Going for the Gold: HoopsHD interviews 2019 USA Basketball U19 World Cup team finalist Jeremiah Robinson-Earl

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Jon Teitel

For those of you who cannot wait until Midnight Madness tips off this fall, you can see the stars of tomorrow in a couple of weeks at the FIBA U19 World Cup. Featuring the best basketball players in the world ages 19 and younger, the USA will try to return to its gold medal ways after winning the bronze medal in 2017 with an assortment of talent that included Carsen Edwards/Romeo Langford/Cam Reddish. 1 of this year’s finalists to make the USA roster is Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who won a gold medal at the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship last summer, led IMG Academy to a win over Oak Hill Academy in the Hoophall Classic last January, and was named MVP of the GEICO high school national finals in April. Team USA will head to Greece later this month for the U19 World Cup, but before they do HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Jeremiah about choosing Villanova for college and winning a gold medal.

You grew up in Kansas and won 3 straight state titles at Bishop Miege High School: what did it mean to you to win a state title year after year after year? It means a lot and proved that the work I put in has shown on the court. It is great to have a winning mentality, which I also got from winning a gold medal last year.

You have many relatives who served in the military: what kind of value does your family place on serving your country? It is not something that I think about every day but it is important to represent team USA with all of my energy and give it everything that I got.

Your father Lester played basketball at LSU/Kansas and then professionally overseas: who is the best athlete in the family? I would have to go with him as far as an athlete with all of the dunking/jumping…but I would choose myself as the best overall player.

Last October you signed with Villanova (over Arizona/Kansas/North Carolina/Notre Dame): what made you choose the Wildcats, and how hard was it to turn down both your father’s alma mater (Kansas) and his former coach (UNC coach Roy Williams)? Their coaching staff is all-in as to what they do. They were all calling/texting me during the year, which I respected. It was not too hard to tell the other coaches of my decision: they appreciated me telling them in advance so it was not too bad. My dad did not push me to go anywhere, which also helped.

You are 6’9”: what position did you play in high school, and what position do you expect to play in college? I was mainly the biggest guy in Kansas City but stretched the floor more at IMG Academy. Villanova has a position-less offense so I feel that I can fit in by both stretching the floor and going inside.

In January at the Hoophall Classic you had 18 PTS/26 REB in a 5-PT win over Oak Hill Academy: what is your secret for being a great rebounder? Just going after the ball every single time. I feel that I am a smart player and know where the ball will come off the rim so I just try to be patient and have good timing and then go after it.

In March at the McDonald’s All-American Game you scored 13 PTS for the West in a loss to the East: which of your fellow honorees impressed you the most (Precious Achiuwa/Cole Anthony/Oscar Tshiebwe/other)? That is a hard question because they are all so great at what they do. I do not remember anyone standing out: everyone in that game was 1 of the best.

Villanova has another incoming McDonald’s All-American in Bryan Antoine: how often do you 2 talk, and what makes him such a great player? We talk all the time and have been on campus together since last week. He is a great shooter, very athletic, and can spread the floor to allow the rest of us to drive.

2 of your teammates at IMG Academy (Josh Green/Armando Bacot) were also McDonald’s All-Americans: how dominant was your squad en route to winning the GEICO high school national finals in April (you were named MVP with 18 PTS/7 REB/6 AST/0 TO)? We were really dominant but we also had a great relationship off the court that allowed us to play better together on the court.

You played for team USA at the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship and now you are a finalist for the 2019 U19 Championship team: what did it mean to you to win a gold medal last year, and how is the team looking this year? It meant the world to me to win a gold medal: there are only a select few who can say that. I feel that it is going really well this summer: we will have the next cut in a couple of days and then put a team on the floor that will try to win the gold medal.

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Happy Draft-iversary!: HoopsHD interviews Jeff Washburn about 1994 1st overall pick Glenn Robinson

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Jon Teitel

With the 2019 NBA draft taking place this week, we will spend the days ahead taking a walk down memory lane with a choice collection of players who are celebrating an awesome anniversary this year. From a future Hall of Famer selected 2nd overall in 1959 (60th anniversary) through a conference POY picked in the 2nd round in 2009 (10th anniversary), these stars have all seen their dreams come true in past drafts. We continue our series with Indiana Hall of Fame sportswriter Jeff Washburn about Purdue legend Glenn Robinson, who led the nation in scoring in 1994 en route to being named national POY. After being drafted 1st overall by Milwaukee a few months later he signed the richest rookie contract ever and won a title with San Antonio in 2005. Jeff passed away in 2017 but HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with him about Glenn’s career a few years ago and is proud to present this never-before-published interview in recognition of the 25th anniversary of Glenn getting drafted.

In the 1991 Indiana state playoffs as a senior at Gary Roosevelt High School Robinson made the game-winning shot in double-OT of the regionals, made the game-winning shot in the semifinals, and scored 22 PTS to help beat Alan Henderson’s Brebeuf Jesuit team to win the state title: what did it mean to him to win the title? I covered most of those games and the match-up with Henderson was a big deal at the time: I remember him beating Henderson’s team pretty handily in the RCA Dome. Glenn’s team was really good and plowed roughshod through most of the opposition.

In the 1991 McDonald’s All-American Game he scored 20 PTS for the West while teammate Chris Webber had 28 PTS/12 REB and made a tomahawk dunk in the final seconds for a 2-PT win over the East: could you tell even back then that the “Fab 5” was going to do something special at Michigan? Webber was the big piece to that puzzle but Jalen Rose had also carved out a reputation. I thought that they were going to be good at Michigan, but what made them succeed was that their guards were much better than anticipated.

During his recruiting trip to Indiana, Coach Bob Knight allegedly saw his feet propped up in his office while watching some game film and yelled, “Hey, get your feet off the desk!”: is that story true, and how close did he come to becoming a Hoosier? I do not know if that story is true but I do not think he came close at all to becoming a Hoosier. Purdue’s lead recruiter was a guy named Frank Kendrick. Glenn had started attending Gene Keady’s basketball camp while in the 8th grade and Frank and Glenn had hit it off right from the start. Glenn has gotten better over time but back then he was a very guarded person who did not trust a lot of people.

He played for Coach Gene Keady at Purdue but had to redshirt as a freshman: how frustrating was it for him to spend a year on the bench, and what made Keady such a great coach? They had Prop 48 back then and Glenn was only a partial qualifier coming out of high school. I wrote Coach Keady’s biography and I remember him saying how Glenn took that year to grow up both as a player and a student. Glenn was a star from day 1 of his sophomore year: he had a huge game in the season opener (a 4-PT win over UConn). Gene coached 25 years at Purdue and was known for taking under-the-radar guys and making them into great players (like Brad Miller/Brian Cardinal). Keady rarely got elite superstars and Glenn was 1 of the very few he ever had. Glenn was very close to his mother and wanted to play close to home so she could come watch him in person. Keady was all about playing hard and being tough-nosed on defense and not shackling his best players. Bobby Knight got almost everyone he wanted within the state of Indiana but Gene beat Knight in head-to-head games.

What are your memories of the 1993 NCAA tourney (he scored 36 PTS before fouling out in a 6-PT loss to Rhode Island)? Back then they played some 1st round games on campus sites: that game was at Wake Forest. Glenn had a great game but the rest of his team did not play well. Purdue started off that year 12-1 before struggling in conference play. The only senior on the roster was Matt Painter, who is now the Purdue head coach.

As a junior he led the nation in scoring with 30.3 PPG and also had 11.2 RPG, becoming the first player since 1978 to lead the Big 10 in both categories: how did he balance his scoring with his rebounding? He just had a ferocious knack for the basketball. He had a few games where he would get a lot of put-backs after his teammates missed a lot of shots. He would play on the perimeter on offense but he was stationed close to the basket on defense. They had a very smart/savvy team with guys who were sons of coaches and others who later became coaches themselves.

Take me through the 1994 NCAA tourney as a #1 seed:
He scored a tourney-school record 44 PTS in a 5-PT win over Kansas: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? No question about it. That game was at Tennessee and he had a magical game against a good Jayhawk team. I remember vividly that every time Kansas would make a run Glenn would answer with a basket or free throw of his own. That was his breakout game for people who did not watch the Big 10 a lot.

He scored a season-low 13 PTS/6-22 FG in a 9-PT loss to Duke: how painful was the back strain he suffered in the previous game, and do you think that they would have beaten Duke if he was healthy? Purdue got out to a good lead thanks to a good game from Cuonzo Martin, but Duke is Duke and just fought back to win it. It is a hypothetical…but if Glenn could have scored 25 PTS then they probably would have won that game. Purdue fans were very disappointed because they had waited so long to get a player of Glenn’s ability. If they had lost to a lesser ACC team like Florida State then the bitterness would have even been greater but there was less of a sting in losing to Duke.

He was a 2-time All-American and the 1994 national POY: what did it mean to him to win such outstanding honors? As time went on it meant more to him. Glenn was never an outspoken guy like Charles Barkley: he was the master of “coachspeak” by giving credit to his entire team…but that was not always correct. We reflect on things more and put things in better perspective as we get older: he talked about that with me after coming back to watch his son Glenn III play for Michigan on the road in Mackey Arena. I think that it meant a lot to him to be POY because there were a lot of great players in that era.

In the summer of 1994 he was drafted 1st overall by Milwaukee, and after a long contract holdout he signed a 10-year, $68 million deal (from a franchise that at the time was only worth $77 million!) that still stands as the richest rookie contract in NBA history (since a salary cap for rookies was implemented the following season): how long was he willing to hold out for, and what effect did the holdout have on his public perception? A lot of Purdue people hoped Glenn would sign with an agent named Eugene Parker (who was a former Purdue basketball player), but Glenn signed with a guy named Charles Tucker because he had a relationship with some people in Gary who Glenn trusted. Tucker said that the salary landscape was going to change the following year so he did a great job of looking out for Glenn and making sure that he was set for life. I think that Glenn had a reputation of coming from a rough background. I remember all of the 1994 draftees being at the same hotel. Grant Hill was playing some classical music on the piano and sounding very articulate…while Glenn showed up about 30 minutes late and was wearing a white t-shirt. There was a noticeable difference between the 2 rookies, at least in terms of perception.

He was selected for the 1996 Olympic team but was unable to play due to injury: how much did he regret being unable to win a gold medal? I think that he really wanted to play…but not at the risk of being a less-than-great NBA player. Glenn would call Coach Keady for advice even after joining the NBA and Keady was involved with USA Basketball.

He averaged 20+ PPG in 7 of his 8 seasons in Milwaukee, and his 20.7 career PPG remains in the top-50 all-time: do you consider him to be 1 of the best scorers in NBA history? I certainly do: he could always shoot the ball and find ways to score. He played on a lot of unsuccessful teams until joining the Spurs late in his career, and that lack of team success is often a big part of a player’s legacy.

In Game 7 of the 2005 Finals with San Antonio Tim Duncan had 25 PTS/11 REB in a 7-PT win over Detroit to win the title: what did it mean to him to win a title? It was something that he always dreamed of. He was not the go-to guy at that point in his career but it meant a lot to finally win it all after playing on some bad teams and having a lot of injuries.

His son Glenn III was 1 of the best players in the nation at Lake Central High School and is now in the NBA: does he credit at least some of his success to genetics? Certainly: he is much more comfortable around the media and while he is very proud of his father he wanted to go somewhere he could carve his own niche. He can shoot the ball so there will always be a place for him on an NBA roster. Brian Cardinal once told me that the key is the team you land with: if Glenn III can settle in with a franchise who needs a wing that can shoot it then I think he will have a long career and provide some instant offense.

When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? When you arrive at a college with an almost larger-than-life persona in a state that is crazy about college basketball, it is hard to live up to that expectation. However, he almost led his team to a Final 4 and was the national POY so his legacy is that of 1 of the top 2-3 most beloved players in Purdue history. If he had been a little more personable then he might have been considered 1 of the greatest ever (a la Rick Mount). Even so, he had a great career during a special time at Purdue.

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Now the Whole Team Here: HoopsHD interviews Knight Commission panelist Mike Brey

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Jon Teitel

Last month the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics held its spring meeting in Washington, DC. The 3 main topics of the day were: a report on actions and plans to address remaining challenges in college basketball, an update on NBA changes that impact college basketball development pathways, and hot topics impacting college basketball (including college athlete disability insurance/NCAA player endorsement restriction/state and federal intervention). 1 of the many great panelists was Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey, who won his 500th career game last season and currently serves as president of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Basketball Coaches. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel was in attendance and got to chat with Coach Brey about transfers, waivers, and the 2019 NBA Finals.

You played/worked for Hall of Fame Coach Morgan Wootten at DeMatha and won a pair of NCAA titles as an assistant to Hall of Fame Coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke: what was the most important thing that you learned from these 2 coaching legends? I was so fortunate to work with both of them: they taught me how to connect/communicate with other people (not just players but also your athletic department, the fans, etc.). My parents were also lifelong educators so I was so spoiled by them as well.

You played basketball at Northwestern State/GW, your mom Elizabeth was an Olympic swimmer, your uncle Jack played basketball at Duke, your sister Brenda was a swimmer at LSU, and your son Kyle played football at Buffalo: who is the best athlete in the family? There is no question that my mom was the best athlete, God rest her soul. I framed her 1956 USA warm-up top in my new office: it is a great conversation piece. My uncle was such a role model for me as well: I wanted to be him and he was like a big brother to me. My parents ran the pool at the local country club and my uncle was a lifeguard there.

In 2001 you had a 5-PT 4-OT win over Georgetown and in 2013 you had a 3-PT 5-OT win over Louisville: how does your coaching style change from regulation to OT (if at all)? I have also framed those 2 box scores on my office wall. The numbers are just amazing: some of my guys played 57 minutes! I was kind of laughing/smiling during the Louisville game just to keep everyone (including myself) loose. We had fun with it and they are 2 great memories for me. When I run into Louisville fans on the road they still talk about it. At the end of the Georgetown game there is a great shot of me hugging Ryan Humphrey, who is now 1 of my assistant coaches.

From February 2006-February 2009 you won 45 straight home games and became the 1st Big East team to have consecutive undefeated seasons at home: did it reach a point where the home fans just expected you to win every time you stepped onto the court? Yes: we spoiled everybody. There were some games that we flat-out should have lost but I am a big believer in karma. 1 of my other assistant coaches (Ryan Ayers) was part of that: we started talking about it at the NBA Players Camp in Charlottesville last week. At that time we played in the old Joyce Center with duct tape on the chairs and bad seats up top.

In the 2016 NCAA tourney Rex Pflueger tipped in the game-winning basket in the final seconds of 1-PT win over Stephen F. Austin to clinch your 2nd straight Sweet 16: where does that game rank among the highlights of your career? That is a great memory: people still talk about that game and it is 1 of my top-5. Rex was such a winner but we did not play him much at the start of that season. We beat Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium that January and he just got to every loose ball. We had been subbing offense for defense toward the end of the NCAA tourney game but did not sub Rex out that particular time…and his nose for the ball won the game for us.

You are a 3-time Big East COY and 2011 national COY: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? I feel that the ACC is the deepest/best conference now…and the Big East was back then. Anytime I get voted for an award by your peers it is something that I am very proud of/humbled by.

You had a career-worst 19 losses last year with 1 of the youngest teams in the nation but still beat Purdue and had a 6-PT loss at eventual-champion Virginia: how is Pflueger’s left knee doing, and how are you going to replace DJ Harvey after he transferred to Vandy? We knew that we would have to swallow some stuff last year with a very young team but it got even harder because our league was so good (Duke/North Carolina/Virginia were all #1 seeds in the NCAA tourney). I am glad that we were able to get Rex back for a 5th year because he is the straw that stirs the drink. DJ just felt he needed to go elsewhere and I support him on that: kids just want to be happy. We have not had a lot of transfers in the past 20 years but I like the 10 scholarship guys we have back because they all played a lot so I think we can climb back up the ladder as they grow older together. There are some other ACC teams who lost a bunch of men so we think it is a good time for us.

How have you adapted to the creation of the transfer portal? I got the transfer thing started if you look back to my Delaware career and the guys we brought in. Back in the late 1990s it was the exact opposite: guys were coming from a higher level down to get more playing time, but now it is a case of mid-major guys choosing to transfer up. We have had a handful of impact transfers at Notre Dame and transfers are just another pool of players to pick from. Not every player coming out of high school is a good fit for us due to our academic standards. You can pull up the portal every day: Humphrey is a religious gentleman and the 2 things he told me that he does every morning is read the Bible and then read the transfer portal. I told the Knight Commission that I asked him to keep doing that…but switch the order! 1 of my assistants called me while I was on vacation last week to tell me that a player we had recruited when he was in high school just entered the portal and 20 minutes later I texted him: that is how quick this stuff is. I think it has brought some of the underground communication above board, as opposed to the old system of back-channel calls with high school/AAU coaches.

Why is the prevalence of waivers such a big problem? I think that the NCAA has almost given too much of a blueprint for players on how to get a waiver, and some attorneys have also learned how to attack it. I transferred during my college career and sat out for a year: it was the best thing that ever happened to me. It is better academically and strength-wise and skill-wise. Matt Farrell thought about transferring from Notre Dame a couple of years ago but rather than sit out a year he decided to stay the course. Parents are very involved but we can try to save families from themselves. However, I do not see the grad transfer process ever changing. About 15 years ago college basketball graduation rates were atrocious but we have made unbelievable strides so if a kid wants to go somewhere for grad school you have to let him go. The “year in residency” is a good thing and a bit of a deterrent for guys who are unsure about transferring.

What is your role as president of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and what is at the top of the current to-do list? I have tried very hard to get impeached during the past 2 weeks but it has not worked! The biggest thing is to engage our membership more, especially our younger generation of coaches. When I was in Charlottesville last week I just asked guys what they liked/wanted. We also have to figure out the June/July recruiting calendar: it is new territory so instead of being critical I just want to let it play out and then we can get some constructive feedback and tweak it.

How did you enjoy your front-row seat at Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Toronto?! I got sit with Glenn Murphy, who has endowed the head coach position at Notre Dame. He is not an alum: just a great Irish-Catholic basketball fan from Toronto.  It was great for recruiting: my players wondered how I had “Drake” seats! The fans in Toronto were amazing: to hear everyone joining together to sing “O Canada” before the game was incredible. I do not think that I would have gotten out of there had the Raptors won Game 5 because their fans are so passionate that they might have burned everything to the ground!

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Happy Draft-iversary!: HoopsHD interviews 1989 Final 4 MOP Glen Rice

Posted on June 16, 2019 by Jon Teitel

With the 2019 NBA draft taking place this week, we will spend the days ahead taking a walk down memory lane with a choice collection of players who are celebrating an awesome anniversary this year. From a future Hall of Famer selected 2nd overall in 1959 (60th anniversary) through a conference POY picked in the 2nd round in 2009 (10th anniversary), these stars have all seen their dreams come true in past drafts. We continue our series with Glen Rice, whose 184 PTS during the 1989 NCAA tourney remains a reord 3 decades later. His sweet shooting stroke also served him well in the NBA, where he 3-PT Shootout champion in 1995, All-Star Game MVP in 1997, and an NBA champion in 2000. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Glen the 30th anniversary of both his terrific tourney performance in March/April and then getting drafted a couple of months after that.

Take me through the 1987 NCAA tourney:
You had 21 PTS/12 REB in a win over Navy: where does David Robinson’s 50-PT performance in defeat rank among the best that you have ever seen? That was by far the best. We knew that he was good but we were in awe of a 7-footer moving so well and showing so many skills. We had not faced anyone like that.

You had 22 PTS/10 REB in a loss to North Carolina while your teammate Gary Grant had a triple-double with 24 PTS/10 REB/10 AST (JR Reid/Kenny Smith combined for 49 PTS in the win): could you tell at the time that everyone on the court was going to end up in the NBA?! At that time the other 3 were getting a lot more publicity than I was but you could see the handwriting on the wall. JR was known ever since his freshman year as a big guy and was playing very well so I knew that he had a really good shot to go in the 1st round (which he did, getting picked 5th overall in 1989).

In 1989 you were named an All-American after averaging 25.6 PPG and shooting 52% from behind the arc: what did it mean to you to win such an outstanding honor? It meant that all of the hard work I had put in was paying off and it gave me the confidence that I belonged among the top players in the nation.

Take me through the magical 1989 tourney:
Just days before the tournament started, Coach Bill Frieder announced that he would become head coach at ASU, so athletic director Bo Schembechler fired Frieder and named assistant Steve Fisher as interim coach: what was it like going through that coaching change, and how was the team able to maintain their focus? It was quite a whirlwind! You do not want it happening at that time but we understood what was going on and that Bo wanted a Michigan man coaching a Michigan team. Bill wanted to coach us at the time and we talked to him about it. We also knew that Steve could step in and become the head coach so nothing really changed except for the fact that me and the other seniors had to step up and become better leaders. Bo gave us a motivational speech that took us above and beyond.

You scored 34 PTS/13-19 FG in a 5-PT win over UNC (Reid scored 26 PTS): did it feel like you had finally gotten the monkey off of your back? Revenge was definitely on our minds after they knocked us out each of the 2 previous years so it was sweet. We were not going to be denied by them even though they were a good team.

You scored 28 PTS/12-24 FG in a 2-PT win over conference foe Illinois (Kenny Battle scored 29 PTS) thanks to a put-back by Sean Higgins with 1 second left: where does Higgins’ shot rank among the most clutch that you have ever seen? That is #1 because if you take that away then we would have lost the game. He was at the right place at the right time: it was win or go home. Illinois dominated us throughout the regular season and had a lot of pro players so it was another monkey off of our back.

You had 31 PTS/11 REB in a 1-PT OT win over Seton Hall thanks to Rumeal Robinson making 2 FT with 3 seconds left in OT (John Morton scored 35 PTS in 37 minutes): did you think that Rumeal was going to make both FTs, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? I was hopeful that he was going to make both FTs. He was in a similar situation against Wisconsin and missed them both but was ready and stepped up and did what he had to do. We saw the scene on TV before we arrived: there were a lot of happy fans!

You were named Final Four MOP after breaking Bill Bradley’s record for points in a single tourney with 184: how did that tourney change your life and will anyone break your record? It just shows you that hard work pays off. I was in a rhythm and my teammates knew it. I think that it was 1 of the highlights of my career and made a huge difference: if not it might have only been top-20. Buddy Hield came close in 2016 but the best guys in the NCAA do not stick around long enough and their teams do not play long enough so I do not see it happening anytime soon.

In the summer of 1989 you were drafted 4th overall by the Miami Heat (8 spots ahead of Mookie Blaylock): how did it feel to get drafted by an expansion team? It did not really matter: I just wanted an opportunity to fulfill my dream and give them my best effort. I was fortunate to go to Miami because I got to grow along with the team. We experienced a lot of losing but it made me stronger.

In 1995 you scored a career-high 56 PTS/20-27 FG/7-8 3PM/9-10 FT in 45 minutes during a 6-PT win over Orlando: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Oh yes: right before that game I sensed that I would have a pretty good game. The Magic had Shaquille O’Neal/Penny Hardaway so they came in with a chip on their shoulder and seemed to be pushing us aside: their cockiness was the only fuel that I needed. After I hit my 1st 2 shots it felt like throwing a rock into the ocean.

You were named an All-Star for 3 straight years from 1996-1998 but your best performance was in 1997 when you set an All-Star record by scoring 20 PTS/8-11 FG in the 3rd quarter and were named MVP: what did it mean to you to be named MVP, and how were you able to play your best among the best? I was having a good year that season and had been on that stage before so I felt very comfortable. I started that game playing not too well but then I started cooking and my teammates got me the ball. It was amazing to see guys like Michael Jordan/Scottie Pippen passing me the ball: I tried to make the best of it and was delighted that they were looking to me. The icing on the cake was doing it in front of the 50 Greatest Players of all time: I was like a kid in a candy store!

In 2000 you won an NBA title as a member of the Lakers: what did it mean to you to win a title? Your 1st dream as a kid is to make it to the NBA and your 2nd goal is to win a title. To win it with a franchise like the Lakers was a huge achievement: I felt like I had finally done it. It was remarkable but also inexplicable. I won 2 titles in high school and 1 in college so it just showed that I am a winner.

You finished your career with 1559 3PM, which remains in the top-30 all-time: what is your secret for 3-PT shooting? You can have all the right techniques but if you do not get into the gym you will never be a great shooter: you have to put in the work. It was a craft that I worked very hard at and you cannot be afraid to take a shot even after you miss a couple in a row. I was not going to settle for being an okay shooter.

You averaged 18.3 PPG during your 15-year NBA career (playing exactly 1000 games): when people look back on your career, and how do you want to be remembered the most? I did not want to be labeled as just a 3-PT shooter but it just happened that way. I want to be remembered as a good person/teammate who was dedicated to the game. I treated everyone with respect and am fine with that.

After retiring you became the owner of G-Force Fights (a Miami-based MMA promotion company) and got married: what do you hope to do in the future? I wanted to help guys achieve their dreams just like I had in the past with AAU camps: we had several guys who went on to fight in the UFC. I am happy and getting to spend a lot more time with my kids and catching up on things that I have missed so it is beautiful. I will keep striving to do the right thing.

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Happy Draft-iversary!: HoopsHD interviews former NBA rebounding champ Michael Cage

Posted on June 15, 2019 by Jon Teitel

With the 2019 NBA draft taking place next week, we will spend the days ahead taking a walk down memory lane with a choice collection of players who are celebrating an awesome anniversary this year. From a future Hall of Famer selected 2nd overall in 1959 (60th anniversary) through a conference POY picked in the 2nd round in 2009 (10th anniversary), these stars have all seen their dreams come true in past drafts. We continue our series with Michael Cage, who was the best NBA player in San Diego State history for the past few decades until some guy named Kawhi Leonard decided to give him some competition. He was a 2-time conference POY with the Aztecs before going pro and beating out Charles Oakley for the 1988 NBA rebounding title. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Michael about having a teammate who made the Baseball Hall of Fame and the 35th anniversary of getting drafted.

1 of your teammates at San Diego State was a PG named Tony Gwynn: how good a basketball player was he back in the day, and could you have ever imagined that he would become a Hall of Fame baseball player? Tony was of the 1st guys to embrace me when I showed up as a freshman while the rest of the seniors were grinding me. He told me that he had my back and was a mentor to me, which felt really good. He said that they had not had a freshman who was as good as I was in a long time. I had no idea that he was even on the baseball team until I had been there a few months and he mentioned that he had to go to spring training. I showed up to watch him play a few baseball games: all he would do is hit homers and get intentionally walked! I knew that he would make the major leagues in no time at all, even after he got picked by the Clippers in the 1981 NBA draft. I thought that he was a pretty good PG who always found me when I was open…but he was an amazing baseball player.

You were a 2-time WAC POY and a 1984 All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? The thing I enjoyed the most was winning a gold medal at the 1983 Pan Am Games. It was the best summer of my life alongside the best players in the nation: Michael Jordan, Wayman Tisdale, Mark Price, etc. The US has not won the gold medal since then. We had to try out for the team in Colorado Springs in front of a panel of legendary coaches: Bobby Knight, John Thompson, Dean Smith, etc. I was fortunate to get called on the final day and we dominated that summer. My team actually beat Jordan’s team at the National Sports Festival the previous year and got credit for another gold medal. I played in the WAC and there were some great players in the conference like Danny Ainge (BYU)/Tom Chambers (Utah). 1 of the coaches was Don Haskins, who I idolized growing up: I was so in awe of him that 1 time when the ref passed me the ball to shoot a FT it bounced right off me! My scoring record lasted for 21 years until Brandon Heath broke it thanks to the luxury of having a 3-PT line.

In the summer of 1984 you were drafted 14th overall by the Clippers (2 spots ahead of John Stockton): did you see that as a validation of your college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? It was both a validation and realization. I went undefeated as a senior in high school with future NBA player Keith Lee as a teammate and we won a state title. Everyone said that it was a big mistake to go to San Diego State…until I led the nation in rebounding as a freshman! It was a big honor for me when they retired my #44 jersey: I still have the photo on my phone and look at it to remind me of all the hard work/determination I put in to be the best basketball player on the planet. I came from a small town in Arkansas (West Memphis) and heard over and over that I would not be able to make it…but when David Stern called my name I just felt relief and joy and emotion. Stockton was 2 spots behind me and he ended up having more AST than anyone ever! It meant so much to me to be selected: at the time the Clippers were in San Diego but they moved to LA that summer.

In 1988 you needed 28 REB in your final game to beat Charles Oakley for the rebounding title, and you ended up with 30 REB in 48 minutes in a 9-PT loss to Seattle: were you aware of how close you were, and was is just 1 of those situations where every missed shot went right to you because you were “in the zone”? Oakley had gotten 30 REB for Chicago earlier that day and there was a big “28” sign on my locker when I showed up to the arena. I played my tail off and it was the only rebounding title I ever won as a player. Oakley never won 1 of his own but he became a big-time player after that. It validated me as 1 of the up-and-coming PFs in the league. Historically centers were the guys to win rebounding titles but the game was shifting towards forwards like Karl Malone/Otis Thorpe. Now there are stretch-4s who shoot threes. Had I been Oakley I would have forever wondered what it was like to win a rebounding title. I lost more games during my 1st year with the Clippers (51) than I had lost before in my entire life. 4 weeks later Seattle coach Bernie Bickerstaff traded for me because he wanted me on his team.

In Game 4 of the 1989 Western Conference Semifinals with Seattle you had 3 REB in a 2-PT loss to the Lakers at home: how on earth was LA able to overcome a 43–14 deficit after the 1st 14 minutes? You can just never rest with a lead: when they turned it on, they turned it on. We were emotional and everything was working…and then their defense just shut us down and they did to us what we had done to them. If it was the 4th quarter it would not have happened but there was too much time left against a crew of future Hall of Famers. I was shocked but the Lakers deserved it because they had the mindset to never give up and kept coming after us.

Take me through the 1993 playoffs:
In Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals you had 6 REB in a 3-PT OT win over Houston: did you notice Winston Garland walk onto the floor in the final seconds as the 6th Houston player on the court, and how did he not get caught? I do not know exactly what happened but I wondered why he did not get called for a technical. Things were a bit lax back then!

In Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals you had 6 REB in loss at Phoenix: looking back on it now do you think that there is any truth to the rumor that the NBA wanted a Charles Barkley-vs.-Michael Jordan Finals (the Suns made 57-64 FT while the Sonics made 28-36)? The rumor did not bother me: you always hear things but I did not buy into that. There was a FT disparity that killed us at the time but I thought that we were the better team, and I think that we could have beaten Chicago because we were a better fit and had more depth than the Suns did.

After winning your 1st 2 games at home in the 1st round of the 1994 playoffs, you ended up losing 3 in a row (including the final 2 games in OT) to become the 1st #1 seed in playoff history to lose to a #8 seed: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? Playoff-wise it is probably right up there. We were the better team but just forgot that you have to close out a series. We had a chance to sweep Denver in Game 3 but allowed them to erase a 10-PT deficit late in the 4th quarter, which changed the entire series. We owned them in the regular season but I knew that we were in trouble after their team woke up. We had never lost a 4th quarter lead that year…and then the next day their players were talking in the newspaper about tying it up. Denver was a young team coached by Dan Issel and in Game 5 all the pressure was on us to win: they just played better than us that day and upset us in front of a sellout crowd at home. We still had a really special team: I had so much fun that year playing for a terrific coach in George Karl and the whole city was behind us. It was tough for me to swallow and Seattle made me a low-ball offer so I left for Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent that summer. Wayne Embry said that he wanted me there and he wanted me now. I had started most of the year at center even though I was not a center and I became a mentor to our young PF named Shawn Kemp. I am still friends with a lot of those guys like Gary Payton/Detlef Schrempf. The moon and stars were aligned and it was actually happening…until we got away from what we were doing. We should have taken them out in Game 3: when you have someone by the throat, you should squeeze. Everyone wants to win a title but that series did not define us as a team: we were fun to watch and were sexy!

You set an Aztecs record by starting 112 straight games in college, and later played in 736 consecutive NBA games before missing the final 3 games of the 1998 season due to a strained left hamstring: what is the key to an athlete staying healthy (training, luck, mental toughness, other)? That damn hamstring! You have to be in tip-top shape, as that will reduce your chances of being injured. I did not miss a game during high school either. You have to work on the parts of your body that suffer the most pain like your back/hamstrings. You also have to take care of your insides: I drank a lot of water and a lot of natural juice. My teammates would call me the “Juice Man”: my portable juicer back then weighed about 50 pounds and when I would turn it on at the hotel the lights would dim. My 1st year in Cleveland I gave everyone a juicer for Christmas: how common is that?! When I look back on it now I know that there was some luck involved. I would eat some unhealthy food every so often but I knew that my body was my commodity: if it was unhealthy then I could not perform. Getting hurt is part of the game and happens all the time but I do not know if it could work today. That is 1 of the crowning achievements of my NBA career because I was happy. Once the streak was over I seriously thought about retiring: during the streak I felt like Superman despite some sprained ankles and back spasms. It was mind over matter: I could tell my body to heal itself. I did not always feel 100% but my coaches often said that they would take 70% of me over 100% of someone else. Nowadays kids in high school play year-round, which can take a toll on their bodies.

Your son Michael Jr. plays college basketball and your daughter Alexis played volleyball at your alma mater: who is the best athlete in the family, and do your kids credit at least some of their success to genetics? My son is 6’10” and has a 7’5” wingspan so he received offers from some major programs. He has already won 2 state titles and lost 1 and even had an undefeated season. My son played with Stanley Johnson and now gets to look forward to his future. I love the sport, which is why I am still involved with it: it is a joy to watch him run up and down the court. He is 1 of those evolutionary players who can play the modern-day game at the 3, 4, or 5. He can shoot the 3, bring the ball up the floor, and does a lot of things well. My wife is very athletic and we are all very tall. My son will get mad at me because even though he is the most gifted he has not even scratched the surface of what he can do. He is a perfectionist almost to a fault. My youngest daughter is my social butterfly who can get along with anybody: I love that about her. My oldest daughter just internalizes things and then will take it out on you on the floor by playing harder than you.

You currently work as an analyst for Oklahoma City: how do you like the gig, and what do you hope to do in the future? I love watching guys like Russell Westbrook. I played against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he threw the hook shot up over me at the Forum in Inglewood: the players today do not even now where Inglewood is! I am happy that the guys today are getting their big salaries: it has been good for everybody and the game is at an all-time high. I do not think there is a better sport in the world, even though soccer is more popular. I love hearing their stories because everyone has gone through a lot to get here and everyone is different. I am living the dream: working for an NBA organization that takes such an interest in its employees. They treat me like I am Westbrook: I love the state and the fan support and everything about it. OKC just does it right: they are a model franchise based on how they treat their people. Clay Bennett and Sam Presti are basketball guys who make the right moves. I still coach and train and play pickup games 2-3 times/week…and I get mad when I lose! I am so blessed because I feel that I am at my most useful right now. Most guys go into coaching but I love talking about the game and am never short on words. I had such great mentors as a rookie who got me seasoned right away and got my head screwed on straight. I like being around good people because I appreciate their character and what they stand for: I teach that to my own children.

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Happy Draft-iversary!: HoopsHD interviews 3-time NBA champ Bill Cartwright

Posted on June 14, 2019 by Jon Teitel

With the 2019 NBA draft taking place next week, we will spend the days ahead taking a walk down memory lane with a choice collection of players who are celebrating an awesome anniversary this year. From a future Hall of Famer selected 2nd overall in 1959 (60th anniversary) through a conference POY picked in the 2nd round in 2009 (10th anniversary), these stars have all seen their dreams come true in past drafts. We continue our series with Bill Cartwright, who was a 3-time conference POY at San Francisco who led the Dons to 3 straight NCAA tourneys. He had a 16-year NBA career that was highlighted by 3 straight titles as a player in Chicago. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Bill about all those rings and the 40th anniversary of getting drafted.

At Elk Grove High School you were a 2-time California state POY, went 30-0 as a junior, and won the 1st-ever NorCal title game as a senior: did you consider yourself to be 1 of the best high school players in the country, and why did you decide to go to USF? I knew that I could score but we had a really good team so I just worried about playing. The title as a senior was nice because we had graduated a lot of good guys from the previous year. I wanted to go to school in California so I looked at USC, UCLA, and USF. I liked the coach at USF and I liked the school: the guys on the team would come visit me and showed a real commitment to wanting me to go there.

Take me through the 1978 NCAA tourney:
You had 23 PTS/11 REB in a 4-PT win over North Carolina: how were you able to beat the legendary Dean Smith? We played a really good game. Doug Jemison was a 6’6″ high-jumper who blocked a ton of shots for us.

You scored 27 PTS/9-11 FG in a 3-PT loss to Cal State Fullerton: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? That game really sucked! We were playing well but they just made a hell of a lot of shots that day. We had high hopes after some good wins earlier that year and had a good bond but it just did not happen.

You were a 3-time WCC POY: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding individual honors? I had a great time at USF and enjoyed each of my 4 years there. We were able to win a lot of games and worked really hard to accomplish a lot, which is what I was interested in more than any individual accolades. It never would have happened if I did not have really good teammates.

In the summer of 1979 you were drafted 3rd overall by the Knicks (2 spots behind Magic Johnson): did you see that as a validation of your college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? I talked to Coach Red Holzman who thought that I would get drafted pretty high. Like most players I just wanted to make sure I was prepared to play well once I got there. My goal was not to get to the NBA but just to take what life gave me and go from there, and since I was being led to the NBA I decided to do the best job that I could do.

In the 1980 All-Star Game you scored 8 PTS as a rookie in an 8-PT OT win by the East: how were you able to make such a smooth transition from college to the pros? It was not that smooth, but I got to play a lot of minutes as a rookie after Marvin Webster got hepatitis. Playing in New York helped me get a lot of recognition…but after the All-Star break I was tired as hell.

In the 1984 Eastern Conference 1st round you scored 29 PTS in a 4-PT OT win over Detroit in the decisive Game 5: were you more impressed by Bernard King (who scored 44 PTS despite having the flu and 2 dislocated fingers) or Isiah Thomas (who scored 35 PTS including 16 in the final 93 seconds of regulation to force OT)? They both played great that night: it had to be the hottest freaking arena that I have ever played in! I was lucky to play with Bernard: I saw him do a lot of amazing things every single night. We were lucky to win, which made it even sweeter.

In Game 5 of the 1989 Eastern Conference 1st round with Chicago, Michael Jordan made his famous jump shot over Craig Ehlo at the buzzer while hanging in the air to clinch a 1-PT win over Cleveland, and in Game 2 of the 1991 Finals Jordan made his famous layup while switching hands in mid-air en route to winning the 1st title in franchise history: was the secret to his greatness simply the fact that he could stay in the air longer than anyone else on the court? There are a couple of contributing factors. He was a tremendous athlete. He gets no credit for the switching-hands layup because nobody on the Lakers jumped up to defend him.

In Game 1 of the 1992 Finals Jordan set a couple of records in Game 1 by scoring 35 PTS in the 1st half and famously shrugging after making his 6th 3-PT shot of the half: did you feel that it was harder to win a title or defend a title? I think that both present their own challenges. After we lost Game 1 to the Lakers in 1991 a lot of people thought that we would sweep the next 4 games, which we did. In the 1992 Finals we were playing a Portland team that was viewed as more athletic. Each year had its own challenges, probably more mental than physical. You have to give our coaches a lot of credit: they made great moves defensively such as trapping Magic Johnson in the backcourt, which disrupted the Lakers’ offense for the entire series. Portland had us beat in Game 6 (leading by 15 PTS in the 3rd quarter) before Phil put the bench players in and they brought us all the way back in the 4th quarter.

In Game 6 of the 1993 Finals John Paxson made a 3-PT shot with 3.9 seconds left in a 1-PT win to clinch the title: did you feel like your team could just keep winning titles for the rest of the decade? When we beat Detroit in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals we felt that everyone loved us and our style of basketball…and they did! However, after you win your 2nd title, people start looking for someone else who can beat you.

After retiring you became an assistant coach under Phil Jackson while the Bulls won a few more titles in the late 1990s: what made Phil such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? Phil understood that basketball is more than just basketball: it is about balancing your life, knowing what is going on in the world, being aware of your body, etc. He would encourage us to read the paper and also introduced us to yoga. Some guys think that basketball is more important than their family, but it is not. You cannot get too high or too low: just stay on your feet.

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