03-28-2008, 05:04 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 5,457
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Oscar to be honored tonight - if only hecould still play!
It's the big celebration of the all-time Bucks team at tonight's game, and the Big O will have his jersey re-dedicated. He talks about his game with the J-S:
Quote:
In an interview Thursday at the Pfister Hotel, Robertson recalled his days with the Bucks and grabbing the National Basketball Association title that had eluded him in 10 years with the Cincinnati Royals.
"I never thought about a championship when I first came here, to be honest," the 69-year-old Robertson said. "The Bucks brought in McCoy McLemore, Bob Boozer. They had Dick Cunningham and brought in Lucius Allen. When you have a bench like that, not many teams are going to beat you.
"That is what (Red) Auerbach would always do; he would always have veterans on his bench. Now the guy down in San Antonio (Gregg Popovich) is doing that; he has seasoned vets. That's what you must have, so when they get in the game they don't mess up anything. When the Bucks brought these guys in, it was a blessing."
The Bucks acquired Robertson in an April 1970 trade for Flynn Robinson and Charlie Paulk, clearly a steal of a deal.
Robertson appeared in 288 games over four seasons with the Bucks, and he and Abdul-Jabbar nearly won another title in 1974, falling to Boston in seven games in the league finals. That was Robertson's final series as a pro.
"Kareem had to undergo a transformation," Robertson recalled. "They started playing rough; they started to beat up on him. At first, he didn't understand why.
"I told him, 'Because you're a great player.' I said, 'If you were not great, they wouldn't touch you.'
"He needed a little weight, and he needed to learn to pass off the pivot. He became a great passer and he put on the weight. Boy, he had an unstoppable hook shot after that."
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http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=733024 |
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Oscar to be honored tonight - if only hecould still play!
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