BirdFans4Ever Podcast

SgtHulka

SgtHulka

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Great work guys! But I won't rest until you get Bodo Fritzen's agent to agree to a contract
 
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Redbird222

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We just posted our latest podcast and "Boo" Keith Richardson was the guest. Boo still has a tremendous amount of energy and it shows in the podcast. He coaches high school basketball in the KC area.

Boo talks about his path to ISU and how he jilted a famous coach. He also talks about how he got the nickname Boo, which coach called him out and Boo used as motivation. Speaking of motivation, Boo talks about not playing in The Madison Square Garden which helped ignite a great game against St. John's.

We hope you enjoy and let us know your feedback.
 
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Phantom

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Redbird222 said:


We just posted our latest podcast and "Boo" Keith Richardson was the guest. Boo still has a tremendous amount of energy and it shows in the podcast. He coaches high school basketball in the KC area.

Boo talks about his path to ISU and how he jilted a famous coach. He also talks about how he got the nickname Boo, which coach called him out and Boo used as motivation. Speaking of motivation, Boo talks about not playing in The Madison Square Garden which helped ignite a great game against St. John's.

We hope you enjoy and let us know your feedback.
Click to expand...


Great that Boo mentioned Pub II being among the selling points for him & Slack. Me and some friends may or may not have helped with that particular visit as a favor from the coaching staff. :cool: Ended up being a rather memorable afternoon. I said afterward there is no way those two AREN'T coming here.
 
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Redbird222

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Here's a two minutes interview with a very young Kyle Cartmill after a win over Wichita St in 1996

In case you missed it, you can catch our second podcast ever with a Kyle we posted last year.

 
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Redbird222

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We just posted our latest podcast and Redbird great Rickie Johnson was our guest. He played on 3 NCAA teams and is the alltime ISU scorer in NCAA tournament games. He is a great ambassador for ISU and very charismatic. We didn't get through many topics but I am sure you will enjoy this one.
 
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Redbird222

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Former AD, Ron Wellman joins us on our latest podcast. Yes, he was the AD that let Donewald go and hired Bob Bender. He's provide some insight to both side of the ISU basketball transition. He also tells us how he got to ISU, how not to mediate a dispute between legendary basketball coaches, and talks about his favorite ISU moment.

We hope you enjoy and let us know what umyou think.
 
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Hamdonger

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Guys thank you very much...I enjoyed this IMMENSELY. I had the opportunity to see Wellman up close before he left ISU. To this day I remain an absolute fan and supporter of Ron Wellman. The level of professionalism he brought to the job...I've still never experienced anyone like him. He hired some exceptionally pedigreed coaches. Julie Morgan, who was a wildly successful athlete in high school and college...and perhaps the best volleyball coach ISU has ever had - and we've had some really good ones. Jim Heacock - while not seeing great success at ISU, he did go on from ISU to Ohio State, where he had a long run as one of the top defensive coordinators in the country...no exaggeration. He'd be making 2-3M today as a D-leader. Jeff Stewart, who replaced Duffy Bass and caught some hek for it - and whose son is pitching lights out right now in the show. Bob Bender, who is still the ONLY player in NCAA history to play in 2 national championship games for 2 different teams. There are more coaches to name...but the overall point I want to make is the comradery amongst the coaches from all sports in the department - during that time - was INCREDIBLE. There was such a level of optimism combined with professionalism...it was inspiring and contagious.

Two memories stand out. Julie Morgan, folks, is one tough cookie. Not the kind of woman who breaks down into a puddle of tears. Yet that's what happened at a post-season banquet as she began speaking about department teammate Jim Heacock. Heacock was in the middle of a disappointing season (yes there were a number of them) and there was some pressure on him, as there should be. Julie Morgan was at the pinnacle of her success at ISU. Jim Heacock, in his low time in the middle of the football season, wrote Julie Morgan a long glowing letter telling her how proud he was of Julie and her team - and that he felt so lucky to be at a university where he was inspired by so many other coaches and programs. Morgan couldn't believe he would take the time to write her - despite his team's, and therefore, his own struggles. It moved her to tears, inspired her to share it with a large crowd (Heacock was at this banquet as were other coaches in the department)...and I'll betcha she still has that letter today.

Memory Dos. We were at a gymnastics meet and one of our terrific athletes suffered quite a gruesome injury. Gruesome. The kind where everything and everybody in the gym goes silent while the athlete's screams echo off the walls. While our athlete was down, a tall good-looking man wearing a ballcap materialized out of the stands and made his way down to the mats. Folks, it was Bob Bender. He was there with his wife, Alice. He walked right up to the situation, got down on his hands and knees, scooped the Redbird up off the mat into his arms...injuries and all, howling in pain...and he carried her out of the gym and stayed with her until the ambulance took her to the hospital.

Let me run that by you one more time. Bob freakin' Bender was at a women's gymnastics meet. He was the most popular man in campustown and probably in B-N. He was there to simply support other athletes and our University. No one even realized he was there until he came down from the stands, sitting amongst the other fans. How often do you hear of the head coach of your prime sport in the department...attending a non-revenue low attendance athletics competition??

MAN oh MAN there was such comradery in the department. I haven't even begun to get into Wellman's admin hires. His admin tree goes to every corner of the country and every single one of them that passed through ISU (or are still there or retired from ISU!) carry that air of professionalism mixed with optimism.

I bring the 2 aforementioned stories up because it was Wellman who fostered that kind of environment. Now, if you didn't carry an air of professionalism and optimism to your craft - whether coach or admin - Wellman could be a tough cookie himself. He simply wouldn't tolerate it and this DID rub some people the wrong way. He did give dept personnel chances to correct. Nevertheless, a few in the department were demoted. He risked his entire career by firing Donewald. Talk about BALLS. The only thing that compares to this move is the Will Robinson hire.

I literally could write pages and pages of stories revolving around Wellman and the leadership he provided while at Illinois State. I think we were quite lucky to have him. It was really nice seeing him with his hair down, so to speak, while still being the typical-so-well-spoken Ron Wellman. I have thought many times over 30 years about his example of professionalism and optimism. I learned a lot by simply watching the man. Thanks, boys, for the show!!

PS. He COMPLETELY undersold his Northwestern experience. He took a lousy and un-interested baseball program and turned it into a national contender. The man, at his core, is a coach and leader. Read about it here:
https://dailynorthwestern.com/2018/...cedented-success-of-ron-wellman-coaching-era/
 
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Redbird222

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Humdinger said:
Guys thank you very much...I enjoyed this IMMENSELY. I had the opportunity to see Wellman up close before he left ISU. To this day I remain an absolute fan and supporter of Ron Wellman. The level of professionalism he brought to the job...I've still never experienced anyone like him. He hired some exceptionally pedigreed coaches. Julie Morgan, who was a wildly successful athlete in high school and college...and perhaps the best volleyball coach ISU has ever had - and we've had some really good ones. Jim Heacock - while not seeing great success at ISU, he did go on from ISU to Ohio State, where he had a long run as one of the top defensive coordinators in the country...no exaggeration. He'd be making 2-3M today as a D-leader. Jeff Stewart, who replaced Duffy Bass and caught some hek for it - and whose son is pitching lights out right now in the show. Bob Bender, who is still the ONLY player in NCAA history to play in 2 national championship games for 2 different teams. There are more coaches to name...but the overall point I want to make is the comradery amongst the coaches from all sports in the department - during that time - was INCREDIBLE. There was such a level of optimism combined with professionalism...it was inspiring and contagious.

Two memories stand out. Julie Morgan, folks, is one tough cookie. Not the kind of woman who breaks down into a puddle of tears. Yet that's what happened at a post-season banquet as she began speaking about department teammate Jim Heacock. Heacock was in the middle of a disappointing season (yes there were a number of them) and there was some pressure on him, as there should be. Julie Morgan was at the pinnacle of her success at ISU. Jim Heacock, in his low time in the middle of the football season, wrote Julie Morgan a long glowing letter telling her how proud he was of Julie and her team - and that he felt so lucky to be at a university where he was inspired by so many other coaches and programs. Morgan couldn't believe he would take the time to write her - despite his team's, and therefore, his own struggles. It moved her to tears, inspired her to share it with a large crowd (Heacock was at this banquet as were other coaches in the department)...and I'll betcha she still has that letter today.

Memory Dos. We were at a gymnastics meet and one of our terrific athletes suffered quite a gruesome injury. Gruesome. The kind where everything and everybody in the gym goes silent while the athlete's screams echo off the walls. While our athlete was down, a tall good-looking man wearing a ballcap materialized out of the stands and made his way down to the mats. Folks, it was Bob Bender. He was there with his wife, Alice. He walked right up to the situation, got down on his hands and knees, scooped the Redbird up off the mat into his arms...injuries and all, howling in pain...and he carried her out of the gym and stayed with her until the ambulance took her to the hospital.

Let me run that by you one more time. Bob freakin' Bender was at a women's gymnastics meet. He was the most popular man in campustown and probably in B-N. He was there to simply support other athletes and our University. No one even realized he was there until he came down from the stands, sitting amongst the other fans. How often do you hear of the head coach of your prime sport in the department...attending a non-revenue low attendance athletics competition??

MAN oh MAN there was such comradery in the department. I haven't even begun to get into Wellman's admin hires. His admin tree goes to every corner of the country and every single one of them that passed through ISU (or are still there or retired from ISU!) carry that air of professionalism mixed with optimism.

I bring the 2 aforementioned stories up because it was Wellman who fostered that kind of environment. Now, if you didn't carry an air of professionalism and optimism to your craft - whether coach or admin - Wellman could be a tough cookie himself. He simply wouldn't tolerate it and this DID rub some people the wrong way. He did give dept personnel chances to correct. Nevertheless, a few in the department were demoted. He risked his entire career by firing Donewald. Talk about BALLS. The only thing that compares to this move is the Will Robinson hire.

I literally could write pages and pages of stories revolving around Wellman and the leadership he provided while at Illinois State. I think we were quite lucky to have him. It was really nice seeing him with his hair down, so to speak, while still being the typical-so-well-spoken Ron Wellman. I have thought many times over 30 years about his example of professionalism and optimism. I learned a lot by simply watching the man. Thanks, boys, for the show!!

PS. He COMPLETELY undersold his Northwestern experience. He took a lousy and un-interested baseball program and turned it into a national contender. The man, at his core, is a coach and leader. Read about it here:
https://dailynorthwestern.com/2018/...cedented-success-of-ron-wellman-coaching-era/
Click to expand...
Thanks for the additional context and insights. There was a reason he served Wake Forest for 27 years as AD and I think you highlighted some of those reasons.
 
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Redbird222

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Episode 40 features former assistant coach Billy King. King was barely older than the seniors he was coaching that first year in 1990. A former defensive player of the year in 1988 at Duke, he brought that defensive intensity to ISU. Billy went on to be an assistant coach with Pacers and worked in the front office for the 76ers and Nets.

We hope you enjoy this one. Make sure listen to and his parting comments about living in BloNo
 
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Redbird222

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Our latest podcast features former Sports Information Director (SID) and current professor Tom Lamonica. Listen to how Tom got to ISU in 1979, a promotion that didn't go so well, the talents and responsibilities of a SID, and his joy with working at ISU with all sorts of athletes and students.
 
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Redbird222

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The latest Luedke Rewind is Dick calling the NCAA round 2 game against Arizona ... a team filled with future NBA players. The Birds had 2 starting guards injured and were tied just after halftime when the wheels came off the bus. That 1998 team was special as well as the announcer.
 
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DaveBird10

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Redbird222 said:


Our latest podcast features former Sports Information Director (SID) and current professor Tom Lamonica. Listen to how Tom got to ISU in 1979, a promotion that didn't go so well, the talents and responsibilities of a SID, and his joy with working at ISU with all sorts of athletes and students.
Click to expand...

Love the Lomonica episode, this is one of my favorite episodes that I have watched. Thank you guys.
 
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