In the far-up Land of Leap, the unit of currency is the dunk. In 1987, Cunningham replaced Tom Heinsohn as the lead color commentator (alongside play-by-play man Dick Stockton) for CBS' NBA telecasts. The 76ers lost to the Lakers in 1980 and 1982, but after acquiring Moses Malone, they finally got past the Lakers in 1983, winning the franchise's third (and most recent) NBA Championship as part of a 121 playoff run. He had a baseball cap on, and he turned the bill sideways. for once. But the winning wasnt over. This story is not that important. Youre entering another world up there. They were trying to touch the top of the board, Nissalke said. Anybodv can win the lottery.. Hes also not 100% African American, though, which means he doesnt automatically have insane jumping genes. 1 in everyones heart and myths is Jumpin Jackie Jackson, also known as Sidecar Jackson. It didnt happen, though, and Fernandez remains playing with Real Madrid, where he feels he is a better player.This, however, is debatable. CUNNINGHAM, William John ("Billy") ( b. Its even been called hellicious.. His jersey number "32" was later retired by Philadelphia. . There are celebrity dunk-offs. (2000). Airy, Maryland. Cunningham would later rejoin the CBS broadcast team starting with the 198586 season, again often paired with Musburger, covering both the NBA as well as NCAA men's college basketball for the network. Julius, Gus (Johnson), Pogo Joe Caldwell. The ABA wasnt about dignity, it was about style. Keith Smart always reported he had a 44. He would perform a reverse dunk-dunk with two balls. Boston kept Philadelphia out of The 1981 Finals, but the Sixers roared back to the 1982 before falling to the Lakers again. junio 12, 2022. abc news anchors female philadelphia . Some nights, when your legs were really there and you had total command, you felt nobody was going to get any higher than you were. If that's not impressive enough for you, he also played on two NBA championship teams and later coached the Philadelphia 76ers for eight seasons. Joey didnt even have his shoes laced, Clarke said. I see kids in the eighth grade, kids 5-11, dunking behind their heads, said Rod Thorn, former National Basketball Assn. Ginoblili is 39 years old and recently won a jump ball against the 22-year-old Nerlens Noel, who has a good five inches on the Argentinian-Italian. Celtics legend Larry Bird might just be the most famous white guy in basketball. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Then he goes into coaching and, percentage-wise, becomes one of the best ever. He was a tough, intense, competitive player who used his intelligence as much as his physical talents. Oh my God, Smith recalled thinking. Cunningham, though, tore up the ABA. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Then we ask him to jump and we mark the highest point he touched. If accurate, that would have put him as the 10th-highest max vertical leaper (not standing, but with a short running start) in the NBA Draft, just behind Grayson Allen's number of 40.5 inches. 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. Some may say that getting off the ground quickly is more important than how much height you get, but its a safe bet that these same people cant match Alexanders pre-draft 38.5 inch max vertical. Dont send letters, leapers. Is Billy Cunningham married? Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps, Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Rosters Cut,", "1978 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals - New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers", Goldaper, Sam. We sure are glad he picked basketball! He was never even charged with wrongdoing, but the NBA ban stuck until Connies lawyers broke it down in 1969, when the Hawk was 27 and well past his swooping prime. 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. So goes the popular assumption. He ran to the nearest school, three blocks away, and started shooting baskets. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). 1964 UNC at Duke, tip-off.jpg 1,454 1,750; 377 KB. Bobby Jones could swoop and soar. In the 19701971 season he again was an All-Star starter and finished ninth in the NBA with 23.0 points per game. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. I said, What the hell, Im 40. . It is near the University of Idaho campus, where the legendary Gus Johnson once played. The University of North Carolina (UNC) coach Frank McGuire convinced Cunningham to enroll there. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. [15], For other people named William Cunningham, see, Learn how and when to remove this template message, ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team, List of National Basketball Association single-game playoff scoring leaders, "The Rumble: AN OFF-THE-BALL LOOK AT YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS CELEBRITIES", "Philadelphia 76ers 134 - Portland Trail Blazers 132", Goldaper, Sam. married Sondra; they had two daughters. For his college career he averaged 24.8 points per game and set a school record with 1,062 rebounds. However, the poet laureate of leap is Darryl Dawkins. Athletics are in this guys genes; daddy Rick Barry produced a total of four bball loving sons. After that season, Cunningham jumped from the NBA to the ABA with the Carolina Cougars. Cunningham reached 200, 300, and 400 wins faster than any previous coach in NBA history. And he made it to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with a career that reads like a how-to book for legends. Even so, Erving was the NBAs most dazzling aerial star until he retired in 1987 and passed the title to Michael Jordan. It's also available for football, hockey and baseball. 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. Youd go up, arch your back, and go up even higher. However, none of the other basketball-playing Barry brothers Scooter, Jon, and Drew - can claim to be the only white man in history to win the Slam Dunk contest, though. One dunking dinosaur who could fly and play was Gus Johnson, a 6-6 hipster-forward who had a gold star implanted in a front tooth. Cunningham also set a single-game North Carolina record with 48 points against Tulane on December 10, 1964. Sure, Casper and friends tend to dominate less vertically challenging sports like golf, hockey, and tennis, but they have also held their own on the floorboards. He walked into the gym one morning and there was a TV crew set up. Encyclopedia.com. 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. The schools former coach, Frank McGuire, was the one who had recruited Cunningham, which left Smith with a prize recruit he had never seen. Not too shabby at all, right? Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. Thompson was on a par with Erving but after five great NBA seasons, his career hit a quick decline, caused in part by cocaine problems. In 1972-73, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the American Basketball Association and he scored 18 points in the ABA All-Star Game. The greatest nicknames in basketball are reserved for those who attain the greatest altitude. Many of the great leapers of that era inhabited the fringes of reality as we know it. inBrooklyn,New York Chris Wallace, the college talent scout, said: I dont believe measurements. Pretty darn safe. My mother has a bar here in southern Idaho, and shes got a nail where Joey touched, at 11-9 1/2.. A fiery coach, Cunningham stalked the sidelines with the best of them. Now they take everything off and it takes a lot more to get people excited.. In the 197374 season, Cunningham and the Cougars finished third in the Eastern Division and lost again to the Kentucky Colonels in the Eastern Division semifinals. In his first ABA season, Cunningham averaged 24.1 points per game, 12.0 rebounds per game, and led the league in total steals. People swear he cleared it by a foot, said Fred Trenkle, Southern Idahos basketball coach. He didnt just score, he scored OVER people, including all 68 of Plastic Man Stacey Augmon. He was an NBA champion both as a player (1967) and as a coach (1983). He prevailed in the end! He was called the Kangaroo Kid for his prodigious leaping ability. With an average height of 64, Arizin had fantastic ball handling skills, played a mean defense, and had some seriously bouncy feet. When I went to Kansas, they had a 12-foot basket in the gym, because Dr. Phog Allen was advocating the 12-foot basket. He also had a famously difficult childhood and came from very humble beginnings; it was his hometown of French Lick, Indiana, that inspired the nickname The Hick from French Lick. He was determined not to let his tiny hometown or his troubled family life hold him back though, and instead remained hardworking and classy until the end of his career. Billy Cunningham was born on June 3, 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,. Cunningham achieved a career trifecta in law, business, and government. We present them here for purely educational purposes. In the 19661967 season the 76ers were a powerhouse, winning sixty-eight against only thirteen losses and beating the Boston Celtics and San Francisco in the playoffs to win the championship. Dennis never was much of a leaper. Realizing they needed a dominant big man to contain Abdul-Jabbar, Philadelphia acquired the two-time MVP (1979 and 82) Moses Malone from the Houston Rockets (Malone would win a third MVP as a Sixer in that first season in Philadelphia) before the 1982-83 season. As Cunningham was adjusting to the professional game, the 76ers were becoming a powerhouse. Athletic Club, has worked with most of the great L.A. prep stars of the last two decades. I dont believe anyone has ever done it. One of basketball's all-time greats, Cunningham was elected to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame and honored by selection to both the NBA's 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams as one of its legendary players, as well as to the ABA All-Time Team. Throughout his life, Cunningham excelled at all aspects of the game he loved. He was finished as a player. The obvious question is, why didnt more of these guys play in the NBA? Billy Cunningham wasnt nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid because he had a pouch. Cunningham was subsequently replaced on CBS by Hubie Brown, but would return to CBS to help fill in during the 1990 NBA Playoffs, partnered with Verne Lundquist. To that end, heres this writers all-time all-leap team: Dr. J, the Big Dipper, Air Jordan, David Skywalker and Joey Johnson. Last season, there were 5,757 NBA dunks by 246 players. The Memphis forward sustained the injury Friday night during the 1st quarter of the Grizzlies 113-97 loss to the Nuggets. What happens when you put stilts on kangaroo? window.__mirage2 = {petok:"ZbxZ3AJWWjyZL0HXDpABwVdW.7p3rtLrWMEsK2FPL0A-86400-0"}; Note, this is done in an automated way, so we apologize for any errors, & please. He would toss the ball off the backboard and then slam it home. He also had stellar 3-pointer abilities, but after that 1996 air show, most of his other accomplishments were left in the dust. Draft: Philadelphia 76ers, 1st round (7th pick, 7th overall), 1965 NBA draft, More Cunningham pages at Sports Reference, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:03AM. Upload media Wikipedia. His colourful tattoos and hairstyles are about as famous as his skills too, with hairdos including mohawks, spikes, and shoulder-length shag. He finished well out of the running--or jumping--when he clanged at least one attempt off the rim. In 1987, the NBA Board of Governors awarded the group an expansion franchise to begin play in 1988-89 and thus the Miami Heat was born. [1] His first regular show on the station was at night, generally from 9:00 p.m. until midnight. Thats a mouthful. Not only could he dunk, but he had a serious white boy swagger. What time is Billy Cunningham's Sunday night show on? Knowing he was inexperienced, Cunningham assembled a group of veteran ex-coaches as assistants, including Chuck Daly, who later to become head coach of the Detroit Pistons. If we were to honor dunkers as we honor actors, Doc would be given a statuette for his body of work. He led the Cougars to the best record in the league and was selected to the All-ABA First Team and was named the ABA MVP. ." Billy Cunningham found success as a coach in the NBA after his playing days were through. [9] In 1996, Cunningham was voted as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as part of the NBA's 50th Anniversary. Cunningham then went to the University of North Carolina, where he excelled. The ONLY white man. Billy Cunningham was inducted to the Hall of Fame as a Player in 1986 (Full List) These guys more than held their own in a sport where they were absolutely a minority. Browse 310 billy_cunningham stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Professional basketball player, sports administrator Durant, a four-time scoring champion, now sets his sights on Hakeem Olajuwon in 12th place. His daddy was also a professional ball player, which means his skill and confidence are ate least somewhat genetic. Carolina lost to the Kentucky Colonels in the Eastern Division rinals, but Cunninghams regular-season performance earned him the ABA MVP. He was All-ACC, the ACC Player of the Year, and an All-American in college, later named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team honoring the fifty best players in Atlantic Coast Conference history. 1924- Philadelphia won 62 games the next season, but the Celtics upset the 76ers in the playoffs. He did prefer ball to hockey, after all. Jerry West could get up. Cunningham attended Erasmus Hall Or write about sports? Yep. Sura strutted and slammed his stuff in both the 1997 Slam Dunk Competition and the All Star Weekend, and his jumps were recorded to be about 39 inches. In fact, he set the record for most blocks and field goal percentage in a season at his high school, Linganore High in Mt. At Southern Idaho, the legend grew. He was twice named an All-American during his collegiate years. Midway through the previous season the club had acquired Wilt Chamberlain from the San Francisco Warriors, and in his first full campaign with the Sixers, he helped them to the Eastern Division title. It was so good that Cunningham, a future Hall of Famer, came off the bench. Find out more. "Cunningham, William John ("Billy") It doesnt take a detective to see these were obviously a foreshadowing of plays to come. He would get up in the air and spread those wings, hed be swoopin. "I lived there that summer," he later recalled. He is still the winningest coach in Sixers history. Send us your videotape. Lift up an arm and hop once or twice to get a feel for how far away the rim is. He would find a way to beat you., Billy Cunningham discovered the game after receiving a basketball for his fifth birthday. When I was a freshman, I fooled around with shooting free throws this way: For some reason, I thought you had to stay within the top half of that free-throw circle, so I would step back to just inside the top of the circle, take off from behind the line and dunk. Then theres Jerry Mr. If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. Thats how much air was between Connaughton and those shiny floorboards at the NBA Combine in 2015. Data Provided By Most of these leapers are black, and in the late 50s and early 60s, the NBA still had unofficial quotas, and only eight or nine teams. Or write about sports? The Cougars had finished last the previous season, but with Brown and Cunningham inspiring the team, the Cougars finished first. In the six years of the NBAs slam dunk contest, only one white player has been invited to compete, 6-10 Tom Chambers in 1986. Hed shoot it short and Joe and I would leap up and shake hands over the basket.. When Joey was a high school senior, Clarke took his Watts Magicians to Mesa, Ariz., for a prep tournament. With Malone in the middle, and Erving, Bobby Jones, Cheeks and Andrew Toney all playing key roles, the 76ers went 65-17 and blew through the Atlantic Division. [5] The reversal of that judgment in the United States Court of Appeals .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}6+12 months later on April 5, 1972, meant that Cunningham was obligated to honor his Cougars contract until its expiration in October 1974. Effortless, absolutely effortless.. I said to myself, Ive got to try. I angled to the right. This is where we get into sword-and-stone mythology. Since his slamming days in the NBA, hes continued with the sport as a scout, director, analyst, commentator, and even vice president of player personnel. By word of mouth, you would get to know who the best dunkers were, and by the end of the season it was pretty much agreed the best two were a Portland guy named Claude English and me. Billy Cunningham was born in the Parkville section of Brooklyn, New York. Professional basketball player 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. As a professional he was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, an NBA All-Star, All-NBA First and Second Team, an ABA All-Star, All-ABA First Team, and the ABA Most Valuable Player. The college boys are no doubt wide eyed and gape-mouthed when they meet this coach for the first time. On a good day, he said. "I can't put my finger on it exactly, but there was just something about the game. He finally got a pro tryout with the Utah Stars of the ABA at 25, but by then his fabulous springs were sprung. Artis (A-Train) Gilmore, George (Ice) Gervin and Larry (Big Cat) Kenon all dunked admirably. He was discovered. We should be glad he doesnt demand his own useum. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. If you give bonus points for obscurity and mystery, it would be Joey Johnson, younger brother of Celtic guard Dennis. Thunder Dan has more than made friends with the rim and earned his name! Sunday Nights with Bill Cunningham can be heard every Sunday on over 300 radio stations across the United States. His playing days ended on one play in the 1975-76 season. At the 1991 Slam Dunk Competition he came in third. Watch even half of any of his highlight reels and youll understand why he made this list. Eight players dunked in triple figures: Barkley of Philadelphia, 188; Jordan of Chicago, 156; Otis Thorpe of Golden State, 150; Pat Ewing of the Knicks, 146; Karl Malone of Utah, 142; Drexler of Portland, 130; Wilkins of Atlanta, 126, and Olajuwon of Houston, 118. Cunningham arrived in Chapel Hill just as Dean Smith was taking over as the head basketball coach of the UNC Tar Heels. After that season, he earned the first of what would be three straight All-NBA First Team selections. A lot of them, you have to understand, werent able to get into college, Chamberlain said. Jackie stays in the air and the ref calls a three-second violation. Many have speculated about the reasons behind this phenomenon. The following season Philadelphia won sixty-two games and the Eastern Division title but lost to the Celtics in the playoffs. The future never came, but Dawkins broke new ground in power dunking, backboard shattering and dunknaming. Now imagine yourself crouching a bit, like Superman, and springing high into the air. A person who is a poor leaper is said to have white mans disease. White guys use the expression, black guys use it, mostly in a spirit of good fun. Its a remarkable life.. Lets add Billy Hoyle as an honourary #16 to this list, shall we? As a high school senior, he received a scholarship offer from a Midwestern college, asking him to become the schools first black player. If youve got a good imagination, imagine yourself wearing a baseball cap, and leaping so high, arms at your side, that you flick your head sideways and dunk your cap. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. I saw him come down the floor once, in the Eastern League, on a fast break. He was with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers for 17 years . Cunningham hit for 18.9 ppg and 7.6 rpg. Most of these leapers were from the inner city, where they suffered from overexposure to drugs and underexposure to formal education. And the problem these days is inflation. Back when he played for the Phillies, they had him dribbling alongside Wilt The Stilt Chamberlain for two seasons, and when Chamberlain left in 69, the 76ers had a Kangaroo as their star. His performance in the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest was nothing less than stellar, and some say he was robbed of the chance to move to the next round. Now an NBA journeyman, Dawkins came into the NBA in 1975, straight out of high school, billed as the center of the future. I have seen everybody, Hill said. There have been--and are--very good white jumpers. This guy that was also selected for the MLB draft, spent time with the Orioles, and pitched an impressive 96 mph. 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. And some colleges and pro teams were not ready to take chances on what went along with those guys. Among his numerous career achievements, he was named to the 1966 All-Rookie Team and three All-NBA First Teams. Nissalke tells of an informal leaping contest between second-year man Kareem, who then was Lew Alcindor, and Milwaukee forward Don Smith, who now is Zaid Abdul-Aziz. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. Ive never felt another feeling like it, being able to go up in the air, over someone much bigger, and stay up there. 3 June 1943 in Brooklyn, New York), professional basketball player known for his vertical leap who was a top scorer and rebounder in the 1960s and 1970s, and who later became a winning coach, television commentator, and team owner. Billy Cunningham (Billy; The Kangaroo Kid) Position: Forward 6-6 , 210lb (198cm, 95kg) School: North Carolina (Men) Draft: Philadelphia 76ers, 1st round (7th pick, 7th overall), 1965 NBA draft SUMMARY Career G 69 PTS 24.8 TRB 15.4 AST - FG% 47.3 FT% 62.8 Cunningham Overview More Cunningham Pages More Cunningham pages at Sports Reference