Mike Amos Day was a blast, blast, blast
Photos and random observations from a very fun and happy day at Trojan Arena.
Not only did I attend “Mike Amos Day” at Trojan Arena this afternoon, I sat right next to … Mike Amos during the game!
Mike and I have always been friends but became very good friends when I was the co-host (with his son, Michael) of “Today in L.A.” the last couple of years that morning show was broadcast on Troy Cablevision.
Since that show ended, I haven’t seen Mike nearly enough so made a point of catching up with him at today’s Troy men’s basketball game that honored Mike’s decades of volunteer service and boosterism, supporting the teams of the alma mater he loves so passionately.
As many people know, Mike has been bravely battling Parkinson’s Disease for many years. I could tell Mike’s mobility and vitality has been more-noticeably impacted in recent months … but, still, he’s a tough son of a gun and he’s still pulling for his Trojans and still loves to see his many friends at a ball game.
It was a class act for athletic director Brent Jones to honor Mike’s many contributions to Troy athletics.
The Trojans did their part …
And Mike, his family and friends got to see one of the more impressive basketball performances in recent years as Coach Scott Cross’s Trojans looked like the Magic-Johnson era Lakers for much of this blowout ballgame.
A few game/team observations, including some fun ones I bet no other sports scribe will write about:
As I wrote in December, this is a very talented team (now 15-7, 8-3 in conference) that should have the potential to compete for a Sunbelt Conference regular season title and/or run the table at the SBC conference tourney and, thus, win an automatic berth to the NCAA “Big Dance.”
I can’t remember what the final score was, but at one point I looked at the scoreboard in the first half and said to Mike, “Dang, we’re leading by 43 points!”
I’m still struck by the fact Coach Cross can go at least 11 players deep on his roster and all 11 players are excellent or good Division-I players.
Even the walk-ons, who all got to play at least 10 minutes today, look confident to me with Braydon Whitaker stroking two three-pointers this afternoon.
For about the past five or so games, guard Tayton Conerway has played like a contender for SBC “Player of the Year.” Conerway has a natural savvy for the game, can make Magic Johnson-type “wow!” passes, has a talented for making steals and is now showing he can hit 3-pointers. (He’s always been able to take the ball to the hoop).
Theo Seng and freshman Cooper Campbell - who looks like a stocky, 19-year-old version of Opie Taylor - are starting to provide the consistent three-point shooting any team needs these days. (Campell, if he continues to develop, is a player to watch in the future).
The team’s most athletic all-around player for two years has been Myles Rigby. However, today, the star of the game was Myles’s older brother, guard Marcus Rigsby, who had 17 points in the first half and couldn’t miss from beyond the arc.
Alas, Marcus was ejected from the game for a rare “double technical foul” in the second half.
Jackson Fields, Jerell Bellamy, Thomas Dowd (“the Dothan Dandy”), Mexico native Victor Valdes and several other players all seem to be playing with confidence and all have proven they can score in spurts and play good team basketball.
I watched this game from a different vantage point
For the past two basketball seasons, I’ve attended a fair number of games as a spectator, sitting in the “cheap seats” of general admission - a good distance from the court.
Today, however, I sat on the front row with Mike’s family right by Troy’s goal. I spent the last few minutes of the half standing by the tunnel that heads to the locker room at floor level.
Trust me: Seeing these guys much-closer-up gives one a different perspective on how big, fast and athletic these guys really are.
I now understand why Jack Nicholson wanted those floor-level seats at Lakers’ games.
Of course, I once watched countless Division II games as a local sports reporter and took photos next to the cheerleaders beneath the baskets.
But I can report these Division I players play a different brand of basketball.
(You can also hear some of the comments the players make when, say, they miss a shot - words the grandmothers in the stands might not want to hear.)
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Now for the miscellaneous game observations …
In addition to today being “Mike Amos Day,” today was also “Trojan Letterman Day” with a special emphasis placed on honoring letter winners who played for Coach John Archer’s Troy State teams from 1958 to 1973.
I wasn’t living in Troy when Coach Archer was coaching the Trojans, but I know he consistently had outstanding teams and everyone I’ve talked to tells me what a great man and class act Coach Archer was.
Walking into the gym, I saw one of Coach Archer’s sons, my friend Tim Archer. Tim was famous for giving half the CHHS student body funny nicknames. I also think he was one of the crazy fools who painted the Class of 1980 nickname on the water tower (but the statute of limitations has long since passed).
Most importantly, Tim is a subscriber to the on-line Troy Citizen.
Remembering the Great Daron Fayson …
Several alumni who played after Coach Archer were also honored. One of these players was Daron Fayson, the brother of Shelia Fayson Jackson and current CHHS head coach and former Troy basketball player Tim Fayson.
I remember watching Daron play when he was a senior at CHHS in 1978-1979. Back then, there was no three-point line but if there had been Fayson would have been the best three-point shooter in the state. Daron had a great 4-year career at Troy State, playing for Wes Bazilla.
I’m terrible at this game …
A fan once again correctly picked where the pearl was on the Half Shell Oyster shuffle game on the jumbo screen. I never can figure out where that thing is, but the fans always seem to get it. (My son, Jack, never misses with his answers either.)
I was stunned to see that in Publix’s “higher or lower” pricing game that a 2-litre bottle of Mountain Dew was higher than $3.69!
The Vipers youth dance squad performed a routine in a long timeout … Boy, those vipers have …. bite (and can move)!
We have a team of players who like big cities …
I love the video clips Troy Sports Marketing shows of players, which gives fans a feel for these athletes’ real personalities.
Today’s clip asked about 10 players if they preferred “a small town” or “a big city.”
Four said “small town;” five or six said “big city.”
I’m just happy all these fans of big-city-living chose to play college basketball in a small town!
Roll Tide Willie was in the house
The P.A. announcer (read below) informed the crowd that a social media star was in the house.
Michael Amos told me this celebrity was “Roll Tide Willie” who apparently has 300,000 followers on social media.
Today, however, Willie was hanging out with T-Roy and was “Trojan Willie.”
Annie ate my Troy hat …
Speaking of “Roll Tide,” I caught some good-natured flak for wearing a Bama baseball hat to the game. (I did wear a Troy University wind breaker).
In my defense, I was rushed to get to the game, hadn’t taken a shower, needed a hat, and grabbed the first one I found. I used to have a shelf-full of baseball hats, but our dog, Annie, has eaten most of them.
Speaking of Trojan Arena’s p.a. announcer, it looks like Rick Hendrick is now a fixture at Troy basketball games. Rick, who I got to know when I worked as a sales rep for Cumulus Radio in Montgomery 15 years ago, is best-known as the p.a. announcer for The Montgomery Biscuits and the voice of 95.1 The Fox.
He is a great p.a. announcer and a nice guy. I like that Troy basketball now has another “Rick” as p.a. announcer as I grew up listening to the late great Rick Stetson, who I thought had one of the best p.a. announcer voices in America.
As I recently wrote at The Troy Citizen, Rick Stetson will be posthumously inducted into the Troy Sports Hall of Fame in April - in part for his contributions as a fantastic long-time p.a. announcer at football and basketball games, but also because he was one of the great track and cross country athletes in Troy State history.
The musical score was outstanding …
Also, kudos to the Sound of the South basketball pep band which sounded great. Today, I heard a little ditty I’d never heard at a sporting event - “Let’s Do the Time Warp Again” from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Man, I love that song!
A birthday party at Trojan Arena …
Finally, I’m the assistant coach of the Troy Recreation 8 and 9-year-old league’s Cavs.
Today, at 1 p.m., our Cavs looked almost as impressive as the Troy Trojans in rolling to our most impressive victory of the season.
One of our team’s star players - Rider Green (who might be the tallest player in the league) - had four blocked shots and scored several buckets.
After the game, Rider’s parents had a birthday party for him - at Trojan Arena! A good time was had by all, including my son, “Pickle Jack McCoy.” What a great idea for a birthday party venue!
It’s great to catch up with the great L.K. Hooten …
BTW, the coach of our opponent’s team this afternoon was one L.K. Hooten.
L.K. was a classmate of one Bill Rice, Jr. and Sheilia Fayson in the CHHS Class of 1983. L.K. was also the best basketball player on a CHHS team that might have won a state title if a Eufaula player hadn’t hit a 25-foot shot in the final second of the Regional Finals.
L.K. was good enough to play for Troy State, but ended up having an outstanding career at AUM, where he was the starting point guard on a team that finished as national NAIA runner-ups in 1987.
L.K’s daughter was the best player the Cavs played against today so keep an eye on her in the future.
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Bonus Photo …
Here's some bio info on Coach Archer from Troy's SID after he was inducted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
It took no time at all for John Archer to make an impact on the Troy State men’s basketball program, leading the Red Wave to three straight NAIA National Tournaments in his first three seasons. Archer completed his career with over 300 victories and is now immortalized in the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame.
Archer became the third coach in program history in 1956, taking over for Leonard Serfustini. Along with his basketball duties, Archer also served as the tennis head coach, a line coach for the football team and as an instructor in the physical education department.
During his time at Troy State, Archer coached the first two 1,000-point scorers in program history, as Frank Miller and Paul Word eclipsed the mark during the 1961-62 season. Over his career, Archer coached five student-athletes who surpassed the 1,000-point plateau.
Archer’s success at the NAIA level helped to lay the foundation for future head coach and Troy University Sports Hall of Fame member Don Maestri, culminating in the Trojans’ advancement to the Division I level in 1993.
His former players speak highly of him as a great basketball mind, but also as a great teacher off the court, as he loved to see his players succeed in life after basketball.
“We learned a lot from him, about basketball and about life,” said Word. “We all went on to different things, but we always used the lessons that he taught us.”
Word would go on to coach high school basketball for more than 40 years, winning two state titles in Alabama, while still using some of the defensive schemes that he learned from Archer.
Archer won no fewer than 18 games in each of his first 11 seasons, culminating in a 26-7 record in 1966-67. He won three Alabama Collegiate Conference regular season championships (1960-61, 1961-62, 1963-64) over a four-year stretch, amassing a combined 31-11 record in conference games. In 17 seasons, his teams won 78 percent of their home games, including nine seasons with one home loss or fewer.
“I played for him for three years, we had a great team,” Word said. “We didn’t really have positions, we all played everywhere, did what we needed to do. I played some guard, I played some at forward. I even played center, but that was back when a 6’3” center was considered tall.”
A well liked and respected coach, Archer was also chosen to serve on the U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Committee in 1969 where he helped choose the United States’ teams for the Pan American Games and the 1972 Olympics in Munich
I should have mentioned that one fan got to try a 94-foot, full-court putt during a timeout. If he made it, he'd win some great prize ("A brand-new car!" - actually I don't know what the prize was). Anyway, the guy darn near made it.
This "near miss" reminded me of the time I ALMOST hit a half-court shot at Sartain Hall where I would have won 500 smackers - in 1992 dollars. Man, that ball went "in and out." In 35 seconds, I did hit a lay-up, free throw and three-point shot before I got to my half-court attempt. (I actually had time to get off two half-court heaves, the second one which almost went in).
I did win a case of Pepsi as the contest was sponsored by Pepsi Bottling of Luverne.