1961-1965 Problems:

Waite Bellamy: I was able to research several stats for his college career, but Bellamy's overall numbers remain spotty, especially his sophomore season. Bellamy was another small school HBCU pick that made Marty Blake famous. Bellamy never made the NBA, but many believe it had nothing to do with talent and everything to do with the silent and unwritten quota of how many African Americans were able to be on an NBA team at one time.

Connie McGuire: While I was able to obtain his first three seasons at Oklahoma (where he played sparingly), McGuire's transfer to Southeastern Oklahoma left the trail extremely cold. After much digging I was happy to recover his stats in games played and total points for the season.

Charles Hardnett: It was difficult, but I acquired Hadnett's complete stats for his last two years at Grambling. Through additional research I obtained rebounds, points, and games played for his Freshman and Sophomore seasons. Marty Blake is also responsible for this HBCU pick. Blake was still years ahead of many NBA general managers, with the exception of Red Auerbach of the Boston Celtics. Auerbach played chess in the draft while everyone else played checkers.

Porter Meriwether & George Finley: Statistics for these Tennessee State teammates were extremely hard to come by, but this is also quite normal considering most HBCU's and major colleges of this time. Meriwether's career points were easier to obtain than points by year and games played, but his career is mostly bare except for his junior year where I found complete information. Finley is somewhat of a mystery man. I found very little on him and it's a mystery as to why he isn't listed on the roster for his first two years. I gained his senior season totals, but anything prior remains to be uncovered.

Reggie Harding: Not many young NBA fans know of Reggie Harding, but he (not Moses Malone) was the first modern player to enter the league out of high school. Despite his youth, the Pistons decided to put this raw player in the Midwest Professional Basketball league. He played one season for two different teams, but with limited time due to attitude problems with coaches. Unfortunately, the numbers from that league are spotty at best. The NBA may be grateful for the low level news reporting of the 1960's. In today's time, Harding would be a public relations nightmare. Everything about Harding was shady. His friends were drug dealers, gamblers and hustlers. He was a heroin & cocaine addict with periods of bizarre behavior, and he often disappeared hours at a time before showing up late for games with a glazed look. Harding was later murdered in Detroit. It is suspected that he owed money to drug dealers.

Highlights:

Bill Bridges: Despite his 6-foot-6 frame, Bridges was a dominant rebounder and defender during his thirteen years in the NBA. He was a three time all-star with a career average of a double-double in points and rebounds, but his physical style of play often led to a great deal of fouls. Bridges ended his career with a championship in his final season with the 1975 Golden State Warriors.

Jon McGlocklin: McGlocklin became the first player, along with teammate Flynn Robinson, to represent the Bucks in the NBA all-star game, but the team remained a below average until Kareem Abdul-Jabbar arrived. Abdul-Jabbar's superstar presence drew double teams consistently, which helped to augment McGlocklin's standout shooting ability. In 1971 McGlocklin was a starter for the Bucks one and only championship team.

Bob Love: Love is one of the NBA's smoothest performers, but is often forgotten in Chicago Bulls' history because of the player who followed. The Jordan era may leave Love's name off the tongue of casual fans, but to hardcore fans he remains one of the 1970's most fluid ballplayers. The three time all-star was a mere after thought when the Cincinnati Royals selected him in the 4th round of the 1965 NBA Draft. After bouncing around to NBA teams Cincinnati and Milwaukee, Love was traded to Chicago for a fresh start on a team with a new coach, Dick Motta. Throughout Motta's coaching career he ran his teams with a forward-oriented offensive philosophy, meaning forwards are to get the ball first on offense. This gave Love plenty of opportunities to impress with his silky shooting. After his playing days were over he conquered a long time problem with severe stuttering and can now be seen at numerous speaking venues.

High Tier Role Players: Third and Fourth Round role players selected during this period were spectacular. Don Nelson, Keith Erickson, Barry Clemens, Bob Weiss, Tony Kimball, Jim Davis, Happy Hairston, McCoy McLemore, Wali Jones and Chico Vaughn all played an average of 670 career games in the NBA. The ABA protesters may argue that Vaughn should be left off the list because he played a few seasons with the ABA's Pittsburgh Pipers, but those purists must not forget that Vaughn's 327 NBA career games included him averaging a little over 20 minutes per game. He's definitely a role player, and he may have stayed in the league had the ABA never surfaced.

This is more great stuff out my historical vault. Enjoy these newest profiles and watch for the next release of 3rd and 4th round draft picks (1966-1970).

Enjoy! Matthew Maurer