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Post by longtimebooster on Apr 3, 2014 5:45:14 GMT -8
Didn't Tony Gwynn go out in the same graduating class with Cage? They only played one season together. Gwynn's last year ('80/'81) was Cage's first year.
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Post by aztecwin on Apr 3, 2014 7:38:08 GMT -8
We all have different memories about those years. Didn't Brunker get into some kind of trouble with a Co-ed? This is the first time I have heard that Tony Ross was run out rather than just leaving. I have often wondered what Brandenburg was thinking with Michael Best. I think anyone who thought Smokey was better in any way that Brandenberg is nuts. Neither had any real support from the Administration but Brandenberg could coach. Just look at his record before he arrived here. Success at Flathead Valley Community College, University of Montana, and Wyoming. You just don't forget how to coach or develop big men. I agree with the poster above who said the best team in Aztec History until recently was the year after Cage graduated. I think Smokey's nightclub was up on Clairmont Mesa BLVD and that it did not open until after he was fired. I might be wrong on that. A lot of the problem was Mary Alice Hill and how we handled Prop 48.
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Post by bearfoot on Apr 3, 2014 8:00:57 GMT -8
On the good side, Smokey was a star salesman! He convinced good players to come here while recruiting from a trailer. Our facilities were abysmal. Smokey really injected some excitement into Aztec Bball. Unfortunately, his staff was terrible. His team of Cage, zack Jones, Watson should have been great. Unfortunately, they were just fair to good. (Btw, I still remember seeing both Keith Lee and Cage during their recruiting visit.). Smokeys best team was the year after Cage left. Allen and Watson led the team to the Ncaa tourney and they were really good. After that season, it was all downhill. I remember going to a game in his last year, his son was on the team, literally counting the fans in the arena. I never got to 1,000. Great memories...I was a naive and unnecessarily full of myself accounting major for those years. BTW, I would take Smokey over Brandenburg any day. At least I knew what to expect with Smokey. I have ZERO respect for Brandenburg once he chose that idiot Michael Best and ran a great shooter and person Tony Ross out of the program. If you read the LA Times article, you would have read that Smokey had to choose between two coaches. One of them never coached again, the other is still coaching. The players couldn't stand the one Smokey kept and really liked the other. It seems to me that the poor coaching staff you mentioned was due to the HC. His kid transferred and ended at in the SWAC and made it into the Big Dance. My seats at the Sports Arena were down in row 3 right behind the coaches. Smokey would loose track of the players he had taken out of the game. The smarter ones (player) wold finally sit on the floor in front of their HC. Once there, he'd loot at them, remember and put them in the game. My stats were also directly adjacent to the where the coaches wife's sat. Smokey's wife, a great gal, didn't come to the game in his final season. I think they were separated, and I believed that Darryl lived with mom. After Smokey was shown the door, they announced the separation. Another story from the lamentable Smokey days on the Mesa. articles.latimes.com/1986-01-09/sports/sp-14298_1_darryl-gainesAs for comparing the coaching ability of Gaines to Brandenburg is like basketball in the Big West to that in the MW. Brandy's players actually got better, while they were still here. The problem with JB was that he tried for a quick fix, and brought in some goons, who ran off the talented youngsters that wanted to play for him. The goons kept punching the kids.
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Post by bearfoot on Apr 3, 2014 8:08:03 GMT -8
After Aztec Basketball, I think Smokey owned a night club near the stadium called Monks. Does anybody remember that place? Never went there, and I think it finally went belly up.
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Post by bearfoot on Apr 3, 2014 8:24:13 GMT -8
We all have different memories about those years. Didn't Brunker get into some kind of trouble with a Co-ed? This is the first time I have heard that Tony Ross was run out rather than just leaving. I have often wondered what Brandenburg was thinking with Michael Best. I think anyone who thought Smokey was better in any way that Brandenberg is nuts. Neither had any real support from the Administration but Brandenberg could coach. Just look at his record before he arrived here. Success at Flathead Valley Community College, University of Montana, and Wyoming. You just don't forget how to coach or develop big men. I agree with the poster above who said the best team in Aztec History until recently was the year after Cage graduated. I think Smokey's nightclub was up on Clairmont Mesa BLVD and that it did not open until after he was fired. I might be wrong on that. A lot of the problem was Mary Alice Hill and how we handled Prop 48. I didn't want to mention the coaches name that was picked over J Evans, but you took care of that. That guy is still in town and I still can't stand him. I'll leave it there, thank you, Yes, the team after MC was very good, but the NCAA made us play Vegas in the Vegas glory days. We had no chance in that game. We also went on probation around that time dude to a player blowing the whistle on his own team. This kid's (I think David Bradley) classes at SDCC got messed with by someone who may have been on our coaching staff. (An agreement between the staff member and folks at SDCC.) THe NCAA investigated and slammed us. This article sums it up. BTW there are some other really interesting articles on that page. One about the NC St team that won the championship and another about MJ. news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19830312&id=l81OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hxMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7088,3291085
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Post by aztecwin on Apr 3, 2014 8:29:32 GMT -8
After Aztec Basketball, I think Smokey owned a night club near the stadium called Monks. Does anybody remember that place? Never went there, and I think it finally went belly up. Smokey must have had at least three clubs in the County at different times. Here is a story about the one near the "Q". articles.latimes.com/1992-02-23/sports/sp-5057_1_kevin-mitchellHe also had one in Spring Valley and the one I remembered up in Clairmont Mesa.
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Post by bearfoot on Apr 3, 2014 8:56:14 GMT -8
Never went there, and I think it finally went belly up. Smokey must have had at least three clubs in the County at different times. Here is a story about the one near the "Q". articles.latimes.com/1992-02-23/sports/sp-5057_1_kevin-mitchellHe also had one in Spring Valley and the one I remembered up in Clairmont Mesa. By the time Smokey's third season rolled around my buddy and I wished he were gonzo. It was clear that he was a snake oils salesman and couldn't coach a lick. I really liked his wife and could never understand the attraction between the two. It never entered my mind to go to some place owned by S Gaines.
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Post by AztecWilliam on Apr 3, 2014 9:33:40 GMT -8
Percy Gilbert was a Tim Vezie recruit. Leonard Allen and Anthony Watson were solid recruits for Smokey. As was Eddy Gordon (Aaron and Drew's dad). Yes, Eddy is those kids dad. Eddy holds a place in Aztec B-Ball history. He was the last who actually graduated in 1980 from our program until Courtie Miller graduated in 1991. Eleven years and not one graduated. Nice! Wow! That's amazing. . . in a bad way. Not to doubt you, but do you have solid evidence that NO ONE graduated during those years? Seems like one or two would have almost by accident. AzWm
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Post by AztecWilliam on Apr 3, 2014 9:43:19 GMT -8
On the good side, Smokey was a star salesman! He convinced good players to come here while recruiting from a trailer. Our facilities were abysmal. Smokey really injected some excitement into Aztec Bball. Unfortunately, his staff was terrible. His team of Cage, zack Jones, Watson should have been great. Unfortunately, they were just fair to good. (Btw, I still remember seeing both Keith Lee and Cage during their recruiting visit.). Smokeys best team was the year after Cage left. Allen and Watson led the team to the Ncaa tourney and they were really good. After that season, it was all downhill. I remember going to a game in his last year, his son was on the team, literally counting the fans in the arena. I never got to 1,000. Great memories...I was a naive and unnecessarily full of myself accounting major for those years. BTW, I would take Smokey over Brandenburg any day. At least I knew what to expect with Smokey. I have ZERO respect for Brandenburg once he chose that idiot Michael Best and ran a great shooter and person Tony Ross out of the program. And yet, Brandenburg had enjoyed a very successful run as HC at Wyoming the decade before. Also, I did attend a couple of games in those days at the Sports Arena. I do remember that the Aztecs seemed poised to rack up a winning season (may have been 1989) when 7 footer Marty Dow was injured and lost for the season. The Aztecs went downhill the rest of the way. Also, is it true that Brandenburg took the job under the assumption that the new arena would be built soon? Then the locals got involved and delayed the arena for what, maybe five years? To a degree, I can appreciate their concerns, but I am not aware that there has been a mass exodus of residents from the area now that Cox/Viejas is in place. If you want to assign blame for the terrible Aztec basketball program in the nineties, perhaps you should lay some at the doorstep of the residents who thought the world would end if SDSU actually had the audacity to build a modern basketball arena. AzWm
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Post by azteca on Apr 3, 2014 9:51:48 GMT -8
I truly believe that Brandenburg came here to get out of the snow of Wyoming and retire while on the job!
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Post by bearfoot on Apr 3, 2014 9:53:37 GMT -8
Yes, Eddy is those kids dad. Eddy holds a place in Aztec B-Ball history. He was the last who actually graduated in 1980 from our program until Courtie Miller graduated in 1991. Eleven years and not one graduated. Nice! Wow! That's amazing. . . in a bad way. Not to doubt you, but do you have solid evidence that NO ONE graduated during those years? Seems like one or two would have almost by accident. AzWm There was an article about it, and I confirmed it with my, then, inside source. She was a top VP of the entire school and her closest buddy the wonderful ticket manager that got me those seats down is row 3. They also told me about MC's lack of progress in school. They said he was a good kid, but just didn't take a lot of classes.
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Post by missiontrails on Apr 3, 2014 9:56:04 GMT -8
After Aztec Basketball, I think Smokey owned a night club near the stadium called Monks. Does anybody remember that place? That sounds familiar. One thing I know for sure - he had a bar called Smokey's in the Vons shopping center in Tierrasanta. I went there once in the late 80's with my roommate and we were the only white dudes there. Got a lot of stares, but they were cool. I didn't see Smokey there, but one of the regulars told us he was there often. Tried to do a 'where are they now' search for him. Wikipedia says he's currently athletic director for Memphis City Schools. Hope he's doing well.
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Post by bearfoot on Apr 3, 2014 9:56:39 GMT -8
On the good side, Smokey was a star salesman! He convinced good players to come here while recruiting from a trailer. Our facilities were abysmal. Smokey really injected some excitement into Aztec Bball. Unfortunately, his staff was terrible. His team of Cage, zack Jones, Watson should have been great. Unfortunately, they were just fair to good. (Btw, I still remember seeing both Keith Lee and Cage during their recruiting visit.). Smokeys best team was the year after Cage left. Allen and Watson led the team to the Ncaa tourney and they were really good. After that season, it was all downhill. I remember going to a game in his last year, his son was on the team, literally counting the fans in the arena. I never got to 1,000. Great memories...I was a naive and unnecessarily full of myself accounting major for those years. BTW, I would take Smokey over Brandenburg any day. At least I knew what to expect with Smokey. I have ZERO respect for Brandenburg once he chose that idiot Michael Best and ran a great shooter and person Tony Ross out of the program. And yet, Brandenburg had enjoyed a very successful run as HC at Wyoming the decade before. Also, I did attend a couple of games in those days at the Sports Arena. I do remember that the Aztecs seemed poised to rack up a winning season (may have been 1989) when 7 footer Marty Dow was injured and lost for the season. The Aztecs went downhill the rest of the way. Also, is it true that Brandenburg took the job under the assumption that the new arena would be built soon? Then the locals got involved and delayed the arena for what, maybe five years? To a degree, I can appreciate their concerns, but I am not aware that there has been a mass exodus of residents from the area now that Cox/Viejas is in place. If you want to assign blame for the terrible Aztec basketball program in the nineties, perhaps you should lay some at the doorstep of the residents who thought the world would end if SDSU actually had the audacity to build a modern basketball arena. AzWm So true. Jan B, coaches wife, told me the night we played the Don Mclean led UCLA team, that that was scheduled to be the opening game at the new, on campus arena.
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Post by aztecmichael on Apr 3, 2014 10:24:47 GMT -8
And yet, Brandenburg had enjoyed a very successful run as HC at Wyoming the decade before. Also, I did attend a couple of games in those days at the Sports Arena. I do remember that the Aztecs seemed poised to rack up a winning season (may have been 1989) when 7 footer Marty Dow was injured and lost for the season. The Aztecs went downhill the rest of the way. Also, is it true that Brandenburg took the job under the assumption that the new arena would be built soon? Then the locals got involved and delayed the arena for what, maybe five years? To a degree, I can appreciate their concerns, but I am not aware that there has been a mass exodus of residents from the area now that Cox/Viejas is in place. If you want to assign blame for the terrible Aztec basketball program in the nineties, perhaps you should lay some at the doorstep of the residents who thought the world would end if SDSU actually had the audacity to build a modern basketball arena. AzWm So true. Jan B, coaches wife, told me the night we played the Don Mclean led UCLA team, that that was scheduled to be the opening game at the new, on campus arena. I agree Brandy was a better coach than Smokey, I just had no respect for him. Tony Ross was a three year starter and a tremendous shooter and scorer. He tossed him aside like garbage so he could start his thugs. He had some good moments as coach here, and not getting the arena in a timely fashion really made it tough, but too many iffy people on his teams and not enough wins.
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Post by aztecmichael on Apr 3, 2014 10:29:29 GMT -8
By the time Smokey's third season rolled around my buddy and I wished he were gonzo. It was clear that he was a snake oils salesman and couldn't coach a lick. I really liked his wife and could never understand the attraction between the two. It never entered my mind to go to some place owned by S Gaines. Cant disagree with this. That team with Zack Jones, Cage, Allen, Watson, Eddy Gordon, Eddie Morris, etc, should have been a top 15 team. I think Smokey "missed" a lot of practices leaving it to the assistants. I will never forget being in the hallway in Peterson Gym and hearing Smokey and Gwynn arguing and Tony walking out of practice. I think it happened more than once. Those two did not like each other at all.
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Post by longtimebooster on Apr 3, 2014 10:50:52 GMT -8
After Aztec Basketball, I think Smokey owned a night club near the stadium called Monks. Does anybody remember that place? That sounds familiar. One thing I know for sure - he had a bar called Smokey's in the Vons shopping center in Tierrasanta. I went there once in the late 80's with my roommate and we were the only white dudes there. Got a lot of stares, but they were cool. I didn't see Smokey there, but one of the regulars told us he was there often. Monks was an institution near the stadium long before Smokey came to town. He purchased it and changed the name to Smokey's. That lasted about 4 or 5 years. The new owners changed the name to McGregor's. That's hilarious about the bar in Tierrasanta. I had no idea that was one of Smokey's places. I moved to Tierrasanta around '88 and still live there today. The place is now called JP's Pub. It has a couple of pool tables, some big-screen TVs, etc. But it used to be small, narrow, smoke filled and poorly lit. About a year after I moved to Tierrasanta, I got into a huge argument with my wife. It was about 10 p.m. and I yelled at my wife, "Screw this, I'm leaving!" "Where are you going at this hour?" she yelled back. "Out!" I hollered as I slammed the door behind me. I had no clue where to go at 10 p.m. in Tierrasanta, but I couldn't go back home, so I had to go somewhere. I hopped in my car and started driving. Then I remembered that I'd seen some pub next to the Vons before. So I figured I'd just go have a beer and cool down a bit. I walked into the bar, pulled up a stool, ordered a beer and then took a look around. There were probably 50 people in the joint. It was really crowded. And I was the only -- and I mean only -- white guy. I had clearly stumbled into a place not meant for me. I paid for my beer, took a couple swigs, walked out, hopped into my car and drove back home. My wife gave me a hug and said, "I thought you said you were leaving?" "Nah," I replied. "Changed my mind." I later told her the real story. We still laugh about it. I have no idea what the argument was about.
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Post by bearfoot on Apr 3, 2014 10:55:34 GMT -8
So true. Jan B, coaches wife, told me the night we played the Don Mclean led UCLA team, that that was scheduled to be the opening game at the new, on campus arena. I agree Brandy was a better coach than Smokey, I just had no respect for him. Tony Ross was a three year starter and a tremendous shooter and scorer. He tossed him aside like garbage so he could start his thugs. He had some good moments as coach here, and not getting the arena in a timely fashion really made it tough, but too many iffy people on his teams and not enough wins. As I may have written before, and have said a whole lot, Brandy went for a quick fix, and brought in thugs who ran others off. Rice, over at Vegas, has had similar issues. I like that coach Fisher explains that transfers ask him if they can come here, and he decides if they will fit in.
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Post by missiontrails on Apr 3, 2014 11:28:30 GMT -8
That sounds familiar. One thing I know for sure - he had a bar called Smokey's in the Vons shopping center in Tierrasanta. I went there once in the late 80's with my roommate and we were the only white dudes there. Got a lot of stares, but they were cool. I didn't see Smokey there, but one of the regulars told us he was there often. Monks was an institution near the stadium long before Smokey came to town. He purchased it and changed the name to Smokey's. That lasted about 4 or 5 years. The new owners changed the name to McGregor's. That's hilarious about the bar in Tierrasanta. I had no idea that was one of Smokey's places. I moved to Tierrasanta around '88 and still live there today. The place is now called JP's Pub. It has a couple of pool tables, some big-screen TVs, etc. But it used to be small, narrow, smoke filled and poorly lit. About a year after I moved to Tierrasanta, I got into a huge argument with my wife. It was about 10 p.m. and I yelled at my wife, "Screw this, I'm leaving!" "Where are you going at this hour?" she yelled back. "Out!" I hollered as I slammed the door behind me. I had no clue where to go at 10 p.m. in Tierrasanta, but I couldn't go back home, so I had to go somewhere. I hopped in my car and started driving. Then I remembered that I'd seen some pub next to the Vons before. So I figured I'd just go have a beer and cool down a bit. I walked into the bar, pulled up a stool, ordered a beer and then took a look around. There were probably 50 people in the joint. It was really crowded. And I was the only -- and I mean only -- white guy. I had clearly stumbled into a place not meant for me. I paid for my beer, took a couple swigs, walked out, hopped into my car and drove back home. My wife gave me a hug and said, "I thought you said you were leaving?" "Nah," I replied. "Changed my mind." I later told her the real story. We still laugh about it. I have no idea what the argument was about. Glad you patched things up with the wife. Who knows, maybe you, my roommate, and I were the only white guys brave/clueless enough to visit there in 88? I lived in Tierrasanta at the time too, when Villa Martinique was still an apartment complex (now all condos), and renting on the cheap due to the fact there was pending litigation over them building on old Camp Elliot-unexploded bombshell land. Had some great pickup basketball games going on at the rec center.
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Post by AztecWilliam on Apr 3, 2014 13:03:33 GMT -8
So true. Jan B, coaches wife, told me the night we played the Don Mclean led UCLA team, that that was scheduled to be the opening game at the new, on campus arena. I agree Brandy was a better coach than Smokey, I just had no respect for him. Tony Ross was a three year starter and a tremendous shooter and scorer. He tossed him aside like garbage so he could start his thugs. He had some good moments as coach here, and not getting the arena in a timely fashion really made it tough, but too many iffy people on his teams and not enough wins. Well, if coach B was bringing in thugs, what was the administration doing? It was the AD's responsibility to keep tabs on every program, and that would include the character of the recruits. AzWm
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Post by aztecgold on Apr 3, 2014 16:07:47 GMT -8
It must be because he had no SHOW!
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