age 60
Wow, what's up with all these basketball playas checkin' out so young, hey?
One of my favorites ever.
Gave some of the greatest interviews seen by man.
He was a special player. Very sad.
Wasn't he the first to go pro out of H.S.?
Signed LOI for Maryland in the morning of national signin' day, then went back to sleep. Next stop ABA, ai na?
Worked out pretty well for him, ai na?
Man, as I big Sixer fan tin the early 1980s, the last few weeks have sucked.
Quote from: real chili 83 on September 13, 2015, 11:51:39 AM
Wasn't he the first to go pro out of H.S.?
Yup.
Early in Akeem (before he became "H"akeem) Olajuwon's career, while still with UH's Phi Slamma Jamma, he and Clyde Drexler spent a summer playing ball at Fonde Rec Center in the 6th Ward. Because many NBA players call Houston home in the offseason, the player lineups were phenomenal. It was Free to anyone who wanted to watch...best "free" BB show ever .
All summer, Rocket Center Mo Malone schooled Akeem on the toughness and physicality of the center position. It was an amazing battle to watch. Mo Malone played the low post with force, relentless determination, and always ...excellent positioning. Young Akeem....well at least he didnt give up... but you could already see he had great quick, footwork.
Mo is a top 10 all time center...How high would you rank him? Who are in your top 10?
Here is a good top 10 NBA center article:
http://hoopsmanifesto.com/articles/basketball/top-10-nba-centers-of-all-time.html
My list:
1) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers – 1969 – 1989
2) Wilt Chamberlain – Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers – 1959 – 1973
3) Hakeem Olajuwon – Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors – 1984 – 2002
4)Bill Russell – Boston Celtics – 1956-1969
5) Moses Malone – Utah Stars, Spirits of St. Louis, Buffalo Braves, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Bullets, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs – 1974 – 1992, 1993-1994
6)Shaquille O'Neal – Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics – 1992 – 2011
7) Patrick Ewing – New York Knicks, Seattle Supersonics, Orlando Magic – 1985 – 2002
8) George Mikan – Minneapolis Lakers – 1948 – 1954, 1955 – 1956
9) David Robinson – San Antonio Spurs – 1989 – 1996, 1997 – 2003
T-10) The C/PF trio:Elvin Hayes, Tim Duncan, Bob McAdoo
Quote from: houwarrior on September 13, 2015, 05:59:33 PM
Yup.
Early in Akeem (before he became "H"akeem) Olajuwon's career, while still with UH's Phi Slamma Jamma, he and Clyde Drexler spent a summer playing ball at Fonde Rec Center in the 6th Ward. Because many NBA players call Houston home in the offseason, the player lineups were phenomenal. It was Free to anyone who wanted to watch...best "free" BB show ever .
All summer, Rocket Center Mo Malone schooled Akeem on the toughness and physicality of the center position. It was an amazing battle to watch. Mo Malone played the low post with force, relentless determination, and always ...excellent positioning. Young Akeem....well at least he didnt give up... but you could already see he had great quick, footwork.
Mo is a top 10 all time center...How high would you rank him? Who are in your top 10?
Here is a good top 10 NBA center article:
http://hoopsmanifesto.com/articles/basketball/top-10-nba-centers-of-all-time.html
My list:
1) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers – 1969 – 1989
2) Wilt Chamberlain – Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers – 1959 – 1973
3) Hakeem Olajuwon – Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors – 1984 – 2002
4)Bill Russell – Boston Celtics – 1956-1969
5) Moses Malone – Utah Stars, Spirits of St. Louis, Buffalo Braves, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Bullets, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs – 1974 – 1992, 1993-1994
6)Shaquille O'Neal – Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics – 1992 – 2011
7) Patrick Ewing – New York Knicks, Seattle Supersonics, Orlando Magic – 1985 – 2002
8) George Mikan – Minneapolis Lakers – 1948 – 1954, 1955 – 1956
9) David Robinson – San Antonio Spurs – 1989 – 1996, 1997 – 2003
T-10) The C/PF trio:Elvin Hayes, Tim Duncan, Bob McAdoo
Olajuwon ahead of Russell?
No.
You can make a case for Olajuwon being ahead of Russell. Russell was great but fairly one dimensional. Won a bunch of championships in an era of limited player movement. History should treat Hakeem better but he wasn't surrounded by enough good players throughout his career and is yet another one of those players whose era was completely overshadowed by Jordan's dominance. Not saying its a foregone conclusion by any means, but I can certainly understand the argument.
Quote from: keefe on September 13, 2015, 08:49:26 PM
Olajuwon ahead of Russell?
No.
Please ask Russell yourself the next time you see him at the coffee shop. lol
To me, the 3/4 call is very close. I was lucky enough to see all of these in person, except for Mikan.
Any "team success" or "will to win" or even "pure rebounding" criteria places Russell ahead of all others. But in person, I'd have to say the overall positional skills of the top 3 were the best of each of their generations.
No one would begrudge Bill any place on this list, including No. 1...but we all have our perspectives. Watching Hakeem, in person, dismantle MVP Robinson in '95 playoffs, convinced me he would've smoked even Bill in the same circumstance. Accordingly, I gave a Very slight edge to Hakeem (BTW...I am UH Law'83).
"Fo, fo, fo."
One of the great quotes ever.
Another guy who just died also gave one of my favorite quotes:
"There is one word in America that says it all, and that one word is, 'You never know.'"
-- Joaquin Andujar
Quote from: MU82 on September 13, 2015, 10:32:12 PM
"Fo, fo, fo."
One of the great quotes ever.
Another guy who just died also gave one of my favorite quotes:
"There is one word in America that says it all, and that one word is, 'You never know.'"
-- Joaquin Andujar
That quote was why I wrote that he gave some of the great interviews ever.
Context.... he was asked about the 1983 76'ers playoff chances and gave the wonderfully succinct, if not quite accurate prediction.
Quote from: tower912 on September 14, 2015, 06:00:44 AM
Context.... he was asked about the 1983 76'ers playoff chances and gave the wonderfully succinct, if not quite accurate prediction.
True. I think the Eastern Conference finals went 5.
Quote from: MU82 on September 14, 2015, 10:36:36 PM
True. I think the Eastern Conference finals went 5.
That 83 76ers team had a great roster. I noticed Wes Matthew Sr was on it....did he get a ring?
10 Maurice Cheeks PG 6-1 180 September 8, 1956 5 West Texas A&M University
14 Franklin Edwards PG 6-1 170 February 2, 1959 2 Cleveland State University
6 Julius Erving SF 6-7 210 February 22, 1950 12 University of Massachusetts Amherst
8 Marc Iavaroni PF 6-8 210 September 15, 1956 1 University of Virginia
45 Clemon Johnson C 6-10 240 September 12, 1956 5 Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
24 Bobby Jones PF 6-9 210 December 18, 1951 9 University of North Carolina
23 Charles Jones PF 6-9 215 April 3, 1957 R Albany State University
23 Bruce Kuczenski PF 6-10 230 February 3, 1961 R University of Connecticut
2 Moses Malone C 6-10 215 March 23, 1955 9
1 Wes Matthews PG 6-1 170 August 24, 1959 3 University of Wisconsin
11 Leo Rautins SF 6-8 215 March 20, 1960 R Syracuse University
4 Clint Richardson SG 6-3 195 August 7, 1956 4 Seattle University
9 Sedale Threatt PG 6-2 175 September 10, 1961
R West Virginia University Institute of Technology
22 Andrew Toney SG 6-3 178 November 23, 1957 3 University of Louisiana at Lafayette
33 Sam Williams PF 6-8 210 March 7, 1959 2 Arizona State University