The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews 1976 Olympic gold medalist Quinn Buckner

Posted on July 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 summer while not watching the Summer Games. We continue our coverage by chatting with Quinn Buckner about going undefeated at Indiana AND winning a gold medal in 1976.

At Thornridge High School you won back-to-back state titles and your 1972 team is often cited as the greatest in the history of Illinois high school basketball: how were you able to go undefeated without any opponent coming within 14 PTS of beating you? We had 2 other guys who were even better than me. My dad was a former athlete who taught me the importance of playing together. I am too old to have an ego about it: we had a great team and after losing as a juniors we did not want to lose again as seniors.

In 1975 you swept the entire Big 10 by an average of 22.8 PPG but lost All-American forward Scott May to a broken left arm and then had a 2-PT loss to Kentucky in the Mideast Regional: what are your memories of what is considered to be 1 of the greatest games in NCAA tourney history? All I know is that we did not win the game. Kentucky played inspired basketball after we had beaten them earlier in the year. Coach Knight made a gesture toward Coach Hall that was perceived to be a slight but we just did not get it done.

In 1976 you were co-captain of the last school to finish the season undefeated: what made Bobby Knight such a great coach, and do you think that we will ever see another undefeated national champ? I hope that we see another undefeated champ who runs the table but I do not know if it will ever happen. Coach Knight said at the beginning of that year if we play the way that we were capable of playing then nobody would beat us. Coach Knight was great at preparation: he made sure that we understood exactly what to do in our roles as well as what our teammates needed us to do. We worked very hard and were in good shape.

That summer you won a gold medal with team USA at the Olympics: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? That was the most important thing I ever did in athletics by far. I went on international tours during my 1st 3 summers, which helped me prepare for the Olympics. There were no pros involved back then. Standing on the podium with the Star Spangled Banner playing was an emotional rush.

You are the only person ever named Chicago area Player of the Year for both football and basketball and in 1976 you were selected by Milwaukee in the NBA draft and by Washington in the NFL draft: which sport were you best at, and which sport did you enjoy the most? I was best at football, which was my gift, but my passion was basketball. My father helped me understand that you have to play the game above the shoulders to be a great athlete. I remember Redskins Coach George Allen calling me while I was in Hawaii on the basketball circuit. I needed to let Indiana know that I was not going to take a 5th year: it was humbling to be drafted by the NFL but my neighborhood in Phoenix, IL had plenty of guys who won state basketball championships.

You suffered only 25 losses during your 8 years of high school/college basketball: how did you deal with losing 52 games in your rookie season with the Bucks? It was a humbling experience and hard to deal with. I had a lot of good teammates like Junior Bridgeman/Brian Winters who helped me. Our motto was “green and growing”, which meant that we would get better with age so we just kept plowing ahead.

You had 9 STL as a rookie in a January 1977 loss to Indiana and were a 4-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team during a 5-year stretch from 1978-1982: what is the key to being a great defender? My forte was my ability to know what my opponent wanted to do on offense. I was not a great shooter so I had to control my man, help out my teammates on defense, and distribute the ball. In high school Coach Ron Ferguson made sure that we played defense. If they do not score then you will not lose: that was my mindset.

What do you remember most about the 1984 NBA Finals as a player with Boston: Magic Johnson’s 21 AST in Game 3, Kevin McHale clothes-lining Kurt Rambis in Game 4, the 97-degrees-with-no-air-conditioning climate inside the Garden in Game 5, or winning Game 7 at home? Most of us were in our late-20s so we were a group of men. We stole Game 2 thanks to Gerald Henderson because home-court advantage matters. Larry Bird was Larry Bird but Kareem was almost mesmerizing when he got the ball. We were a good bunch of guys who played tough and had a really good time off the court as well. When I was traded to Boston it was great because I always thought that I was a team player who played the “Celtic Way”. It was 1 of the highlights of my career because Red Auerbach and Coach Knight were very close so to be a part of that lineage makes me feel blessed. I also played for many other great coaches including Don Nelson/Dean Smith/John Thompson/KC Jones: those are some of the greatest minds in basketball history! Red was as smart as anyone I have ever been around.

In 2015 you were inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It is up there and was a great honor. I felt very proud of our team’s success, which is why I was earmarked for that honor. In some cases it was an out-of-body experience: I was never looking for the accolades but just hated losing.

You are 1 of only 7 players to ever win an NCAA title and NBA title and Olympic gold medal: when people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? As a guy who did his job and was never the weak link on his team.

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The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Professor Alex Kupfer about 1936 Olympic gold medalist Frank Lubin

Posted on July 8, 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 Professor Alex Kupfer, author of “Sporting Labor in the Hollywood Studio System: Basketball, Universal Pictures, and the 1936 Berlin Olympics”, about Frank Lubin winning a gold medal in 1936. Today marks the 21st anniversary of Frank’s passing in 1999 so we are proud to honor his memory.

(photo credit: calisphere.org)

Lubin was born/raised in California: what made him choose UCLA for college? His parents were Lithuanian immigrants but he was a native Californian.

He was 6’7”: how much of an advantage was his size on the court? At the time it was framed as a huge advantage but the 1936 Olympic team had a few other guys of that size. It was certainly a way to promote him but he was actually listed by UCLA as a guard! It is comparable to someone like Magic Johnson/LeBron James who were tall but could handle the ball. The US would alternate different AAU rosters during the Olympics: Joe Fortenberry was the leading scorer when the McPherson team played and Frank was the leading scorer when the Universal team played so it seemed like both offenses ran through their respective big men. It worked out well for them to have a dual system because the International Basketball Federation did not want any team having more than 7 players dressed for a game.

After college he worked at Universal Pictures and played on the studio’s AAU team, where he would dress up as Frankenstein to help promote the studio’s 1935 movie “The Bride of Frankenstein”: how did he balance playing basketball with playing a monster? Playing the monster took precedence over playing basketball. He would be dressed up in full costume and then have to miss the 1st 5-10 minutes of each game while he changed into his basketball uniform. The team trainer Jack Pierce did the makeup for all of Universal’s movie monsters and it was more important for Frank to promote the studio. His height on platform shoes was almost 7’ tall so that is why they wanted him. The studios really took it seriously: Lubin was a grip and others were electricians and they were all paid well.

His team won the Olympic Trials and earned the right to represent the US as part of the 1st Olympic basketball tournament in 1936: how big a deal was it at the time? Pro basketball was not as established back then so there was an 8-team tourney at Madison Square Garden and Universal squeaked by McPherson in the final by a score of 44-43. The US took both squads and they just alternated from game to game. I think it was quite important to him because it was an important part of US basketball history. After the Olympics he became a big part of Lithuanian basketball history and took pride in both countries.

What did it mean to him to represent the US, and what did it mean to him to win a gold medal? He was really proud of that: to be the 1st team to win it. Sam Balter was the only Jewish American to win a gold medal in Berlin so it was important for the rest of the team as well, even though basketball was not as important back then. The final game was a 19-8 win over Canada and was played outdoors in the rain so it was not the giant sport that we know today! Leni Riefenstahl shot over 1 million feet of film for a documentary but she did not send any of her crew members to film basketball. During the 1980s a lot of guys started to give oral interviews and discuss their past Olympic experiences.

After the Olympics he became Lithuania’s 1st national team head coach where he won 2 EuroBasket titles in a 3-year span, winning the latter 1 by scoring the game-winning basket with 1 second left: how did he like being a coach, and how do his countrymen view the “grandfather of Lithuanian basketball”? He really helped set up their entire basketball system, both the men and the women. He appreciated the connection to his own family’s history and set it up in enduring fashion. To go right from the Olympics to Lithuania while giving up 3 years of opportunities in America shows how important it was to him.

He continued to play AAU and YMCA basketball into his 50s until knee problems forced him to retire: do you agree with those who consider him 1 of the greatest players in AAU history? He gets mentioned in the rarefied air of AAU basketball along with fellow Olympians like Bob Kurland. After they returned to the US the players lost their jobs because the Universal Studios owner was a German-born Jew and did not want anything to do with Nazi Germany. Lubin then switched over to Fox and was part of an incredibly successful AAU team while also working on shows like “The Beverly Hillbillies”.

He has been inducted into several Halls of Fame including UCLA and the Helms Athletic Foundation: where do these rank among the highlights of his career? UCLA does not have an online exhibit about its Hall of Fame so I could not find out much about that. The 1936 team seems to get rediscovered every 4 years and he looked back fondly on his time as an Olympian.

He passed away in 1999: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? The 1936 Olympics have gotten a lot of attention due to Jesse Owens and “The Boys in the Boat” book (www.amazon.com/Boys-Boat-Americans-Berlin-Olympics/dp/067002581X) but the basketball team set a long long legacy of basketball dominance. The Universal team was not just dominant at the Olympics but also beat a lot of college/AAU teams in the US.

For more info about the 1936 US Olympic team check out “Sporting Labor in the Hollywood Studio System: Basketball, Universal Pictures, and the 1936 Berlin Olympics” by Professor Alex Kupfer at: https://cinema.usc.edu/spectator/35.2/2_Kupfer.pdf and “Netting Out Basketball 1936” by Rich Hughes at: www.amazon.com/Netting-Out-Basketball-1936-Remarkable/dp/1770679707

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The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews 1992 Olympic bronze medalist Lin Dunn

Posted on July 7, 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 Coach Lin Dunn about winning a WNBA title in 2012 and winning a gold medal in 1992.

You began your coaching career at Austin Peay in 1970 as the physical education instructor, supervisor of the cheerleading team, and volunteer coach of the unfunded women’s volleyball/basketball/tennis teams: how difficult was it to have all of that on your plate 50 years ago, and what has been the biggest change in women’s college athletics over the past half-century? It was extremely exhausting: teaching 8 different PE classes alone was time consuming! There have been so many big changes: better resources/better access to facilities/better qualified staffs.

In your 1 season at Mississippi in 1978 you beat 3-time national champion Delta State in Cleveland: how were you able to break their 56-game winning streak? I actually coached 2 years at Ole Miss: during year #1 I was the volleyball/tennis coach and in year #2 I was the basketball coach. We beat Delta State due to having a very talented team: Peggie Gillom/Cathy Casteel/Glenda Springfield were as good as any players in America.

In the 1994 NCAA tourney as coach at Purdue you made it to the Final 4 before losing to North Carolina: how did the game change in the 2nd half after the Tar Heels switched to a zone defense after made baskets? North Carolina was taller/quicker/more athletic than we were. We could not contain world class sprinter Marion Jones!

You were an assistant for team USA at the 1992 Olympics and spent 8 years on the USA Basketball Selection Committee: what did it mean to you to win a bronze medal, and how did the Committee decide which players to select? We won a bronze medal in the 1992 Olympics, a gold medal in the 1990 world championships, and a gold medal in the 1986 Pan Am Games. The committee always tried to select the 12 best players with a blend of experienced players as well as 2-3 players to develop for the future. The key was the ability to embrace whatever role you were given.

In the 2009 WNBA Finals as coach of Indiana you lost the decisive Game 5 to Phoenix: where does Finals MVP Diana Taurasi rank among the greatest players that you have ever seen? We should have won Game 4 at home as well as Game 5 in my opinion! This was our 1st trip to the Finals and I think that our lack of experience hurt us. Diana is an excellent offensive player…but I cannot rank her as the best all-around player ever because she never worked on the defensive end as hard as she did on offense. I believe that the “best’ player must excel at the highest level in all aspects: offense/defense/rebounding.

In the 2012 WNBA Finals you beat defending champion Minnesota to win the title: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was very rewarding for Tamika Catchings: she had worked so long and so hard and deserved a ring! We were the underdog and did not have the home-court advantage so our championship was a testament to overcoming adversity.

You spent more than 25 years as a college head coach and more than 10 years as a pro head coach: what is the biggest difference between being a college coach vs. a pro coach? The pro players are bigger/faster/stronger/smarter so there is no comparison.

You were inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? Hall of Fame events are nice but what is more important to me are the players I coached and how I may have positively impacted their lives. I am very proud of my former players who became coaches themselves.

You founded the consulting firm Coaches for Coaches to help train head coaches: what is the key to leading a successful athletic program? There is no 1 key: however, a positive/winning culture is crucial.

You currently work as a special assistant at Kentucky: how do you like the job, and what do you hope to do in the future? I work with great people who really care about their student-athletes. I enjoy giving back to the game that has been so good to me by helping head coaches/assistant coaches get better.

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The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews 1964 Olympic gold medalist George Wilson

Posted on July 6, 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 George Wilson about winning an NCAA title in 1962 and winning a gold medal in 1964.

At John Marshall High School you led your team to a pair of state titles in 1958/1960 and won the very 1st Chicago Sun-Times POY award in 1960: how good were you back in high school, and what made you choose Cincinnati? We were undefeated in 1958, got ripped off by a referee in 1959, and made sure that the officials were not involved in 1960. People ask me about my greatest accomplishment and I say beating the Catholic school at Chicago Stadium: we were the 1st public school to beat them in 1957. In 1958 we were the 1st team from Chicago to win the state title and only the 2nd African-American team to win it (Crispus Attucks featuring Oscar Robertson was the 1st in 1955). Most of the guys from that team graduated in 1958 but we still made it back to the Sweet 16 in 1959. I never got in foul trouble but that ref called 2 fouls against me in the 1st quarter and another 1 by halftime despite me having my hands straight up in the air. My teammate MC Thompson had no fouls at halftime but ended up fouling out in the 2nd half and we lost on a last-second shot. I did not want to go into basketball coaching because I could never trust a referee after that but I did coach some track and field…and we went undefeated! We had 17,600 fans in Chicago Stadium for our game at 2PM: the Globetrotters cam in that night and had 17,800.

In 1960 you were named 1st-team Parade All-American: which of your fellow honorees impressed you the most (Bill Bradley/Roger Brown/Connie Hawkins/other)? Roger was awesome: even Oscar said that he was 1 of the best players he had ever seen. Jeff Mullins was also on the 1st-team: we both won NBA titles after becoming Olympic teammates.

Take me through the magical 1962 NCAA tourney:
In the Final 4 you scored 3 PTS and Tom Thacker made the game-winning 15-foot jumper with 4 seconds left in a 2-PT win over UCLA: where does that rank among the most clutch shots that you have ever seen? I do not remember the shot that well but we beat UCLA again in 1963 before they began their great run.

In the title game you had 11 REB in a win over Ohio State in a rematch of the 1961 title game: what did it mean to you to win a title? John Havlicek averaged more than 20 PPG in the NBA but I held him to 11 PTS/5-14 FG that night. I always tell kids that if you do your job then your whole team might be able to win a ring. My job was to defend the best scorers on the opposing teams like Paul Silas/Chet Walker.

In the 1963 NCAA title game you had 10 PTS/13 REB in 41 minutes in a 2-PT OT loss to Loyola Chicago: how big a deal was it to be part of the 1st title game ever where a majority of the players were African-American (Loyola started 4 African-American players and Cincinnati started 3)? They really publicized that fact that year. Loyola had to play Mississippi State after sneaking out of town to do so. That was another game that the zebras took from us. Les Hunter made a deliberate goaltending play toward the end of the game that was not called, then Larry Shingleton (who was an 80% FT shooter) made 1 FT and then missed 1 badly at the end of the game.

In the spring of 1964 you were a territorial pick of the Cincinnati Royals: what was it like to become teammates with fellow former Bearcat Oscar Robertson? Imagine becoming a teammate of your hero: I was riding on cloud 9…and 10..and 11!

You were not invited to the 1964 Olympic trials as part of the NCAA all-star team because your teammate Ron Bonham was the Cincinnati representative, but as a member of an AAU all-star team you had 19 REB in a win over the NCAA all-stars to make the final roster: how pissed were you to not make the NCAA all-star team, and how excited were you to finally earn a ticket to Tokyo? Somebody should make a movie about this. Bonham and I were both All-Americans so he was also very deserving. They picked 16 total teams: 3 from the NCAA, 2 from the AAU, 1 from the NAIA, etc. They picked Bonham for the NCAA team and Coach Ed Jucker called them up to complain. I was in the dorm 1 day and MC Thompson told me that he was playing for an AAU team whose big man had just gotten hurt. I said that I would play for them at a big tourney in Denver. Before the week was over the head of the Olympic Trials called to say that Gary Bradds from Ohio State got hurt and asked me if I would take his place…and I said no because I had already made a commitment to MC. We were getting killed during the 1st game in Denver: the coach put me in during the 2nd half and I knew to only run when necessary due to the altitude.  We made a nice comeback and ended up only losing by single digits. I ended up making 1 of the 2 AAU All-Star teams and MC made the other team. Goodyear won the tourney with Larry Brown and I was on 1 of the teams that went to the Olympic Trials. I ended up playing center at the Trials and the 1st team we played was a team with a bunch of UCLA players and a coach named John Wooden but we beat them. In the 2nd round we played Bonham’s team and beat them. Then we played a team with a bunch of All-Americans like Rick Barry/Bill Bradley/Mullins and we beat the heck out of them so I went out and partied like I always did. I came back around 2AM and some guy congratulated me but I did not know exactly what for. The next morning I got a call from Coach Hank Iba to say that I made the final roster…but I thought it was someone playing a joke by calling me that early!

What did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? It was the 2nd best accomplishment of my life. Bill Russell/KC Jones were the 1st 2 African-Americans to make the Olympic team in 1956, then a few more in 1960, and then I was 1 of 5 in 1964. I was representing my race, my school, and my city: I worked hard and finally made it. We were 9-0 and beat Russia for the gold medal. We beat most teams badly but only beat Yugoslavia by 8 PTS. Coach Iba put me in during the final quarter against Yugoslavia for my rebounding/defense and we were only up 4 PTS with about 2 minutes left. Dick Davies passed me the ball and I was trying to get it into Luke Jackson but my man backed up to double-team him and Dick was covered as well. I saw the clock ticking down, took 2 dribbles to the side, and let it go: bingo! Larry Brown brings the ball up on our next possession, my defender backed off, Larry was covered, so I shot it again: cha-ching! History could have been very different if I had missed either of those shots so that was my claim to fame.

You later competed in basketball/golf/horseshoes in the Senior Olympics: which sport were you best at, and which sport did you enjoy the most? I enjoyed horseshoes/golf. We had a choice of 9 or 18 holes of golf: I only played 9 holes and I went 20 straight years without losing. We would pitch horseshoes when I was younger. 1 year I had 8 leaners that should have been worth 2 PTS each but they only gave me 1 PT for each of them. I really enjoyed it. I played in the Senior Olympics for 27 straight years until it got canceled this year due to the coronavirus.

In 2006 you were voted 1 of the 100 Legends of the Illinois High School Association Boys Basketball Tournament: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? They gave us a sport coat so whenever I wear it people ask me about it. I am also 1 of only 3 IHSA players to be named All-State 1st-team for 3 straight years.

What is it like to be an African-American man in 2020, and are there any thoughts you would like to share about George Floyd/protests/police/etc.? I have been listening to the radio and watching TV. I am 87 years old but the protests all over the world should tell the US that its history is terrible. Some people have only recently learned about the riots in Tulsa on Black Wall Street a century ago but as a history buff I have known about it for a long time. We are the only race that had our name changed over the years. Some people say that you should not blame them for something their grandfather did but I just want them to be aware of what happened back in the day. It is finally coming out now: I just saw the video of the young man in Colorado who died after walking home from the grocery store. When people call 911 and say that there is a Black man who looks suspicious the police will show up ready to shoot. Just imagine how many incidents were not caught on camera that we will never know about. A lot of people were hung and nobody was ever charged. Everyone in Tulsa knew who dropped the bomb but nobody got charged. I have been through things and have never had a good traffic stop. I had a run-in once at a shopping center after a car accident. I offered to be a witness if necessary and the cop asked me for my Social Security #: I later found out that he could use that to check his system to see if I had ever committed a crime. I once pulled into the parking lot of my doctor’s office and had a woman call me a thug and then call the police because she thought that I was driving too slowly. When I got home 1 of the policemen called me to say that everything was fine. I have heard so many stories from other people: I have a friend who is a cop who got pulled over once when he was younger. The cop who pulled him over laid his gun on the car and called my friend “boy”. I played ball, made good money, and lived all over the world….and never got a ticket. Even when it on a cell phone people still try to deny it. It is 2020 but I am still disgusted by what is happening with these cops who have a license to kill.

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The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Bob Jeangerard about 1956 Olympic gold medalist Robert Jeangerard

Posted on July 5, 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 Bob Jeangerard about his father Robert winning a gold medal in 1956. Today marks the 6th anniversary of Robert’s passing in 2014 so we send our condolences to his entire family.

Your father was born/raised in Illinois: what made him choose Colorado? He went to New Trier High School and his best sport was actually baseball. He grew up poor and got great grades but he was not highly recruited for baseball. Colorado offered him a basketball scholarship and he was very proud to take it.

1 of his college teammates was Burdie Haldorson, who later became his Olympic teammate: what kind of relationship did they have? They were the best of friends: when my dad passed I talked to Burdie on the phone about it.

In a 1954 game against Nebraska he made a 45-foot hook shot from half-court at the end of the 1st half, and when asked how he did it he said, “It is simple: we have a drill for that play and I work on it 15 minutes every night”: how much of his success was based on his work ethic? I had never heard about that story until after he passed. There was nobody who had a higher work ethic in his life and sports was no different. My son Justin kept going to his grandfather and asking him how he could improve his own basketball skills. My dad wrote out a list of everything that Justin would have to do if he was serious: it involved an insane amount of shots and putting his mind into it as well. Even if my dad was not talented in certain areas he achieved success both on and off the court by setting out his goals for getting there.

In the 1955 Final 4 he scored 4 PTS in a loss to eventual champ San Francisco (tourney MOP Bill Russell scored 24 PTS/10-14 FG): how close did he come to winning a title against Russell, and how did he like playing with Russell the following year? He said that San Francisco was in a whole other league with Russell/KC Jones and that they just ran into 1 of the best college teams ever. He had great stories about Bill and loved everything about him: the entire team was close during the Olympics and they all became the best men at his wedding after they returned to the US! They traveled throughout the South before the Olympics and would sometimes run into situations where a restaurant would not serve Russell due to a racial divide. My dad always told us about how bad things were and what great men Bill/KC were to rise above that while educating the rest of the team.

After college he played for the Phillips 66ers in the National Industrial Basketball League, and after winning the Olympic Trials in 1956 he was 1 of 5 players from the 66ers selected for the Olympic team: how did he feel about making the roster for team USA? He was as proud as could be and extraordinarily excited. The 66ers were the underdogs but persevered.

He scored a team-high 16 PTS in a win over the Soviet Union in the gold medal game: what did it mean to him to represent his country, and what did it mean to him to win a gold medal? His obituary mentioned that he had won a gold medal: some of his friends were stunned to read that because he was so unassuming and never bragged about it. He was very proud of his accomplishments and I know that he loved that entire team. They had some superstars but they made it a team game and were dominant. They had a huge scoring margin (53.5 PPG) but did not have the flash. He did not like when the Dream Team started using pro players: he wished that team USA could have remained a college team.

After returning from the Olympics he became a pilot in the Air Force: what impact did his service have on him either on or off the court? He had a commitment to honor after getting married before the Olympics. I do not think that he saw any combat but he was very proud to serve his country. He was always goal-oriented until the very end: even when he was ill he tried to make everyone happy. He was a big fan of writing down his goals and then adding to/subtracting from them. The non-superstars in the NBA did not make a lot of money and it was not 1 of his goals.

He won another gold medal with team USA at the 1959 Pan Am Games in Chicago: how did he like playing with a pair of legends in Oscar Robertson/Jerry West? Similar to playing with Bill/KC, he talked at length about how honored he was to play with Oscar/Jerry. He said that Jerry was 1 of the nicest human beings he ever met. My dad was obviously not in their league but appreciated what they brought to the team. He is very proud of his Chicago roots and I know that it must have been extra-special for him to win a gold medal there.

After retiring from basketball he started his own chain of tire stores, then became a lawyer for his stores, and started a foundation to raise money for national parks: how was he able to have so much off-court success after having so much on-court success? He and his brothers came up with a business plan to start a tire company in the Bay Area. He went to law school on nights/weekends and became an attorney while running a business and being a great father/husband. He was 1 of those guys who set some lofty goals and accomplished them all: it was pretty unbelievable! He did not like to talk about himself unless it would help the lives of others.

He passed away in 2014: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? I believe they would call him the ultimate team guy. He had a great work ethic and was huge on practice. He was no-nonsense and made everyone else around him better.

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The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews 1996 Olympic gold medalist Bobby Cremins

Posted on July 4, 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 Bobby Cremins about helping lead team USA to a gold medal in 1996. Today is his 73rd birthday so allow us to be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

(photo credit: kronozio.com)

The 1996 Olympics took place in Atlanta: was there extra pressure for team USA to win it all since they were the “home team”? We never felt any pressure until the championship game against Yugoslavia. It was a close game for a while until we busted it open. We were certainly expected to win and the foreign teams were not supposed to be good enough to beat us but you got the sense that they were getting better. Russia was divided back then, as was Yugoslavia, which really hurt them.

The team was led by Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? As a college coach I spent much of my time watching. Lenny let them play and was not a control freak, which all of the guys respected. There were some rumors of partying going on every night until 5AM so he had a talk with the guys and explained that they had to take it seriously.

Even though Don Nelson’s “Dream Team II” won the 1994 World Championships with a winning margin of more than 37 PPG, their style of taunting/intimidating their opponents led USA Basketball Selection Committee President CM Newton to vow that the 1996 Olympic team would be “a squad with character, not characters”: were there any concerns about having a team with so many new guys who had not played in 1992 or 1994? No: I had not heard about those concerns. We had a high-character team in 1996.

They were nicknamed “Dream Team III” and included 5 players from the original Dream Team (Charles Barkley/Karl Malone/Scottie Pippen/John Stockton/David Robinson): how important was it to have 5 guys who had already won a gold medal? I thought that it was very important. Stockton/Malone together was a no-brainer since they were teammates in Utah. I knew Robinson from the 1986 World Games and knew Barkley from working with Nike.

You were 1 of 3 assistant coaches along with Clem Haskins/Jerry Sloan: how did you get the job, and how did you all decide who was going to do what? I was Lute Olson’s assistant at the World Games in 1986. I was at the Final 4 one year and going down an escalator when Newton saw me and said he needed me to coach a world qualifying team in Mexico City. We trained for a few days, got upset in Mexico City, and after the game Newton and Dave Gavitt met me in the hotel bar and said we needed to finish 3rd in order to qualify for the 1988 Olympics. USA Basketball started including college coaches in 1992 with guys like PJ Carlesimo/Mike Krzyzewski, which is how Clem Haskins/I got picked in 1996. Clem and I knew our place: Lenny/Jerry knew the NBA and we did not so I did whatever Lenny told me to do. The 4 of us would go to dinner together every night, then Lenny/Clem would walk back to the hotel and Jerry/I would go have a drink at a bar. My 1 mistake was asking Lenny 1 day if he wanted me to officiate, and he said that would be a great idea. It turned out to be 1 of the worst decisions in my life: even in a scrimmage the players’ pride was on the line. Malone almost took my head off because he thought that I was giving Barkley all the calls and I had to get Jerry to protect me. We were in Orlando when they finally brought in some international officials: I felt like the weight of the world was off my back, especially after Karl started yelling at 1 of the international refs on the 1st day! I was a bit of a gofer (including tasks like getting tee times for the players) but I enjoyed it. We were like a rock band that was worshiped everywhere we went: I was along for the ride and just tried not to screw it up.

I just saw a team photo: (photo credit: clutchpoints.com)

who on earth came up with the shirts that you had to wear, and did they look that bad in person?! We took a lot of pride in wearing USA on our chests. That is when we all came together and realized that we were representing our country: it was serious stuff. We knew that we had the talent to win the gold medal and the only thing that could beat us was ourselves. We met famous people every day such as Nelson Mandela. The bombing was also significant: we were across the street in the hotel but did not hear it go off. Someone called my room to make sure I was okay and a couple of days later the team gathered to meet the daughter of 1 of the bombing victims. They talked to her and it was a beautiful thing to see: I was really proud of them.

In your 133-70 win over China you set a record for the most PTS ever scored by a US Olympic basketball team: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot your team put up seemed to go in because everyone was “in the zone”? Not really: China was just not that good and we overpowered them. When we marched in the opening ceremonies and reached the place where we would stand everyone mobbed the players for their autographs. China was in a bit of shock and I felt bad for them: it is what I would call a mismatch.

In the gold medal game against Yugoslavia you only had a 1-PT lead with 14 minutes left before cruising to a 95-69 win: what are your memories of the crowd (an Olympic men’s basketball record 34,600), and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? Shaq was not guarding their big man so they just stayed outside and shot threes and the score got a little uncomfortable. Lenny made a great move after deciding to go small. Yugoslavia was playing a zone defense and taking away Shaq’s inside game so we put in Mitch Richmond/Reggie Miller, moved Pippen to the 4 and put David at the 5. It worked to perfection because Pippen was tremendously quick on the baseline. The big lineup with Shaq/Karl/Olajuwon was just not working that day. Mitch/Reggie were unbelievable outside shooters so we got up big and then relaxed a bit. David was a great shooter and Penny also had a good game. It was unbelievable to see that many people all cheering “USA, USA”. Assistant coaches did not get medals so we were not even part of the ceremony but that did not bother me.

You faced several legendary players during your 8 wins: which opponent impressed you the most (Vlade Divac/Andrew Gaze/Toni Kukoc/Arvydas Sabonis/Oscar Schmidt)? Oscar. I had coached against him in the qualifying games so he was a little older by 1996 but was still a great player. The other guys you mentioned were also good but none of them were good enough to carry their team. We were favored by 50 PTS in every single game. I have known Krzyzewski a long time and he is a great coach…but even he had a couple of games where he was feeling some pressure.

Team USA has not lost a game since winning the bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics: do you think that they will ever lose again, and do you think that they should go back to assembling the team by using college players? It is too late to go back to college players. I hated it when they changed to pro players but now it is pro all the way. There is no doubt in my mind that some foreign teams could beat a team of college players now. If an international team can put a few NBA players together it might be a different ballgame and in 1 game anything can happen.

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