Both are intense competitors. To say such is to use a cliché used too often about too many. The fact is, under pressure, some choke up, some do as well as they usually do, only a handful do better.
Tag Archives: 1960s NBA
K.C. Jones Talks Defense, 1973
What was Jones’ requisite for trying to defend opposing supers? “Learn as much as possible about their strengths and weaknesses and master the basic fundamentals of defense.”
Billy McGill: Over the Hill, In the Valley, and Rising Up Again, 1977
McGill was back on the street. He called Walter Kennedy, then the NBA commissioner, asking whether he had any pension funds due him. He did not; he had not played long enough. “I called collect,” he said, “and I had to look around for a dime.
Lew Alcindor: First Million-Dollar Baby? 1969
Elvin Hayes has already got half a million. Alcindor can get that on one foot.
Sam Jones: The Little Stool That Could, 1962
“Let’s have the fellows who want to play basketball on one side,” said Bill Russell, “and the fellows who want to fight in another place.”
Joe Strawder: No Guarantees, 1968
I came to Pittsburgh, and Mr. Rubin was very fair. But I asked for a guarantee. Detroit could have sued me, and then I’d have been out of everything.”
Tommy “Gun” Heinsohn, 1960s
Cousy agreed. “Heinsohn can do everything Baylor can do,” he said one day. “On top of that, he’s the best offensive rebounder in the business.”
Tom Meschery: Bard of the Backboards, 1969
What follows are 13 poems penned by the NBA great Tom Meschery.
Ode to a Rookie Referee in Two Takes, 1967
Moser, about to hand the ball to the Celts’ John Havlicek, looked at the agonized Holzman—the Knicks were 16 points behind—and said firmly, “That’s enough,” without exclamation point.
Cliff Hagan: In the Twilight, 1970
“I’m not mean,” Hagan said. “I think ‘intensely competitive’ would be more accurate.
From Way Downtown 