Undersized ... Centers …. Player comparisons past and present

CBA69 said:
I don't think Sonny Dove was mentioned by any poster. According to the 1964/65 St. John's roster, Sonny Dove was listed as a 6'7" F/C. He looks like he was the tallest player on the team.

1964–65 St. John's Redmen basketball team - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
Click to expand...

My father used to tell a story about playing pickup against Sonny Dove. Said that after he won the first game, in the second game Dove jumped so high that he could see him looking down thru the rim at him and was convinced Dove was aiming the ball for his head.
 
lawmanfan said:
My father used to tell a story about playing pickup against Sonny Dove. Said that after he won the first game, in the second game Dove jumped so high that he could see him looking down thru the rim at him and was convinced Dove was aiming the ball for his head.
Click to expand...
I recall seeing Sonny listed as 6’8” on some Roster Stats , possibly in his Senior year ? Maybe he grew.
I don’t recall what height he was listed at when the Pistons drafted him as the 4 th pick in the First Round .
Those of us who saw Sonny play against usually taller players were taken with his ability to rebound and score inside . As others have noted , he could get up there with his leaping ability .
Sonny had a complete game . He could handle the ball well and could shoot too .
He also was rail thin , often listed as 205 .. Which might have been generous .
All American 2 nd Team , I think in his Senior year and as stated , picked 4 th in the NBA draft .
Certainly one of our all time legendary players .
 
SLYFOXX1968 said:
I recall seeing Sonny listed as 6’8” on some Roster Stats , possibly in his Senior year ? Maybe he grew.
I don’t recall what height he was listed at when the Pistons drafted him as the 4 th pick in the First Round .
Those of us who saw Sonny play against usually taller players were taken with his ability to rebound and score inside . As others have noted , he could get up there with his leaping ability .
Sonny had a complete game . He could handle the ball well and could shoot too .
He also was rail thin , often listed as 205 .. Which might have been generous .
All American 2 nd Team , I think in his Senior year and as stated , picked 4 th in the NBA draft .
Certainly one of our all time legendary players .
Click to expand...
Couldn't agree more Sly. Sonny is probably my favorite all time Johnnie as I only started going to games in his Sophomore year when Kenny Mc was a senior and Bobby Mc a junior.
Sonny was listed at 6'7" and played center Bob McIntyre the power forward, Bobby Duerr the wing and Kenny McIntyre and Jerry Houston the guards. Ken Wirell, Hank Cluess and Albie Schwartz all saw time off the bench. Still my favorite Johnnie game that I attended was the MSG upset of #1 Michigan in the Holiday Festival
 
NCJohnnie said:
Couldn't agree more Sly. Sonny is probably my favorite all time Johnnie as I only started going to games in his Sophomore year when Kenny Mc was a senior and Bobby Mc a junior.
Sonny was listed at 6'7" and played center Bob McIntyre the power forward, Bobby Duerr the wing and Kenny McIntyre and Jerry Houston the guards. Ken Wirell, Hank Cluess and Albie Schwartz all saw time off the bench. Still my favorite Johnnie game that I attended was the MSG upset of #1 Michigan in the Holiday Festival
Click to expand...
That Holiday Festival win in 1964 was something else . Michigan had All American Cazzie Russell , Bill Buntin , Greg Kelser .
Another great win for Sonny was in Lapchick’s last game in the 1965 NIT Championship game vs Villanova 55-51 .
For some of those younger fans, Freshman were not eligible to play their first year .
I think that in High School , Sonny playing against a younger Kareem ( Alcindor ) in a big game really schooled Lou , who was still a bit raw at that point .
Later on ,Kareem’s height and development gave him a advantage over Sonny , when he was at UCLA .
 
SLYFOXX1968 said:
That Holiday Festival win in 1964 was something else . Michigan had All American Cazzie Russell , Bill Buntin , Greg Kelser .
Another great win for Sonny was in Lapchick’s last game in the 1965 NIT Championship game vs Villanova 55-51 .
For some of those younger fans, Freshman were not eligible to play their first year .
I think that in High School , Sonny playing against a younger Kareem ( Alcindor ) in a big game really schooled Lou , who was still a bit raw at that point .
Later on ,Kareem’s height and development gave him a advantage over Sonny , when he was at UCLA .
Click to expand...
Sly, you're thinking of Oliver Darden as the third Michigan star. Greg Kelser was Michigan State in the late 1970s, played with the Magic Man. I had to look up Darden myself to refresh my memory, did but recall that Kelser was Magic's running buddy in college.
 
Last edited:
Larry Wright said:
Now he is perfect for designated shooter. Has no conscience, so won’t let misses affect him. He hits a few he plays, takes some bad ones or missing he sits. Don’t think getting taken out will affect his confidence. Also has a nice looking shot that seems effortlessly. His main problem is shot selection.
Click to expand...
28% perfect!
 
redmanwest said:
Wayne McCoy was one of my first favorite players growing up. I definitely recall that he was heralded and projected to be a 7 footer. But, as noted, he stopped growing as a teen.

Another guy who received the same hype (not StJ) was Timmy Kempton from St. Dom's in Oyster Bay, who I distinctly remember reading articles about that analyzed the spacing between his bones on x-rays as a teen, and projecting him to be over 7 foot when he was done growing. Of course, he stopped at around 6'8" but still went on to have a decent college career at Notre Dame.
Click to expand...
Had my layup disposed of by Kempton in a summer league game.
 
lawmanfan said:
Thou shalt speak no ill of one of my top 3 all time favorite SJU players. If Justin could shoot he would be in the Hall of Fame. Sadly outside of dunks he could not throw it in the ocean. That shooting form made both my eyes and my heart hurt.
Click to expand...
I'm right there with you LMF. In my case, my top 5 probably Sonny Dove, Justin Simon, Lavor Postell, DJ Kennedy, John Warren.
 
NCJohnnie said:
Sly, you're thinking of Oliver Darden as the third Michigan star. Greg Kelser was Michigan State in the late 1970s, played with the Magic Man. I had to look up Darden myself to refresh my memory, did but recall that Kelser was Magic's running buddy in college.
Click to expand...
Thanks for correction on Kelser - Darden . You are right
I would like partial credit for getting Cazzie Russell and Bill Buntin right .
Like Meatloaf said in his song” 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.”
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top