DieHard Johnny
Member
mullin on yes 11pm
mullin on centerstage 11pm yes ch
- Thread starter DieHard Johnny
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DieHard Johnny
Member
the larry bird shooting for $ being up 15 shots & bird"quiting when he got even saying Ive never lost before n not gonna today"
Haha yeah just heard that part. What a great story. One thing I never realized about him as a younger guy is how loyal to New York he was. Also didn't realize how badly he wanted to be drafted by the Knicks. I think that's the difference in players today...hometown loyalty doesn't matter as much COUGH Lawrence.
beast of the east
Active member
As badly as I wanted to see Mullin as a Knick, it was the best ting for his career NOT to become a Knick. As clear as day I remember the following event, which I will only repeat because now it wouldn't be a revelation in any way.
I was shooting around in a schoolyard, playing bball with a group of guys I had played with on Saturday mornings for more than 20 years, from the time I was about 14, until about 35. SJU had just finished their season, and there was plenty of speculation as to where he might play. I said to a friend that I hoped the Knicks would draft him. The guy, who I still see and respect a ton, was still single and spent alot of time in bars around SJU. He said, " I don't. He's got to get the hell out of here. I see him in the bars all the time, and he is doingthe wrong things with people he doesn't know at all that will destroy him if he doesn't get the hell out of here."
Of course, a year or so later, he went into rehab, and it changed his life. There wer whispers around SJU that Mullin was in rehab. A friend of mine, and SJU alum, worked at Sloan Memorial Hospital at the time, and he would check in to see how Kevin Cluess, who was fighting a tough battle against leukemia, was doing. He asked Kevin if he heard how Mullin was doing in rehab. Cluess asked "How do you know he's in rehab?" When my friend replied that he knew people in the Athletic department, Cluess softened, and said "Not many people know this. All the NYC beat writers do, but out of respect no one will write about it." A few weeks later a small news item appeared in a local paper saying Mullin was in rehab. The very next day they retracted the story.
It hardly matters in a negative way, and to me at least, successfully fighting substance addiction every day of his life, one day at a time, makes him a bigger man to me than anything he accomplished on the court. I know many guys who have achieved sobriety, and to a man, they are towers of strength.
There were very few days i didn't check the boxscores after a Warriors or Pacers game. He still belongs to SJU, and to NYC at large. He captivated an entire city during his 4 years here, certainly his senior year. Chris was as big as any pro athlete in NYC at the time, and maybe moreso because he was one of us living the dream that every kid in NYc who ever shot a ball at a sheetmetal backboard on a rim without nets.
jrhoops1949
Active member
Story not over. He could be back to coach us someday. Games in Bklyn count extra.
DieHard Johnny
Member
Mullin on halls of fame w fran healey on msg just said" he visited Lvile,duke,Virg,&Nova but compared them all to stj's bec. they had to beat out Lou
"my Dream was to be a Knick got drafted by Golden state wheres that?"
"Held out on first contract after draft worked out all summer at st.j's my rookie yr avg 14pts but it was not feelin right"
Don Nelson proposed to get in better shape & stop drinkin in my 2nd yr, then missed a few practice then went to la rehab
Learned to speak what ur feeling & not to hold things in
Very Grateful to Coach Nelson
"my Dream was to be a Knick got drafted by Golden state wheres that?"
"Held out on first contract after draft worked out all summer at st.j's my rookie yr avg 14pts but it was not feelin right"
Don Nelson proposed to get in better shape & stop drinkin in my 2nd yr, then missed a few practice then went to la rehab
Learned to speak what ur feeling & not to hold things in
Very Grateful to Coach Nelson
beast of the east
Active member
Coach K has said that Mullin was the guy who got away that he wanted most.
