Oscar Robertson joined Lew Alcindor and the Milwaukee Bucks for the 1971 Season *photo courtesy of nba.com

For the 1971 Season, the NBA added three new expansion teams, the Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trailblazers.  With this, the NBA went to the 4 Division format.  The Atlantic Division and Central Division were in the Eastern Conference.  While the Midwest Division and Pacific Division were in the Western Conference.  The standings looked like this for the 1971 Season, take a guess on who made the playoffs and who would have home court advantage in the Semifinal series (it was still the 4-team per conference format).

• Atlantic Division
  
• New York Knicks               (52-30)
• Philadelphia 76ers              (47-35)
• Boston Celtics                   (44-38)
• Buffalo Braves                    (22-60)

• Central Division
  
• Baltimore Bullets               (42-40)
• Atlanta Hawks                   (36-46)
• Cincinnati Royals               (33-49)
• Cleveland Cavaliers             (15-67)

• Midwest Division
  
• Milwaukee Bucks                (66-16)
• Chicago Bulls                     (51-31)
• Phoenix Suns                     (48-34)
• Detroit Pistons                    (45-37)

• Pacific Division
  
• Los Angeles Lakers            (48-34)
• San Francisco Warriors      (41-41)
• San Diego Rockets            (40-42)
• Seattle Supersonics           (38-44)
• Portland Trailblazers           (29-53)

Now if we’re judging by today’s format (or more accurately while the NBA was still in 4 divisions), the division winners would be the top 2 seeds.  So, Baltimore would play 3-seed Philadelphia but Philadelphia would have the home court advantage because they had the better record.  While New York would be playing Boston (with the 4th best record in the East) in the Semifinals.  On the other side, Los Angeles would be playing Chicago but Chicago would have the home-court advantage while Milwaukee would be playing Phoenix (4th best record in the West).

Well, the only thing from the first paragraph that materialized in the first year of the 4 division format was that the division winners were the top 2 seeds.  As was structured for the 1971 and 1972 playoffs before it was changed in 1973, the top two teams in each division made the playoffs and the division winner would play the second place team in the other division in the same conference (so the Atlantic Division winner played the 2nd place team in the Central.. and on and on).  Also, the division winner would have home court advantage against the 2nd place team in the other division.

So as it worked out Atlanta with its stalwart 36-46 record made the playoffs while Boston and its 44-38 record didn’t.  On the other side, the San Francisco Warriors finishing 41-41 beat out the 48-34 Phoenix Suns for a playoff spot.  And while Philadelphia and Baltimore as well as Chicago and Los Angeles did meet in the Semifinals, Baltimore and Los Angeles despite worse records than their counterparts had home court advantage.  This would turn out to be huge as both series went to 7 games.  Baltimore would win Game 7 against Philadelphia, 128-120, to move into the Eastern Conference Finals against New York, who easily defeated Atlanta.  We’ll cover that series as well as Los Angeles/Chicago later.

But first, it was a early regular season matchup between what would turn out to be the two best teams in the NBA.

November 27, 1970 – New York Knicks 103 @Milwaukee Bucks 94

A big early season matchup between the World Champions and the up-and-coming team that had the most dominant young player in the game and had traded for a veteran superstar in the off-season that was billed to turn them from good to great.

The champion Knicks returned everybody important from their championship team except backup center Nate Bowman who was traded to Buffalo.  But the zen master himself was back after missing the entire 1970 season to be the backup center, that would be none other than Phil Jackson.  The starters of Walt Frazier and Dick Barnett at guard, Bill Bradley and Dave DeBusschere at forward and Willis Reed in the middle returned intact along with Cazzie Russell, Mike Riordan and Dave Stallworth off the bench.  Russell was out for this game with a broken wrist (he would be traded to Golden State after the season for Jerry Lucas).  But Riordan and Stallworth (both of whom would be traded to Baltimore early in the 1972 season for Earl Monroe) would contribute in this game.

With the addition of two Eastern Conference expansion teams, the Milwaukee Bucks moved to the Western Conference for the 1971 season.  They had 1970 Rookie of the Year award winner Lew Alcindor as well as a young nucleus from the 1970 team that lost to New York in the Eastern Finals.  That nucleus would be forwards Greg Smith and Bob Dandridge and sharpshooter Jon McGlocklin.  But an off-season trade for Oscar Robertson was predicted to make the Bucks a contender.

Milwaukee got off to a strong start, to say the least, with a 17-1 record and a 16-game winning streak coming into their first matchup of the season versus the Knicks.  New York came in with an 18-7 record and had the previous consecutive games won record with 18 (set the season before).  ABC’s Keith Jackson and Jack Twyman called this one at the Milwaukee Arena, where there was a sellout of 10,746 fans.  The Knicks led by Reed got off to an early 12-7 lead but Milwaukee sparked by Alcindor and Dandridge grabbed a 32-20 lead late in the 1st quarter on an Alcindor jumper from the middle of the lane.  But New York made a run as Frazier got a fast break layup then Barnett stole an inbounds pass and got it to Frazier for another layup.  Then Stallworth completed an 8-0 run with a jumper.  With the score 33-28, Frazier came off a Reed screen for a jumper and it was 33-30 Milwaukee after the first quarter.

It was 9:36 in the 2nd quarter when the Bucks made their first substitutions as veteran forward Bob Boozer and young quick guard Lucius Allen (who played with Alcindor at UCLA) came into the game.  Boozer and Allen would contribute for the Bucks during the season but gave them nothing in this game, literally.  The 2nd quarter was back-and-forth.  Reed made three consecutive shots to tie the game at 42.  The Knicks, as noticed by Twyman, seemed to be depending on Reed a little too much for offense and Jack wondered how this would affect them in the second half.  McGlocklin nailed several outside shots for Milwaukee as there was 9 first half ties.  But the Knicks would take the halftime advantage at 56-55.  Reed finished with 22 points, while Frazier and Stallworth off the bench followed with 11 and 10, respectively.  Milwaukee’s Alcindor had 14 points while Dandridge and McGlocklin contributed 12.

Reed had been using his strength to force Alcindor into tough shots and had been drawing Alcindor outside.  But Alcindor had a strong third quarter with 12 points as Reed looked more tired as the game went along (as predicted by Twyman) but the Knicks still held a 70-69 lead with 5 minutes left.  Then after a Frazier missed free throw, McGlocklin took the ball coast-to-coast for a layup to give the Bucks the lead and ‘wake up’ the crowd.  Oscar then made a jumper from the elbow for his 8th point of the third and 16th of the game.  Then Robertson contributed an assist to Dandridge.  After another Frazier missed free throw (he missed 3 late in the 3rd), Alcindor got a quick fast break dunk for a 77-70 Bucks lead that completed a Milwaukee 10-0 run.  After four quick Knicks points, the Bucks brought in Allen for Robertson and pressed the Knicks (even though Robertson ‘was playing defense for the first time in his career’ as said by former teammate Twyman, the Bucks put on the press with him resting as to not tire him out.. Oscar had turned 32 three days earlier).  The press and swarming defense contributed a 6-0 run to end the third for Milwaukee, as they led 83-74.

However, Allen’s youth showed early in the fourth as he couldn’t get the Bucks into their offense.  After two DeBusschere jumpers and a Reed jumper over Alcindor, as well as a Reed basket on a goaltending, the Bucks called timeout up one and Oscar came back in.  Oscar settled them down for a few minutes as the Bucks went up 89-85 with 7:08 left.  It was at this point where fouls became a factor.  Alcindor, Dandridge, and Robertson had 4 for the Bucks.  Reed, DeBusschere, and Barnett had 4 for the Knicks.  The Knicks bench then came to the rescue.  Stallworth made two straight shots to tie the game.  Then Reed got his 5th foul on an Alcindor post-up move (Lew missed the two free throws).  Phil Jackson came into the game for him and made two straight buckets of his own (his second shot was a corner jumper over Alcindor, who committed his 5th foul on the play, Jackson missed the free throw but the Knicks were on a 10-2 run and all 10 of those points were by the bench).  After a Frazier right wing jumper it was 95-89 New York.  Alcindor and McGlocklin made jumpers to break a Milwaukee cold streak in which they barely went to Alcindor against Jackson.  But then with 2 minutes left, Frazier made a tough shot over Greg Smith after a pump fake for his 20th point.  The Knicks called a timeout after an Alcindor free throw and Reed came back in.  After Stallworth made a jumper for his 18th point to make it 99-94 Knicks, Reed closed the game with a fadeaway over Alcindor and an offensive rebound bucket.  The top defensive team in the NBA that early season, the Knicks, had outscored the top scoring team in the 4th quarter 29-11.

New York starters (points scored)

Bill Bradley (6) – Small Forward

Dave DeBusschere (14) – Power Forward

Willis Reed (34) – Center

Walt Frazier (20) – Point Guard

Dick Barnett (5) – Shooting Guard

New York bench (points scored)

Dave Stallworth (18)

Mike Riordan (2)

Phil Jackson (4)

New York Coach: Red Holzman

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Milwaukee starters (points scored)

Bob Dandridge (14) – Small Forward

Greg Smith (11) – Power Forward

Lew Alcindor (33) – Center

Oscar Robertson (18) – Point Guard

Jon McGlocklin (18) – Shooting Guard

Milwaukee bench (points scored)

Bob Boozer (0)

Lucius Allen (0)

Dick Cunningham (0)

Bill Zopf (0)

Milwaukee Coach: Larry Costello

The Knicks beat Milwaukee at Madison Square Garden the next night 100-99 without Frazier.  Milwaukee would end up breaking the consecutive games won streak by winning 20 in a row later in the season (it would be annihilated the next season by the Lakers 33-game streak).  New York would beat the Bucks 4-1 in the season series (this was the Knicks only win of in Milwaukee).  In a great what-if, this would have been a excellent NBA Finals matchup in 1971.  But the Knicks would lose the 7th game to an injured Baltimore Bullets team, 93-91, at the Garden.  The Knicks had won the first three games of the series at Madison Square Garden (although two were close) but had been killed three times in Baltimore.  New York would never quite be the same as Reed only played 11 games in the 1972 season, but they would make two straight Finals appearances with Frazier taking the scoring load from Reed.  Milwaukee easily made it through the first two rounds of the playoffs, beating San Francisco and Los Angeles in 4-1 series, and they wouldn’t have much problem with the Bullets.

Alcindor and Reed would have great battles in 1971, including this game where Willis outscored Lew 34 to 33 *photo courtesy of ebay

December 25, 1970 – Atlanta Hawks 115 @Phoenix Suns 127

ABC’s annual Christmas tradition for the NBA since the Phoenix Suns came into the league in 1968-69 was to broadcast a game from Phoenix.  So Keith Jackson and Jack Twyman were back as the young talented Suns took on the Atlanta Hawks, who were in their first season in the Eastern Division.  The Hawks came into the game with a 12-23 record while the Suns were 20-17.  Guess which team made the playoffs? as we covered up top, it was the team that didn’t deserve to (Atlanta on Christmas were 3 games behind Cincinnati for 2nd in the Central while Phoenix was 4 games behind Detroit and Chicago for 3rd place in the Midwest).

Atlanta did have one of the most exciting rookies to come into the league at that point.  Still the top scorer in the history of College Basketball, ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich was just starting to get adjusted to the pro game after a slow start.  Atlanta also had superstar Lou Hudson.  Hudson wasn’t flashy but got his shots moving without the ball as one could see watching this game – really none of the Hawks were flashy, so Maravich and his style was a bit of a clash covered a bit in this SI article:

“Maravich was the third pick in the 1970 draft and signed a $1.5 million, five-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks. Then things began to go sour. The Hawks pressured Maravich to play a team game, while the seats were packed with fans screaming for showtime, Maravich-style.”

Phoenix had made the playoffs the season before and had young stars like Dick Van Arsdale, Connie Hawkins and Paul Silas (as well as the consolation prize for losing the coin flip for the 1st pick in the 1969 draft, 6’10″ slow and clumsy Neal Walk.. the first pick was Alcindor).

This game started off well for the Hawks, Maravich got a break-away layup and Hawkins committed three fouls in the first 2:15 of the game.  Hawkins stayed in the game for the first quarter and wouldn’t commit his fourth until the third quarter but he also wouldn’t score until the third.  Hudson and Maravich had the Hawks first 10 points (each with 5) before a Walt Bellamy three-point play put Atlanta up 13-11.  But with the Hawks up 17-13, Walk and Clem Haskins scored the next 10 points for the Suns.  After an Atlanta 6-0 run to tie the game, Phoenix finished the first quarter on a 7-2 run to go up 30-25.  The Suns then scored the first 8 points of the 2nd quarter as Haskins got assists on layups by Mel Counts and Lamar Green off the bench.  Then Counts scored on an offensive rebound and Van Arsdale got a basket off an inbounds pass.  Van Arsdale in particular was taking of Maravich’s defense (I guess about as bad as his offense was good) by moving without the ball and back-cutting for easy baskets.  A Van Arsdale steal and layup gave the Suns their biggest lead at 45-28.  The Phoenix bench was key in the second quarter as well as Van Arsdale.  Counts, Green and Fred Taylor scored 19 points in the quarter.  It all added to a 63-51 lead for the Suns at halftime.  Van Arsdale led the Suns with 18 points while Haskins and Counts followed with 11 and 10, respectively.  Hudson and Maravich were the only Hawks in double figures with 15 and 12, respectively.

Atlanta got going in the third quarter as Bellamy started being a presence on defense as well as grabbing defensive boards along with Bill Bridges.  Walt Hazzard also started scoring (2 points at halftime, 12 at the end of the third).  Hudson also added 14 points on 6-for-6 from the field in the quarter.  It all added to Atlanta outscoring Phoenix 40-30 to cut it to 93-91 going into the fourth.  It was Hawkins who got the Suns going in the fourth.  On the first possession, he drove to the lane from the right corner past reserve Jim Davis and finished with his left hand on a little scoop as he was being fouled by Bellamy.  Connie made the free throw for his 11th point.  Van Arsdale hit a jumper, Hawkins got another drive by Davis and Haskins hit 2 free throws before Atlanta scored again.  Phoenix continued this execution in front of about 10,000 excited fans to pull away and beat the Hawks.

Atlanta starters (points scored)

Lou Hudson (33) – Small Forward

Bill Bridges (9) – Power Forward

Walt Bellamy (16) – Center

Walt Hazzard (14) – Point Guard

Pete Maravich (28) – Shooting Guard

Atlanta bench (points scored)

Jim Davis (7)

Bob Christian (8)

Atlanta Coach: Richie Guerin

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Phoenix starters (points scored)

Connie Hawkins (20) – Small Forward

Paul Silas (16) – Power Forward

Neal Walk (15) – Center

Clem Haskins (17) – Point Guard

Dick Van Arsdale (32) – Shooting Guard

Phoenix bench (points scored)

Mel Counts (12)

Lamar Green (4)

Fred Taylor (11)

Phoenix Coach: Cotton Fitzsimmons

Two under-rated stars, Hawkins (left) had big hands and Maravich (right) was a dribbling wizard *photos courtesy of NBA.com and Peach Tree Hoops

April 4, 1971 – West Semifinals, Game 6: Los Angeles Lakers 99 @Chicago Bulls 113

There are some times in sports where home court advantage is over-rated.  This series was not an example of that.  It went the full 7 games with every home team winning.  In all other sports nowadays, the division winner has home court advantage automatically (even if the team they’re playing has a better record).  But this is not the case in basketball.  But, as we covered earlier, it was in 1971 when the NBA first went to four divisions.  So in this series the 48-34 Pacific Division-winning Lakers had home court advantage over the 51-31 Bulls, who finished behind Milwaukee in the Midwest.

Despite the home court disadvantage, the Bulls did have a 15-point lead at halftime of Game 1.  But the Lakers came back to win 100-99.  The Lakers did not have Elgin Baylor or Jerry West for the entire playoffs (Baylor only played 2 games that season).  West in fact, interestingly, was a commentator with Keith Jackson for this game on ABC.  Talk about your awkward situations.  West, however, I feel did a great job of being as objective as possible.  He did refer to the Lakers as ‘we’ a lot.  There were also 2 other playoff games being broadcast on this day (Sunday, April 4), so I guess ABC was short of NBA analysts.  But I don’t think West would get away with broadcasting his team’s playoff game for a national network instead of sitting in street clothes on the bench today (Rick Barry throughout the 70′s routinely would broadcast for the national network when the Warriors season was over – it was just a different time period).

The Lakers had re-acquired guard Gail Goodrich in the off-season, and he took up for West’s absence against the Bulls by averaging 31.4 points per game in the first 5 games.  Meanwhile, Jackson and West highlighted the struggles of Bulls star forward Chet Walker so far in the series (only averaging 15 ppg after 22 during the season).  Walker hit the first shot of Game 6 in front of over 16,000 at Chicago Stadium (the Bulls, in fact, hit their first three shots to take an early lead).  Chicago came out with forward Bob Love guarding Goodrich to put some height on him.  It didn’t work as Goodrich scored 8 early points and the Lakers other guard Keith Erickson hit his first 3 shots being guarded by the shorter Chicago point guard Bob Weiss (the Bulls would acquire Norm Van Lier the next season).  The first quarter went back and forth, but with 2:30 to go Walker hit a short wing jumper and was fouled.  ’Chet the Jet’ hit the free throw and the Bulls were up 25-21.  The Lakers then got 6 straight points as Goodrich hit a fade-away, Wilt Chamberlain got a dunk on a pass from forward Happy Hairston, then the other forward rookie Jim McMillian hit a jumper.  The Lakers would end the first quarter up 30-29 as Goodrich scored 14 points.

Early in 2nd quarter, Laker reserve Willie McCarter hit back-to-back jumpers to put the Lakers up 36-31.  The Lakers offense continued in sync despite Chamberlain committing 3 fouls.  On one possession, Erickson hit a jumper in which three players would have gotten an assist if this was hockey and on another Goodrich got a layup after a give-and-go with Wilt.  After Erickson hit another jumper on a Wilt feed, the Lakers had their biggest lead at 52-41.  on a critical Bulls possession, Chicago center Tom Boerwinkle had the ball at the elbow.  Weiss cut around him and got the ball as big Tom set a screen.  Weiss then nailed a jumper and then after a Laker miss, Weiss took it himself and hit a pull-up at the free throw line.  After an Erickson jumper, Walker got a three-point play and Weiss hit another jumper and the Bulls cut it to 54-50.  The Lakers ended the half up 57-52.  Goodrich had 19 points and Chamberlain had 19 rebounds.  Erickson had finished with 13.  The Bulls were led by Walker and Weiss with 11 each.

Early in the 3rd quarter, Wilt Chamberlain connected with a behind-the-back pass from the post to Erickson for a layup and a foul.  The Lakers were up 62-53 after that three-point play.  After Walker hit another jumper in the lane, the teams traded a free throw.  Then the Bulls got going.  Boerwinkle hit from the elbow, Love hit a pull-up on the break, and then Sloan got a layup on another break and it was timeout LA.  The Bulls took the lead, 64-63, on their first possession after the timeout when Weiss drove and fed to Boerwinkle for a baseline jumper.  Wilt then committed his 4th foul on an offensive foul but he stayed in the game (he had never fouled out of a game at that point – he never would foul out of one).  Even with Wilt still in the game, the Bulls gained confidence.  Walker hit a jumper in the lane that gave the Bulls the lead for good at 68-66 (it was Chet’s 16th and last point).  Love then followed with a baseline jumper, Weiss hit from the top of the circle and Sloan completed the run with another jumper.  After Weiss took the ball coast-to-coast for a layup, the Bulls had their biggest lead at 78-68.  Chicago was up 80-72 after the quarter.

For the fourth quarter, reserve guard Jim King (a former Laker) made such a great impact for the Bulls that Walker didn’t play in the quarter.  King started with a jumper from Boerwinkle to put the Bulls up 10.  The Bulls kept that lead helped by a key possession in which Sloan hit a jumper after Chicago got 5 offensive rebounds (3 by King).  After the future longtime Utah Jazz coach hit another jumper off great ball movement, the Bulls were up 97-83.  The Lakers cut it to 101-93 after Happy Hairston’s jumper completed a 6-0 run.  The Bulls turned the ball over when King lost it out of bounds.  As ABC was showing the replay of the turnover, King stole an inbounds pass and then tipped in a Weiss miss (after the action got back live).  Hairston then fouled out but a Chamberlain fade-away made the game 104-95 with 2:30 left.  The Bulls put it away at that point.  Sloan hit another short jumper, then King got a steal from Wilt in the post as Chamberlain was double-teamed.  Jimmy got it ahead to Weiss for a layup.  Then the Lakers got the ball inbounds and called a timeout as McCarter was dribbling up.. or they thought they did.  McCarter dropped the ball on the floor as he and other Lakers headed to the bench.  Weiss then picked up the loose ball and laid it in and referee Manny Sokol counted it for a 110-95 Bulls lead.  The Lakers argued vehemently but got nowhere (except for a technical).

Los Angeles won Game 7 109-98 at the Forum but would lose to Milwaukee 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals.

Los Angeles starters (points scored)

Jim McMillian (16) – Small Forward

Happy Hairston (11) – Power Forward

Wilt Chamberlain (13) – Center

Gail Goodrich (25) – Point Guard

Keith Erickson (13) – Shooting Guard

Los Angeles bench (points scored)

Willie McCarter (12)

Pat Riley (0)

Fred Hetzel (2)

Los Angeles Coach: Joe Mullaney

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Chicago starters (points scored)

Bob Love (21) – Small Forward

Chet Walker (16) – Power Forward

Tom Boerwinkle (12) – Center

Bob Weiss (25) – Point Guard

Jerry Sloan (23) – Shooting Guard

Chicago bench (points scored)

Jim Fox (6)

Matt Guokas (2)

Jim King (8)

Chicago Coach: Dick Motta

three key contributors to the early 70′s Bulls – from left to right: Chet Walker, Bob Love, and Jerry Sloan *photos courtesy of bleacher report (x2), and Chicago Sun Times 

April 30, 1971 – NBA Finals, Game 4: Milwaukee Bucks 118 @Baltimore Bullets 106

The 1971 NBA Finals turned out to be a huge mis-match.  The injured Baltimore Bullets had managed to survive the Champion Knicks in the 7th game at Madison Square Garden and would go on to be swept by the Bucks and deny the NBA a possible great Finals matchup.  Isn’t it sad that Stern wasn’t around to rig the 1971 Eastern Conference Finals so that the Knicks would win (Wait! I didn’t say that!).

To be frank, this could have been a great Finals matchup had Baltimore had a healthy Gus Johnson (who missed 7 playoff games in 1971, including 2 in the Finals.. he played in Game 4 though) and/or a healthy Earl Monroe (who was slowed by a pulled groin muscle and averaged only 13 ppg in the Finals minus a 26-point Game 1).  But Milwaukee had a really dominant team that season that I think only New York would have had a chance against.  Oscar Robertson was too powerful physically for Baltimore point guard Fred Carter and Lew Alcindor was 6 inches taller than his counterpart Wes Unseld.  Baltimore also had to survive 7 game wars with Philadelphia and New York while Milwaukee had ho-hum 5-game series’ versus San Francisco and Los Angeles (of Milwaukee’s 10 playoff games in those two series, 3 were decided by less than 12 points and the Bucks were 1-2 in those games).  So all those factors combined for a Milwaukee sweep with their closest victory being 8 points in Game 3.

For this game, there was only a broadcast of most of the second half.  Milwaukee had a 60-47 halftime lead at the Baltimore Civic Center (after leading 31-22 after the 1st quarter).  But in the first minute of the 2nd half, Baltimore scored 6 unanswered points.  However, when action resumed Bob Dandridge nailed a jumper in the lane after an offensive rebound then Monroe got re-injured and had to go get re-taped in the locker room (he would return but didn’t score for the rest of the game).  Oscar Robertson then took over as he dished to McGlocklin for two jumpers and to Greg Smith for a layup on the fast break.  Oscar completed his rally with a scoop in the lane on an Alcindor assist.  This shot completed a 10-0 Bucks run and it was 70-53.

Fred Carter hit 3 consecutive jumpers and a Jack Marin jumper completed a 10-4 Bullets run to cut Milwaukee’s lead to 74-63.  It was the closest Baltimore got for the rest of the game.  Alcindor got two dunks (one after great ball movement and the other over Unseld) and Greg Smith got a fast break layup and the lead was 82-64.  Baltimore in a desperate attempt to come back put Gus Johsnon at center to try and draw Alcindor outside.  But Gus’ knees just weren’t themselves as highlighted on a big play at the end of the 3rd quarter.  After Baltimore cut the lead to 89-77 there was a fast break with Monroe going one-on-one and Johnson trailing.  Monroe got his man in the air and threw a slick behind-the-back pass to Gus, but Johnson’s dunk attempt hit the front rim and caromed into the air after hitting the back rim.

In the fourth quarter, the lead ranged from 12-17 but Baltimore never made a serious threat.  Oscar won his first championship finishing with 30 points in Game 4 on 11-for-15 shooting from the field and 8-for-9 from the line.  Robertson and Alcindor were subdued in the post-game, thinking the best was ahead of them (or because their personalities were naturally subdued).  But in an era where there turned out to be 4 great teams that won championships, a long-frustrated franchise would get theirs the next season.

Lew Alcindor would officially change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar that summer.  For the Baltimore Bullets, the team broke up in the next few seasons.  Fred Carter would be traded to Philadelphia along with Kevin Loughery for Archie Clark early in the 1972 season.  A month later, Monroe was shipped to New York for Dave Stallworth and Mike Riordan.  Before the end of the season, Gus Johnson was traded to Phoenix for a 2nd round pick.  Then in the summer of ’72, Marin was traded to the Houston Rockets for Elvin Hayes.  Hayes, Unseld, Riordan, Clark and 1971 draftee Phil Chenier formed the nucleus of the Bullets as they moved to Landover, Maryland.

Milwaukee starters (points scored)

Bob Dandridge (21) – Small Forward

Greg Smith (14) – Power Forward

Lew Alcindor (27) – Center

Oscar Robertson (30) – Point Guard

Jon McGlocklin (12) – Shooting Guard

Milwaukee bench (points scored)

Bob Boozer (5)

Lucius Allen (4)

McCoy McLemore (5)

Marv Winkler (0)

Dick Cunningham (0)

Bob Greacen (0)

Jeff Webb (0)

Milwaukee Coach: Larry Costello

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Baltimore starters (points scored)

Jack Marin (12) – Small Forward

Gus Johnson (11) – Power Forward

Wes Unseld (11) – Center

Fred Carter (28) – Point Guard

Earl Monroe (12) – Shooting Guard

Baltimore bench (points scored)

Kevin Loughery (18)

John Tresvant (8)

George Johnson (0)

Dorie Murrey (0)

Gary Zeller (6)

Baltimore Coach: Gene Shue

Lew Alcindor was the 1971 NBA Finals MVP after averaging 27 ppg versus the Bullets *photo courtesy of Spokeo

Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas lost to North Carolina in the only NCAA Championship Game that went beyond one overtime *photo courtesy of NCAA galleries

For better or worse, college basketball has been around since pretty soon after basketball was invented in 1891.  The first listed game was played on January 18, 1896 when the University of Iowa invited student-athletes from the University of Chicago for an experimental game.  Chicago won 15-12.  (Although according to Hamline University in Minnesota, they hosted and played the first intercollegiate game on February 9, 1895 against what represented the University of Minnesota with Minnesota winning 9-3.. I wasn’t alive so who knows what to believe.)  Back in 1896, the nets were tied at the bottom.  So once a player scored, somebody had to take a pole and retrieve the ball from out of the net.  Open-ended nets were created in 1903, ten years after the peach basket gave way to the hammock-style basket.  (info courtesy of America’s Library).

Basketball first started at YMCA’s (it was created by Dr. James Naismith at a YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts) and it spread quickly because it was something to do inside during the cold winter.  Naismith’s colleague C.O. Beamis fielded the first college basketball team the next year at Pittsburgh Geneva College.  Naismith himself coached at the University of Kansas from 1898-1907.  There he trained one of college basketball’s greatest coaches at Kansas, Dr. Forrest Phog Allen.  Allen coached the Jayhawks from 1907-1909 and from 1919-1956.  Allen won 746 games and 3 National Championships (two were before the NCAA tournament was created, so I guess only one counts).  Allen in the early 20′s coached another one of the greatest coaches in NCAA history, a man who would break Allen’s wins record and wouldn’t have his broken until 1997.  That man was Adolph Rupp who coached at the University of Kentucky from 1930-1972, won 876 games and 4 National Championships.

At top left: Basketball inventor James Naismith and at top right: Kansas Coach Phog Allen.  At bottom: Kentucky Coach Adolph Rupp *photos courtesy of Kansas Pedia and Wikipedia (2x)

The NCAA Tournament itself was created on the idea of popularity in college basketball.  The popularity really started when Ned Irish started booking double-headers in the ‘world’s most famous areana’ Madison Square Garden.  The first of which happened on December 29, 1934 when 16,180 fans saw New York University (NYU) beat Notre Dame 25-18 and Westminster beat St. Johns 37-33.  College basketball became bigger in the top media market and New York teams became legends.  Teams like City College of New York (CCNY), Long Island University (LIU), and Manhattan College, as well as NYU and St. Johns.

The popularity of the college double-headers led to the creation of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in 1938.  The NIT was played at Madison Square Garden and for awhile was thought of being more prestigious than the NCAA tournament.  Many teams chose the NIT over the NCAA invitation.  Many teams competed in both.  Once it became illegal to compete in both (after CCNY won the NIT and NCAA in 1950), the NCAA became more prestigious and decided the rightful National Champion.

The first NCAA Tournament was in 1939.  It had 8 teams.  Ohio State, Wake Forest, Villanova, Brown, Oklahoma, Utah State, Oregon, and Texas.  Ohio State played Wake Forest and Villanova played Brown in Philadelphia and Oklahoma played Utah State and Oregon played Texas in San Francisco.  Ohio State and Villanova won to play each other in Philly with the right to go to the National Championship Game.  Oklahoma and Oregon won the first games in San Fran.  Ohio State and Oregon emerged victorious to move on to Evanston, Illinois for the National Championship Game.  Oregon’s ‘Tall Firs‘ beat Ohio State 46-33.

At top, Ned Irish who booked double-headers at Madison Square Garden in the ’30′s and at bottom, Oregon versus Ohio State in the 1939 National Championship Game *photos courtesy of villagevoice blog and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

There was actually no ‘Final Four’ until 1951 when the tournament expanded to 16 teams.  There was just Regional Games and then a final game.  However, the 40′s did produce the first jump shooter and the first big man.  Hank Luisetti who played for Stanford in the 1930′s was the player credited with bringing out the one-handed shot, but Kenny Sailors of Wyoming started the jump shot by accident.  He was just trying to shoot over his taller brother when he was younger and the two-handed set shot wasn’t working.  Sailors was a two-time All-American and led Wyoming to the 1943 National Championship.  The first 6 NCAA Champions were 6 different teams (Oregon in 1939, Indiana in 1940, Wisconsin in 1941, Stanford in 1942, Wyoming in 1943, and Utah in 1944).

But the first big man also produced the first dynasty.  At Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State), Head Coach Hank Iba had 7-footer Bob Kurland was entering his junior season in 1945.  Kurland had some matchups against fellow big man George Mikan, who was at DePaul, but DePaul chose and won the NIT tournament in 1945.  Kurland led the Aggies to the Championship beating future NBA star Dolph Schayes and NYU 49-45.  But then the next year, Kurland led his team to another NCAA Championship, this time over North Carolina.  The Aggies became the first of 7 teams to win back-to-back championships.

At top, Hank Luisetti was credited for creating the one-handed shot while in the middle, Kenny Sailors was credited with creating the jump shot and at bottom, Oklahoma A&M coach Hank Iba (top, middle) led the Aggies to the 1945 and 1946 NCAA championship with big man Bob Kurland (top, left) leading the way *photos courtesy of Bleacher Report, K2 Radio, and Allposters

Adolph Rupp’s first great teams then formed to end the 1940′s.  The fabulous five of Alex Groza, Ralph Beard, Wallace ‘Wah Wah’ Jones, Cliff Barker and Kenny Rollins won back-to-back National Championships in 1948 and 1949.  In 1948, Kentucky took out 1947 Champion Holy Cross (with Bob Cousy) to reach the Championship Game.  They then beat Baylor 58-42.  All but Rollins returned for 1949 and the Wildcats beat Oklahoma A&M 46-36 for the National Championship.

Then trouble arose, as mentioned in the beginning of the NBA Manhattan College’s Junius Kellogg told authorities that he had been offered $1,000 to shave points.  This kicked off an investigation that implicated 32 players from CCNY, NYU, LIU, Manhattan College, Bradley University, University of Kentucky, and University of Toledo.  The scandal killed basketball in New York City (as well as the popular New York colleges) and Groza and Beard were implicated at Kentucky and were banned from the NBA.

Also accused of being involved from Kentucky was 7-footer Bill Spivey, who led the Wildcats to the 1951 National Championship and was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.  Spivey was found innocent but still wasn’t allowed into the NBA.  The 1951 Championship was Rupp’s third and his mentor hadn’t even won one yet since the tournament started.  But Phog Allen and 6’10″ Clyde Lovellette led the Jayhawks to their first National Championship in 1952.  Kansas was back in the title game a year later, but they lost to Indiana 69-68 for the Hoosiers 2nd National Championship.  1955 provided the next College Basketball dynasty.

Top left, the Kentucky fabulous five sitting with Adolph Rupp (names are listed on the picture caption) and at top right, Bill Spivey.  At bottom, Phog Allen with Clyde Lovellette in 1952.  Photos courtesy of Wildcat World, Big Blue History, and Progressive Involvement

At the University of San Francisco, a young man by the name of Bill Russell was emerging.  USF lost an early season game to John Wooden and UCLA.  It was their only loss of the year.  San Francisco rolled into the tournament and had a close 57-56 game with Oregon State but survived the Beavers and then won the Championship against 1954 Champion LaSalle and their star, Tom Gola.  Then Russell, along with K.C. Jones and Hal Perry (three black starters!) went undefeated in 1956 and beat Iowa for another National Championship.  Early in 1957, San Francisco lost their first game in 2 years.  This streak established 60 victories in a row.  But by the time of this loss, Russell and Jones were gone.

1957 would produce perhaps the greatest National Championship Game of all time (unless you like scoring).  Phog Allen had been forced by Kansas administration to retire after 1956 because he had reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.  So Allen never got a chance to coach Wilt Chamberlain.  Wilt would move up to varsity as a sophomore in 1957.  Until 1972, freshman weren’t allowed to play on the varsity, they had freshman (or junior varsity) teams that they played on their first year.  The rule was repealed briefly during World War II (so Utah Freshman Arnie Ferrin won the NCAA Tournament most outstanding player in 1944).

Wilt Chamberlain made his debut on the big time college scene with a 52-point, 31-rebound effort against Northwestern.  It was clear then that Wilt was the most dominant player in college basketball and that he would single-handidly lead Kansas to the National Championship.  Wilt would lead Kansas to a 24-2 record going into the final against 31-0 North Carolina.  Despite Carolina’s undefeated record, they were underdogs against the Jayhawks.  The Tar Heels, like everyone else, had nobody to match up with Chamberlain even though they did have a solid roster that coach Frank McGuire had recruited from New York.  The Tar Heels did have a reasonably big front line.  Their top scorer was 6’5″ Lennie Rosenbluth.  He teamed with 6’6″ Pete Brennan, 6’8″ Joe Quigg and 5’9″ Tommy Kearns.  McGuire’s team had survived a triple-overtime National Semifinal versus Michigan State while Kansas had breezed by San Francisco 80-56 with Chamberlain putting up 32.  In those days, the National Semifinal and Championship Game were played on back-to-back days and also teams had less of a bench than they do now.  So Carolina was expected to be tired and sluggish, but instead they came out fast to take a 29-22 halftime lead.  Carolina collapsed its zone against Chamberlain and held him to 2 baskets while Rosenbluth had carried the offense.  McGuire had also tried to use a psychological ploy against Chamberlain on the opening tip when he sent Kearns to jump against the big man.  As Rosenbluth explains, Kansas had a tip-off play to get an easy basket because Wilt won most (if not all) opening tips.  So McGuire, figuring they were going to lose the jump no matter who was in there, had his big men get back to defend their goal while Kearns stood in.

In the second half though, Wilt finally got free for some baskets and Kansas ended up taking a 36-35 lead halfway through the 2nd half.  They eventually stretched their lead to six but new Kansas coach Dick Harp decided to sit on the ball to try and get Carolina out of their zone so Chamberlain could break free.  Carolina instead fouled Kansas players who didn’t come through at the line.  However, the Jayhawks still had a 46-43 lead with 1:47 left when Chamberlain at the high post made a pass down low to teammate Gene Elstun who forced Rosenbluth to foul him.  This was Lennie’s 5th foul.  He had scored 20 points.  However, Elstun missed the one-and-one and Rosenbluth’s replacement, senior Bob Young, ended up tying the game at 46 with his only basket.  The game went into overtime where each team scored a bucket.  In the second overtime, both teams went scoreless.

Finally in the third OT, Kearns made a basket and then a one-and-one to put Carolina up 52-48.  But Wilt came back with a 3-point play and Elstun this time made both ends of a one-and-one to give the Jayhawks the lead.  At ten seconds, Quigg was at the top of the key against Chamberlain.  Joe pump-faked and drove around Wilt and was fouled by Maurice King on a reach-in with 6 seconds left.  Quigg made both free throws for a 54-53 lead and Kansas called time.  The last play was for the inbounds pass to go to the top of the key and then an alley-oop-like pass to Wilt for the winning basket.  Guard John Parker took the ball out-of-bounds at half-court and threw it in to Ron Loneski at the top of the key.  But Loneski instead of throwing a high pass to Wilt threw a lower one that Quigg was able to deflect away.  Kearns grabbed the ball, ran out the clock, and threw it high in the air.  Carolina had finished the season 32-0 and for Wilt, despite his 23 points and 15 rebounds against a Tarheel team dogging him, blamed the loss on himself and figured that loss started his losing label that went with him to the NBA.  In fact, after Wilt left Kansas after the 1958 season, he did not return to Allen Fieldhouse for 40 years because he felt responsible for that loss.  Wilt returned in 1998, a year before his death, to have his number retired and hear a tremendous roar from Rock Chalk Jayhawk nation.

The 1957 National Champion North Carolina Tarheels *photo courtesy of UNC Library

In 1958, Adolph Rupp and Kentucky won their fourth national championship, beating Elgin Baylor and Seattle University 84-72.  In 1959, Pete Newell and the California Golden Bears beat Jerry West and the West Virginia Mountaineers 71-70 in the final.  Cal was back in the Championship Game in 1960, but they were facing a juggernaut.  In 1960, Ohio State and new coach Fred Taylor had a loaded roster.  The Buckeyes were led by senior Joe Roberts and junior Larry Siegfried, but their sophomore class was the best of the group.  Mel Nowell was the number 2-rated player in Ohio in 1958.  Nowell joined two future NBA stars and one future all-time great college basketball coach.  Number-one rated in Ohio was Jerry Lucas.  He and Nowell joined John Havlicek and Bobby Knight at Ohio State in the fall of 1958 and they moved up to varsity for 1959-60.  The Buckeyes went 24-3 going into the final game versus Cal.  California had defeated Oscar Robertson and Cincinnati in the National Semifinals, like they had in 1959, but they were no match for the Buckeyes.  Ohio State won 75-55 as the starting five of Roberts, Siegfried, Lucas, Nowell, and Havlicek all finished in double figures.

Cincinnati after losing Robertson to graduation in 1960 ended up becoming a dynasty.  They beat Ohio State in back-to-back National Championship Games in 1961 and 1962.  The Bearcats roster in those two championship years consisted of players like Paul Hogue, Tony Yates, Tom Thacker and Ron Bonham.  Hogue was replaced by George Wilson in the middle as Cincinnati went for three straight championships in 1963.  Cincinnati made the Championship game with a 26-1 record against an unheralded opponent.  At Loyola University in Chicago, coach George Ireland felt the pressure to win in 1960.  So he did something that few were trying, he recruited black players.  By 1963, he had four black starters.  Senior Jerry Harkness was joined by juniors Les Hunter, Vic Rouse, and Ron Miller along with the only white starter, point guard Johnny Egan.  Loyola came into the Championship Game 28-2 and had won a water-shed Regional Semifinal match against Mississippi State.  Mississippi State had won the Southeastern Conference in three of the past four years but were not allowed to compete in the NCAA tournament because that would mean they would likely have to play integrated teams.  In 1963, the Rebels had snuck out of Mississippi to East Lansing, Michigan to play Loyola.  Below is a famous picture of the pre-game captains hand-shake between Harkness and the captain of Mississippi State, Joe Dan Gold.

*photo courtesy of Chicago Sun-Times

Loyola beat Mississippi State 61-51.  In the Championship Game, however, they were down 29-21 at the half and 45-30 midway through the 2nd half.  But the Bearcats slowed down and Loyola made an improbable comeback to tie the game at 54 at the end of regulation on Jerry Harkness’ 2nd basket (his first bucket came a few minutes earlier).  In overtime with the score tied at 58, Loyola held for the last shot.  At about 6 seconds, Harkness drove baseline but was cut off.  So he passed to Hunter at the free throw line who put up a shot.  Hunter missed but Vic Rouse followed it up and in at the buzzer and Loyola became the first team with 4 black starters to win the Championship.

The next two years would start off the greatest dynasty in NCAA history.  John Wooden had taken over at UCLA in 1948 and led them to the Final Four for the first time in 1962.  UCLA lost by two to Cincinnati in the National Semifinals.  But Wooden would bring back an undefeated team to the Final Four in 1964.  The unique thing about the ’64 Bruins was that their starting lineup was 6’3″ Walt Hazzard and 6’1″ Gail Goodrich at guard, 6’3″ Jack Hirsch and 6’5″ Keith Erickson at forward and 6’5″ Fred Slaughter in the middle.  You see the unique thing? yep, no starter taller than 6’5″.  So naturally the Bruins success was predicated on speed and their devastating full-court press.  UCLA beat Kansas State 90-84 and Duke 98-83 in the Final Four to win the National Championship.  They won it again in 1965 with only Goodrich and Erickson returning of the starting five.  Goodrich had 42 points against Michigan in the final as UCLA won 91-80.  These two championships helped star New York big man Lew Alcindor choose UCLA over other schools, and success ensued.  Alcindor wasn’t eligible for the varsity in 1966, so UCLA not only didn’t win the National Championship but lost the freshman-varsity scrimmage at the beginning of the year.  UCLA had a pre-season number 1 ranking so the joke on the varsity was that they were #1 in the nation and #2 on campus.

In 1966, a lasting water-shed moment came in the NCAA Finals.  Although Kentucky big man Larry Conley, who later became a college basketball analyst on ESPN, said that neither Kentucky nor Texas Western saw that as the case at the time.  While I’ve heard stories that Kentucky’s legendary coach Adolph Rupp was a racist, I’ve also heard that he wanted the best talent (no matter the color) but couldn’t recruit black players because the Southeastern Conference didn’t recruit blacks.  Either way, what probably made this championship game between the all-black starting five of Texas Western and the all-white Kentucky team more memorable over time was the premise that Rupp was racist.  Either way, Rupp’s Wildcats similar to UCLA in 1964 had no starter taller than 6’5″ and they were nicknamed Rupp’s Runts.  So they used speed and their pressing defense to go into the Championship Game with a 27-1 record.  Meanwhile, unheralded Texas Western (now Texas at El Paso) came in with the same record.  Texas Western played black players such as David Lattin, Bobby Joe Hill, Willie Cager, Orsten Artis, Neville Shed and Willie Worsley.  Shed came off the bench for the Championship while the other five started.  Kentucky’s quickness proved to be no match for the Miners in this game as Texas Western won 72-65.  This game was credited in helping get the black basketball player more chances by major colleges, including eventually the Southeastern Conference.

Texas Western vs Kentucky in 1966 *photo courtesy of Image Slides

The reason I have this blog as pre-1968 is because my video collection really starts with ‘The Game of the Century‘ which helped make College Basketball big-time on television and kicked off a new era.  Lew Alcindor and UCLA went undefeated and won the championship in 1967, beating Elvin Hayes and Houston in the National Semifinal before taking care of unheralded Dayton 79-64.  This kicked off UCLA’s 7 straight championship run that will be covered in the next College Basketball blog.

March 30, 1966 – East Semifinals, Game 4: Boston Celtics 120 @Cincinnati Royals 103

Before the 1966 NBA Season, Boston coach Red Auerbach announced that he was going to retire as coach at the end of the season.  Auerbach routinely lit a victory cigar after every Celtic win (and a lot of times before the game was even over) and by the mid-1960′s it had grown annoying for those not associated with the Celtics or Boston (just read this account).  Auerbach was also known for instigating and intimidating the officials (one of the early coaches to do that) and that act had grown annoying among his peers.  But the biggest annoyance with Auerbach among others around the league was that his team just kept winning!  In 1966, they were going for their eighth straight championships.  And Auerbach was giving every team one more chance to knock him off.

For the first time since 1956, the Celtics did not finish first in the Eastern Division in the regular season.  The 76ers now had Wilt Chamberlain for the full season and their already talented roster added guard Wali Jones and rookie Billy Cunningham.  Philadelphia finished 55-25 and Boston finished 54-26.  So this meant that the Celtics had to play third place Cincinnati in the best-of-5 Eastern Division Semifinals while Philadelphia waited for a winner (the NBA would go to a 4 team per division playoff format next season).

The Royals won Game 1 and Game 3 in Boston and now were going back home to try and eliminate Boston in Game 4.  The largest playoff crowd in Cincinnati Royals history packed the Cincinnati Gardens on Jerry Lucas’ 26th birthday.  But that was where the good vibes ended for the Royals.  The tape of this game picked up at the start of the 2nd half with Don Gillis calling play-by-play by himself on Boston’s WHDH-TV.  The Celtics had a 58-48 lead and Oscar Robertson had 4 fouls.  The Royals came to within eight several times early in the third quarter, but they would never get any closer.  The big factor in the Celtics favor was that the 6’4″ Sam Jones was guarded by the 6’1″ Adrian Smith and in the third quarter Jones got several good post-up bank shots that helped the Celtics gain an advantage.  One wonders looking back about how good Oscar Robertson’s defensive presence was because Oscar was 6’5″ and I’d probably have him play Sam while putting Smith on K.C. Jones.  I guess one didn’t want Oscar using his energy chasing Sam Jones sideline to sideline when you needed him so much on offense, but the Celtics got their momentum by going to Jones against Smith in the post.  Jones along with the offensive rebounding and shooting of Satch Sanders gave the Celtics an 87-72 lead after three.

Oscar had 27 points to that point as he was getting to his favorite area in the free throw line area and making shots but the Royals couldn’t stop the Celtics.  Cincinnati had a chance for some momentum when the 4th quarter began with Oscar blocking a shot and then getting the ball to forward Happy Hairston for a fast-break dunk.  The Royals got another stop and with a chance to cut it to 11, Oscar went to the post but missed a shot off the side of the backboard but the ball was knocked off the Celtics.  But Robertson threw away the inbounds pass ignited a Boston fast break where Larry Siegfried got a layup.  The next few minutes had the Celtics led by Siegfried matching Oscar basket for basket and not allowing the Royal’s star to get his team back into the game.  The Celtics kept their double-digit advantage and the last few minutes involved debris being thrown onto the court and there being mentions of fights in the stands.  The Royals still had the do-or-die Game 5 in Boston, where they had won twice in the series already

Boston starters (points scored)

John Havlicek (18) – Small Forward

Satch Sanders (28) – Power Forward

Bill Russell (8) – Center

K.C. Jones (8) – Point Guard

Sam Jones (32) – Shooting Guard

Boston bench (points scored)

Larry Siegfried (16)

Don Nelson (6)

Willie Naulls (4)

Boston Coach: Red Auerbach

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Cincinnati starters (points scored)

Happy Hairston (7) – Small Forward

Jerry Lucas (22) – Power Forward

Wayne Embry (7) – Center

Oscar Robertson (34) – Point Guard

Adrian Smith (11) – Shooting Guard

Cincinnati bench (points scored)

Tom Hawkins (4)

Jack Twyman (2)

Jon McGlocklin (11)

Tom Thacker (3)

George Wilson (2)

Cincinnati Coach: Jack McMahon

April 1, 1966 – East Semifinals, Game 5: Cincinnati Royals 103 @Boston Celtics 112

Game 5 was two days later and showcased on an NFL Films-like highlight called ‘The Final Game.’  There were a few historical inaccuracies in this.  They billed this as the game that won the Celtics the championship.  And like the 1964 NBA Finals highlights talked about in part 1, they seem to have mixed two games together.  They show Larry Siegfried making a shot at the buzzer to cut the Royals’ halftime lead to 57-56.  Well the score at halftime of Game 5 was 61-56 Celtics (look at it here).  OK, OK I know this only bothers me.  To others, it is the Hollywood Drama.

This game starts with Cincinnati getting the first possession and Russell tipping in their first basket while trying to get a defensive rebound (Wayne Embry got credit for it).  The Royals took this momentum to a 10-2 lead after getting 2 steals from Boston and Lucas and Embry scoring 4 points apiece.  The Celtics came back quickly to cut it to 13-12 as K.C. Jones, Sam Jones and Russell led the way.  The highlight shows some great Celtic offense, like Russell getting the ball at the foul line and the guards criss-crossing around him cutting to the basket while the forward (usually Havlicek) came to Russell and got the ball for a jump shot off a Russell back-pick (if the guards didn’t get the ball for layups).  The Royals kept the lead though as Oscar had a hot first half, scoring 24 points.  The Royals had a 10-point lead in the 2nd quarter (according to this highlight) but the Celtic’s bench of Larry Siegfried and Don Nelson led them back.  Russell had some tremendous coast-to-coast layups (and defense) and Sam Jones led Boston with 18 first half points.

The third quarter was back and forth until the Royals grabbed an 81-76 lead late in the 3rd.  After the film highlighted Auerbach speaking to his team during the time out, the Celtics ripped off a 10-0 run.  After the Royals cut the lead to 92-88, the Celtics pulled away as the highlight showed several Celtic great plays while dramatic music played in the background.  The Celtics won the game 112-103 (the final score is not shown in the film).

Boston went on to beat Philadelphia in 5 games in the Eastern Division Finals and would play the Lakers once again for the NBA Championship.

Cincinnati starters (points scored)

Happy Hairston (13) – Small Forward

Jerry Lucas (17) – Power Forward

Wayne Embry (5) – Center

Oscar Robertson (37) – Point Guard

Adrian Smith (4) – Shooting Guard

Cincinnati bench (points scored)

Connie Dierking (9)

Tom Hawkins (4)

Jack Twyman (3)

Jon McGlocklin (7)

Tom Thacker (4)

Cincinnati Coach: Jack McMahon

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Boston starters (points scored)

John Havlicek (23) – Small Forward

Satch Sanders (10) – Power Forward

Bill Russell (16) – Center

K.C. Jones (6) – Point Guard

Sam Jones (34) – Shooting Guard

Boston bench (points scored)

Larry Siegfried (14)

Don Nelson (9)

Boston Coach: Red Auerbach

Oscar Robertson dribbles against Bill Russell *photo courtesy of greatestbasketballers.blogspot.com

April 24, 1966 – NBA Finals, Game 5: Los Angeles Lakers 121 @Boston Celtics 117

To be frank, I only have parts of the last 10 seconds of this game (from Vintage NBA: Elgin Baylor), so I can’t really tell you much but it was an ABC telecast in the first year of its NBA deal.  The always excitable Chris Schenkel and former Celtic Bob Cousy were calling the game.  The Lakers had surprisingly won Game 1 at the Boston Garden in overtime, but headlines were stolen from the Lakers victory when Auerbach announced after the game that Bill Russell would succeed him as coach for the 1967 Season.  The was of course big news because Russell would be the first black head coach of a professional team in any sport.  The Celtics won the next three games after this announcement and were going for the championship on their home court in Game 5.

The broadcast only showed Jerry West made two free throws to put the Lakers up 119-115 and then Rudy LaRusso made two more for the Laker’s final 121-117 margin.  Schenkel did a bit of a recap when the free throws were being shot, the Lakers had gotten off to a good start and led by as many as 17 (and were up 37-23 after one quarter).  But Boston came back and had as much as an 8-point lead but the Lakers came back and Jerry West had the go-ahead bucket in the fourth.  Meanwhile, Schenkel mentions to Cousy that this isn’t the night that Auerbach lights up his last victory cigar as coach.  Cousy then mentions that Red Auerbach may now be concerned about ever lighting a cigar saying you can’t give a team like the Lakers momentum.  Los Angeles won Game 6 at home and took it back to the Garden for Game 7.  Red would light his final cigar but it was too soon.

Los Angeles starters (points scored)

Jerry West (31) – Small Forward

Elgin Baylor (41) – Power Forward

LeRoy Ellis (17) – Center

Jim King (6) – Point Guard

Gail Goodrich (5) – Shooting Guard

Los Angeles bench (points scored)

Rudy LaRusso (14)

Walt Hazzard (5)

Darrell Imhoff (2)

Los Angeles Coach: Fred Schaus

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Boston starters (points scored)

John Havlicek (25) – Small Forward

Satch Sanders (13) – Power Forward

Bill Russell (32) – Center

K.C. Jones (8) – Point Guard

Sam Jones (15) – Shooting Guard

Boston bench (points scored)

Larry Siegfried (16)

Don Nelson (5)

Mel Counts (3)

Boston Coach: Red Auerbach

April 28, 1966 – NBA Finals, Game 7: Los Angeles Lakers 93 @Boston Celtics 95

This game was recently recapped with some live action on NBATV where Andre Aldridge had guests Sam Jones and Satch Sanders in the studio.  The interesting thing about this presentation was that instead of putting the audio on the announcing team of Don Gillis and Tom Heinsohn they had Satch and Sam recalling all of these plays years later as a stroll down memory lane.

Boston got off to a quick start in this game, or perhaps to put it more accurately the Lakers got off a slow start that they did not need.  When you haven’t won a championship as a franchise in Los Angeles and you have a great opportunity to do so, you cannot be down 10-0 after 4 minutes of action.  Russell easily controlled the opening jump to K.C. Jones who gave a quick pass to Havlicek in the left corner who nailed a jumper, and that would be the closest the Lakers would be until the final margin.  Among the Lakers slow start was West missing an easy follow-up layup that would have made it 2-2 and then missing a free throw a minute later.  Sam Jones would make two free throws and two jumpers and Satch got a driving dunk.  It wasn’t until 4:15 into the game that a jumper from the free throw line by LeRoy Ellis put the Lakers on the board.  Ellis and Walt Hazzard actually helped the Lakers cut the Celtics lead to 24-20 late in the first.  But the Celtics would lead 27-20 after one and 53-38 at the half, as Baylor and West combined for 3-for-18 in the first half.

The broadcast would pick up in the fourth quarter, Satch Sanders would get a fast break layup and a subsequent free throw to put the Celtics up 89-76.  The Celtics had as much as a 19-point lead but the Lakers had cut it to 10 before Sanders 3-point play.  It was at this point that the Lakers made their final run.  Jerry West made back-to-back jumpers and then West and Rudy LaRusso each made 1 free throw.  But with a chance to cut it to 5 with under two minutes left, West missed a jumper and Ellis hustled after the rebound at the sideline in front of the Celtics bench but stepped on it.  Then after running down the 24 second clock, Russell made a post-up jumper in the lane and it was 91-82.  West made 1-of-3 free throws on the next possession (this was back when the NBA had 3 shots to make 2 at the free throw line, as well as 1 free throw attempt on a foul committed by a team before they were in the penalty).  Boston again ran down the shot clock and Sam Jones made a long set shot off the glass for a 93-83 Celtics lead with under a minute left.

The last minute was chaotic, Hazzard went coast-to-coast for a leaner then Russell drove past Ellis for an uncontested dunk.  While the fans were surrounding the court ready to storm it, West raced back and hit a jumper then stole the ball from Russell and made another one and the score was 95-89 with 20 seconds left.  At this point, Auerbach had lit his victory cigar and the press had actually come onto the court and was taking pictures of him puffing it and posing with the Governor of Massachusetts John Volpe.  Action had to be stopped for a minute while the refs cleared the court.  After play resumed, K.C. Jones got the ball in front of his bench guarded closely and got called for an offensive foul.  At this point, the Celtics bench and fans had the ‘this is not happening, I can’t believe this’ reaction while Auerbach continued smiling and shaking hands with the lit cigar in his mouth.  Jim King drove the baseline for a quick reverse layup and then Sam Jones, after receiving the inbounds pass, lost the ball on the baseline.  To be fair, Sam was probably fouled and it probably would have been called today.  But with 6 seconds left, the Lakers inbounded to Ellis in the left corner who immediately made the jumper and it was 95-93 with 4 seconds left.  The Celtics got it inbounds to K.C. Jones who dribbled out the clock while the Lakers were reaching in for the ball but not fouling deliberately.  The fans then stormed court again for a championship.  Of the 9 championships the Celtics had won in the past 10 years, all but two of them were at the Boston Garden.  So the fans had traditionally stormed the court for a championship (ironically the Celtics would win their next 5 championships on the road).  The last 4 seconds were kind of anti-climactic in my view because the Lakers NEEDED to foul and send K.C. to the line (he was a career .647 percent foul shooter).  It was even mentioned by Sam Jones to Aldridge on NBATV that even if they are good foul shooters, you never know when the pressure is on.

Los Angeles starters (points scored)

Jerry West (36) – Small Forward

Elgin Baylor (18) – Power Forward

LeRoy Ellis (12) – Center

Jim King (2) – Point Guard

Gail Goodrich (6) – Shooting Guard

Los Angeles bench (points scored)

Rudy LaRusso (7)

Walt Hazzard (12)

Bob Boozer (0)

Darrell Imhoff (0)

Los Angeles Coach: Fred Schaus

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Boston starters (points scored)

John Havlicek (16) – Small Forward

Satch Sanders (7) – Power Forward

Bill Russell (25) – Center

K.C. Jones (5) – Point Guard

Sam Jones (22) – Shooting Guard

Boston bench (points scored)

Larry Siegfried (12)

Don Nelson (8)

Willie Naulls (0)

Boston Coach: Red Auerbach

Red Auerbach almost had to blow out his lit cigar in Game 7 of the 1966 NBA Finals *photo courtesy of Boston.com

April 9, 1967 – Eastern Division Finals, Game 4: Philadelphia 76ers 117 @Boston Celtics 121

For the 1967 Season, the Philadelphia 76ers went 68-13.  It was the best record in NBA History at the time.  Before the season, the 76ers had gotten coach Alex Hannum from the San Francisco Warriors.  Hannum had been given credit while in San Fran of making Wilt Chamberlain involve his teammates in the offense and that he didn’t need to score all the points for his team to win.  That philosophy came together more than ever for the 1967 76ers.  Philadelphia had an awesome lineup of Chet Walker, Lucious Jackson and Wilt in the front court and Hal Greer and Wali Jones at guard (with Hall-of-Famer Billy Cunningham coming off the bench).  The 76ers were on a mission to beat the Celtics and win Wilt’s first NBA Championship.  They ran off to a 47-5 start.  They held off the 60-21 Celtics to win the Eastern Division.  In the off-season, Auerbach made the only trade he’d make in Bill Russell’s career.  He acquired forward Bailey Howell from Baltimore for Mel Counts.  He also signed Cincinnati center Wayne Embry as Russell’s backup.

With the addition of the Chicago Bulls for the 1967 Season, the NBA was at 10 teams and went to 4 playoff teams per division.  So 8 of the 10 teams made the playoffs (including the expansion Bulls) and for the first time since 1954, the number one seed had to play a Semifinal series.  For whatever reason, the 1 seed played the 3 seed while the 2 seed played the 4 seed.  So Philadelphia took care of 3 seeded Cincinnati while Boston eliminated New York (both were 3-1 series).  Philadelphia then continued their mission by winning the first 3 games of the Eastern Finals versus Boston.  Game 4 was broadcast on ABC but interestingly there was an announcers strike as the 18,000 members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) went on strike from March 29 – April 10, 1967.  So director Chet Forte and his New York accent (‘Bowston’) was the play-by-play announcer and producer Chuck Howard was the color guy.

The replayed broadcast started at the start of the 2nd half.  Boston was up 66-60.  The Celtics were led by Sam Jones’ 19 points in the first half.  The 76ers were led by powerful Lucious Jackson’s 20 points and 9 boards, followed closely by Hal Greer’s 18 points.  Chamberlain was held to 6 points in the first half, but got 6 early in the third but the Celtics maintained their advantage.  They stretched it to as high as 10 on a Sam Jones pull-up bank shot.  The Philadelphia back court of Greer and Wali Jones were in foul trouble as each picked up their fourth early in the third quarter.  Jones then picked up his fifth and Hannum went to his only available backup guard, rookie Matt Guokas.  Guokas sparked Philadelphia in the 2nd half (Jones would not return) and they cut Boston’s lead to 91-88 at the end of the third.

The Celtics stretched it back to 101-91 on back-to-back jumpers by Havlicek and Sam Jones.  But Philadelphia cut into it and with 6 minutes left, a Chamberlain offensive putback and free throw cut the lead to 103-100.  Greer then hit a jumper and then Walker was fouled by Bailey Howell.  Howell fouled out on that call, he finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds.  Walker hit the first free throw to tie the game for the first time.  But Walker was short on the second, which would have given Philadelphia their first lead of the game.  Havlicek then scored four straight points, but Lucious Jackson came back with a 3-point play and it was 107-106 Boston.  Guokas then hit two fast break jumpers and Philadelphia had a 110-107 lead and was a few minutes away from sweeping the Celtics and ending their championship streak.  But Russell came back with a 5 foot baseline jumper over Wilt and Don Nelson (who came in for Howell) hit a jumper from the elbow.  After a Philadelphia timeout, Russell brought in Embry to play alongside him and match the 76ers powerful lineup of Jackson and Chamberlain.  It would be a factor as Embry would get a layup off a Siegfried feed to put Boston up 115-114.  After Russell blocked a Chet Walker shot, Sam Jones hit a bank shot with under a minute left.  He then stole the ball from Jackson and was fouled hard by Guokas on the fast break nearly causing a melee.  Jones hit the two free throws for a 119-114 Celtics lead with 15 seconds left.  Jones finished with 32 points on 13-of-25 shooting after averaging 18.3 points per game in the first 3 games.  After Guokas hit a free throw, Jackson put back an intentionally missed second free throw and it was a 2-point game.  But Russell clinched the game with 2 free throws and a block.

The Celtics were only alive for 2 more days though as Philadelphia killed them 140-116 in Game 5.  Wali Jones came back with a strong game and his hot streak in the third quarter opened the game up.  The game ended with Philadelphia fans chanting ‘Boston is Dead,’ and they finally were.  Philadelphia would beat San Francisco in the NBA Finals in 6 games for their first championship since moving from Syracuse.  They were named the Greatest Team in NBA History in the NBA’s 35th anniversary celebration.

Philadelphia starters (points scored)

Chet Walker (18) – Small Forward

Lucious Jackson (29) – Power Forward

Wilt Chamberlain (20) – Center

Wali Jones (7) – Point Guard

Hal Greer (28) – Shooting Guard

Philadelphia bench (points scored)

Billy Cunningham (4)

Matt Guokas (11)

Philadelphia Coach: Alex Hannum

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Boston starters (points scored)

John Havlicek (31) – Small Forward

Bailey Howell (15) – Power Forward

Bill Russell (11) – Center

Larry Siegfried (18) – Point Guard

Sam Jones (32) – Shooting Guard

Boston bench (points scored)

Satch Sanders (2)

Don Nelson (2)

K.C. Jones (6)

Wayne Embry (4)

Jim Barnett (0)

Boston Coach: Bill Russell

Wilt Chamberlain finally beat Bill Russell and won a Championship in 1967 *photo courtesy of Sportige

December 9, 1967: Detroit Pistons 124 @New York Knicks 121

This is I’m afraid the only game I have from the 1968 Season.  I would have no account if not for a 30-minute highlight film that ABC created as a season-in-review (they have this for every season that they put NBA games on TV).

This particular game was significant in that this was the highly anticipated first game in the NBA career of Bill Bradley.  Bradley had become a household name at Princeton University averaging 29.8 points per game.  He was the Player of the Year in his senior season of 1965 and led his unheralded team to the Final Four.  After losing to Michigan in the National Semifinals, Bradley put up 58 points in the Final Four consolation game against Wichita State and was named the Most Outstanding Player (it took a performance like that in a game that ultimately didn’t matter to take the Most Outstanding Player award away from UCLA’s Gail Goodrich, who only scored 42 points in the title game).

Bill Bradley *photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated

Bradley was the territorial pick of the Knicks in the 1965 draft, but Bradley decided to go to Oxford University in England on a Rhodes Scholarship for 2 years.  He dropped out two months prior to his April, 1967 graduation to join the Air Force (Oxford eventually allowed Bradley to take special exams to graduate in 1968).  Bradley served 6 months in the Air Force and as a result joined the Knicks when the 1967-1968 season was already underway.

The game was called by a young 26-year-old Marv Albert on WHN 1050 New York.  The game reached the men in service and Princeton, New Jersey.   The Detroit Pistons came into the game in third place in the Eastern Division with a 16-11 record and had stars in Dave DeBusschere and Dave Bing.  The Knicks were in fourth place with a 12-16 record and were three weeks away from ousting coach Dick McGuire for Red Holzman and their fortunes would start changing.  The Knicks had stars like Dick Barnett, Willis Reed, Walt Bellamy and 1966 number one draft pick Cazzie Russell.  So Bradley came off the bench and didn’t see action until the start of the second quarter with the Knicks up 35-23.

Bradley got cheered loudly by the crowd in pre-game but it was nothing compared to when he entered the game and then got his first basket.  Bradley got his first basket on a fast break dish from Russell (a Reed block started the break).  Bill’s shot put the Knicks up 40-23, but that would be New York’s last field goal for a while.  Led by Bing and his back court partner Eddie Miles, the Pistons went on a 19-1 run to take a 42-41 lead. They then continued the run to go up 55-47 and by as much as 11.  New York cut it to 62-56 at the half and Barnett scored the first 6 points of the second half.  New York used this momentum to grab a 94-90 lead at the end of the third.  But Detroit grabbed it back in the fourth and maintained a 116-110 lead on a Bing three-point play.  Free throws by center Joe Strawder and baskets by Bing held off a late Knicks rally.  Bradley finished with 8 points on three field goals and 2-for-6 from the line.

The cheers for Bradley in this game would soon turn to boos as he struggled with the pressure of being great (and he playing an unnatural position at guard).  Bradley would never live up to the lofty-high expectations but he would find his niche and become a solid player.  These two teams engaged in a trade that was said to be the final piece for the great 1970′s Knicks teams.  On December 19, 1968 Dave DeBusschere was traded to New York for Walt Bellamy and guard Howard Komives.  The trade allowed Willis Reed to move to his natural position at center and allowed up-and-coming star guard Walt Frazier more playing time, as well as gave the Knicks a solid team player and defender in DeBusschere.

Detroit starters (points scored)

John Tresvant (9) – Small Forward

Dave DeBusschere (20) – Power Forward

Joe Strawder (13) – Center

Eddie Miles (25) – Point Guard

Dave Bing (32) – Shooting Guard

Detroit bench (points scored)

Terry Dischinger (20)

Jimmy Walker (2)

Len Chappell (3)

George Patterson (0)

Detroit Coach: Donnie Butcher

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New York starters (points scored)

Cazzie Russell (17) – Small Forward

Willis Reed (14) – Power Forward

Walt Bellamy (22) – Center

Emmette Bryant (1) – Point Guard

Dick Barnett (32) – Shooting Guard

New York bench (points scored)

Dick Van Arsdale (10)

Walt Frazier (7)

Howard Komives (10)

Phil Jackson (0)

Bill Bradley (8)

New York Coach: Dick McGuire

After Holzman replaced McGuire the Knicks climbed to 3rd place while Detroit fell to 4th place.  Philadelphia once again finished ahead of Boston and they beat New York in 6 games in the Semifinals while Boston beat Detroit in 6.  Martin Luther King was assassinated the day before the Celtics/76ers series was set to begin.  This had an affect on the series as both teams wondered whether or not to play Game 1.  The Celtics had a meeting and a team vote about it before traveling to Philadelphia and decided to play the game to try and halt the chaos a little bit that was going on in the U.S. as a reaction.  While the 76ers were told by management that it was too late to cancel the game and they had to play it.  Chamberlain tried to organize a team vote pre-game (only 2 players from Philadelphia voted not to play, one was Chamberlain) but several 76ers were dispirited and weren’t happy that they were given no choice but to play Game 1.

The game was played and the Celtics won but the series was delayed for 5 days.  The 76ers won the next 3 games but there was still some uneasiness on the team.  The Celtics came together to win games 5 and 6.  In Game 7 in Philadelphia Wilt, who was driven to become the first center to lead the league in assists, only took 2 shots in the second half despite teammates Walker and Jones shooting 8-for-22 and Greer shooting 8-for-25.  The Celtics won 100-96 and would beat the Lakers in 6 games.  Wilt was criticized largely and wasn’t happy with management.  He demanded a trade to the Lakers and that summer he got it.

Wilt’s 76ers blew a 3-1 lead against Russell’s Celtics in 1968, it was Chamberlain’s last series with the 76ers *photo courtesy of dubsism

January 14, 1969 – NBA All-Star Game at Baltimore: East 123, West 112

For the 1969 Season, the big surprise was the host team of the All-Star Game – the Baltimore Bullets.  After finishing last in the East in 1968, the Bullets came into the 1969 All-Star break with a league-best 33-11 record.  They had three representatives for the East team.  All of them would have a major impact on the East’s victory but none would end up getting the MVP.  The Bullets’ Earl Monroe started in the back court with veteran Oscar Robertson, and ‘Earl The Pearl’ got the East off to an 18-10 lead in the first 5 minutes by hitting his first two shots and scoring 7 points.  The East led 35-19 at the end of the first.

Interestingly, this All-Star Game was played on a week day (Tuesday night) and still covered prime-time by ABC.  But President Lyndon Baines Johnson was giving his State-of-the-Union address on that same night (six days before Nixon was sworn in as the new president).  So at 9:00 Eastern time that night, ABC was going to go to live coverage of Johnson’s address and would bring live coverage for the second half of the All-Star Game.  Interestingly, halftime was actually delayed as ABC was showing game action of the 2nd quarter to the viewers.

The West had cut the lead to 60-53 at the half.  The East back court of Robertson and Monroe each had 10 points to lead all scorers.  The West had gotten back into the game when Wilt Chamberlain had come into the game and started being a defensive presence inside.  The West’s starting center Elvin Hayes was the only other center on the West roster and he was more known for offense then defense.  So Chamberlain started the second half for the West along with reserves Jeff Mullins and Joe Caldwell.  Elgin Baylor and Lenny Wilkens were the only starters going against the East’s starting five.

The West scored the first 5 points of the 2nd half and then an Elgin Baylor drive by Bill Russell and reverse layup plus the foul on Russell tied the game at 61.  Then after Chamberlain secured a defensive rebound and threw a full-length of the court pass to Caldwell the West had taken a 65-64 lead.  A Baylor jumper, 2 of his 11 third quarter points, gave the West its biggest lead at 69-64.  But then Oscar led the East back to tie the game at 75 late in the 3rd.  It was then that Baltimore rookie Wes Unseld checked into the game in the middle for Russell.  Unseld, who would win Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player, scored 7 late points to give the East an 86-83 advantage going into the fourth quarter.  It was then that the Bullet’s Gus Johnson made his impact.  On the first play he blocked a Don Kojis jumper, retrieved the ball, and finished on a 2-on-1 fastbreak (a great play).  Two Oscar Robertson three-point plays completed a 7-0 run and put the East up 101-96.  Then Monroe hit Johnson with a three-quarter length of the court pass for a dunk, then Johnson pulled down a defensive rebound and got a fastbreak layup off an Oscar assist.  This run broke the game open.  Gus Johnson ended up going out of the game after spraining his ankle (in a sad irony, Johnson would miss the playoffs for the 1st place Bullets that season after he tore an ACL).  With the East in control at 118-106, game-MVP Robertson, Monroe, and Russell were substituted out of the game to a standing ovation.

West starters (teams) and point totals

Elgin Baylor (Los Angeles Lakers) 21 – Small Forward

Don Kojis (San Diego Rockets) 8 – Power Forward

Elvin Hayes (San Diego Rockets) 11 – Center

Lenny Wilkens (Seattle Sonics) 10 – Point Guard

Jerry Sloan (Chicago Bulls) 4 – Shooting Guard

West bench (teams) and point totals

Jeff Mullins (San Francisco Warriors) 14

Wilt Chamberlain (Los Angeles Lakers) 4

Rudy LaRusso (San Francisco Warriors) 6

Dick Van Arsdale (Phoenix Suns) 4

Lou Hudson (Atlanta Hawks) 13

Joe Caldwell (Atlanta Hawks) 12

Gail Goodrich (Phoenix Suns) 5 – replaced an injured Jerry West

West Coach: Richie Guerin (Atlanta Hawks)

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East starters (teams) and point totals

John Havlicek (Boston Celtics) 14 – Small Forward

Jerry Lucas (Cincinnati Royals) 8 – Power Forward

Bill Russell (Boston Celtics) 3 – Center

Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati Royals) 24 – Point Guard

Earl Monroe (Baltimore Bullets) 21 – Shooting Guard

East bench (teams) and point totals

Gus Johnson (Baltimore Bullets) 13

Dave Bing (Detroit Pistons) 3

Billy Cunningham (Philadelphia 76ers) 10

Willis Reed (New York Knicks) 10

Wes Unseld (Baltimore Bullets) 11

Hal Greer (Philadelphia 76ers) 4

Jon McGlocklin (Milwaukee Bucks) 2

East Coach: Gene Shue (Baltimore Bullets)

In the 1969 NBA All-Star Game in Baltimore, the three Bullets representatives showed well – from right: Earl Monroe, Wes Unseld, and Gus Johnson (at bottom) *photos courtesy of ESPN, Spokeo, and Waiting for Next Year

May 5, 1969 – NBA Finals, Game 7: Boston Celtics 108 @Los Angeles Lakers 106

This was the year for the Lakers!  They had acquired Wilt Chamberlain in the off-season to match up against Bill Russell.  The Lakers had won the West with a 55-27 record and had beaten San Francisco in 6 games (after losing the first two at home) and Atlanta in 5 games in the playoffs.  They had home court advantage in the Finals against the Celtics.  Boston had finished in 4th place in the East behind first-place Baltimore, second-place Philadelphia (going with a small-ball lineup without Chamberlain), and third-place New York.  But the Celtics had gotten through the first two rounds beating the 76ers in 5 games and then the Knicks in 6.

Jerry West was determined to make this the year the Lakers finally beat Boston.  He opened the series with 53 and 41 points as the Lakers won the first 2 games at the new Fabulous Forum.  But Boston won the next two games at the Garden.  Game 4 was won on a game-winning off-balance jumper by Sam Jones at the buzzer that bounced in.  The two teams got home victories in the next two games to bring it to Game 7.  Jerry West was averaging 37.2 points per game while John Havlicek was leading the way for Boston with a 28.6 average thru 6 games.  However, a concern for the Lakers was that West pulled his hamstring late in Game 5 and had struggled a bit in Game 6 (despite scoring 26 points).

But Laker owner Jack Kent Cooke didn’t seem too concerned.  He had placed balloons in the rafters that were to be released when the Lakers won the Championship and the USC band was going to play ‘Happy Days Are Here Again.’  The plans were placed on the program for the game so the fans knew what was going on.  Unfortunately for Cooke, the Celtics got their hands on the plans too (and really the best quote was from Auerbach post-game ‘what are they gonna do with those balloons? they’ll eat em!’).

The Celtics came out smoking, hitting 8-of-10 from the field to take a 24-12 lead but the Lakers came back to cut it to 28-25 at the end of the quarter and 59-56 at halftime.  The Lakers went cold in the third quarter and Wilt Chamberlain picked up his fifth foul.  The Celtics took advantage by going inside and grabbed a 91-76 going into the fourth.

The fourth quarter is the only broadcast of the game I have, but its better than nothing!  The Celtics continued their momentum despite 5 fouls on both Russell and Sam Jones.  They built a 100-83 lead on an Emmette Bryant jumper.  But then Boston went cold as they repeatedly fired up outside shots and Jerry West scored 5 straight points to bring his total to 33 for the game.  Jones came back into the game at 7:53 to try and spark the offense but committed his 6th foul 48 seconds later after going for a West fake.  It was known that this was Jones’ last season (it was not known that it would be Russell’s last season).  Sam got an ovation from the crowd and West hit a free throw to cut it to 101-90.  After Baylor and Havlicek traded jumpers, West came back with another jumper.  Havlicek tried to answer at the other end but missed and Wilt grabbed the rebound.  But as Wilt came down he landed awkwardly on his knee and was wincing.  Chamberlain played for two more possessions but called timeout after getting the next defensive rebound.  After a numbing spray was applied Wilt tried to play one more possession but had to go out after West got fouled.

Wilt was visibly frustrated as he went to the bench (slamming the chair).  As the story goes, Chamberlain said he only needed a minute or two to rest but Lakers’ coach Butch Van Breda Kolff wouldn’t put Wilt back in because his replacement Mel Counts ‘was playing better.’  Van Breda Kolff and Chamberlain didn’t like each other that season and were battling all season, so Butch was probably going to get fired.  I’m not saying he wanted to cost the Lakers a championship to prove to Wilt that he was the boss but having injuries like that in my life, something like that does hurt like hell for a minute but once you rest it for a minute it’s fine.  So I believe Wilt could have been put back in and while Counts didn’t play terribly and hit a big jumper, he also got called for traveling and had his layup blocked by Russell on two big possessions.

Anyway, back to the game.  West hit the two free throws and then a pull-up jumper on the next possession and it was 103-98.  After Don  Nelson missed a free throw, West hit two more to bring his total to 42 points on 13-for-17 from the line.  Counts hit his jumper from the free throw line at 3:00 and it was 103-102 and the Forum was bedlam.  The next 6 possessions were chaotic and added to the tension, but didn’t produce points.  After Russell missed an easy layup in front of the rim, Baylor missed a tough baseline shot over Bailey Howell.  Havlicek then missed a free throw after a loose-ball foul on Keith Erickson.  West turned the ball over trying to split a double-team and then Nelson charged into West at 1:53 trying to drive (similar to a bull running through a china shop).  Then Erickson had the ball in the right corner and was going up for a jumper when he saw Baylor cutting to the basket wide open.  Unfortunately for the Lakers, Erickson saw Baylor too late and Russell dropped back and deflected the ball to Bryant.

The next possession was just as chaotic as the last few.  Larry Siegfried tried to drive and was cut off so he passed to Havlicek at the right elbow.  Hondo tried to drive as well but he the ball knocked away from him by Erickson.  The ball went right to Nelson just inside the free throw line and Nellie’s shot hit the back rim, bounced high and went in.  It was 105-102 with 1:15 left.  After West missed a jumper, Siegfried committed an offensive foul at 46 seconds.  Then the Lakers last gasp was sniffed out when Russell blocked Counts driving layup and Siegfried killed some time before he was fouled.  Larry hit two free throws and the Celtics held on for their 11th championship in 13 years.

Russell first made his retirement announcement with Sports Illustrated in the summer.  The Celtics would actually recover remarkably quickly, next making the playoffs with the top seed in the East in 1972.  By then they had drafted Jo Jo White and Dave Cowens.

Boston starters (points scored)

John Havlicek (26) – Small Forward

Bailey Howell (9) – Power Forward

Bill Russell (6) – Center

Emmette Bryant (20) – Point Guard

Sam Jones (24) – Shooting Guard

Boston bench (points scored)

Larry Siegfried (7)

Don Nelson (16)

Boston Coach: Bill Russell

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Los Angeles starters (points scored)

Keith Erickson (6) – Small Forward

Elgin Baylor (20) – Power Forward

Wilt Chamberlain (18) – Center

Johnny Egan (9) - Point Guard

Jerry West (42) – Shooting Guard

Los Angeles bench (points scored)

Mel Counts (9)

Tom Hawkins (2)

Los Angeles Coach: Butch Van Breda Kolff

Bill Russell played his last game in Game 7 while Jerry West became the only losing player to be named Finals MVP (at bottom: West walking off the court with another disappointing loss as the Celtics celebrate behind him) *photos courtesy of Mitchell and Ness, Bleacher Report, and LA Times Lakers Blog

Anthony Davis Jordan Brand Classic 2011 (Photo credit: BasketballElite)

Kentucky‘s Anthony Davis recently won the Naismith Player of the Year Award, his team won the national championship, and Monday night he set a record for the fewest points scored in a championship game by the Final Four Most Outstanding Player (MOP). Davis had 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and three steals to go with only six points in the MOP performance. It was the fewest points scored by an MOP in a title game since Bobby Hurley was MOP in Duke’s 1992 national championship. Hurley had only nine points in the title contest.

Following are the Final Four MOPs who had fewer than 15 points in the championship game.

Points, Player, Team, Year

6: Anthony Davis, Kentucky, 2012

9: Bobby Hurley, Duke, 1992

10: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown, 1984

11: Walt Hazzard, UCLA, 1964

12: Marv Huffman, Kansas, 1940

12: John Kotz, Wisconsin, 1941

13: Corey Brewer, Florida, 2007

14: Alex Groza, Kentucky, 1948

One more look at the leading scorers from last night’s game. Kansas’ Tyshawn Taylor led the Jayhawks with 19 points. This was the fourth straight year that the leading scorer for the losing team scored under 20 points.

In looking at the history of the tournament, there have been 42 players who scored 20 or more points in the title game as a member of the losing team. Slide the scale up to 25 points and we see that there have been 15 players who scored 25 or more points in a losing cause in the NCAA men’s Div. I championship game. Seton Hall’s John Morton tops the list with 35 points in his school’s 1989 championship game loss to Michigan.

Here’s a look at those 15 players who scored 25 or more points in a losing cause in the title game.

Points, Player (School, Year)

35: John Morton (Seton Hall, 1989)

34: Kevin Grevey (Kentucky, 1975)

29: John Wallace (Syracuse, 1996)… Larry Finch (Memphis, 1973)

28: Rick Mount (Purdue, 1969)… Cazzie Russell (Michigan, 1965)… Jerry West (West Virginia, 1959)

27: Udonis Haslem (Florida, 2000)… Ron King (Florida State, 1972)… Jerry Lucas (Ohio State, 1961)

26: B.J. Born (Kansas, 1953)

25: Greg Oden (Ohio State, 2007)… Trajan Langdon (Duke, 1999)… Howard Porter (Villanova, 1971)… Elgin Baylor (Seattle, 1958)

Hazzard is survived by wife Jaleesa, a Bruins song girl during the 1964 NCAA title season, and sons Yakub, Jalal, Khalil and Rasheed. During his NBA career, Hazzard converted to Islam and changed his name to Mahdi Abdul-Rahman. He felt the change was poorly received and cost him professional opportunities so he returned to using his given name professionally while remaining a devout Muslim.

Even in this day and age, where we proclaim our greatness as a Nation, people have their rights as American citizens infringed on solely because of their faith or race.  With the world becoming more populated and hence smaller  the exclusion of any segment of the law abiding citizenry of this country in the political, cultural, intellectual life of America is simply not acceptable!

One of the true greats from the ranks of the NCAA and the NBA passed away on Friday, as the “Los Angeles Times” reported that Walt Hazzard lost his battle against an extended illness at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. The former UCLA guard and coach suffered a stroke back in 1996, and never bounced back after having heart surgery earlier this year. The number one pick in the 1964 NBA Draft was 69 years old. Hazzard was a member of the first NCAA Championship Team at UCLA under legendary coach John Wooden. He would go onto play ten years in the Association starting with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Hazzard and teammate Gail Goodrich solidified the back-court for the Bruins leading to their NCAA Title. He was also a member of the gold medal winning Team USA in the 1964 Olympics. Hazzard would then move onto playing in the Association, having stints with the Lakers, Seattle, Atlanta, Buffalo and Golden State. After his playing days ended, Hazzard would return to UCLA in 1984 to become the team’s head coach. The school won the NIT Championship in 1985, and Hazzard coached the team from 1984-1988.

vector version of this image (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Walt Hazzard, former UCLA Bruins  and NBA basketball star, died yesterday at the age of 69. After  his playing career ended he was a successful coach. However he never achieved the status of  the legendary John Wooden for whom he had played. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-me-walt-hazzard-20111119,0,7345670.story?track=rss Hazzard helped Wooden lead the team to his first NCAA championship. In his 4 years of coaching, Hazzard brought the Bruins their first National Invitational Tournament championship. But that wasn’t considered good enough.

I first heard about Hazzard when my uncle played basketball against me using the name of the star player. My uncle was one of the role models for my older sister and me. I sometimes resented his closeness with him. In recent years my uncle left our hometown of Buffalo and built a wonderful home outside Atlanta. He has also become a role model for others, speaking at recovery meetings. When I  learned that fact about about my uncle it made him more human. He was someone who had admitted his faults.

Hazzard struggled, too. He played in the NBA before the big contracts that players have today. His career included playing in Buffalo before that team left town. The article I read about his life talked about how he lived almost 20 years after suffering a stroke. He was married, raised a family and was a devout Muslim. Indeed, he did a lot with his life.

So I am glad I heard about Walt Hazzard who number 42 was retired by UCLA. He aspired to and achieved greatness. Walt Hazzard, presente.

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Walt Hazzard, the former UCLA and NBA star who played on the Bruins’ first NCAA championship basketball team in 1964 and later coached the team for four seasons in the 1980s, died Friday. He was 69.

Hazzard’s family said he had been recuperating for a long time from complications following heart surgery. The school said Hazzard died at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center.

He had a stroke in March 1996 and made a strong recovery, but became less publicly active. He made occasional appearances at UCLA games in recent years.

Hazzard was co-captain of the 1964 national title team that went 30-0 under coach John Wooden. He averaged a career-high 18.6 points as a senior playmaking guard. He was chosen college basketball’s player of the year, having averaged 19.8 points in the NCAA tournament, where he was selected as the most valuable player.

As a junior, Hazzard led the Bruins with a 16.3 scoring average and they won 20 games for the first time since 1957. In his sophomore season, he averaged 13.2 points and the Bruins reached the Final Four for the first time in school history, losing by two points to eventual national champion Cincinnati in the semifinals.

Hazzard transferred to UCLA after spending one season at Santa Monica College.

In 1996, UCLA retired his No. 42 jersey.

“Walt was one of the pillars of UCLA’s first championship team in men’s basketball,” current coach Ben Howland said. “He was a great player and an outstanding coach at UCLA. He is a huge part of the Bruin legacy, and he left life-long memories for the Bruin faithful.”

Hazzard helped the U.S. win a gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and played 10 years in the NBA, including a stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, who made him the No. 1 overall pick.

Hazzard averaged 12.6 points and 4.9 assists during his career with the Lakers, Seattle, Atlanta, Buffalo and Golden State. He ranked among the league’s top 10 in assists during six of his seasons. In 1968, he averaged 23.9 points and 6.2 assists, culminating in an appearance in the All-Star game.

During his four years as UCLA coach, the Bruins had a 77-47 record. In 1985, he led them to the school’s first NIT championship. In 1987, UCLA won the Pac-10 title and the league’s first postseason tournament with future NBA star Reggie Miller in the lineup. They finished with a 25-7 mark, losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament, with Hazzard selected league coach of the year.

“Thoughts and prayers go out to the Hazzard family on your loss,” Miller tweeted Friday night. “Coach Hazzard was not only a STUD point guard at UCLA under Coach Wooden…But a great Coach as well. He helped shaped me into the ball player I was, thanks so much Coach..”

The Bruins slumped to a 16-14 record the following year, and Hazzard was replaced by Jim Harrick for the 1988-89 season.

“This is a sad day for the UCLA basketball family,” Bruins athletic director Dan Guerrero said.

“Walt was the catalyst for Coach John Wooden’s first championship team and played the game with a style that excited Bruin basketball fans everywhere. He contributed to his alma mater in numerous ways, including as a student-athlete, coach and honored alum, and he will be greatly missed by all of us knew him.”

Before taking over at his alma mater, Hazzard coached two seasons each at Compton College near Los Angeles and Chapman College in Orange County.

In 1994, Hazzard re-joined the Lakers as a West Coast advance scout. After his stroke, he served as a special consultant to the team for another 15 years.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss said, “Walt was a man of extremely high character.”

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said, “Not only was Walt an outstanding player, but his knowledge of the game was extremely valuable to our front office as well over the past 17 years. In the years since his stroke, he has been an inspiration to many of us with his perseverance and his passion for the game.”

Hazzard, a native of Wilmington, Del., starred at Philadelphia’s Overbrook High, where Wilt Chamberlain had played years earlier. During his three-year varsity basketball career, Hazzard led the school to an 89-3 record and two city titles. He also played baseball and ran track, and was student body president.

Hazzard is survived by wife Jaleesa, a Bruins song girl during the 1964 NCAA title season, and sons Yakub, Jalal, Khalil and Rasheed. During his NBA career, Hazzard converted to Islam and changed his name to Mahdi Abdul-Rahman. He felt the change was poorly received and cost him professional opportunities so he returned to using his given name professionally while remaining a devout Muslim.

(1942-2011)

wikipedia

Hazzard had been recuperating after having heart surgery.

Following a 10 year NBA career, Hazzard returned to coach UCLA for four seasons in the ’80s. The Bruins were 77-47 in his tenure, reaching the NCAA tournament after the 1986-87 season.

yup, a top draft pick

Using #3 as a cutoff for ‘top pick’ what does a premium selection look like? Clear successes include Grant Hill, The Human Highlight Reel and Bob Cousy but try not to step on Chris Washburn or Adam Morrison on your way to Springfield.  Odds are if you hold the third pick you will get someone like Benoit Benjamin, Ben Gordon or Elmore Smith.  Capable starters all but not pillars of championship teams.  Focusing the search on highly productive winning players we find the number 3 pick offers you an 18% chance at a superstar while the #1 pick comes in at 32% and number 2 at 23%.

Put yourself in the shoes of a GM slated to pick third.  Who do you anticipate falling in your lap?  Recent #2 picks include Evan Turner, Hasheem Thabeet, Michael Beasley and KD.  All these guys were viewed as franchise cornerstones on draft night.  The GM’s at three went with Horford, Mayo, Harden and Favors. Not quite sure things but pretty high ceiling guys.

Seeing the sample of #3’s would you trade up to get that slot?  Would you ask your team to tank in April to get more ping-pong balls?  Seems the 3 pick is a generous cutoff for “top pick”.

Territorial selections from the league’s early days skew what the #3 looks like. In 1965 Rick Barry was the 2^nd pick in the regular draft but there were three territorial selections before #1 Fred Hetzel.  For all we know Barry may have been viewed as the 5^th best player in the land.  All six picks were eligible for inclusion as top 3 picks in this study.

Side note…of the 21 territorial picks from ’49-’65 we count 10 HoF’ers! This doesn’t even include Philly natives Walt Hazzard of Final Four fame and 4-time all-star point guard Guy Rogers.

There were a max of three teams each season included in the study, the two NBA finals participants and the team with the most regular season wins.  The team with the most regular season wins did not even win their conference title in 23 of 41 seasons (including 11 of the last 13).  Bragging rights are won in June but let’s acknowledge teams that best survived the 82.  In nearly all cases these teams are in the finals the year before or after their great regular season run so they prove to be multi- year contenders.

Here is the breakdown for the last 41 seasons

• Finals Champs                   36 with top picks (88%)
• Finals Runner-ups            35 with top picks (85%)
• Best in 82                             19 with top picks out of 23 total teams (83%)

not a top pick

The five champions without top 3’s are the ’08 Celtics, ’83 76ers, ’79 Sonics, ’74 & ‘76 Celtics.

Boston in ’08 unified the title by also winning the most games in the regular season (66-16 overall and 25-5 vs. West).  They won just 24 games in ’07 before trading six of their top eight players for KG & Jesus Shuttlesworth (5^th picks in ’95 & ’96 respectively).  The Hawks and Cavs each pushed them to 7 games so their ’08 playoff mark stands at “only” 16-10.  They emphatically answered any doubters when they beat LA by 39 points in game 6 to clinch the finals.

The Sixers were of course led by Moses (“fo-fo-fo”), Dr. J and Mo Cheeks. Moses posted a most impressive 26 Player Efficiency Rating in 13 playoff games in ‘83.  Looking at draft positions, Malone was the 27^th pick in the ’74 ABA draft and 5^th pick in the ABA dispersal draft (’76).  The Doctor was made the 12^th selection in the ’72 NBA draft before jumping to the ABA and winning three league MVPs and two titles with the New York Nets.

The Sonics won their only title in ’79 while leading the league in attendance.  The NBA’s best defense (104 PA/G and 46% opp FG%) was led by big man Jack Sikma (8^th pick in ’77) and guard Dennis Johnson (29^th in ’76), while “The Wizard” Gus Williams averaged 27 pts, 4 ast, 4 reb & 2 steals in 17 playoff games with Seattle winning 12.  From ’74-’78 there was a dearth in top picks paying off as eight eventual franchise players were drafted, yet none picked higher than 6^th overall.

Coach “Ack-Ack” collected his two titles with Boston in the mid-‘70s.  These were rather vanilla championship teams, the core of which included Cowens (4^th pick), Havlicek (7^th), Silas (10^th) and Jo-Jo White (9^th).  While not the best team in either regular season (’74-Mil, ’76-GS) they managed a 12-6 playoff mark both years.

The 1970 draft class was absolutely loaded! We saw Lanier, Rudy T., Pistol Pete, Cowens and Sam Lacey filling the first 5 slots.  Later picks included Calvin Murphy, Tiny Archibald and Dan Issel.  I am not sure anyone had Cowens in the top 3 of that bunch.

There was only one more runner-up without a top 3 than the actual champs.  The 2010 Celtics, ’97 & ’98 Jazz, ’93 Suns, ’82 Sixers & ’76 Suns.  Also the ’80 Sixers who lost to LA in the finals had #1 overall pick Doug Collins but he played just 36 regular season games and saw no playoff action.

Jerry Sloan constructed some offensive juggernauts in Salt Lake.  From ’92-’98 the Jazz 112 Offensive Rating was tops in the NBA.  Small school stars Stockton (16^th) & Malone (13^th) led them to a 22-6 record against the West in the playoffs in ’97 & ’98.

The ’93 Phoenix team posted a 113 ‘O’Rating and was the highest scoring in the league by a full 3 points/game, while also ranking 9^th in defensive efficiency (107).  First year Suns Barkley (5^th) and Ainge joined forces with veterans K.J. (7^th) and Thunder Dan to take one final (they thought) beating for the West at the hands of Mr. Jordan and John Paxson.

The ’76 vintage was just 42-40 and upset the high powered defending champs GSW in 7 games to win the West.  Rookie of The Year “Double A” (4^th) had stormed the league while ranking 5^th with a 22 PER.  Phoenix had a chance to go up 3-2 on Boston before falling in 3 OTs in game 5.  They would lose 87-80 in game 6.  Coach John MacLeod did produce three future skippers from this club, Riley, Westphal and Wetzel.

It’s worth noting that the 2001 Spurs had 4 top picks and were clearly the best team in the 82 but were swept by LA in the conference finals.  No team in the study had 5 top picks but the ’87-’89 Lakers had 4 #1 overall picks.  Riley went back-to-back with this group.  Phil Jackson should punt the questions about how easy it is to win with talent over to Riles.

On the other end Boston appears on the list 13 times and has a total of three top picks (The Chief went 8^th in ’76 & Larry 6^th in ’78).  The ’80 team won 61 games with Pistol Pete as their 8^th man.  Walton played 19 MPG in ‘86 while they unified the title.  McHale was the only other top pick Boston had during their winning seasons in the past four decades.  Nice work Bill Fitch, K.C. Jones and Doc Rivers.

Do you need a top pick to win in the Association?  Just 15 of the last 105 great teams lacked a top-flight draft pick.  It certainly won’t hurt to have the #1 pick (insert Clippers joke here) but you are twice as likely to land a non-superstar than a franchise changer even at #1.

***

Posted by Sekou Smith

LOS ANGELES – As expected, the passing of famed UCLA coach and basketball icon John Wooden has produced a wide range of emotions amongst the natives here in Southern California.

Lakers star Kobe Bryant is no different, having spent all of his adult life in this town being reminded of Wooden and his legacy by so many inside and outside of the Lakers organization.

Bryant spoke briefly about Wooden and their unique relationship after the Lakers wrapped up practice Saturday at their facility in El Segundo.

“Well, I mean, to say he was a great coach I think doesn’t do it any justice,” Bryant said. “I think his legacy speaks for itself.  The personal experience that I’ve had with him was the first time ‑‑ I saw him once at a UCLA basketball game when I was really young and we spoke briefly, and then we spoke at length at Chick Hearn‘s funeral.  We spoke for about 25, 30 minutes.

“I think if you talk to any of his players, players that played for him, I think the thing that’s consistent is that he made them better people, you know.  I think that would be a true mark of his legacy.  The winning and all that stuff, that’s stuff that we all know about.”

Celtics coach Doc Rivers has a framed picture of Wooden on his desk back in Boston. It’s his own tribute to a coaching legend that he holds in the highest regard.

“He was the best coach ever, him and Red Auerbach are the two guys that we talk about, the gods, and there are two of them,” Rivers said. “So the fact that I got to meet him and he actually knew my name, to me blew me away on its own right.  I don’t ask for a lot of autographs, and he was one that I wanted, and he was as gracious as we thought he would be.  You know, to have those two on your desk, I don’t think you need to further your collection.  You know, those are the two best.

“Tough, sad loss, really, for all of us.  But with Wooden, I think he’s one of the rare superstars that stood out more about him as a person than he did as a coach or anything.  And that’s rare, when you say that about any star in any business.”

Bryant and Rivers weren’t the only ones asked about and prepared to speak about Wooden. Lakers coach Phil Jackson also shared his thoughts:

You know, I guess of the 150,000 people that are reciting John’s legendary fame, I just stand in awe of the guy. I think as a young basketball player growing up and watching the ’62 Bruins, the ’63 Bruins, the era that I came out of high school and watching this team, this pesky team of 6’5″ guys, Keith Erickson and Walt Hazzard, Gail Goodrich roll out a great record and play the incredible defense that they played with the speed that they played at, I think that that was my first awareness of John Wooden.”

“You know, obviously one of his Final Four games was against my colleague, Tex Winter.  They had great a rivalry going.  Tex always tells the story that his team was ahead by four points going into the last stretch of the ballgame, and there was a blizzard out in Kansas.  The game’s in Kansas City which was close to Manhattan, Kansas, where he was coaching at Kansas State, and then the UCLA girls showed up and the cheerleaders led his team on, the Bruins, on to victory.  He said, I think the referees got enamored with the Bruins cheerleaders, all those beautiful California girls.”

So that’s a 40‑year ago, 50‑year ago vision in a man who was eventually ‑‑ went on to win nine more championships in a number of years.  He did it then with unbelievable talent, talent started coming in his direction with obviously Lew Alcindor ‑ Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar ‑ and a myriad of other players that came in there.  But that first initial group won has always kind of a special place as to his activity, how he prepared his teams, their defensive mindset, and the things that he really believed in basketball as a coach.

You can expect the testimonials and reflections to continue to flow about Wooden, one of the greatest teachers, coaches and men to grace us all with his presence.

R.I.P John Wooden!

John Wooden with great-grandson Tyler Trapani

Preposterous?  Nah.  Meet Tyler Trapani, UCLA’s walk-on seventeenth man, who also happens to be the great-grandson of a rather illustrious presence around Westwood - John Wooden.   Normally, we’d be up in arms over this clear case of nepotism, but actually, we don’t have any problem with this story.  As Ben Howland said in a recent AP report, he’s just acting as a caretaker for Coach Wooden’s program, and it’s not as if Trapani’s presence on the team otherwise injures any current Bruin’s standing (apparently, for most games he sits in the stands in street clothing). 

photo credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

As part of the Wooden Classic festivities against Depaul on Saturday, the elder Bruin coach was there when Trapani (#4) played for ninety glorious seconds.  Given that the current walk-on Bruin once as a child told his great-gramps that he already knew how to shoot the ball when “Papa” was trying to correct his form, what was the WoW’s take on his 6’0, 185-lb. scion’s all-around game? 

He’s a little heavy-footed, but he works hard for a young fellow just starting college.  He doesn’t have the quickness for changing direction that I always like to have.

Translation: I was too busy recruiting players like Lew Alcindor, Sidney Wicks, Walt Hazzard, Bill Walton, Marques Johnson, et al., than to go after slow-as-molasses chumps like you.  Still love ya, though, kid. 

RENA

I arrive at chez Hazzard with Rena and Jaleesa asks me to name my poison. I go for a martini. Per my request, Rena makes for the kitchen and creates magic with the jigger and laces me with the perfect beverage. Shaken not stirred.

Due to a scheduling conflict, she is unable to join us for dinner and bounces after she pours. She threatens to return later but doesn’t make it back.

Karuna and The Epecurian will be coming through but have seperate previous engagements. The Epecurean has Mos Def business to attend to and Karuna has a standing date with the beach. Also expected is the third son of the Hazzards, west coast producer, DJ Khalil.

Jaleesa, her sister Traci and I are all in the backyard getting our taste on and listening to Cannonball Adderly, Nancy Wilson, Johnny Hartman, Trane, Coleman Hawkins and Miles on Coach’s i-pod. Coach is chilling and playing his position. It’s a decided contrast from the previous night’s show. As Thelonious Monk says to a sideman in the documentary, Straight No Chaser, “It’s so za-zu-zazz!”

Karuna arrives and I make with the intros. It’s time for a second Martini and she displays her previous experience in libation preperation. The second round is strong and dry.

The menu is classic Jaleesa; chicken, salmon, asaparagus, new potatos, candied yams, mozzarela, tomatos and basil, olive oil and bread. Before she got zen wit it and installed a fountain in the backyard, she used to grow her own collard greens. There are no home grown collard greens on the menu today. I take a moment and reflect on the price of aesthetics.

Dinner is served in the dinning room. We’re surrounded by family photos and art work by Bearden and others.

After dinner, Coach and I cut the tips off of two Domincans and get to puffing. Karuna shakes and pours a little more magic.

THE HAZZARDS

The Epecurean arrives with with two bottles of unpronouncable champagne. The flutes get broken out and we get a bit more festive when the champagning begins. He is served a plate and eats outside in the back. The sun is down, lamps are lit, Traci says good night and it’s about to go down.

DJ Khalil comes through. His Apple laptop with the Serato program is up and good to go in the living room.

DJ Khalil is in his mid thirties and an accomplished producer who has worked with 50, Jay-z, Nas and others. When I first met him he was in his mid teens and a diligent, aspiring young man with a dream. He was in the backhouse/home studio with two turntables a mixer a sampler and a drum machine.

He blew up as a mobile dj, started a group of his own, the well respected, Self Scientific, put in a bit of work as a leading player in the backpack business and is now one of Dr. Dre’s top trackmen. Tonight he’s here to play, after dinner, ol skool, NY hip hop.

DJ KHALIL

The champagne is a wrap. Another martini is offerd and accepted. DJ Khalil, Karuna and I go into the living room. DJK has been working on a new project with a group of Canadian musicians. It’s been his habit since he was a kid to play his new shit for me. Tonight we continue our tradition.They call themselves, The New Royales.

It’s different, radically different. Three lead vocalists. A wispy, sexy Portugese female with a killer quality. A dude who’s heard every, Beatles record ever cut and sounds like one of the Gallagher brothers from, Oasis and a second guy with a less distinct personality.

All of it backed by top notch, super edgy, state of the art tracks that are a combination of hip hop, alternative and brit pop. The prodigal Tounge, Busta Rhymes is spitting a hot sixteen on a smash dance track.. Black Star refugee, Talib Kweli is on another jawn. I hear half a dozen different examples of excellence. They’re gonna do well.

THE NEW ROYALES

Jaleesa, Coach and The Epecurean join us in the living room. Another martini is served. Dinner was exceptional, the comapany is warm and the music begins to play.

DJK’s family nickname is Doc. Doc begins to play like a man posessed. It’s strictly ’80′s and ’90′s classics. Big Daddy Kane, De La, Tribe, Dilla remixes, Biggie, Supa Luva Cee and Casanova Rudd, Stetsaonnic, Biz Markie, Slick Rick. He’s killing us!

I’m in the hottest lounge that I’ve been in in years. The beats are crazy, the martini’s are now flowing. The Epecurean gets nostalgic and begins to give lessons in ’80′s black teenage dances. He starts to dance with purpose and breaks out into the wop. He’s worried that he’s not made his point and goes into the extreme wop. I’m wondering if he’s going to throw his back out.

We’re all falling over laughing. Doc plays, Mobb Deep’s, Drink Away The Pain. It’s well past 3am. The Epecurean gets his running man on. We’re all obligated to chant, “go Jayson, go Jayson.”

Doc is still putting it down. He plays an obscure, Brand New Heavies remix of their, Sometimes. He and I are the only two in the room who know this jawn. I’m compelled to sing badly. Lead singer, Siedah Garret and I are harmonizing poorly. I’m not discouraged, “talking ’bout a revolution or maybe just a change of mind.” The room is spinning faster than Doc is. Doc went on and on and on….

It’s about 4am and I go into the den. There’s a flat screen on one of the walls and Michael Phelps is on it and beginning his assault on olympic history. Karuna and Jaleesa join me.

After his time as a UCLA undergrad, Coach Hazzard spent a decade as a top notch, journeyman point guard in the NBA. The summer in between college and his rookie year, he was a member of the gold medalist, ’64 edition of the, USA mens basketball team. Jaleesa mentions that his medal is upstairs and asks would I like to see it.

KAURNA THE INSIDEPLAYA AND A ’64 GOLD MEDAL

She goes to get it and a digital camera. Somewhere there exists a picture of me sloshed and wearing a bit of history around my neck.

All of the martini consumption has been done by The Epecurean and me. Wisely, Jaleesa has stuck with wine, Karuna beer and Doc and his father drank water.

While high on vodka, laughter, hip hop and the company of family. The Epecurean says, “You know you gotta come to San Francisco. Right?”

RTB will be moving north the folllowing weekend. I’d packed for a three day turn around. but I was not going to let that keep me from pressing on.

to be continued

mad shouts to John Wooden, Ed Eckstine, AJ Calloway, Karen Kennedy, David Rabin and…The Wirk