The Roman Main Event has quickly become 1 of the best 4-team early-season basketball tournaments in the nation, putting itself right up there with other events such as the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic and the Jimmy V Classic. This year’s edition features a fearsome foursome of Arizona/Michigan/UNLV/Wichita State. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel is on the scene in Vegas this weekend trying to bring you as much access as possible. He commences his coverage by chatting with Arizona director of player relations Jason Gardner about making the 2001 NCAA title game and how his new gig is going so far.
In 1999 you were named a McDonald’s All-American: which of your fellow honorees impressed you the most (Carlos Boozer/Mike Dunleavy Jr./Jay Williams/other)? I would probably go with Jonathan Bender, who set a scoring record with 31 PTS (breaking Michael Jordan’s record of 30 PTS). He was 6’11” but could handle the ball/shoot the 3: it was pretty impressive to see a guy like that who could do it all.
You were born/raised in Indianapolis: what made you choose Arizona? It was Lute/Bobbi Olson. I felt a great relationship with Coach Olson and liked his style of play and how his players got up and down the court. He allowed us to shoot the ball when we wanted to, which is every kid’s dream! He also had a great 1-on-1 relationship with everyone.
What was the most important thing that you ever learned from your Hall of Fame coach? Preparation. Being a former head coach myself, I learned to try to take away the 1-2 things that your opponent liked to do. We were always ready for whatever our opponent did, whether it was in the regular season/postseason.
In 2000 you were named national Freshman of the Year: how were you able to make such a smooth transition from high school to college? We had a good team: Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson, Luke Walton, and many other guys who teams would have to focus on. It gave me a lot of opportunities to go 1-on-1 and I had some good looks from 3-PT range. Our team was loaded and Gilbert was great at being able to get me good looks.
In the 2001 NCAA tourney title game you scored 7 PTS in a 10-PT loss to Duke: how close did you come to winning it all? Really close: it is 1 of those games that I wish I could have back. It came down to the final 5 minutes: we missed a shot and they made a shot on about 3 straight possessions. Duke had a really good team with guys like Shane Battier/Chris Duhon but it was pretty balanced during the course of the game and was neck-and-neck until the end.
In 2003 you won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the best senior in the nation standing 6’ or shorter (you are 5’10”): did you see your size as an advantage or a disadvantage on the court? I never looked at it liked that. As a kid I was normally 1 of the smaller guys when playing against other guys so once I got to college I was just used to it. I always had to compete/fight, and when your teammates see that they piggyback off of it.
You were a 2-time All-American and had your #22 jersey retired in 2005: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? There are only 6 other jerseys in the rafters despite numerous Arizona players who went on to have very good NBA careers. During my 4 years I created a bond with the guys and it showed that my hard work paid off. It is priceless for my kids to see my jersey still up there: they thought it was 1 of the coolest things ever!
You spent almost a decade playing pro basketball overseas: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball in other countries? Skill development. No matter your size everyone overseas goes through ballhandling/shooting drills. In the US the taller kids work on layups and do not work on handling the ball, which hurts their development. I hope that US coaches change their training methods in the future.
Last July you were hired as player relations director at your alma mater: why did you take the job, and how is it going so far? The job is going great: I always wanted to come back here and be on the staff. Coach Tommy Lloyd is a great coach and he gave me the opportunity. He brought a fast-paced style from Gonzaga so it seems a little like being back with Coach Olson: shooting threes, getting shots up within 5 seconds, etc.
I know the season is not even 2 weeks old but based on what you have seen up to now how far do you think this year’s team can go? We had a very tough game against Wichita State on Friday and Michigan will be a tough test on Sunday. It is hard to say right now but the guys are buying in and get better.
