Article : Best SJU Perimeter team ?

[McGarry2]

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.

It was the NIT on a Saturday I was living in Westwood Calif a lumber town North of Sacramento in the late 1970s seldom had an opportunity to see the Redmen live or on TV
When Mel was hurt OR started for the court but one of the Priest. from the bench beat him there

 

[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

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.

In those days, rookies roomed with a veteran on the road. Mel's road roomie was Willis Reed. It was Willis who gave him the nickname "killer" but I'm not sure exactly what it was based on. Reed and Davis remain friends to this day.