WEBVTT - TOM's Talks | Ed Pinckney 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:03.640 This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network 0:00:04.000 --> 0:00:08.960 Search seventy sixers podcast Wherever you get your pots. Hi everyone, 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:12.319 it's Tom McGinnis and welcome to another weekly installment of 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:15.800 my new podcasts. This is a chat with a longtime 0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:20.239 friend of the programmers, Ed Pinckney of Villanova fame. Eddie 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:22.880 grew up in the Bronx in New York City. He 0:00:23.040 --> 0:00:25.439 was a high School of All American player at Adlai 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:29.400 Stevenson High School. Then, in nineteen eighty one, along with 0:00:29.480 --> 0:00:33.840 other star recruits Gary McLean and Dwayne McClean, Pinckney chose 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:38.239 to play for Roddie Massamino at Villanova University. Here in 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:42.120 Philadelphia and really nationally. He's remembered for his role in 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:45.760 one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history. He 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:48.640 was the most outstanding player in the nineteen eighty five 0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:53.400 NCUBA Tournament. Pinckney and the Villanova Wildcats knocked off Patrick 0:00:53.479 --> 0:00:57.920 Eween and Georgetown to win the tournament championship. Pinckney's pro 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:00.960 career has taken him far and wide across the country 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:05.360 and the NBA, playing coaching and now scouting for eleven 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:10.400 different franchises. Here's this week's edition of Tom's Talks with 0:01:10.560 --> 0:01:15.920 number fifty four, Eddie Pickney. All Right, welcome to another 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:18.679 edition of Tom's Talk, and we have a long time 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:21.640 friend of the program. If this was SNL or a 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:24.200 late night talk show, we'd say, Eddie, this is an 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:26.360 eighteen time you've been on the show, so we really 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:29.200 appreciate it, so Ed, thank you. And now you're working 0:01:29.200 --> 0:01:33.240 with the Houston Rockets as a scout, and as we visit, 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:37.240 you're going through the process of interviewing college players over 0:01:37.400 --> 0:01:40.560 zoom and that's got to be a whole different process 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:42.280 than what it would have been in years past, where 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:44.720 maybe in Chicago you'd meet at the pre draft camp 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:47.480 or bring a guy in for a workout and talk 0:01:47.560 --> 0:01:50.680 with him afterward. How has that change and what's that 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:54.640 process like? No, it's I mean, it's been a scramble 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:59.280 of sorts for everyone, you know, just trying to get 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:01.680 in front of the players in any way that you can, 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:04.960 just so you can get a feel for them through 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:09.120 this particular draft process. You know, I know that in 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:13.880 the past, what's the norm is that you kind of 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:17.919 see these guys a number of different times the initial 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:21.960 college watch when you actually go to their campus or 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:25.200 another campus and you see them. Then you get a 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:28.880 chance to see them in Chicago for the pre draft camp, 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:31.840 and that's a whole other process that you get an 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:35.120 opportunity to spend some time with them, and then if 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:39.079 you like them enough, you typically bring them to your 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:44.000 facility and then you get another work out in conversation 0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:46.960 with them. But you know, many of the agents are 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:50.799 limiting the amount of time that you can spend. The 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:54.800 league is also mandating the amount of time that you 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:59.040 can spend on these you know, these video interviews. So 0:02:59.840 --> 0:03:03.520 you've got to try to deep dive in as much 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:07.000 as you can with your questioning when you have these 0:03:07.040 --> 0:03:10.960 guys and you spend the time with them on these 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:14.800 zoom chats. And that's been an interesting process because the 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:19.200 questioning has got to be Taylor. Taylor made to to 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:22.560 really deep dive into, you know, their thoughts and how 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:26.360 they feel about themselves. Are some of the questions, like 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:30.040 what a typical interview in any profession would be, like 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:32.919 tell me a time where you've failed, or are they 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:36.360 more like John Bruten's quarterback camps with you know what 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:39.360 happened here? Tell me that? Or and I know some 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:41.560 of the questions are like, all right, you know these 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.240 are nineteen twenty year old men. Sometimes like who's coming 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:46.040 to town with you? If you if you come, like 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:48.520 give us a general feel for what some of the 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:52.520 question the line of question is no, you know, I 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:57.000 think it's a mixture because of the makeup of your 0:03:57.080 --> 0:04:00.800 scouting staff and of course your general manage or you 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:04.120 all try to come to an agreement on what the 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:07.520 questioning will be like and you know, some things that 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:11.520 are really important to you so you can you know, 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:14.040 come to a decision on whether or not you like 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:18.839 the player. But you know, we we here in Houston 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:23.480 just tend to air on the side about who's close 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:27.280 to you and your decision making process. I think that's 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:33.279 really important, um, for the God, for us, for our staff, Um, 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:36.160 you know, just to get a feel for you know, 0:04:36.560 --> 0:04:39.960 how you think you know, how you would react, uh 0:04:40.080 --> 0:04:42.560 in an NBA environment. And that's what we tend to 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:46.880 focus on a lot when we when we do these interviews. So, um, 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:51.160 there there is some general questioning, but um, you know 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:55.680 they're also is some questioning to the athlete about how 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:59.920 they how they actually see themselves in an NBA environment. 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:04.919 Your most recent coaching stops were Minnesota that year in 0:05:05.000 --> 0:05:08.400 Denver and Chicago. But I want to go back in 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:10.320 a long time with Jay Wright as well. I want 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:12.640 to go back though to your playing career, and again 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:14.960 we're going to get into the National Championship Game, which 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:18.039 everybody here in the Philadelphia area and nationally remembers the 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:21.760 big upset in nineteen eighty five in Lexington, Kentucky over 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:25.240 Georgetown and one of the great sports upsets in the 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:27.960 history of the game in sports in general. But you 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:30.479 started right after that in nineteen eighty five, you got 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:33.680 selected in the first round by the Phoenix Suns. John 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:36.599 McCloud was the coach. Walter Davis was still on the team, 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:38.960 kind of winding down his career. What was that like, 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:42.640 you still you always shoot like over fifty percent during 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:44.680 your career. What was that like when you first started 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:47.680 out for those couple of years in Phoenix. No, it 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:51.239 was you know, when I go back to my time 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:56.000 with the Phoenix Suns, it was a huge learning experience 0:05:56.240 --> 0:05:59.800 for me. At the time, the team wasn't very good 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:02.520 and they were sort of trying to fight their way 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:06.560 out of mediocracy. Of course, you know at that time 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:09.000 the Lakers ruled the Roust. I mean they were they 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:11.120 were the best team by far in the West. And 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:14.960 you mentioned Larry Nance and Walter Davis. Those two guys 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:18.840 were the leaders, and John McLeod was. You know, I'm 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:23.520 actually glad that I got drafted by Phoenix because he 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:28.039 was a great teacher by nature. And many of the 0:06:28.160 --> 0:06:32.560 lessons I learned in the NBA and what helped me 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:38.520 sustain my career for as long as I did, Many 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:41.839 of those lessons were learned by John McLeod when I 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:46.200 first came into the NBA, because he was constantly trying 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:50.960 to teach you about how to live a professional life 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:53.800 as a professional athlete. I mean, many of the times 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:57.880 you get athletes that come in and they certainly enjoy 0:06:58.760 --> 0:07:03.000 what the life of an NBA uh, you know, paycheck provides, 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:05.680 but you don't really learn how to work. And he 0:07:05.839 --> 0:07:08.840 made sure that every player that came in onto that 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:11.960 team knew you're gonna work. You're gonna you know, you're 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:15.400 gonna have a daily plan in a workout regiment and 0:07:15.440 --> 0:07:17.480 you've got to complete it. You know, it's not gonna 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:20.360 be about you know, doing other things. And you know, 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:23.280 I got a great lesson learned from from being under 0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:26.840 that under that rule early on. So that was two 0:07:26.880 --> 0:07:29.000 years in Phoenix and coach McLoud got let go in 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:31.160 your second year and Dick van Arsdale came in. But 0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:35.600 eventually you get traded a Sacramento and I guess people forget. 0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:38.320 But Bill Russell was the head coach of the Kings. 0:07:39.080 --> 0:07:43.080 What was that like to play under Bill Russell? Well, 0:07:43.120 --> 0:07:48.520 it's it's interesting because in this you know, this coronavirus world, 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:53.040 I mean, Willis Reid was Bill Russell's assistant at that time, 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:56.560 and you know, like I'm obviously everyone's seen the Last 0:07:56.640 --> 0:07:59.200 Dance and the Jordan thing, but you know, the Knicks 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:03.360 are put out their own uh you know, information about 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:06.720 their championship years and there are these specials on Willis 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:10.560 read that are amazing. But anyway, you know, those two 0:08:10.840 --> 0:08:15.560 were my coaches. Um, you know when I went to Sacramento, 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:21.240 and you know, both championship level players, and you know, 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:26.040 they had a they had a preparation mentality that they 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:27.960 always tried to come in with. I mean they were 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:31.920 constantly talking about how to prepare as a player, how 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:35.080 to prepare before the game, how to get ready for 0:08:35.120 --> 0:08:38.280 the next game. After the game, they were all about that. 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:42.720 And there's this, there's this story I always tell about 0:08:42.720 --> 0:08:47.800 Bill Russell because he was a stickler for conditioning and uh, 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:51.560 you know, certainly during this this error in time, you 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:53.680 would never do this to a player as a coach. 0:08:54.040 --> 0:09:00.120 But he put the water bottles up on the third 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:04.640 level of the stadium, so anytime you wanted to get water, 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:08.040 he wanted to make sure you were working during that 0:09:08.080 --> 0:09:11.920 time on your conditioning, so you'd have to climb all 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:13.680 the way. And he told me later, you know, I 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:16.960 always wanted to know who needed the most water that 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:19.000 you know. That always told me that the guy was 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:23.040 not mentally tough. So all of the players would go 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:27.400 through these two and a half three hour practices would 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:31.600 absolutely no water at all. Everyone was afraid to climb 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:34.560 up the steps and go get there a drink of 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:37.760 water and stuff. You would never do anything like that now, 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:42.640 but you know, he was a stickler for conditioning in preparation. 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:45.840 Both both those guys were. Turns out, the rules on 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:49.400 hydration have changed a little bit. Yeah, I would say, 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:51.960 I mean, I'm from the same era where a couple 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:53.640 of years apart, but where they used to tell you 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:56.160 to spin it out, like really, because I think I'm 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:59.440 actually supposed to consume it. So then you moved out 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:02.680 to Boston and Larry Bird was toward the end of 0:10:02.679 --> 0:10:04.600 his career. He was having issues with his back, but 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:08.120 he's still the one year he averaged nearly thirty points, 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:12.079 nine rebounds, seven assists. And you play with Bird and 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:17.160 McHale and Parish and the iconic Boston Celtics. What was 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:21.880 that experience like, No, it was. It was a great experience. Uh. 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:24.920 You know, I can't believe I'm reashing the boss the 0:10:24.920 --> 0:10:29.320 Celtics with with you. But we've had many many occasions 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:35.000 where we've talked about sort of a championship mentality because 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:39.240 we didn't win any championships during that time, but they 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:45.080 certainly had that mentality, you know, going from Sacramento to Boston, 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:48.719 and it was a great experience for me. I mean, 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:52.439 you mentioned all the three great the players that played 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:54.840 at that time, but certainly Dennis Johnson was still on 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:57.800 that team as well too, and he was a joy 0:10:57.880 --> 0:11:01.840 to play with. But you know, it was the first 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:06.400 time for me being an NBA player where I would 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:10.200 go to practice every single day and I would have 0:11:10.360 --> 0:11:15.959 to mentally get myself ready for practice, because very often 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:19.080 early on in my career, I'd go to practice and 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:22.680 I would just sort of practice and really not get 0:11:22.800 --> 0:11:28.400 much accomplished. I was just practicing. Well. In this particular practice, 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:33.000 you were expected to get an individual move and or 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:36.840 shot down that you were working on as the year 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:40.839 went on, and then you really had to compete. It 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:44.480 was some of the most competitive practices that I had 0:11:44.640 --> 0:11:47.880 ever ever been a part of. And certainly there was 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:50.920 a lot of talking turn during the course of it. 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:56.520 I mean Bird never stopped talking, mcale never stopped talking, 0:11:57.120 --> 0:12:01.640 and you always had a sprinkling in of Robert Parish 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:04.280 trying to trying to talk to you as well too. 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:07.840 So they were fun, fun times and just some of 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:11.000 the most competitive practices that I had ever been a 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:15.040 part of. Man you moved on to Milwaukee and then 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:18.800 five ninety six you were with the Toronto Raptors, and 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:23.280 it was the first ever obviously with Vancouver Basque professional Basketball, 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:25.280 not the first ever because I know about the Huskies, 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:28.800 but where the NBA moved to Toronto at that time 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:30.679 when they first cut into the league. And I don't 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:32.080 know if you remember this, so you had. You were 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:34.440 with them in the preseason. Do you remember playing the Sixers. 0:12:34.840 --> 0:12:36.840 We played two games, so it was their first ever 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:39.840 pro game. One was in Halifax and one was in 0:12:40.360 --> 0:12:43.560 Saint Johnson Brunwick, Brunswick, So it was nineteen ninety five. 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:47.160 You were you part of that. I was. I was 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:49.920 definitely a part of that group. And you know, at 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:52.640 the time we were, we were on tour. We played 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:55.640 the Sixers. As you mentioned, we also played Vancouver as 0:12:55.679 --> 0:12:58.640 well too. Vancouver had had a spot going on up 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:01.679 there in Canada. I just remember that the crowd and 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:05.000 Halifax and they had minor league basketball up there, but 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:08.280 it literally was like a church. They were so respectful 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:10.040 and I was doing the game on the radio that 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:13.840 was my first year. I could not believe how quiet 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:16.880 it was. It was like polite applause. It was. It 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:18.800 was so unique, and that's why I bring it up. 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:21.880 It was I'll never forget that setting, and it was 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:25.800 you know, they were so respectful, and it was like, wait, 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:27.960 this is pro sports. It's okay to get after a 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:30.120 little bit. Well, I'm gonna tell you a funny story 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:35.920 about that particular game. Because that team was comprised of 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:40.280 a lot of guys who were left in the expansion draft. 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:43.200 At that time, you had an expansion draft and protected 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:47.000 Vancouver picked some guys and Toronto picked some guys. So 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:51.680 on this particular squad we had John Sally. John Sally 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:54.640 was on that team, and John Sally in that game 0:13:55.600 --> 0:14:01.199 stood up during the game and said, is anybody gonna 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:04.920 say anything? I mean, like by point, Yeah, no, I 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:08.880 remember that. I remember that. But Sally, like during the 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:11.520 course of the game, he was just like, I just 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:16.080 left Detroit and this is the kind of crowd we're 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:19.040 gonna play in in front in Toronto. I mean, it 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:23.440 was unbelievable. That's great. And then later that season you 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:25.840 came to the seventy six ers and John Lucas was 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:27.760 the coach, and I would imagine that's part of your 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:31.480 association currently with the Rockets as Lucas part of that 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:34.240 staff with Mike D'Antoni. And it was toward the end 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:37.000 of your career. It was an eighteen win season. But 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:40.160 you come back to Philadelphia as a pro player. Your 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:44.280 thoughts there, No, it was you know, I came back 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:47.880 to Philadelphia, my second home, and it was sort of 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:51.440 a home. It was homecoming for me, but I came 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:56.280 back in sort of like a mentoring role, which was 0:14:56.440 --> 0:15:00.360 which was great. I mean, I was excited about coming back. 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:04.880 The top rookie on the team at that time was 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:09.800 Jerry Stackhouse. And you know, I tell you know, I 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:12.960 tell everyone this story. We'd go to these practices and 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:16.720 we had this coach that was always constantly in my 0:15:16.800 --> 0:15:21.240 ear on the team bus, and that practice, this coach 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:25.000 turned out to be Tom Thibodeaux. So you know, that 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:29.440 was my introduction to Tom Thibodeau. Very early after practice, 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:34.120 Tom Thibodeau would occasionally work out this very young player 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:41.000 who John Lucas would occasionally allow us to practice with. 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:45.040 That player was Kobe Bryant. So that, I mean, that 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:50.480 was my introduction back home to Philadelphia basketball. And you know, 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:53.880 you talk about some of the relationships that you're able 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:57.440 to create when you're in this game and in this business. 0:15:57.480 --> 0:16:00.760 And you know, obviously we know about about Kobe Bryant 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:03.400 and how great he turned out to be. And uh, 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:07.920 you know, I've had a nine ten year coaching relationship 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:10.240 with Tom Thibodeau and he's turned into one of the 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:13.320 the you know, the top coaches of all time. Now 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:15.640 I knew you were down to earth back then because 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:18.360 one time we were standing outside Saint Joe's after practice 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:20.720 and you go, hey, you can be right in Center 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:26.840 City at the time, at the time they were they 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:31.080 were redoing my home and I was staying in a 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:33.680 hotel I had, you know, I was just like, hey, 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:37.320 let me try to get a riding back downtown. Man. Well, 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:39.600 and then after that you go to Miami and you 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:41.520 finish your playing career there and you end up working 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:45.160 for the Heat. But obviously coach Riley was still the 0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:48.360 head coach of Miami and you know, we've talked over 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:51.440 the years about, you know, different things and the intensity 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:55.280 of Riley. We came to know then the ice bucket challenge. 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:57.400 But he might have been invented it. Tell the story 0:16:57.440 --> 0:16:59.720 about one time pregame he was trying to coach, showed 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:02.600 you guys something about you know, drive or resilience here 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:05.160 or whatever, and he put his head in an ice 0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:07.280 bucket and had held his breath and all you guys 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:10.800 were sitting around. Is that how it went? Well? Yeah, 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:14.439 it This happened to Detroit and it was during um, 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:18.280 you know, just not a good stretch of basketball, and 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:23.040 he he has this this catalog of great speeches. I 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:26.399 mean he would present to the team, um, you know 0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:28.800 before each and every game, and he I mean, he 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:32.359 was really good at it. But for some reason, um, 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:35.280 he didn't do it this time. And you know, he 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:41.240 would always come in. He would do what I call 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:45.159 is making entrance into the pregame talk. It was, you know, 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:49.800 very well calculated. But this one, uh didn't happen this time. 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:53.040 In Detroit. He kind of just walked in and the 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:56.880 bucket of ice was on the side already, the trainer 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.960 had had put it there. So he's talking to us 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:03.040 about the you know, what we have to do in 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:07.320 this upcoming game, and he says, in order to break 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:11.480 this losing streak, we have got to win this game, 0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:15.240 like it's got to be your last breath of air. 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:19.439 And he reaches over to the bucket and sticks his 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:22.720 head in the bucket. And I'm looking over at Alonzo 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:26.439 morning like, okay, he's gonna lift his head up at 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:30.280 so I mean, he literally he kept his head in 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:33.760 the ice bucket. It's like, you have to go after 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:38.080 this with your last breath. And Old team just comes 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:40.040 into the middle of the locker room and we go 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:42.480 out there and we win the game, and it was 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:47.160 just an unusual way to motive pervade the team. But 0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:50.639 you know, he's one of the best, if not the best, 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:54.479 that I've ever been around in terms of preparing his 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:57.399 teams to win at any cost, and he was great. 0:18:57.720 --> 0:19:01.280 We'll continue my conversation with former Villanova stand out and 0:19:01.520 --> 0:19:06.080 longtime NBA veteran player and coach Ed Pinckney in a moment. 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:10.760 In this time of social distancing, Novacare Rehabilitation is offering 0:19:10.840 --> 0:19:13.920 physical therapy from the comfort and safety of your home. 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:18.800 Through their new tel a Rehab program. Novacare will virtually 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:23.040 bring their services to you so you may heal, build strength, 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:25.879 and get back to the things you love. Tell a 0:19:25.920 --> 0:19:29.280 Rehab let you easily connect with one of Novacare's licensed 0:19:29.359 --> 0:19:33.560 therapists through web based technology that is hippo compliant. For 0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:37.240 more information, visit novacare dot com. And now back to 0:19:37.320 --> 0:19:40.919 my conversation with Ed Pinkney. Eventually you come back to 0:19:41.040 --> 0:19:44.680 Villanova and you spend I believe four years of Coachwright 0:19:45.040 --> 0:19:48.919 as an assistant with Villanova. What was that like and 0:19:49.080 --> 0:19:55.119 what did you learn A big takeaway from Coach Jay Wright? Well, Jaywright. 0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:58.800 You know, I think everyone has this perception obviously of 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:04.000 him being this icon. And you know, I had known 0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:07.920 Jay right because he had been around m Rolie Massamino 0:20:08.240 --> 0:20:12.640 during his time in Nevada, Las Vegas and then eventually Villanova. 0:20:12.920 --> 0:20:17.040 So you know, during my stint in Miami, I really 0:20:17.080 --> 0:20:20.359 wanted to coach, and uh, you know, I had talked 0:20:20.359 --> 0:20:24.400 to Jay about that, and his one of his assistants, 0:20:24.520 --> 0:20:28.200 Joe Jones, who's currently the head coach at Boston Boston 0:20:28.359 --> 0:20:32.719 U left and I got the opportunity, and you know 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:36.320 what I learned from Jay was essentially how to coach, 0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:39.600 how to coach players, how to coach high level players. 0:20:40.280 --> 0:20:43.880 At the time, he had a high level recruiting class, 0:20:44.440 --> 0:20:46.320 and uh, you know, I had been a part of 0:20:46.359 --> 0:20:50.000 the NBA for a very long time, and coaching college 0:20:50.080 --> 0:20:55.160 kids is very different from coaching professional basketball players. You've 0:20:55.200 --> 0:20:59.440 got to bring in every day intensity to the practice 0:20:59.480 --> 0:21:05.200 floor that you really don't bring in an NBA environment. 0:21:05.680 --> 0:21:10.159 And Jay is very fiery, and he's an underrated defensive coach. 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:12.520 And I think, you know, it's obviously shown with the 0:21:12.560 --> 0:21:15.879 two championships that Villanova has been able to win. But 0:21:15.920 --> 0:21:21.399 I really learned how to coach at a high level 0:21:21.520 --> 0:21:24.239 from him. I mean he was just you know, he 0:21:25.000 --> 0:21:27.119 some of the things that he would talk about on 0:21:27.160 --> 0:21:30.720 a daily basis is bringing an all out effort and 0:21:30.840 --> 0:21:34.879 being great every single day. And you know, if things 0:21:34.920 --> 0:21:38.359 don't work out that particular day, come with the same 0:21:38.400 --> 0:21:42.359 intensity the very next day. And that's that's something you know, 0:21:42.400 --> 0:21:45.240 I'll always bring with me that I learned from him. 0:21:45.840 --> 0:21:50.000 And speaking of always bringing, everybody remembers nineteen eighty five 0:21:50.600 --> 0:21:56.199 NCAA championship victory for Villanova over Georgetown. Nobody gave you 0:21:56.240 --> 0:22:00.359 guys credit. It was an emotional day in Lexington and 0:22:00.520 --> 0:22:03.760 that former coach Al Severance had passed away in Lexington 0:22:03.880 --> 0:22:07.040 in the hotel, Jake Nevin oft Chorus, a long time trainer, 0:22:07.119 --> 0:22:10.000 was battling New Garrett's disease. You didn't even think you 0:22:10.040 --> 0:22:11.960 were going to make the final for at one point, 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:14.919 after a hard, difficult loss at pitt in the in 0:22:14.960 --> 0:22:17.640 the waning moments of the regular season, you beat North 0:22:17.680 --> 0:22:20.600 Carolina to get into the final four, and then the 0:22:20.640 --> 0:22:23.200 big day walk us through that and how coach Mass 0:22:23.520 --> 0:22:26.600 got you guys ready for the win over George Down No, 0:22:27.160 --> 0:22:30.280 he was great. I mean, you know, in terms of 0:22:30.359 --> 0:22:33.800 preparing a team for winning, I mean, he did a 0:22:33.840 --> 0:22:39.240 fantastic job. He used to taylor our practices on a 0:22:39.320 --> 0:22:44.600 daily basis to play against Georgetown, So people always ask us, 0:22:44.600 --> 0:22:47.200 how did you prepare? I mean, we didn't really have 0:22:47.320 --> 0:22:51.040 to prepare that one particular day. It was something that 0:22:51.240 --> 0:22:54.840 Massimino always talked about. I mean, if you're if you're 0:22:54.840 --> 0:22:57.919 gonna absolutely beat the best, you got to prepare to 0:22:57.960 --> 0:23:02.040 play against the best. So he had instilled a great 0:23:02.119 --> 0:23:07.040 confidence in us to be ready to play. And then 0:23:07.080 --> 0:23:13.000 we just got some amazing performances by guys who you know, 0:23:13.480 --> 0:23:16.560 really stepped up. I mean, you know, Gary McClain was 0:23:16.680 --> 0:23:21.000 somebody who just did a fantastic job of handling what 0:23:21.240 --> 0:23:25.560 at the time was probably the top defensive team in 0:23:25.600 --> 0:23:30.800 the entire country. Uh you know, Harold Jensen making huge shots, 0:23:31.640 --> 0:23:35.920 Howard Pressley making amazing shots along with Dwayne McClain. We 0:23:36.040 --> 0:23:40.119 just had contributions from from guys all over the place, 0:23:40.200 --> 0:23:43.080 and uh, you know, we were really together. I mean, 0:23:43.119 --> 0:23:46.520 it was a fantastic and a great team to be 0:23:46.600 --> 0:23:50.040 a part of. And uh, we all we all give 0:23:50.200 --> 0:23:52.639 all of the credit to ROLEI Massmino. He was just 0:23:52.680 --> 0:23:55.919 a fantastic coach and just in the regular lost Developer 0:23:56.080 --> 0:23:59.120 Georgetown twice in the regular season, but one of those 0:23:59.160 --> 0:24:01.840 games the second time. I wasn't going to bring that up, 0:24:02.200 --> 0:24:04.720 but I wasn't going to bring up the two losses, 0:24:05.480 --> 0:24:08.400 but to narrowly lose to them at overtime, you knew 0:24:08.400 --> 0:24:11.320 you were pretty close. Even though it's the old saying 0:24:11.359 --> 0:24:13.920 it's hard to be the team three times that had 0:24:13.920 --> 0:24:16.880 a factor in like, you know, hey, and we're the underdogs, 0:24:17.200 --> 0:24:20.160