Big O or Mr. Clutch?

The NBA in 1960s and 1970s has often been described as “The Era of the Big Man”. On any given night, NBA teams were starting four, five, even six future Hall of Famers like Pettit, Russell, Wilt, Bellamy, Thurmond, Reed, Unseld, Kareem, Cowens, Malone, Walton, and McAdoo. Consider that from 1958 to 1980, a span of 23 seasons, only one non-center won an NBA MVP award.

While the pivot players were garnering so much attention, guards were steadily ushering in a whole new era of basketball. By the late ‘70s, everybody referred to “Showtime Basketball”. Just who was leading this transition? Who was the best guard of the ‘60s and early ‘70s? My dad and I had this debate more times that I can remember.

The 60’s began with Bob Cousy an All-NBA player and the most recognizable guard in the NBA. By the mid-‘70s, Pistol Pete, Clyde Frazier, Earl the Pearl, Tiny Archibald, and others were playing a game that perhaps only Cousy could have imagined in 1960. At the crest of the wave, however, rode two players who begin and end the debate – Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. They were a list of two with everybody else far down the page … or better yet, they were on an entirely different piece of paper. But who was number one? I say Big O; Dad always said Mr. Clutch. I’m betting that my dad and I weren’t the only father and son arguing the point.

Draft Day 1960

It’s draft day and an impossible choice faces you if you are the GM with the number one pick. Two of the greatest college players ever have finished up their careers. In their senior seasons, Jerry West, 6’2”, averaged 29 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists for West Virginia, while Oscar Robertson, 6’5”, averaged 34 point, 14 rebounds and 7 assists for Cincinnati. How do you choose between the two? And by the way, does anybody remember that these two guards were such prolific college rebounders, or that West out-rebounded the Big O in that senior year? Amazingly well-rounded games - such complete players.

Fate would be the arbiter of this decision, for it just so happened that the Cincinnati Royals had the top pick of the 1960 draft, thanks to a 19-56 record the prior year. The owner, the GM, and the head coach would have had to get out of Dodge had they selected anyone except Big O. Sorry, Jerry, you are number two. (NBA History Trivia: Who is the third future Hall of Fame guard selected in the 1960 draft – the answer at the end of this article).

What Do the Numbers Say?

Back to the question: who was better? West and Big O would go on to play 14 seasons, retiring in 1974, and entering the Hall of Fame together in 1980. Their statistical production was unbelievable. My dad and I threw numbers back and forth at each other until we realized that the numbers by themselves didn’t help. West: 25,192 career points, 27ppg, 6rpg, 7apg. Big O: 26,710 career points, 26 ppg, 7 rpg, 9 apg, not to mention the only NBA season ever averaging a triple double (1962).

Okay, so let’s start focusing on accomplishments. All Star games: West, 13; Big O, 12. All-NBA appearances: West, 10 first team and two second; Big O, nine first team and two second. For a span of six straight seasons, the first team All-NBA backcourt was West and Robertson – shouldn’t somebody apologize to the rest of the guards in the league?

I always thought I won the father-son debate with this: not only did Robertson win the Rookie of the Year award over West, but in 1964 he is the only non-center to win the league MVP in that span of 23 years that I mentioned before. West never won the regular season MVP. Dad always countered with West’s ’69 Finals MVP, the only time a player from the losing team won the award. The debate continued.

Robertson was the more physical player of the two. Over his first five years in the league, he averages a mind-boggling triple-double – 30.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 10.6 apg. (No, Magic Johnson did not invent the triple-double, although NBA marketing would like you to think so.) Big O was the first player to average 10+ assists in a season, and the only guard to ever average 10+ rebounds. With six assist titles to his name, Robertson’s production, like all players, begins to fade in his 30’s, although the passing skills and numbers are always there.

West was the better shot and more of a finesse player. His shooting mechanics were flawless. His image is silhouetted in the NBA logo – that’s pretty impressive. Furthermore, later in West’s career, the Lakers were without a point guard, so they converted West from the two-guard to the one. In ’72 at the age of 33, he leads the league in assists per game while still averaging nearly 26 points. The NBA creates the All-Defense team in ’69, and West is on the first team from ’70 to ’73. And in his final season at the age of 35, the first season that the NBA tracks steals, West records 81 steals in 31 games, including 10 steals in one game, still a Laker record. That was Dad’s one-two-three punch. He focused on longevity … he was older than me. Still no resolution to the debate.

Forget the Numbers, What About Championships?

I’ll warn you now, this isn’t going to be much help, because NBA championships in the 1960s start and end with Russell and the Celtics. Still, let's take a look. Oscar’s Royals played in the East (after ’62), West’s Lakers in the West. Three times in the ‘60s, O’s Royals lose to the Celtics in the playoffs, two other times to the Chamberlain-led 76ers. Six times, West’s Lakers lose to the Celtics in the NBA Finals. Neither of these great players wins a championship team until the Celtic dynasty has past.

In 1971, Big O has moved on to the Milwaukee Bucks, where he teams up with a guy named Lew Alcindor (many of you probably only know him as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to win the ring. As if their careers remained tied at the hip to the end, the next year, West and the Lakers win a championship, thanks in large measure to Chamberlain. Dad and I never debated the championships.

Settling the Debate

Stats. Awards. Championships. Longevity. How do you separate these guys? Who was the best? Dad and I never reached a conclusion to our debate. Unfortunately, he passed away a number of years ago, so we never will. Reflecting on West and Robertson a bit, I guess that’s where the debate belongs – unresolved. Two of the greatest guards ever, helping to transform the NBA with arguably the most complete set of skills the league had ever seen. Co-captains of the 1960 gold-medal Olympic team, drafted one and two, All Stars nearly every year of their careers, six consecutive years as the first team All-NBA backcourt, retired the same year, entered the Hall the same year. There’s just no separating them. I think I could get Dad to agree with me on this.

Oh, I almost forgot. For those of you keeping score, Lenny Wilkens.

The Triple-Double - Just Another Day at the Office

In 1942, Teddy Ballgame led the American League in batting (.356), homers (36), and RBIs (137) – the Triple Crown. Williams lost the AL MVP to the Yankees’ Joe Gordon (Who?). In ’47, Williams repeated the feat, this time losing the MVP to DiMaggio. It’s been 40 years since we’ve seen one of these endangered animals, and I’ll bet that some of you probably can’t believe what you are reading. Triple Crown does not equal MVP – huh? And what does this have to do with basketball? Well, keep reading.

In the 1920s, Rogers Hornsby does it twice, but wins only one MVP. In the 1930s, four players record the Triple Crown, but only two win their league’s MVP. If you are keeping score, that’s three decades, eight Triple Crown winners, and only three MVP awards. Baseball experts who really know the pre-1950 game will tell you that for a long time, members of the Baseball Writers Association of America valued the best player on the best team more than the guy who put up the numbers. I don’t dispute this, but I don’t think it represents the entire story. The other factor in all of this is that there was a time in baseball when the Triple Crown wasn’t so unachievable. In fact, it was accomplished by six different players in a span of less than 30 years – that’s not exactly baseball immortality.

By the 1950s, however, the Triple Crown is becoming more rare, and its achievement therefore more celebrated. Mantle wins both the Crown and the MVP in ’56. And the last sightings of this species occurred with Frank Robinson in ’66 and Yaz in ’67, and both earned MVPs. If a player today won the Triple Crown, you can bank on unbelievable media attention and a unanimous MVP. Now on to hoops.

The Triple-Double
In basketball, a triple-double is defined as a player achieving double digit total (meaning 10 or more) in three of five statistical categories in a single game: points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals. It’s safe to say that recording a triple-double is a reflection on the depth and breadth of a player’s skills. Today, when a player records a triple-double, it’s headline material. Since the 1980s, the NBA has gone out of its way to market the greatness of the few players who could produce several triple-doubles in a season - players like Magic Johnson (138 career triple-doubles), Larry Bird (59), and today’s Jason Kidd (83 and counting). Great players.

So all that hoopla got me thinking one day. What makes the triple-double such a big deal today? I think the answer has a lot in common with baseball’s Triple Crown – rarity. It’s special. We don’t see it very often. And that’s a good reason. But that realization then brought me to my second question: Has it always been so rare?

The 1960s
The triple-double came to be defined by Oscar Robertson. The Big O entered the NBA in ’60-’61 as an unusually gifted player. At 6’5” and playing the point, he used every big of his size, speed, and quickness. Over the course of his first five seasons, he averaged 30.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 10.6 assists per game. Mind-boggling. His second season in the league, he recorded 41 triple-doubles and averaged a triple-double for the entire season – never done before or since. (By the way, the Splendid Splinter might have been comforted knowing that O did not win the MVP that year, that is, if he ever paid attention to anything except baseball and fishing). For his career, Big O registered 181 of these gems, a record that still stands today, 43 more than next-in-line Magic Johnson.

Okay, that’s enough about Oscar. Who else is putting up numbers? Well, there’s always Wilt. Chamberlain would record 79 triple-doubles during his career – a time when the NBA did not keep official stats for blocks and steals. Makes you wonder how many games Wilt the Stilt managed 10 blocks.

Everyone knows Wilt for his scoring and rebounding, but his statistical onslaught takes a new direction when he leads the league in assists in 1968, the only NBA center ever to do so. During that season, on February 4, 1968, Wilt achieves something that I think is even more improbable than his 100 point game. He records a “double-triple-double” (for lack of a better term – 20 or more in each of three categories) – 22 points, 25 rebounds, and 21 assists. The only player ever to do it. Finally, no disrespect to DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak, but Wilt records nine straight triple-doubles that season, and I’m betting that’s a streak that out lives Mr. Coffee’s 56.

The Extraordinary Seems Ordinary
Oscar records 41 triple-doubles in ’62; Wilt 31 in ’68. All from points, rebounds, and assists, none on steals or rebounds. The 1960s was a time when records were being set by the giants of NBA history. If you are an NBA fan, you are witnessing the only center to lead the league in assists per game, and the only guard to average 10+ rebounds per game. And you are probably thinking that this is just the beginning of the greatness to be achieved in this sport. The extraordinary was happening all around. For Wilt and O, it's just another day at the office.

One factor that contributes to the statistical achievements of this era is the incredible number of minutes logged by the stars. Future Hall of Fame players like Wilt, Oscar, Russell, Jerry Lucas consistently play 3600, 3700, even 3800 minutes in a season (last year Gilbert Arenas led the league with 3383). Who was Wilt’s backup? It is reported that Red Auerbach once suggested John Thompson take a coaching job, because he wasn’t getting on the floor with Russell around.

You can’t fill up the stat sheet if you aren’t on the court. The greats played almost every minute of almost every game. In ’62, Wilt records the single most preposterous statistical achievement of his career when he averages more than 48 minutes per game for the season. This in no way diminishes from the statistical achievements of these guys. Quite the contrary, they are logging unbelievable minutes, putting up ridiculous numbers against some of the greatest players in the history of the game, long before expansion watered down the talent. And they made it seem ordinary.

The Rare is Rediscovered
The triple-double all but disappears from the NBA in the 1970s. There’s a lot happening to professional basketball during this decade – some good (ABA, merger, and expansion), some not so good (drugs, fights on the court). With attendance down and the league in financial trouble, Fate awakens and in step Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Not only will they save the league, but they finish their careers number two and four respectively in all-time triple-doubles. Once again, the spotlight will be dominated by players who master all facets of the game.

In the NBA’s efforts to cash in on its good fortune, however, the giants of basketball history are glossed over and the new heroes of the game are marketed like never before. To this day, for example, sports analysts talk about Magic “redefining” the point guard position because he was unusually tall for the position, had great court vision, and could fill up a stat sheet wherever he was needed to win a game. Hello – anybody remember Big O?

Today
Let's fast forward. I love following the play of Jason Kidd. His versatility, the breadth of his skills, the flashes of Maravich passing – he is one of a handful of players today who has truly mastered the game. With the size, athleticism, and shear number of players in the game, I keep expecting there to be more Kidds on the floor, but I can't find many of them. Wade? Garnett? Kobe?

And the triple-double? Maybe it really is as rare as today's game makes it out to be. And maybe that's one more reason to separate O, Wilt, Bird, and Magic from the rest of the pack. Let's hope Jason Kidd's career doesn't end any time soon.

I can’t help but remember, however, that Wilt and Big O made it look ordinary, and that a single decade once witnessed the careers of six players who recorded eight Triple Crowns - Hornsby, Foxx, Klein, Gehrig, Medwick, and Williams.

Pistol Pete and a Night to Remember!

The New York Knicks had been to the Super Dome before to play the Jazz. The Knicks were the better team, led by three future Hall of Famers - Walt Frazier, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, and Bob McAdoo. The Jazz were in just their third year of existence, led by the original basketball magician, Pete Maravich. The Pistol had once dropped 39 points on the Knicks, and he was leading the league in scoring when these two teams met on Februrary 25, 1977 - 30 years ago today. Fans must have expected an exciting game, with seven-time first team All-Defense Frazier slated to match up against Maravich. No one, however, knew the game was going to be this good.

Guarded by Frazier, Maravich opened the game with an assist, but quickly scored five of his team's first seven points as the Jazz took an early lead ... and never looked back. Pete scored basket after basket and the Jazz had long stretches where it seemed that no one could miss. Pete hit from the outside, he drove the paint, he made a hook shot, and I lost count of how many turn-around or leaning jumpers he made. Plus, another of his patented moves - Pete is on a break away layup but comes to a dead stop at the basket as a trailing defender goes flying by him trying to block a layup that never materialized. Standing flat-footed, Pete then causally tosses the ball in the basket. Man, that must have ticked off defenders!

As Frazier, then Monroe, then Butch Beard took turns trying to stop Pete, the show continued. Two future Hall of Famers couldn't shut him down, and even double teams rarely worked.

Towards the end of the first half, with the Jazz shutting down the Knicks offensively, at one point Maravich had 31 points compared to the Knicks 32. And for those critics who claim Pete couldn't play defense, Pete had two blocks and several steals. Honestly, I enjoyed watching his defensive play almost as much as his offense.

Pete's passing skills were also on display. He passed up several scoring opportunities to hit an open teammate under the basket. Plus, there was a no-look, behind the back transition pass that hit a teammate in hands - almost the head - and bounced out of bounds because the receiver wasn't ready for the pass. The original coach of the Jazz, Scotty Robinson (went 1-14 with the team, only to be dismissed) once commented about Pete's extraordinatry passing abilities, saying that he told his team to always have their eyes on Pete and their hands above their waiste so they would always be ready for the unexpected.

As he continued to lean into defenders or drive the paint, the Pistol spent plenty of time at the foul line, finishing 14 for 16. I recently watched a tape of the game, and I had forgotten how unusual Pete's foul shooting technique was. He didn't stand at the line, receive the ball from the ref, relax, line up his shot and shoot (like all of us Little League coaches try to teach our players!). Pete waited near the top of the key, received the ball, and then stepped quickly to the line. In one fluid motion, he released his shot, almost as if shooting a jump shot. Coaches will note that shooting a foul shot is difficult from the perspective that it is the one shot that is the most different from any other shot on the floor. The shooter is completely stationary, no defense around, no movement in his body. The shooter doesn't jump and in fact typically uses the foul shot as an opportunity to completely relax and concentrate on the mechanics of his shot.

Pete's foul shot gave me additional insight into his basketball genius. His foul shot followed the rhythm of a jump shot, although he didn't actually jump. In doing so, he carried the rhythm of his floor game into his foul shooting, rather than breaking that rhythm in order to slow everything down and concentrate solely on mechanics. Back to the game ...

Late in the game came another mind-blowing shot - the kind of shot that an NBA player might make once or twice in a career if he had the nerve to try it, but Pete seemed to make as if it was as easy as a layup. He posted up under the basket and received a pass. With this back to the basket, he jumps up and back, only able to see the basket because he his leaning back, and he shoots the ball back over his shoulder - bank and two points. Holy cow!

Maravich's record-breaking offensive performance continued through the second half until with just two minutes left, a referee called Pete for his sixth foul, a charge ... the second such call late in the game. I thought both calls were lame - the defender did not appear to have position with his feet set. The first of the calls was more egregious, because it took away a basket.

For the game, Maravich finished with 68 points, the most ever by a guard (to be eclipsed by Michael Jordan's 69 points thirteen years later), and third most in NBA history after Wilt's 100 and Elgin Baylor's 69. Pete was 27 for 43 from the field and 14 for 16 from the line. And there was no three pointer. A recent analysis of the game concluded that 11 of Pete's shots were from the three-point line or farther - if so, then those 68 points compares favorably to 79 today. It's hard to say just how many of his shots would have been a three, but at least more than one.

If you want to relive this bit of NBA history - especially if you are a Maravich nut like I am - you can watch the game on DVD. It was released in 2004 as "The Night of Pistol Pete", and I'm sure you can still find copies on the Internet. Enjoy!

The Lost Art of the Hook Shot

Who took the hook shot out of basketball? Did somebody change the rules or something? Kids don’t shoot it, college players don’t shoot it, and most NBA players today probably wouldn’t know what Kareem was doing if they saw him drop that sky hook over Lanier. What gives?

One thing is certain. If the pros don’t shoot it, kids won’t learn it, because kids learn their game by watching the pros. And I’ve yet to meet a coach that works with young players today who is even trying to teach the hook shot. Has the game changed that much?

My friend, Frank, grew up in New York City in the ‘60s. He played basketball as an undersized power forward who learned to play an inside game from a coach even smaller than he was. Frank will tell you that if you played basketball in New York in the ‘60s, you had a left-handed hook shot - it didn’t matter whether you were right or left-handed. Why? Because Willis Reed had one – end of explanation. I grew up in Virginia, I was a guard, and I could make a hook shot with either hand. Why? To shoot over taller players was one reason, but honestly, because Maravich shot them. That was good enough for me.

The hook shot was first popularized in the NBA in the 1950s by future Hall of Fame center George Mikan of the Minneapolis Lakers. Used mainly by post players, the shooter starts with his back to the basket, pivots right or left so that his body is perpendicular to the defender and his head is turned towards the basket. With the ball in the outside hand he loops that arm first away from his body, then up over the shoulder in a rounded or “hook” motion. When the ball reaches the highest point above the shoulder, the shooter snaps his wrist and releases the ball towards the basket (see the picture – this is tough to describe).

In the ‘60s and ‘70s, several players turned the hook into an exceptional offensive weapon. By jumping as they shot, players could raise the ball above the height of the rim before the release and then actually be shooting down at the basket – the “sky hook”. Made famous by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the shot could not be blocked after the release since to do so is goaltending. By the ‘80s, the hook shot was all but gone from the game, although some players developed what is called a “jump hook”. The jump hook, however, is more of a one handed jump shot, giving the shooter added height on the release but few of the other advantages of a true hook shot.

And what are those advantages? Why is this shot worth the time to blog? The hook shot is effective for a number of reasons:

• By turning your body perpendicular to the defender, the shooter is creating space to get an open shot, even with a defender right beside you, making it much more difficult to block your shot.
• With the non-shooting arm, the shooter can block attempts by the defender to block the shot.
• The hook shot allows a shorter player to shoot over a taller defender because of the looping motion of the shot and arch of the ball.
• The motion of the hook shot usually encourages a soft release, giving the ball a better chance to bounce around the rim and fall in the basket if the shot is not right on target.

So what happened to the hook shot? I’m not sure. It is definitely a high skill shot requiring exception coordination and lots of practice. Easy to shoot, but difficult to shoot well. If it’s primarily used by pivot players, then the shot starts with your back to the basket (as opposed to a guard driving across the paint and putting up a hook shot in the lane). As big men started to play facing the basket instead of with their backs to the basket, fewer of them seem to have any interest in developing a low post shot.

Nevertheless, consider some of the great players who made the hook shot part of their offensive repertoire: Mikan, Jabbar, Reed, Magic Johnson (remember the “baby hook” in deference to Kareem?), Dave Cowens, Jerry Lucas, Bill Russell – these are all Hall of Famers! And how about Meadowlark Lemon - it still counts from half court, right? Highly skilled, versatile players like Bill Bradley, Pete Maravich, and Oscar Robertson could put up a good hook shot, though not part of their steady diet of shots like Kareem or Reed. In the ‘80s, Ralph Sampson brought some attention to the sky hook during his brilliant college and brief NBA career.

I guess I’m old school, but I’m still hopeful that one of these days, this high-skill, highly effective shot will return to basketball. I believe that the right player could make quite a career out of the shot. Until then, I’m still going to use it in my occasional pickup games at the church, but I’ve got no choice – I can’t jump any more.

Billy Shepherd - Where Are You?

Billy Shepherd? Who? Why are you blogging about him?

Unless you are a basketball fan from Indiana, chances are you don't know who Billy Shepherd is. So I'm going tell you. I'm going to tell you about Billy ... and about a whole generation of players who helped make basketball the exciting game that it is today.

Billy Shepherd grew up playing basketball in Carmel, Indiana; his dad coached the Carmel High School team. A 5'10" guard in game dominated by giants, Billy could shoot a basketball like few people in his day. He once scored 70 points in a high school game and averaged 32 points per game his junior and senior years. A two-time all state player, in 1968, he was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Indiana.

Let's take a minute to reflect on his Mr. Basketball status. That is no small achievement in any state, but in Indiana, it qualifies you as a demi-god. Hoosiers love their basketball like few others. Consider some of the All-Americans and NBA players who were once bestowed this honor: Sean May (2002); Jared Jeffries (2000); Glenn Robinson (1991); Steve Alford (1982); Kyle Macy (1975); George McGinnis (1969); Rick Mount (1966); Dick and Tom Van Arsdale (1961); and the Big O, Oscar Robertson (1956). Oh, and I would owe Billy an apology if I didn't mention the fact that Billy's younger brother, Dave, was honored in 1970. Wow ... to be in that company. That's a career right there. Billy, however, achieved much more.

At Butler University, Billy became the school's all time leading scorer, and was MVP of the 1972 East-West College All Star game. I watched that game on TV. Billy hit a hook shot from the half court corner - shades of Meadowlark Lemon - to beat the first half buzzer. At the time, I was 10 and I didn't know much about Billy. That was about to change.

Billy came to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament that year. I grew up in Portsmouth, Virginia. Friends of my father helped organize the PIT, and back then it was quite an event for a small city like Portsmouth. There were few post-season college All-Star tournaments like this, so seniors who were not assured of that early round NBA draft choice flocked to this tournament year after year hoping to get noticed by the pro scouts. My dad and I attended religiously. In 1972, the pro game is really opening up. The ABA is in full swing, and everyone is talking about exciting new players like Pistol Pete and Dr. J. who play like they come from a different planet.

Sitting in a small gym at the old Wilson High School off of High Street, this guard from Butler whom nobody had heard of enters the game, and before you know it, the crowd is going crazy. Billy could shoot - that's the first eye opener. Bombs from 25 feet or more. Then you watch him in the transition game and someone nearby comments: "Who let Maravich on the floor?" Passes are flying behind the back, between the legs, left hand, right hand ... meanwhile teammates seem almost helpless as the ball bounces off their heads, through their hands - nobody was ready for Billy.

Towards the end of the PIT, after one of Billy's games, my dad takes me onto the court, right up to Billy and introduces us. "That's some show you put on there," says my dad. And we ended up in a five or ten minute conversation while Billy dutifully signed dozens of autographs. That's the way it was at the PIT in 1972 - players were completely approachable. Fans wanted to engage in conversations with these exciting athletes. Kids like me were thrilled. The conversation ended with Billy accepting an invitation from my dad for a home cooked meal the next evening. After the dinner, Billy took me out to our driveway and gave me a shooting lesson (I sure wish I could remember what he told me!). And that's how I met Billy Shepherd, but the story doesn't end there.

My dad and several of his friends were seasons ticket holders for the Virginia Squires, an ABA team located in Norfolk, Virginia that once included Julius Erving and George Gervin on the same 1973 roster. So my dad and his friends start bombarding the Squires front office with phone calls about Billy Shepherd. I have no idea if they ever considered the input from fans - in those days, ABA teams were struggling to generate attendance, so maybe they did ... at least I'd like to think so. Any way, in 1973 Billy Shepherd becomes a Virginia Squire. I would get to see my friend play more basketball.

The Squires hosted intra-squad scrimmages in several local area gyms to help build a fan base. We attended one of these, and I'll never forget watching Billy bounce a transition pass off the head of veteran George Irvin. Through Billy, we met players like Dave Twardzik (Dave would later be the starting point guard on the 1977 Portland Trailblazer championship team). While a fan favorite, Billy's stay with the Squires was short. Towards the end of the seaon, he was cut to make room for some guy and Erwin Mueller, an ex-NBA power forward. The Squires needed more height for the playoffs, or so they said. Billy moved on the San Diego Conquistadors where he was coached by Wilt Chamberlain. His third and final year in the ABA was with the Memphis Sounds where he led the league in 3-point shooting percentage at .420. Then, that was it. The ABA had one final year left before it completed a mini-merger with the NBA. Billy had a beautiful wife and a family to raise, and the ABA didn't pay like the NBA ... and the NBA didn't have a need for the league's best 3-point shooter when they had no 3-point shot.

Billy epitomized the ABA while the ABA taught the NBA a lot about what professional basketball needed to become. The ABA was filled with Billy Shepherds - great ballplayers, shooters, and ballhandlers who were extremely approachable and friendly, and who loved the fans and were thrilled to have the opportunity to play professionally. Sure, the overall quality of the league may not have rivaled the NBA, at least not initially, but the ABA proved that there were not enough teams in the NBA for all of the basketball talent at the time. During warmups before a game, fans could walk right up on the court, talk with players, ask for autographs. It was really something. And once the game started, you could watch an exciting style of fast-paced, wide open basketball, including 3-pointers, 3 to make 2 foul shots, and the coolest ball any league ever played with.

I've still got my 1973 Squires program with autographs from the entire team - including Dr. J. - a present from Billy. And to top that, in '74 I played on a Little League named, what else, the Squires. One Saturday I led the league in scoring with 23 points. The local paper had a section in the sports pages devoted to Little Leagues (how great was that!). And in the winter of '74-'75, there was my name in the headlines: "Squires' Carr Bags 23 Points in Churchland Little League." Billy had introduced us to Dave Twardzik who was still with the Squires. Dave took a copy of that article and had it signed by all the Squires. How cool is that!

Years later, while working a job with a toll free phone number, I tracked down Billy's number through information. I got through to him and he remembered me. For a brief 10 minute phone conversation I was a kid again talking to one of my two basketball idols (Maravich was the other). I have no idea what we talked about. It was good just to know that he and his family were doing well living - where else - in Indiana. We could use a few more Billy Shepherds in pro basketball today.

1966: The Year of the Big Man

1966 was a great year for the NBA. Let by All-World Bill Russell, the Celtics continue their league dominance winning a 7-game finals against the Lakers. The 76ers' Wilt Chamberlain wins a long overdue MVP award averaging 33 points, 24 rebounds, 5 assists, and an mind-boggling 47 minutes per game. Rick Barry says "Hello" to the league with nearly 26 ppg and 11 rpg, taking Rookie of the Year honors. And the ABA won't play its first game for another two years - I loved the ABA, but they sure gave the NBA fits!

The year 1966, however, was more important to basketball than any of these individual or team accomplishments, because this was perhaps the greatest ever "Year of the Big Man". Today's basketball experts, journalists, and fans would do well to revisit 1966 from time to time before proclaiming how superior today's players are. No disrespect intended to the incredible athletes who pound the parque today, but sometimes we forget just how much talent fans could watch play in any NBA city on any given night.

Imagine for a moment that you are Wilt Chamberlain - 7'1" tall, the most prolific player of all time (forget 100 points in a game, what center ever led the league in assists ... and what player ever averaged MORE than 48 minutes per game in a season?!). What does your road to an MVP look like in 1966? Who besides maybe that Russell character is going to stop you? Let's take a look at who's playing the pivot!

Your road through the Eastern Division starts with Bill Russell and the Celtics - we all know that story. The Knicks have a young center named Willis Reed (Hall of Famer), and eight games into the season, they add Walt Bellamy (Hall of Famer). The Royals front line is anchored by Wayne Embry (coming off of five straight All Star appearances) and Jerry Lucas (Hall of Famer), who plays both center and forward. Hmmm ... every team is anchored by future Hall of Famers in the pivot. No rest for the weary in the East. Let's go West.

The Western Division gives you (Wilt) a bit of a breather - you don't have to match up against Hall of Famers EVERY night. Bob Pettit did you a favor and took his 22 ppg / 12 rpg averages from the year before into retirement. So the Hawks acquired Zelmo Beatty whose 20 ppg / 13 rpg averages will earn him an All Star appearance. Ray Scott of the Pistons can't crack the All Star lineup despite his 18 and 10, because Nate Thurmond (Hall of Famer) is sitting in San Francisco collecting 18 boards a night. The Bullets traded Bellamy to the Knicks early in the season (I still don't get that) and the Lakers are a strong team but have nobody in the pivot to challenge Wilt. So I guess these are the two teams where Wilt can either "take it easy" or "pad his stats", depending on his mood.

Wow! Let's recap. In 1966, the nine-team NBA boast seven future Hall of Fame centers - six if consider Lucas a forward more than center. Night in, night out, as great as Wilt and Russell were, perhaps their greatness is better defined by the quality of their opponents than by the incredible stats they would post that year (and every year, for that matter) or the championships they would win. At the end of the year, three players would average 20+ rebounds per game - Wilt, Russell, and Lucas. And Russell would be relegated to second team All NBA.

Now, let's fast forward to the late 1990s/early 2000s for some added perspective. The best center in the league is Shaq. He's young, strong, averaging 27+ ppg and 12+ rpg. The experts agree that he's unstoppable. Who is his competition? Where does his road to a championship go through? Are there Hall of Fame centers in the way? The answer is "yes ... a few". David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon and possibly Patrick Ewing will make the Hall. Dikembe Mutombo, Ben Wallace and Alonzo Mourning won't, but they are frequent All Stars who make Shaq earn his money. In 2000, Shaq deserves and wins the MVP. Playing against 28 other teams, he faces just three potential Hall of Famer centers, plus a few other regular All Stars. In other words, two-thirds of Wilt's match-ups are against future Hall of Famers, compared to barely 10% for Shaq.

Hmmm .... makes you think, doesn't it?