RIP Wes Unseld

[Carnac]

ESPN's SportsCenter reports that NBA Hall of Famer Wes Unseld (The chairman of the boards) died Tuesday morning at age 74. His family said he had many health issues, most recently pneumonia. He helped the Washington Bullets franchise (now the Washington Wizards) win its only league championship in 1978.

A five-time All-Star as a player, he coached the Bullets from 1988-94. He was 1 of only 2 NBA players to win MVP & ROY in the same season (Wilt Chamberlain).

Hall of Famer, former MVP Wes Unseld dies at 74

Former Washington Bullets player and coach Wes Unseld died Tuesday morning at age 74, according to his family.

www.espn.com

RIP Wes Unseld, you will be remembered and missed.

 

[chrissaran]

Classic matchups Knicks vs Bullets: Reed vs Unseld, Frazier vs Monroe, Barnett vs Carter , Bradley vs Marin, DeBusschere vs Johnson. Always tough games in the regular season and in the playoffs. Incredible teams who were incredibly talented.

 

[Kurebeach5]

Wes Unseld battled Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Nate Thurmond and other tall powerful centers of the day while being just 6'6 1/4. He also battled Willis Reed but having stood next to Willis while he was coaching Creighton and recruiting one of our players, he isn't much bigger !! Wes also had the quickest outlet pass known to the NBA. A friend of mine went to Louisville with him and said he was a truly outstanding gentleman.

 

[Boreifs]

An amazing player on an amazing team. Those Bullets-Knicks games of the early 70s were Basketball at its best.

 

[KY Card Fan]

I started at Louisville in 1966 (Unseld's junior year). I never missed a home game. Back in those ancient times, students sat at mid-court. Hard to believe, but Louisville didn't come close to selling out the arena on a season ticket basis until the late 1970s when Darrel Griffith began playing. I'd get to Freedom Hall at 5:30 for an 8:00 game, and was usually among the first 20 or so students in line.

Many great memories of Unseld. I recall a Saturday afternoon MVC conference game - Louisville vs. Bradley. Unseld vs. Joe Allen. Two of the best 6-7 centers you'll ever see.

But my most enduring memory was during Unseld's senior season. Louisville played on the road (can't recall the opponent) and Unseld cut his hand on the backboard. Team won anyway. Two friends and I went to the airport and met the team at something like 2AM or 3AM. Unseld came up to each of us and thanked us for coming out. He was a better human being than he was a basketball player.

 

[oldude]

At 6’6”, Unseld’s ability to dominate against much bigger NBA posts was absolutely incredible. I don’t know that I have ever seen another player more adept at pulling down a defensive rebound and firing an outlet pass than Unseld. He was a pleasure to watch.

 

[oldhusky]

At 6’6”, Unseld’s ability to dominate against much bigger NBA posts was absolutely incredible. I don’t know that I have ever seen another player more adept at pulling down a defensive rebound and firing an outlet pass than Unseld. He was a pleasure to watch.

Agreed, possibly the best outlet passer ever!

 

[msf22b]

I still remember people running into him with (severe) deleterious effect.
He set a mean pick...

 

[Steelerone]

One of my all time favorite players. I'm not sure anyone who has ever played professional basketball has gotten more out of what talent they had. And as physical as he played it was always within the rules. He was a prime example of the player who made everyone around them better.

 

[Checkmate 2.0]

Agreed, possibly the best outlet passer ever!

rumor is he could grab a rebound and throw a two-handed outlet pass off the opposite backboard.... in practice

 

[Charliebball]

Classic matchups Knicks vs Bullets: Reed vs Unseld, Frazier vs Monroe, Barnett vs Carter , Bradley vs Marin, DeBusschere vs Johnson. Always tough games in the regular season and in the playoffs. Incredible teams who were incredibly talented.

I remember Unseld as a height deprived but a nasty wide body rebounding machine.............some of the most classic, competitive basketball ever played........the battles between Frazier vs Monroe were epic..........

 

[donalddoowop]

In the 60's, I used to listen at night when the radio stations in St. Louis would leave the air at dusk, trying to pick up basketball games in other states. One night I picked up a broadcast from Kentucky and the boys high school state championship had just ended. The announcer was talking to one of the University of Kentucky's assistant coaches who said he hoped "Kentucky does not integrate a year too late". It did not matter because Unseld said he wanted to attend Louisville. I was looking forward to seeing him play on television and was very impressed when I did. This is a little bit OT but I also remember listening to an out of town broadcast of a high school championship and the talk was about a player named Simmie Hill and how good he was. Does anyone remember him and the school and state in which he played? He was supposed to be super but I never found out what happened to him.

 

[Carnac]

Agreed, possibly the best outlet passer ever!

Many of the players in the NBA at that time had nick names. Well, somehow he was tabbed "the chairman of the boards" because of his ability to rebound, and control the paint. I was a post player in college. I was so impressed with Unseld and his ability to rebound and throw long accurate outlet passes, that I tried to pattern my style of play after his. I was moderately successful.

The most difficult thing I saw him do and tried desperately to emulate was to grab a rebound off the board, twist and throw an outlet pass to start a fast break while still in the air. I even went so far as to wear the same jersey number.

I loved watching him play, and paid particular attention to his defensive tactics, as he at 6'7", defended players 5-6 inches taller. I learned more about playing the position from him than my coaches (none of whom were ever post players). He was a good one.

 

[Jingo]

Luved that team!: Wes, Pearl, Kevin, Jack something - so exciting!

Gr8 matchups w/ the Knicks, Marv Albert on radio .. when Pearl got the ball, I just tensed up, even Frazier couldn't stop him

IMO the Pearl wuz the greatest offensive player in history altho not blessed w/ great speed nor hops - he was PURE MAGIC!

Iverson is a close 2nd with a totally different game from Earl's, eh?

Too bad the Pearl toned down his game when he joined the Knicks, it was disappointing

 

[BlueDolphin]

Too bad the Pearl toned down his game when he joined the Knicks, it was disappointing

Yeah, too bad they won a championship.

 

[Jingo]

Yeah, too bad they won a championship.

Winning [or losing] a title is not what i m talking about .. get it?

 

[Kurebeach5]

Luved that team!: Wes, Pearl, Kevin, Jack something - so exciting!

Gr8 matchups w/ the Knicks, Marv Albert on radio .. when Pearl got the ball, I just tensed up, even Frazier couldn't stop him

IMO the Pearl wuz the greatest offensive player in history altho not blessed w/ great speed nor hops - he was PURE MAGIC!

Iverson is a close 2nd with a totally different game from Earl's, eh?

Too bad the Pearl toned down his game when he joined the Knicks, it was disappointing

Jack Marin

 

[Jingo]

Jack Marin

right .. Jack Marin..

 

[MilfordHusky]

Don't forget Phil Chenier. He had the Azzi Fudd jump shot.

 

[bleeckerhusky]

Although I was fortunate to see the great Knick teams play in person a few times, I think that the only time that I got to see Wes Unseld was at the 1968 Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden, where my alma mater, Columbia University, managed to upset #2 ranked Louisville in the semi-final game. In addition to Unseld, Louisville had Butch Beard, but they were no match for Jim McMillan, Dave Newmark, Heyward Dotson, Roger Walaszek and Bruce Metz.

 

[Jingo]

Although I was fortunate to see the great Knick teams play in person a few times, I think that the only time that I got to see Wes Unseld was at the 1968 Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden, where my alma mater, Columbia University, managed to upset #2 ranked Louisville in the semi-final game. In addition to Unseld, Louisville had Butch Beard, but they were no match for Jim McMillan, Dave Newmark, Heyward Dotson, Roger Walaszek and Bruce Metz.

Although I was fortunate to see the great Knick teams play in person a few times, I think that the only time that I got to see Wes Unseld was at the 1968 Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden, where my alma mater, Columbia University, managed to upset #2 ranked Louisville in the semi-final game. In addition to Unseld, Louisville had Butch Beard, but they were no match for Jim McMillan, Dave Newmark, Heyward Dotson, Roger Walaszek and Bruce Metz.

What a gr8 Columbia squad! .. how far did they go in the NCAA tourney? that was one of Alcindor's years, eh?

 

[oldude]

Although I was fortunate to see the great Knick teams play in person a few times, I think that the only time that I got to see Wes Unseld was at the 1968 Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden, where my alma mater, Columbia University, managed to upset #2 ranked Louisville in the semi-final game. In addition to Unseld, Louisville had Butch Beard, but they were no match for Jim McMillan, Dave Newmark, Heyward Dotson, Roger Walaszek and Bruce Metz.

That great CU team was coached by legendary HC Jack Rohan. They used to play in the “ancient” University Gym, that was replaced as the varsity basketball arena in 1974 with the new Levien Gymnasium. The ‘68 Lions ended up ranked 6th in the nation. University Gym is still around for intramurals and pickup ball.

 

[VAUConnFan]

I first saw Wes Unseld play at the old Garden in the ECAC Holiday Basketball tournament in 1967 during his senior year at Louisville. When he came down with a rebound, the reverberating sound throughout the cavernous old arena was like an earthquake. He and Butch Beard were quite the tandem. Little else is remembered from that long ago experience except the play of Unseld and Beard.

It surprises me to this day how effective he was in the middle at 6-7.

 

[VAUConnFan]

That great CU team was coached by legendary HC Jack Rohan. They used to play in the “ancient” University Gym, that was replaced as the varsity basketball arena in 1974 with the new Levien Gymnasium. The ‘68 Lions ended up ranked 6th in the nation. University Gym is still around for intramurals and pickup ball.

Columbia had a couple of outstanding years back in the 60s with McMillan and Dotson; A lot of fun to watcvh
Dotson went on to become a Rhodes scholar, McMillan had some fantastic years with the Lakers. I was in College Park at Cole Field House(then considered a large college basketball arena. It was at Cole Field House where the legendary game between Kentucky and Texas Western took place two years earlier)in 1968 when Columbia beat La Salle in the NCAA Tournament. I was there ostensibly to see St Johns play Davidson for the second time that season. A great doubleheader of college basketball. Columbia advanced and had a very good chance to beat a very good Davidson team coached by Lefty Driesell. Had Columbia won that game, they would have faced a North Carolina team they could have beaten in 1968. Charles Scott in his sophomore season had yet to fully emerge for the Tar Heels.
My favorite two Columbia basketball players all time, though, were Larry Gordon and Ronnie Boyd.

One would be hard pressed to beat those old college gymnasiums for atmosphere. Home court advantage was built into the architecture.

 

[Jackcatscal]

I once walked past Wes Unseld in a hotel lobby in Marina del Rey, CA. Top to bottom, side to side, and front to back, he was the biggest person I’d ever been that close to.

BTW, the posts above all spelled the great Columbia and Knicks player Jim McMillian’s name wrong. But it was pronounced McMillan.