Coach Spotlight: Rocky Lamar

NAIA Hall of Famer Rocky Lamar talks about win #700, his most memorable wins, and more in this MNU Coach Spotlight:

What does 700 wins mean to you?
It means I am old; but it mostly means that I have had some great kids along the way because there had to be 699 of them before there were 700.
Not counting the post season, which one of your wins stands out the most?
I know this stands so cliché, but it is how I really look at things. The win that stands out the most is Grand View on Saturday because it was the last one. The most important one coming up is Missouri Valley tonight.

I suppose any win we may have gotten against NCAA division II programs like ESU, Washburn, Southwest Baptist would have been considered big wins for us. Perhaps the most memorable win was our first win at William Jewell in 1989-90 that also sewed up our first conference championship. I can remember like it was yesterday when Bill Elliott was fouled late and Bob Henige, who had fouled out, was yelling at Bill to make the free throws which would have put us up by 5. Bill looked at him and said, "This is just another walk in the park." and drained them both to clinch the title.
 
It could have been the win against Graceland in 1995 when we were down 5 with 11 seconds left and won it in regulation even though Graceland scored on every possession as well. If you think about that, it is dang near impossible. That game sent us into the National Tournament. Neal Smith hit a three in the corner to cut the lead to 2 and then immediately fouled to put them on the line. The bad thing about that was it was his fifth foul and he was our best player. Heath Olson checked into the game and after they hit both free throws, we ran a play for Heath to shoot a three which he hit to cut the lead to 1. We fouled again with 3 seconds remaining. It was their best free throw shooter he missed his first one and then hit the second one to give them a 2 point lead. Shannon Layland jumped out of bounds to inbounds the ball and Pete Carr immediately took the ball away from Shannon and hit Heath on a fly pattern just beyond midcourt. Heath had his wrong foot forward but let it fly anyway and it hit nothing but net as the horn went off.
 
It may have been in 2001 at William Jewell. They had the ball in a tie game with the shot clock off. Jimmie Williams ends up with a steal with about 6 seconds left and we have to go the length of the floor. Dan Fleming comes off a down screen and hits a 30-foot bomb at the buzzer again as the horn goes off. That spring boarded us to a conference tourney championship and a runner up finish at the national tournament.
 
It could have also been the game this year with the three that Jonas Page to beat Peru State in overtime to put us alone in first place.
 
Which one of your losses stands out the most?
The loss at Graceland in 1994 which left us at 4-4 in the league with 8 games remaining and we were 3 games out of first. We went on to reel off 8 straight and win a conference championship.

Then the loss to Graceland this year that left us at 3-4 in the league with 15 remaining and we were 3 games out once again. We won 14 of 15 and won another championship.
 
You've coached plenty of All-Americans in 30 years. You're down by 1 with 20 seconds left. Who do you want handling the ball and who do you want available to shoot?
I hate answering questions like this and I try to avoid it. But I would take anyone of my All-American point guards as the ball handler. Trent Cole was our first point guard who led us to a title. He was followed by Pete Carr who led us to 2 titles and to 2 national tournaments. He was followed by Aaron Harris who led us to our first #1 ranking and to 2 conference titles and 2 national tournament berths. He was followed by Matt Keeley who led us to our first National Championship game, 2 conference championships, 4 national tournament berths, a Fab Four, 3 elite eights. He was followed by Adam Hepker who led us to 2 conference championships, 4 national tournament berths, 3 consecutive Fab Fours, and 1 National Championship. He was followed by Nick Syrie who has led us to 2 conference championships, 4 national tournament berths, 1 Fab Four, and one to be determined. I would take any one of those guys and live with the result.
 
Picking the guy to shoot is like asking me to pick my favorite kid! I have been blessed with so many great players that its unbelievable. I have had several All-Americans who I would not hesitate to have shoot big shots for us. Bill Elliott who hit over 400 threes in his career would be a good choice. Dan Fleming who scored almost 1000 points in his senior year would be another one. Peter Martin who scored over 1200 points in one season would be another one. Dan Peterson, Darin Meyer, Aaron Harris, Adam Hepker, Rustin Dowd, Danny Hawkins all of these guys scored over 2000 points I would live with anyone of them taking a big shot for us. Even with the list above I have left out All-Americans, 1,000 point scorers, and guys who have played professionally.
 
What opposing coach did you have to prepare for the most?
Probably Larry Holley at William Jewell because over the years they have been our biggest rival. I honestly try to prepare for each team as if it was going to be the one that gets us into the National Tournament. I do not want the kids to get any more pressure on them than what the media and fans do already, so the best way to do that is to be as well prepared as you can get for the next opponent.
 
Which opposing players did you most fear?
Matt Linehan (Evangel '92), Jackson Capel (Evangel '09), Corday Sims (Peru State '16)
 
How has the game evolved in 30 years?
It has become much faster and much more athletic. It has become a guard-oriented game. I still believe it is the most fun game to play and to watch. The rule changes over the years has contributed to that. In 1986, my first year, they introduced the 3 point shot. They have moved it back, but kids are shooting it at a much higher percentage than they were several years ago. That has spread the floor and made the game even more fun to watch. They have moved the shot clock from 45 seconds when I first came to 35 and finally to 30 seconds this year. This has also made the game faster and more fun to watch.