Author Archives: bobkuska

It Takes Two: Johnny Dawkins and Hersey Hawkins, 1990

Watching the two players interact, one gets the sense that they are as advertised: good guys with good attitudes who don’t indulge in petty jealousies or self-promotion. They know Barkley and Mahorn are the stars of the team, yet they’re willing to accept their roles and abide by them.

Balls of Confusion: Signing Lew Alcindor, 1969

Brown handed him the certified check from Chemical Bank. Alcindor fingered the paper, eyed his name printed as clearas day across the middle, and handed it back. “Mr. Brown said to me, ‘We’ll give you a million dollars,’” recalled Alcindor, but without mentioning a timeframe.

Meet the NBA’s Sultans of Swing, 1994

Not all players who defy classification by position, however, are destined for success as NBA swingmen. NBA coaches and general managers know all too well that a fine line exists between the swingman and the “tweener.”

Power Forward: Tracking the NBA Power Surge, 2000

Many all-time greats believe the term “power forward” was invented by New York sportswriters looking for a way to describe Dave DeBusschere, who played every minute on the court with reckless abandon.

The NBA Before Load Management, 1973

More and more these days, Russell and other sportscasters appraise the product pointedly, with such asides as, “If there’s a loose ball around here today, you can be sure those guys won’t go get it.” Welcome as honest descriptions may be, they hardly compensate for a home fan’s boredom.

Dick Vitale: Pumping Up the Detroit Pistons, 1978

Vitale is a workaholic. His non-stop drive to succeed may stem from the fact that he never made it as a player himself. An infection at the beginning of his junior year in high school cost him the sight in his left eye, and he could never recapture the form that made him a 25-point-a-game scorer the year before.

Rickey Green: The Fastest of Them All

“Rather than sitting around and worrying about the NBA, you’ve got to do something else. I mean, everybody wants to be in the NBA. It’s the best in the world. It’s everybody’s dream. But dreaming about it grows old, and you just got to move on.”

Tuning Up the Utah Jazz, 1981

Despite the size factor, despite the fact that the Jazz have never had a winning record in five years, they are welcomed in Salt Lake City, their now year-old home, as if they were on the verge of a world title.

Jeff Hornacek: Not Just Another Face in the Crowd, 1992

“My whole career, all I’ve done is try to work harder than anyone else,” Hornacek says. “Maybe other players don’t have the drive that I have to work.” Maybe that’s why Jeff Hornacek is standing out from the crowd in the NBA these days instead of sitting in the crowd and watching.