- 1 day ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00New York City has always been the mecca of basketball, but now one of the greatest dynasties in the history
00:06of New York City.
00:06They wear violet and white under head coach Meg Barber, NYU's women's basketball team.
00:11They've won back-to-back NCAA Division III titles, and they've posted consecutive 31-0 seasons.
00:18They entered this week of play 24-0, and they're riding an NCAA Division III record 86-game winning streak.
00:26Now, those two undefeated championship teams that I mentioned, they will take their place in history as they will be
00:32inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame this week.
00:36So joining me to talk about her program and more is a great head coach of the NYU Violets, the
00:41one and only Meg Barber.
00:42Coach Barber, how are you doing?
00:44I'm good, Dexter. Thanks for having me.
00:46No, glad to have you to talk about it.
00:48I guess we'll get right into the history here because two of your undefeated national championship teams, they're about to
00:54be inducted, as I mentioned, into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame.
00:57So when you think back to those 31-0 seasons not that long ago, what made those groups so special
01:04that they deserve to be remembered among the greatest teams in New York City basketball history?
01:09Yeah, I mean, this doesn't get you into the Hall of Fame, but they were just such incredible people.
01:14It was a conglomerate of really selfless, team-first mentality, you know, give up anything good for something great, and
01:23really a group that didn't care about individual accolades.
01:26And I think because of that, although, like I said, that doesn't get you into a Hall of Fame, they
01:32just, they became such a versatile, balanced, and dominant team.
01:36The 20-25 team, I don't know that I've ever seen anything like it.
01:40I mean, they were, I think our closest game was maybe in the 20s.
01:46You know, we won the national championship by 30 points, and they were just, they were so experienced.
01:52They were balanced. They were, I call some of the players we had on that team unicorns.
01:56I don't know that Division III would see the level of play from individual players like that again, and they
02:02happened to be on the same team.
02:04So, you know, they deserved their spot.
02:06I was really surprised and obviously humbled and honored that those teams were given that look from the New York
02:12City Hall of Fame, but well-deserved.
02:15They were incredible programs.
02:16Yeah, no doubt that they were well-deserved for sure.
02:20But when you reflect on those two championship teams, Coach, what would you say were the defining moments, like whether
02:26it was in practice, the locker room, or, you know, during your run to those national championships, what told you
02:33that this is a, these are, say, not this, these were historic teams?
02:37Well, 2024, we had two transfers for graduate school here, and so early on, it was messy.
02:45We were, we had, one of the players was in the conversation for National Player of the Year and joined
02:51our program, and we had a National Player of the Year.
02:53So it was kind of like, how can we put, you know, these dominant, you know, players that can score,
02:59players that can defend, and put them together?
03:01How is this going to work? And it was pretty messy early on, and I think we got into conference
03:05play, we blew out a couple top 25 teams, and we got back as a staff, like, is that going
03:11to be, is that going to be as, as tough as it gets?
03:14So I think for that group, just getting into conference play, and kind of rolling, and finding our chemistry was
03:19really the vital shift to being a national championship contender, and obviously we, we ended up winning it with an
03:25undefeated season.
03:27The, the 2025 team, the first practice we had, I said to our staff, if we don't get this done,
03:35this is on us.
03:35You know, we did, we watched them the first practice, and it was like, we, we were just so incredibly
03:40talented, and like I said, well-balanced and versatile that, if it, you know, obviously you're not anointing yourselves as
03:47national champions on, on practice one, but it was sort of like, we definitely have what it takes, having been
03:51there the year before, and we, we should accomplish this if we keep the main thing, the main thing, and
03:56keep the culture and the mentality the right way.
03:59A little fun anecdote, like, right before the national championship game, just, I wanted to make sure the team was
04:05loose, we had taken them to see Hell's Kitchen, you know, represent with Alicia Keys and the city, we had
04:11a really, just nice team outing, and then right before the national championship, I just, I put the song on
04:17and, and started kind of quoting some of the lyrics, and the whole team, but right before the game, essentially,
04:22was just singing, you know, Alicia Keys and, and singing lines from that.
04:25So, I think that group had a real way to just stay loose, and obviously you need that in those
04:31moments when the games are, are, you know, the championship is on the line, and they came out, and they,
04:36it was one of the best games that they had all year, and to see that in a national championship
04:40game was incredible.
04:41No, that is incredible, and it is always, it's always incredible to hear from coaching staffs when they, they know
04:46they have a special team, like, they know this team is special, I mean, you said, hey, it was on
04:50us if we didn't win with that second team that won the championships, but here's the thing,
04:55and I think people are going to be fascinated about this, because you've built a program right now, they've won
04:5986 straight games, yes, I said that correctly, 86 straight games, that is the longest streak in NCAA Division III
05:06history.
05:07My question to you, coach, is how do you keep your team grounded and hungry when you're carrying that kind
05:14of target every night, because you know teams are coming, they're looking to try to knock you off and end
05:19this streak, so as a coach, how do you keep the team hungry and motivated?
05:22Yeah, I think it's because of the target, like you alluded to, you know, when you know that you're the
05:27hunted, you just can't take any nights off, and our league is so strong, I think on any given night,
05:33even this year, you know, anybody in our league could knock us off, and my mentality with this team and
05:38the way I've always approached basketball in this program, being the head coach here, is every game is an opportunity
05:44to go 1-0, and that's all it is,
05:46and, you know, we've never really talked about the streak in terms of, okay, we're going for game, you know,
05:5180, or anything like that, it's been, all right, here's another opportunity for us to go out and play this
05:56game that we love, and go 1-0, and that mentality, I think, just helps reset us from game to
06:01game, and some of that grind, and when players have an off night, or players have a good night, it's
06:06like, okay, that was great,
06:08but this is another opportunity to go 1-0, that really doesn't have a whole lot to do with, you
06:12know, today's moment, and tonight's matchup, so that's kind of, I think, how we've stayed grounded, and the noise got
06:19pretty loud when we were getting close to beating the streak,
06:21and I think some of that pressure, our players certainly were like, okay, well, now we're here, you know, and
06:27we said that, like, now that we're here, we may as well try to beat this, but it's never been
06:31about a streak, I don't think any coach enters college coaching thinking, you know,
06:36you're going to even talk about winning 80 games in a row, it just, it, to me, still, it actually
06:41seems like we're talking about a different program, so it is, you know, pretty unbelievable, but I think it's staying
06:47grounded in the one game at a time mentality.
06:49That is the mentality, but it is your program, right, and you are continuing to win games, and this year's
06:56team, they're sitting right now 24-0, you have one more game left in the regular season, continuing the streak,
07:02I know every team is different, and coaches will say this all the time,
07:05every team is different, but how does this group right now compare to your two national championship teams, and what
07:11makes them unique in their own right?
07:13Yeah, I mean, this is a completely revamped team, we have really just, you know, two starters that returned from
07:20last year's team, and so we have players in new roles, we have players that were role players that are
07:26starters, we have freshmen, you know, who obviously are new to the program,
07:30who just won their first UAA championship, and, you know, they were, they were, I said, okay, you guys get
07:34to start first to cut the net, and they're like, coach, we don't know how, so I think, you know,
07:40it's still,
07:41this team, it's team 103 for NYU women's basketball, you know, we look at it like, this is just about
07:48you guys, and understanding the nuances of them,
07:51and what makes this group so special, I think they just have a very different energy, it's very new for
07:56a lot of them to be in the positions that they're in, and they're kind of relishing that, and then
08:01Caroline Pepper,
08:02one of our only senior that we have on this team is a coach on the floor, incredible leader, one
08:06of the top players in the country, so to have a senior like that,
08:10with this influx of really talented freshmen, it's an interesting dynamic, they're kind of learning as they go, and they've
08:17passed a couple really tough tests in conference to, you know,
08:21maintain their stronghold at the top of this conference.
08:24Yeah, they are learning, they're keeping the streak alive, which is a very interesting challenge for this young team, but,
08:30you know, your team plays,
08:31and they coach in, I would say, one of the most competitive basketball cities in the world, here in New
08:36York,
08:36so what does it mean to you and your players, to know that NYU women's basketball is now part of
08:43the New York City basketball history going into the Hall of Fame?
08:45It's incredible, it's incredible, I was, I'm an NYU alum, I was recruited here, when my dad and I were
08:51on my recruiting trip down to the city,
08:53he was telling stories about Barry Sanders, or Barry Kramer, Saj Sanders, like, going through the names of NYU greats,
09:01and, you know,
09:02that was all, like, folklore, and I thought that was incredible to hear about the history of, you know,
09:07not just New York City basketball, but NYU being a part of that, and it felt like that was a
09:12part of, like,
09:12men's basketball history, you know, back in the day, so to kind of come full circle and have women's basketball
09:19with NYU
09:20be a part of this New York City history and conversation in the Hall of Fame is, it's a really
09:26surreal moment for myself,
09:27and, you know, for our teams, they are just so grateful, like I said, for the media attention and for
09:34the honor of
09:35just being named in, you know, amongst these greats of New York City basketball.
09:40No, no doubt about that. I wanted to ask you this, as somebody who might personally, I do some play
09:46-by-play
09:46for some Division III women's basketball, what do you think this run that your program has been on,
09:51what do you think it's done for the visibility and respect of D3 women's basketball, both,
09:56I guess we'll say, in New York City and nationally? What do you think it's done?
09:59It's been incredible. It's been incredible. I mean, I think what it's done is shed a light on
10:04how good Division III women's basketball is, you know, at the highest levels, and I think a lot of
10:09people think, you know, when people go D3, they must just not have had the opportunities. We have
10:14a lot of players in this program that had opportunities to go D1 and really wanted to come to NYU.
10:20They looked at NYU as this is a one-of-one opportunity, and you can stack it against anything, but
10:25you know, the three after Division does not denote third rate, you know, and I think that's really
10:31what people have had their eyes open to when they, we've had so many people with the national
10:36media attention, we're on ESPN, and all of a sudden people are coming in the stands, and they're like,
10:41I've never brought my daughter to a game, and this is incredible basketball, and that makes me feel
10:45really great. When I came back here, I really just wanted to build something that we could share
10:49with the NYU community and the New York City community, so to see that come to fruition, and
10:54we have a, we have a junior violence group that, of little girls at halftime, I mean, that line has
10:59gotten to be like 50, 60 people long now when we're coming out, so when we first started, it was
11:04probably four or five, you know, little kids there with their hands out, so just moments like that,
11:09I think, are incredible. Obviously, what the New York Liberty are doing, Columbia women's
11:12basketball is rocking, and you know, I think it says a lot about women's basketball in New York City,
11:17it's a really exciting time, and I think our players pick up on that energy, and it feels
11:22really great to be a part of it. I completely agree. As a basketball lover, it is an exciting
11:26time for women's basketball here in the city, and I'm glad to hear that people are, and see,
11:31I've seen a little bit of it too, that people are coming out to watch the Violets play. Last thing
11:35for me, Coach, when you look at the bigger picture here, the championships, the winning streak
11:40with this team, and now the Hall of Fame honor that you will see later this week, what do you
11:46hope
11:46will be the legacy of these NYU teams? You know, let's say 10, 20, even 50 years from now,
11:52what do you hope the legacy of these teams will be? I want the legacy for this group always to
11:58be
11:58how they made people feel, you know, the impression that they left, the resiliency
12:03that they've shown. This is a group, these teams, and I should have kind of led with this,
12:09these teams had no facility when they first got here, so these teams that are being inducted in
12:14the Hall of Fame, when they came to NYU, we were recruiting with a hole in the ground,
12:18and saying, okay, picture this, you're going to have a locker room eventually, you're going to
12:21have a court eventually, and that eventually wasn't until their junior year for most of those
12:27season starters that we had, so for two years, they were dragging their bag, their dirty loop,
12:33their laundry, their shoes back and forth, whether it was St. Francis, or we were using Hunter,
12:38or we were in our facility in Brooklyn at Tandon, so what they did when it wasn't about the glitz
12:45and
12:46glamour and the national media attention laid the foundation for the future of this program,
12:51and that, to look back on those classes and say they believed in this before there were national
12:57championships and rings and media attention, that's something that I think they can always,
13:02you know, lay their place in NYU history and New York City Hall of Fame history.
13:06Yeah, no, that will be part of the legacy for sure, and hopefully your legacy continues. Right now,
13:1224-0, 86 wins in a row for head coach Meg Barber of the NYU Violets. They will be inducted
13:17into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, February 24th. Coach, I will be there.
13:24I will see you there at the induction. Thank you for the time. Appreciate you joining me. Appreciate
13:28you so much. Thank you so much. Thanks for having us.
13:36you
Comments