Rick Majerus Is Comfortable With His Body, Others Are Not
It was Rick Majerus that caught the eye of SI, in a long piece from SL Price. And let's just say the Billikens recent struggles were not of interest to Price.Instead it was Majerus' bizarre personality, which includes both admirable tales of generosity and consideration for his players, and well, things that could be considered the exact opposite. I've always liked Majerus as an analyst; he knows the game incredibly well and is a fun, positive guy, but some of his strange comments (and the Ashley Judd-porn remark) kinda make more sense after reading this piece. As Price says, he's a passionate guy who doesn't always choose the best ways to express it.
Anyway, here's some highlights taken directly from the article, after the jump (Warning: Do not read during breakfast, around small children or if pregnant).
- Regularly called his players a vile word for the female sexual organ" (rhymes with bunt)
- During the 2001-02 season Majerus reportedly called Lance Allred, a backup center who was 75% deaf, "a disgrace to cripples" who had "weaseled [his] way through life using [his poor] hearing as an excuse." In response, Majerus said, "I honest to God don't remember. I'm not even going to address it." Two players confirmed the report to Price.
- During a game in 1999 Majerus gathered his team around him during a timeout and zeroed in on struggling center Nate Althoff. "You've got none of these," Majerus growled, and then reached over and lightly backhanded Althoff's groin. "You've got no nuts!"
- Majerus to some St. Louis boosters in October: "You always coach based on your personnel," Majerus begins, but he veers off again. "You know, at Utah I had five, six, seven teams [with hardly] a brother on them. It's hard to live without brothers. But if I took a black kid at Utah.... It's very difficult...."
Read with caution...
- Jeff Johnsen: "The first time, [Utah was] recruiting me, and after the game I went down to the [Utes'] locker room," says Jeff Johnsen, who signed with Utah in 1996. "His hair's everywhere and his sweater's off and he's just drenched, and he's eating a whole pizza in front of me and he's like, 'You want any?' I grab a piece, and then he starts undressing and gets in the shower and is still talking to me. It was funny. It was weird. How many grown, fat, naked men do you see when you're a high school kid?"
- "He'd answer the door in his towel and I'd come in and the towel would fall off and it was like nothing had happened. He'd just be standing there buck naked. One year he had this lower-back injury, and he would have the trainer massage it with ultrasound. But instead of just lowering his pants a little bit, Majerus would pull his pants down to his ankles and sit in a chair and coach us. Sometimes he'd be like, 'Guys, bring it in, take a knee.' We'd come in, and we're just like, No way this is happening."
- Once during the 1995-96 season Majerus got so desperate -- to make a point, to lighten the mood -- that he flashed his team. It was during a morning shootaround. Majerus kept telling Doleac that he needed to keep six inches between himself and his opponent in the post. When Doleac was caught shortly after leaning on his man, the coach erupted. " 'Jesus f------ Christ, Doleac! When a guy catches the ball in the post, you gap him six inches!' " Doleac recalls Majerus yelling. "Then he turns to the guys sitting on the baseline and says, 'Six f------ inches,' and he says, 'the size of the average white d---!' and pulls it out. That story spread like wildfire, but at the time it's not funny. At the time you're terrified."
- Doleac describes the huddle during a Sweet 16 struggle with Stanford in the 1997 NCAA tournament in which Majerus grabbed Mottola's testicles and said, "Have some f------ balls, Hanno!"
- Majerus says that all players, particularly disgruntled ones like McTavish, embellish their war stories.
And, now I know what Tommy Liddell's dad was talking about.
- Today it's easy to identify his prime target. "He's been hell for me," says Billikens junior guard Tommie Liddell III. "But I look at it as a positive thing." Sleepy-eyed and talented, with a meddlesome father and tardiness issues to boot, Liddell is almost custom-made to drive Majerus mad. Three times the coach lights into Liddell for middling effort. When Majerus sees who's just blown past his prodigy to score an easy layup, it's too perfect. Today's winner? Mike the Walk-On. Majerus says these words once, twice, and suddenly he's addicted to them; Mike the Walk-On becomes an honorific, like Peter the Great, for sophomore guard Mike Jones. Dribble, shuffle -- stop! "Mike the Walk-On would give his right nut to have your ability," Majerus tells Liddell. Dribble, shuffle -- stop! "How does a 5' 9" walk-on knock you out of the play?"
***
Now, these are all, admittedly, taken a bit out of context. Some of the incidents were relayed by former players who loved Majerus, but the anecdotes were a way to illustrate his peculiar personality. There are plenty of stories about how good of a man Majerus is too, like consoling Van Horn after his father died, taking in an abandoned baby left on his doorstep in Utah, crying when he talks about Andre Miller's graduation. Read the whole story because there's more to Majerus than these brash acts. He's a divisive guy, love him, hate him or both.
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