In Memoriam: HoopsHD remembers College Basketball Hall of Fame coach Jim Phelan

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Jon Teitel

We lost so many great coaches in 2020 (Lou Henson/Lute Olson/Eddie Sutton/etc.) and it turns out that we lost another 1 today in Jim Phelan. After playing basketball at La Salle and being drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors in 1951, he won 830 games with his signature bow tie at Mt. St. Mary’s during a career that lasted almost a half-century. He won the 1962 D-2 title, was twice named national COY, and was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Phelan a few years ago and is proud to present this never-before-published interview in honor of his life/legacy. We send our condolences to all of Coach Phelan’s family/friends on their loss.

1 of your grade-school teammates was Hall-of-Famer Paul Arizin, who also served as your teammate both with the Marines and in the NBA: how close were you and Paul, and what made him such a great player? We were very close: he was only 1 grade ahead of me. We played every day and I could see him improving as he got taller. We ended up going to the same high school but amazingly he was the last guy cut from a team that ended up winning the city title. Coach Al Severance saw him playing 1 day and asked him to come to Villanova…but it turned out that Paul was already enrolled there! He was a great leaper and would go play anywhere against anyone.

In the spring of 1951 you were drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors, but you spent 2 years serving in the Marines before playing 4 games for the Warriors during the 1953-54 season: what did it mean to you to be drafted, and why did you decide to join the Marines? There were only 8 NBA teams back then so not everybody got picked. The law was going to be changed regarding the military draft so we were encouraged to join the reserves before we got sent off to war. I was asked by a general to try and recruit Arizin to join our Marine team…even though he had already been named NBA ROY! He enlisted and went to Parris Island and he even liked it. The Warriors ended up letting me go after they found a guy who would play for $500 less.

After retiring from the NBA you spent 1 year as an assistant coach at your alma mater during La Salle’s run to the 1954 NCAA title behind Hall of Fame coach Ken Loeffler and NCAA career REB leader Tom Gola: what made Loeffler such a great coach, and what made Gola such a great player? Loeffler contacted me because he had no assistant coach to help him out. Gola was in high school when I was in college and I ended up coaching him when he was a freshman: we went 18-1 and lost our only game that year by 1 point.

You began coaching at Mt. St. Mary’s in 1954 and went 22-3 in your very 1st season: why did you take the job, and how were you able to come in and be so successful so quickly? Coaches always get offers after winning a title and the job came down to me and Jack McCloskey. I got the job because Jack had too much to give up: he had a wife/2 kids. I arrived to find a star in Jack Sullivan and a bunch of guards from New Jersey who could also play. They were ready for a coach to yell at them and tell them to do something: it was almost too easy.

In 1962 your team had a 1-PT OT win over Sacramento State to win the D-2 title: how were you able to hang on and win the title, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? It was wild, of course: we had an all-male school so they did a lot of zany things. We had an OT win the night before against Southern Illinois: our timing was right because Walt Frazier did not show up until the following year!

That same year you were named national COY: what did it mean to you to win such an outstanding honor? They presented me the award at the Final 4 so it was fun to get that, but I had already enjoyed a lot of team success when I was at La Salle.

In 1981 you were again named national COY as your team won a school-record 28 games before a 5-PT loss to Florida Southern in the D-2 title game: how close did you come to winning the title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterwards? It was a tough loss because we thought that we should have won. We had a good team but our 2 leading scorers had a bit of a letdown. We were in it the whole way but could not get it done at the finish.

In the 1995 NCAA tourney Walter McCarty had 17 PTS/11 REB in a win by #1-seed Kentucky: how painful was that 46-PT loss? I remember that the score was 7-5 early on: there were a lot of photos taken of the scoreboard at that point! We were happy to be there and did not play too badly. We had beaten Georgia Tech at the buzzer a few months earlier so we were used to good competition. Chris McGuthrie scored 37 PTS while Stephon Marbury appeared to be trash-talking him all night. I asked Chris what Marbury had said: Chris said he just kept asking, “When will you ever f—ing miss?!”

What are your memories of the 1999 NCAA tourney (Antonio Smith had 14 PTS/12 REB in 18 minutes in a win by #1-seed Michigan State)? We played them pretty tough until we blew a layup and they hit a 3-PT shot for a 5-PT swing, and then it was effectively over.

You retired in 2003 with 830 wins (currently 14th on the all-time list), and you also set the record for most games coached with 1354 (currently 4th on the all-time list): what made you such a great coach, and do you think that anyone will ever break your record? Nobody will ever coach more games at 1 school because no administrator is that patient and loyalty will not run deep enough. I arrived at the Mount at the right time because they had gone through several coaching changes. I was told that it did not matter if I lost most of my games: I just had to beat Loyola if I wanted to keep my job! The administration at the Mount was very supportive and I became very friendly with them.

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Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews former coach Bruce Parkhill

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Jon Teitel

There are not a lot of coaches who both start and finish their career as an assistant while also having success as a head coach at multiple schools but that is exactly what Bruce Parkhill did. He began his career as an assistant at William & Mary, then had winning records as a head coach at William & Mary/Penn State before wrapping up his career as an assistant at Ohio State. He was named conference COY with the Tribe/Nittany Lions and made 6 postseason appearances from 1983-1995. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Bruce about having a famous basketball brother and upsetting Dean Smith. Today is Bruce’s 72nd birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

In 1977 in your 1st year as head coach at William & Mary you had a 3-PT win over 2nd-ranked UNC in Williamsburg: how were you able to pull off the upset against Dean Smith, and what was the emotion like in John Kratzer’s 1st game back after missing the previous year due to his battle with cancer? The UNC game is hard to put into words. The atmosphere was unreal and enhanced by the fact that Kratzer was back with us (although he could not play): he was such a special person and we all loved him so much. We had a remarkable group of guys on that team: there were no ego issues. They were good players who were truly unselfish and enjoyed playing as a team. John Lowenhaupt, Mike Enoch, Jack Arbogast, Skip Parnell, Dan Monckton, Ted O’Gorman, Rocky Copley, Billy Harrington, Mark Risinger, Scott Whitley, Tim Wagner, Guy Courage, Bobby Boyd, and George Melton gave the Tribe Nation a night that will never be forgotten! UNC was obviously a great team with 1 of the all-time great coaches in Dean Smith. They jumped on us early but our guys hung tough and got through the Heels’ early spurt. We went up by double figures in the 2nd half before Phil Ford took the game over and we had to hang on to win. The place went absolutely bonkers! My most memorable moment was when I got to the hallway outside our locker room and saw John surrounded by the entire team getting a “team hug”. By the way, we had to leave early the next morning to fly to Provo to play in BYU’s tournament. The next 2 seasons were rebuilding years, then we got back on track with help from guys like Whitley, Wagner, Courage, Harrington, Risinger, Billy Barnes, Rich Veres, Dale Moats, Kenny Bowen, Doug Myers, and Herb Harris. We had some really great wins during these 2 seasons: Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Temple, and a win over Auburn when they had Charles Barkley.

In the 1983 ECAC tourney final Derek Steele made a 3-PT play with 4 seconds left in a 3-PT win by James Madison: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? My last year at William & Mary was really special. We had a very good team with a nice mix of talent/experience/leadership. Mike Strayhorn, Brant Weidner, Keith Ceiplicki, Tony Traver, Kevin Richardson, Scott Coval, Matt Brooks, Richie Cooper, Tommy Lamb, and Gary Bland gave us a good team with some quality depth. We had some close non-conference road losses to West Virginia, Temple, Maryland, and Duke, as well as a great win over a ranked Wake Forest team. 6 of our 8 losses that year were by 5 or fewer PTS and we were 1 of 3 D-1 teams to go undefeated in league play. We got to the finals of the conference tourney and lost to JMU in the final seconds. We were really disappointed due to the fact that we did not feel that we would get an NCAA bid even though we thought we belonged: back then there were only 52 teams selected for the NCAA tourney.

What are your memories of the 1983 NIT (a 6-PT loss to Virginia Tech)? Getting an NIT bid was significant because it was William & Mary’s 1st-ever postseason bid. We played at Virginia Tech when they had Dell Curry and lost in a decent game. I think our guys felt pretty good about accomplishing some things that were “firsts” in school history (undefeated in conference play, NIT bid, etc.).

In the 1990 NIT as head coach at Penn State tourney MVP Scott Draud scored 20 PTS (including 5 threes) in a win by eventual champion Vanderbilt: how close did you come to winning it all? My 1st few years at Penn State were very difficult: every time we felt that we were making progress we would have numerous injury issues. When we finally got the program headed in the right direction we had a group of great guys who were not afraid of the challenge. They were good players who were determined to succeed: those guys took a chance to come to Penn State to try to build a basketball program. They have had many good players/coaches throughout their basketball history but for whatever reason this group of guys was able to get the program over the hump. Eric Carr, Tom Hovasse, Ed Fogell, Brian Allen, Bruce Blake, DeRon Hayes, James Barnes, Michael Jennings, Freddie Barnes, Money Brown, CJ Johnson, Dave Degitz, Rodney Henderson, Lem Joyner, and Christian Appleman (among others) were the core group. We worked our way up the A-10, which was (and still is) a great basketball conference! The 1st year we went to postseason play was very significant because we also hit the 20-win mark: Penn State had only hit that milestone 3 times in the history of the program. We got to the Final 4 of the NIT in New York City after great games with Marquette, Maryland, and Rutgers. We lost to a hot Vandy team and then had an OT win over New Mexico (featuring Luc Longley). It was very difficult to play in the 3rd-place game but I really admired our team for gutting it out. The only good thing about the 3rd-place game is that you get a chance to win your last game of the season: the NIT has since done away with it, which is a good thing. We finished with 25 wins, which was a school record at the time.

Take me through the 1991 NCAA tourney: That season was our last in the A-10. We were fortunate to get on a roll late in the season as we had good wins over Rhode Island, 13th-ranked West Virginia, and Temple on the road. As a result, we got to host the conference title game at home. Even though it was during our spring break the arena was packed and the atmosphere was fantastic! The guys played really well and we won the only conference championship in program history. It was the 1st NCAA bid in over 20 years…and I can say that many of us saw sunrise the following morning! We drew a great UCLA team in the 1st round of the NCAA tourney.

Monroe Brown had 10 PTS/10 AST in a 5-PT win over UCLA: how did you beat a team with 6 future pros? The game reminded me of the UNC game during my 1st year in Williamsburg. They were blowing by us at 1st but our guys settled down, fought like crazy, and pulled off a terrific win. We heard that folks back in State College were driving around town blowing their horns like they do after a big football win! We watched our next opponent Eastern Michigan beat Mississippi State by 20 PTS so we knew that we would have our hands full.

Marcus Kennedy scored 21 PTS before fouling out in a 3-PT OT win by Eastern Michigan: what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? Even though we had a great season it was really painful to get knocked out of the tourney.

In the 1992 NIT Chris McNeal scored each of his team’s last 12 PTS, including a 3-PT play with 11 seconds left, in a 2-PT win by Pitt: how unstoppable was he down the stretch? That year we had to play an independent schedule because the Big 10 did not integrate us into their schedules (with the exception of Illinois/Ohio State). It was an extremely difficult situation for us and I felt badly for our seniors who were such a major part of our program’s success. We tried to make the best of the situation by winning 21 games (including a win at Illinois and winning Marquette’s tourney) but it was not enough to get an NCAA bid. We lost in the NIT to a good Pitt team. The good news was that we had won 20+ games for the 4th consecutive season. We lost some really key guys to graduation and faced a rebuilding situation as we entered the Big 10 amidst much skepticism. Our 1st year was painful: we just did not have the manpower to compete but the guys hung tough. We had a chance to beat #1-ranked Indiana but ended up losing in double-OT. I did not see the tape of that game until it was on ESPN Classic many years later: I was amazed by the effort our guys gave in that game. We started to make some progress in our 2nd season in the Big Ten. We had several wins over ranked teams like Purdue (with Glenn Robinson) and Minnesota (with Voshon Leonard), and finished the season with a really good win over Michigan State (with Shawn Respert/Eric Snow).

Take me through the 1995 NIT: Going into the next season we felt that we had a chance to compete for the championship and at worst finish in the top-4 of the conference. We had a player at each position who would eventually make all-conference (John Amaechi, Glenn Sekunda, Matt Gaudio, Danny Earl, and Pete Lisicky). Unfortunately, we lost our PF (Gaudio) to back problems prior to the season. We swept several teams and had some good wins (including Michigan with 4 of the Fab 5 and Minnesota in our final conference game). We were able to finish .500 in the league in only our 3rd year. We got an NIT bid and faced Miami from the Big East.

Amaechi scored 21 PTS to help overcome a 20-PT 2nd half deficit in a 6-PT win over Miami: how were you able to mount such a huge comeback? They were up by 20 PTS with 10 minutes to play. Our guys did not want to end the season with a loss at home and made an amazing comeback.

Anthony Pieper scored a career-high 32 PTS/7-9 3PM in an 8-PT win by eventual runner-up Marquette: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? Marquette beat us in the semifinal game and we were faced with that dreaded 3rd-place game. Once again, the team showed a great deal of heart and we won our last game. I felt this was a landmark season because we proved that we could compete in the Big 10 and we had a very good foundation for the future with several players in the program who would eventually make all-conference (Lisicky, Earl, Sekunda, Calvin Booth, and Jarrett Stephens).

In September 1995 you resigned because you were getting burned out: do you have any regrets, and do you think too many coaches stick around too long for their own well-being? I should have been feeling great because we just completed our 2nd successful rebuilding phase (A-10 and Big 10): the future looked better than ever! However, I was not feeling that way: I was really struggling and it was hard for me to find any enjoyment/satisfaction with coaching. I guess some people call it “burnout”. I met with AD Tim Curley and discussed the situation and we both agreed that I would try to recharge throughout the offseason and then see how I felt at the end of the summer. In addition to the burnout factor I wanted to be able to see my daughter Kate more often. I was also diagnosed with depression so the following September I made the decision to step away. This meant that I would be giving up financial security, a chance to win the Big 10 title, and the opportunity to coach in Penn State’s new arena. I did not think that it would be fair to anyone to stay for the financial security and just stick it out to see what would happen. It was a very difficult time, especially when I had to tell the team. The folks in the administration were great and I will always love that school. In retrospect I am proud of the things we accomplished at both schools. I consider many of my former players and coaches to be dear friends: that is what it is all about. The wins/losses fade with time but the bonds of those friendships will last forever.

Your brother Barry was the 1972 ACC Athlete of the Year and 3 decades later he was named 1 of the 50 greatest basketball players in ACC history (after serving as your assistant/replacement at William & Mary): how proud are you of all his success, and what was it like to have him on the sideline with you? A really special part of my last 4 years at William & Mary was having my brother on my staff. His accomplishments as a player were amazing. I was a graduate assistant at Virginia during Barry’s junior season. I watched the brother that I used to play 1-on-1 with in our backyard become an All-American/ACC POY. We would see each other often when he joined the Virginia Squires in the ABA because he lived in Virginia Beach. I was thrilled when he came to join our staff at William & Mary. He obviously had tremendous credibility and a great rapport with our team but was also a tireless worker. Speaking of coaching staffs, I want to say that I was truly blessed at both schools with the best staffs a coach could possibly have. Some stayed in coaching and some did not but they were all great guys.

You have been described by 1 former player as a “perfectionist”: do you think that is an advantage or disadvantage in the coaching profession? I often wonder how my life would be different if I was not such a perfectionist. It is without a doubt a double-edged sword. Striving for perfection helps one succeed…but it can also keep you from enjoying that success. To this day it still rears its ugly head when I am playing golf!

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The Hoops HD Report June Session – Interview With David Worlock

Posted on June 15, 2021 by David Griggs

David Worlock, Director of Media Coordination and Statistics for Men’s Div1 Basketball (and all around NCAA Tournament VIP) joins us for this special audio-only episode.  We look back at one of the most unusual basketball seasons and NCAA Tournaments of all time.  We also briefly look back and discuss how incredible the 2019-2020 season was, and what it was like for that to suddenly come to a complete halt due to COVID-19.  We discuss the challenges that the selection committee faced this year, how the committee is going from 10 to 12 members, and how they go about extensively monitoring and evaluating all 358 teams in Div1.  All that, and more!!

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Basketball and Brains: HoopsHD interviews South Dakota State Academic All-American Matt Dentlinger

Posted on June 15, 2021 by Jon Teitel

Everyone knows that Jackrabbits are fast and can jump but they are also pretty smart. Matt Dentlinger is Exhibit A: a near-perfect GPA off the court and 1 of the best field-goal shooters in the Summit League on the court. His team has won at least 68% of its games for 3 straight years and the fans in Brookings cannot wait to see what is in store for the season ahead. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Matt about being a mechanical engineer and a great shooter.

You were born/raised in Iowa: what made you choose South Dakota State? I was always aware of who they were because a player from my area had gone there for college. They really stuck out to me during the recruiting process as being great basketball-wise and were also good in the subject I wanted to major in so they were my best option.

You play for Coach Eric Henderson: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He brings a ton of energy every day and has a great attitude/work ethic, which he stresses a lot.

You redshirted during your 1st year: how did that impact you either on/off the court? I redshirted along with 3 other freshmen, which was a really good experience. We had a lot of good upperclassmen to learn from and it gave us a chance to develop in the weight room. It really helped my basketball/strength/ability to play, while also allowing me to get acclimated to college life.

In January 2020 you scored a career-high 26 PTS/13-18 FG in a loss at South Dakota: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? A lot of it had to do with my teammates who are an amazing/selfless group. They got me the ball at the right time and fortunately it went in the basket a lot.

You beat Omaha in in the Summit tourney last March but lost your 3 other career conference tourney games by a combined 8 PTS: what will it take to get over the hump? Historically our program has been able to win the Summit tourney and get to the NCAA tourney, so that is a big goal of ours next season. It goes back to hard work and taking it 1 day at a time while getting better every day.

Your FG shooting has increased every single year (56.3% as a freshman/62.8% as a sophomore/63.7% as a junior): how have you been able to improve throughout your career? That has a lot to do with being smarter/more comfortable on the floor and knowing when to take a shot or when to pass it. My teammates are unbelievable passers who find the big men in the right spot every single time so they deserve a lot of credit for my point-blank layups.

Last month you were named 3rd-team Academic All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It was awesome! Academics has always been pretty important to me so I give a lot of credit to my parents. They taught me to work hard and do my best at everything I do, and I learned a lot from my siblings as well. It is a great honor that I will remember for a while.

You have a perfect 4.0 GPA: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Unfortunately I got a B last semester so I no longer have a 4.0! Balancing basketball and academics while being on the road during the season is a big challenge. Sometimes I have to watch a lecture online if I miss a class so it takes a lot of organizational skills. It comes back to working hard and getting it done so that I stay up to speed with everything.

What was the hardest part of being a student during a pandemic, and what was the hardest part of being an athlete during a pandemic? The hardest part of being a student was the abrupt switch from in-class learning to online learning. For engineering majors we have a lot of labs involving hands-on work so being unable to do those activities definitely posed a challenge, but my teachers did a great job of adapting. The biggest challenge as far as basketball was being unable to work out as a team after previously being together all of the time. After we were sent home last year we were on our own for workouts.

You are a mechanical engineering major: why did you choose that subject, and what do you hope to do in the future? I chose mechanical engineering in part because my dad/brother are engineers as well, and growing up on a small farm I was used to working with my hands and solving problems. I always enjoyed science/math so I figured I would be interested in it, but I do not have any specific plans yet for the future.

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Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews Rice legend Michael Harris

Posted on June 15, 2021 by Jon Teitel

Rice became a member of Conference USA in the summer of 2005 after having some serious success in the WAC: 17 wins in 2003, 22 wins in 2004, and 19 wins in 2005. The main factor during that winning era was Michael Harris, who remains the greatest scorer/rebounder/field goal shooter in school history. He later made the NBA playoffs in 2008 and was named MVP of the D-League in 2010. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Michael about playing pro basketball and making the NBA playoffs. Today is Michael’s 38th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

You grew up in Texas: what made you choose Rice? Coming out of high school I had 3 schools that were interested in me: Southwest Texas State, Rice, and a partial scholarship from Baylor. I did not want my grandmother to have to pay for me to go to school and Rice had the better academic setting for the future. I wanted to make my mother/grandmother proud.

In the 2003 WAC tourney Carl English scored 15 PTS including a pair of FTs with 4.9 seconds left in a 1-PT OT win by Hawaii: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career, and how sweet was it to beat them by 2 PTS in the tourney the following year? It ranks really high but is behind our loss to Louisiana Tech during my senior year, which might have helped us get an at-large bid. I cramped out in the final minutes of a close game and we lost to Paul Millsap: he and Andrew Bogut always finished ahead of me in the rebounding rankings. I could not move and they had to carry me off the court.

You graduated with 2014 PTS/1111 REB: how were you able to balance your scoring with your rebounding? Rebounding was always my top priority/biggest focus: I felt I could do that with my eyes closed. The scoring credit goes to my teammates. I had a really soft touch around the basket so I would work hard to fight for position and then use my angles/athleticism. I was very explosive and could finish around the basket. I modeled my game after Tim Duncan by using the glass a lot.

You remain the all-time leading scorer/rebounder 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 records? It is a definite possibility: Morris Almond (1825 PTS) came close but we were a really good team so he did not have a chance to get the points. Records are made to be broken so I think that someone will break them someday. I did not think about records: I was just a competitor and my teammates held me accountable. I gave it my all and we motivated each other, which helped me continue to succeed throughout my career.

In 2010 with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers you were named D-League MVP and a few years later you were named MVP/Finals MVP with Leones de Ponce in Puerto Rico: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? Those are accolades that I attribute to my teammates. I was not a PG who brought the ball up the court: they put me in situations where I could be successful. The titles are the most important things: when the expectation is there for you to perform you have to be ready every night, which is the part that I love.

You have played pro basketball in several countries for almost 15 years: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball overseas? Outside of the NBA, the only difference between overseas vs. the G League is the pay. I loved traveling but after my wife and I had 3 babies it made travel a little more difficult. I played mostly in China: there is a lot more pressure on the “imports” because they are expected to contribute every night. I have been fortunate to be on teams where I can help the guys around me develop: it seemed like a player-coach experience. It is really competitive/physical in Europe and Puerto Rico: the leagues in the US have gone away from that. I understand the entertainment part but it limits guys as to how they can guard their opponent: it is a big issue that players are constantly talking about.

You played 54 games during your NBA career: what is your favorite memory from your time in the NBA? My 1st game was after coming back to China. I was working out with some guys from Rice when my agent called to say that Houston GM Daryl Morey had offered me a 10-day contract. I learned all of the plays but did not think that I would take the court that 1st night. When they put me into the game in the 1st quarter I was a little bit hesitant to play with stars like Tracy McGrady/Yao Ming. Tracy came over to me and said, “When I pass you the ball you better shoot it, otherwise I will not pass it to you again!”

You made the playoffs with Houston in 2008 but lost to Utah in 6 games: where does your former teammate McGrady rank among the greatest players that you have ever seen? I think that he deserved to make the Hall of Fame. In Game 5 he scored 29 PTS while doing some things that only a handful of other guys could do (like Kobe/Jordan/LeBron). I saw glimpses of greatness but his injuries did not allow him to propel above the other greats. He played multiple positions and his ability to pass was 1 of the best for a guy his size. I would put him in the top-20 small forwards of all-time.

In 2016 you scored 45 PTS against your former team the Shanghai Sharks who were owned by your former Houston teammate Yao Ming: what was it like to play with a guy who is 7’6”, and could you have ever imagined a decade later that you would be playing in a league for which he was the chairman? No! If Yao had not been hurt I think that he had the potential to be 1 of the top-15 big men of all-time. He could shoot from mid-range and control the paint on defense. I spoke to him 1 day and he asked me if I would ever consider playing in China and I said yes…but I never expected to go to a team that he owned. People asked me if he differed as an owner and a player and I tell them that he was the exact same person…just a little more famous.

What do you hope to do after retiring? I wanted my youngest son to see me play and understand what is going on. I am no dummy so if someone was willing to cut me a check for a couple of years after that then I might not say no! It was tough to be away from my wife/kids but they understand why I did it. I definitely want to be a coach and would love to help Rice get to the NCAA tourney. We fell 1 game short and it really hurt us so that always stayed in the back of my mind. I would love to work with those guys, recruit some hard workers, and get the program going in the right direction. To see our baseball team win the College World Series in 2003 was amazing and it was something I wanted for our basketball team.

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Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews former UTSA coach Tim Carter

Posted on June 13, 2021 by Jon Teitel

UTSA has only made 4 NCAA tourney appearances in program history…and Tim Carter was the coach for 2 of them. The all-time winningest coach in school history, he won a pair of conference tourney titles in 1999/2004 and was named conference COY in 1999. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Tim about making the NCAA tourney and working for Leonard Hamilton. Today is Coach Carter’s 65th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

You went to college at Kansas: what is your favorite memory of those late-1970s Jayhawk teams? When I transferred from Hutchinson CC I was asked by assistant coach Duncan Reid to walk onto the team after he saw me play in a fraternity basketball tourney, but I said no because I wanted to graduate on time. Professionally it might have been the worst mistake I ever made because it is important to know people on the inside. I remember sitting up in the stands thinking of the day when I would be down on the sideline because I knew that I wanted to be a coach. I enjoyed watching the games, especially my senior year when we had Darnell Valentine.

In the 1987 NCAA tourney as an assistant at Houston, Danny Manning had 12 PTS in a win by Kansas: how did it feel to face your alma mater, and could you tell at the time that Manning was going to become a star? My 1st NCAA tourney experience was in 1983 as a graduate assistant to Billy Tubbs at Oklahoma when Wayman Tisdale was an All-American as a freshman. It was a very tough time for me because I had lost my mom unexpectedly only 2 weeks earlier so I was in a fog. I knew that Manning would end up as a great player: as the saying goes, “A dog will bite you even as a puppy”.

In the 1990 NIT as an assistant at Oklahoma State, Luc Longley got an offensive rebound/put-back with 2 seconds left in a 2-PT win by New Mexico: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? That would probably be far down the list: I had a few that were more devastating as a head coach (last-second losses, half-court shots, etc.) that just put you on your knees. As an assistant at Florida State we got beat at home by BC: the head of officiating got on a plane to come apologize to us in person because it ruined our chances of making the NCAA tourney.

In the 1994 NIT as an assistant at Northwestern you had a 1-PT win over DePaul: how were you able to overcome a 12-PT halftime deficit? We had a good team: I came in 3 years earlier with those seniors and we had 3 rough years before that. We were 13-14 and needed to beat Michigan’s Fab 5 at home just to qualify for the NIT…and we did it. The NIT wanted us to match up against a local team in DePaul so it was a great end to the careers of those seniors and was very satisfying. I still have a ball signed by everyone on that 1994 team. To beat another Chicago team was huge: the place was jam-packed and had a great atmosphere.

In 1999 you were named Southland Conference COY at Texas-San Antonio: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? Any time your peers vote you Anything of the Year it is great. We should have won the conference championship but lost to Southwest Texas State. We had Devin Brown, who later won an NBA title with the Spurs. We had built the program the right way and had a really good team. It is always huge to make the NCAA tourney for the 1st time as a head coach.

In the 1999 NCAA tourney Richard Hamilton scored 28 PTS in a win by eventual champion UConn: where does that Huskies team rank among the best you have ever seen? I have been in a lot of great conferences and seen a lot of great teams, but they have to be in the top-5 of anyone that I coached against. We kept it close for a while and then they went on a huge run. Coach Jim Calhoun actually missed that game due to illness so the Huskies were led by Dave Leitao. I always hated to take my team to games at high altitude like that 1 in Denver: 1 of my players subbed out of the game and it looked like his lips were blue!

In the 2004 NCAA tourney Josh Childress scored 26 PTS in a win by #1-seed Stanford: how did you prepare a #16 seed knowing that a #1 seed had never lost its 1st opening game? You do not make any changes: we just tried to go do what we did to get there. You know the opponent is bigger/stronger so you just hope/pray that you are hot that night, and if you are really hot then you will have a chance to win. If you do anything different then you might really screw your guys up: it is awfully tough.

You remain the all-time winningest coach in school history: what made you such a great coach, and do you think that anyone will ever break your record? We did a really good job of recruiting and I tried to never over-coach them. My high school coach put us in a system that allowed us to play hard so I tried to do that. The key is to get good players: you cannot win the Kentucky Derby with a donkey!

In 2006 you became an assistant coach to Leonard Hamilton at Florida State: why did you take the job, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? I took the job because I wanted to stay in the business after the AD at UTSA decided to go in a different direction. I had worked for Coach Hamilton at Oklahoma State and he called me up 1 day and asked me to work for him. I could not have asked for a better friend to reel me back in. The 1 thing I learned from him is to be singularly focused: he has an unbelievable focus and really cares for his players. He always told me that I should never turn recruiting over to my assistant coaches because I was so good at it.

You later coach junior high school basketball in San Antonio: how did you like the job, and what do you hope to do in the future? I love being back in San Antonio and teaching middle school. I had no intention of coaching but they asked me to do it and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I enjoy speaking to students about making wise decisions when choosing a college. I had a chance to get back into college coaching but I came here and really enjoyed it.

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