March Madness is here, and the basketball action heats up in Milwaukee this week as the Bradley Center hosts the Midwest and West regional rounds of the "big dance." With fans flocking from near and far, the editorial staff at OnMilwaukee.com thought we'd help greet our new visitors with a week's worth of features and guides to everything that makes our city a great place to visit. It's "Welcome to Milwaukee Week" at OnMilwaukee.com!
Coach Buzz Williams, Lazar Hayward and the rest of the Marquette Golden Eagles begin the NCAA tournament with a game against Washington tonight in San Jose.
We spoke to Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar about his team, the match-up and his time with the Bucks. Here is part of the conversation.
OnMilwaukee.com: What were your first thoughts when you found out that you would be playing Marquette?
Lorenzo Romar: Tough opponent; a scrappy opponent that we've got to play against. But, we're in the NCAA tournament. We didn't think we were going to play against a high school team.
They play as hard as anyone we've seen all year. They are a match-up nightmare because of their quickness and their ability to shoot the three-pointer. Everyone on that floor can knock that three down with regularity. That's something we haven't faced this year.
OMC: For much of the year, people criticized your conference, the Pac-10, for being soft. What did you think of that?
LR: Based on the information that was there, I can see why they would say that. But, I think the information is a little different now. Early in the year, we (as a conference) didn't look very good because of some bad losses in our non-conference schedule.
Teams in our league weren't at full strength and consequently lost some tough games. We were also a younger conference this year with a number of players going on to the NBA -- 21 in the last two years -- it took our conference a while to grow and get everyone back and get everyone eligible. Once that happened, I think our teams played better.
OMC: Your team has been hot since January. Are you happy with the way you're playing?
LR: I think we're playing as good as we've played all year. We've been able to win a couple close games on the road. We've been playing a lot better.
OMC: One of the interesting things about this matchup is that Lazar Hayward of Marquette and Quincy Pondexter of your team played together internationally this summer. They may be different players, but they both have the ability -- when their team needs a big basket -- to come through with one. Is that an accurate assessment?
LR: Yes, sir. Both of them are seniors. Both of them are their respective team's leading scorers and go-to guys. Both teams count on them heavily.
OMC: You played for the Bucks in the early 1980s. What do you remember from your time in Milwaukee?
LR: I remember Don Nelson being a phenomenal basketball mind. I really enjoyed playing for him. I also remember the professionalism and the class that Bucks team had. You can look now, 25 years later, you see Marques Johnson is an analyst for Fox Sports and has been involved in some acting roles. Bob Lanier is with the NBA Players Association and is still active. Junior Bridgeman is just a a fantastic, wealthy business man. Kevin Grevey does radio. Harvey Catchings plays a role with the NBA Players Association. Guys like Alton Lister, Mike Dunleavy, Paul Pressey and Sidney Moncrief all coached in the league.
OMC: Was Nellie (Don Nelson) wearing the fish ties when you played for him?
LR: It was right after I was with him that he wore those disgusting things. I think he gave me one.
OMC: What did you learn from playing under him?
LR: I took some things from him as a player and now as a coach. As a point guard, I learned the timing of delivering the ball to players coming off screens. And, the defensive schemes that he used helped me as a player and gave me a lot more understanding of what I needed to do.
Nellie would not look at what you couldn't do. He'd look at what you could do and devise a way to use that within his team's scheme. He would do that all the time.
One time, he knew it was my first time being involved in the playoffs. We were playing the Atlanta Hawks. There were 20 seconds left in the first half and I hadn't gotten off the bench. He put me in and ran an iso (isolation play) for me. I remember scoring to go into the half. I think he was doing that to give me a little experience. We had a 10-point lead -- whether I made or missed or made the shot wasn't going to determine the outcome of the game. He just wanted to give me a little confidence. He would do little things like that.
I also remember Junior Bridgeman had been a great player for the Bucks and he was with the Clippers and he was waived. Nellie brought him in and picked him up off waivers just so he could retire his jersey. He did a number of things that people don't realize that I have a lot of respect and admiration for.
OMC: You've been credited with turning around the program at Washington. What's more difficult, building it up or maintaining a level of success?
LR: I think both are tough. I think maintaining is a little more difficult than building. When you are building, people don't expect much. Everything you do that seems headed in the right direction, people appreciate it.
Once you get there and the expectations are there, you've got to maintain those. Once you maintain for a period of time, people are disappointed because you're not taking a step up. Expectations continue to grow, but that's what you sign up for.
What the general public doesn't understand is that our expectations for our own program are probably higher than theirs.
OMC: Are your fans getting a bit spoiled by the success you've had?
LR: Washington has been to the NCAA tournament 15 times in the history of the program. We've been able to get there five times in our time here. We were 10-1 and people are a little upset with the way we were playing. When that happens, you know there are some expectations.
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
