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Jon Teitel's "Forgotten Legends" Series: Utah Valley's Ryan Toolson

Jon Teitel — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:33:44 -0800

In the latest installment in his "Forgotten Legends" interview series CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with Ryan Toolson, the greatest player in Utah Valley history. After his time at Utah Valley, Toolson left as the school's all-time leader in points, assists, three-pointers made and free throw percentage just to name a few categories. Toolson is now playing professionally in Turkey.

Jon Teitel: In 2003 at Gilbert (AZ) High you were named Arizona Player of the Year. Why did you choose to go to Utah Valley?

Ryan Toolson: In high school I was not highly recruited because I did not go to many AAU tournaments until the summer before my senior year. I had a few good schools interested in me after that but I chose to sign before my senior season started. UVU felt like a good choice because I thought coach Dick Hunsaker could help me progress the most. UVU was just transferring from a JC to a D-1 program, and it was in a great area where there are a lot of members of my faith.

JT: You served an LDS church mission to Guatemala City. What role does your faith play in your life, and what lessons did you learn from your mission?

RT: The LDS faith means everything to me. It has helped me become the man I am today and teaches great principles that every family should want to have in their own lives. On my mission I grew from being a boy to being a man; that was the time in my life where they "cut the umbilical cord" (so to speak) from my parents. In the two years I spent in Guatemala I only spoke with my family twice a year: once on Christmas Day and once on Mother's Day. I wrote home via email once a week but other than that I did not have a lot of contact with anybody from home. The quote that describes my mission perfectly is, "Pray as though everything depends on God; work as though everything depended on you." My family was not there to help me through my problems so it helped me rely on the man upstairs.

JT: In 2007 you led the nation in free throw shooting with 97% (96-of-99). Did you feel like you were going to make every free throw you took that season, and do you still remember the three you missed?

RT: When it comes to shooting I am a very confident person. Every time I shoot I think the ball is going in. I guess I always thought that is how you should think if you want to be good, and that is the approach I also take when it comes to free throws. For me missed free throws haunt me more than missed buzzer-beaters because you should not miss free throws. During a game there are so many things that can impede you from getting a good shot or prevent you from even getting a shot off, but during a free throw you have ten seconds to shoot a wide-open shot right in front of the hoop. I do remember the three I missed. I missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 in a game at Southern Utah, and then I actually missed two in a row in a game at South Dakota State. The two in a row were actually the second of two free throws followed by the front-end of a 1-and-1 later in the game.

JT: In 2008 you led the nation in free throw shooting for the second straight year (95.1%) and were named Division I Independent Player of the Year. What did it mean to you to win such an outstanding individual honor?

RT: Winning the Player of the Year award did not really mean a whole lot other than the fact that I played on a good team. You are not a good player unless you have other good players around you.

JT: After the 2008 season you got married. What was it like to be married while still in college, and do you think it had any effect on your game?

RT: Getting married in college was the greatest decision I ever made. I found the girl of my dreams and knew that she was the one for me so there was no point in wasting time. Being married also helped my game. No more parties until 2 AM or staying up late with your buddies doing who-knows-what! I had time to focus on my studies, basketball, and her, and that is the way I wanted it.

JT: In 2009 you had 12 rebounds and scored a school-record/NCAA season-high 63 points in 60 minutes in a quadruple-overtime win at Chicago State (the tenth-highest total in NCAA history). How did you have any energy left for each successive overtime period, and how has that one game changed your life?

RT: I finally got the respect that I thought I deserved after the CSU game. Pro scouts knew that I was pretty good but I needed a performance like that to catch their attention and help them realize that I could play at the next level. I was playing on pure adrenaline in the overtime periods because after every play I thought to myself that I was finished and could not go up and down the court one more time. Somehow we managed to win it and it felt amazing.

JT: In 2009 you led the nation in free throw shooting for the third straight season (92.7%), and you finished your career ranked second all-time in NCAA history in career free throw shooting (93.9%). How were you able to maintain your focus over your entire career, and what is your secret for free throw shooting?

RT: For me free throws are more mental than anything else. I remember arguing with my uncle Danny Ainge about why big guys cannot make free throws and why the average free throw percentage in the NBA is so low. He tried to tell me that it is like putting in golf...but I think he used this example because he knew that I sucked at golf! My counter-argument was that the putting greens on every course are different and even the same green can be different in the morning vs. the evening, which basically makes for a hard putt every time. A free throw is the only thing that has not changed in basketball. Three-point lines have changed a few times, along with the length and width of the court from college to the NBA, but the free throw line has never changed. The floor is flat, the hoop is 10-feet high/15-feet away from you with nobody guarding you, and you have 10 seconds to put it in. If I missed a putt I could say that the grass was too wet or dry, or sloped too much, or whatever. There are no excuses for missing a free throw.

JT: You graduated as the all-time leading scorer in school history, and you also hold the school record for career assists. Did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were, and how were you able to balance your scoring with your passing?

RT: During my junior and senior years all the attention was on me. I was double-teamed coming off screens every time or just had a box-and-one on me the whole game. Due to that happening so much I was able to free up a lot of my teammates for easy shots. However, being a shooting guard I never thought that I would set the assist record.

JT: You went overseas to play in Turkey, where you currently lead your team in scoring and made your first All-Star game. What have you learned from this experience, and how does it compare to college basketball?

RT: Right now I am on a very young team that relies on their foreign players (like me) a lot. I guess that I just came to the right situation during my rookie year and it has helped me make a good transition to the European style. The difference from college to the pros is the athleticism of the players and the speed of the game: here you get up and down the floor a lot faster than in America. They love shooters too. They even want their centers to be able to shoot well which makes the need for teamwork on both offense and defense an absolute necessity.

JT: Your family has a very impressive athletic lineage. Your cousin Andy played for the Utah Jazz, and your uncle Danny is the only person to be a high school First Team All-American in football, basketball, and baseball. Is it a coincidence that you have such an athletic family, or do you credit at least some of your success to genetics?

RT: My lineage is not as strong as everybody thinks. I am not actually related to Danny by blood; he just married my dad's sister Michelle when he was at BYU. Everybody thinks that we are related because we are both shooters and we look alike, but that is where it ends. My dad's side of the family has Andy but my mom's side of the family is mostly cowboys, so I am leaning more towards coincidence and a little bit of a competitive drive.

Toolson is also on Jon's list of best players in Independents history.

CSU Bakersfield: Kenny Warren (1993) 1521 PTS (#1), 520 AST (#1), 278 3PM (#1), 46.4 3P% (#1), All-American
Chicago State: David Holston (2009) 2331 PTS (#1), 529 AST (#1), 254 STL (#1), 450 3PM (#1), 84 FT% (#1), 39.5 3P% (#5)
Houston Baptist: E.C. Coleman (1973) 1846 PTS (#2), 1287 REB (#1)
Longwood: Jerome Kersey (1984) 1756 PTS (#2), 1162 REB (#1), 255 STL (#1), 142 BLK (#1), 57 FG% (#5), 2-time All-American, conference POY
NJIT: Clarence Pierce (1996) 2028 PTS (#1), 787 REB (#5), 273 STL (#1), 76 BLK (#4), 259 3PM (#1), 78.8 FT% (#5)
North Dakota: Dave Vonesh (1991) 2053 PTS (#2), 1207 REB (#1), 122 STL (#4), 118 BLK (#4), 56.7 FG% (#4), 2-time All-American, 2-time conference POY
Seattle: John O'Brien (1953) 2733 PTS (#1)
Texas-Pan American: Otto Moore (1968) 1880 PTS (#1), 1679 REB (#1), 3-time All-American
Utah Valley: Ryan Toolson (2009) 2163 PTS (#1), 282 AST (#1), 100 STL (#2), 315 3PM (#1), 93.9 FT% (#1), 43.2 3P% (#1), conference POY

College Hoops Friday Recap: Huskies, Seminoles Fall in Bahamas

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:51:04 -0800

Prevailing wisdom had Florida State and Connecticut playing on Saturday in the title game of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. Well, they'll be playing on Saturday...but with third place on the line as both lost their semifinal games in disappointing fashion. The Huskies looked to be in good shape as they held a 50-33 lead on UCF early in the second half, despite a lackluster shooting performance from Jeremy Lamb. But it was almost as if UConn turned off their "power source", and the Knights took full advantage.

Marcus Jordan scored 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists to lead a comeback that resulted in a 68-63 win, and Keith Clanton scored 20 as well. UConn couldn't score and they couldn't stop the Knights either, and the defensive side of the floor is where they ultimately lost the game. UCF shot 46% in the second half after making just a third of their shots in the first 20 minutes, outscoring UConn 39-25. The Huskies were nowhere near as efficient offensively as they were in the first half, but simply put if they string a couple stops together the comeback is likely stunted.

"I can't be more disappointed in how we played," said UConn head coach Jim Calhoun after the game. "We just stopped playing. We couldn't even get the ball inbounded near the end. Nobody stepped up and it was a complete disaster for us."

Florida State's loss to Harvard could also be described as disastrous, but for what happened with them offensively. There's no disguising the fact that the Seminoles have their issues offensively, and despite those issues Leonard Hamilton's team reached the Sweet 16 last season. But things may have gotten worse for FSU, as in their 46-41 loss to the Crimson they finished with a offensive efficiency of 66.1.

Michael Snaer led the way with ten points but it wasn't enough to earn the win, setting up the third-place battle between the Seminoles and Connecticut. The good news for UConn is that Ryan Boatright (NCAA suspension) makes his season debut, giving them another ball-handler in the backcourt. That's something they need to help out Shabazz Napier, who turned the ball over seven times against UCF and will need someone to relieve some of the workload he's been given. Can the Huskies defend better? Can FSU shoot better? The answers will determine the outcome.

Other Notable Happenings

1. The Atlantic 10 will have two teams playing for championships on Sunday night.
Annually the talk regarding the Atlantic 10 from a national point of view has centered around Xavier and Temple, and rightfully so given the success of those two programs. But if early returns are any indication on the strength of the conference, there will be more for the rest of the country to pay attention to. After wins on Friday, Dayton (Old Spice Classic) and Saint Louis (76 Classic) will play for the title in those events on Sunday. Dayton shot just 36% from the field but Archie Miller's team turned the ball over just nine times and outscored Fairfield by 15 points from beyond the arc in their 56-49 win over the Stags. As for Saint Louis, Jordair Jett scored 19 points off the bench and the Billikens neutralized everyone outside of Maalik Wayns and James Bell in their 80-68 win over Villanova. Both have winnable matchups on Sunday, with Dayton playing Minnesota and Saint Louis taking on Oklahoma, and that's a good development for the conference in regards to possible rewards in March.

2. Oklahoma remains undefeated and looks to be a better basketball team.
A long rebuilding process was expected for Oklahoma when Lon Kruger took over the program in the off-season. Not much in the cupboard talent-wise along with NCAA sanctions made many think that though could be a rough campaign for the Sooners. But if there's one thing (among many) that Kruger can do it's rebuild programs, and the Sooners look to be on the right track with their 4-0 start. Oklahoma limited Santa Clara to 26% shooting in the first half and took a 42-19 lead into the break on their way to an 85-73 win. Steven Pledger scored 26 points and three other Sooners reached double figures, but the biggest differences between this team and the last two seasons are the effort on the defensive end and their unselfishness. It's still going to be a process for Oklahoma, and there will likely be disappointments along the way, but the Sooners are putting together a solid foundation.

3. Kris Joseph takes over late, allowing Syracuse to rally past Stanford.
Johnny Dawkins' Stanford Cardinal put forth an impressive battle in the title game of the NIT Season Tip-Off, leading favored Syracuse for much of the first 30 minutes. But the Orange went their full-court pressure and senior Kris Joseph scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half as they won 69-63. Could Joseph be the go-to guy that so many have looked for on this deep team? Friday was certainly a good start in that regard, but the two games in NYC were also good for sophomores C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters. They scored ten points apiece with Waiters adding three assists and three steals, and both were named to the All-Tournament Team as a result. Joseph can be considered a known commodity but for Fair and Waiters to begin their seasons in this fashion is a good sign of things to come, especially in March.

Quick Hitters

1. What's up with Rider? A team some thought could be a factor for third in the MAAC is 1-5 following an 86-69 loss to James Madison in the Philly Hoop Group Classic. The Dukes outscored the Broncs 48-31 in the second half, shooting 60% from the field in the final 20 minutes.

2. Southern Miss out-rebounded New Mexico State 38-26 and limited the Aggies to 41.7% shooting in their 80-72 win in a Great Alaska Shootout semifinal. LaShay Page scored 22 points to lead the Golden Eagles, who play Murray State in the title game.

3. Kendall Marshall scored just four points in North Carolina's 87-62 win over South Carolina, but his true value can be seen in his 14 assists and six steals. As long as he's on the floor the Tar Heels are going to be extremely difficult to slow down.

4. Marshall picked up a good road win as they beat Cincinnati 73-69 in overtime. Damier Pitts came up big late for the Thundering Herd, picked by many to be Memphis' chief competition in Conference USA. As for the Bearcats, this makes that loss to Presbyterian even costlier.

5. Good luck trying to slow down the Florida Gators. In their 107-62 win over Jacksonville five Gators reached double figures with Kenny Boynton (22 points) and Erving Walker (21) combining to score 43 points. Florida has made ten or more three-pointers in each of their games this season.

Three Notable Performances

1. F Doug McDermott (Creighton)
31 points and 11 rebounds in the Bluejays' 104-81 win over Campbell.

2. G Reggie Hamilton (Oakland) and G Isiah Williams (Utah Valley)
In the Golden Grizzlies' 89-83 win over Utah Valley Hamilton scored 34 points (five assists, five steals and three rebounds) while Williams paced the Wolverines with 35 of his own (three rebounds, three assists).

3. F Patrick Heckmann (Boston College)
32 points and five rebounds in the Eagles' 66-62 win over UC Riverside.

Jon Teitel's Coaches Interview Series: Chicago State's Bob Hallberg

Jon Teitel — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:14:01 -0700

In the latest installment of his coaches interview series CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with former Chicago State head coach Bob Hallberg, who racked up a record of 223-84 in ten years at the Windy City school. Hallberg led the Cougars to a third place finish in the 1984 NAIA Tournament, capping off one of the most successful seasons in school history.

Jon Teitel: In high school you played for legendary coach Jim Arneberg. What was it like to play for him, and how much of an influence was he on your own decision to go into coaching?

Bob Hallberg: The defining moment in my life that changed my whole career was not making the varsity squad as a sophomore in high school. Coach Arneberg brought me up to the varsity for the playoffs, and to my surprise he grabbed me by the shoulders during a game and told me to "get in there and steal the ball." I went out there and played like I was possessed because he was such a great motivator, and I made up my mind to go into coaching soon after that.

JT: You began your collegiate coaching career at St. Xavier after starting out as a high school coach. What was the biggest difference between coaching high school players and coaching college players?

BH: One advantage of college coaching is being able to recruit players, and I have always believed that you can only win with good players. Some coaches think they can win with any kind of players due to their coaching ability, but they are wrong. College players are also more talented and athletic than high school players.

JT: In 1977 you became coach at Chicago State and went 25-5 in your first season. Why did you make the switch, and how were you able to be so successful so quickly?

BH: I have a bad gym story that tops them all. At St. Xavier we had an intramural gym with no bleachers: we did not even have enough room for a regulation college court. I went to Chicago ST for the facility, and I increased my coaching salary by a whopping $4,000, which was very good considering I had a wife and two kids. The main reason we won so many games is because we had good talent.

1984 NAIA Tournament

JT: Darron Brittman scored 31 points in a one-point double overtime win over Kearney State that saw both teams combine for 69 fouls. Was that the most physical game you have even seen?

BH: At one time it was considered to be the most exciting game in NAIA tourney history even though a lot of people do not remember it now. It was a very high-scoring game despite not having a three-point line at that time. We were down nineteen points before we even knew what happened, and I called over my two star players and told them that they were choking in front of a huge crowd. That seemed to get us going, and it was an amazing comeback victory for us.

JT: Your next game was a two-point win over Chaminade. How close did you come to losing that game?

BH: They had a 6'5" All-American, but Charles Perry hit a jumper over him with three seconds left, despite being only 5'10". Perry was known as "Captain Video" due to the goggles he wore.

JT: Your "Heart Attack Kids" had a two-point overtime loss in the semifinals to Fort Hays State. How devastating was the loss, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterwards?

BH: There were a lot of fouls called, but we had more depth than Fort Hays. Their coach Bill Morse had his son Ron on the bench who never played, but he put him in towards the end of the game because they were running out of players. They missed a shot with four seconds left, but Ron ran over, got the ball, and made a shot at the buzzer as he was falling out of bounds. They ended up beating Dick Bennett's Wisconsin-Stevens Point team in the title game to win it all.

JT: You had a four-point overtime win over Westmont in the third place game. Was your team just exhausted from all the overtime games, and did you consider your run in the tourney to be a success or a failure?

BH: Whenever I go into the locker room at the end of a season, I do not do any ranting and raving. Once it is over, there is nothing you can do about the outcome, so I just try to end on a high note. There is only one team in the country that ends their season on a successful note, and I was proud of my team for going so far.

JT: In 1985 your program made the leap to Division I and you set a record for the most wins at a school in its first season of Division I competition with 16. What was the biggest difference between the two divisions, and how was your team able to be so competitive so quickly?

BH: I had two good guards in Brittman and Perry, and I felt they could hold their own with anyone in the country. I am 5'7" myself, so maybe I am partial to the little guys, but you cannot score if you cannot get the ball up the floor. When we were making the move to Division I, a lot of people said we would not be able to compete, but we proved them wrong.

JT: You also set an NCAA record for consecutive home victories with a 75-game win streak from 1981-1986. How big a home-court advantage was your crowd, and did it eventually reach a point where the fans expected you to win every single home game?

BH: We had good fan support, and they made a lot of noise. Everyone has more confidence at home.

JT: In 1987 you became coach at UIC, where you only had one 20-win season during your nine years there. Why did you make the switch, and do you have any regrets when you look back on your decision?

BH: I have no regrets whatsoever, as the UIC Pavilion was the nicest facility in Chicago. I have never stepped into a program that was highly successful: they were all challenges, which I enjoyed. I looked up at the bleachers during my first game at UIC as they were singing the national anthem, and I counted 97 people in the stands (half of whom were probably my family!). I was born too soon before the big money came, but back then when I signed a $50,000 contract, I thought I had won the Illinois lottery!

JT: For the past decade you have been athletic director/coach of the St. Xavier women's basketball team. Is it hard to do both gigs at the same time, and what is the biggest difference between coaching men and coaching women?

BH: I never thought I would be back at St. Xavier at all, much less coaching women. I like being AD, and I have a great staff that helps me out. The confidence factor is a big difference; the men think they are all Michael Jordan but the women all think they stink. The women are more intelligent; if they get a B in a class, they are disappointed that they did not get an A. I tell them that they cannot always get an A on the court; turning the ball over or missing a shot is just part of being a player. My friends thought that I could not get the women to play my up-tempo game, with a bunch of pressing and running, but I did. However, I cannot yell at them the way I did with the guys.

JT: You have spent your entire coaching career in the city of Chicago. What do you enjoy most about the city, and has it been easy on your family to not have to move around all over the country?

BH: I became a trivia question, as I coached at three different schools without having to move even once. Former coach Dick Versace said that my downfall is that I never moved around the country. However, when a coach moves to Texas and has a son start high school there, and then moves to Maryland and has a daughter start college there, it can be tough to be so spread out, so I put my family first. I heard someone complaining about me once on sports radio after I said that I was happy in Chicago and "did not have to go to Duke to be happy", but that is the truth.

JT: When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most?

BH: I would like to be remembered as a coach who really understood his players and was a good communicator. I loved winning, but I understood the difference between being an old coach and being a teenage player, which not all coaches can do. I was someone who my players could come talk to about any of their problems.

Hallberg is also on Jon's list of best coaches in Great West history (the league itself is going into its second year of official competition)

Chicago State: Bob Hallberg (1977-1987) 223-84

Houston Baptist: Gene Iba (1977-1985) 128-96, 1 NCAA tourney, 2 conference titles, 1-time conference COY

NJIT: NO COACH HAS BEEN THERE FOR 5 YEARS

North Dakota: Rich Glas (1988-2006) 335-194, three conference titles

South Dakota: Dave Boots (1988-present) 465-182, six-time conference Coach of the Year

Texas Pan American: Sam Williams (1958-1973) 244-164, one NAIA title, one-time national Coach of the Year

Utah Valley University: Dick Hunsaker (2004-present) 121-80

State of '08: Utah

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:52:39 -0700

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

UTAH

BYU - The 2000's have been kind to BYU with 8 postseason trips, including 5 NCAA Tournaments. Last year, the Cougars finished in the RPI Top 25 for the second straight season, but the program hasn't won an NCAA game since 1993. BYU has tied or finished ahead of Utah in 5 of 6 seasons.

UTAH STATE - Under Stew Morrill, the Aggies have been perennial postseason participants. In fact, Utah State has made the last 9 postseasons, including 5 NCAA Tournaments. Those 9 teams all won at least 20 games, finished over .500 in conference play (Big West and now the WAC), and topped 80th in the RPI.

UTAH - Under Rick Majerus, this was one of the country's premier programs, making 10 of 11 NCAA Tournaments and reaching National Title game in 1998. But the last three teams have merely been pedestrian (finishing under .500 in the MWC), and the next step is simply returning to the NIT. Utah has lost to Utah State in 5 of the last 8 meetings.

WEBER STATE - The Wildcats have long been one of the best programs in the Big Sky conference, with 17 league titles. In the last decade, Weber has finished .500 or better 9 times in Big Sky play. The team most recently reached the Big Dance in 2007.

UTAH VALLEY STATE - As far as independents go, the Wolverines have been as good as it gets. In 2007, they went 20-7 against D1 teams and finished 130th in the RPI. Last year, Utah Valley tied for the independent lead with 13 (D1) wins. They've also beaten SUU in 2 of 3 tries.

6. SOUTHERN UTAH - Since making the NCAA Tournament in 2001, there's been little to get excited about in Cedar City. 2002 was the last time the team finished above .500 in the Summit (Mid-con), and they haven't topped 200 in the RPI in that period as well.

Last: Texas - Next: Virginia

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)