Basketball History 101

When John Wooden retired from coaching UCLA, the big question was how do you replace John Wooden? Gene Bartow was hired away from Memphis State to take over UCLA. It was a no-win situation. This is that story. But that should not take away from the fact that Bartow was a great coach.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSI...

 Chuck Daly is one of the greatest coaches the NBA has ever seen. He is also one of the most beloved coaches. He made lifelong friends everywhere he went. That is rare in an environment as competitive as the NBA. Today, we focus on his relationships with his players. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Horizons" by Ro...

Jumpin’ Joe Fulks was the NBA’s very first scoring leader back in 1947. He also led his team, the Philadelphia Warriors, to the very first NBA championship. Yet, he hardly ever gets talked about today. We correct that with this episode.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "1940s Slow Dance" by Doug "Horizons" by Roa &...

Kobe Bryant once shot four airballs in five minutes in a playoff game against the Utah Jazz. But that failure had a direct impact on Kobe becoming one of the greatest players of all time.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Rap Beat" by MaverickMyers "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK sportshistorynetwor...

UCLA won 10 National Championships under Coach John Wooden. But what many don’t know is that behind the scenes a booster named Sam Gilbert had been providing improper financial benefits to UCLA players for decades. This is his story.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Funky Retro Funk [Funk Music]" by MokkaMusic "Ho...

 The NBA was struggling financially in the late 1970s. They needed something to turn things around. In 1979, two rookies joined and led their teams to the two best records in the entire league and made the NBA popular and fun again. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Take Care" by Julian Avila "Horizons" by Roa &nbsp...

 Everyone knows about Linsanity. But in this episode, we take you back to Lin’s childhood in Palo Alto, California where he was an undersized point guard who seemingly had no chance to make the NBA. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Broken" by AJ PRO "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK sportshistorynetwo...

 In 78 years of NBA Drafts, the top pick has helped his team to a championship only 10 times. Here is that list. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Flashing Lights" by MokkaMusic "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK sportshistorynetwork.com sportshistorynetwork.com/podcasts/basketball-history-101/   F...

The ABA did everything they could to land Lew Alcindor as an ABA player with the New York Nets. They prepared a file on him and were ready to offer nearly a million dollars more than the Milwaukee Bucks. So, why did Alcindor sign with the Bucks? The ABA misread the negotiations, and this is that story.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and pu...

Johnny Neumann was one of those players who should be remembered as an ABA superstar. But his youth and immaturity undermined his own career. He started out hot, averaging 18 points/game as a rookie, but then quickly saw his numbers drop. Neumann is a cautionary tale about what it takes to achieve greatness in the pros.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor...

The NBA has had a variety of Big 3s in its history, but we want to go back to the 1940s to share the story of the original Big 3. We share the championship run of the Minneapolis Lakers, which featured George Mikan, Vern Mikkelson, and Jim Pollard.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "1940s Slow Dance" by Doug "Horizo...

The shot to tie Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals was the biggest shot of Ray Allen’s career But did you know that he had been practicing that scenario for years? This is the story of that preparation. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Flashing Lights” by MokkaMusic "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK sports...

 Bob Cousy and Bill Russell won six NBA championships in just seven seasons as teammates. But after their careers ended they rarely spoke. It wasn’t until later in their lives that they were able to reconnect. In today’s episode we delve into why they were not able to maintain that connection. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher &n...

 The formal professional dunk contest was the 1976 ABA Dunk Contest. It featured Dr. J, David Thompson, and George "Ice Man" Gervin. It was a great idea, but nobody knew how to run a dunk contest. What were the rules? And should the dunkers plan out their dunks, or just improvise? CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "D...

 The 1972 Olympic Gold Medal Match was between the USA and the USSR. This was more than just a game. This was a battle of political ideologies. Going into the game the USA had never lost an Olympic game. But the Soviets would not be intimidated. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Коробейники" by VladimirGLenin "Horiz...

We wrap our story on Jerry West by reviewing his time as an NBA executive. He was arguably a better executive than he was a player, and was already one of the greatest players of all time. As an executive alone he went to the NBA Finals 14 times. That is some true excellence.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "50s N...

 Jerry West played in the NBA Finals 9 times and won the championship only once. It was a career that frustrated him to the point that he threatened to retire several times CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "50s Noir Jazz" by Talekeeper Studios "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK sportshistorynetwork.com...

 The life of Jerry West is one of triumph and torment. He is one of the greatest players of all time, but also quite tormented by demons from his childhood. In this first part we take a look at his upbringing. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "" by "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK sportshistorynetwork...

 The job that Chuck Daly did with the Dream Team is nothing short of a masterclass in basketball coaching. How do you take a team full of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers and get them to form a real team with role players and pecking order? CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Rap Beat" by MaverickMyers "Horizons" b...

 In today’s NBA, the level of scouting is incredible. Every team keeps a complete file on every other NBA player and every significant university and overseas player. But where did all of this scouting come from? It came from the mind of Bill Bertka, the first full time scout in the NBA. He was hired by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1968 and he still works for the Lakers today at the age of 97. CREDI...

Michael Jordan was famously cut from the varsity team when he was in high school. However, we rarely hear the full story. This is the full story of why he was cut and it made a lot of sense.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Take Care" by Julian Avila "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK sportshistorynet...

 Clair Bee is one of the greatest coaches in basketball history. But, he is rarely included in the conversation. He won 82% of his games as a college coach. He also contributed three new ideas that are still used today throughout basketball. And he wrote 24 novels for young readers. He might be the largest contributor to basketball outside of Naismith himself. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher...

 The 2008 Boston Celtics were built in one summer and then won the championship. This is the story of the two trades that the Celtics made in the summer of 2007 to bring in Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Broken" by AJ PRO "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK sportshistoryne...

Today, Rick finishes his interview with Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff, president of Gratz College and professor of Jewish-American history, as well as the author of recent title The Greatest of All Time: A History of an American Obsession. Here in the second part of this two-part interview, Rick and Zev dive into the qualities that define greatness for us, and how that impacts who we actually view as being...

Today, Rick hosts an interview with Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff, president of Gratz College and professor of Jewish-American history, as well as the author of recent title The Greatest of All Time: A History of an American Obsession. Here in the first part of this two-part interview, Rick and Zev dive into what qualifies something to be considered the greatest, how that applies to a discussion of basketba...