When Oscar Robertson watches UC basketball, greatness is present
Camera catches 'Big O' during every telecast
Mar 11, 2013


Former NBA star Oscar Robertson poses for a photo after taping "The Finals: Summit of Champions," in May of 2004 at the NBA store in New York. Robertson joined a roundtable discussion with some of the league's legends; it was aired during the NBA Finals.

Written by
Bill Koch

Oscar Robertson’s seat is prominent, as it should be. When the University of Cincinnati Bearcats play at home, the Big O watches from a chair located next to press row, a few feet from center court.

A banner with his retired No. 12 hangs on the south wall of Fifth Third Arena. Just outside the arena, there’s a statue of him where kids can often be seen having their picture taken.

Inside, a steady stream of fans approach Robertson before every game, at halftime, and after the game, either to wish him well, secure an autograph or get their picture taken with him. Robertson takes it all in stride.

For the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of sitting at the end of press row right next to Robertson. He always says hello when he arrives, but beyond that doesn’t have much to say, at least not to me. Occasionally, though, he asks me a question. When the Bearcats played St. John’s in January, he noticed that former Purdue coach Gene Keady was on the bench, assisting head coach Steve Lavin. “Is that Gene Keady over there?” he asked. “How old is he now?”

I did a quick Google search and informed Oscar that Keady is 76, two years older than Robertson. When the game ended and Keady was making his way across the floor toward the St. John’s locker room, Robertson signaled to him. They stopped and chatted.

Almost everyone does. UC players and administrators, the head coaches of UC opponents, their assistants, sometimes even their players, approach Oscar during warmups and shake his hand, as do many of the game officials when they first appear on the court. After one game this year, every player on the opposing team walked over to shake Oscar’s hand, a tribute from a generation of players who likely know him only as the legend they’ve heard about from their grandparents or coaches.

Some of the most touching scenes are when Oscar’s contemporaries shake his hand or give him a hug, ask about his family and talk about old times, much to the Big O’s delight.

And then there are the dads who ask Oscar if he would mind getting his picture taken with their son or daughter, as if he were the president. After the picture is snapped, they thank him profusely. “You’re a great man, Oscar,” one of them said this year.

Bob Knight has done color commentary for several UC games this season and before each one, he and Oscar talked together, presenting a memorable image of two giants of the game sharing stories. After Knight’s second UC game, as I was filing my first-edition story, I heard Knight tell Oscar that he had talked about him a lot during the broadcast so that the younger generation would appreciate what he has done for the game, as if Oscar craved the publicity, which he doesn’t.


There aren’t many schools that have an Oscar Robertson who regularly attends their games. / Enquirer file photo

Not a telecast goes by where the camera doesn’t focus on the Big O. I’m told that I get lots of face time because I sit so close to him. I always try to act nonchalant when I see the camera, as if I’m thoroughly unimpressed by this member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, this man who was national player of the year for three straight years, while averaging 33.8 points even though he never had the benefit of the 3-point shot.

But the truth is that when I was a kid growing up in Cincinnati and Robertson was playing for the old Cincinnati Royals, I purchased Robertson’s book, “Play Better Basketball,” and took it to the park to work on the drills he detailed, clinging to the misguided belief that if I would just keep doing these drills day after day, I could become a great player, too. After all, they worked for the Big O.

There aren’t many schools that have an Oscar Robertson who regularly attends their games. Not only does he show up, he sits next to the court and mingles with fans instead of hiding away in one of the luxury suites.

I asked Oscar a few weeks ago if he would consent to an interview about what it’s like for him to watch a game at Fifth Third. He said he’d rather not.

“The people are nice,” he said. “As long as they’re nice, I don’t mind.”

Robertson follows the games closely. Sometimes he questions officials’ calls. He gets frustrated when the Bearcats don’t play well. Occasionally he urges one of the UC players to shoot more. The important thing is that more often than not, he’s at his station, rooting for the school he put on the national map more than 50 years ago.

And that’s very cool.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130...ss-present

Another nice article by Bill Koch. It would have been nocer if Oscar consented to an interview, but that's not Koch's fault.

I'm enjoying the coverage from the Enquirer.

Yeah, I think Bill's been churning out a few good stories lately. I think it's awesome UC has a legend sitting courtside game after game.

That said, I think this paints Oscar as a more positive man than I've encountered over the years.

(03-12-2013 06:48 AM)JPBearcat3 Wrote:  Yeah, I think Bill's been churning out a few good stories lately. I think it's awesome UC has a legend sitting courtside game after game.

That said, I think this paints Oscar as a more positive man than I've encountered over the years.

Careful about being contrary.

I agree he comes off pretty smug most of the time, but the national media absolutely loves talking about him during games so I'm very glad he still comes to games.

Well done. It seems the Enquirer is making the effort to focus more on UC. Having separate beat writers for basketball and football allows Koch to do more feature stories such as this and the one on Cash.
I'm hopeful after spring practice UC will work to create more opportunities for Coach T to be in the public eye too. I like his style and believe he could quickly become one of the most popular sports figures in the area.

I must give credit where credit is due. Old Bill has churned out some good stuff the last few weeks.

(03-12-2013 06:48 AM)JPBearcat3 Wrote:  Yeah, I think Bill's been churning out a few good stories lately. I think it's awesome UC has a legend sitting courtside game after game.

That said, I think this paints Oscar as a more positive man than I've encountered over the years.

He's always been nice to me and my sons especially, he has posed for pics with them and has signed game programs, etc for them.

Koch can write decent people stories whem a fire is lit under him.
But he doesn't know squat about sports. Taking him off football
is a real plus for UC. [/b]

Mrs. Ragpicker's Christmas present for me......

(03-12-2013 09:35 AM)Crewdogz Wrote:  

(03-12-2013 06:48 AM)JPBearcat3 Wrote:  Yeah, I think Bill's been churning out a few good stories lately. I think it's awesome UC has a legend sitting courtside game after game.

That said, I think this paints Oscar as a more positive man than I've encountered over the years.

He's always been nice to me and my sons especially, he has posed for pics with them and has signed game programs, etc for them.

Same for us.

To have a basketball legend at every home game is a big plus for UC - for the players, fans and recruits. Do you see Michael Jordan at every North Carolina home game? No. Patrick Ewing at every Georgetown home game? No. Magic Johnson at every Michigan State home game? No. No one supports their alma mater like Oscar Robertson. The Big O has given back to UC more than any other "great" alumni from any university. He is a treasure we should all be thankful for and, someday, he will be sorely missed.