Steve Fisher article in USA Today (Frieder too)

Submitted by FabFiver5 on

One of USA Today's sports cover stories today is all about the rebirth of the San Diego State backetball program, with Steve Fisher at the helm. It's a great read, mentions a bit about the Fab Five and also has quotes from Bill Frieder. I had no idea Frieder and Fisher were still such close friends...

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/mwest/2010-12-06-…

Blue in Seattle

December 8th, 2010 at 6:35 PM ^

 I thought the whole problem was the "Magic" used to Recruit the Fab Five in the first place.

He was the coach in name during the National Championship, but the lack of development of the Fab Five (ignoring the recruiting issues) never seemed like he was really that skilled as a coach.

The National Championship team was Frieder's team.  I don't know for sure what the motivation was during that national championship run, but the football lover in me always thinks it had much more to do with Bo stating, "A Michigan Man (employee of Michigan) will coach a Michigan Team"

So I always think that team decided to lead themselves to the National Championship with that ending statement of  "thanks for leaving us coach, we worked hard for you, but maybe you're right, we're better off without you, XOXOXO NCAA National Champtionship Team Michigan Wolverines"

But what do I know, I got so drunk watching the semi final game at Dooley's I ended up being dragged out by my girlfriend just in time to vomit all over the front door right in front of the bouncer.

Incidentally if you plan on doing something like that, always have a lady take you home, bouncers never mess with the ladies.

 

 

Tater

December 8th, 2010 at 2:48 PM ^

I sat behind Frieder at a Michigan baseball game during the Close/Abbott/Brock/Larkin/Sabo years.  I watched five people over a period of an hour who knew him walk up to him, shake his hand, and say "hi."  He treated them like they were his best friends.  As soon as they walked away, Frieder looked over to the friend next to him and would say something like "what a fucking loser" or "what a fucking asshole."

I didn't have any illusions about him being a "great guy" before watching him two-face so many people who practically bowed at his feet just to be acknowledged by him, but if I had, they would have been shattered that day.

Also, I will never forgive him for his terrible mishandling of Antoine Joubert.  Joubert's natural shot was a couple of steps over the center court line, but Frieder wouldn't let him take that shot because it was from "too far away."  So, for four years, I watched Joubert want to take his shot, know he wasn't allowed to, fake, dribble, and clang the shorter shot waaay too often. 

He turned a kid who averaged over 40 points in the HS playoffs as a senior into a guy who couldn't average 20 in college.  Thanks, Bill; I really appreciate it.  I'm sure "The Judge" did, too.

mGrowOld

December 8th, 2010 at 1:28 PM ^

Most of you guys are too young to remember Frieder but I was there from 1978-1981 and had floor seats right behind the basket my senior year.   Marty & Mark Bodner, Dan "boo boo" Pelekoudas, Thad "thunder dunk" Garner,  Paul Heuerman, Tim McCormick and the great Mike McGee - that was a team built for a three point line that didnt exist yet in college.

superstringer

December 8th, 2010 at 1:52 PM ^

I was on campus 1984-87.  Freider was well-known as, well basically, living in his own world not really connected with ours.  Saw him eating at Thano's one night, by himself, didn't want anyone to bother him, tried not to make eye contact with students there (myself, my buddy Brad, others at other tables) so no one would say "Hey coach" or something.  Brad still snuck in a shout-out (they weren't called "shout outs" back then).

Some young'uns might not have heard the story.  Allegedly Freider was scouting some recruit when another coach said, "If Bo Derek is a 10, this guy is an 11."  And Freider allegedly responded, "Who does Bo Derek play for?"  (Just occurred to me, young'uns might have noooo idea who Bo Derek was or why Bo was a 10.  Do a Google Image on "bo derek" and enterain yourself a bit.)

The team I remember was Gary Grant, Antoine "The Judge" Joubert, Roy Tarpley, Butch Wade... and Steve Stoyko off the bench.  Remember the cat calls?  "Stoyyyykoooo, Stoyyyyykoooo." 

BigSi

December 8th, 2010 at 5:06 PM ^

I miss that place too. I knew the owner's son back in the day and my friends and I would hang out there often. I also took my future wife there on a few dates.

It was a great place for star watching as basketball players and coaches frequently eat there.

ST3

December 8th, 2010 at 6:50 PM ^

I lived in an apartment right behind Thano's for 2 years. An amazing number of cops would go in through the back door, a la Goodfellas. Strangely though, I never ate there until after I moved. I also lived in the house right next to Angelo's and had a room over the kitchen. There is nothing like waking up to the smell of Angelo's kitchen.

Back to the OP, I went to UofM's hoops camp when Frieder was still the head coach. Bill walked around like a CEO and Fisher was the COO. Fisher basically ran the camp, and demonstrated all the drills. I remember Gary Grant coming to the camp and taking on a couple campers in one-on-one drills.  

Living in LA now, I get to hear Fisher on the radio every now and then. I think Frieder got what he deserved, but I feel bad about the way Fisher had to take the fall.

Kilgore Trout

December 8th, 2010 at 2:11 PM ^

I was young when Frieder was around, but I definitely remember his later teams with Grant and Joubert before the championship team.  I remember reading his book when I was about 10 or 11 and thinking that the guy was kind of nuts.

http://www.amazon.com/Basket-Case-Frenetic-Michigan-Frieder/dp/0933893671/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291835411&sr=8-1

uferfan1

December 8th, 2010 at 2:13 PM ^

So much crap goes on elsewhere and nothing happens, we should have let the NCAA try to prove we were culpable as a school, then appeal the sentence. Taking the high road as we try to do has done us no good. Change of policy bring out the attornies.

Bando Calrissian

December 8th, 2010 at 3:06 PM ^

Um...  The Ed Martin scandal wasn't a few 5's and 10's here and there.  It was the -largest financial scandal in NCAA history-, then AND now.  To say Michigan didn't deserve to be punished, or that we should have told the NCAA to shove it, would mean our basketball program would be in even worse shape than they ended up being post-sanctions.  It was embarrassing enough, no need to make it worse.

If anything, Michigan should have caught on to the scandal 5 years earlier. 

Bando Calrissian

December 8th, 2010 at 3:10 PM ^

Frieder's book Basket Case, which came out about a year before he left for ASU, is a must read for anybody really into Michigan basketball.  It's fascinating.  You get to follow Frieder on a recruiting trip to see a kid named "Chris Weber," read his rantings about watching game tape, it's incredible stuff.

There's also a lot about Frieder, as I recall, in Tom Hemingway's Life Among the Wolverines.

Section 1

December 9th, 2010 at 12:34 AM ^

Bob Knight always held Frieder in particularly low regard, as a guy who was dirtying up the Big Ten.  Some of that was competition and jealousy, no doubt, but when Bo eventually canned Frieder for having negotiated another contract for the following year, I always suspected that "a Michigan Man" was not so much the problem as that Bo's longtime friend Bob Knight inveighed against Freider.

What I hold against Frieder, who was an odd kind of genius, is that he is the guy who originally gave Ed Martin access to recruits and the basketball program.  Stever Fisher, sadly, allowed it as a continuation of business as usual as he had known it under Frieder.

Still, I always thought it interesting, that sports writers and other assorted pundits claim that Michigan was somehow negligent in failing to detect Ed Martin's malfeaseances.  And yet Mitch Albom claimed to have practically lived with them to write "Fab Five," and he never made a peep about Ed Martin.

Martin never did much of anything for the University, and while he clearly made some illegal payments to some Michigan basketball players out of the Detroit PSL (including virtual PSL players like Webber who got into DCDS), Martin didn't do much of anything for the University or the team as such.  The whole situation was filthy, but I never got the impression that Martin was part of Michigan recruiting -- he was personally ingratiating himself with guys whom he thought would be rich NBA superstars someday.  It wouldn't have mattered if they went to Michigan, or MSU, or the U of D.

SysMark

December 8th, 2010 at 5:15 PM ^

The 1989 championship was a perfect combination of Frieder's recruiting and Fisher's coaching.  The timing could not have been better.  I will never forget the first game of the tournament with Fisher coaching - there was an immediate change in the way the games progressed, particularly the substitution patterns.  He was simply a far better bench coach and they never would have won it with Frieder on the bench.  I loved the guy for the talent be brought in but bench coaching was not his strength.

BigSi

December 8th, 2010 at 5:33 PM ^

In my mind both will always be known for great recruiting rather than great coaching. Fisher does deserve praise for stepping in to lead the 89 team to a championship. However, so many of his subsequent teams were so talented, but underperformed. I do miss having all of those talented players though. I am encouraged by our new recruits and think that we will eventually have that kind of talent again.