That was the Curtis Rowe, Sidney Wicks, Henry Bibby team
That teams back up center to Walton was Swen Nater who averaged about 5 points a game in college but was still a NBA first round draft pick.
Indeed, Lanier was a great guy. Back when the Nets played at the RAC I met him a few times.
Oh yeah... he had the whole back seat to himself.
My gut says he's not top 75, but definitely top 100. His lack of playoff success really hurts him.
I was actually rooting for Notre Dame when they finally broke UCLA’s 88 game win streak in 1974. Probably the only time in my life that I have ever rooted for ND.
Great story. Loved those memories when the Nets played at the RAC. Sometimes the players would mingle with the fans before the game near the concession stands. As a teenager, I met George Johnson (center with the Rick Barry-like underhand free throw) and “Super John” Williamson (RIP) that way. They were both super cool. I asked them to autograph my program and both obliged and spoke with me. Williamson was eating RAC popcorn at the time and he handed it back to me all covered in popcorn butter…lol…great memories.
OK, Geoff Petrie/John Hummer story! When I was recruited to play football at Princeton (1968), my host roomed with Petrie and Hummer in a suite of rooms. They were all sophomores at the time. Being from Chicago, I know zero about east coast bball. I say, "Man you guys are seriously tall. You on the basketball team?" They both laugh and Petrie says "Yep." Me: "Do you get in the games ever as sophomores?" (Honest to god, that is what I asked them.) Hummer says, "Sometimes. You coming to the game tonight? We might get in." Dillon gym was packed and I had a seat on the floor underneath the basket. Princeton wins something like 67-58 and Hummer and Petrie have about 50 points between the two of them. At the end of the game, Hummer gets a breakaway and makes an enormous slam dunk (which was illegal at the time -- he did it just for fun!). Columbia featured Jim McMillan and Heywood Dotson. You have to be a bit old to know those names. So I committed. Please respect my decision.
LOL....me, too. UCLA vs. ND....is it possible that they could both lose?! However, ND had Jersey boys playing, Shumate and Brokaw. That made it a little easier decision...though neither of them would come to RU!!!! Don't get me started on that stuff....
Right? Brokaw right from New Brunswick and Rutgers on the rise…smh
I was there as well. My girlfriend had season tickets through her dad. I thought she was rich and thought she loved basketball. Found out later that neither was true. We’ve been happily married for 35 years now…lol.
Walton is top 75. Walton is the Gale Sayers analogy for basketball. Walton was unguardable with Portland until the injuries. Even with the truncated career, the greatness is to much to deny just like Sayers. Even with the bad foot, contributed on the great 80's Celtics teams.
I used to attend Bill Foster and Harry Litwack‘s Pocono All Star Basketball camp every summer. It was awesome with great speakers and counselors. I have stories about Jim Valvano, Pete Carril, Al LoBalbo, George Raveling, Lou Hudson, Geoff Petrie, … One year someone brought a Bob Lanier sneaker, I think it was a referee and he passed it around to the campers during his talk. I’m 6’1” and that sneaker (size 21+) stretched from the tip of my middle finger and almost reached the elbow on my outstretched arm. The man had feet as big as a snowshoe!
As much as Walton was unguardable, his rebounding and passing made him the best big man at the time. The movement on that ‘77 Blazers team was second to none and Walton’s rebounding and passing made it go. Still my favorite NBA team of all time.
I so miss the smell of the old popcorn machine in the RAC lobby.
