Invariably, too much is made of the rumor that Jack Ramsay is in better shape than the athletes he coaches. “Let’s put it this way,” he says diplomatically. “I can’t do what they do on the court, and they can’t do what I do in the pool, on the bike, or on the roads.”
Tag Archives: 1980s NBA
Billy Cunningham: Confessions of an Ex-Coach, 1988
Once you become a coach, you look at the game differently. I began to believe in creating your offense from the defensive end of the court. And, I think the 76ers became a very good defensive ballclub.
Isiah Thomas: The Bad, The Brave, and The Brilliant, 1988
Thomas banked a 17-footer off the glass and cleanly through the hoop. Probably the Bullets didn’t know it then, but the night was over.
Stockton to Malone, and All That Jazz, 1989
It’s no wonder that Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, when asked if he’d trade Stockton-Malone for any other point guard-power forward combination in the NBA says, without hesitation, “No,” and looks at you like you’re crazy to even ask.
Eddie Johnson: Steady Eddie in the Zone, 1988
And it’s a game I’ll never forget. When I look back on my career, this was my outstanding game.
Mike Gminski: No Ands, Ifs, or Buts, 1989
Gminski almost never makes a bad pass or a goofy shot. How could he? Inherent, implied, in every move he makes are thousands and thousands of hours of solitary practice.
Alex English: Mister Poetry in Motion, 1989
That’s the amazing thing about English. His body with the arms and legs that look like pipe cleaners sticking out of a lean torso, doesn’t look like it would hold up in this very physical game.
Bill Walton: Appreciating Perfection, 1986
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.
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.”
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 