Hoops HD

Last Tuesday Northern Kentucky beat Milwaukee in the Horizon title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. This is the 1st year that the Norse have been eligible for the NCAA tourney since receiving full D-1 status only 7 months ago…and their reward is a game against #2-seed Kentucky on Friday night in a South Region match-up in Indianapolis (which is approximately 70 miles closer to NKU’s campus than it is to Big Blue Nation!). Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Northern Kentucky head coach John Brannen about how his team’s entire season turned around a couple of months ago.

You began your college career at Morehead State before transferring to Marshall, where you led the SoCon in scoring as a senior (20.9 PPG) and were named 1997 conference tourney MVP: how good a player were you back in the day, and how did you 1st get into coaching? It has been a long time since anyone has asked about my playing days! I was blessed to play for tremendous coaches who put me in a place to succeed.

1 of your assistant coaches for the Herd was Anthony Grant, who you later worked for as an assistant at VCU/Alabama: how much of a mentor has he been to you over the past 2 decades, and will you ask him for any tips since you ended up playing an SEC team?! Anthony has been a great mentor to me. He was 1 of the 1st folks to call me after we won the Horizon League championship. He is an assistant right now with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Even though they had lost a game that night, he told me that he was the only 1 smiling in the locker room because he knew that NKU won and was heading to the NCAA Tournament!

This is only your 2nd year at Northern Kentucky: how were you able to go from 9-21 to 24-10 in only 1 year? Trust. It is 1 of our core values, which we define as believing and investing in each other without knowing the outcome. Our players have taken ownership of this team and trust one another.

Your final non-conference game of the year was against your most difficult opponent of the year: how did you deal with West Virginia’s press, and what advice do you have for whichever school has to face them next week? We break the season down into 3 parts: non-conference, Horizon League, and postseason. At this point we are just going to look at how we can continue to work on the process of getting better for Kentucky.

Earlier this month you were named Horizon COY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It is all a tribute to my coaching staff/players. I have always felt that the award should be for the “Coaching Staff of the Year” because they do such a great job preparing. I know this sounds like “coach-talk” but it truly is a team effort.

In the Horizon tourney you were the only 1 of the top-4 seeds to win a game as Green Bay/Oakland/Valpo each lost to lower seeds: was it weird/comforting/other to see your team walk onto the court for its quarterfinal game knowing that you were the highest-remaining seed left in the whole tourney? We always tell our players to play with a clear mind and play in the moment. We cannot control what happens in any other game so all we focus on is whatever is happening in our contest at that very moment. We can only control our next game regardless of who our opponent is.

Lavone Holland II was named conference tourney MVP after scoring 56 PTS in 3 games: what makes him such a good player, and how was he able to play his best when it mattered the most? Lavone is a dynamic talent, but once again it goes back to our core value of trust. His teammates trust him to make plays and as the guy with the ball in his hands the most they trust him to make the right decision. He is fully invested in helping his teammates and taking our program to the next level.

Your team lost 4 of its last 6 games in January to fall to 5-5 in conference play, but rebounded to win 10 of its final 11: was there something that just clicked, or did they realize that they only had 1 month left to get their act together, or other? Our players really took ownership of this team in mid-January. We have a saying in this program that goes, “Bad teams have no leadership. Good teams are led by the coach. Great teams are led by the players.”

You only have 2 seniors on your roster: your team is obviously capable of winning right now, but are you even more excited that you have built a program that should be able to remain successful in the future? I am only focused on what we have at NKU right now…and what we have is a team that went 24-10 in 1 of the toughest mid-major conferences in the country and won the Horizon League tournament championship…and this team still is not finished. That excites me, but this is just the beginning for NKU Basketball

How do you feel about getting a #15-seed, and what do you know about your in-state foe Kentucky? We are excited to be in the NCAA tournament but still have work to do. I have not had much time to focus on Kentucky so I will be doing a lot of studying over the next few days to put in a game plan for our guys.

Last Monday Iona beat Siena in the MAAC title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Gaels lost to Iowa State in the 2016 NCAA tourney and get another big-time matchup this March as they will face #3-seed Oregon on Friday afternoon in a Midwest Region matchup in Sacramento. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with FR SG EJ Crawford about the dynasty that he is helping to extend in New Rochelle.

You grew up in Connecticut: what made you choose Iona? During my visit they made me feel like I was at home. I liked the campus and their playing style.

You play for Coach Tim Cluess: what makes him such a good coach, and what it the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? I like that he is a players’ coach: he lets us play and does not force anything. He has taught me to play defense: I am still working on it but am getting there.

You are 1 of only 2 freshmen on the roster: how have you been able to bond with all the older guys? It was pretty easy because I have been around older people all of my life.

Your 1st game of the year was against your most difficult opponent of the year: is Florida State they the tallest team that you have ever faced, and what makes them so good? Yes: by far! They have 6’10”/6’11″/7′ guys everywhere, which we do not see a lot of in the MAAC. They are so versatile with a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things.

You finished the season as a unanimous pick to the All-MAAC Rookie Team: how have you been able to make such a smooth transition from high school to college? My teammates know that I am a scorer so they just keep giving me the ball in the right spots and I have been able to hit some shots.

After losing 4 of your final 7 regular season games (including home games against Rider/Siena) you won 3 games in 3 days in Albany (including wins over Rider/Siena) to clinch the MAAC title: what is the key to winning games in March? We came together as a unit: we knew that we just had to play our best basketball and that is what we did.

In the title game you scored 12 PTS including the game-winning layup with 28 seconds left in a 1-PT OT win over Siena: what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? It was crazy on campus: there were fans/students who were really happy that we won and are going back to the NCAA tourney.

Your school has now played in 5 straight MAAC tourney title games (winning 3 of them) and will be making its 4th NCAA Tourney apeparance since 2012: is it fair to call your program a “dynasty”? I think so: when a program has that much success it is only right to call them that.

Your team made the tourney last year before losing to Iowa State: what have your teammates shared with you about the lessons they learned? They told me that the feeling of losing is not a good 1. Iowa State is a good team and our team made some mistakes toward the end of the game, but they learned from it.

How do you feel about getting a #14-seed, and what do you know about Oregon? It feels good because we could have been a #16-seed. Oregon is athletic and has some good players but we will go out there, compete, and have fun.

Last Monday UNC-Wilmington beat Charleston in the CAA title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Seahawks lost to Duke by 8 PTS in the 2016 NCAA tourney and get another ACC matchup this March as they will face #5-seed Virginia on Thursday afternoon in an East Region matchup in Orlando. Earlier tonight HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with SR SG Chris Flemmings about what it feels like to make the tourney for the 2nd straight year.

You grew up in Tennessee and went to high school in North Carolina: what made you choose the Seahawks? I was looking at a couple of different schools and once they hired Coach Keatts that made my decision much easier…plus I love the beach!

You play for Coach Kevin Keatts: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? His confidence/composure: he knows what he wants to do and how to get there. When I first met him he told me that he wants to win championships, and I could tell that he truly meant it. He taught me to stay confident even if I am not shooting well: just worry about the next play.

Last year you were named CAA tourney MVP: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most? I felt that I was playing my best basketball late in the season and just peaked at the right time.

In the 2016 NCAA tourney you scored 18 PTS in an 8-PT loss to Duke: how close did you come to winning the game, and what did you learn from that game that you think will help you this time around? We were definitely within a couple of possessions of winning if the ball had bounced our way. I learned that the name on the front of your opponent’s jersey does not matter: you still have to hit shots.

In December you scored 34 PTS/6-9 3PM in a win over Pfeiffer: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Every shot I took that night felt good: I had some extra shooting practice that week and it helped me get going a little bit.

2 of your sophmores have played a huge role this year as SG CJ Bryce was named 2017 conference tourney MVP and PF Devontae Cacok was named conference DPOY: how nice is it as a senior to be able to rely on the younger guys to contribute? It is a big help but we do not put any extra pressure on them: they can hold their own.

Your non-conference schedule included games against Clemson/East Tennessee State/Middle Tennessee State: which of these teams impressed you the most? None stood out the most but we had a chance to compete with all 3 of those teams.

Last Monday you scored 8 PTS in a win over Charleston to clinch an NCAA tourney bid: what kind of a home-court advantage did the Cougars have in North Charleston, and what did it mean to you to win another conference title? I actually thought they would have a bigger advantage but we had so many fans show up that it felt like a home game. It was special last year to win it all, and to do it again knowing that we would get every team’s best shot throughout this season just showed how well we are playing.

You did not need to worry about making the tourney after beating Charleston, but do you think that you would have received an at-large bid if you had lost to them? I think that we would have received an at-large bid if we had lost due to our great record/tough schedule.

How do you feel about getting a #12-seed, and what do you know about Virginia? I feel good about our seed. Virginia is a great team who is well-coached so it will be an exciting game.