Jack’s Blog

Although I may not be listed in America’s Best & Brightest, most people who know me consider me a relatively intelligent person.  This story could possibly burst that bubble.

One of the years I was coaching at Buchanan High School (2002-05), I went to a coaches’ meeting which was held at Sunnyside High.  I arrived about 30 minutes prior to the meeting and stopped at a drug store to pass some time.  Since I’m a sucker for sweets, it was no surprise I bought a pack of Oreo cookies and a Diet Mountain Dew (two big favorites).  I attended the meeting, got home a little before 10 pm and had an upset stomach.  I’ve had more than my share of surgeries, but I usually don’t get sick so it was somewhat of a shock to me when I turned to my son and said, “I think I might throw up,” then went into the bathroom and did just that. 

There I am, kneeling over the toilet, staring at what looks like a bowlful of recently consumed Oreo cookies.  I went to bed, but in about 20 minutes, I got up again and repeated the adventure, once again looking at something that resembled Oreo cookies.  I remember thinking, “There were only 6 cookies and I’ve thrown up much more than that.”  I was going to go into the family room to rock for a while in the La-Z-Boy (far & away my most favorite activity), but stopped to take a swig of some diet soda.  That’s pretty much the last I remember of that night.

My wife, Jane, was sound asleep, but was awakened by a loud crash - which was me hitting the floor, but she had no idea of that at the time since our bedroom was totally dark.  She told me later she didn’t realize I wasn’t even in bed - that she had thought our basset hound had knocked something off of a shelf.  When she got to the kitchen, she saw me on the floor.  As she rushed toward me, she slipped on the spilled diet soda, but luckily didn’t hit her head and join me in la-la land.

She saw I was breathing, called 911 and when they got there, explained to the paramedics about the several back surgeries I’d had, fearful the fall may have worsened that situation.  I can barely remember them asking me questions, which Jane told me I wasn’t able to answer, like “Do you know you teach & coach at Buchanan?”  I couldn’t remember.  “Did you remember going to a meeting earlier that night?”  “No.”  But, when they asked me if I knew what my social security number was, I ripped off all nine numbers in a matter of a couple of seconds.  No matter how out of it we math majors are, it’s hard to stump us with a question in which the answer has to do with numbers.

I was put on a stretcher and driven to St. Mary’s.  I had a terrible headache (wonder if that had could have been caused when my head hit the tile floor?)  Throughout the many years, I had become a BIG believer in Excedrin.  I noticed when I took anything else for a headache, sometimes the pain went away, sometimes not.  But Excedrin never failed to cure the headache.  And there where many others who agreed with me.  I remember saying, “Excedrin’s one of the few things in life you truly can believe in.”  

So, I requested Excedrin from the nurse but she told me she could only give me ibuprofen.  Shortly thereafter, Jane showed up and had my shaving kit - which, of course, had Excedrin in it.  The day was saved!  I took a couple, assured my headache would be gone - and it did disappear.  Right about then, the doctors started asking all sorts of questions before finally diagnosing my problem - a bleeding ulcer. 

It was then I learned that when you vomit blood, what you see looks an awful lot like Oreo cookies.  The doctors asked me if I’d been on medication and when I related the back surgeries I’d had recently, they put a lot of the blame on the drug, naprocyn, which I think is an antiinflammatory.  Then, the doc asked about other pills I’d taken on a regular basis.  I mentioned that when I had a headache, two Excedrin did the trick every time.  He asked how often I got headaches and I said usually on a daily basis, certainly Monday-Friday.  He said, “How long have you been doing this.”  I thought for a while and said, “I know I was taking them when I was at the Univerity of Tennessee.”  “And when was that?”  “1980.”

I thought the doctor was going to faint.  I’d been taking approximately 10 Excedrin/week for over 20 years!  A quick calculation puts the number of Excedrin I took at over 10,000!  (I couldn’t bring myself to tell him I had just taken two.  I can recall reading articles talking about moderation in life and, if I’m not mistaken, pill taking was mentioned in it. 

See what I mean about not ever making the Best & Brightest?  The late speaker Art Berg once said:

“For those in this life who refuse to change, life will change for you - and then it is almost certain to be a more painful experience.”  Â

Anyone who knows me or who’s read this blog is aware of my 30-year career (none of which as a head coach) in intercollegiate basketball.  It started in 1972 as a graduate assistant at the University of Vermont and ended in 2002 as Director of Basketball Operations at Fresno State with seven other Division I stops along the way.

I witnessed many monumental changes - from allowing freshmen to play on the varsity to the introduction of the shot clock and three point line.  In addition, there were the unlimited number of scholarships which schools could offer and the rule (or lack of one) which made it legal for coaches to recruit off-campus (including grad assistants) every day of the year!  This included how many times you were allowed to visit with a prospective student-athlete face-to-face, how many times you could watch him play or practice or call/see his parents or coach.  There was a story about an assistant coach from the University of New Mexico renting an apartment in Petersburg, VA for the entire year to recruit Moses Malone (far and away the most dominant high school player I’ve ever personally seen - including MJ & LeBron).  Prospects could take an unlimited number of trips to campuses - some kids were gone every weekend, e.g. we had Moses visit Washington State.  Imagine a 7-footer traveling cross-country to Pullman, WA.  We asked him where else he’d gone and he just exhaled, trying to recall.  I think he’d said he’d gone to Maryland the week prior to our visit (where he eventually committed, before deciding to go pro out of high school and sign with the Utah Stars of the ABA).  “How about the week before that?”  He thought for a while and finally said, “I can’t remember.”  There was money well-spent. 

Speaking of money, well-spent or otherwise, brings me to the topic at hand.  When I got to UVM in ‘72, our head coach, Peter Salzberg, was making $12,500.  I was getting $1,000, plus tuition.  That was the extent of our coaching staff.  $13, 500 in salaries for the entire coaching staff.  Today, guys get twice that for clothing allowances!  At the end of the year, Vermont felt Peter had done a good job and rewarded him with a raise - all the way to $12,800.

I left and went to the big-time - the Pac-8 (the Arizona schools had not yet joined the league) and Washington State (once again as a grad assistant) for $1,550, plus $2,000 for summer camp.  As far as a %-age increase, I’ve never topped the UVM-WSU move.  No exaggeration, there were weeks - and it was not unusual- where I worked 100 hours - and loved it!  That’s what all of us got into coaching for in the first place - following a career choice that we were thoroughly emersed in.  Even still, WSU got a pretty good return for their buck.  George Raveling, the head coach at WSU, took the job there  in 1972 for $32,000.

Even when I became a full-time assistant at the University of Tennessee in 1980, many head coaches were making around $75,000. If and when there were too many losses compared to wins, it wasn’t uncommon for an athletics director to bring in the head coach and say something to the effect, “Look, things aren’t working out.  You know Mr. (Hot Shot Car Dealer), one of our big boosters.  He told me he’ll give you a job as manager of one of his dealerships and pay you the same as you’re making here.  We can say you’ve decided to go into the business world and it will be best for all of us.”

Today, I don’t have the actual figures, but I can safely say there are dozens of coaches making more than $500,000 and some making upwards of $3 mil.  I don’t care how moral a person you are, when you get used to that kind of lifestyle (not to mention your wife and kids feeling pretty comfortable with it as well), it’s impossible not to skew your beliefs on issues that prior to this windfall, you’d never consider dealing with in the manner you currently are (and feel compelled to).  Not being in those shoes, it’s easy to be critical, but there are several people I’d like to think I have more than a casual acquaintance with, who have changed their philosophy from the days I first knew them.  Some I’ve discussed this with, others I’ve observed.  I’ve seen them take actions that I’m certain they would have never have (or not take actions they would have) had not the obscene amounts of money been involved, blurring their vision.

I’ve discussed my concern that the biggest problem in college basketball today is coaches being paid too much money with Jim Haney, executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (Jim and I were on the staff at the University of Oregon in 1975-76, he as a full-time assistant, me as a grad assistant and he is one of the most Christian men, of unquestioned integrity, there is today) and he agreed it’s a serious issue, one of great concern.  But with the last contract between CBS and the NCAA for the rights to college basketball (including, naturally, March Madness) going for, I believe, $2.6 billion, it’s simply something that’s spiraled out of anyone’s control.  It would be a foolish business decision (and don’t anyone try to tell me college basketball isn’t a business) to turn down that kind of money and what it does for the NCAA as an overall organization, but there are evils that are attached to the price tag.

The curent situation being as it is, coaches have a tough time (and while I can’t empathize, I sure can sympathize) following the adage:

“It is more important to do what is right than what is personally beneficial.”

My apologies to you loyal readers.  I meant to begin yesterday’s blog with a “welcome back” to me (and you) after my having spent a week in San Diego with the family.  I didn’t want anybody to think I’d given up the ghost on this blogging idea.  Although it’s somewhat of a chore coming up with topics - and applicable quotes - on a daily basis, I’m having too good a time to quit.  Plus, I’ve been receiving some very positive feedback.  So…on with the next.   

All of us have heard of “The Golden Rule” so often, we’ve undoubtedly committed it to memory.  In case someone out there hasn’t, it goes like this: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Many years ago (like 10 or so), I read a book which was researched for decades prior to being published.  It was entitled First, Break All the Rules and was written by Markus Buckingham and Curt Coffman.  An absolutely fabulous read, it dwells on improving the workplace as well as the leader.  It also takes The Golden Rule one step further.

As an aside, at the time I read it, I was Director of Basketball Operations for Jerry Tarkanian at Fresno State.  We were on a plane to the NCAA Tournament and I was sitting in the row in front of our university president.  He knew I had an affinity for reading and, prior to lift off, asked me what book I was currently reading.  I held up the book so he could only see First, Break All the Rules.  He raised his eyebrows at the catchy title, then raised them even more when I told him the author was Coach Tarkanian.  Lucky he had a sense of humor.  For those of you reading this who don’t understand, believe me, it’s a funny story.

Back to the book and its one-upping The Golden Rule.  The authors used an analogy of a five-year-old boy giving his mother a bright red toy fire truck for her birthday as a perfect example of the Golden Rule.  He was doing unto her as he would want her to do unto him.  They claimed a better alternative would be called The Platinum Rule, which they defined as: “Do unto others as they would want you to do unto them.” 

I liken this change in semantics to the person who’s trying to get you to eat something that’s “good for you” when you can’t stand the taste of it (even though your “helper” is truly looking out for your welfare).  They may love it - and love even more that something so delicious is good for them.  So, while they may be “doing unto you as they would want you to do unto them,” they’re missing the point somewhat.  That maybe there’s an alternative.  Rather than belabor the point, let me end with a quote that sums it up perfectly in a much more general manner:

“Find someone’s strength, use The Platinum Rule, display tolerance for views and actions that are different than your own and the product should be SYNERGY.”

Although I’ve lived in California for over 16 years, I will never get used to a belief many parents out here (and their children) share when it comes to continuing education beyond high school.  In California, more than anywhere else I’ve lived (which includes nine states since 1972), choosing a junior college is more than just a viable option.  In many families, it’s looked at as the natural progression.

The reasons for this are numerous.  A major, although not the only one, is the “cost factor” which, I believe, is $30/credit unit.  A full load (15 credits/semester) would cost around $1,000 for the year, even when books, fees and other ancillary items are factored in.  That alone is a valid reason why parents and kids feel junior college is the way to go.  But, as I’ve witnessed, other issues come into play as well, the first being that academically, the junior college system is tightly connected to the four-year schools in that most courses taken at the JC transfer to the four-year institution.  In addition, the first two years of curriculum is pretty similar at each level (naturally, this is true at some colleges more than others).  Then, take into account that some 18-year-olds don’t know where they want to go for the next four or five (or more) years and the two years at a junior college allows for another couple years of maturing, resulting in, one would anticipate, a wiser decision.

All that said, having not grown up in this culture, it’s so difficult for me to phathom not going to a four-year school if you have a choice, i.e. the mantra I’d heard in so many other places: “You only go to a junior college if you can’t get into a four-year school.”  To many of us from a different part of the country, going to junior college is nothing more than a two year extension of high school - with the exception of those living away from home.  Wake up, shower and eat breakfast (or not), go to school, go home, study (maybe), meet up with your friends (many times the same ones from high school), go to sleep and start all over again tomorrow.

After finishing up JC, the student is ready (assuming he or she desires) for a transfer to a four-year college or university.  This is the part that, for me, is really the major difference in the two philosophies.  The JC transfer, although coming in as a junior, is pretty much starting all over, whereas the students who went directly to the four-year school are also juniors, but juniors who are beginning their third year at that campus.  They are familiar with their surroundings - classroom buildings, library, cafeteria(s), administration buildings, etc.  In addition, they may have pledged a fraternity or sorority or joined a club, all of which would have given them a completely new set of friends (probably from diverse areas and backgrounds).  This is also part of an education. 

But, with all that said, the number one comment I’ve heard from probably 99% of the people I’ve ever met who’ve gone to college - whether they choose the first method or the second - is, “College is the greatest time of your life.”  I’m almost certain the “college” part of that claim doesn’t include junior college - but not having gone that direction, I can’t say for sure.

True, a lot of money is saved going the JC route (a helluva lot of money), but that type of experience can’t be bought at any price.  Every time I’ve had this discussion with somebody from California, it’s been a passionate give-and-take and never - never - has anyone’s mind been changed.  It’s what dialogue is meant to be - stimulating conversation between educated people where each comes away understanding the other better, not as a debate with a winner and a loser.  After all, as Bill Cosby once said:

“A word to the wise ain’t necessary - it’s the stupid ones who need the advice.” 

Since I left high school teaching in 1972 and didn’t return to the profession until 2002, there were several stipulations I had to meet prior to clearing my credential and becoming a full-fledged teacher in the Clovis Unified School District.  Because so much time had elapsed, some of these tests/classes were definitely necessary, while others…Let’s just say a few were debatable, but as one of my supervisors said, “Look, Jack, it’s just a game and everyone’s got to get paid.”  He would have made a perfect Enron official but that discussion is for another blog at another time.

Presently, I’m enrolled in a refresher course to help me prepare to take a geometry test.  There are other math teachers in the course also and prior to class, at breaks and during lunch (this particular course goes from 8:30am-3:00pm on Saturdays), we naturally discuss all the goings-on in our respective classrooms.  Each of us (there are twelve or so in the class) works in a different school, in many different school districts so nearly every type of school in the San Joaquin Valley is represented.

We’ll talk about students who excel and come up with ingenious ways of solving problems, others who are extremely bright but unmotivated, some who sincerely put forth the effort but just can’t seem to grasp the concepts and, of course, those who are discipline problems due to immaturity or because they are the product of parents who spoil (the educational word I’ve found we use in California is “enable”) them.

These conversations are quite enlightening.  For example, although CUSD’s and in particular Buchanan’s, API score (a brief definition would be a standard test which measures learning mostly math, english and science concepts) is higher than nearly every school in the entire state, I’ll find there are kids in rural areas knocking the top off the test, too.  Another popular topic for comparing notes is what to do about the youngster you know from your years of experience as a teacher has the innate ability, but just won’t put it in gear.

Yet, the favorite discussions always revolve around the “problem children.”  Maybe it’s because of the empathy that permeates the room, e.g. I’ve never heard a teacher in any of these types of courses I’ve taken say, “That’s odd, I don’t seem to have anyone like that in any of my classes.”  On the contrary, even the teachers who seldom speak up have something to add when this type of individual is discussed.

Although no vote was taken, I can safely say the line regarding kids who get on a teacher’s nerves that brought the conversation to a halt (and resulted in much laughter) was one I’ve heard attributed to Bob Knight. It’s a sign he has on his office wall (and one I have on a wall in my classroom).  It reads:

“Everyone brightens this room.  Some when they enter, others when they leave.”

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A coaching friend of mine called a couple days ago and told me of a problem he was having with his team and asked for my counsel.  Although I never set the world on fire as a head coach anywhere I’ve been (actually, barely even made a spark), my opinion seems to be valued by many in the profession.  Plus the fact, everyone knows I’m not short on advice.

Apparently, his team has plenty of talent, but the chemistry just isn’t working and he traced it back to a couple of his talented, but immature/undisciplined guys.  He enlightened me on a few scenarios as he saw or heard them.  Let me assure you that this coach is one of the most level-headed, even tempered, Christian men I’ve ever met.  I fully believe in everything he told me because in all the time I’ve known him (and we’re talking nearly 15 years), I’ve never known him - not only not to lie - but to never even stretch the truth.

So now you have the picture.  My idea was for him to meet with one of the two (the more talented one) because his problem was one in which a one-on-one conversation was a necessity and then to call a team meeting.  At the meeting, he was to “call out” these two players and just “air it out.”  Due to the success he’s had as a coach and the type of selfless individual he is, I assured him he’d built up enough “equity” with his team that he could say pretty much whatever he thought was pertinent to get everything out front and attempt to bring the squad together so they could reach their enormous potential.

My key was for him to preface his remarks with:

“I’m not going to make it personal - please don’t take it personal.”

During my seven year stay at Fresno State, one of my duties was to teach the “Theory of Coaching Basketball” class.  The athletics department agreed to help the kinesiology department by teaching the football, basketball and baseball theory classes (gratis).  All of us shared facilities and this arrangement was beneficial for everyone concerned.  Note: While I was teaching the one semester basketball class, John Baxter taught the one on football and Bob Bennett taught the baseball component.

As you would imagine, there were several athletes in the class, although many of the students came out of the non-athlete population on campus.  One student in particular, made an impression on me the first time I asked him to speak.  There was something I detected that made him sound different than the other students.  It was about the second or third time he spoke I realized what it was that made his speech unique.

His tongue had been pierced!  One day, we were discussing coaching styles and how many coaches strive to be different because they feel this will give them an advantage, one example being that other coaches will have a more difficult time preparing to play them and their unique style of play (at the time, Vance Walberg was at the height of his success at Clovis West).  I never would have mentioned this young man’s rather odd, and semingly uncomfortable, placement of jewelry, but he chimed in, saying that was one of the reasons he got his tongue pierced.  Obviously, a member of the “new breed” or “N-Generation” (although not all N-Gen’s are as radical), he wanted to be different, to stand out.

I mentioned to him that doing what he did was certainly his right, but did he consider how it might affect him at a job interview, especially if the person interviewing him did not have his tongue pierced?  He had a ready answer - it was his right, he didn’t feel it would affect his performance on the job and if the potential employer did hold it against him, he would let him know in no uncertain terms, the boss should be prepared to face legal action action. 

I said to him, “So, what you’re basically saying is something like, ‘It’s this or else.’”  “Yes!” he emotionally replied, on the verge of starting a protest or rally of some sort right there in class. 

On the first day of class each year, I always asked the group how many planned on becoming basketball coaches and usually a very limited number of hands were raised.  Therefore, my class became more like “Leadership 101,” because whether someone coached basketball or not, all of them were going to be potential leaders someday, even if that leadership role was limited to leading their own family (one of the most vital, yet most neglected, leadership roles we see today).

So, I would relate many “life stories,” a great deal regarding coaching basketball, but all that would be useful to the entire class.  It was at this point I told our bejewled tongue matriculator about the time at Washington State University when one of the head coaches of a very successful non-revenue sport went into athletics director Ray Nagle’s office and made certain demands for his program, capping the tirade off with the famous, “I will get these or else I’ll quit.”  WSU had one of the two lowest budgets in the (then) Pac-8 (this was in the 70s, well before BCS seven figure checks) and Ray knew he couldn’t provide what the coach wanted.

After his decison, he called a department meeting and made a statement I’ve remembered to this day - and related to that young man in my basketball theory class:

“Anytime you say, ‘It’s this or else,’ be prepared for ‘or else.’”

As I get older, new versions of getting things done trouble me more and more.  I’m sure much of it is clinging to the past with all its tried and true methods.  However, they may be tired and out-of-date.  So, I try to understand this is a new era, run by a new generation where “efficiency” is the word to live by. 

On several blogs, I’ve discussed new leadership techniques, both good and not so, but one in particular is extremely worrisome and for a myriad of reasons.  It’s the “someone did something wrong, so let’s cure it by sending an email to everyone.”   Although on the surface it looks as though it’s educating the whole company of the offender’s transgression, i.e. “everyone beware, this action is wrong and will not be tolerated.  I know only one person screwed up and I’m making everyone read about it, but ‘fore-warned is fore-armed.’”  In reality, more working time is taken up by employees trying to find out who the culprit is (simple human nature), rather than only a few knowing and the rest of the workforce going on with business as usual.

I experienced this firsthand in one of my first jobs as we had a head coach who would hand write memos to all of us if one of us messed up.  Usually we’d all each lunch together and the first topic of conversation was either, “OK, who’s responsible for today’s memo” or “Sorry guys, today’s memo was my fault because I…”  What I found was that this style of leadership bonded us transgressors (everyone had at least one slip-up a year) and we’d cover for each other if the need every arose, as opposed to just “fessing up.”

Secondly, it is somewhat cowardly on the “emailer’s” part, eliciting the response, “Why am I getting this email?  I don’t know anything about it and don’t appreciate being warned not to do something I had never planned on doing anyway.”  I know many a leader’s comeback response is that email is a terrific tool to inform the masses when in the past, it took several phone calls and a great deal of time.  All of this is true and I agree wholeheartedly - for certain cases.  It should not be a blanket “I have a problem, why not email to my entire address book than figure out who should and shouldn’t receive this message?” 

My former boss and current friend and mentor, George Raveling, taught me to always read with a highlighter, then type up the highlighted parts and end up with something akin to “Cliffs Notes”.  Since I do it, I call mine “Fertig Notes.”  In essence, I read the book (so others don’t have to) and synopsized it (talk about efficiency for others).  Many of the people who receive my “Notes” do so through email.  Yet, I do not have a list and send the same email all at once.

Believe it or not, I email each person separately, maybe with a short personal greeting, maybe something applicable to everyone that I’ve cut & pasted (how about that for modernizing?) or maybe with nothing at all but the attachment.  The bottom line is that each person gets an email from me to them (and as far as they know, to them only).  And, take my word for it, it doesn’t take that much extra time.

I’m not trying to fool anybody.  People on the list talk to each other all the time and there have been occasions where several of them and I have been together and the topic of conversation swings around to the “Notes.”  It’s just the fact they all feel they got something from me personally and weren’t a name on another list (kind of like being “spammed”).  This is for something they enjoy getting. 

But even if were some kind of admonishment, I’d deal with it the exact same way.  Because I’ve always felt that when something is wrong and needs correcting, try this:

“If you have a problem with somebody, GO…TO…THAT…PERSON.”

One of the lead stories on the news tonight was of a Fresno State athlete who, apparently, was arrested (with some of his associates) for stealing personal possessions from a disabled man.  All the facts are yet to be released, but the most troubling aspect of the story is the past behavior of this individual.

For starters, he had just ended a five-game suspension for not being diligent in his academic work, whether that meant not turning in assignments, not doing well in class, not attending class or just an indifferent attitude toward his academic responsibility.  In addition, this young man had transfered here from another school and, as a well-known axiom in college coaching goes, “usually when a player transfers, problems were the cause of it - and they usually transfer with him.”

As has been noted (ad nauseum), I was on the basketball staffs of nine Division I schools and basketball, being a game that appeals to a lower socio-economic group due to the relative “no expense” there is to play it (all you really need is a ball & a hoop), attracts many young adults who grew up in difficult situations.  In many cases, this means a lack of guidance and/or no positive role models in the home, especially male role models. 

All of a sudden, their skill in the sport has afforded them things many people can only dream of - adulation, fame, free room, board, books, tuiton and fees at “name” universities, access to things heretofore off limits (read into that whatever you like).  But with all of it comes a responsibility.  Proper social conduct, a work ethic most of us are unfamiliar with (something most people don’t understand and won’t admit to) and an ability to handle the “perks” previously listed.

Having worked in the basketball office at Fresno State from 1995-2002, I am no stranger to dealing with players who got into trouble.  Believe it or not (and I’m sure you can), the other eight schools where I was employed weren’t immune to their share of “the same.”  I would clip out stories from papers and magazines on other athletes who found themselves in trouble and show them to our guys as a “go to school on them” sort of education.  My advice to the kids at each place I’ve worked regarding improper and unacceptable behavior was identical, independent of where I was.  While it was always understood, it was sometimes heeded, other times not:

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results.”
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Arguably, the University of Oregon’s best basketball player is a kid from Southern California named Bryce Taylor.  Bryce’s dad, Brian, is from Perth Amboy, NJ and, as coincidence would have it, I played against Brian’s older brother (Bryce’s uncle), Bruce, way back in high school.

One thing that sets their family apart from all others is that after Bruce graduated from PAHS, he attended Boston U on a football scholarship, got drafted by the San Francisco 49ers and was voted Rookie-of-the-Year in the NFL.  When Brian graduated from the same high school, he decided to continue his academic and athletic careers at Princeton, only in the sport of basketball.  When he graduated from PU, he was drafted by the New Jersey Nets of the old ABA (before the merger) and he also was Rookie-of-the-Year.

Now for the truly unreal part of the story.  During Brian’s senior year at Perth Amboy, he was sensational, but never moreso than one night when he absolutely could not miss.  The New Jersey state scoring record for points in a game is 85, which, I’m sure everyone would agree, is a rather lofty number.  In this game, Brian had 84 and was fouled with about 7 seconds to go in the game.  In that era, there was no rule giving players an automatic two free throws after 10 team fouls - every foul, once in the bonus situation, resulted in a one-and-one, i.e. make the first FT and receive another.  So, in order for Brian to tie the record, he needed to make the first one and then, in order to have the record to himself, he had to make the second.

I can’t remember the score of that game, but I don’t think it was close enough to have the added pressure to make the free throw in order to win but, come on, this was for all intents and purposes the only chance he was going to have to set or break the state record for points in a game.  The fact the number was so high was pressure enough. 

Brian went through his routine and let it fly…and made it!  This meant he’d be shooting for 86 and not sharing the record.  But wait, the referee blew his whistle and called… a lane violation on one of Brian’s Perth Amboy teammates!  This not only wiped out the previous point (and a share of the record), but took away the second free throw oppotunity and the chance to break it.  

What do you say to your teammate after the game when you’ve committed a mistake like that?  “Uh, sorry Brian, maybe you can get 85 next game.”  I believe it was at that exact moment the now popular phrase was coined:

“My bad.”