Basketball and Brains: HoopsHD interviews Navy Academic All-American Cam Davis

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Jon Teitel

It is a safe assumption that most people in the Navy enjoy the water, and Cam Davis is no different. He graduated with a 3.43 cumulative GPA as an ocean engineering major, and will continue his studies this summer as part of the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Joint Master’s program. He is not too shabby on the court either, as he was named 1st-Team All-Patriot League this year after leading his team with 17.1 PPG. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Cam about facing a future NBA All-Star in high school and the next step in his education.

You led your high school team to the 2016 Missouri Class 5 state championship game and scored 17 PTS in a loss to Chaminade: how good was Jayson Tatum (40 PTS/14 REB) back in the day, and could you tell at the time that he was going to become a superstar? He was good enough to put 40 PTS on my head! He was very polished even as a high school player and his game continued to explode at Duke and in the NBA. We had the feeling that he would be a top draft pick/great college player and he is now on pace to become 1 of the best NBA players ever from Missouri.

You were valedictorian at your high school: what made you choose Navy? My recruiting was going pretty slow into my senior year but 1 of my buddies was recruited by the Academy and graciously passed along my info to them. I talked to the coach and he was willing to take a chance on me. I went out and saw the campus and loved everything that it stood for. It was the perfect opportunity for me to step into and has helped me get to some pretty incredible places.

You were elected Athletic Teams Commander, commonly known as “Captain of Captains” at the academy: what is the key to being a good leader? An open line of communication between the people you are leading and the people who are leading you. I did my best to get done whatever needed to get done and people were able to voice their opinions. It was important for me to actively communicate with my athletes/captains and we did a good job of setting the standard.

Last January you were chosen for the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Joint Master’s program, which will combine course work in Cambridge with hands-on research at Woods Hole over the next 27 months: how excited were you to get selected, and what do you hope to do in the future as an ocean engineering major? That was probably my best day at the Academy besides graduating. We were at practice and 1 of my mentors showed up and announced it in front of everyone: I was speechless. The ocean is 1 of the last frontiers we have to explore: we know more about space than about the ocean. I want to contribute to finding out more about this ecosystem and what it can do to help us. I think it will be 1 of my most rewarding experiences.

You led your team in scoring during each of the past 2 years: what is the secret to being a good scorer? Just putting the work in. I was never the best player on any team I had played on and then I got thrown into the fire. My teammates looked up to me and saw that the work I had been putting in was paying off.

You started 13-2 last year but missed the final 3 games of the season due to COVID protocol: did you think that your team was going to beat Loyola MD in the Patriot League tourney after beating them 3 straight times in a 30-day stretch to finish the regular season, and how devastated were you after the 8-PT home loss? I was confident that we could take care of business at home…but it is really hard to beat a team 4 times in a row. If I would have been out there then I think we would have made the NCAA tourney, but that is how the cookie crumbles. I was not devastated because my last game at Navy was a win and not many people can end their career like that. I will hang my hat on that and hope to leave a legacy at Alumni Hall.

Last month you were named 3rd-team Academic All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It is probably the most significant honor that I have ever received because it is about being more than just a basketball player. I am also a leader/scholar and I care about my academics so it meant the world to me. When you look at some of the other names on that list it is very humbling.

You recently graduated with a 3.43 GPA: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? It is all about priorities/sacrifice. You can sometimes get stuck in “lazy mode” but you need an accountability partner to kick you in the butt. The Academy throws so many things at you that you cannot get everything done in 1 day so you have to prioritize things throughout the week. There is nothing unfair: they are trying to build you into an officer and my last 2 semesters featured the best grades I had at the Academy.

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? As a student we had to attend online classes and it was so easy to become distracted: it is important to show your dedication. As an athlete there was continuous change with things getting canceled/rescheduled. You have no sense of time but you have to practice/play with a sense of urgency. The military is all about that so it prepared our team well.

Your parents Adrian and Christina both played D-2 basketball: who is the best athlete in the family? The best athlete in our family is actually my younger brother Adrian. He ran track/played football in high school: he can just glide across the track while also being able to lift 500 pounds. Basketball-wise it is me, no doubt. My dad used to let me win when I was a kid and then he realized that my confidence level had gotten too high! I give my parents all the credit for putting me in the gym and chasing my missed shots around. They taught me everything and I am so glad that I got to share it with them.

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Old School DJ: HoopsHD interviews Gary Colson about Dennis Johnson

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Jon Teitel

1986 was a painful sports year for the state of Massachusetts. It began with the Patriots getting destroyed by the Bears in Super Bowl XX on January 26, then saw the Bruins swept by the eventual-champion Canadiens in the 1st round of the NHL playoffs on April 12, and ended with the Red Sox losing Game 7 of the World Series to the Mets on October 27. The only ray of sunshine appeared during the summer as the Celtics beat the Rockets to win their 16th NBA title. That Celtics squad featured 5 future Hall of Fame players: Larry Bird/Dennis Johnson/Kevin McHale/Robert Parish/Bill Walton. Johnson (aka “DJ”) was no stranger to winning: he was 1979 Finals MVP with Seattle and won his 1st of 2 titles with Boston in 1984. He passed away in 2007 but HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Gary Colson (DJ’s college coach at Pepperdine) about his star player’s great defense and clutch performances. Today marks the 35th anniversary of DJ scoring 10 PTS in the Finals-clinching Game 6 on June 8, 1986.

1 of 16 children of a social worker and cement mason in Compton, Dennis began his college career at Los Angeles Harbor College where he averaged 18.3 PPG/12 RPG (as a 6’3” guard!), led his team to a state title…and was thrown off the team 3 times during his 2 years there: what made him choose Pepperdine, and how did you 2 get along? I got a call from Coach Jim White who said I should look at this kid named Johnson. He was the 10th man as a senior on his high school team and his mom made him work at a grocery store rather than go to college. He would play pick-up ball at Harbor during the evenings and his mom eventually let him enroll there. I sent my assistant to watch him play 1 night: he jumped center against a 7’ guy, won the tip, and played pretty well! I realized that he had good potential and he decided to come with us. I had a 6’10” big man from Brazil named Marcos Leite who played in 4 Olympics and NFL Hall of Famer Ollie Matson’s 6’5” son Ollie Jr. Dennis joined our team and played his role: we ended up winning the conference and made the NCAA tourney. We beat Memphis/Utah and then had to play UCLA in Pauley Pavilion in the Sweet 16. We played a heck of a game and lost by single digits. Pete Newell was in the stands because his son Greg was on our team. Pete was associated with the Trail Blazers and drafted Dennis as part of a supplemental draft based on the fact that he had sat out his freshman year. Dennis asked me what to do and I told him that if he could get a nickel out of the deal then he should take it. 15 years later they were hanging his jersey at Boston Garden and Larry Bird said he was his best teammate ever. Dennis and I got along perfectly: I had never heard about him getting kicked off the team and Jim was the 1 who recommended him to me. He met his wife Donna at Pepperdine and was with her until he passed. He was not the man and was just competing for playing time with everyone else.

His family’s home burned down during December of his lone season at Pepperdine: how close did he come to leaving school, and how were you able to convince him to stay? His mom wanted him to drop out of school but I convinced him to stay. We talked and were able to work it out. She was a great mother: not many people could take care of 16 kids. We recruited Dennis’ brother Joey at New Mexico: he was a 7’ high jumper and a great athlete but not the best basketball player.

He spent his NBA career as both a PG and SG: where do you think was the best position for him on the court? He was just an average shooter with us but he became a pretty good shooter in the pros. I got to see Dennis a lot when I worked with Jerry West in Memphis: he was on the road quite a bit and I still have photos of him with his big smile.

In the 1978 NBA Finals with Seattle, he set a record for guards with 7 BLK in a 1-PT win over Washington in Game 3 but made 0-14 FG in a 6-PT Game 7 home loss: what did you think of his later acknowledgment that he “choked” and that this game was an important lesson to make him a better player? It did not faze me a bit. I remember the blocked shots.

In the 1979 Finals he averaged 23 PPG/6 RPG/6 APG and was named MVP after winning the series in 5 games: how was he able to play his best when it mattered the most? I know that Coach Lenny Wilkens helped him a lot: they were pretty tight. He was just a late-bloomer: it was a little bit of a miracle.

He won 2 more titles with Boston in 1984/1986 and lost 2 titles to the Lakers in 1985/1987: did it reach a point where you just expected to see him in the Finals when you turned on the TV every single summer? I was a college guy who moved all over so I was not big into the NBA. However, after working for Jerry, I cannot wait to watch the Warriors win another title! The rules are so different: 24-second clock, where to inbound the ball after a timeout, etc. I also learned a lot from Coach Hubie Brown as well.

He made 9 consecutive All-Defensive 1st or 2nd teams: what made him such a great defender? His defensive ability was unbelievable: he would get 2-3 SPG due to his long arms/great hands. He was able to read the opponent as they brought the ball up the floor: you had to be careful where you put the ball on the floor around him. It was not about mid-air deflections: he would just steal the ball right out of their hands.

He was also known as a clutch player who made several game winning plays in the NBA Finals including a 19-foot buzzer-beater to win Game 4 of the 1985 Finals over the Lakers (www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LTfvfObCUI) and the game-winning layup with 1 second left in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals to beat Detroit (www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYKdI_Xm9es): what made him so clutch? He was fearless. When we won the conference we had to beat teams like San Francisco who had guys like Bill Cartwright. We had 1 game that went to overtime and I told Dennis that if we won the game I would give him an All-Star watch/ring that I got from Jerry. We won the game and I jumped up: when I came down the items were gone!

He missed only 48 regular season games during his 14-year career and played in 180 playoff games (which remains top-20 in NBA history, 1 spot ahead of Michael Jordan’s 179): how was he able to remain so durable for his entire career? He was not the best player on our team but Pete Newell could see something that nobody else did. We did not get any exposure at Pepperdine unless we made the NCAA tourney: nobody would see us play for several months during the winter.

He passed away in 2007 after a heart attack at age 52 and was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2010: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? Mr. Cinderella! When I speak at clinics I always say that you never know. They are always in awe that a 10th man could turn into a Hall of Famer. We should not have beaten Utah but they made a mistake at the end of the game: if we had not gone to UCLA then maybe his whole career never would have happened. I believe in fate: certain things are just going to happen.

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The Hoops HD Report May Session: The Hartford Fustercluck

Posted on May 25, 2021 by David Griggs

This entire show pretty much focuses on Hartford’s decision to reclassify down to Division III.  That in and of itself is disappointing, but their stated reasons for doing it and some of the ways they have gone about communicating it are even more infuriating.  We examine some of that, look at some of what is in the Carr Report, talk in general about the costs and expenses of D1, and most importantly let Zach, who is a long-time supporter of Hartford, vent some of his frustration.

Oh yea, and one more thing!!  We have brought back the Team of the People for the 2021-2022 season!!  And…well…I won’t give away who it is (because if you can’t figure it out you’re a..well..you know).

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

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Shot of His Life: HoopsHD interviews Terry Holland about Ralph Sampson

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Jon Teitel

Allow me to set the stage for you. The year is 1986. The Lakers are the NBA defending champs after they became the 1st visiting team to ever win a championship in the Boston Garden in the spring of 1985. They appeared ready to win back-to-back titles after starting the following season 24-3 and eventually clinching their 5th straight division title with a record of 62-20. After sweeping San Antonio in the 1st round and beating Dallas 4-2 in the Western Conference Semifinals, the only thing standing in the way of an NBA Finals rematch with Boston was a Houston team featuring a pair of Twin Towers in Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. Olajuwon scored a game-high 30 PTS in the decisive Game 5 but was ejected in the 4th quarter after fighting with Lakers forward Mitch Kupchak. The score was tied at 112 with 1 second left as the Rockets were inbounding from half-court. Everyone in the Forum expected the game to be headed to overtime…and then Sampson did this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXOts9kaiLQ
HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Sampson’s college coach Terry Holland about his 3-time national POY and 1 of the most famous shots in NBA history. Today marks the 35th anniversary of Sampson’s sensational series-winner on May 21, 1986.

As a 7’3” center Sampson led his Harrisonburg High School team to a pair of Class AA state basketball titles (1978/1979) and set a McDonald’s All-American Game record with 10 BLK in a 1-PT win by the East in 1979: how crazy were all of the college recruiters back then, and how did you convince him to come to Virginia? As you can imagine the recruiters flocked to see and recruit this phenomenally gifted big man. His high school coach Roger Bergey did a great job of protecting him and allowing him to live a normal life as much as possible under the circumstances. He finally chose Virginia that June because we waited patiently while respecting the Sampsons’ privacy, and at the end his family wanted him to stay close to home so his many fans in the area could still follow his career.

He won a gold medal for team USA at the 1979 Pan Am Games in Puerto Rico: how did having a trio of Hall of Fame coaches in the huddle (head coach Bobby Knight/assistant coach Mike Krzyzewski/manager Fred Taylor) prepare him for the college game? Ralph and Isiah Thomas were 2 high school players invited to go on the trip in order to practice with the team and help prepare them for future international competitions. It was a star-studded coaching staff that included Knight’s own college coach (Taylor) and 1 of his former players (Krzyzewski) in administrative roles. Ralph lost a lot of weight on the trip so he began his first season at Virginia weighing just 188 pounds. He took a real beating during the 1st half of the season, but by the end of that year Ralph had gotten stronger and was a real force, as indicated by his performance in the 1980 NIT (particularly the championship game).

In the 1980 NIT title game he had 15 PTS/15 REB in a 3-PT win over Minnesota (becoming the 1st freshman to ever be named NIT MVP): what did it mean to him to win such an outstanding honor, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? Ralph’s improvement was phenomenal by this time. He dominated the semifinal game against a powerful UNLV team and then stood toe-to-toe against Minnesota’s Kevin McHale in the championship game. Shortly after the NIT championship, Boston Celtics GM Red Auerbach came to Charlottesville and Harrisonburg to visit Ralph and his family. Auerbach offered to use the 1st pick on Ralph if he would make himself available for the upcoming NBA draft. Ralph told Auerbach and others in future years that he was not leaving Virginia until he graduated with his class. He had promised his mother that he would graduate in 1983 and then go to the NBA, thus Ralph became the last 3-time national POY to graduate with his entering class.

In February 1981 Orlando Woolridge made a 15-foot fade-away jumper at the buzzer in a 1-PT win by Notre Dame to end your 28-game winning streak (www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDR0IrYN3v0): did you think the shot was going in, and do you think that we will ever see another team go undefeated for an entire season? If Kentucky could not do it in 2015 then it may never happen again. There are just so many great players on every good team today that it is unlikely.

Take me through the 1981 NCAA tourney:
Al Wood scored a semifinal-record 39 PTS (14-19 FG) in a win by eventual national runner-up UNC: how hard is it to beat a team 3 times in 1 season (you had swept the Tar Heels earlier that year)? We had a 1st round bye and found ourselves in a low-scoring game vs. Villanova in the 2nd round but hung on to win 54-50 for Virginia’s 1st-ever NCAA tourney win. In the regional semifinals we played a solid Tennessee team, won 62-48, and expected to have a rematch with Notre Dame in the Regional Finals. However, BYU eliminated the Irish thanks to Danny Ainge (www.youtube.com/watch?v=berr6EXIr7A) and we beat BYU in the regional final to advance to the Final 4. Our opponent in the NCAA semifinals was our conference rival North Carolina, who we had swept in the two regular season match-ups. However, Al Wood was unstoppable while scoring a semifinal-record 39 PTS. It is always tough to beat a team 3 times in row: Dean Smith’s North Carolina teams rarely lost anytime and rarely, if ever, lost 3 games to the same team in a single season.

Sampson had 10 PTS/11 REB in 17 minutes in a 4-PT win over LSU in the last-ever 3rd-place game (which was delayed after John Hinckley, Jr. shot President Ronald Reagan): how were you able to keep the team motivated after losing in the semifinals, and how did it feel to play a game after the assassination attempt? Both teams lobbied the Tournament Committee to cancel the 3rd-place game but the plea fell on deaf ears. It was a hard-fought game but both teams seemed to be playing “not to lose” rather than playing to win. Our 2 outstanding seniors (Jeff Lamp/Lee Raker) scored for us and Ralph was content to set them up while playing an excellent game of rebounding/defending/passing.

In December 1982 he had 12 PTS/17 REB in a 5-PT loss to NAIA school Chaminade: do you think you would have won the game had he not suffered a knee injury and pneumonia that caused him to miss the 2 previous games in Tokyo? Ralph played a great game in the “showdown” game in the Capital Centre vs. Georgetown and Patrick Ewing despite being very dehydrated from a bad case of the flu. He became even more dehydrated during the long flight to Tokyo early the next morning. Out team doctor had Ralph on IV fluids and would not let him play against Houston’s NCAA Finalist team in the 1st game in Tokyo, but we won anyway and then won our next game against a nationally-ranked Utah team before heading to Hawaii and our game with Chaminade.

He is 1 of 2 players (along with Bill Walton) to ever be a 3-time Naismith Award winner as national POY: do you feel like he is 1 of the best college basketball players ever? Ralph was on track to be recognized as 1 of the best players ever before a back injury and subsequent knee problems in his 3rd year ended his opportunity to continue a phenomenal streak that included 3-time national POY in college and 4 consecutive years as an All-Star during his 1st 4 years in the NBA, which included an MVP award in his 2nd All-Star appearance.

In December 1983 he had 28 PTS/18 REB and a career-high 13 BLK in 49 minutes in a 3-PT OT win over Chicago en route to being named ROY at the end of the season: what was his secret for blocking shots (besides being 7’4”), and how was he able to make such a smooth transition from college to the NBA? During Ralph’s freshman year in college he set a record for freshmen but was in constant foul trouble. Our coaching staff convinced Ralph that the “threat” of a blocked shot would be more effective in the long-term. Over the next 3 seasons Ralph became a terrific defender who intimidated opponents and led our teams to unparalleled success.

Take me through the magical 1986 playoffs:
In Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals he took an inbounds pass with 1 second left and made an off-balance twisting turnaround jumper at the buzzer in a 2-PT win over the defending champion Lakers (1 of the most memorable moments in playoff history): where does that rank among the most amazing shots you have ever seen? It was an incredible shot that sent the Rockets onto the Finals.

In Game 5 of the Finals he punched Jerry Sichting twice and Dennis Johnson once before getting ejected early in the 2nd quarter against a Boston team that is still considered 1 of the best ever: how did the fight start, and what kind of temper did he have? Most people who knew Ralph called him a “gentle giant”, but some teams tried to rough him up in order to make him lose his temper, even though he rarely responded to such baiting.

When people look back on his career, and how do you think he should be remembered the most? Ralph should be remembered as a truly great college player who excelled in the NBA until a series of injuries limited him to All-Star performances in only his 1st 4 professional seasons.

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Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews John Cox about MK Turk

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Jon Teitel

It has been 25 years since MK Turk was head coach at Southern Miss yet he remains the only coach in school history to make multiple NCAA tourney appearances. He also made 6 NIT appearances and won the NIT title in 1987. In 1991 he was inducted into the Southern Miss Athletic Hall of Fame and in 2005 he was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Coach Turk passed away in 2013 but HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with John Cox (the “Voice of the Golden Eagles”) about the winningest coach in school history. Today would have been Coach Turk’s 79th birthday so we take this time to honor his life/legacy.

Turk led his team in scoring as a player at Livingston University in the 1960s and was named most outstanding athlete: how good a player was he back in the day, and how did he get into coaching? People who knew him and saw him play tell me that he was really, really good and had a great JC/college career. They say he played the way he eventually coached: he was unselfish, team-oriented, and willing to do whatever it took for his team to win. He always wanted to coach and when the opportunity presented itself he took it and never looked back. He used to say that he was born to coach and never really wanted to do anything else.

He spent 2 decades as head coach of Southern Miss: how was he able to be so successful over such a long stretch of time? I think what made Turk successful was his positive attitude and his belief that if he could get the type of players that would fit his system then they could do some things at Southern Miss that had never been done before. He sort of drew a circle around Hattiesburg that stretched out a couple of hundred miles and he and his staff were determined to get the best players they could within that radius. He and his staff did an amazing job of finding players who were sometimes off the radar but who they projected would be good/productive players at some time in their careers…and most of them did. He brought a fast-break, fast-paced, pressure defensive style to Southern Miss that allowed him to be successful over that stretch.

In the 1981 NIT he had a 2-PT loss to Holy Cross: how close did he come to getting the win? It was a great atmosphere with a great crowd: the best there had ever been at Southern Miss to that point. There was a lot of excitement in Hattiesburg when the Eagles received their 1st-ever postseason bid. People held out hope that they might make the NCAA tourney…but after the Eagles were eliminated from the Metro conference tourney they found out that they had been bypassed by the NCAA tourney. They received an invitation to the NIT and learned they would be hosting Holy Cross at Green Coliseum in the opening round. When the 2 teams met on March 12th before about 7000 fans, Holy Cross defeated the Golden Eagles 56-54 thanks to a 10-foot base line jumper at the buzzer, several missed USM shots, and an injury to USM’s Ronald Jackson. Jackson was kicked in the back of the ankle just 7 minutes into the game and reinjured his left foot. He did not return until 4 minutes remained. Turk said that without Jackson, “We had to alter our plans and it forced us to do some things that we do not normally do.” The Eagles played 29 minutes without a center. Neither team led by more than 4 PTS and the lead changed 16 times. Holy Cross coach George Blaney said after the game, “We kept our poise after turnovers, especially late in the game when we could have let the game get away from us. After the 1st half I told my players that they had played their best half of basketball all season and to hang with it because we were going to need it again in the 2nd half.”

In 1986 he was named Metro Conference COY: what did it mean to him to win such an outstanding honor? I think like any coach that was sort of a validation for the kind of job that he had been doing at Southern Miss. I think it meant a lot to him to have accomplished that in a league that included coaches like Hall of Famer Denny Crum. Of course, he was the type of man who gave all the credit to his assistant coaches/players and would have said it was a team effort, but after inheriting the program and then taking it to the point where they were a contender in the Metro Conference and then being named COY was very special to him.

What are your memories of the 1986 Metro conference tourney (Myron Hughes scored 29 PTS in a 1-PT win by Cincinnati)? The Golden Eagles blew an 11-PT halftime lead and fell to Cincinnati 75-74. The foul line had been an ally for the Eagles in their productive 1st half as they drained 14-15 attempts while Cincinnati hit only 1-4. However, the 2nd half saw the Bearcats reverse the trend by hitting 18-19. Kenny Siler was averaging 15 PPG for the Eagles but made just 1 basket in 4 attempts en route to 3 PTS. USM would now await word from the NIT selection committee and Turk believed the Eagles would receive an invite, which they did. I believe Turk thought that team was playing pretty well at that point in the season and might have a chance to contend for the Metro title but the Bearcats knocked them out. “I do not see how a 1-PT loss to a fine team like Cincinnati should diminish our team’s chances,” Turk said after the game. “I have said all along that I thought we deserved to go to a postseason tournament.”

In the 1987 NIT title game the Golden Eagles made 11-24 shots from behind the arc in a 4-PT win over La Salle: what did it mean to him to win a title, and what was the reaction like when the team got back to campus? I think MK thought that was his greatest accomplishment as a coach at Southern Miss, especially considering what they had to do to win it. After a home game against Mississippi to open the NIT they had to go to St. Louis on St. Patrick’s Day to play the Billikens and they won in OT. They were selling green beer that night at old Kiel Auditorium…and had to quit selling it at halftime! Turk thought they would get another home game after that but were sent to Nashville to play Vandy, where they won to advance to New York and win the 50th anniversary of the event. When the team came home there was an amazing turnout to welcome them back. Green Coliseum was full of people cheering on the Eagles and on the way home from the Jackson Airport people were on nearly every overpass returning to Hattiesburg with signs and flags and everything. I think with everything that was involved it meant a lot to him to accomplish something that I am sure people thought might never be done.

In February 1988 Bimbo Coles scored a conference-record 51 PTS to help his team overcome an 18-PT deficit in a 141-133 2-OT win by Virginia Tech: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of his career? It was an amazing game that came a short time after Southern Miss had beaten Virginia Tech 127-102 at Green Coliseum. I do not know if it was more disappointing than any other game but it sure would have been a great victory. In the highest-scoring game in Metro Conference history, Virginia Tech avenged an earlier loss to the Golden Eagles by winning 141-133 in double OT on February 6th in Blacksburg. USM came from behind to send the game into its 1st OT at 110 apiece, and came from behind to force a 2nd OT at 122-122. Tim Anderson and Bimbo Coles hit back-to-back 3-PT shots while USM failed to score on 3 straight possessions as Tech built a 132-126 lead with 1:20 remaining, then hit 9-13 FTs down the stretch to ice the victory. Coles dissected USM’s defense by scoring a conference-record 51 PTS, dished out 11 AST, and made 18-27 FTs while teammate Wally Lancaster scored 39 PTS. John White scored 41 PTS for USM (tied for 2nd-most in school history) while Derrek Hamilton scored 30 PTS. The loss dropped the Golden Eagles to 15-4 and dropped them from a 1st-place tie in the Metro.

In the 1990 Metro conference tourney LaBradford Smith had 24 PTS/9 AST in a 3-PT win by Louisville: do you think that Russell Johnson’s shot with 6 seconds left was taken in front of the 3-PT line or behind it? At the time I thought it was good…but when you go back and watch the tape of the game you can see that his toe was on the line: not by much, but it was on the line. There was never a 3-PT signal from the officials. It was a shame to lose that 1 because it was being played in Biloxi, MS, with a sellout crowd and an NCAA bid on the line. It would have meant a great deal to Coach Turk to win that one over Coach Crum. It was a great battle that day between Felton Spencer and Clarence Weatherspoon.

He remains the winningest coach in school history: what made him such a great coach, and do you think that anyone will ever break his record? I think that what made him such a great coach was his passion for the game. He had been taught the game the right way while growing up in Bardwell, KY. He never shied away from a challenge: the bigger the game, the better we played. He was a player’s coach and was not afraid to listen to them and make decisions based on what they told him. He knew the game and knew how to handle players: I thought that he was a terrific game coach. I am unsure if anyone will ever break his record but I know that he would have enjoyed watching someone give it a try.

He passed away in December 2013: when people look back on his career, how do you think he should be remembered the most? As a man who loved his family, his school, and his players, and who never doubted that he could help take Southern Miss where it had never been before. It was the most exciting stretch of basketball in the history of Southern Miss, with record crowds and people standing on their seats. I loved the man and I think Southern Miss fans did too. He has left his imprint on Southern Miss basketball that will never go away, and was admired by his peers in the coaching ranks.

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Even Keels: HoopsHD interviews McDonald’s All-American Trevor Keels

Posted on May 19, 2021 by Jon Teitel

If you want to win an NCAA title then you usually need a good coach, a great resume…and a McDonald’s All-American. Only 1 championship team since 1979 had not featured such a player (Maryland in 2002) until Baylor broke the streak last month. The McDonald’s All-American Game has not taken place during the past 2 years due to COVID, sadly. However, the rosters were announced on February 23rd after selecting the 24 best players in the nation from a list of several hundred nominees. If you do not think that these guys can make an immediate impact then just ask Coach Mark Few how he liked having 2020 honoree Jalen Suggs at Gonzaga! Duke seems to be 1 of the big winners as Coach Mike Krzyzewski will have a trio of 2021 honorees (Paolo Banchero/AJ Griffin/Trevor Keels) join him in Durham this fall. Yesterday HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Trevor about being named a McDonald’s All-American and his NBA playoff prediction.

You attend high school at Paul VI in Virginia, which has produced several top recruits in recent years including Anthony Harris (UNC)/Brandon Slater (Villanova)/Jeremy Roach (Duke): how is your school able to keep getting such top-notch talent every single year? They do a great job of recruiting middle school players and are a great school both on and off the court.

Last year you made the WCAC championship game where you lost to #1-seed DeMatha: how close did you come to pulling off the upset? We came pretty close and it was a great game. We fought but they hit some tough shots with their seniors stepping up in big moments.

You went on to win the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association title: what did it mean to you to win a championship? It meant a lot. After losing to DeMatha a lot of teams would have put their heads down and stopped playing but we came together and realized that our season was not over. We watched some film of our loss and did a great job of sacrificing so that we could be happy at the end of the year.

You were a team captain this year: what is the key to being a good leader? You have to be vocal: if you do not say anything or try to just be nice all of the time then it will not work. You always have to tell the truth to your teammates even if it is during a losing streak. It is also important to change bad habits.

What has been the hardest part of being a basketball player during a pandemic? It was hard for certain people who did not get recruited because colleges could not come see them play in person. It was frustrating for me because I wanted a senior season in front of packed crowds but we only ended up playing 11 games: you just have to adapt.

In February you were named a McDonald’s All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant a lot to see my name announced on ESPN. I have dreamed about that since I was a little kid and am grateful that all of my hard work paid off.

You are 6’5”: what position did you play in high school, and what position will you feel most comfortable at in college? I played SG in high school but in college I will play wherever they want me to and will give it my best.

You received offers from several great schools including Kentucky/Villanova/Virginia but signed with Duke last month: what was the biggest factor in your decision to play for Coach Mike Krzyzewski? The biggest factor was who I trusted the most. All of my top-4 schools were great and have Hall of Fame coaches but I had the best relationship with Duke. It has been my dream school all of my life: the brightest lights and the biggest stage.

You became a triple-double machine this year: how do you balance all of the different aspects of your game? I do not chase points: I am a team player and will do whatever it takes to win. If I have to pass/rebound instead of focusing on my scoring then that is what I will do.

Your favorite player is Kevin Durant: do you think he will win a title with the Nets this year? Brooklyn is definitely winning the title and KD will be Finals MVP: he is too good!

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