RIP Jack Haley, basketballer

[Songbird]

Scrapper on UCLA's only NIT title team and member of Bulls' 72-win team. Was 51.

UCLA Basketball Alumnus Jack Haley Passes Away at Age 51 - UCLA Bruins Official Athletic Site | UCLABruins.com

 

[poindexter]

What did he die of? The word around Seal Beach was he liked the bottle.

 

[JackReacher]

Played for the Lakers for a bit, too, didn't he?

 

[Steak Snabler]

Best known late in his career as the guy who had a roster spot solely because management thought he could keep Dennis Rodman out of trouble.

 

[WCIBN]

What did he die of?

from Fred Mitchell's report in the Chicago Tribune:

"An autopsy revealed Haley died as a result of heart disease, according to a statement released by his family."


Former Bull Jack Haley dies of heart disease - Chicago Tribune

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Played for the Lakers for a bit, too, didn't he?

Yes, a few games.

Also was actually a valuable guy off the bench, relatively-speaking, for some horrible Nets teams in the pre-Coleman/Anderson/Petrovic era.

 

[Big Circus]

And he was one of the game's elite towel wavers.

 

[Stoney]

Best known late in his career as the guy who had a roster spot solely because management thought he could keep Dennis Rodman out of trouble.

Not surprising that he and Rodman connected as they had similar back stories as "free spirited" late-bloomers who didn't reach the League until the age of 25. As I recall, the story on Haley was former surfer dude who didn't take up basketball until he was college-aged.

Managed to last a full decade in the league (and a spot on arguably the greatest team in history), despite the fact that I can't ever recall him being a regular rotation player for anyone. A nice story. Sad ending.

 

[ChrisLong]

Covered his teams at UCLA. He was a great guy who got by on hard work. Helps to be that tall, but his skills were limited. He was always a go-to guy for interviews when Walt Hazzard went on his rants or Reggie Miller got surly. One year after an NCAA opener, he was grabbed by the **** patrol and, because he was pretty dehydrated, it took him an hour and a gallon of water before he could give them a sample. There were still a couple of writers waiting for him. He stayed and answered every question even though the rest of the team had already departed for the hotel.
He was a good guy. RIP, Jack.