UGA Men’s Basketball
UGA Sports: Preview: Ole Miss at Georgia - Roberts' status still in question
uga.rivals.com
Red & Black: Georgia men's basketball feeling Roberts' absence ahead of Ole Miss rematch
“Freshman back court, talented back court, both of those guys have an ability, like Terry, to get their own or get others [to] score at three levels. [They] have the ability to score in the mid-range, probably better than any team in our league I would say,” White said. “A mid-range scoring team, which makes it a little bit difficult, a little bit unique, hard playing front court, hard playing overall roster. They’ve been really really competitive of course, I think their record is very misleading. They’ve had opportunities just like us. We went in there and stole that one.”
https://www.redandblack.com/sports/...cle_60d52ad6-a6c9-11ed-aeeb-875813941db2.html
Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss basketball vs. Georgia: Scouting report, score prediction
“Here's what to know heading into the clash.
A suddenly vulnerable Georgia defense
In three out of Georgia's four SEC wins this season, the Bulldogs have held their opponents under 70 points. The only exception came against South Carolina in overtime, and the Gamecocks are considered by KenPom's ratings to be the third-worst power conference team in the country.
The Bulldogs have gone 1-5 and allowed 82.3 points per game since they won in Oxford on Jan. 14. So what's changed?
The answer can be found at the 3-point line. Georgia opponents are shooting 37.2% from deep over that six-game stretch. In the Bulldogs' previous 17 contests, they allowed a 27.7% success rate.
But at 30.3%, the Rebels have the SEC's third-worst 3-point shooting percentage, ranking 331st out of 363 Division I teams as of Monday. There's certainly a weakness to expose there, but doubts exist over whether Ole Miss has the shooters to take advantage of it.
Bulldogs depend on key guards for scoring
The only Georgia players averaging more than 7.7 points per game are guards Terry Roberts and Kario Oquendo.
Roberts leads the way with 15 points, followed by Oquendo at 12.4. But it was Oquendo who made the difference the last time these two teams met.
The 6-foot-4 Florida native scored the final 12 points of the game for the Bulldogs, who left the SJB Pavilion with a victory after the Rebels once again failed in a late-game situation.
It's unclear if the Bulldogs will have Roberts available for this game. He missed out against Texas A&M on Saturday due to a concussion.
Score prediction
Georgia 74, Ole Miss 68. It is tempting to pick Ole Miss here, given the uncertainty of Roberts' status and the Bulldogs' recent defensive woes. But the Rebels have done nothing to indicate that they're in a position to go on the road and beat a competitive team. They have given themselves opportunity after opportunity to close out games after hanging in them for 30-to-35 minutes and simply haven't done it. Until they do, it's hard to predict a change.”
https://www.clarionledger.com/story...scouting-report-score-prediction/69873798007/
SEC Basketball
Auburn
Alabama.com: Can’t ignore obvious with Auburn basketball
https://www.al.com/auburnbasketball...us-with-auburn-basketball.html?outputType=amp
Kentucky
Lexington Herald: It’s yet another bubble battle for Kentucky basketball as Arkansas visits Tuesday
https://amp.kentucky.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/john-clay/article272090067.html
South Carolina
The State: Got $2,000? Some tickets for USC-LSU women’s basketball game come with hefty prices
https://amp.thestate.com/sports/col...a/usc-womens-basketball/article272198348.html
Vanderbilt
The Tennessean: Can 'Memorial Magic make a comeback?' VandyMBB's home attendance has declined over the past decade, and home-court advantage has dwindled with it. What happened?
College Basketball
Field of 68: A tale of two blue bloods
Kansas thrived against Texas, Duke tumbled at Miami, and a crazy night unfolded in the mid-major world. Plus, thoughts on the Cousy finalists and more
https://fieldof68.beehiiv.com/p/kansas-texas-duke-miami-cousy-award
SI.com: Forde Minutes: Will These Conference Title Droughts Come to an End?
Clemson, UCLA and Marquette are among the men’s programs leading their leagues. Plus, we look at coaches having successful second acts.
https://www.si.com/college/2023/02/06/basketball-conference-leaders-clemson-ucla-texas-marquette
SI.com: Ten Names That Will Shape This Men’s College Basketball Coaching Carousel
https://www.si.com/.amp/college/2023/02/07/ncaa-coaching-carousel-pitino-holtmann-hoiberg-ewing
NIL Enforcement
BYU
Deseret News: Identity found, the challenge for BYU is to maintain
https://www.deseret.com/2023/2/6/23587867/byu-basketball-found-identity-can-it-maintain-it?_amp=true
Charleston
Post & Courier: College of Charleston basketball’s strong season lights up campus, city
https://www.postandcourier.com/news...cle_178ab38e-9e70-11ed-b4c5-6f2dfb22d685.html
Indiana
Daily Hoosier: IU basketball film study: Exposing Zach Edey and Purdue double teams
https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/iu-basketball-film-study-exposing-zach-edey-and-purdue-double-teams/
Kansas State
Wichita Eagle: Kansas State basketball star Keyontae Johnson signs new NIL deal filled with heart
“On Tuesday, Johnson announced that he has partnered with Heartfelt, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to saving lives from preventable health situations such as Sudden Cardiac Arrest through early detection, education and increased public awareness…”
https://amp.kansas.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article272222928.html
North Carolina State
Raleigh News Observer: NC State basketball’s Casey Morsell excited about return to Virginia for ACC game
https://amp.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/nc-state/article272139677.html
Virginia
SB Nation: UVA basketball will go as far as their enigmatic frontcourt can take them
https://www.streakingthelawn.com/pl...-gardner-kadin-shedrick-vander-plas-ryan-dunn
Western Kentucky
Lexington Herald Leader: Dontaie Allen is on fire for Western Kentucky. ‘He’s got a lot of confidence right now.’
https://amp.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-basketball-men/article272193428.html
NBA
The Ringer: LeBron, Kareem, and the Secrets to Greatness
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/2/7/23587504/lebron-james-scoring-record-kareem-abdul-jabbar
Brooklyn
NYP: Nets waste Cam Thomas’ 47 points in loss to Clippers to start post-Kyrie Irving era
https://nypost.com/2023/02/06/nets-waste-cam-thomas-47-points-in-loss-clippers-after-kyrie-trade/
History
Hoops Birthdays 2-07
Nick Calathes SG Florida MEM 2013-2015 2-07-1989 34 YOA
R.J. Hampton SG Texas HS DEN, ORL 2020-present 2-07-2001 22 YOA
Juwan Howard PF Michigan WAS, DAL, DEN, ORL, HOU, CHA, POR, MIA 1994-2013 2-07-1973 50 YOA
Bernard James C Windsor Forest FSU DAL 2012-2015 2-07-1985 38 YOA
Jim King PG Tulsa LAL, SF, CIN, CHI 1963-1973 2-07-1941 82 YOA
NWA Gazette: When Jim was King (2018)
“Jim King was good at everything. And he was great at basketball. It's still a shame that Arkansas coach Glen Rose didn't take him along with two other Fort Smith High School - now Fort Smith Northside - teammates in 1959. Rose finally did offer King a scholarship after he broke the scoring record with 21 points in the high school all-star game, and well after he'd committed to Tulsa.
King would become a two-time All-Missouri Valley player at Tulsa where it retired his jersey number. There were some games against Arkansas, too. Fans -- mostly students -- were livid when King came into Barnhill Arena to light up the Razorbacks. They hung Rose in effigy in the stands because he had not signed King.
"Coach Rose asked me to look at his neck after one of those games," King said. "He told me, 'That's the rope burns you see -- for not going after you.' I know we beat them more than they beat us."
All of this was recounted in an interview that lasted well over two hours a couple of weeks ago in Fort Smith. King, 77, has been spending time there of late.
"We had moved from Branch to just outside of Fort Smith when I was in the sixth grade," King said. "My brother and I would hunt on the way to school. One day we killed 52 possums while walking to school.
"So everyone called me 'Country' when I got to high school. I thought I'd lose that when I got to college, but there was a football player from Northside at TU before me. I walked in the dorm the first day and he yelled, 'Country!' So it never left me. I really didn't mind."
"We milked cows before school and every night," he said. "We ran traps for rabbits before school. I was proud of being called Country. Branch was and still is in the country."
There was no doubt he wanted to go to Arkansas in the same class with high school teammate Tommy Boyer. Interestingly, he's recently attended several Arkansas basketball games as Boyer's guest.
"The problem was that I didn't start until my senior year," he said. "I was 6-2 as a senior, but I'd grown two inches during the year. And, I didn't have to score much on that team. We had scorers. I handled the ball and played defense. I know (longtime Northside coach Gayle) Kaundart wanted Glen Rose to take me, too. Coach Rose said I was too slow and too short."
The issue was that he never played guard in high school, always forward.
"But if you played for Coach Kaundart, you could handle the ball, with either hand," he said. "I played for a lot of great coaches in the NBA, but Coach Kaundart was the best."
The Grizzlies won 11 state titles under Kaundart, twice in King's time.
"The only scholarship offer I had was Tulsa," King said. "That's not counting Rose offering after the all-state game."
King wasn't the MVP of the game, but only because the vote was taken at the start of the fourth quarter, per the usual in games like that. He scored most of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.
"I had never played guard until that game," King said. "We were down with six minutes to go and I started shooting from outside. I made all four of my outside shots and we won.
"I'd never shot outside jumpers like that before. They all fell. Everyone booed when someone else got the MVP and he tried to give me the trophy."
More importantly, Kaundart was waiting for him at the edge of the court.
"You still want to go to school on The Hill?" Kaundart said.
There were no letters of intent then, just your word. King said his word was good and he'd go to Tulsa.
King's word is good, but he's finally giving up some of Kaundart's secrets. There was code for how the legendary coach changed his defenses. It didn't come from sideline calls. It came from sequences written on the blackboard before games.
"No one could ever figure it out," King said. "Most teams change defenses after made baskets or made free throws. It was more random than that with us.
"We'd come to the game and he'd have the sequences written. And, it would all be coded to our jersey numbers. He'd point to a player and the player would rub his jersey number.
"No player ever told about it either. We were that committed to Coach Kaundart.
"We played some zone, but mostly man. Our 20 defense was man, started 20 feet from the basket. The 30 defense was man half court. The 40 defense was man full-court.
"It was the same style of defense that Henry Iba taught at Oklahoma State. We went over the top of every screen.
"When Coach Kaundart would point to a jersey number, you better get it the first time or you were sitting next to him. We all got it the first time."
Kaundart's unspoken rules and penchant for drill work served King well in his tryout with the Lakers as the 13th overall pick in 1963.
"You never dropped to a knee or sat down after a drill," King said. "You never showed you were tired. It was understood that you wouldn't do that on the court if Coach Kaundart was there.
"And, we ran every drill right-handed, then left-handed -- at full speed. It was drill after drill."
Kaundart was a legend, but so was another Northside coach. Bill Stancil sent many a player to Arkansas to play football.
"I was scared of him," King said. "I just played basketball, but you just feared and respected that man.
"I was waiting to see Coach Kaundart in the athletic department offices. Coach Stancil's office was there, too. He came by me and stopped. I was sitting. I just stared at the floor hoping he wouldn't notice me."
With that King's eyes filled with tears and his voice broke. Stancil wanted to know when King left for Tulsa.
"I didn't even think he knew who I was, much less that I was going to Tulsa," King said. "He said, 'You know they are going to try to run you off? Tell them they can't work you that hard.' I've always remembered that. What we got from Coach Kaundart and Coach Stancil was unique. If you listened to those two men, you would be just fine."
When King got to the tryout with the Lakers, the warm-up consisted of all the Kaundart drills.
"There were nine others trying to make the team," King said. "Everyone was crashing into each other. They didn't know the drills. Fred Schaus was the coach and he asked if I knew the drills. So I ran them and led the team through them."
The tryout was in the Loyola gym with no air conditioner. It was unusually hot and the windows were open. Brutal smog filled the gym.
"We practiced for about two hours and when we finally stopped for a five-minute water break, everyone collapsed on the floor," King said.
King did not. He jogged to the other end of the gym for some solo tip-in drills. If you went down in a Kaundart practice, King said, "it was because you needed an ambulance."
King was hurting but didn't show it.
"I didn't know it, but West was sitting with Schaus and the owner, Bob Short," King said. "They were only looking for one player, a guard to help West. West told them, 'That's the one I want.'
"It wasn't over then because we played some exhibition games. But when I went in to sign my contract, Bob Short told me that's when I made the team."
The terms of the contract were a paltry $9,500, including his $500 signing bonus. The 13th overall pick in the 2017 year's draft was over $5 million.
"I remember that teachers were getting $5,500 then," King said. "It wasn't much money and it might not have been the smartest thing for me to do."
King could have remained an amateur and taken a job with Phillips 66. The Bartlesville, Okla., oil company hired the region's best college players (mainly from Oklahoma State, Tulsa and Arkansas) to work in business and play on a traveling team.
"But if you took the signing bonus, that was it," King said. "I couldn't play for Phillips. You lost your amateur status. I just thought I had to try the NBA or I'd always wonder if I could have made it."
The money did go up gradually, then spiked with the startup of the ABA in 1967. King's top salary was $65,000 after an ABA team offered him a job as head coach and player.
"I was making $18,000 and Dallas (now the San Antonio Spurs) offered me $50,000," Kind said, "but that sounded like too much pressure and I didn't take it. That was sort of like the deal Rick Barry got. But the Warriors raised my salary then."
There has been some "found" money from his time in the NBA. The players association organized late in his 10-year career and so there is some money from that. But there was a nice surprise check three years ago.
"I got a call asking me to fill out paperwork," King said. "They said it had to do with my likeness and there would be a check."
Indeed, a check for $34,000 arrived. His grandsons helped explain it. King's likeness is used in computer video games.
"They showed me how you can do it," King said. "You can have different playoff teams play each other in video games. I was on nine playoff teams. And, when my teams are picked, I get paid. There have been several more checks, but not as big as that first one."
Most of King's signing bonus was gone before he got to Los Angeles. He bought an engagement ring for $125, then fixed his car that probably wouldn't have made the journey down Route 66.
"I drove it all at night," he said. "You didn't want to try going through the desert in the day. My car didn't have air conditioner.
"I remember spending the night in Gallup, N.M. I couldn't sleep, so I went behind the motel to do some running. I almost passed out. I thought, 'I'm out of shape and how am I going to survive the tryout.' Then, the next morning on the way out of town I saw a sign that said elevation 5,200 feet. I'd gotten altitude sickness."
The next day he pulled over in Needles, Calif., and grabbed an LA Times that had speculation on who what rookie would make the team.
"They were saying it would be Roger Strickland," King said. "He had led the nation in scoring, 32 per game. But that wasn't what they needed. I knew they wanted a ball handler and someone to play defense. They had West and Baylor.
"I prayed and had a peace about it. Really, I was prepared. If you played for Kaundart, you were always prepared. He taught us to be the first on the court, the last off."
King was first to the gym, two hours before the tryout. It was empty and locked. That worried him, but it was the last of his problems with the Lakers.
"Most pro teams just did their tryouts going up and down the court in a scrimmage, but not Schaus," King said. "He wanted to see our fundamentals, the drill work. So that was perfect for me."
And, his defense was what was needed.
"They weren't going to put West on the best guard," King said. "Defense was what they were looking for. They wanted someone to cover Oscar or Havlicek so West would be fresh for those great fourth quarters. Some of those guys you weren't going to stop, you just made it harder on them."
King became close to West. He asked him to attend his summer camps outside Tulsa and West came.
"I still talk to him," King said. "I can tell you that he's the same as he's always been. He's the one who can pick out players like Steph Curry. His evaluations are always spot on. He sees attitude, coachability and if you give full effort."
No one is going to argue that was King, and it didn't take long for West to see it.”
https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2018/mar/22/when-jim-was-king-20180322/
Matt Mooney SG Texas Tech CLE 2019-2022 2-07-1997 26 YOA
HOF Steve Nash PG Santa Clara PHO, DAL, LAL 1996-2014 2-07-1974 49 YOA
“Steve Nash is just the second Canadian-born player to be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. After being overlooked by many top-tier Division I schools, Nash attended Santa Clara University, where he was a two-time WCC Player of the Year. Nash was drafted 15th overall in 1996 and spent his first two seasons with the Phoenix Suns before establishing himself as a top point guard with the Dallas Mavericks. Teamed with Dirk Nowitzki, Nash helped the Mavs get back into the playoff picture after over a decades long drought. Nash returned to Phoenix in 2004 revitalizing the franchise with his up-tempo style of play and terrific passing, leading the Suns to the league’s best record before earning back-to-back NBA MVP awards in 2005 and 2006. As a four-time member of the illustrious 50-40-90 club, Nash defined what it meant to be an efficient player while inspiring kids in his native Canada with the game of basketball.”
Mike O’Koren SF North Carolina NJ, WAS 1980-1988 2-07-1958 65 YOA
Milt Palacio Colorado State VAN, BOS, PHO, CLE, TOR, UT 1999-2006 2-07-1978 45 YOA
Mickael Pietrus SF Guadeloupe GS, ORL, BOS, PHO, TOR 2003-2013 2-07-1982 41 YOA
Stanley Roberts C LSU ORL, LAC, MIN, HOU, PHI 1991-2000 2-07-1970 53 YOA
Isaiah Thomas PG Washington SAC, PHO, BOS, CLE, LAL, DEN, WAS, NO, DAL, CHA 2011-2022 2-07-1989 34 YOA
Rick Wilson SG Louisville ATL 1978-1980 2-07-1956 67 YOA
UGA Sports: Preview: Ole Miss at Georgia - Roberts' status still in question
Preview: Ole Miss at Georgia - Roberts' status still in question
Georgia entertains Ole Miss Tuesday night but Terry Roberts (concussion) remains a question mark.
Red & Black: Georgia men's basketball feeling Roberts' absence ahead of Ole Miss rematch
“Freshman back court, talented back court, both of those guys have an ability, like Terry, to get their own or get others [to] score at three levels. [They] have the ability to score in the mid-range, probably better than any team in our league I would say,” White said. “A mid-range scoring team, which makes it a little bit difficult, a little bit unique, hard playing front court, hard playing overall roster. They’ve been really really competitive of course, I think their record is very misleading. They’ve had opportunities just like us. We went in there and stole that one.”
https://www.redandblack.com/sports/...cle_60d52ad6-a6c9-11ed-aeeb-875813941db2.html
Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss basketball vs. Georgia: Scouting report, score prediction
“Here's what to know heading into the clash.
A suddenly vulnerable Georgia defense
In three out of Georgia's four SEC wins this season, the Bulldogs have held their opponents under 70 points. The only exception came against South Carolina in overtime, and the Gamecocks are considered by KenPom's ratings to be the third-worst power conference team in the country.
The Bulldogs have gone 1-5 and allowed 82.3 points per game since they won in Oxford on Jan. 14. So what's changed?
The answer can be found at the 3-point line. Georgia opponents are shooting 37.2% from deep over that six-game stretch. In the Bulldogs' previous 17 contests, they allowed a 27.7% success rate.
But at 30.3%, the Rebels have the SEC's third-worst 3-point shooting percentage, ranking 331st out of 363 Division I teams as of Monday. There's certainly a weakness to expose there, but doubts exist over whether Ole Miss has the shooters to take advantage of it.
Bulldogs depend on key guards for scoring
The only Georgia players averaging more than 7.7 points per game are guards Terry Roberts and Kario Oquendo.
Roberts leads the way with 15 points, followed by Oquendo at 12.4. But it was Oquendo who made the difference the last time these two teams met.
The 6-foot-4 Florida native scored the final 12 points of the game for the Bulldogs, who left the SJB Pavilion with a victory after the Rebels once again failed in a late-game situation.
It's unclear if the Bulldogs will have Roberts available for this game. He missed out against Texas A&M on Saturday due to a concussion.
Score prediction
Georgia 74, Ole Miss 68. It is tempting to pick Ole Miss here, given the uncertainty of Roberts' status and the Bulldogs' recent defensive woes. But the Rebels have done nothing to indicate that they're in a position to go on the road and beat a competitive team. They have given themselves opportunity after opportunity to close out games after hanging in them for 30-to-35 minutes and simply haven't done it. Until they do, it's hard to predict a change.”
https://www.clarionledger.com/story...scouting-report-score-prediction/69873798007/
SEC Basketball
Auburn
Alabama.com: Can’t ignore obvious with Auburn basketball
https://www.al.com/auburnbasketball...us-with-auburn-basketball.html?outputType=amp
Kentucky
Lexington Herald: It’s yet another bubble battle for Kentucky basketball as Arkansas visits Tuesday
https://amp.kentucky.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/john-clay/article272090067.html
South Carolina
The State: Got $2,000? Some tickets for USC-LSU women’s basketball game come with hefty prices
https://amp.thestate.com/sports/col...a/usc-womens-basketball/article272198348.html
Vanderbilt
The Tennessean: Can 'Memorial Magic make a comeback?' VandyMBB's home attendance has declined over the past decade, and home-court advantage has dwindled with it. What happened?
College Basketball
Field of 68: A tale of two blue bloods
Kansas thrived against Texas, Duke tumbled at Miami, and a crazy night unfolded in the mid-major world. Plus, thoughts on the Cousy finalists and more
https://fieldof68.beehiiv.com/p/kansas-texas-duke-miami-cousy-award
SI.com: Forde Minutes: Will These Conference Title Droughts Come to an End?
Clemson, UCLA and Marquette are among the men’s programs leading their leagues. Plus, we look at coaches having successful second acts.
https://www.si.com/college/2023/02/06/basketball-conference-leaders-clemson-ucla-texas-marquette
SI.com: Ten Names That Will Shape This Men’s College Basketball Coaching Carousel
https://www.si.com/.amp/college/2023/02/07/ncaa-coaching-carousel-pitino-holtmann-hoiberg-ewing
NIL Enforcement
BYU
Deseret News: Identity found, the challenge for BYU is to maintain
https://www.deseret.com/2023/2/6/23587867/byu-basketball-found-identity-can-it-maintain-it?_amp=true
Charleston
Post & Courier: College of Charleston basketball’s strong season lights up campus, city
https://www.postandcourier.com/news...cle_178ab38e-9e70-11ed-b4c5-6f2dfb22d685.html
Indiana
Daily Hoosier: IU basketball film study: Exposing Zach Edey and Purdue double teams
https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/iu-basketball-film-study-exposing-zach-edey-and-purdue-double-teams/
Kansas State
Wichita Eagle: Kansas State basketball star Keyontae Johnson signs new NIL deal filled with heart
“On Tuesday, Johnson announced that he has partnered with Heartfelt, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to saving lives from preventable health situations such as Sudden Cardiac Arrest through early detection, education and increased public awareness…”
https://amp.kansas.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article272222928.html
North Carolina State
Raleigh News Observer: NC State basketball’s Casey Morsell excited about return to Virginia for ACC game
https://amp.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/nc-state/article272139677.html
Virginia
SB Nation: UVA basketball will go as far as their enigmatic frontcourt can take them
https://www.streakingthelawn.com/pl...-gardner-kadin-shedrick-vander-plas-ryan-dunn
Western Kentucky
Lexington Herald Leader: Dontaie Allen is on fire for Western Kentucky. ‘He’s got a lot of confidence right now.’
https://amp.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-basketball-men/article272193428.html
NBA
The Ringer: LeBron, Kareem, and the Secrets to Greatness
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/2/7/23587504/lebron-james-scoring-record-kareem-abdul-jabbar
Brooklyn
NYP: Nets waste Cam Thomas’ 47 points in loss to Clippers to start post-Kyrie Irving era
https://nypost.com/2023/02/06/nets-waste-cam-thomas-47-points-in-loss-clippers-after-kyrie-trade/
History
Hoops Birthdays 2-07
Nick Calathes SG Florida MEM 2013-2015 2-07-1989 34 YOA
R.J. Hampton SG Texas HS DEN, ORL 2020-present 2-07-2001 22 YOA
Juwan Howard PF Michigan WAS, DAL, DEN, ORL, HOU, CHA, POR, MIA 1994-2013 2-07-1973 50 YOA
Bernard James C Windsor Forest FSU DAL 2012-2015 2-07-1985 38 YOA
Jim King PG Tulsa LAL, SF, CIN, CHI 1963-1973 2-07-1941 82 YOA
NWA Gazette: When Jim was King (2018)
“Jim King was good at everything. And he was great at basketball. It's still a shame that Arkansas coach Glen Rose didn't take him along with two other Fort Smith High School - now Fort Smith Northside - teammates in 1959. Rose finally did offer King a scholarship after he broke the scoring record with 21 points in the high school all-star game, and well after he'd committed to Tulsa.
King would become a two-time All-Missouri Valley player at Tulsa where it retired his jersey number. There were some games against Arkansas, too. Fans -- mostly students -- were livid when King came into Barnhill Arena to light up the Razorbacks. They hung Rose in effigy in the stands because he had not signed King.
"Coach Rose asked me to look at his neck after one of those games," King said. "He told me, 'That's the rope burns you see -- for not going after you.' I know we beat them more than they beat us."
All of this was recounted in an interview that lasted well over two hours a couple of weeks ago in Fort Smith. King, 77, has been spending time there of late.
"We had moved from Branch to just outside of Fort Smith when I was in the sixth grade," King said. "My brother and I would hunt on the way to school. One day we killed 52 possums while walking to school.
"So everyone called me 'Country' when I got to high school. I thought I'd lose that when I got to college, but there was a football player from Northside at TU before me. I walked in the dorm the first day and he yelled, 'Country!' So it never left me. I really didn't mind."
"We milked cows before school and every night," he said. "We ran traps for rabbits before school. I was proud of being called Country. Branch was and still is in the country."
There was no doubt he wanted to go to Arkansas in the same class with high school teammate Tommy Boyer. Interestingly, he's recently attended several Arkansas basketball games as Boyer's guest.
"The problem was that I didn't start until my senior year," he said. "I was 6-2 as a senior, but I'd grown two inches during the year. And, I didn't have to score much on that team. We had scorers. I handled the ball and played defense. I know (longtime Northside coach Gayle) Kaundart wanted Glen Rose to take me, too. Coach Rose said I was too slow and too short."
The issue was that he never played guard in high school, always forward.
"But if you played for Coach Kaundart, you could handle the ball, with either hand," he said. "I played for a lot of great coaches in the NBA, but Coach Kaundart was the best."
The Grizzlies won 11 state titles under Kaundart, twice in King's time.
"The only scholarship offer I had was Tulsa," King said. "That's not counting Rose offering after the all-state game."
King wasn't the MVP of the game, but only because the vote was taken at the start of the fourth quarter, per the usual in games like that. He scored most of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.
"I had never played guard until that game," King said. "We were down with six minutes to go and I started shooting from outside. I made all four of my outside shots and we won.
"I'd never shot outside jumpers like that before. They all fell. Everyone booed when someone else got the MVP and he tried to give me the trophy."
More importantly, Kaundart was waiting for him at the edge of the court.
"You still want to go to school on The Hill?" Kaundart said.
There were no letters of intent then, just your word. King said his word was good and he'd go to Tulsa.
King's word is good, but he's finally giving up some of Kaundart's secrets. There was code for how the legendary coach changed his defenses. It didn't come from sideline calls. It came from sequences written on the blackboard before games.
"No one could ever figure it out," King said. "Most teams change defenses after made baskets or made free throws. It was more random than that with us.
"We'd come to the game and he'd have the sequences written. And, it would all be coded to our jersey numbers. He'd point to a player and the player would rub his jersey number.
"No player ever told about it either. We were that committed to Coach Kaundart.
"We played some zone, but mostly man. Our 20 defense was man, started 20 feet from the basket. The 30 defense was man half court. The 40 defense was man full-court.
"It was the same style of defense that Henry Iba taught at Oklahoma State. We went over the top of every screen.
"When Coach Kaundart would point to a jersey number, you better get it the first time or you were sitting next to him. We all got it the first time."
Kaundart's unspoken rules and penchant for drill work served King well in his tryout with the Lakers as the 13th overall pick in 1963.
"You never dropped to a knee or sat down after a drill," King said. "You never showed you were tired. It was understood that you wouldn't do that on the court if Coach Kaundart was there.
"And, we ran every drill right-handed, then left-handed -- at full speed. It was drill after drill."
Kaundart was a legend, but so was another Northside coach. Bill Stancil sent many a player to Arkansas to play football.
"I was scared of him," King said. "I just played basketball, but you just feared and respected that man.
"I was waiting to see Coach Kaundart in the athletic department offices. Coach Stancil's office was there, too. He came by me and stopped. I was sitting. I just stared at the floor hoping he wouldn't notice me."
With that King's eyes filled with tears and his voice broke. Stancil wanted to know when King left for Tulsa.
"I didn't even think he knew who I was, much less that I was going to Tulsa," King said. "He said, 'You know they are going to try to run you off? Tell them they can't work you that hard.' I've always remembered that. What we got from Coach Kaundart and Coach Stancil was unique. If you listened to those two men, you would be just fine."
When King got to the tryout with the Lakers, the warm-up consisted of all the Kaundart drills.
"There were nine others trying to make the team," King said. "Everyone was crashing into each other. They didn't know the drills. Fred Schaus was the coach and he asked if I knew the drills. So I ran them and led the team through them."
The tryout was in the Loyola gym with no air conditioner. It was unusually hot and the windows were open. Brutal smog filled the gym.
"We practiced for about two hours and when we finally stopped for a five-minute water break, everyone collapsed on the floor," King said.
King did not. He jogged to the other end of the gym for some solo tip-in drills. If you went down in a Kaundart practice, King said, "it was because you needed an ambulance."
King was hurting but didn't show it.
"I didn't know it, but West was sitting with Schaus and the owner, Bob Short," King said. "They were only looking for one player, a guard to help West. West told them, 'That's the one I want.'
"It wasn't over then because we played some exhibition games. But when I went in to sign my contract, Bob Short told me that's when I made the team."
The terms of the contract were a paltry $9,500, including his $500 signing bonus. The 13th overall pick in the 2017 year's draft was over $5 million.
"I remember that teachers were getting $5,500 then," King said. "It wasn't much money and it might not have been the smartest thing for me to do."
King could have remained an amateur and taken a job with Phillips 66. The Bartlesville, Okla., oil company hired the region's best college players (mainly from Oklahoma State, Tulsa and Arkansas) to work in business and play on a traveling team.
"But if you took the signing bonus, that was it," King said. "I couldn't play for Phillips. You lost your amateur status. I just thought I had to try the NBA or I'd always wonder if I could have made it."
The money did go up gradually, then spiked with the startup of the ABA in 1967. King's top salary was $65,000 after an ABA team offered him a job as head coach and player.
"I was making $18,000 and Dallas (now the San Antonio Spurs) offered me $50,000," Kind said, "but that sounded like too much pressure and I didn't take it. That was sort of like the deal Rick Barry got. But the Warriors raised my salary then."
There has been some "found" money from his time in the NBA. The players association organized late in his 10-year career and so there is some money from that. But there was a nice surprise check three years ago.
"I got a call asking me to fill out paperwork," King said. "They said it had to do with my likeness and there would be a check."
Indeed, a check for $34,000 arrived. His grandsons helped explain it. King's likeness is used in computer video games.
"They showed me how you can do it," King said. "You can have different playoff teams play each other in video games. I was on nine playoff teams. And, when my teams are picked, I get paid. There have been several more checks, but not as big as that first one."
Most of King's signing bonus was gone before he got to Los Angeles. He bought an engagement ring for $125, then fixed his car that probably wouldn't have made the journey down Route 66.
"I drove it all at night," he said. "You didn't want to try going through the desert in the day. My car didn't have air conditioner.
"I remember spending the night in Gallup, N.M. I couldn't sleep, so I went behind the motel to do some running. I almost passed out. I thought, 'I'm out of shape and how am I going to survive the tryout.' Then, the next morning on the way out of town I saw a sign that said elevation 5,200 feet. I'd gotten altitude sickness."
The next day he pulled over in Needles, Calif., and grabbed an LA Times that had speculation on who what rookie would make the team.
"They were saying it would be Roger Strickland," King said. "He had led the nation in scoring, 32 per game. But that wasn't what they needed. I knew they wanted a ball handler and someone to play defense. They had West and Baylor.
"I prayed and had a peace about it. Really, I was prepared. If you played for Kaundart, you were always prepared. He taught us to be the first on the court, the last off."
King was first to the gym, two hours before the tryout. It was empty and locked. That worried him, but it was the last of his problems with the Lakers.
"Most pro teams just did their tryouts going up and down the court in a scrimmage, but not Schaus," King said. "He wanted to see our fundamentals, the drill work. So that was perfect for me."
And, his defense was what was needed.
"They weren't going to put West on the best guard," King said. "Defense was what they were looking for. They wanted someone to cover Oscar or Havlicek so West would be fresh for those great fourth quarters. Some of those guys you weren't going to stop, you just made it harder on them."
King became close to West. He asked him to attend his summer camps outside Tulsa and West came.
"I still talk to him," King said. "I can tell you that he's the same as he's always been. He's the one who can pick out players like Steph Curry. His evaluations are always spot on. He sees attitude, coachability and if you give full effort."
No one is going to argue that was King, and it didn't take long for West to see it.”
https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2018/mar/22/when-jim-was-king-20180322/
Matt Mooney SG Texas Tech CLE 2019-2022 2-07-1997 26 YOA
HOF Steve Nash PG Santa Clara PHO, DAL, LAL 1996-2014 2-07-1974 49 YOA
“Steve Nash is just the second Canadian-born player to be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. After being overlooked by many top-tier Division I schools, Nash attended Santa Clara University, where he was a two-time WCC Player of the Year. Nash was drafted 15th overall in 1996 and spent his first two seasons with the Phoenix Suns before establishing himself as a top point guard with the Dallas Mavericks. Teamed with Dirk Nowitzki, Nash helped the Mavs get back into the playoff picture after over a decades long drought. Nash returned to Phoenix in 2004 revitalizing the franchise with his up-tempo style of play and terrific passing, leading the Suns to the league’s best record before earning back-to-back NBA MVP awards in 2005 and 2006. As a four-time member of the illustrious 50-40-90 club, Nash defined what it meant to be an efficient player while inspiring kids in his native Canada with the game of basketball.”
Mike O’Koren SF North Carolina NJ, WAS 1980-1988 2-07-1958 65 YOA
Milt Palacio Colorado State VAN, BOS, PHO, CLE, TOR, UT 1999-2006 2-07-1978 45 YOA
Mickael Pietrus SF Guadeloupe GS, ORL, BOS, PHO, TOR 2003-2013 2-07-1982 41 YOA
Stanley Roberts C LSU ORL, LAC, MIN, HOU, PHI 1991-2000 2-07-1970 53 YOA
Isaiah Thomas PG Washington SAC, PHO, BOS, CLE, LAL, DEN, WAS, NO, DAL, CHA 2011-2022 2-07-1989 34 YOA
Rick Wilson SG Louisville ATL 1978-1980 2-07-1956 67 YOA
Last edited:
