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Post by hchoops on Jun 2, 2020 13:10:41 GMT -5
What a terrific player, esp rebounding
His battles with Willis Reed were great to watch
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jun 2, 2020 13:30:05 GMT -5
RIP --a Louisville legend.
His high school exploits would have been reported on by the school newspaper's editor Diane Sawyer
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Post by hchoops on Jun 2, 2020 14:03:22 GMT -5
My favorite Unseld story told in the early 70s by teammate, Kevin Loughery.
Loughery was in his fifth year with the Bullets in ‘68 when after practice one day the rookie Unseld asked if he wanted to bet $100. (A lot then) on something.
Loughery asked what. Unseld said that he could rebound the ball at one end of the court, turn without coming down and throw the ball two handed to the other backboard. The ultimate outlet pass.
Loughery thought about it, and looked at the very tight jersey Unseld was wearing. He agreed to the bet.
Unseld did it easily.
The team laughed and said, “ Wes, you just took another fool’s money.”
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Post by timholycross on Jun 2, 2020 14:25:35 GMT -5
My favorite Unseld story told in the early 70s by teammate, Kevin Loughery. Loughery was in his fifth year with the Bullets in ‘68 when after practice one day the rookie Unseld asked if he wanted to bet $100. (A lot then) on something. Loughery asked what. Unseld said that he could rebound the ball at one end of the court, turn without coming down and throw the ball two handed to the other backboard. The ultimate outlet pass. Loughery thought about it, and looked at the very tight jersey Unseld was wearing. He agreed to the bet. Unseld did it easily. The team laughed and said, “ Wes, you just took another fool’s money.” Chest or overhead (which I remember Wes being one of the first players to utilize the soccer-like throw)? Either is impressive but chest is more so. |
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Post by hchoops on Jun 2, 2020 14:45:08 GMT -5
Overhead
Chest pass would be highly unlikely
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jun 3, 2020 15:06:54 GMT -5
My favorite Unseld story told in the early 70s by teammate, Kevin Loughery. Loughery was in his fifth year with the Bullets in ‘68 when after practice one day the rookie Unseld asked if he wanted to bet $100. (A lot then) on something. Loughery asked what. Unseld said that he could rebound the ball at one end of the court, turn without coming down and throw the ball two handed to the other backboard. The ultimate outlet pass. Loughery thought about it, and looked at the very tight jersey Unseld was wearing. He agreed to the bet. Unseld did it easily. The team laughed and said, “ Wes, you just took another fool’s money.” There are multiple articles in today's Courier Journal covering the life of this great Louisville native. In one of them we hear more discussion about this passing ability, exactly as described above. "The ball in his hands was like a softball" Bellarmine coach Scott Davenport said Tuesday. "The legend was that he could rebound the ball, turn in the air and hit the other backboard from 94 feet away. I didn't believe it. (but) I witnessed it with my own eyes. When he hit it, it sounded like an explosion." Some other tidbits He was at first a football player (what a tight end or defensive end he would have made!) but got cut from the freshman team because the school did not have shoes to fit him. He played freshman basketball (at 6-3) but was not promising. He had a growth spurt that took him to 6-6 as a soph and then to 6-7. Seneca High School won state championships (team had 4 future college players as seniors when Wes was a junior) his junior and senior seasons. He had offers from 110 colleges and was originally going to attend UK as the school's first Black athlete but he chose to stay home at U of L. His older brother George played at Kansas and averaged 17.8 PPG and 7.7 rebounds as a teammate of Walt Wesley He averaged 36 points and 24 rebounds for U of L's freshman team. The Bullets won 36 games the year before Unseld arrived in the NBA and then 57 his rookie year. His outlet passes are credited with taking Kevin Loughery from 15.9 to 22.6 PPG. Unseld and Wilt are the only two players to be named MVP as rookies. His 13.8 points per game scoring average is the lowest ever for an MVP |
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Post by hchoops on Jun 3, 2020 15:11:47 GMT -5
David Aldridge wrote a beautiful tribute on The Athletic website.
Unfortunately it is behind a paywall.
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