By Jeff Faraudo
#WCChoops Columnist | ARCHIVES
2020 WCC HALL OF HONOR PROFILES
 
LAS VEGAS -- When Bill Cartwright finished his career at USF he was the all-time scoring leader in West Coast Conference history. More than four decades later, his 2,116 career points still rank as the seventh-most by a WCC player.
 
In 1976-77, when Cartwright was a sophomore, the Dons began the season 29-0 and were ranked No. 1 in the nation before losing twice to end the year. Two years later, he became the No. 3 pick in the NBA Draft by the New York Knicks, and in 1988 he was traded to the Chicago Bulls, where he started at center on the first three of Michael Jordan’s six NBA championship teams.
 
Now 62, Cartwright is in Las Vegas to cheer on his old school at the University Credit Union WCC Tournament. We caught up with Bill and asked him five questions:  
 
Q. Give me your impressions of Todd Golden, the first-year coach at your alma mater?
 
“Todd has the benefit of playing for some really good coaches. A big part of coaching is having a plan, defensively and offensively. And the most important thing he's done for the team this year is we have an identity. We’re a really good defensive team, which is one of the things you can control. It’s hit or miss with the offense. When it’s great, we’re great. Absent that, we struggle a little bit. I think he’s done a great job in his first year.”
 
Q. How would your 29-2 USF team from 1976-77 have fared against this 29-2 Gonzaga team?
 
“Would have killed them. Crushed ‘em. That’s because we had a bunch of guys who were really motivated. Back in those days, you played with kind of a chip on your shoulder. You had an attitude. We had James (Hardy), Winford Boynes, Marlon Redmond — four NBA players. We viewed everybody else as people who had something and we didn’t have anything. So we were hungry.”
 
Q. Tell me about a special memory you have playing with Michael Jordan on the Chicago Bulls:
 
“I’m going to take you a different path because my path to Michael is unique because I got traded from New York. Ended up with with Jerry Krause, who was one of the greatest general managers ever. Played with Michael, Scottie (Pippen), Horace (Grant), John Paxson, B.J. Armstrong, Will Purdue, Stacey King, Cliff Levingston, Craig Hodges. And we had the best player in the league. 
 
“The timing of it was special. When I got there in ’88, we were still getting our (butt) kicked by Detroit. Nobody cared about us then. When we finally got past Detroit and won a championship, it was a different deal. That wasn’t easy, either. And I can promise you, Michael didn’t like the triangle (offense) at first, until we started carving people up. So there was a lot of complaining going on. But it was a special time, it was a special beginning. We were building to a time that may never come again.”
 
Q. What do you think of the way the game is played today in the NBA?
 
“First, the guys in our league now are amazing. Luka (Doncic), incredible talent . . . big, strong, can shoot, score, inside, outside. You've got stars in the league . . . LeBron, (Kawhi) Leonard, (James) Harden. These guys are bigger, faster, stronger than we were. They’re better athletes. They are. 
 
“Now, nobody in my era likes this basketball. Nobody. Why is that? For one thing, they try to convince you it’s easier to score from 25 feet than it is from five feet. Whatever. And then they're trying to say they guard . . . giving up 110 points a game. You're never going to see more screen-and-roll or isolation basketball in your life. And that’s every team. Me, I’m a basketball fan. I’ll go with it, but nobody my age likes the style. It’s terrible. But the athletes are incredible.”
 
Q. I understand you are a big fan of doo-wop music from the 1950s and early ‘60s. Is that still the case?
 
“That’s partly true. I’m a music fan. I love everything from old rock to new rock to blues to soul to some country to blue-grass gospel. I love it. (And doo-wop?) You've got to find your mood. Those guys are barely alive now. I just like the old guys.”