December Birthdays December 29 Coach Benny Dees is 72 Benny is my buddy and also my former broadcasting partner for six seasons of Toombs County High School football. Of course Benny is better known for being the head coach at Wyoming, New Orleans, VCU and Western Carolina. He also was an assistant at Alabama, Western Kentucky and Georgia Tech. Benny is still coaching at Jeff Davis High School in Hazelhurst, Georgia. Tonight his Yellow Jackets take on coach Tommy Dalley's Appling County Pirates and I will be there. I might even record the play-by-play of the game and place it on this site and I am going to interview the birthday boy for Roundball Coach.  For those who don't know Benny is a great guy. Everybody likes Benny down here in Southeast Georgia. Benny likes to go out to eat with his wife Nancy and he likes to read. And oh yea...Benny is a quote machine. Here is a collection from his past: Benny Dees, former New Orleans basketball coach, on why he was shocked by a 101-76 loss to Alabama: "I'd never been a mercy killing before." Coach Benny Dees of the University of New Orleans, who learned much of his basketball as an Alabama assistant to bright-plaid-favoring Wimp Sanderson: ''I even have a jacket like his, only the batteries are getting a little weak.'' During the pre game introductions at the NCAA regional in Birmingham, Dees's Privateers not only boogied out with the newest rage of low fives but they did it backward. "Long as they play hard, I don't care if they crawl out there," said Dees. BYU assistant athletic trainer Robert Ramos was ejected from a BYU baseball game last week and reprimanded by the Mountain West Conference. That got me thinking about Benny Dees, the head coach of the Wyoming men’s basketball team from 1988 to 1993. He had a shock of unruly white hair and was very volatile. Anyway, Wyoming was at BYU one winter evening in a very hotly contested game. Late in the second half, the official called a technical foul against Wyoming. A packed Marriott Center went wild and Dees was on his feet in an instant raising his hands in the air as if to say, What did we do?? As he walked away to administer the technical foul, the official pointed at the offender, who happened to be a Wyoming trainer. Dees was furious. He pointed at the trainer and then out of the arena, like he was tossing someone out of a baseball game. The trainer slowly got off the bench and walked into the tunnel to the roar of the BYU crowd. It’s still one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen at a sporting event. For an entertaining read check out Curry Kirkpatrick's piece on Benny from back in 1987 when his Wyoming team made the cover of Sports Illustrated.       December 18 Check out Gene Shue's playing hair.  It was alot shorter than his coaching hair.  Gene Shue is 75. When most think of Gene Shue, they think of a big head of hair, in some mod clothes, coaching NBA basketball in the 70’s. But way before all that hair, Shue was a short-haired scoring guard in the NBA. In a recent Roundball Coach interview, Billy Kenville, a teammate with the Pistons, described a different looking Shue.  Audio As a player in college, the 6-foot-2 Shue is considered the first high profile player to play at the University of Maryland. In his senior season in 1953-54 he averaged 22 points and he held the school career scoring record until 1974. In the NBA Shue had some good scoring seasons, especially in 1960-6, with the Pistons, when he averaged 22 points and 6.8 assists feeding teammate and leading scorer, Bailey Howell. As a coach, Shue worked 22 seasons in the NBA and he won 48% of his game. He had some highs and lows. In 1969 he won 57 games in Baltimore coaching Earl Monroe and Wes Unseld and in 1988 he won only 17 coaching Mike Woodson, Michael Cage, Quintin Dailey and Benoit Benjamin. December 17 Albert King is 47.  Poor Albert there were always such high expectations for him. Being the younger brother of Bernard King and a prolific Brooklyn, New York high school player, Albert was on the roundball radar very early. In high school at Fort Hamilton King scored 2071 points, but he never won a championship. He came close in his senior year, when Fort Hamilton lost to Taft in the quarterfinals of the PSAL playoffs. Albert was a two-time All-City performer in his junior and senior seasons and a second-team All-City selection as a sophomore. He was twice named a Parade Magazine All-American and, as a senior, was named a McDonald's All-American and received the Iron Horse Award as the best player in New York City. In college at Maryland, King wound up as the school’s third leading scorer with 2,058 points. He led the Terrapins in scoring in both his junior and senior seasons as Maryland made it to the NCAA Tourney, but the Terps lost in the East Regional Final his junior season and in the second round his senior season. In the NBA, King played on some decent New Jersey Nets teams, but they never advanced past the Eastern Conference semifinals. King played nine years and averaged 12 points per game and his career was over by the age of 32. December 16 Jeff Ruland is 48. I once saw Jeff Ruland play in college. It was Iona at UAB on January 12, 1980. Iona won the game 70-65. The Gaels, at the time, were coached by Jim Valvano and Ruland was the team’s leading scorer. That 1979-80 team went 29-5 and won 17 straight before losing to Georgetown, 74-71, in the NCAA Tourney. That loss to the Hoyas would be the last game at Iona for both Ruland and Valvano. Ruland went into the NBA draft as a junior and Valvano took the North Carolina State job. As a rookie, Ruland led all Division I freshmen in scoring and rebounding, averaging 22.3 points and 12.8 rebounds per game. He led the Gaels to a stellar 69-21 record, including back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Iona was ranked sixth in the country according to Sports Illustrated and defeated eventual national champion Louisville, 77-60, at Madison Square Garden on February 21, 1980. In the NBA Ruland’s 6-foot-10, 250-pound frame was very effective. He scored 22 points with 12 rebounds in his third season in the league with Washington. Unfortunately, that would be the last season he was healthy. For the rest of his career Ruland would have to deal with a bum knee. He even set out five seasons before trying his last comeback. For the past eight seasons, Ruland has been the head coach at Iona, compiling 137 wins, an average of more than 17 wins per season. He has guided the Gaels to three 20-win seasons, three MAAC Championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances.   December 15   Charlie Scott playing in the 1975 NBA All-Star Game. Scott's West team lost to the East 108-102. Scott played in three NBA All-Star Games and two prior in the ABA   Charlie Scott is 57. Charlie was his basketball name, but these days the devoted dad prefers to be called Charles. At 6-foot-6 he was a tough match up for just about any perimeter player. He was too tall for the guards and too fast for the small forwards. That’s why he scored at will in the ABA and NBA, Scott was also a groundbreaker. In 1966, he became the first black scholarship athlete at the University of North Carolina. Scott averaged 22.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for his career. But, when he was a junior and a senior, he was "the man" in the ACC. In 1969 Scott scored 40 points, 29 in the second half, as Carolina beat Duke 85-74 to win the ACC Tourney. Seven days later Scott hit a buzzer-beater that edged Davidson 87-85. In 1970, Scott had 43 in a one-point loss to Wake Forest. He averaged 27 points in his senior season, third-highest mark by a Tar Heel. Lennie Rosenbluth averaged 28.0 and Bob Lewis 27.4. Scott was a member of the gold medal wining USA team at the 1968 Olympics and before he played in the NBA, he spent two seasons in the ABA. Scott led the Virginia Squires in scoring each season with averages of 27 and 33 points per game. In his second season, with the Squires, Scott outscored a rookie, by the name of Julius Erving, by six-points per game. That was the only time, in the ABA, that the Doctor did not lead his team in scoring. Read more about Scott’s career in the NBA. Here   Anthony Mason is 40. How many NBA players have ever appeared in a Woody Allen movie? At least one. Anthony Mason played himself in Allen’s 1998 movie, Celebrity. Mason was both a (bad?) character and a tough player in the NBA. He had a reputation of being a general malcontent and chemistry-killer. Ask George Karl about him. But you can also ask Pat Riley about Mason and the tough-man role that he played with the New York Knicks. Mason was a second round draft choice out of Tennessee State who had a productive career. But first after averaging 28 points and 10 rebounds in his senior season in college, Mason had to play in Turkey and the CBA before getting his big break with the Nets. Mason won the sixth man award and in one season in Charlotte he averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds and for his career he averaged 11 and eight. Mason’s son, Anthony Jr., is a sophomore at St. John’s, He is 6-foot-7, but he isn’t the rebounder that his old man was. He is averaging only five boards a game. That is because Junior likes to shoot 3-pointers and he is the team’s second leading scorer at 12.7. December 13   Kenon vs Walton the 1973 NCAA Championship Game     Larry Kenon is 54. Born in my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. He played his high school ball at Ullman High, which no longer exists. In the 1973 Final Four Kenon had 48 points and 30 rebounds. In the championship game he scored 20 with eight boards. Not a bad performance, but unfortunately for Kenon and his Memphis State Tigers some red headed dude hit 21-of-22 shots and scored 44 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as UCLA beat the Tigers for the title. After averaging 28 points and 25 rebounds his junior season, Kenon bolted for the ABA and the New York Nets. And just like Bill Walton overshadowed him in that championship game, in New York, there was a young guy who could soar just like Kenon. His name Julius Erving. In the two seasons they played together, Erving was the Nets leading scorer both years. The Doc and Special K combined to lead New York to an ABA championship in their first season together. In the 1975-76 season moved on to the San Antonio Spurs and once again there was a big time scorer, with a great nickname, already on site in the Hemisphere Arena. His name George, the “Iceman”, Gervin. Those two played together for five seasons and in each Gervin outscored Kenon, including four seasons in the NBA. In a way, Kenon, was like a Scotty Pippen, always playing a supporting role to a bigger name. December 12   Bob Pettit is 74. Who are the top three rebounders in the history of the NBA. Anybody that knows anything about roundball would guess or know that Wilt Chamberlain (22.9) and Bill Russell (22.5) are one and two in the statistical category of average rebounds per game for a career. But who is number three? A 6-foot-9 string bean named Bob Pettit, who many thought was too thin or frail to play in the NBA. Pettit, who weighed only 200 pounds, made up for his lack of girth with hustle. He averaged 16.2 rebounds per game for 11 seasons and 792 games. In his first six seasons in the NBA Pettit only missed three games. Pettit's basketball career got off to a slow start. He was cut from the varsity basketball team as both a freshman and sophomore, but he made the team as a junior and as a senior he led Baton Rouge High School to the Louisiana state championship. At LSU, Pettit averaged 27.8 points and 14.8 rebounds and was a two-time All-American. He led the Tigers to two SEC titles and a Final Four. In the NBA Pettit was equally successful with the St. Louis Hawks. He scored 50 points against the Boston in 1958 when the St. Louis Hawks defeated the Celtics 110-109 to win the franchise's first and only NBA championship. Pettit, apparently, hustled at all times, even in the All-Star game. In 11 games he averaged 16.2 rebounds. In one All-Star game he scored 28 points and collected 26 rebounds and in another he had 25 points and 27 rebounds. December11               Commissioner Stu Jackson?  Stu Jackson is 51. Might Stu Jackson be the next commissioner of the NBA whe David Stern finally retires? Presently, Jackson is the executive vice president of basketball operations for the league. One of his duties includes penalizing players for on-court misconduct. So he spends a lot of time dealing with Ron Artest and Rasheed Wallace. Jackson has had three short stints as a head coach with the Knicks and Grizzlies and the Wisconsin Badgers. With the Knicks he lasted a season and 15 games and had an above .500 record. With the Grizzlies, pre-Jerry West in Vancouver, he went 6-33. Jackson latest act as VP has been the implementation of the “Respect for the Game” rule. The players don’t like it and the players' association filed an unfair labor practice charge over the rule. Here is Jackson‘s take on the rule, “The goal here is to significantly reduce the amount of player complaining that takes place in our games. The reason we’re doing is because excessive complaining by the players interferes with game play, it’s distracting to the fans, and it conveys a negative impression of our players as well. So, the goal here is, as I mentioned, to reduce that and help our overall game." December 10 Mark Aguirre during the championsip seasons in Detroit  Mark Aguirre is 47.  I once attended a DePaul practice when Aguirre played for the Blue Demons. DePaul was in Birmingham to play UAB and the team worked out at the Civic Center. I remember Aguirre standing practically out of bounds, on the sideline, launching long shots and many went in with a swish. Aguirre was a big time scorer in college and in the pro’s with the Dallas Mavericks. He averaged 24.5 points over three seasons with the Blue Demons. As a freshman in 1978-79, he averaged 24.0 points and led DePaul to the NCAA Final Four, where they lost to a Larry Bird-led Indiana State. With the Mavericks he scored a lot and the team had some very good years, but never won it all. In 1987-88 Aguirre led the team with 25 points per game and the Mavs lost in seven games to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Aguirre didn’t win his first NBA Title until he joined the Pistons. Most in Dallas were happy to see him leave and in Detroit they were wary. Legend has it that Bill Laimbeer straightened Aguirre out at a dinner party. If true, it worked. Instead of scoring 20 or more a game, Aguirre averaged between 14 and 15 points as the Pistons won back-to-back titles. Isiah Thomas said, “When you talk about Mark, there’s no way we would have won two championships in Detroit if Mark Aguirre’s not on that team.” Of course Aguirre now works for Thomas. He is an assistant coach with the Knicks. December 9 Cliff Hagan is 75. Hagan is the rare Hall of Famer who never lead his NBA team in scoring. That is because Hagan spent most of his career playing with the St. Louis Hawks and Bob Pettit. Pettit always topped him in the scoring department. When Hagen averaged 22.9 points, Pettit scored 31.1, Hagan 23.7- Pettit 29.2 and Hagan 24.8-Pettit 26.1. What a scoring duo. Hagan was known for his ability to hit a hook shot and score in bunches. In a game in 1958 he scored 24 in the fourth quarter against Knicks and he scored 40 points in his first game as player-coach of the Dallas Chaparrals of the ABA. Hagan may be best known for being involved in a famous trade. The Boston Celtics traded Hagan, along with Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks for the draft rights to Bill Russell. In 1958 St. Louis beat Boston in six games to win the NBA championship. In 1951 Hagan, a sophomore, played on a national championship team at Kentucky. But the Wildcats would not win another title while Hagan was in Lexington. First there was the points shaving scandal that involved some of Hagan’s teammates and then in 1954 a 25-0 Wildcat team turned down a bid to the NCAA Tourney. Why? Hagan and several other Wildcat players had graduated from school during the basketball season which, at that time, made them ineligible. At Kentucky Hagan averaged 24 points and 13.5 rebounds and once score 51 against Temple. Later in life Hagan was the athletic director at UK and the baseball field is named after him.  Johnny Green is 73.  How many American born NBA players didn’t play high school basketball?Probably, in the history of the league, not too many.  Green, however, is one.  He didn’t start his organized career until he played at Michigan State.  And what a career.  Despite being only 6-foot-5, Jumpin’ Johnny as they called him, collected over 1,000 rebounds (2nd all-time in Michigan State history behind Greg Kelser) in his three year varsity career and he averaged 16.4 per game. Green’s arrival in East Lansing launched a short run of success for the Spartans.  In 1956-57 Michigan State started the season 4-7, but the Spartans got hot and won 10 straight and won their first Big 10 title and advanced to the school’s first Final Four. Two seasons later Green and Michigan State went 19-4 and won a second Big 10 championship and came up one game short of making it back to the Final Four.  Green averaged 18.5 points and 16.6 rebounds for that team.  For his career, Green scored 1,062 points (33rd on the Spartans’ all-time list, 3 points ahead of Magic Johnson) and grabbed 1036 rebounds.  He had some amazing rebounding games amassing 29 against Washington and he also had games where he had 25 and 24 rebounds. Green spent 14 seasons in the NBA and averaged 11.6 points and 8.6 rebounds with a best season of 13 rebounds per game in his third year in the league.   Larry Bird is 50.  What can I tell you about Larry Bird that you probably don't already know? Did you know?   High School   Two games into the junior-varsity season in his sophomore year at Springs Valley High School, Larry breaks his ankle.   As a 6-foot-3 Bird completes his first season on the varsity, averaging 16.0 points, 9.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists and leading Springs Valley to a 19-3 record.   As a 6-foot-7 senior, Bird averages 30.6 points, 20.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists as Springs Valley goes 21-4.   College   Lasted only 24 days at Indiana University First game at Indiana State Bird had a triple-double- 31 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists Bird scored 20+ pts. 87 out of 94 games he played at Indiana State Bird is the fifth all-time leading NCAA scorer (30.3 ppg) In one game Bird had 54 points and 38 rebounds ISU was 81-13 overall and 50-1 at home in Bird’s three years   NBA   Bird had 69 triple-doubles Bird had three 40 point triple double games Larry had a triple-double by halftime on 4/1/87 vs. the Bullets He scored 40+ points 52 times Larry had 50+ points 4 times Bird scored 60 versus the Hawks in 1985 Bird is the first player to shoot over 50% FG and 90% FT in a season Once outscored Doctor J 42-6 in a game All the above is amazing, but with Bird it was believable.  However, this fun fact from January 2, 1981 seems more like fiction than fact.  On that night at Golden State, the Celtics were trying to win their 13th straight game.  Boston lost 121-106 and Bird didn‘t score.  Not one single point.  He went 0-for-9 from the field in a performance that was called "eight bricks and a block."  Bird always said that Michael Cooper was the toughest defender that he faced in the NBA.  But, although I couldn’t find a box score from that game, I assume it was either Purvis Short or Larry Smith or both who made Bird’s trip to Frisco so frustrating nearly 26 years ago. Interesting Sports Illustrated story on Bird.  Bird video December 6 Elmore Spencer is 37.  I just missed Spencer’s high school career at Booker T. Washington in Atlanta . I was the play-by-play announcer for Griffin High School and the Bears used to play a home and away game against Washington High each season.  But Spencer graduated in 1987 and I didn’t arrive in Griffin until 1988.  But I used to hear stories about the 7-footer and they weren’t always complimentary.  Washington won the 1987 AAA State Championship and Griffin took the same title in 1988.  So when the two schools played it was a big deal.  It was Elmore Spencer versus Darrin Hancock.  Ironically, the two high school superstars wound up, 10 years later, playing against each other in the CBA, with Sioux City (Spencer) and Fort Wayne (Hancock). Spencer was a basketball tease.  Skill wise, he could have been a basketball star.  But the reality was he was a roundball nomad.  Elmore signed with Georgia and red shirted his freshman season. He only played 11 games at UGA averaging 12 points and five rebounds.  I saw him play a couple of games in the old Omni in the Cotton States Tournament. I think I remember him playing well.  I think one of the games was against Princeton.  Spencer left Athens and wound up at Conners State Junior College, where he averaged 22 points.  Then Spencer joined the perfect coach and program for his nomadic nature, Jerry Tarkanian and UNLV.  Of course UNLV was on probation at the time and that upset Elmore.  In 1991 he said this in The New York Times, “They're raping the players and they're raping the schools.” And he was also upset with how the NCAA handled television revenue, “Are they going to build chemistry buildings and other things for the schools? No, they're going to do it the old Republican way: They're going to help build better buildings for their legislators."  Wow!  Air America could have used this guy.  After averaging 15 points and eight rebounds in his senior season in Vegas, Elmore was drafted in the first round by the perfect NBA team for his nomadic nature, the Los Angeles Clippers.  He played three seasons for the Clippers and then a little with the Nuggets, Blazers and Sonics. With the Clippers he played for Larry Brown, Bob Weiss and Bill Fitch and he played with Danny Manning and Dominique Wilkins.  One of those Clipper teams actually played .500 ball (41-41) another went 17-65.  In Spencer’s best season he averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds. December 5 Butch Lee with Coach Al McGuire  Butch Lee is 50.  Lee scored 1,735 points, second on Marquette’s all-time list and he played on Al McGuire’s 1977 National Championship team.  Lee scored 19 points and was the Warriors’ leading scorer in Marquette’s 67-59 win over North Carolina in the title game. The summer before that game, Lee, perhaps gained his greatest fame, when Puerto Rico played against the U.S. in the 1976 Olympic Games, Lee made 15 out of 18 field goals and scored 35 points.  The USA avoided an upset by beating Puerto Rico by one point, 95-94. Lee didn’t have much of an NBA career, he played in only 96 games and averaged only eight points, but he was the first Puerto Rican to play in the NBA. After his playing days ended, Lee has been a basketball coach, a restaurateur and he now owns a sign making shop. December 4   Bernard King is 50.  Bernard King was born, one half century ago, to score.  In three years as part of the Bernie and Ernie (Grunfeld) Show at Tennessee, King averaged 26 points and scored over 1,900 points.  In the NBA he just missed scoring 20,000 points while averaging 22.5 with a season high of 33 in 1984-85.  However, on March 23, 1985 King tore his ACL.  He would miss nearly two seasons of action.  Had he had the same injury 20 years later he probably would have missed one season at most.  Bernard wasn’t the same after the injury although he did average 28 points per game in his last full season in the NBA.  King’s game would be considered somewhat unique now.  He loved the mid-range shot, the turnaround jumper from 10 or 12 feet.  And it seemed like every shot he made was a swish.  King shot 52% for his career. The only current player who even, somewhat, reminds me of Bernard King is Elton Brand.  More on King For those who are too young to have seen King play, here is a video montage from you tube.  It has some great video of his days at Tennessee and in the NBA.  Unfortunately, it also has a filthy audio sound track with every bad word in the book.  So if you are offended by such and still want to watch the amazing Bernard King, KILL THE SOUND.  Video December 3 (USA Basketball Photos) 1972 USA Olympic Basketball Team   Jim Brewer is 55.  Brewer was on my favorite basketball team when I was a kid.  He played for the Cleveland Cavaliers. And the Cavs were the talk of the NBA in 1975-76 when they beat Washington in the first round of the playoffs.  Brewer was the rebounder and he averaged a double-double. Meanwhile, 1972 was a controversial year for the native of Indiana, who is listed among the top 100 Indiana High School Tourney Legends.  In January of 1972 he was involved in the Luke Witte incident.  Ohio State’s Witte went for a layup but was fouled hard.  Immediately following the foul, Minnesota player Corky Taylor extended an arm to help Witte up, then kneed Witte in the groin, then punched him in the head.  While on the floor, he was also kicked and stomped by Minnesota player Ron Behagen.  What followed was an extended brawl.  Witte's teammate, Dave Marchand, attempted to come to his aid, but was struck in the face several times by Gopher Jim Brewer. I ronically, Brewer and Witte were teammates with the Cavaliers.  I always wondered if they ever talked about that ugly incident. Then later in 1972 Brewer was involved in the most controversial ending in the history of basketball.  Brewer was a member of the 1972 USA Olympic team.  He averaged 7.6 points and 7.1 rebounds.  On a jump ball  with Russia Brewer suffered a concussion after being knocked to the floor.  Of course Russia won the game 51-50 ending the USA’s 63-game Olympic winning streak and a string of seven consecutive Olympic gold medals. December 2   Ralph Beard is 79.  Beard was an Alan Iverson type player 60 years ago. He was only 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, but he could go.  Three times an All-American at Kentucky, twice the college player of the year on NCAA championship teams plus he won an Olympic gold medal.  In his rookie season in the NBA, Beard was on the All-Star team with George Mikan.  He should have had a long and successful NBA career, but instead a bad decision haunted him for life. Ralph Beard, Alex Groza and Dale Barnstable were all arrested for accepting $500 bribes to shave points in an NIT game against Loyola of Chicago in Madison Square Garden in 1949.  The judge gave all three suspended sentences and placed them on indefinite probation and barred them from all sports for three years.  The NBA commissioner Maurice Podoloff also suspended the trio.  So Beard only played two NBA seasons, just 126 games.  He averaged 16 points per game.  Read more about Beard in these two articles.  Beard-1     Beard-2 December 1 Bill Kenville is 76 today       Syracuse Nationals - (top row, left to right) Red Rocha, Jim Tucker, John Kerr, Earl Lloyd, Dolph Schayes;     (bottom row, left to right) Capt. Paul Seymour, Bill Kenville (number 15), Wally Osterkorn, Dick Farley, George King, Coach Al Cervi. Bill Kenville played a significant role in one of the most exciting and fantastic finishes in a game 7, of the finals, in NBA history.  It was April 10, 1955 and the Fort Wayne Pistons were playing Kenville's Syracuse Nationals for the league title.  The first six games of the series were all decided by seven points or less and the home team had won each of the six.  But in game 7, in Syracuse, the Nats were down by double-digits at half.  Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes remembers the role Kenville, in just his second year in the NBA, played in the Nats winning the title:    Billy Kenville was the unsung hero that night. He was a sub who turned out to be our highest scorer in game 7.  He brought us back in the second half.  I think he scored 12 points down the stretch and the crowd was deafening the whole second half.  We had defeated Fort Wayne at home something like 25 consecutive times. It was an absurd number.  The law of averages dictated them breaking through.  But not that day.  So I think the shot clock and our home court advantage, especially our crowd, those were x factors for sure. Roundball Coach called Billy "The Kid" and wished him a happy birthday and talked to him about game 7 and other basketball memories.  (Sorry about my cold)  Audio