Best player you ever play a game with or against

The best players I've played with are. . .
Wayne Bergeron
Bobby Shew
Vince DiMartino

LA Studio musicians & lead player in Gordin Goodwin's Big Phat Band. Shew cut his teeth in Buddy Rich's band. He has become one of the greatest trumpet pedagogues. Vince DiMartino is in the same mold . . . a miraculous musician who can teach and has a passion for doing so.

Ooooooh . . . . . . you talkin' bout basketball!

 

Don't remember his name, but we used to have pick up games, Environmental Eng. students and Chem E kids on a court in front of Black Hall. Played 3 on 3, and they and this white kid about 5' 10" (from Two Egg, I believe) that could hit from anywhere on the court, but if you covered him tightly, he would blow past you for a layup or dunk. The only way we could beat them was to double team him and I would play zone under the basket (their other 2 players were terrible).

 

I was a freshman in high school and did not play varsity but witnessed Travis Mays go off. Later on we played Stacey Poole. I believe he was wearing a cast on his right hand and scored all his points left handed with a sick dunk. He was so good. We could not guard him.

 

I think that's where most people play, today, but back when it wasn't considered trespassing to be on public school property, Littlewood was where it was happening. People came from all over G'ville because the games were so good.

 

My bad then. I must have nailed 40,000.

 

I was in the Arizona Pep Band back in the early/mid 90s. The band had a standing 7:00 AM Thursday morning pick-up game at the Rec Center. Some of the men used to come, watch, and laugh. We had a few of the women come and play with us. Best was current Arizona Women's Coach Adia Barnes. She's just under 6' tall, but had enough strength to back down almost all the taller guys out there. I could at least hold my own, as I'm 5' 10" and weighed about 215 back in those days. But I couldn't stop her quick turn-around shot.

But the best player I ever played against was first week of the 1992 school year. We had 9 looking to find a 10th to play full court. This African American guy, 5' 10", maybe 165 pounds asks if he could run with us. We said sure. I ended up guarding him first time, and figured he was quicker than me, so I'd see if he could shoot. I remember seeing a pair of Nikes close to my eyeline as the most perfect looking, left-handed shot from about 20' feet out swished the net. Next time down the court, I played closer D, and tried to body him up. Never looked more foolish guarding anyone. Barely stayed upright as he drove by me like I wasn't there, finishing with an easy lay-in. Third time, I asked for someone else to guard him, but nobody could.

As we finished, one of my friends, who was more of a hoop junkie, outed this guy. The new Lute recruit from Portland, Damon Stoudamire. Damon smiled, asked us not to tell Lute or anyone, and left. We told him he wouldn't be able to crash pick-up games for long. UA Basketball stars are like deities in Tucson.

 

At 6'5", I was given the task of guarding Cliff Rozier in an AAU game in Bradenton. I held him to 30 points, an AAU season low for him, and was only dunked on once. I'm still very proud of my performance that game.

 

Actually UF24, upon further reflection, I think the guys name was Porter, not Sid.

 

I don't remember his name, but he had the oddest shot, and was very accurate with it.

 

I had Odom and Danny on my intramural team one year. Odom was crazy athletic for big OLine guy. Had some fun games with Dwayne Dixon as well, bruiser. One year my intramural team was Terrance Foy, Eric Kresser, Darren Hambrick and Anthony Riggins. Oddly enough none of them finished their careers at UF. Hell, Riggins and Hambrick fought each other at a bowl game function. Hambrick was a freak athlete and could jump out the gym. The highlight of my basketball career has to be a reverse layup I did on Otis Smith. He was sizing me up for a huge block and I went to the other side on him. Got a grin from him, super cool dude.

 

I was playing a pick up game back in the day and Vernon Maxwell was on my team once. I took one shot and it rimmed out. Vernon punched me in the chest and said next time I got the ball I was to pass it to him. He did this this to everybody on our side. It ended up being 4 guys playing defense. Getting a rebound and passing to Mad Max.

 

There were so many really good basketball players in Gainesville or visiting, in the mid 80’s. Pick-ups games were must see TV. Friday afternoons at Alligator Alley were fierce. A lot of the same guys who roamed Littlewood, plus the players from the basketball & football teams & a lot of the good players from campus. I played pick-up games all over Florida against some really good players , but nothing was like those games at Littlewood & Alligator Alley.

 

Not the best but one of the most famous on this board . Kerwin Bell - not kidding. Country boy with a zipper cut, mullet and gold chain from Lafayette Mayo. He was a good athlete playing high school basketball not necessarily a great basketball player.

“Wes Chandler was Percy Harvin before Percy Harvin was born.”

 

I played regularly at the Florida Gym with several players from the UF women’s team. I was young, thin and fast then (and I’m none of those things now), and when I penetrated, my instinct was to pass first. They always wanted me on their team because I would feed them the rock.

I played a few games with Jose Ramos. He was much better up close than I thought from afar. It was an early realization about how much the level of competition matters for a shooter’s confidence. The dude couldn’t miss from long and mid range while I and others in a pick up game were guarding him. I could stay with him, but he knew he was taller and could get a step back shot off cleanly whenever he wanted to. In college games, he didn’t shoot that well from the same distance even when left wide open. The brain is as big of a part of shooting as the body.

 

Played with Ronnie Williams in a pickup game at the old Florida gym. He should have been an NBA player.

He had come in with a couple of the other players from the team but I can't remember who anymore. I think I would have remembered if Vernon Delancey had been one of them.

After that, it would have to be playing against guys from the Gator football team (including David Little who I heard had been an All-State basketball player in high school) in UF basketball intramurals. They beat us something like 70 to 20-something . At least I was able to break their full-court press over and over as the designated press breaker for our team.

 

When I was a benchwarmer at Palm Beach High School in 1961. (yes I'm old) The coach in practice had me simulate TUCKER FREDRICKSON in practice. I never met him but anyway that's my story. (He kicked our butts)
Sorry .. This is a football story.

 

There is a (maybe) true story that a team passed on him in the NFL draft because their radio guy mangled names--and they were afraid of what he would do with "Tucker."

 

Went to HS in TN, so got to play some pickup ball with Trenton Hassell. He had a decent pro career and was also a HS teammate of Shawn Marion.