11 min read
THE GREAT PROFESSIONAL and college basketball player and commentator Wally Szczerbiak was born in March, so when he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in the third week of March 1999, he had just turned 22 years old. It was significant for several reasons.
Sports Illustrated was the most beloved and widely circulated sports publication of the day, so Szczerbiak was arguably, briefly, one of the most famous people in the country. He had also taken his mid-major school, Miami of Ohio in the Mid American Conference (MAC), to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the calendar-dominating event that gripped the sports worlds’ attention for four consecutive weekends every spring.
Even at that time, fourth-year players with real NBA potential were becoming rare, and by the end of Miami of Ohio’s magical Cinderella bid, after Szczerbiak collected his degree, he was picked sixth by the Minnesota Timberwolves, largely thanks to his performance several weeks earlier. This launched a 10-year career in the NBA that he then parlayed into a 17-year (and counting!) run at the pinnacle of basketball media.
Szczerbiak, as one of March Madness’s great unexpected stars, shows the tournament’s potential to turn college students into household names in a month—or even less. Men’s Health spoke to Szczerbiak on the eve of this year’s tournament, which he’ll be announcing this weekend on CBS, to talk about how the game has changed since he played, and what to look forward to in this tournament.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
MEN’S HEALTH: With Miami of Ohio having the season they’ve just wrapped up [the RedHawks completed the regular season with an undefeated record, then received an at-large bid to March Madness], how does it feel as an alum? Does it bring you back to your glory days there?
WALLY SZCZERBIAK: It sure does. I am just ecstatic with the run they were on in the regular season, stacking win after win after win. I remember it was around win 18 when it really started to catch the attention of the entire country, along with other undefeated teams like Arizona and Nebraska. They just continued to stay perfect; it was impressive. And now they realize that this is the most important part of the season.
I have a daughter who’s there. She’s a sophomore. She goes to every single game. She has been going to every single game since she got on campus. So it’s helped me become more a part of the community, be more a part of the basketball team and get to know the guys, get to know the coaches. I’ve been back on campus quite a bit last year and this year, so it’s been a lot of fun to relive a lot of those memories on campus and see these guys accomplish their goals and continue to win a bunch of basketball games. It’s just been great.
MH: In your experience, what is the relationship between most NBA players and their alma maters when they go on to have professional success?
WS: Back in NBA locker rooms, starting with Minnesota, during the NCAA tournament, there were former players at their schools just talking trash, really excited about the games, filling out brackets, thinking that their team was going to go all the way and win.
My teammate Sam Mitchell, who went to Mercer—another small, mid-major type school—helped his team get to the NCAA tournament. So when I first got to Minnesota, he remembered that run that I helped Miami go on by going to the Sweet 16, and winning a couple games, and we bonded over that because we were both small school guys. We had been there for four years at both schools. That was more traditional back then, to be a part of the framework at your school, get your degree and stuff like that. So it was really special. The NCAA tournament unites us all. It brings us all together. It’s a common bond. We all love watching the games.
I remember I came a couple free throws away from winning the pool when I was on the Cavs with LeBron James in 2008. If Derrick Rose would have won that game, if they would have made their free throws down the stretch, I would have won the whole entire Cavs pool. So I’ll never forget that one just slipped out of my hands, and then the big shot by [Mario] Chalmers and Kansas won in overtime.
MH: I was actually at that game.
That was quite a game. I was like, You got to be kidding me! I missed by two free throws! It was awful.
MH: Including Miami of Ohio, there are some feisty Cinderellas this year. Does this feel like one of those years where it’s a chalk Final Four and everyone’s a higher seed? Or could one of the lower seeds sneak in and we end up with a surprise in the Final Four?
WS: I thought all season that the four number one seeds—Florida included, with Arizona, Michigan, and Duke—separated themselves from the field as being the predominant favorites. But then Purdue goes on a run the way they went on in the Big Ten Tournament championship and beats Michigan and wins that title. So it just goes to show you, any team can get hot at any time in college basketball. That’s what we love about this tournament. You never know what you’re going to get.
I do think it’s obviously a little top-heavy and it’s tough for the Cinderellas to go on runs the way they used to because of NIL and because they normally transfer out of mid-majors, and they go on to play in the Power 4 conference schools. But then a team like Miami just totally blows that out of the water. And it’s because they keep the guys and continuity is there. They went undefeated and now they have a lot to prove in the NCAA tournament [Ed. note: Miami won its first game, beating SMU 89-79]. So it just goes to show you anything can happen in this wonderful sport of college basketball. I don’t know if I foresee one of those Cinderellas making a deep, deep run to the Sweet 16 or the Elite Eight, but I think they can definitely knock off a team and win a game or two.
MH: You said something interesting about the NIL and continuity. How has the sport and team-building been changed by the NIL?
WS: Well, it’s survival of the fittest. There’s 365 teams that have tape on you and are watching you, and then they have the opportunity to offer you big-time dollars to go play for them. You basically become a free agent every single year, where the highest bidder can attract the services of the best players. So all the best players are going to wherever the money is, and the money is with the Power 4 conferences. They generate the most money, and it’s no secret that they mostly have the most money to give to the players, through NIL and revenue share and stuff like that.
As a result, I love the product that’s on the floor because the best players are playing on the best teams, and that’s what I always want to see in the NCAA tournament. It was a concern of mine that smaller teams and mid-major teams were not going to be able to develop their talent like I was developed for four years in Miami, because they’ll leave after a big year and go on to make millions of dollars. And that’s a good thing, I think, for each individual, that they’re getting compensated now. I would never argue with that. At the same time, you wonder if it’s going to phase out the mid-majors from being competitive because it’s tough to build a roster.
This year has completely blown that notion out of the water. The Mid-American Conference has gotten two teams in the tournament for the first time since 1999 when we got an at-large bid. Miami was the 11-seed despite the fact we lost the MAC Tournament final. I’m really excited to see how they perform. That Akron team’s really good. They got a 12-seed, which is pretty high for a Mid-American Conference team that got the automatic bid. So they got to go out there and prove their worth.
MH: This year you’re out on the road in the stadiums calling the games. Do you think that there’s any correlation between the NIL and how the fandom has changed?
WS: I think it’s in the Power 4 conferences. I think it’s never been at a higher level. I mean, you look at the ratings in college basketball, people are very in tune with it. This year was record-breaking as far as the regular season. And I think the talent level of the freshmen had a lot to do with that. There are 13 freshmen that are possibly going to be going into the NBA draft next year and be the top 13 picks. And when you turn on the TV, you see 40-point performances by these kids that have just gotten into college basketball.
Nobody anticipated that happening, because of the transfer portal. We thought all the best players were always going to be prioritized by those Power 4 conference schools because they were getting paid so much money. And we thought teams weren’t going to be able to roster build through freshmen. Rick Pitino even said it. He said, I’d be crazy to recruit a freshman nowadays because I have a guy that’s played three or four years in college basketball. He’s been coached by great coaches. He’s mature, he’s athletic, his mind, his body has matured and grown.So I want those kind of guys that are ready to perform immediately.
And then in comes the best freshman class, maybe of all time, to just completely turn college basketball upside down. It’s been so much fun to watch those guys play. So I think it’s in a great place. I think the best players are going to the best teams, and I think the fans are really appreciating the quality of basketball because these guys are good on both ends and as a result, you’re seeing a really high-quality basketball game.
MH: Have you noticed rivalries or the relationships between fandoms change?
WS: Well, I’ll tell you, it took a little bit of an adjustment when you have teams like Cal and Stanford in the Atlantic Coast Conference. It definitely does. I feel for the student-athletes to have to travel cross-country, to have to make grades, to have to get their homework done, to have to get to class. But it’s become almost like professional basketball where it’s all about what you are doing on the basketball floor. And I think these players are treated in a way where they have a lot more resources at their disposal when it comes to all sorts of trainers on staff that are making sure they’re taking care of their bodies.
Now that it’s been a few years, I don’t mind the movement because as a fan and as an analyst, you have teams like UCLA in the Big Ten, which is one of the biggest blue blood brands in college basketball, and you combine that with all the other blue bloods like Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Ohio State, Purdue, all in one league now, and they’re playing against each other and I love it. And I know it’s hard and Mick Cronin complains about it because he’s got to travel time zones, he’s got to lose sleep with the kids, but as an analyst and as a fan, when you see UCLA playing against Ohio State maybe twice a year, that’s pretty cool. I really think it is. And it’s been good for college basketball no matter what, because it’s all about the almighty dollar.
MH: In terms of narratives, who has the most to lose or gain in the next few weeks?
WS: I think the most to gain is a guy like Darryn Peterson. He’s been touted as the number one draft pick the whole year. The second I laid eyes on him, I was like, this guy’s got Kobe Bryant basketball skills. He plays the game at a high level at his age. His body’s mature. He can really handle the ball. He has no weaknesses, but then he was dealing with the injuries, his team wasn’t having a lot of success. They’re a 4-seed, so that is a lot of success, but not relative to how good they could have been. And in order to perform in the NBA, you need to be able to go through the grind of 82 games. You got to fight through injuries. So I would say he has a lot to play for in this NCAA tournament, because if he can put Kansas on his back and help them make a run, he can show everyone: I should be the number one pick.
MH: If you took “fit” out of the equation, who would you take number one?
WS: I would take AJ Dybantsa. I’ve seen enough over the course of the grind of this college basketball season to say that he’s got the talent, he’s got all the measurables. He’s 6’9″, he’s athletic, long arms, he can score. He’s leading this team, leading the country in scoring. And he’s durable, too. He’s been playing every single game. He stepped his game up when his teammate went down with an ACL injury. All those intangibles are important in the NBA if you want to be a great player. So I would give him the nod for now. You can’t pass on that sure thing. He’s going to be great and he’s going to be available every single night.
MH: What if you had to take a less conventional choice? Go with your heart and pick your favorite.
WS: I would go with Darius Acuff. What he’s doing in the SEC is unprecedented. I don’t think anyone’s led the SEC in scoring and assists since Pete Maravich in 1970. He might not be the tallest guard. He’s about 6’2″, 6’3″. But there have been a lot of guys in the NBA that have had success at 6’2″, 6’3″. Look at Jalen Brunson. He’s an MVP candidate and he’s only 6’2″. And this guy plays the game the right way. He shoots the ball 45 percent from the three-point line. John Calipari loves coaching him. Compare him to some of the other players that Calipari has coached— Derrick Rose, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, John Wall, De’Aaron Fox, you name it, Darius Acuff is having an overall better season than all those guys in one year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he went number one. It would be a little bit unconventional because of his size and because of AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson, but what he has done, no freshman has matched it in a long, long time.
MH: I have several friends who would fight me if I did not ask you who would be the best fit on the Knicks in terms of a back of the first round steal.
WS: Maybe a guy like Bruce Thornton from Ohio State. He’s had a historic career, averages 20 points, 5+ assists. A four-year guy in the same uniform, and I think he would fit really well in that locker room. And I wouldn’t doubt him no matter what, wherever he’s playing. A guy who can shoot, a guy can play point guard if you need him to play point guard. Another guy would be Jeremy Fears from Michigan State. He leads the nation in assists, and is a little undersized. He can shoot the ball, but he’s not really aggressive shooting the ball because he’s always trying to set up his teammates. He’s a guy that knows how to win, and Tom Izzo knows how to coach point guards. So I think he could find his way onto an NBA roster somewhere and could be one of those second-round picks that might have some success in the NBA. Another one could be Alex Karaban. Historic career at UConn, one of the all-time winningest players in UConn history. He’s won two national championships. He’s got great size at 6’9″, 6’10”, and he can shoot the blood out of the ball.
Flatbush local, former mayor of New York City
