Deep 76ed

Jack Ramsey, the basketball genius who sent Wilt Chamberlain out of Philadelphia, has died of cancer at the age of 89. Dr. Jack, so named after getting a doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania, started out coaching St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, making 10 postseason appearances in 11 seasons, highlighted by a 1961 Final Four appearance. Moving on to become the GM of the Philadelphia 76ers, Ramsey led the team to the then-best record in NBA history and the NBA title in 1966-67, his first season, and made 4 more playoff appearances as a head coach. A stint in Buffalo and more playoff appearances followed, then he took his basketball prowess and sartorial splendor national with his first coaching championship, in 1977 with the Portland Trail Blazers. All told, in 20 NBA seasons as head coach, he made the playoffs 16 times, earning induction into the Hall of Fame in 1992, then spent 30 years trying to convince people that a game consisting of grown men running around in their underwear and not playing defense was a sport worth watching. 

Deep 76ed

Jack Ramsey, the basketball genius who sent Wilt Chamberlain out of Philadelphia, has died of cancer at the age of 89. Dr. Jack, so named after getting a doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania, started out coaching St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, making 10 postseason appearances in 11 seasons, highlighted by a 1961 Final Four appearance. Moving on to become the GM of the Philadelphia 76ers, Ramsey led the team to the then-best record in NBA history and the NBA title in 1966-67, his first season, and made 4 more playoff appearances as a head coach. A stint in Buffalo and more playoff appearances followed, then he took his basketball prowess and sartorial splendor national with his first coaching championship, in 1977 with the Portland Trail Blazers. All told, in 20 NBA seasons as head coach, he made the playoffs 16 times, earning induction into the Hall of Fame in 1992, then spent 30 years trying to convince people that a game consisting of grown men running around in their underwear and not playing defense was a sport worth watching.

The Wizard of Deadwood

(Props to Mark)

Or
Now Wooden In More Than Just Name
(More merit for Mark)
John Wooden, who went 6-11 at Dayton High School in 1932 in his first year as a basketball coach – the only losing season in his half century in basketball as a coach and player, has died at the age of 99. Wooden is generally regarded, except by fans of USC, as the greatest coach in organized sports history, winning 10 national championships, including 7 in a row, which included 4 undefeated seasons at UCLA en route to a 620-147 record in 27 seasons, establishing the insufferability of the Bruins and their fans despite only 1 national championship in the 35 years since Wooden retired. But as we are getting tired of hearing, he wasn’t just winning games, he was making men. One of the first lessons he delivered was how to tie shoelaces, and having heard college athletes interviewed, an inability to tie shoes is not surprising. One of his most important lessons may be among his least known. After winning the Indiana Collegiate Conference title at Indiana State Teachers College (now Indiana State) in 1947, his first year as a college coach, Wooden declined the invitation to the NAIB tournament, as the tournament was segregated and there was a black player on the team. The following year, the rule was changed. A stickler for discipline, at the start of Bill Walton’s senior season, the wannabe hippie came in with hair too long for Wooden’s liking. Wooden eyed up the two-time player of the year for back-to-back championship teams, and told him “Bill, that’s not short enough. We’re sure going to miss you on this team. Get on out of here.” Walton was back by the end of practice with a nearly shaved head. Although he famously had just three rules for his team - no profanity, tardiness or criticizing fellow teammates – he expanded to a more marketable 15-point pyramid that he spent decades hawking as a motivational speaker. Before becoming a sage, Wooden was a highly skilled player, leading Martinsville High School to three consecutive state finals and a state title in 1927, then went to Purdue, where he was a three-time all-American, and player of the year as he led the Boilermakers to the 1932 national championship, exploits that earned him his first induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. After two years at Indiana State, both the University of Minnesota and UCLA wanted him as their next head coach. Minnesota was his preference, but when a blizzard kept them from calling Wooden to seal the deal, he took the UCLA job. Although he preferred to stay in the Midwest, he wouldn’t break his commitment, a concept as foreign to today’s coaches as graduating players. When he started, UCLA didn’t even have a home court, borrowing time for Wooden’s first 14 seasons at Santa Monica City College and Venice High School. In 2003, the court at Pauley Pavilion, the Gym that John Built, was renamed the Nell and John Wooden Court.

Down in the West Texas town of El Paso, I fell into a six-foot hole

(Props to Phil)
Don Haskins, who gave up a promising college coaching career and ended up in the Basketball Hall of Fame anyway, has died at the age of 78. In 1966, as head coach of Texas Western in the thriving metropolis of El Paso, Texas, Haskins rode an all-black starting 5 all the way to the NCAA Championship Game, where he defeated the all-white University of Kentucky squad coached by the legendary Adolph Rupp. While the enlightened media and bitter honky Rupp characterized Haskins’ squad as a bunch of thugs, 4 of 5 starters (and 10 of the 12 overall) (earned their degrees, and all were successful in their careers, compared to only 1 of Rupp’s starting squad, which included noted miscreant Pat Riley. The victory opened the doors to scholarships for blacks at colleges throughout the South. The doors were closed to Haskins however, and he got blacklisted from other potential jobs, instead spending 38 years at the University of Texas – El Paso, as the history conscious Texans later renamed the school, winning 719 games, 13 more trips to the Big Dance and 7 trips to the little one.

Does it Croak Like a Duck?

(Props to Don)

Or
Au Revoir, Foie Gras
(More accolades for Don)
Kevin Duckworth, the greatest player in the history of Eastern Illinois University basketball, has died of congestive heart failure at the age of 44. The fat load made two NBA Finals and two All-Star Games with the Portland Trailblazers in an 11-year career. Of all the Jail Blazers I expected to meet an untimely end, he would not have been the first.

Double Dog Dare

Or
Yinka Dinka Don’tYinka Dare, former George Washington University Colonial and New Jersey Net, died of a heart attack at the age of 32 on Friday. His passing is ironic, considering what a black hole he was on the court, recording just 4 assists in his 4 seasons with the Nets. After taking the Colonials to consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament, Dare was drafted #14 overall by the Nets in 1994, but he became one of the all-time first round draft pick busts and a symbol of that franchise's ineptitude. In his 4 seasons, totaling 110 games, Dare averaged just 2.1 points per game, which if you think about it, is only one more basket a game than I made.