Episode 5 - Preseason Intrigue

Episode 5 of The Dream Season Podcast details the arrival of Nadav Henefeld and the cohesion of the team leading into their two exhibition games prior to the start of the 1989-90 regular season.

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Transcript

Hi and welcome to The Dream Season Podcast, an oral history of the 1989-90 UConn men’s basketball season, also known as, The Dream Season.

This Episode 5, Preseason Intrigue

The roster for the 1989-90 UConn men’s basketball team was nearly complete.

There was only one senior on the team, point guard Tate George.

He was joined by four juniors, forwards Lyman DePriest and Murray Williams along with guards John Gwynn and Steve Pikiell.

There were four sophomores in the mix. Centers Marc Suhr and Dan Cyrulik, forward Rod Sellers and guard Chris Smith.

Five freshmen had committed by the end of May 1989. Forwards Scott Burrell, Toraino Walker and Marte Smith were joined by shooting guard Phil Dixon. The roster also featured two walk-ons, Oliver Macklin and Tim Pikiell.

Unfortunately, Phil Dixon wouldn’t make it through the summer.

Dixon, who Calhoun referred to as “The #1 incoming foreign player in basketball” was participating in UConn’s Center for Academic Programs course during the summer to help give him a head start on some of his core class work.

When Dixon was 14 years old, he was accused and convicted of sexual assault. The case was recently reopened, as Dixon fought to prove his innocence. (Dixon would eventually prevail and be cleared of the charges.)

However, while at UConn during the summer of 1989, Dixon had four separate issues with females on campus. No charges were filed, but Calhoun had seen enough.

On Monday, August 21, Phil Dixon was released from his scholarship at UConn and dismissed from the team.

Here’s Calhoun on the dismissal of Dixon from the Hartford Courant the day after: [QUOTE] “It was an institutional and basketball decision. Phil violated the conduct code of the program he was involved with. His conduct was unacceptable. He did not do what we wanted him to do as a basketball player. It had nothing to do with academics and it had nothing to do with drugs. Phil Dixon, as a basketball player, certainly let us and himself down. We put a challenge before him and he was unable to meet it. We felt it was in the best interest of the university and the basketball program to release him.” [END QUOTE]

Calhoun told the New London Day [QUOTE] “We set some standards for conduct and he didn’t meet those. It was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make because I like him and he’s a terrific basketball player.” [END QUOTE]

Years later, Calhoun remembered the moment in his 1999 biography, Dare to Dream, written with famed author Leigh Monvtille. Said Calhoun, [QUOTE] “I was on the road recruiting when I got a phone call. Phil Dixon was in another jam with a girl on our campus. It didn’t seem like much, but I didn’t like it. Not with the first incident. I flew home, talked to Phil, and told him it was over. I suppose he eventually could have done okay and I still think he’s a nice kid, but the newspapers were going to get hold of this and his life would have been miserable at UConn. I called Rick Majerus at Utah for him. He would be better off somewhere else.” [END QUOTE]

Here’s UConn assistant coach Dave Leitao on the Dixon situation:

INSERT LEITAO CLIP 16:40

With the dismissal of a key recruit, the Huskies had already suffered a loss before practice even began. However, there was still one more potential recruit interested in joining the Huskies for the 1989-90 season. 

In early April of 1989, Jim Calhoun received a call from Marv Kessler, a long-time basketball coach and scout from New York City. Marv asked Jim if he would be interested in a player that Kessler described as “The Larry Bird of Israel.” 

Nadav Henefeld was a 6’ 7” forward who could handle the ball and had good basketball instincts. He had just completed his mandatory service in the Israeli army, so he was older than most recruits at age 21.

Henefeld was in the United States to visit St. John’s. Unfortunately for St. John’s, their campus in Queens didn’t fit Nadav’s image of what an American college campus should look like. So he wanted to see what UConn had to offer, which led to Kessler’s call to Calhoun.

Here’s Nadav talking about his desire to play college basketball and those campus visits in April of 1989:

INSERT NADAV CLIP 1:42

Over the years, legends have emerged about how Henefeld made his way to the UConn campus. They range from Nadav taking a helicopter directly to Storrs to accidentally driving by the campus and stopping in. 

Here’s Coach Leitao to set the story straight:

INSERT LEITAO CLIP 14:37

In July, Calhoun traveled to Israel to watch Henefeld play in the Maccabiah Games (also known as the Jewish Olympics), where Henefeld led Israel to their first championship in 16 years and was named MVP of the event. 

In August, Henefeld enrolled in classes at UConn but the news was not all good. When he took the SATs, he fell about 20 points short of reaching the required 700 to be eligible. UConn petitioned the NCAA to allow Henefeld to retake the SATs in early October, as Calhon felt that his three years serving in the Israeli army immediately following his high school graduation, should warrant a waiver to allow for a retake of the test.

On September 14, the NCAA ruled in UConn’s favor. He was allowed to take the SATs again on October 14th, this time on the campus of NC State in Raleigh, NC, at his own expense.

Before Henefeld made it on campus, work was already underway to ensure that the disappointment of the 1988-89 season would not repeat itself.

Tate George, the lone senior, and Steve Pikiell were named co-captains and they began laying the groundwork for what they hoped would be a more cohesive and focused team.

Said George, [QUOTE], “We’ll be a team in every sense of the word if Steve and I have anything to do with it. There aren’t going to be many “I’s” on this team, if any.” [END QUOTE]

George and Pikiell organized preseason drills and study halls for their teammates, which were labeled as voluntary, but not in reality. 

Steve Pikeill, [QUOTE] “If Tate and I have to be there, everybody has to be there. The same rules apply whether it’s Smitty or my brother.” [END QUOTE]

Coach Leitao reflects on the renewed focus the team had following the disappointment of the previous season:

INSERT LEITAO CLIP 13:00

Rod Sellers recalled a similar feeling:

INSERT ROD CLIP 14:50

47% of the team’s offense had left with the departures of Cliff Robinson and Phil Gamble. Chris Smith was the highest scoring returning player after averaging 9.9 points as a freshman.

For the first time since Calhoun took over in 1986-87, his team was finally composed of the type of basketball player that he preferred. The athletic wing player, who can run the floor and play defense aggressively. On paper, the Huskies would only be starting one player taller than 6’ 5”, forcing the team to become more of guard-focused, outside-in team, rather than the other way around. 

Said Calhoun [QUOTE], “We’re going to compensate for the fact that we seem to have a deficiency, and that seems to be experienced, quality scoring inside. The effort has been good the whole preseason. Rod Sellers has been terrific and as far as the overall center position, we’re like a very, very good donut and we need a munchkin someplace. Know what I’m saying? A munchkin would help.” [END QUOTE]

Calhoun continued. [QUOTE] “With Smitty, Scott Burrell, Sellers, John Gwynn and Murray Williams, when he’s healthy, we’re not strong, but we’re very athletic and we would like to take advantage of that. I’ve coached teams like this at Northeastern. It’s the kind of style we’re fitted to play. It’s more fun to watch, more fun to play and more fun to coach.” [END QUOTE]

The pressure was seemingly off UConn, especially compared to the season prior, coming on the heels of the NIT championship. Calhoun often referred to the team as [QUOTE] “interesting" and he said that it was fun watching the pieces start to come together.

The players and coaching staff were excited about the new makeup of the team, but college basketball prognosticators were less enthusiastic.

In their annual pre-season poll, the Big East coaches picked UConn to finish 8th out of 9 teams in the conference. (Georgetown was predicted to finish first, followed by Syracuse and then Pittsburgh.)

In the Hartford Courant’s Big East preview, the Huskies postseason chances were listed as [QUOTE] “Should be happy with a third consecutive NIT appearance.” [END QUOTE]

The low expectations would fuel the Huskies and it wouldn’t take long for outsiders to realize why Calhoun thought his team was so interesting.

BREAK

The first official practice of the season for the Huskies was held on Sunday, October 15th, 1989. Unlike the previous season, there was no Midnight Madness this year. Just a two and a half hour workout on a Sunday morning and then some classroom work in the evening.

There was still one member of the team who wasn’t able to participate in the first practice of the season. Until the school learned of Nadav Henefeld’s SAT results, he could not practice with the team.

Jay Hoffman, UConn’s unofficial strength coach, remembers working with Nadav.

INSERT HOFFMAN CLIP 39:42 re. Practice

On October 30th, UConn received word that Henefeld had scored over 800 on the SATs and therefore would be eligible to become an official member of the team. However, the school still had to wait for the official results to arrive via US Mail and then submit them to the NCAA for verification.

Even after all that, there was still one more hurdle to clear regarding Henefeld’s eligibility.

Earlier in October, UConn and the NCAA received an anonymous package, which included Israeli newspaper articles and a letter written in Hebrew, claiming that Henefeld had been paid to play basketball in Israel and was therefore not an amateur and ineligible to play college basketball. 

In reality, Henefeld had played against professionals while on a club team but he wasn’t paid to play.

After conducting an investigation, UConn, the Big East and the NCAA all reached the same conclusion. Nadav was not paid and is eligible to play for the Huskies.

While all of Nadav’s off-court drama played out, the other members of the team continued to round into shape. 

Bob Huessler, who would be starting his first season as the radio play-by-play voice for the Huskies this season, recalls the uncharacteristic optimism that was being shared by coach Calhoun prior to the season starting.

INSERT HUESSLER CLIP 23:02

Henefeld’s first day of eligibility coincided with UConn’s first exhibition game of the season, a showdown at the Field House against Marathon Oil on November 1.

Marathon Oil was a semi-pro club team, featuring recently graduated college players. The 1989 Marathon Oil team featured two familiar names to UConn fans, Phil Gamble and Jeff King, who famously sat atop a Madison Square Garden backboard together after helping to lead UConn to the 1988 NIT Championship.

UConn officially learned that Henefeld was eligible at about 3 PM that same afternoon and Nadav promptly ran through some plays with Steve Pikiell, Marc Suhr, Oliver Macklin and Marte Smith.

Calhoun decided to go with a wrinkle in the starting lineup for the first official action of the season, choosing to start John Gwynn over Tate George. Gwynn was joined in the starting lineup with Chris Smith, Rod Sellers at center along with Scott Burrell and Lyman DePriest at the forward spots.

If the benching of George meant to send a message to the senior co-captain, it worked. Tate provided a noticeable spark off the bench, finishing with 16 points and nine assists in 21 minutes of action in the 101-78 UConn victory.

Chris Smith led all scorers with 31 points on 12 of 20 shooting, including 5 three pointers. 

The Huskies led by only three points at the half, 48 to 45 and the score remained close throughout the second half, until a 25 to 8 run over the final six minutes allowed Calhoun to relax.

Said Calhoun, [QUOTE] “I’m happy to report we’re undefeated and I’m happy to report we’re still winless. The game was a good way to evaluate where we stand.” [END QUOTE]

A notable moment in the game occurred with six minutes, 32 seconds left in the first half, as Nadav Henefeld checked in for his first real action with his teammates. Henefeld notched two points, four rebounds, a steal and a block in 8 minutes of action.

Said Calhoun, “He certainly knows how to play basketball. We knew after one minute. Maybe we won’t let the other kids practice either.”

Here’s UConn’s longtime director of athletic communications, Tim Tolokan, on Henefeld’s participation after not practicing with the team all preseason:

INSERT TOLOKAN CLIP 40

The Marathon Oil game was the first time the public got to see the new-look Huskies. UConn attempted 24 3 pointers, making 9 of them. That doesn’t seem like much based on present day basketball trends, but for the late 80s, it marked a massive change for the Huskies. In Calhoun’s first three seasons in Storrs, his teams averaged just 8 3s per game.

Now that Henefeld was officially part of the team, he was able to fully participate in practices. Here’s Nadav recalling his very first day that he had to report to the Field House for practice:

INSERT NADAV CLIP 17:05 

There were 12 days in between the Marathon Oil game and UConn’s final preseason match up against the Soviet Union National Team.

That was a good thing, as the team was dealing with some nagging injuries.

Murray Williams was dealing with a stress fracture in his left leg, the same injury in the same leg that he dealt with the previous season. Steve Pikiell sat out a few practices to rest his chronically sore right shoulder, the same shoulder that forced him to redshirt the 1988-89 season.

Chris Smith had a particularly nasty bout with strep throat that caused him to lose 10 pounds. He was also scheduled to have his wisdom teeth removed.

Here’s Smitty recalling that dental procedure:

INSERT SMITTY CLIP 4:30

On Monday, November 13, the Huskies hosted the Soviet Union National Team at the Civic Center for their final tune-up of the preseason.

Jim Calhoun had one wish heading into the game. “Not to get beat too bad.”

The Soviets featured two starters from the 1988 Olympic gold medal team and were coming off consecutive five point defeats to two teams that Sports Illustrated had predicted to reach the Final Four, #3 LSU and #1 UNLV.

Said Calhoun, “They will probably be the best team we will play all year, or awfully close to it.”

Calhoun inserted Tate George back into the starting lineup, along with Chris Smith, Dan Cyrulik, Rod Sellers and Scott Burrell.

The Soviets had a decided size advantage over the Huskies, so Calhoun chose to take advantage of the Huskies quickness and unleashed a full-court press on the visitors. The gamble paid off, as UConn held the Soviets to 37 percent shooting from the floor, forced 13 turnovers and even won the rebounding battle, 56-38, on the way to a 97-87 victory.

Once again, Chris Smith led the Huskies with 28 points and his defense held the Soviet point guard, Tiik Sokk to just 10 points. Sokk, who was on the gold medal winning team in the ‘88 Olympics, averaged 27.5 in the two games against LSU and UNLV. 

Freshman Scott Burrell flashed a glimpse of his abilities, scoring 13 points, which included being on the receiving end of a half-court alley-oop pass from Steve Pikiell that brought the Civic Center crowd to its feet. 

Rod Sellers added 20 points and 8 boards, as the Huskies continued to look for their go-to big man.

UConn’s performance against the favored Soviets opened some eyes. The Huskies defense held the Soviets to 15 fewer points than UNLV did and 22 points fewer than LSU. UNLV was also outrebounded by the Soviets 54-45.

Soviet coach Vladas Garastas said after the game, [QUOTE] “UConn played better defense than the other two but this was a little surprise. Many people talk like this team is not that great. UConn is just as good as the two other teams we’ve played.” [END QUOTE]

Here’s Calhoun, reflecting on the win over the Soviet National team and why he continually referred to this team as “interesting” during the preseason:

INSERT CALHOUN CLIP 6:35

Coming up on the next episode of The Dream Season Podcast, the regular season begins, with a 4,400 mile journey to Anchorage, Alaska.

The Dream Season Podcast is researched, written & produced by me, Matt Edwards. 

Written sources for this episode are the Hartford Courant archives, Google News Archives, the NY Times archives and Dare to Dream written by Jim Calhoun and my golf buddy, Leigh Montville.

If you have any memories to share about anything I just mentioned, want to correct me on something I screwed up or just have general feedback to give, send me an email at dreamseasonpodATgmail.com or call and leave me a message at (903) 884 - EIGHTY NINE NINETY. 

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I want to apologize for the delay in putting this episode together and I sincerely appreciate everyone’s patience.

As always, thank you so much for listening!!