Hoops HD State of the Game 2016

Posted on April 5, 2016 by David Griggs

This was recorded just hours before the 2016 Championship Game.  At the time we recorded it, we had no idea that we were two hours away from witnessing an absolute classic.

Galen Clavio is back as he hosts David, Chad, and special guest and college basketball expert ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.  They attempt to address, and solve, all of the issues facing college basketball!!

Topics include the current selection process, a critique of how the committee seems to  presently be evaluating the teams and how it differs from a few years back, out of conference scheduling and how teams playing bigger games and local rivals would be good for both college basketball and the teams themselves, the lack of interest early in the season, how Under the Radar teams are at a disadvantage because they don’t have enough chances to make a strong case for themselves, what can be done to open up more bids, how the power conference teams may not want anymore opportunities for the smaller leagues, and much more…..

 

 

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

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Puppet Ramblings: April 5th

Posted on April 5, 2016 by David Griggs

DG

-We are planning on recording a season wrap up podcast some time this week, so be on the lookout for that.

-Chad and I were joined by Galen Clavio and ESPN’s Joe Lunardi yesterday for where we recorded what we called a State of College Basketball podcast, where we focused on several aspects of the game such as out of conference scheduling, the current selection process, the lagging popularity of the game early in the season, how the season plays into the NCAA Tournament and whether or not the field is structured the right way, and other various topics.  We’re having some technical difficulties getting the mp3 version of that created, but we hope to have those ironed out in the next couple of days.  Once we do, we will post that.  We are anxious to get that posted, but it isn’t like the state of the game is going to change in the next 48 hours or so.

 

-We have begun the countdown to next season!  The season will officially begin, as always, on the second Friday in November.  We are assuming there will be a noon tip as there has been in year’s past.  Our countdown clock is already running!  CLICK HERE

 

-I’m so glad the championship game was as good as it was, because it erased two of the most boring Final Four games that we’ve seen since 2006.  What Villanova did against Oklahoma was insane.  It was absolutely shocking to see them absolutely pile drive the Sooners.  Not only was it the best I’d seen Nova play all year, it may have been the best game I have seen any team play in the last several years.  In fact, maybe ever!  The 1990 UNLV win over Duke was impressive.  This may have been even more impressive.

People are saying last night’s championship game was perhaps the best ever.  We seem to hear that every three or four years after we’ve seen an outstanding championship game.  I didn’t realize this, but apparently it was the first time a championship game had ended with a buzzer beater since 1983.  There was a buzzer beater in 2008 when Kansas tied Memphis at the end of regulation, but that didn’t end the game.  It merely tied it and sent it to overtime.  I was enjoying last night’s game so much that I was almost selfishly upset to see him hit the shot.  It dawned on me that instead of getting an extra five minutes, that the game and season were now over.

But…a big time congrats to Villanova.  They are the first non FBS (previously div 1A) football school to win the national championship since….Villanova in 1985.  The last two tournaments saw Nova go out in the round of 32 in heartbreaking fashion.  Last night the frustration finally came to an end.  Not only was Nova’s run impressive, they beat three teams that had been ranked #1 in Kansas, Oklahoma, and North Carolina, two other teams that had been ranked in the top ten in Iowa and Miami FL along the way.  Not once were they the beneficiaries of a major upset, and their road to the championship was as challenging as anyone’s in recent memory.

 

-We talked about this some with Joe Lunardi yesterday, but as big as college basketball is at the end of the season, it never seems to carry over into the following season.  College basketball begins so unceremoniously, and it is genuinely frustrating to those of us who love the game and want it to be more popular.  There are 351 teams.  68 make the tournament.  About 45 of them will actually land inside the bubble.  That’s 306 teams that are basically eliminated throughout the course of the 30ish game season.  That is an incredibly high stakes season with tons of meaningful games all year long!  Right out of the gate in November, especially with the exempt tournaments, we have games that shape the course of the entire season!!  And, DOZENS of people tune in to watch!!  That’s what is so frustrating.  Their are exciting high stakes games all year long.  If people love the tournament, then they should also love the regular season.  That’s how teams get to the tournament.  I say it every year, but March starts in November!!!

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Call from the Hall: HoopsHD interviews Sam Jones about John McLendon

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Jon Teitel

Tuesday marks the 101st anniversary of the birth of John McLendon.  Recognized as the 1st African-American basketball coach at a predominantly White university (Cleveland State) and the 1st African-American head coach in any professional sport (the American Basketball League), he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday for the 2nd time (after previously being elected as a contributor in 1979 for inventing the full-court press and the 4-corners offense).  He was not allowed to play basketball at Kansas in the 1930s because the team was segregated but was still able to pick up some tips from Athletic Director James Naismith, the inventor of the sport.  He later became coach at North Carolina Central and led the Eagles to 8 CIAA titles, followed by a stint at Tennessee State that included 3 NAIA COY awards and 3 straight NAIA titles.  Coach McLendon passed away in 1999, but HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with 1 of McLendon’s former college players, Sam Jones, about his fellow Hall of Famer.  HoopsHD congratulates all the new members of the 2016 class of the Hall of Fame! 

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McLendon enrolled at Kansas in 1933 as the 1st black student in the school’s PE department where he learned the game from his adviser (Dr. James Naismith, who also happened to be the inventor of the sport), but he was not permitted to actually play because the varsity remained segregated until 1951: why did he choose the Jayhawks, and what was the most important thing that he learned from Naismith? His father gave him a choice: go to Kansas or do not go anywhere! He learned a lot from Dr. Naismith after his father said that he was going to become his mentor. There were very few blacks at Kansas. He was an accomplished swimmer and there was some talk of draining the pool, but Naismith said that he would leave if they did that.

In March of 1944 as coach at North Carolina College he was part of “The Secret Game” played in a locked gym against Duke (an 88-44 win), the 1st college basketball game with Blacks and Whites competing on the same floor: how were the schools able to make the game happen, and how were they able to keep it a secret for more than 50 years? Back in those days you either kept it a secret or went to jail! I do not know if the entire Duke varsity team showed up but they figured out a way to sneak them onto the campus without any spectators.

He won 8 CIAA titles in a 12-year span from 1941-1952: how was he able to be so dominant for such a long period of time? Coach liked what he did and recruited people who could play in his system. It was not about the individual but rather about the team. He hated to fly so if there was a tournament that he could reach by car then he would just drive.

He is credited with increasing the pace of the game from its slow early years to the fast-break tempo that is still being used today: how did he come up with the idea, and what made it so successful? All of his players were in tip-top condition. I remember my 1st day of practice when we ran from the gym to the railroad track and back: it was a total of 5 miles with some hills that made it feel like an obstacle course. When we got back to the gym we immediately started practice by shooting layups. He never cursed and only said positive things to us.

In 1958 he was named NAIA national COY: what did it mean to him to win such an outstanding honor? It is 1 of the highest honors you can get as a coach so I am sure that he was thrilled to be named COY.

He won 3 straight NAIA titles at Tennessee State from 1957-1959, becoming the 1st college basketball coach to ever win 3 consecutive national titles: what did it mean to him to win all those titles? It was hard to repeat every year because every team wanted to knock them off.

In 1962 he became the 1st African-American head coach in pro sports after he was hired to lead the Cleveland Pipers (owned by George Steinbrenner) of the American Basketball League: how did he get the job, and how big a deal was it back then? Certain people look at it differently. He had a good team in Cleveland and was winning before getting fired by Steinbrenner because they disagreed about which players to play. It was a big deal when he 1st got the job because nobody in pro basketball had ever taken a chance on an African-American coach. Black people were unhappy that he got fired because he had been successful: they wondered what it took to become a long-term success.

In 1966 he became the 1st African-American basketball coach at a predominantly white university after getting hired at Cleveland State: what kind of reaction was there to his hiring? Coach felt that he could be successful anywhere he went and it was a great honor for him. The athletic department saw what he had done for the Pipers and they wanted to see what he could do for their school.

In 1966 he became the 1st Black coach to serve on the US Olympic Committee: how did he like the job? He had traveled overseas for the USOC for years to scout foreign basketball teams, which not a lot of people are aware of.

After retiring from coaching he spent 2 decades as a representative for Converse and was eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? He was probably the 1st Black person hired to represent Converse. Coach Mac was 1 of the 1st Blacks to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a contributor, which I think was a shame because he should also have been inducted at that time as a coach because of what he had accomplished (not only at NC Central and Tennessee State but also for inventing the 4-corners offense that Dean Smith later made famous at UNC). The fast-break made it so much easier for me when I got to the Celtics because I learned it from him as a freshman back in 1951. I want him to be remembered as a man who was well-respected around the world.

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Philly Pride: HoopsHD interviews Coach Speedy Morris about La Salle legend Lionel Simmons

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Jon Teitel

Villanova is back in the NCAA tourney title game for the 1st time since winning it all in 1985.  1 of the keys to their success is their beautiful balance: if you try to shut down Ochefu or Hart, then you will just get burned by Jenkins or Brunson or someone else.  Another Big 5 team who has made a postseason title game since 1985 was La Salle way back in the 1987 NIT, but they used a little less balance to get there.  There are only 2 men in the history of D-1 basketball who made 1200+ FG and 600+ FT: Pete Maravich and Lionel Simmons.  After winning a Philly Public League championship in 1986, Simmons led La Salle to the NIT title game as a freshman before a 4-PT loss to Southern Miss.  Simmons was nothing if not consistent: he still holds the D-1 record for most consecutive games in double figures with 115.  A 3-time conference POY who was also named national POY in 1990, he was finally elected to the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame last month.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel recently got to chat with Simmons’ former coach Speedy Morris about the Explorers’ magical 2-loss season in 1990 and how good his star could have been if he had remained healthy. 

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In the 1986 Philadelphia Public League boys’ title game Simmons had 21 PTS/18 REB to lead South Philadelphia High School to a 2-PT win over University City: how dominant was he in high school, and how did you get him to come to La Salle? He was the player of the year in the city. I got the job late but was friends with his high school coach Mitch Schneider, which probably helped a lot. We met for dinner 1 night and I told Simmons that I would not promise him a starting spot: my assistant at the time (Fran Dunphy) started to kick me under the table because he thought that Simmons was better than anyone we had!

In the 1987 NIT title game he scored 34 PTS in a 4-PT loss to Southern Miss: was it just 1 of those nights when the entire Golden Eagles team was in the zone (11-24 3PM)? They had a good night but we still had a chance to win at the end despite trailing most of the game. Our PG had an open 3 to win the game but he passed the ball to Tim Legler and it got stolen.

After he allegedly turned down a $2 million offer to leave after his junior season, your team only lost 2 games during the 1990 season:
He had 34 PTS/19 REB in a 5-PT loss to Loyola Marymount: how unstoppable were the Lions with Bo Kimble/Hank Gathers (who each had double-double)? I actually thought that we were a better team. I got criticized for trying to run with them but we had a lot of great players including Doug Overton. Lionel shot a couple of air balls in the 1st half, which was very uncharacteristic for him. Gathers was a great player and Kimble had just won a game against St. Joe’s 2 nights earlier with a half-court shot at the buzzer (en route to setting a school record with 54 PTS).

In the NCAA tourney he scored 28 PTS in a 4-PT loss to Clemson: how were the Tigers able to overcome a 19-PT deficit? We were up by 16 PTS at the half and our press was bothering them but in the 2nd half we just could not make a shot. They also dominated us on the boards with future NBA players Dale Davis/Elden Campbell. It was 1 of the most disappointing losses of my career: I think that if we had won that game then we could have beaten UConn in the Sweet 16.

He was a 3-time conference POY/2-time All-American/1990 national POY: what did it mean to him to receive such outstanding honors? It was such a great run he had. He shot about 50% for his career so it did not take a rocket scientist to know that if he missed 1 shot he would probably make his next shot! He was difficult to guard and he made everyone around him better.

He remains the #3 all-time scorer in D-1 history with 3,217 career PTS: what was his secret for being such an amazing scorer? He was a good player who did not take bad shots. He was not a highlight film dunker or very fancy: he was a coach’s dream.

His 1429 career REB is #7 since the NCAA split into 3 divisions in 1973: how was he able to grab so many REB despite standing only 6’7”? He had a great nose for the ball, good positioning, and a great 1st step. Rebounding is about commitment and he was committed to getting the ball.

After shooting 4-14 (28.6%) from 3-PT range during his 1st 2 years he shot 52-121 (43%) during his final 2 years: how was he able to develop into such a good 3-PT shooter? He was always working on his game and got better every single year.

He was drafted 7th overall by Sacramento in the summer of 1990 and was runner-up to Derrick Coleman for 1991 NBA ROY after scoring 18 PPG: how was he able to make such a smooth transition from college to the pros? He did a little of everything and was the best player that you never heard of because he played for a bad Sacramento team (who never had a single 40-win season from 1984-1999).

He retired in 1997 due to chronic injuries and later said that he felt scared because “not many people retire at 29 with no real responsibilities”: how good a player would he have been if he could have remained healthy, and what has he been up to for the past 2 decades? I think that he could have been a Hall of Famer: his stats speak for themselves and he scored 17 PPG during his 7-year career. He is in the area a lot and owns a tavern so he is doing quite well. He is a good guy who does some charitable work for kids every year and is also good to his mother.

Last month he was elected to the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? I thought that he should have been inducted a couple of years ago. He was 1 of the best to ever play in the Big 5 and at La Salle, which says a lot.

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News, CBI Recap and Final Four Preview – Saturday, April 2

Posted on April 2, 2016 by John Stalica

Click here for Jon Teitel’s interview with former UConn Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo

While we at HoopsHD focus slightly more on Under-The-Radar programs than we do on the main programs, there is a palpable buzz as the long wait for the Final Four is about complete. Many of the teams arrived as early as Wednesday, and although there is a “public” practice that took place on Friday afternoon in NRG Stadium, many of the practices will be in scattered areas throughout Houston in a quieter environment within the control of each team’s respective coaching staff. But as of 6 PM Eastern Daylight Time tonight, the waiting ends and the countdown to the final Monday night begins.

(2) VILLANOVA VS. (2) OKLAHOMA (6:09, TBS, TNT/TruTV for team broadcasts) – This was the expected result for Villanova last year, but better late than never, right? After running roughshod through UNC-Asheville, Iowa and Miami in the first 3 rounds of the NCAA Tournament, they had to slay the king of the dragons in Kansas to punch their ticket to Houston. And they did that without the exemplary shooting that they had in the first 3 rounds of the tournament as well. Oklahoma’s toughest games actually came in Oklahoma City against Cal State-Bakersfield and VCU; they were firmly in control in the West Regional rounds against Texas A&M and top-seeded Oregon. Just like his counterpart Jay Wright, this is Lon Kruger’s 2nd trip to the Final Four (his first visit was in 1994 with Florida). Oklahoma is likely favored to win this one, but unlike 1988, they will not have to play any de facto road games against any of the remaining Final Four teams.

(1) NORTH CAROLINA VS. (10) SYRACUSE (8:49, TBS, TNT/TruTV for team broadcasts) – While this game is a nightmare for NCAA moralists, there is an aura of Cinderella involved for Syracuse this year. While some people have questioned their inclusion into the NCAA Tournament from a merit-based standpoint (which I do not agree with at all), they have left little doubt that their legendary 2-3 zone (and occasional full-court press) will continue to give teams fits as long as Jim Boeheim mans the controls for Syracuse. While North Carolina won both meetings this season, the meeting in Chapel Hill was much more contested and with a Syracuse team that has been able to hash out their team roles. North Carolina has made all 4 of their NCAA Tournament opponents (Florida Gulf Coast, Providence, Indiana and Notre Dame) tap out because of their defense, especially in the 2nd half of each of their respective games. Still, it would not surprise me to see Syracuse pull one more rabbit out of their hat tonight.

CBI Recap

Last night marked the end of the under-the-radar portion of the postseason schedule last night – even then, 40 minutes of regulation wasn’t enough to decide a winner between Morehead State and Nevada. But because of Tyron Criswell’s 21 points and 11 rebounds, Nevada was able to eventually pull away with an 85-82 victory in overtime. Morehead did make it interesting in the end – Xavier Moon threw up a halfcourt prayer that narrowly missed the mark. With this game now in the books, HoopsHD salutes all postseason winners – GW (NIT), Nevada (CBI), Columbia (CIT) and Old Dominion (Vegas 16).

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1 Hall of a Husky: HoopsHD interviews UConn legend Rebecca Lobo

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Jon Teitel

The UConn women are no strangers to undefeated seasons: this Saturday night marks the 21st anniversary of Geno Auriemma’s very 1st NCAA title.  The tourney MOP that year was Rebecca Lobo, the 1995 national POY who helped lead her team to a 35-0 record as a senior.  Coach Auriemma did not have to travel far from Storrs to recruit Lobo, who was born in Hartford, CT, and finished her high school career as the leading scorer in Massachusetts history.  In 1996 she won a gold medal at the Olympics, and in 1997 as a member of the New York Liberty she helped her team reach the WNBA Finals before losing to Houston. In 2010 she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and she currently covers the women’s game for ESPN.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Rebecca about playing for Coach Auriemma and going undefeated for an entire season. 

lobo

You scored 2710 PTS in high school (the most in Massachusetts history) and were recruited by more than 100 colleges: what made you choose UConn? I chose UConn because I wanted to play for Coach Geno Auriemma and assistant coach Chris Dailey. I knew that I would get a good education wherever I went because that was important to me. I wanted to play for “Coach A” more than I wanted to play for anyone else.

You played for Coach Auriemma (whose coaching style you said has not changed very much over the past 3 decades): what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? He is brutally honest with his players and pushes them beyond the physical and mental limits that they have previously set for themselves. The most important thing that I learned was how to push myself beyond my limits.

In the 1995 NCAA tourney title game you picked up 3 fouls in the 1st half and your team was down by 9 PTS in the 2nd half, but you ended up as tourney MOP after scoring a game-high 17 PTS in a 6-PT win over Tennessee to finish 35-0: how was your team able to stay focused for every single game that year, and what did it mean to you to win the 1st title in school history? Coach kept us focused. We lost in the Elite 8 the year before so we knew that feeling of disappointment. We only focused on the goals in front of us and did not talk about the concept of going undefeated even once.

You finished that season as national POY and won the Honda-Broderick Cup as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors like that? I did not fully appreciate the awards while they were happening. I never set out to win individual awards: I set out to win championships. However, winning those awards is something that I appreciate more now.

You graduated Phi Beta Kappa and were the 1st player in Big East history to earn 1st-team All-American honors for both basketball and academics: how much importance did you place on academics, and how did you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Both of my parents were teachers who made it very clear to me at a young age that academics needed to be my #1 priority. I made sure to budget my time so that I could reach my potential on the court and in the classroom.

In the 1996 Olympic gold medal game in Atlanta your team set a national record by shooting 66.2 FG% in a 111-87 win over Brazil: was it just 1 of those situations where every shot your team put up went in because they were “in the zone”, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? It was a situation where we were the best team in the world and played to our potential. We trained for a full year leading up to those Olympics and were very focused on the prize at hand.

In the 1997 WNBA Finals with New York you scored 9 PTS in a loss at Houston despite beating them 3 straight times during a 9-day stretch in the regular season: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? That was 1 of the big disappointments of my career. We had a chance at winning the 1st title in WNBA history but we came up short. It would have been nice to have that memory.

In 1999 you tore your left ACL/meniscus in the very 1st minute of the season opener vs. Cleveland, then you tore your reconstructed ligament during rehab the following December which caused you to sit out for 2 seasons: what impact did your injuries have on you both on and off the court? I missed the majority of 3 seasons because of that injury so that was the obvious on-court impact. I do not think that I ever got to maximize myself as a pro so I wonder what would have happened in my pro career if I had never been hurt. However, I do not have any regrets because you cannot control things like that.

In 2010 you were inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? That is definitely one of the big highlights and was even more special because my parents were there. My mother died the following summer and I know that she was very proud of that accomplishment. I am grateful that she was alive to see it and be a part of it.

You currently work as a reporter/color analyst for ESPN on women’s college basketball/WNBA games: how do you like the gig, and what do you hope to do in the future? I love working for ESPN: being an analyst for WNBA games is 1 of my favorite things I do in terms of work. I hope to continue working those games and calling college games while also being in the studio. I am blessed to have a job that I truly love.

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