Remembering Rick Majerus

December 3, 2012, 2:21 pm

The Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano had the honor of having coaching legend Rick Majerus on the show back on March 8, 2012. Coach Majerus had taken a leave of absence back in August for medical treatment. Announced by the Saint Louis University on Saturday Majerus passed away of a heart condition that he had been battling for quite a few years.

In Majerus’s career he had won over 500 major college basketball games and coached for five different schools including Marquette, Milwaukee Bucks, Ball State, Utah and finally Saint Louis. He had also won 12 different championships and the Coach of the Year award five times. For most in the NCAA basketball Majerus will be remembered for his love of the sport and his commitment to the players of any team he coached.

In John’s interview with Majerus he had spent a lot of time talking about his players and the love and commitment it takes to play basketball to your fullest extent. This was something that rang true for Majerus through his entire career as a coach and as a player.

“There’s a lot of guys who play college basketball that don’t love basketball and the NBA is even rife with it. You know the biggest thing in the NBA, you better make sure that guy you’re drafting and paying that money to loves the game because they all don’t; they like being basketball players but they may not necessarily love the game”.

For all the love of basketball that Majerus had, he always made sure that his players put their education first. In the time that Majerus coached five different teams he had 48 different players earn academic All-Conference awards.

When it comes to Majerus’s players he wanted to make sure they were all in great health while out on the court. Majerus kept a regular drug test for his students because he believed that it showed that him and his staff cared about their health. Majerus would also make them run a lot to make sure that there weren’t any hidden problems with his player’s health.

“I also put all my kids on a treadmill, because a treadmill is one of the few indicators of heart problems, it’s not a definitive one, the catheterization is. But when you get on a treadmill you have a lot better chance to see a kid having an irregular heart beat”.

Majerus always believed that his players needed to unwind and have fun. He would send his players out to do different activities such and horseback riding, bowling and movies. He thought that getting them out and not thinking of basketball would help them focus when they came back to practice then next day.

In the 25 years of Majerus coaching some of the nation’s best teams he had influenced so many people, families, staff and players to do their best and play for the love of the game.

To listen to the full interview click below

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