The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Jack Rodgers about 1952 Olympic gold medalist Charlie Hoag

Posted on September 17, 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 Jack Rodgers about his friend/teammate Charlie Hoag winning an NCAA title and gold medal in 1952.

Charlie was born in Oklahoma and went to high school in Illinois: what made him choose Kansas? He was born in Guthrie, OK, in 1931 and his family later moved to Oak Park, IL. I met him during high school and along with Bob Mayer we became close friends. Charlie’s family was from Oklahoma and had put pressure on him to go to Oklahoma even thought he was good enough to go to any school that he wanted. Bud Wilkinson was the Oklahoma football coach and recruited Charlie and I with our parents in Oak Park. He offered football scholarships to both of us and invited us to fly down the following weekend to visit the campus. Coach Wilkinson and his staff did an excellent job of recruiting us and we both left OU thinking that would be our 1st choice. Warren Woody, a successful/wealthy insurance executive for Equitable, was a huge KU fan who lived in Chicago and had been recruiting Charlie for some time so the following weekend we were invited to visit the campus at Kansas. The only difference is that instead of the coaches it was the players who did the recruiting, and the frosting on the cake was when Coach Phog Allen came into the picture. He knew that we loved basketball and went out of his way to meet us and got Coach Jules Sykes to agree that after the football season we were welcome to join the basketball team. Charlie was an unbelievable athlete in grade school and high school: he ran track and the 1st time he did the broad jump at a grade school meet he jumped over the pit! They moved the starting point back 1 foot, he jumped again…and still made it over the pit but hurt his arm on his landing. In high school Charlie won the Illinois state discus championship and set a new state record. He was a sports hero and everyone loved him.

He played basketball/football/track at Kansas: which sport was he best at, and which sport did he enjoy the most? He was the best at all of them so I assume he loved them all! I think that basketball was his favorite because he reached goals that he did not reach in other sports. However, were it not for a football injury in 1952 he might have given Billy Vessels a run for the Heisman Trophy. We also loved playing basketball for Phog Allen/Dick Harp.

What made Allen such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that Charlie ever learned from him? He was a basketball icon and an interesting person. He was a philosopher who loved to talk/preach/share his beliefs. He imprinted his values on his players and we were no exception. He was a great coach who had a great assistant in Coach Harp who was the X’s and O’s man. Everyone loved/respected Phog and we played our hearts out for him.

In the 1952 NCAA title game he scored 9 PTS in a win over St. John’s: what did it mean to him to win a title? I did not make the traveling squad so I listened to the game on the radio in the athletic dorm at KU. Dean Smith was also a close friend on the team. I lived the win vicariously with Charlie and Dean when they returned and we celebrated together. Soon after that we were excited to see 7 of our players going to the Olympics. It meant a lot to Charlie but he never bragged about it.

That summer he was 1 of 7 Jayhawks (with Allen serving as assistant coach) who won a gold medal at the 1952 Olympics: what did it mean to him to win a gold medal, and what was the reaction like when the team got back to Lawrence? The gold medal was as meaningful to Charlie as the NCAA title was. Just like anyone else would be who won a gold medal for his country, he was bursting with pride to have had the opportunity. Charlie played well throughout the tournament and represented himself/his country/KU with pride.

He was a 2-time All-Conference tailback, still holds the school record with 3233 career all-purpose yards, and was picked in the 1st round of the 1953 NFL Draft by Cleveland: how devastated was he after suffering a career-ending knee injury in the 1953 Kansas-Kansas State football game? Charlie and I both had knee surgeries during Thanksgiving vacation of our senior year and it kept both of us off the basketball team that winter. I was more upset about it because most of the other Olympians had graduated and I could have finally made the traveling team! I think that Charlie took it better than I did because he had already achieved so many of his goals. That KU team went on to lose to Indiana in the 1953 NCAA title game by 1 PT: if Charlie was on that team then I think we would have won back-to-back titles.

He spent some time in the Air Force: what impact did his service have on him either on or off the court? We joined the Air Force ROTC together during college and served 2 years as lieutenants after graduating. I served in Arizona and Charlie was in Texas. The Air Force experience was a good transition from college while we were planning our business careers after we were discharged.

After retiring from basketball he worked as an insurance broker: how did he get into the business, and how did he like it? Warren Woody, who recruited Charlie to go to KU, looked out for his athletes after graduation and made sure that Charlie was offered a job as an insurance salesman. He worked there for several years and later became an insurance manager in Topeka, which was his primary business career.

In 2008 he was inducted into the Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame: where did that rank among the highlights of his career? I think that he took it in stride. He was happy about it and his family was very proud as well.

He passed away in 2012: when people look back at his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? As I remember him! He is still placed on a pedestal for the athlete he was and I am happy that I was there to share the experience with him. I spoke at his funeral in Lawrence along with Bob and we highlighted all of his accomplishments: it brought him back to us as we remembered his greatness as an athlete, person, friend, and family member.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Jack Rodgers about 1952 Olympic gold medalist Charlie Hoag

Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Georgia State assistant coach Jarvis Hayes

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Jon Teitel

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

We hope you are ready for a season unlike any other: testing, distancing, and bubbles, oh my! Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, or whether anything actually will happen…but in the meantime we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches/administrators in the country. We continue our coverage with Georgia State assistant coach Jarvis Hayes. He led the SoCon in scoring, then led the SEC in scoring, then played 12 years of pro basketball before coming back to college to coach. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Hayes about being a great scorer and his expectations for this year.

In 2000 as a player at Western Carolina you became the 1st freshman in 40 years to lead the SoCon in scoring: how were you able to come in and dominate right from the start? Coming in as a freshman the only thing that I knew was to be aggressive. I did not know anything about college, the system that we ran or nothing. I relied on my love for the game and my aggression. My coaches empowered me to be aggressive and fortunately it translate to the games.

After transferring to Georgia you led the SEC with 18.6 PPG to achieve the rare distinction of having led 2 different conferences in scoring: what is the secret to being a great scorer? I do not think there is a great secret to scoring. I was a bigger wing when I played. I am not going to say that I was the fastest player but I used my size/fundamentals to keep me 1 step ahead. I used my opponents’ defensive aggression to my advantage: more often than not they were shorter/quicker than I was. They tried to speed me up and get me to play out of control and keep me away from the 4 spots on the floor where I was most comfortable: the 2 corners and the 2 wing spots. I relied on the fundamentals to gain an advantage in getting to my spots and making plays. By cutting the speed of my defender with great footwork, they were at my mercy because it did not matter how fast they were: if I got to my spots then they could not combat my size.

Take me through the 2002 NCAA tourney:
You scored 31 PTS/14-22 FG in a win over Murray State: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most? The 2002 NCAA tournament was probably the best and worst feelings ever wrapped into 1 weekend!! In my 1st-ever tourney game I was on fire and felt like no one could stop us. Murray State actually started the game pretty hot and was winning for a good bit of the 1st half. After we settled down a bit our size/discipline/talent took over. My emotions were so high that day that I could have played another game that same day! It was an unbelievable feeling to play your best on the biggest stage.

You had 26 PTS/4-5 3PM/11 REB in a 2-PT loss to Southern Illinois (who overcame a 30-11 1st half deficit): where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? On the flip side 2 days later was quite possibly the worst feeling that I felt. Against Southern Illinois we had a huge 1st half lead and went into halftime confident that we would get the win. Southern Illinois fought back and won a hard-fought game 77-75. Personally I thought that I played pretty well but it was not good enough: I felt like I could have done more for us to win. I took great responsibility in the loss being the leader of the team but all in all the chance to experience March Madness was AMAZING!!

In the summer of 2003 you were drafted 10th overall by Washington (5 spots behind Dwyane Wade): did you see that as a validation of your college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? Getting drafted 10th overall in 2003 was an amazing experience. In a way it was validation not only of my college career but my entire career from rec ball through middle school/high school/college. I was never very highly recruited, did not have a ton of offers, and was never on any list of the highest-ranked players. I was doubted all the way through and had to prove myself at every stop. It never made me angry but only fueled my motivation to get better. The funny thing is that although reaching the NBA was a lifelong dream, it was never the end-all/be-all if I did not make it. I always prided myself on my love of the game and felt that if I was only concerned with that then the rest would take care of itself.

You spent more than a decade playing in the NBA/overseas, as well as for the Qatari national team: what do you see as the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball overseas? I played 12 years of pro ball: 7 in the NBA and 5 overseas. The biggest difference at that time was the physicality of the game. Do not be confused: the NBA is a very physical league but the overseas game is a bit more physical. This is not only because of the rules (or lack thereof, such as NO illegal defense) but since the players were not as athletic they played a more rugged game. Before the current small ball we see in today’s NBA game, the post players were extremely skilled shooters/passers. Today’s NBA game has a large European feel to it.

You work for Coach Rob Lanier: how did he do in his 1st year in Atlanta, and are there any big changes we should look for in Year 2? My time here at Georgia State with Coach Lanier has been amazing. Looking back at Year 1: I think sometimes when you come into a situation as a new head coach where you have to rebuild and basically start from scratch it can be tough. What is equally (if not more) difficult to do is come into a situation where the program is a consistent winner and the foundation is solid…and then step in and raise the bar from there: that is what Coach Lanier has done. The returning players bought in from Day 1. Coach’s vision was set, the guys committed to it, and it showed in the results. Going into Year 2: the excitement around the guys and the staff is high. We have a great group of freshmen who will be ready to help us along with 3 transfers who sat out last year that are chomping at the bit to play. It should be very exciting this year!

You have a few transfers on the roster including Corey Allen (from Detroit)/Justin Roberts (from DePaul): as someone who knows a little bit about transferring, what is the key to fitting in when joining a new team? With the transfers on last year’s roster in Corey/Justin, I would tell them that sitting out was the toughest thing they had to do and that they are almost free. The emotion that goes through one’s mind about performing after sitting out is nerve-racking. I constantly tell them that the way to fit into a new situation is to be genuine to yourself: you have to always be who you are. Both of those guys are team-first guys and the fitting-in part did not come hard to them because their commitment to the game was pure. I thought both of those guys played extremely well for us.

Your twin brother/college teammate Jonas is an assistant coach at Xavier: who is the best player in the family? Of course I am the best player in the family: what were you expecting?! Although Jonas was a very good player in his own right.

What is it like to be an African-American man in 2020? It is a very difficult time in America today. All of the injustices you see almost on a daily basis are heartbreaking. As an African-American I find the greatest challenge is having the conversations that I have to have with my 2 sons who are only 10 and 11 years old. It is hard for me to find the right words. Trying to explain to them that you will not get the benefit of the doubt in most situations because of the color of your skin. I try to be sure that I raise my boys to be respectful and always take the higher road: I teach them to love and respect everyone.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? With each year there is a new team/new goal/new expectations. For this team, my goal/expectation is for us to be the best version of ourselves as a team. and if we can accomplish that then this year should be really special!

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Georgia State assistant coach Jarvis Hayes

The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Blair Kerkhoff about 1952 Olympic gold medalist Phog Allen

Posted on September 16, 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 Blair Kerkhoff, author of “Phog Allen: The Father of Basketball Coaching”, about Phog winning an NCAA title and gold medal in 1952. Today marks the 46th anniversary of Phog’s passing so we are proud to honor his memory.

Allen was a child when basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith, and after Naismith encouraged him to enroll at Kansas in 1904 Allen ended up playing for him: what kind of relationship did these 2 legends have? Phog played basketball on a local athletic team with some of his brothers and was a standout player. Naismith attended 1 of Phog’s games in Kansas City as his reputation was growing. Naismith was not a traditional coach: he oversaw the team but sometimes served as an official. It was a friendship that lasted until Naismith passed away in 1939: they are 2 of the leading figures in the history of the sport and worked in the same building together for decades.

In 1907 Naismith left Kansas and even though Allen was still a student he was named head coach and led his team to a 43-9 record over the next 2 years while winning a pair of conference titles: how on earth was he able to make the transition from player to coach in the middle of his college career? It was not much of a career as a player/student: he was only enrolled for 1 year. Kansas was not his 1st coaching job: he had coached for a year at Baker University before returning to KU.

In 1909 he left the Jayhawks to study medicine at the Central College of Osteopathy in Kansas City, and returned to the university in 1920 to coach all sports while treating injured athletes: how was he able to balance being a doctor with being a coach? The idea of him becoming a doctor originated with him being a coach. He saw injured players who were not treated properly (if at all) and realized that being a doctor would give him an advantage as a coach. He got a job coaching in Missouri and had great success before KU hired him as athletic director in 1919. He coaches football before becoming basketball coach the following year.

He helped get basketball accepted as an official Olympic sport in 1936, served on an NABC committee that created the first postseason basketball tournament in 1939, and with the help of assistant coach Dick Harp he created a pressure man-to-man defense in 1953 that was quickly copied by many other coaches: most people think of him primarily as a coach but does he deserve more credit for being an innovator? The idea of a book on Phog really interested me due to what he accomplished outside of coaching. When I started covering KU basketball in 1989 I began to learn about his life: starting the Kansas Relays, coaching football, creating the NABC, etc. He helped the NCAA tourney stay alive after it was a financial bust in 1939. As good of a coach as he was, he was even more influential off the floor.

In the 1952 NCAA title game he beat St. John’s: what did it mean to him to win a title, and was it extra-special because it allowed him to bring 7 of his players to the Olympics as the Olympic assistant coach? That was absolutely 1 of the perks. When he recruited the Class of 1952 in the late-1940s he told them that if they came to KU they would not only have a chance to win an NCAA title but also to go to the Olympics. I asked Coach Harp if Phog needed an NCAA title to validate his career: he said yes. It pushed him into a level that he would not have reached without it.

He was an assistant coach 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? That was huge for him. He would have loved to be head coach but he had to be assistant after losing to Peoria in the Olympic trials. He had also hoped to be Olympic head coach in 1936 but they lost to Utah State in an attempt to be the NCAA representative. He led the funding drive to help Naismith attend those Olympics in Berlin. The 1940/1944 games were put off and Adolph Rupp was head coach in 1948 but the 1952 Olympics were the next-to-last greatest accomplishment of his career. His last great accomplishment was recruiting a talented kid from Philly named Wilt Chamberlain! He knew that his retirement was pending and he wanted to go out on top. It was not just him and Harp on the recruiting trail: he got the local African-American community involved. The sad part is that he never got to coach Wilt due to reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 1955.

He lost a pair of NCAA title games to Indiana coach Branch McCracken in 1940/1953: how big was their rivalry, and where do those rank among the most devastating losses of his career? I do not know if there was a rivalry per se. The 1940 game was a blowout and really changed the direction of the NCAA tourney with the game selling out and proving that it could succeed and rival the NIT in New York City. They needed to attract conference champions and 1940 proved there was interest if you had the right teams in the right place. The 1953 loss was by a single point after KU’s best player BH Born fouled out. It was not 1 of Phog’s best teams but it was 1 of his best coaching jobs. Kansas also claims to be national champ in 1922/1923. By the end of his career he was still viewed as 1 of the top coaches in the history of the game.

He coached college basketball for 50 seasons and retired with the most wins in D-1 history: what made him such a great coach? His early players will tell you that they spent countless hours at practice working on fundamentals and just drilled the heck out of it. His style did evolve throughout the years: he was a really good recruiter and his teams always played great defense. He was able to attract better players and the sport was/is important to Kansas. It was always the main sport on campus and was taken seriously so all great high school players considered going there. He built the program to a place where it became an attraction to top-level recruits.

Several of his players followed in his footsteps to become Hall of Fame coaches themselves (including Dutch Lonborg/Ralph Miller/Adolph Rupp/Dean Smith): how proud was he of his coaching tree, and what made it so successful? Smith was on the 1952 title team and observed a lot, which helped him in his career. John Bunn, Frosty Cox: the list is endless and goes all the way back to the original trunk of the tree in Naismith. The fact that the arenas at Kentucky/North Carolina are both named for guards who rode the bench at Kansas is a testament to Phog. That 1923 team photo is 1 of the most amazing you will ever see: Phog/Rupp/Naismith!



He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 1959 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2006: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? I moved here at age 30 and knew that the Fieldhouse was named for him but did not really know about his contributions. Once I learned more about him I was surprised that he was not more recognized around the nation. Whenever College Gameday comes to town ESPN talks about him, but 30 years ago he was not mentioned among the all-time great coaches. I got to talk to his family/Dean Smith/Clyde Lovellette: it was such a delight to write a book about him. I hope he is recalled for his great career and his great impact on the game.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Blair Kerkhoff about 1952 Olympic gold medalist Phog Allen

Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Kansas State assistant coach Shane Southwell

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Jon Teitel

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

We hope you are ready for a season unlike any other: testing, distancing, and bubbles, oh my! Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, or whether anything actually will happen…but in the meantime we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches/administrators in the country. We continue our coverage with Kansas State assistant coach Shane Southwell. He made 4 NCAA tourneys as a player at Kansas State, won a gold medal last year at the U-19 World Cup, and won the NEC tourney last March at Robert Morris before coming back to Manhattan. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Southwell about winning a conference championship as both a player/coach and his expectations for this year.

You grew up in New York City: what made you choose Kansas State for college? There were a lot of different factors in my choice to go from the Big Apple to the Little Apple. Coach Frank Martin already had a couple of New York guys on his roster so I was familiar with their journey: it felt like a chance to rekindle with family. It was an easy decision for me.

Take me through the 2013 postseason:
In the Big 12 tourney you beat Texas/Oklahoma State before losing to Kansas in the title game in Kansas City: how do you describe the in-state rivalry to someone who has never experienced it in person? It is a big-time rivalry: Kansas has been more dominant in basketball than we have but when the games occur it is a great opportunity to see how the state is split down the middle between purple and red. It is a special rivalry and I would say that it is 1 of the top-5 in the sport.

In the NCAA tourney you scored 17 PTS/7-10 FG/3-3 3PM in a 2-PT loss to La Salle in Kansas City: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It is definitely up there. We had shown so much progress and I think we had the potential to make the Elite 8, especially since our region was full of upsets such as Wichita State (who made it all the way to the Final 4 as a #9 seed). The fact that we played in Kansas City almost made it feel like we lost a home game: they jumped on us early and we erased a 20-PT deficit but they made the plays at the end.

After graduating you played pro basketball in Mexico/Australia/Switzerland: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball in other countries? It is very interesting to see what Luka Doncic said about it being easier to score in the NBA rather than overseas. The biggest difference for me was just being a professional: your stats/highlights/career can lead to playing with a higher-level team and your goal is to get the next contract.

You are 1 of 6 guys to win a conference championship as both a player and coach at Kansas State (along with some notable names like Bill Guthridge/Lon Kruger): how does winning a title as a player compare to winning 1 as a coach? It was great to win as a player but now I use it is mostly to get laughs/giggles from my current players. As a coach you learn the day-in/day-out grind of managing players, but to see them apply what I teach them to improve their own game and win a conference title really sticks with me.

You work for Coach Bruce Weber after making back-to-back NCAA tourneys as a player for him in 2013/2014: what was he like to play for, and what is he like to work for? We were just joking about that 15 minutes ago. It is refreshing for both of us to see the changes in each other: I went from a young adult to a man and for Bruce I went from a player to a coach that he leans on to be successful. It is a special relationship for both of us and we have grown closer while spending more time together over the years.

In the summer of 2019 you helped Weber as video coordinator for team USA as they won a gold medal at the U-19 World Cup: what did it mean to you to win a gold medal, and how good is Cade Cunningham going to be at Oklahoma State? It was a great experience to be alongside all of the big-time talent on that team. To win a gold medal in Greece is something that not a lot of people get the opportunity to do: the gold medal is now in my office. I think that Cade will do well at Oklahoma State and he is a great person so I hope he plays well against the rest of the Big 12…but not against us!

Last March as an assistant to Andy Toole at Robert Morris you had a 10-PT win over St. Francis PA in the NEC tourney title game, then a couple of days later you learned that the NCAA tourney was canceled due to the coronavirus: what was your reaction when you 1st heard the news, and do you think that it was the right decision? At the time I was confused and hoping that we could just postpone it while we figured things out, but looking back now I am glad that the NCAA chose safety over playing games. It is always special to play in the NCAA tourney and we had great momentum after winning the title so it was unfortunate.

You only have 1 senior on the current roster in Mike McGuirl: how much pressure is there on him to be a leader this year? There is definitely a lot of pressure but Mike will lead by example in what he does. He has been around some great leaders and was a sponge so through his hard work he will show our guys the right things to do both on and off the court. He has done a great job and is really important to our team.

What is it like to be an African-American man in 2020? There are a bunch of different emotions but the most important 1 is pride. I am proud of my heritage despite all of the trials/tribulations in our culture. I am in a situation where I get to lead young men who look like me and were just like me growing up so I try to impact them day-in and day-out.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? It is simple: just get better every single day. We have been able to work out pretty consistently most of the summer and the guys have been open to getting better. Whether it is in the weight room/practice court/classroom, I am optimistic for the year ahead.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , | Comments Off on Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Kansas State assistant coach Shane Southwell

The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Spencer Stueve about 1964 Olympic gold medalist Walt Hazzard

Posted on September 15, 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 UCLA historian Spencer Stueve about Walt Hazzard winning an NCAA title and gold medal in 1964.

Walt was born/raised on the East Coast and won 2 city titles while going 89-3 at Overbrook High School in Philly: what made him choose Santa Monica College to start his college career, and why did he decide to transfer to UCLA? His 1 year at Santa Monica College was a bridge to UCLA. He chose UCLA out of high school but had to finish up some academic work at SMC before enrolling at UCLA, which is just 7 miles away. Freshmen were not eligible for varsity basketball at the time so he did not miss anything at UCLA: he just finished his required courses and then transferred.

He played for Hall of Fame coach John Wooden: what made Wooden such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that Walt ever learned from him? Wooden never focused on winning and losing: he relentlessly preached being the best that you are capable of becoming. This is the lesson that resonated best with most of his players. There was no need to compare yourself to someone else: just be the best that you can be.

In the 1962 Final 4 he scored 12 PTS/5-10 FG in a 2-PT loss to eventual champion Cincinnati (Paul Hogue had 36 PTS/19 REB): where does that rank among the most devastating losses of his career? It was the toughest loss for UCLA during his college career. That 1962 team was the best UCLA team in history prior to the championship seasons that shortly followed and Coach Wooden thought that the 1962 team was a championship-quality team.

Take me through the magical 1964 season:
Even though it was Wooden’s 16th year in Westwood, assistant coach Jerry Norman convinced him to implement a zone press for the 1st time: what impact did that have on the pace that they played at, and how crucial was that to their success that year? A full-court press was 1 of the staples of Wooden’s coaching philosophy prior to the 1964 season. He had used it off-and-on throughout his career but in 1963 he decided to make the press defense a primary defensive weapon for his team. They were small/quick/skilled but not very big. UCLA ran almost exclusively a full-court man-to-man press in 1963 to some success. In 1964 they implemented the zone press…and it was the most lethal defensive weapon that college basketball had ever seen up to that point. UCLA had the perfect team to use it with a pair of star guards in Hazzard/Gail Goodrich who benefitted the most.

In the NCAA tourney title game he scored 11 PTS in a win over Duke en route to being named tourney MOP: how was he able to play his best when it mattered the most, and how were they able to go 30-0 that year? Another Wooden-ism that he preached to his team was: “Be at your best when your best is required.” Hazzard and the 1964 Bruins took this to heart. Hazzard also had some hard-nosed Philadelphia grit to his game: he was a tremendous defensive player and got after it. No team really stood a chance in 1964: UCLA’s skill level was so far superior to every other team that it created tremendous mismatches. Their full-court press eventually wore teams out and Hazzard/Goodrich were able to capitalize.

He was national POY/2-time All-American: what did it mean to him to receive such outstanding honors? Hazzard was a team guy, as was required for anyone who played for Coach Wooden. What he was able to do was set a standard of individual excellence, which translated to team success. He was the 1st star player during the championship years at UCLA. Gail Goodrich/Lew Alcindor/Sidney Wicks/Bill Walton/Jamaal Wilkes/Dave Meyers/Marques Johnson and more were all able to follow in his footsteps by earning individual acclaim within the framework of the team’s larger goals.

He played for team USA at the 1964 Olympics: what did it mean to him to represent his country, and what did it mean to him to win a gold medal? I cannot really answer this question because there is not much out there about his thoughts on his Olympic experience.

After averaging 9.3 PPG/4.1 APG in 1967 with the Lakers, he was traded to Seattle and scored a career-high 24 PPG, averaged 6.2 APG, and was named an All-Star: how did that change of scenery allow him to become 1 of the best PGs in the league? Seattle was an expansion team and although he was only there 1 season it was a memorable 1. The best explanation for his increased production is that the Sonics put the ball in his hands and asked him to score more than the Lakers asked him to. The Lakers had a very deep roster including Elgin Baylor/Jerry West/Gail Goodrich/Rudy LaRusso.

In 1971 he and his wife Jaleesa (a former Bruin cheerleader) began to embrace Islam after spending time with fellow UCLA alum Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then he started to use the name Mahdi Abdul-Rahman as a player on the Hawks: what role did religion play in his life (as the son of a Methodist preacher), and do you agree with his assessment that the name change cost him various opportunities both during/after his playing career? Religion obviously played a very large role in his life. He changed his name and was a Muslim for the rest of his life. He was initially introduced to Islam by Lew Alcindor (aka Kareem). As a player he was never comfortable with his perception of how others felt about his conversion. He used his birth name as a professional courtesy so I do not agree that it cost him opportunities. He played for 10 seasons in the NBA and coached for 8 seasons in college with limited success.

After being hired as head coach at UCLA in 1984 he had a 3-PT win over Indiana coach Bob Knight in the 1985 NIT title game and was named conference COY in 1987 after winning the 1st-ever Pac-10 basketball tourney: what did it mean to him to win a title at his alma mater, and what made him such a good coach? Hazzard was very well-liked at UCLA but he was not considered a good coach. He was able to win the Pac-10 title once and the Pac-10 tournament once, but UCLA began to slide during his tenure.

He passed away in 2011: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? I think that he is rightly remembered as the 1st great player to win a championship at UCLA. He helped lead the Bruins into an era of prosperity never seen in college basketball either before or after. He was a great passer/defender/leader on 1 of the greatest teams of all-time. The 1964 team was perfect…and Walt Hazzard was 1 of the main reasons why.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Spencer Stueve about 1964 Olympic gold medalist Walt Hazzard

The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Gwen and Shaynah Barnes about 1964 Olympic gold medalist Jim Barnes

Posted on September 14, 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 Gwen (wife) and Shaynah (daughter) about Jim Barnes winning a gold medal and being drafted 1st overall in 1964. Today marks the 18th anniversary of Jim’s passing so we are proud to celebrate his memory.

Jim was nicknamed “Bad News”: who gave him the nickname, and how did he like it? Gwen: When I 1st met him he said that his name was Bad News. I asked him how he got the name and he said that during his college career there were a few times when the opposing coach would ask whether Texas Western was bringing him to the game. If the answer was yes then the coach would say “Oh no: that is bad news for us!” He was proud of the nickname but was not boastful. Even though he was called “Bad News” it was a play on words: it was good for him because it showed that his opponents feared him.

He was born/raised in Arkansas where he allegedly picked cotton as a child, played basketball in socks because his family was too poor to afford sneakers, and had a maternal grandfather who was 7’ tall: what kind of impact did his upbringing/genetics have on his success? Shaynah: That is news to me and all sounds incorrect: he was not that hard up. He always made sure to say he was from Tuckerman, AR, rather than Little Rock or another bigger city. He was always out at the court taking shots all day/night long. My dad was the tallest person in his immediate family but the other side of his family has a lot of very tall women. G: Even when we were dating I would sit on the bench and watch him practice by himself. He was very proud of the small town he came from. 1 day he stayed home from school because he was tired and was just sitting on his front porch when he saw the famous Clydesdale horses pull up in front of his home. He was so excited to tell someone about it that he ran all over the entire town…but nobody else was around because they were all out of town at their own jobs! I remember when he introduced me to his family in Arkansas: I was the shortest 1 in the bunch.

He began his college career as an NJCAA All-American who scored 30 PPG at Cameron JC in Lawton, OK: what made him decide to transfer to Texas Western? S: That is when Coach Don Haskins came into the picture after being made aware of this green kid who could be molded into something more. There was some story about Haskins buying my dad a steak if he agreed to come to Texas Western!

He played for Haskins/with Nolan Richardson in El Paso: how did he enjoy being around these 2 future Hall of Famers? S: I never really saw him play but he was always an intense player and picked up some things from both of those men that he admired and helped develop his own game. He would play tennis all by himself and would just hit balls over the net, switch sides, and then hit them back. He never had any problems with his teammates. G: Whenever he started something he always put forth a full effort to master it. He loved backgammon and taught both of us to play. He learned by seeing/doing and was very teachable/coachable.

He played for team USA at the 1964 Olympics: what did it mean to him to represent his country, and what did it mean to him to win a gold medal? S: They were a real team and leaned on each other. When he was asked to carry the torch before the 1996 Olympics it meant the world to him. They wanted him to run it through another town but he made sure to run it all the way through Tuckerman: it was crazy! They were just kids in 1964 and probably did not fully understand it back then but it came full-circle. He was proud of showing some of my friends his rings/medals because he wanted them to understand the he had been a kid just like them and if they worked hard then they could succeed as well. G: I held his gold medal once and it was very heavy.

In the spring of 1964 he was drafted 1st overall by the Knicks (7 spots ahead of Willis Reed): did he see that as a validation of his college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? S: I think it was a mixture of both but more from column B. As he got better and better he realized that he might be good enough to play pro basketball: when you are picked #1 it shows that a team believes in you. It showed that he made it from the dark nights on the playground to the top of the sport. He was a nonchalant/low-key guy: basketball was just something that he was gifted enough to do. G: Kids today aspire to be drafted and say that they have always dreamed about getting there.

He averaged 15.5 PPG/9.7 RPG in 1965 and was named to the NBA All-Rookie team: how was he able to come in and contribute right from the start? S: Work ethic. It was a different time so he just came in and played ball without all of the glitz/glamour. He used his solo skills as part of a team. G: It was not as much of a big-money sport back then: he was just dedicated to basketball and stuck with it. He was a team player and wanted to get the job done well.

Even though he did not play in the 1969 NBA Finals he won a ring as Boston become the 1st team to ever come back from a 2-0 series deficit in the NBA Finals: what did it mean to him to get a ring? G: It may have been a bigger deal to me when I saw the ring! You have hopes/dreams of reaching the next step and then the next step after that. I am sure that there were mixed emotions because he had worked so hard to earn it. Mostly he felt good inside. S: I am sure that he was happy for himself/his teammates/the franchise.

After retiring he became an entrepreneur who organized an annual celebrity tennis tournament and launched “Bad News Barbecue Sauce” which sold more than 3 million cases: how was he able to follow his on-court success by becoming so successful off the court? S: That is what a lot of athletes do. My dad worked out that recipe on his own. G: I remember that before 1 of our trips down to Arkansas he was talking about this sauce that he was crazy about. He brought it home and tried to manufacture it. We talked about what we wanted to do and he thought about getting them into local supermarkets like Safeway/Giant. He cooked it in our small apartment in Washington, DC, I would put it in mason jars, and then we would go out every weekend in DC/Virginia to try to get it into stores. He did pretty well considering he did not have an army of salespeople behind him.

He passed away in 2002 and was posthumously inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2014: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? G: I have heard a few things about his temper but he was an excellent player who was part of a team. He was not showy and played to win the game fairly. S: He had the business and a great family but would want to be remembered mostly as a great player.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Gwen and Shaynah Barnes about 1964 Olympic gold medalist Jim Barnes