Article : Best SJU Perimeter team ?

[RedStormNC]

 

[McGarry2]

Prior to the introduction of the 3 point field goal St john's tended to limit shooting from the perimeter. I was told that this was in place at least from Buck Freemen time and even earlier. The rational was that the closer to basket the greater the opportunity for success . Also the introduction of the shoot clock was an incentive to play from or shoot the perimeter as time of possession was a factor in the game


Back in the 1940s, when I was in grade school I tend to remember many school had very low shooting percentages and many schools almost had a designated outside shooter-Sid Tannenbaum NYU

Best I can tell St John's has had 3 exceptional shooter Tony Jackson, Bill Schaffer and Chris Mullin best perimeter team would be a team one of them played on.

 

[fuchsia]

Kevin Loughery

 

[McGarry2]

So you would go with Jackson & Loughery

Over Mullin & Mark Jackson

 

[fuchsia]

Loughery vs. Mullin as shooters is a push. Jackson vs. Jackson is between two scorers, one with great hands and vision, the other with superb body control, both with high accuracy on some shots. I liked Tony's game more than Mark's because he seemed to always be going 100% while Mark seemingly picked his spots, probably the difference between being the lead scorer at wing vs. point guard.

 

[Ray Morgan]

https://elitesportsny.com/2016/12/03/st-johns-red-storm-best-perimeter-team-in-school-history/

It's not even a close call. This team has 4 players that are a threat from 3, and 5 if you count you tube videos. They also have the only college staff that could challenge any college team to a game of horse and win, and that would include forcing Matt and St. Jean to take their turns.

 

[beast of the east]

Historically, it's a nice discussion to speak of our best shooters of the past 50 years (reasonably within the recall of many posters here.

I liked Glen Williams as a medium range shooter. Schaeffer had a terrific senior campaign after Mel Davis went down, and I think his shooting % was around 64% for that season. I don't recall him having 3 point range (there was no 3 pt shot), and in 5 professional seasons shot 47% from the field but only attempted 26 3 pointers out of 700+ FGA, where he shot in the mid 20s, supporting that he may not have been a great distance shooter, more mid range.

Back then I think Looie used point guards to occasionally shoot over a zone or man to keep defenses from packing it in. Guys like Alagia, Kelly, and even Tommy Calabrese could occasionally nail long jumpers, but typically limited to 3-4 tries per game.

McGarry is absolutely right about SJU's strategy, which was basically textbook basketball. Many old school coaches today say that the 3 pt shot ruined basketball. The goal was always to get the easiest shot possible as close to the hoop as possible. The "home-run" shot changed that dramatically.

I like the perimeter shooter we have now, but before anointing them the best ever at SJU would like to see how they perform over a season against the talented teams in the BE. Everything gets bigger and fast when you play better teams, and teams with more talent cover the perimeter better, giving shooters less time and more pressure to shoot.

 

[MarkRedman]

Historically, it's a nice discussion to speak of our best shooters of the past 50 years (reasonably within the recall of many posters here.

I liked Glen Williams as a medium range shooter. Schaeffer had a terrific senior campaign after Mel Davis went down, and I think his shooting % was around 64% for that season. I don't recall him having 3 point range (there was no 3 pt shot), and in 5 professional seasons shot 47% from the field but only attempted 26 3 pointers out of 700+ FGA, where he shot in the mid 20s, supporting that he may not have been a great distance shooter, more mid range.

Back then I think Looie used point guards to occasionally shoot over a zone or man to keep defenses from packing it in. Guys like Alagia, Kelly, and even Tommy Calabrese could occasionally nail long jumpers, but typically limited to 3-4 tries per game.

McGarry is absolutely right about SJU's strategy, which was basically textbook basketball. Many old school coaches today say that the 3 pt shot ruined basketball. The goal was always to get the easiest shot possible as close to the hoop as possible. The "home-run" shot changed that dramatically.

I like the perimeter shooter we have now, but before anointing them the best ever at SJU would like to see how they perform over a season against the talented teams in the BE. Everything gets bigger and fast when you play better teams, and teams with more talent cover the perimeter better, giving shooters less time and more pressure to shoot.

Schaeffer was deadly from 15 feet out on the baseline
Unfortunately,at 6'5", he was a tweener
Too slow to guard the 2's and not big enough to guard the 3's at the pro level
But he was a great college player!!

 

[beast of the east]

Historically, it's a nice discussion to speak of our best shooters of the past 50 years (reasonably within the recall of many posters here.

I liked Glen Williams as a medium range shooter. Schaeffer had a terrific senior campaign after Mel Davis went down, and I think his shooting % was around 64% for that season. I don't recall him having 3 point range (there was no 3 pt shot), and in 5 professional seasons shot 47% from the field but only attempted 26 3 pointers out of 700+ FGA, where he shot in the mid 20s, supporting that he may not have been a great distance shooter, more mid range.

Back then I think Looie used point guards to occasionally shoot over a zone or man to keep defenses from packing it in. Guys like Alagia, Kelly, and even Tommy Calabrese could occasionally nail long jumpers, but typically limited to 3-4 tries per game.

McGarry is absolutely right about SJU's strategy, which was basically textbook basketball. Many old school coaches today say that the 3 pt shot ruined basketball. The goal was always to get the easiest shot possible as close to the hoop as possible. The "home-run" shot changed that dramatically.

I like the perimeter shooter we have now, but before anointing them the best ever at SJU would like to see how they perform over a season against the talented teams in the BE. Everything gets bigger and fast when you play better teams, and teams with more talent cover the perimeter better, giving shooters less time and more pressure to shoot.

Schaeffer was deadly from 15 feet out on the baseline
Unfortunately,at 6'5", he was a tweener
Too slow to guard the 2's and not big enough to guard the 3's at the pro level
But he was a great college player!!

I recall the same, as it was my first season of following SJU bball and few games were on TV. His spot I believe was about 12-15 feet from the left baseline.

Billy tells a great story of why he selected the ABA Nets over the NBA LA Lakers. He thought long and hard about it, and was perplexed as to why the Laker would draft him when they had a very similar guard (Jim McMillan) who was already a very good NBA player. After much thought he decides to sign with the Nets. At almost exactly the same time after Schaeffer inked the contract, McMillan was traded away. At that moment he understood why the Lakers drafted him but it was too late.

 

[Ray Morgan]

Historically, it's a nice discussion to speak of our best shooters of the past 50 years (reasonably within the recall of many posters here.

I liked Glen Williams as a medium range shooter. Schaeffer had a terrific senior campaign after Mel Davis went down, and I think his shooting % was around 64% for that season. I don't recall him having 3 point range (there was no 3 pt shot), and in 5 professional seasons shot 47% from the field but only attempted 26 3 pointers out of 700+ FGA, where he shot in the mid 20s, supporting that he may not have been a great distance shooter, more mid range.

Back then I think Looie used point guards to occasionally shoot over a zone or man to keep defenses from packing it in. Guys like Alagia, Kelly, and even Tommy Calabrese could occasionally nail long jumpers, but typically limited to 3-4 tries per game.

McGarry is absolutely right about SJU's strategy, which was basically textbook basketball. Many old school coaches today say that the 3 pt shot ruined basketball. The goal was always to get the easiest shot possible as close to the hoop as possible. The "home-run" shot changed that dramatically.

I like the perimeter shooter we have now, but before anointing them the best ever at SJU would like to see how they perform over a season against the talented teams in the BE. Everything gets bigger and fast when you play better teams, and teams with more talent cover the perimeter better, giving shooters less time and more pressure to shoot.

Billy Schaeffer shot 63% from the field and 75% from the line as a junior and hit those exact percentages as a senior For a small forward, that's insane, and incredibly consistent. The ABA 3 point line was 23'9". With the college line 3 feet shorter, Schaeffer would have had his share of 3s .Bill was a smart player, and had no trouble, despite his Mullinesque lack of foot speed and lack of hops, getting to where he was most likely to score. In his senior year, the team shot close to 52%. You didn't get an extra point for taking long jumpers, so why bother? That team had 3 guys that I would trust up to 18 feet. Beyond that is just a guess.

 

[Knight]

Historically, it's a nice discussion to speak of our best shooters of the past 50 years (reasonably within the recall of many posters here.

I liked Glen Williams as a medium range shooter. Schaeffer had a terrific senior campaign after Mel Davis went down, and I think his shooting % was around 64% for that season. I don't recall him having 3 point range (there was no 3 pt shot), and in 5 professional seasons shot 47% from the field but only attempted 26 3 pointers out of 700+ FGA, where he shot in the mid 20s, supporting that he may not have been a great distance shooter, more mid range.

Back then I think Looie used point guards to occasionally shoot over a zone or man to keep defenses from packing it in. Guys like Alagia, Kelly, and even Tommy Calabrese could occasionally nail long jumpers, but typically limited to 3-4 tries per game.

McGarry is absolutely right about SJU's strategy, which was basically textbook basketball. Many old school coaches today say that the 3 pt shot ruined basketball. The goal was always to get the easiest shot possible as close to the hoop as possible. The "home-run" shot changed that dramatically.

I like the perimeter shooter we have now, but before anointing them the best ever at SJU would like to see how they perform over a season against the talented teams in the BE. Everything gets bigger and fast when you play better teams, and teams with more talent cover the perimeter better, giving shooters less time and more pressure to shoot.

Billy Schaeffer shot 63% from the field and 75% from the line as a junior and hit those exact percentages as a senior For a small forward, that's insane, and incredibly consistent. The ABA 3 point line was 23'9". With the college line 3 feet shorter, Schaeffer would have had his share of 3s .Bill was a smart player, and had no trouble, despite his Mullinesque lack of foot speed and lack of hops, getting to where he was most likely to score. In his senior year, the team shot close to 52%. You didn't get an extra point for taking long jumpers, so why bother? That team had 3 guys that I would trust up to 18 feet. Beyond that is just a guess.

I sat next to Red Auerbach one time at a college game in Schaef's Jr. year. I asked coach about Billy and he said he was a good shooter, but ran the court on his heels. He really was impressed will Mel Davis and liked his speed and aggressiveness.

 

[Ray Morgan]

Historically, it's a nice discussion to speak of our best shooters of the past 50 years (reasonably within the recall of many posters here.

I liked Glen Williams as a medium range shooter. Schaeffer had a terrific senior campaign after Mel Davis went down, and I think his shooting % was around 64% for that season. I don't recall him having 3 point range (there was no 3 pt shot), and in 5 professional seasons shot 47% from the field but only attempted 26 3 pointers out of 700+ FGA, where he shot in the mid 20s, supporting that he may not have been a great distance shooter, more mid range.

Back then I think Looie used point guards to occasionally shoot over a zone or man to keep defenses from packing it in. Guys like Alagia, Kelly, and even Tommy Calabrese could occasionally nail long jumpers, but typically limited to 3-4 tries per game.

McGarry is absolutely right about SJU's strategy, which was basically textbook basketball. Many old school coaches today say that the 3 pt shot ruined basketball. The goal was always to get the easiest shot possible as close to the hoop as possible. The "home-run" shot changed that dramatically.

I like the perimeter shooter we have now, but before anointing them the best ever at SJU would like to see how they perform over a season against the talented teams in the BE. Everything gets bigger and fast when you play better teams, and teams with more talent cover the perimeter better, giving shooters less time and more pressure to shoot.

Billy Schaeffer shot 63% from the field and 75% from the line as a junior and hit those exact percentages as a senior For a small forward, that's insane, and incredibly consistent. The ABA 3 point line was 23'9". With the college line 3 feet shorter, Schaeffer would have had his share of 3s .Bill was a smart player, and had no trouble, despite his Mullinesque lack of foot speed and lack of hops, getting to where he was most likely to score. In his senior year, the team shot close to 52%. You didn't get an extra point for taking long jumpers, so why bother? That team had 3 guys that I would trust up to 18 feet. Beyond that is just a guess.

I sat next to Red Auerbach one time at a college game in Schaef's Jr. year. I asked coach about Billy and he said he was a good shooter, but ran the court on his heels. He really was impressed will Mel Davis and liked his speed and aggressiveness.

Apparently Mel played for the wrong Red, as he ended up losing his aggressiveness and looked lost for his entire career after Holzman buried him on the bench and took all of his confidence away.

 

[Las Vegan]

The best perimeter team I got to see was Barkley, Thornton and Postell. I had just started high school when SJU had another great team, including Dove, Bogad, Hill, Warren and Schwartz. I think they only lost two or three games in regular season. They got to sweet sixteen before losing close game to BC. They were rarely on TV in those days, but they had a pretty good outside game, as I recall. I only went to one game at Alumni Hall - when they blew out highly ranked Kansas, but I'm not sure if I have the correct year.

 

[jerseyshorejohnny]

A pretty good perimeter player was Kevin "Radar" Cleuss (Class of 1975)

 

[beast of the east]

Historically, it's a nice discussion to speak of our best shooters of the past 50 years (reasonably within the recall of many posters here.

I liked Glen Williams as a medium range shooter. Schaeffer had a terrific senior campaign after Mel Davis went down, and I think his shooting % was around 64% for that season. I don't recall him having 3 point range (there was no 3 pt shot), and in 5 professional seasons shot 47% from the field but only attempted 26 3 pointers out of 700+ FGA, where he shot in the mid 20s, supporting that he may not have been a great distance shooter, more mid range.

Back then I think Looie used point guards to occasionally shoot over a zone or man to keep defenses from packing it in. Guys like Alagia, Kelly, and even Tommy Calabrese could occasionally nail long jumpers, but typically limited to 3-4 tries per game.

McGarry is absolutely right about SJU's strategy, which was basically textbook basketball. Many old school coaches today say that the 3 pt shot ruined basketball. The goal was always to get the easiest shot possible as close to the hoop as possible. The "home-run" shot changed that dramatically.

I like the perimeter shooter we have now, but before anointing them the best ever at SJU would like to see how they perform over a season against the talented teams in the BE. Everything gets bigger and fast when you play better teams, and teams with more talent cover the perimeter better, giving shooters less time and more pressure to shoot.

Billy Schaeffer shot 63% from the field and 75% from the line as a junior and hit those exact percentages as a senior For a small forward, that's insane, and incredibly consistent. The ABA 3 point line was 23'9". With the college line 3 feet shorter, Schaeffer would have had his share of 3s .Bill was a smart player, and had no trouble, despite his Mullinesque lack of foot speed and lack of hops, getting to where he was most likely to score. In his senior year, the team shot close to 52%. You didn't get an extra point for taking long jumpers, so why bother? That team had 3 guys that I would trust up to 18 feet. Beyond that is just a guess.

I sat next to Red Auerbach one time at a college game in Schaef's Jr. year. I asked coach about Billy and he said he was a good shooter, but ran the court on his heels. He really was impressed will Mel Davis and liked his speed and aggressiveness.

Apparently Mel played for the wrong Red, as he ended up losing his aggressiveness and looked lost for his entire career after Holzman buried him on the bench and took all of his confidence away.

Didn't Mel suffer a second knee injury in the pros? Also he came to the Knicks in their decline years, and often a guy who is a physical monster in college just doesn't make the jump well to the pros. IMO, he wasn't the same player after the injury that took away his senior year

 

[paultzman]

Historically, it's a nice discussion to speak of our best shooters of the past 50 years (reasonably within the recall of many posters here.

I liked Glen Williams as a medium range shooter. Schaeffer had a terrific senior campaign after Mel Davis went down, and I think his shooting % was around 64% for that season. I don't recall him having 3 point range (there was no 3 pt shot), and in 5 professional seasons shot 47% from the field but only attempted 26 3 pointers out of 700+ FGA, where he shot in the mid 20s, supporting that he may not have been a great distance shooter, more mid range.

Back then I think Looie used point guards to occasionally shoot over a zone or man to keep defenses from packing it in. Guys like Alagia, Kelly, and even Tommy Calabrese could occasionally nail long jumpers, but typically limited to 3-4 tries per game.

McGarry is absolutely right about SJU's strategy, which was basically textbook basketball. Many old school coaches today say that the 3 pt shot ruined basketball. The goal was always to get the easiest shot possible as close to the hoop as possible. The "home-run" shot changed that dramatically.

I like the perimeter shooter we have now, but before anointing them the best ever at SJU would like to see how they perform over a season against the talented teams in the BE. Everything gets bigger and fast when you play better teams, and teams with more talent cover the perimeter better, giving shooters less time and more pressure to shoot.

Billy Schaeffer shot 63% from the field and 75% from the line as a junior and hit those exact percentages as a senior For a small forward, that's insane, and incredibly consistent. The ABA 3 point line was 23'9". With the college line 3 feet shorter, Schaeffer would have had his share of 3s .Bill was a smart player, and had no trouble, despite his Mullinesque lack of foot speed and lack of hops, getting to where he was most likely to score. In his senior year, the team shot close to 52%. You didn't get an extra point for taking long jumpers, so why bother? That team had 3 guys that I would trust up to 18 feet. Beyond that is just a guess.

I sat next to Red Auerbach one time at a college game in Schaef's Jr. year. I asked coach about Billy and he said he was a good shooter, but ran the court on his heels. He really was impressed will Mel Davis and liked his speed and aggressiveness.

Apparently Mel played for the wrong Red, as he ended up losing his aggressiveness and looked lost for his entire career after Holzman buried him on the bench and took all of his confidence away.

Didn't Mel suffer a second knee injury in the pros? Also he came to the Knicks in their decline years, and often a guy who is a physical monster in college just doesn't make the jump well to the pros. IMO, he wasn't the same player after the injury that took away his senior year

All Oral Roberts' fault.

 

[Ray Morgan]

Historically, it's a nice discussion to speak of our best shooters of the past 50 years (reasonably within the recall of many posters here.

I liked Glen Williams as a medium range shooter. Schaeffer had a terrific senior campaign after Mel Davis went down, and I think his shooting % was around 64% for that season. I don't recall him having 3 point range (there was no 3 pt shot), and in 5 professional seasons shot 47% from the field but only attempted 26 3 pointers out of 700+ FGA, where he shot in the mid 20s, supporting that he may not have been a great distance shooter, more mid range.

Back then I think Looie used point guards to occasionally shoot over a zone or man to keep defenses from packing it in. Guys like Alagia, Kelly, and even Tommy Calabrese could occasionally nail long jumpers, but typically limited to 3-4 tries per game.

McGarry is absolutely right about SJU's strategy, which was basically textbook basketball. Many old school coaches today say that the 3 pt shot ruined basketball. The goal was always to get the easiest shot possible as close to the hoop as possible. The "home-run" shot changed that dramatically.

I like the perimeter shooter we have now, but before anointing them the best ever at SJU would like to see how they perform over a season against the talented teams in the BE. Everything gets bigger and fast when you play better teams, and teams with more talent cover the perimeter better, giving shooters less time and more pressure to shoot.

Billy Schaeffer shot 63% from the field and 75% from the line as a junior and hit those exact percentages as a senior For a small forward, that's insane, and incredibly consistent. The ABA 3 point line was 23'9". With the college line 3 feet shorter, Schaeffer would have had his share of 3s .Bill was a smart player, and had no trouble, despite his Mullinesque lack of foot speed and lack of hops, getting to where he was most likely to score. In his senior year, the team shot close to 52%. You didn't get an extra point for taking long jumpers, so why bother? That team had 3 guys that I would trust up to 18 feet. Beyond that is just a guess.

I sat next to Red Auerbach one time at a college game in Schaef's Jr. year. I asked coach about Billy and he said he was a good shooter, but ran the court on his heels. He really was impressed will Mel Davis and liked his speed and aggressiveness.

Apparently Mel played for the wrong Red, as he ended up losing his aggressiveness and looked lost for his entire career after Holzman buried him on the bench and took all of his confidence away.

Didn't Mel suffer a second knee injury in the pros? Also he came to the Knicks in their decline years, and often a guy who is a physical monster in college just doesn't make the jump well to the pros. IMO, he wasn't the same player after the injury that took away his senior year

All Oral Roberts' fault.

I don't remember a second knee injury. Mel D. had his moments when Holzman let him play. I really never heard that the knee was the issue, but you may be right. He didn't get the nickname "killer" until he played for the Knicks, so he must have still been a wild man under the boards in practice. Oral Roberts supposedly laid hands on him or blessed him after the injury. Wasn't in the Garden that night, so not sure if Oral was there or just did the old Ernest Angley move of blessing you through the television set. As everyone clamors for Christian Jones, the real 6'7 big bodied rebounder who would have made a difference was Mel.

 

[paultzman]

Historically, it's a nice discussion to speak of our best shooters of the past 50 years (reasonably within the recall of many posters here.

I liked Glen Williams as a medium range shooter. Schaeffer had a terrific senior campaign after Mel Davis went down, and I think his shooting % was around 64% for that season. I don't recall him having 3 point range (there was no 3 pt shot), and in 5 professional seasons shot 47% from the field but only attempted 26 3 pointers out of 700+ FGA, where he shot in the mid 20s, supporting that he may not have been a great distance shooter, more mid range.

Back then I think Looie used point guards to occasionally shoot over a zone or man to keep defenses from packing it in. Guys like Alagia, Kelly, and even Tommy Calabrese could occasionally nail long jumpers, but typically limited to 3-4 tries per game.

McGarry is absolutely right about SJU's strategy, which was basically textbook basketball. Many old school coaches today say that the 3 pt shot ruined basketball. The goal was always to get the easiest shot possible as close to the hoop as possible. The "home-run" shot changed that dramatically.

I like the perimeter shooter we have now, but before anointing them the best ever at SJU would like to see how they perform over a season against the talented teams in the BE. Everything gets bigger and fast when you play better teams, and teams with more talent cover the perimeter better, giving shooters less time and more pressure to shoot.

Billy Schaeffer shot 63% from the field and 75% from the line as a junior and hit those exact percentages as a senior For a small forward, that's insane, and incredibly consistent. The ABA 3 point line was 23'9". With the college line 3 feet shorter, Schaeffer would have had his share of 3s .Bill was a smart player, and had no trouble, despite his Mullinesque lack of foot speed and lack of hops, getting to where he was most likely to score. In his senior year, the team shot close to 52%. You didn't get an extra point for taking long jumpers, so why bother? That team had 3 guys that I would trust up to 18 feet. Beyond that is just a guess.

I sat next to Red Auerbach one time at a college game in Schaef's Jr. year. I asked coach about Billy and he said he was a good shooter, but ran the court on his heels. He really was impressed will Mel Davis and liked his speed and aggressiveness.

Apparently Mel played for the wrong Red, as he ended up losing his aggressiveness and looked lost for his entire career after Holzman buried him on the bench and took all of his confidence away.

Didn't Mel suffer a second knee injury in the pros? Also he came to the Knicks in their decline years, and often a guy who is a physical monster in college just doesn't make the jump well to the pros. IMO, he wasn't the same player after the injury that took away his senior year

All Oral Roberts' fault.

I don't remember a second knee injury. Mel D. had his moments when Holzman let him play. I really never heard that the knee was the issue, but you may be right. He didn't get the nickname "killer" until he played for the Knicks, so he must have still been a wild man under the boards in practice. Oral Roberts supposedly laid hands on him or blessed him after the injury. Wasn't in the Garden that night, so not sure if Oral was there or just did the old Ernest Angley move of blessing you through the television set. As everyone clamors for Christian Jones, the real 6'7 big bodied rebounder who would have made a difference was Mel.

I was there & so was Oral. Crazy night.

 

[Knight]

Historically, it's a nice discussion to speak of our best shooters of the past 50 years (reasonably within the recall of many posters here.

I liked Glen Williams as a medium range shooter. Schaeffer had a terrific senior campaign after Mel Davis went down, and I think his shooting % was around 64% for that season. I don't recall him having 3 point range (there was no 3 pt shot), and in 5 professional seasons shot 47% from the field but only attempted 26 3 pointers out of 700+ FGA, where he shot in the mid 20s, supporting that he may not have been a great distance shooter, more mid range.

Back then I think Looie used point guards to occasionally shoot over a zone or man to keep defenses from packing it in. Guys like Alagia, Kelly, and even Tommy Calabrese could occasionally nail long jumpers, but typically limited to 3-4 tries per game.

McGarry is absolutely right about SJU's strategy, which was basically textbook basketball. Many old school coaches today say that the 3 pt shot ruined basketball. The goal was always to get the easiest shot possible as close to the hoop as possible. The "home-run" shot changed that dramatically.

I like the perimeter shooter we have now, but before anointing them the best ever at SJU would like to see how they perform over a season against the talented teams in the BE. Everything gets bigger and fast when you play better teams, and teams with more talent cover the perimeter better, giving shooters less time and more pressure to shoot.

Billy Schaeffer shot 63% from the field and 75% from the line as a junior and hit those exact percentages as a senior For a small forward, that's insane, and incredibly consistent. The ABA 3 point line was 23'9". With the college line 3 feet shorter, Schaeffer would have had his share of 3s .Bill was a smart player, and had no trouble, despite his Mullinesque lack of foot speed and lack of hops, getting to where he was most likely to score. In his senior year, the team shot close to 52%. You didn't get an extra point for taking long jumpers, so why bother? That team had 3 guys that I would trust up to 18 feet. Beyond that is just a guess.

I sat next to Red Auerbach one time at a college game in Schaef's Jr. year. I asked coach about Billy and he said he was a good shooter, but ran the court on his heels. He really was impressed will Mel Davis and liked his speed and aggressiveness.

Apparently Mel played for the wrong Red, as he ended up losing his aggressiveness and looked lost for his entire career after Holzman buried him on the bench and took all of his confidence away.

Didn't Mel suffer a second knee injury in the pros? Also he came to the Knicks in their decline years, and often a guy who is a physical monster in college just doesn't make the jump well to the pros. IMO, he wasn't the same player after the injury that took away his senior year

All Oral Roberts' fault.

I don't remember a second knee injury. Mel D. had his moments when Holzman let him play. I really never heard that the knee was the issue, but you may be right. He didn't get the nickname "killer" until he played for the Knicks, so he must have still been a wild man under the boards in practice. Oral Roberts supposedly laid hands on him or blessed him after the injury. Wasn't in the Garden that night, so not sure if Oral was there or just did the old Ernest Angley move of blessing you through the television set. As everyone clamors for Christian Jones, the real 6'7 big bodied rebounder who would have made a difference was Mel.

I was there & so was Oral. Crazy night.

Holiday Festival?

 

[Ray Morgan]

NIT I think, but it was many years ago. It was a tournament, and I remember Greg Cluess had like 28 after Mel went down and they beat O.R. Next game they lost to Niagara if I'm not mistaken, which I very well could be. Mel had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the first 9 minutes of the game, took a 3 minute rest, came in and blew his knee out. Then again, I basing this on a game I heard on the radio 44 years ago.