No Place I'd Rather Be …

This week, we welcome Andrew Wagner, senior guard from Prospect Heights, Ill., to the show as he was kind enough to carve out some time Thursday morning following the Johnnies first conference game of the season ... a 75-60 win over St. Olaf to bring the win total to five (1-0 in conference play, 5-2 on the season) for your favorite basketball team. A big thanks goes out to Andrew for being willing to chat with the guys. ...Support for benchwarmers media productions provided by:- Sixth M...

First of all, we hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We’re back today with Head Basketball Coach Pat McKenzie as he was kind enough to talk with the guys first thing Monday morning after the team’s second consecutive weekend on the road, going 2-0 in Iowa and 1-1 at last weekend’s great lakes invitational in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As always, we are very appreciative of Coach McKenzie's time. Be sure to tune in each week as we continue with our "On the Court" series and shift the foc...

Welcome back to "No Place I’d Rather Be," the podcast about Johnnie basketball and the legacy of Minnesota’s all-time collegiate wins leader coach Jim Smith. We have a very special episode of the show to bring you today. While we’re hard at work getting the rest of season 3 of the podcast ready to go, the basketball season starts Saturday with a 5 p.m. tip against UW Oshkosh at Sexton Arena, right here in Collegeville. We wanted to make sure everyone was as excited as we are for the start of ...

45 years ago today, "Norma Rae" was just released and number one at the box office, Rod Stewart’s "Do Ya Think I’m Sexy" topped the charts of the Billboard Hot 100, and the St. John’s University basketball team was on its way to Mankato for what we have already established as one of the greatest contests in St. John's athletic history. Today we bring it to you as it was heard over the air waves all those years ago … unadulterated, straight from the mouth of the legendary Connie O … so sit bac...

This week, as the johnnies wrap up the regular season, we welcome Luke Budzyn and Griffin Rushin to the program to talk with the guys about the recruitment process, their approach off the bench, some housing plans for senior year, and Gary’s Pizza takes one from the top rope on our weekly late night food debate. ...And that was Luke Budzyn and Griffin Rushin. Thanks guys for taking the time. The Johnnies picked up a pair of wins against St. Olaf and at Gustavus to secure the regular...

We are very excited to bring you today's program as we close out season two with '94 grad Travis Weiss along with the last minute addition of our very special guest Bob Alpers, who aside from being athletic director and a hall of fame golf coach was an assistant basketball coach for 20 years and had a front row seat to just how humble and team-oriented Weiss was. They changed the offense because of his particular set of skills and Coach Smith had to implement rules to get him to shoot more. C...

This week senior manager Ethan Youso took a few minutes before Monday's game to talk to the guys about his plans after graduation, why he came to St. John's and his role with the team. ...Thanks Ethan for taking the time.The Johnnies put on a show Saturday for all those in attendance for alumni/senior day. with a record-setting performance from behind the arc in a win over St. Scholastica. with 21 threes made on 34 attempts. A staggering 11 of those threes came from Kooper Vaughn, who ti...

Today, we step off the court and welcome one of the staunchest and longest-tenured supporters of St. John's basketball, ‘58 grad Jim Bassett, who is the 2024 recipient of the Father Walter Reger Distinguished Alumnus Award, which recognizes outstanding service to the Saint John's community and is the highest honor given by the Alumni Association. And, as we’ll hear all about on today’s episode, the former alumni board president didn’t find much to enjoy during his initial encounters with the ...

This week sophomore Kyle Johnson and junior Luke Healy were kind enough to take some time to talk with the guys about game prep, their approach as they come off the bench as well as how they got to St. John’s in the first place. And the late night food debate rages on as we elicit a spirited defense of Gary's Pizza. ...This season of "No Place I'd Rather Be ..." is sponsored by the Sexton Family Foundation, helping usher in the next generation of leaders. And Sixth Man Enterprises, creating a...

Today we get to the conclusion of our conversation with ‘87 grad Phil Johnson and ‘84 grad John Wiehoff. Both of whom played key roles in making the ‘80s one of the most successful decades in Johnnie basketball history. With a couple more timely interjections from one of our hosts, Tom Connell, ‘84, whose no slouch himself. But that’s for another time. And this being part two, as always, part one is highly recommended. I mean, nothing hits quite like nostalgia and that just so happens to be w...

This week we circle back with head basketball coach Pat McKenzie as he joins the guys from the road for a mid-season check-in. ...This season of "No Place I'd Rather Be ..." is sponsored by the Sexton Family Foundation, helping usher in the next generation of leaders. And Sixth Man Enterprises, creating a state of readiness. Thank you for making this project possible.Are you a member of the Johnnie Basketball Alumni Association? You should be! Sign up right now to join the Johnnie Basket...

On today’s episode we are lucky enough to have Phil Johnson and John Wiehoff. Two seminal figures in SJU basketball history during what was one of the most sustained stretches of on-court success seen in Collegeville. From 1976 to 1988 the Johnnies appeared in the national tournament 10 of those 12 years. Wiehoff and Johnson were right in the middle of that run through the ‘80s. Johnson was All-MIAC and All-Region (both first team) in ‘85-’86 and ‘86-’87, with an MVP-caliber year in ‘85-’86, ...

This week juniors Zach Longueville and Kooper Vaughn sit down with the guys to talk about the team, what makes them such a tight group and a little about their own paths to collegeville. ...This season of "No Place I'd Rather Be ..." is sponsored by the Sexton Family Foundation, helping usher in the next generation of leaders. And Sixth Man Enterprises, creating a state of readiness. Thank you for making this project possible.Are you a member of the Johnnie Basketball Alumni Association? You ...

Today, we venture into new territory as we welcome Steve Fritz … yes, that Steve Fritz … the one who played at St. Thomas University from 1967-71 … joined the coaching staff under Tom Feely … took over the program in 1980 … won an NCAA Division III championship in his final season as head coach in 2011 after 40 seasons on the bench … 31 of those as head coach … during that tenure he had a decorated playing career and his 1,944 career points … a school record at the time and remains second in ...

We are back and excited to bring you the conclusion of our time with Bill Sexton and his son Jim. If you haven’t listened to the first part of our conversation you should know how this works by now. What are you waiting for? Do it now … go ahead. For the rest of you, today we hear more from the man who has left an indelible mark in Collegeville from the time he first graced the campus in the the early 50s all the way to present day. A kid from the lumberyards of Jasper, Minnesota who was inst...