Season preview: HoopsHD interviews San Diego coach Steve Lavin

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Jon Teitel

We are less than 2 weeks away from the tip-off of the new college basketball season, which means that we still have a little time left to prepare for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with San Diego coach Steve Lavin, who talked about winning games in March and his expectations for this season.

You have made 10 postseason appearances as a head coach and won at least 1 game in 7 of those 10 appearances: what is the key to winning games in March? The most important element is playing your best basketball at the right time of year. There are 3 stages to a season: non-conference play (where we will test ourselves and put the foundation in place), conference play, and the postseason. You must be at your best when your best is needed…but you still need to take care of business in November/December.

You won the 1995 NCAA title as an assistant to Jim Harrick at UCLA, in large part due to Tyus Edney’s game-winning layup that beat Missouri in the 2nd round (www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS8QCoYfzW8): what is it like to face Tyus multiple times/year now that he is an assistant to Ed Schilling at Pepperdine? Tyus is 1 of my favorite people in the world. He changed our lives with that mad dash in 1995, and it is something that our fans will remember forever. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to coach him because he is a great human being and has a bright future in this business.

You have only 4 road games this season outside the state of California: is that a happy accident or do you prefer it to be that way? There is no doubt that it is an advantage when it comes to logistics, but we also head to the Northwest for road games in Seattle/Oregon. Our schedule checks a couple of boxes: we will be challenged by good competition and will have a chance to build a road-warrior mentality. I like our schedule for this year, but at some time in the future I would like to head to the East Coast or Midwest.

You had a birthday last month: what did you do for the big day? I was in San Francisco and got to see some family/friends (I grew up in the Bay Area). There was also some good wine from Napa involved!

After winning 18 games in 2024 you only won 6 games last season: what will it take to get back on track this season? It feels like a “relaunch” because it truly is. We have 14 new players and opened our new $35 million performance center last April. The NIL collective has allowed us to build a roster with the appropriate funding to compete. We have a great sense of optimism as our guys try to put a foundation in place and leave a legacy.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Alabama State coach Tony Madlock

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Jon Teitel

We are less than 2 weeks away from the tip-off of the new college basketball season, which means that we still have a little time left to prepare for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Alabama State coach Tony Madlock, who talked about winning an NCAA tourney game last March and his expectations for this season.

You were born/raised in Memphis: how easy was your decision to go to college at Memphis? It was probably the easiest decision I have ever made. I grew up watching Memphis State just like everyone else in town: it was probably a lifelong dream for most Memphis high school basketball players to join the Tigers.

You made the postseason during each of your 4 years, and in the 1992 NCAA tourney you made the Elite 8 before losing to Cincinnati: what is the key to winning games in March? Just getting hot at the right time. I have seen it from several different perspectives as a player/assistant/head coach. In mid-February you want to be playing your best basketball, and then carry it into March.

After graduating you played pro basketball in South America: what was the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball in other countries? That was a long time ago! I played for 1 year in Caracas and it was a great experience as a 22-year old to see if I was good enough to be a pro. I got to live in another country and experience a different culture. My son is now 22 and is playing in Germany but I assume it is a little different now compared to when I played.

You spent 3 years as an assistant to your former teammate Penny Hardaway at Memphis: what makes him such a good coach, and how excited are you to face him when you head back to the FedEx Forum in December? His basketball IQ is off the chart. When you watched him play in high school/college/NBA you always knew that he was a PG at heart with the ball in his hands. He can relate to the young men he is coaching. I am starting my 4th year here, but we have already played them twice: getting to go home and coach in front of family/friends is always a fun time. It is more than just another game due to my ties, plus I have some guys on my roster from Memphis.

After being hired as head coach at Alabama State in 2022, your win total increased from 8 in Year 1 to 13 in Year 2 to 20 in Year 3: how have you been able to turn things around so much during the past 3 years? I have had really good players who bought into what I have tried to preach. My coaching staff/administration have also been great: this school had not been to the Big Dance since 2011, so it was a long time coming. They gave me the support/resources I needed and hopefully we can continue that momentum.

Take me through the 2025 postseason:
In the SWAC tourney you won 3 games in 3 days by a combined 11 PTS to clinch the title: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the reaction like when you returned to campus? It meant everything: when I took this job, I told the president/athletic director that my goal from Day 1 was to bring a SWAC title to Alabama State. All those games were tight so we knew that we would need a stop/basket to win each game. When your team starts to believe that they are good, they will go out and play that way.

In the 1st 4 Amarr Knox scored 16 PTS including the game-winner with 1 second left in a 2-PT win over St. Francis (www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBm8i7frBPg): where does that shot rank among the highlights of your career? It is at the top, no doubt: that was the 1st tourney win in school history. We were the 6PM game so we opened March Madness with everyone in the country watching. It meant so much to our school/city.

Your son TJ averaged double-figures during each of the past 4 years and played for the Pistons in the NBA Summer League: how proud are you of all his success? I am so proud. TJ was All-Conference 3rd-team as an 18-year old and helped us make 1 of the biggest turnarounds in the country at South Carolina State. He was All-SWAC each year he was here and had a great career: I would not be in this position without him.

Of the 16 players on your roster, 15 started their college careers elsewhere and all 16 grew up outside Alabama: what sort of recruiting philosophy do you have? When you look at the landscape of college athletics it is tough. I want to take 1-2 high school kids each year and then redshirt them if I can. For everyone else you just need to fill up your roster with D-1 or JUCO transfers.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our word this year is “reset”. I saw Jalen Hurts talking about some advice he got from Michael Jordan earlier this year: he never talked about trying to “repeat” but focused on “reset”. We have a lot of new faces and are excited about this team. I have no idea who will be our star guys yet, or even our starters. I have 14 guys who are about even, but I cannot play them all, so I need the cream to rise to the top!

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The Hoops HD Report – Big East Conference Preview

Posted on October 23, 2025 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE For All of our Preseason Coverage, Including Interviews, Podcasts, and Conference Previews

The Hoops HD Panel takes a look at the Big East, where both Saint John’s and UConn are high in the rankings and many think they will both be in contention to make the Final Four. Marquette and Creighton also look like solid teams, and Georgetown appears to be a team that’s much improved and that could make a run at the NCAA Tournament. We run through the entire conference and gives our assessments of the upcoming season for each team.

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

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Full Nelson: HoopsHD interviews David Bierwirth about Sa’eed Nelson

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Jon Teitel

American University made the NCAA tourney last March for the 1st time in more than a decade, but they have a proud basketball history going back to the 1950s when they played at the D-2 level. 1 of their recent stars was Sa’eed Nelson, who graduated in 2020 as conference POY and the all-time leading scorer in school history before heading abroad to play pro basketball. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with American associate AD for external operations David Bierwirth about Sa’eed’s sensational stats and the legacy he left in DC.

Sa’eed was born/raised in New Jersey: what made him choose American? Our coach Mike Brennan was a standout Jersey PG himself, and our assistant Scott Greenman had played at Sa’eed’s high school St. Augustine Prep, so those 2 connections were very important.  They were great examples for Sa’eed based on their relationships and playing/coaching experience.

He started all 30 games as a freshman, scored 14.9 PPG, and made the conference all-rookie team in 2017: how was he able to come in and contribute right from the start? A lot of that comes from the pedigree of the high school program he came up through. It is hard for a freshman PG to start right away on most college teams, but he did it to great success.

In the 2018 Patriot League tourney he scored a career-high 41 PTS/14-20 FG with 9 AST in a 7-PT loss to Lafayette: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? It was. We were playing from behind a little bit so we needed him to score a lot of PTS, but with Sa’eed, you never felt it was forced: he could really fill it up quickly. It was a phenomenal individual performance.

In 2020 he was named conference POY: what did it mean to him to receive such an outstanding honor? He was a very humble, individual/quiet leader: I recall his sentiment being that it was a team award…but he was clearly the best player in the league that year.

He never won a single postseason game despite averaging 25 PPG/4 APG/2.5 SPG in his 4 opening round Patriot League tourney losses: was he frustrated that his individual success never translated to wins in March? I am sure that he was frustrated, as was everyone in our program. We had a good squad that finished near the top of the league in 2019 and 2020, and a couple of those losses were at home, but it does not take away from his leadership or the entirety of those teams’ very good years.

His 2116 career PTS remains the most in school history: what was his secret for being a great scorer? He got better every year and was an iron man. He did not have great size but did have a great work ethic, so he would practice on finishing at the rim against taller players all the time.

His 36.9 career MPG is 1 of the best in conference history: how crucial was his endurance to his success? It was critical: he played for so many minutes and had a motor that never seemed to end. He had some injuries along the way and was exhausted during some timeouts, but he was a great natural athlete who would just turn it on during games.

His 2.3 career SPG is also 1 of the best in conference history: how did he balance his offense with his defense? That is what made his endurance consistency even more impressive because he did not take any time off while on the defensive end. He could read his opponents and had great anticipation in cutting off passing lanes.  He also had very quick hands and a knack for a steal and layup on the other end before anyone realized what had happened.

Since going undrafted in 2020 he has spent the past several years playing pro basketball overseas: did you have any doubts that he was going to have a nice long pro career? No. He has a natural ability to score and can play both sides of the ball, so I thought that he was a lock to play pro basketball.

When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? He must be considered part of AU’s Mount Rushmore. In addition to scoring, he is 3rd in career AST with 521, so he is a 1st-ballot Cassell Hall of Famer here once he becomes eligible: the rule is you become eligible 10 years after your final season. He exemplified everything that you could want out of a player to represent American University Basketball.

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The Hoops HD Report – Big Ten Conference Preview

Posted on October 22, 2025 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE For All of our Preseason Coverage, Including Interviews, Podcasts, and Conference Previews

A full panel is assembled as we take a look at this year’s Big Ten. Purdue is the top ranked team the nation in the preseason poll and the hands down favorite to win the Big Ten this year. Michigan, UCLA, and Illinois also look to be very talented and we think they can all contend for protected seeds. Big coaching changes at Indiana and Maryland as both of those schools bring in a lot of transfers. Iowa is an interesting team with so many players from Drake coming in. We discuss all 18 teams and assess who we think will be in the NCAA Tournament, and more!

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

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Hanging with the Hoyas: Georgetown media day

Posted on October 22, 2025 by Jon Teitel

HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the upcoming months covering several Georgetown basketball home games, with (hopefully) a very special reward coming in March. He was in attendance Wednesday afternoon for the Hoyas’ media day at Capital 1 Arena that included a press conference with Coach Ed Cooley and an interview with Baylor transfer Langston Love.

Since Coach Cooley increased his win total during each of his 1st 3 years at his previous 2 stops (Fairfield/Providence), I asked him if he felt that he had the pieces to do that at Georgetown. After thanking me for putting the pressure on him(!), he said that he expected to be good as they grew as an organization. Many supporters of college basketball teams think that money equates to winning, but he claimed that you need to build camaraderie with a feeling of “we over me”. He expects his team to be damn good, but they we will make some mistakes and then grow from them. He thought he recruited an NCAA tourney-caliber team last year before they had so many injuries.

After Cooley’s press conference, Langston Love took a few minutes to speak with me about his decision to come to DC and his fantastic FT shooting:

You transferred to Montverde Academy after your sophomore year of high school: which of your teammates impressed you the most (Scottie Barnes/Cade Cunningham/Moses Moody/other)? Probably Cade, but Scottie was also a great veteran on that team. You have already seen it translate into them having success in the NBA at an early age.

In the 2021 GEICO Nationals championship game you had a 10-PT win over Sunrise Christian Academy: what did it mean to you to win a title? It was very cool! The year before we did not win a title despite having all those great players you mentioned above, but in 2021 the guys like myself who had been on the bench got a lot more responsibility.

1 of your teammates at the 2021 Jordan Brand Classic was Bryce Hopkins: how excited are you to face him when St. John’s visits DC on New Year’s Eve? It will be cool to see Bryce again: we played against the same guys growing up. It will also be a big game for us because St. John’s has so much hype this year.

Last February as a player at Baylor you scored 9 PTS in a loss to Arizona: could you have ever imagined that 1 of your opponents that night (KJ Lewis) would become your future teammate in DC? It is a small world! As soon as I saw that KJ was in the portal I hoped that he would end up in DC: we even came here on our campus visits together.

Last March in the NCAA tourney you scored 15 PTS in a win over Mississippi State and 11 PTS in a loss to Duke: what did you learn from that postseason run that you think will help you this season? That was my 1st time playing in March Madness because I had been injured in the past. It showed me that it takes all the small things to win: every team can score/defend so it is the little things that set you apart.

You finished last season 32-35 from the FT line: what is the secret to making FTs? Just reps and breathing at the line. Make it about just you and the basket because that is all that matters: they are free for a reason!

What made you choose Georgetown? Coach Cooley is legendary, as is this program. They were honest with me when I was in the portal and I knew that they would push me. It is a great situation for me during my final year in college.

You have only played 74 games during the past 4 years due to a variety of injuries and were banged up a bit this summer: how is your health? I am doing great. 1 reason I came here is because they spoke so highly of the trainer Benny (Reisz). I wanted to go somewhere where they would help me take care of my body and do the right things.

Your father Kevin played football in high school, your brother Kijana played basketball at New Hampshire, and your sisters Endaisia/Camille/Sidney all played college sports: who is the best athlete in the family? I will always choose myself. We are a very competitive family and my dad instilled that trait in us from a young age: he started working me out when I was 5.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Georgetown has been out of the NCAA tourney for a few years, so I want us to play well in the Big East and make the NCAA tourney. I think we have the guys to do it, and I think that it will be a great experience.

That is a wrap for now but check back next month when the season tips off!

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