Murray State University Athletics
Photo by: Fred Mullane
Runnin' With The Racers Podcast - Tony Easley
5/20/2020 8:20:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Murray State men's basketball alumni, Tony Easley, is this week's guest on the Runnin' with the Racers Podcast. Episode 90 of the program can be found on GoRacers.com, iTunes and SoundCloud.
Easley, a native of Auburn, Alabama, was recruited by Coach Mick Cronin from Auburn High School in 2005. He blossomed into an All-Ohio Valley Conference player as a fifth-year senior and is one of the reasons the Racers had a 30-win season for the first time in Racer history in 2009-10. Since then, Easley has played professionally for 10 seasons in Poland, Israel most recently in Italy.
The older the 2009-10 season gets, the more it stands out among the many great campaigns the Racers have produced in 95 years. Under Coach Billy Kennedy, his entire plan to rebuild the Racers in the previous three seasons, came to fruition with a school record 31 wins as they bested the 29 wins by the Racers' 1997-98 team. MSU's 17 OVC wins matched the school record and their 17-game win streak was the longest in the nation. Dating back to 2008, MSU extended their OVC regular season winning streak to 23.
The 2009-10 Racers have a special place in history as one of four MSU teams to win a game at the NCAA Tournament. When the 2010 NCAAs got underway in San Jose, California, the Racers took on the Vanderbilt Commodores in one of the first games of the tournament. At halftime, the No. 14 seeded Racers had a 36-32 lead on the No. 3 seed Commodores.
With 1:13 remaining, Danero Thomas' jumper put the Racers in front 64-61, but Vandy answered to make it a 64-63 game only 13 seconds later. Vanderbilt took a 65-64 lead on a pair of free throws from Jermaine Beal with 13 seconds on the clock. The Racers had the ball last with a chance to score the upset. When Thomas' shot went in as the buzzer sounded, the Racers had their first NCAA Tournament win in 22 years and Racer Nation erupted into celebration.
"B.J. Jenkins told me 'don't worry, we're going to win this game' after I had fouled out," said Easley. "That last play, that was a broken play. It wasn't technically for Danero, but thankfully, Isacc Miles made the play and got the ball to Danero. It was pure joy when we rushed the court."
March 2020 marked the 10-year anniversary of this wonderful season. One never far from Easley's thoughts.
"I'm very proud of the season, very proud of the work we put into it," said Easley. "We made a lot of sacrifices and became a family within that season. A lot of things clicked for a lot of our players along the way and for it to end in the way it did, it's still special to me and for all the guys who were in it with me. We all stay in touch today. We are a brotherhood and still hold that connection because of our time in Murray."
Always a high-energy person, Easley started doing some karate moves when his name was announced during starting lineups in the 2009-10 season. It was for fun, but it had a purpose as well.
"Doing those things is a great way to break the ice and get the nerves out of the guys," Easley said. "The game already has pressure to it, so I wanted to do that every game. It got the guys laughing before we got into the game."
Among the top percentage shooters in Racer history, Easley ranks among the best in putting the ball through the hoop when he was afforded the chance. He owns three of the top-14 all-time best single seasons in MSU history in field goal percentage (Among those with at least 200 attempts). He set the MSU record his sophomore season of 2007-08 when he hit 115-of-167 shots for a percentage of .689. Current Racer, KJ Williams, topped it in his freshman season (2018-19) on 111-of-159 (698). Easley also hit .648 percent of his shots in 2009-10 for fifth place all-time and his 2008-09 season is 14th at .613.
Easley is also remembered as one of the top shot blockers and players who altered shots. During the 2009-10 season, when he set the MSU mark of 95 rejections, Easley sometimes caused opponents to decide the risk wasn't worth a shot in the paint. Easley finished as MSU's No. 2 shot blocker of all time with 158, just two behind leader, Cuthbert Victor, who had 160 from 2000-04.
Coming up shy of earning a spot on the MSU 1000-Point Club, Easley did finish with 921 points, which puts him with some other Racer Greats who came up short and some that would make for a nice starting five including: Dick Cunningham 1965-68, Ed Daniel 2009-13, Ricky Hood 1981-83 and Chad Townsend 1996-98.
"Murray State is a family and you only get tradition from family," Easley said. "I have randomly met people from Murray State wherever I go and it's great. I am so thankful I got to experience Murray State. Go Racers forever!"
About Runnin' With The Racers Podcast
Murray State Basketball great Jonathan Stark was the first guest when the pilot episode posted Aug. 29, 2018, The podcast is produced weekly and usually is available by Wednesday and is mainly guest driven with news of the week from the Racers. Dave Winder, MSU Athletics Associate AD for Media Relations is the host.
Easley, a native of Auburn, Alabama, was recruited by Coach Mick Cronin from Auburn High School in 2005. He blossomed into an All-Ohio Valley Conference player as a fifth-year senior and is one of the reasons the Racers had a 30-win season for the first time in Racer history in 2009-10. Since then, Easley has played professionally for 10 seasons in Poland, Israel most recently in Italy.
The older the 2009-10 season gets, the more it stands out among the many great campaigns the Racers have produced in 95 years. Under Coach Billy Kennedy, his entire plan to rebuild the Racers in the previous three seasons, came to fruition with a school record 31 wins as they bested the 29 wins by the Racers' 1997-98 team. MSU's 17 OVC wins matched the school record and their 17-game win streak was the longest in the nation. Dating back to 2008, MSU extended their OVC regular season winning streak to 23.
The 2009-10 Racers have a special place in history as one of four MSU teams to win a game at the NCAA Tournament. When the 2010 NCAAs got underway in San Jose, California, the Racers took on the Vanderbilt Commodores in one of the first games of the tournament. At halftime, the No. 14 seeded Racers had a 36-32 lead on the No. 3 seed Commodores.
With 1:13 remaining, Danero Thomas' jumper put the Racers in front 64-61, but Vandy answered to make it a 64-63 game only 13 seconds later. Vanderbilt took a 65-64 lead on a pair of free throws from Jermaine Beal with 13 seconds on the clock. The Racers had the ball last with a chance to score the upset. When Thomas' shot went in as the buzzer sounded, the Racers had their first NCAA Tournament win in 22 years and Racer Nation erupted into celebration.
"B.J. Jenkins told me 'don't worry, we're going to win this game' after I had fouled out," said Easley. "That last play, that was a broken play. It wasn't technically for Danero, but thankfully, Isacc Miles made the play and got the ball to Danero. It was pure joy when we rushed the court."
March 2020 marked the 10-year anniversary of this wonderful season. One never far from Easley's thoughts.
"I'm very proud of the season, very proud of the work we put into it," said Easley. "We made a lot of sacrifices and became a family within that season. A lot of things clicked for a lot of our players along the way and for it to end in the way it did, it's still special to me and for all the guys who were in it with me. We all stay in touch today. We are a brotherhood and still hold that connection because of our time in Murray."
Always a high-energy person, Easley started doing some karate moves when his name was announced during starting lineups in the 2009-10 season. It was for fun, but it had a purpose as well.
"Doing those things is a great way to break the ice and get the nerves out of the guys," Easley said. "The game already has pressure to it, so I wanted to do that every game. It got the guys laughing before we got into the game."
Among the top percentage shooters in Racer history, Easley ranks among the best in putting the ball through the hoop when he was afforded the chance. He owns three of the top-14 all-time best single seasons in MSU history in field goal percentage (Among those with at least 200 attempts). He set the MSU record his sophomore season of 2007-08 when he hit 115-of-167 shots for a percentage of .689. Current Racer, KJ Williams, topped it in his freshman season (2018-19) on 111-of-159 (698). Easley also hit .648 percent of his shots in 2009-10 for fifth place all-time and his 2008-09 season is 14th at .613.
Easley is also remembered as one of the top shot blockers and players who altered shots. During the 2009-10 season, when he set the MSU mark of 95 rejections, Easley sometimes caused opponents to decide the risk wasn't worth a shot in the paint. Easley finished as MSU's No. 2 shot blocker of all time with 158, just two behind leader, Cuthbert Victor, who had 160 from 2000-04.
Coming up shy of earning a spot on the MSU 1000-Point Club, Easley did finish with 921 points, which puts him with some other Racer Greats who came up short and some that would make for a nice starting five including: Dick Cunningham 1965-68, Ed Daniel 2009-13, Ricky Hood 1981-83 and Chad Townsend 1996-98.
"Murray State is a family and you only get tradition from family," Easley said. "I have randomly met people from Murray State wherever I go and it's great. I am so thankful I got to experience Murray State. Go Racers forever!"
About Runnin' With The Racers Podcast
Murray State Basketball great Jonathan Stark was the first guest when the pilot episode posted Aug. 29, 2018, The podcast is produced weekly and usually is available by Wednesday and is mainly guest driven with news of the week from the Racers. Dave Winder, MSU Athletics Associate AD for Media Relations is the host.
Players Mentioned
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