Billy Cunningham. I used to dunk on that basket. Joe Clarke, founder and president of the South-Central L.A. Philadelphia switched Cunningham to small forward, a position that allowed him to use his tenacity and jumping ability around the boards. Patterson, who recently resigned as Arizona States coach, said that Johnson is really an impact player, but not consistently good and solid. In those eight seasons, the team posted a 454-196 record, reached three NBA Finals and captured a championship in 1983. "Cunningham, William John ("Billy") And he made it to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with a career that reads like a how-to book for legends. Youre just up there and nobody else can get up there., David (Skywalker) Thompson said: Sometimes Id surprise myself. Then theres Jerry Mr. The following is a list of the NBA's All-Time Top 50 Team: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nate Archibald, Paul Arizin, Charles Barkley, Rick Barry, Elgin Baylor, Dave Bing, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, Billy Cunningham, Dave DeBusschere . . Or write about sports? It takes a lot more to get people excited now, said Chris Wallace, editor of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Many of the legendary leapers of that era didnt play NBA ball because all they could do was leap. People swear he cleared it by a foot, said Fred Trenkle, Southern Idahos basketball coach. When you think about Billys life, it is amazing, former Philadelphia 76er executive and then-Orlando Magic senior executive vice president Pat Williams told New Miami magazine in 1992. Actually he was a 62% free throw shooter, which is poor except in comparison to his 51% as a pro. I see kids in the eighth grade, kids 5-11, dunking behind their heads, said Rod Thorn, former National Basketball Assn. Curtis Bunn, a 6-1 reporter for Newsday, has a very decent repertoire of slams. Herb was not drafted, but was invited to Hawks camp after his senior year and made the 1970-71 team as a point-guard backup and road roommate of another rookie, Pete Maravich. As a rebounder and jump shooter he averaged 18.5 ppg and 7.3 rpg. He says it came by accident, that in his early days they often played on dance floors, which were often slippery, so he started jumping to avoid sliding and faceplanting. Spencer Haywood, for one, claims to have been to the top. Wilt Chamberlain claims that his sergeant, during his prime, was 46 to 48 inches, easy. Of course, Wilt also claims he once averaged 50 points for an entire NBA season, so his credibility is suspect. home/away, monthly, etc More Billy Cunningham Basketball Reference pages, Compare Billy Cunningham to other players. Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, New York, Draft: Thats the outer space were dealing with today, the sky above the hoop, the rare air inhabited by only a select group of humans, the legendary leapers. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. Then he enters into the [NBA] expansion pursuit and gets it. This is where we get into sword-and-stone mythology. Pregame warmups were his showtime. Many have speculated about the reasons behind this phenomenon. Billy Cunningham wasnt nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid because he had a pouch. There are celebrity dunk-offs. In 1961, his senior year, Cunningham led his team to the city championship and was a high school All-American. During both is college and NBA career, this guy leapt like nobodys business. I said to him, Yes, yes, yes! Wilt said, Im gonna kill you. . His list of accolades from his time at the University of North Carolina is probably as long as his legs (hes 67, in case youre wondering), which is not surprising since anybody with the nickname Kangaroo Kid must have worked pretty hard and jumped pretty high to earn it. A sample: In Your Face Disgrace, Sexophonic Turbo Delight, Hammer of Thor, and Yo Mamma. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Encyclopedia.com. As a child he wa, https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/cunningham-william-john-billy. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Thats how much air was between Connaughton and those shiny floorboards at the NBA Combine in 2015. But with a leaper, everybody instantly knows they couldnt do it, that only the tiniest fraction of humans can jump that high.. Stand underneath a basketball hoop, a regulation 10-footer. It was those antsy feet that made him unstoppable, resulting in his inclusion on 10 All-Star Games, achieving the 1952 All-Star Game MVP, and nabbing 5 MVP Award shares. He cant even walk.. Cunningham hit for 18.9 ppg and 7.6 rpg. There are two other pure measurements of leap--the dunk and the top of the money exchange. I have seen everybody, Hill said. When Joey was a high school senior, Clarke took his Watts Magicians to Mesa, Ariz., for a prep tournament. Before his senior year, White happened to work out with some Atlanta Hawks players and they went to coach Richie Guerin with tales of this amazing leaper. All rights reserved. Joey averaged 19.5 points at Southern Idaho and led the team to a national junior college title. Effortless, absolutely effortless.. Kareem came the closest. Then he transferred to Arizona State, clashed with then-coach Steve Patterson and wound up quitting the team. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. To that end, heres this writers all-time all-leap team: Dr. J, the Big Dipper, Air Jordan, David Skywalker and Joey Johnson. The obvious question is, why didnt more of these guys play in the NBA? This story is not that important. Another oft-told legend has Jackie on defense. Javascript is required for the selection of a player. Find out more. Some of them were pretty damn eccentric. Billy Cunningham (Billy; The Kangaroo Kid) Position: Forward 6-6 , 210lb (198cm, 95kg) School: North Carolina (Men) Draft: Philadelphia 76ers, 1st round (7th pick, 7th overall), 1965 NBA draft SUMMARY Career G 69 PTS 24.8 TRB 15.4 AST - FG% 47.3 FT% 62.8 Cunningham Overview More Cunningham Pages More Cunningham pages at Sports Reference There is no full-length biography of Cunningham, but he is mentioned in most authoritative histories of basketball and in several magazine and online profiles. Against Tulane University on 10 December 1964, he set a UNC record by scoring forty-eight points. William John "Billy" Cunningham was born on June 3, 1943. As a rookie in 1965-66, he pulled down 7.5 rpg, scored 14.3 ppg and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. Among his numerous career achievements, he was named to the 1966 All-Rookie Team and three All-NBA First Teams. > Archive 75: Billy Cunningham| 75 Stories: Billy Cunningham. [4], Cunningham signed a threeyear contract on August 5, 1969 to begin play with the American Basketball Association's Carolina Cougars in 197172. The following season, the Sixers finished behind Boston in the standings and were upset by the New Jersey Nets in the first round. He ran to the nearest school, three blocks away, and started shooting baskets. Michael Jordan has stopped just short of holding the ball in his mouth, uncoiling his tongue in mid-flight and inventing the Anteater Slam. When I was a freshman, I fooled around with shooting free throws this way: For some reason, I thought you had to stay within the top half of that free-throw circle, so I would step back to just inside the top of the circle, take off from behind the line and dunk. The team finished 42-40 and was bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks. Nissalke tells of an informal leaping contest between second-year man Kareem, who then was Lew Alcindor, and Milwaukee forward Don Smith, who now is Zaid Abdul-Aziz. A fabulous collegian and pro player Cunningham shot to stardom when he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1966. If accurate, that would have put him as the 10th-highest max vertical leaper (not standing, but with a short running start) in the NBA Draft, just behind Grayson Allen's number of 40.5 inches. Ill give you an example. . He prevailed in the end! We know he was born in New Bern, N.C., grew up (and flew up) in Brooklyn, attended Virginia Union, then played several years for the Harlem Globetrotters and in the old Eastern League. Lets add Billy Hoyle as an honourary #16 to this list, shall we? Cunningham scored 18.9 points per game. Jones, a noted defensive terror. The Globies listed him at 6-5, but Sonny Hill swears Jackie was 6-3, tops. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Dont send letters, leapers. This guys been compared to celebrated center-man Dwight Howard for his max vertical, and to NBA/Olympic legend Oscar Robertson for his triple-doubles. We sure are glad he picked basketball! In his first playoff appearance, he led the Sixers to a 4-game sweep against the Knicks,[12] before bowing down to the Bullets in six games. It's like walking on air. Billy Cunningham was born in Brooklyn, New York. The ABA folded after that season, but the slam-off was such a hit with the media that the concept was eventually ripped off by the NBA. These are not necessarily great basketball players, understand, but their ability to jump has made them objects of something much deeper than profound respect. I cant put my finger on it exactly, but there was just something about the game. White started five games, but was mostly a mop-up guy, then was injured and finished his career in a pro league in Mexico. He didnt just score, he scored OVER people, including all 68 of Plastic Man Stacey Augmon. In Game 2 of the 1967 NBA Finals, Cunningham scored 28 points during a 126-95 win over the San Francisco Warriors.[3]. It was legendary, however, and cemented young Majerle as one of the best white dunkers of all time. The college boys are no doubt wide eyed and gape-mouthed when they meet this coach for the first time. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. In 1967, he teamed with fellow Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Hal Greer to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA title. He also became an NBA broadcaster on national television and later a part-owner of the Miami Heat. 3 June 1943 in Brooklyn, New York), professional basketball player known for his vertical leap who was a top scorer and rebounder in the 1960s and 1970s, and who later became a winning coach, television commentator, and team owner. In his basketball uniform and shoes, with a short, unmeasured run-up, he soared over seven feet. We played Portland in the last game of the season. On 6 May 1986 Cunningham was elected into the NBA Hall of Fame, as one of its ten initial inductees. The ABA wasnt about dignity, it was about style. He had tested thousands of Navy pilots during the war, and he said Griffiths was the highest he ever measured.. 1924- Jay Norman, an outstanding defensive player, went into his defensive stance at the foul line. Cunningham then went to the University of North Carolina, where he excelled. inBrooklyn,New York Very tall players are seldom recognized as great leapers. "I don't know anything he has done that hasn't worked," said the Orlando, Florida, executive Pat Williams. His shooting skills may be what he is best remembered for, but his vertical leaps were nothing to sneeze at: he made 28 inches on more than one occasion. It was so good that Cunningham, a future Hall of Famer, came off the bench. But who has seen him? . The soaring flight of the great leaper is amazing, even to himself. After three days, Rabbit said to Red, One of us is gonna have to go., Red said, What do you mean? Rabbit said, Either get rid of Bob Cousy or get rid of me. In 1968-69, Cunningham broke loose, scoring 24.8 ppg and recording 12.8 rpg while earning his first of four consecutive All-Star appearances and the first of three successive berths on the All-NBA First Team. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps, Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. ." When Dominique (the Human Highlight Film) Wilkins was in college, a 5-9 laundry man named Leroy Nowells would saunter into the Georgia gym and match slams with Wilkins. "We just helped knock on doors and pull people out of their homes last night. Its a rush, a thrill, said the Elevator from Decatur. [14] He then returned for one last year to help cover the 1991 NCAA men's basketball tournament, partnered with Dick Stockton once again. Sunday Nights with Bill Cunningham can be heard every Sunday on over 300 radio stations across the United States. Cunningham reached 200, 300, and 400 wins faster than any previous coach in NBA history. Thats about the height of the average 4-year-old. Midway through the previous season the club had acquired Wilt Chamberlain from the San Francisco Warriors, and in his first full campaign with the Sixers, he helped them to the Eastern Division title. Terrell Owens Gets Into Fight Outside CVS. [9] In 1996, Cunningham was voted as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as part of the NBA's 50th Anniversary. Geraldo Rivera is standing by. At Southern Idaho, the legend grew. . [2] At the conclusion of the season he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. However, none of the other basketball-playing Barry brothers Scooter, Jon, and Drew - can claim to be the only white man in history to win the Slam Dunk contest, though. Born: June 3, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York us College: UNC High School: Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, New York Draft: Philadelphia 76ers, 1st round (7th pick, 7th overall), 1965 NBA Draft However, the date of retrieval is often important. No man, I dont believe, has been up that far., With Chamberlain over 50--years of age, not points per game--Nissalke feels safe in saying, That would be the ultimate challenge: Bet any amount of money, and you wouldnt find anyone who could come close to the top of the board.. Still, the thrill is not all gone. Though he portrayed a large woman in "You have to Walk it like you talk it or You'll Lose that Beat" (1971), he is best known as an American former professional basketball player and coach. Some of the guys started dunking. Professional basketball player He averaged 24.1 ppg (fourth best in the league) and 6.3 apg (fifth best), leading the Cougars to a 57-27 record, tops in the ABAs Eastern Division.