Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 4:00 am Post subject: Bob Cousy the first "showtime" player
Been working on an Oscar Robertson documentary for several months now with no end in sight so I took a break last week to put together a quick short mix of another player, Bob Cousy. In my eyes no one ran a break better (or more creatively) but Magic
Around the same time, Tom Gola played an even more "Magic Johnson" styled up-tempo, fast-break game than Bob Cousy. Cousy was more Nash than Magic stylistically.
The main difference was Gola's size and his team mates. Gola was stuck on some comparatively talent-lean rosters in NY, and some Wilt-dominated Philly teams that were steered by inferior coaching as well. He did key a lone championship run for the Warriors in '56, before Wilt arrived.
Cousy was a great passer and ball-handler, and he ran the fast break off turnovers and d-rebounds as well as anyone, but he was no greater at Showtime's game than Gola. He was in a better spot. Cousy was a big part of six Boston titles and a key guy in their method of thumping everyone for a decade-plus, but he had the benefit of the era's greatest coach (Auerbach) and the surrounding complementary pieces. For a more Magin JOhnson version of Showtime, find what you can of Gola. He was unreal, as a college player and a pro.
Around the same time, Tom Gola played an even more "Magic Johnson" styled up-tempo, fast-break game than Bob Cousy. Cousy was more Nash than Magic stylistically.
The main difference was Gola's size and his team mates. Gola was stuck on some comparatively talent-lean rosters in NY, and some Wilt-dominated Philly teams that were steered by inferior coaching as well. He did key a lone championship run for the Warriors in '56, before Wilt arrived.
Cousy was a great passer and ball-handler, and he ran the fast break off turnovers and d-rebounds as well as anyone, but he was no greater at Showtime's game than Gola. He was in a better spot. Cousy was a big part of six Boston titles and a key guy in their method of thumping everyone for a decade-plus, but he had the benefit of the era's greatest coach (Auerbach) and the surrounding complementary pieces. For a more Magin JOhnson version of Showtime, find what you can of Gola. He was unreal, as a college player and a pro.
Very interesting thank you for this insight, I will keep my eye out for coverage of him
Agreed about the Nash comparison. Even their tempo seems similar. Awesome video.
Cousy presented real danger to his opponents on the dribble, much like Nash, with that pat-pat-pat short dribble and pass with either hand. He was so versatile and creative- and precise. He posed less of a threat when not moving, as he was less of an accurate shooter than Nash. I think his mobility with the ball defined the state of the art for his time, and he was long-armed to boot. Had a nasty streak too. I saw him play a few exhibitions after his NBA retirement, and he had remained fit well nto his fifties.
Auerbach was quoted in some old publication that Cousy was "dime a dozen" and Boston wasn't interested in him when he was coming out of college. Red obviously changed his tune on Cooze once they got him. In that way, he IS kinda like Nash because no one foresaw that Nash was going to turn into an MVP level player based on his first few years.
Smeltics acquired Cousy in a draw out of a hat against 2 other teams when the franchise that had Cousy's rights folded (a team called the Blackhawks). One of those blind luck stories that Boston and LA have had plenty of, to the dismay of the rest of the league. Cousy has said he was pumping gas when he found out the Celtics acquired his rights, he had no idea, someone had to inform him. He was prepared to just go on as an average working man, he didn't even consider that being a great basketball player was going to provide him a career. These stories from the early 50s era are always mindbending for the contemporary NBA fan. That one aspect reminds me of Bird leaving Indiana because it was too intimidating and going back to work for the French Lick Sanitation Dep't.
As far as Bird goes, his father committed suicide in 78, largely over financial concerns, or at least that's the official story. You would think that the Bird family would have expected that Larry was going to be making nice money in just a matter of months. Larry himself was so hick-ified and entrenched in that small town mindset that he couldn't conceive what big money was until he got into the league and learned the bigger world. Larry has also said he didn't immediately know that the Celtics drafted him. He was probably prepared to pull a Cousy himself and live in French Lick the rest of his life.
Stories like Bird's give you some idea of how a lot of athletes who were dirt poor don't know how to manage money. I just saw a doc on Sugar Ray Robinson. He had great street sense and thus was a good negotiator for gate money and such, but once he got it, he frittered it away and allowed people to steal from him and he was broke at the end of his illustrious career. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL SEDALE TRIBUTE EDDIE DONX!
There's not much question that Auerbach was trying to mislead his GM counterparts wrt Cousy's pro worth. Cousy was a regional and local hero, a really big deal. He was a 1950 NCAA 1st team AA, a senior playing in nearby Worcester, at essentially a Boston area Catholic university. Cousy's future was unknown to him only to the extent that the NBA was barely more than a living for most guys who played in it. It was not as lucrative a deal as today, and it was a league of eleven teams only. As a result it was something one didn't set one's hope too firmly upon.
An important player in the history of the league and deserves respect. I find it fascinating that he couldn't handle the ball competently with his off-hand, however. _________________ Smrek 2, Nevitt 1, Barkley 0
Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Posts: 22853 Location: La Jolla, San Diego
Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 12:58 pm Post subject:
nevitt_smrek wrote:
An important player in the history of the league and deserves respect. I find it fascinating that he couldn't handle the ball competently with his off-hand, however.
Yep, some of the clips look funny with him doing circles to fend off his man cause he can't dribble with his off hand. The game was still at it's infant stage back then. I wonder if defensive schemes were smart enough to force him to his off side. He wouldn't make it in today's league. No off hand and a terrible shooter, especially for that era.
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