Two Sides of Rick Majerus

Sports Illustrated has an interesting feature article on Rick Majerus, who took Utah to the NCAA finals and, after several years as a commentator, is the new coach at St. Louis U. which recently set a NCAA record for the shot-clock era by scoring only 20 points in a game.

• In public, Rick is "famously funny, a one-man counterweight to the Belichicks and Rileys who make sports seem like the siege of Stalingrad." He is best known for wisecracks about his weight, which once reached 370 pounds and has been a major factor in his seven heart bypasses.
• Rick says he returned to coaching because he missed the practices. However, his former players will testify that in practice and the locker room, he is a taskmaster as demanding as Belichick and Riley combined. "Players on a Majerus team are warned: You must want it as much as he does. Lock your eyes on the man when he speaks; glance away and he'll blow you to bits. If Coach calls your name? Run – never walk – and stand in front of him ... And for God's sake, don't take anything he says personally ... and throw away all that profane sediment, all those gibes about your character or family, all the humiliation that comes from seeing your most embarrassing weakness paraded before teammates and then stomped." Shades of Adolph Rupp, who conducted practices in silence.
• "Many of Majerus's former players at Utah consider him a rare and good man. ... Hanno Mottola, who says that in his eight years of pro ball he has never worked as hard, played as well or felt the game as deeply as he did under Majerus." Michael Doleac, another former player in the NBA, says, "Majerus is by far the best coach I've ever played for. He's got an unbelievable ability to see the game; he can watch a play and know what all 10 guys are doing and what each did wrong. ... If you coach kids for a week, after a while you get tired of correcting them. But he never lets it go."
• "He's been known to give players a game off to prepare for exams ... he's helped cancer patients, the solicitous letters he's sent in times of grief." He got Utah put on a three-year NCAA probation because he "paid for a few players' meals, provided milk and cookies at film sessions."
• "Of the 80 recruits Majerus signed with the Utes, only 33 survived to play as seniors. Nearly 59% of them transferred or otherwise left early, most unable or unwilling to meet Majerus's exacting standards or endure his mercurial, sometimes crude, even crude behavior." ... "He regularly called his players a vile word for the female sexual organ. ... He once reportedly called Lance Allred, a backup center who was 75% deaf, 'a disgrace to cripples' who had 'weaseled [his] way through life using [his poor] hearing as an excuse.'" Many of his former players say his "four-hour practices drained all fun out of the game."
• Rick has a "propensity to get naked – in practice, watching film, at meetings, during interviews ..." During an NCAA tournament game, Rick "grabbed Mottola's testicles and said, 'Have some f---- balls, Hanno!" Another player, who transferred after two years at Utah, says, "He punched me a lot." However, in 15 years, no player has ever complained to Majerus's superiors about physical force.
• One of Rick's longtime associates says: "I can't explain him. I can't reconcile the two people you see." Majerus himself admits he may have gone too far sometimes. "I'm probably a little embarrassed about some things I've said or done in practice."
• A product of a Jesuit education at Marquette, Rick now coaches at another Jesuit school. One wonders how much the school researched his past before hiring him. He comes across in the article as outdoing Bobby Knight in intensity.

Additional news on Majerus: His pro-choice remarks at a Hillary Clinton rally in January 2008 caused the Archbishop of St. Louis to call for his censure by the university.

Before the 1967-8 season, Houston coach Guy Lewis had a crazy idea. To showcase his exciting team, why not play the defending champion UCLA Bruins in the Astrodome in prime time on national TV? Lewis' Cougars had lost to the Bruins in the 1967 Final Four 73-58. UCLA coach John Wooden agreed to a deal that would pay each school $10,000. Lewis still had to convert the skeptics.

• Judge Roy Hofheinz, who conceived and oversaw the building of "The Eighth Wonder of the World," feared fans would demand their money back because they wouldn't be able to see the action. Lewis replied, "Judge, people sit up here [in the upper deck] and see baseball players down there. All of my players are bigger than your baseball players."
• Houston AD Harry Fouke, hoping for a crowd of 35,000, marketed the contest as "The Game of the Century" and the moniker caught on around the country.
• A TV network had to be found that would broadcast the game in prime time. The winning bid of $27,000 came from the syndicated sports network TVS (headed by Eddie Einhorn, who later owned the White Sox). TVS had done regional basketball broadcasts but never a national game. Einhorn sold commercial time even during the game, passing hand-written copy to announcer Dick Enberg to read during timeouts. Enberg's color man was Bob Pettit, former LSU and NBA star. (Enberg still calls this game the biggest thrill of his career.)
• The Astrodome, built for baseball and football, did not stock a basketball court. So officials paid $10,000 to have the 18-ton floor of the Los Angeles Sports Arena shipped to Houston. It was placed with midcourt over second base, one end at home plate, and the other in CF. To keep the benches and scorers' table from blocking spectators' view, trenches 18-inches deep were dug next to the court.

When January 20, 1968, arrived, the scenario exceeded even Lewis' expectations. UCLA was 13-0, ranked #1, and carrying a 47-game winning streak. 16-0 Houston was #2 and boasted a 48-game streak in its home city. One fly in the ointment was that Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), the Bruins' 7'2" junior All-American, had suffered a scratched cornea eight days earlier. After missing two games, he still experienced vision problems but would play. The game lived up to its billing, nip-and-tuck to the end. Cougar star Elvin Hayes poured in 29 points to lead the home team to a three-point halftime lead. Guards Don Chaney and George Reynolds did a fine job breaking the vaunted Wooden press. UCLA did a better job of defending "The Big E" in the second stanza, and he had to play the last 12 minutes with four fouls. G Lucius Allen, who led the Bruins with 25, tied the game at 69 with two FTs with 0:45 remaining. With 29 seconds left, Hayes, a 60% foul shooter, sank two FTs. UCLA then threw the ball out of bounds at the 0:12 mark. Houston got the ball in and Reynolds tossed it high in the air with 5 seconds left to cement the 71-69 win. The paid attendance exceeded expectations at 52,963, by far the largest throng to watch a basketball game at that time (and still the fifth highest in NCAA history for a regular-season game). The Cougars took over the #1 spot, and neither team lost a game until they met again in the Final Four. Ironically, that game was played in the LA Sports Arena on the very same floor used for the Astrodome extravaganza. The eagerly anticipated rematch proved a dud as UCLA jumped all over Houston 101-69. The Bruins then routed North Carolina 78-55 for the third of what would become seven straight NCAA championships.

The greatest team in USC history did not win the conference championship. In fact, they didn't even make the NCAA tournament. The team in question is Bob Boyd's 1970-1 squad that went 24-2 and was ranked #5 at the end of the regular season. How could a 24-2 team not make March Madness? Simple. Only 25 teams made the tournament in those years and USC didn't win the Pacific-8 Conference championship. And they weren't conference champs because both losses were to their crosstown rivals, the #1 UCLA Bruins, who went 29-1 and won the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight year (on their way to an eventual seven championships in a row).

Boyd had been a three-year star at USC in 1950-2. In 1970-1 he was in his fifth year at helm of his alma mater after two years at Seattle U. In 1969 and 1970, the Trojans had handed the Bruins their first losses in Pauley Pavilion, which opened in 1966. Boyd's best player in 1970-1 was G Paul Westphal (#25), who later played 12 seasons in the NBA and coached the Phoenix Suns and Pepperdine U. (Westphal is currently a Mavericks assistant.) Three other future NBAers were Ron Riley (31), Dennis Layton (34), and Joe Mackey (33). The Trojans won their first 16 games, including an 80-76 OT win at home over Pete Maravich and LSU. USC was ranked #1 in the UPI poll when Notre Dame ended UCLA's 88-game winning streak. Tickets for the February 6 game with the Bruins at the L.A. Sports Arena (USC's home court) were hard to come by. AD Jess Hill admitted he made a mistake in allotting 6,000 tickets to UCLA instead of the 4,200 it was entitled to. Hill said, "We could have sold somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 tickets." John Wooden's 1970-1 Bruins started F Sidney Wicks (Jr), F Curtis Rowe (Jr), C Steve Patterson (Jr), G John Vallely (Sr), and G Henry Bibby (So) who later coached USC (1996-2005). The packed crowd, including Traveler, the football horse, saw UCLA take a nine-point lead in the first half, but Layton scored 20 of USC's next 23 points for a 51-47 advantage. The Trojans extended that to 59-50 with nine and half minutes remaining. However, Boyd's team scored only one point the rest of the game. With no shot clock at that time, UCLA sat on the ball and held on for a 64-60 win.

Undaunted, USC won eight straight Pac-8 games to set up the season-ending visit to Pauley. This matchup was almost as eagerly anticipated as the first. However, it was not as close. A 16-2 run propelled UCLA to a 19-point halftime lead, and they coasted to a 73-62 win. If USC had won, they would have had to beat the Bruins again in a playoff for the championship since there was no conference tournament. Because of the Pac-8 rule preventing any team but the champion from participating in post-season play, the Trojans could not even go to the NIT.

The 1971-2 team was ranked #1 to start the season. Westphal thought this "would be the year we'd be the best." However, four of the top seven players missed much of the season with injuries, and the team limped to a 16-10 record.

Boyd left his alma mater after the 1979 season. He later coached at Mississippi State (1982-6) and was an assistant at LSU under Dale Brown. He is a member of USC's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Reference: "Trojan Basketball Dominant in 1971"

The 1974 NCAA tournament involved 24 teams. The NIT tournament invited another 16. That left many conference third place teams with no chance for post-season play. So the NCAA inaugurated the Conference Commissioners Tournament for eight more teams in St. Louis. Here are the results.

The tournament was tried again the following year in Louisville under the name National Commissioners Invitational Tournament. USC and Tennessee returned with six other teams from the same conferences as the previous year. Because the NCAA tournament had been expanded to 32 teams for 1975, the Commissioners Tournament was never held again.

From researching this topic, I can say that this is the first time this information has been listed in one place on the Internet.

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The 22-game winning streak of the Houston Rockets during the 2007-8 NBA season revived memories of the all-time NBA record of 33 in a row by the 1971-2 Los Angeles Lakers. Coached by former Boston Celtics G Bill Sharman, in his first season at the helm after Joe Mullaney failed to win the 1971 NBA title, the Lakers featured this starting lineup.

• C Wilt Chamberlain (14.8 ppg, 19.2 rpg – tops in the league)
• G Jerry West (25.8 ppg, 9.7 apg – first in NBA)
• G Gail Goodrich (25.9 ppg)
• F Jim McMillian (18.8 ppg)
• F Happy Hairston (15 ppg, 13.1 rpg)

Goodrich was the leading scorer on two of the greatest teams in basketball history: the undefeated 1964 UCLA national champs and the 1971-2 Lakers.

Elgin Baylor, a Laker star since 1959, retired just nine games into the season but the team didn't miss a beat. Off the bench came Flyn Robinson, Pat Riley, Jim Cleamons, Keith Erickson, John Q. Trapp, and LeRoy Ellis.

After a 6-3 start, the Lakers started the 33-game streak with a victory over the Baltimore Bullets 110-106 on November 5, 1971. They set a new NBA record by beating the Atlanta Hawks 104-95 on December 11 to surpass the 20-game winning streak the Milwaukee Bucks had put together the previous year on their way to the NBA championship behind Oscar Robertson and 23-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Laker string was ended by those same Bucks on January 9, 1972, 120-104 behind Kareem's 39 points. The Lakers compiled a regular season record of 69-13, which was the best in NBA history until the 1995-6 Chicago Bulls finished 72-10. L.A. topped the league in scoring (121.0), rebounding (56.4), assists (27.7), and point differential (+12.3). They were 36-5 at home and 31-7 on the road. Their .816 road percentage remains the best in NBA history.

L.A. breezed through the playoffs, sweeping the Bulls in the first round, ousting the Bucks in six games in the conference finals, and cruising past the New York Knicks in five games in the finals. This earned Los Angeles its first championship since moving from Minneapolis in 1960.

The NCAA held its first Division I women's basketball tournament in 1982. Previously, the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) had conducted a tournament starting in 1972. During the AIAW years, smaller schools like Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion, Delta State, Cheney State, and Immaculata competed on equal terms with larger schools.

The USC team of 1982-3 moved women's basketball to a new level. Like the crosstown Lakers, they brought "Showtime" to the ladies' court. The player who carried the Women of Troy to two straight national championships was 6'3" G/F Cheryl Miller, older sister of Reggie. She was the first female to dunk in an organized basketball game when she made a one-handed jam during a high school game in which she scored 105 points. More than 250 schools tried to recruit the Riverside CA star before she committed to USC. She was influenced in her decision by the McGee twins, 6-3 Pam and Paula, who had led Troy for two seasons. Miller recalls: "They said, 'You can play two years with us, or two years against us.'" Among Miller's other teammates were freshman PG Rhonda Windham from New York City and sophomore shooting game Cynthia Cooper, a future legend of the WNBA. Together they played a brand of athletic up-tempo basketball never seen before in the women's game. Magic Johnson was a regular visitor along with his Lakers coach Pat Riley. Sports Illustrated and other publications took notice of Linda Sharp's exciting team. They played before record crowds everywhere they went. The December schedule included back-to-back games at two-time defending national champ Louisiana Tech and Tennessee. 8,700 showed up to see if the Lady Techsters could extend their 59-game home winning streak against the West Coast visitors. They couldn't. Behind Paula McGee's 22 points and 10 RBs and Miller's 17/10, USC prevailed 64-58. Two nights later, the Women of Troy beat Pat Summit's Lady Vols 81-71. Later that month, Old Dominion fell 75-47 as Miller had 24 pts, 12 RB, 4 assists, five blocks and six steals.

On January 22, 1983, Louisiana Tech came to LA and upset the 13-0 Lady Trojans 58-56 in a game that a young cable channel called ESPN televised. Six days later, USC was upset again, 74-73 by Long Beach State in OT. They didn't lose again all season, finishing 31-2. Sharp was voted the National Coach of the Year.

In the NCAA tournament, USC beat Northeast Louisiana 99-85, Arizona State 96-59, and got revenge on Long Beach State 81-74 to reach the Final Four. Georgia fell 81-57 in the semifinals. USC's opponent in the Final? None other than Louisiana Tech – a rubber game for all the marbles. One problem was that Cooper had suffered a neck injury that left her in great pain. However, there was no way she would miss the finale. Before 7,622 at Old Dominion's Scope Center, Tech raced to an 11-point halftime lead. However, Sharp unleashed a full-court press to rally for a 61-59 lead with five minutes to play. The game went to the wire. With nine seconds left and USC ahead 69-67, Cooper drew a charge on PG Kim Mulkey (now Baylor's coach) to save the game.

USC repeated as champions in 1984 but lost in the West Regional Final in 1985 and to Texas in the championship game in 1986. Miller won three Naismith Awards as the nation's top female player and a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics. Knee injuries in 1987 and 1988 forced her retirement from basketball. She coached her alma mater from 1993-5 before resuming her broadcasting career. She was eventually inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Cooper also won Olympic medals in 1988 and 1992, plus four WNBA championsip with the Houston Comets (three of which were coached by Van Chancellor, now of LSU) and was the league's MVP in 1997 and 1998. Sharp retired after 12 seasons with a .744 winning percentage, the best in school history.

Reference: 2008 Division I Women's Basketball Championship New Orleans Region Program