Jerry West could get up. [8] During his tenure, the team featured Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, Moses Malone, and Julius Erving. I was phoning the Charlotte Hornets to reach David (Skywalker) Thompson, who now works in the teams front office, when a female secretary said: Ive only seen two players who did things that I watched and I didnt believe--David, and Michael Jordan. VIDEO: Giant Space Slingshot In Action. Athletic Club, has worked with most of the great L.A. prep stars of the last two decades. Learn more and register. But the final came down to David Thompson vs. Julius Erving--the Skywalker vs. the Doctor. He didnt just score, he scored OVER people, including all 68 of Plastic Man Stacey Augmon. People swear he cleared it by a foot, said Fred Trenkle, Southern Idahos basketball coach. The greatest leaper I ever saw was Jackie. In his UNC career, he scored 1,709 points (24.8 points per game), and grabbed 1,062 rebounds (15.4 rebounds per game). Actually he was a 62% free throw shooter, which is poor except in comparison to his 51% as a pro. 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. A sample: In Your Face Disgrace, Sexophonic Turbo Delight, Hammer of Thor, and Yo Mamma. Although he had never coached, he was popular in Philadelphia, and his competitiveness, toughness and intelligence seemed right for the job. Cunningham also set a single-game North Carolina record with 48 points against Tulane on December 10, 1964. American basketball player Also, his dunk on Dwight Howard during the 2008 Olympic finals was unreal. Instant green. On December 20, 1970, Cunningham scored 31 points and grabbed a career-high 27 rebounds en route to a 134132 road win over the Portland Trail Blazers. A few of the big-time leapers did make it--Jumpin Johnny Green, Pogo Joe Caldwell and Tommy (the Hawk) Hawkins, who was a Laker rookie when the team moved to Los Angeles in 1960. Its unbelievable. Effortless, absolutely effortless.. Connie Hawkins, another of the elite leapers of that era, was blackballed from the NBA because of involvement with gamblers when he was in college. He was a tough, intense, competitive player who used his intelligence as much as his physical talents. In 1967, he teamed with fellow Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Hal Greer to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA title. 75 Stories | Billy Cunningham - YouTube 1943 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,. Billy Cunningham Wiki, Biography, Age, Career, Relationship, Net Worth I told him Id read he had a 44. It is near the University of Idaho campus, where the legendary Gus Johnson once played. For three days, Rabbit put on a show like theyve never seen before. can arthur get a girlfriend rdr2; cook county jail roster; zip code validation rule in salesforce; first coast security ehub; billy cunningham vertical jump. His daddy was also a professional ball player, which means his skill and confidence are ate least somewhat genetic. Billy Cunningham attended Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, New York and UNC. 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. It was so much air that it tied young Pat for the spot of second-highest vertical leap recorded up to that point. Not only could he walk, but he was also an All-ACC selection three times and a two-time All-American. I dont believe anyone has ever done it. Some nights Id scare myself.. So maybe his African American genes are a little stronger than his Caucasian ones after all? Herb White was moved to write a poem about an eagle that had lost its ability to soar. Billy Cunningham averaged 21.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. He had wide shoulders--he was built like Orlando (Woolridge), 6-7 or 6-8. You get it. The Hawks favorite flight story, like many stories of that era, features Chamberlain as a foil. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. Find out more. All rights reserved. Thats about half the height of Michael Jordan. Injuries limited Cunningham to only 32 games in 1973-74, but he still averaged 20.5 ppg. Jackie took off, jumped over Normans head and dunked the ball.. His show was not heard during the summer months, when WLW broadcasts Cincinnati Reds baseball games. After that season, Cunningham jumped from the NBA to the ABA with the Carolina Cougars. In 1976-77, the season before Cunningham took the helm, the Sixers reached The Finals, only to fall to the Portland Trail Blazers. In 1968-69, Cunningham broke loose, scoring 24.8 ppg and recording 12.8 rpg while earning his first of four consecutive All-Star appearances and the first of three successive berths on the All-NBA First Team. why did michael jackson wrote heal the world; lionel richie las vegas 2022 Some have called the team the greatest of all time. "Cunningham, William John ("Billy") "I don't know anything he has done that hasn't worked," said the Orlando, Florida, executive Pat Williams. Thats a white head, remember. News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. We ask the player to stand next to a wall, flat-footed, one arm stretched to its maximum, and mark the apex of his fingers. William John Cunningham (born June 3, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid for his leaping and record-setting rebounding abilities. At halftime of one Southern Idaho game, Joey was pursuaded to give a brief high-jump demonstration. But listen to Wilt. Trenkle had heard of the Gus Johnson nail, so when the Southern Idaho team was passing through Moscow on a trip, he ordered the bus driver to stop outside the Corner Club, and he took Joey inside. billy cunningham vertical jump. The Cougars had finished last the previous season, but with Brown and Cunningham inspiring the team, the Cougars finished first. Patterson, who recently resigned as Arizona States coach, said that Johnson is really an impact player, but not consistently good and solid. Cunningham again led the team in scoring in 1970-71, ranking ninth in the NBA with 23.0 ppg. After that season, he earned the first of what would be three straight All-NBA First Team selections. Cunningham was part of a group that helped to secure an NBA franchise for Miami in the late 1980s. In a way the injury made things easy for me, he added. Marcus Allen was born on March 26, 1960, to Harold and Gwen Allen in San Diego, CA. 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. Its even been called hellicious.. He played circles around a guy named Robert Cousy. Bill Cunningham (talk show host) - Wikipedia The white guys listed below are heroes of the basketball world. Free, Darryl Dawkins and Bobby Jones. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Hes one of only a handful of white guys to even make it to the Slam Dunk Competition, and hes rumoured to have reached a vertical jump of 39 inches. The other measurement of leap is the money exchange at the top of the backboard, which is exactly 13 feet above the floor and three feet above the rim. The Kangaroo Kid, Kang, Billy C are nicknames for Billy Cunningham. The single-game high was eight, by Drexler, against the Lakers. Find Billy Cunningham 76ers stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. An influential figure on the game at large, Julius Erving won a 1983 NBA title in Philadelphia and was the face of the ABA as well. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. He spent a total of 17 seasons with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers (nine as player, eight as coach), and two seasons as a player with the Carolina Cougars of the ABA. I got fired up and did a 360 dunk. Some of the guys started dunking. The Philadelphia team Cunningham inherited featured Julius Erving, George McGinnis, Doug Collins, Lloyd B. Hes sought advice from Tim Duncan on how to be a great leader and win with his team. It was legendary, however, and cemented young Majerle as one of the best white dunkers of all time. With the exception of Chamberlain, Dr. J was the first superleaper who was also a superstar NBA player, and the first big-time player to exploit the dunk as an art form at the pro level. The man waits and waits for Jackie to start coming down, but waits too long. Judging by a still shot the DukeMBB videographer took during the testing, Williamson cleared a vertical leap mark of 40 inches. High Griffinition Blake joined the Oklahoma Sooners and became one of their most impressive players of all time. Thats a mouthful. The following season, the Sixers finished behind Boston in the standings and were upset by the New Jersey Nets in the first round. These are true royalty: Sir Jamalot, Sir Slam, the Prince of Midair. The schools former coach, Frank McGuire, was the one who had recruited Cunningham, which left Smith with a prize recruit he had never seen. Note that this is not the official NBA measurement. billy cunningham vertical jump - polucon.com billy cunningham vertical jump - ingenioemprendedor.com Dawkins claimed to have come from the planet Lovetron, he called himself Chocolate Thunder and Zandokan the Mad Dunker, and he named his dunks. Professional football player Finally he did a 360, one handed. billy cunningham vertical jump. He was called the Kangaroo Kid for his prodigious leaping ability. One boy did dunks of a monster nature, so they named him after the only monster they knew that could fly--Rodan. Every time Gus slam-dunked at home, the recorded sound of a rifle shot would whistle through the arena. The soaring flight of the great leaper is amazing, even to himself. Could this be Gods way of telling us its time to raise the hoop? He is still the winningest coach in Sixers history. In fact, he made so much of an impact that his NBA departure in 2012 made heads spin, and rumours that he might return to the US last year were eagerly believed. The college boys are no doubt wide eyed and gape-mouthed when they meet this coach for the first time. Cunningham then went to the University of North Carolina, where he excelled. There was a Philadelphia boy, Sonny Hill, about 5-10 (actually 5-9), he was the first guy that size I ever saw dunk. In 1965 Cunningham graduated from UNC and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft. home/away, monthly, etc More Billy Cunningham Basketball Reference pages, Compare Billy Cunningham to other players. Julius, Gus (Johnson), Pogo Joe Caldwell. Boston kept Philadelphia out of The 1981 Finals, but the Sixers roared back to the 1982 before falling to the Lakers again. My mother has a bar here in southern Idaho, and shes got a nail where Joey touched, at 11-9 1/2.. I was a good free throw shooter in college.. Not too shabby at all, right? 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. During his eight seasons as the coach of the 76ers, Philadelphia won 454 regular season games and lost 196. He had a baseball cap on, and he turned the bill sideways. I also think, in Joeys case, he gets up so high it hurts his shooting technique., Clarke said: When other players were shooting jump shots in their back yards, Joey was practicing dunks.. Stanfords 6-4 Todd Lichti is a big-time leaper, regardless of race, creed or color. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. As a child he wa, https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/cunningham-william-john-billy. billy cunningham vertical jump - a portrait of the artist as filipino - a portrait of the artist as filipino - That Feb. 8, the ABA trotted out its five best slammers. Basketball was just a game they played for fun. Its like walking on air. In 1996 he was voted one of the top fifty players at the NBA's fiftieth anniversary. This guy that was also selected for the MLB draft, spent time with the Orioles, and pitched an impressive 96 mph. In our museum of hoop flight, there is a special wing for the charter members, the dinosaurs of dunk. Billy Cunningham was born on June 3, 1943. Select from premium Billy Cunningham 76ers of the highest quality. Billy Cunningham. Close to the superleaper class in Kupchaks book, but a shade short, are Charles Barkley, Larry Nance, Orlando Woolridge, Roy Hinson, Tom Chambers and Akeem Olajuwon. Stanford's 6-4 Todd Lichti is a big-time leaper, regardless of race, creed or color. The new generation of jumpers, ushered in by Julius Erving, has pushed the dunk to new artistic heights. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Jones, a noted defensive terror. 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. A lot of young men soar into the NBA but are quickly weighted down by injuries and the 82-game grind, such as Darrell (Dr. Dunkenstein) Griffith of the Utah Jazz. 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. Theres no greater feeling than going up in a crowd, over guys a foot taller., Tommy (the Hawk) Hawkins said: If you can think about Peter Pan, thats the feeling. 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. And he made it to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with a career that reads like a how-to book for legends. After this historic 2015 event, Twitter lit up with the hashtag #WhiteMenCanJump (the up in lit up is so well placed, right?). Billy Cunningham was inducted to the Hall of Fame as a Player in 1986 (Full List) They were trying to touch the top of the board, Nissalke said. One expert, Mitch Kupchak, the Lakers assistant general manager, was asked to name the games bona fide super leapers. He was all but unknown at the University of Massachusetts, then played five seasons in the semi-secret ABA. The rim was two inches low. The team finished 42-40 and was bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks. This is where we get into sword-and-stone mythology. Jackie Jacksons all-around game, by most accounts, was only fair. His standing vertical was 37.5 inches. The Globies listed him at 6-5, but Sonny Hill swears Jackie was 6-3, tops. He spent a total of 17 seasons with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers (nine as player, eight as coach), and two seasons as a player with the Carolina Cougars of the ABA. Data Provided By snoop dogg zodiac chart New Lab; kaplan children's furniture; is there quicksand in georgia; Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Family (1) Overview (3) Born: June 3, 1943 in New York, USA: Birth Name: William John Cunningham: Height: 6' 7" (2.01 m) Mini Bio (1) William John "Billy" Cunningham was born on June 3, 1943. My sergeant was higher than Jordans. He was finished as a player. If the Land of Leap had a national holiday, it would be Feb. 8, the anniversary of the legendary 1976 ABA All-Star games first--and last--slam dunk contest. Its almost like you were floating, like there was no such thing as gravity. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Left, Born: 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. Why not simply whip out a tape measure and measure the leapers leaps, take the guesswork out of whos the greatest? His list of honors continued in 1986 when he was elected to the Hall of Fame, in 1990 when he was one of the 10 initial inductees to the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame and in 1996, he was named to the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Pretty darn safe. He was a high school superstar. That said, you can see his leaping ability when he takes off. And he played it constantly. What happens when you put stilts on kangaroo? "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.". No man, I dont believe, has been up that far., With Chamberlain over 50--years of age, not points per game--Nissalke feels safe in saying, That would be the ultimate challenge: Bet any amount of money, and you wouldnt find anyone who could come close to the top of the board.. Note, this is done in an automated way, so we apologize for any errors, & please. As a freshman he went out for the track team, worked out a total of 10 hours, then high-jumped 7-3 7/8. Billy Cunningham College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com William John "Billy" Cunningham was born on June 3, 1943. That swagger had to come from somewhere. 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. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. 22 Feb. 2023 . And despite the proliferation of dunkers, there is a very elite group of leapers. billy cunningham vertical jump - quraneducator.com Watch even half of any of his highlight reels and youll understand why he made this list. 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. 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. inBrooklyn,New York Current Grand Canyon Antelopes coach and the Phoenix Suns favourite former shooting guard/small forward is an NBA All Star, an Olympian, and World Team member. 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. Tom Nissalke, an assistant coach at Milwaukee when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar came into the league, and later head coach of the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets, says he always had his players measured, and the best sergeant he ever saw was a 35, by Darrell Griffith as a rookie. https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/cunningham-william-john-billy, "Cunningham, William John ("Billy") If they play the game far above the rim, it is because they are tall. Dolph Schayes is an icon in Philadelphia 76ers lore and was one of the NBA's first stars as well. One explanation for the reverence accorded the big jumpers is offered by psychologist-sportscaster Bob Costas, who once did play-by-play for the Spirit of St. Louis, a team in the now-defunct American Basketball Assn., where every game was a jam-boree. Clutch West, with his awe-inspiring 60-foot shot in the 1970 NBA Final. Cunningham was a member of the powerful 1967 Sixers championship team, which also featured Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Chet Walker, and Luke Jackson. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame :: Billy Cunningham Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. He also became an NBA broadcaster on national television and later a part-owner of the Miami Heat. With Maurice Cheeks and Lionel Hollins adding vitality to the backcourt, the Sixers roared to a 59-23 record in the 1979-80 regular season and then defeated favored Boston with rookie sensation Larry Bird in the Eastern Conference finals. People think, mistakenly in most cases, that they could hit a baseball, Costas says. In 1962, Johnson jumped and touched a spot high on the wall, and a nail was driven into the spot to commemorate the unbelievable leap. Throughout his life, Cunningham excelled at all aspects of the game he loved. He would perform a reverse dunk-dunk with two balls. Now they take everything off and it takes a lot more to get people excited.. It's like walking on air. As a sophomore, with as little work, he improved to 7-5 7/8. When Cunningham got off the bus in Chapel Hill in the fall of 1961, he was all skin and bones, a freckle-faced redhead with a clumsy, pigeon-toed gait. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. They drove a new nail in for Joey, measured it at 11-7 1/2. Dont send letters, leapers. Chris Wallace, the college talent scout, said: I dont believe measurements. If we were to honor dunkers as we honor actors, Doc would be given a statuette for his body of work. At the 1991 Slam Dunk Competition he came in third. You cant accomplish that feat unless youve got some serious springs in your heels! In 1987, Cunningham replaced Tom Heinsohn as the lead color commentator (alongside play-by-play man Dick Stockton) for CBS' NBA telecasts. Born: June 3, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York us College: UNC High School: Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, New York Draft: Philadelphia 76ers, 1st round (7th pick, 7th overall), 1965 NBA Draft Somebody done gotcha. But man, that was sweet music. These are two very, very different kinds of feathered friends. Bill Cunningham | Premiere Networks These are professional men: Dr. J, Dr. Dunkenstein, Dr. Jam. Cunningham led the league in steals with 216 and was fourth in scoring with a 24.1 points-per-game average. In the 2005 NBA pre-draft camp he gained 34.5 inches of air. Though he portrayed a large woman in "You have to Walk it like you talk it or You'll Lose that Beat" (1971), he is best known as an American former professional basketball player and coach. His colourful tattoos and hairstyles are about as famous as his skills too, with hairdos including mohawks, spikes, and shoulder-length shag. Not only could he dunk, but he had a serious white boy swagger. Cunningham began his second basketball career on Nov. 4, 1977, when he was hired to replace Gene Shue at the Sixers helm. His shooting skills may be what he is best remembered for, but his vertical leaps were nothing to sneeze at: he made 28 inches on more than one occasion. Its a rush, a thrill, said the Elevator from Decatur. Why isnt this guy in the hall of fame yet? When Joey was a high school senior, Clarke took his Watts Magicians to Mesa, Ariz., for a prep tournament. Lift up an arm and hop once or twice to get a feel for how far away the rim is. The Philadelphia 76ers selected Cunningham in the first round of the 1965 NBA Draft, figuring the 6-foot-6 bony and mobile player would be a guard. Pregame warmups were his showtime. I was right there and it wasnt a foot. Jay Norman, an outstanding defensive player, went into his defensive stance at the foul line. Who would he share a wing with? A lot of great leapers dont bother to perfect those skills, because they are treated with such awe.