Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews SMU head coach Tim Jankovich

Posted on November 9, 2017 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Jon’s interviews, and the rest of our extensive and continuous preseason coverage

The history of SMU basketball coaches contains a little bit of everything: a Final 4 coach (Doc Hayes), a coach who later received a show-cause penalty (Dave Bliss), a coach who helped end UCLA’s record 88-game winning streak when he played for Notre Dame (John Shumate), a coach who previously was named national COY (Matt Doherty), and a Hall of Famer (Larry Brown).  All Tim Jankovich brings to the table is being 1 of the winningest players in Kansas State history, an assistant to some of the best coaches in NCAA history, and a 39-5 record as head coach at SMU.  The reigning AAC COY will try to get his team back to the NCAA tourney and see if he can remain undefeated at Moody Coliseum.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Jankovich about working for great coaches and how his own coaching style has changed over the past couple of decades.  

You were a 3-time Academic All-American as a PG at Washington State/Kansas State: how were you able to balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? I was probably like almost every player/coach who I know.  I did not love hearing a lecture every day because my heart was on the court but my family upbringing helped make it a big priority.

In the 1980 NCAA tourney Tony Branch made an off-balance banked 15-footer with 1 second left in a 2-PT OT win by Louisville: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It was a little devastating but we were all very young at the time (I was a sophomore) and Louisville ended up winning it all. There were a couple of other losses that were much more painful.

In the 1981 NCAA tourney Rolando Blackmon made a 15-foot baseline jumper with 2 seconds left to clinch a 2-PT upset of Oregon State: what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was absolutely incredible but when you are in the middle of the tourney it is probably more exciting for the fans. It did not hit me until the following week when I was getting taped up 1 day and saw that we were on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which was surreal.

You have served as an assistant to many successful head coaches including Lon Kruger/Eddie Sutton/Kevin Stallings/Bill Self/Larry Brown: what is the most important thing that you learned from any of them? I carry every single thing I can from all of them. I would match my teachers in this game against anyone who has ever lived: I might be the most fortunate student in the history of the game! You do not have time to hear every single thing that I have learned but I loved them all. Several of them have retired but I had good fortune to work for all of them.

You previously served as head coach at North Texas/Illinois State: how has your coaching style changed at all from the start of your career to now? I would say that it has changed a lot because I have learned so much. When you are young you know what you know but as you get older you study the game more and use your brain to figure out new ways to do things. What changed a great deal was my approach to coaching, which has changed my love for the profession. After my son was born I felt a different responsibility because everyone I coached was somebody else’s son, so I tried to talk to/coach them as if they were my own son. It made my life so much more rewarding because it is not just about trying to win games: it goes far deeper than that.

You finished your 1st season as SMU head coach by winning a school-record 30 games and being named conference COY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It certainly makes me proud but I have done this long enough to not get too carried away. We had outstanding players that could not have been more fun to coach and we have a tremendous staff.  It is a program honor that means your full group had a heck of a year.

In the 2017 NCAA tourney you had a 1-PT loss to USC after the Trojans overcame a double-digit deficit: what do you think that your team learned from that game that will help them this year? If we had more guys back there would be a lot of lessons but I think we lead the nation by only having 3 players back due to limited scholarships. We are not playing with a full deck but those 3 have experience. What hurt us in the tourney last year is that the postseason ban from a couple of years ago meant that we did not have anyone with postseason experience. It is like playing golf with your buddies vs. entering a professional golf tourney. As a player, I know that the more tourney games I played, the more comfortable I felt.

You lost 3 of your top-4 scorers from last year (Semi Ojeleye/Sterling Brown/Ben Moore): how are you going to try to replace all of that offense? Ouch! The 3 returning guys will have their production go up and we will see how many of our young players can be productive on offense. Experienced talent is where you want to go so I am sure that their aggressiveness will be amplified.

You will spend Thanksgiving at the Battle 4 Atlantis: how do you prepare to possibly face Arizona/Villanova on consecutive nights? I have tried my best to not think about it because it only makes my days longer! Right now we need to be optimistic yet realistic. We have 9 scholarship players so it is a pretty tall order but I intentionally try not to think about our future opponents. I just want to expedite our development as soon as I can.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? I hope it does not sound like I am avoiding your question but I learned a long time ago not to set any specific number of wins as a goal. I think that every single team should have the goal of winning a national title.  It might sound crazy but it is possible so why not have that be your goal…but do not get caught up in numbers. We ask our guys the same question and they always say national championship: I guess we have brainwashed them well!

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Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews SMU G Ben Emelogu II

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Jon’s interviews, and the rest of our extensive and continuous preseason coverage

Only 9 teams lost 5 or fewer games last season: 1 of them made the NCAA title game (Gonzaga) and 2 others were #1 seeds (Villanova/Kansas).  SMU was 1 of the other 6, but after losing a few seniors as well as Semi Ojeleye they will need a strong season out of Ben Emelogu II.  He missed the entire 2016 season due to injury and only started 3 games last year but was such a force off the bench that he was named AAC Co-6th Man of the Year.  If his performance during the Mustangs’ Canadian tour this past August is any indication (11.3 PPG, 13-26 FG, 7-15 3PM), perhaps another conference championship will be within reach.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Ben about why he transferred to Dallas and what it meant to get his degree last spring.

You grew up in Texas but originally signed with Virginia Tech: how did it feel to be named team captain as a freshman? It was huge. It was a big load to carry as a freshman but was an exciting moment.

Why did you decide to transfer in 2014, and what made you choose SMU? I found out that my grandmother had cancer so we talked it out with everyone and I just decided to come back home.

You won a pair of AAC tourneys in 2015/2017: what did it mean to you to win a pair of titles? It was a big payoff and a big momentum-builder going into the NCAA tourney. It put a stamp on our whole season.

In the 2015 NCAA tourney you had a 1-PT loss to UCLA (on a questionable goaltending call) and in the 2017 NCAA tourney you had a 1-PT loss to USC (who overcame a double-digit deficit): how sick are you of playing Pac-12 teams from Los Angeles in the postseason?! I cannot stand it but we get USC again this year so I am looking forward to that game. Hopefully this season we can go deeper in the tourney.

Last year you were named conference co-6th Man of the Year: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? I give the credit to my teammates/coaches who helped me out throughout the season after I was coming off of an injury. Even if I am not scoring points I am still helping the team win.

You got your degree in Sports Performance Leadership with a minor in Sport Management last May: does it feel any different to enter the season with a degree under your belt? It has not hit me yet because I am still taking sports management classes but my family is very happy for me.

You are 1 of only 2 seniors on the roster: how much pressure is there on you to be a leader this season? There is a lot of pressure but I can deal with it. We have a great culture here so we will teach the young guys and get everyone on the same page.

You will spend Thanksgiving at the Battle 4 Atlantis: how do you prepare to possibly face Arizona/Villanova on consecutive nights? We are just trying to get better as a team right now and get ready to compete. We have a tough schedule and the conference has gotten better as well.

Your brother Lindsey played basketball at Weber State and your cousin Cedrick played basketball at Washington State: who is the best athlete in the family? That is a tough 1. I want to say me but my brother/cousin were also good so pick your poison with any of us!

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Just to win and have fun doing it. Each year we play with a chip on our shoulder and try to prove everyone wrong.

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Hoops HD Bracket Rundown: Preseason Edition

Posted on November 7, 2017 by David Griggs

Chad reveals his preseason NCAA Tournament Bracket!  And the rest of the panel banters back and forth with him as it is revealed line by line!  Some of the picks are conventional and consistent with the preseason rankings.  Others are way out on a limb.  At the end of the show the panel discusses who is in and should be out, and who is out and should be in.  We also each give our Final Four and national champion picks, and in closing we reveal this year’s Team of the People!!

 

Below is Chad’s Bracket.  Be sure to watch the show to see how he explains it and how everyone else argues with him.

 

And for all you radio lovers, below is an mp3 version of the show…

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Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Central Arkansas head coach Russ Pennell

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Jon’s interviews, and the rest of our extensive and continuous preseason coverage

We are great fans of GCU but realize that even though Dan Majerle is currently running the show it was Russ Pennell who 1st helped get the Lopes going.  After making the Sweet 16 as head coach at Arizona in 2009, Pennell traveled a couple of hours north up I-10 from Tucson to Phoenix and had 4 straight winning seasons at Grand Canyon from 2010-2013, then took the Phoenix Mercury to the Western Conference Finals that final summer.  It has been slow-going after he was hired at Central Arkansas in 2014 but we have faith in him.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Pennell about 1 of the most famous shots in NCAA tourney history and getting to coach his alma mater.  We also with him a happy early birthday a few weeks in advance!

You played basketball at Arkansas/were an assistant at Oklahoma State to Eddie Sutton and were an assistant to Lute Olson at Arizona: what was it like to learn the game from these Hall of Famers? It was an unbelievable opportunity that helped me immensely. In many respects they revolutionizd the game: Henry Iba, the father of motion offense, was Coach Sutton’s college coach at Oklahoma A&M, and Coach Olson put Arizona on the map.

In the 1991 NCAA tourney as an assistant at Oklahoma State, Corey Williams scored 17 PTS including what he thought was a game-winning 3-PT shot from the top of the key with 2 seconds left in regulation…but his right foot was on the line and you ended up with a 9-PT OT loss to Temple: did you think the shot was going in, and did everyone think that the game was over? We thought the game was over when Corey made the shot. Temple called a timeout and we ran out to celebrate with Corey, but the refs immediately called it a 2. We looked at the tape later and his toes were clearly on the line. The following year the same thing darn near happened to us again when we lost to the Fab 5 by 3 PTS: we were close 2 years in a row.

In the 1998 NCAA tourney as an assistant to Rob Evans at Mississippi, Bryce Drew scored 22 PTS including an ESPY-winning 23-footer at the buzzer in a 1-PT win by Valparaiso: what kind of defense did you draw up, and where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It is probably the most devastating loss because I thought that we had the team to go a long way. Florida State beat TCU before our game so we would have had a good chance in the next game against the Seminoles but so many things went wrong. Ansu Sesay was the SEC POY but missed a FT at the end and then we knocked the ball out of bounds: it was a 50-50 play for us. Destiny stepped in and it was a heck of a play by Valpo.

In 2013 you were hired by the Phoenix Mercury and ended up taking the team to the Western Conference Finals before losing to eventual champion Minnesota: what is the biggest difference between coaching men vs. coaching women? I did not see a big difference at all in terms of gender: the biggest difference was coaching pros vs. coaching college kids. The WNBA was a great place to coach: the pros were so intelligent that you could draw up any play and they could execute it. We drew up a play against Los Angeles in Game 3 of the Semifinals but when I saw their defense on the court I told our inbounder to look to Brittany Griner instead, and she made the shot to win the series. I loved that we were smart enough to make that work but do not know if college kids could do that. I also missed the family environment of a college team where the coaches become their surrogate dads. Some guys do not like recruiting but I do.

In 2014 you were hired as coach at Central Arkansas: what did it mean to you to become coach at your alma mater? It was kind of a delayed effect but once I stepped into the locker room a lot of good memories came flooding back into my mind. What you miss the most is the struggle to succeed: the daily practices, the sore knees, and of course the big wins. We cleaned house the 1st year but I look at it as part of the process, which means a lot to me. I left my blood/sweat on that court during my playing days.

Last year G Jordan Howard was a 3rd-team Academic All-American: how much importance do you place on academics? I put a premium on it: the reason I am talking to you is that I have a college/Masters’ degree. It is an important aspect of college athletics that we have missed: it used to be about getting an education but now it is more about chasing your NBA dreams. I have always found that the kids who are most competitive on the court are also the ones who are most competitive in the classroom. We currently have a combined 3.2 GPA and had 10 guys on the honor roll last semester, which has also helped us recruit better. If you do not take care of your business in the classroom then you do not need to worry about the NCAA: I will just suspend you myself.

Last year your 84.1 PPG allowed was in the bottom-10 in the nation: do you feel that you need a radical change on the defensive end, or just reinforcement of the fundamentals, or other? Depth has been the biggest issue for us: we had 3 guys last year who played 35+ MPG and you cannot play the kind of defense we want when you are playing so many minutes. You have to hold your positioning and be strong on the inside. We switched to a matchup zone for a short time and our opponents just lit us up from the 3-PT line. Coach Sutton was 1 of the best defensive coaches in the country and at GCU we were 1 of the best defensive teams in the nation, but last year we actually led our conference in scoring. I also want to use the bench as motivation if the starters are not defending well.

You have 5 players on the roster from Arkansas as well as players from New York/California/Canada: what sort of recruiting philosophy do you have? We are looking for a certain type of player but everything starts with being able to shoot the basketball. We look for guys who also play unselfish basketball. Since I have been in so many different leagues I still have good contacts that help us bring in good players. Our program was not highly thought of in the past and it was hard to recruit in-state kids, but that is starting to turn around with guys like SK Shittu (who is from Rogers, AR). However, it was those out-of-state kids who got us over the hump.

Your non-conference schedule includes road games at Baylor/UCLA/Cal/Oregon: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? 3 of those 4 teams are ranked and they will all give us a good test. I am okay with guarantee games because they are much-needed to help the entire university. When you are in a 1-bid league it gives your kids an NCAA tourney experience because guess who we will be paired with if we make it to March?! 1 of the 1st things I get asked by recruits is who we will play: they want to be playing the best teams in full arenas rather than just beating up on a bunch of D-2 teams in front of small crowds. We have been in some of those games..but have been rocked in a few as well.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? I think that we can make big strides this year and I believe we will be in the mix and make a run toward the conference title. I think we have enough bullets in the gun as well as 2 of the best players in the league. We can score and have been building for this: year 4 is when people can really see what you have been doing. Almost everywhere I have been has been a building process: when you have gone through it then you will know what is coming up.

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Under the Radar: Season Preview

Posted on November 6, 2017 by David Griggs

Chad and the Hoops HD Panel wrap up our conference previews with this year’s first edition of Under the Radar.  Plus we are joined by Rocco Miller, who you can check out at bracketeer.org!  We run through all 22 UTR conferences and discuss who we think the frontrunners will be, and at the end of the show we talk about which teams we feel may be good enough to not need the automatic bid to make the NCAA Tournament.

 

And for all you radio lovers, below is an mp3 version of the show

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Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews North Dakota head coach Brian Jones

Posted on November 5, 2017 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Jon’s interviews, and the rest of our extensive and continuous preseason coverage

Coach Brian Jones entered the national spotlight after making the NCAA tourney last March but he has held a special place in our hearts since winning the wildest conference tourney ever.  The 2011 Great West Conference tournament only featured 6 games but they were decided by a combined 11 PTS including a title game won by the Fighting Sioux on a 3-PT shot with 4 seconds left in double-OT.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Jones about that amazing tourney and being named conference COY.

You played basketball at Northern Iowa: how good a player were you back in the day, and how did you get into coaching? I thought that I was a pretty good player who had a solid career. I was a stretch-4 and had a high IQ and after college I played pro overseas for a few years and saw the world, which was instrumental to my future. The season in Australia was opposite of the 1 in the US so I was able to come back to the states and coach high school. I broke my hand in Portugal, got a job at a D-2 school, and have never looked back.

In the 1999 NCAA tourney as an assistant to Steve Alford at #12-seed Southwest Missouri State you held Wisconsin to 32 PTS and then beat Tennessee by 30 PTS: it is 1 thing to be a Cinderella, but how were you able to dominate a pair of high-major teams? Our team was very talented with great guard play as well as a great post player. We were fearless: we upset Missouri on the road and lost the conference title on a corner bank 3 against Evansville. We were familiar with Coach Dick Bennett’s style of play and matched up well with them.  I do not know if the Tennessee players respected us. We also played well against Duke in the Meadowlands.

In the 2006 NCAA tourney as an assistant to Alford at #3-seed Iowa, Jermaine Wallace made a baseline turnaround 3-PT shot while falling out of bounds in the final second of a 1-PT upset by Northwestern State: did you think the shot was going in, and where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? That was very heartbreaking because it was the best team we had at Iowa from top to bottom and we felt good after winning the Big 10 tourney title. They subbed in 5 guys at a time and pressed us, plus we missed a lot of FTs down the stretch. That is why I love March Madness because of those exact scenarios: there is so much excitement.

You were hired as head coach of North Dakota in 2006: how hard was the transition from the North Central Conference to the Great West Conference in 2008 to the Big Sky Conference in 2012? I got hired late in the spring of 2006 and took over a program that had a lot of Iowa flavor so I was excited to run a program of my own. The draw for me was transitioning to D-1 but many times it can be a career-killer. Winning the Great West twice was great and then building our product across the Midwest was also great. It was a hard journey but it has made us better coaches: we stay in our lane!

In the 2011 Great West tourney you had a 1-PT 2-OT win over South Dakota to clinch the title: what are your memories of 1 of the wildest conference tourneys ever (all 6 games were decided by a grand total of 11 PTS)? When you are a 1-bid league everyone is just trying to find their way. I remember looking back and wondering how we won each game. South Dakota is a rival of ours and it went back and forth in the title game. We fouled a guy at the end of regulation and he made a 3, and then we made a shot at the end of OT to win it: I still have that photo on my office wall. I am such a fan of the CBI/CIT because it is important to the kids/coaches even if they do not get a lot of attendance at the games.

Last year you were named Big Sky COY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It was extremely humbling but I feel that if you win the league then the team will get all of the awards. It was just the icing on the cake for us and I take a lot of pride in the fact that our peers recognized the season that we had.

You made the CIT 5 times in 6 years from 2011-2016: how nice was it to finally make it to the NCAA tourney in 2017 after a 4-PT OT win over Weber State in the Big Sky tourney title game? We were the CIT poster child for a while, which is not a bad thing due to the pride factor. We have had some tough times but never strayed from the right way to go about things. Quinton Hooker carried the load for us on the floor, in the classroom, and in the community. He showed the young guys how to prepare themselves to perform. I still watch tape of the Weber State game, which was remarkable.

In the 2017 NCAA tourney you lost to Arizona: what did your team learn from that game that will help them this year? We played our way and did not try to smoke-and-mirror it up. Their length was unbelievable but we scored a bunch of points within our system. At the end of the day their athleticism is what we struggled with and it wore us down.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Nebraska/Creighton/Gonzaga: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? I am a big proponent of taking my team on the road to face programs that I respect. I have known Gregg McDermott since I was 18 and Coach Miles has a North Dakota background. Our guys will always remember the Gonzaga game many years down the road because they will show up whether it is against us or UCLA. I just hope we will be fearless like we were against Arizona.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? As we continue on our journey we just want to sustain success year in and year out (like Gonzaga does). We will be relentless with our effort/chemistry both on and off the floor. I do not think coaches spend enough time on the culture side of things: talent is important but you still have to bring everything together.

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