Talk:Jerry Lucas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography. For more information, visit the project page. | ||
| ??? | This article has not yet received a rating on the Project's quality scale. Please rate the article and then leave a short summary here to explain the ratings and/or to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the article. [FAQ] | ||
Contents |
[edit] Memory guy 1970s
As a geezer, I remember his memory schtick in the late 1970s. Can anyone find out more definiate details? Thanks Bona Fides 20:52, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
It's more than just a schtick. Lucas has written 30 books on memory and image-based memory education. The most famous are The Memory Book and Remember The Word, which teaches about the New Testament. I saw him this year in Ohio. He has developed DVDs, software, the whole gamut.He is known today as Dr.Memory and has a website. He's probably doing more for education than he did in basketball, which is saying alot.
Jerry Lucas and The Classic NBA@yahoogroups.com
[edit] Amazing look back
It's amazing to look at players today in college or the NBA, and then to look at a guy like Lucas. Players today are great athletes, and some can are even good shooters, but they really don't push their development as people, let alone players. Lucas was a great student and thinker, this led him to really analyze what it took to be a great player. He then applied a tremendous work ethic ( he had good parents, no doubt ) and became the man that has done all that has followed since. Kids today don't think that hard, don't work that hard and don't care what that says about them, for the most part. Jerry Lucas is a great example of what a person can become if he really applies himself. Also, few people mention how this guy would have done if he'd had a three-point line in his day. He was an unbelievable shooter, on par with Larry Bird or Mark Price, and he probably would have been a much bigger pro/college scorer if they had a three point line in his day.
[edit] Remembering Lucas
Well put, a true legend of the game. Probably one of the 20 greatest basketball talents of all time. Could shoot inside or out, facing or back to the basket, had Larry Bird range from outside, could score anytime he wanted, but shyed away from being the superstar pro he could have been. Wilt and Jabbar had very high respect for him, he gave them both fits and was just 6-9. Might be the best pure rebounder of all time, he often was 15 feet from the basket, yet had as many boards as Bill Russell. No other NBA forward will ever haul in 20 rpg for a full season. Is a legend at two positions, center and forward. Was a prodigy due to his amazing mind, his remarkable intellect for retaining and analyzing information. Was also a top-rate passer and a surprisingly sneaky shot blocker, his game had no real weaknesses. Yet basketball is just part of the story for this truly impressive man who today is a world-class educator. I'll always be his fan.
[edit] If Lucas played against today's stars
How would Jerry Lucas do against today's stars? His amazing all-around game largely self-taught, Lucas became a great shooter and rebounder by spending hours alone practicing his technique each day. Lucas's success was a product of hard work and his remarkable intelligence. Having truly great hands and eyesight certainly helped also. He would have murdered the three-point line in high school and college, putting up even bigger amateur numbers than he did in the 50's and 60's. He'd still lead in FG% and rebounds just as he did, and he'd be even stronger today because he'd lift weights, something players in his day rarely did. With today's media, Lucas would be a legend early on , and probably would be called the greatest college player of all-time. Blessed with rare intelligence, Lucas would likely breeze thru an easier college class load today. But with today's money, Lucas, who had a real green tooth, would not hesitate about turning pro. He probably would have turned pro after his junior year in college. He already had married and had his four-year degree at that point in his day. Just as it happened in 1962, pro scouts would salivate about moving Lucas from his natural center spot in college to forward as a pro. An outstanding perimeter shooter and passer, Lucas could pick and roll better than Karl Malone, and also had the strength and athleticism to occasionally go to the basket when opponents might crowd his jumper. Again, with the three line, Lucas might actually score more than he did, he'd have more assists with the less-strict rules today regarding that stat, and he'd likely lead the NBA in rebounds at 15+ per game. He'd also go for more blocked shots, as that is more emphasized today. Lucas played a lot of minutes in his pro days, and would not have to play quite as many today. But there would also be a down side: Lucas might struggle to get passes from black teammates in today's game, as many white American players today do. He might be even less popular in the locker room than he was. Also, Lucas did not put the energy into defense in his day that is demanded today, it's a much more athletic game now in many respects. He'd pick up more fouls, no question. Lucas never had to guard driving power forwards like Tim Duncan or Chris Webber in his day. Kevin Garnett or Dirk Nowitzki would provide challenges Lucas rarely saw in his day. Still, he wouldn't have to deal with Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell ,Nate Thurmond, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or any of the special talents he had to deal with in his day, so it would probably even out. All in all, he would probably be even better today than he was in the 1960's, which was awfully good.
[edit] Unusual Intellect
The article several times mentions JLs prodigious intellect and even has the text:
He also earned the reputation of being arguably the most intelligent man ever to play in the NBA.
I think the article ought to cite reasons for claiming unusual intellect.
Is there reason, say, to regard JL as superior to former teammate (Princeton grad/Rhodes scholar/long time senator/credible presidential hopeful) Bill Bradley?
--Philopedia 21:50, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
-
- That's one of the glaring omissions of the article. Lucas is acknowledged as a memory expert. While still in high school, he studied memory improvement techniques, got through OSU with honors partly because he could memorize any textbook, and during his NBA career would frequently do public appearances where he would memorize the telephone book of a major city. Lucas now has his own education consulting company to disseminate his memory techniques. Google "Jerry Lucas" and you'll find it easily. Truddick 22:50, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
Particular to the NBA, Lucas memorized every play every team ran in the league, a valuable resource. Bradley himself witnessed Lucas's trick with the Manhattan Phone Book, some of which he had memorized. He often knew the stats of every player on the floor of a given game. He had gained his four-year bachelors in three years at OSU, his six-year doctorate in 4 1/2. He used memory techniques to reduce his study time in college and was Phi Beta Kappa. He memorized paragraphs of Russian, Italian and Japanese for the 1960 Olympics. Bradley himself was very impressed with Lucas.
[edit] Jerry Lucas Pass-Time Games, Inc.
I found a board game called "Perplexion" at a thrift store yesterday. The company listed as the copyright holder has this name and has a Columbus, Ohio PO Box listed as their address. It is copyrighted 1964, which would have been around the height of his basketball career. Perhaps the company was named after him, or did he have any part in it?
I have exhausted my traditional search methods, but will probably search at the library (I actually live in Columbus), or even write the address. Which would beg the question: add the info about the game-making company to this article, or a disambiguation page with a seperate article?
I suppose that would largely depend on the man Jerry Lucas' involvement on the company. With both being from central Ohio though, it can't just be a coincidence.
--Nbody 00:58, 15 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Lucas's Impact on his teams
Much is made of the fact that Lucas won championships at every level --- high school, college, the Olympics and the pros. Those titles are team accomplishments. But Lucas played key or star roles in those team successes. In high school, he obviously was the main guy. People forget he didn't turn 16 until after the 1956 Ohio Championships his undefeated Middletown team won. He was just 15 years old that season and already 6'8. In his more humble, decent era, Lucas passed up a lot of shots and sat a lot of minutes in blowout games. Otherwise, he'd have put up Ohio numbers even Ohioan LeBron James probably could not match. Some of his records still stand anyway. 40 years later. At Ohio State, Lucas was probably responsible for Fred Taylor being hired as varsity head coach. Taylor was the freshman coach when he got Lucas to commit to the Buckeyes. Taylor was later promoted. Mel Nowell and Bobby Knight signed on to OSU to play with Lucas. On the court, he could have easily been a 30-point scorer, but chose not to. This allowed a lot of other contributions and made his team a force that reached three straight NCAA Finals, even with graduations. Again, his personal stats were great anyway. In the 1960 Olympics, Lucas was slated to back up Walt Bellamy and Darrall Imhoff at center, but outplayed both in the Trials. Coach Pete Newell later wanted to try Lucas at forward next to Bellamy. But Lucas was such a good passer from the pivot and such a good rebounder, Newell had to have him at center. Again, his unselfish play allowed for a lot of other contributions. That team, which had four future Hall of Fame players plus the coach, was years ahead of it's time. Lucas got just six free throw attempts in nine Olympic Games, but still tied Oscar Robertson as top scorer. His skills and attitude made that team just as at OSU. At Cincinnati in the NBA, he deferred to Robertson to help build a contender while still being All-Pro at a new position, forward. But the Royals were so poorly run it didn't matter. So it's not surprising he had many off-court projects. In San Fransisco, the Warriors were a team of injuries, ABA jumpers and coaching changes. Lucas deferred to another star, Nate Thurmond, but to no avail. Still they did make the playoffs in his two years there with a balanced attack Lucas encouraged. In New York, Lucas agreed to backup Dave DeBusschere and Willis Reed, two players he had often earlier outplayed. When Reed went down in 1972, Lucas stepped in at center and in many ways led the team to the NBA Finals. The team took on an attitude of intelligence and unselfishness that was much like Lucas himself. In 1973, Lucas may have been better than Reed, but again agreed to a backup role that finally netted his NBA title ring. While people note this player's great stats and accomplishments, they may overlook what a sense of team he had that helped to make winners wherever he went. This, to me, says as much about him as any of his many awards, stats or his talent.
