I thought I'd post a fun thread for grins. Do any of you know who this guy is? Hint: His nickname was "Modfather" ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** This is none other than Larry Brown, then known as the Modfather for his stylin clothes. Larry Brown: The "Modfather" Larry Brown is now the conservative, "straight-laced" coach of the NBA Philadelphia 76ers. But back in his 1970's ABA coaching days, Brown was known around the league as the "Modfather." He was very fond of wearing Oshkosh B'Gosh farmers' overalls (above left) to games and press conferences. And check out Brown yelling at the refs in his groovy rainbow sweater (above right)! How bout this strapping young basketball player!! George Karl current coach of the Denver Nuggets So you guys have got to check this site out...you'll get a chuckle out of it. When Big Hair Ruled the ABA: http://www.remembertheaba.com/OnlyintheABAMaterial/BigHairFinalists.html
As a young Pacer fan, I remember Darnell Hillman and Dancin' Harry. Rumor had it Hillman was able to kick the rim. Before he went to the New York Nets, Dr.J was with the Virginia Squires. And the Artis I remember is the one at Jacksonville St and the Kentucky Colonels, not the old fossil that played in the NBA. Unfortunately, I remember Wendell Ladner. I have no memory of LB or George Karl. My early basketball years were 100% ABA. The NBA was a zero to me until around 1972/73, probably because of the lack of blanket national television coverage. The Pacer games at the old Fairgrounds Coliseum were a regular treat. As kids, all of our basketballs were the red, white and blue. I'm not saying the ABA was any better to watch (at the time) than the NBA, but I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. We grew up imitating Mel Daniels, Billy Keller, Roger Brown during midnight basketball games. Reggie Miller wasn't even born yet. Thanks for bringing this up. Growing up in Indy was all about the Pacers and playing street ball every chance we got.
yeah I liked those old red white and blue basketballs. Those were so cool. I used to shoot hoops with those cause everyone else had those boring looking orange ones.
Dancin Harry? Well the biggest superstars of the ABA were Dr. J, George McGinnis, George Gervin, and Artis Gilmore. Man those were some players. Like what happened to guys who could play like them? Nobody finger rolls like Gervin and nobody skys and has the hang time that Dr. J does now. Artis Gilmore could have banged in the Center position with any of them. I remember they had some funny characters. Like George McGinnis had that funky shot where he went up with both hands near his face. He held the basketball in his right hand and would shoot it with one hand. Coaches to today would not be able to handle his unorthox shot. McGinnis would also smoke cigarettes after games lol.
George "The Ice Man" Gervin's playing record speaks volumes. Only Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan have won more league scoring championships than Gervin's four, and he was the first guard ever to win three titles in a row. His career scoring average of 26.2 points per game is among the game's best as is his combined NBA/ABA total of 26,595 points. When did you master the finger-roll? George Gervin: Probably when I was young. I got tired of dunking the basketball, and I thought everyone could dunk but very few could finger roll.
<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Mx2hVWvgd9w"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Mx2hVWvgd9w" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Wonder who would have won going one on one between Dr. J and Michael Jordan.
I forgot about McGinnis. He gave Bobby Knight a few heart attacks at IU before skipping out and becoming a Pacer. His feet would often land before he launched the shot but he never got called for travelling. But Big George was never a favorite of mine. On Artis, his legacy is severely diminished because he spent so much time in the ABA. Most NBA fans will never appreciate how good he was. Too bad. Maybe only Pacer fans remember Dancin' Harry. Probably the only time he got a national audience was when they resuscitated him back to life for a brief appearance in the NBA Finals against the Lakers.
