I grew up in Brooklyn, New York and was a big New York Knicks fan. I attended my first game at Madison Square Garden when I was a little boy. I’ll never forget it. I idolized Red Holzman and his team. They played the right way. They are also one of the last championship teams to have a starting five that hailed from small colleges.
Like many other young kids playing ball in every schoolyard around the country, I dreamed of one day suiting up for the Knicks.
Memories of waiting for players after Knicks games in the snow, cold and sometimes rain getting their sneakers and practice gear will stay with me forever. What will also stay with me forever is the players and coaches who have recently passed away.
Randy Smith, Wayman Tisdale, Marvin Webster, Howard Komives, Norm Van Lier, Nick Weatherspoon, Glen Gondrezick, Chuck Daly and Pete Newell.
Smith was one of the fastest guards with the ball in transition.
Tisdale was a happy go lucky power forward who had great moves in the post.
Webster was nicknamed ‘The Human Eraser’ because he was such a good shot-blocker.
Komives played for the Knicks could really shoot the ball. He led the nation in scoring while at Bowling Green.
Van Lier was a crafty point guard who played for the Bulls in the 70’s. Nickname was ‘Stormin Normin’.
Weatherspoon had ‘Spoon’ written on the back of his jersey. I used to love hearing the PA announcer say his name after he scored a basket. “Spoooooooooooooooonnnnnnnn!”
Gondrezick came from UNLV and played the game hard. I remember getting an autograph from him on 7th avenue and following him down into the Subway. Cool dude they called ‘Gondo’.
Daly was an amazing coach. Won back-to-back titles with the Pistons.
Newell was the father of footwork. A great Skill development coach who I had the pleasure of meeting him for lunch and received the greatest clinic ever!
I understand death is inevitable. But losing these fine men remind me of what they brought to the game and each guy brings back great memories. My good friend Larry D said to me a few weeks ago, ‘death reminds us of how to live”.
Here is a solid forum I was invited to a few weeks ago. Sign up and talk about the former players and coaches you grew up watching.
-Coach Finamore
Hoops135@hotmail.com
Tags: basketball, Center, Guard, Madison Square Garden, Memory, NBA, New York Knicks, Power Forward, School
