LOCAL SPORTS TALK HOSTS CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH ABOUT GUY V. LEWIS! - MIKE IN DA

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Written by: Mike in DA
Date posted: 3/30/2011


The following is an excerpt from the January 20 version of the Peanut Gallery:


GUY V. LEWIS: THE ONLY WAY HE GETS INTO THE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME IS BY BUYING A TICKET!



Much of local sports talk has become so bad, as it has been watered down so much over the last five years or so, that I don’t listen to it as much as I used to when I first came here in 1997. If I listened to it as religiously as HMW’s Lamont Mann does, my fingers would wear out from criticizing a lot of these guys.

On Tuesday night’s (1/18) Evening Show on SR610, Elvin Hayes was a phone guest with Barry Warner and Shaun Bijani, so you know that the name of former University of Houston coach Guy V. Lewis was going to come up in the conversation. People continue to say that Guy belongs in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.



As I’ve been saying at least once each year on my phone call-ins to radio stations when the topic comes up, Lewis will never be in that Hall.

Back in February 1963, when Loyola (Chicago) came to play UH, Lewis chastised Loyola coach, George Ireland, before the game for starting “four Niggers”. If that isn’t racist, then what is? This was documented on one of ESPN’s Sport Century shows about a decade ago. Lewis later did apologize to Ireland for what he said after his team lost the game.


I mentioned this on SR610 a bunch of times and asked Guy Lewis or any of his family members to call in and refute my comment. So far, I’ve never heard from his camp. Hey Barry Warner, how about having Guy or one of his family on your show as a guest to refute me.

Of course, you’re going to say that Adolph Rupp (1969) and others inducted into the Hall were racist, but they were inducted into the Hall of Fame in earlier years before all this PC (“political correctness” for the acronym-challenged) and diversity stuff came along.

Then you’re going to say that Guy was one of the first Southern coaches to hire Blacks (Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney). Well, he saw how good teams with Blacks, such as Cincinnati (1961 and 1962) and Loyola (1963) win NCAA Championships in those years and he didn’t want to get left out, so when UH opened enrollment to Blacks, Lewis got smart.

And talking about racism, Jeppesen Gym was “racist city” in the late 50’s and early 60’s when Black players on opposing teams came in. Just ask Oscar Robertson, Jerry Harkness, Ron Miller, Dave Stallworth, and Chet Walker, just to name a few." END 

Well, I still haven't heard from anybody in Guy V.'s family or circle of friends refute me, so maybe "Nigger" is or was part of Guy V.'s vocabulary starting back in Arp,TX, where Guy was born.  



His resumé is impressive: a 592-279 career record (.675); five Final Fours; coached 15 All-Americans, 29 NBA players, and three of the NBA's 50 all-time greatest; and he had 27 consecutive winning seasons after his first three seasons with losing records at the University of Houston. It is said he re-invented the way championship basketball was played in the NCAA and was considered one of the most progressive coaches of his time. And he was the first coach in the South to integrate his team. But, his resumé includes one minor deletion: no Basketball Hall of Fame invitation.

Well, there are several reasons or theories as to why. You can google and check newspaper columns or blogs on why some think he’s not in.

Some say it’s because he was Houston basketball and there’s an East Coast bias. Well, if this were a valid reason, then it would only be logical that every single player and coach in the Hall would be from the East.

As if his on-court achievements were not enough, he single-handedly integrated a sport that saw no signs of easing the racial tensions in the South. In 1964, he went into the swamps of Louisiana and came back with two guys named Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney.


He literally put his job on the line for two reasons: to bring in better talent and, more importantly, to challenge the idea that white is better. Hayes went on to score 27,000 points in the NBA after he outplayed Lew Alcindor in "The Game of the Century."

Then there are some of the opinion that John Wooden was the one lobbying against Guy’s addition to the Hall. He's never forgiven Guy V. and the Cougars for ending his winning streak back in 1968 in “The Game”. A while back, Bob Costas had some old classic interviews with legendary coaches and Wooden was one of them. Costas asked him about that loss, and while Wooden didn't say anything bad about Lewis or UH, he managed not to say much that was good, either. One would have thought the loss was a fluke and Wooden hadn't forgotten or forgiven.



Wooden had enough influence and savvy to keep Guy out, if he really wanted to. And if that is true then many would lose all respect for Wooden despite all his titles. With Wooden’s death last year, that would mean that that reason for keeping Guy out is no longer valid.

If you look at Lewis’ resumé, it dwarfs some of the coaches already in there. So I can see why many in the Houston area think that Lewis’ absence from the Hall of Fame is a gross injustice that maybe has gone on too long now. With some pretty impressive credentials, Lewis might even get my vote if I was a Hall of Fame voter. However, I’m not one of the four media members, or the NBA general manager, or one of the two Hall of Famers, or one of the two coaches, etc., that Hall of Fame Board Chairman, Jerry Colangelo, has put together in the 24-member committee.

To be inducted, finalists must receive at least 18 votes from the 24-member committee. The Class of 2011 will be introduced this Sunday (April 3) at the men’s Final Four here in Houston. The induction ceremony is at the Hall in Springfield, Mass., from August 11-13.

In addition to the North Americans who will be announced by Colangelo on Sunday, four others will be elected directly into the hall representing four categories: African-American pioneers before the mid-50s, veterans, the defunct leagues, and international.

So that means that once again without Guy Lewis being elected, people like Barry Warner (SR610) and John Granato (KGOW 1560) and other local sports talk hosts and callers will again complain about it.

Messrs. Warner and Granato will once again knock Lou Carnesecca and John Chaney for being in the Hall ahead of Guy V. and that pisses me off. Why pick on Lou and John just because your guy isn't in? Their credentials are just as impressive as Lewis' if not better.

Carnesecca was 526-200 (.725) as a college coach. In 24 years, he never had a losing season with 17-12 being his worst season. He also was important in keeping the American Basketball Association (ABA) alive with a strong New York presence in the New York Nets (at that time – he got Rick Barry and then Julius Erving to play there). He politicked for the building of Nassau Coliseum back then. In the 1950’s, he put his high school alma mater, St. Ann’s, on the map (now Archbishop Molloy) as a local New York basketball powerhouse. Former Houston Rocket, Kenny Smith, went there.

 

Animated and energetic Lou coached in a constant whirlwind of excitement and success. He followed in the footsteps of Hall of Famer Joe Lapchick. He kept St. John's University in the national spotlight even though he primarily recruited New York City players. He compiled eighteen 20-win seasons and averaged more than 20 wins a year. He led all of his St. John's teams to postseason appearances. His 1985 Redmen advanced to the Final Four, and his 1979 and 1991 teams competed in NCAA Regional Finals. His team won the 1989 NIT. He also coached the Nets to the 1972 ABA Finals. He was voted national Coach of the Year twice by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA); once by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC); and was Big East Coach of the Year three times (1983, 1985, 1986).

And as far as Mr. Chaney is concerned, he was 741-312 overall as a college coach, including 225-59 at Cheyney State for ten years, which was NCAA Division II national champ in 1978 and he was Division II National Coach of the Year in 1978. He was 516-253 at Temple in 24 seasons, including 17 NCAA tourneys and five Elite Eights. He had one losing season over 34 years. He was a coaching pioneer, as he was one of the first D-1 Black head coaches along with Will Robinson, John Thompson, and Nolan Richardson. He was assistant coach for the 1984 8-0 Olympic team. In 1988, Temple entered the NCAA tournament ranked #1 in the country. He is the winningest Black men’s coach in NCAA Division 1.



Known as a teacher of life's lessons, Chaney's dawn practices at Temple University are legendary. While the time of day the workouts began was distinctive, more famous are the values the veteran coach was known for instilling in his players: discipline, teamwork, commitment, excellence, and execution. Chaney's teams, first at Cheyney State in the late 1970s and then at Temple, played hard-nosed, grind-it-out basketball, reminiscent of Chaney's playing days at Bethune-Cookman. He led his college teams to 26 postseason berths and upon revitalizing Temple's program in 1982, coached the Owls to five NCAA Regional Finals and seventeen NCAA tournament berths. At the time of enshrinement, Chaney had brought Temple to six Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Championships and seven regular season titles and was Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year five times (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 2000) and USBWA National Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1988.

So Barry and John, please don't show us your ignorance by demeaning Lou and John. If Guy Lewis deserves to be in the Hall of Fame so much, why don't you both encourage UH to do something about it.

If UH thinks Guy has been overlooked, the school’s Athletic Director, Mack Rhoades, must lead a major push to get Guy into the Hall. UH should have a marketing campaign that promotes Guy as a Hall of Famer. Getting Guy V. in the Hall is more important to UH than it is to Guy himself.



UH needs national coverage of its push to get him in the Hall. They need the media to realize what an injustice this is and must gather around to rectify the situation. Many here think Guy deserves it, the university deserves it, but most importantly, the Hall deserves it. Classing up the place with a presence like Guy wouldn't be such a bad idea.

So Houston get off your fuckin’ ass, stop complaining, and do something about it or shut the hell up.

MIKE IN DA

HMW