Everybody is saying they can't wait for basketball, and the first game is only two weeks away. Let's get some talk going with some superlatives.
All time greatest UAB shooter: Andy Kennedy
All time greatest rebounder: Jerome Mincy
All time greatest point guard: Squeaky Johnson
All time greatest center: Norman Anchrum
All time greatest win: 1981 Kentucky
Most disappinting loss: 1982 Louisville - a win and we are in the Final Four
All time greatest two year player: Donell Taylor
All time greatest one year player: Keith McCord or Darryl Braden
Greatest player who never fulfilled his potential: Carlos Williams. Without his injury, he would have been a long term NBA player.
All time greatest player: Steve Mitchell
Greatest memory from last year: Memphis victory
Worst Memory from last year: Demario Eddins going down
Best Defender - George Wilkerson
Hardest Worker / Lunch Pail Every Night - Will Campbell
Biggest Suprise Performance in an NCAA game - Jack Gordon vs. Memphis in 1985 - 14 points & 15 rebounds
SG--A. Kennedy...Rebounder--A Gordon...PG--G Marcus...C--Anchrum....2year player--R Shannon....Win Virginia 82...Loss -Monmouth 1990.....PF- J. Mincy....
BEST-Oliver Robinson
Clutch Shot Award = Robert Shannon's 3 late against bammer
Nice Guy Award = James Ponder and Reginald Turner
Worst Recruit = Jeremy Bearden
Wierdest player = Jack gordon NO DOUBT ABOUT IT
Most Improved = Alan Ogg
Sweetest turnaround jumper = Reginald Turner
my favorite off the bench & a sometime starter Frank Haywood always gave 100%...
mobileblazer Wrote:Clutch Shot Award = McKinley Singleton's 3 late against bammer
Nice Guy Award = James Ponder and Reginald Turner
Worst Recruit = Jeremy Bearden
Wierdest player = Jack gordon NO DOUBT ABOUT IT
Most Improved = Alan Ogg
Sweetest turnaround jumper = Reginald Turner
That was Robert Shannon with the 3 against Bammer.
the_blazerman Wrote:mobileblazer Wrote:Clutch Shot Award = McKinley Singleton's 3 late against bammer
Nice Guy Award = James Ponder and Reginald Turner
Worst Recruit = Jeremy Bearden
Wierdest player = Jack gordon NO DOUBT ABOUT IT
Most Improved = Alan Ogg
Sweetest turnaround jumper = Reginald Turner
That was Robert Shannon with the 3 against Bammer.
Changed...You're right.
[quote="mobileblazer"]Clutch Shot Award = McKinley Singleton's 3 late against bammer Runner up: Demario Eddins vs. DePaul. Sidney Ball vs. South Florida
Nice Guy Award = James Ponder and Reginald Turner Runner up: Archie Johnson
Worst Recruit = Jeremy Bearden Runner up: Asa Woods. I take that back, Asa was a much worst recruit than Jeremy.
Wierdest player = Jack gordon NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Runner up: None.
Here's one:
Biggest success story after college outside of basketball:
(tie) Oliver Robinson.
and
Scott Simcik: Founder of Inches Away. He's a multi millionaire. lmfao
Mobile Blazer, Robert Shannon hit 3 in the UAT game
Worst free throw shooter = Tie, James Bristow and Marvin Ray Johnson
Favorite Coach Bartow Memory- His "mad dog" substitutions
Some of my most memorable games:
Nebraska (1978)....the beginning...a great night
DePaul (1980)....packed house....near win against nation's best team
Kentucky (1981).....we're here, and we're for real....in Tuscaloosa (!)
Indiana (1982)....giving the defending national champs a good spanking
Virginia (1982)....still the loudest crowd I've ever heard, anywhere
Kansas (1984)....Great Alaska Shootout champions...when it meant something!
Cincinnati (1996).....Bristow's tip at the buzzer wins it
Kentucky (2004)....we're baccccckkkk!
Memphis (2006)....great win, great crowd, great night.
Favorites among players....
All-around player: Steve Mitchell
Clutch shooter: Oliver Robinson
Outside shooter: Mo Finley (Kennedy was better, but Mo was a favorite)
Inside player: Elbert Rogers
Exciting player: Stanley Jackson
Rebounder: Chris Giles (honorable mention: Jerome Mincy)
Defensive player: Raymond Gause (HM: George Wilkerson)
Favorite personality: Squeaky (& Reginald Turner)
Strangest human being: Jack Gordon (no contest)
mobileblazer Wrote:Worst free throw shooter = Tie, James Bristow and Marvin Ray Johnson
Let me add one that might be a worse free throw shooter than those two combined..... Anthony Thomas.
One of my favorite memories was playing Indiana at the BJCC in Murry's first year. The place was electric. 16,000+. Only problem was that UAB lost but Bobby Knight went besirk which made for a good evening!
Longest range shooter - Bruce Baker
For us young guys, what was so weird about Jack Gordon?
BlazerPhil Wrote:Longest range shooter - Bruce Baker
Also he was the all time crowd favorite. The crowd would light up with Bruuuuuuuuuuuuce calls every time he came in or scored.
Tallest guy with a sweet jumper - Igor
Most disappointing tenure - Rembert
Honorable Mention for most exciting game was that AL State game I think in 1988 to 1990 time frame, when we came back to win from like 20 down with around 10 minutes to go.
Scariest Moment - When the cheerleader fell off the top of the human pyramid and no one was there to catch her.
Fondest Memory as a young man - The extremely skimpy outfits the golden girls wore in the beginning the program.
The slowest set shot and easiest to block - Andy Kennedy
Strangest moment - Penders pulling the possum act
Greatest play not only in UAB history but in all NCAA history - blind twin pass to twin for the dunk
dfarr Wrote:For us young guys, what was so weird about Jack Gordon?
Jack wasn't very confident, socially. He had a bit of a speech problem I think. He had a run in with the press early on in his career and would up not talking to them for the next 2 or 3 years. It may have been the UAB - UNLV game in Vegas 84-85 timeframe when Jack rebounded the ball to apparently seal the win and then dropped it out of bounds, UNLV won on a shot that went in just before the buzzer.
It never appeared to me that Jack had any money or support from home while at UAB. I dunno for sure but in the winter he ALWAYS wore a U.S. Navy issue pea coat. And he never had a car. To me, Big Jack was the prime example that Coach Bartow was running as clean a program as could be run.
You never knew which Jack Gordon was going to show up on the floor every night. Some nights he gained 4 fouls in 5 minutes, some nights he wouldn't play defense at all. But Big Jack had his moments, taking over the game, swatting shots into the stands, gorilla dunks over bigger players etc. I think he still leads all UAB players in number of games played if I am not mistaken.
BlazerPhil Wrote:dfarr Wrote:For us young guys, what was so weird about Jack Gordon?
Jack wasn't very confident, socially. He had a bit of a speech problem I think. He had a run in with the press early on in his career and would up not talking to them for the next 2 or 3 years. It may have been the UAB - UNLV game in Vegas 84-85 timeframe when Jack rebounded the ball to apparantly seal the win and then dropped it out of bounds, UNVL won on a shot that went in just before the buzzer.
It never appeared to me that Jack had any money or support from home while at UAB. I dunno for sure but in the winter he ALWAYS wore a U.S. Navy issue pea coat.
You never knew which Jack Gordon was going to show up on the floor every night. Some nights he gained 4 fouls in 5 minutes, some nights he wouldn't play defense at all. But Big Jack had his moments, taking over the game swatting shots into the stands, gorilla dunks over bigger players etc. I think he still leads all UAB players in number of games played if I am not mistaken.
I lived down the hall from Jack, at Twin Towers. I rode the elevator with him several times a week, and in 4 years, he never did speak to me. If he and I were the only ones in the elevator, he would simply stare a hole in me. Hell, he was 10 inches taller than I am. The only time I got any response from him was the night Gorden, Ponder and Mincy found out I had the Playboy channel (showing my age there). I couldn't get them out of my dorm room!
BlazerPhil Wrote:dfarr Wrote:For us young guys, what was so weird about Jack Gordon?
Jack wasn't very confident, socially. He had a bit of a speech problem I think. He had a run in with the press early on in his career and would up not talking to them for the next 2 or 3 years. It may have been the UAB - UNLV game in Vegas 84-85 timeframe when Jack rebounded the ball to apparently seal the win and then dropped it out of bounds, UNLV won on a shot that went in just before the buzzer.
It never appeared to me that Jack had any money or support from home while at UAB. I dunno for sure but in the winter he ALWAYS wore a U.S. Navy issue pea coat. And he never had a car. To me, Big Jack was the prime example that Coach Bartow was running as clean a program as could be run.
You never knew which Jack Gordon was going to show up on the floor every night. Some nights he gained 4 fouls in 5 minutes, some nights he wouldn't play defense at all. But Big Jack had his moments, taking over the game, swatting shots into the stands, gorilla dunks over bigger players etc. I think he still leads all UAB players in number of games played if I am not mistaken.
Yes, I think he played in 118 games. He also had a way, when you saw him on campus of just staring at people. You would say hi, and he would just stare at you.
The Memphis players, even today have a sort of fraternity among themselves. Mitchell Mincy, Larry Spicer, McKinley Singleton, Darryl Braden. Gordon was never a part of that group, even though I think the others have reached out to him. At the 25th anniversary, one of them said they tried to find Jack to get him to come to the reunion and the last they had known, he was living with his mother in Memphis. They went by, but no one had seen him in a while.