five points new york - The Mid-Majority Interview: Rick Scruggs

January 19th, 2008 · No Comments

five points new york -

AP Photo Until the night of Nov. 7, 2007, most college basketball fans didn’t know Gardner-Webb from a weed whacker. But with a 84-68 thumping of Kentucky at Rupp Arena, the little school in Boiling Springs, N.C. was thrust into the national spotlight. It was the first major story of the 2007-08 season, the greatest moment in the seven-year Division I history of the Runnin’ Bulldogs program; a team that had finished 9-21 a year before and picked eighth this season. In the days that followed, head coach Rick Scruggs was on every sports-related interview show you could name.

It’s been over two months since that landmark upset, and Gardner-Webb is once again just another mid-major program that’s struggling hard to move above .500. Last Friday, we caught up with the Bulldogs, then 7-9 overall and 1-1 in the Atlantic Sun, at the home of new A-Sun member (and recent Division I newcomer) South Carolina-Upstate. On the strength of an overwhelming second half run, the Spartans came away with their first ever D-I conference win at the expense of the infamous Kentucky-beaters. Afterwards, Coach Scruggs was kind enough to share his thoughts about the unbearable lightness of unexpected SEC upsets, Australian recruiting, the right way to move up to D-I, and the lasting legacy of what happened at Rupp that magical November night.

TMM: I don’t know if any coach or any program this year has had the wide range of experience that you guys have, going from winning at Kentucky to losing to a transitional Division I program. What’s this been like?

RS: It’s been an emotional rollercoaster, as you can imagine. It’s not been a fun ride either. We just don’t know what to expect night in and night out. After the Belmont game [Jan. 3], we thought we were playing pretty good. We had a great game there at home, then we came in tonight flat. I mean, we practiced hard, we had a good shootaround earlier, all the players were keyed in, but we didn’t play with any urgency at all.

We’ve had big wins, Kentucky of course, then the High Point win… we’ve had some amazing highs, and then we’ve had nights like tonight, where there’ve been amazing lows. I just don’t know how to get them out of that pattern. We’ve just got to keep working.

TMM: Over on ESPN.com, there was a recap of the first two months. And there was a picture of you guys, beating Kentucky. No question it was the defining moment of November, and it was the symbol to casual fans everywhere that college hoops season had begun. Everyone still remembers what you did.

RS: Yeah, I saw that. I think all that’ll last through the year, anyway. I think every time Kentucky gets beat for the rest of t