20 Second Timeout

Remembering George McGinnis, Two-Time ABA Champion and 1975 ABA Regular Season Co-MVP

George McGinnis, who won two ABA championships (1972, 1973) with the Indiana Pacers and shared the 1975 ABA regular season MVP with Julius Erving, passed away on Thursday at the age of 73 after suffering a heart attack at home last week. McGinnis had deep Indiana roots, as he led Washington high school (Indianapolis) to a 31-0 record and the state championship in 1969 before starring at Indiana University. In 1970-71 in his only varsity season at Indiana University, McGinnis became the first sophomore to lead the Big Ten in scoring (30.0 ppg) and rebounding (14.7 rpg). Taking advantage of the new Spencer Haywood rule that enabled underclassmen to jump from college to pro basketball, McGinnis joined the ABA's Indiana Pacers for the 1971-72 season, departing Indiana University just before the arrival of Bobby Knight; it would have been interesting if those two Hall of Famers had teamed up, and McGinnis later said that playing for Knight would have helped his development as a player.

Listed at 6-8, 235 pounds, McGinnis had a body that looked like a statue of a Greek god carved out of flawless marble. McGinnis drove to the hoop with power, but he also had a soft touch on his patented one-handed jump shot. He possessed a rare combination of size, strength, speed, scoring ability, rebounding prowess, and passing skills; in short, he was LeBron James before LeBron James (although James enjoyed a much longer career). Overshadowed by a Hall of Fame rookie class including Erving and Rookie of the Year/regular season MVP Artis Gilmore, McGinnis averaged 16.9 ppg and 9.7 rpg in 1971-72, joining Gilmore, Erving, Johnny Neumann, and John Roche on the 1972 ABA All-Rookie First Team. McGinnis averaged 15.5 ppg and 11.4 rpg in the playoffs as the Pacers won their second ABA title in three years.

McGinnis was a key figure in the fabled "Interstate 65 rivalry" pitting the Indiana Pacers versus the Kentucky Colonels. In a May 24, 2004 interview at Conseco Fieldhouse prior to game two of the Eastern Conference Finals pitting Detroit against Indiana, I spoke with McGinnis about his role on those dominant 1970s Pacers teams, and he told me, "I was probably one of the first--if not the first--big power forwards who could come out on the floor and handle the ball…In our offense I could bring the ball up." McGinnis was a friendly and enthusiastic interview subject, as were all of the former Pacers who I have been blessed to interview, including Hall of Famers Coach Bobby "Slick Leonard" and center Mel Daniels, plus Len Elmore, Billy Knight, and Darnell Hillman. Researching and writing about the great Roger Brown--who passed away in 1997 and was not inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until 2013--will always be a life highlight for me. McGinnis had fond memories of Brown, telling me what he learned from Brown as a young player: "I think learning just to--I was very excitable. If there was a big game, I got really up and then by the time you got 10 minutes into the game I was spent, in terms of energy. So I think that one of the key things that I learned for him--especially in playoff basketball--was that you never get too high or too excited because it is a 48 minute game and you have to play the whole 48 minutes. The team that wins the first 10 minutes is not necessarily the team that is going to win the game. So I think just being calm and handling pressure situations, more than anything else, is what I learned from him."

Daniels, Leonard, and McGinnis have all passed away now, and I feel a keen sense of loss not only for the basketball greatness they represent but for a wonderful time in my writing career that exists now only in fond memories.

In his second season with the Pacers, McGinnis averaged 27.6 ppg (second in the ABA behind Erving) and 12.5 rpg (fourth in the ABA). He finished third in regular season MVP voting behind Billy Cunningham (who later coached him with the Philadelphia 76ers) and Erving (his future teammate with the 76ers). McGinnis averaged 22.3 ppg and 13.7 rpg versus Kentucky in the 1973 ABA Finals, scoring 27 points in Indiana's 88-81 game seven victory at Freedom Hall in Kentucky. He was named the 1973 ABA Playoff MVP.

McGinnis averaged 25.9 ppg (second in the ABA behind Erving) and 15.0 rpg (second in the ABA behind Gilmore) in 1973-74, earning the first of three straight All-ABA First Team selections. He averaged 24.0 ppg and 11.9 rpg in the playoffs, but the Pacers lost to the Utah Stars in seven games in the Western Division Finals. 

McGinnis reached his peak in 1974-75, winning the ABA scoring title with a career-high 29.8 ppg, ranking fifth in rebounding (14.3 rpg), and ranking third in assists with a career-high 6.3 apg. In the 1975 ABA Finals, the Colonels avenged their 1973 loss to the Pacers by beating the Pacers 4-1 despite McGinnis averaging 27.4 ppg, 14.0 rpg and 6.4 apg, gaudy numbers that were actually a bit below his overall playoff production that year (32.3 ppg, 15.9 rpg and 8.2 apg). In 2009 when I wrote about the only players to average 30-7-7 in a playoff season that short list included Oscar Robertson (1963, 1966), George McGinnis (1975), Michael Jordan (1989), and LeBron James (2009). Since that time, James accomplished the feat three more times (2015, 2017, 2018), and Luka Doncic did it twice (2020, 2021), while Russell Westbrook (2017) and Nikola Jokic (2023) each posted one such playoff run. Jokic is the only player in that club who won a championship in his 30-7-7 postseason, although Robertson, McGinnis, Jordan, and James each won at least one championship in other seasons. 

I asked McGinnis what it felt like to play basketball as dominantly as he did, particularly during the 1975 playoffs. He said, "I mean I think that was a point in my career where I guess--I hear present day players talk about being 'in a zone' or the bucket being bigger than or looking like the ocean--that is kind of like what it was for me back in '73, '74. I was probably at the peak of my physical ability and things came easily for me. I can't tell you that I thought about it. A lot of it was just natural ability."

McGinnis jumped to the NBA prior to the 1975-76 season, joining the Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 23.0 ppg (sixth in the NBA), 12.6 rpg (sixth in the NBA), and 4.7 apg as the 76ers improved from 34-48 to 46-36 and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1971.

After the ABA/NBA merger in 1976, the New York Nets sold Erving to the 76ers. Philadelphia General Manager Pat Williams had a "20-20-20" vision for the 76ers: he wanted Julius Erving, George McGinnis, and Doug Collins to each average around 20 ppg as opposed to having one player average 30 ppg while dominating the ball. Erving averaged 21.6 ppg, McGinnis averaged 21.4 ppg, and Collins averaged 18.3 ppg as the 76ers posted the Eastern Conference's best record (50-32) in 1976-77. Former MVPs Erving and McGinnis each made the All-NBA Second Team, and sacrificing individual glory for team success seemed to be working out wonderfully as the 76ers raced out to a 2-0 lead in the 1977 NBA Finals--but then Bill Walton's Portland Trail Blazers won four straight games to take the championship. McGinnis struggled mightily in the playoffs, but the 76ers' "20-20-20" vision seemed to be on target for the 1978 title after the 76ers again posted the best record in the Eastern Conference (55-27). However, the 76ers lost 4-2 to the eventual champion Washington Bullets (now known as the Washington Wizards) in the Eastern Conference Finals, and then they traded McGinnis to the Denver Nuggets for Bobby Jones. The 76ers lost in the NBA Finals in 1980 and 1982 before acquiring Moses Malone, the 1982 regular season MVP who teamed up with 1981 regular season MVP Erving to lead the 76ers to a dominant 1983 title run. 

Although conventional wisdom is that the 76ers had to get rid of McGinnis to win the title, Erving told me that he disagrees with that assessment: "Probably, if our team had stayed together, instead of being broken up, I think we would have won the title prior to '83. I think that we had the makings of a great team and we had a lot of parts. All the teams that we beat to get to the Finals before we lost to Portland should have spoken volumes."

When I interviewed McGinnis, I told him what Erving said, and I asked McGinnis about his memories of playing against and then playing with Erving. He replied, "Playing against him was a monster. He was absolutely incredible. He did things that make you go, 'Wow, did he really do that?' I never really appreciated how great he was until I actually got the opportunity to play with him for a couple years and I saw him do something different almost every night. He was just way ahead of his time. He was a tremendous guy, hell of a guy, class guy, but I strongly believe that our team would have won a championship, as he said, if they would have left it alone. But hey, that's sports, and they eventually won one in '83. I thoroughly enjoyed playing against him because, I can say this, I beat him more than he beat me (in the ABA)." McGinnis added that Erving "was kind of the straw that stirred the drink for our league" (borrowing the phrase that Reggie Jackson once used to describe his impact on the New York Yankees). It is true that McGinnis' Pacers went 16-14 versus Erving's teams (Virginia Squires, then New York Nets) from 1971-75, although Erving did not play in one of those losses. Per Statmuse, Erving's teams posted a 13-1 record versus McGinnis' teams in the NBA.

McGinnis averaged 22.6 ppg in his first season with Denver and he was selected as an All-Star for the final time, but his numbers declined in 1979-80 and the Nuggets traded him to Indiana, where McGinnis played until 1982 before retiring at just 31.

In 2017, McGinnis was inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Here is how I summarized his Hall of Fame credentials at that time:

McGinnis' career and prime were both shorter than McGrady's but McGinnis was the only Hall of Fame eligible NBA or ABA regular season MVP who had not been inducted. McGinnis shared 1975 ABA regular season MVP honors with Julius Erving, who two seasons later joined forces with McGinnis to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals. McGinnis played a key role for two Indiana ABA championship teams (1972, 1973), winning the ABA Playoff MVP in 1973. During the 1975 ABA playoffs, McGinnis averaged 32.3 ppg, 15.9 rpg and 8.2 apg while leading the Pacers to the Finals (their third Finals trip in McGinnis' four years with the franchise). McGinnis remains one of just four players who averaged 30 ppg, 7 rpg and 7 apg for an entire playoff season; pro basketball fans are on a first name basis with the other players: Oscar (who did it twice), Michael, LeBron (who has done it twice). Interestingly, all of those players won at least one championship but none of them won a title during his 30-7-7 postseason run.

McGinnis made the All-Star team six times--three in the ABA, three in the NBA--and at his peak he was as good as any player in either league. The one blemish on his resume is that he relied too much on his natural talent, so when his physical skills began to erode he did not adjust his game; he did not make the All-Star team after the age of 28 and by age 32 he was out of the league. Nevertheless, a player who is a key contributor for two championship teams (and two other Finalists) while winning a regular season MVP, a playoff MVP and a scoring title deserves Hall of Fame induction--not to mention the fact that he was also a dominant, record setting collegiate player.

During his Hall of Fame speech, McGinnis talked about how much fellow Hoosier Oscar Robertson was an inspiration for him, and he recalled posting 53 points and 30 rebounds in an Indiana-Kentucky high school all-star game, which was the last time his father saw him play before passing away. McGinnis called fellow Hall of Famer Rick Barry a "professor" because of his on-court wisdom, and he termed Coach Leonard a "father figure."

McGinnis is one of the most decorated and beloved players in the storied history of Indiana basketball--high school, college, and pro--and he played a modern-style game in the 1970s as a triple threat who scored, rebounded, and passed at an elite level. I hope that this tribute article brings back fond memories for readers who are old enough to remember McGinnis' career, and I hope that it is a source of information--and inspiration--for younger fans.

Labels: Bobby "Slick" Leonard, Denver Nuggets, George McGinnis, Indiana Pacers, Julius Erving, Mel Daniels, Philadelphia 76ers, Roger Brown

posted by David Friedman @ 1:51 AM

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The NBA Community Mourns the Loss of David Benner, the Pacers' P.R. Director for Three Decades

David Benner, who served for 28 years as the Indiana Pacers' Director of Media Relations before retiring prior to last season, passed away on Wednesday. He was 67. After his family announced his death, there has been an outpouring of sympathy from the NBA community. Pacers President Kevin Pritchard said, "It is difficult to put into words just what David Benner meant to the Indiana Pacers, the NBA, his family, and friends. He had an infectious personality and a wonderful sense of humor that was evident to anyone who was ever fortunate enough to meet him." 

I first met Benner in 2004 when I was a freelance writer just beginning to cover NBA games in person. He had a serious demeanor with those who he did not know well, but he was also courteous, helpful, and professional. It did not take long for me to understand why the Pacers' media relations staff under his direction was considered perhaps the best in the entire league; I always felt welcomed at Pacers games, and I would be surprised if any media member covering those games felt otherwise.

The first NBA game that I covered as a credentialed media member was Indiana's 101-77 home win versus Chicago on March 22, 2004. Scottie Pippen did not play due to injury, but I interviewed him after the game. I covered the first two games of the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals at Indiana. Game two is best remembered for Tayshaun Prince's chase down block versus Reggie Miller, a key play in Detroit's 72-67 win that prevented the Pistons from falling behind 0-2. The Pistons won that series in six games before beating the Lakers in five games to capture the NBA title. 

Over the next several years, I covered many Pacers games as a credentialed media member. I don't recall having any in depth conversations with Benner, but I remember that when I needed something or had a question he or one of his staff members was always willing and able to help. During that period, I interviewed many Pacer legends, including Bobby "Slick" Leonard, Mel Daniels, George McGinnis, and Darnell Hillman. I also interviewed prominent visiting players, including Kobe Bryant (on multiple occasions) and Steve Nash.

Gregg Doyel of the Indy Star knew Benner much better than I did, and Doyel's tribute to Benner is a must read. Here is an excerpt:

David Benner wouldn't say he was dying. Not his style. And this was a man of style--and substance. He worked for the IndyStar from 1979-1994, worked his way up from copy boy to the biggest beats in sports before shifting gears and working for the Pacers in media relations. An unusual career switch, something only the strongest of souls could do, but that was Benner. One of the strongest souls around.

Benner left us Wednesday morning at age 67, dying of the cancer that had been coming for him for a decade, nibbling around the edges, trying to get close but running into the same wall most of us ran into, eventually: Benner would decide how close you'd get. You, me, cancer...none of us chose. Benner chose.

The retirements and deaths of so many people who I met while covering the NBA are a grim reminder of the relentless passing of time. Rest in peace, David Benner.

Labels: Bobby "Slick" Leonard, David Benner, George McGinnis, Indiana Pacers, Kobe Bryant, Mel Daniels

posted by David Friedman @ 12:54 AM

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Remembering Hall of Famer and NCAA/ABA Champion Bobby "Slick" Leonard

Bobby "Slick" Leonard, who coached the Indiana Pacers to three ABA titles (1970, 1972-73) and was finally inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014, passed away earlier today at the age of 88. Leonard earned Hall of Fame induction as a coach, but he had an accomplished playing career as well. He was a two-time All-American at Indiana University, and he made the game-winning free throw in Indiana's 69-68 1953 NCCA Championship Game victory over Kansas. Leonard averaged 9.9 ppg during his seven season NBA career. During his time with the Lakers, Leonard's teammates included  Jerry West, and the recently departed Elgin Baylor. 

I first met Leonard in 2004 when I was researching my article about Roger Brown, the Pacers' great forward who had won the 1970 ABA Playoff MVP after outdueling Rick Barry in the ABA Finals (Brown scored 53, 39, and 45 points in the last three games of that series). Brown had inexplicably and unjustly not yet been inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Leonard told me, "Roger Brown was a money player. Anytime the game was on the line, Roger was always there. Roger had tremendous ability--one of the greatest small forwards to ever play the game. I've seen everyone that came down the pike in the last 50 years--playing against them, coaching them or broadcasting them. Roger Brown deserves to be in the Hall of Fame."

It was fascinating and a joy to speak with Leonard, who could provide informed takes about players from the 1950s all the way through the 2000s. It was wonderful to hear Leonard's insights about five decades of basketball history as we had wide ranging conversations about Sam Jones, James "Captain Late" Silas, and the NBA's current stars. Right after the Detroit Pistons acquired Rasheed Wallace, Leonard told me during a one on one interview that the Pistons would win the 2004 title. In 2006, Leonard went against the grain, and did not list Steve Nash among his top MVP candidates. Leonard stated that Nash simply was not as good as Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant (Nash went on to win his second consecutive MVP, with Nowitkzi winning in 2007, Bryant winning in 2008, and James winning in 2009-10 and 2012-13).

Of course, we often talked about the many great players he coached with the Pacers, including Gus Johnson, the Hall of Famer who won his only championship ring as a key Pacers reserve in 1973. The Pacers were the Boston Celtics of the ABA, yet it was nearly 40 years after the ABA-NBA merger before Leonard and the key players from the Pacers' championship dynasty received Hall of Fame recognition. I tirelessly promoted the Hall of Fame candidacies of Brown (who was finally inducted in 2013) and two-time ABA regular season MVP Mel Daniels, who was finally inducted in 2012. Brown passed away in 1997 and I never met him, but I had the privilege of interviewing Daniels on several occasions. Daniels passed away in 2015. 

Leonard shared with me his memories of the"Interstate 65" rivalry that pitted Leonard's Pacers versus the Kentucky Colonels. The Pacers beat the Colonels in playoff series in 1969 (coming back from a 3-1 deficit), 1970, and 1973, with the latter matchup taking place in the ABA Finals (the Pacers switched to the Western Division for the 1971 season). The Colonels won the final two playoff matchups, defeating the Pacers in the 1975 ABA Finals and in a 1976 first round miniseries (after the ABA got rid of the division format in the league's final season).

During his Hall of Fame speech, Leonard proudly spoke about his time in the ABA: 

We had some great times in the ABA...They talk about the ABA like we were a minor league to the NBA. Well, I played in the NBA and that's not true. If you want to go back and look at the players we ended up with in the ABA before the merger, you're looking at Moses Malone, you're looking at the Iceman--George Gervin--you're looking at Dr. J--Julius Erving. I can go on, Dan Issel--by the time the merger came, and David (Stern) was there then, we had the players and they needed our players as bad as we needed them, 'cause we'd gone broke...I had a frontline with the Pacers--and I've seen them all, all the frontlines that have come down the pike in the last 60 years or so--with Mel Daniels in the middle, George McGinnis at one forward and Roger Brown at the other forward. Those guys could have competed against any frontline that I've seen. Those were great, fun days. I had that frontline and in the backcourt I had Freddie Lewis, Donnie Freeman, Billy Keller, Tommy Thacker. Backing up the guys up front I had Darnell Hillman and Bob Netolicky.

After Leonard's coaching career ended, he spent more than three decades as a broadcaster for the Pacers. In recent years, he suffered several health setbacks that prevented him from going to road games, but he still did radio commentary for the Pacers' home games. Leonard was the first inductee in the Indiana University Sports Hall of Fame, and he is also a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and the Indiana Sports Writers and Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Leonard's trademark "Boom baby!" call for a Pacers' three pointer is used in a current national advertising campaign featuring Reggie Miller, the Pacers' Hall of Fame guard who played for the team from 1987-2005.

Ted Green made the documentary "Undefeated: The Roger Brown Story" and he followed that with the documentary "Bobby 'Slick' Leonard: Heart of a Hoosier." I recommend both films for anyone who wants to learn more about two Hall of Famers who the Hall of Fame almost forgot.

One thing is certain: real basketball fans will never forget player/coach/broadcaster Bobby "Slick" Leonard.

Labels: Bobby "Slick" Leonard, Elgin Baylor, Gus Johnson, Indiana Pacers, James Silas, Jerry West, Kentucky Colonels, Mel Daniels, Roger Brown, Sam Jones

posted by David Friedman @ 9:57 PM

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Roger Brown: Ankle Breaker and Shot Maker

Note: This article was originally published on December 27, 2004 at HoopsHype.com but the link no longer works, so I have reprinted the article in its entirety below. Nine years after I wrote this piece, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame finally inducted Roger Brown.

Roger Brown overcame unjust banishments from the NCAA and the NBA to lead the ABA's Indiana Pacers to three championships. Brown's peerless skills and amazing ability to deliver in the clutch inspired basketball legends Julius Erving and George Gervin during the early days of their careers.

Brown starred at Brooklyn's Wingate High. In 1959 he outscored Connie Hawkins 39-18 in the New York City Championship game at Madison Square Garden, but Hawkins' Boys High prevailed 62-59. Brown signed with the University of Dayton Flyers, but he never played college basketball. He and Hawkins were falsely implicated for being involved with Jack Molinas, a former college basketball star turned mobster who paid players to shave points. Hawkins and Brown were banned by the NCAA and the NBA.

Hawkins played in the short lived American Basketball League and then spent several years touring with the Harlem Globetrotters before leading the Pittsburgh Pipers to the championship in the ABA's first season (1967-68). He later reached a settlement agreement with the NBA and became an All-Star with the Phoenix Suns. In 1992 Hawkins was inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Brown's life took a different path. He worked in a General Motors plant in Dayton for five years, declining an opportunity to join the ABL because he could make more money working for GM. This proved to be a wise decision when the league folded during its second season.

In 1967 Brown signed with the ABA's Indiana Pacers, realizing that this might be his last opportunity in professional basketball. Most players who do not play college basketball struggle during their first professional seasons--even All-Stars like Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and Dirk Nowitzki. Brown jumped from high school basketball to professional basketball without missing a beat, averaging 19.6 ppg and making the All-Star team as a rookie despite playing only AAU ball after his prep days.

Pacers' broadcaster Bobby "Slick" Leonard coached the team from 1968 until 1980: "Roger Brown was a money player. Anytime the game was on the line, Roger was always there. Roger had tremendous ability--one of the greatest small forwards to ever play the game. I've seen everyone that came down the pike in the last 50 years--playing against them, coaching them or broadcasting them. Roger Brown deserves to be in the Hall of Fame."

Leonard used an isolation play that took advantage of Brown's one-on-one skills as well as his passing ability: "We gave him the ball, isolated him and put all four players above the free throw line on the other side of the floor. If they came with a double team, we just cut the man whose defender left toward the basket and he would get a layup." If the opponent tried to guard Brown one-on-one, things got ugly. Leonard remembers, "He had some unbelievable moves. I've seen guys who were guarding him fall down. He had reverse dribbles and stuff. Matter of fact, one time when Larry Bird was younger he was working out with Roger over at Butler Fieldhouse and he wanted Roger to teach him that baseline move that Roger had. He could paralyze you."

Roger Brown enjoyed his greatest season in 1969-70, winning the Playoff MVP after averaging 28.5 ppg, 10.1 rpg and 5.6 apg in the postseason. In the last three games of the ABA Finals versus the Los Angeles Stars, Brown carried the Pacers to their first title, scoring 53, 39 and 45 points, including an ABA Finals single game record seven three pointers. Brown did all this while being guarded by the Stars' Willie Wise, who Erving has frequently mentioned as one of the players who guarded him toughest. Hall of Famer Rick Barry says of Wise, "He was one of the best defensive players that I ever played against."

Like Connie Hawkins, Roger Brown sued the NBA and received an out of court monetary settlement. Brown could have jumped to the more established league--but that never crossed his mind: "I want to clear my name. I have no intention of jumping." Brown felt tremendous loyalty to the team and to the Indianapolis community. In fact, while he was still an active player he was elected to a seat on the Indianapolis City Council.

The Pacers won their second ABA title in 1972 when Brown outscored Barry, then a member of the New York Nets, 32-23 in the sixth game of the ABA Finals. Barry says, "Roger was an outstanding player. He certainly had a terrific basketball career and probably is one of the more underrated guys that most people don't know a whole lot about. He is not really given the recognition that he deserves for the career that he had." He continues, "I sent something in when they asked me to do it when they were trying to get some support for him for the Hall of Fame because, based upon the other people who are in the Hall of Fame, I certainly feel that he is deserving of it based upon his skill level."

Mel Daniels played center for those Pacer teams. Daniels, who won two ABA regular season MVPs and ranks among the top dozen postseason rebounders in pro basketball history (1608 playoff rebounds, 14.8 rpg), declares, "Those who did not see Roger Brown or didn't know him, missed a treat. He was so good one-on-one that I remember defenders actually screaming for help. He actually dislocated or broke eight guys' ankles (with a) crossover dribble move. He would look at you and put the ball down and look at you again and if you made a move, he would react opposite to that move and get to the basket. Sometimes it was so easy for him, he would laugh at people and miss the layup because he was laughing."

Darnell Hillman was an outstanding shot blocker for the Pacers and he offers a similar description of Brown's devastating offensive arsenal: "As clever and quick as he was, Roger had the uncanny ability to make you sometimes turn around in circles and he hasn't even left his spot. You think, 'I've lost him, I've got to find him and recover,' and he hasn't even left his spot. He'd laugh about it." Hillman notes, "In three years of playing Roger I only beat him twice. I played Roger every day, either before or after practice. (At first) I leaned too much on my jumping ability, rather than the technique and art of playing position defense. Playing against him taught me how to stay on the floor and learn the different tricks. One of the things that Roger taught me was that if you are guarding an offensive player, most guys give away when they are going to shoot the basketball--watch a guy's left hand. When he is getting ready to shoot the basketball it's got to come to the ball on the right hand--then you want to close up. When he taught me that it improved my ability to close out on guys and really change their shots."

Before he won four NBA scoring titles, a young Gervin learned a lot from playing against Brown: "He probably had one of the best first steps in basketball. You've really got to understand basketball to know what I'm saying when I say 'first step.' Matter of fact, I learned that from him when I played against Roger Brown--that first step. He used to pivot and make you move and he isn't going anywhere. It was probably one of the best moves that I picked up and when I went to the guard spot it really helped to take my game to the next level."

Gervin wishes that today's players emulated Brown's game: "What guys don't realize today is that first step is everything because if I can get the first step on you then you will never catch me--and if you do catch me then all I have to do is fake and you will go for the fake because you are trying to catch up--you are in a recovery situation. That's where Roger was good. He forced you into a recovery situation all the time, so you had to go for his fakes." Gervin contrasts Brown's use of the first step with the way that many current players set up their moves: "Dribbling that ball five, six, seven, eight seconds is a travesty. What are the other four guys doing--standing there watching? A lot of the guys pound the ball today, but we used to move the ball around and when we got it we took that first step and made something happen. So we (retired legends) hope and pray that the guys understand that you really need to give the ball up. If you're not going to make your move, give it up, go back and get it. Don't just stand there and pound it."

Erving praises Brown's well rounded skills: "Roger handled the ball and moved a lot like Scottie Pippen in his prime. Scottie could handle the ball and run a team. Roger was a much better shooter than Scottie and a prolific scorer who could get his points in bunches. At that time I was 21 and he was probably 31, 32. His depth of knowledge made him someone I wanted to watch and also watch out for. I was just running and jumping and trying to jump over people and (it helped) just to see what he was doing on the ground, knowing that he was a great jumper in his day but by that time he had channeled his energies to be a complete player, be a team player and win championships. So he was already at a place that I was trying to get to."

Brown's body began to break down during the 1972-73 season and he spent part of the 1973 ABA Finals in traction because of a back injury. He was never again the same player, retiring two years later. Brown never averaged 25 ppg in the regular season, but he played on well balanced teams that had several potent scoring threats. Look at Tracy McGrady's numbers when he won scoring titles in ’03 (32.1 ppg) and ’04 (28.0 ppg) compared to this year (23.1 ppg as of December 25). Does his decline in scoring indicate that his skills have eroded or that his role has changed? Brown's ability to score at will in the clutch suggests that he could have put up bigger regular season numbers if the Pacers had needed him to do so. Hall of Fame voters should consider a player's overall impact, not just raw statistics.

Brown died of liver cancer in 1997. Erving eloquently summarizes Roger Brown's legacy: "When I first got into the ABA, Roger Brown and the Indiana Pacers were the best franchise in the league. They had the guys with the biggest reputations, they had big game players in terms of clutch play--but Roger Brown was the go-to guy and when you are the go-to guy on a team with Darnell Hillman, George McGinnis, Bob Netolicky, Mel Daniels, you are talking about a pretty special player. His reputation coming up paralleled the achievements of Connie Hawkins, including the negative experience of being blackballed from the NBA. Then, he played with the Pacers and led them to titles, in addition to being head and shoulders above others as a citizen, running for political office and winning. It's a great basketball story. He contributed in more ways that just basketball but his basketball contributions are far from being insignificant and they are enough to warrant him being in the Hall."

Labels: Bobby "Slick" Leonard, Connie Hawkins, Darnell Hillman, George Gervin, Indiana Pacers, Julius Erving, Mel Daniels, Rick Barry, Roger Brown

posted by David Friedman @ 5:57 AM

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Louie Dampier Earns Direct Election into the Basketball Hall of Fame

Louie Dampier is the fifth nominee directly elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame by the ABA Committee, joining Artis Gilmore, Mel Daniels, Roger Brown and Bobby "Slick" Leonard. I covered the Basketball Hall of Fame press conference five years ago when Jerry Colangelo, the Chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Board, pledged that under his leadership the Basketball Hall of Fame would honor players and teams that had "slipped through the cracks." I asked Colangelo specifically about several worthy ABA veterans and Colangelo replied, "I am hopeful that over a period of time these people will be recognized for their contributions." It is delightful that Colangelo has been true to his word and helped the Basketball Hall of Fame uphold the standards that it should have applied many years ago.

Artis Gilmore is a familiar name to NBA fans, "Slick" Leonard still does radio commentary for his beloved Pacers, Roger Brown was recently the subject of a wonderful documentary produced by Ted Green and Mel Daniels won two ABA regular season MVPs (second in league history behind Julius Erving's three MVPs) but Dampier's contributions and skill set may be less familiar to casual and/or younger basketball fans.

The 6-0, 165 pound Dampier holds the ABA career records for regular season points (13,726), games played (728), assists (4044) and three point field goals made (794). Dampier held the career ABA-NBA three point field goals made record until Dale Ellis broke it during the 1992-93 season (the NBA first used the three point shot in the 1979-80 season but the long ball did not immediately become a major weapon). Dampier ranked in the top five in three point field goal percentage for eight straight seasons, leading the ABA with a .387 mark in 1973-74. He twice led the ABA in three point field goals made and his 199 treys in 1968-69 stood as the ABA-NBA single season record until John Starks made 217 three pointers for the New York Knicks in 1994-95, the first of three seasons in which the league experimented with a shorter three point line (Dan Majerle and Mookie Blaylock each made 199 three pointers that season as well). Dampier's record for most three pointers made in a season with the three point line at the normal distance stood until Antoine "I only shoot threes because there are no fours" Walker shimmied his way to 221 three pointers in 2000-01.

Dampier was one of the outstanding players during the ABA's early years, ranking third in the league in scoring in 1968-69 (24.8 ppg) and fourth in the league in scoring in 1969-70 (26.0 ppg). He participated in all nine of the ABA's seasons as a member of the Kentucky Colonels, earning seven All-Star selections and four All-ABA Second Team selections.

Indiana native Dampier played a prominent role in the Kentucky Colonels--Indiana Pacers rivalry. He averaged 16.9 ppg (third on the team) and a team-leading 7.5 apg in the 1975 playoffs as the Colonels defeated the Pacers 4-1 in the ABA Finals to claim the franchise's only championship.

After the Colonels did not participate in the ABA-NBA merger, the San Antonio Spurs (a former ABA team) acquired Dampier. He spent three seasons with the Spurs in a reserve role, retiring the year before the NBA adopted the three point shot.

Dampier was not a franchise center like Daniels and Gilmore, nor was he an all-around superstar like Brown, but he was a tremendous shooter and playmaker who made a significant contribution to some very successful Kentucky teams. Dampier's Hall of Fame selection is well deserved and overdue.

Labels: ABA, Artis Gilmore, Basketball Hall of Fame, Bobby "Slick" Leonard, Kentucky Colonels, Louie Dampier, Mel Daniels, Roger Brown

posted by David Friedman @ 2:42 AM

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"Bobby 'Slick' Leonard: Heart of a Hoosier" Captures the Essence of an Indiana Sports Icon

Ted Green, whose documentary "Undefeated: The Roger Brown Story" vividly portrayed the accomplishments, triumphs and struggles of one of the most underrated players in pro basketball history, has now produced another compelling documentary about an Indiana sports icon: "Bobby 'Slick' Leonard: Heart of a Hoosier" is a 90 minute journey depicting how a boy who literally grew up on the wrong side of the tracks became an elite college basketball player before averaging 9.9 ppg in a seven year pro basketball career that helped prepare him to become a championship-winning coach.

Younger fans who know Leonard primarily for his famous "Boom Baby" calls during Indiana Pacers' radio broadcasts may only be dimly aware that Leonard coached the Pacers to three ABA titles (1970, 1972-73) and they almost certainly do not realize that Leonard was a basketball legend long before the ABA existed. Leonard was a high school star in Indiana and after receiving dozens of scholarship offers--including one from reigning NCAA champion Kentucky--he stayed in his home state to play for Indiana University. He averaged 16.3 ppg (second on the team) during the 1952-53 season and played a major role as the Hoosiers won the 1953 NCAA Championship. Leonard was a great leader, a superb floor general and someone who brought a spirit of camaraderie to every team for which he played or coached.

The extended trailer of "Bobby 'Slick' Leonard: Heart of a Hoosier showcases Leonard's deadly outside shooting touch, details his exploits during the Indiana University's 1953 NCAA title run and describes how he both built and saved the Indiana Pacers franchise but what comes through most of all is that--beneath the fiery surface of his fierce competitiveness--Leonard is loyal and compassionate, grateful to his mentors and a willing mentor to others.

Leonard was not only a talented player in his own right but even early in his career he also had an eye for talent in others. Leonard met fellow future Hall of Famer Sam Jones when they both served in the military and Leonard suggested to Jones that he consider a career in pro basketball, something that--by Jones' own admission in an interview with Green--Jones had not thought about at all prior to meeting Leonard. Jones eventually won 10 championship rings with the Boston Celtics, more than any other player in pro basketball history except for his teammate Bill Russell, who captured 11 championship rings. When I interviewed Leonard more than a decade ago, he told me that Jones is the most underrated guard in NBA history. Leonard's insights enriched several of my articles, including Classic Confrontations: Boston vs. St. Louis and James "Captain Late" Silas Commanded Respect in the Clutch, but one of the best tips that Leonard gave me never made it into print because I did not have my own website at the time and did not yet have the opportunity to write any playoff preview articles: in the spring of 2004, Leonard told me that he expected the Detroit Pistons to win the NBA championship, even though his beloved Indiana Pacers--and several Western Conference teams, including the star-studded L.A. Lakers--would finish with a better regular season record. Leonard believed that Larry Brown's coaching, combined with the midseason acquisition of Rasheed Wallace, would push Detroit over the top and he was right on the mark.

It is not surprising that Leonard recognized the Pistons' potential before most people did; he was a masterful basketball strategist whose Pacers posted a 6-2 record in seven game playoff series. Leonard so enjoyed his time with the Pacers that he turned down an opportunity to coach his alma mater, a job that eventually went to Bobby Knight. Leonard told Green that this worked out best for all parties concerned.

Leonard did not have much of a real opportunity to demonstrate his coaching chops in the NBA; he only coached for one and a half seasons in the NBA before his ABA tenure and he spent just four seasons with the cash-strapped Pacers after the 1976 ABA-NBA merger. Leonard has called games for the Pacers' radio network for nearly three decades and he is still a fixture courtside in Indiana, though his health no longer permits him to make road trips.

Leonard's Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement was long overdue but at least it happened in time for Leonard to enjoy that special moment with his family and friends. It is also wonderful and fitting that Green's documentary first aired shortly before the Hall of Fame ceremony took place. My life path does not currently enable me to write about basketball as much as I used to but I am so happy that the Hall of Fame's doors have finally, belatedly opened to several of the legends who I wrote so passionately about in the past 10 years, including Slick Leonard, Artis Gilmore, Mel Daniels and Roger Brown. ESPN, TNT, Slam and many other major media outlets have consistently dropped the ball regarding the ABA's significance in general and the specific accomplishments of those individuals but in the end justice has been done and that is what matters most. Green deserves much credit for persevering with his documentary work; PBS benefits from what he has done, while ESPN and TNT are that much poorer for not providing a wider audience for a top notch filmmaker who has brought attention to Roger Brown and Slick Leonard despite the NBA's efforts to flush ABA statistics, records and oral history down Orwell's proverbial memory hole.

Labels: Basketball Hall of Fame, Bobby "Slick" Leonard, Indiana Pacers, Sam Jones, Ted Green

posted by David Friedman @ 4:24 AM

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Bobby "Slick" Leonard Remembers the ABA During his Basketball Hall of Fame Speech

On Friday night, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrined Bobby "Slick" Leonard, who played on Indiana's 1953 NCAA championship team and enjoyed a seven year NBA career before coaching the ABA's Indiana Pacers to three league championships (1970, 1972-73). It is so wonderful to see Leonard finally, belatedly receive this long-overdue honor and it is great that he was able to share this moment with his beautiful family. I cannot offer enough praise for Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Chairman Jerry Colangelo, who played an integral role in forming the Hall of Fame's ABA Committee that inducted Artis Gilmore plus Leonard's Indiana Pacers' stars Mel Daniels and Roger Brown prior to selecting Leonard this year.

Leonard's Hall of Fame speech lasted nearly 27 minutes and touched upon his basketball career from his childhood days up to his still ongoing broadcasting career. He mentioned the four Hall of Fame players who he coached: Walt Bellamy, Gus Johnson, Roger Brown and Mel Daniels. The most meaningful segment for me is when he spoke, lovingly and with great passion, about the ABA. Here are some quotes from that portion of the speech:

"We had some great times in the ABA...They talk about the ABA like we were a minor league to the NBA. Well, I played in the NBA and that's not true. If you want to go back and look at the players we ended up with in the ABA before the merger, you're looking at Moses Malone, you're looking at the Iceman--George Gervin--you're looking at Dr. J--Julius Erving. I can go on, Dan Issel--by the time the merger came, and David (Stern) was there then, we had the players and they needed our players as bad as we needed them, 'cause we'd gone broke...I had a frontline with the Pacers--and I've seen them all, all the frontlines that have come down the pike in the last 60 years or so--with Mel Daniels in the middle, George McGinnis at one forward and Roger Brown at the other forward. Those guys could have competed against any frontline that I've seen. Those were great, fun days. I had that frontline and in the backcourt I had Freddie Lewis, Donnie Freeman, Billy Keller, Tommy Thacker. Backing up the guys up front I had Darnell Hillman and Bob Netolicky."

Labels: ABA, Bobby "Slick" Leonard, Gus Johnson, Indiana Pacers, Jerry Colangelo, Julius Erving, Mel Daniels, Roger Brown, Walt Bellamy

posted by David Friedman @ 2:02 AM

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New Ted Green Documentary Tells Bobby "Slick" Leonard's Life Story

Bobby "Slick" Leonard is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2014; he made his mark as an outstanding collegiate player at Indiana University, a solid professional player with the Lakers, a great professional coach who won three championships with the Indiana Pacers and a respected broadcaster. Ted Green, who previously produced the outstanding documentary "Undefeated: The Roger Brown Story," is making a documentary about Leonard. Here is a working trailer for the Leonard documentary, which is scheduled to premiere at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on July 29:

Bobby "Slick" Leonard documentary trailer

Green interviewed Larry Bird, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor; Leonard coached against Bird (who now runs the Indiana Pacers) and he played alongside West and Baylor with the Lakers. Leonard once told me that he had played with or against, coached and/or seen every great player who has come down the pike in the past 60 years or so and the high praise that these all-time greats offer to Leonard reaffirms that Leonard's Hall of Fame induction is long overdue. Green should be commended for his tireless efforts to record and preserve the life stories of Brown and Leonard, two very underrated and extremely important figures in basketball history.

Labels: Bobby "Slick" Leonard, Indiana Pacers, Ted Green

posted by David Friedman @ 11:26 AM

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Basketball Hall of Fame Finally Honors Bobby "Slick" Leonard

I am delighted that the Basketball Hall of Fame's ABA Committee has made another fine selection, tapping Bobby "Slick" Leonard for induction in the fall of 2014. Leonard led the Pacers to three ABA titles (1970, 1972-73) and five ABA Finals appearances. Leonard's Pacers were the Boston Celtics of the ABA and they had the upper hand in their "Interstate 65" rivalry with the Kentucky Colonels, winning three of their five head to head playoff series. Leonard's coaching accomplishments alone merit Hall of Fame induction, but it is worth noting that Leonard also twice earned All-America honors as a player at Indiana University and he starred on their 1953 NCAA championship team. He enjoyed a solid NBA playing career, averaging 9.9 ppg in seven seasons (including a career-high 16.1 ppg in 1961-62), before becoming a coach.

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Chairman Jerry Colangelo deserves credit for living up to his pledge to recognize worthy individuals who "slipped through the cracks" and did not get inducted when they should have been. Under Colangelo's watch, the newly formed ABA Committee has finally inducted Artis Gilmore plus Leonard's Indiana Pacers' stars Mel Daniels and Roger Brown.

For the past 29 years, Leonard has been the color commentator for the Pacers' radio broadcasts. His signature "Boom, Baby!" call is one of the most famous catchphrases in pro basketball. Whenever I cover a Pacers' home game it is always a treat to speak with Leonard about pro basketball past and present. The stories he told me about Sam Jones, Gus Johnson, Roger Brown and James Silas enriched the articles that I wrote about those players.

Labels: ABA, Basketball Hall of Fame, Bobby "Slick" Leonard, Gus Johnson, Indiana Pacers, James Silas, Kentucky Colonels, Mel Daniels, Roger Brown, Sam Jones

posted by David Friedman @ 12:35 AM

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Roger Brown is Finally Elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame!

The "Rajah" has ascended to his rightful throne; the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's ABA Committee selected Roger Brown as a member of the Hall's 2013 Class. Brown joins fellow ABA Unsung Heroes Artis Gilmore and Mel Daniels (Brown's Indiana Pacer teammate on three ABA championship teams), who were selected by the ABA Committee in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Brown long ago earned the respect of his peers and of knowledgeable basketball observers--which means more than the bleatings of "stat gurus" or the shamefully wrong verdicts dispensed by previous Hall of Fame voters--but it is still wonderful to see basketball justice served and Brown welcomed into basketball's most exclusive fraternity.

Years ago I asked Daniels to describe Brown's skills and Daniels replied: "I think you could sum it up simply like this. Those who did not see Roger Brown or didn't know him, missed a treat...We ran an isolation play for him and he was so good one-on-one that I remember defenders actually screaming for help. He actually dislocated or broke eight guys' ankles…I think that Michael Jordan is the best basketball player I have ever seen or one of the best. Roger Brown was right there in his class."

Julius Erving entered the ABA in 1971-72, one season after Brown made the All-ABA First Team. Erving viewed Brown as a role model: "His depth of knowledge made him someone who I wanted to watch and also watch out for. I was just running and jumping and trying to jump over people and (it helped) just to see what he was doing on the ground, knowing that he was a great jumper in his day but that by this time he had channeled his energies to be a complete player, be a team player and win championships. So he was already at a place that I was trying to get to."

Brown played a key role in the "Interstate 65 rivalry" that pitted the Indiana Pacers versus the Kentucky Colonels in the ABA version of the Boston Celtics versus the L.A. Lakers; the Pacers and Colonels faced each other twice in the ABA Finals, they appeared in the ABA Finals a total of eight times combined and they won four of the league's nine championships. For quite some time the only participant in that rivalry who the Basketball Hall of Fame welcomed was Kentucky's Dan Issel, who spent most of his pro career in the NBA but in recent years Kentucky Coach Hubie Brown has been recognized by the Hall of Fame as a Contributor (2005), followed by the inductions of players Gus Johnson (2010; he spent most of his career starring in the NBA before making a key contribution to Indiana's 1973 championship team as a reserve), Gilmore, Daniels and now Brown. Pacer Coach Bobby "Slick" Leonard should be the next ABA figure honored by the Basketball Hall of Fame; Indiana players George McGinnis (the 1975 ABA regular season co-MVP with Erving, his eventual NBA teammate in Philadelphia) and Freddie Lewis (the 1972 ABA Playoff MVP) deserve Hall of Fame consideration as well. This is Roger Brown's moment in the sun, though, so the discussions/debates about future Hall of Fame elections can be saved for another day.

Brown performed with elegance, he came up big in the biggest games--he and Erving share the ABA playoff single game scoring record (53 points)--and he made the most of his professional basketball career despite having several prime years stolen from him because of unfounded allegations about being associated with the infamous Jack Molinas (Connie Hawkins, another player who lost prime years of his career because of the same unfounded allegations, played in both the ABA and the NBA and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1992). Brown died of cancer in 1997 but at least his family now has the peace of mind that Brown's place in basketball history has been formally acknowledged.

Jerry Colangelo, the Chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Board, should be greatly commended for making good on his promise that the Hall of Fame Will Recognize Worthy Players Who Have "Slipped Through the Cracks." I passionately believe that ABA Numbers Should Also Count and I have said for many years that Brown, Daniels and Gilmore deserved to be inducted in the Hall of Fame. I am not seeking any credit for the Hall of Fame honors that Gilmore, Daniels and Brown fully earned with their high quality play but I hope that my advocacy on their behalf had some impact.

Further Reading:

Interview with Ted Green, Producer of "Undefeated: The Roger Brown Story"

"Undefeated: The Roger Brown Story"

Roger Brown: Ankle Breaker and Shot Maker

Overlooked and Underrated: Four Fabulous Forwards Three of the four players I profiled in this article are now members of the Basketball Hall of Fame: Maurice Stokes (class of 2004), Scottie Pippen (class of 2010) and Roger Brown (class of 2013); Mark Aguirre is perhaps a fringe Hall of Fame candidate but he is unquestionably underrated and his combined collegiate/professional resume is stronger than many people may realize (consensus NCAA Player of the Year in 1980, three-time NBA All-Star, 20.0 ppg career scoring average in 14 NBA seasons despite sacrificing his individual statistics while helping Detroit to win two NBA titles).

Labels: ABA, Artis Gilmore, Basketball Hall of Fame, Bobby "Slick" Leonard, Freddie Lewis, George McGinnis, Indiana Pacers, Kentucky Colonels, Mel Daniels, Roger Brown

posted by David Friedman @ 6:27 AM

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Classic Confrontations: Boston vs. St. Louis

This article was originally published in the October 2004 issue of Basketball Digest under the odd title "Intense While it Lasted."

Before the 1956-57 season the Boston Celtics traded two future Hall of Famers--center Ed Macauley and forward Cliff Hagan--to the St. Louis Hawks for the number two overall pick in the draft. Celtics coach Red Auerbach did this in order to select center Bill Russell, who had led the University of San Francisco to consecutive NCAA championships. The pre-Russell Celtics were somewhat like the current Dallas Mavericks--a potent offensive team loaded with All-Stars that had great regular season success but did not defend or rebound well enough to win a championship.

Russell was a tremendous student of the game. He knew all of his opponents' tendencies and he mastered intricacies such as keeping his blocked shots in play to ignite the fast break and having enough awareness of his body position to avoid fouling the offensive player when he went for the block. His only weakness was an unpolished offensive game, but Auerbach told Russell that he would never bring up Russell’s scoring average in contract negotiations.

Russell joined the Celtics in December 1956 after leading the U.S. basketball team to the gold medal in the Olympic Games. Russell's defense and rebounding turbocharged the Celtics' fast break, masterfully choreographed by point guard Bob Cousy, a perennial All-Star who won the 1956-57 NBA MVP. Indiana Pacers' broadcaster Bobby "Slick" Leonard, who played against Russell as a member of the Minneapolis (later Los Angeles) Lakers before coaching the Pacers to three ABA titles, says that Russell's Celtics had the best fast break ever, explaining that the Celtics' fast break was unique because of how perfectly suited the entire roster was to play that style: "Red knew that he had the boards because of Russell, but he had Cousy who was a master on the fast break. You let him get that outlet pass and get the ball in the middle and he could do wonders with it. They had runners--Tommy Heinsohn was a great runner. The first 'sixth man' in the NBA was Frank Ramsey. The most underrated guard I ever played against was probably Sam Jones. This guy could do it all--defend, score and he was a money player."

The Celtics and Hawks rivalry is special because after the big trade the teams met in four of the next five NBA Finals. Russell led the Celtics to 11 titles in his 13 seasons but the Hawks posed a significant challenge to Boston’s nascent dynasty, defeating Boston once and twice extending the Celtics to seven games. Hawks' coach Alex Hannum later coached the only other team that defeated Russell’s Celtics in a playoff series--the Wilt Chamberlain led 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers.

In 1956-57 the Celtics escaped with a 125-123 game seven Finals triumph over St. Louis. Hawks' star forward Bob Pettit, the NBA's first regular season MVP (1955-56), had 39 points but missed a potential game tying shot at the buzzer after a length of the court pass by player-coach Hannum. Russell finished with 19 points and 32 rebounds, while fellow rookie Heinsohn had 37 points and 23 rebounds.

Russell sprained his ankle in game three of the 1958 Finals and the Hawks won 111-108 to take a 2-1 lead. Russell sat out games four and five, which the teams split. He was immobile and ineffective in 20 minutes of game six action and Pettit scored 50 points to lead the Hawks to a 110-109 victory; he scored 19 of the Hawks' last 21 points. Pettit's performance tied Cousy's single game playoff scoring record set in 1953, but Cousy's mark happened in a four overtime game. Auerbach refused to blame the loss on Russell's injury: "You can always look for excuses. We just got beat."

In 1958-59, rookie Elgin Baylor led his 33-39 Minneapolis Lakers to a 4-2 upset of the 49-23 Hawks in the Western Division Finals, only to be swept by Boston in the Finals. Boston blitzed through the 1959-60 regular season with a 59-16 record, but St. Louis extended the Celtics to seven games in the Finals before bowing 122-103. Russell's game seven line read 22 points, 35 rebounds and four assists.

In the 1961 Finals Boston triumphed 4-1 over the Hawks in the only lopsided playoff matchup between the teams. The teams never met again in the Finals, primarily because of the emergence of a new "classic confrontation" that would eventually occur more frequently than any other Finals pairing--Celtics versus Lakers.

Labels: Alex Hannum, Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Bob Pettit, Bobby "Slick" Leonard, Boston Celtics, Cliff Hagan, Ed Macauley, Red Auerbach, St. Louis Hawks, Tom Heinsohn

posted by David Friedman @ 12:22 AM

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James "Captain Late" Silas Commanded Respect in the Clutch

This article was originally published in three parts at Suite101.com on February 28, 2005, March 8, 2005 and March 17, 2005.

Before Tim Duncan made bank shots with the regularity of a metronome, before David Robinson ran the floor like a gazelle and before George "Iceman" Gervin finger rolled his way to four scoring titles, the San Antonio Spurs were led by an amazingly skilled 6-2 dynamo who earned the nickname "Captain Late." His paycheck read "James Silas" but Spurs' broadcaster Terry Stembridge tagged him with a nickname worthy of a superhero after Silas produced several electrifying 20-point fourth quarter performances.

Bobby "Slick" Leonard coached the Indiana Pacers to three ABA titles. He also was the captain for the 1953 NCAA champion Indiana Hoosiers before enjoying a seven year NBA career during which he competed with and against legends such as Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Jerry West. He does not mince words when speaking about Silas' exploits: "Jimmy Silas really should be in the Hall of Fame. I liken Jimmy Silas a lot to Sam Jones in Boston. We had to double team Jimmy Silas between the three point line and the top of the key, trying to get it (the ball) away from him. I mean this guy was a monster. He had the stop and pop jumpers. He was strong, could play defense, pass—I mean, this guy was a great, great basketball player. All you ever hear people talk about are the great players in the NBA. Well, I would put this guy up against any of them."

In the 1974 ABA playoffs, Silas and the Spurs extended the defending champion Pacers to seven games. The teams met again in the 1975 playoffs, with the Pacers advancing after a hard fought six game series. The Pacers double teamed Silas even though he was playing alongside future Hall of Famer and Top 50 selection Gervin. Leonard says, "He was that dangerous. If you go down there (to San Antonio), when they left Hemisfair and went into the Alamodome, you see the two players up there in great big pictures across that backdrop—George Gervin and Jimmy Silas." Despite the extra defensive attention, in the 1975 playoffs Silas averaged 18.8 ppg and led the ABA in postseason assists (10.0 apg).

Told that Leonard considers him the most underrated guard in ABA history, Silas offers a direct reply: "I feel like that, too." He adds, "I always respected Indiana because Indiana was the team to beat in the ABA at that time. They had some supreme players—Roger Brown, Mel Daniels, George McGinnis, Freddie Lewis, Don Buse and on and on. That was a great team, a team that you had to get up for. It was just something that I loved--I loved the game so much and I really valued my play against teams that I thought were good. Indiana was a team that you had to play well against to beat them."

Bob Bass, two-time NBA Executive of the Year, coached the Spurs at that time: "They doubled him to get the ball out of his hands, no question about it. That was not done a lot. Everybody doubles nowadays. He was the guy that we always went to late in the game, even though we had Gervin. We went to Silas late because he was such a great free throw shooter. He was one of the guys who could back you down. Like Oscar Robertson backed people down, he'd back you down, and if you came to double, we had the floor spaced well enough all along the baseline that he could make the play, make the pass or make the shot and get fouled. He was just a terrific guy at the end of games."

"Captain Late" did his damage close to the basket. Bass says, "He reminds me of Baron Davis. Not the way that they play, but the way that they’re built. Baron Davis is built just like he was, about 6-3, and real physical, real strong. Silas' release on his jump shot was real high above his head. You couldn't get to it. He would back you down around 12, 14 feet and shoot a little fall away that was nearly impossible to guard if you didn’t double him."

Unaware of Bass' comparison, Silas offers this scouting report: "Take Sam Cassell and combine him with Baron Davis--the strength and quickness of Davis combined with Sam's ability to get off any kind of shot. I really think that those two guys are closer to the way I played than anybody else that I’ve seen play in the league." Silas adds this about the "Captain Late" title: "I felt that my game was good for 48 minutes or however long I was on the floor, so I took offense at first, because I thought that it meant that I was only deadly at the end of the game. But it fit what I was about and I came to love it."

Silas' numbers steadily increased during his ABA career, from 13.7 ppg and 3.1 apg in 1972-73 as a rookie with the Dallas Chaparrals (as the Spurs were known before moving to San Antonio) to 15.7 ppg and 3.8 apg in 1973-74 to 19.3 ppg and 4.9 apg in 1974-75. He consistently delivered in late game situations; even if the original intention was not to go in Silas' direction, the ball often ended up there. Bass says, "I remember calling a play and Gervin had a bad mismatch, like he did most of the time because he was so big for a guard. I was going to go to Gervin at the end of the game, but he said, 'Give the ball to Jimmy Si and he’ll get it done.' For a guy of that stature, a guy as good a player as Gervin was, to say that, you can imagine what kind of respect James Silas had with our team."

In the 1975-76 season "Captain Late" ranked sixth in the ABA in scoring (23.8 ppg), fourth in field goal percentage (.519), fourth in free throw percentage (.872), fifth in assists (5.4 apg), fifth in minutes played (3112) and ninth in steals (1.8 spg). He made the All-ABA First Team ahead of Gervin (who averaged 21.8 ppg and 2.2 apg) and only an otherworldly season from another basketball superhero, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, kept him from winning MVP honors. Erving's Nets and Silas' Spurs met in the ABA playoffs and Silas' tremendous season came to a sudden, disappointing end in the first game of the series; he broke his ankle by landing on the foot of Nets' guard Brian Taylor after shooting a jump shot. The Nets beat the Spurs and went on to claim the last ABA championship. That summer the NBA and ABA merged and the Spurs were one of four ABA survivors in the new 22 team league. It seemed that Silas would at last get the chance to showcase his skills on a large national stage.

Silas completely recovered from his broken ankle in time for the 1976 preseason. The Spurs seemed poised to be a contender in the merged league but their title chances were dealt a crushing blow when Silas suffered a serious cartilage tear in his knee when he collided with the Kansas City Kings' Bill Robinzine during a preseason game. Silas recalls, "Really, it was supposed to be plain and simple. They went in there and operated and evidently it wasn't right (the first time) and they had to go in there again. Back then we didn't have the workout facilities and the types of things that you can do today, but I'm not mad about it. Back then it took a lot longer to come back and play. It took at least a year and a half out of my career."

At that time it was thought that a lot of rest was necessary after knee surgery. New York Knicks' All-Star forward Bernard King, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in 1985, was one of the first athletes to pursue an extremely aggressive rehabilitation program quickly after surgery. Silas reflected on this: "I feel like if I would have known then the things that I know now, I would have worked that thing relentlessly. I was always limited and told the things that I should do and the things that I shouldn't do. So I just followed the instructions of the medical people. I really liked Bernard King's career and how he was told that he would never play again and then I saw tapes about how hard he was working. I thought, 'Wow, if I had done that, I could have come back a lot faster.'"

Silas played 3000-plus minutes in each of the three previous seasons, but logged only 667 minutes while participating in 59 of 164 regular season games in 1976-77 and 1977-78. He would never again play more than 2300 minutes in a season. Bob Bass describes how the injury changed Silas' game: "He just wasn't as explosive. (Before the injury) he could really elevate when he penetrated. When he drove to the basket he could take a hit and finish the shot as well as anybody I've ever seen--maybe the best I've ever seen. You could hit him and he was so strong and could elevate so high that he could still finish the shot. He was a great free throw shooter. It's amazing—George Gervin led the NBA in scoring four times, but he never got to the free throw line as much you'd think he would. He had all of these tricks; he’d move under you or over you. But James Silas could draw a foul as well as anybody who ever played."

After the merger, Bass left the Spurs' bench for a front office position with the team. Denver Nuggets' assistant coach Doug Moe became the Spurs' head coach. He laments that he only got to see Silas at full strength as an opponent: "My recollections of when he was really great are from before he got hurt, when he was playing against us. He was absolutely the best—the ultimate guy at the end of the game. He was just terrific. Unfortunately, he hurt his knee and was never quite the same—still a great player, but there is no telling how great he would have been had he not gotten hurt. People really didn't get to know the real Silas in the NBA. That is a shame. He really was 'Captain Late' and he was the best."

In 1978-79 Silas was healthy enough to play a full season. The Spurs started out 14-14 with Silas coming off the bench, but got a big boost when "Captain Late" rejoined the starting lineup and went 34-20 the rest of the way, winning the Central Division title with the second best record in the Eastern Conference. Silas averaged 16.0 ppg and 3.5 apg in the regular season, increasing those numbers to 19.1 ppg and a team leading 4.7 apg in the postseason. The Spurs narrowly missed making it to the NBA Finals, losing to the Washington Bullets in the Eastern Conference Finals. Silas says, "I felt that we could beat those guys, even though they had Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld and an awesome team. We had them down three games to one. I think that the turning point was that Washington got really physical and they had the bodies to do it. We really weren't a physical team. For some reason our guys were really, really manhandled and we never could overcome what they were doing."

"Captain Late" had a shot to tie the seventh game at the end of regulation, but did not connect. He thinks that he should have been awarded two free throws: "On the last shot, if you ever see that tape I know—and Elvin Hayes knows—that I was fouled on that shot. I jumped and he jumped and came into my body, but nothing was called. I knew when I saw him running at me that he was out of control and off balance and I knew that I could draw the contact and I did, but there was no call. I got the hit that I wanted, got the shot off, but nothing was called."

Silas' numbers improved to 17.7 ppg and 4.5 apg in 1979-80, his second full season back from the knee injury—but the Spurs slipped to 41-41 and lost two games to one in a first round mini-series versus the Houston Rockets. In 1980-81 the NBA added an expansion team in Dallas and shifted some teams to different divisions. The Spurs moved from the Eastern Conference's Central Division to the Western Conference's Midwest Division. The Spurs also hired a new coach, Stan Albeck. Silas averaged 17.7 ppg and 3.8 apg in 1980-81 and the Spurs bounced back to a 52-30 record, claiming the Midwest Division title—but Houston spoiled the Spurs' outstanding season by winning game seven of the Western Conference Semifinals in San Antonio, 110-105.

The Spurs made significant roster changes after this heartbreaking loss, including a trade that sent Silas to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Silas played one season for the Cavaliers before retiring with 10-year professional averages of 16.1 ppg and 3.8 apg; he shot .495 from the field and .855 from the free throw line. On April 15, 1983 James Silas was selected to the Spurs' All-Decade Team, along with George Gervin, Artis Gilmore, Mike Mitchell and Mark Olberding. The Spurs retired Silas' number 13 on February 28, 1984. He was the first Spur and second Texas pro basketball player to have his number retired (the Houston Rockets retired Rudy Tomjanovich's number 45 on Jan. 28, 1982).

James Silas developed his game through careful observation of moves and techniques used by other players: "I looked at guys who were able to penetrate, take the lick and get the shot off. During pickup games I liked to play around the basket and I never shied away from contact. At 6-2, I could touch the top of the square where you bank your shot on the backboard. So I was a great leaper and I was just a strong guy. I knew that free throws were the only free shots in the game, so I kind of tried to master how to put a guy at my mercy and make him touch me in ways that if we were both moving (I would draw a foul and) most of the time I felt like I could get the shot off."

Silas disagrees with the approach that many current players take on offense: "I always felt—and what guys need to understand today—you don't take the shot that people give you. You take the shot that you want. I was good at being able to go where I wanted to go on the floor and take the shot that I wanted, not the shot that the defensive player expected me to take. Today a defender could give a guy a shot and if the person thinks it's a good shot, he'll take it, but I didn’t like that. If you give me a shot, even if I'm comfortable with it, I'm still going to go where I want to go to take the shot." When it is suggested to Silas that the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team, which fired a torrent of errant jump shots in Athens, could profit by viewing the game in that fashion, he laughs and replies, "You got that right."

The Spurs built a lot of their offense around Silas' ability to break down opposing defenses, particularly in late game situations: "I was real fortunate to have coaches like Bob Bass and Doug Moe who really saw the ability that I had. I don't know if Bob Bass was the first guy to come up with this play, but it was called a 1-4 play. The other four guys lined up on the baseline in the positions that they were good at and I went to work out front. I went to work from the top of the circle to wherever I wanted to go to get whatever shot was best for me. If I was double teamed I could always find the open guy. It was an almost unstoppable play that Bob and Doug let me run when the game was on the line or for the last second shot at the end of a quarter."

Even a player as gifted as Silas has to make an adjustment when he goes from college to the pros. Joe Hamilton remembers when Silas first showed up in training camp with the Dallas Chaparrals (as the Spurs were known before moving to San Antonio): "Although he was running guard with me, I just had confidence in my ability, so it (competition for playing time) didn't matter because it was all about being together. I was trying to show him the ropes on what he had to do. He already had the ability. One good example is dribbling—you had smaller guys (in the ABA) from Billy Keller to Billy Shepherd to myself who would smack down on the ball when you would go up for the shot. I taught him (Silas) that once he got the ball in the air there was nothing we (smaller guards) could do." In other words, Hamilton—who is 5-10-- and other smaller guards in the league could not block Silas' shot once he got the ball over his shoulders, but they could strip the ball from him down low if he left the ball unprotected in front of his body before he elevated to take the shot.

At the "ABA Ol' School Reunion," which was held in Denver to coincide with NBA All-Star Weekend, Silas and Hamilton reminisced about their time as teammates and Silas thanked Hamilton for helping him as a rookie. Hamilton adds, "James Silas and I would go one-on-one (after practice)—and I'm talking about banging--but when it was over, when the game was over, we'd go drink a cold Pepsi and talk about it. That's where the togetherness was. That's the thing, even today, here we are 30 years later, and he's saying, 'Joe taught me that.' It makes me feel good."

The close knit feeling among the ABA players makes it even more hurtful that the NBA often acts like the ABA never existed. Silas says, "I feel like this: when you look at the Spurs and how they do the statistics and the history of the franchise, when I scored my 10,000th point they gave me a ball to recognize that I had scored 10,000 points for this franchise. If the franchise still exists, I don't see how they can not acknowledge it in the stats…If you look at when the leagues merged, the best players for years to come were the former ABA players. If you really just look at it, until Bird and Magic came along, the guys who were the best players came from the ABA—Moses, the Doctor and Ice were the ones carrying the league. I think that when they write in these magazines during the season they have to give it up—it has to be known what these (ABA) players did for their franchises." He concludes, "The NBA is taking full advantage of the ABA when you talk about merchandise and jerseys being sold. Yet they don't include the true background and statistics (in the record books). This is very unjust and it's very unfair. When I take my kids and my kids' kids (to a Spurs game) and we get a program, they say, 'Dad, you have a ball at home that says you scored 10,000 points just for the Spurs. Why is that not in here?'"

Who better to have the last word about Silas than his teammate, Hall of Famer George Gervin? This is what the "Iceman" said when I asked him about “Captain Late” at the ABA Reunion: "James Silas was a guy who we really went to at the end of the game. James Silas never missed free throws. They don't give him enough credit and I'm disappointed in that, but we (the ABA players) give it to him because we played with him and respect him and a lot of us idolize his play."

Labels: Bob Bass, Bobby "Slick" Leonard, Doug Moe, George Gervin, Indiana Pacers, James Silas, San Antonio Spurs

posted by David Friedman @ 1:20 AM

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Sam Jones: The Smoothest Celtic

A slightly different version of this article was originally published in the December 2004 issue of Basketball Digest.

Bobby "Slick" Leonard has seen five decades of pro basketball as a player, coach and broadcaster, so it carries some weight when he declares that Sam Jones is the most underrated guard in NBA history. It is easy to overlook Jones: Oscar Robertson and Jerry West exclusively owned the All-NBA First Team for six straight seasons during his prime and he played alongside several Hall of Famers on the Boston Celtics.

Jones' Celtics went 9-0 in game sevens, four of them in the NBA Finals. Jones averaged 27.1 ppg in those games, with a high game of 47 (against Robertson's Cincinnati Royals) and a low of 18. He scored many of those points with his trademark bank shot, which has almost become a lost art in today’s game (Tim Duncan uses it very effectively and Scottie Pippen employed it frequently during his prime scoring years). He had 37 points against Philadelphia in game seven of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals—but this was overshadowed by the game’s famous ending: "Havlicek stole the ball!"

Sam Jones won 10 championships in his 12 season Hall of Fame career (1958-69); only Russell, with 11 titles in 13 years, won more NBA championships as a player. The 6-4, 205-pound Jones averaged 17.7 ppg in the regular season and 18.9 ppg in 154 postseason games; take out his first three seasons as Bill Sharman’s backup and those numbers increase to 20.2 ppg and 21.8 ppg respectively. When he retired only West and Elgin Baylor had more career playoff points; thirty five years later, Jones' total still ranks in the top 20, despite the fact that recent players can pad their numbers due to the addition of many games to the playoff format.

Hall of Fame point guard Bob Cousy notes that Jones fit the Celtics' fast break attack perfectly: "In Sam’s case, he was even easier to feed in an open court situation than Sharman because of his speed and quickness. Normally people associate basketball players with height, but in my judgment speed and quickness are what separate the men from the boys."

Sam and K.C. Jones (no relation) usually practiced on the same team, but more than 40 years later K.C. vividly remembers one occasion that he guarded Sam: "He had a stutter step that would kind of halt your defense and then all of a sudden he just glides by you. He did that to me in a scrimmage and it just totally blew my mind that he was so smooth with that."

Tommy Heinsohn, a Hall of Fame forward on those Celtic teams, singles out Sam Jones' versatility as a reason for his success in big games: "There are precious few players right now who have all the shots. They are either really good outside shooters or they try to take it all the way. That’s why this kid Richard Hamilton kind of sticks out in the current NBA, because he has those tweener shots…Sam was the type of player—like Richard Hamilton—who could get where he wanted to get and pull up and shoot the jumpers."

When this comparison is mentioned to Cousy, he immediately rejects it: "As usual, I disagree with everything Tommy says, including that," Cousy laughed. "I don’t think Hamilton is going to be a Hall of Famer…Especially at this stage of the game, I think that (comparison) is vastly underrating Sam." When it is suggested that Heinsohn did not mean that the players are equally accomplished but that they share a stylistic similarity, Cousy good naturedly disagreed: "I guess Tommy is more of a visionary than I am."

Asked who in the modern game is most similar to Sam Jones, K.C. Jones—without knowing Cousy or Heinsohn’s answers--also mentions Hamilton, saying of the Detroit Pistons' shooting guard, "That man is in awesome shape. What’s like Sam is that he moves without the ball and when he gets the ball he's going right up for the shot."

How would Sam Jones match up with today’s premier shooting guards? Cousy says, "When you are talking about Hall of Famers, Sam could easily play in today’s game and give Kobe, McGrady and whoever all they could handle. When you are talking about McGrady, Kobe, Sam Jones—I mean, nobody could stop those guys. They have so many offensive weapons, unless you commit two or even three people to them you are not going to slow them down a lot."

Labels: Bob Cousy, Bobby "Slick" Leonard, Boston Celtics, K.C. Jones, Sam Jones, Tommy Heinsohn

posted by David Friedman @ 5:18 AM

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