The greatest leaper I ever saw was Jackie. Known as "The Kangaroo Kid," Billy Cunningham was a high-flying scorer who won an NBA title as a player and coach with the 76ers. Joey averaged 19.5 points at Southern Idaho and led the team to a national junior college title. Cunningham played with visible enthusiasm. In the far-up Land of Leap, the unit of currency is the dunk. To think that we can thank a bunch of sweaty dancers for this fundamental basketball maneuver. There was a guard from Harlem named Rabbit. David Robinson, future NBA Hall-of-Famer and leader of the San Antonio Spurs, was born in Key We, Chamberlain, Wilt I was right there and it wasnt a foot. In a 14-year professional career studded with superla-tives, Wilt Chamberlain established the, Mikan, George Top 15 NBA Players Who Prove That White Men CAN Jump, The sun even shines on a dog's a** some days. "The beauty part of playing basketball," he once said, "is that your mind is occupied with playing basketball and nothing else, and you're having fun.". City, and a member of the Parade Magazine All-America Team. He cant even walk.. 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. Sura strutted and slammed his stuff in both the 1997 Slam Dunk Competition and the All Star Weekend, and his jumps were recorded to be about 39 inches. Mike Conley, who is 6-2 and a triple jumper, won the Foot Locker Slam Dunk Contest last weekend, with 6-2 Raider receiver Tim Brown finishing third and swimmer Matt Biondi in the top five. The 6-2 product of the Harlem slums could dunk, catch the ball with his opposite hand and dunk it again, all in the same leap. "I never had to agonize over that decision all athletes face" about when to retire. Unlike Thompson, a huge star at North Carolina State, Dr. J kind of sneaked up on the basketball world. Position: billy cunningham vertical jump. He was an NBA champion both as a player (1967) and as a coach (1983). One of the more recent players on this list, Chris Birdman Anderson is known for his celebratory arm flapping and his intriguing tattoos. The most frequent flyers? Until recently, nobody ever tried to keep track of dunks on any league-wide scale. He says it came by accident, that in his early days they often played on dance floors, which were often slippery, so he started jumping to avoid sliding and faceplanting. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. Stand underneath a basketball hoop, a regulation 10-footer. You get it. Its a rush, a thrill, said the Elevator from Decatur. of 6. Cunningham guided the 76ers for eight years, reaching the 200- and 300-victory levels faster than any coach before him. "Cunningham Quits; Loughery Dropped,", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Billy_Cunningham&oldid=1135516255, 3-year letter winner (in his day, freshmen were ineligible for, His number 32 jersey is retired by the Philadelphia 76ers; however, he allowed it to be worn by, This page was last edited on 25 January 2023, at 03:41. Part of Dr. Js legend is the same as the mystique of a gunfighter coming into town, Costas said. When you think about Billys life, it is amazing, former Philadelphia 76er executive and then-Orlando Magic senior executive vice president Pat Williams told New Miami magazine in 1992. That swagger had to come from somewhere. My perception is, with players that rely on their jumping ability, they reach a certain level of competition where their fundamental skills have to kick in, they have to become a basketball player, he said. Then an All-Star. His fame began while he was playing at St. Rose of Lima and later Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn,[1] where he was the MVP in the Brooklyn League in 1961. Thats a mouthful. // Archive 75: Billy Cunningham| 75 Stories: Billy Cunningham. Ive heard stories about Jackie Jackson doing it, but Ive never seen anyone (but himself) come close., Sonny Hill, a Philadelphia leaping legend of the 60s, backs Wilt, saying, The only man thats been to the top, thats Wilt. His departure had a disastrous effect. He holds the second-best regular-season winning percentage in league history of .698 (only Phil Jackson is ahead of him). Thats how much air was between Connaughton and those shiny floorboards at the NBA Combine in 2015. By word of mouth, you would get to know who the best dunkers were, and by the end of the season it was pretty much agreed the best two were a Portland guy named Claude English and me. Then he goes into coaching and, percentage-wise, becomes one of the best ever. "I lived there that summer," he later recalled. Philadelphia won 62 games the next season, but the Celtics upset the 76ers in the playoffs. Do you have a sports website? Find Billy Cunningham 76ers stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. He averaged 24.1 ppg (fourth best in the league) and 6.3 apg (fifth best), leading the Cougars to a 57-27 record, tops in the ABAs Eastern Division. Now an NBA journeyman, Dawkins came into the NBA in 1975, straight out of high school, billed as the center of the future. Jump to navigation Jump to search Billy Cunningham American basketball player and coach. In todays semifinals, folks, well see Gary (Up in the Airy) Coleman vs. Bea (the Flea) Arthur, and Jumpin Johnny Carson vs. Pogo Stick Peter Jennings. He inherited a team of underachievers led by Julius Erving. It's also available for football, hockey and baseball. Skywalker, Helicopter, Elevator, Clyde the Glide, Air Jordan, the Hawk, Rodan, Pogo Joe, Honeycomb, Sidecar, the Big Dipper, the Human Highlight Film, Sky King, Kangaroo Kid. Yes, 44. 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Throughout his life, Cunningham excelled at all aspects of the game he loved. The team finished 42-40 and was bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks. Then theres Jerry Mr. ! [2] At the conclusion of the season he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. These are true royalty: Sir Jamalot, Sir Slam, the Prince of Midair. In his basketball uniform and shoes, with a short, unmeasured run-up, he soared over seven feet. 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. 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. After that season, Cunningham jumped from the NBA to the ABA with the Carolina Cougars. As an owner and commentator, he also made a favorable impression. The Philadelphia 76ers star was a consistent scorer throughout his heyday in the 1960s and '70s. Said Trenkle: He can take the ball with his right hand, go up, put it between his legs and dunk it behind his head with his left hand. It was the Human Highlight Film vs. a Selected Short. He succeeded Gene Shue as head coach of the 24 76ers on November 4, 1977. However, you can take all the sergeant numbers of all the jumping jacks, put the numbers in a manure spreader and sprinkle them on your lawn or garden. Lift up an arm and hop once or twice to get a feel for how far away the rim is. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. 1964 UNC at Duke, tip-off.jpg 1,454 1,750; 377 KB. Hes sought advice from Tim Duncan on how to be a great leader and win with his team. . The 1984-85 season, Cunninghams last as coach, featured the addition of rookie Charles Barkley to the team. Then we ask him to jump and we mark the highest point he touched. As the NBA celebrates it's 75th Anniversary Season, get to know dozens of star players who helped make the NBA what it is today. Ill give you an example. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Theres not room for both of us. The next day Red let Rabbit go. They couldnt, of course, because those things are so much harder than they look. The color barrier and the sex barrier of slam-dunk have fallen: Many white guys and a few women can dunk. Jerry West could get up. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. In warmups, we would always check out the other team and get into little contests with their guys. When they were not taking everything off, the dancing was more alluring. Also, his dunk on Dwight Howard during the 2008 Olympic finals was unreal. They were a winning team the next two seasons but could not repeat as champions, and Cunningham retired after the 19841985 season. He was named Most Valuable Player in the ABA. Joey, standing about eight feet from the shooter, leaped and slapped the shot away. The Cougars' attempt to file an injunction against him was denied in United States District Court on September 24, 1971. Whats unfortunate is that most people regard the great leapers as being only the short guys who could dunk, said the 7-1 1/16 Chamberlain. I have seen everybody, Hill said. Upon his retirement on May 28, 1985,[13] his 454 wins as a head coach were the 12th best in NBA history. The soaring flight of the great leaper is amazing, even to himself. I knew he was right there with me. It was so much air that it tied young Pat for the spot of second-highest vertical leap recorded up to that point. The 1996 dunk competition boasted great ballers like the 76ers Jerry Stackhouse and the Suns Michael Finley, and nobody really expected the Lakers guard to triumph. Upon graduation, his 1,062 rebounds were the best in North Carolina history and he held single-season records for most rebounds (379 in 1964) and rebound average (16.1 in 1963). The Doc won it with a long run, a leap from two inches inside the free throw line and a dramatic, powerful windmill slam. Cunningham could not even crack the starting lineupwhich . During his eight seasons as the coach of the 76ers, Philadelphia won 454 regular season games and lost 196. can arthur get a girlfriend rdr2; cook county jail roster; zip code validation rule in salesforce; first coast security ehub; billy cunningham vertical jump. 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. Billy Cunningham wasn't nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid because he had a pouch. I loved it instantly." Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. As a professional he was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, an NBA All-Star, All-NBA First and Second Team, an ABA All-Star, All-ABA First Team, and the ABA Most Valuable Player. He led Philadelphia to the playoffs in every year as coach, and advanced to the NBA Finals 3 times, in the 197980, 198182 and 198283 seasons. In 1966 Cunningham 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. So maybe his African American genes are a little stronger than his Caucasian ones after all? . [9] In 1996, Cunningham was voted as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as part of the NBA's 50th Anniversary. He is six feet seven inches tall. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Join our linker program. After acquiring the talented Moses Malone for the 19821983 season, Philadelphia won sixty-five regular season games and then the league championship, losing one of thirteen play-off games. The ONLY white man. There have been--and are--very good white jumpers. He was with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers for 17 years . These guys more than held their own in a sport where they were absolutely a minority. Cade Cunningham has a vertical jump of 41 inches. If accurate, that would have put him as the 10th-highest max vertical leaper (not standing, but with a short running start) in the NBA Draft, just behind Grayson Allen's number of 40.5 inches. We should be glad he doesnt demand his own useum. There is a tavern called the Corner Club, in Moscow, Ida. White is a regular at Hawk games and a fan of Wilkins. Since his slamming days in the NBA, hes continued with the sport as a scout, director, analyst, commentator, and even vice president of player personnel. The next season, Philly plummeted to 30-52 and missed the postseason and Cunningham (23.3 ppg, 12.2 rpg) was in the last of his four All-Star years. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. And there was a dog. I won the unofficial NBA slam dunk title that season, said White, who now sells heavy equipment in Georgia. Earl Manigault was another fabulous flyer off the Eastern blacktop in the late 50s and early 60s. Not only could he dunk, but he had a serious white boy swagger. Ridiculous, but it has been done, by a kid youve probably never heard of, unless you started reading this story at the end. Despite his Caucasian genetic setbacks, he shot up an unbelievable 41.5 inches at the NBA Draft Combine in 2014. Sunday Nights with Bill Cunningham can be heard every Sunday on over 300 radio stations across the United States. Dolph Schayes is an icon in Philadelphia 76ers lore and was one of the NBA's first stars as well. Jackie took off, jumped over Normans head and dunked the ball.. A fabulous collegian and pro player Cunningham shot to stardom when he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1966. The obvious question is, why didnt more of these guys play in the NBA? Yes, he married a former judge. Rosters Cut,", "1978 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals - New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers", Goldaper, Sam.
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