[SeekAndFind]

(CONTINUED)

he compared his first time out, during which he ran out of wisdom to offer the team, to the first time he was a substitute teacher at the school his wife ran. He said (again as I remember it):

I told the class the entire history of the world as I knew it, and then looked at the clock. We were only 20 minutes in.

Unseld’s NBA.com profile states that “over the course of his career he came to personify the virtues of hard work, dedication, and courage.” That’s the main reason why he’s my favorite athlete of them all.

I’ll give the final word to Mitch Kupchak, Unseld’s teammate during his later years:

The most amazing thing to me is how effective he was with those bad knees. Any time he stepped on the floor, whether it was for practice or a game, he was in pain. It wasn’t comfortable for him, but he saw it as part of his job. He knew his teammates were watching him and if he didn’t do it, they might not do it.

We always talk about leadership in sports, but you don’t designate yourself a leader. You just lead. That’s what Wes did.

RIP

[llevrok]

Wes Unseld vs the Seattle Sonics’ Bob (the Golden) Rule. Like the clash of the titans warriors!

As they used to say - it's not a contact sport. It's a collision sport.

[the OlLine Rebel]

MD ping

[Bratch]

The first basketball game I ever attended in person was a UL game in Freedom Hall when Wes was still in college. After the game, I got his autograph. He was very kind and gracious.

It just so happened my parents, who were worried about my weight, had just started me on diet pills. Needless to say, when I got home I was running at 90 miles a minute.

My parents had a rough night.

[GJones2]

I enjoyed watching his games. Typically he’d be in there battling against a taller opponent, but he was strong, and came up with the rebound more often than not. Also he had a great outlet pass.

[Tymesup]

One story is he was cut and cement came oozing out.

[clive bitterman]

I was in the Marines with his younger brother Lou. He was the same size as Wes but incredibly soft spoken and a real gentleman. Their parents must have been very proud of both.

[Impala64ssa]

Being a Knicks fan as a kid, Willis Reed, Earl the Pearl Monroe and Walt Frazier were among my favorites. Wes Unseld was also a great player. When the bullets moved to DC they changed their name to the Wizards, a BS symbolic virtue signalling stunt to make a statement about the high crime rate there. Don’t be surprised if the “peaceful” rioters demand their name be changed again since Wizards could invoke images of Klansmen. Better keep my big mouth shut or they’ll get more dumbass ideas.