Hoops4theSoul

Sep

30

On this Day in Basketball History — 1956

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jerome-whitehead.jpg 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.

Al McGuire Was a Beautiful Human Being 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