A Hall of Fame show

Coach K, Psycho T headline quite a night for the college hoops HOF. Plus, will Nkamhoua's FIBE performance translate to Michigan? And much more

Author

Sean Paul
August 31, 2023

Did anyone see Coach K and Tyler Hansbrough standing in the same room in 2023? Marvelous things happen during Hall of Fame ceremonies…

Let's dive in.

1. A Hall of Fame night

Wednesday night saw five legends inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame — watch all the speeches here — headlined by Mike Krzyzewski, arguably the best coach in college hoops history.

Coach K was among the honorees, which also included former Duke player and UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, North Carolina star Tyler Hansbrough, former Thomas Jefferson University coach Herb Magee, and scout Tom Konchalski, who was honored posthumously. 

Jeff Goodman, Rob Dauster and Robbie Hummel made the trek to Chicago (the event is usually in Kansas City, but they switched to Chicago for 2023 only for K’s official induction; he was part of its first class in 2006) to document the evening. And they managed to have a little fun.

Some takeaways

  • The loss to Fairleigh Dickinson hasn’t fallen off Matt Painter’s radar — he also didn’t mince words. “We got beat straight up. But it’s embarrassing,” Painter said. He also noted it takes away from other accomplishments throughout the year. "Personally, it eats at you. You should cherish your Big Ten Championship ... but you just think about that.”

  • What does Coach K think about the current state of college hoops? “It’s not led. Any organization that’s not led has a chance to go in a lot of different directions.” He also added, “There’s no solidarity and there needs to be common ground.” He’s saying what everybody thinks.

  • One of college basketball’s most prolific players this century was Tyler Hansbrough. North Carolina fans adore him and Duke fans can’t stand him. It was wild to see him on the stage with Coach K. “It’s an honor to be here with him. He’s done a lot for college basketball. This feels like a universal answer at this point, but there would be no rivalry without him.”

  • Former North Carolina coach Roy Williams watches every Tar Heels game. But the coach's feeling doesn’t go away. “I’ve only made a big mistake twice. In Mohegan Sun, the Hall of Fame tournament my first year (out of coaching), the Hall of Fame gave me seats right by the court and I didn’t think one guy hustled, and I jumped out onto the court 2-3 feet, then I realized I need to sit my butt down,” Williams said.

Watch all the interviews from the night here:

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2. What will Michigan get from Nkamhoua?

The FIBA World Cup is all the rage on basketball Twitter.

It's littered with NBA stars like Luka Doncic representing Slovenia, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander repping Canada, and the United States looking for a gold medal to improve the trophy case. However, It's not only pro players trying to make their respective countries proud. Some familiar college hoopers are playing, too.

These four college players are among those participating in the event:

  • Olivier Nkamhoua Michigan/Finland

  • Keisei Tominaga Nebraska/Japan

  • Miro Little Baylor/Finland

  • Zach Edey Purdue/Canada

The most impressive of the four? Nkamhoua.

Let the record show that it feels strange not to mention the reigning player of the year here, but Canada has too many NBA players blocking Edey’s route to playing time. On the other hand, Nkamhoua starts in Finland's frontcourt next to NBA All-Star Lauri Markkanen — and Nkamhoua's showed off impressive defensive instincts (like on this help-side block on star Aussie Josh Giddey) and an occasional burst of offense.

His biggest game came in an ugly 101-75 loss to Germany, where Nkamhoua tallied 14 points and grabbed four boards. How will the FIBA performances translate to Nkahmoua playing as "the guy" in Ann Arbor? Let’s project a bit.

Nkamhoua’s likely the only player on Michigan's roster capable of averaging 15 points, which he's never done in four seasons at Tennessee. That might seem like a red flag, but Rick Barnes’ style emphasized defense and guards making plays.

Most recently, Nkahmoua scored 27 points in 22 minutes in the Vols’ NCAA tourney win over Duke. Michigan needs Nkamhoua to bring that version into the Big Ten. The thickly-built 6-9, 235-pound forward just knows how to make plays, whether he's using his strength to wall off defenders for boards, throw down lobs, post up inside, or even sneak behind the line for a triple.

Despite averaging less than nine shots per game each year of his career, he still was impactful on offense. The Wolverines will put him in favorable positions to score, which wasn’t the case in Knoxville as the third or fourth option.

3. More programs scheduling Maui fundraiser games

Some things are bigger than sports. And when that’s the case, it’s terrific when sports can provide a boost. Such as helping Maui rebuild.

Illinois and Kansas announced this month that they’ll play an exhibition to raise money, which will be televised on the Big Ten Network. More programs are following suit.

Michigan State will host Tennessee in the Breslin Center on September 29, which will benefit victims from wildfires that wrecked Lahaina.

Local programs are also doing their part.

The University of Hawaii will host Saint Mary’s at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. College hoop diehards know the Stan Sheriff Center from midnight tips on the East Coast.

Seems likely we’ll see even more fundraising efforts over the next few months.

Maize and boo?

If Olivier Nkahmoua was the prize addition for Michigan this offseason, what does that mean for their offseason grade? Longtime Wolverines fan Greg Waddell argues with Rob Dauster about that very topic.

Links as you keep listening to all the Hall of Fame interviews.

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