Basketball and brains: HoopsHD interviews Omaha Academic All-American Matt Pile

Posted on April 2, 2019 by Jon Teitel

You think you and your better-half got chemistry? With a 3.90 GPA in Medicinal Chemistry, Matt Pile has GOT chemistry in ways you have never dreamed of! After being named the 2017 Barry Sanders Male Athlete of the Year at Eisenhower High School, he traveled 5 hours north to college in Omaha and has played in each of his team’s 63 games during the past 2 years. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Matt about facing several NCAA tourney teams earlier this season and his Final 4 prediction.

You went to high school in Kansas: what made you choose the Mavericks? It was close to home and I wanted to be within driving distance of my family. I loved all of the coaches I met during my campus visit and the family environment here with all of the players felt like a good fit for me.

You play for 2019 Summit COY Derrin Hansen: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him? He always encourages us and stays calm during game situations. There were countless games we won down the stretch which can be credited to him for drawing up a play that was successful.

You played in all 31 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? It is always hard as a freshman: the jump from high school to college is big but playing those games helped me get my feet under me and gave me confidence going into my sophomore year.

Your team was top-10 in the nation this year with 39.3 3P%: what role does the 3-PT shot play in your team’s offensive philosophy, and how do you fit into the equation when you have yet to attempt a 3 yourself? It is definitely big but it is not the only thing we rely on. We were good from the 3-PT line this year but were not dependent on it. If people find me inside and I get double-teamed then I can kick it out to 1 of our open shooters.

You played several NCAA tourney-caliber teams this year in non-conference play (including ASU/Iowa State/Minnesota/Oregon): which of them impressed you the most, and why? I think Iowa State was the toughest team we played. They are lengthy/athletic and can really shoot the ball well so they were hard to guard.

In the Summit tourney title game you had 12 PTS/14 REB in a 10-PT loss to North Dakota State: how close did you come to winning the title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was a really tough time in the locker room. We just became stagnant toward the end of the game and played too much 1-on-1.  We were able to tie it up after a big 1st half deficit but just could not get out of the hole that we had dug ourselves into.

How do you think that your team will do next year after losing some great seniors including Zach Jackson/Mitch Hahn? Not only were they great players but also great leaders so it will be important for our rising seniors to step up and learn from the 2 guys who we are losing.

Last month you were named Academic All-American: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? It is definitely tough and there are some long nights but I just try to get my schoolwork done beforehand so that I can focus on basketball. Sometimes I have to play catch-up if I miss a class but it is manageable.

You have a 3.90 GPA as a Medicinal Chemistry major: why did you choose that major, and what is the post-college plan? I want to go to med school so that is the plan. Chemistry is my favorite science and I know that it will look good on my application. I enjoy chemistry more than the average person does!

You turned 20 last month: what did you do for the big day? I went out to eat with my teammates: there was nothing too crazy since it was during the week.

Any predictions for the Final 4? I really like Texas Tech: they play defense but can also score. I think that the Michigan State-Texas Tech winner will end up winning it all. It is cool to see Matt Mooney doing so well for the Red Raiders after he spent a couple of year in the Summit League.

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Remembering a Champion: HoopsHD interviews Danene Charles about her Hall of Fame sister Daedra

Posted on April 2, 2019 by Jon Teitel

The Tennessee women’s basketball program is going through some changes: after firing Coach Holly Warlick last week (who won 8 championships as an assistant to Pat Summitt), the school is rumored to be pursuing Kellie Harper (who won 3 championships as a player for Summitt) as her replacement. Today marks the 30th anniversary of 1 of the Lady Vols’ many former titles: a 76-60 win over Auburn in the 1989 NCAA title game. Not only did Daedra Charles win a title that night, she won another title 2 years later in a 70-67 OT win over Virginia. Daedra passed away in 2018 but HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel had the privilege of chatting with her sister Danene earlier this year about Daedra’s connection with Coach Summitt and her induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Her nickname was “Night Train”: who gave it to her and how did she like it? She was okay with that. I believe a coach gave her that nickname: perhaps Pat Summitt.

She was a player/assistant for Coach Summitt at Tennessee: how did she like playing/working for 1 of the greatest coaches in the history of sports? She loved it! Pat was more than a coach: she had a way of instilling family with all of the Lady Vols. They respected 1 another and our entire family was very fond of Pat. She worked for Pat because she had such a great experience playing for Pat even though she was tough. Daedra said the switch in roles was very rewarding and she was proud to do so.

1 of the moves she used as a low-post player at Tennessee was to step/fake 1 way before spinning around the other way (which former Auburn head coach Nell Fortner called the “Daedra Charles move” and taught it to her own players): how did she come up with it, and what made it so unstoppable? I just know that she was so tenacious and really embraced basketball: she wanted to be the best but also had fun. She ate/slept basketball because it was very much her life and she continued to do it for as long as she could. I know that she wanted to be unstoppable and play the game at a very high level.

In the 1989 NCAA tourney title game she helped her team beat SEC rival Auburn: what did it mean to her to win a title? That felt good. She was always very humble: she often did not even know her own stats. A lot of that had to do with being at a winning school and playing for a great coach. Pat gave her an opportunity as a Prop 48 player because she believed in her, which is more than what she would expect from a coach. That title was for the team but especially for Pat, which continued the Summitt legacy.

In the 1991 NCAA tourney title game she scored 19 PTS in a 3-PT OT win over Virginia and ended up making the All-Tourney team: how was she able to play her best when it mattered the most? The 3 D’s: determination/desire/dedication. She always wanted to win and never gave up. She could not play as a freshman but did practice with the team and kept persevering.

She was a 2-time All-American and in 1991 became the 1st SEC player to win the Wade Trophy as national POY: what did it mean to her to receive such outstanding honors? She was almost in disbelief. She never set out to win awards but just wanted to do well and honor her craft. Winning any award was just a bonus…but when she later reflected on it she was almost overwhelmed.

At the 1992 Olympics she was a member of team USA: how did she feel about representing her country/winning a bronze medal? That was awesome! For a little Black girl from the west side of Detroit, nobody in our neighborhood had done anything like that. It was very humbling for her and she felt very proud to be a female Black American from Detroit representing her country overseas.

In 2007 she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of her career? That was important to her. We were all there with her and Pat. She had not set out to achieve that: she just wanted to be the best player she could be. It was extra-special since it was in Summitt Town in Tennessee. She was also inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame last fall.

In the 2009 NCAA tourney as an assistant to Summitt at her alma mater, the defending champs were upset by #12-seed Ball State (the 1st time Tennessee ever lost an opening-round game in the tourney): where does that rank among the most devastating losses of her career? She never liked to lose. She did not welcome defeat but was a realist who did her homework to review the game tapes and analyze what happened so she could regroup.

She passed away in 2018 at age 49: when people look back on her career, how do you think that she should be remembered the most? As someone who loved life and enjoyed the game of basketball. She was more than just a basketball player: she brought class/humility to the game. She played at the highest level and loved the game. Everything she did was about creating a sense of family/unity.

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UTR Postseason News, Notes and Highlighted Games – Tuesday, April 2

Posted on April 2, 2019 by John Stalica

For our latest Hoops HD Report podcast with special guest Jamal Murphy – CLICK HERE

For Jon Teitel’s postgame coverage of Michigan State in the East Regional – CLICK HERE

Yesterday, there was one game played across the entire college basketball landscape as the calendar shifted to April – that would be Game 1 of the CBI Championship Series between DePaul and South Florida. USF led most of the way, but a 3-pointer by Eli Cain tied the game up for DePaul with under 10 seconds remaining. David Collins hit the game-winning drive for South Florida with 1.7 seconds remaining as the Bulls take a 1-0 lead in the series with a 63-61 victory. Game 2 will be played on Wednesday at DePaul.

In terms of coaching news, the big story yesterday was that John Calipari was able to parlay an offer from UCLA into a contract extension at Kentucky that is being deemed a “lifetime” contract – he will permanently be serving as an “ambassador” for Kentucky if and when he does retire from coaching.

Another big story yesterday was Rick Byrd’s retirement at Belmont – he finished his career with 805 career victories with the Bruins and had been their only head coach since they transitioned up to Division 1. Belmont also defeated Temple in the NCAA Tournament for the Bruins’ first-ever NCAA Tournament victory back in March.

Elsewhere, Jerry Stackhouse has now emerged as the leading candidate for head coach at Vanderbilt. He hasn’t officially been named their head coach yet, but that is expected to become a formality any day now.

NIT

(6) WICHITA STATE VS (5) LIPSCOMB (7:00 PM, ESPN) – Both teams made it to Madison Square Garden without the benefit of a single home game throughout the tournament – the Shockers made it here with wins at Furman, at Clemson and at Indiana (the top 3 seeds in their subregion). Lipscomb won at Davidson, at UNC-Greensboro along with a last-second game-winner at NC State to advance to the semifinals. The Bisons’ Garrison Matthews may well be the best overall player remaining in the NIT.

(2) TEXAS VS (1) TEXAS CHRISTIAN (approx. 9:30 PM, ESPN) – Both Gregg Marshall (Wichita State) and Jamie Dixon (TCU) have won the NIT title as head coach at their current schools; Dixon will be looking for the rare and somewhat dubious distinction of a second title with a pair of wins this week. Texas finally won a breather against Colorado after a pair of tightrope victories against South Dakota State and Xavier.

CIT

HAMPTON AT MARSHALL (7:00 PM, WatchCIT.com) – Hampton advanced to the CIT semifinals for the first time with a decisive win against NJIT last Thursday night; Marshall has had a week to rest after their quarterfinal win against Presbyterian last Tuesday. Marshall is also the only team that had a bye in the 2nd round (as one of the top 3 seeds) to still remain in the tournament.

TEXAS SOUTHERN AT GREEN BAY (9:00 PM, WatchCIT.com) – Texas Southern has not only had to win three games on the road just to advance to the semifinals of the CIT, but they’ve also had to go to overtime in two of those games, including a triple-overtime affair in their last game at Louisiana-Monroe last Thursday. Green Bay has ridden the hot hand of Sandy Cohen III to 3 home victories so far in the postseason, but they will have a tall order if they wish to advance to the CIT Championship game on Thursday night.

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The Hoops HD Report: Final Four Edition

Posted on April 1, 2019 by David Griggs

Chad is joined by a full panel as they look back at one of the most exciting Elite Eights of all time!  Two games went to overtime with Auburn knocking off Kentucky and Virginia getting past Purdue, and the other two went down to the wire with Texas Tech surprising Gonzaga and Michigan State surprising Duke.  We recap all of the action as well as look ahead to the upcoming Final Four games.

 

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

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All-Access at the East Regional: HoopsHD is in the Michigan State locker room with the champs

Posted on April 1, 2019 by Jon Teitel

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The East Regional took place in Washington, DC last weekend and we could not have been more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD was all over it and is still covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage by chatting with 3 members of the champs right after they upset Duke in the Elite 8 last night.

JR SG/SF Kyle Ahrens did not see any action while recovering from a lower-leg injury he suffered in the Big 10 tourney title game but that was not enough to wipe the post-game smile off his face. He knew that Kenny Goins’ last-minute 3-PT shot to give his team the lead was going in because he had been making those shots all year long. He considers Cassius Winston the best PG in the country, which is why the team was definitely confident and ready for Duke. Even while in some pain it was awesome for him to climb the ladder and cut down a piece of the net…and he hopes to have 1 more net to cut down next Monday night. He is not a doctor but is taking it day-by-day and hopes to play on Saturday against Texas Tech in the Final 4:

FR SG Brock Washington had a pretty good weekend: he received some birthday gifts on Saturday and earned a trip to the Final 4 on Sunday. He got to spend some time with his parents in DC on Saturday and they gave him some EarPods for his big day. Beating Duke left him at a loss for words: it was even better than he expected it to be and was amazing to do it with his current group. They just never gave up, always stuck together, and the result was 4 fingers in the air and this shiny new trophy:

The only family having a better weekend in Washington than the Washingtons were the Hoibergs: Fred signed a $25 million deal to replace Tim Miles as Nebraska men’s basketball head coach, which will come in handy because he has to buy some plane tickets/hotel rooms for a trip to Minneapolis to see if his son Jack can win a title next week. Jack said it felt great to win the Elite 8 and that he was excited to see his family after the big win. There was no X-factor: the key was just having his guys make plays down the stretch. He said Zion Williamson was a monster and played even better than he thought he would. He feels that every shot Goins takes will go in, so even though Kenny was 0-4 from behind the arc in the 1st half the team just kept telling him during timeouts to keep shooting. It might not be an over-sized $25 million check but it is the next-best thing to hold up in front of a camera:

That’s all for now, check back later for continuing coverage.

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NCAA Tournament Review and CBI Preview – Monday, April 1

Posted on April 1, 2019 by John Stalica

Yesterday, the Final Four dance card for Minneapolis was filled up. Auburn will join Texas Tech as a first-timer after their 77-71 overtime victory against Kentucky. Jared Harper (26 points) and Bryce Brown (24 points) accounted for 50 points combined for the Tigers; PJ Washington had a double-double (28 points, 13 rebounds) for the Wildcats, but they missed out on an opportunity to return to the Final Four for the first time since the 2014-15 season in which their bid for perfection was thwarted by Wisconsin in the semifinals.

The most anticipated game of the tournament was Michigan State-Duke, and this game also came down to the closing seconds. Kenny Goins hit a 3-point shot that put Michigan State up by 2 with about 30 seconds left to play. After a missed 3 by RJ Barrett, the Blue Devils would end up with one more chance to either tie or take the lead. Barrett was fouled on a drive attempt, but ended up missing his first free throw and, ironically enough, made his 2nd free throw while trying to miss that attempt. Duke fouled on the ensuing inbounds play by Michigan State, but since the Spartans were not in the bonus yet, they inbounded the ball one more time and ran the clock out for a 68-67 victory. For Michigan State, this will be their tenth Final Four as a program and eighth under Tom Izzo. Cassius Winston was named Most Outstanding Player in the East Regional.

CBI Championship Series (Game 1)

DEPAUL AT SOUTH FLORIDA (7:00 PM, ESPNU) – This game will be a battle of contrasting styles; the Bulls are a defensive-oriented ballclub that have won three straight games at home (including their win against Loyola Marymount last Thursday) to advance to the CBI Best-of-3 Championship Series. DePaul, on the other hand, has been the highest scoring team in the tournament with an average of 94.3 points per game. Max Strus alone is averaging 31.7 points per game in the tournament for the Blue Demons.

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