Joe Fulks (KY) and Anna Makurat (Poland)

[winlots]

"Jumpin Joe" Fulks and the original Philadelphia Warriors will be remembered by some of you old timers who followed the groundbreaking days of pro ball. My recollections of him have less to do with his jumping than with his silky smoothness. Surely he was among the pioneers of of the jump shot, which overtook the two handed "set shot" in the early days.
Fulks was a high scorer, and better yet, he was a WWII Marine who left the mountains and Murray State to help defend our nation. Appalachian born myself, he was an early hero of mine when I left the mountains for the Philly Burbs.. And, though he needed a raft of shots to put up his great scoring totals (all before the days of "the three" of course,) he was a record setting scorer.
His link to Anna? A certain smoothness in his game, which can readily be observed in Anna's play. She has that same smoothness. Hey, "Our Girls" are already making up dances and gestures to honor her underhand layups and net-snapping long shots.
Could be records in her future that might parallel those set by "Jumpin Joe" himself. Surely both play a smooth game.

 

[winlots]

Do any of you who enjoyed this post remember the process by which players were selected by teams? I have no recall on the process, but I do know that, Fulks being an exception, the majority of the squad played their college ball at Philly area schools. Around that era were guys like George Senesky, Howie Dalmar, Matty Goukas, big Art Hillhouse, etc. almost all of whom were from schools like Temple, St. Joe, Penn, Seems like area players had some kind of priority? Perhaps the league brass figured that fans would want to follow the LOCAL college stars into the pro ranks. ??

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Do any of you who enjoyed this post remember the process by which players were selected by teams? I have no recall on the process, but I do know that, Fulks being an exception, the majority of the squad played their college ball at Philly area schools. Around that era were guys like George Senesky, Howie Dalmar, Matty Goukas, big Art Hillhouse, etc. almost all of whom were from schools like Temple, St. Joe, Penn, Seems like area players had some kind of priority? Perhaps the league brass figured that fans would want to follow the LOCAL college stars into the pro ranks. ??

I'm sure someone remembers the process better than I, but I do remember that the Warriors had the rights to draft Wilt Chamberlain because he was from Philly and went to high school at Overbrook in West Phila. Chamberlain played college ball at Kansas so I'm not sure how college affiliation affected team's draft rights.

 

[winlots]

I'm sure someone remembers the process better than I, but I do remember that the Warriors had the rights to draft Wilt Chamberlain because he was from Philly and went to high school at Overbrook in West Phila. Chamberlain played college ball at Kansas so I'm not sure how college affiliation affected team's draft rights.

[/QUOTE } REGISTERED Informative. Thank you. Did you live in and/or play ball in that area"?

 

[Jingo]

Do any of you who enjoyed this post remember the process by which players were selected by teams? I have no recall on the process, but I do know that, Fulks being an exception, the majority of the squad played their college ball at Philly area schools. Around that era were guys like George Senesky, Howie Dalmar, Matty Goukas, big Art Hillhouse, etc. almost all of whom were from schools like Temple, St. Joe, Penn, Seems like area players had some kind of priority? Perhaps the league brass figured that fans would want to follow the LOCAL college stars into the pro ranks. ??

yeah in the early NBA there were "territorial" picks .. that's how the Cincinnati Royals got Oscar Robertson, eh?

 

[Alydar]

And how the Celtics got Bob Cousy. Holy Cross was a Celtic farm team.

 

[Littlemin]

And how the Celtics got Bob Cousy. Holy Cross was a Celtic farm team.

Cousy was actually not a territorial pick; in fact, Red Auerbach wanted no part of him, famously saying after a picking a big rather than Cousy something to the effect of “am I supposed to win or satisfy the local yokels”. Cousy was selected by Tri-City third in the draft that year but they could not agree on salary, wound up with the Chicago team, who folded. He was then put in a dispersal draft with two other players and Boston got him as one of the three teams “picking names out of a hat”. The Celtics were not thrilled when he fell to them but the rest is history. Cousy, but obviously more so Bill Russell, went on to help make Auerbach look like the genius he always proclaimed he was.
The other good fortune for the Celtics building that dynasty was the way they got Russell. Rochester had the first pick that year, St. Louis the second and the Celtics third. Rochester already had Maurice Stokes and Russell had announced that he wanted a signing bonus from whoever drafted him and Rochester did not want to pay that. In addition, the Celtics owner, Walter Brown, owned the Ice Capades, and when the Celtics agreed to giving Rochester the troupe for a show if they didn’t draft Russell, they agreed. St. Louis wanted Ed McCauley, a perennial all-star guard, who was from St. Louis, still lived there and wanted to play there to be near his sick son. When the Celtics threw in Cliff Hagen, St. Louis drafted Russell and traded him to Boston.
I wrote my senior theme in high school on the effect of “good luck” if you will, and the rise of the Celtics was part of the paper. The idea for the paper came to me after hearing the late, great Al McGuire on TV talking about the formula for winning a national championship and stating that in at least one game you have to be “lucky enough to have the last shot go in.”

 

[eebmg]

Let me know when Anna is regularly compared to Luca Doncic.

 

[oldude]

The territorial picks during the early days of the NBA were largely dictated by money, both costs and revenue. At its inception, most NBA teams did not have multi-million dollar budgets to scout college prospects and there certainly weren’t dozens of national games on tv every night. On the revenue side, it was felt that fielding a team with a strong local representation of college or former high school players from the area would increase fan interest and ticket sales.

 

[Steelerone]

Cousy was actually not a territorial pick; in fact, Red Auerbach wanted no part of him, famously saying after a picking a big rather than Cousy something to the effect of “am I supposed to win or satisfy the local yokels”. Cousy was selected by Tri-City third in the draft that year but they could not agree on salary, wound up with the Chicago team, who folded. He was then put in a dispersal draft with two other players and Boston got him as one of the three teams “picking names out of a hat”. The Celtics were not thrilled when he fell to them but the rest is history. Cousy, but obviously more so Bill Russell, went on to help make Auerbach look like the genius he always proclaimed he was.
The other good fortune for the Celtics building that dynasty was the way they got Russell. Rochester had the first pick that year, St. Louis the second and the Celtics third. Rochester already had Maurice Stokes and Russell had announced that he wanted a signing bonus from whoever drafted him and Rochester did not want to pay that. In addition, the Celtics owner, Walter Brown, owned the Ice Capades, and when the Celtics agreed to giving Rochester the troupe for a show if they didn’t draft Russell, they agreed. St. Louis wanted Ed McCauley, a perennial all-star guard, who was from St. Louis, still lived there and wanted to play there to be near his sick son. When the Celtics threw in Cliff Hagen, St. Louis drafted Russell and traded him to Boston.
I wrote my senior theme in high school on the effect of “good luck” if you will, and the rise of the Celtics was part of the paper. The idea for the paper came to me after hearing the late, great Al McGuire on TV talking about the formula for winning a national championship and stating that in at least one game you have to be “lucky enough to have the last shot go in.”

Great post Littlemin. I believe that the main reason St. Louis did not draft Russell was because even at that time the NBA was heavily segregated. Most teams would only carry one black player and I don't recall St. Louis having any. I also think that was one of the reasons Boston was able to get K.C. Jones after he was passed over by many teams. I know that most fans nowadays gush about Jordan, LeBron, and Kiwi but they all pale in comparison of what Russell accomplished. When you look at his record as an Olympian, NBA player and coach there is not even a close second.

 

[winlots]

yeah in the early NBA there were "territorial" picks .. that's how the Cincinnati Royals got Oscar Robertson, eh?

JINGO: Interesting - thanks. Robertson was a great star at all levels. Pretty sure his high school ball was played at Crispus Attucks high, a hot bed of Indiana ball. Sounds like there was a blend of territorial and "open" picks back then? Also, think the ABA preceded the NBA.?

 

[winlots]

Cousy was actually not a territorial pick; in fact, Red Auerbach wanted no part of him, famously saying after a picking a big rather than Cousy something to the effect of “am I supposed to win or satisfy the local yokels”. Cousy was selected by Tri-City third in the draft that year but they could not agree on s

Littlemin - terrific! Encyclopedic knowledge of the times. Fascinating details.

 

[winlots]

Great post Littlemin. I believe that the main reason St. Louis did not draft Russell was because even at that time the NBA was heavily segregated. Most teams would only carry one black player and I don't recall St. Louis having any. I also think that was one of the reasons Boston was able to get K.C. Jones after he was passed over by many teams. I know that most fans nowadays gush about Jordan, LeBron, and Kiwi but they all pale in comparison of what Russell accomplished. When you look at his record as an Olympian, NBA player and coach there is not even a close second.

STEELER: Very interesting historical info. Thanks. Russell was one of a kind for sure in so many ways, right down to that cackle of his. Was able to see him practice several times - at Hellenic College as I recall. Had an article published in a local rag; it was entitled "Sights and sound of Boston Celtic practice" or some such

 

[Littlemin]

JINGO: Interesting - thanks. Robertson was a great star at all levels. Pretty sure his high school ball was played at Crispus Attucks high, a hot bed of Indiana ball. Sounds like there was a blend of territorial and "open" picks back then? Also, think the ABA preceded the NBA.?

Robertson not only played there but was the star player on the team as a sophomore; the punch line, that was the team that lost to Milan, the small school that the movie Hoosiers was based on. The other interesting aspect of that tournament was that while Milan was depicted and will forever go down in history as an ultimate underdog, I have read they were actually very much a known quantity although far from the favorite for the ultimate state title. The same article said the real "small school" story was the team they beat in the semi-finals which was even smaller than they were and a complete surprise to make it that far. But a great story nonetheless and a great Hollywoodified movie.

 

[Jingo]

"Jumpin Joe" Fulks and the original Philadelphia Warriors will be remembered by some of you old timers who followed the groundbreaking days of pro ball. My recollections of him have less to do with his jumping than with his silky smoothness. Surely he was among the pioneers of of the jump shot, which overtook the two handed "set shot" in the early days.
Fulks was a high scorer, and better yet, he was a WWII Marine who left the mountains and Murray State to help defend our nation. Appalachian born myself, he was an early hero of mine when I left the mountains for the Philly Burbs.. And, though he needed a raft of shots to put up his great scoring totals (all before the days of "the three" of course,) he was a record setting scorer.
His link to Anna? A certain smoothness in his game, which can readily be observed in Anna's play. She has that same smoothness. Hey, "Our Girls" are already making up dances and gestures to honor her underhand layups and net-snapping long shots.
Could be records in her future that might parallel those set by "Jumpin Joe" himself. Surely both play a smooth game.

"Jumpin Joe" and Max Zaslofsky were the stars of the BAA just before it became the NBA. Joe was born in Kentucky and gunned down there at an early age. I believe Hank Lusetti is considered to be the originator of the 'jump shot', eh?
And yes, I love the 'bench dancing' when Ania is playing well .. this current UConn team seems to be a good group.

JINGO: Interesting - thanks. Robertson was a great star at all levels. Pretty sure his high school ball was played at Crispus Attucks high, a hot bed of Indiana ball. Sounds like there was a blend of territorial and "open" picks back then? Also, think the ABA preceded the NBA.?

Some trivia: Oscar Robertson was on the Crispus Attucks team that lost to tiny Milan in the Indiana state playoffs, the story that was the basis for the fillum [as they say in Bvooklyn], "Hoosiers" ... eh?

 

[winlots]

Littlemin: even more things that I didn't know with regard to Milan and the Hoosiers movie. Love that movie. Spent a few years in Indiana. Sounds like you spent time out that way too?

 

[Jingo]

JINGO: Interesting - thanks. Robertson was a great star at all levels. Pretty sure his high school ball was played at Crispus Attucks high, a hot bed of Indiana ball. Sounds like there was a blend of territorial and "open" picks back then? Also, think the ABA preceded the NBA.?

 

[Jingo]

The NBA was formed in 1946 in New York as the BAA, changed name to NBA in '49 .. the ABA was formed in 1966 or so...

 

[Jingo]

Littlemin: even more things that I didn't know with regard to Milan and the Hoosiers movie. Love that movie. Spent a few years in Indiana. Sounds like you spent time out that way too?

Nah .. I'm from Noo Yawk.. but I luved that movie too .. esp when Jimmy sez, "I'll make it!"

 

[Littlemin]

Littlemin: even more things that I didn't know with regard to Milan and the Hoosiers movie. Love that movie. Spent a few years in Indiana. Sounds like you spent time out that way too?

My business has afforded me the luxury of traveling pretty much everywhere in the continental U.S. I stopped coaching in the late 80's after getting married in '83, then becoming a father at which point money became a very real priority. While coincidentally, I spent a year commuting between Indianapolis and Jersey, the other thing travel afforded me was a lot of time to indulge my other passion, reading. A solace for spending much time away from family. Anyway, I have always combined my love of basketball and reading to develop a wealth of otherwise useless knowledge. I was born in 1950 so I also have a lot of years of reading behind me, hopefully, a lot more ahead too!

 

[Littlemin]

Great post Littlemin. I believe that the main reason St. Louis did not draft Russell was because even at that time the NBA was heavily segregated. Most teams would only carry one black player and I don't recall St. Louis having any. I also think that was one of the reasons Boston was able to get K.C. Jones after he was passed over by many teams. I know that most fans nowadays gush about Jordan, LeBron, and Kiwi but they all pale in comparison of what Russell accomplished. When you look at his record as an Olympian, NBA player and coach there is not even a close second.

Technically, St. Louis did draft Russell to trade him but point well taken.

 

[cohenzone]

Geez, I thought remembering old NBAers George Yardley and Slater Martin made me old. I suddenly feel like a 20 year old. FWIW, Ania does not remind me of George Yardley. She has way more hair.

 

[Steelerone]

Littlemin: even more things that I didn't know with regard to Milan and the Hoosiers movie. Love that movie. Spent a few years in Indiana. Sounds like you spent time out that way too?

Winlots, some years ago my cousin and his wife came to visit us in Ct. We took them up to Vt. and their entire conversation all the way up revolved around the mountains. They had actually never been out of Indiana before and had not seen them..

 

[winlots]

Winlots, some years ago my cousin and his wife came to visit us in Ct. We took them up to Vt. and their entire conversation all the way up revolved around the mountains. They had actually never been out of Indiana before and had not seen them..

STEELERONE: warm smile here on that. Hailing from the Appalachians, would enjoy taking them on another mountain tour. DIdn't know you were in CT. You go back to Lambert and Ham and Mean Joe and Swan?

 

[Purduke]

Robertson not only played there but was the star player on the team as a sophomore; the punch line, that was the team that lost to Milan, the small school that the movie Hoosiers was based on. The other interesting aspect of that tournament was that while Milan was depicted and will forever go down in history as an ultimate underdog, I have read they were actually very much a known quantity although far from the favorite for the ultimate state title. The same article said the real "small school" story was the team they beat in the semi-finals which was even smaller than they were and a complete surprise to make it that far. But a great story nonetheless and a great Hollywoodified movie.

Just a little tweak for the record, but the "small school" game was, in today's vernacular, actually a "Sweet 16" round game against Montezuma, IN. The Crispus game was the following game, would now be called the Elite 8 round. And how small was Montezuma? Total 4-year enrollment of 79 students.

Think some of the confusion is that the "Sweet 16" round of the tourney in Indiana is referred to as the Semi-State round, so the Montezuma game would have been the semi-finals of the Semi-States.