New York Nets – From Way Downtown

Jim Chones: Learning to Live with the Pressure

“I always wanted to get a degree. I’ve been going back to school every summer to get my degree in philosophy. I don’t know what good it will do me, or if I’ll ever use it. But it’s something I want to have.”

Charlie Scott: The Next Big O, 1972

“He makes all the big plays,” said Lou Carnesecca, the fiery coach-general manager of the Nets. “He reminds me so much of Oscar Robertson that I hate to think what he’s going to do as he gains pro experience.”

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.

Half Dollar Bill Melchionni, 1971

There is nothing fancy about Melchionni’s game. He leaves showtime ballhandling to those who must resort to it in order to build up their game, and Billy’s game is as pure as Dionne Warwick’s vocal range.

Super John Williamson: Nothing But Net, 1979

While Williamson was just one of a number of sideshows to Julius Erving’s main act during those winning seasons, he was now looked upon by his teammates as the Nets’ leader, the one to go to in clutch situations, and Williamson has proven that he thrives under those conditions.

New Jersey Americans: One Season and Done, 1968

The court, the regulation 94-feet long, had a big white star in the center, inside concentric circles of red and blue. New Jersey’s first pro basketball team, one year away from becoming the New York Nets, would be called the Americans.

Rick Barry: Tales of a Happy Warrior, 1974

“I had commitments to Franklin Mieuli and the Warriors,” recalls Barry, “and also to Roy Boe and the Nets. It was a difficult situation to be in.”

Rick Barry Discusses: Is the ABA As Good as the NBA? 1973

The National Basketball Association is better than the American Basketball Association, but it is no longer a great deal better.

Julius Erving: The Greatest Show on Earth, 1973

Did Erving need the big-time to feed his ego, feeling perhaps that he’d suffer the sort of way Henry Aaron did by playing in towns where he didn’t get much national publicity? “No, I don’t feel that way,” said Erving. “All during my basketball career and life, the acknowledgement of me has been in a very limited sense.”