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.

‘Earl, Earl, Earl The Pearl,’ 1975

It’s difficult to describe the bedlam he generates in the arena. Little kids scream. Mothers and fathers forget their dignity and roar their delight over a sweating individual in short pants. The Pearl becomes their bauble.

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.

It’s Suddenly Over: The NBA Odyssey of Jim Barnett, 1977

After 10 years as a hard-driving guard and frenetic defensive player for the Boston Celtics, the San Diego Rockets, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Golden State Warriors, the New Orleans Jazz, and finally the New York Knicks, the 32-year-old Jim Barnett is through as a professional basketball player.

Carl Braun: Perennial Freshman, 1953

Lapchick could go on for hours talking about Braun, the 25-year-old Manhasset, N.Y., athlete who was picked up from Colgate University after he turned professional when he signed with the New York Yankee chain as a pitcher for a $4,000 bonus in 1947. 

Doc Rivers Spills on How to Beat Jordan’s Bulls, 1998

The Bulls dynasty must someday come to an end. In fact, Bulls management itself—in its eagerness to rebuild—may dismantle the team. If that’s the case, this season will be the last to beat Jordan’s Bulls. Here’s how you do it. 

The Walt Frazier Style, 1971

Madison Square Garden is probably the only basketball arena in the country where, when the home team falls behind in the fourth quarter, a chant begins in the lower tiers and swells until it sweeps the arena: “Dee-fense! (clap, clap), Dee-fense! (clap, clap) Dee-fense! (clap, clap).”