The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews 1956 Olympic gold medalist Chuck Darling

Posted on June 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 Chuck Darling about becoming a Phi Beta Kappa and winning a gold medal in 1956.

In the fall of 1945 you were a 6’2” high school player but after growing 6” in 6 months you became a 6’8” all-state center: how much of an advantage was your size on the court? I had a great coach: I was 2nd-string as 6’2” but he adjusted the team as I grew. There was a narrow lane back then so he put me under the basket and my main thing was rebounding. I was very fortunate to not lose my coordination as I grew taller.

You went to high school in Montana/Colorado: what made you choose Iowa? I had many ties: I was born in Denison, IA, my dad went to graduate school there, and all of my mom’s relatives were from there. I was very impressed by the Big 10 as well.

As a junior you had 17.6 RPG, which remains a school record 70 years later: what is the key to being a great rebounder? Getting position: you also need an intuitive sense of where the ball will go. Jumping/timing is also critical.

You finished your career as a unanimous all-American, Big 10 MVP, and Phi Beta Kappa: how were you able to balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? I took some physics courses over the summer so that the labs would not interfere with basketball practice. I would study during road trips and enjoyed both school and basketball because they came fairly easily to me.

In the spring of 1952 you were drafted 8th overall by Rochester (1 spot ahead of Clyde Lovellette): why did you choose the AAU over the NBA, and do you have any regrets? I was not interested in playing pro basketball at the time and the salary was lower back then. I preferred to be a geologist and was impressed with the Phillips organization so I have no regrets at all.

You were a 3-time AAU All-American with the Phillips 66ers from 1954-1956 and a 2-time MVP of the National Industrial League: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? I was really pleased to be recognized for my contributions to the team. I did not go after individual honors and just tried to play the best that I could.

On April 4, 1956 in the final round of the Olympic tryouts in Kansas City you had 21 PTS/10 REB in a 4-PT win over the College All-Stars, who included your own college coach (Bucky O’Connor) and an All-American named Bill Russell (your future Olympic teammate had 19 PTS/7 REB): how were you able to outplay Russell, and what did Coach O’Connor say to you after the game? I did not really talk to Bucky after the game. I had the best half against Bill that I ever played. My assignment was to mainly keep him off the boards: he could out-jump me so I just focused on positioning. I scored 19 PTS in the 1st half even though it was not in the game plan but only 2 PTS in the 2nd half after they adjusted their defense.

You won a gold medal with team USA at the 1956 Olympics: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? It was a fantastic experience. I remember meeting a lot of other players at the opening ceremony, which was awe-inspiring. The games were easy because we were such a dominant team with a lot of talent: we could put any of our 5 on the court and play well. Winning a gold medal was 1 of the biggest thrills of my life.

After retiring from basketball you became a senior exploration geologist for a division of Phillips Petroleum: how did you get into the business, and how did you like it? I had wanted to be a geologist since I was in the Boy Scouts: I was fascinated with rocks and got a merit badge. I spent time in London and Egypt with Phillips.

You played sports well into your 80s, competing in the World Senior Games in discus/shot put/volleyball: which sport were you best at, and which sport did you enjoy the most? Basketball, by far. I liked baseball as a kid in Montana but my school did not have a team so I got into discus/shot put, which I also did in college. I enjoyed the camaraderie at the Senior Games an did it for about 15 years in Utah.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews 1956 Olympic gold medalist Chuck Darling

The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Joe Dalfonso about 1988 Olympic bronze medalist Hersey Hawkins

Posted on June 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 of 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 former Bradley SID Joe Dalfonso about Hersey Hawkins scoring 63 PTS in a game and winning a bronze medal in 1988. Today marks the 24th anniversary of Hersey scoring 4 PTS for Seattle in a loss to Chicago in Game 6 of the 1996 NBA Finals.

Hersey was born/raised in Chicago: what made him choose Bradley? The reason he came to Bradley was Coach Dick Versace, who had been here since 1978. He recruited Hersey because even though he was a center Dick was the only 1 who told him that he could play the 2-guard in college. I think it came down to us and Illinois State.

On February 22, 1988, he scored a career-high 63 PTS in a win at Detroit, which remains tied for the 10th-best scoring effort against a D-1 opponent in history: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? The true story is that I was not there and that was the only game of his that I ever missed! It was a non-conference game at Detroit and we were hosting the MVC tourney that year so I was just swamped with tourney-prep work. I told my assistant to go to the game in my place…and then I listened on the radio as Hersey scored 63 PTS. He scored 40+ PTS a few times so I had seen other nights like that.

In the 1988 NCAA tourney he had 44 PTS/6-8 3PM/10 REB/6 AST/3 STL/2 BLK in a 4-PT loss to Auburn: where does that rank among the best all-around games of his career? That has to be right up in the top-3. When we arrived in Atlanta he was front-page center of the local newspaper with the headline “Top Gun”. He was the nation’s leading scorer so everyone knew about him and he had a tremendous game. We had the ball down by 2 PTS late before turning the ball over.

He led the nation with 36.3 PPG as a senior and his 3008 career PTS remains #10 in NCAA history: what was his secret for being a great scorer? When you looked at him during a game you could not tell if we were up 10 or down 10. He had the same demeanor and never got too excited: he was like an assassin and played way bigger than 6’3”. After Dick resigned our new coach Stan Albeck (a Bradley alum) had an offense that promoted scoring. Our president did not want to bring in a new coach during June so we gave Stan a 5-year contract and instituted an NBA offense that was built around Hawk. He made 55% of his shots so why would you not give him the ball?!

He finished that season by being named All-American/national POY: what did it mean to him to receive such outstanding honors? It is hard to speak for him but he was pretty low-key about everything: he just cared about what time practice was starting. He was interviewed just about every single day during the final month of his college career: he would come into my office at 2:30PM and I would dial up whoever was next on the list. It was just like having another class for him.

In the summer of 1988 he was drafted 6th overall by the Clippers (1 spot behind Mitch Richmond) and then traded to the 76ers: what did it mean to him to get drafted, and what did it mean to him to get traded? We were all anticipating him being drafted high but he did not care where he went: I had some ex-FBI guys show up in my office to see if there were any skeletons in his closet. He later came back here to play an exhibition game.

That September he played for team USA at the Olympics: what did it mean to him to represent his country, and do you think that the US would have won a gold medal had he not suffered an injury before a 6-PT loss to the Soviet Union in the semifinals? It is hypothetical but you always would like to have a healthy Hersey on his side. He always rose to the occasion and considered the Olympics just another tourney. That was the last of our Olympic teams with college players before the Dream Team came along in 1992. When he was in the NBA Finals with Seattle in 1996 he had some very good games against Michael Jordan and the Bulls.

In 1989 he averaged 15.1 PPG and was named to the All-Rookie 1st team: how was he able to make such a smooth transition from college to the pros? It was definitely due to the up-and-down system we ran under Stan. It was not run-and-gun but run-under-control as we averaged 92 PPG.

His career 87 FT% remains top-35 in NBA history and his 1622 career STL remains top-30 in NBA history: how did he balance his shooting with his defense? He was a terrific athlete who played baseball as a youth and could do just about anything on a basketball court. He led us in STL for 3 years but was also a great passer/rebounder.

He did not miss more than 3 games in a season during each of his 1st 11 years in the NBA: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? People have forgotten how good he really was and what he did. Some college teams these days struggle to score 60 PPG and he scored more than 36 PPG himself as a senior. I did not see Chet Walker play here but the 2 of them are the best in school history. He was a Hall of Famer in every category and is a great guy.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Joe Dalfonso about 1988 Olympic bronze medalist Hersey Hawkins

The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Filip Bondy about 3-time Olympic medalist Larry Brown

Posted on June 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 former NBA beat writer Filip Bondy about Larry Brown winning a gold medal in 1964 as a player, a gold medal in 2000 as an assistant coach, and a bronze medal in 2004 as head coach. Today marks the 16th anniversary of Larry winning the 2004 NBA Finals as head coach of Detroit.

 (photo credit: nba.com)

Larry was born/raised in New York: what made him choose North Carolina, and how did he like playing for a pair of Hall of Fame coaches in Frank McGuire/Dean Smith? I do not know what specifically led him there but it was an attractive place for any ballplayer to go: great program, great campus, etc. That was the dream job that he never got: he wanted to succeed Dean Smith but the timing never worked out. He fell in love with the whole aura but never got that job.

He played for team USA in the 1964 Olympics, was an assistant coach in 2000, and was head coach in 2004: what did it mean to him to win a pair of gold medals, and what did it mean to him to win a bronze medal? I can only tell you how disappointing the bronze medal was. Team USA was expected to win everything and had only lost 2 games in Olympic history (both to Russia) before the 2004 Olympics…and then they lost 3 games in 2004! He did not get along with Stephon Marbury and the team did not play defense that well. Tim Duncan was the captain, Dwyane Wade was close to his peak, and they had a young LeBron James. It was more about losing the gold/silver than winning the bronze.

He was an All-Star each year from 1968-1970 (including MVP of the inaugural ABA All-Star Game in 1968) and his 6.7 career APG remains #1 in ABA history: how was he able to be so successful despite playing for 3 different teams in 3 years, and what made him such a great PG? He was the ultimate unselfish player but the ABA was a very volatile league. It was not unusual to be traded around like that: the Nets could not even hold onto Julius Erving! As a coach later on he expected his own PGs to be similarly unselfish.

In the 1980 NCAA tourney title game as coach at UCLA Rod Foster had 16 PTS/6 STL in a 5-PT loss to Louisville: how close did he come to winning a title in his very 1st year in Westwood while starting 2 freshmen, and where does that rank among the most devastating losses of his career? It hurt terribly, and he then proceeded to make a terrible career error by joining the New Jersey Nets. Part of it was his marriage and part of it was that he was going to make a lot more money. In retrospect I think that he regretted leaving UCLA and should have stuck around at least another year.

In the 1988 NCAA tourney as national COY at Kansas tourney MOP Danny Manning had 31 PTS/13-24 FG/18 REB/5 STL in a 4-PT upset of Oklahoma: did the Jayhawks have a home-court advantage in Kansas City, and what did it mean to him to win a title against a conference rival who had beaten him twice during the regular season? It did not matter who it was against: he hired Danny Manning’s father as his assistant coach and then he rode his franchise player to a title. That was Larry’s big moment, maybe even bigger than winning an NBA title with the Pistons. He loved his “kids”, as he always called them. He did not enjoy the recruiting part but I think that 1988 title was the highlight of his coaching career.

In the 2004 NBA Finals as coach of the Pistons he beat the Lakers to become the only coach to win an NCAA title and an NBA title: how on earth was he able to beat a team that featured Kobe Bryant/Karl Malone/Shaquille O’Neal/Gary Payton/Phil Jackson in his very 1st year in Detroit? Most people will tell you that 2004 was his greatest year of coaching. His team lacked marquee power but to his credit he brought them together and made them gel. He has achieved so much in his career despite making so many stupid moves: after that title he landed with the Knicks but he did not look closely enough at the mess that the franchise/ownership was. There was money involved and the chance to come home: not everyone from New York wants to live in Detroit.

In 2002 he was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame and in 2006 he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame: where do those rank among the highlights of his career? They are up there but I have never talked to him specifically about it. I think it would be more of a snub if he was not inducted but I do not think that he ranks them up there with his on-court achievements. He was a guy who just could not stop coaching: he went everywhere to keep coaching despite many health problems that he was battling. He needed that adrenaline and needed to feel relevant by teaching kids how to play basketball.

He remains the only coach in NBA history to lead 8 different teams to the playoffs (Denver/New Jersey/San Antonio/LA Clippers/Indiana/Philly/Detroit/Charlotte): why did he keep changing teams, and how was he able to have so much success in so many different cities? When you are Larry Brown you get to pick and choose where you are going to some extent so you can select the best places but sometimes he overreached. The Knicks were a complete/utter failure for him as well as for many other coaches (Lenny Wilkes/Don Nelson/etc.). His reputation took a hit but he was usually smart enough to find up-and-coming teams with potential.

He has an amazing coaching tree that includes John Calipari/Billy Cunningham/Gregg Popovich/Doc Rivers/Bill Self: what made him such a great mentor, and what role does that play in his legacy? I think it is a pretty good coaching tree. He was good at building relationships but was a warmer person than someone like Hubie Brown. His assistants/players felt that for the most part and he was a father figure to them. The Calipari relationship did not end well but most of his others did.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews Filip Bondy about 3-time Olympic medalist Larry Brown

The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews 1976 Olympic silver medalist Trish Roberts

Posted on June 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 Trish Roberts about winning a silver medal in 1976 and being inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. Today is her birthday so let us be the 1st to wish her a happy 1!

You played 1 year at North Georgia College, 2 years at Emporia State, and 1 year at Tennessee: why did you keep switching schools, and how big a deal was it to become the Lady Vols’ 1st-ever African-American player for Pat Summitt? My coach at North Georgia left after my 1st year and went to Emporia State so some other players and I followed her there. 2 years later my coach left Emporia State while I was at the Olympics: I did not even find out until I was abroad. I met Pat Summitt when we were Olympic teammates and I did not even realize that she was the head coach at Tennessee. I mentioned to another teammate that I was looking to transfer, Pat heard about it, and I ended up in Knoxville. It was a big deal at the time and it took Pat a few more years to recruit another African-American player.

What made Pat such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from her? Just her love for the game: even during the Olympics she spent more time with the coaches then with the players so she could soak up as much knowledge as possible. When we got to Tennessee she explained that our relationship was changing from being teammates to being player/coach. She pushed me harder than anyone else and got the most out of me.

In your very 1st game at Stokely Athletic Center in November of 1976 you set school records with 51 PTS/20 REB in a game against Kentucky: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Yes! I was excited about playing there so I just wanted to go out and show everyone why I made the Olympic team. The score was something like 107-53 so the headline the next day was that I almost outscored the entire Wildcat team by myself! It seemed like everything I threw up went in: it was a fairly easy game. We played a lot of our games at Alumni Gym but not that 1.

You played for team USA at the 1976 Olympics: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a silver medal? It meant a lot to me. My coach at Emporia State took me to the tryout for the 1975 Pan Am Games in Albuquerque. I made it all the way to the last cut and Coach Alberta Cox saw how upset I was. She told me that I was a really good ballplayer but that I needed to put on some more weight and gain some more experience. She said I could become good enough to make the Olympic team the following year and that stuck with me so every day the following season I spent a lot of time in the gym. I would run down there between classes to take some shots and would play pick-up games with the guys each weekend. Nobody thought that I would make the team but when tryouts came around in 1976 I was ready. After getting cut in 1975 I played in a summer league in California with several other women who made the league…and I was voted MVP! A local paper did a story on me dominating the league: UCLA coach Billie Moore read the article and then came over to watch several of my games because she was going to be the Olympic coach in 1976.

In 1977 you averaged 29.9 PPG/14.2 RPG/65 FG% while becoming the 1st Kodak All-American in Tennessee history: how were you able to balance your scoring with your rebounding? I do not know: I was the tallest player on the team so it was just natural. We had a very good PG in Holly Warlick who came to Tennessee on a track scholarship. She was very quick and could dish the ball but could not make a layup so if I saw her shooting then I would fill the lane to get the REB/put-back because I knew that she was going to miss. I padded my stats off of Holly and probably got 6-8 PPG off of her misses: at her retirement celebration I told her that I had her to thank for that!

In the 1977 AIAW Final 4 you had a 4-PT loss to Delta State: how close did you come to beating the eventual champs? I had to guard my Olympic teammate Lusia Harris and it was just devastating to lose: I went into a bathroom stall because I did not want anyone to hear me bawling. I have never been more upset to lose a ballgame: we were 4 PTS away from winning the 1st title in school history. Delta State won the title game over LSU by 13 PTS and we won the consolation game over Immaculata by 20 PTS.

That summer you won a silver medal with team USA at the World University Games along with future Hall of Famers Carol Blazejowski/Ann Meyers: how good was that Soviet team that beat you twice by 17+ PTS? It was a different team/coach/philosophy than we had during the Olympics the previous summer. It was very disappointing for me. As long as the Soviets had 7’2” Uljana Semjonova they were going to dominate: nobody could guard her. It was not just her: they had a very tall team.

In 2000 you were inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and in 2017 you were named an SEC’s Women’s Legend: where do those rank among the highlights of your career? The Hall of Fame induction was phenomenal: after that I was inducted into a couple of other Halls of Fame. In 2016 I went into the Georgia Hall of Fame in my home state along with a class including Chipper Jones/Hines Ward: I could not believe it.

As head coach at Agnes Scott College in 2015 you beat #1-seed Finlandia in the conference tourney: how on earth were you able to overcome a 15-PT deficit in the final 4 minutes? I should have stopped coaching after leaving Maine and winning a conference title/making the Women’s NIT in 1989. I went to Michigan in 1992, which was probably the worst move of my coaching career. Pat called me after I got the job and due to our relationship she told me that she would not recruit any players from the state of Michigan while I was there. After 4 years of recruiting the best in-state players we had everything in place to have a great team but they gave me the boot in 1996. My replacement did really well and I was very happy for the players. I took some time off and then the Senior Women’s Administrator at Stony Brook called me up in 1999: I told her that I was not interested but I agreed to come to New York to meet with her in person anyway. She asked me what it would take to get me to become their coach so I sent her an email with some ridiculous requests like new locker rooms and a 6-figure salary…at a D-2 school! She called me the next day and they met my demands so I spent 5 years there. They brought in a new athletic director after my 4th year and we just clashed. After resigning I went back to school to finish my masters’ degree at Central Michigan. I lived down the road from Agnes Scott in Decatur, GA: when they contacted me I only planned to stay 1 year but ended up staying 5 years. Of all my years in coaching that was the hardest job: I had to do everything myself until finally getting a grad assistant. I called timeout toward the end of the Finlandia game and told the team that it was all on them. I put my 3 quickest guards in the game, told them to go after the ball, and we just pressed them the rest of the game. The stands were full and the crowd was electric. I am now retired and have been enjoying life.

When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I spent a lot of time at Tennessee last year supporting Holly: she even had me speak to the team. I want to be remembered as someone who started it all at Tennessee: nobody had ever heard of the program until I transferred in. We went 28-5 in my 1 year there and made the Final 4. Had I not done so much then I just would have been a fly-by-night player but as an Olympian/All-American I still hold a few records there. I am on the board of Directors for LOB, Inc. (which celebrates the historical relevance and ongoing contributions of the Women’s Basketball League): someone asked me if my jersey had been retired by Tennessee and I said no. I was a person who came to Tennessee and jump-started that legacy. People in Knoxville do not always recognize me when I am in town but it would be nice to eventually receive some love.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews 1976 Olympic silver medalist Trish Roberts

The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews 2-time Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Gillom

Posted on June 13, 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 Jennifer Gillom about winning a gold medal as a player in 1988 and winning another gold medal as an assistant coach in 2012. Today is her birthday so let us be the 1st to wish her a happy 1!

You graduated from Lafayette County High School with 3006 career PTS and were named 1982 Mississippi high school POY: what made you choose Ole Miss, and how did you like playing for Hall of Fame Coach Van Chancellor? My sister Peggie was an assistant coach there, which was the main reason I ended up there. I liked Coach Chancellor and had been to basketball camps there in the past. It turned out to be a great decision.

In the 1983 NCAA tourney you had a 7-PT 3-OT loss to Tennessee: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It might be in the top-5 but that did not stay in my mind as long as some of the others did. The freshest 1 is my mind is the loss to Texas when they were 34-0. We had a team that was capable of making some noise in the Final 4 so that 1 was more heartbreaking.

In the 1986 NCAA tourney you had 25 PTS/10 REB in a 3-PT loss to eventual champion Texas: how close did you come to ruining their undefeated season? It was 1 of the biggest crowds I have ever played in front of and it was amazing to get a standing ovation. We had the ball with about 8 seconds left and our coach told us to clear out and just let our PG bring the ball up. For some odd reason she picked up the ball while we were all farther down the court, and the Longhorns stole it and made a layup to win the game.

In 1986 you were named SEC Female Athlete of the Year/All-American: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? Sometimes you win awards and wonder whether you were that good: I never considered myself a top athlete but that was the moment that I realized that I had accomplished something. I was presented the award along with an Auburn football player named Bo Jackson and it was just like “Wow, I have really done something here”!

You were a 4-time 1st-team All-SEC selection: how were you able to remain so dominant throughout your college career? I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates as well as to Coach Chancellor. He always emphasized that we had to get the ball to the star of the team. I had some great teammates but they made the sacrifices to get me open and then get me the ball.

You graduated as the #2 all-time leading scorer in school history with 2186 PTS: what made your sister Peggie (2486 PTS) such a great player and what was it like to have her as your assistant coach? They used to call her the “Black Hole” because once the ball went into her it never came out! She was a go-to player and I always admired her as a great shooter. She set the bar very high and the fact that I wanted to be better than her made me play even better.

You played for team USA at the 1988 Olympics and were an assistant for them 24 years later at the 2012 Olympics: what did it mean to you to win a pair of gold medals? That was always a dream of mine dating back to junior high school when 1 of my coaches asked me what I wanted to be. I was not aware that women could play pro basketball so the main goal I thought that I could reach was the Olympics. When it finally came true I could not believe it because it was an honor just to be considered as 1 of the best players in the world…but winning it all was even better!

In 2000 you created the Gillom Sports Center for Women’s Athletics at Ole Miss that was named for you and your sister: why is it so important for female athletes to have such a place on campus? It shows that if you put your mind to achieving a dream then anything can happen. We never thought that we would have a building named after us, especially knowing the history of the school: it is 1 of the biggest honors that could ever happen to us. Most people do not get to see such a thing while they are alive and I hope it sets a standard across the country. For 2 small-town country girls it is simply incredible.

In 2009 you were inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? That probably ranks highest of all. I thought it might take a couple of decades before I was mentioned in that company so it came as a surprise to me.

You previously worked as an assistant coach of the Connecticut Sun: how did you like the job, and what do you hope to do in the future? It is a great organization: I love my career and getting to help develop a lot of young players. It is a very professional group and they gave us whatever we needed to succeed so I was grateful for the opportunity. I do not know what will happen in the future but Connecticut was 1 of the best teams that I ever worked for.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews 2-time Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Gillom

The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews 1960 Olympic gold medalist Jerry West

Posted on June 12, 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 Jerry West about playing for arguably the best amateur basketball team of all-time and winning a gold medal in 1960. Today marks the 3rd anniversary of Golden State winning the 2017 NBA Finals over Cleveland while Jerry was a team executive for the Warriors.

You joined Oscar Robertson and several other future Olympic teammates (Bob Boozer/Burdie Haldorson/Adrian Smith) to win a gold medal with team USA at the 1959 Pan Am Games: how crucial was your experience in 1959 to your success in 1960? I did not think that much about it. Growing up in West Virginia I was deprived of some information but I really admired Oscar in college. The weather that summer in Chicago was stifling and I recall not being able to sleep very well. I was most surprised at how physical the games were. We were 20-21 year-olds thrown together and playing against veteran teams who also wanted to win. Nationalism was pretty high so it was thrilling to win for our country. The gym was like an oven with no air conditioning: I was drenched even before the games started!

You made the Olympic team in 1960 after winning an 8-team tournament as part of the College All-Stars: how did you feel about having some AAU/Armed Forces players on the team rather than some other college stars such as John Havlicek/Lenny Wilkens? The way they assembled the team back then was very different than today. I am unsure why those 2 were not included because I do not know how the selection process went, although many of those AAU teams had very accomplished college players. There had never been a College All-Star team who had won anything so the odds were against us. We had a bunch of truly great players who were committed to winning, and Coach Pete Newell assembled a bunch of different personalities into a great team. I did not score a lot the 1st night and was really despondent but Pete called me and said not to worry because everything would be fine. In the final game I scored around 40 PTS but went back to my hotel room still not knowing if I would make it. When Pete called me to say I made it, at that point of my life it was my proudest moment by far.

What made Pete such a great coach, and what the most important thing that you ever learned from him? He was a defensive coach and for him to let us play the kind of game that would let us do our best was an adjustment for him. It almost forced him to do something that was unnatural for him: he had to change some of his offensive principles.

You and Oscar were co-captains of team USA in 1960: what is the key to being a good leader? Everyone is different but back then I was very quiet and did not say a word so I just led by example. If your best players are playing harder than everyone else then they will certainly drive the rest of the team. The AAU guys were older and their backgrounds were different because they were preparing to have a professional career while we were still just amateurs. It was a thrill to be a co-captain.

What was it like to play with Darrall Imhoff after losing to him and his Cal team in the 1959 NCAA title game (even though you were named tourney MOP)? Darrall was a really nice guy and we both liked to hunt/fish so we had a lot in common: it was part of my childhood. We later had many friends in common while playing together on the Lakers.

You scored a game-high 19 PTS in a win over the Soviet Union: where does 7’3”, 320-pound Soviet center Janis Krumins rank among the biggest opponents you ever faced? They were a HUGE team: it was not just him. If you are quicker and have great anticipation then it is easier to go out there and feel like you have an advantage. It was an unbelievably dirty game: someone hit Walt Bellamy and he got kicked out for retaliating. The teams had 2 different ideologies and there was so much tension in the world so to go out and beat the big bad Russian machine was good, even though we did not play our best game.

You ended up beating Brazil in the final game: 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 proudest moment of my life: I never thought that I would have a chance to represent my country or win a gold medal. Growing up I had my dreams/imagination but there was nobody encouraging me. I grew up in a very abusive household where I was the target of it. My will/determination were important to me and nobody around me had accomplished anything like that in my small town where coal mines dominated the area. My work ethic has carried me throughout my life: if I was going to dig a ditch then I would dig it better than anyone else. Hard work is a skill, which is what drove me. The thing I learned early on is what happens if someone wants you bad enough: it was crazy to see how many other schools were interested in me due to my skills.

You won all 8 of your games by an average of 42.4 PPG and your team is considered to be 1 of if not the best amateur basketball teams of all time: did your team just have more talent than everyone else or was there another factor that made your team so dominant? We had better players but it is important to not have duplicate players. We had guys who came off the bench and did different things besides score. We did not play very many minutes: I was lucky to play 22 MPG because we were just murdering teams. Pete was really good at putting people together as a team.

In 2010 the team was inducted into the Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? I was also selected as a player in 1980 but it was nice to see the guys who were still alive 50 years after we played in the Olympics. It was a nice way to honor a truly great team. As you get older you have memories: I am a history buff so to go there and see the ancient ruins reminded me how advanced the Roman Empire was with their streets/aqueducts/cobblestones/Colosseum/etc. They were far ahead of the other countries in the world at that time and it was great to be there. I had not really traveled before so it was more than special.

When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? What I did was a gift/by-product of hard work and my dreams. I cannot control what other people think about me but I hope that they view me as a great teammate, a giver rather than a taker, and someone who truly helped other people. The facilities/rules have changed and I wonder what my career would have been like if I had people back then helping me rather than having to do it all myself. Anticipation is the greatest gift an athlete can have.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews 1960 Olympic gold medalist Jerry West