Kemp didn’t wilt under the pressure of playing in the NBA. In fact, he regrets not joining the league sooner than he did.
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Mark Price: The Price is Right, 1991
Price has become the player who makes all the other Cavs better. His value can’t be measured strictly in numbers.
I Was Wrong About Jerry West, 1966
He grinned his crooked, slightly gap-toothed grin, and the grin revealed gold bridgework. He’s left teeth on the floors of basketball arenas.
World B. Free: The Artist Formerly Known as Lloyd, 1983
There is a maturity about Free that had been missing before, partly because his Gus Williams-style balding pate, gives him a look beyond his years. But that maturity largely is due to his growth as an athlete, as a leader.
Don Ohl: For Ohl Lang Syne, 1962
Now, Don’s confidence has returned. Understandably cautious early in the 1964-65 season, his first in Baltimore, he finished with a rush and was named the Bullets’ most valuable player.
Michael Ray Richardson: With Sugar on Top, 1981
“When I first came into the league, I thought everyone was Superman. I was shaky, but during the summer, I began to realize that the players are good and that I belonged here.”
Billy Ray Bates: Dunks & Downs of a Portland Legend, 1995
For all of the Bates’ mid-air poetry and last-second heroics, ultimately it was his endearing nature that made him a fan favorite and later a cult hero.
Michael Cooper: Two for Coop, 1980
By the time Cooper was a senior, his game had done a 180. He couldn’t wait to get back on defense. Offense was like a coffee-shop meal; he couldn’t wait to get it over with.
Dale Ellis: Shooting for the Stars, 1989
The fact is that Ellis is the closest thing to a shooting machine in the game today.
Dennis Scott: Rookie Year in Review, 1991
Things all came together for Scott in March, when he averaged more than 19 points a game—including 25 points or more on four occasions—to go with 3.5 rebounds and slightly more than two assists a contest.
From Way Downtown 