Then & Now: Fred Hare

Then & Now: Fred Hare

Compiled By Dave Brandon (Photo Courtesy Fred Hare)

Fred

Hare played at Nebraska from 1965-1966 under the late

Joe Cipriano (1964-1980, 253-197), and is likely best

remembered for his follow-up basket as time expired to

beat #1 Michigan in 1965.

A 6’2”

“jack of all trades” forward from Omaha, Hare led the

Huskers in scoring (15.2 PPG) and rebounding (7.4 RPG)

in 1965, and later went onto a storied career with

several of the Harlem teams (Clowns, Magicians, Aces,

and Globetrotters).

Hare is

our latest guest in this Sunday's version of "Then &

Now."

HHC: Thanks

for joining us. You are a charter member of the Nebraska

High School Sports Hall of Fame (1994) and helped lead

the 1963 Omaha Tech basketball team to the state

championship. Basketball historians call that team one

of the best of all time; agreed?

FH:

Absolutely. I think with a team like that, we could have

beaten the Boston Celtics. As a matter of fact, that’s

what Coach Neal Mosser used to tell us.  In practice

before a game, he’d say, “You play like you do in

practice, you’ll beat the Boston Celtics.”

That was

a very, very unique team, and while Neal wasn’t the

easiest coach to get along with, he was real tough and a

great coach. So I told the guys, “If you don’t like

Neal, don’t play for him. Because if you don’t like him,

we’re not going to win ball games.”

And

that’s the problem that we had for two years, because I

believe that we did win it (state) in 1962 even though

it wasn’t given to us against Lincoln Northeast. 

HHC: Following the 1963 season, you were

named the Nebraska High School athlete of the year by

several publications. You ultimately chose to play

basketball at Nebraska, but who else was recruiting you

besides the Huskers?

FH: All the teams in the country. There

wasn’t a college in the United States I didn’t get an

offer from. UCLA, Bradley, Drake, Minnesota, Oklahoma,

Syracuse, Baylor, and even the Naval Academy. Just about

any college you name was interested.

HHC: What made you choose Nebraska?

FH: Well, I didn’t have any idea that Joe

Cipriano would be the coach when I committed. Actually,

I signed because I thought Neal Mosser, my high school

coach was going to get the coaching job, but at the last

minute after I signed the contract, they decided to

bring someone out of Idaho (Cipriano) instead of Mosser,

who was one of the winningest coaches in Nebraska

History.

Another

reason I came to Nebraska was that my mother was sick

with cancer, diabetes, and arthritis before ultimately

passing in 1967, but Nebraska was close to home, but not

to close like Creighton. I grew up three blocks from

Creighton.

I loved

the campus, too. Nebraska really has a beautiful campus

and atmosphere, and there’s nothing like being in your

home state.

HHC: In your own words, describe Joe

Cipriano, both as a coach and man?

FH:

Joe Cipriano was a great person and a great friend. He

had problems coaching in the sense that he had such a

diverse group of guys on the team from Chicago, New

York, California, and Norfolk, that I don’t think he had

the experience of coaching a lot of different

ballplayers or of putting the right combination in. But

on a one on one basis, Joe was a great person.

I do

think he was concerned a little too much of what Tippy

Dye and the alumni would think at times, but that wasn’t

really Joe’s fault. At the time, Nebraska would only

allow two African-Americans out on the court at the same

time, and it was either me and Grant Simmons, or me and

Nate Branch, or Stu Lantz, and that kind of put a burden

on us, because when we’d go to play Kansas or Michigan,

they had four or five blacks on the team that were much

bigger than us, too.

But Joe

had a lot of compassion for me, and I really liked him

and his family. He was a big help to me when I

ultimately went to try out for the Phoenix Suns a few

years later. They had asked him why I quit at Nebraska,

and he told them it was because of family problems, and

ironed out any problems him and I may have had.

HHC: Talk

about what it was like playing in the Coliseum. Was that

a big home court advantage, and how did it compare to

other venues in the conference?

FH: It was the worst in the conference, to

be honest. The arena was cold, and we used to call it

“The Barn.” It seemed like during practice it took you

forever to get warmed up.

It was

an old hard floor with a high ceiling, and most other

places like Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri had

beautiful, nice coliseums or gymnasiums. Our uniforms

were the worst, too, although we were proud of them.

But I

loved the “Old Barn”, and it didn’t make a difference

where we were playing, although when I was at Nebraska,

it didn’t seem like we ever had a home court advantage.

Rather, it seemed like the referees were always against

us, and it seems like the crowd was. One time I was

booed during the Michigan game, but we won it anyway, as

you know.

I had a

tendency to teach the ball players to make your own home

court advantage by being in shape, running your plays,

and not giving the referees any problems. I never paid

attention much to the crowd, but I could never really

understand home court advantage. I mean, we certainly

didn’t have one against Michigan.

HHC: Since you bring up that Michigan

game, lets talk about it. Your first year at Nebraska

was spent on the freshman team in 1963-1964, and your

first year on varsity was 1964-1965, when your team went

10-15 (5-9, T-6th). Perhaps the biggest shot in Nebraska

Basketball history was made by you that year, as you hit

an over the head and backwards buzzer beating layup to

defeat #1 Michigan and Cazzie Russell (74-73). In your

own words, describe the last possession of that game and

what that was like?

FH: That was the most unique game I ever

played in, especially in respect to the crowd, which had

booed us earlier in the game.

And

during that whole week, it was in the Lincoln Journal as

“the night of the Wolverines.” But that last shot, it

wasn’t designated that I shoot it. I told Grant

(Simmons) to take the ball out, and I told him that I

was, “Going to pretend that the game is over since we

only have 2 seconds left, and I’m just going to drop my

hands and walk toward the Michigan basket and act like

I’m disgusted.”

And

that’s the only way I knew to shake that guy (Russell),

because he was guarding me so tough all night that they

couldn’t hardly get the ball to me. So Grant threw the

ball to me just a few feet away from the half court

line, and I shot it right away with my typical high arch

so I could see where it was going to hit and come off.

I had a

tendency to always follow my shots so I did that, and I

noticed all the guys from Nebraska were standing on one

side, and all the guys from Michigan on one side, so

when I ran from half court, I saw a guy getting ready to

rebound and went over him and got it before he caught

it. And I didn’t have much time to stuff it and there

was a hand in the way, so I just took it while in the

air and flipped it over the back.

That was

so exciting and such a great way to end that game after

the press, the fans, and even some of my own teammates

and coaches didn’t believe we were going to win.

HHC: Was that your favorite game at

Nebraska?

FH: Yeah, it was, but that’s not the best

or favorite game I’ve ever played. I think the best was

when I was with the Harlem Clowns in Pomona, California.

We were

down by 10 points one night with about 5 minutes to go,

and I stole the ball 6 times in a row, and it was

similar to the Michigan game. All the guys on the team

used to call me “the Omaha Kid,” because they didn’t

think people from Omaha could play basketball.

And then

there was the performance in the Phoenix camp, too,

where I averaged 25.0 PPG and 11.0 RPG. Those three

times between the Phoenix camp, the Pomona game, and the

Michigan game were my most exciting.

HHC: 1965-1966

was your last full year with the Huskers, and the team

finished 20-5 (12-2, 2nd) and ended its fifteen straight

seasons of losing. What do you remember about that year?

FH: I remember it was a dismal year,

because some people within the program didn’t want me to

have a knee operation I needed prior to that season

because they felt it could keep me out longer. I ended

up having it anyway and played with tape from head to

toe that whole year like a warrior, and also with

cortisone shots before each game in my knee. I gutted it

out but it felt like some people were mad at me for

having the surgery, which hurt my minutes.

HHC: 1966-1967

was your last season on the team, as you left after the

second game at Wyoming (102-98 loss). What led to you

leaving?

FH:

It was the culmination of everything, from not being

able to play the minutes I had felt I deserved to being

taken out of games when I felt I shouldn’t.

I really

enjoyed the University of Nebraska and I can tell you

that I don’t have any bitterness. However, I certainly

don’t think I’d do it again, but there was a guy and old

teammate of mine from high school named Big Bob Brown

who said, “You didn’t make a mistake by going to

Nebraska. You just stayed too long.”

And Neil

Mosser, my old high school coach told me, “It doesn’t

matter where you go, as long as you do the best you

can.”

Nobody

considers me a quitter or failure because I opened up

the way for a lot of young people, I think, and

especially African-Americans in Omaha, from helping them

find a place to play and practice such as churches and

Creighton to giving them someone to look up to. 

I had to

perform Dave, because I played ball to get my Mother and

siblings out of the ghetto, and I did my best and always

gave it my all, and I think that’s why people respect me

and don’t consider me a quitter. At least that’s what I

hope they think.

HHC: Have you stayed in touch with any of

your former teammates or coaches, and do you still

follow the program at all?

FH: No. Matter of fact Dave, I didn’t stay

in touch with anyone. My Mother passed on in 1967, and

after the funeral, I sold all my belongings, took a

plane to Mexico City, and enrolled at the University of

Americas, which was an American team, but down there,

you have 80% natives, and more natives on the court more

than Americans. So it would always be 2 Mexicans and 3

Americans.

HHC: And where

did you go from there?

FH: Well, I did that for a year, and then

I learned that I couldn’t graduate because I had to come

back to the United States to get all my credits to

transfer. 

So after

Mexico, I ended up back in the United States, and was

eventually cut from the Phoenix Suns because nobody knew

who I was. I literally just walked on the court there

and wasn’t invited, so they made it a goal to shut me

down.

But

during that training camp, I averaged 25/11 and they

recruited guys to come to that camp to stop me, and by

playing there, I opened up some doors.

After

the Phoenix camp, the Lakers heard of me from Neil, my

high school coach, who knew somebody out there, and they

wanted me to go to Dallas and play in the ABA, but I

never went, because I was tired and didn’t feel like

it. 

So, I

decided to play with the Harlem Clowns while I thought

about what to do with my professional career, and when I

got there, Nate Branch, my former Husker teammate and

roommate was there.

I did

that and various other Harlem teams for a while, and

then I went up to Canada and played in the Canadian

League.

My

brother got killed shortly after, so I came back to the

States for a while longer before going back to Mexico

and playing four seasons, and then when I came back, Bob

Cousy called me after that last game in Mexico and had

arranged it so I was supposed to go to either Dallas and

play in the ABA or play with the Globetrotters. But I

decided I wanted to wait and try to come back to Omaha

or Kansas City, since they would someday soon have a pro

team.

Turns

out I got wiped out in a serious car accident in Denver,

Colorado in 1970. I had contusions of the liver, spine

problems, and I was all crippled up, to tell you the

truth. After the accident, I notified the director of

the Kansas City/Omaha Kings what had happened.

I was 37

at the time of the accident, and still got an offer for

a contract to play for Kansas City, but I was so far

behind and so tired that I didn’t do it.

HHC: You have a new book out called "The

Best of the Best", which is a biography about both

basketball and life, and its available through your

website at

http://www.fredhare.com/. Talk about this book and

what motivated you to write it?

FH: I’ve always wanted to give back what I

know. The secrets, which are really not secrets, but

things that never cross your mind, are in there about

basketball.

For

example, I always wondered why such guys as Bob Boozer

and all the other guys that came through Omaha Tech

never won Neil a championship. I was under the bleachers

before I played there at their practice one day

watching, and I could see why he didn’t. They were often

racially divided and would fight and battle each other

in practice. And I thought to myself, “How are you going

to beat Benson or North when you are beating

yourselves?”

I also

know that the way I added 6 inches to my vertical every

year during high school was by wearing braces that my

Mom had made me around my ankles. They were weights and

held me down.

Or the

fact that as a kid, I wore thick rabbit gloves and my

Mom would make me shoot around outside in the middle of

the winter while my brothers laughed at me. I was

horrible at shooting, but over time, when I’d take them

off after hours of having them on, I had the keenest

sense of touch and I could shoot extremely accurate. It

was scary, to be honest. So I started wearing gloves and

making everything I did harder so that it’d make it

easier later.

I also

wrote the book because I wanted to give back to society

and my fans, and as a tribute to the talent that God

gave me.

I wanted

to give back and tell of all the beautiful experiences

and haunting memories from when I played. I’ve been to

four or five other countries, and I said, “What am I

going to do with this now?”

I read a book by Jerry Masters where he said that I

wasn’t as good as my one time high school running mate

Ronnie Boone. And that didn’t upset me, but it touched

me. I called Jerry on the phone right away after that

and I said, “You know the score. I thought it was

supposed to be a high school book for athletes. Ronnie

Boone didn’t break any records in high school, and

neither did Bob Gibson.”

So I

asked him why he put that statement about me in there

and he says, “I put that in there because I knew that

someday, you’d read it. I had tried to reach you and

nobody knew where you were for eight years.”

But that

call prompted me to realize what I had and to put it

into words.

In

summary, writing that book was for the Lord, and part of

a promise to my Mother that I’d finish college, which I

did in part through all the writing classes I took to

write it.

I’d

never opened up before, and I wanted to get my legacy on

paper before I went to the grave, which is the richest

place. I wanted to have these same questions asked that

you’ve asked me today. It’s the joy of giving back.

HHC: And I see that you are currently

represented by Celebrity Direct Entertainment in Port

Charlotte, Florida. That brings us to the now of "Then &

Now." What is Fred Hare up to these days, and what are

his plans for the future?

FH: At this time, I spend most of my time

in my electric wheelchair, which is fun and like a

vehicle (Laughs). My legs have entirely gone, so I’m

involved in artwork now.

I’ve got

a wonderful caregiver named Tonya Ballard, and she takes

care of me. I had open-heart surgery about three years

ago, I had two heart attacks in Mexico, and two of my

sons were born in Mexico, so I was helping them out in

the art business when that happened.

But

anyway, I am for the first time in my life, for the last

two years anyway, enjoying peace and quiet, and not

worried about any expectations from basketball or my

children.

I’m

living in Denton, Texas now.

HHC: If we set you up an e-mail account at

[email protected] , would you be

willing to take some e-mails from our readers?

FH: Yeah definitely, but I’ll have to have

my caretaker type for me, but I’d love that. Send me all

the Husker fans e-mails, I’d really appreciate it Dave

and it’d mean a lot.

HHC: Great! Thanks a lot for your time,

and anything else you'd like to add?

FH: Yes. There’s not an answer you can’t

find in the bible. Everything I did, I did it in the

spirit. And basketball wise, I’ve noticed that God

didn’t make you left handed or right handed. He made an

individual. I mean, what hand does a monkey use? He uses

them both equally.

I try to

teach young people now to start at an early age, using

your left hand, because you defend someone that’s even

handed. There’s no defense for them.

And one

other thing I’d like to say is that I do appreciate the

opportunity to talk and tell my story of things after so

long of the record not being set straight.

Thank you Dave for all you do.<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">