Who were the most famous players you played with and against?

[Monte]

Saw a thread today where a guy mentioned having Maravich for a teammate. Made me wonder about you other Yarders in that regard. As titled, would be very interested in both teammates and opponents at any level of basketball who later turned out to be really famous . Hey, any other sport as well, while we're at it. Thanks

NBA Hall of Famer, Bob Davies from the old Rochester Royals. After he retired, he traveled the country selling basketball sneakers. He showed up at our high school practice one day. and after selling us shoes, he taught us some new plays and we practiced them with him. I remember him standing far out from the basket and throwing in two handed set shots....that's a hint that it was a long time ago!

 

[bramos]

About 20 years ago I played in a pick up game with Greg Drilling, at the time he was the back up center for the Indiana Pacers.

At 7' 1", he towered over my 5'10" height under the basket, something I'll never forget.

Except Greg spelled his name Dreiling...at Wichita State any way..he coulda changed at Kansas..

 

[PhillyCoach]

Just remembered I played ( and won) a Ping-Pong game against Erik Williams, All Pro Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman. Erik was on my track team at Bartram HS, in Philly (he was an average shot putter.) We were on Bartram's senior class trip to the Pocono's. I was a chaperone and you should have seen Erik Williams ride a horse for the first time in his life.

 

[huskyharry]

Sounds like a OT Thread but I'll jump in. My High School, Patrick Henry High, was in the same district as Helix High in San Diego. I was on the basketball team as a junior and was in the same game with Bill Walton, a senior; soon to be a three time NCAA Champion UCLA Bruin then, NBA Champion Portland Trailblazer, then champion Celtics and finally Basketball Hall of Fame. He was totally dominate back in the day (1970).

Two of my kids went to Patrick Henry

 

[Bayareahusky]

Played pickup and HORSE vs Cliff Robinson at UConn Field House..... Had fun trash talking and telling him he had no game.... had a lot of fun and remember Cliff as fun loving and good natured

 

[Bonpland]

My fault. We affectionately called our teammate Pistol Pete because he played like him and was that devoted. I wish I played with Maravich. When I was at college(I did not play Collegiate basketball) I got to play in pick up games with Randy Smith. He was the best natural athlete I ever saw. Great soccer player as well. I was sad to read of his passing a while back. Nice guy.

I grew up with Randy Smith and played three sports with him. Your description is right on the mark. He was a great natural athlete. He played shortstop on our HS baseball team until walking through the gym while the track team was practicing indoors and walked up to the high jump bar and stepped over six feet. Twenty minutes later he was clearing 6'-6" and we got him to switch sports. In college he cleard 6'-11-1/2" and starred in soccer, basketball and track. He played 17 or 18 seasons in the NBA, was the MVP of the all-star game in the mid seventies, held the record for the most consecutive games played by a pro (later eclipsed) and was about as humble and decent a person as you could find.

When Suffolk County (NY) established a Hall of Fame for high school atletes some years later, they didn't mention his name. My high school coach said about him that "If you handed him a lacrosse stick and spent five minutes explaining the rules, by the end of the day he would be an All-American," and those of us who knew him believed that. I guess that could be said of most great athletes, but I knew and played with him in HS and against him in college.

He lived in Connecticut when he died.

 

[RowdyFan]

I played pool against Margo Dydek and Linsay Whalen at John's Cafe in Mystic when they played for the Mohegan Sun. I also got my butt kicked. Margo could lean over the entire table to hit the billard. Ms. Whalen was just as cocky and confident and REALLY comical. I also had a pint there with Amy Carter when the President and Mrs. Carter were at a commissioning of a submarine in Groton.. The Secret Service Agents left Mrs. Carter's bouquet of flowers for the bartender.

 

[RowdyFan]

Not to brag, but I beat Kevin Gilbride(former NYGiants Coach) at Monopoly when I was a kid. He and his siblings were our babysitters. His Dad and my Dad taught at North Haven together.

 

[geordi]

Played with Wes Bailosuknia and Toby Kimball. Played golf with Olie Kolzig, from the Capitals.

 

[Ouremblem]

I grew up with Randy Smith and played three sports with him. Your description is right on the mark. He was a great natural athlete. He played shortstop on our HS baseball team until walking through the gym while the track team was practicing indoors and walked up to the high jump bar and stepped over six feet. Twenty minutes later he was clearing 6'-6" and we got him to switch sports. In college he cleard 6'-11-1/2" and starred in soccer, basketball and track. He played 17 or 18 seasons in the NBA, was the MVP of the all-star game in the mid seventies, held the record for the most consecutive games played by a pro (later eclipsed) and was about as humble and decent a person as you could find.

When Suffolk County (NY) established a Hall of Fame for high school atletes some years later, they didn't mention his name. My high school coach said about him that "If you handed him a lacrosse stick and spent five minutes explaining the rules, by the end of the day he would be an All-American," and those of us who knew him believed that. I guess that could be said of most great athletes, but I knew and played with him in HS and against him in college.

He lived in Connecticut when he died.

That era had some of the greatest athletes in Long Island history. Toby Knight. Mitch Kupchak. Jamie Franklin. Frank Urso. Jumbo Elliott. A bit earlier Emerson Boozer. The high school Mitch went to, Brentwood, had a graduating class of 2400. Not a typo there, folks. 2400.

 

[boontonbomber]

Showing my age, I pitched against Richie Zisk in youth baseball. Two ABs; struck him out once, then allowed a ground rule double (very short left field line with no fence). Talking about scouting and development, he wasn't the top player on his team; a guy named Larry Pyle was, who never played professionally. Jim Kiick was also on my high school baseball team, although we were on different squads. I transferred schools before getting to play with him. As BoontonBomber stated, Kiick was also a very fine basketball player; had a great corner jumper, his signature shot. (before three-pointers, naturally).

Larry Pyle also was on that team with Zisk that summer, though by that time Zisk was the better hitter, despite being 2 years younger. Pyle went on to become U of Miami's first All American, and actually did play professionally. The Yankees made him their #2 pick , though he never made it beyond AAA. If you played at Boonton then you must have run across the legendary baseball coach, Kieffer Shriner. He and Kiick did not get along.

 

[Bonpland]

That era had some of the greatest athletes in Long Island history. Toby Knight. Mitch Kupchak. Jamie Franklin. Frank Urso. Jumbo Elliott. A bit earlier Emerson Boozer. The high school Mitch went to, Brentwood, had a graduating class of 2400. Not a typo there, folks. 2400.

And of course a little later Boomer quarterbacked East Islip before going on to Maryland.

 

[Waquoit]

I got hacked in the act by Vern Giscombe in an adult league game once. I was proud because it was the one call all game he didn't complain about. Made 1 of 2 from the line.

 

[GiladKatzDeli]

I played pickup with/against Carmelo Anthony after he got back from the 2004 Olympics. He was jacking a lot of 3's - and missing.

 

[Ouremblem]

And of course a little later Boomer quarterbacked East Islip before going on to Maryland.

I had actually heard 2 amazing stories. One was that Randy's leg was so strong he could kick a soccer ball through the soccer goal netting. The other was that in practice one day Boomer threw a football so hard he actually broke his teammate's shoulder pad. Speaking of great all-round Long Island high school athletes, great trivia question. Who led the average points per game record in basketball, and who broke the record? A hint. Both were more famous for other sports they played. I didn't figure it out. The answer was Jimmy Brown held the record until Yaz broke it.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Two of my kids went to Patrick Henry

My two nieces went to Patrick Henry. One was in the same class as future Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Calvin was an awesome baton twirler as well!

World-class. One of the reasons he chose Niagara U. was the opportunity to be the halftime entertainment for the Buffalo Bills.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Not to brag, but I beat Kevin Gilbride(former NYGiants Coach) at Monopoly when I was a kid. He and his siblings were our babysitters. His Dad and my Dad taught at North Haven together.

Not the first and certainly not the last to outwit Kevin Gilbride. Pretty cool story though.

I must say, the Women's board is really showing their age in these responses. Props to the guy from Texas who played Marcus Smart and Julius Randle though. That's awesome.

 

[toadfoot]

In the mid 60's I played high school and American Legion baseball. Not to toot my own horn, but I was a dynamic base stealer, with over 100 stolen bases combined during my senior year of high school and next to last American Legion season without ever being thrown out. Was once timed in 3.6 from home to first. During a game against the Holyoke American Legion team I singled to open the inning against their left-handed starter. The pitcher threw over 7 straight times trying to minimize my lead. On the 8th I went and easily stole second. The Holyoke catcher was named Fran Healy who went on to play 10 seasons for the Royals, Giants and Yankees. My 15 seconds of fame

 

[katiecrum1992]

Not me, but my dad.
When he was in medical school at Wake Forest, he scrimmaged against Muggsy Bogues.

 

[willtalk]

I never ever played in a pick-up game with a famous person, but I once went to a game in a pick up with one.

I actually lied for for the jokes sake. For many years I used to play at a local college gym at least twice a week with a standing group of players. It wasn't an open gym, but we were allowed to bring invites. Often in the summer many athletes transitioning from college to the pro's would come by to stay in shape while they were home. We always played full court. We saw a lot of eventual NFL players show up for a week or two. Can't remember most of off hand, but JD Hill and Derrick Kennard come to mind. Kennard because he was huge but a really nice guy. We had a two last cut NBA players as well but they wouldn't qualify as famous. One guy who was basketball famous was Scotty Brooks, who played for the 76'ers and then coached the Oklahoma Thunder. Ironically I actually don't remember him since it was the summer he was attending the local JC right out of high school. He didn't really stand out so I never noticed the little blond kid other than that he was mentioned a few years later as having played with us. The local college didn't even offer him a scholarship and he ended up going to SDSU. Ironically he later destroyed the school who rejected him with his three point shooting every time they played.

 

[Carnac]

While attending a local junior college during my glory days in the early 70's, I was on the men's basketball team. One year we played the UCLA freshman team. They were affectionately called "The Bru-babes".

Back then, freshmen were not eligible to play on the varsity team. This was also during the period of time when dunking was not allowed in men's college basketball (because of one Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr.......upon leaving college, he later changed his name to Kareem Abdul Jabbar).

He was so dominating during his early years at UCLA, The NCAA (at the behest of many of the div-1 college coaches who cried foul), outlawed dunking during a game (you couldn't dunk in warm-ups either. If caught doing so, the team received a technical foul, the other team shot 2 free throws and was given the ball out of bounds to begin the game). If you dunked during the game, the basket was not allowed, and you received a technical foul.

The dunk was banned from college basketball in 1968-69 season, and it remained outlawed until the 1976-77 season. That is why and when be began to develop the daunted "SKY-HOOK". The NCAA gave him lemons, so he (John Wooden) decided to make lemon-aid.

We stayed for the varsity game. That was the only time I got to see the wizard of Westwood in person.
Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe were the stars of that team. Their opponent, Tulsa, suffered the same fate we did.

Two players on that freshmen team went on to have stellar careers in college and the NBA. You all remember them........Keith Wilkes (later became Jamal Wilkes), and the big red-head....Bill Walton.

Side note.....They killed (kilt) us. They lead by 35 points at the half. That team was undefeated that year. They could only play junior (community) college teams. This was before Walton began to incur any injuries. He did what ever he wanted to that game. We had no one on our team that could even think about stopping him. Our starting center was only 6'4".......... you can see our dilemma. We were doomed from the moment we stepped off the bus.

 

[reno tony]

Earl Anthony in a Pro-Am bowling tournament in 1974. I only bowled one game with him and I beat him. My sports claim to fame. I also passed the ball to Marques Haynes a few times during warm-ups of their game against who knows. The ball rolled toward us a couple times and I threw it back to him from courtside seats. He made the most amazing shot I have ever seen... facing the basket from half-court, with his hands behind his back near his waist, using both hands he threw the ball over his head and hit nothing but net. He had started a team called the Marvelous Magicians, which I can find no record of, and they played at our high school twice.

 

[John Glass]

Chenier too, Kevin Grevy, Kermit Washington and Enis Whatley.

Kermit was a heck of a nice guy, even though he is best know for hitting Rudy T.

 

[CBus13]

I was waiting until after the MLS Cup was over but it wouldn't have matter. But I grew up playing soccer with Wil Trapp. He played up to age groups to play with my team. He played two seasons at Akron then moved on to Pro and plays for the Columbus Crew.

He captained the U-20 National Team against France and has one cap with the senior National team. He's 22.