Then & Now: Tony Farmer

Then & Now: Tony Farmer

Compiled By Dave Brandon

(Photo Courtesy NU Media Relations)

Tony

Farmer played at Nebraska for one season, and that was

the record-breaking year of 1990-1991, which saw

Nebraska finish with a record of 26-8 and in the season

ending Top 10 of some polls.

Following his season at Nebraska,

Farmer went on to play in the NBA with the Miami Heat,

Charlotte Hornets, and Golden State Warriors.

The 6’9” 225-pound Farmer is our

latest guest in this Sunday’s edition of “Then & Now.”

HHC: You went to

Artesia High School in the L.A. area, and averaged 22.6

PPG and 10.0 RPG in your senior season (1987). You were

MVP of the Suburban Conference, and had your jersey

retired, along with Tom Tolbert and Ed O’Bannon. What

made you originally choose San Jose State out of high

school?

TF: It was close to

home, and I was very young coming out of high school and

didn’t want to go to far away. It was close enough and a

decent enough school where my parents could see me play,

so that was why the decision was made.

HHC:  Did Nebraska ever recruit you out of

high school?

TF: No. My final five

choices were San Jose State, USC, UCLA, Oklahoma, and

Arizona.

HHC: You played a year and a half at San

Jose State, and actually played against Nebraska in the

Ameritas Classic of 1988-1989, averaging 17.0 PPG and

10.0 RPG in the two games. Was your experience in

Lincoln that weekend what made you choose to transfer to

Nebraska after leaving San Jose State at the midway

point of your sophomore season?

TF: Yeah. They had really good support and

I’d always known they had a good football team. But I

had good playing success there during that tournament

and really liked the atmosphere and people.

I also liked the Big 8 Conference,

because Oklahoma was one of my final choices since my

Dad went there. And I felt it (Nebraska) was a good

school with a good graduation rate. It was just a

situation that I felt I wanted to be a part of. 

HHC: What was the perception of Lincoln

and Nebraska basketball to an L.A. kid at that time?

TF: To me, I knew it was a very, very

small city of 250,000. And, I wanted a slower pace

coming from L.A., so that played a big part in it being

my choice.

But also, one of the main things

was that I had a great relationship with the Mills

family there (Lincoln), Stan and Reta. They drove our

van for San Jose State during the Ameritas Classic, and

I maintained contact with them afterward because we had

a good time. And when I told them I was coming they were

all excited, and they helped make my transition easy.

HHC: Talk about your

relationship with Danny Nee, both at the beginning of

your career at Nebraska, and at the end?

TF: When I initially decided to transfer,

I spoke to Coach (Gary) Bargen first, and he told me

that they were definitely interested in me coming. And I

remember Coach Nee flew out and met me and my Dad and

told me it’d be a good opportunity.

From the first day I got to

Lincoln, he always made me feel welcome, and told me

that although I’ll be red shirting that first year, I

wouldn’t be less important than anyone else.

I had a good relationship with him

then, and even when I decided to turn pro, he kind of

put my name out there for me to see where I’d be taken

or go, and just supported me all the way through.

I remember that after my first year

I maintained contact with him, and periodically

throughout my pro career as well, although I haven’t

talked to him in some time. I talked to Coach Bargen

recently though, and we still stay in touch.

HHC: 1989-1990 was

your first season at Nebraska, and you sat out as a

transfer while the team went 10-18. What did you learn

that season, and was it beneficial for you?

TF: Yeah, it was good

for me because I felt it was a good transition. But the

main thing that kept us together was staying in Lincoln

after that season and going to summer school and working

out together. We became really close that summer, and to

this day, that’s the closest-knit group I’ve ever been

around.

You’ve got guys like Beau (Reid)

and Rich (King) that were already there, and me and

Keith Moody and (Eric) Piatkowski and (Bruce) Chubick,

we all came in the same year, and Jose (Ramos) came, and

we had a tough, tough run in practice, but it was the

closest group of guys I’ve ever been around.

HHC: Did you honestly have any idea that

you guys would have the kind of success you did in

1990-1991 prior to the start of the season?

TF: I felt we were good, and I think my

red shirt year that the team I was on that practiced

against the starters was just as good as some other

teams.

Now, did I know we’d be 26-8? No, I

can’t make that up, but I thought once we started

conditioning and stuff that guys came in shape, and

right when we began in the San Juan Shootout and we beat

Illinois, I knew we’d be special. How special? I had no

idea. But when I made that pass to Beau against Michigan

State to help us start 16-1, I knew it was going to be

real special.

HHC: 1990-1991 - What sticks out most?

TF: The thing that

sticks out is that every time we had a crossing, we

crossed it. People kept saying it was a fluke and we

weren’t that good, but we kept beating the same

consistent teams. We went to the Big 8 and Keith Moody

hit that three against Oklahoma, and Piatkowski came off

the bench with that effort.

Even though things didn’t end up

great in the Big 8 and NCAA Tournaments, no matter what,

they can’t change the history of our time and the makeup

of how we got there.

HHC: What was your favorite individual

moment of that season?

TF: The times when I had a chance to beat

Oklahoma, because I know Billy Tubbs was real cocky back

then, and like I said, the family had gone to OU. And I

had two good games against them, one at their place and

one in the Big 8 tournament, and that was probably the

biggest highlight for me individually.

And even before those games, they

acted like we wouldn’t be around, and that was just a

great achievement both for the team and myself to take

it to them.

HHC: Do you think that the late night

start against Xavier in the NCAA Tournament is a valid

excuse for the loss, like some have said, or is that

just that – an excuse?

TF: I think that’s

just an excuse. I really can’t say that the start time

matters. We were seeded way higher but they made the

shots, and I don’t think we took them as seriously as we

should have and it kind of showed in the end. We were

real upset by that.

HHC: How tough was it to have that season

end on a sour note like that?

TF: It just felt like there was a lot of

unfinished business, and the fact that I didn’t come

back for my senior season didn’t give me a chance for

redemption. If we would have kept me and Jose around, I

don’t know if we would have been as good, but close, but

life goes on.

HHC: What are your favorite memories of

Lincoln, both on and off the court?

TF: Probably on the court was the fan

support that year. We weren’t getting that much support

early, but as we got going, the fans were pretty good.

Off the court was being around the

teammates and being able to associate with lots of

people. My roommate at the time was Nate Turner, a

football player, and that was real good to have someone

from an opposite sport around, and we always supported

each other. And we stayed in touch until a few years

ago, and have now unfortunately lost touch.

HHC: When was the

last time you were in Lincoln, and have you been back to

a Nebraska game since you played?

TF: I haven’t been back to Lincoln since

the day I left to turn pro. So 15, 16 years. And I

haven’t watched a Nebraska game in quite some time,

although I watched some of the games that Pike played in

after I left, but I haven’t followed them as closely. I

see what they are doing here and there, but I haven’t

followed them like a diehard.

HHC: What made you choose to go pro

following the 1991 season?

TF: The fact is that I didn’t really know

what my eligibility was from the extra benefits, and I

knew that my family needed the money and it was the best

thing for me. So I took that risk, just because of my

family and eligibility. I didn’t want to lose my senior

season to eligibility and then be lost in the shuffle.

HHC: Before we talk about your NBA career,

can you give us a classic and colorful Danny Nee story

or two to add to our collection?

TF: (Laughs) There were so many that had

me laughing, but I remember one time he was getting on

Rich King about something when he said, “If you make

that shot again, I’ll kiss your ass clear up to Macy’s

store” and that was funny. And we were preparing for the

game one time, and we always showed highlight tapes, and

one of the highlights was Chris Cresswell dunking on me

in practice. And, I never understood what that had to do

with anything or why that was in there; he just seemed

to randomly throw that in there (Laughs).

There were lots of them, though. We

used to call Pike the “Black Hole” because he never

wanted to pass the ball when he was a freshman, and it

was like a gift when you got it.

HHC: (Laughs) Nice. Talk about some of

your pro stops before ultimately ending up with the

Charlotte Hornets in 1997.

TF: When I first came out of Nebraska, I

went to the CBA from 1991-1994, and then I went to

France after that. And while I was in France, we went to

the finals my first year and we did well. And then after

that I had a chance to sign with the Miami Heat in

1995-1996.

But to back track, when I came out

of Nebraska, I was given a guaranteed contract by the

Lakers even though I wasn’t drafted. Magic (Johnson)

tested positive for HIV, and I had to go to the CBA

since I was already getting the money guaranteed. Mike

Dunleavy was the Head Coach and Randy Pfund was a top

assistant. And after I was in Europe, Randy had been in

contact with my agent, Mitch, and they wanted to keep an

eye on me.

So after I came back from France,

Pfund had contacted Mitch and said they (the Lakers)

wanted to work me out for three days. So, I flew down

and worked out for three days, and they worked out 121

players, and Pat Riley (Miami Heat) came to Mitch and

said they wanted to sign me, and I signed a guaranteed

contract with them that year (1996) but then they waived

me in January and I went back to Europe before

ultimately signing with the Charlotte Hornets in 1997.

And when I was with Charlotte,

Bobby Phills went down with an ankle injury and I

started a game against the Knicks, and after that, I

left for the lockout and Golden State but they

ultimately had to waive me. (Editors Note: To put it shortly,

Farmer played in the CBA in 1991-1992, 1992-1993,

1993-1994, and 1996-1997. He played in France in

1992-1993, 1994-1995, and 1995-1996. He played in

Charlotte in 1997-1998 and Golden State in 1999-2000)

HHC: Talk about that

season with Charlotte in 1997-1998, and tell us about

some of your teammates and favorite memories there?

TF: My favorite memories were my first

start on Halloween night against the Knicks, and I

looked at the lineup, and it was Glen Rice, Anthony

Mason, Vlade Divac, David Wesley and I. And I had been

really been close to Glen and he was really instrumental

in me getting to Charlotte, so that was nice.

And then playing against the Heat

was soon after that first start, and I had 11 points and

5 rebounds which was great because I had a chance to

show Pat Riley and them that I thought they had a

mistake in releasing me.

HHC: You finished your NBA career in

1999-2000 with the Golden State Warriors, and actually

had the most success there, as you appeared in 74 games.

How fun was that season?

TF: That was one of the most fun pro years

in the NBA because I made a big contribution. Actually,

that was probably the funnest for me because I had a

chance to have a break out season and I ended up signing

back with Charlotte for 3 years after that season, but

the GM didn’t like the fact that Coach Paul Silas had

signed me again since I went to play in Europe after

asking the Hornets for my release the previous year.

So, the GM wouldn’t approve my

contract and I went to Greece and Russia, and I retired

after Russia because I was going through a divorce and I

had two young kids.

And ever since then, I’ve been

doing ABA stuff and helped start the Salt Lake City team

out here and am part owner and player, but now I’m

getting ready to move back out to California.

But, I still get calls all the time

to play, because I’m 36 and still in great shape. But

that’s not going to happen because I’m moving to San

Diego in about three weeks.

HHC: Talk about some of your favorite

teammates and memories of the NBA?

TF: One of my favorite memories was having

a chance to work out with Karl Malone all summer during

the lockout and the next summer, too. Ike Austin still

lives here (Salt Lake City) and we are good friends.

Glen was one of my favorites, too, because I have never

seen a guy work that hard and stay that good for that

long of a time.

I also remember playing against the

Lakers and having 10 and 15 while having to guard Shaq.

I also had a great game against Portland once where I

had 18 points and 7 rebounds when they had (Scottie)

Pippen, (Detlef) Scrempf, and (Jermaine) O’Neill.

HHC: Finally, what is Tony Farmer up to

today?

TF: Right now I’m a

mortgage broker, which I do in 45 states. I’ve been

self-employed the past year and I’m relocating to San

Diego because there are some opportunities and I want to

be close to my family.

I was married for 5 years but have

been divorced for the last 3. I have two children;

Londyn is my son and is 5, and TaSia is my daughter and

is 4 and now starting school. And her mom lives here in

Utah, so I’ll fly back every other weekend and see the

kids.

But I’m opening up my business out

there, and that’s where I’ll end up retiring. 

HHC: And are you cool

with taking some e-mails at

[email protected] if we tell you how to

check it?

TF: Definitely.

HHC: Awesome. Anything you’d like to add?

TF: Well, unfortunately I couldn’t make

the 1990-1991 team reunion last February because I had a

big press conference here, and being one of the owners

and marquee players with the team, I couldn’t get away.

But I want to say that I appreciate

the hospitality and everything while we were there, and

you guys helping to put together the reunion was great,

and hopefully we can have a big reunion and an alumni

game sometime and all play. Heck, maybe we can even play

against the team from right now, and we might even beat

them with me, Beau, and Pike, and some of those guys

that still play.

I still think I can play, because I

played in the ABA this year with Dennis Rodman and some

of those guys, and I had a triple double by my third

game. Then you’ve got Pike… Man, we might drop 60

together on them (Laughs).

HHC: (Laughs) That’s hilarious. I think

Beau would play in that game in a hurry, too (Laughs).

Thanks a lot for your time Tony.

TF: I appreciate it

Dave, thanks for running this site and take care.<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">