Jerry Lucas - Mr. Tough Guy

Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) was a basketball player from the 1950s to the 1970s, and is now a memory education expert. In 1996, the NBA's 50th anniversary, he was named one of the 50 greatest players in National Basketball Association history.[2] He was named to Sports Illustrated's five-man College All-Century Team in 1999.

Lucas was born in Middletown, Ohio, a community of 50,000+ halfway between Dayton and Cincinnati which in the 1940s and 1950s boasted one of the most respected high school basketball programs in the United States. Lucas was already a playground legend by age 15, as he was already at almost his full-grown height of 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m). He had developed shooting accuracy as far out as 25 feet, and had trained his leaping ability and timing to become an amazing rebounder. Lucas was gifted with great hands, which he could use to dazzle onlookers with an array of magic card tricks, as well as with 20-10 eyesight.

With a glut of big men on the team, the Warriors sent Lucas to the New York Knicks in 1971 for small forward Cazzie Russell. All the years and time on court made Lucas appear an old 31 years old. But New York expected Lucas to back up Willis Reed and Dave DeBusschere, two players he had often outplayed as a Royal. Lucas was willing to do nearly anything to win a championship at this point. So the All-Pro became a reserve. But early that year, Reed was injured, forcing Lucas into the lineup at his natural center position. Playing a style of center that bedeviled other teams with his outside shooting, his passing, and drives past slower big men, Lucas re-emerged as a star in New York. He led the team in rebounds and shooting, while being second on the team in scoring and assists to star guard Walt Frazier. Lucas was not named an all-star, but outplayed Wes Unseld and Dave Cowens, both East all-star centers, to help the Knicks advance to the NBA Finals in 1972. Matched against the Los Angeles Lakers' mammoth Wilt Chamberlain at center, Lucas became the goat of New York's Finals loss, even as he had more points and assists than Chamberlain. New York coach Red Holzmann, seeing a need for a stronger center to match against Chamberlain and others in 1972, made Reed the starter when that oft-injured star returned the following season. Lucas actually played more minutes that year at center than Reed, allowing the Knicks to keep Reed fresh for the playoffs. The duo came to be known around the league as 'Willis Lucas', and the tandem averaged 26 points and 20 rebounds combined, bewildering NBA teams as interchangeable starters that allowed New York to create favorable matchups based on their styles of play. Lucas' role was crucial to New York's winning the 1973 NBA championship. The win made Lucas the first player to win championships at all four levels of basketball --- high school, college, Olympics, and the pros.

Lucas also became a media darling in New York, where he found a large market for his magic tricks, memory games, and other products. He amazed many by memorizing portions of the Manhattan Phone Book or memorizing the names of an entire studio audience in sequence during television appearances. He also had a knack for taking words apart and then respelling them alphabetically in rapidfire order ( his name would spell E-J-R-R-Y A-C-L-S-U ). Lucas showed many how mental games and memory exercises could build brain power and intelligence for people at any age.

In 1974, the Knicks made a run to repeat as NBA champs, but the team known for its collective intelligence and unselfishness, like Lucas himself , was eliminated in the East Finals. Lucas, Reed and DeBusschere all retired as players after that season.

At retirement, Lucas ranked fourth all-time in rebounds per game to Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Bob Pettit. Had there been a three-point line, Lucas, who has the league's longest accurate shot during his day, might have been a much bigger scorer. A star at two positions, forward and center, Lucas is still recalled today as one of the greatest ever in NBA history.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• basketball

[astrofish0]

Cool. The song is by Kenny-G. I don't know the name of the song but the I think the albulm is Breathless. Jerry lucas was awesome.

[VeoShock]

People dont know but Jerry Lucas was a BEAST. This guy was as gifted n tough as they come. A LEGEND INDEED.

[vombat16]

jerry was great.

[Brandtalones]

He seems like quite the go-getter. I'm reading his and Harry Lorayne's memory book.

Good stuff, makes you feel like you could learn anything.

[inlovewithi]

This video would have been better with some gangster rap.

[SuperDUDERIKI]

I tought the song fit in pretty good. Jazz goes perfect with basketball.

[honolululei]

not better than jordan,kobe,rondo but who is playing.

[honolululei]

not better than jordan,kobe,rondo



[danielwerre]

Awful song selection..... Jesus. Completely unfitting.

[2Mrwilliam]

Jerry Lucas is my uncle

[rodneymullenfan21]

my uncle was named after him ! .. jerry lucas

[maxka7amsut]

sound gay ass fuck

[Ariamaluum]

That was true in college. In the pros, you need talk to his teammates from Oscar Robertson and Nate Thurmond. They admired his intelligence and talent but his outside interests really hurt his career till he went to the Knicks. He is the first NBA player to lose a million dollars in 1970 for various financial mishaps.