Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Xavier G JP Macura

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Jon Teitel

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

Quick: name the only Xavier player who started every game last season.  Edmond Sumner: no.  Trevon Bluiett: close.  The correct answer is SG JP Macura, who helped the Musketeers beat Arizona to reach the Elite 8 before losing to eventual runner-up Gonzaga.  Even though it did not count, he also made 1 of the longest shots I have ever seen against the Bulldogs at the end of the 1st half: 

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/03/xavier-jp-macura-buzzer-beater-march-madness-long-shot-elite-8-opposite-3-point-line-what-did-not-count-but-still-crazy

He gets it done on both ends of the court, as he was 2nd on the team with 14.4 PPG and led the team with 1.4 SPG.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with JP about his miraculous heave and a super-strong non-conference schedule.

You grew up in Minnesota: what made you choose Xavier? The coaches for sure, as well as the winning history of the program making the NCAA tourney. I also liked the small classroom environment and the coaches made it feel like home during my visit.

You play for Coach Chris Mack: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him? He is just a player’s coach: he will get on you about certain things but is willing to help you become a better player. He has taught me that to be a good player/team you need to put in a lot of hard work.

In 2016 you were named Big East 6th Man of the Year: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? I thought that it was pretty cool to see my hard work paying off…but it is more important for the team to make the NCAA tourney.

In the 2016 NCAA tourney Bronson Koenig scored 20 PTS including a fadeaway 3 at the buzzer in a 3-PT win by Wisconsin: did you think that his shot was going in, and where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It is by far the most devastating loss of my career. He had a good look and is a good shooter so it was kind of heartbreaking, but it helped our team/coaches want to finish games better. Attack and finish were our big talking points last year and it was great to make the Elite 8, but I think we can make an even further run this year.

Last November you scored a career-high 28 PTS/6-11 3PM in a 6-PT win over Clemson: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? My teammates did a great job of finding me and helping me get open. At halftime they told me to keep shooting and my shot felt perfect.

In the 2017 Elite 8 you scored 18 PTS in a loss to eventual runner-up Gonzaga: how on earth did you make that 75-footer before halftime that did not count, and what did you learn from that game that will help you this year? Sometimes I practice weird shots when I was in the gym but it just happened to go in. It did not bother me when they waived it off since we were losing anyway. We were short some players and a few of our guys were running out of juice, but it will help because now we know what it takes to go further in the tourney. We need some more fire/energy toward the end of the season.

You have a brutal non-conference schedule that includes games against Wisconsin/Kansas State or ASU/Baylor/Cincinnati/Colorado: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? I would say Wisconsin because it is on the road and will be a good early test for us to see where we are at and who will step up. We have a lot of confident players and someone will eventually step up.

You are 1 of 3 seniors on the team: how much pressure is there on you to be a leader this year? It is not really any pressure because we have been doing a good job all summer of showing the young guys the ropes and leading by example. We have already become leaders because it is just who we are and we can hopefully take these guys very far.

PF Kerem Kanter transferred in this year from Green Bay: how is he adjusting to joining the team? Great: he is a unique player who can really score and will help us in a lot of ways on the offensive end. He will be difficult for a lot of teams to guard and has picked things up quickly.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our goal is to win the Big East and make the Final 4. I expect us to play as hard as we possibly can every single night.

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Hoops HD Special Report: College Basketball Programs Under FBI Investigation

Posted on September 27, 2017 by David Griggs

The last two days in college basketball have been unprecedented, and it probably isn’t going to end any time soon.  Ten individuals, including four assistant basketball coaches at power conference programs, have been charged by the FBI with bribery and corruption.  USC, Oklahoma State, Arizona, and Auburn were specifically named, with Louisville and Miami FL being referenced in the report.  The situation at Louisville is especially noteworthy considering that the school is only a month removed from being put on probation for a rather conspicuous and serious violation.  A (yet to be named) assistant coach was apparently caught on video orchestrating a $100,000 dollar bribe.  That’s the most brazen thing I can recall a school on probation actually doing.  It now puts Louisville into the category of being a repeat violator.

Kyle Lamb, a favorite of Hoops HD who will be hosting a weekly podcast, along with his daily podcast at LandOfTen.com hosts the panel of Chad, Galen Clavio, and David Griggs as they talk about what this means to the upcoming season of college basketball, and what it could mean in future years.  We discuss why it was that the FBI got involved, what events led us to where we are now, and what the NCAA could potentially do moving forward.

No video tonight.  Just audio only.  All the radio lovers will be happy.  Our apologies to all you TV lovers out there.

UPDATE #1:  In addition to our podcast that you can listen to or download below, you can listen to more on this subject from Galen Clavio of CrimsonCast.com – CLICK HERE

UPDATE #2: And Kyle Lamb weighs in on his daily podcast at Inside The Shoe/Landof10.com – CLICK HERE

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Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Jon Teitel

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

Even if Rick Pitino never coaches another game in his life he still has a pretty nice resume: 1987 national COY, 7 Final 4s, the only men’s coach to ever lead 2 different schools to an NCAA championship (Kentucky/Louisville), and induction into the Hall of Fame in 2013.  His coaching tree of former players/coaches is not too shabby either, including longtime head coaches Billy Donovan/Tubby Smith/Mick Cronin.  1 of the most recent branches on the tree is Mark Pope, who won a title while playing for Coach Pitino at Kentucky in 1996 and is preparing to begin his 3rd year as head coach at Utah Valley.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Pope about winning a title and being part of the greatest comeback in NCAA tourney history.  

You were born on 9/11: how has that day changed for you since 2001? I think my family actually celebrates the day more now. I grew up in New York and played for the Knicks and went to medical school there (Columbia) so we have a lot of close ties. It confirms that we are all really blessed to live in this world and have the chance to spend another year here.

In 1992 you were named Pac-10 ROY at Washington: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant a lot but we were really struggling as a team so it was a double-edged sword. We knew that we had a lot of work to do to try and be successful and I felt like we made some progress as freshmen. I came in with a big class and we were all focused on changing the direction of the program.

In 1993 you transferred to Kentucky: why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose the Wildcats? It was pretty simple: my coach Lynn Nance got fired and he was the reason I went to Washington.  I still keep in touch with him to this day. The whole thing was pretty ugly and I felt a personal responsibility that I did not help us win enough games for him to keep his job. I wanted to see if I could jump into Rupp Arena and see what it was like. I was fortunate in that I got to see the really hard part of college basketball and then go to the mecca of college basketball in so many different ways to see the opposite side. I was excited for a new challenge. Coach Nance had been an assistant at Kentucky and Coach Rick Pitino had recruited me while I was in high school.

In the 1995 SEC tourney title game you had 12 PTS/10 REB in a 2-PT OT win over Arkansas: how were you able to overcome a 19-PT 1st half deficit? At halftime Coach asked us how the hell we had fallen behind by 19! We had a great rivalry going with Arkansas because we were both good teams who played extremely fast. Our team was so explosive that a 15-point swing in only a couple of minutes was pretty common for us. In OT we were down by 7 with about 90 seconds left, which was an even more amazing comeback. Those Kentucky teams I played on were so talented and it was so fun to be a part of it. We also had a 1994 comeback win against LSU when were down 31 PTS in the 2nd half, which is still 1 of the biggest comebacks ever.

After winning 27 straight games you lost the 1996 SEC tourney title game to Mississippi State: how were you able to re-focus to win 6 straight games in the NCAA tourney, and what did it mean to you to win a title? The loss to Mississippi State was pretty surreal even though they went to the Final 4 as well that year. They did not just beat us that night: they drilled us behind guys like Dontae’ Jones. We had a couple of personalities go a little sideways on us. We walked into the locker room afterward and Coach Pitino was just relentless in demanding more. We had beaten a good Georgia team at home a few weeks earlier but Coach was so mad at us that he just wrote “12AM” on the board.  At midnight we began running sprints for 3 hours…despite the fact that we had just won our 22nd straight game! Coach told us that he knew we were going to win a national title because we had lost that game to Mississippi State, which proved to be 100% right.

You spent the next decade playing in the NBA/abroad: how close did you come to beating the eventual champion Bulls when you played for Indiana in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals? My goodness we were close, not that anyone ever beat Michael Jordan in the playoffs. It was an unbelievable series featuring some miraculous shots.  We had the lead in Game 7 when Jordan out-jumped 7’4” Rik Smits for a ball and found Steve Kerr for an open shot. Coach Larry Bird gave us the most inspiring pregame speech ever: he was really teary as he told us how bad he wanted it for our guys. He talked about the 1st title he won in Boston and how much the parade meant to him: it was such an incredible moment.

In the 2012 1st 4 as an assistant to Dave Rose at BYU your team set a record for the largest comeback in NCAA tourney history with a 6-PT win over Iona: did you think that you still had a chance to win when you trailed by 25 PTS, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was pure ecstasy and 1 of those moments that you do not get to experience a lot in sports. It has to do with your approach to the game and is the greatest feeling in the world. The key is for your team to stay together.

In the 2017 CBI semifinal as head coach at Utah Valley you had a 6-PT loss to Wyoming: what did your team learn from that game that will help them this year? It was huge for us because we had never won a D-1 postseason tourney game before and it is a huge step for us going forward.

You return 5 of your top-6 scorers from last season: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success? Last year we had 13 guys who had never played for me before so we are excited this year to finally have some returning players.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our goal is to always win every game we play even though our 1st 2 road games in November are at Kentucky and at Duke. What matters in the WAC is to win the conference tourney and then hopefully we will be primed to make a run in the NCAA tourney.

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College basketball fraud and corruption scandal: reaction

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Jon Teitel

As you may have heard yesterday, the Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the FBI announced the arrests of 10 people in connection with a pair of college basketball fraud and corruption schemes.  1 scheme allegedly involved 4 college basketball assistant coaches who took cash bribes in exchange for directing their players and their families to retain the services of the people paying the bribes.  The 2nd scheme allegedly involved a senior executive at an athletic apparel company who funneled payments to high school players and their families in exchange for the players agreeing to attend universities sponsored by that company.  1 of the 10 people named in the series of 3 complaints was James Gatto, Director of Global Marketing at adidas.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel reached out to the company for comment earlier today and quickly heard back from Claudia Lange, Director of Media Relations for adidas Corporate Communication in Germany:

 (Photo credit: adidas.com)

“We became aware yesterday of the allegations and intend to cooperate with the relevant authorities. The employee has been put on administrative leave and the company has engaged outside counsel to conduct a thorough investigation. In all aspects of our business, adidas is committed to compliance and ethical business practices.”

We thank Claudia for her immediate response and hope to bring you further reaction from other people/organizations in the days ahead.

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The Hoops HD Report: September Session

Posted on September 25, 2017 by David Griggs

The entire Hoops HD panel is on hand for the final offseason show of the year!  They reintroduce the site by talking about some of the features such as Bracketology, Joby’s Nitty Gritty Rankings, and the various podcasts that you’ll hear each week throughout the year.

After that, they debate whether or not transfers should have to sit out a year.  Some feel that it will be chaos and that it will ruin the game, whereas others feel it is a good thing and won’t change much of anything.

All that, and more!

Note: This was recorded on Monday, September 25, prior to the news events of September 26.

 

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

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Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Marquette G Andrew Rowsey

Posted on September 25, 2017 by Jon Teitel

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

Some guys are born leaders and some have to grow into it, but when you are the only senior on the roster you know that your coach will at least look your way when deciding who will be his leaders.  Marquette SR G Andrew Rowsey is ready to lead and has already shown that transferring schools can be a good thing: after being named Big South ROY as a freshman at UNC-Asheville, he joined the Golden Eagles and was named Big East 6th Man of the Year last season.  If you need someone to make a clutch FT down the stretch there are few better: his 92.6 FT% last year was #4 in the nation and his 92.1 FT% with the Bulldogs in 2015 was #3 in the nation.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Andrew about switching schools and being a sensational shooter.  

On 2/3/14 as a freshman at UNC-Asheville you scored a career-high 41 PTS in 39 minutes before fouling out in a 10-PT loss at Radford: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I definitely remember that game: it was my 1st game back near my hometown but I did not have any family there because there was a huge snowstorm. When it feels like that you just keep shooting.

You finished that season by being named conference ROY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant a lot to me because I entered the season without anyone viewing me as 1 of the best freshmen in the conference: I felt that I had finally proved myself.

Why did you decide to transfer in 2015, and what made you choose the Golden Eagles? I wanted a bigger opportunity. Growing up I always saw myself playing at a higher level and while I appreciate Asheville for giving me a great opportunity I really wanted to play in 15,000-seat arenas against NCAA tourney-caliber teams. It was really hard to leave Asheville but I was finally at the level where I could make that jump. Coach Wojo was just arriving here and it was the perfect place for me.

You play for Coach Steve Wojciechowski: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him? His consistency/hard work/dedication to what he does has helped turn around the program from the time he arrived a few years ago. I was a huge Duke fan growing up and went to their basketball camps every year so I knew how tough a competitor he was and that he never took no for an answer. He was willing to win and strive for greatness.

In 2017 you were named Big East 6th Man of the Year: how did you make the transition from a 20 PPG starter as a freshman/sophomore to a 12 PPG super-sub as a junior? It was a big change at 1st but I knew my role on the team. Coach told me that I would be an important part of the team and I started several games down the stretch. I knew that I would be playing the same amount of minutes, just at a different time during the game.

Last year you shot 44.7 3P% and a conference-best 92.6 FT%: what is the secret to making shots from 1-PT/3-PT land? It is something I have always done because my dad taught me to shoot at a young age. He held me accountable and I do not take short cuts or mess around with it: I take pride in being 1 of the best shooters in the country.

In the 2017 NCAA tourney you scored 13 PTS in a loss to South Carolina: what did you learn from that game that will help you this year? I learned a lot of things but 1 of my main takeaways is that you have to compete for the full 40 minutes. Once you get your feet wet in the tourney you want to get back there: it is a feeling like no other and was the reason I came here. I think we can make it back this year if we play hard.

You have a brutal 4-week stretch in November/December with games against Purdue/VCU/Cal or Wichita State/Georgia/Wisconsin: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? I have not looked into all of those teams yet but I know that Purdue returns a lot of players, Wichita State might be top-5 or top-10, and Wisconsin is 1 of our biggest rivals.

You are the only senior on the roster: how much pressure is there on you to be a leader this season? There is a lot of pressure because it is something that I have never done before and need to work on. It will be fun for me to get out of my comfort zone and become someone who my teammates can look to as a role model.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our team goal is to win the Big East and make a run in the NCAA tourney, and if we can do that then all my personal goals will follow.

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