Under the Radar – Nov 20th

Posted on November 21, 2024 by David Griggs

We have a jam packed and somewhat extended addition of Under the Radar as we are about to head into several in-season tournaments. Rocco Miller is actually joining us from Daytona Beach as he is on location at the Boardwalk Battle that begins tomorrow. Our feature conference is the Ivy League, and the story of the season so far is Columbia, who is off to a 6-0 start. Princeton is also a team to keep an eye on in that league.

After that we go through the other 22 UTR conferences and discuss how UTRGV nearly pulled off a big upset at Wisconsin and is worth keeping an eye on for the rest of the year, how some multiple ASun teams have won road buy games, the overall strength of the Big West, and more! And, as we do every week, we close with this week’s UTR Top Ten.

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

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The Olympians: HoopsHD interviews David Stockton about 2-time Olympic gold medalist/his father John

Posted on November 20, 2024 by Jon Teitel

The NBA Finals date back to 1947 (when they were known as the Basketball Association of America Finals) and the very 1st NCAA tourney was held in 1939. Olympic basketball competition is even older: it debuted as a demonstration event in 1904, and the men’s version became a medal sport in 1936, with the women finally getting their chance to go for the gold in 1976. The United States has dominated Olympic basketball competition from the start: the men have now won 17 gold medals in the 20 tournaments they have participated in during the past 88 years, while the women have won 10 gold medals in the 12 tournaments in which they have competed during the past 48 years. While we must wait 4 years until the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will fill the void by interviewing as many prior Olympic players/coaches as possible. We continue our coverage by chatting with David Stockton (who is in DC this week as part of the USA Men’s AmeriCup Qualifying Team’s 12-man roster for games vs. Puerto Rico and the Bahamas) about his father John being 1 of the best point guards ever and winning a pair of gold medals in 1992/1996.

Your father John was born in Spokane, went to high school at Gonzaga Prep, his grandfather Houston played football for the Bulldogs, and his father Jack is also an alum: how easy was his choice to go to college at Gonzaga? I think it was a very easy choice. He is still a homebody and did not want to stray far from the city where he grew up.

In the spring of 1984 he was drafted 16th overall by Utah: did he see that as a validation of his college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? I think it meant the world to him. I do not think he really expected it because he is a very humble guy.

He made the Dream Team in 1992: how did he feel about being 1 of 11 future Hall of Famers on that team (along with Charles Barkley/Larry Bird/Clyde Drexler/Patrick Ewing/Magic Johnson/Michael Jordan/Karl Malone/Chris Mullin/Scottie Pippen/David Robinson) playing for a Hall of Fame coach (Chuck Daly)? I assume it was a dream come true: basketball heaven!

He was part of a 117-85 win over Croatia in the final: what did it mean to him to represent his country, and what did it mean to him to win a gold medal? It must be up there as 1 of the best accolades you can get: there is nothing better.

He was picked to be a member of Dream Team II at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta: what kind of a home-court advantage did he have while playing in his home country, and did he give the new guys any advice about what to expect as 1 of the 5 guys who played for the original Dream Team in 1992 (along with Barkley/Malone/Pippen/Robinson)? At that point the world was still very far behind Team USA (whose roster was stacked) so they did not need a home-court advantage.

In Game 6 of the 1997 Western Conference Finals he had 25 PTS/13 AST and made a series-clinching 3-PT shot over his Olympic teammate Barkley at the buzzer to send the Jazz to the Finals (www.youtube.com/watch?v=AboGCfdKyOI): where does that rank among the highlights of his career? I would assume that it is up there as 1 of the best. The Jazz fought for a long time with that core group of players and they finally broke through in 1997 and made the Finals.

He led the NBA in APG for 9 consecutive seasons: what made him such a great PG? He always tried to make his teammates better, which is what a PG is supposed to do.

He only missed 22 games during his 19-year career and never missed the playoffs: what was the secret to his stamina/success? I wish I knew! He eats very healthy and stays in great shape. If I knew that answer, then I would be hurt less in my own career.

He still holds the NBA records for career AST (15,806) & STL (3,265) by a wide margin: do you think that anyone will ever break his records? I would say no, just due to the way the game is now. As far as AST, you would probably have to play 20 years and average 15 APG for several years in a row.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009 for his individual career and in 2010 as a member of the Dream Team, and in 2021 he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team: when people look back on his career, how do you think he should be remembered the most? As a winner who made the playoffs for 19 straight years (which is still an NBA record) and was so effective for so long. He also played every night, so there is also that toughness factor.

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Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Wednesday, Nov 20th

Posted on November 20, 2024 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-Marquette pretty much maintained a safe lead against Purdue for most of the game, and then really blew it open in the final frew minutes for a 76-58 statement win. Seeing as how Marquette also has a big road win at Maryland, they’re probably now one of the more proven teams in the country. Granted, I know it’s early, but so far they’ve done a lot more than what most teams have done.

-DePaul is now 5-0! Granted, they’ve done nothing other than beat weak UTR teams in home buy games, but last year they weren’t even capable of doing that!

-Northwestern got a huge scare from Montana State, but held on to win 72-69 and avoid a damaging upset.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-ILLINOIS VS ALABAMA (Birmingham, AL). Alabama has already had a major test and is coming off a hard fought loss against Purdue. Tonight they face another very tough opponent in Illinois, but under much friendlier circumstances seeing as how the game is in Birmingham and not a true road game. It’s also the first real test of the season for the Illini, and oftentimes the first test is one of the harder ones.

-Siena @ Xavier – X can stay unbeaten
-Columbia @ Long Island – Columbia can get to 6-0 on the season and pick up their 3rd true road win
-Lafayette @ Rhode Island – Rhody is 3-0
-New Mexico State @ Dayton – both teams are unbeaten, but New Mexico State struggled to win some of their buy games and Dayton already has a win against Northwestern
-Purdue Fort Wayne @ Penn State – Penn State can get to 5-0
-Jacksonville @ Virginia Tech
-Southern @ Texas A&M
-Merrimack @ Rutgers
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ Georgetown
-Long Beach State @ Gonzaga – I mean SHEESH! When is Gonzaga finally going to play a decent opponent!!??
-UC Davis @ Grand Canyon
-Cal Poly @ Arizona State
-Stanislaus State (nonD1) @ Saint Mary’s
-UTEP @ UC Santa Barbara – UCSB can get to 5-0 with a win
-Pepperdine @ UNLV
-San Jose State @ USC
-Norfolk State @ Stanford – Stanford is still unbeaten
-Idaho State @ UCLA

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Wednesday, November 20th

Posted on November 20, 2024 by John Stalica

Columbia (5-0) at Long Island (2-2, 1-2 D1) – 7:00 PM ET (NEC Front Row)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to the borough of Brooklyn where the Long Island Sharks host the Columbia Lions in a New York intracity matchup. After wins on the road against Loyola-Maryland and Villanova to start the season, Columbia is coming off of 3 straight wins at home against Delaware State, Lehigh and Mercyhurst. Geronimo Rubio de la Rosa is averaging 22 points and 5 rebounds through Columbia’s first 5 games.

Long Island is coming off of a West Coast road trip that featured a win at Air Force to open the trip; they lost to California Baptist 90-77 in their most recent contest. Dominique Daniels Jr. had 27 points in the losing effort for the Sharks against Calilfornia Baptist.

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Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Tuesday, Nov 19th

Posted on November 19, 2024 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

CLICK HERE for the latest HOOPS HD REPORT Video Podcast

-Gonzaga was able to keep San Diego State at arms length for pretty much the entire game and pull off an 80-67 win on the road. It was the Zags’ first true road win of the season, and it’s one that they should end up getting a lot of credit for seeing as how San Diego State isn’t likely to lose too many at home.

-Wisconsin barely, and i mean BARELY held on to beat UTRGV 87-84. The lead seesawed back and forth for the entire second half, and UTRGV actually had a chance to win on the last possession of the game as they were down by 1 with the ball, but the shot they got up didn’t go in and Wisky escaped after two more freethrows. Still, it was an amazing effort by UTRGV, and when you look at how they won the Greenbrier Tipoff and were also reasonably competitive against Creighton, you start to think that the Vaqueros are a team that can make a lot of noise in the Southland this year.

-Other than that it was a pretty chalky night with most of the teams winning the games you would expect them to win.

-Last, and definitely least, THIS HAPPENED yesterday…

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-HOFSTRA AT FLORIDA STATE. Hofstra has already racked up a neutral floor win over Seton Hall, and a road win at UMass. They’ve outperformed Florida State up to this point, and while this is probably Hofstra’s toughest test of the season so far, it’s also true that Hofstra is probably better than anyone Florida State has managed to beat so far. Also, if Hofstra does pull this off, then their early resume is going to look pretty good.

-PURDUE AT MARQUETTE. Both teams are ranked in the top 15 and both have already won really big games to earn it. Marquette got a huge road win at Maryland, and Purdue just knocked off Alabama, so both have been tested and both have passed the tests. Simply put, this should be a great basketball game in front of a crazy fun crowd and will likely be a protected seed caliber win come March.

BUY GAMES (and others worth noting):

-Loyola MD @ Boston College
-East Texas A&M @ UConn – ETAMU rolls out its new branding!!!
-Lipscomb @ Kentucky
-Cincinnati @ Northern Kentucky – The BATTLE OF THE BIG MAC BRIDGE!! It’s a road game for Cincinnati, but it will probably end up looking like a home buy game
-Florida A&M @ Florida
-North Dakota @ Notre Dame
-Tennessee Tech @ UCF
-Delaware State @ Providence
-Evansville @ Ohio State
-Cleveland State @ Minnesota
-Alabama A&M @ Georgia
-Canisius @ Maryland
-Western Carolina @ Wake Forest
-Bellarmine @ Louisville
-Bethune Cookman @ Tulane
-UNC Wilmington @ Kansas – both teams are unbeaten, and UNCW already has a road win, but it still appears to be a very big mismatch
-Samford @ Michigan State
-Charleston Southern @ LSU
-Alcorn State @ TCU
-Mississippi Valley State @ Kansas State
-Rider @ Iowa – Rider is 3-1 in road games, but was blown out against UCLA, which was their only real test
-Southern Utah @ Loyola Chicago – both teams are unbeaten, but Loyola Chicago has clearly been more tested
-Eastern Illinois @ DePaul
-Montana State @ Northwestern

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Tuesday, November 19th

Posted on November 19, 2024 by John Stalica

Oral Roberts (2-2, 0-2 D1) at Belmont (3-1, 2-1 D1) – 7:30 PM ET (ESPN+)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day heads to Nashville for a matchup of perennial UTR Contenders as the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles visit the Belmont Bruins. ORU is still looking for their first road win of the season (and their first D1 win, for that matter) after losses on the road against Minnesota and crosstown rival Tulsa. Sam Alajiki is currently averaging 12.3 points a game and 8.3 rebounds a game for ORU.

Belmont had a slow week to start the year with a non-D1 win and a tough loss in the closing seconds against Furman, but the Bruins have rebounded last week with two wins on the road. The first was a win in the final seconds in the Battle of the Boulevard at Lipscomb; the second win was a 79-71 decision at Air Force. Isaiah Walker had the game-winning 3-point play for Belmont against Lipscomb.

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