Hoops HD

Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Kentucky SR G Robyn Benton

Posted on September 18, 2021 by Jon Teitel

We are keeping our fingers crossed in the hope that we can return to a “normal” version of college basketball this fall: fans in the stands, announcers without masks, etc. Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen but we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. We continue our coverage with Kentucky SR G Robyn Benton. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Robyn about transferring to the Wildcats and her expectations for this season.

You began your college career at Auburn, where you were named to the 2019 SEC All-Freshman team: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I came in off of an injury but still had set some goals as a freshman. I was the 6th/7th Man but had a lot of good seniors around me.

Why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose Kentucky? My time was up at Auburn and I just needed a fresh start. I knew some of the girls at Kentucky and the coaches were really high on me as well so I felt it was the best spot for me.

You got a new head coach last year in Kyra Elzy: what makes her such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from her so far? She is a great motivator and always keeps pumping us up. She taught me to give an outstanding effort and be a good person.

Last January you scored a season-high 15 PTS on your 21st birthday against Alabama: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It was special: I have not played a lot on my birthday in the past because my games were often the day before or the day after.

In the 2021 NCAA tourney you had 2 REB in a loss to Iowa: what did you learn from that loss that will help you this year? There was a lot going on that day in a different atmosphere than I was used to. I learned that we just have to move on.

Your teammate Rhyne Howard is the 2-time-defending SEC POY: what makes her such a great player? She works really hard and is very funny. She is a great person/player.

You have a brutal 4-week stretch in November/December with a non-conference schedule that includes games against Indiana/West Virginia/DePaul/Louisville: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? They are all good programs so we cannot take any of them lightly and have to prepare well for all of them. We will just take it 1 game at a time.

Your brother Inky Johnson played football at Tennessee: who is the best athlete in the family? It is my brother: I am not afraid to say it! Even before he got hurt he was a freak of nature: I am fast but not as fast as him. I rank #2 in the family, and then my younger sister.

You are majoring in journalism: what is the post-graduation plan? I will try to continue playing basketball but if not then I want to work for ESPN. I have not really figured it out yet but we will see.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? Winning is always the goal. I want to shoot better from the field/3-PT line and hopefully make the all-defensive team as well.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged kentucky, Robyn Benton | Comments Off

Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Liberty SO PG Drake Dobbs

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Jon Teitel

We are keeping our fingers crossed in the hope that we can return to a “normal” version of college basketball this fall: fans in the stands, announcers without masks, etc. Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen but we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. We continue our coverage with Liberty SO PG Drake Dobbs. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Drake about making the top-10 plays on SportsCenter and his expectations for this season.

You were born/raised in Minnesota: what made you choose Liberty? When I 1st received an offer during my junior year I did not know what the school was about. However, once I came here for my official visit my parents and I were sold on it right away: the coaches were great at interacting with us and it felt like a real family.

You play for Coach Ritchie McKay: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He has really high expectations and pushes me to be great every single day. I try to be him on the court by talking/leading: he has taught me a lot of leadership skills and has helped me not only with my life on the court but also my life outside of basketball.

You played in all 29 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I did not try to do too much and just play within myself and know my role. I tried to do whatever I could to help the team win by making a bunch of smart plays here and there and playing my role.

In your 1st home game last December you made a half-court buzzer-beater in a win over St. Francis PA (www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3868203399897356): did you think the shot was going in, and how did you feel about making the top-10 plays on SportsCenter? I did not think it was going in: I thought it was super-short. When I made it I started laughing: it was my 1st 3 of the season and my 1st basket of the game so I could not believe that it went in! It was surreal to be on SportsCenter: I got a lot of followers from that.

Your team began conference play 3-2 last year, then won each of its final 8 Atlantic Sun regular season games and all 3 conference tourney games: what changed in mid-January that allowed your team to run the table? We lost at Stetson on January 15th, which was the turning point in our season. After that loss we broke down what we needed to do and decided that it was not up to our standard so we got back to work and practiced a lot of long/hard hours. Once we got back to what we do every day we started to have success.

You went 13-0 at home last year: what kind of home-court advantage do you have at Liberty Arena? We have a huge advantage: we have not lost in 2-3 years on our home court. We have a really good environment and are used to it: it is tough for teams to come in here and beat us.

In the 2021 NCAA tourney you scored 2 PTS in a 9-PT loss to Oklahoma State: where does #1 overall pick Cade Cunningham rank among the greatest players that you have ever faced? He is probably top-10. He is a pretty good player…but Cuff (Elijah Cuffee) locked him up! He is definitely high up on that list.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against LSU/Missouri: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? They are both really good/talented teams so I am unsure which 1 will be the bigger test. They are tough so we will have to do a good job and play smart/hard/focused when we face them.

Your backcourt mate Darius McGhee is the defending conference POY/conference tourney MVP: what makes him such a great player? There are a lot of things: he is super-fast and really shifty with the ball. He has incredible range from the 3-PT line, which separates him from most other players. He can shoot from deep but can also get downhill and hang in the air against defenders: it is tough to guard a guy like that who can score on all 3 levels. He is also good on defense but we will definitely need him out there this year to score a lot of points.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? The goal is obviously to make it back to the NCAA tourney. I think that we will be really good: it is tough when you have a lot of new guys coming in who do not know the system but we will get them incorporated into the system so they know our plays and how we do things. Once we do that I expect us to be good this year.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Drake Dobbs, liberty | Comments Off

Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Mount St. Mary’s SR F Nana Opoku

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Jon Teitel

We are keeping our fingers crossed in the hope that we can return to a “normal” version of college basketball this fall: fans in the stands, announcers without masks, etc. Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen but we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. We continue our coverage with Mount St. Mary’s SR F Nana Opoku. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Nana about being named conference tourney MVP last March and his expectations for this season.

You were an AAU teammate of Mac McClung/Oscar Tshiebwe: how dominant was your team with all of that future D-1 talent? We were the best Adidas Circuit team that summer and one of the best in the country. It took us a while to figure everything out, but after that things went uphill and we began to win more games/tournaments. We eventually lost to a team featuring Reggie Perry, who played for the Brooklyn Nets last year: he is about the same size now as he was back in high school (6’8″).

You were born/raised in Virginia: what made you choose Mount St. Mary’s? Mount St. Mary’s felt like family. They really wanted me to be here and were excited about having me enroll. All of the coaches let it be known that they wanted me to play for them.

You play for Coach Dan Engelstad: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? The most important thing I have learned is that player-led teams are often the most successful. When a coaching staff allows the players to dictate the culture and hold each other accountable, great things can happen. I think that Coach Dan does a great job of connecting with us and empowering us to be who we are in the team structure.

After an OT loss at Fairleigh Dickinson last February your team was 8-10: how were you able to turn things around and win 4 straight games to make the NCAA tourney? I would say leadership from within the team. Everyone knew after that game that we were in playoff mode and it was do-or-die from that point. We knew what was at stake and what we needed to do to give ourselves the chance to compete in the conference tournament.

In the NEC tourney title game you had 18 PTS/5 BLK in a 5-PT win at Bryant en route to being named conference tourney MVP: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? I was able to play well in that big-time game partly due to momentum from the semifinal game and partly because I knew the task at hand. I knew the opportunity that was on the other side: going to the NCAA tournament! I was not nervous: I just wanted to lay everything on the line and leave it all out there. When we got back to campus everyone was excited: guys were exhausted from the trip but it was a once in a lifetime feeling.

In the NCAA tourney you had 9 PTS/3 BLK in an 8-PT loss to Texas Southern: what did you learn from that game that you think will help you this year? I learned that a game can easily change in a matter of seconds. As a team, we know what we need to do out on the court: even when things are not going our way we have to stick to what we know. Everyone in that tournament was fighting to advance so I realized that even though we thought we accomplished something by being there, everyone else wanted it just as bad as we did. We definitely learned that we have to close games better going into this season.

Last year you averaged 2.1 BPG and were named conference DPOY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant that all of my work did not go unnoticed. It meant that people realized me as an elite defensive player in the league. I was just doing whatever it took to help my team win…but getting the award did feel great!

Your non-conference schedule includes an 8-day stretch in November with games at Villanova/Kentucky: which of these teams do you feel will present your biggest test? Villanova, Kentucky, and Ohio will all be challenging games but starting the season off at Villanova is a special challenge. They bring back a lot of players like Justin Moore/Brandon Slater (guys from the DC/Maryland/Virginia area) who have experience in big games and they all are part of a good team.

You are 1 of 4 seniors on the roster: how much pressure is there on you to be a leader this year? I feel like there is not really pressure since the leadership came from within last year. We did not have one single person as a captain: different guys on the team lead in their own way. The title of “leader” is not really necessary with our group, but as an older guy I know that I can pass down my experience/knowledge of the game to the younger guys. I want to pass the torch to the next group of Mount Basketball players.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? My goal for this season is to accomplish the same (if not more) with this new group of guys. Personally, I want to shoot the ball better from both the FT line and 3-point range. I also want to be a better overall leader in terms of helping my team when it matters most.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Mt. St. Mary’s, Nana Opoku | Comments Off

Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Louisville SO G Hailey Van Lith

Posted on September 15, 2021 by Jon Teitel

We are keeping our fingers crossed in the hope that we can return to a “normal” version of college basketball this fall: fans in the stands, announcers without masks, etc. Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen but we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. We continue our coverage with Louisville SO G Hailey Van Lith. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Hailey about making the Elite 8 last March and her expectations for this season.

You were born/raised in Washington: what made you choose Louisville over Baylor? It was just a better fit for me and my playing style. I really connected with Coach Jeff Walz and felt that it was a place that gave me better potential for my career.

You won a gold medal at the 2019 FIBA World Cup and were named MVP at the 2019 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a pair of gold medals? Playing for team USA is 1 of the pinnacles that everyone is reaching for so it was a great honor. Winning is something that I will never get tired of doing. Being MVP was special but the goal was to win a gold with my team: it was just a bonus.

In 2020 you were named a McDonald’s All-American: which of your fellow honorees has impressed you the most (Cameron Brink/Paige Bueckers/Caitlin Clark/other)? I got to play with all of them on team USA and I love all of them. My class was very deep and had a lot of talent: they are all high-level players.

You started all 30 games as a freshman and were named to the ACC All-Freshman Team: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I really bought into doing whatever the team needed me to do to win. I was never a big rebounder in high school but the team needed that so I did it (5.2 RPG last year despite standing 5’7″). I had to assess myself and realize that winning is more important than any individual accomplishments.

You were also named to the ACC All-Academic Team: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? It is just about priorities. Basketball is 1 of the highest but my parents taught me that school is just as important so I made sure to get my schoolwork done.

In the 2021 NCAA tourney you made it to the Elite 8 before losing to eventual champion Stanford: what did you learn from your postseason run that will help you this year? I think that we sold ourselves short and had a shot at the Final 4 if we had played our best basketball at the end. It was still a great experience. I am grateful to have made the Elite 8…but we are not at all satisfied with the outcome, which motivated us during the offseason.

Your father Corey played college baseball/basketball and your brother Tanner plays college baseball: who is the best athlete in the family? I think I will claim that title but I think they would have something to say about it!

Your NIL rights have been estimated to be worth almost $1 million: what kind of deals have you signed so far? I have not signed anything yet. My agents have brought me a lot of deals to consider so I have to see if they align with my values. I am not in any rush to sign a deal: it is more important to partner with a brand that cares about things I care about, such as women’s sports or increasing opportunities for younger girls.

Your boyfriend Jalen Suggs was drafted 5th overall by Orlando last July and was playing great in the NBA Summer League until he sprained his left thumb: how excited were you to see him get drafted, and how is his thumb doing at the moment? I was pretty excited for him and it was cool to be there. His thumb is fine and he is ready to go.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? With this team it is national championship or bust. We fit each other’s games very nicely and have a lot of people who understand their roles, which will translate well on the court.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Hailey Van Lith, louisville | Comments Off

Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Colgate assistant coach Dave Klatsky

Posted on September 14, 2021 by Jon Teitel

We are keeping our fingers crossed in the hope that we can return to a “normal” version of college basketball this fall: fans in the stands, announcers without masks, etc. Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen but we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. We continue our coverage with Colgate assistant coach Dave Klatsky. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Klatsky about his own podcast and his expectations for this season.

You played at Penn for Coach Fran Dunphy: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? He is a legend! A lot of what we do at Colgate comes directly from him: we have 3 alumni on our staff (including Matt Langel/Mike Jordan) and have each taken nuggets from him. He had a great ability to motivate his players to be their best without being degrading: we wanted to do well for him and the team.

As a sophomore in 2001 you set a school record with 162 AST: what is the key to being a good PG? We think about that often. I think it involves more than just passing: you need to be a leader on the court and an extension of your coach. You need to get your teammates involved while also realizing that sometimes the right decision is to score. If you can make good decisions then you will be a good PG.

You played in 3 NCAA tourneys during your 4 years of college: what is the biggest adjustment that mid-major schools have to make when facing a power-conference school in March? There is not 1 specific thing: a lot of it depends on who you are playing. When Colgate played Tennessee in 2019 I thought that taking a lot of threes would be our big advantage and give us the best chance to win a game, although even good-shooting teams can have bad-shooting games. When we played Arkansas last March it was a little different and we just decided to play our game, which worked well until they woke up. If we played the Razorbacks 10 times then I do not think we would need to change up too much to have a chance to win. As a mid-major you need to figure out where on the spectrum your chances lie and then decide whether to make it a high-variance game.

Your only regular season loss last year was by 2 PTS to Army: how close did you come to going undefeated? I think the loss helped us, as crazy as that sounds. After the loss it was so easy to get the guys focused for every single game. The previous afternoon we had beaten Army by 44 PTS so our guys got a little too comfortable. You never know what is going to happen. We were pretty close but I do not know if we would have been that close had we been able to beat Army.

Last year your team was #3 in the nation with 40.3 3P% and #1 in the nation with 26.4 3P% allowed: what role does the 3-PT line play in your team’s philosophy on both offense/defense? It is instrumental in both. On offense we want to get great shots so we spread the court and allow for drives/kicks or drives/scores. We do not have a specific # of threes that we are trying to shoot: we are going to get our shot, which is the best shot possible (ideally a layup/dunk). We are a really good 3-PT shooting team because we have really good shooters and take really good shots. If you shoot threes then you better have guys who can make them! On defense we know that open threes are statistically valuable so we try to limit catch-and-shoot threes and force our opponents to take the toughest shots possible all of the time. We are not too focused on the 26.4% # because we had big leads in a few games and our opponents took a lot of threes due to circumstances. I hope we can replicate it this year…but am not banking on it.

In the 2021 NCAA tourney you lost to Arkansas: what did your team learn from that loss that you think will help them this year? We came into that game super-confident and jumped on them (the Raiders led 33-19 late in the 1st half). What our guys learned is that things can quickly change: Arkansas forced us into 22 turnovers, which is unheard of for us. We tried to prepare our guys but you cannot replicate that type of pressure in practice and we did not play any teams all year who did that to us.

You host a podcast called “Stat Chat” (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/statchat-dishing-it-w-dklats/id1228435713) where you discuss how different programs use advanced statistics: why are they so important, and what are some of your favorites? My mind works in numbers and I also love basketball. The numbers can validate a lot of your intuition or can disprove what your eyes are seeing, both of which can help you become a better team. I am obsessed with shot selection as well as rebounding on both ends. We have learned who should be taking which shots and that we should be crashing the boards more because we get a lot of points off of offensive rebounds. My favorite podcasts are the ones that go into detail on those things.

2021 conference POY Jordan Burns has graduated but you return each of your other top-7 scorers: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success this year? Really crucial. So far in the preseason it has been like no year we have ever had because we are basically returning our entire team. It is only September but it feels like we are already a well-oiled team that is really motivated/prepared. It could be a really special year if the guys can figure out their roles and do their jobs. That being said, we are not the only team who returns a deep roster so everyone across the country will be better. I do not know the exact numbers but you are essentially replacing something like 400 freshmen with 400 5th-year seniors so the overall talent pool means that there will be games played at a very high level.

Your wife Abby was a 1st-team All-Big East field hockey player at Providence: who is the best athlete in the family? You are trying to get me in trouble so I will not answer that 1: the people who know us best know the truth!

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? Our goal every year is to win the Patriot League and get back to the NCAA tourney. You always have to think big and have lofty goals to be a mid-major team like Loyola-Chicago: they were a joy to watch and even won a pair of games in the NCAA tourney.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Colgate, Dave Klatsky | Comments Off

Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews VMI legend Reggie Williams

Posted on September 14, 2021 by Jon Teitel

The list of players who have led D-1 in scoring in multiple seasons contains some very familiar names: Oscar Robertson, Pete Maravich, etc. The most recent player to do so was Reggie Williams, who led the nation with 28.1 PPG in 2007 and 27.8 PPG in 2008. He graduated from VMI as the all-time D-1 career scoring leader in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia with 2526 PTS, then spent a decade playing pro basketball in the NBA and overseas. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Reggie about being a great scorer and playing in the pros. Today is Reggie’s 35th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

You led your team in scoring during each of your 4 years at VMI: how were you able to come in and contribute as a freshman, and how were you able to dominate throughout the rest of your college career? As a freshman my original coach (Bart Bellairs) said that I would be a focal point of the offense so I was able to get a lot of confidence early in my career. When our new coach (Duggar Baucom) took over during my sophomore year my confidence just continued to grow.

In 2006 you scored a school-record 45 PTS in only 24 minutes against Virginia Intermont in a 156-95 win (the team ended up setting 24 school records that night, including most points [156] and most steals [35] in a single game): was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I made a few threes (4-9 3PM) but I actually recall shooting a lot of layups during that game because we pressed a lot (he ended up making 18-26 FG).

What are your memories of the 2007 Big South tourney final (you had 13 PTS/9 REB while playing all 40 minutes but missed a 30-foot shot at the buzzer in a 3-PT loss to Winthrop)? It was the 1st time that I truly felt the college basketball atmosphere that I had previously seen on TV. It was a big-time rivalry and I remember the floor literally shaking beneath my feet.

You led all of D-1 in scoring in 2007 (28.1 PPG) and 2008 (27.8 PPG): did you feel like you were 1 of the best players in the country? Yes, but I just felt that I was under the radar due to playing in a smaller school/conference.

In 2008 you graduated as the leading scorer in school and conference history: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were? No: I just tried to play my best and I think that I exceeded the expectations of many people.

2 of your former teammates (twins Chavis/Travis Holmes) are also ranked in the top-5 of the school’s all-time scoring list: how on earth were the 3 of you able to score so many points while playing on the same team? We shared the ball very well. If I was making shots then they would get me the ball. If 1 of the twins were hot then they would get the shot instead.

You spent several years playing in the NBA/D-League/overseas: how does pro basketball compare to college basketball? It is definitely different in that you cannot take a single night off. Sometimes the college schedule gives a team an easy game, but on any given night in the D-League you could be playing against a guy who just got sent down from the NBA or a guy who was a star in college.

You were named to the 2010 D-League All-Star team: what does it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It means a lot to me. I had been working very hard so it showed that my hard work paid off and that I needed to continue working hard.

When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I am known as a scorer but I want to be known as a good rebounder and passer and all of the other things that go with being a good all-around player.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Reggie Williams, VMI | Comments Off