Elgin Baylor finally got a statue in L.A. When will D.C. follow suit?

Posted on by capitalofbasketball

The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a bronze statue of Elgin Baylor at Staples Center before Friday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Baylor
Elgin Baylor, a 10-time NBA All-Star, is the greatest basketball player ever produced in Washington, D.C. Shouldn’t the city have a statue for him?

What took them so long?

The Staples Center has been in existence since 1999; Baylor has been retired since 1971.

Baylor, a Washington, D.C. native, became the sixth Laker to be honored with a statue outside the arena. He joins Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Shaquille O’Neal and longtime play-by-play announcer Chick Hearn.

“He was unique. He helped build basketball here. The Lakers wouldn’t be the Lakers without him,” his longtime teammate Jerry West said in a video tribute shown before the unveiling. Continue reading Elgin Baylor finally got a statue in L.A. When will D.C. follow suit?

Forty years ago this week, DeMatha came up with the perfect ending

Posted on by capitalofbasketball

Forty years ago this week, DeMatha’s basketball team made history.

By that time, Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten had been at the school 20 years and had turned it into the premier high school basketball program in the Washington area, if not the country.

But the Stags had never finished a season unbeaten. That is, not until a 74-64 victory over league rival Mackin in the finals of the Alhambra Invitational Tournament on March 18, 1978.

Wootten art
In 1977-78, DeMatha basketball coach Morgan Wootten directed his first-ever undefeated team.

Continue reading Forty years ago this week, DeMatha came up with the perfect ending

Happy 62nd birthday to DeMatha great Adrian Dantley

Posted on by capitalofbasketball
Adrian Dantley
While at Dematha, Adrian Dantley was a three-time All-Met selection and helped lead the Stags to four straight No. 1 rankings in the Washington area.

It was a cold winter morning in December of 1969. Schools were on break, with teachers and coaches like DeMatha’s Morgan Wootten happy for a respite from their responsibilities.

This particular morning, Wootten heard a knock on the door of his Hyattsville home. He went to answer it and discovered ninth-grader Adrian Dantley standing on his doorstep. Dantley, then an up-and-coming star for the Stags, wanted to borrow the keys to the DeMatha gym, so he could squeeze in a workout.

Continue reading Happy 62nd birthday to DeMatha great Adrian Dantley

Local product Palmer finds winter in Nebraska to his liking

Posted on by capitalofbasketball

It’s rare that someone would prefer winter in Lincoln, Nebraska to winter in Miami.

But it worked out for James Palmer, Jr.

Palmerpic
James Palmer, Jr, who played at Henry Wise and St. John’s, is one of the main reasons Nebraska is battling for an NCAA Tournament bid as March approaches

Palmer, an Upper Marlboro native and former standout at St. John’s and Henry A. Wise, started his college career at the University of Miami. The 6-foot-6 wing played sparingly there, averaging about 12 minutes and three points per game for the Hurricanes.

With prospects for playing time looking bleak, Palmer opted to transfer to Nebraska. There, coach Tim Miles has shown a knack for landing transfers from big-time schools like Terran Petteway (Texas Tech), Walter Pitchford (Florida) and Andrew White (Kansas). All flourished at Nebraska and later pursued professional basketball careers of one kind or another.

“Those guys left a trail for me to follow,” Palmer told the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star. “That shows a good example of Nebraska getting good transfer players and really developing them.”

Continue reading Local product Palmer finds winter in Nebraska to his liking

50 years ago, Northwestern’s Fox played a game to remember

Posted on by capitalofbasketball
Harold Fox
Harold Fox, a three-time All-Met selection from Northwestern High School, played his college ball at Jacksonville.

Was it the greatest single-game performance in the history of D.C. area high school basketball?

It just might be.

Fifty years ago this week, Harold Fox, a 6-foot-1 guard at Northwestern High School, pumped in 64 points in a wild 103-87 victory over Oxon Hill. Fox, a senior, connected on 29 of 44 shots, pouring in 28 points in the final quarter – 41 in the second half.

At the time, only one local high school player had ever scored more in a game –­ Mount Vernon’s Marty Lentz, who erupted for 74 points against Stuart during the 1960-61 season.

In terms of points, Fox’s game would have to rank among the best. But he didn’t limit himself to just scoring that night. According to The Washington Post account of the game, Fox was credited with 15 rebounds and 13 assists as well. Continue reading 50 years ago, Northwestern’s Fox played a game to remember

Gary Mays, Armstong High’s one-armed wonder, dead at 82

Posted on by capitalofbasketball

When you hear the stories about Gary Mays, a multisport star at the long-closed Armstrong High School, it’s easy to dismiss what you’ve heard.Gary Mays

There’s couldn’t really have been a one-armed high school basketball player who was also the best catcher in the city. It’s got to be an urban legend.

Mays was a legend, all right. But the tales you’ve heard about him are absolutely, 100 percent true.

Mays, 82, passed away last week. He’d been living in Temple Hills for a while and his health hadn’t been good in recent years.

Continue reading Gary Mays, Armstong High’s one-armed wonder, dead at 82

In January of ’68, nobody was hotter than Jim O’Brien

Posted on by capitalofbasketball

Fifty years ago this week, Washington’s sports pages were full of stories on the Green Bay Packers’ recent Super Bowl II victory over the Oakland Raiders.

O'Brien head shot
Jim O’Brien played with the NY Nets in 1973-74.

In sports news closer to home, local basketball fans were starting to notice a kid named Jim O’Brien, who kept showing up in the Stuart High School boxscores with 20 or 30 points to his credit. The rail-thin, 6-foot-7 redhead averaged 17.8 points per game as a sophomore on a team that finished just 11-10.

But by January of 1968, O’Brien had shifted his game into a different gear. He’d had a 42-point, 29-rebound game against rival Falls Church to open the 1967-68 season – a stunning statistical achievement in a 32-minute high school game.

Continue reading In January of ’68, nobody was hotter than Jim O’Brien