Basketball from a
fan’s perspective
Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday
Hall of Fame
Folks always get excited about offense, rarely do we focus on the defensive side of the game. Last night two defensive stalwarts were enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Al Attles spent 60 years of his life in some capacity with the Warriors. He began play with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1960 and played guard till 1971, Attles was noted as a defensive specialist. Later he would become head coach and led the team to an NBA championship in 1975.
Bobby Jones began his basketball career
in the ABA and later moved to the NBA and the Sixers. Jones a Carolina Tarheel could have demanded
the ball and could score. That was not
his forte, he would play tough hard-nose defense and score when called on. Attles lifetime scoring average 8.9, as for
Jones it was 12.1 providing us proof the game is as much offense as it is
defense. Congratulations to both Attles
and Jones and the other who were enshrined last night.
Charley Lau
The late Charley Lau was a catcher and later became a hitting coach. I know you are asking the question what does a baseball coach have to do with basketball? I’m pleased you asked, allow a brief explanation, the Lau was a reserve catcher most of his baseball career. His lifetime batting average was .255, you might think the guy couldn’t hit. That’s not where he became an expert, it was coaching batters. Hall of Fame player George Brett might be his most prized pupil, a lifetime .305 average, 3,000 hits and three batting championships.
The late Charley Lau was a catcher and later became a hitting coach. I know you are asking the question what does a baseball coach have to do with basketball? I’m pleased you asked, allow a brief explanation, the Lau was a reserve catcher most of his baseball career. His lifetime batting average was .255, you might think the guy couldn’t hit. That’s not where he became an expert, it was coaching batters. Hall of Fame player George Brett might be his most prized pupil, a lifetime .305 average, 3,000 hits and three batting championships.
In 1980 Brett batted .390 the highest
average since Ted Williams .406 registered in the 1941 season. Over the summer the Lakers hired Mike
Penberthy as a shooting coach, the former guard was a reserve guard for the
Lakers in 2000-2001. Penberthy shot
nearly 40% from the 3-point line when he was on the floor for the team. This is not his first job, Penberthy’s served
as shooting coach for the Wolves and Pelicans before the Laker hire. A fan letter read, “How can this guy be a shooting
coach when he only averaged 5 points a game?”
All I can say is “Charley Lau”, I think that will suffice.
He belongs in the Hall
of Fame
I must admit David Thomas was the driving force for me to begin this personal crusade, a campaign on my part to honor the late basketball great and human being Warren Jabali. In July I’d mentioned Thomas had written a book, Jabali A Kansas City Legend which was published this summer. I’m mailing letters to the CEO’s of the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame regarding Jabali. I believe he is overdue for selection to one maybe both halls.
I must admit David Thomas was the driving force for me to begin this personal crusade, a campaign on my part to honor the late basketball great and human being Warren Jabali. In July I’d mentioned Thomas had written a book, Jabali A Kansas City Legend which was published this summer. I’m mailing letters to the CEO’s of the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame regarding Jabali. I believe he is overdue for selection to one maybe both halls.
The former Wichita State guard was
elected to the school’s HOF in 1985. I’m
simply asking for the committees to explore the possibility of adding his name alongside
their list of basketball greats. With
the passage of time memories fade, several individuals who witnessed Jabali play
have died. In addition to the Thomas
book below are several links to sources I believe prove my point. Cut and paste the links and determine if you agree
Jabali is due this honor. These sources
should provide proof of what I believe is an enshrinement oversight.
The Answer
That was the nickname for Allen Iverson, he might have been the predecessor to the combo guard in the NBA. At 6 feet (or 5-11) he was a scoring machine; he defied the NBA expectations of 1996 when drafted by the Sixers. Players his size were to play the point and occasionally score they were not to be the focus of the offense. For 10 years Iverson was the Sixers, eventually the love affair began to wane, it was reported he wanted a trade (which he later denied).
That was the nickname for Allen Iverson, he might have been the predecessor to the combo guard in the NBA. At 6 feet (or 5-11) he was a scoring machine; he defied the NBA expectations of 1996 when drafted by the Sixers. Players his size were to play the point and occasionally score they were not to be the focus of the offense. For 10 years Iverson was the Sixers, eventually the love affair began to wane, it was reported he wanted a trade (which he later denied).
In 2006 Iverson was traded to the Nuggets
and a new journey would begin for him in the NBA. From there it was Detroit, Memphis and back
to the Sixers, Iverson kept his suitcase packed as he moved from team to
team. October 2013 Iverson announced his
official retirement from the game. Many
say Tim Hardaway brought the crossover to the NBA. That might be the case but nobody, I mean no
one had the “Killer crossover.”
If you are too young to remember Iverson
at his best check out YouTube. In 2016
this 24,000+ point athlete was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame. Many will say his tenure in Philadelphia may
have been longer if he’d been more accommodating, that may well be true. Despite the negatives existing before during
and after his NBA career we end this by borrowing a few stanzas from a song
recorded by Frank Sinatra titled My Way.
… “I've lived a life that's full I've traveled each and every
highway but more, much more than this I did it
my way…” In response Allen
“The Answer Iverson” would say “I did it my way.”
