Earl The Pearl

 Best backcourt ever was the 1960 U S Olympic team.
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 that was oscar robertson and jerry west if i recall and you are so right.
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Jay Arnette
Walter Bellamy
Robert Boozer
Terry Dischinger
Burdette Haldorson
Darrall Imoff
Allen Kelley
Lester Lane
Jerry Lucas
Oscar Robertson
Adrian Smith
Jerry West
 
The spin move was unpresdented before Monroe. In his first NBA game, he headed off to his right, abruptly stopped and yanked the ball towards his left hand as he gyrated on his left heel, freezing the defender in his tracks as he flew by him.

"Call something", the opposing coach screamed at the ref. The ref took his whitsle form his mouth and replied "I don't know what to call. I've never seen that before!"

As for the crossover, I don't believe Monroe was the first to do that.
 
 This is from memory. When Monroe was traded to the Knicks, the early speculation was that they both needed the ball in their hands, and how would they ever play together. Very early in the first game, Monroe flew towards the basket on a 2 on 2 break. With the ball in his right hand he suddenly halted, and everyone anticipated his by then famous spin move. So did the defender covering Frazier, who read the spin and began darting towards Monroe to steal the ball as he spun. Instead of spinning, Monroe brought the ball towards his back and threw an unbelievable thew his legs pass to a cutting Frazier for a wide open layup. Any talk that they couldn't play together was permanently and abruptly ended on that one initial sequence.

Monroe proved to be a brilliant passer as well as scorer, and was content to score in the high teens as a Knick. Marv Albert loved to excalim "Monroe spins, shoots, and scores.. a FACIAL" describing the reward for hanging all over the Pearl, and STILL getting beat. His moves were often described as his body going in all directions at once.

When Julius Erving came along, he was described as doing what Earl Monroe did on the ground, only Dr. J. did it in the air.

Amazing player, and for my money, I'd rather have watched him in his prime than MJ.
 
I remember turning on the Knick game on the radio and hearing that Frazier passes to Monroe and vice versus and I thought the announcer was making mistakes. I had not heard about the trade. Frazier and Monroe had been big time rivals.  
 
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