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These Bears could ball

By Brice Cherry | Monday, December 29, 2008, 06:00 AM

MEN'S HOOPS

Face it, Baylor fans. BU’s history in men’s basketball is not one of remarkable team success. Five NCAA tournament appearances in the last 62 years does not a college basketball powerhouse make.

Baylor’s most memorable team in school history is probably also its most tragic — the 1927 group known as the “Immortal Ten,” who suffered one of the worst accidents ever involving a sports team.

Despite their lack of overall team dominance, the Bears have turned out plenty of terrific basketball players over the decades. In fact, mine was not an easy task when I set out to try to whittle the list down to the school’s 12 all-time best.

Yet I managed to complete my mission, because that’s what I do. Incidentally, 11 of the following 12 players made Baylor’s own 17-member All-Centennial Team back in 2006. The lone guy not to earn that honor is Curtis Jerrells, who was in his freshman season in the green and gold when that team was released.

William Chatmon (1969-71): In just two seasons in Waco, “Chat the Cat” scratched and clawed his way to BU immortality. The forward/center from Houston averaged 22.1 points — the second-best mark in program history — and a record 13.4 rebounds per night in 50 games at Baylor. He was first-team All-Southwest Conference and an All-American in his senior season.

Darrell Hardy (1964-67): This smooth forward averaged a shade under 19 points per game for his career, and currently ranks as the No. 7 scorer in school history with 1,360 points. He was one of just four BU players to register all-SWC first-team recognition three separate times. The Detroit Pistons thought enough of Hardy to select him in the third round of the 1967 NBA Draft.

Don Heathington (1947-50): Baylor’s basketball program has something it calls the 1,000-Point Club. Well, Heathington was the original pledge. The school’s first 1,000-point scorer remains the only Bear in the club whose career predates 1950 (when far fewer points were scored). A three-time All-SWC stud, Heathington led Baylor to two Final Fours in three years. (Also known as the Glory Days).

Curtis Jerrells (2005-current): CJ takes us into the new Glory Days. A deft dribbler, Jerrells is on pace to lead Baylor in scoring in each of his four seasons in Waco. With 1,374 points through today, he ranks sixth in school history. Jerrells also is third all-time among BU players with 364 assists and tied for sixth in steals with 116.

Vinnie Johnson (1977-79): Even before he earned the Microwave moniker in the NBA, Johnson was heating things up in Waco. After a phenomenal two-year stint at crosstown McLennan Community College, Johnson scorched the nets for 1,231 points — a Baylor-best average of 24.1 points an outing — including a school-record 50 against TCU his senior season. As the sweet-shooting sixth man of the Detroit Pistons in the late 1980s, Johnson netted a pair of NBA championship rings.

Hubert Kirkpatrick (1936-38): This team even rocks it old school. Kirkpatrick was Baylor’s first-ever All-American in basketball in 1938, when he earned first-team honors from the Helms Foundation. The Mart native was also an all-Southwest Conference star that year. In 1993, Baylor enshrined Kirkpatrick into its Athletic Hall of Fame.

Darryl Middleton (1984-88): A two-time all-SWC first teamer, Middleton was an interior force on one of Baylor’s best teams in school history, the high-scoring bunch that won 23 games in 1988 and made the school’s first NCAA tournament in 38 years. Middleton scored 1,677 points and pulled down 730 rebounds over the course of his career, figures that rank fourth and fifth, respectively, on BU’s all-time charts.

Jack “Jackie” Robinson (1945-48): You can call it a different era if you want to, but Robinson absolutely deserves to be on the short list when you’re talking about Baylor’s all-time best players. Robinson piloted the Bears to a pair of Southwest Conference titles and a pair of NCAA Final Four berths, including a runner-up finish to Kentucky in 1948, the best showing in school history. Later that year, Robinson won a gold medal playing for the U.S. Olympic squad. He’s a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, and was honored on the SWC’s 75th Anniversary Team.

Brian Skinner (1994-98): Arguably the best big man in Baylor history, Skinner ranks third all-time with 1,702 points (an average of 16.5) and is BU’s all-time leader in rebounds (915), blocks (346) and blocks per game (3.36). The Temple High School product thrice achieved all-conference honors, and is the only Baylor player to do so in both the SWC and Big 12. A first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Clippers in 1998, Skinner has forged a journeyman’s NBA career and has now gone full circle, as he’s back with the Clips.

Terry Teagle (1978-82): No Baylor player has ever scored more than Teagle’s 2,189 points. He averaged more than 20 points in each of his final three seasons, landing All-America accolades each of those years as well. The 1980 SWC Player of the Year, Teagle was a first-round pick of the Houston Rockets in 1982 and put together a fine 11-year NBA career.

David Wesley (1989-92): Wesley joins Teagle as the only two Bears ever to be named SWC Player of the Year, as he accomplished the feat in 1992. The savvy guard ranks 11th in school history with 1,224 points and his 82.8 free throw percentage is second-best, behind only John Lucas III. Following Baylor, Wesley played 15 years in the NBA, and is the league’s No. 2 all-time scorer among undrafted players, behind only Moses Malone.

Micheal Williams (1984-88): Williams made an immediate impact in the 1984-85 season, averaging 14.6 points, the fourth-best effort ever by a Baylor freshman. By the time he finished his run, he ranked as Baylor’s No. 2 scorer and passer and was No. 1 in steals. Ironically, despite shooting a relatively pedestrian 73.8 percent from the foul stripe at Baylor, Williams made NBA history in 1993 when he broke Calvin Murphy’s record for most consecutive made free throws.

Coach: Bill Henderson (1941-43, 1945-61): Baylor’s all-time winningest coach, “Mr. Bill” directed the Bears to their greatest glory in the late 1940s. After his stint as BU head coach was interrupted by World War II, Henderson returned to guide Baylor to NCAA Final Four berths in both 1948 and ‘50. He later served as president for the National Basketball Coaches Association, and became Baylor’s athletic director in 1968.

Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: Baylor's all-time teams

Comments

By BigPapaBear, G R R R

December 31, 2008 6:20 AM | Link to this | Report comment abuse

and where is carroll dawson and jerry mallet on the list…..great players….. should have been there.

By John

December 31, 2008 8:13 AM | Link to this | Report comment abuse

Why isn’t Tom Stanton on this list?

By BaylorDan

December 31, 2008 9:00 AM | Link to this | Report comment abuse

The team starts with Jackie Robinson and Vinnie Johnson and if you want a third guard it is Micheal Williams. Otherwise, Terry Teagle, Brian Skinner and Darrell Hardy make a dandy front line. And yes, Jerry Mallett should have been among the nominees.

By Brice Cherry

December 31, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse

Thanks for the input, Baylor fans. I don’t mind the critique. Jerry Mallet was the toughest cut I made from my 12-member team. When you’re picking an elite squad, no doubt some very good players will get left off.

Though he led Baylor in scoring and rebounding for two seasons, I would argue that Dawson’s post-playing days achievements far outshone his feats on the court. As a lifelong Houston Rockets fans, I’ll always be grateful for CD’s contributions to that organization.

By Bob

December 31, 2008 5:44 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse

Hi Brice — Hard to argue with your comments. About the only addition I’d make would be an Honorable Mention for Charlie McKinney, who was about all Baylor had in the mid-’70s and still managed to keep the team respectable when it played in Marrs McLean gym while the HOT Coliseum was being restored. Not THAT was a home court advantage … you had to get there by 4:30 p.m. for 7 p.m. games! Bob

By shawyn pelham

January 13, 2009 1:14 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse

I think it’s a shame that something like voting for the all time best player in the history of Baylor has been abused by some for their own selfish gain and consequently altered the “true” outcome in the softball category. I think these girls have enough talent and their records speak for themselves. It wasn’t necessary to”rig” the votes!!! Shame on you!