Fans mostly see results, which is why the Moses Malones and Artis Gilmores of the world appeal far more to the uneducated than to the aficionados. Coaches look at Bill Walton the way young actors look at Laurence Olivier. They don’t know whether to be more impressed by what he knows or what he intuits.
Author Archives: bobkuska
Dismantling the Buffalo Braves, 1977
Speaking of rebuilding, it might be instructive to dwell briefly on how the Braves were razed and/or disassembled in such a short time. It is somewhat disconcerting to note that there are exactly two players—count ‘em, two—remaining from the team, which opened league play a season ago, in the autumn of 1975: Randy Smith and Ernie DiGregorio.
Rick Mahorn’s Roman Holiday, 1992
Mahorn goes on, attending daily practices, playing one game a week, cultivating the mystery that has always been his calling card, Big Man, Big Mouth, yet with an underlying kindness that keeps you coming back to him, because you’re sure there’s a decent guy underneath all that bluster.
Adrian Dantley’s Inferno, 1992
“Guess we got to wait,” Dantley says. And we sit in the bleachers, behind a green net. There are two baskets, and one rim seems bent, I point at it. Dantley shrugs. It’s a long way from the NBA.
Pete Maravich: A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, 1972
“Maybe it’s the kid’s fate. Maybe it’s the way the ball bounces. But it looks like he’s had to do everything the hard way.”
European Pro Basketball Back in the Day, 1993
Unlike the NBA, where teams are required to post multimillion dollar operating bonds before the season, most teams in Europe are run on a nickel-and-dime basis at best. Many grew out of small neighborhood sporting clubs—YMCAs, really, and depend heavily on corporate sponsors for their cash flow.
Danny Vranes: To Fit or Not to Fit, 1980s
“A lot of guys can’t handle the situation when they have to come off the bench, when they don’t play regularly,” Vranes said. “But I’ve been around. I’m used to it. I’m here to do what they ask. I accept it as part of my job.”
Otis Thorpe: Pure Power, 1995
You watch him on the court, and it can be like watching a machine. He doesn’t do everything. He never tries to do everything. But what Thorpe does, he does well. Filling the lanes on the break. Shooting the baby hook close to the basket. Rebounding and playing defense. No wasted motion.
Raymond Lewis: A Glimpse of The Phantom, 1989
Back in his living room, Lewis shifts in his chair and says, “I still don’t know who the Sixers thought they were kidding. I would never have left school unless I thought I was going to get the millions, not a lousy few grand.”
Bill Cartwright: Is He Mean Enough to Make It Big? 1980
Veterans do not like being outplayed by rookies, and they will do whatever they can—within the rules or without—to gain an advantage. Cartwright had the additional problem of being labeled, “a very nice guy.”
From Way Downtown 