Hoops Heavy with a Little Golf

David & Elliott talk Hoops with College Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee Cazzie Russell, and break down the NBA with one of the all-time greats Rick Barry. Plus, we'll get the details on the Playboy Golf Tournament from Jay Jay Nesheim.

Episode Segments:

Sports & Torts: NBA Great Rick Barry Rick dishes on his secrets to success in college and the NBA, free throw shooting, and his favorite NBA Stars of today. Also, why he thinks the Spurs are the team to beat for the NBA title.
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Sports & Torts: Playboy Golf We tee it up with Playboy PR’s Jay Jay Nesheim for some details on PBG’s upcoming championship in LA, as well as other upcoming Playboy Golf events.
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Sports & Torts: NBA Great Cazzie Russell Cazzie talks about the honor of making the Colligate Basketball Hall of Fame, how discipline made him the player he was, and the teams he likes to watch in today’s NBA.
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Playboy Golf Want to play a round? Birdies. Eagles. Bunnies. Swing with Playboy Golf.

Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Cazzie Russell In 1962, Russell was named the Chicago Sun Times Boy's Player of the Year. Russell played college basketball at the University of Michigan, where he led the Wolverines to three consecutive Big Ten Conference titles (1964-66) and to Final Four appearances in 1964 and 1965, losing in the final game 91-80 to defending national champion UCLA and John Wooden. In 1966, Russell averaged 30.8 points per game and was named the College Basketball Player of the Year. Crisler Arena, which opened in 1967, has been dubbed The House that Cazzie Built. Russell's number 33 jersey has been retired by the Wolverines. Russell spent twelve seasons in the NBA (1966-1978), and is best remembered for his five seasons with the New York Knicks (1966-71). Russell was the NBA's first draft pick in 1966, and was named to the 1967 All-Rookie Team. He was later part of the famous 1970 Knicks team that won the NBA championship over the Los Angeles Lakers. Russell played in the 1972 NBA All-Star Game while with the Golden State Warriors. In 1981, he returned to pro basketball as a coach in the Continental Basketball Association for the Lancaster (Pa.) Lightning. He guided his team to that league championship that season. During the playoffs, with his team depleted by injuries, Russell came out of retirement and played for the Lightning in the final game of the league championship series, played in Lancaster, PA. During the 1960's while with the Knicks, Russell was part of the New York Army National Guard's Fighting 69th Regiment. Since 1996, Russell has been the head coach of the men’s basketball team at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Cazzie's Career Stats

Rick Barry If you were choosing a pickup basketball team, Rick Barry would be one of your first choices. There have been few players in basketball history that played with more passion and competitive zeal than Rick Barry. Conversely, if Barry played for the opposing team, one dreaded the assignment of having to cover him. On the court, Barry had only one speed-turbo. He was an aggressive force who would use any means necessary to score and win. In many cases, scoring and winning meant slashing drives to the hoop with a reckless abandon that either landed him two points or a trip to the free throw line. His modern style of basketball was sharply contrasted at the free throw line where his unique underhanded technique was a throwback to basketball's early days. Barry excelled at the charity stripe; his underhanded tosses connected 89.3 percent of the time, second best in NBA/ABA history. After an All-State scholastic career at Roselle Park (NJ) High School, the six-foot-seven Barry single-handedly resurrected the University of Miami program and made the Hurricanes a national force. At Miami, Barry averaged 29.8 ppg in 77 games and concluded his consensus All-America senior season by leading the nation in scoring (37.4 ppg) In 1965, the San Francisco Warriors drafted Barry in the first round. Barry wasted little time. He claimed NBA Rookie of the Year honors (25.7 ppg, 10.6 rpg), and the next year not only led the league in scoring (35.6 ppg), but was named MVP of the All-Star Game. During his 14-year professional career, four in the ABA (Oakland, Washington and the New York Nets) and 10 in the NBA (San Francisco, Golden State and Houston), Barry was a 12-time All-Star. His dead-eye outside jump shot was one of basketball's deadliest weapons, and enabled him to become the only player in history to lead the NCAA, ABA and NBA in scoring. In 1975, Barry was named the NBA championship series MVP after leading the underdog and undermanned Warriors to a four-game sweep of the Washington Bullets. In a combined ABA/NBA career, Barry tallied 25,279 points and was named to nine All-NBA/ABA First Teams. Rick's Full Bio

Some of the music heard on Sports and Torts is from Memio's Music Alley.