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Thursday, December 20, 2012

Wayback Machine, Part IV: The 1978 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

The cover of the 1978 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball features a photo of Bill Walton fighting for rebounding position while clad in Portland's red road uniform. Walton had just won the 1977 Finals MVP after averaging 18.7 ppg, 19.0 rpg, 5.2 apg and 3.7 bpg during Portland's 4-2 victory over Philadelphia; during the regular season, Walton led the league in rebounding (14.4 rpg) and blocked shots (3.3 bpg) while also ranking eighth in field goal percentage (.528). Walton finished a distant second to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the regular season MVP voting but after Walton's dominance during Portland's 14-5 playoff run (which included a 4-0 Western Conference Finals sweep of Abdul-Jabbar's Lakers, though Abdul-Jabbar's individual numbers against Walton during that series were quite good) Walton seemed poised to challenge Abdul-Jabbar's status as the best player in the NBA. Walton won the 1978 regular season MVP (Abdul-Jabbar finished fourth, trailing George Gervin and David Thompson) despite playing in just 58 games due to injuries that ultimately would force him to miss the entire 1978-79 season and all but 14 games in the 1979-80 season. Walton would never again scale the heights that he reached in 1977 and 1978 (though he did capture a Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1986 while helping Boston win the final championship of the Bird-McHale-Parish era) and the 1978 CHPB cover photo that seemed to mark the beginning of a new era instead just captured an image from the brief, fleeting moment when Walton strode atop the basketball world.

The 1978 CHPB included 288 pages, 16 more than the 1977 edition but still short of the 304 pages in the 1976 CHPB. The 1978 CHPB contained 22 team profiles, lists of the 1977 NBA statistical leaders, a complete schedule, a list of all 170 players selected in the 1977 NBA Draft (including Lucy Harris, a seventh round pick by the Jazz) and a "TV/Radio roundup." Tom Meschery--described in a brief bio as "poet, player, coach and friend of Bill Walton"--wrote a feature article titled "The Bill Walton I Know," Peter Finney interviewed Pete Maravich for a piece titled "Pistol Pete's World of Jazz" and Meschery contributed "A Survival Kit for Coach Willis Reed."

Steve Hershey and Woodrow Paige--who is now better known as ESPN's Woody Paige--co-wrote the "Inside the NBA" article, forecasting that the L.A. Lakers would defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1978 NBA Finals. That did happen--but in 1980, not 1978. Washington, picked to finish second in the Central Division, beat Seattle, picked to finish third in the Pacific Division, in the 1978 NBA Finals. Along the way the Bullets ousted the 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals, while the SuperSonics took out the Lakers 2-1 in a first round miniseries. Here are some interesting notes, quotes and quips from the 1978 CHPB:

1) Meschery served as an assistant coach under Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens during the early stages of Walton's Portland career. Meschery described rookie Walton as so skinny that he "was a man Washington Irving could have used as a model for Ichabod Crane" and added that Walton looked like "a skeleton impersonating a man." Meschery's initial skepticism about Walton's physique quickly dissolved after he watched Walton dominate during the 1975 training camp but injuries limited Walton to just 86 games in his first two seasons and prevented Walton from emerging as an elite player. Meschery noted that Portland's management became so frustrated by Walton's injuries and off-court controversies that the team seriously considered trading him at least six times during Walton's rookie season alone.

2) Who could have imagined that Maravich--coming off of his best pro season, when he led the league in scoring with a 31.1 ppg average--would die of heart failure barely a decade after Finney's interview with the Floppy Socked Mopped Top? Maravich told Finney, "I've always said I'll never be happy until they pour champagne over my head and put a championship ring on my finger. But I'm mature enough to know that fate plays a role in what happens to everyone...When you come down to it, I guess you can never be completely happy in this world." Maravich said that if he did not suffer a major injury he thought that he could play at least seven more seasons because of the way that he took care of his body; unfortunately, Maravich blew out his knee just past the midpoint of the 1977-78 season when he seemed to be en route to his second consecutive scoring title and he never regained his old form before retiring during the 1980-81 preseason. Maravich called himself "Pete Maravich's worst critic" and said that even though 1976-77 was his best season he was only content with about 20 of the 73 games that he played because in those 20 games he "shot and passed and made things happen and played defense the best I know how." Maravich made the All-NBA First Team for the second year in a row and finished third in MVP voting behind dominant centers Abdul-Jabbar and Walton so his performance in 1976-77 was a lot better than that harsh self-assessment suggests.

3) Meschery's "Survival Kit" for Reed--a rookie coach who would lead the New York Knicks to the playoffs with a 43-39 record but finished his coaching career with an 82-124 mark--consisted of a series of fictional letters written to Reed providing tongue in cheek advice about surviving the NBA grind.

4) Julius Erving made his NBA debut in 1976-77 after a five year ABA career during which he led the New York Nets to two championships in the league's final three seasons. Erving shared the ball with two other Philadelphia All-Stars (George McGinnis and Doug Collins) but still led the squad in scoring (21.6 ppg) while earning All-NBA Second Team honors. Erving's profile included these observations: "The ultimate in offensive weaponry...The Doctor is the most highly-respected player in the league by his peers...A complete player who gives you the impression he can score anytime he wants...The one genuine gate attraction in the league...As proof, the 76ers sold out 33 of their 41 road games...Very much the leader type who was shocked by the 76ers lack of discipline."

5) McGinnis received most of the blame for Philadelphia's collapse in the NBA Finals (the 76ers lost four straight games after taking a 2-0 lead against Portland): "Awful slump in playoffs took luster off a good season...Hates to practice and is probably more to blame than anyone for the team's schoolyard sessions...Doesn't move well without the ball and is not as physical as he should be with those muscles."

6) Collins, who is now Philadelphia's head coach after previous stints in Chicago, Detroit and Washington, was a great complementary threat alongside Erving and McGinnis: "The best, repeat, the best offensive guard in the NBA...Moves relentlessly without the ball...Missed 24 games with succession of groin pulls, which cost him a shot at All-Pro..."

7) Lloyd Free--he did not legally change his first name to "World" until a few years later--led the charge for the 76ers' "Bomb Squad," the bench players who shot first, second and third and did not bother to ask questions later: "A typical 76er...His enormous talent is exceeded only by his ego...Called by many the best leaper inch for inch in the league...Started 24 games when Collins was hurt and led team in scoring."

8) Kobe Bryant's father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, also came off of the bench for the 76ers: "Another typical 76er...Good offense, bad defense, big ego...A streak shooter with good range, who like Free has no conscience."

9) Walton's profile began with a simple rhetorical question: "Are there any skeptics remaining?...The Mountain Man has finally proved his worth after two disappointing, injury-riddled seasons...Years of glory ahead if he wants it."

10) In 1976-77, Abdul-Jabbar won the fifth of his record six regular season MVPs: "In love again...With basketball...Two years ago it seemed the fun had gone out of it but Jerry West showed up, brought in some new plays for Kareem and new players to surround him and the Big Man was, in the words of John Denver, far out...His sky hook is the most automatic two points ever invented."

11) Denver's Bobby Jones made a smooth transition from the ABA: "A computer spewed out Jones' name as the best overall player in the NBA last season...Won $10,000 as a result and promptly gave all of it to charity...That's Jones...Among league leaders in several categories--like field goal percentage, blocked shots, steals...(Coach Larry) Brown says he is the game's best all-around player and, now that the NBA has been exposed to him, many others agree."

12) The CHPB always included some colorful barbs. Here are the opening lines of Jim Eakins' profile: "Put six sheets of No. 5 ply typewriter paper on the floor and bet Eakins that he cannot jump higher than the pile...Collect your money...No leaper...His abilities have always been suspect but not his attitude."

13) Phil Jackson was nearing the end of the line with the New York Knicks: "So retire already...Threatened to quit until he found out what sheep herders make in Montana...Has slipped the past two years after building a reputation as a steady reliever...Knows his limitations and plays within them."

14) Maravich received some overdue praise after being unfairly criticized earlier in his career: "All-World (sorry, Lloyd Free)...Simply the best guard in basketball and finally getting the recognition he richly deserves...Highlight of season was 68-point performance against Knicks, but more impressive were his 13 games with 40 points or more...Became the first guard to win scoring title since Nate Archibald four years ago and only fifth ever...Now owns third-highest career scoring average for a guard (25.0) behind Jerry West and Oscar Robertson...Despite all the points, his greatest skill still is passing."

Wayback Machine, Part I looked at the 1975 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

Wayback Machine, Part II looked at the 1976 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

Wayback Machine, Part III looked at the 1977 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

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posted by David Friedman @ 7:38 AM

4 comments

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Wayback Machine, Part III: The 1977 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

The 1977 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball has a sweet cover photo of New York Net Julius "Dr. J" Erving suspended in mid-air, operating on Denver Nugget Dan Issel. In the 1976 ABA Finals--the league's swan song before the ABA-NBA merger--Erving led both teams in scoring (37.7 ppg), rebounding (14.2 rpg), assists (6.0 apg), steals (3.0 spg) and blocked shots (2.2 bpg) while carrying his Nets to a 4-2 victory over a dominant Denver team that featured two Hall of Fame players (Issel and David Thompson), a Hall of Fame coach (Larry Brown) and the best defensive forward in pro basketball (Bobby Jones).

The first post-merger edition of the CHPB had fewer pages (272) than the 1976 (304 pages) and 1975 (288 pages) editions, largely because the pro basketball world had contracted from 28 teams in two leagues at the start of the 1975-76 season to 22 teams in one league. In addition to 22 team profiles, lists of 1976 statistical leaders from both leagues, a detailed account of the ABA Dispersal Draft (which included future Hall of Famers Artis Gilmore and Moses Malone plus future Coach of the Year Mike D'Antoni), a "TV/Radio roundup" and a complete schedule, the 1977 CHPB employed an all-star cast of writers to describe what the new NBA would look like. Woodrow Paige from the Rocky Mountain News--better known now as ESPN's Woody Paige--contributed a feature story titled "How Dr. J Will Dissect the NBA," Bob Ryan--another veteran newspaper writer who is now better known for being an ESPN personality--answered the question "Is John Havlicek the All-Time Best Performer?" and Roger Director--a sportswriter who became a big-time TV writer, producer and story editor in the 1980s--contributed a pieced titled "So You Want to be a Referee."

Here are some interesting notes, quotes and quips from the 1977 CHPB:

1) When I interviewed Woody Paige he told me that the two times in his career he walked away "amazed" were the first time he saw Julius Erving and the first time he saw John Elway. This is how Paige described Erving in his feature story:

"My personal thoughts about Erving already have been established during his five professional seasons. Writers aren't supposed to idolize, only report. But it's difficult to distinguish between the two when describing Erving. He is the greatest I've ever seen. I have watched him play some 70 times, but when I am old and feeble, surrounded by a multitude of grandurchins, I will remember distinctly and tell them again and again of the first time I saw Dr. J play."

Later in that same piece, Paige quoted Vince Boryla, a veteran pro basketball player, coach and executive:

"Nobody I ever have seen could play the game like he does. And he does it so effortlessly. And none of it takes away from his team play or his ability to play great defense. Elgin Baylor was the best I'd ever seen for a long time. We thought he was so quick. Baylor was like a stagecoach, though, compared to Erving. Erving can make his move, shoot and start back on defense before Baylor could take two steps."

LeBron James is justifiably lauded for his ability to play forward, guard and even center at times but it is unfortunate that some people have forgotten--and many people are too young to remember--that before James was even born Erving did the same thing and he did it with even more flair while leading the Nets to two championships in three years. Paige explained Erving's amazing versatility and even had the foresight to predict Erving's eventual shift to guard, which happened a decade later in Erving's final two seasons:

"Dr. J may be the only player in the game who can be utilized in any of the three positions without hurting his team or throwing off his game plan. For the Nets, he is primarily a forward. But because of injuries and weaknesses in the past at center, and when [Coach Kevin] Loughery wants more speed in the lineup, Erving moves into the middle. During the playoffs he was at guard for segments and he may end his career there. He can dribble and pass and run like a guard; he can rebound and shoot like a forward; and he can box out and throw the outlet pass like a center. He has the uncanny ability to pull down a rebound, throw the first pass on the break and then race down the court to score off it.

Because of his skill around the basket, clubs are forced to double-team him, setting up the Erving passes to the center for so-easy baskets. Dr. J has fantastic peripheral vision that allows him to go up, pull the ball back from a possible shot and make the good pass just before his feet return to Earth."

Paige conceded that it would be harder for Erving to get to the hoop in the NBA and stated that the nature of the sport is that a small forward cannot dominate quite the same way that a 7-2 center like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar can but Paige correctly predicted that in the NBA Erving "will win games and he'll be consistent." Erving's Philadelphia 76ers were the winningest team in the NBA from 1976-77 through 1982-83, they won the 1983 championship in dominant fashion, they made it to the Finals four times in those seven seasons and five of their six playoff series losses came against teams that had a future Hall of Famer at center.

During the 11 years that Abdul-Jabbar and Erving played in the NBA together, Abdul-Jabbar won two MVPs, one Finals MVP and four titles, while Erving won one MVP--the first such award claimed by a non-center in the NBA in nearly 20 years--and one title. Much like Abdul-Jabbar blocked Erving's path at times--his teams beat Erving's teams two out of three times in the Finals--Dwight Howard, the league's most dominant big man for the past several years, has already blocked James' path to one title (2009) and now that Howard has joined the Lakers he may block James' path more times.

2) Bob Ryan argued that while Bill Russell has "unchallenged supremacy" as the most valuable player in pro basketball history, John Havlicek "could, by virtue of a variety of skills, contribute to the winning of more games in more different ways" than any other performer in the sport's history. When Havlicek retired he ranked in the top ten on both the career scoring list and the career assists list. Ryan declared that in 1969-70, 1970-71 and 1971-72 Havlicek "was the most consistently brilliant all-around player who ever set foot on the court." Havlicek was certainly great during that period--culminating in averages of 28.9 ppg, 9.0 rpg and 7.5 apg in 1970-71--but Ryan's statement is still a bit over the top in light of Oscar Robertson averaging an aggregate triple double for the first five seasons of his career (including 30.8 ppg, 12.5 rpg and 11.4 apg in 1961-62, the first and only time that a pro basketball player averaged a triple double for an entire season), not to mention the all-around brilliance displayed by players such as Elgin Baylor and Jerry West (Ryan blithely dismissed Erving from consideration because Erving had spent his entire career to that point in the ABA, an indication of Ryan's bias not just for Boston players but also against the ABA).

While Ryan somewhat overstated his case, the sad reality now is that Havlicek is underrated--if not completely forgotten--by just about anybody born after 1980, so it is worth mentioning some of his accomplishments. Havlicek began his career as a sixth man and likely would have won the Sixth Man Award several times if that honor had existed during his career. Unlike Erving and James, Havlicek could not play center but Ryan is correct that Havlicek was an extremely versatile and gifted player: he was a key contributor on eight championship teams (six while playing alongside Bill Russell plus two more after Russell retired) and in 1970 and 1972 he ranked in the top ten in scoring, assists and free throw percentage. Havlicek made the All-Defensive Team eight times (including five First Team selections)--and that honor did not exist until the seventh season of his 16 year career. Havlicek won the 1974 Finals MVP and even though it was almost impossible for a non-center to win the regular season MVP during his career he did earn five top 10 finishes. Havlicek still ranks 15th in pro basketball history in career points (26,395), ahead of every currently active player except for Kobe Bryant and ahead of legendary forwards Rick Barry, Elgin Baylor and Larry Bird. He also ranks 28th in pro basketball history in career assists (6114), ahead of every currently active player except Jason Kidd, Steve Nash and Andre Miller and ahead of many other renowned passers, including Larry Bird and Michael Jordan.

It is interesting that in the 1976 CHPB, Commissioner Emeritus J. Walter Kennedy left Havlicek off of his all-time NBA team. Havlicek made the official 35th Anniversary Team in 1980-81 and he also made the cut for the NBA's 50 Greatest Players List in 1996.

3) Roger Director's article provided John Nucatola, then the NBA's Supervisor of Officials, the opportunity to explain in detail how the NBA selected and evaluated its referees. Three interesting candidates were in the pipeline at that time: Don Nelson (a former player who became a Hall of Fame coach), Bernie Fryer (a former player who later served for three decades as an NBA referee before becoming the NBA's Vice President and Director of Officials) and Evonne Maxwell (who tried unsuccessfully to become the league's first female referee). Nucatola told Director that the league encouraged former players to try out but that other than Nelson and Fryer not too many had chosen to do so. Nucatola noted that the job required that candidates not only know the rules and be in good physical condition but also that they have the right mindset and personality to deal with 10 players, two coaching staffs and a potentially hostile crowd. Referees must be in control--of both themselves and the game situation--at all times and yet not be arrogant. That balance is difficult to maintain, as the NFL is finding out this season with their replacement referees--people who may be very experienced and competent for lower levels of the sport but are totally out of their depth at the pro level. Every drunk fan thinks that he can be a referee but it is actually a difficult and thankless job.

4) Ryan and Paige co-wrote the "Inside the NBA" article, predicting that Washington would defeat Phoenix in the 1977 NBA Finals. Washington posted the third best record in the East--just two games behind Erving's East-leading Philadelphia 76ers--but Washington lost in the second round to Houston while the 76ers toppled the Rockets in the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Finals. Phoenix, the 1976 Western Conference champions, dropped to 34-48 and did not make the 1977 playoffs. Abdul-Jabbar's Lakers posted the best record in the league (53-29) but were swept by Portland in the Western Conference Finals. Erving was still a Net at press time or else Ryan and Paige undoubtedly would have ranked the 76ers higher than they did.

5) While the 76ers team preview did not include Erving, it is interesting to read the mini-profiles of some of his future teammates. George McGinnis hardly received rave reviews: "Shot selection is still an alien concept to a guy who has been doing as he damned well pleases on the floor since he was in junior high...Would have had trouble guarding a phone booth...Friendly guy who doesn't realize he is only scratching his potential." Those words proved to be very prophetic, as the talented McGinnis was out of the league just five years later at the age of 32; he showed flashes of brilliance at times and helped lead the Indiana Pacers to back to back ABA titles in 1972 and 1973 but he did not display the same level of dedication to his craft that Erving and Havlicek did as they managed to be highly productive well past the age of 35.

Doug Collins received praise for his ability to move without the ball, a skill that was somewhat wasted on this particular squad: "Should be equipped with flares on the floor...That's about the only way he'll ever attract the attention of either McGinnis or, especially, [Fred] Carter out there."

Kobe Bryant's father, Joe Bryant, was not quite the two way performer that his son became: "A long way from the All-Defensive Team but he's not alone on this club."

6) Although the Nets won the 1976 ABA championship thanks to Erving's all-around brilliance, the Nets' team preview pointed out the team's serious weaknesses: "Erving was once again the best passing forward with five assists a game...If only the others threw the ball to Erving in open situations the way he does it for them, no telling what he could average. But they don't." While Erving "is an intelligent defensive forward," the Nets' overall defense was panned for relying on "street gang defensive maneuvers...hang on and bang on." Finally, the team's struggles on the boards compelled Erving to crash the defensive glass like a center instead of being able to fully take advantage of his open court skills. "Take away Dr. J and New York is a completely mediocre team." That, in fact, is what happened: the Nets sold Erving to the 76ers and dropped from champions to 22-60, the worst record in the league.

7) Erving's profile said a lot in a few words: "The complete player...Can do it all and does...Among top 10 in seven different categories last season...Led the ABA in scoring as usual and was MVP again...Has really improved outside shooting in last two seasons and now can score from anywhere by any means against anybody at any time."

8) Future 11-time championship coach Phil Jackson was nearing the end of the line as a backup forward with the New York Knicks: "Not very productive last year, primarily because he fouled too damn much...Legitimate intellectual...Interested in comparative religions, as befits the son of a preacher...Forward on the All-Hook Shot team...Great on the zone press."

9) Phoenix guard Ricky Sobers played solidly as a rookie in 1976 but his mini-profile noted that he might also have been auditioning for another sport: "Must make up his mind whether he wants to play basketball or become the second coming of Kid Gavilan...Had many fights during the regular season and one per playoff round (Tommy Burleson, Rick Barry, Kevin Stacom)...When he sticks to business, however, he can play the game."

10) Jamaal Wilkes, a 2012 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, enjoyed a very productive second season: "Essentially a flawless player...No more astute young defensive player and a scrappy rebounder...Poses a difficult matchup problem because he's quick and so much stronger than he looks."

11) Bill Walton played in just 86 games in his first two seasons but he had already showed flashes of his true potential: "Don't doubt that he could lead his team to a title someday just because you hate beards, vegetables and left-wing politics. He can really play." Walton enjoyed the best season of his career in 1976-77, earning the Finals MVP while leading the Trail Blazers to the first and only championship in franchise history.

12) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ranked second in scoring (27.7 ppg), won his first rebounding title (16.9 rpg) and claimed his fourth MVP in his first seven seasons but not everyone was impressed: "Paid more lip service than any player in the game, but the fact remains everybody thought his teams would dominate forever, and he's been on one exactly one champeen in seven years" (yes, the author wrote "champeen"). Within a decade of those words being written, Abdul-Jabbar won five more championships, two more MVPs and a Finals MVP while also breaking Wilt Chamberlain's regular season career scoring record.

Wayback Machine, Part I looked at the 1975 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

Wayback Machine, Part II looked at the 1976 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

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posted by David Friedman @ 7:28 AM

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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Has Journalism Reached an All-Time Low?

I savor the opportunity to read great writing but bad writing hurts my head more than listening to long fingernails slowly scratching a chalkboard. One must be careful about becoming too nostalgic for the "good old days" but I am very concerned about the future of journalism. Long form, in depth, well researched articles have been replaced by tweets--the triumph of instant, thoughtless reaction over thoughtful deliberation. Examples of this trend abound, from the premature (and thankfully false) reports of Congresswoman Giffords' death to the babbling about Jay Cutler's body language on the sidelines during Sunday's NFC Championship Game. I have exposed many examples of the low journalistic standards that prevail specifically within the realm of NBA journalism and in the comments section of one of those critiques I correctly predicted that the unqualified writer whose work I completely refuted would no doubt advance further up the ranks (he currently "writes"--and I use that term loosely--for NBC's NBA website); that prediction did not require psychic powers but merely the sad realization that what advances one's career today in journalism is not the quality and depth of one's work but rather the quantity and depth of one's brown-nosing.

Paraphrasing a line that Bill Walton often uses, I am old enough to remember when Tony Kornheiser was an outstanding sportswriter for a variety of outlets instead of being a high paid television personality who seeks out cheap laughs. TV's big dollars have enriched individual writers at the expense of cheapening the quality of their work. Perhaps I should not single out Kornheiser, because many other great (and some not so great) writers have forsaken the dying newspaper industry for big TV money, but I think that Kornheiser's fall is particularly painful because of the unquestionable depth of his talent; he is smart, witty and insightful, despite his best efforts to hide those qualities now. Few writers display the self awareness and ambivalence that Woody Paige expressed to me about transforming himself from a serious writer to a TV jokester.

It has been obvious for quite some time that the future of journalism lies not with print publications but rather on the internet; it is disheartening that the sites that attract the most page views contain the crassest, most low brow content. I fervently believe that there is a large audience that not only seeks but craves intelligent, well written content but it is difficult for those readers to find such content providers in today's large cesspool of multimedia dreck. Intelligent writers and intelligent readers must fight the good fight against poor quality journalism and work together to carve out a commercially viable niche for high quality journalism.

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posted by David Friedman @ 6:05 PM

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Saturday, March 08, 2008

Larry Miller: The ABA’s All-Time Single-Game Scoring Leader and an ACC Legend

In an article that originally appeared in the July 29, 2005 issue of Sports Collectors Digest, I told the story of Larry Miller, a two-time ACC Player of the Year at North Carolina who set the all-time ABA single-game scoring record; the picture to the right shows Carolina Cougars President Carl Scheer presenting the game ball to Miller after Miller's 67 point outburst. Here is the complete text of the SCD article, including quotes about Miller from Larry Brown, Woody Paige and Joe Caldwell (it should be noted that the online auction mentioned in the article is over and that Kobe Bryant now holds the record for most points scored by a pro guard in a single game, 81):

Revisiting Larry Miller's Permanent Record: Most Records are Made to be Broken, but This One Will Last for an Eternity

Ask this question of your favorite know-it-all hoops fan: who holds the ABA regular season single-game scoring record? When he is stumped after listing Hall of Famers like Rick Barry, Julius Erving and George Gervin, you can tell him that the answer is Larry Miller, a 6’4” Carolina Cougars guard who scored 67 points versus the Memphis Pros on March 18, 1972. The 67 points were not only an ABA record, but also the most points that a pro basketball guard had ever scored, a mark later broken by Pete Maravich, who totaled 68 points against Walt Frazier’s New York Knicks on February 25, 1977. David Thompson (73) and Michael Jordan (69) are the only other pro guards to score more in a single game than Miller did.

Woody Paige, who appears on ESPN’s Around the Horn and Cold Pizza, covered Larry Miller’s 67 point game as a young beat writer for the Memphis Commercial-Appeal: “Johnny Neumann was guarding Miller for a lot of the game and he came by press row. I said something to him—I don’t remember what—and he said, ‘The guy is really hot.’ That’s what I always remember and I quoted him saying that in my article. Of course, Neumann was about the worst defensive player in basketball.”

Miller’s teammate Joe Caldwell had seven assists in the contest: “That was a fun game for me because (on 2/5/71 against Kentucky) I had scored 56. So when Larry Miller got hot I made sure that the ball stayed in his hands. I was so happy that he set a new ABA record. It was one of the most exciting moments for me to be involved in a game when a guy gets hot like that. Somebody has to keep the ball in his hands.”

Paige recalls, “He did a lot of one-two pump fakes. He was a guy who would go up and go up again and eventually put a guy in the air.” Miller adds, “I was always a great driver to the basket. So if I took off like I was going to drive and then stopped I could easily get a jump shot.” Miller shot 25 of 39 from the field, missing his lone three point attempt, and used his pump fakes to draw a lot of fouls, connecting on 17 of 23 free throw attempts. He also had eight rebounds and four assists while playing 46 of a possible 48 minutes. Miller’s point totals by quarter were 21, 17, 20 and nine. Miller concludes, “It’s kind of nice to have a record that will never be broken (since the ABA no longer exists).”

The aftermath of the 67 point game is at least as dramatic as the game itself. Miller recalls, “I lived in a house by a lake (near Greensboro) at that time. The night I broke the record was a Saturday night. Two days later my house burned down. The night before that Wendell (Ladner) was at my house for dinner. It was just an amazing series of events. (At first) We thought that (the fire had been caused) because his wife was smoking. We had a sand ashtray that everyone put their cigarettes in.” The blaze was actually started by a lightning strike. “It started where the TV was plugged in and it burned out from there. It was about four o’clock in the morning. I had to run across the lake in my underwear to my nearest neighbor. I had a big gash in my left hand, my shooting hand. I lost two dogs under the bed and all the belongings in the house. I didn’t even have a uniform. We had a game in New York that night against the Nets in Long Island. We were in the running for the playoffs. The insurance man got a uniform and got it cleaned. I went to the hospital. They sewed up my left hand with 11 stitches. We found me some clothes. The team went up to New York. I caught a later plane in the afternoon and took a limo to the arena. I played that night with 11 stitches in my shooting hand…and we won the game.”

Miller adds, “I still have scars from it. It goes from about that first line on the ring finger to the tip. It was a strange story. If that had happened today it would be all over the news.”

Despite his record setting game—and a solid season in which he averaged a career high 18.4 ppg—the Cougars did not keep Miller: “I was traded from the Carolina Cougars after I was (team) MVP that season. I wasn’t under contract and they let me go because I wouldn’t agree to play for the same contract that I had the previous season. I was threatened that they would let me go if I wouldn’t sign a contract for $45,000 and I wanted $60,000, which I did (eventually) get. I mean, could you imagine that happening today? After that happened, 250 people canceled their season tickets. Even at that point if they (season tickets) were only $100, they lost $25,000.”

Miller averaged 13.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 2.4 apg in 486 games over seven ABA seasons. He averaged 7.7 rpg as a rookie, a remarkable accomplishment for a 6’4” guard. He averaged more rebounds per minute in his career than All-Star guards Jerry West, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Steve Francis. Despite his solid numbers, Miller played for five teams and nine head coaches during his ABA career. Miller feels that he never had the opportunity to stay in one system long enough to show what he was really capable of doing: “It was proven at levels before that—and even at that level—that I could score and I could play defense--and I could pass and I could dribble. I wasn’t the fastest guy in the world, but I wasn’t a guy who was going to get beat on defense and nobody was going to steal the ball from me.”

ACC Memories

Detroit Pistons Coach Larry Brown remembers the impact that Miller had at the University of North Carolina: “I was a coach when he was a freshman at Carolina. I coached him one year. Coach Smith, when he signed Bobby Lewis and then Larry Miller back to back, that changed our program and got us back to where we had been. He had as much to do with the success at Carolina as anybody. He was a phenomenal college player. I thought he was a great pro. He just got banged up a little bit. I just thought that he was a great competitor and a great player. I loved the guy. He was fun to be around. He had great strength and quickness and he could handle the ball. He was a great all-around player.”

Miller fondly remembers his Tar Heel days: “The biggest deal in that part of the country was winning the ACC Tournament, because (otherwise) you didn’t get in the NCAAs. That was even bigger than the Final Four. Those ACC Tournaments were probably my greatest college moments, because we won both of them. I had really good tournaments in both of them and I was the MVP of both of them.”

Miller led UNC to the NCAA Final Four in 1967 and 1968, earning First Team All-American honors and the ACC Player of the Year Award after both seasons. In the 1967 ACC Tournament Finals he made 13 of 14 field goals, scoring 32 points in an 82-73 win over Duke. He is one of only two players to win two ACC Player of the Year Awards and two ACC Tournament MVPs. Miller made the 1968 All-Final Four Team and averaged 21.8 ppg and 9.2 rpg in his Tar Heel career.

Memories and Memorabilia

Miller is selling over 1000 pieces of memorabilia from his high school, college and ABA career, with a portion of the proceeds going to his hometown Catasauqua (Pennsylvania) Public Library. Listed items include jerseys, basketballs, various ACC trophies and awards, recruiting letters (including one from South Carolina’s Frank McGuire), and photographs documenting highlights of Miller’s career, including the 67 point game. Miller explains why he is selling these items now: “All that stuff was in my family home in Pennsylvania. My father passed away a little over ten years ago and my mother just passed away a year ago. All that stuff was there in the house in a trophy case and being stored away. It wasn’t doing any good. A lot of the stuff is letters and so forth. Some of the coaches have passed away now. People collect that stuff. It doesn’t do any good being in boxes.”

Miller looked into various options before deciding to auction the memorabilia on Ebay. Before the items go up for bidding they can be viewed at Omillaja.com. Miller says, “Using a website to promote the Ebay sale is what I’m trying to do. If it works out OK then I may do some other things along those lines. I’m basically just working on the format.” Miller does not go to sports collector shows or do appearances to sign autographs: “No, I haven’t done any of that. Matter of fact, I’m even out of the reunion business—going back to the reunions and stuff like that. I’m just kind of relaxing.” The last time he set foot on a basketball court was several years ago: “I went out to L.A. for a UNC versus UCLA alumni game. That was the last time I had a uniform on. That was in the early ‘90s. One time I played in a reunion at North Carolina about six years after I played (retired from pro ball). I didn’t think I was going to play at all. I hadn’t picked up a basketball in those years and then I played the most of anybody on the team. I was so sore I couldn’t even climb the stairs.”

Woody Paige will never sell his only collectible from his days covering the ABA because it has special meaning for him: “Charlie Finley owned the Memphis team toward the end and my Dad was very ill. He had his leg amputated and Charlie Finley was very nice to him. For my Dad’s birthday the Memphis team signed a ball to him, personalized it. I kept that. I can’t think of anything else that I have. I had press guides from the very beginning, which would probably be worth something. I had all the media guides from the beginning to the end…because I was going to write the definitive history of the league. Well, I ended up giving them away to two brothers who collect ABA memorabilia.”

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posted by David Friedman @ 1:49 AM

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