Growing up in what was formerly known as Czechoslovakia, it was always the dream of European basketball players to have the opportunity to come play ball in the United States. Julius Michalik began playing basketball at a very young age and he eventually went to sports school starting in 4th grade.
“Not a lot of people complained. If you were a young athlete you would start going to a sports school, and when I was in 4th grade I had my school all paid for, and my health care paid for.”
Once Julius reached high school, he began playing basketball for the Czechoslovakia Junior National Team, traveling all over Europe to play against some of the world’s best young athletes.
“We traveled all over Europe. We played in Italy, Belgium, Sweden, and even in North Korea. We probably played in every country in Europe. I really had a great childhood, and I don't think I would trade that for growing up anywhere else.”
Julius wasn’t a highly recruited player, but he finally landed some recognition after playing in a tournament with his national team in the Netherlands. His hope of coming and playing basketball in America involved a fateful meeting in a gymnasium thousands of miles away from Ames, Iowa.
“Really, I kind of lucked out. There were two American basketball teams playing in the tournament, and one just so happened to be a high school select team from Iowa. We ended up playing the Iowa team in the semi-finals. Well, I had about 40 points in that semi-final game and we ended up winning the tournament and I was named the tournament MVP.”
Once the select team traveled home to Iowa, the head coach gave Iowa State Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach Ric Wesley, Julius’ name as a potential ISU recruit. And as luck would have it, Coach Wesley’s grandparents were from the Czech Republic. While visiting his family there, he also drove to Julius’ hometown of Prievidza, Slovakia, where the future Cyclone player and coach first met.
“It was very good when we first met. We spent a lot of time in the gym, and I worked out for him. We didn’t talk very much because I didn’t speak a lot of English at the time. But it was all good because our national team went and played in the United States when I was a senior in high school. One of the teams we played on this trip was the University of Iowa. So after the game Coach Wesley picked me up in Iowa City, and drove me to Ames for my official visit.
I stayed on campus overnight, and the next morning I flew to Milwaukee because we had another game against Marquette. This was a great opportunity for me, because not a lot of 17 year olds had the chance to play against D1 athletes.”
One of the biggest things that sold Julius on coming to play basketball in the United States and play for Iowa State; a school he had never even heard of before, was his opportunity to play as a true college freshman.
“Growing up in Slovakia, everybody always wanted to go play in the United States, and play at a University, and I felt Iowa State was a really good situation for me. The year before I got there, the team had about 6 or 7 senior’s graduate, so I was coming to play for basically a brand new team, and I knew I had a chance to play right away.”
And the final deciding factor of the little Czechoslovakian boy’s dream of playing basketball in the United States was being able to play for legendary basketball coach Johnny Orr.
“Coach Orr was definitely like a father figure to all of his players. He chose his players for a reason. If a player didn’t pan out on the court, it was never an option for him to cut them, or make them transfer, which is something you don’t see very often today. Coach Orr was a big proponent of ‘I picked him so I am going to stay with him’, and if basketball doesn’t work out, they’re still getting a good education.”
Once Julius arrived in the United States, he quickly acclimated himself to Ames and the Iowa State campus. There was a comfortable routine and built-in brotherhood being a member of the ISU basketball team. As a true freshman, he came off the bench in the first five games, and after the win against in-state rival Iowa, Julius started every game alongside his roommate Fred Hoiberg, and freshman center, Loren Meyer.
There was something great that immediately clicked between Julius and Fred. Being roommates helped them play together on the court, and their time spent together away from practice helped Julius overcome his English language barrier. And although they were each from two very different parts of the globe, their likenesses became evident.
“Fred and I have very similar backgrounds. His mom was a teacher; my mom was a teacher, so we were very similar in the way we were brought up. We are also both very competitive, and we both work very hard. But most importantly, we stayed out of trouble. We would go to movies, we’d go to the high school basketball games, and a lot of times we’d just hang out at his house and watch TV. We did watch a lot of TV together. My favorite show in college was Matlock. Now remember, that was about 20 years ago, so don’t judge me. Fred’s favorite show was David Letterman, so we would always watch that as well. But while I watched a show, I kept a dictionary in my hand and slowly learned and got better at English.”
While at Iowa State, Julius played on three NCAA Tournament teams. Two of those tournament trips were under Head Coach Johnny Orr. After Coach Orr retired, he returned to the Big Dance and played for his third time under new first-year coach, Tim Floyd. Perhaps the Cyclones best team was during Julius’ junior year, when the pre-season ISU team was picked to finish 2nd in the Big 8. Unfortunately, just eight games into the season, starting center Loren Meyer was hit by a train, which sidelined him for the remainder of the season with a broken collar bone.
“It was a great experience playing in the NCAA Tournament. I wish it could have been four times, but it was always bad for us because we were always an 8 or 9 seed, so we’d have to play a really tough team in the 2nd round.”
The three seasons Julius is referring to playing in the NCAA Tournament, are made of great trips down the March Madness memory lane. The 1991-1992 Iowa State team lost to the #2 seed Kentucky Wildcats coached by Rick Pitino. A year later, the Cyclones were knocked out of the tournament by the UCLA Bruins. And in his last tourney trip during the 1994-1995 season, Iowa State team lost to the University of North Carolina team led by Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse. Both Wallace and Stackhouse were top 5 draft picks in the 1995 NBA draft.
Julius did as Coach Orr expected, and graduated from Iowa State with a degree in Liberal Arts. He went un-drafted during the 1995 NBA Draft.
“That year was a bad year to enter the draft because there were a lot of underclassmen drafted that year, which was unheard of at the time.”
The 1995 NBA Draft featured eleven underclassmen, four of which were taken in the Top 5. There were also two Cyclones drafted. Loren Meyer was selected in the 1st Round as the 24th pick to the Dallas Mavericks. Fellow teammate Fred Hoiberg was drafted in the 2nd round with the 52nd pick to the Indiana Pacers.
Not being drafted by the NBA lead Julius to make the lifetime milestone decision to return to Europe and play professional basketball throughout Europe. For the next eight years, Julius traveled through France, Belgium, Israel, Spain and Italy playing the sport he loved, and getting paid for it.
In 2003, Julius returned to the United States with his wife Amy, whom he met at Iowa State and was a member of the ISU Marching and Pep bands. Julius went on to earn and receive his teaching degree from Buena Vista University and became certified to teach Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and General Science. He began teaching and coaching boys’ basketball at Harlan High School, where he coached his teams to two straight state championship titles. He then became the girls’ varsity basketball coach, and boys’ varsity soccer coach at Tri-Center, where he just finished his 11th year of coaching. Julius definitely found a passion for teaching and coaching, but it does come with some challenges when you are in a smaller school district.
“College coaches have the opportunity to recruit, but in high school there is really nothing you can do about it. Nobody is going to move into a smaller district in the middle of nowhere, so you just play with the players you have, and some years you have more talent than others.”
Julius still keeps in touch with his old roommate and friend Fred Hoiberg. The two play golf with each other during the summer, and also attend Iowa State football games. Julius also tries to make it back to a couple of the Cyclone basketball games each year. Attending a game in person at Hilton while coaching during the high school basketball season makes it tough when his teams are also playing twice a week.
“It’s a lot easier for me to just sit in front of the big screen TV at home, than to drive two hours to Ames, then another two hours back. But I do watch all of the games I can at home.”
One of Julius’ favorite games and ISU memories involves a game he played in at Hilton during his freshman year against Oklahoma State. The team trailed by 18 points at one time in the game and Iowa State ended up winning in overtime, which at the time, was the biggest Cyclone comeback in school history.
“If you ever hear Fred talk about that game, he swears he felt the floor vibrating and shaking because the place was so loud during the missed free throws, so that was probably hands down the loudest game at Hilton.”
It was games like those that produced some of the well-known “Magic” and home court advantage of playing in Hilton Coliseum. Cyclone fans definitely caught a glimpse of how good they can be during the Big Monday night game against the Oklahoma Sooners on ISU’s Senior Night. That game, in many ways, was like the comeback victory Julius played in his freshman year against Oklahoma State.
This time around, the Cyclones trailed Oklahoma by 21 points at one time in the second half. Don’t believe in Magic? Then you’ve probably never had the privilege of watching a game inside Hilton Coliseum. With mental toughness, sheer will and a little of that Magic, Iowa State went on a 22-0 run, to win in regulation 77-70.
Many fans would argue that Monday night’s game against OU was the best and the loudest game they ever saw played or ever heard Hilton. Unbelievable, yes; but then again anything is possible in Hilton.
If the Cyclones can play like they did in the last 15 minutes of that Oklahoma game, then they can compete with any team in the country. The trail of Hilton Magic will begin to glitter all the way down I-35 as the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship starts next week in Kanas City. Thousands of loyal Cyclone fans will make the annual pilgrimage to the Sprint Center, dubbed ‘Hilton South’ to cheer on the team, all of them bringing some of that Hilton Magic. In the toughest conference in the country, hopes remain high to repeat last year’s outcome and retain the Big 12 Tournament Championship Trophy and help their seeding in the NCAA tournament.
As far as this year’s Men’s ISU basketball team is concerned Julius thinks the team can get back to the Sweet 16 and go even further this year. The biggest factor for this talented team will be not making mental errors and committing turnovers down the stretch.
Julius has this final observation. “When the team is really dialed in, they are really tough to beat.”
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