Todd Day

[Uncle Remus]

Thought I would share an encounter with the former Hog.

Todd Day is now the head basketball coach at Philander Smith in Little Rock.  There, he coaches with his son as an assistant.  On November 25th, Philander Smith traveled to the University of Arkansas at Monticello to play a non-conference game against the Boll Weevils.  I was thrilled to see Todd as he was a legend when I was a child.  I went over and spoke to him before the game and he didn't have much to say and I didn't think much of it as he was focused in on getting his guys to play a game.

Mid-way through the second half, Philander Smith found themselves down by 30+ points to the Weevils.  Keep in mind, the Weevils are defending co-champs of the D-2 Great American Conference.  It was at this point that the encounter became ugly.  After an obvious shooting foul was called on a Philander Smith player that turned out to be an "and-1" situation for the Weevils...Todd lost his marbles.  He immediately began to holler at the UAM player and telling him that "He wasn't S**T.  He was nothing but a D-2 nobody.  When the UAM player(who was from Florida and had never heard of Todd Day) turned around and looked at him with bewilderment, he told him not to look his direction.  If he wanted to talk to him, go be the best player of all time from Arkansas.  He continued to taunt the UAM bench, players, and officials telling all of them that they needed to check his resume' and that he was the only person in the gym that was even worthy of being on a court.  He told the officials how stupid all of them were and that they better recognize who he was and repeated over and over that he would tell them who he was...the best of all time and they didn't even deserve to lace his shoes. 

Of course, the refs T'd him up...and that's when it got really ugly.  One of the UAM players was running down the court along side the scorer's table...as Todd had firmly planted himself midway down the scorer's table and was residing on the court...when the UAM player shook his head as the verbal abuse continued.  Todd walked toward the player and asked him if he had ever been on TV before.  The player laughed and said he actually had....to which Todd responded it was probably just for a dumba** burger king commercial.  He was a real star and had been on TV and in the league and that all of these players had no future.  After the refs instructed him to return to the bench and sit down, he began to holler from the bench that if UAM brings the ball in the lane again, he better see his guys knocking the sh** out of each one and that no one better leave the game unscathed.  He called out each player on his team and told them to bring the wood to the UAM players or else.  He continued to rant, rave, curse, and belittle the players, coaches, and officials for the remainder of the game.  The refs literally felt pity for how much he was embarrassing himself and his son and didn't run him from the arena.

I said all of this for this reason...I loved Todd Day when he was at Arkansas.  He was a household name that every child in my generation idolized.  I would say he should be ashamed for being such a poor ambassador for the U of A and the state that has taken care of him since he was in college, but it became painfully obvious that he feels no shame and cared nothing about what anyone thought of him in that whole arena.  I have never walked away so disappointed to meet a former Razorback in all of my life...especially one that had so much notoriety.  I have met other former basketball players.  Scotty Thurman slipped into Bud Walton one day before a game and was one of the most gracious, classy, individuals I have ever met.  He took time to take photos with my family and did not rush away.  Alex Dilliard was one of the most hilarious, friendly, and outgoing former players I have ever met.  You could tell he was proud to be a Hog and that he was recognized.

We put these guys on a pedestal and look up to them...Todd needs to remember that there was a crowd full of children that night that will only have that poor experience to ever remember him by.  I hate to see how far he has fallen.  After the game, he wanted to chat it up with fans and re-live the glory days...sadly for him, no one even wanted to shake his hand.  Come on Todd...you can do better.  Don't go out like this!

[azhog10]

If all the things you said happened, then I don't know an official in the world that wouldn't have tossed him. For some reason I don't think things played out exactly how you have described.....

[FineAsSwine]

If all the things you said happened, then I don't know an official in the world that wouldn't have tossed him. For some reason I don't think things played out exactly how you have described.....

[elksnort]

Why would Uncle Remus make this up?

[FineAsSwine]

Why would Uncle Remus make this up?

What ref in America would put up with that kind of nonsense?

[Swinesong1]

There were some AAU games where similar scenarios played out. 

[phadedhawg]

goodness...that's too terrible to be true. 

[younghog]

If all the things you said happened, then I don't know an official in the world that wouldn't have tossed him. For some reason I don't think things played out exactly how you have described.....

I feel ya.. ~I really do

[phadedhawg]

Day did get himself in some trouble during his time at Arkansas and he was impulsive enough to take a "swing" at Larry Johnson.  Between him and Lee Mayberry, I always thought Lee was the more mature of the two of them. 

Still, I figured he would have grown up alright.  I wouldn't have expected something like this to happen. 

[Hawg Red]

I definitely remember reading that he showed out at an AAU game that Darious Hall was a part of.

[Atlhogfan1]

Day did get himself in some trouble during his time at Arkansas and he was impulsive enough to take a "swing" at Larry Johnson.  Between him and Lee Mayberry, I always thought Lee was the more mature of the two of them. 

Still, I figured he would have grown up alright.  I wouldn't have expected something like this to happen.

Lee was an exception to those 89-92 teams.  Many of the rest were a bunch of -------- including Todd.  The NC team had much better guys on it.  Not surprised by this story one bit.  Todd's "confidence" and competitiveness which helped as a player may get the best of him now. 

[MakingPlays]

I've also been told Todd Day wasn't the nicest guy in the world.  I apologize ahead of time for not having all the exact details, this was told to me some years ago. 

But anyways, I had a family member that was classmates with him at the UofA, and she worked in the library or something like that (I can't quite remember where it was) regardless she said he wasn't getting something that he wanted and he began to just bad mouth her and belittled her, and told her she must not know who he is.  She said she'd never forget it, because afterwards she cried so much because it was so embarrassing. 

So to hear what the OP is saying, after hearing that some years ago, doesn't really surprise me.  And the family member I'm referring she's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, she hates drama and attention, and I know she wouldn't make up something like that.

[sshawg]

Todd brought his team to JBU last year. I talked to Todd before the game  Very nice and courteous.  I said to him. wish we had you in Fayetteville.  He said, " wish I was there too"..  JBU beat them pretty bad ( can't remember the score ).  Todd never got out of hand.  Yelled at the ref's a little but that's to be expected. Nothing beyond what you would expect from a coach. Though he handled it pretty all well.

[Sed76]

It's 2017 and everyone has a video camera on their phone. Surely you filmed this event. Not saying it didn't happen but surely someone would have gotten some footage.

[azhog10]

Not saying Todd is the nicest guy ever. Honestly never met him. Just saying if all the things the OP said happened, then the officials weren't doing their job by letting him stay around. IF he was doing all those things, then he was making the game unsafe and basically urging his players to fight. I can't think of an official that would be okay with that happening.

[Uncle Remus]

I assure you...I took no creative license with this story and was very close to the situation as it played out.  Literally every person in the arena was shocked that he didn't get tossed or arrested.  For those that doubt the validity of the story, you are welcome to check out the UAM YouTube channel as watch for yourself.  Now I will say that that I have not watched it myself, so I don't know how much you can hear or see, but check the second half if you think I'm making it up.

[FineAsSwine]

I assure you...I took no creative license with this story and was very close to the situation as it played out.  Literally every person in the arena was shocked that he didn't get tossed or arrested.  For those that doubt the validity of the story, you are welcome to check out the UAM YouTube channel as watch for yourself.  Now I will say that that I have not watched it myself, so I don't know how much you can hear or see, but check the second half if you think I'm making it up.

I haven't watched the video and I'm not saying you made anything up. Shame on TD if true. Even more shame on the refs for not tossing him as soon as they heard him say something to his players about using dirty tactics.

Plus, he should be fired before he ends up doing something that reflects badly on the school like Bobby Knights antics did. But then again, TD hasn't fallen to Bobby Knight levels yet.

[sadhogfan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HTMmTbj9II

Here is the link to the game. The incident in question begins around the 1 hour 29 minute mark.

(1) It is hard to hear exactly what Todd Day says, and you can't see exactly what is going on because the camera is aimed toward the Technical foul shooter on the other end.
(2) You can tell that a UAM player near midcourt is being jawed at by Day.
(3) It seems to be somewhat of a spectacle, as you can see all of the fans in the picture whose faces you can see (a half dozen or so...small crowd) clearly watching in that direction rather than the game.

The original depiction seems fairly accurate...I think it would be hard for everyone in the gym to hear what was being said, since the camera struggled to pick it up, but I am sure many did. The empty gym makes it less of a spectacle than I thought of when reading the OP, but at the same time, it helps to underscore the overall pathetic nature of the situation: a razorback great screaming at a college kid in an empty D2 gym talking about his glory days.

For those who think that this is someone we want affiliated with our staff...let's pass.

[azhog10]

Watched the video. Todd got his T with about 7:30 to go in the game. Up until that point he didn't seem that bad. Shook his head a few times, and there were some really bad calls that I would have been upset about. During the timeout you can see him trying to get the officials attention and then his attention turned toward the bench. Todd's mouth was moving but you couldn't see who he was talking to. During the free throws you could see a UAM player looking over at the bench talking and pointing at the score board. After that, you never see anything. Day pretty much stood in the same spot the rest of the game and I couldn't see his mouth move at all.....

If he did all this, he did it in the most inconspicuous way. All that said, there was one official that shouldn't be doing high school games.......

[azhog10]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HTMmTbj9II

Here is the link to the game. The incident in question begins around the 1 hour 29 minute mark.

(1) It is hard to hear exactly what Todd Day says, and you can't see exactly what is going on because the camera is aimed toward the Technical foul shooter on the other end.
(2) You can tell that a UAM player near midcourt is being jawed at by Day.
(3) It seems to be somewhat of a spectacle, as you can see all of the fans in the picture whose faces you can see (a half dozen or so...small crowd) clearly watching in that direction rather than the game.

The original depiction seems fairly accurate...I think it would be hard for everyone in the gym to hear what was being said, since the camera struggled to pick it up, but I am sure many did. The empty gym makes it less of a spectacle than I thought of when reading the OP, but at the same time, it helps to underscore the overall pathetic nature of the situation: a razorback great screaming at a college kid in an empty D2 gym talking about his glory days.

For those who think that this is someone we want affiliated with our staff...let's pass.

Funny you say he was screaming at a college kid, but even admit that you only see the player, not Todd Day at the same time......gotta love message boards when we draw up our own conclusions to fill in whatever blanks we like.

The T definitely happened. Him and a player definitely were talking, but the player is laughing and by the time the camera comes back to Todd Day you don't see him still going at the kid. The OP said a lot of other stuff was said after all this and based on the video it never seemed to escalate.

[labb]

I know that Day was not "fan friendly" as a player but the reports I have heard on him the last few years have all been good.

[TexHog188]

Was he wearing Big Baller shoes?

[jesterzzn]

UAM should have told him to come back when he has some grown ass men.

[JayHog]

When he gets the technical foul around the 1:29 mark, all he said was "what about the 3 seconds"?
He asks that twice, and they T him up. Which I didn't even see the big deal in that.

Then there is a timeout, and he is politely trying to talk to the refs, calling them "sir" numerous times.
"Excuse me, sir"
"What was the technical for, sir"
"Excuse me, sir".

Then it seems like a fan says something to him, and Day turns that direction and something like "We're playing Monticello. Don't talk to me...don't talk to me". 
I didn't see anything out of line

[Thunderhog Jr]

I find that hard to believe, I ran into he and Venus Williams, she is a big lady by the way, at The FedEX St. Jude Classic in Memphis and he was nothing but a perfect gentleman.  Out of the 3, Lee, Todd and Big O, Big O was an ass.  My sister while working at the mall in Fayetteville ran across the 3 of them and asked for autographs for my son.  Todd and Lee signed napkins, Big O said the only way he would sign was if she gave him some free ice cream from the place she was working. She said she couldn't and he said "Well then I can't sign".  I've also seen Big O use a stamp pad that has an O on it for autographs........

[sadhogfan]

Funny you say he was screaming at a college kid, but even admit that you only see the player, not Todd Day at the same time......gotta love message boards when we draw up our own conclusions to fill in whatever blanks we like.

The T definitely happened. Him and a player definitely were talking, but the player is laughing and by the time the camera comes back to Todd Day you don't see him still going at the kid. The OP said a lot of other stuff was said after all this and based on the video it never seemed to escalate.

Ok, so this whole thread starts with an eyewitness who was there and claims this is what happens.

Day certainly draws a technical foul. You can hear yelling going on in the background, even if you can't tell what he is saying. You see the player looking back at someone from the bench who is speaking to him—are we supposed to assume this ISN'T Day, who just got T'd up, but a player? One of the assistants who just sit on the bench the whole time? Or is it more likely that it is the interaction that the OP was talking about?

It is clear that there is something unusual going on, since the fans are watching that interaction rather than the free throws.

The volume and scope of what was said may have been exaggerated, but watching the video, I don't see any reason to doubt the basic claims that were made.

[razorback1829]

I find that hard to believe, I ran into he and Venus Williams, she is a big lady by the way, at The FedEX St. Jude Classic in Memphis and he was nothing but a perfect gentleman.  Out of the 3, Lee, Todd and Big O, Big O was an ass.  My sister while working at the mall in Fayetteville ran across the 3 of them and asked for autographs for my son.  Todd and Lee signed napkins, Big O said the only way he would sign was if she gave him some free ice cream from the place she was working. She said she couldn't and he said "Well then I can't sign".  I've also seen Big O use a stamp pad that has an O on it for autographs........

Haha those early 90's guys have a certain flair about them that can't be duplicated. It's why TD still has that under appreciated flair to him. He's colorful but he's ours.. now you understand why he can't coach on this level though.

[azhog10]

Ok, so this whole thread starts with an eyewitness who was there and claims this is what happens.

Day certainly draws a technical foul. You can hear yelling going on in the background, even if you can't tell what he is saying. You see the player looking back at someone from the bench who is speaking to him—are we supposed to assume this ISN'T Day, who just got T'd up, but a player? One of the assistants who just sit on the bench the whole time? Or is it more likely that it is the interaction that the OP was talking about?

It is clear that there is something unusual going on, since the fans are watching that interaction rather than the free throws.

The volume and scope of what was said may have been exaggerated, but watching the video, I don't see any reason to doubt the basic claims that were made.

As I said and you admitted. Things have been exaggerated. Very well could have said some of those things. But to do all the things the OP said in the manner in which he said it, Day would have been ejected and I imagine UAMs coach would have had something to say as well.

[MakingPlays]

As I said and you admitted. Things have been exaggerated. Very well could have said some of those things. But to do all the things the OP said in the manner in which he said it, Day would have been ejected and I imagine UAMs coach would have had something to say as well.

How are you going to tell the OP he exaggerated when he was there and you weren't lol.  As others have pointed out just from the video you could see very inappropriate behavior.

The things that stuck out to me... 

At 1:30:02 he tells one of the UAM players "You play at Monticello, don't talk to me man."
At 1:31:31 he tells the FT Shooter "Good Job D2"
Around the 1:32:00 mark you can see him and #3 arguing back and forth, one of the UAM players gets off the bench and tells #3 to let it go and come back towards them.
At 1:32:20 he tells #3 of UAM "You better do your research before talking to me."

Seriously, what part was the OP exaggerating on?  He was berating the other teams players and you can clearly see people looking at his direction during that span.  That's not normal behavior from a head coach.

That's just my observation coming from someone who doesn't care one way or the other.  Hog great or not wrong is wrong. 

[Medic821]

Sounds like Todd has not changed.  As a kid we would go watch him at Barnhill.  He wasn't that nice then either.

[PonderinHog]

Fortunately, no punches were thrown...

[Rawker]

I've met Todd twice.  He was cordial and and pleasant.  And though he no doubt has his attitude issues, he's still might be my favorite Razorback of all time, perhaps BECAUSE he could be so ** to opponents when in the process of killing them (see Rick Fox at al, during an oh-so-delectable destruction of NC).  And indeed my best memory of TD10 does involve his mental state going afoul, but not in a Hog uniform.  I was sitting right on a center courtside seat at a Little Rock/Arkansas RimRockrockers game; I didn't have any special VIP privileges....it's just that there was such a scattered small crowd that my buddy and I just snuck down there at sat, and no one said anything.  We could hear everything and were in danger of being doused with the blood and sweat of players.   It was the second quarter - the other team was a Kentucky team that had a few of the old Wildcats, including Tony Delk.  Todd was hobbling around on his bad knee, somehow being allowed to stay in the game while barely lending a finger to the proceedings.  He has zero points and probably zero everything, and the Rimrockers seemed to be getting handled at this point.  The ref calls something on a Rimrocker player and Todd disagrees with it, and he saunters over to the ref to let him know - but it was a calm exchange.  This seems to get Todd involved in the game.  The ref then calls something on Todd, who again disagrees, but this time not calmly.  The two are chatting across the court during the action, and Todd, only focused on the ref at this point while play goes on around him, is hitting the ref with a few expletives that would have probably gotten someone tossed in a game with real financial meaning, and unfortunately any minor near the court could get the full effect.  Todd takes it to the edge and the ref approaches him with an expression to let him know that he's about to go.  Todd stops talking.  But he then, with hobbled knee, takes his frustrations out on the other team.  There was MAYBE 10 minutes left in the half.  Todd finished the half with about 45 (it was no less than 42, I sh** you not).  I had rarely seen such a display of basketball prowess; even though we're talking a D-League opponent and a washed up player, the stuff he was doing in that 8 minutes of time would have been tough to do for anyone with no one else on the court, especially with a bad knee.  35ft threes - a handful of them - spinning, fade-away bank shots, double pump fakes that punked the entire team, text book post moves that were done so well that it was almost like the other team had never seen them before, and a couple of dunks.  He also dished out no-look passes, and the score by the half was like a 30+ lead.  By the end of the half, the crowd - most of whom had not heard Todd's outbursts so didn't have that baggage on their enthusiasm - had gathered down closer to courtside to get involved in the display.  One shouldn't have to lose it on another human being to get inspired....and I would never condone that to kids....but in this case.....IT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME!!!

[bolo1010]

I've seen  and heard of Lavar Ball getting  away with things like this multiple times. 

Not saying Todd is the nicest guy ever. Honestly never met him. Just saying if all the things the OP said happened, then the officials weren't doing their job by letting him stay around. IF he was doing all those things, then he was making the game unsafe and basically urging his players to fight. I can't think of an official that would be okay with that happening.

[azhog10]

I've seen  and heard of Lavar Ball getting  away with things like this multiple times.

Lavar got away with it in club because people knew he brought money and viewers. This is not the same situation. Again if what the OP said happened to a T, then Todd Day would have been not just T'd up, but he would've been tossed and possibly fired in the next day or two. Just don't believe it. I do believe he said things to make himself feel better bc he has an ego. But I don't believe he was telling his guys to take kids out. That's insane.