Uncategorized – Page 61 – From Way Downtown

What Dave Bing Had to Learn, 1968

He jumps like a man inches taller. When he sets off on a long-striding drive, the common layup becomes a basketball happening.

The Amazing Marques Johnson, 1979

Johnson’s attitude hasn’t changed. He signs autographs endlessly. No matter how many people surround him, he is patient, always smiling, always chatting.

Marques Johnson: His Father the Influencer, 1977

Marques Johnson was not alone on that backyard court. Jeff Johnson was there, too, playing him one-on-one, challenging, teaching, and competing. Almost every day, for six or seven years.

Rudy LaRusso: ‘He Gets the Job Done,’ 1967

Rudy LaRusso does what he must. It’s made him wealthy as one of pro basketball’s top forwards.

Oscar Robertson: What He Wants Most Now, 1970

Oscar Robertson is a complex man playing a complex game in complex times. He has mastered the game as no one ever has.

Carl Braun: Perennial Freshman, 1953

Lapchick could go on for hours talking about Braun, the 25-year-old Manhasset, N.Y., athlete who was picked up from Colgate University after he turned professional when he signed with the New York Yankee chain as a pitcher for a $4,000 bonus in 1947.

The Big E vs. Wilt, 1968

So Elvin Hayes prodded, spoke of getting ready for the real Wilt Chamberlain. But something kept getting in the way.

E Stands for Elvin . . . And Excellence, 1969

Elvin Hayes, the Big E, the two-time All-America from Houston University, started the current National Basketball Association season as the most heralded rookie since Oscar Robertson

Bob Pettit: So Steady He’s Overlooked, 1964

“Bobby has the greatest desire of any athlete who ever lived,” says Marty Blake, general manager of the Hawks. “It is remarkable St. Louis should have had two such athletic heroes as Stan Musial and Pettit cut out of the same mould.”

Nate Thurmond: He Can’t Get ‘Up’ for Every Game, 1970

“When I play the best—guys like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Wes Unseld—I get inspired. You know how great Russell was. I wanted to play my best against him.”