American Athletic Conference Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 7, 2020 by David Griggs

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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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The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Kenn Johnson about 1952 Olympic gold medalist Bill Lienhard

Posted on October 26, 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 summer 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 Bill Lienhard winning an NCAA title and gold medal in 1952.

Bill was born in Texas/raised in Kansas and led the state in scoring in 1948 during his senior year at Newton High School: what was his secret for being a great scorer? KU coach Phog Allen said, “With his one-handed shot, complete with leg kick, Lienhard had become such a deadly marksman that he could score consistently from the top of the key. He was one of the state’s best high school shooters in years.” His calling card was an outstanding set-shot which was described as “deadly against zone defenses”. A KU program described him as the “finest one-hand set shooter in Kansas basketball history.” Bill said “80-90 percent of the shots I took would have been three-point goals today. That is where I shot from: 20 to 30 feet out there.”

What made him choose Kansas for college? In 1948 Phog told all of his recruits that if they came to KU they would win the national championship and go to the Olympics. It was a proposal from “The Father of Basketball Coaching” that Bill could not turn down. It was also a promise that was kept.

He was a co-captain for Phog: what sort of relationship did they have? Lienhard was quoted as saying, “Dick Harp was a great innovator and Phog was a master motivator. He was a real innovator in his day in so many ways. I think that winning the national championship was his biggest thrill. It was the epitome!”

In the 1952 NCAA title game he scored 12 PTS in a win over St. John’s: what did it mean to him to win a title? After recovering from his early-season illness he became the team’s most consistent scorer, using his one-handed flick and kick of the leg to hit from all over the floor. His scoring helped the Jayhawks erupt for a 23-point second quarter and open up a 41-27 halftime lead. In a team photo taken moments after the win, Lienhard was shown delirious with joy.

He played for team USA at the 1952 Olympics: what did it mean to him to represent his country, and what did it mean to him to win a gold medal? Lienhard said, “The only teams coming on were the Russians and they were not very good. We beat them pretty handily the first time we played. The second time, we knew they could not run with us. There was not any question who would win.” So, while winning was easy, he was always proud of his service and gold medal.

He later served in the Air Force: what impact did his service have on him either on or off the court? After the Olympics Bill joined the Air Force, where he continued to play basketball for two years. Having also played basketball while in the service, I know from experience that he surely had a great time and was able to maintain and improve his skills.

After retiring from basketball he worked for a bank: how did he like it? He lived in Wichita for ten years before moving to Lawrence in 1965 where, using his degree from KU, he went to work for US Bank until retirement. He was most pleased to be able to return to Lawrence for the rest of his life and attend many of the Jayhawks’ games.

He is a member of the Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame and received the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame’s “Pride of Kansas” Award in 2012: what did it mean to him to receive such outstanding honors? “Thank you so much for this honor,” Lienhard said. “I am surprised and overwhelmed. It is much appreciated. I attribute my basketball success to my great coaches and teammates.”

His son Eric won a state basketball title in high school and his daughters Amy/Betsy played Big 10 volleyball: who is the best athlete in the family? Work ethic runs in the Lienhard family. All four children were active in a variety of sports. The family subscribed to the theory that the word “team” contains no personal pronouns so I do not believe that they ever considered which one was the best. It should be noted that four years after graduating from Emporia State Eric lost control of his car, which flipped and dropped 20 feet into a creek. After firefighters cut through the wreckage, he was flown by helicopter to the KU Medical Center and was listed with serious brain damage. After four months in a coma, he spent the next several years in rehab facilities before passing away in 2002.

He turned 90 this year: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? Athletically, he was a clearly a success at all levels. In high school he led the state in scoring, and at KU he helped the team win the NCAA national championship and the 1952 Olympics. He had a successful career in banking and a successful marriage and family he was most proud of.

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2020 NBA Mock Draft (Version 2.0)

Posted on October 24, 2020 by Jon Teitel

The NBA Draft is scheduled to take place on November 18th and until then we will do our best to predict where everyone will get selected. Some websites do their mock drafts based on “best player available” but we try to focus on team needs: for example, if a team like Minnesota already has Karl-Anthony Towns at the 5-spot then they are probably not selecting a center with the #1 overall pick. Please see our 1st round predictions below and then tweet us your comments regarding what looks good and what might need a re-pick.

#. TEAM: NAME, POSITION (SCHOOL/YEAR OR COUNTRY)
1. Minnesota: Anthony Edwards, SG (Georgia/FR)
2. Golden State: LaMelo Ball, PG (INTL)
3. Charlotte: Obi Toppin, PF (Dayton/SO)
4. Chicago: Deni Avdija, SF (Israel)
5. Cleveland: James Wiseman, C (Memphis/FR)
6. Atlanta: Killian Hayes, PG (France)
7. Detroit: Onyeka Okongwu, PF/C (USC/FR)
8. New York: Isaac Okoro, SG/SF (Auburn/FR)
9. Washington: Patrick Williams, SF/PF (Florida State/FR)
10. Phoenix: Tyrese Haliburton, PG (Iowa State/SO)
11. San Antonio: Devin Vassell, SG (Florida State/SO)
12. Sacramento: Precious Achiuwa, PF (Memphis/FR)
13. New Orleans: Aaron Nesmith, SG/SF (Vanderbilt/SO)
14. Boston: Saddiq Bey, SF (Villanova/SO)
15. Orlando: Jalen Smith, PF (Maryland/SO)
16. Portland: Cole Anthony, PG (North Carolina/FR)
17. Minnesota: Theo Maledon, PG (France)
18. Dallas: Aleksej Pokusevski, C (Serbia)
19. Brooklyn: Tyrese Maxey, SG (Kentucky/FR)
20. Miami: Kira Lewis, PG (Alabama/SO)
21. Philadelphia: RJ Hampton, PG/SG (INTL)
22. Denver: Jaden McDaniels, SF/PF (Washington/FR)
23. Utah: Leandro Bolmaro, SG (Argentina)
24. Milwaukee: Vernon Carey, PF/C (Duke/FR)
25. Oklahoma City: Josh Green, SG (Arizona/FR)
26. Boston: Tyrell Terry, PG (Stanford/FR)
27. New York: Desmond Bane, SG (TCU/SR)
28. LA Lakers: Isaiah Stewart, C (Washington/FR)
29. Toronto: Jahmi’us Ramsey, PG/SG (Texas Tech/FR)
30. Boston: Malachi Flynn, PG (San Diego State/JR)

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