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TDR keeps it rolling with another 5-year release of 3rd & 4th round draft profiles: 1976-1980

1976-1980 Main Highlights:

Bill Laimbeer – You may currently know him now as the fun-loving, former head coach of the WNBL’s Detroit Shock, but Laimbeer was also a feared enforcer on the Detroit Piston championship teams of 1989 and 1990.

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Bill Laimbeer Boxing Out!
The four time all star was a huge steal in the third round and a key member of the Piston's “Bad Boys” along with teammates Mark Aguirre, Rick Mahorn and Dennis Rodman. His physical play often made him a target of opposing fans and players, but Laimbeer also brought a great deal of rebounding, perimeter shooting and toughness. Perhaps what made him hard to reconize was that Notre Dame had a philosophy about spreading the minutes and playing a half court offense. Digger Phelps was the head coach at time. He is often cited by Laimbeer himself as someone “he didn’t see eye to eye with”. You have to wonder if the Laimbeer-Phelps rocky relationship created inconsistency in Laimbeer’s playing time.

Michael Cooper - Cooper never made an all star team, but he left a tremendous legacy in the NBA. Only a handful of defensive players have been more feared. His wiry 6-foot-5 frame made him capable of guarding three different positions (PG, SG and SF). As a key member on five championship Lakers teams’, Cooper’s contributions on the defensive side were widely recognized by the league as witnessed by his five, first team all-defense selections. In his pre-NBA days Cooper was not known for defense, but rather his athletic finishing ability and scoring prowess. It was unbeknownst to the Lakers at the time, but this 60th pick in the third round became one of the best perimeter defenders of all time.

Eddie Johnson - Fast Eddie, as he was called, was a lighting quick guard capable of slashing into traffic with ease. While at Auburn, Johnson’s erratic play and poor attitude often led to inconsistent performances. This definitely affected his draft stock and caused him to drop down to the 49th pick in the third round. As a two time all-star in his first five years in the NBA, Johnson’s career appeared to be on its way up. But Johnson was not only fast on the court. A cocaine addiction was quick to rob him of his mental faculties and talent. By the time he was out of the league he moved up to selling and smoking crack, as well as burglary, battery, robbery and various drug charges. Fast Eddie was just recently sentenced to life in jail for raping an 8-year old girl. His misdeeds appear to be self inflicted. All background checks point to a hard working family and, if his brother, former 10 year pro Frank Johnson, is any indication, it doesn’t lack class or pride. Fast Eddie still has another rape case pending at this time involving a 25 year old woman.

Nick Galis - But who is Nick Galis? If you're about to access your mental library in attempt to recall his the NBA career, I'll spare you the reference check. Galis didn’t play a minute in the league, but he is counted among the notables due to his legendary play in Greece. Galis is to Greece what Sabonis is to Lithuania and what Jordan is to America - the best player ever. He was born in New Jersey to Greek parents, but he was not an overnight prodigy. Galis developed through countless hours of practice. As a senior at Seton Hall he finished third in scoring in the nation, and is considered one of the school's best players. Yet despite his talent, Galis signed with an inexperienced agent who didn’t even have the player workout for any NBA teams. Given the opportunity for workouts, he more than likely would have seen late-first to mid-second round. After being selected by the Celtics, Galis was injured in training camp and limited him for two weeks. Celtics' GM Red Auerbach decided to cut Galis which opened up the opportunity for him to play overseas. The next 14 seasons were spent carving out a tremendous career highlighted by 5 Greek MVP awards, 8 Greek League Championships and 2 medals as a member of the Greek National team. Lastly, one has to take the word of the late Red Auerbach, one the best ever evaluators of talent in the business of basketball. He mentioned cutting Galis as one of his biggest mistakes.

James Donaldson - At the time, Donaldson looked like nothing more than your average big man. Like all NBA teams, the Seattle Supersonics looked long and hard for quality centers. Donaldson was still raw, so the team told the unpolished specimen to go overseas for a year and develop. Donaldson secured a spot on the team one year later, and over the next few years became a dependable rebounder and athletic force around the basket. His rise was culminated in 1988 when he was named to his first and only NBA ALL-star team. Donaldson's career started to slow down due after debilitating injuries forced him out of the league at the age of 37. After basketball, Donaldson became an owner and director of the Donaldson Clinic, which specializes in fitness and physical therapy. Just recently Donaldson ran for Mayor in the city of Seattle, but came in fourth on a non-partisan ticket.

Pat Cummings - Noted for his great shooting touch, Cummings had a very productive pro career - 12 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 1991. Cummings was drafted in 1978 by the Milwaukee Bucks as a junior eligible draftee (this was due to the fact that the talented power forward broke his leg in his junior season and had to sit out a year), but Cummings immediately returned to college for his final season. As a pro, nagging leg injuries quickly reduced Cummings effectiveness on the court, but for a span of five years he was one of the league’s most dependable starters.

1976-1980 Research Problems:

Jim Cooper - I didn’t find Cooper until the ninth hour. He is listed wrong on every draft list currently available on the internet. Whomever first copied the list for internet availability copied it wrong, and through further copying by other draft sites, that error became fact. Until now. Yet even the University of Alabama media guide claims Cooper as a draftee of their school! Needless to say, Cooper is a product of Alabama State who, like everyone other school, had no idea who he was. His freshman year and senior year numbers have yet to be uncovered. Thankfully, Cooper’s due at his school can now be recognized.

Ricardo Brown - He was a mystery man until I was able to track down his sophomore year at Yavapai Junior college. Before that, Brown started his career at Centenary where he played his freshman year with first round draftee Robert Parish. Unfortunately, Centenary has no reference to Brown playing, as he isn’t even listed as a letterman in the school’s media guide.

Larry Rogers - He was drafted out of the U.S. Army, but the NBA erroneously listed him at SE Missouri State. Rogers did spend his freshman year at the school, but his academics soon forced him out. Rogers spent the next three years in the Army, but it is unknown if he played the AAU team his first two years. It is fact, however, that he played AAU for the Army during what would be the 1978-79 season. Needless to say, his stats are extremely limited.

Richie Allen - Allen moved around more than a “Hip-Hop ABS” workout. Four years at four different schools made him incredibly hard to track down. His stats during his two seasons at junior colleges Santa Barbara and Ambassador have yet to be found. His senior year season at Dominguez Hills are scattered and limited.

Roy Smith - Smith started his career at the HCBU, Lincoln University of Missouri, but it appears that some time in his freshman year he transferred to Kentucky State. I have yet to uncover the information listing his Lincoln stats, but every indication that I have received from former players is that Smith played 8-10 games at the school. Unfortunately, what he averaged has yet to be found.

There is more great stuff coming out of my historical vault. Dig into this latest release as I move on to make ready the 3rd and 4th round draft picks, 1976 through 1980.

Enjoy!
Matthew Maurer

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