Taking a bite out of the Big Apple
Posted: Friday November 20, 1998 09:31 PM
I recall when we went to the NIT postseason tournament back in 1981 and 1982. That was before they had 64 teams in the NCAAs.
As we settled into the NIT, it was almost as if we were glad we weren't in the NCAA because of the experience we had. They treated us so great and I got to meet a lot of new people. The advantage we had, of course, was that we got to play three of our games at home each year, so that was a big-time advantage, and we went to New York each year.
It's so exciting to play in Madison Square Garden because it's such a great venue. You read about it as a kid growing up, and then once you play there, it just seems like a dream come true that you get to participate in it.
Now we have the chance to go back. We face North Carolina in the Preseason NIT semifinals on Wednesday, November 25 in Madison Square Garden -- the mecca of college basketball. We're certainly looking forward to it because of all the opportunities within the biggest media city in the world, and the greatest city in a lot of ways.
Everybody has their favorite city, and New York is my favorite in many ways. I've been a Yankee fan since I was a seventh-grader, so it's one of those situations we're excited about. We appreciate these exempt games that help our young kids get some experience against great teams. And we think that no matter what happens -- win or lose -- we'll learn from it.
If we lose to the Tar Heels or in the finals on Friday, we'll find out what we need to do to get to the next level, and what we need to excel in the NCAAs if we qualify for that tournament next spring. If we win, we think that will help our confidence a great deal. So, looking forward to that experience, and our kids are playing quite well right now, especially on defense.
To the e-mailbag
I am completely in favor of making players graduate before they go to the pros. Do you think there will ever be any kind of collaboration on the part of the NBA and the NCAA to try to stop all these early exits?
Erik J. Meadows, Atlanta
I think that maybe someday there might be a situation where if we graduated certain percentages, the NBA might supplement that school with some kind of scholarship. Or, the NCAA might reward schools with an extra scholarship if they graduated a very high percentage of their kids, so there would be some sort of reward system through academics.
You often hear of examples and ways the coaches attempt to motivate players. What about the coaches? What do you do or what does it take to motivate you as a coach?
Mike Dunlap, Centerville, Ohio
I do it through honesty and enthusiasm, because I love the players and I enjoy my work, and I really have a lot to owe to basketball and I've always tried to give back to that some way.
We hear today so much about how players respond differently to coaching styles. How do you determine the role you want each of your assistant coaches to play, both during the game and during practices?
Mike Panther, Fort Wayne, Indiana
In our system, all three assistants are expected to coach and recruit in some fashion. Of course, Jay Price can't go out and recruit because he's considered the restricted-earnings coach and he's not allowed to go out and recruit. But we all have to recruit, coach and deal with the players, so when my assistants have a chance to get a head coaching job, they've been through all avenues of coaching in order to make their careers successful wherever they go next.
At the present time, we have our staff meeting in the morning, coach Price gives me a life-skills report, which means mainly what's going on with our players academically and any other way. Then coach Jim Thrash deals with the basketball issues. For instance, what are we going to practice this morning that will help improve us, fundamentals and styles and so on. And then coach Frank Kendrick gives me a recruiting report each morning. So, those are kind of the things we talk about before we get with our practice plan.
Where is the toughest, mentally, place for you to take a team and play?
Mark Arnold, Phoenix
The toughest place for us to play -- I don't know whether it's mental or not -- is probably at Indiana because they have a Hall of Fame coach that prepares their people great. They have very good players, fans are great, it's just a tough place to play, so it's always a great challenge. Arizona always is a tough place to play, and really any place in the Big Ten is tough because it's sold out every game. And I would hope that in Mackey that we're tough when people come here.
Coach, can you tell the readers a little about Keady Court at Mackey Arena? As a Purdue grad, I have always considered Purdue the best kept secret in college basketball, and this year another sporting publication ranked your court at Mackey Arena the second-most difficult road game in college basketball.
Shawn Luera, Chicago
Well, I've never played here as a visiting coach, but I would say that I wouldn't want to because it's sold out every game. It's also bleacher seats, which I think are the best because they have to stand up; they don't get comfortable in those theatre seats like in The Pit in New Mexico, so we have an edge with our fans.
From the season's first tip-off to its final buzzer, Purdue coach Gene Keady files a weekly column with CNNSI.com. In his 19th year as head coach of the Boilermakers, Keady provides an exclusive peek into the highlights, lowlights and sidelights of a full college basketball season. Follow one of the nation's top coaches within one of the nation's top conferences this season "From Midnight to March."
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