The Kangaroo Kid, Kang, Billy C are nicknames for Billy Cunningham. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. If thats not impressive enough for you, he also played on two NBA championship teams and later coached the Philadelphia 76ers for eight seasons. White, also known as the Elevator from Decatur, made the NBA all-time all-warmup team that one season. Encyclopedia.com. As a player and then a coach for the Philadelphia 76ers, he was part of two NBA championship teams. In the NBA, where everyone can dunk--you wouldnt even want to rule out David Stern--there are really only a few top guns. Cunningham has been on 50,000-watt radio station 700 WLW for over 30 years, beginning in 1983. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Knowing he was inexperienced, Cunningham assembled a group of veteran ex-coaches as assistants, including Chuck Daly, who later to become head coach of the Detroit Pistons. Chamberlain remembers other playground legends: Boy named Helicopter (real name: Herman Knowings) had incredible wingspan. It sure did make me feel good inside.. Since his slamming days in the NBA, hes continued with the sport as a scout, director, analyst, commentator, and even vice president of player personnel. Cunningham could not even crack the starting lineupwhich included Wilt Chamberlain, Chet Walker, Lucious Jackson, Hal Greer, and Wally Jonesbut he averaged 18.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game coming off the bench. And there was a dog. Chamberlain played for the Globetrotters in the 58-59 season and said: Jumpin Joe Buckhalter and I would line up on opposite sides of the free throw lane when Meadowlark Lemon was shooting a free throw. In his rookie season of 19651966 Cunningham was at first assigned to be a guard, then switched positions, becoming a small forward. Dolph Schayes is an icon in Philadelphia 76ers lore and was one of the NBA's first stars as well. So he tried it again, grabbed the nail and bent it straight down. I said to myself, Ive got to try. I angled to the right. It's also available for football, hockey and baseball. After that season, he earned the first of what would be three straight All-NBA First Team selections. Find out more. He ran to the nearest school, three blocks away, and started shooting baskets. Jackie took off, jumped over Normans head and dunked the ball.. Find Billy Cunningham 76ers stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. After the 197374 season, Cunningham returned to the 76ers, where he played until torn knee cartilage and ligaments ended his career as an active player early in the 197576 season. They outlawed that, but I wouldnt have done it in a game, anyway. In his final season, he was the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. Professional football player In those eight seasons, the team posted a 454-196 record, reached three NBA Finals and captured a championship in 1983. Most of these leapers were from the inner city, where they suffered from overexposure to drugs and underexposure to formal education. My perception is, with players that rely on their jumping ability, they reach a certain level of competition where their fundamental skills have to kick in, they have to become a basketball player, he said. He was with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers for 17 years . Learn more and register. He was a role player on the 1967 title team in . Hes sought advice from Tim Duncan on how to be a great leader and win with his team. Now thats something to brag about at Sunday family dinners. Cunningham again led the team in scoring in 1970-71, ranking ninth in the NBA with 23.0 ppg. He was a consummate team player, and he used the same unifying concept and enthusiasm to become a successful head coach. Theyll all be going through and over their mountainous opponents in no time! Left, Born: These are not necessarily great basketball players, understand, but their ability to jump has made them objects of something much deeper than profound respect. In his second season with Carolina, Cunningham was hampered by injuries, but he still managed a 20.5 average in 32 games. Jackie stays in the air and the ref calls a three-second violation. snoop dogg zodiac chart New Lab; kaplan children's furniture; is there quicksand in georgia; Billy can jump up to 29-31 inches (vertical leap). Until recently, nobody ever tried to keep track of dunks on any league-wide scale. According to a warrant for Morrow's arrest, he's facing charges of assault by strangulation, second-degree kidnapping and communicating threats. Billy Cunningham was born in New York on June 3, 1943. An American-Israeli boy who was actually born in Taiwan, this dude was THIS CLOSE to entering the Slam Dunk competition in 2009, but was passed over for the Portland Trail Blazers Rudy Fernandez. Stanfords 6-4 Todd Lichti is a big-time leaper, regardless of race, creed or color. Detroits Adrian Dantley, 6-foot-4, and Clevelands Phil Hubbard, 6-8, were the only front-court starters to go through the season dunkless. They were trying to touch the top of the board, Nissalke said. Youre entering another world up there. At (one NBA tryout camp), where we had a strong cross section of draftees, the highest was 36 1/2 inches. William John Cunningham (born June 3, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid for his leaping and record-setting rebounding abilities. That Sixers team has since been hailed as the greatest ever assembled. 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. [10] In October 2021, he was also named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.[11]. Billy Cunningham of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots a jump shot against the Boston Celtics during a game played in 1968 at the Boston Garden in Boston,. They think they could track down what the announcer calls a routine fly ball. Upon his retirement on May 28, 1985,[13] his 454 wins as a head coach were the 12th best in NBA history. Billy Cunningham is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid. Legends abound of the truly great leapers who could touch the top of the board. In his first ABA season, Cunningham averaged 24.1 points per game, 12.0 rebounds per game, and led the league in total steals. It was an effort, but I could do it., There is no documented proof of a man ever taking off from behind the free-throw line, 15 feet from the backboard, and dunking. Joey, standing about eight feet from the shooter, leaped and slapped the shot away. 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. billy cunningham vertical jump - epcorcentre.org His teams won sixty-six play-off games and lost twenty-nine. We played Portland in the last game of the season. Every time Gus slam-dunked at home, the recorded sound of a rifle shot would whistle through the arena. The next season, Philly plummeted to 30-52 and missed the postseason and Cunningham (23.3 ppg, 12.2 rpg) was in the last of his four All-Star years. Billy Cunningham wasn't nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid because he had a pouch. There have been--and are--very good white jumpers. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Almost always the feat involves money--claims that the player could grab a dollar bill off the top of the board, or could pluck off a quarter and leave two dimes and a nickel change. There was a Philadelphia boy, Sonny Hill, about 5-10 (actually 5-9), he was the first guy that size I ever saw dunk. Small Forward and Power Forward Moral of this story: dont count the white guys out of this sport just yet. Look up. 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. Pitchin Paul is credited as being one of the first basketball players to ever use the jump shot. White is a regular at Hawk games and a fan of Wilkins. The greatest nicknames in basketball are reserved for those who attain the greatest altitude. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, *Translations are limited to select pages, NBA Legends: Profiling the league's greats, Brooks suspended after receiving 16th technical foul, Grizzlies' Clarke (torn achilles) out indefinitely, Ja will be away from team for 'at least' 2 games, Ex-NBA player Morrow facing assault charges, Durant passes 'Big O' for 13th in career points, NBA Fantasy: Under-the-radar additions for playoffs. Gus was a colorful thunder dunker and a breaker of backboards. Send us your videotape. All rights reserved. He was a competitor, said Lewis Schaffel, one of Cunninghams partners in the Miami Heat who grew up with him in Brooklyn. I was phoning the Charlotte Hornets to reach David (Skywalker) Thompson, who now works in the teams front office, when a female secretary said: Ive only seen two players who did things that I watched and I didnt believe--David, and Michael Jordan. He stood below the basket, no run, just jumped straight up with his arms at his sides, flipped his head sideways and dunked his cap.. 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. Now, as radio's "Voice of the Common Man," Bill merges all his knowledge, along with his distinguished guests to enrich the minds of his loyal and participative audience. Its almost like burlesque dancing. In the 19691970 season he averaged a career high of 26.1 points, the fourth highest in the league, and was again selected as an All-Star. 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 . Eight players dunked in triple figures: Barkley of Philadelphia, 188; Jordan of Chicago, 156; Otis Thorpe of Golden State, 150; Pat Ewing of the Knicks, 146; Karl Malone of Utah, 142; Drexler of Portland, 130; Wilkins of Atlanta, 126, and Olajuwon of Houston, 118. Under Cunningham, the team reached the Eastern Conference finals in 1978 and the NBA finals in 1980 and 1982. In the 19661967 season the 76ers were a powerhouse, winning sixty-eight against only thirteen losses and beating the Boston Celtics and San Francisco in the playoffs to win the championship. In the 2005 NBA pre-draft camp he gained 34.5 inches of air. https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/cunningham-william-john-billy, "Cunningham, William John ("Billy") It didnt make no difference to him.. As a freshman he went out for the track team, worked out a total of 10 hours, then high-jumped 7-3 7/8. Bobby Jones could swoop and soar. Everybody dunks. The following season, with the ABAs future in jeopardy, Cunningham returned to the 76ers. If you give bonus points for obscurity and mystery, it would be Joey Johnson, younger brother of Celtic guard Dennis. ." In 1967, he teamed with fellow Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Hal Greer to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA title. To think that we can thank a bunch of sweaty dancers for this fundamental basketball maneuver. Latrell Sprewell, a rising NBA star, would be known more for his off-court antics than his bas, Erving, Julius 1950 He said he was afraid he would cut himself. Note that this is not the official NBA measurement. junio 12, 2022. abc news anchors female philadelphia . It was legendary, however, and cemented young Majerle as one of the best white dunkers of all time. The Cougars had finished last the previous season, but with Brown and Cunningham inspiring the team, the Cougars finished first. But with a leaper, everybody instantly knows they couldnt do it, that only the tiniest fraction of humans can jump that high.. They annihilated the opposition all season and finished with a 68-13 record. Cunningham became a top analyst for CBSs broadcasts of NBA games. Billy Cunningham was born in Brooklyn, New York. Even so, Erving was the NBAs most dazzling aerial star until he retired in 1987 and passed the title to Michael Jordan. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. [2] At the conclusion of the season he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. He was twice named an All-American during his collegiate years. Known as "The Kangaroo Kid," Billy Cunningham was a high-flying scorer who won an NBA title as a player and coach with the 76ers. We present them here for purely educational purposes. He walked into the gym one morning and there was a TV crew set up. If we were to honor dunkers as we honor actors, Doc would be given a statuette for his body of work. He is still the winningest coach in Sixers history. In Game 2 of the 1967 NBA Finals, Cunningham scored 28 points during a 126-95 win over the San Francisco Warriors.[3]. In fact, he set the record for most blocks and field goal percentage in a season at his high school, Linganore High in Mt. [1] His first regular show on the station was at night, generally from 9:00 p.m. until midnight. Cade Cunningham Vertical Jump Height. David Robinson, future NBA Hall-of-Famer and leader of the San Antonio Spurs, was born in Key We, Chamberlain, Wilt