Sep
30
Fifty-one years ago, Jerome Whitehead was born in Waukegan, Illinois.
OK. Who is Jerome Whitehead? And even if you are familiar with Whitehead, you may be wondering what’s the relevance here as the big man was primarily a journeyman in the NBA, playing for six teams in a decade in the league.
Whitehead was the starting center on coach Al McGuire’s 1977 Marquette Warriors team that beat North Carolina for the NCAA title, and his birthday provides a wonderful opportunity to talk about one of the great personalities in the history of the game.
A character and consummate showman on the sidelines, McGuire and his triumph over Dean Smith in the 1977 NCAA Championship Game not only brought the only men’s college basketball title to Milwaukee but also marked the end of a great yet controversial coaching career and the beginning of a most memorable one as a color commentator.
by Chris Maynard, chris@hoops4thesoul.com
Sep
29
Nearly eleven months after he shocked the world with the announcement that he was HIV-positive and would retire from the game of basketball, Earvin “Magic” Johnson announced that he would make a comeback with the Los Angeles Lakers and to the league that he and Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics saved in the eighties.
Following his shocking and awakening retirement in November 1991, Johnson was voted to the 1992 NBA All- Star Game and won the game’s MVP Honors. He would also play with the 1992 Dream Team, the greatest talent of basketball players ever assembled, in the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, winning a gold medal and thus giving him a championship in high school, college, the pros and the Olympics.
After playing in some preseason games prior to the start of the 1992-1993 NBA season, Johnson’s comeback attempt would officially end in November of that year when the “Magic Man” cited personal reasons at a time in which some players were still skeptical and worried about being on the court with him.
Posted by Chris Maynard, chris@hoops4thesoul.com
Sep
28
Sixteen years ago on this day, a fundamentally-sound team of white players was integrated with the first black Harlem Globetrotter, Schmitt’s Gay Beer was introduced to the world, and the Super Fans met one of their biggest idols, besides Ditka of course.
Some three months after winning his first of what would eventually be six NBA championships, Michael Jordan hosted Saturday Night Live. Just as Jordan was in his prime after the Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the 1991 NBA Finals, so was SNL.
Sep
27
Bill Russell. Bob Cousy. John Havliceck. Sam Jones. Dave Cowens. Jo Jo White. Nate “Tiny” Archibald.
The parquet floor of the Boston Garden had been the stage for many great Boston Celtics players prior to Larry Bird, the Hick from French Lick, who along with the Los Angeles Lakers Earvin “Magic” Johnson, saved the NBA in the eighties and ushered in the league’s greatest era.
On September 27, 1983, Larry Bird became the highest paid Celtic in the franchise’s history when he signed a seven-year deal worth $15.5 million, or slightly more than two million per season. These numbers are quite funny when looking at what Boston’s Big Three will be earning this upcoming season.
Amazingly, recently-acquired Celtics superstar Kevin Garnett is on the books for $21 million this season while small forward Paul Pierce will make approximately $15,101,626. Boston’s other superstar, Ray Allen, will make $14,611,570 in 2007-2008.
by Chris Maynard, chris@hoops4thesoul.com
Sep
27
Inside the domed space ship, the five figures, all clad in orange, were aliens in the modern day of college basketball. Each pass in the motion offense was a game of connect-the-dots, evoking images of a beam of light bouncing from one constellation to another. The possessions would sometime extend for 15 to 16 passes, and culminate with the diminutive leader, garbed in headband and cornrows, launching a successful missile, as evident by the public address announcer’s infamous “Dee for 3” call.
Former University of Illinois star Dee Brown, a member of the Fighting Illini’s magical 2005 team that lost to North Carolina in the National Championship Game, is now Dee for Turkey. After spending his rookie season with the Utah Jazz and being offered a non-guaranteed contract with the team, Brown has decided to play for Turkish club Galatasaray with hopes of catching on with another NBA squad following the 2007-2008 season.
by Chris Maynard, chris@hoops4thesoul.com
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Fifty-one years ago, Jerome Whitehead was born in Waukegan, Illinois.
A character and consummate showman on the sidelines, McGuire and his triumph over Dean Smith in the 1977 NCAA Championship Game not only brought the only men’s college basketball title to Milwaukee but also marked the end of a great yet controversial coaching career and the beginning of a most memorable one as a color commentator.
Inside the domed space ship, the five figures, all clad in orange, were aliens in the modern day of college basketball. Each pass in the motion offense was a game of connect-the-dots, evoking images of a beam of light bouncing from one constellation to another. The possessions would sometime extend for 15 to 16 passes, and culminate with the diminutive leader, garbed in headband and cornrows, launching a successful missile, as evident by the public address announcer’s infamous “Dee for 3” call.