Great article on legend Bob Cousy

[tornado]

http://www.telegram.com/article/20130929/COLUMN01/309299933/0

It's great story of "Cooz" and his wife of well over 60 years, but one thing he notes quite strongly - the amount of time his career took away from his family...

As much as we fans love watching these guys play - the travel takes a toll on their lives...


"...In the early days of their marriage, when the Celtics star was gone for
weeks at a time, Missie made her husband a presence in the family home by
telling her daughters where he was and what he was doing.
...The grueling travel schedule would define the first half of their marriage.
While her husband was transforming the game of basketball and later worked
as a coach and sports commentator, Missie raised two daughters

.."I was busy playing a child's game, ..I thought putting a ball in a hole was
important. Looking back, I should have participated more in the lives of my family..."

[capecod]

Dell Basketball Magazine-1950 & 1951

The very first 'Dell Basketball Magazine 1950' (Vol #1, Issue #1) listed Bob Cousy of Holy Cross as 'the Country's best player'. Interestingly, Cousy was listed as a forward on Dell's 15 man All American team.... future Celtics backcourt teammate Bill Sharman of USC was also listed as a forward.

Bradley's Paul Unruh and Gene Melchiorre were also on that 15 man AA team-listed as Guards(nice full page write up on each player)....later in the magazine, both Melchiorre and Unruh were listed as forwards on the 'All MVC' team

Bradley was the #2 ranked team in that pre-season magazine behind U of San Francisco

1950 Dell Magazine Bradley basketball team write-up:

With such outstanding all-American candidates as Paul Unruh and Gene Melchiorre setting the pace, Bradley's fast moving quintet figures to finish high among the nation's leaders despite an unusually strong schedule. Based on their showing in the Metropolitan Invitational Tournament last spring, Coach Anderson's hoopsters must be rated the pick of the Missouri Valley Conference. Coach Anderson envisions a brilliant future for Bud Grover, who began to show his true worth in the Western Kentucky game in Madison Square Garden last spring. Still available is Dave Humerickhouse, who was selected to several all-American squads in his sophomore year, two seasons ago. Another senior, George Chianakas will contend for a starting berth together with Aaron Preece, rugged rebounder who performed brilliantly in the NIT. Bill Mann, who scored 21 points against Manhattan in an early season Madison Square Garden game, will be available to keep the fast-moving Braves under control when the going gets rough. If Elmer Behnke, 6'7 center comes around to give Unruh help on the boards, this team will be extremely hard to stop.

1951 Dell Magazine :

Melchiorre repeats on AA team(Dick Groat of Duke-later of MLB fame w/ Pirates and Cards is also an AA)

Bradley ranked as 'Best team in Midwest over Iowa and Notre Dame.

Writeup on Braves:

Bradley once again must be classified at the season's outset as a serious contender for national and sectional honors. Despite the loss by graduation of Paul Unruh, its great scorer, the team looks solid and set. Of course it has the spectacular Gene (Squeaky) Melchiorre. It also has balance and depth and the advancement of certain of its players, notably Elmer Behnke, center; Bill Mann, guard; and big and comparatively green operative, Jim Kelly, should make up for losses.

Bradley went to the finals in both the National Collegiate athletic Association and National Invitational tournaments, being beaten narrowly in each case by the inspired sophomores of New York's City College. The NCAA final was a heart-breaker. Melchiorre got in for a winning layup in the closing seconds and didn't make it. there is some ground for believing he was fouled but it would have been a close call.

We have placed Bradley in the Middle Western sector, though it plays in a Conference which includes teams that we have spotted in the Prairie and Mountian area. This was a arbitrary move based on geography. However, wherever Bradley has been placed it would have to be regarded as the outstanding team.

The starting lineup this year is a veteran organization with Melchiorre and Charley Grover at forwards; Behnke at center, Aaron Preece and Mann at the guards. Fred Schlictman, another veteran, will be in action a good deal; and so will Kelly, who is turning out to be the find of the decade. This boy did not play high school basketball, but toward the end of last year he had developed to such an extent that he was dividing center duty with Behnke. He is a good rebounder, being six feet six, and has good hook shots.

Bradley has some good sophomores who at least will improve the calibre of the bench. Outstanding among them are: Dick Wickstand and Jack Crowe, both six feet four; and Leroy (Buzz) Ott, a smaller man. Crowe was the leading scorer of the 1949-50 freshman team.

Going back to the veterans, it appears that Mann at last will get the recognition he should have had before now. He looks like the floor leader and playmaker and is considered by the experts a complete basketballer with a shooting average of .464.


A note:
Well, for anybody that bothered to read the whole post all the way down to here-a little Bradley Basketball History isn't a bad thing to read about-especially since the Braves have had such a amazing history.........

Apologies if I have 'hijacked' this thread.......

[tornado]

nope -- not considered hijacking unless you try to blame things on JL or Molinari -- LOL

Thanks for that flashback...

[Chico]

Thanks for the memories. Squeaky was my idol growing up. Still remember the CCNY game in which he was fouled at the end with no call. The Madison theater showed the replay over and over.

[TNel]

Thanks for the memories. Squeaky was my idol growing up. Still remember the CCNY game in which he was fouled at the end with no call. The Madison theater showed the replay over and over.

Ditto, Chico. Squeaky was my idol also. I remember going down to the Madison and standing in a long line a few days after the game to watch a replay of the CCNY game and the no-call foul. It was definitely a homer call. Still love Squeaky and hope I (and he) live long enough to see his number retired. Squeaky, Stan the Man, and Rocky Marciano ... my all-time boyhood heroes.