Local basketball fans and members of the Santa Barbara sports community came together for the annual Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Prelude to March Madness event on Monday at the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion.
Former Chicago Bulls front office executive Gar Forman served as the event’s featured speaker, while NCAA Men’s Basketball coaching legend Ben Howland and UCSB women’s basketball head coach Renee Jimenez were special guest speakers.
The event, presented by WFG National Title Insurance Company and American Riviera Bank, began with a video interview with Bill Bertka, one of the founders of SBART, detailing the early days of the organization and its original goal to highlight local high school sports.
Bishop Diego High alumnus and current girls basketball assistant coach Andrea Diaz then spoke on her relationship with the SBART and fond memories of the weekly Monday luncheons.
Following Diaz were the Pintard brothers, as Dave and Bill shared stories of the SBART and hosted a live auction for LA Lakers tickets. There was also a silent auction throughout the night.
Jimenez provided an update on her Gaucho squad and how she has managed the changing landscape of college women’s basketball.
She called college basketball “an expensive game now,” when referring to NIL and the payment of players. She also commented on the upcoming NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament, stating that she believes every top seed will reach the Final Four.
Howland and Forman then took the floor for the rest of the program, exchanging stories from their extended basketball careers.
The duo agreed with Jimenez’s sentiment of it being a difficult time to be in the college basketball world, as the payment of players has added another change to an already-evolving world.
Forman was the general manager of the Bulls from 2009 to 2020 and was partially responsible for the drafting of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler.
He was named the NBA Executive of the Year in 2011 when he helped lead the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Potek Winery, Jordano’s, StateFarm and the Volentine Family Foundation served as sponsors of the event.
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