you decide to write a book about Jerome, and how did you come up with the title? I was contacted by a group of people from Virginia who knew Jerome from his college days including including Longwood alum Rohn Brown/Longwood SID Hoke Currie . They reached out to me to see if I would be interested in completing a previously-started book: I responded that I would be interested in writing my own book about Jerome. There is no question that he was an underdog in almost every way. His mom gave birth to him when she was just 17 and he was raised by his grandparents in a small rural town. He was a late-bloomer as a player, not recruited by many colleges, and did not even get scouted much until his performance as a senior at the Portsmouth Invitational. Portland coach Jack Ramsay wanted him to go overseas but he ended up making the team and was a starter by his 3rd year with the Blazers.

He grew up in Clarksville, VA: what impact did living in such a small town have on him either on and off the court? His grandmother May was a fantastic woman and a great influence on Jerome. She was warm/caring and the community of family/friends around him made him a happy kid. Clarksville had a positive impact on him although he had to learn a lot about life after moving away.

He went to college at Longwood, graduated as the leading scorer in program history, and remains the school’s all-time leader in REB/STL/BLK: how was he able to balance all of the different aspects of his game? He was a very versatile player/athletic person and a very hard worker, which continued throughout his career. He was not a great shooter but was fast and could dunk. He was also a great rebounder, which is all about effort/hustle.

Despite playing at a then-D-2 school he was drafted 46th overall by Portland in the summer of 1984: was it due mostly to talent or athleticism or potential or work ethic or confidence or a little of everything? He got drafted because Portland liked his athleticism and thought that he had a good upside. His college coach Cal Luther was amazed that nobody was aware of Jerome, but chief scout Bucky Buckwalter finally noticed him at the Portsmouth Invitational. Bucky was the guy who really pushed Coach Ramsay/director of player personnel Stu Inman to take a chance on him.

What kind of bond did he develop in the NBA with fellow small college teammates Terry Porter (Wisconsin-Stevens Point)/Kevin Duckworth (Eastern Illinois)? There is no question that all 3 of them had a great connection. Terry and Jerome were the tightest among the group and each played 17 years in the NBA. They all had a chip on their shoulder and wanted to prove that they could play with the big boys.

How did 2 significant events that occurred during a 6-day stretch in February of 1989 (Rick Adelman replacing Mike Schuler as head coach and Kiki VanDeWeghe getting traded to the Knicks) change the path of his career? Schuler loved Kersey and gave him a great opportunity to play: his numbers were great because Porter/Clyde Drexler had not fully developed yet. Adelman came in as an assistant coach during Jerome’s rookie season and they had a great connection: he was an under-the-radar glue guy who filled a lot of roles. He never made an All-Star team but was just as impactful as any of them.

Portland started the 1990-91 season with a 27-3 record before Jerome missed 9 games due to a pulled calf muscle: where does that 30-game stretch rank among the greatest in team history? That was the best team of that 3-year stretch when they made the Finals in 1990/1992. They added Danny Ainge and Cliff Robinson was becoming a great player. It was a terrific run and they ended up winning 63 games. I think it is the 2nd-best team in franchise history behind the 1977 NBA title team.

In addition to all of his on-court greatness there are many references in the book to his passions for ladies/cars/clothes/singing/golf/community engagement: what was he like off the court, and how much was he beloved by the fans in Portland? He chose to live in the community and never left. He was an approachable guy who would ask you how you were doing and actually listen to you! Portland is a small-town city who loves their own: he was 1 of their most popular players ever and continued to work for the team even after retiring as a player.

He ended up playing 17 years in the NBA and won a ring with San Antonio in 1999: how was he able to stick around for such a long time, and what did it mean to him to win a title? He changed as a player during the 2nd half of his career: he had lost some athleticism but was a more physical player who relied on his experience/savvy. He would come off the bench and work so hard, which is why his coaches loved him. He was a good role model for younger players due to the way he carried himself. He did not demand a lot of shots because he did not have an ego: those kinds of players are hard to find.

He died of a pulmonary embolism in February of 2015 at age 52: what was your reaction when learning of his passing, and how do you think that he should be remembered the most? I was stunned because he seemed like he was indestructible. He developed a blood clot after fairly minor knee surgery, which was the 1st operation that he ever had. He will be remembered as a guy who gave his all for the team/city and is 1 of its all-time great players/citizens. I would like to see them retire his #25 jersey someday.

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