Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews former Vanderbilt star Shan Foster

Vanderbilt is well-known as an awesome academic institution but Shan Foster showed that they can play a little basketball as well. He made the Sweet 16 in 2007, was named an All-American/SEC POY in 2008, and finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in PTS/3PM. In the summer of 2008 he was drafted by Dallas and later played pro basketball for several years in the US and overseas. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Shan about beating Kentucky by 41 PTS and being a great scorer. Today is Shan’s 35th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

You received scholarship offers from several great schools like Kansas/Notre Dame: what made you choose Vanderbilt? Vandy is the best academic school in the SEC. I grew up watching the SEC and wanted to make a name for myself in that league.

You shot 44.5 3P% as a freshman and finished your career with a school-record 367 3PM: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start, and what is your secret for making shots from behind the arc? There is no substitute for hard work: you just need to get in the gym by yourself. I spent countless hours making shot after shot until I built up the muscle memory needed to be an elite shooter.

Take me through the 2007 NCAA tourney:
You scored 20 PTS in a 4-PT 2-OT win over Washington State: what are your memories of what Coach Kevin Stallings later called “1 of the best college basketball games I have ever been involved in”? That game was a nail-biter the whole way. They played great fundamentally-sound defense and made very few mistakes offensively: they had a very well-coached team. I remember our team being relentless in our preparation before this game. That level of focus was hard for the Cougars to overcome as we broke away in OT.

You scored 16 PTS in a 1-PT loss to Georgetown: do you think Jeff Green traveled before he made the game-winning shot with 2.5 seconds left (www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNbDn3yoYNw), and where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? Jeff Green definitely traveled…which is why it was the most devastating loss of my career.

As a senior you won your 1st 16 games (the best in school history) before scoring 17 PTS in a 6-PT 2-OT loss at Kentucky on January 12, 2008: how much confidence did your team have entering OT after overcoming a 16-PT deficit in the 2nd half, and what went wrong in the 2nd OT when your team combined to score a single point? We entered that game with tremendous confidence because our family atmosphere and level of personal accountability was at an all-time high. Playing at a high level helped us become who we were.

Exactly 1 month later you scored 20 PTS in a 93-52 win over Kentucky that was the Wildcats’ worst conference loss ever: were you out for revenge after they ruined your perfect season, and what was the feeling like heading to the locker room at halftime with a 41-11 lead? We definitely wanted payback but it was just another game. We always wanted to win at home at all costs: you have to protect your home court.

After missing your 1st 6 3-PT attempts in your final home game on March 5, 2008, you ended up with a career-high 42 PTS by making your final 9 shots from 3-PT land including the game-winner with 2.7 seconds left (www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUQyS6M2DAA) in a 1-PT OT win over Mississippi State to give the Commodores their 1st undefeated season at Memorial Gymnasium in 15 years: how were you able to go from ice-cold to red-hot, and did it eventually reach a point where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I had great teammates who continued to encourage me to keep shooting. Eventually the percentages would even out and that night they did again. Once I got into a rhythm it seemed like anytime I could see the basket my shot was going up and going in.

In 2008 you were named All-American/SEC POY: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? It was an amazing accomplishment and 1 that I was on a serious mission to attain. To be considered as 1 of the best is an honor.

Your 2011 career PTS remains the most in school history: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were, and do you think that anyone will ever break your record? Records are meant to be broken and I look forward to the day when we have a player performing at that level. I did realize that I was playing at a high level but my goal was to not stay there but to get better: settling was never an option.

After getting drafted by Dallas in 2008 you spent a few years playing overseas before retiring in 2013: what is the biggest difference between the NCAA and pro ball overseas, and why did you decide to retire? The biggest difference is that pro basketball is a business: who gets to play and gets opportunities are not always decided by who is the best player. I fell in love with the game and not the business, which is why I retired.

You later accepted a position with the YWCA of Nashville and Middle Tennessee as director of MEND, an initiative dedicated to ending violence against women and girls by engaging men: how big of a problem is such violence, and what did MEND do to help fix the situation? Tennessee is 6th in the nation when it comes to the number of men killing women. 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence and every 20 minutes the police department responds to a domestic violence call so I would say that the problem is pretty big. Our goal is to make Nashville the safest city in the nation for women/girls. We will accomplish this by engaging men and educating boys to change the culture that supports violence.

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The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Jim Sumner about 1976 Olympic gold medalist Tate Armstrong

The NBA Finals date back to 1947 (when they were known as the Basketball Association of America Finals) and the very 1st NCAA tourney was held in 1939. Olympic basketball competition is even older: it debuted as a demonstration event in 1904 and the men’s version became a medal sport in 1936, with the women finally getting their chance to go for the gold in 1976. The United States has dominated Olympic basketball competition from the start: the men have won 16 gold medals in the 19 tournaments they have participated in during the past 85 years, while the women have won 9 gold medals in the 11 tournaments in which they have competed during the past 45 years. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues his coverage by chatting with Jim Sumner (columnist for Go Duke: The Magazine and Duke Basketball Report) about Tate Armstrong being a great shooter and winning a gold medal.

(photo credit: worthpoint.com)

Armstrong was born in Georgia and went to high school in Texas: what made him choose Duke? I am unsure if he was heavily recruited. He was a 6-2 center in high school and was also a ball boy for the Houston Rockets. Jack Marin played for Houston at the time and they shot around before games. Duke coach Bucky Waters had helped recruit Marin to Duke when Waters was an assistant, and Marin later recommended Armstrong to Duke. Ironically, Waters never got to coach Armstrong.

He played for Coach Neill McGeachy as a freshman: why did the Blue Devils hire Bill E. Foster to replace him in 1974, and what impact did it have on the team? Waters had a five-year contract and entering his final year he asked Duke AD Carl James for an extension. James declined and Waters resigned days before the beginning of practice. McGeachy was Waters’ top assistant and James did not really have any other options. McGeachy was given one year to prove his worthiness. His team went 10-16, which set a school record for losses. By accounts, McGeachy’s players loved him, but 10-16 is, well, 10-16. Foster came in and installed an up-tempo offense, both to bring back a dwindling fan base and attract recruits, and this played to Armstrong’s strengths.

After averaging 9.7 PPG/1.7 APG as a sophomore he averaged 24.2 PPG/4.4 APG as a junior: how was he able to improve so much in the course of just 1 year? Two reasons. One, he was healthy. Two, he was in better shape. Foster told him he wanted him to be in better shape for 1976 so Armstrong went home to Texas and ran 10-15 miles every day…in Houston…in the summer.

In 1976 he was named 1st-team All-ACC and 1st-team All-ACC tourney: what did it mean to him to receive such outstanding honors? I am sure that he was pleased but I am also sure that he wanted more wins. He told me once that it was agonizing to score so many points in so many losses, but it was Duke’s best chance to win games.

He won a gold medal with team USA at the 1976 Olympics: what did it mean to him to represent his country, and what did it mean to him to win a gold medal? I am sure that he was pleased but I suspect he wishes that he could have played more.

In his senior year the team started 10-1 before losing 12 of their final 16 games to finish 14-13: how good could that 1977 roster (including 4 future NBA players in Armstrong/Mark Crow/Mike Gminski/Jim Spanarkel) have been had Armstrong not been limited to only 14 games due to a right wrist injury he suffered during an 8-PT OT win at Virginia that January? This is one of the great what-ifs in Duke history. A maximum of two teams from any one conference could go to the NCAA Tournament in those days and North Carolina was going to get one of those two spots. Duke almost certainly would have had to win the ACC Tournament to go to the NCAA Tournament. I doubt whether they had the depth to do that but an NIT bid was very doable, and after a six-year run of mediocrity even an NIT bid would have been a major step in the right direction. A final note on that season: Armstrong’s last game was that win at Virginia, which ended a five-year-ACC road losing streak for Duke. Armstrong scored 33 points and played the entire second half and overtime with a broken right wrist…and he was right-handed. He finished the game despite a broken wrist that hurt tremendously with every shot/dribble.

He finished his college career with 51.9 FG%/80.4 FT%: what was his secret for being such a great shooter? Are great shooters born or made? Yes. In other words, he came to Duke with potential and worked very hard to maximize that potential. As a senior he beat Washington and Richmond on buzzer-beaters so everyone knew that he could shoot in the clutch.

In the summer of 1977 he was drafted 13th overall by Chicago (5 spots behind Jack Sikma): did he see that as a validation of his college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? From my conversations with Tate, I think his NBA memories are bittersweet. He was hurt a lot and played at a time when drug use and marital infidelity were issues that bothered him…a lot.

He played 2 years with the Bulls and after retiring he became a real estate developer in the DC area and had 7 children: how did his Duke education prepare for life off the court? Well, his wife was a Duke cheerleader when they met, so he probably would cite that! He was a somewhat famous ex-athlete with a degree from an academically elite and well-known university. Combine that with the kind of work ethic that made him a standout basketball player and one can connect the dots pretty easily.

When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? It is hard to say. He was really only healthy for about a season and a half, never played in the NCAA Tournament or NIT, and never played past the first round of the ACC Tournament. That magical 1978 Duke season basically overshadowed anything Duke had done in the almost decade since Vic Bubas left coaching, but when Tate was healthy he was one of the great shooters/scorers in Duke history. Only Dick Groat (twice), Art Heyman (thrice), Bob Verga, and JJ Redick have ever averaged more points for Duke in a season then the 24.22 Armstrong averaged in 1976. He is probably best remembered as someone who should be better remembered.

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The Hoops HD Report: July/August Session

After a long hiatus, the Hoops HD crew is finally back!!  On this episode we discuss the possibility/probability of Oklahoma and Texas moving to the SEC, and what impact that could have on conference realignment.  We also discuss the impact of players now being allowed to profit from their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and how that could possibly impact the competitive balance in college hoops.  We also touch on the Alston Case and how the Supreme Court upheld the original ruling.

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

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The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews 1992 Olympic bronze medalist Carolyn “CJ” Young

The NBA Finals date back to 1947 (when they were known as the Basketball Association of America Finals) and the very 1st NCAA tourney was held in 1939. Olympic basketball competition is even older: it debuted as a demonstration event in 1904 and the men’s version became a medal sport in 1936, with the women finally getting their chance to go for the gold in 1976. The United States has dominated Olympic basketball competition from the start: the men have won 16 gold medals in the 19 tournaments they have participated in during the past 85 years, while the women have won 9 gold medals in the 11 tournaments in which they have competed during the past 45 years. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues his coverage by chatting with Carolyn “CJ” Young about becoming the greatest scorer in ABL history and winning a bronze medal.

You were born/raised in Mississippi: what made you choose Auburn? I fell in love with the school around 8th or 9th grade after attending a camp there with Assistant coach Carol Ross. She was so genuine and we hit it off from the start.

You played for Hall of Fame coach Joe Ciampi: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? He is a great hard-nosed guy who told us exactly what we were going to do. Basketball is a teaching school that involves a lot of life lessons: discipline, hard work, etc. Winning a title does not happen every time but we got close several years in a row.

You made the NCAA tourney title game in 1989 and 1990 and lost both times: what was it like to face the 2 winningest female coaches in college basketball history (Pat Summitt/Tara VanDerveer) with a championship on the line? They are 2 of the greats. It was a dogfight both times involving teams/coaches that were parts of dynasties. It was a heartbreaker to get there and lose: it would have been nice to get 1 championship.

In 1990 you were named SEC tourney MVP: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most? I was 1 of those players who wanted the ball when the game was on the line. Some people do not like that situation but all I did in college was books and basketball. I was a bulldog who wanted to win by any means necessary.

In the summer of 1992 you played for team USA at the Olympics: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a bronze medal? It was an a-ha moment: I was 1 of 12 people representing an entire country. It still gives me chills to think about it and it was 1 of the greatest things I have ever been a part of. Gold is much better but I was still happy to win the bronze medal.

1 of your Olympic teammates was your college teammate Vickie Orr: how special was it for you 2 to share that experience together? It was awesome. Vickie is a great person/player and is arguably 1 of the best players in Auburn history.

The US women’s team just won their 7th straight Olympic gold medal earlier this month: do you think they will ever lose again? Never say never. I hope we do not…but the men never thought they would lose after getting NBA players. The world is catching up but right now we are the cream of the crop and I do not see us losing anytime soon. Hard work is undefeated!

You later played in the ABL for the New England Blizzard and set a league record with 21.5 career PPG: what is the secret to being a great scorer? Having that bulldog mentality. I was a pretty good defender as well but offense was my go-to skill. I am 52 years old and have 4 kids but still love running up and down the floor.

Your daughter Audia recently committed to Auburn, your daughter Ariel plays for North Carolina, and your husband CY made the NCAA tourney as a player at Georgia Southern: who is the best athlete in the family? That would be me! It is great to see my baby girl going to Auburn. My husband was a great player and still plays in a church league. We are a basketball family through and through even though we did not force it on our kids: they just fell in love with it.

When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I guess as an athlete who gave it all with blood/sweat/tears. I never gave up, was honest/down to earth, and was a great teammate/person. I think that I would be okay with that.

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Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews former FGCU coach Dave Balza

Last spring Palm Beach Atlantic coach Dave Balza announced that he would be retiring from coaching after spending the past 8 years with the Sailfish. His career on the sidelines started with a bang in 1989 when he was a student manager for Michigan during their run to the the 1989 NCAA tourney title. Although it was Coach Andy Enfield who brought “Dunk City” to Ft. Myers, it is Balza who remains the winningest coach in school history with a record of 153-121 from 2002-2011. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Balza about winning an NCAA title and marrying a Spartan. Today is Coach Balza’s 52nd birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

Take me though the magical 1989 NCAA tourney as a student manager for Michigan:
Just days before the tournament started, Coach Bill Frieder announced that he would become head coach at ASU, so athletic director Bo Schembechler fired Frieder and named assistant Steve Fisher as interim coach: what was it like going through that coaching change, and how was the team able to maintain its focus? I had an interesting piece in that. I was taping games off of the satellite onto VHS tapes and the only satellite was in Frieder’s office. It was 1AM and someone startled me by jiggling the handle of the door: it turned out to be Frieder. He told me he was afraid that I was Schembechler and was cleaning out his office! It was a big story at the time, but we were told not to comment on the situation. Someone called my roommate Rob Pelinka (who is now general manager of the Lakers) and said he was from Sports Illustrated and just looking for a comment but Rob refused to say anything: it turned out to be a prank by our teammate Loy Vaught! Fisher loosened the atmosphere and made some positional changes, which allowed our talent to take over.

Tourney MOP Glen Rice scored a combined 70 PTS in back-to-back wins over South Alabama/UNC: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up that month seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? Half the time it seemed like he was not even facing the basket and would just flip up a shot and it would go in! I have never seen anything like it.

Sean Higgins scored 14 PTS and made a put-back with 1 second left in a 2-PT win over conference foe Illinois: where does Higgins’ shot rank among the most clutch you have ever seen, and were you concerned that your team might not have anything left for the final? Illinois had beaten us twice that season, including at our place on Senior Night. Rice came into the locker room after that game and said that it was our last loss of the season. Higgins had a lot of moxie and could always put the ball in the basket. Fisher played Higgins at the end of the Final 4 game on a hunch and it just worked out well.

Rumeal Robinson made a pair of FT with 3 seconds left in a 1-PT OT win over Seton Hall: did you think that Rumeal was going to make both FT, and what did it mean to you to win the title? I did think that he was going to make them. As managers we spent a lot of time watching him make 100 FTs after practice every single day (after he had missed a pair earlier that season in a loss at Wisconsin). It meant a lot to everybody: we all stay in contact even today.

What are your memories of the 1990 NCAA tourney (Jeff Fryer scored 41 PTS including a tourney-record 11-15 3PM in 32 minutes in a 149-115 win by Loyola Marymount, which remains the highest scoring game in tourney history)? I remember the pre-game discussion among the coaching staff whether to run with them: it was the wrong decision to say the least! LMU was a special team playing for a special cause (after Hank Gathers’ death).

As an assistant coach at Cleveland State in 1993 your team went 15-1 in the regular season before a 28-PT loss to Illinois-Chicago in the conference tourney: what did it mean to you to win the regular season title, and how devastating was the conference tourney loss? It is very difficult to win conference titles: Michigan did not win a conference title from 1986-2012. At a big school you can get an at-large berth but at a small school like Cleveland State you cannot. It was crushing to be in that situation.

In 2002 you became head coach at Florida Gulf Coast: why did you decide to take the job, and how much pressure was there on you as the 1st head coach in school history? There was not a lot of pressure because nobody outside the school knew who we were: the school had only been founded a few years earlier. I had a good job as a head coach in the state of Indiana and had just been named conference COY but I had a lot of respect for the AD at FGCU. I went to visit the campus and realized that it would become a special job in the years ahead.

In 2007 your school made the leap from D-2 to D-1: what is the biggest difference between the 2 levels? There are many differences. I never thought that we would make the jump that quickly. In D-2 we were the haves but as a 1st-year D-1 program we were a have-not. We had to play guarantee games against Big 10 schools just to make some money to support all of our other programs. It is hard to sell a kid on coming to a school where you cannot even play in the postseason for the 1st couple of years.

You coached Beau Bauer (the 1st-ever 1st-team Academic All-American in school history): what role do you place on academics? I cannot say enough about that kid. We stress academics a lot and explain everyone’s role in it. When you are playing at an All-American level it is all about the kid.

In the spring of 2011 you were fired despite winning 4 of your final 5 games: were you surprised that they fired you, and how little job security do coaches have these days? I was definitely disappointed for a lot of reasons. We went through 3 presidents/3 athletic directors during the transition. Expectations in D-1 are very different than in D-2 but job security is very difficult at all levels.

The following month you were hired as coach at D-3 Bethany Lutheran College: why did you take the job? I took the job because it was a chance to meld my 2 passions of coaching basketball and being a Christian. We were picked 2nd in the league, which might have been a reach, but we had some good young kids.

You are a Michigan grad who married a Michigan State alum: how were you able to make that work?! I always joke with her that it took her a little while to figure it out…because after college she went to grad school at Michigan! Our favorite time of the year is the day of the Michigan-Michigan State football game: it is a neat little bond we share.

When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I hope they remember the way we started it: I handed out t-shirts around campus that said “Building a 1st-class tradition.” Over the next century, I hope they realize that we brought in good people who worked their tails off to do things the right way.

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Happy birthday!: HoopsHD interviews Mark Fox about former Georgia star Yante Maten

If the G League serves as a superior stepping stone to the NBA (Jalen Green/Jonathan Kuminga were both top-7 picks in last month’s draft), then Yante Maten should be back in the Association in the very near future. After being named 2018 SEC POY as a player at Georgia, he played a couple of games for the Miami Heat but has done most of his damage in the G League: 23.5 PPG for Sioux Falls in 2019 and 18.1 PPG for Maine in 2020. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to interview Yante’s college coach Mark Fox about his 3-time All-SEC player. Today is Yante’s 25th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1: he got an early birthday gift last week when he signed with Orlando!

 (photo credit: dawgnation.com)

Yante grew up in Michigan: what made him choose Georgia? He had an interest in a major that we offered on the study of reptiles/lizards. We have a great program and have had a lot of success with PFs.

He played both PF and C during college: which position do you think will be his best fit at the next level? He played PF for us 90% of the time. In the pro game I think that he can play both the 3 and 4.

In the 2016 NIT he scored a career-high 33 PTS/14-17 FG in a 9-PT win over Belmont: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? He shot the 3 well in that game: it was 1 of the times where he realized just how much his talent could impact the game. It was not a surprise to me because he is such a gifted offensive player.

In 2018 he was named SEC POY: what did it mean to him to receive such an outstanding honor? It was a real reward for how hard he worked. He was a terrific player and it meant a lot for other people to recognize that. He had a great season: he is a player who got better every year and will continue to do so.

In the Reese’s College All-Star Game that spring he scored 17 PTS in 19 minutes in a 4-PT win for the West en route to being named MOP: how was he able to play his best against the best? I was not able to attend the game due to a meeting but he has a pretty versatile game so in a setting like that he just found ways to finish plays. Some guys are specialists but his versatility really helped him.

He graduated in the top-5 in school history with 1886 PTS/889 REB/198 BLK: how was he able to balance his offense with his defense? He is longer/bigger than many people realize and just has a natural knack of blocking shots, which was just an added bonus.

He also finished his college career as a 40.3% 3-PT shooter: how was a guy his size able to be so accurate from behind the arc? He worked very hard on his shooting throughout his career and became an excellent 3-PT shooter. It is a credit to all of the hard work that he put in.

At the NBA Draft Combine he led everyone in bench press reps and was measured with only 8% body fat: how much of an advantage does his athleticism give him on the court? He is strong/powerful/agile. Having those attributes will be an advantage but it is tough to compete against the best athletes in the world.

When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? The 1 thing is that he is a better person than he is a player. He had a huge impact on our university community as such a phenomenal person, and statistically he is 1 of the best in our school’s history. I hope he is remembered as 1 of the best players in SEC history.

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