In the JC championship game, an opponent fired a jump shot at the buzzer. [8] For his career, he scored 16,310 points, grabbed 7,981 rebounds, and recorded 3,305 assists in both the NBA and the ABA. He cant even walk.. What happens when you put stilts on kangaroo? Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. If they play the game far above the rim, it is because they are tall. Look up. 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. Okay, so LaVine is technically not 100% Caucasian. A sample: In Your Face Disgrace, Sexophonic Turbo Delight, Hammer of Thor, and Yo Mamma. Billy Cunningham found success and stardom during his ABA days. Here's a number: 44 inches. Artis (A-Train) Gilmore, George (Ice) Gervin and Larry (Big Cat) Kenon all dunked admirably. Weve all heard the saying: white men cant jump. Ron Shelton even made a (fantastic) movie about it in the 90s! And there was a dog. One expert, Mitch Kupchak, the Lakers assistant general manager, was asked to name the games bona fide super leapers. Its almost like burlesque dancing. In 1965, Cunningham joined the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association. When they were not taking everything off, the dancing was more alluring. In a way the injury made things easy for me, he added. He holds the second-best regular-season winning percentage in league history of .698 (only Phil Jackson is ahead of him). Cunningham played with visible enthusiasm. Yes, 44. Cade Cunningham Vertical Jump - Height, Weight, Wingspan, Draft & Stats Billy Cunningham Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Really, though, hed have to in order to make it look like he belonged there among all the African American bball greats. Basketball was just a game they played for fun. Blonde hair. His performance in the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest was nothing less than stellar, and some say he was robbed of the chance to move to the next round. In those eight seasons, the team posted a 454-196 record, reached three NBA Finals and captured a championship in 1983. During the post-season, the Cougars defeated the New York Nets in five games in the Eastern Division Semifinals to advance to the Eastern Division Finals. Ive never felt another feeling like it, being able to go up in the air, over someone much bigger, and stay up there. Learn more and register, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. Jackie Jacksons all-around game, by most accounts, was only fair. In 1976-77, the season before Cunningham took the helm, the Sixers reached The Finals, only to fall to the Portland Trail Blazers. "I don't know anything he has done that hasn't worked," said the Orlando, Florida, executive Pat Williams. Then they took out Boston in the Eastern Division finals San Francisco in the NBA Finals. After that season, Cunningham jumped from the NBA to the ABA with the Carolina Cougars. Even so, Erving was the NBAs most dazzling aerial star until he retired in 1987 and passed the title to Michael Jordan. 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 guided the 76ers for eight years, reaching the 200- and 300-victory levels faster than any coach before him. Uh oh! Billy Cunningham of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots a jump shot against the Boston Celtics during a game played in 1968 at the Boston Garden in Boston,. Thats about half the height of Michael Jordan. Find Billy Cunningham 76ers stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Billy Cunningham weighed 210 lbs (95 kg) when playing. Even back in his Florida State days, where he was ACC Rookie of the year for the 1991-92 season, it was obvious that he loved to run, jump, and make friends with the rim. In 1969-70, Cunningham averaged a career-best 26.1 points, fourth-highest in the league behind Jerry West, Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Elvin Hayes. He finished well out of the running--or jumping--when he clanged at least one attempt off the rim. He would find a way to beat you., Billy Cunningham discovered the game after receiving a basketball for his fifth birthday. Cunningham was subsequently replaced on CBS by Hubie Brown, but would return to CBS to help fill in during the 1990 NBA Playoffs, partnered with Verne Lundquist. I lived there that summer, he later recalled. Yep. After Chamberlain left the team in 1968, Cunningham became the 76ers' franchise player. Billy can jump up to 29-31 inches (vertical leap). Almost always the feat involves money--claims that the player could grab a dollar bill off the top of the board, or could pluck off a quarter and leave two dimes and a nickel change. Now thats something to brag about at Sunday family dinners. Billy Cunningham attended Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, New York and UNC. Top 15 NBA Players Who Prove That White Men CAN Jump, The sun even shines on a dog's a** some days. I dont want anyone ripping rib-cage muscles or wrenching spinal disks. They outlawed that, but I wouldnt have done it in a game, anyway. Cunningham then went to the University of North Carolina, where he excelled. In the 19691970 season he averaged a career high of 26.1 points, the fourth highest in the league, and was again selected as an All-Star. Seniors Are Getting Freaking And A New Loofah Code Lets Everyone Know. . In his basketball uniform and shoes, with a short, unmeasured run-up, he soared over seven feet. With an average height of 64, Arizin had fantastic ball handling skills, played a mean defense, and had some seriously bouncy feet. In his rookie season of 19651966 Cunningham was at first assigned to be a guard, then switched positions, becoming a small forward. CUNNINGHAM, William John ("Billy") ( b. There was a Philadelphia boy, Sonny Hill, about 5-10 (actually 5-9), he was the first guy that size I ever saw dunk. All rights reserved. Join our linker program. It is near the University of Idaho campus, where the legendary Gus Johnson once played. I used to dunk on that basket. The future never came, but Dawkins broke new ground in power dunking, backboard shattering and dunknaming. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Billy Cunningham wasn't nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid because he had a pouch. His standing vertical was 37.5 inches. Dont send letters, leapers. Fiery and volatile, he would pace the sidelines, driving his team relentlessly. The Hawks favorite flight story, like many stories of that era, features Chamberlain as a foil. My sergeant was higher than Jordans. 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. His man takes him into the key, gives a head fake and sends Jackie skyward. His departure had a disastrous effect. Its even been called hellicious.. He was in the gym in Mesa one afternoon, in street clothes and basketball shoes. Cunningham was a member of the powerful 1967 Sixers championship team, which also featured Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Chet Walker, and Luke Jackson. Pretty darn safe. Vertical Jump Not a Priority for NBA's All-Time Top 50 Players He reached both the 300 and 400-win milestones faster than any coach in NBA history. The new generation of jumpers, ushered in by Julius Erving, has pushed the dunk to new artistic heights. According to a warrant for Morrow's arrest, he's facing charges of assault by strangulation, second-degree kidnapping and communicating threats. Before his senior year, White happened to work out with some Atlanta Hawks players and they went to coach Richie Guerin with tales of this amazing leaper. [15], For other people named William Cunningham, see, Learn how and when to remove this template message, ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team, List of National Basketball Association single-game playoff scoring leaders, "The Rumble: AN OFF-THE-BALL LOOK AT YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS CELEBRITIES", "Philadelphia 76ers 134 - Portland Trail Blazers 132", Goldaper, Sam. Join our linker program. They were like jazz musicians in sneakers. His show was not heard during the summer months, when WLW broadcasts Cincinnati Reds baseball games. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. David Robinson, future NBA Hall-of-Famer and leader of the San Antonio Spurs, was born in Key We, Chamberlain, Wilt VIDEO: Giant Space Slingshot In Action. His teams won sixty-six play-off games and lost twenty-nine. Left, Born: [6] He announced on June 15, 1972, that he was going to play with the Cougars beginning with the upcoming season at press conferences in Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina which occurred almost simultaneous to the Sixers' introduction of Roy Rubin as its new head coach.[7]. However, the date of retrieval is often important. 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. CREATIVE. In the 2005 NBA pre-draft camp he gained 34.5 inches of air. We know he was born in New Bern, N.C., grew up (and flew up) in Brooklyn, attended Virginia Union, then played several years for the Harlem Globetrotters and in the old Eastern League. 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. Instead he went to Georgia as a white player and was a so-so power forward. They were trying to touch the top of the board, Nissalke said. The Philadelphia team Cunningham inherited featured Julius Erving, George McGinnis, Doug Collins, Lloyd B. "I lived there that summer," he later recalled. Averaging 14.3 points per game, Cunningham was named to the league's All-Rookie team. After that season, Cunningham jumped from the NBA to the ABA with the Carolina Cougars. "I never had to agonize over that decision all athletes face" about when to retire. No question, the mystique of the superleaper remains. Then he goes into coaching and, percentage-wise, becomes one of the best ever. Midway through the previous season the club had acquired Wilt Chamberlain from the San Francisco Warriors, and in his first full campaign with the Sixers, he helped them to the Eastern Division title. They couldnt, of course, because those things are so much harder than they look. He would get up in the air and spread those wings, hed be swoopin. Home Depot Is Selling A Giant 89-Pound Crab Statue For $1,500. Javascript is required for the selection of a player. In his first playoff appearance, he led the Sixers to a 4-game sweep against the Knicks,[12] before bowing down to the Bullets in six games. He was All-ACC, the ACC Player of the Year, and an All-American in college, later named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team honoring the fifty best players in Atlantic Coast Conference history. I never had to agonize over that decision all athletes face.. He was a No. He would replace the injured and aging Luke Jackson as the starting power forward of the team, and averaged 24.8 points per game and 12.8 rebounds per game during the 196869 season while leading the 76ers to 55 wins.
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