Jerome Whitehead was found dead in his home in San Diego earlier this month. Sad news indeed. He was responsible for one of the greatest moments in MU hoops history, which is sadly largely forgotten about today.
http://newssun.suntimes.com/news/17269079-418/jerome-whitehead-former-nba-player-dead-at-56.html (http://newssun.suntimes.com/news/17269079-418/jerome-whitehead-former-nba-player-dead-at-56.html)
Wow. Surprised it took so long for us to find out.
Very sad news. He provided a singular moment in MU BB history.
The article says he drank himself to death. He was only 56.
Very sad
Made the most important single play in MU hoops history.
A year later, he also was part of one of our most infamous plays ever.
And now he has died a most sad death.
He'll always be remembered in Warrior Land, hopefully fondly.
Thanks for the memories Jerome.
RIP Jerome
Been a tough month or so for MU and that '77 team. Rick and now Jerome. RIP
I remeber seeing Whitehead up close his first year and could not believe someone could be bigger or muscular than Maurice Lucas and Whitehead was. He really was man and was big part of our success. Game winner against UNCC or not he was a great catch for the Warriors.
This kinda crap is seriously bummin' me out. #54 looked indestructible, like f*ckin' Superman. Al stuck him out with Mulligan at Saddleback CC, then brought him back. His basket vs. UNCC was a storybook ending. Clearly remember him strutin' in front of the Varsity wearin' his full length fur coat. Had a nice, long career in the Association. Don't think he ever married. It's the sh!ts.
This is very sad indeed. Jerome Whitehead was an integral part of the 77 NCAA Champs. Ironic that his death comes so close to that of Coach Rick. It was Rick who worked day in and day out turning his raw talent into a darn good center that could complement Bo Eliis after Luke left. Rick taught him to turn and shoot it rather than dribble it when close to the basket which of course led to that play we remember in the 77 semi-finals against UNC-Charlotte. Remember he did it over over future Celtic Cornbread Maxwell. Poetic. Sometimes forgotten is his strong post play that deterred penetration. When Dean Smith went to four corners in the 77 finals UNC could not get good shoots inside due to the triangle wall of Ellis, Whitehead and Toone inside. It was a beautiful sight to behold for us yet so intimidating to the Tar Heels who approached them without much effect. Yes, an effective MU zone sealed the win and Whitehead was it's cornerstone. All UNC could do once they missed a longer shot or had one blocked, was to foul. Butch, Rosie, Boylan and Bo then killed them at the line. So sweet. Jerome was the quiet one of the lot but we all knew what he did for that great team.
Along with Coach Rick, Coach Hank, the Dream, Luke and now Saint Jerome gone to the Big Court, this is yet another hard blow for us older Warriors.
RIP Jerome. Guy had the broadest shoulders.
Quote from: Spaniel with a Short Tail on December 29, 2012, 01:04:05 PM
RIP Jerome. Guy had the broadest shoulders.
Hope it wasn't Rick's death that triggered it.
My HS was in the same league as Waukegan HS, and I was in the same class as Jerome. My junior year our basketball team finished second in the state. We had our own 7 ft. or there abouts center, Chris Wall, who is now Vice Chairman, North America at Ogilvy & Mather. I wasn't close to Chris, but word was that Jerome scared the bejebers out of him.
I believe that Jerome's Dad was a minister.
I stood next to Jerome outside of Gesu, both waiting for a bus. Largest dude I've ever encountered, and that includes Kareem, who lived nearby to my parents home while playing for the Bucks. Just a huge presence, on and off the court.
Sad way to die.
Is Jerome the first player from the 1977 team to pass?
And who's left now that he, Coaches Majerus, Raymonds and McGuire have also departed?
Quote from: 77ncaachamps on December 29, 2012, 08:22:54 PM
Is Jerome the first player from the 1977 team to pass?
And who's left now that he, Coaches Majerus, Raymonds and McGuire have also departed?
Is Bernard Toone is still alive?
Quote from: 77ncaachamps on December 29, 2012, 08:22:54 PM
Is Jerome the first player from the 1977 team to pass?
And who's left now that he, Coaches Majerus, Raymonds and McGuire have also departed?
I'm pretty sure he is the first from the '77 team to pass as a player. We lost Maurice Lucas from the '74 team earlier, and of course Hank, Al and Rick from '77 team.
Quote from: LittleMurs on December 29, 2012, 06:57:44 PM
I believe that Jerome's Dad was a minister.
That is correct. The organist would sometimes play 'Son of a Preacher Man' after J would score
http://youtu.be/n5u8JuNltiw
RIP
The old Surburban League teams were very good to MU: Jay, the Black Swan, Doc, Todd T (although it was the CSL by then). A great hoops conference. I remember seeing Jay vs. Corzine in the Supersectional at McGaw in the Battle of Bigs as a youngin. Very traditional outcome with a 39-31 finish for Hersey over Waukegan... the two were to battle over and over again in college and the NBA for years.
Funny thing, Joe Ponsetto was the big player that year at Proviso East.
Reply to DoggyDaddy:
Dean "The Dream" suffered serious smoke inhalation in a house fire in Nov 2009, but I believe he recovered and is still living in NY. There is no info on the web about him passing on.
I hope you are correct Murph and if so, why not have Dean the Dream back for a home game or at least for a game against St. John's or for the BE tournament in the MSG before he joins Jerome. We should have him sit right behind Buzz. We all saw what Al did: there was no smoother or safer a ball handler on earth.
In 71 MU never lost a game when the Dream was on the floor which was all year until those last few minutes against Ohio State when he fouled out (on a questionable call) for the first time in four years.
Al once said in praise: "he paved my driveway," moreover he paved MU's road to national recognition.
Quote from: Dr. Blackheart on December 29, 2012, 11:19:12 PM
http://youtu.be/n5u8JuNltiw
RIP
The old Surburban League teams were very good to MU: Jay, the Black Swan, Doc, Todd T (although it was the CSL by then). A great hoops conference. I remember seeing Jay vs. Corzine in the Supersectional at McGaw in the Battle of Bigs as a youngin. Very traditional outcome with a 39-31 finish for Hersey over Waukegan... the two were to battle over and over again in college and the NBA for years.
Funny thing, Joe Ponsetto was the big player that year at Proviso East.
I could do the research I suppose but it's just easier to ask. Dr., where did you play HS ball?
I had the opportunity to know Jerome ("Jay" as his teammates called him) while at MU. He was a very quiet guy who was not a big socializer but spent a lot of his free time reading. His dad was a minister and he came from a good background. He was a hard worker and took school seriously. In all the years watching MU he was one of the few true centers we have had. Reflecting back on what happened to him is very saddening and he unfortunately lost his way somewhere. RIP and god bless your soul. You will be missed.
Quote from: Dr. Blackheart on December 29, 2012, 11:19:12 PM
http://youtu.be/n5u8JuNltiw
RIP
The old Surburban League teams were very good to MU: Jay, the Black Swan, Doc, Todd T (although it was the CSL by then). A great hoops conference. I remember seeing Jay vs. Corzine in the Supersectional at McGaw in the Battle of Bigs as a youngin. Very traditional outcome with a 39-31 finish for Hersey over Waukegan... the two were to battle over and over again in college and the NBA for years.
Funny thing, Joe Ponsetto was the big player that year at Proviso East.
To fill in the blanks for the younger ones, Joe Ponsetto went on to play for DePaul where he met a women's basketball player (and four sport athlete) named Jean Lenti who is now known as Jean Lenti Ponsetto.
Whitehead, Corzine, and Ponsetto were all drafted by the NBA (in a 10 round draft). Butch Lee was taken 10th, Corzine 18th, Jerome 41st, Jim Boylan 68th, Ponsetto 176th, and Gary Rosenberger 182nd.
Can someone talk about the infamous play that Jerome Whitehead was involved in the following year?
RIP Jerome
Quote from: ShannonSmith on December 31, 2012, 08:14:24 AM
Can someone talk about the infamous play that Jerome Whitehead was involved in the following year?
RIP Jerome
1977-78 was Hank Raymonds first year as head coach. On February 21, 1978, Marquette was ranked #1 in the AP poll for the last time to date. On February 26, Marquette lost at Notre Dame 65-59 and dropped to a #3 ranking where they stayed until the NCAA tournament which they entered with a 24 - 3 record. As if to prove that they didn't screw Marquette with its previous tournament seedings
just because Al was the head coach, the NCAA put Marquette in the Mideast Regional with #1 Kentucky and #6 Michigan State with MU slotted to play Kentucky in the second round, if the seedings held. Marquette's first round game was against Miami of Ohio, and late in the game, MU seemed to be in control. According to the Harvard Crimson this then happened.
"Miami University of Ohio made the best of an official's call and eliminated defending NCAA basketball champion Marquette, 84-81, in overtime Saturday.
The Warriors held a comfortable ten-point lead with 3:38 to go in regulation play, and looked like a sure bet to advance to the semifinals of the NCAA divisional championships,
when a referee ejected Marquette's 6-ft., 10-in. center Jerome Whitehead from the game for a flagrant personal, a two-shot foul.
Marquette coach Hank Raymonds was slapped with a technical for his protest of the call, and Miami hit on three of the four free throws assessed on the play."
I wouldn't be surprised to find that this was the only technical foul Raymonds ever received. The details are that Jerome grabbed a rebound and a couple of Miami players immediately tried to strip the ball from him. They only succeeded in slapping, scratching and poking him until one of them finally poked him in the eye at which point Jerome swung his elbows to protect himself resulting in the flagrant foul call. To see Jerome getting mugged like he was, with no call, and then to see him called for a flagrant foul was for me the most frustrating moment I've ever had watching sports.
LittleMurs
I do believe that was Hank's one and only technical as MU head coach.
Thanks for the recap. I always wondered about that loss.
Must add that J Whitehead was a very mild mannered guy and was the last person to react without legitimate provocation. One of the absolute worst calls I have ever seen in sports.
Quote from: Gato78 on December 31, 2012, 05:25:45 PM
Must add that J Whitehead was a very mild mannered guy and was the last person to react without legitimate provocation. One of the absolute worst calls I have ever seen in sports.
Peter Pavia will rot in hell because of it.
I remember the pictures from the Miami of Ohio game in Sports Illustrated.
Great article written on Whitehead by a Warrior fan ..
http://voices.yahoo.com/over-rim-bathroom-floor-sad-untimely-11957780.html?cat=9
Quote from: mu_hilltopper on January 10, 2013, 03:17:12 PM
Great article written on Whitehead by a Warrior fan ..
http://voices.yahoo.com/over-rim-bathroom-floor-sad-untimely-11957780.html?cat=9
Thank you for sharing. Good read.
Really is a solid piece. Think his passing hit home hard for many older fans. Just seemed way too young to die.
Quote from: Goose on December 31, 2012, 03:11:26 PM
LittleMurs
I do believe that was Hank's one and only technical as MU head coach.
Thanks for the recap. That was my freshman year. Watched the game on the 11th floor lounge of McCormick with about 25 guys. I still throw up in my mouth a little when I think about that game. ... urp, there it goes again.