Strange, it's one of those moments I remember where I was when I heard the tragic news - like time stood still. I was a young teenager sitting in the den waiting to watch the Tigers-Ole Miss replay on WKNO when word got out. I saw Alvin Wright crying during warm ups and thought..."what in the world is going on.."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/s.../95535936/

Verties Sails pauses to contemplate the passing of time.

"Forty years?" the Memphis coaching legend asks. "Forty? Really? Yeah, I guess it has been that long. Oh my goodness. And you know what? There's not a week that's gone by that I haven't thought about him."

There's a tinge of wistful sadness in Sails' voice when he talks about John Gunn, who starred for him at Melrose High and was putting together a good career at Memphis State before dying 40 years ago Wednesday, after having played just three games in his junior season. The culprit was Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare disease that affects the skin and mucous membranes.

He was 20 years old, a talented basketball player from a tough background who was on his way to fulfilling his enormous potential.

"It bothers me when I think about it, it really does," said longtime Tigers broadcaster Matt Dillon. "To see him struck down like that in the prime of his life ... you see a lot of kids coming from backgrounds like John's and it's just amazing that he got out."

Gunn was one of the stars on arguably the best high school basketball team ever to play in Memphis, the 1974 Melrose squad that went 35-0 won the city's fist state championship in the post integration era. Playing alongside Alvin Wright and James Bradley — who also went on to star at Memphis State — the 6-9, 220-pound Gunn averaged 20 points and 18 rebounds per game and was named the second-best senior in America, behind only a big kid in Virginia named Moses Malone.

"He was a Parade all-American, a Street and Smith's all-American," said Dillon. "He could run the floor like a gazelle and if the ball was on the glass, it was his. And tough."

Which was part of the problem Sails had to work with after Gunn, who was born in Memphis and returned to enroll at Melrose after a difficult upbringing in Fort Wayne, Ind.

"He was vulnerable," said Sails. "I remember this, it was probably his third day at Melrose. I heard from his English teacher. 'I can't teach my class.' And I asked why. And she said 'John won't allow me. He takes over the class.' So I said, 'Miss Graham, don't worry. You leave it to me.'

"So I stood outside the door and sure enough, as soon as class started he went over and sat on the teacher's desk and started acting up. And when I walked in it was so quiet you could have heard a mouse tiptoe across the room. He thought I was going to take him to the principal's office but I didn't. I took him to my office.

"And we talked. And what he said in essence was, that when he acted up it's because he didn't want the teachers to call on him. He was a bright guy, he just had never been challenged to do things the right way ... his mother and dad had separated and his mother did the best she could. He stayed with his aunt in she did a marvelous job.

"Then when he started playing basketball and getting recognition, that changed his life."

Gunn and his teammates tuned up for the 1974 state title run by spending the summers playing against the likes of Larry Finch, Larry Kenon and Ronnie Robinson along with members of the Memphis Tams ABA franchise. The older guys won by 50 in the first game but Sails said it got closer and closer each game before Melrose finally won on the last day of the summer.

"Larry Kenon asked him, 'where do you play?'" said Sails. "And John said, 'I play here.' And Larry said 'no, what college do you play for?' And John said, 'I play right here for Melrose High School. I'll be a senior this fall.'

"Larry said to me, 'Coach, there's not a high school anywhere that will beat these guys.' And no one did.'"

Despite playing out of position on the high post, Gunn — never without his trademark white headband — averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds as a freshman and 10 and 8 as a sophomore. The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Tournament that year where they played a Pepperdine team led by future NBA all-star Dennis Johnson in the west regionals in Tempe, Ariz.

Gunn left his mark on the proceedings.

"They had a player from (Brazil) named Marcos Leite," said Dillon. "We had played earlier in the year and there was some controversy and it carried over. So they're trailing the play ... and John just punched him and ran back down the floor.

"I've never seen a crowd react like that. I was doing some spotting for TV and (announcer) Merle Harmon said to me, 'I can't believe your guy did that.' But John wouldn't back down from anybody."

Gunn was tabbed a preseason All-American heading into the 1976-77 season but by September, the disease was already starting to take its toll. Sails said he noticed bumps on Gunn's face but chalked it up to the fact that the player had only recently started shaving. The lack of effort at practice was harder to explain.

"He'd come to practice and just lay on the sidelines," said Sails, who was then a Tigers assistant under Wayne Yates. "And coach Yates got on him and I said 'coach, I've been with him four or five years and he's never not wanted to practice. Something's wrong.' "

Gunn played in only three games as a junior before being hospitalized. Sails went to visit and said his player looked like the skin had been burned off his body.

On Dec. 21, the Tigers hosted Ole Miss at the Mid-South Coliseum. Sails arrived before the game and soon ran into Finch.

"Larry said, 'coach, I need to talk to you after the game,' " Sails said. "And I said, 'no just talk to me now. It's John isn't it? He's died.' His lungs had collapsed and when that happens ... I remember it was so cold in the Coliseum. It was like an iceberg had passed through there."

Said Dillon, "When they announced it to the crowd, you could have heard a pin drop. I've never seen a crowd go from up here (excited) to down there so fast."

The game went on, with the Tigers winning by three points. And time goes on too.

"John's gone," said Sails. "Larry's gone. Ronnie (Robinson) is gone. (Bluff City summer league founder) Jerry Dover is gone. All these guys I coached or basically grew up with. I remember when Larry was sick a television reporter asked me how I felt. And I said to her, 'it's God's will. It's not my will.'

"If it was my will, it would be me laying up in that bed instead."

(12-21-2018 09:58 AM)k2tigers Wrote:  Strange, it's one of those moments I remember where I was when I heard the tragic news - like time stood still. I was a young teenager sitting in the den waiting to watch the Tigers-Ole Miss replay on WKNO when word got out. I saw Alvin Wright crying during warm ups and thought..."what in the world is going on.."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/s.../95535936/

Verties Sails pauses to contemplate the passing of time.

"Forty years?" the Memphis coaching legend asks. "Forty? Really? Yeah, I guess it has been that long. Oh my goodness. And you know what? There's not a week that's gone by that I haven't thought about him."

There's a tinge of wistful sadness in Sails' voice when he talks about John Gunn, who starred for him at Melrose High and was putting together a good career at Memphis State before dying 40 years ago Wednesday, after having played just three games in his junior season. The culprit was Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare disease that affects the skin and mucous membranes.

He was 20 years old, a talented basketball player from a tough background who was on his way to fulfilling his enormous potential.

"It bothers me when I think about it, it really does," said longtime Tigers broadcaster Matt Dillon. "To see him struck down like that in the prime of his life ... you see a lot of kids coming from backgrounds like John's and it's just amazing that he got out."

Gunn was one of the stars on arguably the best high school basketball team ever to play in Memphis, the 1974 Melrose squad that went 35-0 won the city's fist state championship in the post integration era. Playing alongside Alvin Wright and James Bradley — who also went on to star at Memphis State — the 6-9, 220-pound Gunn averaged 20 points and 18 rebounds per game and was named the second-best senior in America, behind only a big kid in Virginia named Moses Malone.

"He was a Parade all-American, a Street and Smith's all-American," said Dillon. "He could run the floor like a gazelle and if the ball was on the glass, it was his. And tough."

Which was part of the problem Sails had to work with after Gunn, who was born in Memphis and returned to enroll at Melrose after a difficult upbringing in Fort Wayne, Ind.

"He was vulnerable," said Sails. "I remember this, it was probably his third day at Melrose. I heard from his English teacher. 'I can't teach my class.' And I asked why. And she said 'John won't allow me. He takes over the class.' So I said, 'Miss Graham, don't worry. You leave it to me.'

"So I stood outside the door and sure enough, as soon as class started he went over and sat on the teacher's desk and started acting up. And when I walked in it was so quiet you could have heard a mouse tiptoe across the room. He thought I was going to take him to the principal's office but I didn't. I took him to my office.

"And we talked. And what he said in essence was, that when he acted up it's because he didn't want the teachers to call on him. He was a bright guy, he just had never been challenged to do things the right way ... his mother and dad had separated and his mother did the best she could. He stayed with his aunt in she did a marvelous job.

"Then when he started playing basketball and getting recognition, that changed his life."

Gunn and his teammates tuned up for the 1974 state title run by spending the summers playing against the likes of Larry Finch, Larry Kenon and Ronnie Robinson along with members of the Memphis Tams ABA franchise. The older guys won by 50 in the first game but Sails said it got closer and closer each game before Melrose finally won on the last day of the summer.

"Larry Kenon asked him, 'where do you play?'" said Sails. "And John said, 'I play here.' And Larry said 'no, what college do you play for?' And John said, 'I play right here for Melrose High School. I'll be a senior this fall.'

"Larry said to me, 'Coach, there's not a high school anywhere that will beat these guys.' And no one did.'"

Despite playing out of position on the high post, Gunn — never without his trademark white headband — averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds as a freshman and 10 and 8 as a sophomore. The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Tournament that year where they played a Pepperdine team led by future NBA all-star Dennis Johnson in the west regionals in Tempe, Ariz.

Gunn left his mark on the proceedings.

"They had a player from (Brazil) named Marcos Leite," said Dillon. "We had played earlier in the year and there was some controversy and it carried over. So they're trailing the play ... and John just punched him and ran back down the floor.

"I've never seen a crowd react like that. I was doing some spotting for TV and (announcer) Merle Harmon said to me, 'I can't believe your guy did that.' But John wouldn't back down from anybody."

Gunn was tabbed a preseason All-American heading into the 1976-77 season but by September, the disease was already starting to take its toll. Sails said he noticed bumps on Gunn's face but chalked it up to the fact that the player had only recently started shaving. The lack of effort at practice was harder to explain.

"He'd come to practice and just lay on the sidelines," said Sails, who was then a Tigers assistant under Wayne Yates. "And coach Yates got on him and I said 'coach, I've been with him four or five years and he's never not wanted to practice. Something's wrong.' "

Gunn played in only three games as a junior before being hospitalized. Sails went to visit and said his player looked like the skin had been burned off his body.

On Dec. 21, the Tigers hosted Ole Miss at the Mid-South Coliseum. Sails arrived before the game and soon ran into Finch.

"Larry said, 'coach, I need to talk to you after the game,' " Sails said. "And I said, 'no just talk to me now. It's John isn't it? He's died.' His lungs had collapsed and when that happens ... I remember it was so cold in the Coliseum. It was like an iceberg had passed through there."

Said Dillon, "When they announced it to the crowd, you could have heard a pin drop. I've never seen a crowd go from up here (excited) to down there so fast."

The game went on, with the Tigers winning by three points. And time goes on too.

"John's gone," said Sails. "Larry's gone. Ronnie (Robinson) is gone. (Bluff City summer league founder) Jerry Dover is gone. All these guys I coached or basically grew up with. I remember when Larry was sick a television reporter asked me how I felt. And I said to her, 'it's God's will. It's not my will.'

"If it was my will, it would be me laying up in that bed instead."

A great team I had the privilege to see 3 times. Gunn would have averaged more if Bradley hadn’t shot from 25 feet with no 3 pointer then. He was a talent that was never harnessed. In high school, he would shoot sometimes 1 long stride over the half court line. Wright was the glue to the team and solid as a rock

Good read K2

I can recall it like it was yesterday. I first heard it as I was walking into the MSC, couldn't believe the horrible news. Still hurts today just thinking about it.

It was a sad time. I recall my dad trying to tell me about it, but I didn't really get how tough it was.

(K2 plagarizing his intro, which is weird, but I'll forgive him.)

(12-21-2018 10:59 AM)Shooters Wrote:  

(12-21-2018 09:58 AM)k2tigers Wrote:  Strange, it's one of those moments I remember where I was when I heard the tragic news - like time stood still. I was a young teenager sitting in the den waiting to watch the Tigers-Ole Miss replay on WKNO when word got out. I saw Alvin Wright crying during warm ups and thought..."what in the world is going on.."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/s.../95535936/

Verties Sails pauses to contemplate the passing of time.

"Forty years?" the Memphis coaching legend asks. "Forty? Really? Yeah, I guess it has been that long. Oh my goodness. And you know what? There's not a week that's gone by that I haven't thought about him."

There's a tinge of wistful sadness in Sails' voice when he talks about John Gunn, who starred for him at Melrose High and was putting together a good career at Memphis State before dying 40 years ago Wednesday, after having played just three games in his junior season. The culprit was Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare disease that affects the skin and mucous membranes.

He was 20 years old, a talented basketball player from a tough background who was on his way to fulfilling his enormous potential.

"It bothers me when I think about it, it really does," said longtime Tigers broadcaster Matt Dillon. "To see him struck down like that in the prime of his life ... you see a lot of kids coming from backgrounds like John's and it's just amazing that he got out."

Gunn was one of the stars on arguably the best high school basketball team ever to play in Memphis, the 1974 Melrose squad that went 35-0 won the city's fist state championship in the post integration era. Playing alongside Alvin Wright and James Bradley — who also went on to star at Memphis State — the 6-9, 220-pound Gunn averaged 20 points and 18 rebounds per game and was named the second-best senior in America, behind only a big kid in Virginia named Moses Malone.

"He was a Parade all-American, a Street and Smith's all-American," said Dillon. "He could run the floor like a gazelle and if the ball was on the glass, it was his. And tough."

Which was part of the problem Sails had to work with after Gunn, who was born in Memphis and returned to enroll at Melrose after a difficult upbringing in Fort Wayne, Ind.

"He was vulnerable," said Sails. "I remember this, it was probably his third day at Melrose. I heard from his English teacher. 'I can't teach my class.' And I asked why. And she said 'John won't allow me. He takes over the class.' So I said, 'Miss Graham, don't worry. You leave it to me.'

"So I stood outside the door and sure enough, as soon as class started he went over and sat on the teacher's desk and started acting up. And when I walked in it was so quiet you could have heard a mouse tiptoe across the room. He thought I was going to take him to the principal's office but I didn't. I took him to my office.

"And we talked. And what he said in essence was, that when he acted up it's because he didn't want the teachers to call on him. He was a bright guy, he just had never been challenged to do things the right way ... his mother and dad had separated and his mother did the best she could. He stayed with his aunt in she did a marvelous job.

"Then when he started playing basketball and getting recognition, that changed his life."

Gunn and his teammates tuned up for the 1974 state title run by spending the summers playing against the likes of Larry Finch, Larry Kenon and Ronnie Robinson along with members of the Memphis Tams ABA franchise. The older guys won by 50 in the first game but Sails said it got closer and closer each game before Melrose finally won on the last day of the summer.

"Larry Kenon asked him, 'where do you play?'" said Sails. "And John said, 'I play here.' And Larry said 'no, what college do you play for?' And John said, 'I play right here for Melrose High School. I'll be a senior this fall.'

"Larry said to me, 'Coach, there's not a high school anywhere that will beat these guys.' And no one did.'"

Despite playing out of position on the high post, Gunn — never without his trademark white headband — averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds as a freshman and 10 and 8 as a sophomore. The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Tournament that year where they played a Pepperdine team led by future NBA all-star Dennis Johnson in the west regionals in Tempe, Ariz.

Gunn left his mark on the proceedings.

"They had a player from (Brazil) named Marcos Leite," said Dillon. "We had played earlier in the year and there was some controversy and it carried over. So they're trailing the play ... and John just punched him and ran back down the floor.

"I've never seen a crowd react like that. I was doing some spotting for TV and (announcer) Merle Harmon said to me, 'I can't believe your guy did that.' But John wouldn't back down from anybody."

Gunn was tabbed a preseason All-American heading into the 1976-77 season but by September, the disease was already starting to take its toll. Sails said he noticed bumps on Gunn's face but chalked it up to the fact that the player had only recently started shaving. The lack of effort at practice was harder to explain.

"He'd come to practice and just lay on the sidelines," said Sails, who was then a Tigers assistant under Wayne Yates. "And coach Yates got on him and I said 'coach, I've been with him four or five years and he's never not wanted to practice. Something's wrong.' "

Gunn played in only three games as a junior before being hospitalized. Sails went to visit and said his player looked like the skin had been burned off his body.

On Dec. 21, the Tigers hosted Ole Miss at the Mid-South Coliseum. Sails arrived before the game and soon ran into Finch.

"Larry said, 'coach, I need to talk to you after the game,' " Sails said. "And I said, 'no just talk to me now. It's John isn't it? He's died.' His lungs had collapsed and when that happens ... I remember it was so cold in the Coliseum. It was like an iceberg had passed through there."

Said Dillon, "When they announced it to the crowd, you could have heard a pin drop. I've never seen a crowd go from up here (excited) to down there so fast."

The game went on, with the Tigers winning by three points. And time goes on too.

"John's gone," said Sails. "Larry's gone. Ronnie (Robinson) is gone. (Bluff City summer league founder) Jerry Dover is gone. All these guys I coached or basically grew up with. I remember when Larry was sick a television reporter asked me how I felt. And I said to her, 'it's God's will. It's not my will.'

"If it was my will, it would be me laying up in that bed instead."

A great team I had the privilege to see 3 times. Gunn would have averaged more if Bradley hadn’t shot from 25 feet with no 3 pointer then. He was a talent that was never harnessed. In high school, he would shoot sometimes 1 long stride over the half court line. Wright was the glue to the team and solid as a rock

I saw Melrose beat South Side at Melrose in 74 I think. Gunn and Wrights senior year. Bradley was a Junior but hit a shot from 30 feet to tie the game and send into overtime and then the same shot at the buzzer to win it as Gunn was triple teamed.

Loved Big John Gunn. He had that fire back in the day iykwim!

(12-21-2018 11:25 AM)wylioats Wrote:  I can recall it like it was yesterday. I first heard it as I was walking into the MSC, couldn't believe the horrible news. Still hurts today just thinking about it.

Me too, a lot different now in social media times. It was so sad.