Hoops HD

Happy Tourney-versary!: HoopsHD interviews St. John’s Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca

Posted on February 8, 2020 by Jon Teitel

With the 2020 NCAA tourney tipping off next month, we will spend this month taking a walk down memory lane with a choice collection of players/coaches who are celebrating an awesome anniversary this year. From some game-winning FTs in the 1955 tourney (65th anniversary) through a 17-PT comeback win in the 2015 1st 4 (5th anniversary), these legends have all carved out a little piece of history in past Marches. We continue our series with Hall of Famer Lou Carnesecca, who is 1 of the greatest coaches to ever put on a sweater. He succeeded at every single level of the sport: 4 Catholic High School Athletic Association title games in 8 years as coach at St. Ann’s Academy/Archbishop Molloy High School, 526 wins and 5 Big East regular season titles at St. John’s, and he even led the New York Nets to the 1972 ABA Finals before losing to Indiana. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Carnesecca about the 50th anniversary of almost winning the 1970 NIT and the 35th anniversary of making the 1985 Final 4. We also wish him a happy belated 95th birthday last month!

You were known for wearing sweaters on the sideline: how did you start that tradition, and what did your players think about it? I had received 2 sweaters as a gift from the Italian women’s national team coach: they were not particularly attractive sweaters so I just put them in my closet. We were going out to play at Pittsburgh: their old fieldhouse was drafty and I had a cold so I grabbed a sweater from my closet. I wore the sweater and we won at the buzzer on a shot by Chris Mullin. Everyone said that I had to keep wearing the sweater because it was a good luck charm, and it was…until we played Georgetown at MSG and lost!

In the 1970 NIT title game as coach at St. John’s, Billy Paultz had 15 PTS/17 REB in a loss to Marquette: how close did you come to winning the title? It was a close game and we had a chance to win but it was not our night. Coach Al McGuire was a fierce competitor who always had his team ready to play. That Marquette team was the last school to decline an invitation to play in the NCAA tournament and play in the NIT instead.

In Game 6 of the 1972 ABA Finals as coach of the New York Nets, Roger Brown scored 32 PTS in a 3-PT win by Indiana: why did you choose to go from college to the pros, and how were you able to be so successful so quickly? I left SJU to try my hand at coaching in the pros. My pride got the better of me because I did not belong: I could never get used to losing so many games. My success in the pros was due to good players, especially Rick Barry: we almost won the ABA title. The next year with all of the same players except Rick, who the court ruled had to return to play for the San Francisco Warriors, we lost 50 games. Any coach needs good players to be successful. Abe Lemons once jokingly asked me at a coaching clinic, “Lou, if you are such a good coach, why can’t you make your 12th man play as well as Mullin?”

In the 1984 NCAA tourney as coach at St. John’s, Mullin missed a 1-and-1 with 8 seconds left before Terence Stansbury made a 25-footer at the buzzer in a 2-PT win by Temple: how on earth did Mullin miss that FT, and where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It was a tough loss and just goes to show that nobody is perfect, even a guy who made 90% of his free throws. That is why you play the entire game. I won some games like this one but lost some others as well. It happens and yes it was a disappointment because we had the game in hand and let it slip away prior to the free throws.

After a 1-PT win over eventual national runner-up Georgetown in January 1985 gave the Redmen the #1 ranking, the Hoyas beat you 3 times over the next 2 months (including a matchup in the Final 4): what was it like to play a team 4 times during a 2-month span? That Georgetown team was a bad match up for us. They were a great team: the best team in the country that year on any given night.

In the 1986 Big East tourney title game Walter Berry scored 16 PTS and blocked tourney MVP Pearl Washington’s shot at the buzzer in a 1-PT win over Syracuse: how big a deal was it to win the conference tourney? Winning a title is always a great accomplishment and this 1 was no exception, especially since it took place in our backyard at MSG (the Mecca of college basketball). We had 2 exceptional plays at the end of the game: Ron Rowan’s shot to put us ahead and Walter Berry’s clean block of Pearl’s shot. Walter anticipated what Pearl was going to do and guessed correctly.

Take me through the 1987 NCAA tourney:
Marco Baldi scored a career-high 11 PTS including a 12-foot jumper with 1 second left in a 2-PT win over Wichita State: where does that rank among the most exciting wins of your career? It was an exciting win. Marco was a good mid-range shooter, although we did not encourage him to take it very often because of the other talent on that team. Every NCAA tournament win was a big win because of the atmosphere, the quality of the team you faced, and the significance of each game.

Mark Jackson scored 23 PTS in an 8-PT OT loss to DePaul: how much of a home-court advantage did the Blue Demons have at the Rosemont Horizon, and how did your team blow a 5-PT lead with 45 seconds left in regulation? It was never easy to play DePaul due to the great talent they had and their home arena was packed with enthusiastic fans. I would say it was 1 of the 10 worst loses we experienced during my coaching career: we had the game in hand but let it slip away.

In the 1989 NIT title game at Madison Square Garden, NIT MVP Jayson Williams had 28 PTS/18 REB in a win over St. Louis: what did it mean to you to win a title at the Garden? When I was growing up the NIT was the definitive national championship so to win an NIT on the MSG court with so much history attached to it was a big deal for me. Jayson had a great game and deserved the recognition he received. He was in my mind the best rebounder that I ever coached: he had a knack for the ball and wanted it more than anyone else.

You were a 2-time national COY: what made you such a great coach, and what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? I appreciated the honors and recognition that I received…but once again, if I did not have the talent to win then none of that would have been possible.

In 1992 you were elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and in 2006 you were elected to the College Basketball Hall of Fame: when people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I want to be remembered as the “Old Coach” because that is all I ever dreamed of being. I was very fortunate/happy being a coach and would have done it for free because I loved the game, the people, and sharing my knowledge.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Lou Carnesecca, St. John's | Comments Off

Under The Radar Game of the Day: Saturday, February 8th

Posted on February 8, 2020 by John Stalica

For today’s News, Notes and Highlighted Games – CLICK HERE

Duke (19-3, 9-2) at North Carolina (10-12, 3-8) – 6:00 PM EST (ESPN)

I know that a lot of people like to pooh-pooh a rivalry when one team is having an unusually down year, but we at Hoops HD never overlook a rivalry, whether it is Duke-Carolina or Kentucky-Louisville or the Arch-Baron Cup. And so tonight, we feature a pair of teams that have never met in the NCAA Tournament and are only eight miles apart. (They did meet in the semifinals of the NIT in 1971 with Carolina winning 73-69.)

Duke started the season looking very much like a team poised to be #1 in the country, and they beat Kansas in the season-opening Champions Classic. There have been occasional hiccups like a home loss against SFA and a road loss at Clemson, but the Blue Devils have managed to stay atop the ACC while usual suspects like Carolina and Virginia are either in the middle of the pack or at the bottom.

And North Carolina? The season looked promising at the start – they did get a win against Oregon down in the Battle 4 Atlantis before injuries slowly began to take a toll on their roster. A blowout loss at home to Ohio State was the first warning sign, and even when Cole Anthony returned from nearly a month-long injury to return to the Carolina lineup in late January, they still stumbled with a home loss to Boston College. However, a depleted Tar Heel lineup did manage to win at NC State and might be a game that costs the Wolfpack an NCAA bid next month.

Posted in CBB on TV, Daily Rundown, Under the Radar | Tagged 8 Miles Apart, acc, duke, Never Met in the NCAA Tournament, north carolina, under the radar | Comments Off

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, Feb 8th

Posted on February 8, 2020 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-Maryland picked up a really nice road win against Illinois last night, which was arguably their biggest of the year. They fell behind early, but came back to get within 2 at the half, and then took control in the second half.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-KANSAS AT TCU (Big 12). Kansas is on pace to earn a #1 seed, and they’ve got another somewhat challenging, but very winnable road game today.

-MIAMI FL AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). Florida State continues to play like a protected seed, and they shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve at home today.

-LSU AT AUBURN (SEC). Auburn has gone through a very impressive three game stretch and looks to continue that as they host a really good LSU team today. LSU is still the first place team in the SEC, but as of now they don’t have the best profile. That’s especially true after they lost to Vanderbilt earlier in the week. However, if they can win this game on the road today, they’ll arguably have one of the best profiles.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). It’s a rivalry game between a Michigan State team that’s looking to solidify themselves as a protected seed and could use a road win (which is something they’ve struggled with), and a Michigan team that’s coming off loss to Ohio State and looking to get some of their momentum back. This game does have a bit of a pivotal feel to it for the Wolverines, as a loss would drop them to 13-10 on the year and 4-8 in the conference.

-BOSTON COLLEGE AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC). VA Tech has fallen outside our bubble, and will be in even more trouble if they end up losing this game today.

-SMU AT TEMPLE (American). SMU’s resume needs some work, but I still think they have a path to the NCAA Tournament. They really need a strong finish to make it happen, though.

-RHODE ISLAND AT GEORGE WASHINGTON (Atlantic Ten). Rhody is now inside our bubble, and will likely stay there so long as they can hold serve in games like this.

-KENTUCKY AT TENNESSEE (SEC). I think Kentucky will ultimately end up being a protected seed. If they are that caliber of a team, then this is the kind of road game that they should be expected to win.

-SAINT LOUIS AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten). ROUND 2 OF THE ARCH BARON CUP!!!!!! The first game was an overtime thriller that Dayton came from behind to win. Now that Dayton’s at home, it may not be quite so close. SLU is also coming off a rather damaging loss to Duquesne, so if they want any shot at all at landing inside the bubble then it will take a win like this to get them there.

-WEST VIRGINIA AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12). Oklahoma is a team that’s squarely on the bubble, and could use a big win like this to help them land on the right side of it. West Virginia is trying to lock down a protected seed, and a road win like this would certainly help.

-PURDUE AT INDIANA (Big 12). This one is BIG! It’s a rivalry game, both teams are in our bracket, but neither is safely in the first ballot range, so a win in a game like this would really help. It would especially help Purdue, who really needs a road win.

-FLORIDA AT OLE MISS (SEC). Florida continues to hover around inside our bubble, but nowhere close to being a first ballot team yet. A road win like this would certainly help.

-RICHMOND AT FORDHAM (Atlantic Ten). I think Richmond has a path to landing inside the bubble, but it will require them to finish the season very strong and avoid any losses to teams like…well…Fordham.

-SETON HALL AT VILLANOVA (Big East). It’s two Big East frontrunners and two likely protected seeds going after what would be a huge win on their NCAA Tournament resumes. If Seton Hall were to win this, then you have to start wondering if they’ve got an outside shot at the #1 line.

-ARKANSAS AT MISSOURI (SEC). Arkansas is inside the bubble, but not entirely safely inside of it. They need to be able to beat teams like Mizzou on the road if they want to hold on to their spot.

-VIRGINIA AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Virginia has been playing better lately and after being outside the bubble for a while, now appears to be on a path that will land them in the NCAA Tournament. A win today would CERTAINLY put them on that path. Louisville continues to pile up the wins, and may also be in discussion for a #1 seed by the end of the year.

-MINNESOTA AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). Penn State is looking more and more like a protected seed to me. They just won at Michigan State and are really playing well. Minnesota looks like a bubble team that can’t win on the road, so they need a win like this to help boost their resume.

-TEXAS TECH AT TEXAS (Big 12). This is a game that both teams really need. Texas Tech has been playing well, but their resume is still a little flimsy. A road win like this could really help straighten it out. Texas is just outside the bubble, so every game has a somewhat pivotal feel to it.

-SOUTH FLORIDA AT MEMPHIS (American). Memphis doesn’t have much at all on their resume. They’ve already had a few slip-ups in games like this and really can’t afford another one.

-DRAKE AT NORTHERN IOWA (Missouri Valley). If Northern Iowa wins out through the regular season then I think they’ll be inside the bubble and in the field regardless of the conference tournament.

-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT MERCER (SoCon). ETSU lost the earlier meeting between these two, and they cannot afford to lose the second one. Otherwise they’ll probably need to win the SoCon Tournament if they want to go dancing.

-NEW ORLEANS AT STEPHEN F AUSTIN (Southland). Even if SFA wins out, they’ll probably still need to win the conference tournament to make the NCAAs, but at the very least they should get a serious look from the committee.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT BAYLOR (Big 12). Baylor is ranked #1 and is the consensus overall #1 seed. They should be able to hold serve at home today.

-DUKE AT NORTH CAROLINA (UTR Game of the Day)

-NEBRASKA AT IOWA (Big Ten). Iowa has had a rough week, both politically and on the court. This is a very winnable home game for the Hawkeyes and they kind of need it to bounce back after getting pasted by Purdue earlier this week.

-SAINT JOHN’S AT CREIGHTON (Big East). The Johnnies looked like they were on a path to the tournament for a while, but they’ve just dropped too many games in conference play. They’d pretty much need to go 6-2 the rest of the way to have any sort of a shot. Creighton, while coming off a loss, still looks like they could end up with a protected seed if they finish strong.

-STANFORD AT COLORADO (Pac 12). Colorado looks like a solid first ballot team, and Stanford is squarely on the bubble, and after their loss at Utah Thursday night you get the sense that they need a road win like this to shore up their resume.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West). San Diego State’s toughest games are behind them, and they seem to have a clear shot at winning out and landing on the #1 line.

-PROVIDENCE AT XAVIER (Big East). Interesting game here. Providence is coming off a big win against Creighton, and despite the rough start is playing really well. The problem is that they still have a long way to go before you could consider them a tournament team. Last week, we would have said the same thing about Xavier, but after back to back road wins against Seton Hall and DePaul, they appear to be heading in the right direction and can take another step forward if they can win tonight.

-WAKE FOREST AT SYRACUSE (ACC). Syracuse has been playing a lot better in recent weeks and if they keep it up they should land in the NCAA Tournament. They need to hold serve tonight against Wake, though.

-VANDERBILT AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC). Mississippi State is squarely on the bubble and needs to hold serve against a Vandy team that just won their first SEC game in over two years.

-SAN FRANCISCO AT BYU (West Coast). BYU looks like a team that’s in the 7-10 seed range of the NCAA Tournament. San Francisco is improving as a program, but still just looks like an NIT team this year, so it’s important BYU doesn’t lose this one at home if they want to hold serve.

-GONZAGA AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). Gonzaga is in contention for a #1 seed, and to solidly hold onto it I think they need to win road games like this one, especially when you consider that they don’t have as many opportunities as some of the other candidates in power conferences have.

-UCLA AT ARIZONA (Pac 12). Arizona has played really well the past couple of weeks and shouldn’t have too much trouble keeping that going tonight.

-USC AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12). Arizona State is outside the bubble and needs to string together some wins to end up on the right side of it. USC is inside the bubble, but could really use a road win like this to help tighten up their resume.

-BOISE STATE AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West). I think Utah State is playing better and should get a serious look from the committee if they win out and don’t go out too early in the conference tournament.

-OREGON AT OREGON STATE (Pac 12). Oregon looks to be a solid protected seed, but picking up another road win certainly wouldn’t hurt, especially if it comes against their in-state rivals.

Posted in Daily Rundown, News and Notes | Comments Off

Under The Radar Game of the Day: Friday, February 7th (and other News, Notes, and Games)

Posted on February 7, 2020 by John Stalica

For last night’s Hoops HD Bracket Rundown podcast where the panel builds a seed list on-air – CLICK HERE

For Jon Teitel’s interview with NBA and Southern Illinois legend Walt Frazier – CLICK HERE

Harvard (13-6, 2-2) at Yale (16-4, 4-0) – 5:00 PM EST (ESPNU)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day features what is typically the football Ivy League’s signature rivalry ~~highlighted by a pair of teams that are eight miles apart and have never met in the NCAA Tournament~~. The Harvard Crimson travel down I-95 to take on the Yale Bulldogs. Harvard had a rough go during the Penn-Princeton road trip; they lost by 3 points in overtime against the Quakers and then followed that up with a one-point loss at Princeton after the Tigers hit a pair of free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining. Bryce Aiken leads Harvard with 16.7 points a game.

Yale is currently on a stretch of wins in 13 of their last 14 games that include a pair of wins against their travel partner Brown as well as home wins against Columbia and Cornell. Even their last two losses are certainly forgivable, but still represent missed opportunities at Penn State and at North Carolina. Paul Atkinson averages just over 17 points a game for the Bulldogs.

OTHER NEWS, NOTES, AND GAMES

-Cincinnati is now 6-1 in their last seven games, and has knocked off Houston and Wichita State In their last two, so they are definitely trending in the right direction. As for Wichita State, they now fall to 5-4 in conference play after losing two straight games in the final seconds of the game.

-Tulsa was beaten rather handily at home by UConn last night. As well as they had been playing for the past few weeks, the tournament still seems like a long shot.

-Stanford, who I think is pretty much squarely on the bubble, fell to Utah in overtime. When you look at Stanford’s resume, there really isn’t much there, so losses to non-tournament caliber teams, even if on the road, seem to indicate that they themselves aren’t a solid tourney team.

-DAVIDSON AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). I think VCU still has a ton of work to do, but most who closely follow this stuff disagree and have them either on the bubble or in the field. Either way they cannot afford a loss tonight.

-MARYLAND AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Almost everyone considers Maryland to be a protected seed, be It pollsters, bracketologists, or the rest of the Hoops HD Staff. If they can win this one tonight, I will agree with them. Both teams are ranked, both look to be in the top half of the bracket, and this is a resume building opportunity tonight.

Posted in CBB on TV, Daily Rundown, Under the Radar | Tagged Harvard, ivy league, under the radar, Yale | Comments Off

Hoops HD BRACKET RUNDOWN: February 6th

Posted on February 6, 2020 by David Griggs

Tonight’s show was recorded on Thursday, February 6 at 9:30pm. No games that went final after that time were considered when building the seedlist and bracket

This week, the panel builds a seedlist line by line and debates, discusses, and assesses each team as they go. There are a lot of arguments over whether a teams like Maryland or Penn State should be protected seeds, where Rutgers and Virginia should be seeded, whether or not Cincinnati and Florida belong inside the bubble, and much more.

Below is the bracket, which was put together after we built the seedlist, but do not look at it until you’ve watched the show!!

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

Posted in Bracketology, Podcasts, Videocasts | Comments Off

Happy Tourney-versary!: HoopsHD interviews Southern Illinois legend Walt Frazier

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Jon Teitel

With the 2020 NCAA tourney tipping off next month, we will spend this month taking a walk down memory lane with a choice collection of players/coaches who are celebrating an awesome anniversary this year. From some game-winning FTs in the 1955 tourney (65th anniversary) through a 17-PT comeback win in the 2015 1st 4 (5th anniversary), these legends have all carved out a little piece of history in past Marches. We continue our series with Hall of Famer Walt Frazier, who is 1 of the greatest players to ever make the leap from D-2 to the NBA. A 2-time D-2 All-American, he lost the 1965 D-2 title game in OT before winning the 1967 NIT over Marquette en route to being named NIT MVP. After being drafted 5th overall by the Knicks in 1967, he made 7 straight All-Star Games AND was named to the All-Defensive 1st-team 7 straight times. He won a pair of NBA titles in 1970 and 1973, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987, and was selected to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Walt about the 55th anniversary of almost winning the 1965 D-2 tourney and the 50th anniversary of beating the Lakers in the 1970 NBA Finals. We also wish the MSG Knicks broadcaster a happy early 75th birthday next month!

At Southern Illinois you were a D-2 All-American in both 1964/1965: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? It was very galvanizing because I was unheralded coming out of high school. To get some recognition like that was very exciting for me: it made me work even harder.

What are your memories of the 1965 D-2 tourney title game (tourney MOP Jerry Sloan set a D-2 title game record with 25 REB in a 3-PT OT win by Evansville in their home city to clinch the title and finish the season a perfect 29-0)? I believe that we lost 3 games by a total of 4 PTS to them that season: they were our archrival. Sloan was tenacious, always going to the glass and scoring. They had a phenomenal team: they used to beat Big 10 teams at the time even though they were a small college but I will always remember Sloan and his tenacity.

You were ruled academically ineligible in 1966 but came back in 1967 to beat Marquette to win the NIT title: did you feel a sense of redemption after being named NIT MVP at MSG, and how disappointed were you about not being invited to the NCAA tourney? Winning the MVP was the culmination of my athletic career up to that point and it catapulted me into the limelight. Scouts knew about me but the public did not so going to the Garden was almost like a dream come true. When we got to NYC I was like “Wow, how great would it be to win!”…and then I was named MVP. I never thought that I would get drafted by the Knicks because they had so many backcourt players at the time.

You became 1 of the 1st athletes to have his own signature shoe when you endorsed some suede sneakers made by Puma: how big a deal was it back then to have a sneaker deal? I did not realize at the time how historic an event it was. Other guys were getting shoes but none of them were getting paid for it: I was the first to get paid. We transformed the shoe to suede and made it more flexible/light: it became a very hot shoe.

Take me through the magical 1970 Finals vs. the Lakers (which featured a combined 8 future Hall of Famers!):
In Game 3 Jerry West made a 60-foot shot at the end of regulation to send the game into OT before a 3-PT loss by the Lakers: where does that rank among the most amazing shots that you have ever seen? It was probably the most amazing when you consider that it was the Finals. We were lucky that there were no 3-PT shots back then because if that shot had won that game it would have turned the entire momentum of the playoffs. I can remember it like yesterday: the determination in West’s eyes. I was looking at him thinking, “This guy is crazy if he thinks he is going to make this shot!”

In the 1st half of Game 5, Finals MVP Willis Reed tore a muscle in his leg but your team forced the Lakers into 30 turnovers and came back from a 16-PT 3rd quarter deficit for a 7-PT win: do you agree with Dave DeBusschere’s claim that it was “1 of the greatest basketball games ever played”? I do not know if it was the greatest but it was the most innovative because we had to improvise without Willis.

Game 7 is primarily remembered for Reed running out of the tunnel to receive a huge roar from the home crowd but you had 36 PTS [12-12 FT]/5 STL/career-high 19 AST to win the title: how inspiring was Reed’s return, and where does that game rank among the highlights of your career? That is the highlight of my career because it was our 1st championship. Our captain showed so much courage: when he came out people thought that it was premeditated but we did not know he would be doing that. I saw Wilt Chamberlain/Elgin Baylor/Jerry West just mesmerized. They stopped doing whatever they were doing and just stared at Willis. At that point it gave me so much confidence that I said, “We’ve got these guys!” I could just feel that they were psyched out while watching him come onto the floor, and then (as fate would have it) he made his 1st 2 shots.

In 1972 the Lakers won 69 games in the regular season and then beat the Knicks in 5 games in the Finals: where does that team rank among the best you have ever seen? They are in the top-10: that record was able to stand for a long time.

Take me through the magical 1973 playoffs:
Boston won 68 games in the regular season but you had 25 PTS/10 REB to beat them on their home court in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals: how on earth were you able to get a win on the road against a franchise that was previously 10-0 in Game 7s?! We should have beat them at the Garden during Game 6 but they prevailed. Nobody gave us a chance going up there because of their formidable record. That season we had a lot of injuries but then we finally got healthy right before the playoffs and gained a lot of momentum: we were playing well.

In the Finals you lost Game 1 to the Lakers before winning the next 4 to win your 2nd title in 4 years: were you out for revenge against the Lakers, and how did this title compare to the 1st one? It was not revenge: we were just doing our job by going out and attacking them. In 1973 we had Earl Monroe/Jerry Lucas, which made us a more talented team. Earl had played poorly the previous year so I think that he had redemption on his mind because he came out and played really well and we ended up winning. 1973 was not as memorable as 1970: there is nothing like your 1st!

You scored 30 PTS in the 1975 All-Star Game and were named MVP in 6-PT win over the West: how were you able to play your best against the best? In our final game before the All-Star break we played at Phoenix and I scored 43 PTS. Since the All-Star game was in Phoenix I did not have to do any extra travel, and I had just played well on that court so I felt very comfortable. When you 1st become an All-Star your friends (who are also your biggest critics) start saying, “Man, when are you going to be the MVP?!” After being named an All-Star in each of the 5 previous years, I finally silenced them by winning it during my 6th All-Star game.

You were a 7-time All-Defensive 1st-team performer: what is your secret for playing great defense? Stance. You cannot improvise on the stance (butt down, head up), so once you master that it is just about perseverance and wanting to do it. It helps if you can run and jump and are quick, but it is not a necessity. The key is to take pride in your defense.

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Southern Illinois, Walt Frazier | Comments Off