Willis Reed was past 30 now, and in the compressed lifespan of athletics that is to be past middle-age. It is a time when the body begins to betray its promises of youth, a time when the infinite resilience and boundless energy start to become less dependable certainties.
Tag Archives: Jerry Lucas
The Imminent Decline and Fall of the New York Knicks, 1975
Basketball may be the No. 1 sport in New York, but the Knicks no longer will be kings of the NBA.
Jerry Lucas: Greatest High School Basketball Player in the Country? 1958
Rough-up tactics haven’t worked. Jerry doesn’t lose his temper.
Three Days in the Life of Walt Frazier, 1971
Dribbling and driving, dancing and defending, passing and penetrating, Frazier is the equal of any guard in the NBA. Stealing the ball, he has no equal. He has the fastest hands in the East . . . or in the West.
Did Jerry Lucas Outsmart Himself? 1963
Seldom in the history of American sports, and certainly never in the history of basketball, has so bright a student and so brilliant an athlete faced so uncertain a future as Jerry Ray Lucas.
What Jerry Lucas Will Do for the Knicks, 1972
An All-NBA forward five times, he can also do a more-than-adequate job at center. And at either position, he can shoot from the outside about as well as any man his size ever has, and he can rebound with the best.
Changing Times: Today’s Players Can Do More Things Than We Could, 1973
Modern players have bigger, stronger, and more flexible bodies than their predecessors; they can shoot better, jump higher, and run faster.
Lucas-Robertson or Baylor-West? The Coaches Choose, 1964
If the comparisons between Robertson-Lucas and Baylor-West prove anything, it is that the two pairs are entirely different in style and are needed in different capacities on their respective teams.
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.
Gus Johnson: Will Erratic Star Become a Superstar?
Johnson, more confidently, concludes: “There’s no limit to what I can do out there.” True. The basketball world, and especially the Bullets, curiously await future developments.
From Way Downtown 