The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Kenn Johnson about 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Sasha Kaun

Posted on November 9, 2020 by Jon Teitel

The NBA Finals date back to 1947 (when they were known as the Basketball Association of America Finals) and the very 1st NCAA tourney was held in 1939. Olympic basketball competition is even older: it debuted as a demonstration event in 1904 and the men’s version became a medal sport in 1936, with the women finally getting their chance to go for the gold in 1976. The United States has dominated Olympic basketball competition from the start: the men have won 15 gold medals in the 18 tournaments they have participated in during the past 84 years, while the women have won 8 gold medals in the 10 tournaments in which they have competed during the past 44 years. Those of you who were looking forward to the 2020 Olympics opening ceremonies in Tokyo on July 24, 2020 will have to wait an extra 364 days, as the coronavirus caused a postponement until July 23, 2021. Due to the absence of college basketball since mid-March, HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel decided to fill the void by trying to interview as many prior Olympic players/coaches as possible so that you have something to read this year while not watching the Summer Games. We continue our coverage by chatting with Dr. Kenn Johnson, KU alum and author of multiple books about KU basketball, about Sasha Kaun winning an NCAA title for Kansas in 2008 and a bronze medal for Russia in 2012.

Sasha was born in Russia but played high school basketball in Florida and had offers from several great schools including Duke/Michigan State: what made him choose Kansas? “Kansas started recruiting me after the first AAU tournament”. His final list included KU, Duke, and Michigan State. “They were the best schools. All the schools were great. I just felt I fit in at Kansas better. I felt at home there. I hung out with the players and liked them all. The family atmosphere was everywhere but I felt it more at Kansas.” After graduating he said about KU: “No matter what I will go back. It is just a special place, pretty much everything about it.” He and his wife return often.

He played for Coach Bill Self: what makes Self such a great coach? The proof is in the pudding. Self has led the Jayhawks to 3 NCAA Final 4 appearances (2008/2012/2018) and the 2008 NCAA championship. Self was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2017. He is currently among the leaders in most wins among D-1 coaches in NCAA history. Regarded as the Big 12 conference’s best coach by all measures, his 81.9 W/L% at Kansas is the second highest among all college coaches. He and Sasha had a great relationship. Self said, “Sasha has probably had about as good a career as anybody on our team when you stop to think of it.”

The Jayhawks had a 1-PT loss to Bucknell in the 2005 NCAA tourney and a 4-PT loss to Bradley in 2006 NCAA tourney: what was the mood like in Lawrence after these back-to-back 1st round upsets at the hands of double-digit seeds? Lumbering behind Bucknell the whole game, the team could not shake the slump and ended the season with a 64-63 loss to a no-name team from a minor conference. It is hard to explain how a team with such experience and talent could go into the tank so bad. It was disappointing to see those great seniors, who had worked so hard for four years, go out on a losing note to a minor team. The next season, in 2006, after finishing 1st in the conference (13-3) with an overall record of 25-8, expectations were high against #13-seed Bradley, but the young KU team (who started 3 freshmen/2 sophomores) simply did not contend. In both cases, KU fans were extremely disappointed. I subsequently suggested that KU never again schedule games against teams starting with a “B”!

In the 2007 postseason KU won the Big 12 title game by 4 PTS in OT over Texas, then made it to Elite 8 and Sasha scored 4 PTS in a loss to UCLA: how close did they come to making the Final 4? After returning every key player from the 2006 team that shared the Big 12 regular season title with Texas and defeated the Longhorns for the conference tournament title, the Jayhawks repeated as Big 12 champs (14-2) and expected to contend for the national title in 2007 as the top seed in the NCAA tourney. ESPN’s Andy Katz ranked the Jayhawks as the 2nd-best team in the nation so expectations were high…but the Bruins came on strong while beating KU 68–55, their largest margin of defeat all season.

Take me through the magical 2008 NCAA tourney:
Sasha scored 13 PTS/6-6 FG in a 2-PT win over Davidson: how were they able to hold Steph Curry to 25 PTS and end the Wildcats’ 25-game winning streak? First of all, Sasha also had 6 rebounds/3 blocks. Actually, KU was extremely lucky that Steph missed his last shot: a 3-pointer that would have given Davidson the win.

He scored 4 PTS in a 7-PT OT win over Memphis in the title game: what are your memories of “Mario’s Miracle” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=E84y-SrwUtA), and where does that game rank among the greatest in KU history? It was a comeback for the ages, as the Jayhawks stormed back after being down by 9 PTS with 2:12 left in regulation. They mounted a comeback that will go down as one of the most memorable in KU history to win the 2008 NCAA championship. Kaun said he remembers climbing the ladder, pumping his fist, and clipping a piece of the national championship net at the Alamodome.

He graduated with a degree in computer science and was selected to the Academic All Big 12 Basketball Team 3 straight years from 2006-2008: how was he able to balance his work on the court with his work in the classroom? Kaun was the definition of a student-athlete. His hard work over four years was what every coach/teammate/fan could ever ask for. He became the second Jayhawk to receive the Lowe’s Senior CLASS award, which is presented annually to the Student Athlete of the Year. Wayne Simien won the award in 2005.

In the summer of 2008 he was drafted 56th overall by Seattle (the final draft pick in Sonics history before the franchise moved to Oklahoma City), then was traded to Cleveland for cash, then returned to his home country and won 5 straight Russian League championships from 2009-2013 with CSKA Moscow: what did it mean to him to be drafted, and how was he able to go back to Russia and have so much success? While it was good to be drafted, Kaun felt that he just was not ready for the NBA at the time and decided that going back to Russia was his best alternative. After signing a contract with CSKA Moscow he said, “I am going to a team that is as close to an NBA team as you can find. It is a great organization: a very prestigious club.”

He played for the Russian national basketball team at the 2012 Olympics: what did it mean to him to represent his country, and what did it mean to him to win a bronze medal? Kaun and 11 of his closest friends piled on top of each other at the top of the key in the Olympic Park Basketball Arena after the final horn sounded in Russia’s 81-77 bronze medal victory over Argentina on August 12th in London. “I was so happy. It means everything,” said Kaun. “To be the first team in Russia history to go and win a medal is unbelievable.” He was proud of the fact that he was the first Jayhawk men’s basketball player in the Olympics since Danny Manning in 1988 and the first ever to play for a country other than the USA.

In September 2015 he signed with the Cavaliers but did not play a single game for them during their playoff run to the 2016 NBA championship: what did it mean to him to win a title, and how big a deal was it for him to join Olympic teammate Timofey Mozgov as the 1st Russians to win an NBA title? Kaun was the 12th Jayhawk to win an NBA title. However, his time with Cleveland was disappointing in that they simply did not play him, so the title was not that important and his involvement with Mozgov was minimal: “Unfortunately my role was very limited and small. Still, to be wanted by a team like this and to be part of it has been a phenomenal experience.” Right after the championship he was traded to Philadelphia, and 6 days later he announced his retirement from pro basketball.

His wife Taylor played soccer at Kansas: who is the best athlete in the family, and what has he been up to since retiring? “My wife is very competitive too. In our household it is always fun: we always try to do our best in whatever we are doing. I think it is a good quality to have.” However, it is impossible to try and compare the two. After retiring Kaun said, “I was very blessed and fortunate to play as long as I have. I had a great experience with the Russian national team and professionally. Overall, it has been phenomenal.” He and Taylor now live in Denver but travel to Kansas frequently.

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Happy Draft-iversary!: HoopsHD interviews Rich and Rob Yardley about their Hall of Fame father George

Posted on November 8, 2020 by Jon Teitel

With the 2020 NBA draft taking place later this month we will spend the next couple of weeks taking a walk down memory lane with a choice collection of players who are celebrating an awesome anniversary this year. From the 1st player in NBA history to score 2000 PTS in a season (70th anniversary) through the 2000 Pac-10 POY (20th anniversary), these stars have all seen their dreams come true in past drafts. We commence our series with George Yardley. He was a 2-time All-American at Stanford, NBA scoring champ in 1958, and elected to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 1996. George passed away in 2004 but HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with his sons Rich and Rob Yardley about the 70th anniversary of their father getting drafted.

Your grandfather was the 1st person to captain both the baseball and basketball teams at the University of Chicago: who is the best athlete in the family, and did your dad credit at least some of his success to genetics? RICH: My dad never talked about his dad much but no doubt he had some impact on him. ROB: He was not a big fan of his dad, as he was a vicious/abusive drunk who died due to his drinking. Neither I nor Rich could play a lick.

Your father was a 2-time All-American at Stanford: what did it mean to him to win such outstanding honors? RICH: He never talked about his basketball career. ROB: He felt he was not a true All-American because the West Coast guys would vote for him and the East Coast guys would not: it was very parochial. He was not even a scholarship player at Stanford. Today a “consensus” All-American is a consensus All-American.

In 1950 he was drafted 7th overall by Ft. Wayne (4 spots behind Bob Cousy): what did it mean to him to get drafted, and why did he wait a few years to join the team? RICH: They did not offer him enough money so he decided he did not need them. He also wanted to play in the 1952 Olympics. The West Coast players did not get a lot of respect/recognition even back then. ROB: Being drafted back then was not as big: the salaries were small and baseball was king. He waited because he wanted to play in the Olympics. If it were not for his owner (Fred Zollner, aka “Mr. Pro Basketball”) the NBA would not even have survived. He enlisted so that he would end up in the Navy.

In the 1951 AAU title game he scored 32 PTS for his San Francisco Stewart Chevrolet team in a win over the Colorado Collegians and was named tourney MVP: what did it mean to him to win the title, and how did he like playing for fellow Stanford legend Hank Luisetti? RICH: He said that the AAU was as good as the NBA in those days so he felt that winning the AAU was as big a deal as winning the NBA title. Luisetti was clearly his predecessor. ROB: Those were the biggest thrills of his life. Playing for Stanford, Luisetti was his hero. That box score actually sits in the Hall of Fame: none of his teammates even reached double-digits.

That year he began a 2-year period of service in the Navy, but a broken hand in the final game of the season kept him off the 1952 Olympic basketball team: why did he choose to enlist, and how disappointed was he to miss out on the Olympics? RICH: I assumed there was a draft, as he did not have a lot of respect for the military at all. He was basically guarding the Admiral’s tent: they just wanted him to play basketball. He was crushed to miss out on the Olympics because it was his lifelong dream: I do not think that he ever got over it. I turned down a chance to play on the Olympic volleyball team…and only later did it occur to me that it might have meant a lot to my dad. ROB: He said that missing the Olympics was the biggest disappointment of his life.

He made the NBA All-Star team each year except for his rookie season: how was he able to be so consistent for such a long period of time? RICH: He got his break when Jack Molinas got caught gambling on games. When Jack got bounced out of the league my dad took his spot. ROB: Dad attributes it to different things. He hated training camp and the cold weather so every year he would quit and say that he was not coming back until the team offered him a higher salary than the previous year. He got credit for being a sports negotiation pioneer: he just genuinely wanted to quit.

Take me through the 1955 Finals:
In Game 7 George King made 1 of 2 FT with 12 seconds left, then stole the ball from Andy Phillip with 3 seconds left in a 1-PT win by Syracuse: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of his career? RICH: It certainly did. For years he blamed Hal Greer for missing a layup toward the end…but many years later he found out that it was not Greer! He was a fierce competitor and was always good in the clutch. He said that everyone choked but that the best players learned to deal with it. ROB: That is right up there. There was a blizzard in Syracuse so they only had 3000 people show up for Game 7 of the Finals: I cannot imagine that happening today. He would always say, “The ring is the thing”.

It has been alleged that some Ft. Wayne players conspired with gamblers to throw the series, as evident by the Pistons blowing a 17-PT 2nd quarter lead: did your dad feel that this was real or just a rumor? RICH: My dad was a very moral guy so he would not have gambled on a sport in which he was involved. He thought that was the lowest form of life. I would guess that if that did go on he would not have taken any part in it. ROB: At the time he did not suspect that anyone was cheating, but in hindsight he thought it might have happened. He did not get along with his former teammate Jack Molinas, who later got kicked out of the league due to gambling.

Take me through the 1956 playoffs:
They had a 5-PT win over St. Louis in Game 5 of the Western Division Finals: how on earth did they become the 1st team to ever come back from a 2–0 deficit in the playoffs? RICH: He was a star player and really relished being put in a tight spot. I never even knew that he had played in the NBA until someone told me in the 8th grade. ROB: He thought St. Louis big man Bob Pettit was the best player in the league at that point. In sports you tend to have runs.

In Game 5 of the Finals he scored 30 PTS in a loss to Philly to lose the series: how was he able to play his best when it mattered the most? ROB: He was always the kind of guy who rose to the occasion. He won national titles in tennis as well as some golf tournaments: he always wanted the ball in his hands at the end of big games.

In February 1958 he scored a career-high 52 PTS in a game against Syracuse: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? RICH: It meant a lot to him to be able to perform that well. I think he hit a lot of consecutive shots in that game: he was a perfectionist. ROB: He went off in the final few games of the season and said that none of the great players in the league could be stopped when they put their mind to it. It helped that he was a good outside shooter and a mobile athlete.

He finished that season as the league’s top scorer with 27.8 PPG and became the 1st NBA player to score 2000+ PTS in a season: what was his secret to being a great scorer, and was he considered the best player in the league? RICH: He was a very focused athlete. I think he trailed Bob Pettit in the scoring race before Pettit got injured. He said he cherry-picked his last bucket because the opponent tried to hold him under 2000. That was the year the team moved to Detroit and not many fans showed up. He was into winning as a team, not receiving individual accolades. ROB: He was certainly 1 of the best in the league and was consistently an All-Star: his coach just let him shoot. He said that he would not have traded himself straight up for Pettit, who was a better rebounder. Walter Dukes accused my dad in a magazine of not passing to him because he was racist…but my dad called him and said he did not pass to him because he had terrible hands and could not catch the ball! He also played with Dick McGuire who was a great passer but not as great of a scorer.

What are your memories of Game 7 of the 1959 Eastern Division Finals with Syracuse (he and Dolph Schayes combined for 67 PTS in a 5-PT loss to eventual champion Boston)? ROB: He said that was really the year that his team should have won the title. He hated Coach Red Auerbach and thought he was the most overrated coach in the world, although I do not agree with him. The reason my dad downplayed his scoring record is because the greatest player in the league was not a great scorer (Bill Russell).

He averaged 20.2 PPG in 1960 before retiring at age 31, becoming the 1st player in NBA history to voluntarily retire after averaging 20+ PPG in his final year: how do you feel about the promise he made to your mom that he would retire before you and your siblings started school? RICH: That is a true story and I thought it was great. Part of the reason he quit is that he had an offer to play in another league and an arrangement to get paid $500/game to play home games: no road trips, no practice, etc. If any of the checks had cleared then it would have been a great deal! ROB: That is true and I think it was very commendable of him to honor his commitment to mom. He was making around $20,000/year, so it would be much tougher to retire today if he was making $10 million/year. When the Lakers moved to LA he asked my mom if he could play for the Lakers but Syracuse would not give up his rights.

Following his retirement he started his own engineering company, where he was able to expand his expertise with missiles: why did he choose engineering, and how did he like the corporate world compared to the sports world? RICH: Back then all NBA players had to have a day job…and his day job happened to be a rocket scientist. He actually had some patents and really enjoyed it. He liked competition but did not miss the NBA, as he finally got to do something that he wanted to do. He won several national tennis titles and even played basketball in the Senior Olympics. ROB: He would get really tired of basketball even during the season so it was a great diversion to use his mind in the off-season. Defending a Bob Cousy/Bill Russell pick-and-roll is a great subject, but he also liked thinking about rockets. He was a smart guy who liked using his mind.

In 1996 he was elected to the Hall of Fame: where did that rank among the highlights of his career? RICH: He always said it was not that big a deal but I think that it was really important to him. ROB: He said it did not matter but he loved it. It was a bigger deal than he would let on. He had the shortest career of anyone in the Hall of Fame…but when you make 6 All-Star teams in 7 years it is not always about longevity. He got to see a lot of people at the induction who he had not seen in many years.

In 2004 he died from Lou Gehrig’s Disease: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? RICH: He was a basketball player who also had a life off of the court. He was prouder of his off-court accomplishments, as he contributed to society besides bouncing a ball and putting it through a hoop. He built refineries and power plants. Whenever he was asked to speak he said that kids would get a bunch of accolades and money and just put it up their nose, but there is so much more to life than basketball. He also thought that agents were not doing their clients any favors. ROB: At the end of his life he became a Christian, which I think is very important. He was a cerebral and tenacious player: what he most emphasized was playing your hardest and never mailing it in. He enjoyed team sports and never wanted to let down his teammates. Everyone wants to start so the hardest thing is to have a good attitude when you are coming off the bench. He was the shortest forward in the league but would finish in the top-10 in rebounding because he always worked hard.

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American Athletic Conference Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 7, 2020 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for all of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

 

PRESEASON MEDIA POLL

  1. Houston
  2. Memphis
  3. SMU
  4. Cincinnati
  5. South Florida
  6. Tulsa
  7. Wichita State
  8. UCF
  9. East Carolina
  10. Temple
  11. Tulane

 

PRESEASON MEDIA ALL CONFERENCE 1ST TEAM

Keith Williams – G – Cincinnati
Jayden Gardner – F – ECU
Caleb Mills – G – Houston
Kendric Davis – G – SMU
Brandon Rachal – G – Tulsa

PRESEASON MEDIA ALL CONFERENCE 2ND TEAM

Chris Vogt – C – Cincinnati
DJ Jeffries – F – Memphis
Landers Nolley – G – Memphis
Alexis Yetna – F – South Florida
Tyson Jolly – G – SMU

 

NOTES FROM DAVID

-It seems like every year I criticize the media and pollsters for not giving Houston more love in the preseason.  I cannot say that this year since they are picked at the top of the league and are being ranked in several top-25 preseason polls.  They have some decent depth, a strong backcourt led by Caleb Mills, and a solid frontcourt as well.

-You cannot think of Memphis without thinking of the James Wiseman soap opera from a season ago, and how they fell way short of expectations after he left the program.  They had seven different guys that saw significant minutes last year, and four of them are back.  they look to be solid in the frontcourt, but this is also a team that did kind of sputter down the stretch and probably was not inside the bubble when the season ended.  A lot of people will like Memphis more than I do.  I still have more questions than answers.

-SMU also has four starters back from a 19-win team so the expectations will be high for them as well…but they also kind of sputtered down the stretch.   They should once again have a very strong backcourt and will be fun to watch.

-The preseason polls are not all that big on Cincinnati.  They do lose quite a bit from last year’s team despite having three starters back, and they will probably be in a bit of a rebuilding year.

Kind of a big drop-off after that.

-Let us start with Wichita State, who up until about a month ago we would have expected to finish at or near the top of the league and most likely inside the bubble.  But off-court issues, most of which are revolving around Coach Gregg Marshall and his treatment of players, rocked the program.  There has been a big exodus and I think that this season is going to have more bad times than good.

-Tulsa has three starters back from a 21-win team, but the rest of the roster had quite a bit of overhaul and with so many new players it is just hard to tell

-South Florida has three starters back after a sub-par season.  Alexis Yetna is a strong player but they will need more than just him.

-It does not seem like that long ago when UCF was a solid tournament team that nearly knocked off Duke in the Round of 32 in 2019, but it may be a while before we see them put together a team like that again.  With just two starters back from a subpar season a year ago they could be in for another long year.

-East Carolina, Temple, and Tulane…well…they all have work to do.

NOTE FROM CHAD

– I am keeping an eye on South Florida as a potential darkhorse this season.  They were supposed to be one last season as well, but their hopes were dashed when Alexis Yetna was lost for the season to injury.  The former AAC Rookie of the Year is back, as is leading scorer David Collins.  Freshman point guard Caleb Murphy is the highest rated recruit ever at USF.  The biggest question is going to be depth — especially with key 6th man Zack Dawson announcing in mid-October that he is opting out this season due to COVID concerns.

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RIP Coach: HoopsHD interviews Billy Tubbs about Kurt Thomas

Posted on November 1, 2020 by Jon Teitel

We were sad to learn earlier today that former coach Billy Tubbs passed away at the age of 85. He was a 4-time Big 8 COY at Oklahoma during a 6-year stretch from 1984-1989, then had a winning record in each of his 8 years at TCU despite playing in 3 different conferences, then finished off his career at Lamar by getting his 641st career win (which remains in the top-100 all-time). He coached a lot of great players during his time on the sideline but 1 of the best was Kurt Thomas, who as a senior at TCU in 1995 became the 3rd player to ever lead D-1 in scoring/rebounding in the same season (joining Hank Gathers/Xavier McDaniel). Last year HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Tubbs about Kurt’s career and we now bring you that never-before-published interview below. We extend our condolences to all of Coach Tubbs’ family/friends.

(photo credit: tcu360.com)

Kurt grew up in Dallas: how did Coach Moe Iba convince him to stay local for college? I was coaching at Oklahoma at the time and was unaware of him at all until I took the TCU job. I should have been, I guess! My 1st connection was with him after taking the job.

His PPG/RPG/SPG/FG% increased during each of his 4 years at TCU, including huge leaps after sitting out the 1992-93 season: how was he able to keep improving every single year? When I took the job I was unfamiliar with the team but was told that Kurt was a pretty good player. He had a lot of injury problems throughout his career: as a junior he played the last 10 games of the season with a broken wrist, but fortunately for me he was healthy as a senior. He was a talented player who was held back by injuries.

As a senior he led the nation with 28.9 PPG/14.6 RPG, becoming the 3rd player to ever accomplish this feat (the other 2 being Hank Gathers/Xavier McDaniel): how was he able to balance his scoring with his rebounding? He had always been a good rebounder. There were a few players who did not return before I showed up so he seemed to be the best player I had. Within the 1st 15 minutes of our 1st practice I figured out 2 things: he was a perfect player for the offense that I ran (a low-post player who could make turnaround jump shots) and a really good rebounder. My up-tempo style of play was totally different than Moe’s slow-down offense. We got the ball inside to him a lot: he was an instinctive/ferocious rebounder with great hands/timing. You can run all the drills you want but the really great rebounders just have a natural feel for where the ball is going. He was also a natural shooter who could also score off of missed shots.

On February 25, 1995, he recorded the 1st triple-double in school history with 23 PTS/14 REB/11 BLK against Texas A&M: where does that rank among the greatest all-around performances that you have ever seen? I do not distinctly remember that performance but he had great timing as a shot-blocker. I am surprised that TCU has not had more triple-doubles: most of the teams I have been around have had a few.

He finished that year by being named conference POY/All-American: what did it mean to him to receive such outstanding honors? I certainly thought he deserved them as the 3rd guy to ever lead the nation in scoring/rebounding, which caught a lot of attention. There was no doubt that he was the best player in our conference and his draft stock went way up.

In the summer of 1995 he was drafted 10th overall by Miami (5 spots behind Kevin Garnett): did he see that as a validation of all his hard work, or the realization of a lifelong dream, or other? It meant a lot to him and I am sure that it is 1 of his goals. I have had several players make the NBA but he played the longest. I think he received his degree in 4 years or soon after that because he was good academically.

He made the 1999 NBA Finals with the Knicks as a #8 seed before losing to the Spurs: how close did he come to winning a title? I followed all of my players after they left campus and was impressed with Kurt. He is a winner even though the teams he played on before I arrived at TCU were not that great. He was largely responsible for our turnaround. He was a unique individual: he was a quiet person so we did not have a lot of long conversations together.

His 1110 career games played remains top-75 all-time: how was he able to stick around so long despite breaking his ankle 4 times in 2 years? I do not know. He was a bit injury-prone early on: I think that he even broke his ankle 1 time in a restaurant! I think he stuck around a long time because he is very smart and a fearless competitor. When I took the job I had several alums who said the 1st thing I had to do was kick Kurt off the team because he was trouble on the floor due to getting technical fouls during games. He thought that he was supposed to dominate the paint and if it was not going right then he would get mad. I never had any problems with him: he might have been the only player I had with more technical fouls than I did…and he did a lot of wind sprints for me in practice as a result!

He was known for his intensity on the court but has done a lot of community service off the court: are most guys able to switch it on and off like that or was he the exception to the rule? I know that he does a lot of good work in the community where he still lives in Dallas. It does not surprise me: there are a lot of good people who are very competitive on the court.

The school retired his jersey in 2017: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? I went to the ceremony in the arena: I think it was based on everything he did both in college and the pros. When you look back at Kurt he had an outstanding senior year for me and then an awesome 17-year career in the NBA. You do not play that long unless a lot of people think you are very good. He really cared about winning and people at TCU are very proud of him.

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NAIA Hoops: Jamestown vs Presentation (video stream, 9pm, est)

Posted on October 28, 2020 by David Griggs

We’ve got more NAIA hoops action tonight!  I know you probably don’t know the teams, and it’s not quite the same with limited (or no) fans, but it is college basketball!!  Why are we covering this you may ask??  Well…WHY NOT!!??  A lot of what you like about watching NCAA games also exists in the NAIA games.  And right now, these are the only games we have!!

CLICK HERE FOR THE STREAM AT 9PM, EST

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Happy College Basketball Season 2020-2021!!! (Olivet Nazarene vs Indiana Wesleyan)

Posted on October 27, 2020 by David Griggs

Even if you’re a die hard hoops fan you may not realize this, but college basketball season has begun!  There are schools that are actually already playing in big games (relatively speaking), and we have one such game tonight between Olivet Nazarene and Indiana Wesleyan.  Both teams are ranked in the NAIA Top 25, meaning that in all probability this is a game that has postseason implications!  So, we all have the chance to do something that most of us haven’t done since the Wazzu knocked off Colorado in the Opening Round of the Pac 12 Tournament last year, and that’s watch an entire meaningful (or so we thought at the time) college basketball game from start to finish!!  CLICK HERE FOR THE STREAM

So here’s the thing….we need to have some fun!  I know most people reading this (including the person writing it) are not very familiar with the NAIA.  But, it’s still college basketball.  Not only that, it’s a very exciting brand of college basketball that can provide you with everything you love about the sport if you give it a chance!  And..what the hell else are you going to do tonight??

It’s frustrating right now.  We’ve all got COVID fatigue.  A lot of us probably have political fatigue as well.  Novemberis normally a great month for college basketball because of all the MTE’s, all of the games between teams that don’t regularly play, the chances for UTR teams to win big games and go viral for a day (and perhaps even begin putting together the type of resume that can land them in the NCAA Tournament without needing the auto-bid), and the teams that start off with no votes and no preseason hype that explode onto the scene (like Dayton did last November).  In all likelihood we won’t get much of that this year.  But, if you like watching two good college teams play in a game that means something, then you have the chance to do that tonight!!  Tune in!  Watch the game!  Tweet at us during the game!  For the first time in a long time, let’s watch a college basketball game and have some fun!!

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