RIP Bob Lanier

[UPChip]

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

RIP.

Kareem will now have to find someone else to drag up and down the court for 48 minutes.

 

[Slacker]

Best linebacker in NBA history. RIP, big guy.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

One of the first centers who was as good with his jumper as he was down low
It was unfortunate he never won a ring but his greatness was never questioned
He made driving out to the Silverdome worthwhile

 

[User 149557]

All I knew about him as a kid was seeing his bronzed giant shoes in Springfield.

 

[DanielSimpsonDay]

 

[Scout]

What could have been…

his knee and Walton’s feet.

 

[maumann]

Lanier and Bing were the Pistons stars of my youth. Good teams but never great. RIP, Bob.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

Lanier and Bing were the Pistons stars of my youth. Good teams but never great. RIP, Bob.

Their best team was in 1974
Lost to the Bulls in 7 in a great series
Lanier, Bing, Stu Lantz, Curtis Rowe and Don Adams vs. Jerry Sloan, Norm Van Lier, Chet Walker, Bob Butterbean Love and Clifford Ray
I was at Michigan State at the time
Watched the series at the dorm sharing beers with, among others, future Blackhawks broadcasting legend Pat Foley, who was a huge Bulls fan

 

[micropolitan guy]

Bennett High School in Buffalo. He wanted to go to Canisius (just down Main Street from Bennett) but they didn't think he'd handle it academically and would not admit him, so he chose St. Bonaventure and did just fine.

I always wonder what would have happened had he decided to play at Niagara, where he would have been teammates with Calvin Murphy. They had some epic battles, Murphy even jumped center against Lanier once; Little Three basketball drew huge crowds to the Aud in that era. Had he gone to Canisius he would have played with Tony Masiello, a pretty darn good player and the future mayor of Buffalo.

I truly believe St. Bonaventure would have won the 1970 NCAA championship had Lanier not been injured by an out-of-control Chris Ford in the regional finals. With Lanier's range and mobility, Artis Gilmore would not have been able to guard him in the semifinals and Bonas had the guards to break UCLA's press had they met in the finals.

He tried to come back too soon after that knee injury, I think he was playing by October or November. Another guy (like Mantle) whose career arc might have changed dramatically with modern-day surgery and rehab, instead of the Civil War-surgery (by comparison) available in their eras.

My great aunt worked at the cafeteria at St. Bona's and said he was the nicest guy in the world. RIP. He was truly an athletic giant and a hero if you grew up a sports fan in WNY in the late 1960s-early 1970s, as I did.

 

[OscarMadison]

Dammit, Death! Take a day off!

 

[Liut]

Bennett High School in Buffalo. He wanted to go to Canisius (just down Main Street from Bennett) but they didn't think he'd handle it academically and would not admit him, so he chose St. Bonaventure and did just fine.

I always wonder what would have happened had he decided to play at Niagara, where he would have been teammates with Calvin Murphy. They had some epic battles, Murphy even jumped center against Lanier once; Little Three basketball drew huge crowds to the Aud in that era. Had he gone to Canisius he would have played with Tony Masiello, a pretty darn good player and the future mayor of Buffalo.

I truly believe St. Bonaventure would have won the 1970 NCAA championship had Lanier not been injured by an out-of-control Chris Ford in the regional finals. With Lanier's range and mobility, Artis Gilmore would not have been able to guard him in the semifinals and Bonas had the guards to break UCLA's press had they met in the finals.

He tried to come back too soon after that knee injury, I think he was playing by October or November. Another guy (like Mantle) whose career arc might have changed dramatically with modern-day surgery and rehab, instead of the Civil War-surgery (by comparison) available in their eras.

My great aunt worked at the cafeteria at St. Bona's and said he was the nicest guy in the world. RIP. He was truly an athletic giant and a hero if you grew up a sports fan in WNY in the late 1960s-early 1970s, as I did.

Sam Lacey broke a bone in his foot during New Mexico State's semifinal loss to UCLA. NMSU beat St. Bonaventure in the third-place game. I did not know about Mr. Lanier's injury versus ... Villanova? (I cannot remember for sure where Chris Ford went to college). So while they neither had the chance to play in that contest, Lacey (Cincinnati, Kansas City-Omaha, Kansas City) and Lanier sure saw a lot of each other in the NBA.

The top-five picks in the 1970 draft were all terrific. Off the top of my head, wasn't the order Lanier, Tomjanovich, Maravich, Cowens and Lacey? Heck, Murphy and Nate Archibald were picked in the second round. How Tiny dropped that far would be an interesting story to hear.

I got to know the late Mr. Lacey a bit late in his life. Rest in peace, Mr. Lanier.

 

[micropolitan guy]

Yes, Ford went to Villanova. Villanova handed Bonas its only regular-season loss, by 1 or 2 points at the old gym at Nova. Bonas was blowing them out late in the rematch in the regional final when Ford made an uncontrolled drive down the lane, smashed into Lanier and injured him.

Coincidentally they later were longtime teammates on the Pistons. The Pistons also drafted Randy Smith that year, in the 14th round. But he went back to Buffalo State for one more year and was taken by the Braves in round 7 in 1971. He was a two-time Steal of the Draft.

The Buffalo Braves had a shot to draft Murphy, who would have been a huge hometown favorite. Instead they drafted a stiff named John Hummer from Princeton, the alma mater of the owner. And you are right, it was a heck of a draft.

1970 NBA Draft | Basketball-Reference.com

 

[Della9250]

 

[micropolitan guy]

Buffalo New coverage, two stories:

Buffalo Sports | Buffalo News

 

[Liut]

Yes, Ford went to Villanova. Villanova handed Bonas its only regular-season loss, by 1 or 2 points at the old gym at Nova. Bonas was blowing them out late in the rematch in the regional final when Ford made an uncontrolled drive down the lane, smashed into Lanier and injured him.

Coincidentally they later were longtime teammates on the Pistons. The Pistons also drafted Randy Smith that year, in the 14th round. But he went back to Buffalo State for one more year and was taken by the Braves in round 7 in 1971. He was a two-time Steal of the Draft.

The Buffalo Braves had a shot to draft Murphy, who would have been a huge hometown favorite. Instead they drafted a stiff named John Hummer from Princeton, the alma mater of the owner. And you are right, it was a heck of a draft.

1970 NBA Draft | Basketball-Reference.com

Great stuff! John Hummer made a stop in Chicago. IIRC, after a game in Seattle, **** Motta informed Hummer as he was about to board the bus that he had been traded to the Sonics.

I have limited memories of Braves. Mostly MacAdoo, Smith, Ernie D., Ramsey and Fitzsimmons as head coaches. Learned later Van Miller called the games.

I was mostly caught up in the Midwest Division because of the Kings. That mid-70s Bulls team Jake from State Farm mentioned up-thread was TOUGH. Loved Jerry Sloan as a player (and coach). The 1975 NBA Finals are the first I remember watching on television. Bulls had traded Ray to Golden State for Thurmond. Chicago knocked out Kansas City in a good first-round series. IIRC, Chicago lost what would have been a game-six clincher against the Warriors at the Stadium, then lost game seven on the road. Bulls probably would have beat Washington in the Final, especially if they had drafted Archibald in the first round, instead of Sam Lacey's college teammate Jimmy Collins.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

One time the Pistons played the Kings on a Sunday afternoon on CBS
Right before tipoff, they cut to sideline reporter Jane Chastain, who had her booted foot, and leg, inside one of Lanier’s shoes
She was sitting on the court in front of the scorer’s table, and right before the tip, Lanier turned, wagged his finger at her and said something
Guess he wasn’t in the mood for a story about his feet

 

[Jake from State Farm]

I can’t think of anyone whose image has improved with age more than Kareem

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Bob Lanier brought leadership at a crucial time to the Milwaukee Bucks, turning them into a steady playoff team that dominated the Central Division. As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, Lanier appeared in 45 playoff games with Milwaukee, more than twice as many as he played in for the Pistons. His tenure with the Bucks was a golden age for the team, in no small part because of the community outreach by Lanier and coach Don Nelson.

The Journal Sentinel has an anecdote Lanier recalled at one time:
"I was still playing in Milwaukee and I was getting gas at a station on, I think it was Center Street. A guy came up to me and said, 'My dad is sick, and you're his favorite player. Could you come up to the house and say hello to him? The house is right next door.'
"So I went over, I went upstairs. The guy was laying there in his bed. His son said, 'This is Bob,' and he was like, 'I know.' And he just had a little smile, a twinkle in his eye. And he grabbed my hand and squeezed it and we said a little prayer.
"About two weeks later, his dad had died, and he left a card at the Bucks office, just saying 'Thank you for making one of my dad's final days into a good day.' "
https://www.jsonline.com/story/spor...-center-bucks-and-pistons-dies-73/9729213002/

 

[micropolitan guy]

I can’t think of anyone whose image has improved with age more than Kareem

And that's probably because everyone else's attitudes have changed, not Kareem's. He's been pretty consistent over the decades.