With the NCAA Tournament around the corner, former All-Star swingman Wally Szczerbiak has teamed up with Great Clips to spread awareness for their Hats Off campaign.
Szczerbiak knows a thing or two about March Madness. During the 1998-99 season, he led Miami (OH) on an improbable run to the Sweet 16, defeating No. 7 Washington and No. 2 Utah.
Now, Szczerbiak is doing his part to encourage fans to be more confident about their haircut this March.
We caught up with Wally Szczerbiak to discuss the upcoming NCAA Tournament, which players could make noise this March and his partnership with Great Clips.
Great Clips will reward one lucky fan with a trip and tickets to the Men’s or Women’s Final Four for going HATS OFF and sharing their best hat flip.
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The Spun: Can you tell us about your work with Great Clips and their Hats Off campaign?
Wally Szczerbiak: Well, I’m a huge fan of Great Clips. Obviously, I got to keep my hair tight, keep it looking good for on-air camera appearances with CBS and MSG. I’m going to be busy this March. I’m going to be in studio for 25 out of the 31 days. I got to look good, I’m feeling good. The Hats Off campaign is fun stuff. This campaign for March Madness is all about, you know, it being a stressful time of the year for fans. They’re cheering for their teams, they’re all disheveled, they want to fix their hair but they don’t want to get a haircut. Fans just want to throw a hat on to cover up their look and also support their team. But Great Clips is encouraging everyone to be confident in their hair, be confident in their haircut. You’re going to get a great haircut from Great Clips and want to show it off. I’ll be doing it all March long on CBS and CBS Sports Network. I’ll be at the Final Four in Houston to watch all the action and cheer on all those teams that make it down there. So it’s a great time of year for Great Clips. It’s a great part of this wonderful month of March, and I’m just excited to be a part of it.
The Spun: With the NCAA Tournament coming up, are there a few teams in particular you’re feeling good about? This year seems wide open.
WS: I really like Kansas, the defending champs. I think Bill Self is just going to have his team prepared every single night. I think they went through that little three-game losing streak in the middle of the season, but they bounced back to win the best league. So I’m a I’m a huge fan of Kansas defending its national championship. You said it perfectly – it’s wide open. I mean, I think there are 10 to 15 teams that could win the national championship this season, with a bunch of those teams coming from the Big 12. I like a lot of teams. I also like UCLA. The Bruins have been to a Final Four with this core and they’ve added a lot of talent around those guys. I think the Pac-12 is very top heavy with some strong teams in Arizona and UCLA. So, UCLA is another team I really like to make the Final Four and win a national championship.
The Spun: There are always a few players who shine bright in March. Which players are on your radar?
WS: Well, I think the obvious one is Zach Edey. He has completely dominated college basketball. The jump that he’s made this year is really impressive. I don’t know about his supporting cast and I don’t know if I have a lot of confidence in all those freshmen, but as far as one individual, he’s the best player in college basketball and I don’t think it’s even much of a conversation. Trayce Jackson-Davis is right there too. Indiana has won twice against Purdue. Another guy to eye on is Drew Timme. He’s been to a national championship game. I think this Gonzaga team is flying a little bit under the radar. They have some big time wins this year, one specifically over Alabama. That was an impressive win early on in the season. So they can compete with anyone.
The Spun: Which college basketball coach do you think needs a championship the most to boost their legacy?
WS: I really like Eric Musselman down at Arkansas. The Razorbacks struggled a little bit to start their conference schedule, but they are playing good basketball. They got Nick Smith back, who’s a really talented player and going to be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft next year. I just love the way Musselman coaches his teams. He prepares them for the final stretch run and March Madness. Another one is Mick Cronin. I think Mick Cronin is in line to win a national title. I think since he’s gone to UCLA he’s turned that program around. He’s done a really impressive job every single year. That team really defends and I think this roster gives them the best chance to win a national title. He’s already made the Final Four. They got their hearts broken by Gonzaga that year. So, Mick Cronin would be another guy to consider in this conversation..
The Spun: I have to ask you about the Knicks. They just had a big win against the Celtics. What’s a realistic ceiling for this year’s team as far as the playoffs are concerned?
WS: I will always talk about the Knicks because they are in my heart. That was my team growing up as a kid that I cheered for back in the 90s with Patrick Ewing and John Starks. I think the addition of Josh Hart has been perfect for this squad, and the way Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson are playing is just exceptional. Also RJ Barrett being that third guy on the team – I think he’s gonna continue to develop. What I love about the Knicks is all of their core players are either young or at the peak of their careers. I think there’s a lot of room for growth with this team and I think they can shock people in the playoffs, I really do. Tom Thibodeau is as good a coach as any in the NBA. He’s got these guys playing defense and he’s got these guys playing their roles. I think it’s going to be different from the last playoffs when they were kind of limping into that postseason. They had some injuries to deal with and Julius Randle struggled against the Hawks. I think this team is deep at every position and they’re ready to make some noise.
The Spun: What do you think has been the main issue for RJ Barrett from a consistency standpoint?
WS: I think it’s the perfect situation for him. I don’t know if he’s ever going to develop into a No. 1 or No. 2 option on a winning team. I think he can continue to get better at the little things to help his team win, and I think that’s what this coaching staff and Tom Thibodeau are trying to encourage him to do. But I think he’s in the perfect situation where he’s on a winning team. So when he doesn’t have great shooting nights, Randle and Brunson and some other guys can make up for his inefficient shooting at times and the team’s still winning. You know, he’s just got to continue to develop and do those little things at 22 years old that are going to help the team win. I think he has a good chance to make an All-Star team eventually. But when you’re playing behind guys like Brunson and Randle, you have to figure out a way to impact winning without being that guy with the ball in his hands all the time, and I think he’s trying to figure that out.
The Spun: You were able to make a Cinderella run during the 1999 NCAA Tournament. What was the mindset heading into that March for your squad knowing you’d be an underdog in every game?
WS: Well, it was just an outstanding time in my career. And that’s a really interesting question because I think a lot of the teams that come from mid-majors, especially a lower seed, we use that NCAA Tournament as an opportunity to show how good we were as a team and how hard we worked during the year. We had some really good players on our team – Damon Frierson, Rob Mestas, myself. Miami (OH) was just a special place at the time for all of us. When we got our shot to go up against those teams on a neutral floor, we were just so fired up and motivated. We also had a great coach and a lot of experience on that team. We were a very strong basketball team with a lot of seniors. We spent a lot of time in the weight room, so we matched up physically with a lot of those other teams in those big conferences. So we just went out and played our game, and our game was good enough to make it to the Sweet 16.
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