Caught this great article about Phi Slama Jama against Lousiville's Doctors of Dunk, in the 1983 Final Four. It's an ESPN E-Ticket write-up about how it was the game that brought "aerial offense" to the game of basketball in a big way. Great stuff about Hakeem (Akeem) and Clyde, too. Jamfest for the Ages
Great stuff. Here's a video of the second half action. They dunked HARD in those days. Clyde's crazy improvised one-no-two-handed dunk was ridiculous... only the Glyde had that kind of hangtime. <object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JCRUozHJg4E&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JCRUozHJg4E&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>
OOOOOLDIE! I read that article a long time ago! It's a beautiful thing though that Hakeem and Clyde won for Houston in '95.
Trivia: What arena is this? (Castor27 is not allowed to answer) Bonus: Who is the Lamar player? (Castor27 is allowed)
Phi Slamma Jamma vs. Doctors of Dunk! That game was an aerial bombardment and Hakeem was just a beast in college. It's still one of the most exciting basketball games I've ever watched.
Wow. I'd almost forgotten just how good that team was. Everyone talks about their dunks, and they were spectacular. But they were in the position to make those dunks because of their tremendous team speed. They pushed the break so quickly, nobody could catch them. They sure were fun to watch (unless you were the other team).
Anyone know where Dan Bunce (#50) is? We were friends in elementary school before he moved to Houston.
LEWIS: "By 1982, Akeem still hadn't done anything in a game. Then we played TCU, and beat them by three points. Akeem had three points in the game, and I told him those points had won the game for us. From then on he blossomed; it all clicked." ah.. a miniscule in time that made a huge difference in a young person's life.. that could have been the turning point in Hakeem's basketball career DREXLER (postgame): "I wanted to make him think first that I was going to dunk it. Then, if he thought that, I would bring it down and pass it. Then I went on and dunked it. Then we were both confused." lol... young Drexlerisms.. one of my favorite players of all time
Clyde Drexler looks like Lucifer in the pic above ^^^. Looking at that video you could tell what an athletic freak Hakeem was.
I don't know whatever happened to that guy - talk about disappearing off the face of the earth. I remember he was a bit goofy while at UH. As much of an athletic freak as Olajuwon and Drexler were, Anders was probably more athletic than either. That team was a genetic experiment when it came to athleticism. Well then again, you did have Reid Gettys... They had some of the biggest names in Houston high school basketball come through there over a period of 4-6 years - I mean some serious studs.
Thanks for the youtube clip of this. How fantastic they were! There was a lot of talent on that court. Benny Anders should have done more with his career. He was something else. Also, two words: short shorts.
This is what the benefits of athleticism are all about. The Houston Rockets for the last few years have been one of the least athletic teams in the NBA. This is why people were upset that Gay was traded for Battier, this is why people were upset that 37 yr old Barry got a two year deal when Matt Barnes was available for less, and so on. People are amazed at what Von Wafer is doing, but that only proves my point that the Rockets have been unathletic for so long that when a guy like Wafer starts playing the way he's playing, it's as if its something some people have never seen. Rudy Gay is Von Wafer times 10.
Well, let's be serious. Mere athleticism isn't what makes players great. If it were, then Rob Williams, Ricky Winslow, Benny Anders, etc. would've all been stars in the NBA. As it stands, only 2 players off those PSJ teams really turned into stars in the NBA. Their athleticism far exceeded what was on the college level. Von Wafer's athleticism has always been with him - it's his head and overall game that's been lacking and why athleticism hasn't carried him. There have been a lot of very athletic teams that haven't done squat in the NBA. Teams like Golden State would be talking championship every year. We need good basketball players, not every dunce that happens to be fast and run fast. Stromile Swift was that. Von Wafer has been that in his career until recently. PSJ was great because their athletes were far above and beyond most of the teams they faced. You're not going to get that big a gap in the NBA.
