This week, I'm changing it up a bit, focusing on a player who never wore forum blue and gold, but who was as important to the sport of basketball as anyone who did. Why Robertson, you ask? Because he's the guy that Kobe Bryant dude just passed to reach ninth on the NBA's all-time scoring list, and someone Whipp mentioned the fact that The Big O doesn't get talked about enough considering his legacy. So let's talk about him some more.
Jump in, the water's fine.
Simple. Straightforward. Smooth but direct. The Big O always took care of business, off the court and on. He won free agency for NBA Players, a first in professional sports. Led his teams to the top in high school, college, Olympics, the NBA (Milwaukee’s only title to date). Never invited to apply for NBA coaching or general manager positions, he created his own successes in the business world. Oscar Robertson changed the game. Helped change our society. On his own terms.
The above words are a description of Oscar Robertson used to promote his autobiography, "The Big O: My Life, My Times, My Game". By all accounts, Robertson is a wonderful man, one who overcame extreme introversion as a child to learn basketball and become the man we know today as The Big O. He's done some incredible things in his life, both on and off the court. But what do we really know about The Big O? Here are some tidbits for you to savor:
- He was born in Tennessee in 1938, and is the youngest of three boys (his mom should be canonized before Pope John Paul II).
- He led the Crispus Attucks High School Tigers on a 45-game winning streak, during which time they won two consecutive Indiana state titles and a national championship; CAHS became the first African-American school and the first Indianapolis school to win the Indiana state crown, and the first African-American school to win a national championship in any sport.
- He attended the University of Cincinnati, where he became known as The Big O, leading the Bearcats to the Final Four in 1959 and 1960 (yes, they had electricity back then, kids); he became the first player to lead the NCAA in scoring for three straight years, and was also the first to win National College Player of the Year honors three times.
- He played 14 years in the NBA -- ten with the Cincinnati Royals and four with the Milwaukee Bucks, leading his teams to 10 playoff appearances, including an NBA championship with Lew Alcindor (whom we know today as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and the Bucks in 1971 (their lone chip to date).
- He was the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 1961 and Most Valuable Player in 1964.
- He was a 12-time NBA All-Star and was voted Most Valuable Player in three All-Star games.
- In 1961-62, his sophomore season, he became the only player in NBA history ever to average a "triple double" for an entire season. He actually averaged a triple double over his first five seasons, barely missing extending that average to six years.
- He's the all-time leader in triple-double games (181).
- He was a first-ballot inductee into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979; he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2009.
- He was the third President of the NBA Players Association from 1965 - 1974 when he retired (you're in good company, D-Fish).
- He was responsible for NBA players gaining free agency, The Oscar Robertson Rule. (LeBron James should send him flowers every week)
- In 1992 he co-founded the National Basketball Retired Players Association.
- In 1998, the U.S. Basketball Writers renamed its annual player of the year award the Oscar Robertson Trophy.
- In 1997, Oscar donated a kidney to his daughter Tia, who was suffering from lupus. He has since become an advocate for health and wellness, kidney disease prevention and organ transplantation on behalf of the National Kidney Foundation.
- In 2000, he was named "Player of the Century" by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
- He's an author, publisher, essayist, host of his own website, and a highly successful and respected businessman
Oh, and he did this
which was turned into this
via pedrofeliz3b.files.wordpress.com
And is now this
via www.thebigo.com
Complete list of winners of the Oscar Robertson Trophy (some names may surprise you)
ALL-TIME OSCAR ROBERTSON TROPHY WINNERS (USBWA PLAYER OF THE YEAR) | |
2010 Evan Turner, Ohio State 2009 Blake Griffin, Oklahoma 2008 Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina 2007 Kevin Durant, Texas 2006 Adam Morrison, Gonzaga; J.J. Redick, Duke 2005 Andrew Bogut, Utah 2004 Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's 2003 David West, Xavier 2002 Jay Williams, Duke 2001 Shane Battier, Duke 2000 Kenyon Martin, Cincinnati 1999 Elton Brand, Duke 1998 Antawn Jamison, North Carolina 1997 Tim Duncan, Wake Forest 1996 Marcus Camby, Massachusetts 1995 Ed O'Bannon, UCLA 1994 Glenn Robinson, Purdue 1993 Calbert Cheaney, Indiana 1992 Christian Laettner, Duke 1991 Larry Johnson, UNLV 1990 Lionel Simmons, La Salle 1989 Danny Ferry, Duke 1988 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1987 David Robinson, Navy 1986 Walter Berry, St. John's 1985 Chris Mullin, St. John's |
1984 Michael Jordan, North Carolina 1983 Ralph Sampson, Virginia 1982 Ralph Sampson, Virginia 1981 Ralph Sampson, Virginia 1980 Mark Aguirre, DePaul 1979 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1978 Phil Ford, North Carolina 1977 Marques Johnson, UCLA 1976 Adrian Dantley, Notre Dame 1975 David Thompson, N.C. State 1974 Bill Walton, UCLA 1973 Bill Walton, UCLA 1972 Bill Walton, UCLA 1971 Sidney Wicks, UCLA 1970 Pete Maravich, LSU 1969 Pete Maravich, LSU 1968 Lew Alcindor, UCLA 1967 Lew Alcindor, UCLA 1966 Cazzie Russell, Michigan 1965 Bill Bradley, Princeton 1964 Walt Hazzard, UCLA 1963 Art Heyman, Duke 1962 Jerry Lucas, Ohio State 1961 Jerry Lucas, Ohio State 1960 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1959 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati |
So, what do you know about Oscar Robertson?
Author's note: all the above information can be found on NBA.com, thebigo.com, sportswriters.net