Many have speculated about the reasons behind this phenomenon. While he was dribbling down the court, his knee exploded. In the division finals, however, Philadelphia fell to Boston. David came the closest, Kupchak said. Wed been on the bus eight hours by then, Trenkle said. It was legendary, however, and cemented young Majerle as one of the best white dunkers of all time. The breakthrough occurred when Harvey Pollack, the venerable stat whiz of the Philadelphia 76ers, collected dunk data from every team for the entire 1987-88 NBA season, accounting for every last slammeroo. Cunningham joined the broadcast team for CBS in the 197677 season, often paired with Brent Musburger, leaving after the season ended to coach the 76ers. Dolph Schayes is an icon in Philadelphia 76ers lore and was one of the NBA's first stars as well. In 1972-73, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the American Basketball Association and he scored 18 points in the ABA All-Star Game. Thats the outer space were dealing with today, the sky above the hoop, the rare air inhabited by only a select group of humans, the legendary leapers. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Data Provided By That Sixers team has since been hailed as the greatest ever assembled. City, and a member of the Parade Magazine All-America Team. During a game in 1963 against Clemson University, he grabbed a record twenty-seven rebounds. Ive never felt another feeling like it, being able to go up in the air, over someone much bigger, and stay up there. Gus once said, When I dunked that ball and heard that shot for the first time, I said to myself, Oh, oh, Gus. He was all but unknown at the University of Massachusetts, then played five seasons in the semi-secret ABA. After three days, Rabbit said to Red, One of us is gonna have to go., Red said, What do you mean? Rabbit said, Either get rid of Bob Cousy or get rid of me. In 1976-77, the season before Cunningham took the helm, the Sixers reached The Finals, only to fall to the Portland Trail Blazers. This guy couldshoot AND dunk. As a freshman he went out for the track team, worked out a total of 10 hours, then high-jumped 7-3 7/8. I made a left turn at the baseline, flew under the basket to the other side, put it through his arms, and dunked it with two hands over my head. All rights reserved. One expert, Mitch Kupchak, the Lakers assistant general manager, was asked to name the games bona fide super leapers. It was an effort, but I could do it., There is no documented proof of a man ever taking off from behind the free-throw line, 15 feet from the backboard, and dunking. His man takes him into the key, gives a head fake and sends Jackie skyward. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Keith Smart always reported he had a 44. A commitment to the basic fundamentals of any game lead to progress, growth, and success. Born: June 3, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York us College: UNC High School: Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, New York Draft: Philadelphia 76ers, 1st round (7th pick, 7th overall), 1965 NBA Draft billy cunningham vertical jump. It doesnt take a detective to see these were obviously a foreshadowing of plays to come. Many of the legendary leapers of that era didnt play NBA ball because all they could do was leap. If you play the game, you know how high that is. His jump was absolutely awesome. They couldnt, of course, because those things are so much harder than they look. Hes earned a list of nicknames, including LaVine The Machine as well as being part of the Bounce Brothers duo with Minnesota Timerwolves teammate Andrew Wiggins. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. The two teams waged a court battle, each claiming the rights to Cunningham, but the new league won. Look up. I asked Kareem if he ever did, and he could jump a little bit. Effortless, absolutely effortless.. Most of these leapers were from the inner city, where they suffered from overexposure to drugs and underexposure to formal education. He didnt just score, he scored OVER people, including all 68 of Plastic Man Stacey Augmon. I loved it instantly.. Find out more. Or write about sports? Cunningham had just snared a defensive rebound and was dribbling to the Sixers free-throw line when, as he later recounted, his knee just exploded. No one had touched him, although Alfred Butch Beard was given a foul on the play. During his eight seasons as the coach of the 76ers, Philadelphia won 454 regular season games and lost 196. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps, Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. Buffman and Cunningham decided to team up in the venture, and they brought in Lewis Schaffel and Ted Arison. His colourful tattoos and hairstyles are about as famous as his skills too, with hairdos including mohawks, spikes, and shoulder-length shag. American basketball player Learn more and register. Philadelphia then became a member of the leagues elite. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? The greatest nicknames in basketball are reserved for those who attain the greatest altitude. We sure are glad he picked basketball! Billy Cunningham. . I also think, in Joeys case, he gets up so high it hurts his shooting technique., Clarke said: When other players were shooting jump shots in their back yards, Joey was practicing dunks.. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. He ran to the nearest school, three blocks away, and started shooting baskets. There is no full-length biography of Cunningham, but he is mentioned in most authoritative histories of basketball and in several magazine and online profiles. Ill give you an example. Officially, his nickname originated from a 2002 summer league in Salt Lake City, where other players commented on his jumps and grabs, saying he could fly like a bird. Dont get him confused with Larry Bird though. He was a five-time All Star, 1972-73 MVP, and received recognition for numerous goals, throws, rebounds, and assist plays. He would toss the ball off the backboard and then slam it home. (b. The ONLY white man. I said to myself, Ive got to try. I angled to the right. Learn more and register, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. Geraldo Rivera is standing by. He said he was tired and tight. As a rebounder and jump shooter he averaged 18.5 ppg and 7.3 rpg. Billy Cunningham was a standout scorer for the Philadelphia 76ers. Dawkins named it, Chocolate Thunder Flying, Robinzine Crying, Teeth Shaking, Glass Breaking, Rump Roasting, Bun Toasting, Wham, Bam, Glass Breaker, I Am Jam.. To that end, heres this writers all-time all-leap team: Dr. J, the Big Dipper, Air Jordan, David Skywalker and Joey Johnson. Robinson, David 1965 As if this wasnt impressive enough, it was during a practice with the LA Lakers about a month after the Combine that he flew up 46 inches, creating a new pre-draft record. Oh my God, Smith recalled thinking. Now imagine yourself crouching a bit, like Superman, and springing high into the air. Billy Cunningham was born in New York on June 3, 1943. Someone would put a quarter up and Id snatch it down. Joe Vanilla Sky Alexander has restless, jumpy feet that propel him way up to block shots and confound his opponents. The new generation of jumpers, ushered in by Julius Erving, has pushed the dunk to new artistic heights. An influential figure on the game at large, Julius Erving won a 1983 NBA title in Philadelphia and was the face of the ABA as well. Those Sixers advanced to the East finals before losing in five games to the Celtics. Cunningham played with visible enthusiasm. Join our linker program. Thompson was on a par with Erving but after five great NBA seasons, his career hit a quick decline, caused in part by cocaine problems. I dont know anything he has done that hasnt worked. There are celebrity dunk-offs. Billy Cunningham (Billy; The Kangaroo Kid) Position: Forward 6-6 , 210lb (198cm, 95kg) School: North Carolina (Men) Draft: Philadelphia 76ers, 1st round (7th pick, 7th overall), 1965 NBA draft SUMMARY Career G 69 PTS 24.8 TRB 15.4 AST - FG% 47.3 FT% 62.8 Cunningham Overview More Cunningham Pages More Cunningham pages at Sports Reference https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/cunningham-william-john-billy, "Cunningham, William John ("Billy") In 1966 Cunningham Home Depot Is Selling A Giant 89-Pound Crab Statue For $1,500. That Feb. 8, the ABA trotted out its five best slammers. It is. Jerry West could get up. With Malone in the middle, and Erving, Bobby Jones, Cheeks and Andrew Toney all playing key roles, the 76ers went 65-17 and blew through the Atlantic Division. At halftime of one Southern Idaho game, Joey was pursuaded to give a brief high-jump demonstration. In warmups, we would always check out the other team and get into little contests with their guys. Philadelphia switched Cunningham to small forward, a position that allowed him to use his tenacity and jumping ability around the boards. And the problem these days is inflation. One day he received a call from Zev Buffman, who needed a well-known basketball personality to help secure an NBA franchise for Miami. 1943 He also had a famously difficult childhood and came from very humble beginnings; it was his hometown of French Lick, Indiana, that inspired the nickname The Hick from French Lick. He was determined not to let his tiny hometown or his troubled family life hold him back though, and instead remained hardworking and classy until the end of his career. He was finished as a player. I see kids in the eighth grade, kids 5-11, dunking behind their heads, said Rod Thorn, former National Basketball Assn. It didnt make no difference to him.. Some nights, when your legs were really there and you had total command, you felt nobody was going to get any higher than you were. The NBA had no such contest at the time, considering such frivolity to be beneath the senior leagues dignity. I was phoning the Charlotte Hornets to reach David (Skywalker) Thompson, who now works in the teams front office, when a female secretary said: Ive only seen two players who did things that I watched and I didnt believe--David, and Michael Jordan. Cunningham guided the 76ers for eight years, reaching the 200- and 300-victory levels faster than any coach before him. Curtis Bunn, a 6-1 reporter for Newsday, has a very decent repertoire of slams. The 1984-85 season, Cunninghams last as coach, featured the addition of rookie Charles Barkley to the team. Upon his retirement on May 28, 1985,[13] his 454 wins as a head coach were the 12th best in NBA history. In 1962, Johnson jumped and touched a spot high on the wall, and a nail was driven into the spot to commemorate the unbelievable leap. During one game he went THROUGH and OVER the 77 Manute Bol of the Golden State Warriors to ALMOST score. After this historic 2015 event, Twitter lit up with the hashtag #WhiteMenCanJump (the up in lit up is so well placed, right?). For three days, Rabbit put on a show like theyve never seen before. Or write about sports? These are professional men: Dr. J, Dr. Dunkenstein, Dr. Jam. Spencer Haywood, for one, claims to have been to the top. Joey averaged 19.5 points at Southern Idaho and led the team to a national junior college title. With an average height of 64, Arizin had fantastic ball handling skills, played a mean defense, and had some seriously bouncy feet. Thunder Dan has more than made friends with the rim and earned his name! Its like walking on air. Left, Born: In the 19701971 season he again was an All-Star starter and finished ninth in the NBA with 23.0 points per game. So I did a 360, two handed, and he conceded.. Billy Cunningham. Hes one of only a handful of white guys to even make it to the Slam Dunk Competition, and hes rumoured to have reached a vertical jump of 39 inches. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. He also became an NBA broadcaster on national television and later a part-owner of the Miami Heat. Its a remarkable life.. In the 197374 season, Cunningham and the Cougars finished third in the Eastern Division and lost again to the Kentucky Colonels in the Eastern Division semifinals. That year, he was the First-Team All-New York Most of these leapers are black, and in the late 50s and early 60s, the NBA still had unofficial quotas, and only eight or nine teams. 3 June 1943 in Brooklyn, New York ), professional basketball player known for his vertical leap who was a top scorer and rebounder in the 1960s and 1970s, and who later became a winning coach, television commentator, and team owner. We Have Fusion Energy! All the teams did that. As a rookie in 1965-66, he pulled down 7.5 rpg, scored 14.3 ppg and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. Upload media Wikipedia. why did michael jackson wrote heal the world; lionel richie las vegas 2022 It didnt happen, though, and Fernandez remains playing with Real Madrid, where he feels he is a better player.This, however, is debatable. Brooks will serve his 1-game suspension Sunday when the Grizzlies visit the Clippers. Joey didnt even have his shoes laced, Clarke said. William John Cunningham (born June 3, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid for his leaping and record-setting rebounding abilities.
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