Elgin Baylor watches Seattle U win home opener
by John Berkowitz on Nov 20, 2009 6:59 AM PST
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PrintI tuned into FSN last night to watch a little college basketball. Usually the team I would be watching would be the Washington Huskies but last night it was Seattle University. There were a number of things that made the game interesting for me. First of all former UW assistant Cameron Dollar was making his home debut as a division one head coach. Second of all I wanted to see if the hype about almost Husky Charles Garcia was true. Finally Seattle U honored 29 former basketball greats last night with the greatest being hall of famer Elgin Baylor.
The game on the court didn't dissapoint. Seattle U shook off the early butterflies and raced out to a ten point half time lead. Turnovers, missed free throws, and some poor shot selection allowed Fresno State back in the game in the second half. With two minutes left my wife turned to me and said Seattle is going to lose. The Redhawks ignored her and switched into rally mode. With some patented Cameron Dollar pressure defense they were able to pull out a one point victory in this one.
Charles Garcia is as good as advertised. He is a 6'10 athlete with the ball handling skills of a guard. He led the team with 21 points and 12 rebounds. The only real flaw he showed last night was at the free throw line were he was only 10 of 18. Garcia is going to get a lot better under the tutelage of Cameron Dollar. He will become stronger presence inside and a better defender over time. His outside game is pretty smooth and he knocked down an NBA three that brought the crowd to their feet.
The Redhawks overall are a team in transistion made up of young division one recruits and some division two veterans. Garcia obviously elevates the performance of this team but I also saw some decent play out of Aaron Broussard and Cervante Burrell. It seems that Dollar has a decent foundation to build his program on.
The Redhawks who are in their first season of division one since 1980 play an independent schedule with some serious advantages over the average independent. They play their home games in 17,100 seat Key Arena which looked incredible for last nights debut in Redhawk colors and they have great history in the sport that goes back 60 years.
That history was on display last night with Elgin Baylor and twenty eight other Seattle U. greats on hand who were honored at halftime for their contributions to the program. Baylor was also honored by the City of Seattle with Elgin Baylor Day and the dedication of Elgin Baylor Court at Key Arena. Baylor who hasn't been close to the program in 50 years was visibly moved by the honor.
Elgin has had a very tough year. The 74 year old hall of famer was let go by the LA Clippers after 22 years of being the franchise figurehead. The parting wasn't amicable and Baylor filed suit against the franchise. Baylor described himself recently as being a little lost after the turmoil.
Last night was the opportunity for him to go back to where it all started in the late 1950's to be honored by the University and community. Baylor who describes himself as more of an LA type of guy after living there since 1959 doesn't visit often. His only prior appearances in Seattle were as a member of the LA Lakers when they used to play the Sonics.
Now that Baylor is no longer with the Clippers look for his involvement to increase a bit in promoting his alma maters return to division one. Every legend needs a hobby in his retirement and every school needs the involvment of its biggest legend. Look for Elgin to visit a little more often.
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Garcia is a monster
His big, strong, athletic and fast. I watched some of this game and was blown away at how good he is. He runs the floor better than any big man I’ve ever seen. It’s a shame we missed out on him.
Elgin
I remember Elgin when I was a student at Seattle U. He could dominate a game. when he positioned himself in front of the basket no one else could come close to a rebound. It seemed like his shoulders were six feet apart. Domination is the only word.
He won in the Cow Palace, I was in the Army at Ft. Ord, CA, and took them on to play
Kansas but he was a target just like Jake and the beating he took from Kansas took its toll.
Great memories of a great basketball player in the same class as Steve Emtman.
One of a kind both and not likely to be seen again anytime soon.
Remember he was a first round pick by the Lakers back when there were far fewer teams drafting.
Excellent game recap!
Nice reporting on Elgin Baylor too! Mr. Baylor is a Seattle legend and the entire Seattle community should embrace him.
by 206 on Nov 20, 2009 12:23 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Win Win for SU and Elgin Baylor
Glad to see last night turn out so well for both parties. The only sad part was Garcia playing for the wrong team. Pretty sharp of Dollar to keep him in town. Red Arback (sp) once explained how they cheated on defense against Baylor trying to stop him from driving to the basket. With his back to the hoop, they knew Baylor couldn’t go to his right, so they completely gave up that side to stop him from going left. Despite a free path to his right, he would still go left and make the shot.
Concerning the Clippers, its hard to understand how he held that job so long. But, I don’t think people that follow the NBA (not me anymore) feel that the team will improve with a new GM.
The Clipper gig was interesting
People who think Baylor was a crappy GM don’t know the inside story. Don Sterling ran the franchise and Baylor was the front man and fall guy for all of his stupid decisions…that included the draft picks. The Clippers won’t improve until Sterling sells the team or stops making management decisions.
I would have liked to see what Baylor could have done while making his own decisions. Not saying he was Jerry West either…just saying that Sterling is a strange guy to work for.
Another think people don’t quite get is that Baylor was never going to leave the LA area. He loves it down there so if he was going to stay in the NBA there were only two choices over the long run and that was the Clippers or the Lakers.
by John Berkowitz on Nov 20, 2009 4:41 PM PST up reply actions
That's some nice commentary on Elgin, John
Because Laker tickets are hard to come by, and besides- I’m a Warrior’s fan, the next best thing is the Clippers. So, I’ve attended a few of their games, mostly the games that have/had ex-Trojans in the game or Warrior’s games, San Antonio, Heat, Knicks, Celtics, etc. And, because both the Lakers and Clippers play at The Staples Center, it’s a bargain at half the price.
That said, the way they railroaded Elgin was just gawd-awful. He is more than just a legend, he has done so much for the LA-community and his teams and his draft picks (Olowakandi, notwithstanding) had some hella-badass rosters. Injuries and chemistry have always been the Clippers downfall. Dunleavey is a good coach and he gets the most out of his players when they want to put it all out on the floor. I’m sorry to see Elgin leave, and he has every right and a very good case against Sterling. Sterling is a lot like Al Davis. They put out an ok-product and then just suck the heck out of league-sharing. But man, both those men have incredible financial-acumen to pull off what they pull off year in and year out.
Nice to see Elgin get some love up in Seattle. That man is like a saint to me. His donations and contributions to the Keck School of Medicine and County-USC Hospital not only helped fuel my fellowship, but without his and the Clippers’ organization- the two clinics I helped to start up in Venice and Boyle Heights out here in LA wouldn’t have ever happened. The man is just golden to me.
Way to go John.
"As for being a Raiders fan, I wouldn't wish that fucking shit on anybody." [the venerable OTS at Roll Bama Roll}
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