Tag Archives: Al Cervi

Bob Cousy: One Magical Night in Boston Garden, 1953

Cooz, the reason for the mass delirium, just sat on the bench, hunched over, trying to hide the tears. “Thanks for everything. Thanks fellas,” he said to well-wishers and his teammates. “There was a prayer going with every shot. I certainly needed them. But I don’t want to have to play a game like that again. Boy, it’s too much. I was lucky.”

What’s Wrong with Big-Time Basketball, 1955

Undoubtedly, this is progress. But is it enough? We don’t think so. The NBA could do much to improve its league.

Bill Sharman: The Shooter, 1965

What made Sharman’s shooting so remarkable was its purity. He shot with almost robot-like precision, his style so polished and precise that it seemed like an illustration for a book on how to play basketball.

Red Auerbach: Hothead on the Boston Bench, 1956

As provincial as the next town, Boston likes winning teams, and although the Celtics have been close many times, they’ve never taken the big prize. Some critics say it is Auerbach’s fault.

Bobby McDermott: Blast from the Distant Past

The temperamental side of McDermott’s personality made him a forerunner to the Billy Martins and Bobby Knights, although Buddy Jeannette, his outstanding backcourt mate with the Pistons, noted, “Compared to Mac, Bobby Knight is a saint.”

Dolph Schayes: The Boy from Syracuse, 1953

All the near riots which have occurred in the New York-Syracuse series. Almost always, at the bottom of the basketbrawl pile, you’d find a big National with the number 4. That was Adolph Schayes.

Al Cervi: Old Pro from Syracuse, 1952

Cervi would hardly know what to do if he couldn’t run around and take sets and layups with the boys before the game, and he is quite sure he might go crazy if he had to sit on the bench all night, coaching only by remote control.