Otis Thorpe plays at my the golf course I work at in Austin a lot. I was playing one day and he bought me a beer at the bar. I didn't know it was him until the bartender pointed it out to me. Now I see him like once a week.
My favorite unsung player in the mid 70's was John Johnson. Very cerebral player, fundamentally sound. I think he ended up winning a championship with the Sonics.
Speaking of Purvis Short. The main thing I remember about him was that he had a rainbow jump shot that seemed to nick the rafters it would go so high. Don't know how he did it. Great shooter, but what a rainbow. Opposite of Clyde who's jumpshots looked straight as a rope at times
Oh yes. He had that baseline, oh, 8 footer, that he shot practically straight up and was deadly accurate with it. Nri way to block it or even defend it because he shot it at such a trajectory that even with a 7 foot defender in his face he could still get it off and it would go in. We got him at the tail end of his career so we only got scraps. But I was a big fan of him for years prior when he was lighting it up for the warriors.
Did the same thing in the HSE days. Watched on TV and listened to Gene and Jim on the radio. I will quote myself from a post about my favorite non-star Rockets
And, the Rockets received 2 sets of 2 second round draft choices when they traded him. http://www.celticslife.com/2014/04/john-johnson-almost-played-for-celtics.html
My earliest rocket memory is when I was 4 in 1981 watching moses Malone against the Celtics in the finals.