Dr.J
- Thread starter Possum
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I got to see Dr J play in the old ABA league when he played against the KY Colonels in Freedom Hall. He was amazing!! Still my all time favorite NBA/ABA player.
I think hes one of the most overlooked and underrated players in NBA history. Doesn't even get to the NBA until the merger when hes 25 year old. You ask a lot of the old heads in NY, and they were convinced the Nets could beat anyone in the NBA. He was kind of like Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan. That under the basket scoop shot was amazing.
I remember thinking Josh Jackson from Kansas might be very much in his mold and a great comp.. Whoops, let's delete that one lol.
I remember thinking Josh Jackson from Kansas might be very much in his mold and a great comp.. Whoops, let's delete that one lol.
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The Dr. is absolutely one of the best ever. I loved it when he had Michael Cooper ducking for cover.
I was a ball boy for the Colonels for 3 years before John Y Brown threw in the towel. Brown later said it was the worst financial decision he ever made. Although, the NBA has always said they were only going to take 4 teams, there was a path for the Colonels to transition to the NBA. Brown was pissed he could not get local investors to sign on to make the move [primarily the Bingham family] and that was the major factor in his decision to fold up the tent. A lot of great memories, too many to share here. Regarding Doc, just a great guy all around. Jimmy Dan Conner and Allen Murphy although not with the team very long were a blast to be around. There is a ABA documentary on Amazon Prime now that I have not yet watched.
Dr. J had hands so large he could handle a basketball off the dribble and palm it. Add his vertical and you see what you get.
This lady that worked with my dad dated one of the players for the Colonels, Ron Thomas I believe. So we often got free tickets from her. Floor level seats too. Went to quite a few games back in the day with my dad.
I shared in a thread about this fantastic documentary. Several episodes and a lot of the later ones feature Dan Issel amongst others. Dr. J. is definitely featured as well. So much I learned and had forgotten. Trust me it is a great show to watch for any basketball fan.
I never got to see him play in the NBA but I listened to him on the radio when the Nets played the Colonels. He sounded like a newly discovered advanced alien life form.
Louie Dampier was the all time scoring leader in the ABA.
It is a great watch. Lots of old film games that we never saw. I was at Freedom Hall the night the Colonels won the title. It was great.
pretty sure he was the leading 3 point shooter, not scorer
The show is great. Old game clips that we’ve never seen. I was at Freedom Hall for the title game. It was fabulous.
Louie Dampier – ABA Scoring Total
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Louie Dampier scored:
- 13,726 points in the ABA (1967–1976)
ABA’s all-time leading scorer
One of the league’s first great three-point shooters
If you'd like, I can also break down his career averages or where he ranks in ABA three-point records.
The NBA had some stinker champs in the mid-70s, and the ABA had a few champs during that time, including the Colonels, that would probably have swept their respective NBA champ.
I stand corrected. Thanks for the info. I wasn’t aware of that.
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Louie Dampier scored:
Including his short NBA stint after the merger, Dampier finished with 15,419 total professional points.
If you'd like, I can also break down his career averages or where he ranks in ABA three-point records.
So did I
Went to many games with my dad even the games they played downtown before moving to freedom hall
I remember them. Ron Thomas was the plumber. They started out playing games in the convention center downtown and eventually moved to Freedom Hall. I think Orb Bowling was the center on the first several teams. He played at Tennessee if I remember correctly. Lots of players came and went those few years. Sure miss those days.
I got Moses Malone's autograph when he was a rookie straight out of High School.
It was fun watching him come into Freedom Hall during the ABA days while he was with the Virginia Squires and New York Nets.
I didn't start following the NBA until the 76-77 season and Dr J was the biggest star at that time. I believe the Blazers , with Bill Walton, beat the Sixers for the title.