Q: You’re the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,253 points and averaged a program-best 21.8 points per game. Your scoring average increased by over four points during your freshman to sophomore year — what did you work on that summer to improve your game?
A: When the players I coach ask me, “what they can work on in the offseason months?” I usually pause, smile, and then answer with a list that pretty much encompasses all aspects of the game. I can always hear Coach Togo Palazzi’s voice in my head telling me to work on all facets of the game so that it will be impossible to defend me. So once the season ended, the hard work would begin. This included weight training, conditioning, shooting, ball handling, pick-up in the Hart Center, and of course workouts with Togo.
The summer between my freshman and sophomore year I competed for the USA team in the World Maccabiah Games. I trained everyday for the Games and was probably in the best shape of my life.
Coach would work on my moves in the post as well as long range jump shots. We did not have the 3-point shot, though our shots were well beyond the top of the key, and we played with a men’s size basketball, which meant arm strength was important. Improving was just something that was part of my mindset. My goal was always to be the best player I could be so there were not many days that I didn’t have a basketball in my hands.
I remember playing Boston College and being face guarded by their best defender. I didn’t touch the ball or score for a while, and I was frustrated. After a timeout, Coach came to me and said, “If you want to score, you need to find ways to get the ball. Rebound, get fouled, and don’t stop moving.” My first six points were from the free throw line, and the next 31 just kept coming. Togo stressed that the more tools you have and ways to score the more difficult you will be to defend.
Q: You were part of the early Division I era of the program which saw a streak of 38 straight home games won in the Hart Center from 1980-1984. What do you remember most from that impressive winning streak?
A: I believe my four-year total of wins and losses in the Hart Center was 45-1. Coach’s pre-game speeches were epic. He would be in the locker room motivating us in a way that I bought in with my heart and soul. He would quote Vince Lombardi, tell stories of his HC Coach Buster Sheary, of his family, and so many more. He would tell us that “no one gets out of the Hart Center alive.”
Every team we faced at home would know that they would be in for a battle.
