Kevin Loughery – From Way Downtown

What’s Left for Lew Alcindor? 1972

What, then, will incite Alcindor and keep his interest? The same thing that incites all great athletes—a competitive challenge.

Dr. J and the Champion New York Nets, 1975

Erving is young. So is his coach, Kevin Loughery. If they can stay together, the Nets will become as great as their talent allows.

Gus Johnson: ‘I Sometimes Amaze Me,’ 1966

Triggered by the magic words, all pro, his voice grows stronger and his words come faster, and suddenly there seems no chance that in the interest of safety, he will abandon the style that made him Gus the Great. ”You don’t see Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain gliding through the air and shoving it in there like I do,” Gus says firmly.

Harold Miner: Turning Up the Heat, 1994

Cool Harold has proven that he has no problem turning up the heat on the basketball court. When he learns how to keep the fire burning, to bring the smoldering style of his favorite soft jazz musicians like Grover Washington, Jr. to the basketball court, he’ll become more than just a sideshow at future NBA All-Star games.

Willie Sojourner: That Tall Carpenter in Elko, 1990

Sojourner had his moments as a rookie. Like Red Robbins Night in the Salt Palace.

Willie Burton: Finding Willie, 1995

The problem was, everything was not right in Willie Burton’s life during the four seasons he spent in Miami.

Glen Rice: Small Hands, Big Heart, 1993

Rice can barely palm the ball. But that has not stopped him from raising his scoring average in each of his first three NBA seasons, and he is now one of the guns who can be counted on to produce 20 points every night.

Bubbles Hawkins: How to Burst a Bubble, 1977

BUH-bbles! . . . BUH-bbles! . . .BUH-bbles! . . .” The name has become the fans’ refrain, a sort of new tribal chant to ward off losing and to summon, as if magically, points upon the board.

Michael Jordan: The Real No. 1 Draft Choice, 1984

Like Van Cliburn coming to Carnegie Hall for the first time or Beverly Sills to the Met, Michael Jordan came to Madison Square Garden as a professional.

Phil Chenier: Can He Unseat Walt Frazier as Basketball’s Top Guard, 1975

“Clyde is the best. He deserves his reputation. He earned it. I’d like to be in that position myself someday.”